Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Hello y'all! *Ahem*
So... you may or may not have noticed that I have NOT blogged anything for a quite a long time. I have a really, really good excuse, I promise. Uh...
*crickets chirping*
I mean, being kidnapped by aliens makes it REALLY hard to write blog posts and make recipes.... you don't believe that I was kidnapped by aliens? Well fine then. You were right, I wasn't kidnapped by aliens.

However, in my defense I would like to say that balancing 3 jobs and taking 18 units of classes is hard and takes time away from things I want to do, like write super cute blog posts and share tasty recipes.

Right now I am nearly at the end of Fall Quarter, and I cannot believe how much stuff I still need to do. May I just say that grading essays is a BUMMER? I'm an IA (Instructional Assistant) for an Introduction to Psychology course, and I have over twenty lovely, lovely students. I believe they are bright young individuals who will move on to do great things. I'm sure that none of them intended to write essays that would make me lose hope in humanity, but alas, a few of them did. (Dear students, there is something called a "textbook." It worries me that it is so late in the quarter, and so many of  have failed to incorporate this wondrous object into your lives.) SIGH.

I made super-duper delicious pumpkin chocolate chip muffins a while ago, and forgot to post it. I also didn't take any photos (Boo! Alina how could you?!) So I have instead included a picture of pumpkin chocolate chip muffins from All Recipes, which look nearly identical to the muffins I made. Let's be real, muffins are muffins.

I brought these goodies to my Section of students during the first week of October and they gobbled 'em up. I strongly believe that these muffins are the reason that my students like me so much. A couple of weeks ago I asked them to give anonymous feedback regarding my teaching style, and nearly all of them mentioned my "fun and energetic personality." While I do think I am fun and energetic, I have no illusions about the power that food has over hungry eighteen year olds. 

I mean, do you think that THIS FACE would inspire so much affection without the help of pumpkin chocolate chip muffins? Oh please, as if. (Beeeteedubs, isn't my giant plush reproduction of a neuron - aka a brain cell - adorable? Look at it. I spent a lot of precious class-time explaining how neurons worked to my students...)

If you need to win the love of anyone -- your friends, your boss, or even your Psychology students... I promise that these muffins will do the trick :) Enjooooy!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

 (Makes approximately a dozen - Recipe adapted from All-Recipes)

 1/4 Cup white sugar

 1/2 Cup brown sugar

1/4 Cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

3/4 Cup canned pumpkin (PLAIN pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling!)

1/4 Cup water

3/4 Cup all-purpose flour

3/4 Cup whole wheat flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp all-spice/pumpkin-pie spice (may add more or less to suit your personal preference)

3/4 Cup mini-chocolate chips (I like mini-chocolate chips because they do not sink to the bottom of the muffins and ensure that every single bite is chocolate-y. If you want to use regular chocolate chips, just make sure that you get them slightly wet and coat them with flour to prevent sinking.)

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Prepare your muffin pan and line it with your paper liners. (Or you can grease and flour your pan, whatever floats your boat.)

2. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together your sugar, oil, and eggs. Add the pumpkin and water to this liquidy pulp. 

3. In a separate (large) bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and pumpkin-pie spice. 

4. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture in the large bowl. Mix it up like you mean business. Add in your chocolate chips and try not to drool.

6. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake in your preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes.

I hope y'all try this recipe out! It's so easy and yummy. One of my friends said that these were literally the best things I've ever made. That's a pretty strong compliment considering I make some pretty bomb desserts. Anyway, I promise I'll try to post more. I know I've been really bad about that lately...

Easy Caramel French Toast - I'm BAAAACK!

Hola chicos! Que tal? Para mi, todo bien. :)

Well, here I am, 2 months later... I wanted to update my blog, but Cusco is not a city known for its fast internet. Or television. Or clean water. Or hot showers. But I digress. Here in the U.S. of A, we forget that our standard of living is NOT the norm around the world; instead, we're incredibly privileged.

In the program that I did in Cusco, I spent my first four weeks in a host family, and took Spanish classes at Amauta Language School. For my second four weeks, I lived in the student residences of Amauta and volunteered at la Clinica de San Juan de Dios with disabled children. This was my first time truly away from home and my parents, and also my first time using a language other than English. I actually did succeed in learning Spanish - while not quite fluent, I'm conversational and can definitely get by in a Spanish-speaking country. I also made some really close friends, and I'm grateful for having this opportunity to meet them. I did some amazing trips (Machu Picchu WHADDUPPP?!) and even went rock climbing and river rafting for the very first time!

All in all, this trip was a complete success! The recipe I'm gonna share with you is something that I made in Peru. Considering I didn't have access to some ingredients, AND I used a super scary gas burning stove (seriously, that thing nearly killed me. I'm the idiot who doesn't even know how to use matches. Also, I don't smoke, don't even get me started on lighters.), I think it turned out super duper well! I actually made this French Toast for a Spanish class assignment! Our teacher wanted us to make a recipe from our own country in class, while describing the recipe in Spanish. He claimed that this is so we could practice using the Imperative Form, but I think he just wanted an excuse to eat food in class.

America is such a mixed bag of cultures, so it was really hard for me to think of an iconic recipe that I could do with minimal equipment. I finally decided on French Toast, though I felt a little leery about it; I mean, FRENCH Toast hints at something decidedly un-American. However, I was reassured when the one French student in my class told me she had never heard of "Tostada Frances con huevos, azucar, y canela." Also, one of my Belgian friends told me that they call this dish "Lost Bread" in Belgium!

Easy French Toast

(Serves 6 - Recipe adapted from All Recipes)

4 eggs

3/4 C milk

3 tbsp sugar

12 slices white bread

Manjar/Dulce de Leche for drizzling over the toast*

1. Beat the eggs in a large mixing bowl, then add the milk and sugar. Continue to beat until fully combined.

2. Soak bread slices in the egg mixture, moving quickly so the bread is covered, but not soggy.

3. Heat a lightly buttered griddle or frying pan over medium heat. Brown the slices on both sides - this should take only a couple of minutes. Serve hot, with maple syrup or dulce de leche!

* In the States, we usually use maple syrup. In Peru, maple syrup seemed pretty expensive so I bought manjar, which is what Peruvians apparently call dulce de leche. Dulce de leche is a type of thick caramel made from condensed milk, which is popular in a lot of Latin American sweets. You can find it in cans in lots of supermarkets! If you prefer, you can definitely use maple syrup. However, I actually think the French Toast was better with manjar... mmm, caramel.

Hahaha I get a kick out of everything being in Spanish. I'm sure that when my Spanish improves, I'll get tired of being quasi-bilingual. And yesss, evaporated milk, it's cheaper than real milk! And the French toast still tasted AWESOME.

So give this recipe a go when you want a super simple, fast, and tasty breakfast! I promise, you won't be disappointed. Here's a last photo of me looking triumphant at Macchu Pichu. I'm sure that I would have looked even happier if I had eaten a breakfast of French Toast... instead of stale granola bars and Pringles (bleh) hahaha

Peach Cobbler - a recipe from my biffle

Hello everybody!

If you know me in real life, you already know that I am going on a trip to PERU for 2 whole months!! This is simultaneously super exciting and kind of scary. Y'see, I've always been someone who doesn't like change. I make a decision and stick to it. I don't like uprooting myself, and I'm scared of ruining things by changing my mind. I was stuck in a rut, and four months back I finally decided to snap myself out of it.

 I applied for a Summer volunteer abroad program, since I've always been terrified of studying abroad. This way, I get to live in a foreign country, but don't have to worry about classes or studying. Then... I did something else that astonished myself: I cut my hair. I'd always been overly attached to it, and was convinced that all of my looks came from having long, straight, nearly waist-length hair. I donated 14 inches of hair to Locks of Love and haven't looked back!

Although some change is wonderful, there are some things I hope never change. This is gonna sound super duper cheesy, but I am truly blessed to have incredible friends. One of those friends is Tori, aka my biffle (who is a different individual from my home-skillet biscuit). Tori is planning on going to GERMANY for an entire year, and I found out that she'll most likely leave before I return from Peru. Because of this, we are trying to cram in as much bestie-time as possible. This involved us going shopping together, dyeing our hair together, having a sleepover, decorating matching BFF tank tops (with fabric paint and glitter), and making homemade peach cobbler!

This is one of Tori's favorite desserts, and since she is a true Southern girl at heart, I think it's safe to believe her when she says this is the best peach cobbler recipe ever! It's got just the right amount of sweetness, a bit of crunch from the biscuit/cobbler topping, and tastes like love and home in a perfect spoonful! Top it with some vanilla ice cream and you are all set :)

Tori's Favorite Peach Cobbler

(Serves 6 - or alternatively, 4 people who really like cobbler! Recipe adapted from All Recipes)

Peach filling:
3 C peach slices (if canned, drain the excess liquid first. If using fresh, peel the peaches and cut into wedges)
1/4 C white sugar
1/4 C brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp corn starch

Cobbler*:
1 C all-purpose flour
1/4 C white sugar
1/4 C brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
6 tbsp unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
1/4 C boiling water
* Tori says that she enjoys a higher cobbler to fruit ratio, so she likes to double all of these ingredients to make a very thick cobbler for the top of the fruit

Topping:
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees

2. Pour the peach slices in a 2 qt baking dish (we used a 9x13" baking dish), and add in the rest of the peach filling ingredients. Gently stir until all of the peaches are evenly coated with the mixture. It should look like this:

3. In a large bowl, combine flour, white sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Blend in cold butter using either a pastry blender or your finger tips until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Gradually pour in boiling water, and use a large spoon or small spatula to fold the water into the dough and combine it. Do not overmix. Pour the cobbler dough over the top of the peaches.
4. Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon for the topping, and sprinkle it evenly on top of the cobbler. The finished product before it goes into the oven will look like the picture below:

5. Place cobbler in oven and bake for about 30 minutes. If you choose to double the cobbler topping, it may take up to 45 minutes.
6. Let cool for about 15 minutes, and serve immediately! If you choose, add a scoop of vanilla ice cream.(The cobbler looks very brown because we used brown sugar, which caramelizes to a darker shade.)

Tori and I made this cobbler together (with her directing me haha), and it is absolutely delicious! Make this recipe for someone you love. I'll end this post with a super-cute picture of us.

Apple Cutie Pies

Something that never ceases to amaze me is... human behavior. This probably explains why I'm a Psych major. But honestly, humans are strange. We're all strange. Our behavior ranges from extreme jerkiness to extreme weirdness to extreme kindness. I feel that when you're living in the dorm, sharing a small space with everyone else, this becomes super-duper clear. Because you're around these people ALL THE TIME, you get to see sides of them that you would never otherwise be exposed to.

Jerkiness:

- People who puke in the communal dorm sink and just leave it there for 2 days. 

- People who clog the toilet, and don't unplug it even though there is a toilet plunger sitting 5 feet away. TRUE STORIES OF DORM LIFE, EVERYONE.

Weirdness:

- When people flip every single poster in the hallway upside-down. It's FINALS WEEK. Are you truly so bored of studying that you think this is fun? Or are you taking easy classes and have a lot of time on your hands? I don't understand...

- When people steal toilet paper from the custodial closet. Why?! There's toilet paper in the bathrooms. Why exactly do you need your own stash?

Kindness:

- When everyone in the dorm chips in to buy the custodian a present to thank her for all of her hard work.

- When people get together to do volunteer projects in the community

- When people say, "Thank you" to the staff members who work around the dorm community.

- LOTS more examples, but it would take too long to talk about each and every kind act :)

All in all, I've definitely met some real sweetie pies and cutie pies throughout my years at UCSC. And I'd like to honor those people with literal CUTIE PIES! These are miniature pies baked in muffin tins. My friends who tried them said they were some of the best apple pies they'd ever tasted. I know that you'll love them too! I adapted this recipe from Dani Cone's Cutie Pies Cookbook, which my homeskillet biscuit (aka best friend forevah) gave me for my birthday.

Apple Cutie Pies
Make Approximately 18 cutie pies

Pie Crust:

2 Cups whole-wheat flour*

3/4 Cup salted butter, room temperature

1/4+1/8 Cup white sugar

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Place the butter in a medium bowl. Using a hand mixer, beat until it is softened. Add the sugar to the butter, and continue beating until it is light and fluffy. Gradually add the beaten eggs to the mixture, and beat it until it is just incorporated. Dump in all the flour at once, and beat it until it just starts to form a dough. Using your hand, pat the dough into one large round. Break the round in half, and wrap each half in plastic/saran wrap. Place the dough in the fridge for at least 15-30 minutes so it will be easier to work with.

*Note: I really like the nutty, earthy taste you get from using whole-wheat flour in the crust. If you're not a fan, feel free to use all-purpose instead.

Apple filling:

5 medium Granny Smith apples

1/4+1/8 Cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

3/4 tbsp corn starch

Peel your apples and cut into half inch cubes. In a medium sized bowl, toss the apple filling ingredients together until the apple pieces are completely and evenly coated.

Crumb Topping:
1/4 Cup salted butter
1/3 Cup brown sugar
1/3 Cup flour
1/4 Cup oatmeal
1/4 tsp cinnamon

In a small/medium-sized bowl, mix all ingredients together except for butter. Cut the butter into small cubes or pieces, either with a knife or a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs

Constructing the Apple Cutie Pies:

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
2. Line a muffin tin with paper cups.

2. On a flat, well-floured surface, roll out your dough to 1/8 inch thickness. (It helps to work with one half at a time so that the dough will stay cold and won't be too difficult and sticky to work with.
3. Using a 2 1/2 inch cookie cutter, cut out rounds of dough. Using your fingers, carefully press the rounds into the paper muffin cups and crimp until the dough reaches about 3/4 of the way up the cups.
4. Fill each of the crusts all of the way full with the apple filling.
5. Spread the crumb topping over the apple filling of each cutie pie.
6. Put pies in the oven and bake for approximately 22-25 minutes, until the crust looks golden brown. Depending on your oven, you may need more or less time, so check periodically. Let pies cool completely, then enjoy!

The picture above shows how the pies will look before they go in the oven.

To all my cutie pies out there, give these a go! :) I hope you have a fantastic day!