A Bit of Better Batter -- with Browned Butter!

My world has been changed.

Two words:
Browned. Butter.

If you've ever smelled it cooking, or eaten anything made with this stuff, you know that it truly makes everything better.

Hurricane Irene and Aftermath Cookies

Perfectly timed with a certain turbulent weather event, I have just entered a rather tumultuous time in my life. Although I usually avoid discussing my life with the blogging community because I would prefer not to be judged by my age, I must admit: I just entered college. Two days ago, in fact. It was supposed to be three days ago, but our dear friend Irene delayed the move-in day at my school and several others. Since I was stuck in the house for an extra unplanned day and my state of mind was rather turbulent itself, I, of course, decided to bake. Besides, I figured that bringing some homemade cookies to share at college could only be a positive thing when meeting people... and so far, it has in fact helped me meet some friendly students.

Terrible cell phone photos, sorry.

As I watched and listened to the storm outside, I was inspired to concoct two types of cookies: Hurricane Irene Cookies and Aftermath Cookies.  Click on "Read more" to view the recipes for these delightful cookies -- don't worry, despite their destructive namesakes the only things these cookies will stir up are your tastebuds.

Coconut Nutella Cupcakes

One of my best friends had a birthday a week ago.
She LOVES coconut. Coconut-flavored anything, coconut-scented anything, thai curries with coconut milk... all coconut, all the time. She also adores Nutella (she introduced me to the brilliant idea of peanut butter, jelly, and Nutella sandwiches). So when I saw this recipe on Tasty Kitchen, I bookmarked it and waited (im)patiently for her birthday to arrive so I could make these for her.

Next, I did some research to find what I hoped would be the BEST coconut cupcake, filling, and nutella frosting for her special day. Here is what I came up with...

Chemistry (Tiramisu and Tiramisu Bars)

These photos are probably not what most people would imagine when they think of a chemistry experiment.

I wasn't expecting a chemistry lesson, either. But that's exactly what I got when I made this tiramisu and these tiramisu bars.

One of my friends requested more of the tiramisu bars I had made a few months ago (cream filling adapted from this recipe, with a sugar cookie crust on the bottom and whipped cream on top). Since I, in an attempt to expand my culinary horizons, was determined to try making authentic tiramisu by the end of the summer, I decided to make a tiramisu and use half of the filling for bars for my friend. It seemed like a perfect plan.

Like most of my "perfect plans", this turned into an extensive ordeal that I only barely salvaged from complete failure. I managed to ruin what Brown Eyed Baker called the "spot-on and foolproof", "perfected" recipe from Cooks Illustrated. In an attempt to explain what happened, I will go through the recipe and comment (with photos) on my progress at various points.

Meringue Gelato Cupcakes (for the 2011 Ice Cream Cupcake Contest)

This, my friends, is a very light cupcake with a darkly seductive taste. Two fluffy angel food cupcakes with meringue gelato in the middle and a smooth, swiss meringue buttercream on top, with a sweet little meringue cookie to cap it off.

I created these cupcakes for the 2011 Ice Cream Cupcake Contest created by Cupcake Project and Scoopalicious. These were a treat for my brother, since his birthday is coming up. If you remember from my chocolate hazelnut meringue cupcakes, he absolutely loves meringue. We went to Europe about 10 years ago and he has never forgotten the meringue gelato he tried one day in Italy. To this day, he lists it as his favorite dessert. I decided to recreate this flavor for him and incorporate it into a cupcake.