Facebook Frenzy

It looks like Facebook made a few changes recently and as a result my posts don't seem to be showing in other people's feeds anymore.  Thank you to those individuals who pointed it out to me!

The morsels on how to fix it are as follows:

• Go to Baking it on My Own on Facebook.
• Hover over the button that says "Liked"
• Make sure that the option "Show in News Feed" is checked.

As always - I can't thank you all enough for your love and support of this blog.  It means so much to me. You guys are the best!

Stay tuned to Facebook in the coming weeks as once the page receives 100 LIKE's - I'll be giving away a special gift!

Can't get enough Baking it on My Own? You can also follow me on Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest.

Nutella Brownie Bites with Nutella Buttercream Frosting

A few days ago when I posted about my favorite baking supplies, it was all thanks to these babies I'm sharing with you today.  I love this recipe and it definitely has become my go-to recipe when we are expecting last minute company or when I'm in the mood for some Nutella (besides face planting myself into the entire jar spoonful for spoonful!).  These brownie bites are so incredibly delicious and decadent.  But - the best thing of all... they are only 5 INGREDIENTS!!  That's it - it's fantastic and wonderful and easier than the easiest thing on the planet.

These Nutella bites are really tasty plain but what really throws them over the edge, is the Nutella buttercream that I plop on top.  This is the stuff I dream about!  Rich, sweet and absolutely divine.  I totally know what you're thinking - How can these get any better?!  Right!? (just humor me and spare my feelings and tell me you're thinking that... but really - you are, right?!) - the frosting is only 5 ingredients too!!

I hope I've sold you on how tasty these scrumptious little morsels are.  This recipe cannot be any simpler and I hope you end up loving these as much as I do.

Nutella Brownie Bites

Recipe slightly modified from Savory Sweet Life which was printed  with permission from the original creator:  Abby Dodge  - cookbook author of Desserts 4 Today: Flavorful Desserts with Just Four Ingredients.

 

Makes 24-30 mini brownie bites.

 

1 cup Nutella

2 Large Eggs

10 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 cup hazelnuts, finely chopped

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line a 24 well mini muffin pan with grease proof mini cupcake liners.

In a medium bowl - whisk the Nutella and eggs together until well blended. Once blended, add the flour and whisk until there are no clumps.

Stir in chopped hazelnuts and mini chocolate chips.

Scoop into pan lined with mini liners using a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop.

Bake brownie bites until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean - approximately 12-15 minutes (NOTE:  Cooking times may vary according to oven variances).

Once cooked, let sit in pan for 5 minutes.  After five minutes, transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling.  Once completely cool, these babies are ready to frost.

 

Nutella Buttercream Frosting

Recipe very slightly modified from Handle the Heat.

1 and 1/2 sticks butter, softened
1/2 heaping cup Nutella
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 - 2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 cup powdered sugar

Using a mixer (hand or stand) - beat butter and Nutella together until well combined.  Add the vanilla, cream and powdered sugar and beat on low speed until incorporated.  Once incorporated, increase speed to medium-high and beat until frosting is smooth and stable.

NOTE:  I usually have some leftover frosting after using on the Nutella bites - I have found that this frosting freezes really well.

 

You can click here and here for the printable versions of these recipes.

Missed my post on my favorite baking supplies to make these scrumptious treats?  You can find it here.

Make today a great day and go make these babies - RIGHT! NOW!

My Favorite Baking Supplies - 1st Edition

I spend a lot of time in my kitchen. Therefore, I really need to LOVE everything in it. As a result - over the years, I have developed quite the collection of kitchen supplies and gadgets.  When people come over to visit, I often get asked where a lot of my kitchen supplies were purchased.  I have used the majority of these products more times that I can remember - and love them all. These favorites in particular are too good not to share.  You can never have enough cute cupcake liners, right?!

Le Creuset Spatulas - They are stain resistant, heat resistant and very sturdy.  The silicone portion comes off for easy washing and cleaning.  Mine has also survived numerous washes in the dishwasher with no issues.  They are the perfect size for stirring and scooping out delicious batter from the batter bowl!  The majority of mine are mustard yellow (Le Creuset's official name is "Dijon") - but I have many different colors of these spatulas as I love them so much!

Wilton Disposable Decorating/Icing Bags - These are inexpensive and make clean-up super easy!  The basic cake decorating kit comes with a variety of metal decorating tips that I have used for at least five years now.  They are easy to wash and make icing a cinch.  I will never go back to spreading icing with a knife on mini muffins or cupcakes again!  The best part - you only have to wash the tips!  Two thumbs up for less dishes!

Williams Sonoma Mini Muffin/Cupcake Pan - I received these as a gift at my bridal shower and I cannot say it enough how much I love these.  They are non-stick and relatively easy to clean.  The mini wells are the perfect size and delicious treats bake evenly.  It holds enough for two dozen treats so most of my recipes are done in one pan.  The only complaint I have (and it is minor) is that if you have clean around the lip of the wells - well - so that you do not build up residue.  These pans are also dishwasher safe. I've had these for almost three years now and they still look brand new - even after at least 75+ times of use.

Mini Cupcake Liners - I stumbled about these cute little cupcake wrappers from a recommendation via another blogger.  Since then, I have ordered from them quite a few times and am very happy with not only the quality - but the customer service.  The liners are very affordable and the shipping is reasonable.  The best thing about these liners is that they are relatively grease proof and do not bleed.  The cupcake liners stay colorful and vibrant after baking which is a huge plus for me!

Le Creuset Batter Bowl -  I asked for this a few years ago for Christmas and when my mother-in-law purchased it for me so thought that I would never really use it.  In all honesty, it is probably in my top five most used kitchen tools.  It is the perfect size for mixing and pouring.  The cleanup is super easy and it is also dishwasher safe.  I use this bowl for so much more than just batter.  I absolutely LOVE it! ...and yes, it is yellow!

Mini Cookie Scoop - This scoop is the perfect size for transferring one tablespoon of batter/mixture from the batter bowl to the wells on the baking pan.  Using this handy tool helps ensure your baked treats are uniform.  I have a variety of these scoops in all different sizes and use them often.  They have so many more purposes that just cookie making!

If you have any questions about these goodies, please let me know.  I have purchased many products after doing research and hearing feedback about them from other people.  As I result of that positive process, I will always give my honest opinion.  In case you are interested in adding any of these items to your kitchen team, I have posted the links to all of these items under the picture below!

I would LOVE to know what some of your favorite mini cupcake/muffin baking tools are.  Please leave me a comment below so I can search them out!

Stay tuned for a tasty NUTELLA recipe using all of the goodies below!!

Enjoy!



Spatula | Decorating/Icing Bags + Tips | Mini Cupcake Liners | Mini Cupcake/Muffin Pan | Cookie Scoop | Batter Bowl



Disclaimer:  I was not compensated in any way - from anyone - to write this post.  The manufacturers and sellers of these products have no idea who I am.  I just love their products and want to share my affinity for them.

Weekend Morsels - Instagram Edition

To say the past few weeks have been hectic, would not be doing them justice.  I am happy they are over and even more tired than I have ever been before.  Last week, Carl graduated from his leadership program that he has been working towards for the past two years.  We had some of his friends in the program over to celebrate and had a great time.  It was even nicer to have a relaxing Sunday with almost NO plans and I really enjoyed getting to spend time with my two favorite boys.  It was blissful and wonderful and my heart was happy.

Here are a few morsels from our sweet weekend.

Play, ball!?

Sleepyhead syndrome.

Snuggle smother sessions with my favorite little love.

Homemade chocolate chip cookies - a must!

Someone missed their daddy.

...and didn't want to leave his side.

literally.

Hearing sweet compliments about the custom wine themed bridal shower invitations for one of my favorite pals, Sam!

Armed and deliciously dangerous.

Ruff life.

Beautiful begonias.

You're not fooling anyone, Lebron.

Heat vs. Celtics + 4th Quarter = a real snoozer.

Over it.

Henry rules everything my Instagram!

Fondue date with my love.

Opposites attract. #ilovemycarbs #immarriedtoanalien

The last picture was too good not to share.  This is how a typical conversation goes in our house.  Sometimes I think I've married an alien from Veggietropolous. I mean seriously - cauliflower versus chocolate?! NO COMPARISION.

Anyone out there feel the same way I do?!

What did you do this weekend?  Whatever it was, I hope it was fun!

Want to keep up with me on Instagram? You can find me: here. 

Happy Monday!

Sweet Summertime Jammin'

We're jammin', jammin',  

And I hope you like jammin', too...

  

Strawberry-Rhubarb jam that is.

Oh yeah, I totally went there and you should be happy I did too.

Last weekend, Carl and I traveled to New Hampshire for a visit and I was SO excited to get some fresh rhubarb while we were there.  There has been a recipe I've had thought out in my head for weeks now - I just had to get my hands on some fresh rhubarb first.  Making the jam was the first step towards making this recipe and I can't wait to share both - delicious - recipes with you.  I'm still perfecting/experimenting on the ultimate recipe so in the meantime, let's get making some jam!

Homemade Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam 

[Recipe modified from The Pioneer Woman's strawberry jam recipe which is also identical to the recipe from Ball and many others]

3 cups strawberries, hulled and chopped
2 cups rhubarb, chopped finely
6 cups sugar
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1.75 ounce powdered fruit pectin
small pat of butter (optional - helps prevent foaming)

Place 7 - 6oz mason jars (or 6 - 8oz mason jars) in a large pot.  Cover jars completely with water and bring to a simmer.  In a separate pot, simmer the lids.

Spread chopped strawberries on a cookie sheet and mash with a potato masher until softened.

Place chopped rhubarb, mashed strawberries, lemon juice and powdered fruit pectin in a large pot or dutch oven. Stir mixture until pectin looks dissolved.  Add small pat of butter (just under 1/2 tablespoon) and stir.  Bring mixture to a strong boil.

Once the juice starts to form, add all of the sugar at once and then return to a full (violent) boil.  A full (violent) boil is one that cannot be stirred down.  Cook and continue to stir for 60-80 seconds.

Turn off heat and skim off any foam that may form on the surface of the mixture (if you use butter, you should have minimal foaming).

Remove jars, one at a time, from the simmering water.   Place jar on towel and fill with hot jam mixture.  (NOTE: A large/wide mouth funnel is very helpful here but I don't have one so I just use a measuring cup.)  Fill jars to within 1/4 inch of the top.

Run a knife or a thin spatula around the insides of the jar to get rid of any air bubbles.

Wipe the rims of the jars with a wet cloth or paper towel to remove any jam residue/stickiness.

Remove center lid from simmering water and position on top of the jar.  Screw bands on jars being carefully not to over tighten.

Gently place jars back into pot of gently simmering water, making sure that water completely covers the tops of the jars.  Bring water to a full rolling boil.  Cover and boil hard for 10 minutes.

Turn heat off and leave jars to sit in water, undisturbed, for 5 minutes.

Remove the jars from the pot using a jar lifter/tong and place onto a cloth covered or wood surface, several inches apart, to cool.  In order for the jam to set properly, the jars need to sit undisturbed on cloth/wood surface for 24 hours.  You will soon start to hear lots of little pops as the jars start to seal.

After 24 hours, press the top of each lid with a finger to ensure that the seal is tight.  Lids should have no give.  If any seals are compromised (ie. you can flex up and down), store those jars in the fridge.

Store in a cool, dark area. Enjoy!

Click here for a printable version of this recipe.