when there are no words.

I have thought long and hard about what I would write after a 6+ month hiatus from blogging. I never really found my voice on this blog, it was a sort of food blog, sort of weight loss blog, sort of life blog.

However, to say the last 8 months of my life have been filled with joy and excitement would probably be the biggest lie.  And while I could have blogged about the personal trials and tribulations I’ve gone through, but that’s not me and that is too personal.

Much of the reason I haven’t blogged is that I have not been cooking or baking frequently.  For now, this one joy in my life also brings a lot of pain into my world as well.  To go into more detail would be more than I’m willing to share on the world of the internet.  For now I will leave you with the few lovely things I have made over the past few months.

Homemade Funfetti Cupcakes with Vanilla Bean Buttercream Frosting

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcake with Whipped Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cinnamon Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

Homemade Yellow Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting (aka my birthday cake)

salted caramel brownies (these have been a #1 hit every time I make them. however I cut back on the instant coffee [only 1 tsp.] because otherwise I find it very overpowering in the recipe.  I bought the fleur de sel caramel sauce from trader joe’s, use the whole jar, and only sprinkle 1 tsp. of the flaked sea salt.  seriously make these, they are amazing.)

browned butter chocolate chip cookies

Someone, please, take these out of my house… right now.

In general, almost every baker strives to discover the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe.  It seems like such a easy thing, yet, as any baker can attest, finding the perfect recipe is no simple feat.

I searched all over trying to find the best chocolate chip cookie recipe. Along the way, I found plenty of delicious recipes that were readily eaten and enjoyed.  However, none of these recipes qualified as “the recipe”.

My idea of the perfect chocolate chip cookie is one that is chewy and soft, but still has a slight ‘crunchiness’.

These cookies are insane and the best I ever made.

They take a little bit longer than the average chocolate chip cookie, but they are 100% worth the time.

Don’t make them if you are home by yourself, there is a good chance you will eat them all by yourself. Consider yourself forewarned.

Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
recipe from Eat, Live, Run
yields 16 to 22 cookies

ingredients
1¾ cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp. baking soda
14 tbsp. unsalted butter (1¾ sticks)
½ cup white sugar
¾ cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla
1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk (at room temperature)
1 ¼ cup chocolate chips (a little over half the bag)*

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.  Whisk together baking soda and flour in medium size bowl, then set aside.

Cut up 4 tablespoons of butter and put in large, heatsafe mixing bowl.  Melt the remaining 10 tablespoons of butter in medium skillet over medium-high heat for two minutes, swirling it allowing it to brown.  Constantly swirl the butter to prevent the butter from burning.  It should take about 3 minutes for the butter to brown, it smells nutty and develops a dark golden brown color.  Remove pan from heat and transfer it to the bowl with the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter.  Gently stir together until all the butter is melted.

Add the white sugar, brown sugar, vanilla and salt to the butter and whisk the ingredients together. Add the egg and egg yolk and whisk again until mixture is smooth, 30 seconds. Allow the batter to rest for 3 minutes, then whisk for 30 seconds more. Do this two more times; the end result should be thick and shiny.

Add the flour mixture and stir until just combined, about 1 minute. Gently stir in chocolate chips and nuts, if using. The batter will be soft.

Form each cookie with roughly 2 tbsp of dough. Place cookies 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets and bake one tray at a time, 10 to 14 minutes, on the middle rack of your oven. Rotate baking sheet after 5 minutes and check the cookies at 10; you want them to be golden brown and set around the edges, but puffy in the middle. (My oven yielded perfect cookies at 12 minutes.)

Allow to cool on the pan for 1 to 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

*Use the best chocolate available if possible,  it really does make a difference.  I used Gharadelli semi-sweet chocolate chips.

taking the time to honor the needs of your body is taking time to honor the needs of your soul.

For almost eight months, hot yoga has become a part of my life.  At the end of every class, the instructor repeats this line:

“Taking the time to honor the needs of your body is taking the time to honor the needs of your soul.”

I have never been much of a religious or spiritual person, but somehow this resonantes deep inside of me every time I hear it.

I realize that I’ve been missing in action for awhile, but I make no apologies to anyone but myself.  The truth is that I’m exhausted and I have been exhausted for a very long time.  I have not given myself a break in four years.  I have always been either in school and working, during the week, at night, and on weekends.  I feel like there hasn’t been a moment other than my brief stint in NYC during freshman year that I have not had to consider planning weeks in advance to have a weekend off or to plan a vacation.  I don’t think I’ve even taken a real vacation in two or three years.

The cumulation of this exhaustion finally lead me to quit my second part time job that I have worked at the past four years.  It has been something that I’ve been thinking about for awhile, and it was finally the right moment in my life to do it.  And now, I’m left working a regular nine-to-five job forty hours a week… yet somehow I feel like I’m on a vacation I don’t deserve.  The idea of having nights and weekends to do whatever I want, whenever I want is rather unsettling.  To know that I’m free to bake or cook whenever I want, to know that I can go do something fun on a weekend without worrying about getting the day off from work, to know that I can come home after my job and sit on the couch all night if I want to… its absolutely petrifying in so many ways.

I thought about blogging frequently the past two months, but I never could find the right words to say.  I baked but somehow it felt like a chore.  Then this weekend, I made cupcakes for mothers day without having to rush or plan around a shift at work and I felt like everything made sense and was complete.

I know that might sound stupid, but I treasure this free time I have right now yet at the same time, it is extremely unsettling.

I don’t know how often I’ll blog, maybe I’ll post many times a week, maybe I’ll post once a month.  The only thing that matters is I feel like I’m finally taking care of myself.

Lemon Cupcakes with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting
recipe from Sweet Tooth

For the lemon cupcakes:
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
3 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla extract
3-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups sour cream

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 30 muffin tins with cupcake liners.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
• Beat in eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
• Add the lemon zest and vanilla and mix well.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
• With the mixer on low speed, alternatively add the dry ingredients and the sour cream to the butter mixture, starting and ending with the dry ingredients.  The batter will be thick, but don’t panic!
• Fill cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full and bake for 22-25 minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean.
• Allow cupcakes to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

For whipped cream cheese frosting, use the recipe found here.

Follow the Sweet Tooth link above for sunflower tutorial.  I actually did mine directly on the cupcakes and instead of using an oreo, I use brown food gel and did dots in the center of the flowers!

Chocolate Oreo Cupcakes with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

Somehow its already March.

A lot has changed in the past month for me, I now have a temporary position in an office for the next five to six months and I’m still working my other job as well.  Its been quite an adjustment working almost 60 hours every week and usually when I have time off, all I want to do is sleep because I’m exhausted. Ultimately, I’m hoping it will pay off because I will have a hefty chunk of money in my savings and I can figure out what is next for me.

However, there are days I just need to bake.  If working in an office has taught me anything in the past three weeks, its that my passion for food outweighs any amount of money that I could make in an office in the longterm.

These cupcakes initially came out of a desire to use the special birthday edition oreos.  Unfortunately the grocery store that I was in did not carry them and I ended up just buying a pack of double stuffed oreos instead.

They had extremely positive feedback and they are relatively easy to make because the cupcake recipe is oil based instead of butter based.  I’ve decided it is definitely my go-to chocolate cake recipe.

If you need a way to make friends at a new job, these cupcakes are certain to impress 😉

Oreo Chocolate Cupcakes with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

Chocolate Cupcakes
 From Martha Stewart’s One Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes

Ingredients
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups sugar
1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon baking powder
2 large eggs, at room temperature and slightly beaten*
¾ cup warm water
¾ cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 package of double stuffed oreos

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake tins.

Sift together cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Add in sugar and stir all of the dry ingredients until well combined.  Set aside.

Whisk together the eggs, warm water, buttermilk, vegetable oil, and vanilla.  Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients.  Beat together slowly and then at medium-high speed for 2 to 3 minutes until well combined.

Place an oreo at the bottom of every liner and then divide batter evenly among the liners. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until completely cooked.  Let cool completely before frosting.

Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients
1 block (8 ounces) of cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick (8 tablespoons) of butter, room temperature
½ teaspoon of vanilla bean paste (or 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract)
2 cups powdered sugar
1 pint whipping cream

directions
With the whisk attachment, beat the whipping cream until soft peaks form.  Transfer to another bowl and place in refrigerator.

Beat the cream cheese in stand mixer for 15 seconds.  Scrape down the sides and add the butter.  Beat at medium speed until light and fluffy.  Add in vanilla bean paste and powdered sugar.  Mix slowly until all of the sugar is combined and then beat at high speed for 3 to 5 minutes.

Once the frosting is light and fluffy, gently fold in the whipping cream with a spatula.  This may take a little while, but do not stir it in or it will not be as “light.” Once completely incorporated, pipe onto cupcakes and decorate as desired.

**If you don’t have time to wait for the eggs to reach room temperature, just place them in a bowl of warm water for about 5 minutes! I usually do this and it works great 🙂

life via instagram part iii

red velvet cupcakes with whipped cream cheese frosting

In case you were wondering, I actually really like Valentine’s Day.

Maybe its because I love the combination of pink and red, maybe its because I like cheesy things like hearts, or maybe its because I think red velvet cupcakes are the prettiest and they clearly represent Valentine’s Day.

I think anyone who hates Valentine’s Day with a passion and calls it a corporate holiday that makes single people feel bad is just really cynical and not fun.  Who cares if you don’t have a Valentine? I think that Valentine’s Day decorations might be my favorite for pastries and baked goods and I don’t have to have a significant other to appreciate them.

Or maybe I’m just an 8-year-old girl at heart.

These cupcakes are really good.  Although, I have not actually had one (because cream cheese frosting + me = NO WAY), two of my frequent taste tasters (mom and one of my best friends) told me that this is easily one of the top five best cupcakes I’ve ever made if not actually number one.  The whipped cream cheese frosting really makes these cupcakes apparently and is worth the little bit of extra time.

These don’t really require that much effort in general and they look so pretty. You better get moving, Valentine’s Day is a week from tomorrow and these will be sure to impress 🙂

Red Velvet Cupcake with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting
cake recipe from My Baking Addiction

for the cupcakes

ingredients
1 cup cake flour
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
⅔ cup vegetable oil*
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¾ teaspoon red food gel (or 2 tablespoons of red food dye)
½ cup buttermilk
½ teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon white vinegar

directions
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a cupcake tin with 12 liners.

Sift together the cake flour, cocoa powder, and salt.  Stir together until well mixed with a whisk.  Set aside.

Using a stand mixer, combine sugar and oil until well blended.  Add the egg and mix until light a fluffy. (it won’t be as ‘fluffy’ as when you use a butter base rather than oil)

Turn off the mixer and add the food gel.  Very slowly mix together until it reaches the desired color.  You can add more color if you wish, but just be careful to mix slowly because it will splatter.  Add the vanilla slowly and then scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Add the flour and mix alternately with the buttermilk ending with the buttermilk.  Beat until just combined and do not overmix.

In a small bowl, combine baking soda and vinegar.  Add to the cake batter and mix on medium speed for 5 to 10 seconds.

Fill each cupcake liner about two-thirds of the way full.  Bake for 20 to 24 minute or until cake tester comes out clean.  Let cool for five minutes in the pan and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

whipped cream cheese frosting

ingredients
1 block (8 ounces) of cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick (8 tablespoons) of butter, room temperature
½ teaspoon of vanilla bean paste (or 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract)
2 cups powdered sugar
1 pint whipping cream

directions
With the whisk attachment, beat the whipping cream until soft peaks form.  Transfer to another bowl and place in refrigerator.

Beat the cream cheese in stand mixer for 15 seconds.  Scrape down the sides and add the butter.  Beat at medium speed until light and fluffy.  Add in vanilla bean paste and powdered sugar.  Mix slowly until all of the sugar is combined and then beat at high speed for 3 to 5 minutes.

Once the frosting is light and fluffy, gently fold in the whipping cream with a spatula.  This may take a little while, but do not stir it in or it will not be as “light.” Once completely incorporated, pipe onto cupcakes and decorate as desired.

*I think that the recipe was actually a little heavy on the oil.  I haven’t tried it, but you could probably cut the vegetable oil down to a 1/2 cup and the cake would be fine.

red velvet brownies with white chocolate frosting

Confession: I really hate cream cheese frosting.

When I found this recipe for a red velvet dessert with white chocolate buttercream, I was ecstatic.  Typically all things red velvet have cream cheese frosting which I usually make and just opt out of eating the final results.  This actually is probably much better for my waistline and helps to counteract the copious amounts of chocolate I’ve been sneaking from my pantry.

These brownies are good for your soul, I promise.  I have been having a rough few weeks and after eating one of them (and lets be honest, the crumbs that fell off of them while they were cooling), I immediately felt better.

The extreme sweetness of the frosting pairs very well with the richness of the brownie.  They’re pretty easy to make too, but don’t be an idiot like me and dump them right out of the oven onto the wire cooling rack.  Thank goodness frosting will cover any mistakes of broken or cracked brownies 😉

Red Velvet Brownies with White Chocolate Frosting
recipe from How Sweet Eats

Ingredients
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1-½ cups sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1-¼ cups all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon red or rose colored food gel**
⅔ cup chocolate chips or chunks

Directions
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter an 8 x 8 cake pan and line with parchment paper.  Butter the parchment paper.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt.  Whisk together until well combined and set aside.

In a bowl, cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.  Add in eggs one at a time, then the vanilla and beat until well incorporated.  Turn off the mixture and add in the food gel.  At a very slow speed, mix in the food gel and once incorporated beat at a high speed for another minute or two.  Stir in the flour mixture until well combined, but do not over mix.  Gently stir in the chocolate chips.

Spread in pan and cut off any excess parchment paper that is hanging over.  Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.  Let cool completely before frosting.

White Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2-½ cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 to 2 tablespoons milk
4 ounces of good quality white chocolate, melted and cooled (I used Gharadelli)

Directions

Cream butter with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, then add the vanilla.  Add the powdered sugar with the mixer at low speed.  Once incorporated, pour in the white chocolate.  Mix slowly at first, and then beat on high speed for a minute or two.  Add the milk starting with one tablespoon until you reach your desired consistency.  If the frosting becomes to loose, add additional powdered sugar.

**If you don’t have food gel, click the link to the original recipe because it gives instructions how to make the brownies with regular food dye.  I prefer to use food gel because it gives a much more intense color.  I actually used rose-colored food gel because I was out of red.

Raspberry Dark Chocolate Scones

I like fruit.

I really genuinely like fruit, however I really hate cleaning fruit.  I know this sounds stupid because I love cooking therefore cleaning fruit should be a pretty simple task in comparison, but I find it boring and tedious.  Often I end up not eating the raspberries or strawberries in my fridge because I have yet to rinse them and that would just require too much effort.

That happened to a poor pint of raspberries in my fridge this week.  I noticed them sitting there last night just about to pass their point of ripeness and wondered what I should do with them.  I had just finished dinner so I definitely wasn’t hungry, but I knew if I waited till the morning, they probably would not be good anymore.

Then I had an idea to make them into a reduction sauce.

I was going to drizzle the reduction sauce over some cupcakes, but I realized I was tired and didn’t want to wait for the cupcakes to cool and frost them, so I came up with plan B.

More scones.

I know, you’re probably sick of scones, but I wouldn’t keep making them if they weren’t so delicious.  You really need to make these ones, because they might actually be the best ones yet.

Or just come to my house and eat all of the scones I keep making so my pants will still fit me next week, that works too.

Raspberry Dark Chocolate Scones
yields 8 scones

Ingredients
2 pints of fresh raspberries (or you could probably use half bag of frozen)
1 ½ cups flour
¼ cup sugar
1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
5 tablespoons cold butter (I recommend keeping it in the fridge right until you use it)
½ cup of buttermilk
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ cup of dark chocolate chips
1 cup of powdered sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons milk

Directions
In a small sauce pan, cook raspberries on medium heat until they break apart.  Using a small wire mesh strainer, separate the seeds and the juice.  Pour the juice back in the pan and simmer on low heat until half reduce.  Set aside to cool.
Pre-heat oven to 425.

In a large bowl, combine your dry ingredients.  Cut the butter or gently rub it into the flour until it is in tiny size pieces about the size of a pea.

In a liquid measure cup with the buttermilk, whisk in half of the raspberry reduction and vanilla.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the buttermilk mixture.  Gently stir together just until the dough forms.  Pour in the chocolate chips and gently mix into the dough.  If they don’t stick into the dough completely, you can just press them in while forming the scones.

On a well floured surface, dump the dough and gently press into a circle.  Cut into 8 scones (I cut it like a pizza) and place on the baking sheet.  Dust with some fine sugar if desired.

Bake scones for 12 to 14 minutes or until just golden brown.  Remove from baking sheet and let cool on a wire rack.

To form glaze, take the rest of the reduction and combine with powdered sugar.  It will be kind of “clumpy.”  Add in a tablespoon of milk until the glaze becomes smooth.  It should still remain very thick, but you should be able to drizzle the glaze.  Add more powdered sugar or milk if necessary to create desired consistency.  Drizzle over the scones.

post college freak-out and cupcakes.

I am having a quarter life crisis.

While I am beyond thankful and happy to be done with school, I am also completely freaking out that I am not in school for the first time in eighteen years.  Today was the first day of classes for the spring semester at UAlbany and I kept thinking that I was accidentally skipping class even though I have graduated and my diploma was mailed to me.

I feel lost and confused.  I do not have any idea what I want to do right now.  I think I need a major change or maybe just a real job.  A part of me is dying to travel, but I have absolutely no money so that seems to be out of the question.  I don’t have to stay in Albany and while I adore my friends and parents, I really have no ties keeping me here.  No serious job, no boyfriend, no school, why am I still here?

I don’t know.

I do a lot of baking lately.  Its the only thing that makes me feel normal. I feel like everyone is watching me and wondering what is my next move.  I feel like people watch me and wonder what I’m doing with my life.  I feel like I have a post-it on my forehead that I’m some crazy girl with lots of issues that scares people away.  I feel like I’m closed off and not capable of allowing myself to be loved by someone.  I feel like I don’t have a direction.

Mostly, I just feel confused.

Hence the post-college freak-out I have every day.

However, these moments of crazy do allow me to create something beautiful.

Magnolia Bakery Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
yields 24 cupcakes
recipe from Food Network

Ingredients
2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line two muffin tins with baking liners.

In small bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.  In liquid measuring cup, combine vanilla and milk.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream the butter until smooth.  Add the sugar and mix in slowly.  Once fully incorporated, beat on medium speed until fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each one.  Add the dry ingredients in three parts alternating with milk and vanilla mixture.  Scrape down sides as necessary and do not overbeat the mixture.  Evenly distribute batter among the 24 muffin tins, they should each be about ¾ full.  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the cake tester comes out clean.

Cool the cupcakes in tins for about 5 to 10 minutes and then remove to wire rack.  Let completely cool before frosting.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

2 sticks softened butter
5 cups powdered sugar
¼ cup cocoa powder
¼ to ½ cup room temperature water
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine cocoa powder and water, it should be liquid and not chunky. In standing electric mixer, combine powdered sugar and butter until just combined.  Add in chocolate liquid and vanilla.  Start mixing slowly, and once fully incorporated, beat on high until light and fluffy (about 4 to 6 minutes).  Pipe as desired.

***

I need to stop have a post-college crisis.

I think I’ll just go eat cupcakes instead.

orange dark chocolate scones

I have become obsessed with scones lately.  I’ve been making my cinnamon chip scones a lot, but I ran out of cinnamon chips and can’t seem to find them anywhere.

On Sunday, I went to a brunch hosted by the lovely Jen, with Alicia and Melissa, as well as Jen’s sister.  We all brought something to eat, and originally I had planned on making cinnamon chip scones since I had received some great feedback on them.  Unfortunately, I realized the morning of the brunch that I had no cinnamon chips and I was going to have to improvise.  I had some oranges on hand and thought that dark chocolate chips would taste wonderful with them.

Everyone at the brunch seemed to loved them, as well as my friends who I gave some of the leftovers to eat.  They are flaky and not at all dry, as well as super easy to make!

You don’t even need an electric hand mixer, just a bowl, a wooden spoon, and your hands 😉

Orange Dark Chocolate Chip Scones
makes 8 scones

Ingredients
1 ½ cups flour
¼ cup sugar
1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons cold butter (I recommend keeping it in the fridge right until you use it)
½ cup of butter milk
1 to 2 medium to large sized oranges
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ cup of dark chocolate chips
1 cup of powdered sugar

Directions
Pre-heat oven to 425.

In a large bowl, combine your dry ingredients.  Cut the butter or gently rub it into the flour until it is in tiny size pieces about the size of a pea.

In a liquid measure cup with the buttermilk, zest and juice half of the orange then stir in the vanilla.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the buttermilk mixture.  Gently stir together just until the dough forms.  Pour in the chocolate chips and gently mix into the dough.  If they don’t stick into the dough completely, you can just press them in while forming the scones.

On a well floured surface, dump the dough and gently press into a circle.  Cut into 8 scones (I cut it like a pizza) and place on the baking sheet.  Dust with some fine sugar if desired.

Bake scones for 12 to 14 minutes or until just golden brown.  Remove from baking sheet and let cool on a wire rack.

To form glaze, squeeze the rest of the juice from the orange and add about ½ teaspoon of orange zest.  Mix in powdered sugar.  The glaze should be very thick, but thin enough to drizzle from a spoon.  Add a bit more orange juice if necessary.

 

We have lucked out with no snow for awhile, but the winter had finally seemed to hit upstate New York in the past few days 😦 I can’t complain too much, we had so much snow at this time last year that this little bit is really nothing.

I hope you all have a wonderful week and stay warm! ❤