Ambitious Deliciousness – Dont Eat Lazy.

Is it true that calories don’t count during the holiday season? While I believe that we should be aware of what we put into our bodies, there’s something about calorie counting that sucks all the fun out of dessert. As long as you’re not eating 4 dozen cookies in one day, you’ll be fine!

If you’re looking for thoughtful, inexpensive and delicious gifts – look no further! Edible gifts win (hands down) over ugly sweaters or soaps that end up in the back of your closet. They also make great host(ess) gifts for your next party you’re attending.

Here are some delicious recipes you should try!

Peppermint Bark: All you do is melt chocolate, then put it back together with candy and peppermint flavoring. It makes the perfect edible gift!

More recipes after the jump!

(more…)

One of my favorite ice cream flavors is green tea. If I’m eating somewhere and green tea ice cream is an option, chances are, I’ll order it. But that doesn’t always mean it will be good. I’m a fan of the the slightly bitter and super dark green kind, as opposed to the super creamy and sweet.

I received an ice cream maker from a friend and was really excited to use it. Then life happened and I found myself staring at the ice cream maker tucked away in my room. I finally had a chance to use it after summer was officially over, but ice cream is totally acceptable to make all year around, don’t you think?

Next time, I will make green tea ice cream (with less sugar), then wrap them in mochi to give as a gift to my friend who gave me his ice cream maker. I’ll get to it, eventually. Stay tuned!

(more…)

While stuck at home for the entire weekend, we waited for Irene with much anticipation. She took longer than we expected, and all we could do was wait and wait and wait. My family was very fortunate, as we did not suffer any damage or power outages. But I also know that others  along the East Coast were not as lucky.

I realized that being stuck indoors is very bad for me for two reasons – 1. I get stir crazy, 2. I want to eat everything in sight. Since we couldn’t go outside, my sister and I made peanut butter and jelly cookies, using a recipe from The Kitchn. This recipe requires overnight freezer action, followed by some heat from the oven. I knew it would be a risk since we were prepared for a possible blackout, but we had a lot of time on our hands. You can only watch so much TV!

The best thing about this recipe? You can make a big batch to keep in the fridge (up to 3 months), then slice and bake whenever you’re in the mood for a treat!

(more…)

After making these delectable little treats for the second time, I decided that whoever came up with the idea to make cake pops deserves a prize. Or a medal. Why? Because cake pops = little drops of happiness. They make people super duper happy!

Since I promised my friend that I would make her red velvet cake pops, surprised her with them at her bridal shower. Hope you liked them, Susan!

As I’ve mentioned before, I make an exception to my “don’t eat lazy” rule and use boxed cake for cake pops. I added more chocolate, cocoa, an extra hint of acid and a small drop of red food coloring to enhance the flavors and color. But if you’re feeling extra inspired, feel free to use my red velvet cake recipe to bake the actual cake!

(more…)

About a week ago, I found myself at Starbucks for a late afternoon caffeine fix, when my sleepy eyes dawned on the light pink cake pops in the display window. I thought about buying one. Then I started to think, I wonder if they’re hard to make?

After a rigorous internet search, I decided to give it a try, since they didn’t seem too difficult. As many of you know, Bakerella makes all sorts of creative cake pops, from Hello Kitty shaped ones to miniature wedding cake pops! While cake pops are not anything new, she is largely responsible for making them popular.

It’s a good thing, because when you roll cake into balls and place it on a lollipop stick, it goes from good to absolutely amazing!

(more…)

I’m not sure when I decided that I wanted to try making macarons at home, but once I did, there was no turning back. I obsessively read every possible blog post I could find. I read every single tip there was to know and even posted a question on The Kitchn about it.

French macarons (not to be confused with Italian coconut macaroons) are delicate cookies made of whipped egg whites and almond flour. My first batch was green tea with a dark chocolate ganache filling; many thanks to UmamiMart for the inspiration!

Have you ever wondered why macarons are so expensive? They are small and cost at least $2.50 for each one! After this experience, I’ve figured out why.

[NYC folks: Macaron Day 2011 is this weekend! Simply stop by any of the participating stores and mention macaron day to get your free macaron!]

(more…)

A couple of weeks ago, my coworker showed me an amazing article from Food Network Humor. Food Network Humor is a hilarious blog that makes fun of Food Network stars, especially Sandra Lee. I have nothing against Food Network, though I don’t really watch it since I’m not a cable owner (I know, I know, how do I live).

The article referenced Sandra Lee’s Sensuous chocolate truffles recipe. She took store bought frosting, added confectioners sugar, dusted it with some cocoa powder, then called it truffles. That does not sound good, does it? They also looked hideous. But then it got me thinking. How do you make truffles?

After some research, I saw this recipe in Food & Wine Magazine. Making truffles is not difficult, though a little bit time consuming. Basically, I made chocolate ganache, added different fillings into the chocolate, then rolled them in walnuts, cocoa, crushed Oreos(thanks for your help, sister!), and sprinkles. I took these to a Christmas party and boy am I glad I only saved 1 of each. Otherwise, I would have eaten them ALL!

(more…)

Have you ever made shortbread cookies? This was my first time and I was amazed at how easy it really was!

A while back, my friend J brought me some salted caramel from Laudre in Paris, so I was excited to use it in this recipe! I actually baked these for J&J when I went to visit them in Maryland. Thanks for a lovely time, parents-to-be!

I was concerned that the caramel would make it really super duper sweet, but thankfully, it was not the case. I ate one that was not filled (crazy me), which was also very yummy. If you don’t have any salted caramel, don’t worry – you can make your own!

(more…)

[Happy birthday to my dad, my cousin, yours truly and a few friends who are born two days before Christmas, and to anyone out there gets one combined gift every year. I feel your pain. Let us commiserate with peppermint bark. I hope you all have a safe and enjoyable break with loved ones! Merry Christmas! ]

Peppermint bark is one of my favorite holiday treats! It only contains only four ingredients (dark chocolate, white chocolate, peppermint extract, candy canes) yet tastes amazing!

Use high-quality dark chocolate, and you won’t be disappointed! Also, be careful while tempering the chocolate. I like to slowly melt it instead of shocking the chocolate into submission, especially since burning good chocolate would be a travesty.

The challenge here was to spread out the chocolate as evenly as possible. One of the things that I would do differently next time is to crush up the candy canes more carefully, and mix them into the white chocolate so that they don’t fall off.

(more…)

I was trying to recall how I came to make brownies. But truth is, do you ever really need a reason to enjoy some brownies from scratch? Butter and chocolate, baked with some flour – what’s not to like?

The first time I made it, I thought it came out a bit too crispy. I adjusted my oven rack and cooked it for about 50 minutes exactly. The second batch resulted in a crispy, gooey, caramel-like consistency, which I love. I thoroughly enjoyed every single crumb!

Since I didn’t have a brownie pan, I decided to bake them in cupcake form. This comes from Martha Stewart. And of course, I used my favorite dark chocolate from Ghirardelli (get in my belly).

(more…)