tasty tuesday : snickerdoodles

I love snickerdoodles. And for more reasons than the fact that they are delicious! They're my favourite kind of cookie... soft, moist, chewy, with a lovely cinnamon-sugar topping.... and then there's the name. Snickerdoodle. 

Best. Cookie name. Ever. Right?

So, this got me thinking... why in the world are they called snickerdoodles? So here's what my research (*cough* wikipedia *cough*) revealed to me.

Snickerdoodles are probably German in origin and it a corruption of the German word "Schneckennudein," which was a kind of pastry that translated means "snail noodles." 

Yeah. Weird. 

But wait, it's ALSO possible that: the name could also simply be a nonsense word with no particular meaning, originating from a New England tradition of whimsical cookie names. 

Much better. 

So there you have it! A little lesson on the origins of the perfectly delectable and delightful sounding, "snickerdoodle."

{  i  n  g  r  e  d  i  e  n  t  s  }

1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp white sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
a very, itsy, bitsy, teenie, tiny pinch of nutmeg!

{  i  n  s  t  r  u  c  t  i  o  n  s  }

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees!
2. Cream together your first three ingredients.
3. Mix your dry ingredients separately.
4. Blend your two mixtures together until they are well-blended!
5. In a separate small bowl, mix in your 2 tbsp of white sugar and spices.
6. Roll your dough into small balls, then roll them in your small bowl of the cinnamon sugar.
7. Place them onto a greased baking sheet, approximately 2 inches apart.
8. Bake for 8-10 minutes (DON'T OVERBAKE!), and remove from pans to cool on wire racks.

Enjoy!

p.s.  ♥ clara

thirsty tuesday: blueberry coconut mojitos

This week, I'm announcing a "thirsty" tuesday. With all this glorious summer heat and sun, I've been craving summery ice cold drinks - so here's one of my favourite ones. Fresh blueberries, mint leaves, coconut rum, and "ice, ice baby"! (excuse the craziness, it's the heat, I swear!).

This drink tastes even better than it looks. So go grab some fresh berries and mix away to chase away the summer heat!

[  i  n  g  r  e  d  i  e  n  t  s  ] 

1 + 1/2 cups of fresh blueberries

1 + 1/4 cup of water  (can add soda water instead too!)

sweetener to taste  (honey is lovely, but syrup and sugar are okay too)

4 oz coconut rum  (malibu's is sooo tasty!)

a handful of fresh mint leaves  (around 10-14 leaves)

1 tray of ice cubes  ("ice, ice baby...")

[  i  n  s  t  r  u  c  t  i  o  n  s  ]

1. Blend the first 3 ingredients together to make blueberry juice. 

2. Add in your fresh mint leaves and let the juice sit for around 10-15mins. so that it soaks up the minty flavour! 

3. Mix in your blueberry juice, tray of ice, and coconut rum and shake it up! 

4. Pour your delicious mojito into your cups, throw in some fresh blueberries, and garnish with more mint leaves to make it pretty :)

Make your way over to your porch, grab your summer read, kick back your feet, and enjoy!

p.s.  ♥ clara

tasty tuesday : chocolate coconut cupcakes

So here's the deal, I love coconut. Seriously, I am a little obsessed. And I'm not as talented of a baker as miss Kelsey or miss Jordyn... so what am I presenting to you? Their incredible chocolate (cup)cake recipe with a large dose of coconut! Call it a lazy post if you want, but this coconut spin on their chocolate cake recipe was ah-may-zinggg!! And it went perfectly with the Great Gatsby inspiration shoot that I organized last week... that's right dear readers, the Great Gatsby is coming your way and here's the first sneak peek!

Ingredients:
3 cups Flour
2 cups Sugar
2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
2/3 cup Cocoa

1/4 cup coconut flakes

1 TBSP Vanilla
2 TBSP Vinegar
3/4 cup Margarine (melted)
1 cup Warm Water

1 cup Coconut Milk

Instructions:
1) Mix together all dry ingredients; then pour all wet ingredients over top and mix until moist.
2) Pour batter into 9x13 pan /or 2 round pans /or cupcake tins (makes about 24-30 cupcakes)
3) Bake at 350: for 35-40 minutes for cake [or until a toothpick comes out clean] OR:  for 20-25 minutes for cupcakes.

So if you go --> here <-- you'll find the original recipe and more photos on how to make the batter! And below is the coconut frosting I used to top this delicious cake.

Ingredients for Coconut Frosting:

1 cup butter at room temp

3 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup coconut milk

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups sweetened coconut flakes 

Mix in the first four ingredients until your icing is a good texture - frost away, and then sprinkle your coconut flakes on top! 

And here's some frames from the Great Gatsby shoot... If you want to see more, visit my website at Clara Cecilia Photography to get the full sneak peek!! 

p.s.  ♥ clara

tasty tuesdays : mennonite butterhorns

So my hubby, Caleb, has been begging me to make these rolls for him for weeks on end, and having been stuck in final papers/exam mode, I haven't had a chance to make him these childhood treats until recently! Having never eaten these before, I was a little nervous about making them, but with the help of the fabulous online cookbook, Mennonite Girls Can Cook, these turned out wonderfully and I totally get why Cay has been craving these! 

This is a pretty time consuming recipe, but well worth the effort :) So here goes....

{ i n g r e d i e n t s }

1 tbsp yeast

1 tsp sugar

1/4 cup warm water

1 egg

2 cups flour

1 1/2 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter

{ f i r s t . s e t . o f . i n s t r u c t i o n s }

1. Put your yeast & sugar in a small bowl, add the warm water and let it sit for 10 minutes.

2. Measure the flour, 2nd amount of sugar, and salt into a large bowl.

3. Cut your butter into small cubes. 

4. Warm your milk until the chill is off then add a slightly beaten egg into the milk.

5. Add your yeast, milk, and egg into your bowl with the dry ingredients.

6. Stir well until all blended together. It will be slightly batter-like, rather than like a kneadable dough.
8. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours!

{ s e c o n d . s e t . o f . i n s t r u c t i o n s } 

1. Sprinkle flour onto a counter and roll out your dough to 1/2 inch thick. The dough WILL be sticky! That's okay :) Use some extra flour if it's driving you crazy!

2. Cut into 3/4 inch strips.
3. Twist your strips and start rolling them up into rolls.
4. Put your rolls onto a greased pan.
5. Cover your pan with a tea towel and let the dough rise for about an hour or until doubled in size.
6. Then bake at 400 degrees for approximately 10 minutes, or until golden.

7. Crush 1/2 cup of fresh walnuts (I used my blender to make the pieces really fine!)

8. Make a vanilla icing using 1 cup icing sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla, and 1 tbsp of milk.

9. Ice your butterhorns then dip them into the crushed nuts.

Aaaaaand finally, you're done! Enjoy these Mennonite treats!

p.s.  ♥ clara

tasty tuesday : rosemary garlic breadsticks

I seriously love bread. Buns, rolls, sliced, whole wheat, white, grains, toasted, fresh...it's all ah-may-zing, and my husband can tell you that I can (and sometimes do) eat a whole dozen fresh buns in one day... which is why this recipe is so awesome. Who could say no to fresh, homemade, rosemary, garlic breadsticks?!

{ i n g r e d i e n t s }

1 1/3 cups of warm water

3 tbsp softened butter

4 cups of flour (bread flour or all-purpose, both work great)

2 tsp salt

1 tbsp rosemary

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp parmesan cheese

3 tbsp white sugar

2tbsp dry milk

2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

1 tbsp honey

{ t o p p i n g }

1/2 softened butter

rosemary

garlic powder

parmesan cheese

{ i n s t r u c t i o n s } 

1. Proof the yeast with 1 tbsp honey and the warm water for 10 minutes.

2. In a large bowl, add the rest of the first set of ingredients (adding 1 cup of four at a time).
3. Either knead the dough for 6-8 minutes or go the easy route and use a bread hook for the same amount of time. (If you have a bread machine, feel free to use it and skip step 1!)

4. Let your dough rise until it's about doubled (1 hour + )
5. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
6. After your dough has risen, punch it down a couple time, remove it from your bowl, and roll it out on a floured surface until it's approximately 1-2 cm thick. Cut your dough into 2 inch wide strips.... OR, take fistfuls of dough and roll them into individual breadsticks. I did both, and they both turned out deliciously! Although rolling the dough out and cutting it took significantly less time....
7. Place your strips of dough 1 inch apart on baking sheets. 

8. Grab a pastry brush and brush on some melted butter on your strips of dough. Be generous! This adds a lot of great flavour.

9. Sprinkle more rosemary, garlic powder, and parmesan cheese on top.

10. Bake in a preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, or until golden. 

Enjoy your fresh, aromatic breadsticks! 

Here's how I enjoyed these delicious breadsticks.... with a bowl of homemade chili, olive oil & balsamic vinegar, plain, and with whipped butter. Mmmm....

Enjoy and happy baking!

p.s. ♥ clara

tasty tuesday: Easter egg bird's nest cupcakes (with toasted coconut nests!)

Is it just me?  Or is Easter supremely early this year?

I can't believe it's just around the corner!  And that means that school is done for me....potentially forever!  Which is both scary and exciting!

Back to the food.  I was inspired by Martha Stewart's version of bird nest cupcakes...and put my own spin on it.  There's cake, toasted coconut, and chocolate.  'Nuff said.

Easter Egg Bird's Nest Cupcakes

Materials:
-cupcakes (doesn't matter what kind....chocolate, mocha, vanilla, brown sugar, etc.)
-icing (again, it doesn't matter! whatever suits your fancy. here's the recipe for our classic buttercream) *your icing should also be pretty soft so that the coconut will stick!
-shredded coconut
-mini eggs

Directions:
Bake your cupcakes and let them cool completely.  Also get your icing ready to go!
Then, place your shredded coconut onto a baking sheet, and bake at 350 degrees for about 8 minutes (or until nice and golden!).  While your coconut is cooling, ice your cupcakes and top them with your mini eggs.  Finally, sprinkle/press the toasted coconut onto the remaining icing, forming the nest.

{next time I'll probably pipe a small amount of icing in a circle around the mini eggs in order to build up the "nest" around them...but either way looks great!}

I also chose to make a few of these cupcakes without the coconut since I know that not everyone's a fan, and they still look cute!

 For me Easter means much more than the Easter bunny and chocolate eggs, but it's still fun to participate in a bit of the frivolity of the season!

p.s. ♥ kelsey