Chocolate Dipped Bacon

I know some of you are thinking, "What?! Bacon & Chocolate - Ewww," but trust me when I say it's all sorts of wonderful.  Salty & sweet, chewy & crunchy.  I promised, I'd be back to regular posting once summer was over, and I figured that my first post back ought to be the kind of delicious craziness that comes from random flights of fancy in my kitchen.  This summer of travel has meant very little time for crafting, but we do have to eat, even when living out of suitcases.  This quick and easy treat gets a big thumbs up from my boys.

There isn't much to the recipe.  It's basically dipping cooked bacon into chocolate.  What could be easier?  Recently I've been cooking bacon in the oven.  It's a simple, easy clean method for perfect bacon every time.    Lay out the bacon in a single layer on a foil lined jelly roll pan.  I cut the bacon slices into 1/4ths for the candy, but leave it whole for breakfast.

Place into a cold oven, then turn the oven on to 425.  Don't open the door while it's cooking.  After 17-18 minutes the bacon will be perfectly done.

Remove the cooked bacon to paper towels to drain.

Meanwhile, melt 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips in the microwave.  One of my favorite things about my microwave drawer is that you can stir items from the open top without ever having to touch the hot bowl.

Dip the bits of cooked and drained bacon into the melted chocolate and lay on waxed paper to harden.  I use chopsticks for the dipping, but you could use a fork, too.

After the chocolate hardens completely, I store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Thanks for popping in and cooking with me.

Raspberry Lemonade Cupcakes

Nothing says summer like pink lemonade, and the perfect way to kick off summer is with these Raspberry Lemonade Cupcakes.

I started by creaming together 1/2 cup butter and 1/4 cup coconut oil.

I added in 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup agave nectar, 1/2 cup raspberry applesauce, 3 egg yolks, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, and the zest and juice of one lemon.

In a separate bowl, I whisked together 1/2 cup brown rice flour, 1/4 cup sorghum flour, 1/4 cup sweet rice flour, 1/4 cup potato starch, 1/4 cup arrowroot starch, 2 tsps baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, and 1/4 tsp salt.

I mixed the dry ingredients into the wet, and then mixed in 1/3 cup milk.

I accidentally set my camera down for this next part.  I whipped up 3 egg whites with a couple tablespoons of sugar sprinkled in gradually until they were at a soft peak, then folded the egg whites into the battter.  Spoon the batter into a lined muffin tin and bake for 22 minutes at 325 or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Using a large tip on my piping bag, I poked a hole into the cupcakes, and piped in about a 1/2 teaspoon of raspberry fruit spread into each cupcake.

I mixed up some cream cheese frosting(cream cheese, butter & powdered sugar,) and added in 1/2 cup raspberry fruit spread and 1/2 tsp lemon extract.  I topped each cupcake with a fresh raspberry.

Thanks for popping in and baking with me.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

One of my most often requested recipes is my Flourless Chocolate Cake.  I was making this moist & wonderful piece of heaven long before we went gluten-free.  It's so easy to make using only 4 ingredients, and it's so good that it disappears quickly, making pictures a tough enterprise.  But I snapped a couple of quick pics the other day when I made one.

Here's the low down on this simple dessert.  Melt 6 tbsps of butter and 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips in a double boiler or the microwave, stirring every now and again.  Let the mixture cool for a few minutes before whisking in 6 egg yolks.  In the bowl of your stand mixer, with the whisk attachment, beat 6 egg whites til foamy.  With the mixer still going, sprinkle in 1/2 cup sugar, a little at a time, mixing until the whites are to a soft peak.  Sacrifice a quarter of the egg whites to lighten the chocolate mixture, then fold in the rest of the whites a quarter at a time.  Pour in a greased and parchment lined 9 or 10 inch springform pan.  Bake at 275 for 45 minutes.  Let cool before removing from the pan.  You can sprinkle on some powdered sugar before serving to pretty it up, but desserts that taste this good don't really need to be pretty.

Thanks for popping in and baking with me.  I'm linking this up to Gluten-Free Homemaker's Gluten-Free Wednesdays.

Roasted Corn Salad

So many summer barbecue sides are muffin top inducing, heavy on the mayo concoctions.  Don't get me wrong - I love me some potato salad, but when being able to hang poolside without literally hanging out is the goal, a lighter side is what's called for.  The other day I made this light & fresh tasting Roasted Corn Salad, and it was delicious.

I started by roasting 4 ears of sweet corn.  Some people roast their corn with the silks stripped, and husks on, but I just strip them completely, brush them with a little olive oil, and lay them on my grill, turning every now and again.

Cut the kernels off of the cobs.

Toss together with a can of black beans that have been drained and rinsed, a handful of grape or cherry tomatoes cut in half, and 3 thinly sliced radishes.

Add 2/3 cup pulled apart lump crab, the sliced greens of 2 scallions, and a handful of chopped fresh cilantro.  I dressed this salad with a tablespoon of ginger infused olive oil, a tablespoon of regular olive oil, the juice of half a lime and some salt and pepper.

Toss it all together, and let the flavors meld in the frig.  This is the perfect summertime make ahead salad.

Thanks for popping in and cooking with me.  I'm linking this up to Gluten-Free Homemaker's Gluten-Free Wednesdays, and the parties below.

S'mores Waffles

I love waffles.  I've shared several versions of waffles including Banana Maple, and Chocolate Chocolate Chip.  We're camping this weekend and nothing could start a camping weekend off better than S'mores Waffles.

I started with my basic waffle recipe that I shared here.  After folding in the egg whites,

I measured out 2/3 cup of mini marshmallows, 2/3 cup of crushed graham crackers(remember how I said I just bake the scraps instead of rerolling them in my graham cracker recipe post?) and 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips.

Fold all of those into the batter, being careful not to deflate it.

I scoop about a cup into a hot belgian waffle iron for 4 minutes.  I like waffles with a classic drizzle of maple syrup, but WD likes to add chocolate syrup to these.

Thanks for popping in and cooking with me.  Hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.

Homemade Graham Crackers

Every year, we kick off the summer with a weekend camping trip to Darien Lake Theme Park.  Camping means a lot of things to a lot of people(we're tent campers, not glam-pers,) but almost universally it means S'mores.

This s'more was made on my stove, not a campfire, specifically for this post.  Incidentally, in the oft argued gas vs induction debate, no one ever cites the perfectly roasted marshmallow as a reason to use gas, but how would you make indoor s'mores without flame?  I've never been one for the basic traditional s'more.  I bring the traditional Hershey bars, but I also like to bring peanut butter cups and Ghirardelli squares for a more decadent treat.  

Even before going gluten-free, I had a disdain for boxed graham crackers preferring to make s'mores with soft ginger cookies or almond thins.  And in that vein, I decided to make my own graham crackers to bring along this weekend.  I started by whirring together 1 cup light brown sugar, 2/3 cup sorghum flour, 2/3 cup arrowroot starch, 1/3 cup brown rice flour, 1/3 cup white rice flour, 1/3 cup millet flour, 2 tbsps potato starch, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp xanthan gum in my food processor.  I pulsed in a cubed stick of butter.

In a small mixing bowl, I whisked together 1/3 cup honey, 1/4 cup milk, 2 tbsps molasses, and 2 tbsps vanilla extract.

I like using local honey to help inoculate against pollen related allergies.

With the food processor on low, I mixed in the wet ingredients.  I turned the dough out onto a floured board and kneaded it into a ball, then patted it into a rectangle.  Wrap the dough and chill for a few hours in the refrigerator.

Roll out half the dough to 1/8" thickness, and using a pizza wheel, cut into squares.  Prick the dough all over with a fork.  You can gather up the scraps and re-roll them, but I just left them.  Those scraps will be great for s'more's milkshakes or crumbs for cheesecake bases.  Repeat with the other half of the dough.

Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through.  Immediately after pulling them out of the oven, rescore the lines.

Let cool completely before breaking apart.  Pack in an airtight container.  I had to make that above s'more for blog posting purposes, and it was perfect in it's ooey, gooey, deliciousness.  I can't wait to bust these out around the campfire this weekend.

Thanks for popping in and baking with me.  I'm linking this up to Gluten-Free Homemaker's Gluten-Free Wednesdays and Something Swanky's Sweet Treats Thursdays.

Cinnamon Mango Scones

You might have noticed the mangoes in my fruit bowl in my finished kitchen reveal photos.  If I was a professional, I'd have probably replaced those with some bright green apples(and had better lighting, but let's not pile on ;-P)  But the fruit is ever changing in that bowl, and last week it was champagne mangoes.  I used a couple for breakfast the other day to make some Cinnamon Mango Scones.

I started with 2 champagne mangoes.  If I had the larger type of mango, I'd only have used one.

I sliced the flesh of the mango off each side of the pit, and scored through the fruit to the skin diagonally

in both directions to create diamond cubes that I sliced off the skin.  Reserve the fruit while you make the scone batter.

In a medium bowl, I whisked together 2/3 cup sorghum flour, 2/3 cup arrowroot starch, 1/3 cup white rice flour, 1/3 cup brown rice flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and 1/4 tsp salt.

In a separate bowl, I mixed together 1/3 cup melted coconut oil, 1/4 cup agave nectar, 2 tbsps maple syrup, and 1 tsp vanilla and mixed the wet ingredients into the dry.

Mix in 1/4 cup of hot water and fold in the reserved mango.

Drop by large scoops onto a parchment lined baking sheet and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Let cool for a few minutes before removing from the baking sheet and enjoying.  These were so moist, not at all like a store bought scone.

Thanks for popping in and baking with me.