Durangoans are particularly proud of our beautiful state around the holidays. While many people send seasons greeting cards adorned with wintery vistas, evergreen trees weighed down with glistening mounds of snow, and woodland animals making their way silently through the drifts, those of us who spend Christmas in Colorado usually have the great fortune of watching those holiday cards come to life around us. This year, the first major snow of the season hit my hometown just a few days before I came home, and a gentle snowfall on Christmas Eve really sealed the deal for a white Christmas.

Having resided primarily in non-mountainous locations outside of Colorado for the better part of the last decade, I start getting really antsy for snow right around Thanksgiving but rarely actually see any until I’m flying over the Rockies a few weeks later on my way home for the holidays. For my holiday party (I swear, I’m almost done posting recipes from that dang party) in early December, I wanted to pay some small homage to the spectacular winter beauty of my home state, and I also was lacking a chocolate-y dish on my menu.

Enter the brownie.

Most often, I see brownies served with a light dusting of powdered sugar arranged in a pyramid of sorts on a serving tray. And boy, they never last long, do they But what if, I thought, I rearrange those brownies like a little mountain And top them with funny little trees! And DEER?

I was committed.

But despite all the décor, the truth of the matter is that this is a REALLY yummy brownie recipe. It’s rich, fudgy (as brownies should be, sorry Mom), hugely chocolate-y, and is honest-to-god just as fast as using a brownie mix. It starts with, not cocoa, but a mound of unsweetened cocoa melted into some butter.

With the chocolate melted, the rest of the prep is really the easiest thing you’ll ever meet. Whisk in some sugar, eggs, salt, vanilla, and flour, and you’re just about half an hour away from brownies.

Now, if you’re not having a bout of nostalgia for snow-covered mountains, you can just stop right here, dust the whole pan with powdered sugar, and slice these brownies up for eating. But let’s operate under the assumption that you DO want to turn your brownies into a little wonderland, shall we?

Okay!

First, you need some trees. Otherwise you’ll just have snow-covered rocky crags, which are interesting but probably will just alarm your guests into thinking you had some sort of accident when arranging your brownies. I found my trees in the miniature ornament section at a craft store. They came with adorable wooden bases that I chopped off immediately so I could stab them into the brownies. And I couldn’t resist adding a couple of deer, as well. To celebrate Bambi. Or James Potter. Or just because deer live in the forest.

I arranged my mountain in a long panorama, but this could also be a round-ish mountain. However you arrange them, I do hope you serve them at a party or gathering where you can watch people pick up the brownie of their choice. It’s quite amusing to watch the trees and deer gather closer together as people work their way in.

And there you have it! A winter wonderland of chocolate, sugar, and butter inspired by Colorado scenery.

I can promise it tastes much better than actual mountain.

Winter Wonderland Brownies
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Makes one 13”x9” pan of brownies about one inch thick

6 oz unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped
1 c (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chopped
2 2/3 c granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 ½ tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp sea salt
1 1/3 c all-purpose flour
powdered sugar for dusting
miniature tree decorations, and forest animals if desired

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 13”x9” pan with parchment paper that extends up all four sides. Spray parchment lightly with cooking spray and set aside.

In a large microwavable bowl, combine chopped chocolate and butter. Heat in 30 second bursts at 50% power in the microwave, stirring between each burst. When the mixture is about 2/3 melted, stir without any further heating until all butter and chocolate is melted. Whisk in sugar, eggs, vanilla, and salt. Shake off whisk and switch to a rubber spatula. Add flour and mix well. Scrape batter into the lined baking pan and spread evenly throughout pan.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the pan comes out with just a speck or two of brownie. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.

Once brownies have cooled, lift the parchment from the pan. If using decorative trees, snip off any wooden bases and shake thoroughly over a trashcan to remove loose “snow”. Cut brownies into two-inch squares. Arrange about half of the brownies on a narrow, rectangular serving platter or plate. Place 2-3 tablespoons of powdered sugar into a fine mesh strainer or sifter and dust the bottom layer of brownies until sugar coats the top. Arrange remaining brownies as desired to create multiple levels and a mountainous effect. Continue dusting the tops of the brownies as you place each layer down so that every brownies is dusted with sugar.

Carefully arrange trees and forest animals as desired just before serving.

Leftover brownies should be covered with foil or plastic wrap or can be stored in an airtight container or zippered bag.

As we move into the final days before Christmas, I imagine that your holiday baking agendas are already full. That’s cool. Mine certainly was for my holiday party. Every year, I like to make a mix of old, traditional Horvath holiday favorites and new recipes. One of my favorites from this season are these possibly-overly-cutesy-but-outrageously-delicious vanilla Christmas tree cupcakes.

The reallybeautiful thing about this recipe is that it doesn’t have to happen at Christmas AT ALL. It’s simply a vanilla cupcake with whipped cream icing, and therefore is appropriate in all scenarios in the universe. What, you say, another vanilla cupcake Doesn’t the world have enough of those?

No.

Never.

And these vanilla cupcakes are a step above any I’ve had before. They are the softest, fluffiest, smoothest, vanilla-y-est cupcakes, and the clouds of simple whipped cream atop them offer just the right touch. What makes these cupcakes better than anything else A secret ingredient: whipped cream, folded into the batter ITSELF, in addition to the icing that will finish these little bites of heaven.

Just a half cup of heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks, gets folded into the icing at the end. This recipe is also punched up by the use of vanilla sugar, which I happen to keep in my pantry at all times. Sound too fancy Next time you use the scrapings from a vanilla bean, don’t throw out the pods (never throw out the pods)! Scoop a few cups of sugar into a jar or other airtight container and nestle the beans into them. You can continue adding sugar as you use it, and the result is vanilla-infused sugar whenever you want it.

If you don’t already have vanilla sugar waiting in your pantry, not to worry. You can use regular sugar and just amp up the vanilla extract a bit.

Again, the really magical party of these cupcakes lies not in the type of sugar you use but in the whipped cream added to the batter at the end of mixing. Then into the cupcake liners it goes! These cupcakes don’t raise too much, so you can go ahead and fill the liners 2/3 of the way full. I use an old ice cream scoop, but you can use anything you want to get the batter into the liners.

Once the cupcakes are baked and cooled, it’s time to ice them. This icing is best when it is piped immediately onto the cupcakes and eaten within the hours after that. Over time, the whipped cream will slightly collapse, but we ate these as leftovers the day after the party and they still tasted fabulous, if a little deflated. We start, of course, with the basics for whipped cream: cream, sugar, and vanilla. For Christmas magic, I also added green icing color.

To decorate my trees, I found some great little star-shaped sprinkles. (I’m linking to them here so you can see them, but I found them in the baking aisle at my grocery store.) I also used a few pearl sprinkles, also from the baking aisle, to adorn the trees with baubles. Whatever you decide, make these trees your own!

Dreamy Vanilla Christmas Tree Cupcakes
Adapted from Sweetapolita

For the Cupcakes
1/2 c heavy cream, very cold
2 1/2 c sifted cake flour
1 T baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 c whole milk, at room temperature
2 egg whites, at room temperature
1 whole egg, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract (cut to 1/2 tsp if using vanilla sugar)
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 1/2 c granulated sugar (or vanilla sugar if you have it)
1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two 12-slot cupcake pans with cupcake liners. Place one pan on a cookie sheet (this will help prevent the cupcakes from browning on the bottom) and set aside. The second tray will go on to the cookie sheet once the first tray is baked.

Pour the cold cream into a standing mixer and whip to soft peaks using the whisk attachment. The cream should be fluffy and smooth but should not hold stiff peaks. Use a spatula to scrape the whipped cream out of the mixer bowl and into a separate small bowl. Place in the refrigerator until needed. Wipe the mixer bowl clean.

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl. In a separate larger bowl, whisk together the milk, egg whites, egg, vanilla, and almond extract.

In the bowl of the mixer, combine sugar and butter using the whisk attachment and mix until it has lightened in color and is smooth & creamy. Place the mixer on medium speed and add the dry and wet mixtures, alternating between each (3 dry additions, 2 wet additions). Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula and mix for a few seconds more. Remove the whisk attachment and scrape off as much of the batter as possible.

Retrieve the soft-peaked whipped cream from the fridge and add to the batter. Fold in the cream gently with a spatula just until combined.

Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full. I use an ice cream scoop, and it works well to give evenly-sized scoops.

Bake one tray at a time on the center rack (with the tray placed directly on a cookie sheet) for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out barely clean. Remove from oven and allow to rest in tray for about 5 minutes, then remove each cupcake to a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before applying icing. If storing overnight, store un-iced on the counter covered with a sheet of waxed paper, NOT in an airtight container.

For the Icing
2 1/2 c heavy cream, very cold
5 T granulated sugar
scant 1 tsp vanilla extract
a few drops green icing color
star-shaped yellow sprinkles
white pearl sprinkles (or your “ornaments” of choice)

Pour very cold cream into the bowl of a standing mixer. Using the whisk attachment, whip on medium-high until cream begins to thicken. Add one tablespoon of sugar at a time while cream continues to whip until soft peaks form. Add vanilla extract and green food coloring and whip until stiff peaks form, taking care not to whip too much or the icing will become grainy.

Assembly
Scoop icing into a piping bag with a large flower tip attached. Pipe icing onto cupcakes to form a gradual conical shape (a Christmas tree!) Carefully place the yellow star-shaped sprinkles on the top of each tree. Lightly sprinkle each tree with white pearl sprinkles so that they catch in the grooves like ornaments.

Serve and enjoy!

And there is no better time of year for party food. Whether it’s an office bash or a neighborhood block party or simply a gathering of friends and family, you can never go wrong with a table filled with edible holiday splendor. Many of the posts in the coming weeks will focus on party-ready treats that make worthy contributions to any festive spread. And what classic shall we feature today The cheeseball!

This isn’t just a cheeseball. This is THREE cheeseballs.  Better still: this is three cheesePRESENTS. We’re taking an already-classic holiday favorite and raising it to the tenth Christmas power. Plus, this way you don’t have to choose between your favorite cheeseball flavors… you can make them ALL!

These cheeseballs start, conveniently, with the same base. A mixture of cream cheese, butter, and seasoning, it’s already delicious and could easily be a dip on its own at this point. But to turn this white goop into cheeseball magic-times-three, you’ll need some glorious mix-ins.

Each of these cheeseballs has a distinct personality. The cheddar & cranberry is rich and sweet, the feta & pecan is crunchy and has just a little kick, the chèvre & scallion is creamy and fresh. While most cheeseballs are rolled in an ingredient to give it lots of color on the outside, I elected to scrap that technique and mix those ingredients right into the cheeseballs so the flavor and texture would be spread throughout and the “ribbons” I’d apply soon after would pop a little brighter on the finished products.

With the mixtures made, all that remained was shaping them into packages and adding some finishing touches. I had originally planned to use some squarish pan or serving dish as a mold, but I found that I could just as easily wrap the cheese in plastic wrap and shape them with my hands. A bit messy, yes, but ultimately quite effective.

At this point, the cheeseballs are rather soft. Give ’em a chill for an hour or two in the fridge so they harden up before adding the final decorations. You can really jazz these up however you like. I opted for some simple, classic-looking bow-and-ribbons on two of the three, and a slightly more abstract “bow” for the third.

Surrounded by crackers, this platter of cheeseballs makes quite the centerpiece of a party spread. And it’s superfun to watch people trying to eat them without disturbing the ribbons. Kind of the same as real packages, right?

Pile o’ Presents Cheeseballs
Adapted from Martha Stewart

Makes three package-shaped cheeseballs

Note: If you don’t need three cheeseballs, you can easily make just one or two of the flavors at one time. Simply cut the first section ingredients to the needed proportions, and then omit the mix-ins that you are not planning to use. Options are lovely, aren’t they?

1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
24 oz (3 packages) cream cheese, at room temperature
2 T lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground white pepper

8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, finely grated
3/4 c dried cranberries, finely chopped
2 T ginger apple chutney (or other flavorful chutney)
6-8 oz feta cheese, crumbled
1 shallot, finely chopped (should yield about 1/4 c)
1 c finely chopped pecans
8 oz chèvre
1/2 c green onions, finely chopped (whites & greens)
1/3 c fresh parsley, finely chopped
additional dried cranberries, green onions, parsley leaves, and pecan halves to “wrap” packages
various crackers for serving

Combine butter, cream cheese, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, red pepper, salt, and white pepper in a large bowl. Mix well until smooth & creamy. Divide the mixture evenly into three separate bowls, using the original mixing bowl for one third. To the first bowl, add the cheddar, cranberries, and chutney and mix well. To the second bowl, add the feta, shallot, and pecans and mix well. To the third bowl, add the chèvre, green onions, and parsley and mix well.

Find a serving platter large enough to hold three cheeseballs and crackers and set aside. Stretch out a piece of plastic wrap to about 2 feet long. Scoop the contents of one bowl onto the plastic wrap and fold the wrap around the cheese. Mold the cheese to the desired shape using your hands. Gently pull the plastic wrap away from the cheese and carefully place the cheeseball onto the serving platter. Repeat with new plastic wrap for the other two mixtures, shaping each one slightly differently to make your pile of packages more interesting. Refrigerate for at least one hour.

After an hour, the cheeseballs should be fairly firm. “Wrap” your packages by arranging the additional cranberries, green onions, parsley leaves, and pecan halves (each to their respective flavor) as you would ribbons and bows. Use your creativity! Return the cheeseballs to the fridge until 1 hour prior to serving.

Remove one hour prior to serving. Arrange crackers around the cheeseballs, providing an additional bowl of crackers on the side.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

March 17 is a day of much celebration in my family. Twenty-eight years ago today, my parents tied the knot at an old stone church in my Colorado hometown.

And as if adding a wedding anniversary to an already festive holiday, four years later, my fabulous little sister was born on St. Paddy’s, as well. Needless to say, she’s been given more shamrock paraphernalia than any other person I know.

I over-compensate by wearing copious amounts of green.

As has been the case for several years, I rarely get to celebrate these festivities with my family… I live 2 hours from the Atlantic Ocean, my sister is even closer to the Pacific, and my parents live in our mountain paradise somewhere in between. I’m actually pretty sure this shot from my senior year of high school (Kelli’s sweet sixteen!) was the last time I had that opportunity.

But geographic separation is no reason not to bake cake.

This particular cake is all kinds of vanilla goodness. Vanilla extract the oh-so-luxurious vanilla bean each make an appearance in this tender, white cake. Well, green. It’s a green white cake.

Cakes and cookies are about the only place I am willing to use food color to alter the appearance of something I plan to eat. Typically, the color is in the icing. But I’ve been daydreaming for two weeks about a simply-iced cake hiding a center of brilliant green, and this cake was exactly what I had in mind.

I finally bought myself three, 6-inch round cake pans. I’ve been sort of grudgingly putting it off, hesitant to expand my supply of cake pans due to lack of storage space, but really didn’t want this cake to be square. Really really a lot. So I bought the pans and let me tell you: I’m so happy I did! These three pans were perfect for a half batch of a recipe originally designed for an 8-inch triple layer cake. The half batch could actually be split into just two 6-inch pans, but I prefer thinner layers so that cake and icing can be found in every bite.

The icing is a simple, classic vanilla icing. Despite my recent success with the more complicated Swiss Meringue Buttercream icing, I wanted to go with something basic, sweet, and very white for this little cake.

A quick smear across the cake with the back of a spoon gave the cake a different look than the smooth-as-ice that I typically aim for, and it was actually rather liberating. No perfection to worry about, just texture!

So for me (and the always willing staff of the Duke Box Office – thank my lucky stars they like cake), we welcomed the green of St. Patrick’s Day a bit early.

But today, for my family: this one is for your special day! I wish I could eat a slice with you.

Happy Birthday-Anniversary-St. Patrick’s Day Cake (or, Really Green Vanilla Cake)
Makes one 6-inch triple-layer cake

Double Vanilla Cake
Adapted from Sky High: Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes

1 1/2 c cake flour
1 c granulated sugar
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
scrapings of half of one vanilla bean
1/2 c + 1 T unsalted butter, at room temperature and cubed
2/3 c milk
3 egg whites (2 egg whites if using extra-large or jumbo eggs)
3/4 T vanilla extract
several drops green gel color

Generously grease three 6-inch round cake pans with pan coating and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 °F.

In a large mixing bowl, combine cake flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and the scrapings of the vanilla bean. To scrape, slice the bean lengthwise and carefully scrape the pod over the bowl. Mix well. Add butter and 1/3 c milk and beat on medium speed until batter is light and fluffy.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg whites, vanilla extract, and remaining 1/3 c milk. Pour about a third of the liquid mixture into the batter and mix just until liquid is incorporated, scraping the bowl thoroughly. Repeat twice more until all liquid is in the batter. Add several drops of green gel color and mix just until desired color is achieved.

Distribute batter evenly into pans and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove pans from oven to a cooling rack and allow cakes to cool in the pans for 8-10 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the cakes and flip onto another cooling rack. Once cakes have cooled to room temperature, store in the refrigerator until ready to assemble cake.

Classic Vanilla Icing
Adapted slightly from Sweetapolita

3 sticks unsalted butter, cubed and softened to room temperature
4 c powdered sugar, sifted
2 T milk
2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (use clear to get lighter shade of icing)
1/8 tsp salt

Place cubed butter in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, beat butter on medium speed until butter is light, pale, and creamy, about 5 minutes. Add all remaining ingredients and beat for 5 more minutes, starting on low speed and progressing to medium speed once powdered sugar isn’t spurting all over. Icing is best used right away.

Assembly

Remove cake layers from refrigerator. Place one layer flat side down on a plate or cake stand and spread icing about 1/3″ thick on the top of the layer. Add the second layer of cake and spread another 1/3″ of icing. Add the final layer, flat side up. Spread a very thin layer of icing over the sides and top of the cake to create a crumb coat. Place cake in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes to set icing.

Starting with the top of the cake and working your way down the sides, spread icing generously over the cake. Smooth icing by scraping gently to create straight sides and a level top. To achieve the wave-like effect seen above, gently swivel the back of a spoon over the surface of the icing.

Add green sugar as desired, or leave the cake simply iced.

Fair warning.

This is gonna be awesome. Nerdy awesome. Which is the best kind.

Just in case you live, um, on a planet with no movies or internet or books or newspapers, the final installment of the Harry Potter films is coming out on Friday. This is cause for a party.

A new friend of mine threw one such celebration last Friday (costumes required, duh), and I couldn’t resist cooking something from the books to take to share. But what! So many options!

I settled on cauldron cakes. I wasn’t sure exactly what these are supposed to look like, but after a bit of perusing ideas on the interwebs, I came up with a plan. I’m pleased to say that I think it turned out well.

My, what fun it might be to employ magic to make these. Just a swish and a flick and voila! cupcakes! Unfortunately, a magic wand is not in my kitchen arsenal, so I had to rely on muffin tins, my KitchenAid (possibly worthy of magic wand status),  and a handful of decorating tips.

Confession: I did not make this chocolate cake from scratch. I am for cooking from scratch when I can, but I’ll be honest: I’m not really sharing this because I found some stellar recipe that I’m adding to my weekly dinner plans. This was totally, absolutely, completely for kicks.

And kicks we had!

The cauldron cakes fit right into a house filled with clever decorations, tasty snacks from Honeydukes and the Hogs Head, and a crowd of fun-loving people dressed as wizards. There was butterbeer and fire whiskey, ton tongue toffee and cockroach clusters, and music and laughter.

And the cupcakes were exactly what they should always be: completely and totally eaten.

Harry Potter Cauldron Cakes
Inspired by The Boy Who Lived (and, er, the Snack Witch)

Makes 24 cauldron cakes

A note on piping icing: For this project, I used Wilton tips #4 to pipe the cauldron handles and tips #10, #21, and #352 for the potions. Feel free to mix these up and use whatever tips you want to create different textures in the cauldrons.

For the Handles
Add 1/4 c chocolate chips to a small dish. Microwave on 50% power for 30 seconds and stir. If necessary, repeat until chocolate is completely melted.

Pipe melted chocolate into handles about 1/2″ long onto cookie sheet lined with waxed paper. Make more than you need, as some may break in the construction process. Place sheet into refrigerator or freezer to harden the handles.

For the Cauldrons
Prepare 1 chocolate cake mix (or your favorite chocolate cake recipe). Thoroughly grease cupcake tins, enough for 24 cupcakes. Bake as directed and remove to a cooling rack. Let cupcakes cool to room temperature.

With a small paring knife, carve out the top of the cupcake with the knife at a slight angle, creating a concave depression in the cupcake. Be careful to leave a rim on the “cauldron”. Set tops aside for snacking.

On opposite sides of the rim, make small incisions with a knife wide enough to insert the cauldron handles. If handles have firmed up, quickly insert two handles into each cauldron at the incision points. You may need to return the tray to the freezer as the chocolate will begin to heat up almost as soon as it hits your finger tips.

For the Potion Icing
Recipe adapted from i am baker

Tip: Sift the powdered sugar before adding it to the mixer. Sifting will help to smooth the sugar and prevent clumps in your icing.

1/2 c unsalted butter, softened (1 stick)
4 c powdered sugar, sifted
2 T milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
2-3 T flour

Sift powdered sugar into a medium bowl and set aside. In a large mixing bowl or a standing mixer, combine butter, 2 c of the powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, and almond extract. Mix thoroughly. Then, with the mixer running, gradually add remaining sugar. Beat on high for 3-4 minutes until smooth and creamy. Test the stiffness of the icing by attempting to form a stiff peak (meaning the point does not collapse). Add flour 1 T at a time until this texture is reached.

Divide icing into 3-4 small bowls and add desired colors to each. Remember, a little color goes a long way. Using whatever tips you like, fill cauldrons with icing to give the illusion of a full pot of potion.

Now dress up like a wizard and serve!