I live in the land of Starbucks. I visit one often. I don’t think they are corporate scum like some people do. They provide me with yummy pumpkin latte’s and baked goods. So gladly throw me on the corporate sell out list. Plus I have several friends who work for Starbucks and are happily employed, so they can’t be that evil.

This time of year the Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin comes out. If you don’t think about the calories it is a yummy treat. Though while others eat them, I find my self starring off into space thinking what other kinds of muffins could I do this with the cream cheese center concept. A carrot cake type muffin would go nice of course with a cream cheese filling, as would a spice muffin. But me being the lover of all things hot chocolate and our area having hot chocolate weather, I decided to focus on those flavors.

I originally was going to go with a Candy Cane Hot Chocolate but some people are refusing to do holiday stuff yet until American Thanksgiving and so I am putting that on hold. I personally make my own, or if I am going powdered, I am a Stephen’s Hot Chocolate girl.

These turned out pretty darn good. A little too good says the extra pound being carried around in my thighs. I think next time I might use a little more marshmallow cream. It didn’t have that much marshmallow flavor. But I didn’t really know what the marshmallow cream was going to do since this was a bit of an experiment. But since I know who it reacts in the oven, I might throw in more next time. 

Don’t be confused by the pictures, these aren’t baked in cups. They are just regular muffins. I just happen to have a cup that the muffin fit perfectly into. Oh, and that cup is from Starbucks.  

Hot Chocolate Muffins with Marshmallow Cream Cheese Center

Hot Chocolate Muffin:

2 cups all-purpose flour
4 ounces hot chocolate (powdered)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
½  tsp baking soda
½  tsp salt
2 large eggs
½ cup buttermilk
½ cup sour cream
4 ounces unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla

Marshmallow Cream Cheese Filling:

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup marshmallow cream (fluff)
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 TBSP all-purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 375F.

Spray two muffin pans with baking spray, or butter and flour them. This only makes about 16, but you need two pans, since a standard one only holds 12.

Using a stand mixer, or a bowl with electric beaters, beat the eggs and sugar together on medium-high speed until eggs become pale yellow, about 3 minutes. Add vanilla and beat another 30 seconds.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, hot chocolate, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a medium bowl whisk together sour cream, butter, and buttermilk.

Add half of the flour mixture to the egg/sugar mixture. Mix on low until just combined.

Add the sour cream/buttermilk mixture and mix on low until just combined.

Add the remaining flour mixture and again, mix until just combined. Don’t over mix.

Using a spoon or a piping bag, divide batter evenly, filling the cups ½ way up.

If using stand mixer, clean bowl. If using electric hand beaters, just get a new bowl. Beat the cream cheese and marshmallow cream together on medium-high for about 2 minutes. Until it is nice and smooth. Add sugar, egg, flour, and vanilla and beat an additional 2 minutes.

Spoon into piping bag (this will be the easiest). Place tip into the middle of the muffin and fill until you see the cream cheese on top. Repeat with all of the muffins.

Bake for 16-18 minutes. Insert a knife or wooden skewer to make sure they are done. Be sure to not insert the knife or skewer where the cream cheese is, that will give you a false reading of whether the muffin is done or not.

It’s a funny thing when you run a blog, people think they know you. On some level of course they do, but in many ways they don’t.

I have disappointed many a person when they write to ask me what we are having for dinner and turkey meatloaf is what I write back. I think they have some fantasy about how I am making lavish dinners every night drenched in cream. In fact, I’m sure some people might even go as far to think I take baths in cream (which for the record I stopped years ago, I only bath in hot chocolate now ). People think I eat dessert every night. Which if you count a little chocolate or a piece of licorice dessert, than yes, technically I do eat dessert every night.

So it might come as a bit of a shock to those people who think I sit around eating fattening food all the time that I eat raw vegan until 5pm every day. Yep, you read that right. I eat raw vegan every day until 5pm. I have a condition that I care not to go into and my naturopathic doctor suggested going raw vegan for part of the day. Now come 5pm I can eat whatever I want, but I usually stick to a vegetarian diet…with limited dairy. I have a slight dairy allergy that since I never had a reaction to I assumed was never really a problem. Well, when I started eliminating it from my diet, I felt better. Much better. And so I only eat dairy on special occasions (aka dessert). I still eat bacon. I could not give up the pig. And I am not one of those obnoxious people who tell other people what they should be eating (like the idiots who are always commenting to poor Veggie Girl).

At first it was pretty darn hard, especially since I don’t do soy products either as it interacts with my thyroid. But as time went on I discovered more and more things to make and products that could help me in my new adventure. I, like Veggie Girl, am a big fan of all things coconut based. Switching to coconut based ice cream (like Coconut Bliss) has been a lifesaver.

Now I still eat the white devil, sugar. But I tend to also only save that for my baked goods. Most of the time I use agave syrup. Have you picked your mouth up from the floor yet?

Branching out into this world means you have to start looking for places that cater to you style of eating obviously. Luckily, vegan/vegetarianism is becoming more mainstream. As is gluten free. Now luckily I don’t have a gluten issue, but a lot of people do and it is nice that there are alternatives for them.

So when I was asked to look at a vegan, gluten free, wheat free baking book from Seattle’s own Flying Apron Bakery I was all over it. I will admit that I don’t usually bake vegan as I save my non vegan stuff just for after 5pm. And I don’t really bake gluten free all that much either. But I love getting to highlight this book for those who do fall into the full time vegan or gluten free category. Or if you just want to give it a try.

Now the one downfall is of course that they use a lot of different types of flour. Buckwheat, corn, brown rice, garbanzo beans, etc…So the start up cost might be a little much. But once you have them in your pantry you will use them more and more. I personally use corn and rice flour a lot. As well as garbanzo bean flour of coating veggies for baking.

The most awesome thing about this cookbook is that basically what they make in the bakery is now available in this book. So if you are like me and live almost an hour north of Seattle and can’t get down there this is a great alternative!!!

I chose to make something with some slightly more mainstream ingredients. I know to a lot of people hazelnut flour isn’t that mainstream, but it is to me as I always have it in my freezer. The original recipe called for fresh cherries, just one per cookie on top. But I have dried and this isn’t exactly cherry season right now. I also used some local honey from Kent, WA….so these cookies really represent the Pacific Northwest. I also skipped the 1 tsp dried lavender or dried rosemary, just wasn’t feeling that at all. I under-baked mine to make them more chewy. Mine had the texture of a coconut macaroon.

It’s been an interesting switch in my life. All for the good ,for the most part. The hard part is people. People not understanding and thinking you are a freak. The people who get offended if they make something I an choose not to eat it, this is mostly during the daytime. The thing is that, when I deviate, I feel it. I feel like crap. And I would rather feel good than eat a cookie.
But if I piss a few people off a long the way, so be it. It’s what is working for me. And they don’t live my life. Just like I don’t live theirs.

P.S. No worries…this is not becoming a Vegan blog. Just letting my peeps who are, and who are gluten free, know there is a new book out there for them to enjoy.

Hazelnut Honey Cookies

2 cups hazelnut flour
1 cup honey
¼ tsp sea salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup dried cherries

Preheat oven to 350F.

Combine the hazelnut flour, honey, salt, and vanilla in a large bowl. I used a stand mixer as this dough is sticky and doesn’t like to come together at first. Mix until smooth and then fold in dried cherries.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop cookie dough into ping-pong sized mounds. Press slightly with your hand to flatten a little.

Bake until firm to the touch, about 20 minutes. Personally, I like these a little chewy, more like a macaroon (not French, the coconut kind) so I only went for 16 minutes.

Adapted from Flying Apron’s Gluten-free & Vegan Baking Book by Jennifer Katzinger 

We will just ignore that I have been a slacker (well, just a blog slacker, I have been busy at everything else).

So Halloween is over now and we shift from buying candy to making candy. I myself am not a big candy maker. I think mostly because my mom didn’t. Well, she made divinity, marshmallow cream fudge and those cream cheese mints, but that was about it.

I must admit that I have always been jealous of those who make candy for the holidays. I need to be brave and take the plunge into making candy. Enter Anita.

You might remember a while back, fellow food blogger friend Anita Chu (of Dessert First) came out with a little book (literally little) called Field Guide to Cookies. Well, she is at it again and came out with another Field  Guide, this time to Candy.

I was fascinated with the variety in this book. Though I will admit that I probably wont be making my own gummy bears anytime soon, it was fun that they were in there. Since my time has been non-existent as of late (have I mentioned how I think we should get to bank hours…that way on days I only need 8 I use them, but on the days, as of late, when I need a 30 hour day they carry over), I decided to go easy and do a holiday classic Peppermint Bark.

Three ingredients. That sounds good to me. You do have to temper the chocolate which intimidates some people, but just face it with confidence and you will be fine. You can even find You Tube videos to help you with it. I love peppermint bark, and I am thinking that choosing to make this was a bad idea. Before I just relied on people to give me some for Christmas. Now that I can make it on my own, watch out thighs.

So if you are wanting to get in a little candy making this season, you might want to pick up this little guide. At $10.85 on Amazon.com, that is a good bargain.

The only bad thing about making the peppermint bark…other than my thighs expanding is now I want to play Christmas music.

Peppermint Bark

14 ounces bittersweet chocolate
14 ounces white chocolate
½ cup candy canes, crushed

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Melt and temper the bittersweet chocolate. Either watch the video or have Dave help you.

Pour the bittersweet chocolate onto the baking sheet and spread it to about ¼ inch thick. Let it set, about 30 minutes. Temper the white chocolate white the bittersweet is hardening.

Pour the white chocolate layer over the bittersweet chocolate layer and spread it evenly (hopefully more evenly than I did. )

Sprinkle crushed candy cane pieces over the white chocolate. Press them lightly so they stick. Let the white chocolate set, about 30 minutes.

Break into small (or large ), irregular (I did a great job with the irregular part) pieces.

Makes about 24 pieces.
Store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Recipe from Field Guide to Candy: How to Identify and Make Virtually Every Candy Imaginable by Anita Chu