mocha brownies with cafe latte frosting

Taking a break from Japan nostalgia to share these delicious brownies that make for a perfect Ramadan treat. For the last few Ramadans, I've been fortunate enough to either be on break for some part of Ramadan (summer breaks in med school, the break before starting residency), or be on a relatively relaxed work schedule (home before 5, and non-stressful rotations). This usually meant sleeping in as late as possible, and being able to stay up as late as I wanted. However, working through Ramadan this year has been a new challenge. Trying to stay awake after iftaar (dinner where you break fast) at ~8:30pm has been almost impossible. The food coma hits almost instantly, and I usually end up passing out on the couch before 10. After suhoor (the pre-dawn meal which I have to eat before ~5 am), I get to have a quick 45 minute nap before getting up as late as I possibly can to throw on scrubs and make it to the psychiatric ED by 6:45ish for my 12 hour shifts. 12 hour shifts during Ramadan have their negatives and positive(s). The negatives are obvious. The surprising positive has been that the psych ED is so busy that time ends up going by pretty quickly. By the time I deliriously stumble through my front door at 7:30pm, I chill for 30 minutes before H & I start preparing for iftaar (if he's home from work by then).

By day 2 of fasting this Ramadan, the caffeine withdrawal headaches had hit. I hadn't realized my daily caffeine intake had slowly been creeping up before Ramadan. While I have spent a lot of time daydreaming about a cold, smooth iced coffee, these indulgent mocha brownies with cafe latte frosting have hit the spot come iftaar time. Even without the frosting, these brownies are amazing and have a hint of coffee in both the brownie mix and frosting.

Recipe from Just So Tasty, with the following adjustments: instead of using 1 to 1.5 teaspoons of instant coffee granules in the frosting as the recipe suggests, I used about 3 for a stronger coffee flavor. Additionally, I baked the brownies for about 30 minutes (longer than the original recipe recommended).

mocha brownies with cafe latte frosting

Monday, June 19, 2017

no-bake peppermint chocolate truffles

When you're still getting your feet wet in the kitchen (sometimes accidentally literally), anything that turns out edible is a win. My personal favorite edible-but-tasteless dish when I was learning how to cook in college was pasta + tomato sauce with a side of salad. I remember when even the idea of boiling pasta seemed like a big deal (what is al dente and how is that different than just cooked pasta?!). Then there was my eggs-for-dinner phase that spanned more weeks than I'm proud to admit. Needless to say I like to think those days are behind me, although I do feel like learning to make Pakistani dishes is like learning to cook all over again. But more on that later.

These peppermint chocolate truffles that I first saw on Cupcakes & Cashmere as a guest post by What's Gaby Cooking immediately caught my attention. Although hesitant about making a batch of 24+ truffles because H and I had just talked about eating healthier less than 24 hours ago, I decided to make them for my co-interns at our didactics lectures, and save a couple for H and I at home. These "truffles" or more appropriately "oreo balls" are ridiculously easy to make and require no baking. Just blend, roll into a ball, dip in chocolate, and refrigerate. They're the perfect treat to make if you're just getting into cooking, perfect for holiday parties, and perfect for if you want minimal effort + maximal deliciousness. 

Adapted from What's Gaby Cooking as featured on Cupcakes & Cashmere here.

Ingredients:

- 1 package of Double Stuf Oreos 

- 1 8 oz package of cream cheese (original recipe calls for room temperature, I used it cold)

- 1 11.5 oz bag of Nestle milk chocolate chips 

- 1/4 cup of crushed candy canes for topping (I used about 15 mini candy canes) or crushed peppermint candy

Yield: ~30 balls, depending on size

Instructions:

1. Add the entire package of Oreos to a blender/food processor and blend until no large chunks of cookie remain. I blended it to a pretty fine mix instead of pulsing. 

2. Add the entire packet of cream cheese to the blender/food processor with the Oreo mix and blend further until well-mixed. The original recipe called for room temperature, but a mix of impatience + being mildly afraid of letting a dairy product get to room temperature made me just stick the cream cheese in cold.

3. After blending the Oreos and cream cheese together, refrigerate the mix for about 30 minutes. This made the mix less sticky and more firm, which in turn made it easier to roll into a ball. The balls held their shapes better and it was a lot easier to dip them into chocolate.

4. While the mix is chilling in the fridge, prepare your melted chocolate.

5. Either in a blender/food processor or with a rolling pin, crush your candy canes.

6. Roll the mix into balls in the size of your liking and place on a baking pan lined with parchment paper. The smaller the balls, the more you will get quantity-wise.

7. Dip the Oreo balls into your melted chocolate and place back on the parchment paper

8. As you dip each ball and place it back on the paper, sprinkle some crushed candy cane on top. If you wait until your done dipping all of the balls, the chocolate will harden and your candy cane mix won't stick!

Serve immediately or refrigerate.

no-bake peppermint chocolate truffles

Thursday, December 15, 2016

banana nut chocolate chip muffins

I love bananas, I love chocolate, and I love the idea of something quick and relatively healthy in the mornings (healthier than skipping breakfast atleast). With work beckoning at really early hours some months, I need something easy to eat that will keep me full until lunch or the next time I get a chance to eat. I made these banana nut chocolate chip muffins a few weeks ago and took some into work for my team. They were a hit and I can't wait to make them again! The recipe is similar to my banana bread recipe I've posted about before, but these include a few additional ingredients.

Recipe take from food.com (click for link).

 

Ingredients:

3 medium very ripe bananas

1 egg

¹⁄₃ cup low-fat buttermilk or ¹⁄₃ cup milk

¹⁄₂ cup granulated sugar

¹⁄₂ cup brown sugar

1 ¹⁄₂ cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 -3 tablespoons chocolate chips

2 tablespoons chopped walnuts (optional)

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly coat 12 muffin tin liners with cooking spray and place in muffin tin.

In large bowl, mash bananas with fork.

Whisk in egg, milk, granulated sugar, and brown sugar.

In separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt.

Add flour mixture to banana mixture and combine well.

Fold in chocolate chips and walnuts.

Spoon equal amounts of batter into 12 muffin cups.

Bake 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Allow to cool slightly in pan, then remove to wire rack.

banana nut chocolate chip muffins

Wednesday, August 31, 2016