Birthday Cake Blondies - Simple & Delicious Recipe

Hi lovely reader! If you follow me on Instagram @notexactlyplainjane you may have seen that I posted a Reel the other day of a Birthday Cake Blondie Cake that I made (check it out here). It turned out super cute and was really easy to make so I wanted to share the recipe with you! Funfetti, white chocolate, and rainbow sprinkles, what's not to love? Check it out below!

Ingredients
-Cooking Spray
-Baking Pans (I used 2 6-inch rounds and 1 8-inch round to make multiple "cakes")
-Parchment Paper
-3 cups All Purpose Flour
-1 1/2 tsp. Kosher Salt
-1 tsp. Baking Powder
-2 1/4 sticks butter (18 Tbsp), softened
-1 1/2 cups Granulated Sugar
-3/4 cup Packed Brown Sugar
-2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
-3 eggs
-2 1/4 cups white chocolate chips (I used the Nestle Funfetti morsels)
-1 cup Rainbow Sprinkles (or any color) + optional extra for decorating (I used 2 small shakers total to cover the sides)
-Icing (option, these are actually really moist so they don't necessarily "need it")

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease your pans with cooking spray and line the bottom with parchment paper. In a bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking powder.

2. In a larger bowl using a mixer, beat the butter and sugars until fluffy, then add the vanilla and eggs and beat until combined.

3. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture gradually and beat until combined. Then fold in the chocolate chips and 3/4 cup of the sprinkles.

4. Pour the batter into the pan(s) and bake until the edge are golden, about 30 minutes. Let cool & then decorate!

And Voila!

What's your favorite birthday treat to make for others? Xx

"Best Ever" Baked Oatmeal - How Sweet Eats | Easy Breakfast Recipe

Hi lovely reader! I wanted to share an easy breakfast recipe that I found on Instagram by Jessica Merchant of @howsweeteats . It's delicious (tastes like a dessert), simple, and a great make ahead breakfast option for mornings on the go (or when you can't be bothered to actually make something...hello microwave). I have copied the recipe below but you can also find it on Jessica's blog "How Sweet Eats" .

Ingredients

• 4 1/2 cups quick oats
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs
• 2 cups milk whatever you like! dairy or nondairy
• 3/4 cup canola oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds
• 1/3 cup flaked coconut toasted if you've like!
• 2 tablespoons hemp hearts
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• milk or cream for drizzling (I like to pair mine with vanilla or coconut greek yogurt)

Instructions 

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with nonstick spray.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the oats, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until combined. Pour the mixture in the dish.
• Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and set. Remove the dish from the oven and place the chocolate chips on top right away (so they kind of melt!). Top with the coconut, almonds, hemp hearts and chia seeds. Let cool slightly, then cut into squares and serve with a drizzle of milk or cream.
• *After the dish has cooled completely, I cut them into squares, wrap in cling wrap individually to help keep them fresh, and put them in a ziplock bag to freeze. Then in the morning you can just grab a square and microwave it for a minute or two!

My Current Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe | Sunday Baking

 Hi lovely reader! Happy Fall! It's kind of hard to believe that October is here but I'm ready to embrace it. The mornings and evening have started to get cooler where I am, pumpkins are popping up in front of the stores, my Instagram feed is filling up with cosy recipes, and it's great! 

    Today I wanted to share what I can confidently say is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe I have ever made. My mom who is quite the cookie critic is also in agreement so you know it's good! I found this recipe on @smallkitchensweets Instagram and had to give it a try. His page is full of beautiful photos of delicious sweets and teasers of recipes to come on his website. (Spencer, if you ever read this, we want more!) He posted a week ago that he is working on a pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe and I am praying that we get to see it because if it's anything like these chocolate chip cookies it will be AMAZING! 

As he notes on his blog, his NY Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe is inspired by the famous Levain Cookie. The one thing I did differently was that instead of making eight giant cookies, I kept mine on the smaller side while still following all of the steps and they turned out great! I will post the basics of the recipe below but I highly encourage you to check out his post on these cookies because it is full of great tips and tricks to get them to turn out perfectly.

INGREDIENTS:

• 226 grams / 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 150 grams / 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 100 grams / 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt + flaky salt for the top 
• 420 - 480 grams / 3 - 3 1/3 cup All Purpose flour *see tips in post
• 360 grams / 2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
• 180 grams / 1 (ish) cup walnut halves *optional

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F / 200 C and place a rack in the middle of the oven. Remove butter from fridge. Allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, add slightly softened butter and sugars together. Cream ingredients for 1 minute on high speed. Scrape down the sides of your mixer.
3. With mixer on low speed, add eggs one at a time and mix until combined.
4. Turn the mixer off and add the 420 g of the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Pulse the mixer until just mixed.
5. Add chocolate chips and walnut halves if you are using them. If you decide not to add the walnuts, add more chocolate chips or add 40 grams of extra flour. If the chocolate chips don’t combine completely, knead the dough a slightly to incorporate.
6. Divide dough into 8 pieces, about 6 oz. each. If making smaller, adjust baking time accordingly. 
7. Roughly shape each piece of dough into a ball. They should be rustic looking, do not flatten! Place each ball of dough onto a sheet tray and transfer to the freezer. Freeze for about 30-45 minutes. They should be quite firm. You will bake the cookies from frozen!
8. Bake 6 cookies at a time for 13-15  minutes. Rotate the tray halfway through the bake . The cookies will be *quite* golden on the top and bottom but gooey on the inside. Don’t overbake, they will continue to cook on the tray.
9. If you want to add flaky salt to the top, now is the time! Sprinkle over the top right when they come out of the oven!
10. Let the cookies cool for 15 minutes before serving.

The actual best! Sharing is caring and I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did! Xx

Some More S'mores Please | S'mores Cupcake Recipe

Hi lovely reader! I hope you are having a great Labor Day weekend! In honor of celebrating summer, even if it's been one of the least "summery" summers of all time, I wanted to share this easy and fun s'mores cupcake recipe that I found on Food Network's The Kitchen App (this is not a sponsored post). The cupcakes are perfect for a treat yourself kind of night or to share with family or friends.

Cupcake Ingredients:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup finely ground graham crackers

1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon fine salt

1 1/2 stick (6 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2/3 cup milk

Chocolate Filling:

8 oz chopped bittersweet chocolate

1/3 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

Meringue Frosting:

4 egg whites, at room temperature

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

Chocolate squares, for garnish

Graham cracker shards for garnish

This recipe does include a ingredients for the actual cupcake mix but if you want to simplify even more you could buy a boxed cake mix and then just whip up the filling and frosting! 

For the Cupcakes,

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line one 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper cupcake liners.

Step 2: In a small bowl, whisk the flour, ground graham crackers, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Step 3: In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar on medium speed until combined. Increase the speed to medium-high and continue to beat, stopping once or twice to scrape down the sides of the bowl, until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture and milk, alternating, starting and ending with the flour mixture, until just combined.

Step 4: Divide the batter between the muffin cups, filling each about two-thirds full. Bake until golden brown, or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the top springs back to the touch, about 25 minutes. Cool in the tin 5 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the Chocolate Filling,

Step 5: While the cupcakes cool, prepare the filling: Combine the chocolate, cream and corn syrup in a medium bowl and microwave in 30-second intervals on high, stirring, until smooth. Set aside until cooled and thickened slightly, about 30 minutes.

For the Meringue Frosting,

Step 6: Bring 1 inch of water to a simmer in a saucepan that can hold a heatproof stand mixer's bowl above the water. Combine the egg whites, granulated sugar and cream of tartar in the stand mixer bowl. Set the bowl above the simmering water and whisk until the sugar is dissolved and the egg whites are warm to the touch, turn white and are beginning to get fluffy. Transfer the bowl to the stand mixer, fitted with a whisk attachment, and whip on high speed until the meringue is cooled, fluffy and very thick. Beat in the vanilla.

To Assemble,

Step 7: Place the chocolate filling in a pastry bag or re-sealable plastic bag fitted with a small round tip (about 1/8-inch diameter) and snip the end. Pierce the center of each cupcake with the pastry tip and gently squeeze in the chocolate filling until it begins to come out of the top of the cupcake. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes.

Step 8: Pipe or swirl the meringue frosting onto each cupcake. If desired, brown the meringue with a kitchen torch or place briefly under the broiler. Garnish with a chocolate square.

Enjoy! Xx

The Ultimate Baking Feat | French Macaron Recipe

Hello lovely reader! The time has officially come where I can say that I have attempted and succeeded in baking what is said to be one of the most difficult treats to master...the French Macaron. I have to be honest that I was slightly intimidated about attempting to create such an iconic and beloved sweet but after watching a few videos and reading through various recipes it really didn't seem that bad! The main challenge was finding a recipe that was not in grams or used a fahrenheit oven temperature. The one that I ended up using and am going to share with you today is from Food Network Magazine, I've also added a few of my own notes in italics.

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup almond flour
3 large egg whites, at room temperature (the room temp is important)
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup superfine sugar
2 to 3 drops of gel food color (whatever color you want your macarons to be)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract (I used almond)
Assorted fillings (I made a chocolate ganache and white chocolate ganache)


Recipe
Food Network calls for the some"special equipment" which you can see below. I do not have a convection oven so I set my regular oven to 300 degrees F. I also used parchment paper instead of silicone baking sheets and they turned out just fine.

Special Equipment: Oven with convection setting, 4 baking sheets, 3 silicone baking mats, Fine-mesh sieve, Pastry bag with 1/4-inch round tip

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F using the convection setting (I used a regular setting on an oven). Line 3 baking sheets with silicone mats (Or parchment paper). Measure the confectioners' sugar and almond flour by spooning them into measuring cups and leveling with a knife. Transfer to a bowl; whisk to combine.

2. Sift the sugar-almond flour mixture, a little at a time, through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl, pressing with a rubber spatula to pass through as much as possible. It will take a while, and up to 2 tablespoons of coarse almond flour may be left; just toss it. (not gonna lie, this is probably the worst part of the whole process so once you get through this, you're golden)

3. Beat the egg whites, cream of tartar and salt with a mixer on medium speed until frothy. Increase the speed to medium high; gradually add the superfine sugar and beat until stiff and shiny, about 5 more minutes. (I actually ended up having to redo this step because I didn't let the mixture get stiff enough, if the mixture is too runny it won't have enough standup when you go to pipe the cookies, so be sure to be patient in this step and make sure you have stiff peaks)

4. Transfer the beaten egg whites to the bowl with the almond flour mixture. Draw a rubber spatula halfway through the mixture and fold until incorporated, giving the bowl a quarter turn with each fold. (This step and the one following are probably the most important because you don't want to smash all the air that you whipped into the egg whites out, so try to be delicate in your turns and mixing)

5. Add the food coloring and extract (see options on Food Networks post for flavors). Continue folding and turning, scraping down the bowl, until the batter is smooth and falls off the spatula in a thin flat ribbon, 2 to 3 minutes.

6. Transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch round tip. Holding the bag vertically and close to the baking sheet, pipe 1 1/4-inch circles (24 per sheet). Firmly tap the baking sheets twice against the counter to release any air bubbles.

7. Let the cookies sit at room temperature until the tops are no longer sticky to the touch, 15 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the humidity. Slip another baking sheet under the first batch (a double baking sheet protects the cookies from the heat).

8. Bake the first batch until the cookies are shiny and rise 1/8 inch to form a "foot," about 20 minutes (mine only took about 15 minutes, so I would set a timer for maybe 10 min and keep an eye on them). Transfer to a rack to cool completely. Repeat, using a double sheet for each batch. Peel the cookies off the mats and sandwich with a thin layer of filling.

And voila!