Goat Cheese and Honey Bruschetta with Toasted Almonds

 

 What has slimed Sophia's already messy apron today? Probably honey....

A note from Sophia: Danielle tells me this one is a little blend of creamy-salty-sweet. I wish I could taste it because it’s hard to imagine what it would taste like. But unfortunately, vampires can't experience such delightful pleasures of life as this.

 Goat Cheese and Honey Bruschetta with Toasted Almonds

You’ll need:

1 French baguette sliced

Goat cheese (could also use Brie for variation)

Sliced almonds

Honey

Dried basil

Directions:

Slice baguette into thick slices and toast lightly. Spread each one with a generous amount of goat cheese. Without any cooking oil, toast almonds in a hot pan until slightly browned. Stir them constantly because they tend to burn easily if not carefully watched. Sprinkle almonds over the cheese. Drizzle honey over the top and sprinkle with dried basil, crushing it between your fingers as you go.

Note: These recipes are from Sophia's Cookbook for Mortals. All rights reserved by Cheri Schmidt.

The best sugar cookies ever!

Hello, my darlings! Would you like a sugar cooking that is so incredibly addicting, one is never enough, even though the consequence of consuming too many could lead to the need for an extra jog around the block, or two, or three...?

But these are soooo worth it. I said that about the last recipe too, didn't I? Well, it's still true. And there is no rolling out cookie dough! Simply drop, smash, bake, and then frost.

 

 

A Spin on the Famous “Swig” Sugar Cookies

1 c. butter (unsalted) at room temperature

3/4 c. vegetable Oil

1 1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. powdered sugar

2 eggs at room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla

2 T water

5 c. All Purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. cream of tarter

In a large bowl, cream the butter, oil, sugars, eggs, water, and vanilla together. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cream of tarter together. Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Stir until thoroughly mixed. The texture should be very soft and easily scooped with a medium or small sized cookie scoop. Drop balls of dough onto either a stone baking pan, or a foil lined baking sheet. Dip the bottom of a glass cup into granulated sugar and smash each cookie a bit like you would smash peanut butter cookies. (Tip: I touch the bottom of the glass to the dough in the bowl so the sugar sticks to it, but that is only necessary the first time.) Bake at 350 degrees for about 8-10 minutes. These cookies do not brown, and they are done when they poof up a bit in the center.

Butter Cream Frosting

1 cup butter softened

4-5 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

half and half

Beat soft butter and powdered sugar together until smooth. Blend in vanilla and then just enough half and half to create the spreadable consistency you would like. Depending on humidity, you may or may not need to add extra powdered sugar as well. Tint frosting with food coloring as desired.

(Note: This recipe is not in Sophia's Cookbook.)

Fabulous Fairycakes

Sophia's Cookbook for Mortals is a

Non-Fiction with a Paranormal twist...

This cooking blog is brought to you by Sophia, the vampire in Fateful who loves to cook for her mortal friends. Ethan Deveroux, who was also a vampire, has taught her much of what she knows. She uses his kitchen to create these dishes, but to Ethan’s chagrin, she is horribly messy about it. And he is frequently left to clean up after her.

Please note that Sophia’s recipes are shared with you from her “vampire” point of view, and she’ll likely describe the way things look and smell rather than taste since she can’t actually taste what she’s cooking because of the curse surrounding her.

Fabulous Fairycakes

This fairycake is very light and moist, filled with made-from-scratch lemon curd, and topped with homemade buttercream frosting. So far this little cupcake is a secret obsession by men and women alike. And here is the recipe!

 

(It is a bit labor-intensive, but it is soooo worth it. I promise.)

Fairy Cakes

From Sophia: A classic tea time treat. And this one is reportedly addicting.
 

Cake:

1 box of white cake mix (Betty Crocker’s Super Moist White cake mix work the best for this)

The items as listed on the box instructions: oil, eggs, and water

2 ounces melted white chocolate baking bar

2 tablespoons half and half

1 teaspoon baking powder

 

Buttercream Frosting:

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 cups powdered sugar

1 tablespoon half and half

(Blend together until smooth and creamy. Add extra powdered sugar if necessary.)

 

Filling:

Homemade lemon curd (recipe is below)

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Follow the directions on the back of the box, except: use one whole egg, along with the two egg whites as instructed. Add the baking powder, half and half, and melted chocolate. Make certain you incorporate the melted white chocolate before it cools. Blend well for two minutes until the batter is smooth. Line 2 regular-sized muffin pans with paper cupcake liners. Use a medium ice cream scoop to spoon the batter into each cup, filling to about 3/4 full. Bake until done in the center, about 10-15 minutes. Test with a toothpick. Don’t overbake. The secret to moist cupcakes is not overbaking them. To decorate, cut the top and a bit of the center from each cupcake and set aside. Fill each cupcake with a spoonful of lemon curd. Pipe buttercream frosting onto the top of each cupcake, covering the filling. Cut the cake you removed from the top in half and stick the sliced edges into the frosting, angling them up so they create butterfly wings. Dust them with a light sprinkling of confectioner’s (powdered) sugar and sanding sugar for sparkle, if you’d like. Serve fresh.

 

Lemon Curd

From Sophia: My mortal friends inform me that scones are just not the same without lemon curd, and homemade is best. If you’re lucky enough to be mortal, you just might want to eat this with a spoon.
 

You’ll need:

3 large eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup of butter, softened

 

Directions:

Fill the bottom of a double boiler with water and simmer. In the top of a double boiler, whisk together sugar, eggs, and lemon juice until mixture is thickened and reaches 160 degrees F when tested with a candy thermometer. This takes 10 to 20 minutes of constant whisking so it doesn’t curdle. If it does have some lumps, immediately strain into a bowl. Add butter and whisk in until completely melted. Allow to cool. It will continue to thicken as it cools. Store in the refrigerator for up to a week.

 

For a printable copy of this recipe, please go here.

 

Note: These recipes are from Sophia's Cookbook for Mortals. All rights reserved by Cheri Schmidt.