Carrot Cake and a Red Balloon

Last week, my good friend Cecilia asked me to paint a mural on her staircase wall. Ever since, I've had five legitimate paid offers to paint people's rooms/nurseries/furniture. I'm FUNemployed as of 10 days ago, so this is sweet, sweet music to my ears. If you hear of a job that involves solar physics, baking, astronomy outreach, mural art, and/or Excel spreadsheets, please do pass it along - I'm your girl. Back to Cecilia's wall...

Project 99 (minus 98) Red

Balloons was launched. The mural is based on the famous Banksy graffiti art of girl with balloon. I gave her long air to look like Cecilia and the cutest little red rain boots.

All the while, I couldn't help but want to rock out to the 80s classic 99 Luftballons (this will now be stuck in your head for the next three days. I'm sorry that I'm not sorry about it).

99 Luftballons

Nena

Hast du etwas Zeit für mich

Dann singe ich ein Lied für dich

Von 99 Luftballons

Auf ihrem Weg zum Horizont

Denkst du vielleicht g'rad an 

mich

Dann singe ich ein Lied für dich

Von 99 Luftballons

Und dass so was von so was kommt...

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

We of course then had to take pictures of ourselves with the girl and help her get her balloon back. It was a great afternoon...

Carrots with leafy tops make me almost as giddy as Cecilia was when I completed her project. There's something happy, wholesome, and genuine about carrots that don't come in plastic bag. These were on sale at the market, so I had the perfect excuse to make a carrot cake.

          

This carrot cake is moist, dense, and flavorful. And, you know, it's "healthy" because it has a vegetable in it... Never you mind that the recipe is from Paula Deen, the butter queen... 

I've used this recipe to make cupcakes in the past (these carrot cake basket cupcakes) and will continue to use it in the future. I simply shred the carrots in a food processor instead of using a cheese grater and I add pecans to the frosting instead of the cake, but you could easily add pecans, walnuts, raisins... to the batter. Make it your own. This is the kind of cake that quickly becomes a classic staple in your recipe box. Enjoy.

Carrot Cake
Paula Deen

yields two 8-inch round cakes (I made one very tall 8-inch round cake)

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
3 cups grated carrots

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour round pans. Line bottom of the pans with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add eggs and vegetable oil. Using a hand mixer, blend until combined. Add carrots.

Pour into pans. Bake for approximately 40 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes. Remove from pans, place on waxed paper and allow to cool completely before frosting.

Pecan Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup chopped pecans

Directions:
Add all ingredients, except nuts, into a medium bowl and beat until fluffy using a hand mixer. Stir in the nuts. Spread frosting on top.

Enjoy.
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Snowball Cookies

 I got home to Silver Spring from Tucson Saturday night. What did I do my first day home on Sunday? Start making Christmas cookies of course. This will continue for the next two weeks in my home. We'll play traditional choral Christmas carols on the speakers, and my mom and I will bake. They're not kidding: It's the most wonderful time of the year.

These Snowball Cookies are a childhood favorite. Our old neighbors and family friends the Sebastians would make these every year and serve them with peppermint ice cream. They are a spin off of Polvorones, or Mexican wedding cookies. I dare you to only eat one. These little guys just melt in your mouth while the nutty pecan flavor lingers on. Oh, and you'll be covered in powdered sugar.

         

If you can spare to share, these make a great little gift all packaged up in a cellophane bag.

The Christmas Cookie Season has begun! Stay tuned for more cookie recipes this week and next.

Snowball Cookies
adapted from Bon Appétit

yields about 4 dozen cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup pecans, coarsely ground

Directions:

Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add 1/2 cup powdered sugar and vanilla; beat until well blended. Beat in flour, then pecans. Divide dough in half and form each half into ball. Wrap balls separately in plastic. Chill until cold, about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk remaining 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar in a shallow bowl or dish. Set aside.

Working with half of chilled dough, roll dough by 2 teaspoonfuls between palms into balls. Arrange balls on heavy large baking sheet, spacing 1/2 inch apart. Bake cookies until golden brown on bottom and just pale golden on top, about 18 minutes. Cool cookies 5 minutes on baking sheet. Gently toss warm cookies in sugar to coat completely. Transfer coated cookies to rack and cool completely. Repeat procedure with remaining half of dough.

Cookies can be prepared 2 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

Enjoy.
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Pecan Linzer Heart Cookies with Black Cherry Filling

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! ♥ This year I finally got around to making Valentine's Day cards, except I mailed them really late. But that's ok, right? That makes them extra-special, because when Valentine's Day is over, and you think you're done getting trinkets of love in the mail, BAM - there's my Valentine (late...). Well, here you go. You can at least look at them on Valentine's Day... :)

I've always wanted to make Linzer cookies, but never tried. They looked so complicated and time consuming with their double layers and filling (this coming from a girl who will spend hours decorating cookies...). "And in short, I was afraid." (The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock is the best poem, ever. Just don't read it on Valentine's Day...)

But fear not! These cookies are hardly time consuming, especially if you have Linzer cookie cutters, and you can fill them with whatever kind of tasty jam you like.

These cookies are perfect for Valentine's Day because they look like little doilies with hearts in the middle. I even baked the heart cut outs and made little heart cookie sandwiches...

And you feel healthy, because... uh... there's fruit in the jam... never mind the excessive powdered sugar mustache you now have... um... it's Valentine's Day, so it's alright...

Pass the box of chocolates, please! ...and another cookie.

Pecan Linzer Cookies

Martha Stewart

yields 32 cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup pecan halves, toasted
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/2 cup red jam (I used black cherry, but any kind of red/purple fruit will do.)

Sift flour and baking powder into a bowl and set aside. Pulse pecans, confectioners' sugar, salt, and cinnamon in a food processor until finely ground (but not wet). Transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.

Add butter and granulated sugar; mix on medium speed until fluffy. Mix in vanilla and egg. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture; mix until combined. Halve dough and shape into disks. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours (I suggest overnight).

Preheat oven to 375 F. Working with 1 disk at a time, roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/8 inch thick. Refrigerate 20 minutes. Cut out squares with a 2-inch fluted cutter. Cut out centers of half the squares with a 1/2-inch heart cutter; reroll scraps. Space 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake squares and hearts until pale golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to racks to cool.

Meanwhile, heat jam in a small saucepan over medium heat until reduced and thickened, about 7 minutes. Strain and let cool.

Sprinkle cutout cookies with confectioners' sugar. Spread jam onto uncut squares and top with cutout ones. Store in an airtight container up to 2 days. Enjoy.
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