Growing up, I was a total tomboy who had to be bribed with candy to wear dresses, or fancy shoes, or anything remotely girly. And even now, I wouldn’t consider myself a super girly-girl. But every now and then, I totally give in and embrace it.  Case in point: Thursday night a friend scored tickets to the Twilight premiere, and yes I’m going. I have this weird love/hate thing with the Twilight series and am sort of excited to laugh my way through the movie.  I’ll be doing what any normal person would do at the premiere:  tweeting pictures, of course.  So if I end up getting tackled by some security dude, I’ll just blame it on all of you…

Back to cupcakes…these things taste down-right pretty;  they’re baby pink, paired with cream cheese frosting, and topped with shredded coconut. Try them. Embrace your girliness for gosh sakes, even if you’re a dude. Trust me–they’re worth it.

Here are a few other girly things I’m loving right now…

{Some of the season’s last peonies.}

{My favorite lace skirt.}

{My new pair of shoes.}

{A baby pink, gingham hair ribbon.}

{Berry baskets from the Farmer’s market. They’re so pretty and country-like.}

{…And the best tasting, most pretty batter in the world.}

Pink Lady Cupcakes

Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen

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Yields two dozen cupcakes

CUPCAKES

2 1/4 cake flour (*see below for instructions on how to make cake flour)

1 1/2 cup sugar

6 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 tsp of salt

3/4 cup pureed strawberries

4 egg whites

1/3 cup milk

1 drop red food dye

CREAM CHEESE ICING

4 ounces (1/2 package) cream cheese, softened

3 ounces unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

1 teaspoons vanilla extract

shredded coconut

Preheat the oven to 350»F. Place liners in a standard muffin/cupcake tin.

Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixer bowl. With the electric mixer on low speed, blend for 30 seconds. Add the butter and strawberry puree and mix to blend the ingredients. Raise the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes; the batter will resemble strawberry ice cream at this point. (Adrianna note: In the original recipe, Deb warned to not try the batter, and of course, I did.  And it was incredible. Since then, I’ve been tempted to skip the baking part and just eat a cup of batter. Gross.)

In another large bowl, whisk together the egg whites, milk and red food dye, if using, to blend. Add the whites to the batter in two or three additions, scraping down the sides of the bowl well and mixing only to incorporate after each addition. Divide the batter amongst the muffin cups 3/4 of the way full.

Bake the cupcakes for 15 minutes, or until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool for 5 minutes inside the muffin tins and then transfer to wire racks until throughly cooled.

In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners’ sugar. Store in the refrigerator after use.

When the cupcakes are completely cooled, ice each cupcake and top with shredded coconut, if desired.

*Let’s make cake flour! Grab a bowl and measure out 1 cup of all-purpose flour, add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and sift twice.  Then measure out whatever flour you need from there.

For this recipe I needed 2 1/4 cake flour.  I measured out two cups of all-purpose and added to a bowl.  I then added 4 tablespoons of corn starch and sifted it twice.  I then measured out 2 1/4 cups of the cake flour mixture from the bowl and I only had a smidgen left over.  If I botched the explanation, click for Deb’s explanation.

I have a distinct memory from my childhood of my mother and I buying a coconut with the intention of eating the flesh and coconut milk inside. However, we got it home and sort of looked at each other to see who would make the first move to open it. I assumed that since she was my mother she of course knew all the secrets of the universe and was utterly shocked to discover that neither she nor my step-dad knew what to do. My stepfather, who flew jet planes in Vietnam and assembled my bike on Christmas day, was stumped by this little brown ball in our shopping bag.

So, he went for the solution that is apparently obvious to every guy that is met with an obstacle: hit it really hard with a hammer. Which worked…sort of. We were able to salvage some of the coconut flesh from the pieces that scattered across our driveway, but there was no hope of saving any of the milk. It was a bittersweet day in kid-dom.

Nowadays coconut milk comes in a much more easily accessible packaging. It’s called a can. It’s awesome. Especially when you want to make things like chocolate coconut pudding. Remember when I made chocolate pudding with pomegranate and swore that I had found the best easy pudding recipe? Sorry Deb, but this is by far my new favorite. It was just as easy, but something about the coconut milk gave the pudding a slightly more depth of flavor, without adding in a strong coconut flavor.

And to anyone that doesn’t like the taste of coconut – first of all, I don’t understand you at all, but that’s another story. Second of all, don’t think of this as chocolate pudding with a coconut flavor, think of it as rich chocolate pudding that is made richer by the thick and sweet coconut milk, and I think you’ll be able to get past your bias. And if not, I’ll definitely eat your share.

Coconut Chocolate Pudding

Recipe adapted from Vanilla and Lace

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The original recipe calls for arrowroot powder. I’m not entirely sure what that is, but I’ll let you know when I find out. In the meantime, corn starch worked just fine.

1 14-ounce can of coconut milk (lite is fine), divided
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
dash of salt
1/4 cup cornstarch
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoons vanilla extract

Shake the can of coconut milk vigorously for a few seconds before opening. In a heavy saucepan bring 1 1/4 cups of the coconut milk, maple syrup, and the salt to a simmer over low heat.

While that is heating, in a seperate bowl whisk together the remaining coconut milk, corn starch, and cocoa powder. It will look like a smooth chocolate frosting.

When the coconut milk and maple syrup mixture has started simmering turn the heat down to low. Slowly add in the chocolate mixture while vigorously whisking it the whole time. Keep whisking until the pudding  thickens up a bit, about a minute.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and continue whisking while it is cooling for about a minute. Whisk in the chocolate chips and vanilla and keep stirring until the pudding is smooth. Transfer to a bowl  or bowls and place in a refrigerator to chill thoroughly. To prevent a skin from forming press plastic up against the surface of the pudding.

For a long time I’ve had a love-hate relationship with granola bars. My idea of the perfect granola bar is something chewy, delicious, not too sweet, and that serves as a satisfying snack. I always want to like the store-bought ones, but time and again they disappoint me.

Every few months I’ll be in a grocery store and will wander past a large display of some new variety of granola bars and will then somehow convince myself that these are the bars I have been looking for all my life. Ten minutes later, I’m in the checkout line with a basket filled with granola bars, only to get home and discover that these are no different than any other bar I’ve ever had. They’re  either bland or too sweet and I still feel hungry after eating 5 of them.

So now, I’ve taken matters into my own hands. I found this recipe from the lovely Ina Garten (I love her SO MUCH) and after making a few of my own adjustments I am pleased to announce that these are, in fact, the granola bars that I’ve always dreamed of. They’re chewy, with just a hint of sweetness, and are a satisfying snack that neither I, nor you, have to feel guilty about.

Granola Bars

Adapted from Ina Garten

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I changed the original recipe quite a bit. I was worried about it being too sweet and took out the brown sugar altogether, and am definitely glad that I did. I was also worried after reading some reviews that the butter would make the bars greasy, so I cut the amount down from 3 tablespoons to 1. I couldn’t find wheat germ in the store so I substituted flaxseed meal, but either option would work. My favorite dried fruits are apricots and cranberries, but you can use anything that you like or have on hand.

Also – not a fan of bars? Just break this up into pieces and you can eat it as your morning breakfast cereal.

2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup shredded coconut, loosely packed
1/2 cup flaxseed meal
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2/3 cup honey
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups chopped dried fruit

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 by 12-inch baking sheet and line it with greased parchment paper, or a Silpat.

Toss the oatmeal, almonds, and coconut together on a sheet pan and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Transfer to a large bowl and add in flaxseed meal. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees.
Combine the butter, honey, vanilla, and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook and stir for a minute, then pour over the toasted oatmeal mixture. Add the dried fruit and stir the mixture together.

Pour the mixture onto the baking sheet. Wet your fingers and lightly press the mixture evenly into the pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until light golden brown. Allow to cool for at least 2-3 hours and then cut into squares.