Later Gator

Today my sweet baby boy turned four years old. It seems like yesterday he was born, and now he's officially a little boy, no longer a toddler. I cried!

His favorite movie right now is Peter Pan; he adores Captain Hook and is obsessed with the crocodile that ate Hook's hand. Of course, he thinks it's an alligator, because that's what we have on this side of the world. So, he wanted Alligator cupcakes, which is exactly what he got. Best part: these were easy!

Instead of doing a bright green frosting, I opted to mix a little black into the green in order to make it more of an amphibious green. If you use too much, it turns out gray, so you really need to use it sparingly. If it does turn gray, just keep adding the green until you get it back to the right shade. I used Spearmint leaves for the eyes and attached eyeball candy to them. They turned out to be just what I wanted.

For the nose, I used green Swedish fish (cut off the tip of the tail.) The fish has a nice bumpiness to it that works well. I used chocolate-covered peanuts as nostrils; and lastly, I sprinkled a nice shimmery green on top to give the gator a little texture. Fortunately, Jack is super-excited and can't wait to take these to church tonight to share with his friends.

Jack insisted on decorating his own; I think it's very avant-garde for a 4 year old. Happy Birthday Baby!

Cookies!

I took a quick departure from the cuppycakes long enough to bake up some yummy chocolate chip cookies based on chocolatier Jacques Torres' famous chocolate chip cookies. My good friend Shana, took me to his shop in Manhattan a few weeks ago, and it was a bohemian chocolate paradise. http://www.mrchocolate.com/

Truly, he makes the best chocolate chip cookie I've ever had in my life. The recipe is the authorized version from the New York Times, and it's pretty simple. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/09/dining/091crex.html

The trick is to make the batter at least 24 hours before you bake because it makes for a tastier cookie. While I can't say my homemade version holds a candle to what I had at the shop, it was so good that my husband, who can take or leave sweets, sucked them all down and asked for more. He didn't even want me to share them with other people! Here's the recipe:

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from Jacques Torres
Time: 45 minutes (for 1 6-cookie batch), plus at least 24 hours’ chilling
2 cups minus 2 tablespoons
(8 1/2 ounces) cake flour
1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves, at least 60 percent cacao content (see note)
Sea salt.
1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.
2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.
3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.
4. Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day. Eat warm, with a big napkin.
Yield: 1 1/2 dozen 5-inch cookies.
Note: Disks are sold at Jacques Torres Chocolate; Valrhona fèves, oval-shaped chocolate pieces, are at Whole Foods.

Made with over one pound of chocolate disks, this will be the most chocolately cookie you've ever baked. Yummy!

Happy Graduation Don!

My best friend Don just graduated with his Master's Degree. We're very proud of him! He loves the cookie dough cupcakes, as do most chocolate lovers. Everyone thinks it's hard to do, but it's really not. The secret is to freeze the cookie dough before you bake it to ensure that it doesn't bake up as well. Freeze it and it will be doughy deliciousness.

Race Car Cuppycakes

24 Cookie Dough cuppycakes, 24 Peanut Butter cuppycakes with primary colored vanilla buttercream, topped with blue and chocolate race cars.