Cinco de Mayo Dessert – Bead Yarn & Spatula

Chocolate Dipped Churro Cookies

Feliz Cinco de Mayo! I’ve made all kinds of desserts to celebrate the day, but never a cookie! Truthfully, I had no clue what to make this year. The idea for a cookie came to me from wondering what I could make with a box of French vanilla cake mix (besides a cake). Yup, it’s another cake mix cookie. And as with the Chocolate Salted Caramel Chip Cookies I posted a few weeks ago today’s Chocolate Dipped Churro Cookies were also a big hit. Yes, I turned a cake mix into a cookie reminiscent of fried dough coated in cinnamon sugar! YUM!

So, how did I turn a French vanilla cake mix into a churro cookie? To start, I added vanilla extract and cinnamon to the dough and then rolled scoops of the dough in a cinnamon sugar mixture before baking. A couple of things to note. If you’ve ever made a cake mix you know that water, oil and eggs are the key add-ins to the mix. To turn cake mix into cookie dough you don’t want to add as much liquid to the mix. So, I omitted the water, reduced the eggs and swapped the oil for sour cream. You could use oil instead, but that will change the texture of the cookie. Not in a bad way, they just won’t be as soft. Now, even though I did refrigerate the dough for an hour it was still quite soft. So, instead of having a sticky mess of dough on my hands, I dropped the scoops of dough directly into the cinnamon sugar mixture to coat it before rolling the dough into balls and placing them on a parchment lined baking sheet. And after baking I let the cookies cool on the sheets for about 5 minutes so they could set.

These cookies were delish as is and incredibly soft, but, since I like dipping my churros in chocolate sauce, I decided to dip the cookies in melted chocolate. And that kicked these cookies up a notch or two! And yes, I will say that they look like Snickerdoodles, but they don’t taste like them.

Chocolate Dipped Churro Cookies

Servings: 18 Cookies
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Ingredients:

For the Cookies:

1 15.25 oz box French Vanilla cake mix (I used Duncan Hines)

1/3 cup sour cream

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon cinnamon

For the Cinnamon Sugar Coating:

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

For Dipping:

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate (chips or chopped), melted

Directions:

In a large bowl beat together the cake mix, sour cream, eggs, vanilla extract and cinnamon with a hand mixer on medium speed until all the ingredients are incorporated. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a small bowl combine the sugar and cinnamon for the cinnamon sugar coating.

Use a cookie scoop (1 1/2 tablespoons) to scoop the dough and drop into the cinnamon sugar. Roll the dough around to coat then use your hands to gently roll the dough into a ball and place on the prepared baking sheets 2 inches apart. It’s best to roll the dough in a ball after it’s been coated as the dough will be quite sticky.

Bake in the preheated oven 10-11 minutes, until the cookies are set. Let cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

To melt the chocolate… Place the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and heat for 20 second intervals, stirring between each, until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Dip one side of each cookie in the chocolate and then place on a wax paper lined baking sheet so the chocolate can set. To speed up the process of the chocolate setting place the cookies in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes.

Store in an airtight container.

Recipe first appeared on Bead Yarn & Spatula

Key Lime Bundt Cake

Happy Cinco de Mayo! How perfect that this year it lands on a Tuesday so you can make it a “Taco Tuesday” to celebrate!

Originally I was planning on making Coconut Lime Crumble Bars to celebrate the day, but, one of the necessary ingredients was macadamia nuts. I normally have walnuts and almonds in my fridge but neither seemed to be a good substitute. And since my grocery shopping hasn’t been as frequent as before and I’m sticking to the things I really need and with the prices of certain things currently inflated, macadamia nuts just didn’t make the list. So, I opted to make this Key Lime Bundt Cake instead. Not really festive for the day, but, the flavor does make up for it and I have all of the necessary ingredients on hand.

After baking and letting the cake cool…

I made the key lime glaze for it. I’ll admit, whenever I saw cake recipes that included a glaze I would normally omit them thinking that the cake would just be overly sweet with them, but, I have to come to realize that the glazes enhance or complement the flavor of the cake. After drizzling the glaze on the cake I popped it in the refrigerator for a few minutes so it could set.

And then it was time to enjoy a slice! The cake itself isn’t overly sweet and the lime flavor isn’t overpowering by any means. The glaze didn’t add any extra sweetness, if anything, it added to the lime flavor.

Key Lime Bundt Cake

Servings: 12
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Ingredients:

Cake:

3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 3/4 sugar

2 tablespoons key lime zest (or lime zest)

3 eggs, at room temperature

1/4 key lime juice*

3 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 cups buttermilk**

Glaze***:

2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

3 tablespoons key lime juice

1 tablespoon milk

*Use can use freshly squeezed juice or use store-bought

**Make your own buttermilk by combining 1 1/2 cups milk (I used whole milk) with 7-8 teaspoons of white vinegar in a measuring cup. Stir together and let sit until thickened and slightly curdled.

***This makes more glaze than you will need for the cake, you can easily cut the ingredients in half and will still have enough glaze to drizzle over the cake.

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray a 12-cup Bundt cake with baking spray, or grease the pan and lightly dust with flour.

In a medium bowl combine the flour and baking soda and set aside.

In a large bowl using a handheld mixer beat the butter, sugar and lime zest together on medium speed until creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and then add in the lime juice. Continue beating until everything is well combined.

Add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the buttermilk.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spreading it out evenly. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to release any air bubbles.

Bake in the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the cake comes out clean.

Let the cake rest 10 minutes in the pan and then invert on a wire rack to cool completely.

Once the cake has cooled you can pour the glaze over it.

In a medium bowl combine the powdered sugar, key lime juice and milk and whisk together until the glaze is smooth and there are no lumps remaining. Drizzle the glaze over the cake and refrigerate a few minutes so it can set and then slice and serve.

Recipe from Life In The Lofthouse

Churro Cake with a Spiced Chocolate Sauce

With Cinco de Mayo just a few days away (and it falling on the weekend this year) you may be searching for some fun and delicious recipes to make. If you’re thinking of making churros but aren’t keen on the idea of having to fry them or just want a fun alternative how about a Churro Cake with a Spiced Chocolate Sauce for drizzling over it. And don’t worry, you will still have the cinnamon sugar coating that makes a churro extra yummy.

I began by combining my dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt – in a medium bowl and setting it aside. In the bowl of my stand mixer I beat butter, sugar and vanilla on medium-high speed until it was light and fluffy – about five minutes. I then added in four eggs and two egg yolks, one at a time. And finally I beat in sour cream. With the mixer on low, I added in the flour mixture in three parts alternating with milk. Once the mixtures were combined I poured it into a Bundt pan that I sprayed with baking spray. I tapped the pan down on my counter a few times to release any air bubbles and then baked it in a 350 F preheated oven for about 50 minutes. Once the cake was done I let it sit in the pan for about 10 minutes and then inverted it on a wire rack to cool completely.

Once the cake was cool I placed it along with the cooling rack over a large bowl. I combined cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl and set it aside. In another small bowl I melted three tablespoons of unsalted butter in the microwave. Next, using a pastry brush, I brushed sections of the cake with the melted butter and then sprinkled the cinnamon-sugar mix over the section. Pressing the mixture on to the cake to adhere it. Hence me placing the rack over a large bowl, any excess melted butter and cinnamon sugar mixture simply fell into the bowl, making for an easier clean-up. You want to do this in sections, if you simply brush the entire cake and then tried sprinkling it with the cinnamon sugar it will not adhere to the cake as well (or at all) since the butter will seep into the cake.

Next, I made the chocolate sauce to go along with the cake. I combined half and half, chile powder, dark brown sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, vanilla extract and salt in a small saucepan. I brought it to a simmer over medium heat and then removed it from the heat and added in semi-sweet chocolate chips. I let the mixture stand for a few minutes and then stirred it until it was smooth.

The best way to eat this… With the chocolate sauce drizzled over the cake. YUM! This cake was hit amongst my friends with some of us going back for seconds and practically drenching the cake with the sauce – it’s that GOOD!

Churro Cake with a Spiced Chocolate Sauce

Servings: 12
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Ingredients:

For the Cake:

2 3/4 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

4 large eggs plus 2 egg yolks, at room temperature

1/2 cup sour cream

3/4 cup whole milk

For the Cinnamon Sugar Topping:

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the Spiced Chocolate Sauce:

1 1/4 cups half-and-half

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon chile powder**

Pinch of salt

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips*

*original recipe called for 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

**If you want your sauce to have more of a kick add in 1/2 – 1 teaspoon of chile powder

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Prep a Bundt pan by spraying it with baking spray (or brushing it with butter and then coating it with flour).

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, or using a handheld mixer, beat the butter, sugar and vanilla extract on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, and then the egg yolks. Beat in the sour cream. Reduce the speed to low and add in the flour mixture in three parts alternating with the milk. Beat until combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and tap the pan on the counter a few times to release any air bubbles. Smooth the top of the batter with a spatula and then place in the oven for about 50 – 55 minutes. Until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then loosen the edges with your cake tested or butter knife and invert the cake on a wire rack to cool completely.

Once the cake has cooled make the topping.

Combine the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl. Place the cake along with the rack over a large bowl. Working in sections, brush the cake with the melted butter and then sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the cake, pressing to adhere it to the cake.

To make the spiced chocolate sauce combine all of the ingredients, minus the chocolate chips, in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and add in the chocolate chips. Let it sit for 2 minutes and then stir until smooth.

Serve the cake with the spiced chocolate sauce.

Recipe from Food Network

Horchata Treats for Cinco De Mayo!

Happy Cinco de Mayo! This year I decided to make Horchata in honor of the day and then use some of that fresh Horchata to make Horchata Cupcakes topped with Cream Cheese Frosting and sprinkled with cinnamon.

After a few Google searches I decided to make my Horchata as close to “authentic” as possible. I found a recipe that used evaporated milk, one that used rice milk and another that suggested purchasing powdered Horchata mix and mixing it with milk. For authenticity I opted to go the traditional route of blending water with rice until the rice was broken down and then letting the mixture sit in the refrigerator overnight. The next day I strained the water to get all of the rice bits out and blended it with whole milk, vanilla extract, almond extract (okay, this was a bit of a shortcut since some Horchata recipes call for ground almonds), cinnamon and sugar. Yum!

And then the next day I used the fresh Horchata to make cupcakes that were super moist and had a hint of the Horchata in them. Delish!

Feliz Cinco De Mayo… May your guacamole be spicy, your margaritas strong and your food delicioso!

Horchata

Servings: 4
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Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked long grain white rice

1 quart warm water

1/2 cup whole milk

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup sugar

Cinnamon sticks for serving, optional

Directions:

In a blender combine the rice and water. Blend for about 1 to 2 minutes, until the rice has broken down but does not form a powder. Refrigerate the rice water mixture for at least 6 hours or overnight.

Strain the rice mixture into a container through a fine mesh sieve or several layers of cheesecloth to remove the rice solids.

Transfer the rice water to a blender and add in the milk, vanilla and almond extracts, cinnamon and sugar. Blend for a minute until all of the ingredients are well combines and smooth.

Refrigerate if not serving immediately. When serving, pour over ice with cinnamon sticks as stirrers.

Recipe from The Food Network

Horchata Cupcakes

Servings: 11
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Ingredients:

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cups sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup Horchata

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 large egg whites

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a standard muffin pan with paper liners.

Cream the butter on high speed and then add in the sugar, continue beating until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together, set aside.

Mix the Horchata, vanilla and cinnamon together, set aside.

Add the flour mixture and the Horchata mixture to the butter mixture in 3 parts, alternating between the flour and Horchata mixture. Beginning and ending with the flour. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold the egg whites in to the cupcake batter until incorporated.

Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pan and bake for about 20 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe adapted from The Foodies Kitchen

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

1 8oz. package cream cheese, at room temperature

1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup sifted Confectioners’ sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Beat the cream cheese and butter together until creamy.

Add in the vanilla extract and continue beating, then gradually add in the confectioners’ sugar.

If not using immediately, store in the refrigerator.

Coconut & Lime Cupcakes

Happy Cinco de Mayo! It’s the perfect day to enjoy some guacamole, a few tacos, a shot of tequila or a nice cold margarita. That brings me to today’s post. I’ve made some delicious treats in honor of this day in the past – churros, tres leches cupcakes, Mexican wedding cookies and sopapilla cheesecake – and this year I was thinking of making Margarita Cupcakes. But, since I didn’t have any tequila on hand (all the recipes I came across had this margarita staple in the ingredient list) I opted for something non-alcoholic and just as festive… Coconut & Lime Cupcakes – a coconut cupcake with a key lime cream cheese frosting.

To begin I made the coconut cupcakes… In the bowl of my stand mixer I mixed together sugar and butter until it was light and fluffy – about 5 minutes on medium speed.

I then reduced the speed to low and added in three eggs – one at a time.

Next I added in buttermilk, and a sifted mixture of flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. I alternated between adding the two beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Oh, and can I just take a moment to say that I love this silicone bowl to add things into my running mixer. It’s completely flexible so I can form it into the perfect shape to pour the flour into the bowl and not have it fly all over the place. I used to use a pouring shield but I always had the flying flour issue with it. Check out this link if you have been searching for the perfect bowl to add dry ingredients to your batter while mixing.

Once the batter came together I folded in sweetened shredded coconut.

And finally, using an ice cream scoop I divided the mixture among a 12-cup paper lined muffin pan and baked it in a 325 F preheated oven for 25 minutes.

Once they were out of the oven, I let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 15 minutes before removing them and letting them cool completely on a wire rack in preparation for frosting them.

After letting the cupcakes cool I got to working on the frosting – a key lime cream cheese frosting that has the perfect combination of sweetness and citrus flavor. I began by creaming together cream cheese, butter, key lime juice and key lime zest until it was creamy. Next I added in 2 cups of sifted confectioners’ sugar one cup at a time – mixing well after each cup. Just to note, if want more of a lime flavor you can add more of the lime juice, but, you may have to balance that with more confectioners’ sugar since you don’t want your frosting to become too thinned down. Prior to frosting the cupcakes I popped the frosting in the fridge for about 10 – 15 minutes so the frosting would be firmer to pipe with.

And after frosting each of the cupcakes I sprinkled them with a bit of lime zest.

Coconut Cupcakes – Adapted from here

Makes 12 Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs, at room temperature

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon almond extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 F and line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.

2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

3. Using a stand mixer or electric hand mixer cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes on medium speed. Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl down after each addition. Add in the vanilla and almonds extracts and mix well.

4. In three parts, alternately add the flour mixture and the buttermilk to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Fold in the coconut.

5. Fill each cup of the muffin pan to the top – an ice cream scoop is the perfect size to fill the cups. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until the tops are slightly brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan for 15 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Key Lime Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 1/2 tablespoons key lime juice

1 teaspoon key lime zest

2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

Directions:

Cream together the cream cheese, butter, key lime juice and zest until creamy. Add in the sugar, one cup at a time, and continue mixing until all of the sugar is incorporated. If you find that the frosting is too soft, pop it into the refrigerator for a few minutes so it can firm up before using it.