chewy bourbon butterscotch cookies

February 1, 2018 by Butter Loves Company

A splash of bourbon grants you a reprieve from the sweetness of butterscotch chips in this recipe for chewy bourbon butterscotch cookies.

Are you settling into 2018? I feel like life has been quite a whirl lately between work, cookies, wedding planning, and navigating some anxieties. Slow down 2018! As someone who absolutely adores hosting and entertaining, I’m actually having a hard time getting into the swing of planning a wedding. Anyone go through this? I keep going back to how I will just be happy to have so many people who I love there, including that main squeeze I’ll meet down the aisle.

During periods like this where I feel a tad overwhelmed, I turn to one of my favorite therapies, baking. Despite life’s craziness, spending time on this blog and with you (virtually) is one of my favorite things and it truly makes me happy. It is a gravitational pull that I never want to stop getting caught in! So without even pushing sappiness aside, thank you for being here. This year I am really excited to bring more of myself to this site and to learn more about each of you.

Let’s start with these bourbon butterscotch cookies, shall we? I have had butterscotch chips on hand since the holidays and finally got around to testing some cookies with them. If you’re hesitant about butterscotch because it is so sweet—it is essentially a mix of sugar and butter afterall—let me assure you that I did a bit of testing to find a compromise that balanced that flavor.

If you’re a fan of things like blondies, or snickerdoodles, or bourbon in general, I definitely think you’ll enjoy the flavor of these butterscotch cookies. We’ll add a little more dark brown sugar than granulated which not only adds chew, but it also enhances the cookies’ depth with a molasses-type note. Butterscotch is reminiscent of white chocolate to me in that it can be overly sweet and perhaps even have the same polarizing fandom (the lovers or the haters), but when done right, its caramel profile is just enough sweetness to satisfy your taste buds. And hey, a splash of bourbon can’t hurt. Just like in this bourbon banana bread, the dark spirit is an understated smokey addition to your favorite baked goods.

strawberry cinnamon rolls

January 10, 2018 by Butter Loves Company

Malls have taken quite the turn since I first remember going to Limited Too to buy matching velour outfits with my best friends. These days, malls have been moving towards becoming destination centers fitted with high-end shops, courtyards, theaters, restaurants, gourmet food halls, and seasonal event programming. While the scents of too much cologne wafting from teen clothing stores are being overtaken by the smells of charcuterie boards and fresh pasta, there is still one enduring mall scent that I hope never leaves us. That is the scent of freshly baked, dripping with gooey icing, cinnamon buns. The sinfully sweet, beautifully buttery smell of puffy dough swirled with warming cinnamon, slathered in too much cream cheese icing is almost too good to be legal.

After dabbling in a little in-store holiday shopping this year (I know, what a concept!), I was reminded of how tremendous the smell of cinnamon rolls is. While I, albeit narrowly, avoided purchasing said cinnamon rolls on the spot, the seed was planted. I needed cinnamon rolls in my life. Not long after, we were devouring these homemade Strawberry Cinnamon Rolls.

Now, I’ve made a variety of cinnamon rolls in my life, but I have never been fully satisfied with the flavor and texture of the dough. It was either too dry or too sticky, resulting in a mediocre cinnamon bun. The buck stops here! This is the cinnamon roll recipe I will stick with for life. Of all the yeasted doughs I have worked with, this one may be the dreamiest. It is fluffy but sturdy, puffy but not too airy. A cinch to roll out and fill with cinnamon sugar goodness, without becoming a sticky mess.

The trick to this dough’s especially amazing flavor is all in the ingredients. In the dough, I used Vital Farms Pasture Raised Eggs, and their Pasture Raised Butter within the dough, filling, and frosting. Vital Farms eggs come from natural pastures, which are never treated with herbicides, pesticides, or artificial fertilizers. As we think more about the impact our food has on our bodies and environment, it is incredible to read about the humane treatment of their hens and cows.

The yolks in the Vital Farms eggs are a stunning golden orange that you won’t find an a standard grocery store egg. During our holiday brunch, we also used them within a veggie tart, which had a noticeably supreme eggy flavor. I tend to think that the eggs, combined with the rich butter, cinnamon sugar, strawberries, and cream cheese all combined here to form a perfect cinnamon roll bliss. Greg declared these the best cinnamon rolls I’ve ever made and I have “forced” him to taste test quite a few.

When strawberries bake, they transform into a deep juicy tart sweet bursts. I liken it to what happens when you roast a tomato. As is, they are amazing. But roasted? The process brings out a whole new depth of flavor that hits the all the right zones. That’s what happens to the chunks of strawberries that are tucked in the swirls of these cinnamon rolls. If you are feeling traditional, simply omit the strawberries here!

Bookmark this one for a Valentine’s or Gal-entine’s morning treat. The strawberries give the rolls a festive pop of red color and a little extra sweetness. I declare these our new go-to cinnamon rolls. No trip to the mall required.

A big thanks to Vital Farms for partnering with me on this post. All opinions are my own. And, thank YOU for supporting food that matters and the brands who make Butter Loves Company possible!

holiday sparkler champagne cocktail (perfect for winter brunch!)

December 22, 2017 by Butter Loves Company

It may come as no surprise that one of my favorite things to do is feed my friends and family. For the past few years, we have hosted a holiday brunch here in Los Angeles to celebrate the season before we take flight back to the East Coast. Despite the overall chaos that was December hustle and bustle, foregoing Christmas brunch is not an option. I mean, if Greg couldn’t spend the year talking about the famous (according to him) sausage gravy he makes every holiday brunch to accompany these buttermilk biscuits I don’t know how he’d pass the time 😉

Because we always make quite a few food items, some of which require day-of preparation, e.g. baking the sticky bun bundt cake, crisping up salty bacon, scrambling a vat of eggs, and so on, we try to keep the beverages as easy (but still special) as possible.

This year, a make-ahead cocktail bar worked perfectly. We mixed up a few simple cocktails that could easily be topped with sparkling wine—brunch’s favorite babe—and voila! You have brunch elevated without needing to shake or stir while your guests are mingling.

Simply prepare the base of the cocktails a day or two before your brunch and store them in the fridge in carafes or jars. Set them out before your event, next to a chilled bottle of your favorite sparkling wine—we go with Korbel’s Brut or the Brut Rosé for a pretty twist.

Our three make-ahead holiday cocktails—each to be topped with champagne—included:

The classic orange juice punched up with a splash of citrus vodka (3:1 ratio of OJ to Vodka).
A berry punch which combines equal parts Chambord and pure pomegranate juice.
A gorgeous Holiday Sparkler with rich, tart cranberry juice and mango-flavored vodka. Grab the recipe for this make-ahead batch cocktail below!

Sparkling wine and fruit is a match made in heaven, which is why we loved this Holiday Sparkler Champagne Cocktail. The cranberry juice adds a little tartness, while the mango offers a welcome sweet hint, but not too much since it carried the potency of vodka with it. We all know bubbles scream celebration, so these sparkling wine cocktails are perfect for really any gathering or brunch, during the holidays or otherwise!

coffee cake cookies

December 6, 2017 by Butter Loves Company

If you enjoy coffee cake then you will LOVE this recipe for coffee cake cookies. These cinnamon streusel topped cakey cookies are a perfect dessert-y breakfast treat in portable form.

Greg has been bugging me to make coffee cake over the past couple weeks and, since I have been on a serious cookie kick—particularly with the holiday season upon us,—I figured why not combine the two for a breakfast ready coffee cake cookie?

Coffee cake is known for its warm cinnamon spiced flavor and, if you ask me, the best coffee cakes also include an ample amount of streusel, either tucked within the dough’s layers or generously crumbled on the cake’s top. Bakery-style coffee cake can often be associated with having a moist and dense crumb and a savory subtly identifiable tang. This is thanks to the addition of something like buttermilk or sour cream. To replicate the creamy tang these ingredients bring to traditional coffee cake recipes, without adding too much moisture, I turn to one of my favorite things in all the kitchen: cream cheese. Add a bit of cheese and a dash of cream of tartar and you’ll bring the signature tang and cakey texture of the morning bread to your cookie scoops.

If you are expecting holiday guests, these are a nice option to set out with the morning coffee. They are just as good on the regular, when you need a grab and go bite to accompany your coffee or tea.

One tip to this recipe is to prepare the streusel first and store it in the refrigerator or freezer while you prepare the cookie dough. In order to get the streusel to stay on top of the cookie it is important to scoop the dough and then flatten slightly to create a surface for the streusel to stick to when the cookies expand in the oven. Feel free to adjust the streusel to your preference. This one includes oats and pecans, but those could simply be omitted if you prefer. One small note: if you have big clumps of butter in your streusel they will spread as the cookie bakes, so try to keep the butter bits to about a pea-sized to smaller so that it really clumps up with the flour and sugar.

I also can’t stop thinking about how good an ice cream sandwich would be with these cookies wrapped around coffee ice cream. Doesn’t that sound great? Please someone make that and let me know how it is so that I can live vicariously through you! Or if you stick around it’s more than likely that you’ll see that recipe coming soon since I really am craving it now.

gingerbread with brandied apples

October 22, 2017 by Butter Loves Company

From Ottolenghi’s Sweet, this dense, robust gingerbread recipe is topped with warm, perfect-for-Fall brandied apples.

I’m never been a big birthday person. I love your birthday. I’ll make you a cake. I’ll go to your party. I’ll even plan your party if you want me to! But, my own birthday. Not so much. This year was a bit of a whirlwind and we ended up going out with some friends to a cool bar/magic show in Hollywood, and then ventured out nearby for the rest of the night. It was a ton of fun!

Why am I talking about birthdays? Oh yeah! Because what did I pull out of my gift bag this year? copy of Ottolenghi’s new cookbook, Sweet. If you’ve cooked from, or have even flipped through the pages to ogle the photos, in Yotam Ottolenghi’s other books, Plenty, Plenty More, or Jerusalem, you’ll know he has a way of turning a mish mash of ingredients into the most visually vibrant and deceptively delicious dishes you can imagine. This time, the master chef is taking on the sweets world along with co-author Helen Goh, and you can probably guess that I was just a little pumped to get baking from this book.

As luck would have it, some blogger friends and I are celebrating the best of fall flavors today, which includes the Fall all-star…drum roll please…apples! The autumn favorite fruit is super versatile and I’m so excited to share a plethora of recipes for your perusal below. Whether you’re looking for sweet or savory, everyday or celebration, apples can fit the bill. For my contribution, I turned to my newest cookbook to see what Ottolenghi would do with apples.

Enter: Gingerbread with Brandied Apples. This gingerbread recipe yields a cake that is dark in color, dense in texture, and deep in flavor. There is a substantial ginger punch from ground ginger and spicy crystallized ginger. The hefty cup of blackstrap molasses gives it that robust, almost a little bitter flavor. Wondering what the difference between regular molasses and blackstrap molasses is? I got you! Check out these run-downs from Serious Eats and The Kitchn. To make the gingerbread extra special, we’re topping it with apples reduced in a brandy sauce. Honestly, you could just make the brandied apples and use them for an ice cream or yogurt topping and you would not be mad about it. In this case, the brandied apples give the gingerbread a little freshness as the juices seep into the cake’s crevices.

Look around on social for the hashtag #AisforalltheApples to discover all of the apple recipes in this virtual celebration or click through one of the links following the recipe to explore some of my favorite bloggers’ contributions!

Cloudy Kitchen’s Salted Caramel and Apple Babka

Square Meal Round Table’s Chai Spiced Tarte Tatin

The Wood and Spoon’s Maple Apple Cake

The Cooking of Joy’s Deep Fried Apple Dumplings with Miso Caramel Dipping Sauce

Pensive Foodie’s Mini Bacon Crusted Apple Pies

My Kitchen Love’s Bird’s Nest Caramel Apple Cake

More Icing Than Cake’s Apple Butter Pretzels with Rosemary Cheddar Dip

Casey Joy Lister’s Waldorf Salad’s Twisted Sister

The Kitchen Sink’s Apple Cheddar Loaf

What Should I Make For’s Apple Puff Pastry Tarts

Jessie Sheehan Bakes’ Apple Fritters

Smart in the Kitchen’s Gluten Free Apple Cranberry Crisp

This Healthy Table’s Cardamom Apple Tart

Figs & Flour’s Apple Purple Potato Pizza

Something New for Dinner’s Savory Bread Pudding with Apples, Sausage, and Pecan

Always Eat Dessert’s Apple Spice Scones with Maple Bourbon Glaze

Rezel Kealoha’s Rose Poached Apples with Rosewater Reduction

The Soup Solution’s Fennel Sausage and and Apple Dressing (Stuffing)

Lemon Thyme and Ginger’s Smoky Maple Apple Dutch Baby

Gobble the Cook’s One Pan Pork Chops and Sausages with Apple

Hola Jalapeno’s Fluffy Apple Chili Biscuits

Salt and Wind’s Pomegranate Ginger Apple Cider Punch

What Annie’s Eating’s Butternut Squash/Apple Soup with Asiago and Sage Croutons

Flours in Your Hair’s Brown Butter Bourbon Apple Pie

Confetti Kitchen’s Kale Salad with Chicken and Apple

Salted Plains’ Gluten-Free Apple Crumb Cake

Easy and Delish’s Fun Candy Corn Apple Pops

This Mess is Ours’ Easy Baked Apple Custard

Butter Loves Company’s Gingerbread with Brandied Apples

Zestful Kitchen’s Puffed Apple Pancake

Sweet Pillar Food’s Apple Honey Brie

A Farmgirl’s Dabbles Peanut Butter Apple Cookies

Amee’s Savory Dish’s Peanut Butter Protein Dip

Especially Southern Dishes’ Apple Pie Egg Rolls

Pie Girl Bakes’ Salted Caramel Apple Pie

Cocoa and Salt’s Vegan Apple Stuffin’ Muffins

Saltnpepperhere’s Honey Apple Muffins

Worthy Pause’s Thanksgiving-in-Your-Mouth Paleo Stuffing

Baking The Goods’ Apple Cheddar and Thyme Scones

Smart in the Kitchen’s Gluten Free Apple Cranberry Crisp

Measuring Cups Optional’s Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake

Inspired by the Seasons’ Brussels Sprout & Apple Slaw

Sprouting Radiance’s White Bean and Apple Soup

Feed the Swimmer’s Apple Buckwheat Galette with Halva and Maple Tahini

It’s a Veg World After All’s Individual Microwave Apple Crisp

Farm and Coast Cookery’s Apple Cider Donut “French Toast”

Ful-filled’s Milopita – Greek Apple Cake

Allo Maman, What’s Cooking’s Apple & Camembert Tarte Tatin

Champagne and Cookies’ Apple Cheddar Galette

What’s Karen Cooking’s Country Apple Bundt Cake with Cardamom Apple Compote

The Foodie and the Fit’s Venetian Bread Pudding with Apples

Flotte Lotte’s Apple Bread with Cinnamon Butter

glazed pumpkin bundt cake with cream cheese filling

October 16, 2017 by Butter Loves Company

This Recipe for Glazed Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Filling is perfect for fall. Blooming with warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger, the moist cake wraps around a tangy, cream cheese filling for a delicious Autumn treat!

I know I’ve said it before, but I think it bears repeating (as often as possible), pumpkin is one of those magical ingredients that nearly always yields a moist cake. This Glazed Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Filling is loaded with fall spices like cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. It is the type of fall cake recipe that will smell up your house in the most festive way. You might even forget it is still 90 degrees outside in LA.

It’s funny—no matter what, once the pumpkins and apples come out, I immediately revert to full on New England fall mode. Boots on. Sweaters out. I just love the fall vibe, even if we will head to the beach a day later. It is the unofficial kick-off to the holiday season for me when there are endless festivities!

This pumpkin bundt cake recipe makes a big cake, so it is perfect for sharing with friends or colleagues or for a fall gathering. It also keeps well if you make it ahead—just cover it and keep in the refrigerator and bring it back to room temperature when you are ready to enjoy.

I’ve been a cream cheese fanatic lately so it is only fitting that the moist pumpkin cake is filled with a creamy, tangy, cream cheese filling. This adds a textural contrast to the cake; an unctuous and rich bite between the tender spiced crumbs.

The entire pumpkin bundt cake is drizzled with a simple glaze of confectioners’ sugar, milk, and vanilla to add a hit of sweetness. With a few components, this cake does take a little more time as it’ll bake for about an hour and you’ll want to let it cool completely before serving. If you’re feeling like a fall recipe, but looking for a quicker pumpkin recipe, hop on over to these Spiced Pumpkin Muffins. Apparently my love of all things fall hasn’t changed a bit since then.

Grab your sweater, a cup of cider, and add this cake to your weekend baking adventures. You’ll fall in love.

dolce de leche cookies

September 4, 2017 by Butter Loves Company

This recipe for cinnamon spiced Dolce de Leche Cookies from the America’s Test Kitchen cookbook, The Perfect Cookie, yields the perfectly sweet, decadent, warming, party-worthy sandwich cookie.

Being from Boston, I have always been a fan of the Beantown based America’s Test Kitchen. Their recipes are tested and tested again, so you can feel confident diving into mixing and stirring, knowing your meal will be perfectly seasoned or your pastry will rise just as you imagined. When ATK reached out to me about their latest cookbook, The Perfect Cookie, I knew it was destined to be a new staple on my cookbook shelf.

With dozens of recipes for classics like Snickerdoodles, Gingersnaps, Sables, and Palmiers, to new stunners like Peppermint Surprise Brownie Bites, Chocolate Peanut Butter Candies, and Cornmeal Olive Oil Cookies, each page of The Perfect Cookie is deliciously bookmark-able. There is even an entire section dedicated to Christmas cookies, which makes me pumped up for my annual holiday cookie baking marathon. In true America’s Test Kitchen fashion, in this cookbook you can expect detailed tips and tricks for achieving the best baking results. Each recipe also has a photograph so you can visualize the cookies you will soon be eating.

These Dolce de Leche cookies are comprised of two cinnamon sugar coated tender sugar cookies, wrapped around a rich, creamy, and caramel-like dolce de leche filling. Dolce de leche is a sweet spread made by boiling sugar with milk. You can certainly make your own or purchase it pre-made. This recipe calls for the latter. These cookies are definitely on the indulgent side—but in the absolutely best way possible!

There is a little ground anise both in the cookie dough and the filling, which lends a warm licorice flavor to the cookies. If you are so inclined, you could skip the anise for a different, yet still totally delicious, flavor profile. That said, like all the cookies I have tried so far in the book, the America’s Test Kitchen team definitely worked some magic on the recipe details to ensure ultra-tasty results, so I’ve listed the ingredients here exactly as they do.

Dolce de Leche and Cinnamon Sandwich Cookies from America's Test Kitchen's [The Perfect Cookie | https://shop.americastestkitchen.com/the-perfect-cookie.html]

simple berry ricotta cake

August 8, 2017 by Butter Loves Company

When you’re feeling like a slightly sweet, super moist, and surprisingly easy dessert or breakfast option this simple berry ricotta cake might be just what you’re looking for.

It is the perfect answer for the plentitude of summer berries basking in the sun on your counter, or the florescent lights of your refrigerator. It is the answer to that extra ricotta left over from your weekend pizza. It is the magic solution to use the three eggs left over in the carton. And, while it is good for finishing up some ingredients that are begging to be used, it is also worthy of an extra trip to the farmers market or grocery store to grab the juiciest looking blueberries or the sweetest raspberries.

Ricotta cheese is a wonder worker in baked goods, yielding an almost guaranteed moist, soft result. This berry ricotta cake has the kind of crumb you can pick up with a light press of the back of your fork.

Feel free to personalize this fluffy ricotta cake with your preferred berry combination. Strawberries and blueberries? Blackberries and raspberries? Just like the books you read as a kid, we’re choosing our own adventure here. I imagine a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream would be welcomed atop this cake for a little extra extra. In fact, I am sure it would be.

I consider this simple berry ricotta cake to be of the perfect summer dessert variety. It is welcoming of summer’s ease and highlights summer produce just right. Call it old fashioned, but this cake is mixed simply with a whisk and spatula. No stand mixer. No hand mixer. No problem!

I hope you find this recipe as tasty as we do. If you give it a try, please do let me know what you think in the comments, or hashtag your photo on social media with #butterlovescompany so I can see how it came out!

Looking for other cake recipes? Check out this Chocolate Marble Loaf Cake or this Lemon Loaf with Lavender Glaze!

cherry sparkler cocktail – celebrating pride month with OneHope!

June 20, 2017 by Butter Loves Company

Glitter and sparkling wine. Did you ever think it was possible to combine that much shimmer? June is Pride Month and I’m so excited to be celebrating with this cherry cocktail recipe made with deliciously festive ONEHOPE Sparkling Brut.

I find it pretty wonderful and inspiring that June in Los Angeles is as synonymous with Pride Month and celebrating equality as it is with the sun staying out later. I was recently listening to one of my favorite podcasts, Straight Talk with Ross Mathews on my commute and, on what happened to be their first ever Pride episode, they did a segment called “On this Gay in History” where Ross and his guests shared dates in recent history that were important for gay rights. It was incredible to listen to how far we have come in a relatively short time as a nation in terms of equality, but also shocking to put in perspective the inequality that the LGBTQ community has been facing for so many years. There is so much more that needs to be done.

Not only is this bottle the perfect way to celebrate Pride Month and perfect for all of your summer festivities (hello, glitter), this bubbly is also helping to make a difference.

I’m super excited and honored to spread the word about ONEHOPE’s pride campaign because it is so important that people have the opportunity to be themselves and know they are worthy of a terrific life. Every four bottles of ONEHOPE Rainbow Glitter Edition Sparkling Brut funds one hour of operational costs for the Trevor Project’s Lifeline, an accredited, 24/7 suicide prevention hotline for LGBTQ youth. Find out more about the Trevor Project here.

So let’s pop open the glittery bubbly for a good cause, and celebrate Pride!

This cherry cocktail recipe is super easy to make and consists of vodka, Cherry Heering, fresh lemon juice, and sparkling brut. I’ve been looking for ways to use Cherry Heering ever since I bought a bottle for a cocktail party a couple of years ago. The cherry liqueur is made from lightly crushed Danish cherries and spices and has a deep red color and natural, sweet cherry flavor. This sweetness is balanced by a little vodka and tart lemon juice and then the cocktail is rounded out by the amazingness that is ONEHOPE sparkling wine. Voila!

Happy Pride!

chocolate buttermilk cake with tangerine curd and toasted meringue

March 9, 2017 by Butter Loves Company

It has been far too long since I’ve broken out one of my favorite culinary tools: the kitchen torch. This is the little flamethrower of flavor that elevates crème brulée to more than custard and makes snowy meringue frosting golden-tipped and tasting of toasted marshmallows.

This recipe for Chocolate Buttermilk Cake with Tangerine Curd and Toasted Meringue has what may seem like a lot of steps, but you can easily split them up as to not feel overwhelmed. Bake the cakes and prep the curd one day, then make the meringue and assemble the next. The cake is super moist from the buttermilk and lusciously chocolate-y from the cocoa (I used special dark). The tangerine curd is tangy and quite citrus-forward, but also so smooth and creamy. If you prefer, you could use any kind of oranges or stick to a traditional lemon only curd. Top with fluffy meringue fired up with your kitchen torch and you have yourself a super fun and delicious cake!

Torched desserts always make me think of my mom. Along her love of crème brulée for its toasted tops, I inherited my mom’s style inclination for black clothes and tailored fashion. This watch from JORD watches is a perfect example of that and served as the inspiration for this recipe and its deep chocolate color and golden meringue tips. The band is made from ebony wood so it’s lightweight, but bold in style and I absolutely love the large watch-face and gold accents. JORD makes these gorgeous wood women’s watches and men’s watches with all different wood materials and in a variety of colors. I can’t wait to wear it all spring long. It goes perfectly with my wardrobe and with this fun chocolate buttermilk cake if I do say so myself!

The wonderful JORD team is also offering a giveaway to help you to grab your very own! Enter to win a $100 Gift code to use towards your own JORD watch. Click here to enter!

To make things more fun, everyone will automatically receive a $25 code just for entering! The contest will close on 3/26 at 11:59pm. Both the $100 and the $25 codes will expire on 5/31/2017. Best of luck everyone!

A big thank you to JORD Watches for partnering with me on this post. All opinions are my own!
Luxury Wooden Watch

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