21 November 2013

Thanksgiving Pie Giveaway!


If you couldn't tell by my pumpkin obsession, I absolutely love this time of year. The leaves are changing and falling, the air is crisp and cool, and the kitchen always smells like cinnamon. Humans were hardwired to love cinnamon. Ever met someone who was all "Gross, what's that smell? Oh, cinnamon? I hate cinnamon." Me neither. Because they don't exist.

However, the holiday season, despite it's rosy glow of delicious food, snowflakes, and pumpkin everything, comes with it's stresses. After all, it also includes family, cooking all day, and planning for 10 of the world's pickiest people in a 1,000 square foot apartment with an 80-pound dog, 3 kids, a restless father, and no cable TV. What? No, I love the holidays! Not stressful at all!

I'm sure plenty of you are singing the same tune, so I figure, why not share in the joys AND the pain? Or better yet, why not alleviate the pain altogether? Anyone stressed enough about hosting their very own Thanksgiving meal? Headed to a friend's place and not sure what to bring? Just want to sit at home with a fork and a bottle of wine and eat a free pie? Well, this contest is for you! Keep reading...

I am DELIVERING a FREE pie to one lucky Nashville local! Here are the rules:

1. Like my Facebook page, @LittlestLove.
2. Post a link to this blog on your Facebook with the reason you are thankful this holiday season, and tag @LittlestLove.
3. Contest winner will be announced on the evening of Tuesday, November 26. Pie delivery will be Thursday morning!






Happy thanking!

17 November 2013

Purple Velvet and Vanilla Bourbon

Well, followers, it's been a pretty big year for me so far! And it's not even over! Littlest Love has been making some big moves into the baking scene, all thanks to the support of friends and family, and of course, butter. I really couldn't do it without butter.

I am officially operational, and my website is in the creative stages - i.e. I have finally begun working on it! So I'm hoping to have that in full swing starting January 1. Yes, January! It's so soon! I'm already placing local, small-batch orders and am available for all of your partying needs. 'Tis the season!

And if all of this weren't exciting enough, I'm also finalizing a pretty exciting R&D cupcake. I've decided to share it with the masses, because quite frankly, it's too dang delicious not to. I have created a PURPLE VELVET cupcake. Think southern charm meets Prince. Oh, and did I mention there's salted caramel involved? Why yes, I did. Earlier this week on my Facebook page, I had a spoiler alert.


It held the test of all things delicious. It was purple, and it was silky smooth and had the perfect crumb. In fact, It was so good, I held it up to the "Wall of Motivation" that we have up in our tiny apartment. It held up nicely, don't you think?


And as boyfriend dug in, he was stoked to find that it was bright purple (the pictures don't really do it justice!) and the perfect combination of flavor. That salted caramel that I poured into the frosting just took it over the edge into cupcake greatness.


Seriously, look at that caramel going into the cream cheese frosting. Can you think of anything more decadent and delicious?? Seriously, I cannot. Drool....


Wait! The fun isn't over! Yesterday I got a little excited and pulled out the Bulleit Bourbon. It might be my favorite new ingredient. The quality of the bourbon is flat out ridiculously good. It's sweet but not overwhelming, and it's just down right smooth. I knew it would be the perfect element for my homemade bourbon vanilla extract.



Look at that caramel color. It's beautiful!




Yum! It will be about 8 weeks until it's fully infused and ready to use, but that means it'll be ready just in time for Mardi Gras season! Like you need an excuse for bourbon vanilla?

And last but not least - the biggest, baddest news of all. I am going to have my very first giveaway! Stay tuned, because it involves some geography, some nostalgia, and some Thanksgiving love!


31 October 2013

Happy Halloween!

*Disclaimer - This blog post has way too many pictures! But it's Halloween!! And I couldn't resist showing some of Autumn's glory...

So, today is my favorite holiday! I love dressing up, being silly, eating candy, and most of all, I love fall flavors! Halloween is a time to indulge in your inner-child, which is great, because it's the one day of the year that my usual behaviors are acceptable. That's right. I consult my inner-child daily and regret nothing. Nothing!


But onto the fun! I bought two tubs of candy corn - original and those tiny pumpkin 'mallow bites that are more addicting than Fritos. Just saying. And after a weekend of uncontrollably snacking on candy corn and crack pumpkins, I decided to use will power. Just kidding, I had to throw them away. Just kidding, I baked with them.


Okay - let's get down to business. You want to see the goods! I know it! Let's celebrate the sweet nectar of the gods by pouring them over espresso brownies. Yeah? Okay, glad we're all on board there!




The following night, I indulged my senses and drank a delicious beer. I'm a tried and true Shipyard Pumpkinhead fiend, but Shlafly's Pumpkin Ale is a VERY close second. I paired this with my chewy, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. Oh my!



And of course, there was pumpkin carving! Like I could resist this... I drained the meat of the pumpkin, used the liquid in a sauce pan with some brown sugar, and made pumpkin syrup for my coffee. I'm giving you a run for your money, Starbucks!


Now, onto what I think might be my favorite. Speaking of inner-child, I bought a new (not-for-kids) toy! I bought myself a kitchen torch, and I am addicted. Addicted. It looks kind of like a laser beam!

This bad boy was first used to create my pumpkin cupcakes with toasted marshmallow frosting. And yes, they were a HUGE hit!






Last, but certainly not least, I whipped up a quick classic. I couldn't resist making these Rice Krispie Treats with candy corn sprinkled in. They were just too cute! Who else is hopped up on sugar right now!!?!?






And of course, what's Halloween without a good, solid costume? Naturally, we had a few. Here I am on Saturday night watching My So-Called Band with Justin (Where's Waldo?). I'm Carmen Sandiego. And together, we were the Elusive Couple.


 And for our Bo Dog. He was a t-rex. He looks unhappy in the first photo, but he really got to liking the costume after a while!! We dressed up with him today and handed out candy at Justin's office,  cj Advertising!






HAPPHALLOWEEN!!! 




29 October 2013

Cheers to Breakfast!

I have been on a crazy breakfast kick lately! So yes, I'll cheers to breakfast. In the form of a delicious mimosa or bloody Mary. Like anyone can say no to that? My preferred breakfast beverage comes in the form of coffee (with TN Whisper Creek cream and Maker's Mark). It's a delicious Southern coffee, and being in Tennessee now, far fewer people are judging me.


But I digress...

I'm not actually posting about booze, I just got carried away. Today's post is brought to you by the British cookie counterpart - the SCONE. I've been deterred from scones for a very long time. Mostly because the dry crumb I had sadly tasted with crappy scones just never held a candle to a flaky almond croissant. Fortunately for me (and you!) I've revisited scones. They've become all the rage at coffee shops recently, so naturally I had to dig in and make some. I went with almond cream scones with blueberries, and those puppies came and went faster than I could order my Southern coffee!



Next up I went for a pumpkin scone with cinnamon chips. Those were equally delicious, and so fun to make because of the seasonal flair, and my ultimate love for all things pumpkin.



As if that wasn't enough goodness last week, this past weekend I delved into a much deeper place. A place filled with....well, butter. And flour. But mostly butter. I made my first ever batch of croissants. And they only took 3 days to make! Lo and behold, a buttery, flaky, time-consuming beauty!


Here's an up close and personal look at that flaky pastry...


Stay tuned for a delicious, Autumn post filled with pumpkin, candy corn brownies, and toasted marshmallow goodness!

05 October 2013

Huffin', Puffin' and Making Muffins!

Well, today is your pretty typical post - lots of yummy treats! I realize the time span between posts lately has increased exponentially and for that, I apologize. Turns out, you can only do so much in 24 hours, and MBA homework and reading, traveling, and work frustrations have reared their ugly heads! Rawr.


Fortunately for me, that just means that I've been baking more and more. But lately there's been less time to tell you guys all about it! Fret not, I am still making a lot of forward progress! And with that progress came the realization that I hadn't really made muffins since LAST football season! Yes, I equate seasons to sports. Because that's how I know when to bake! Sunday morning baking followed by football watching and wing eating! But I digress...

I couldn't think of anything more seasonal and exciting than pumpkin muffins. Just to be sure it was perfect, I made about 10-20 different batches, all with a different combination of ingredients. Yes, that made for a lot of muffins! I tried mixing in chocolate chips to some of the batches, but I felt like it took away from the brown-sugary, cinnamon-y flavor of the pumpkin. And by golly, this last batch was dang delicious. But it didn't come without about 5 million trillion (I believe that's the technical term) muffins sitting around my apartment.


So, to promote early mornings - which I absolutely LOVE - and to pique the interest of breakfast foods that are a little more standard (wait, peach cobbler + ice cream isn't a legitimate breakfast?!?!), I bring you my delectable muffins with brown sugar crumble! The first few batches turned out to be a little gummy, as I attempted to be lower in sugar AND fat (boooooo). Turns out, the less I tried to combine multiple healthy alternatives, the better they tasted. Go figure. And you know what? They're worth every bite!

So, after huffin' and puffin' and many a-muffin, I bring you my favorite muffin yet! What's better than football and beer?? Nothing, duh. But these muffins take the number two spot, at least!

Oh hello, (pumpkin) lover...








These muffins were dispersed amongs friends and co-workers alike. And yes, every last muffin was eaten. Now what's for lunch??