cake balls, brooklyn's best and vintage tins!

one of my favorite west coast ladies got married this summer. i sadly could not attend the wedding. as a little post wedding treat, i sent a care package. other than the horrible experience of waiting in line at the post office (a fate worse than death), it was so much fun to assemble this package. it included homemade banana cake balls, mast bros chocolate, a baked brownie, brooklyn gum, 1" story pin, goucher college sticker (it's where we met after all), john waters postcard and cards from atomic books--- i put it all in a vintage 50's tin from holland. i love vintage tins, and to find one in such beautiful condition was divine!



cake balls are something i rediscovered recently. they are always a BIG hit at the office. making cake balls can be a bit messy, but they are pretty easy to make otherwise. i recently starting thinking about all the flavor combos that could be made... and one that i needed to try was banana cake with cream cheese frosting and dark chocolate. i followed bakarella's 'instructions' while incorporating different flavor cake. i also put a single sugar pearl on each cake ball, which i thought was a romantic touch.



so much deliciousness being sent with love from east to west <3

you will be missed... delicious friend

blue marble has mastered the art of simple, delicious, high quality ice cream. sadly, the blue marble on atlantic avenue (just a short walk from my apartment) will be closing in less than a week. this blue marble is insanely popular and very loved. it seems ice cream doesn't make the rent. so no more last minute blue marble stops on my way home after a bad day. no more blue marble runs with my boyfriend at 10:30pm for a mini marble. sigh.

blue marble still exists at two lovely brooklyn locations- but the original on atlantic is what started it all!

i will miss you blue marble on atlantic avenue! your ginger ice cream lives on in my heart... and my belly.



if you live nearby, you should stop by 420 atlantic avenue and show your support before they close on 10/24. if you've never tried blue marble---- GET READY :)

CHRISTmas cookies for butter lovers and vegans too!

happy holidays ya'll! this week has been busy! parties, gift swaps, going through holiday hate mail at work (it's not a HOLIDAY tree, it's a CHRISTmas tree), spending time with old friends, spending time with new friends, and baking my little heart out!

i decided to make cookies for the guys that work in my building. i was going to make classic butter cookies for all, until i discovered my 50-something dominican handyman is a VEGAN (upon saying my handyman was a vegan all my friends pictured a young skinny hipster--- but this is not the case). i have had some pretty delicious vegan desserts, but i have never gone out of my way to bake something vegan before. this cookie making extravaganza also gave me a chance to make some brooklyn bridge cookies (YESSSS).

for the butter cookie dough, i used martha's recipe. i added a tiny bit of maple syrup and brown sugar to add a bit more sweetness to these.







for the icing- i combined 2 cups of confectioners' sugar with one egg white and 1/3 cup of water. i beat this until it looked smooth (like paste) and then i added one drop of food coloring.

i also added some snow flake sprinkles to the sugar cookies with icing. WOOT! snowflakes.







i made nutella sandwiches out of some of the sugar cookies as well. i want to nom nom all of them. also some sugar for dusting... gorge.







some of these are going to my doormen, but some of them are going to my lovely bon bons, who i spend christmas day with every year. when i gave my super his box of cookies, he said ' i am going to eat them all- none for my children or my wife'... what an awesome man he is. i also discovered one of my doorman is a vegan as well--- so i am happy both the vegans in my building were taken care of... especially after i stressed how delicious kangaroo tastes to one of them (adorable AND delicious).

for the vegan cookies, i decided on a mexican wedding cookie. i combined the following in my lovely electric mixer:
2 sticks unsalted vegan margarine (room temp)
2 1/4 cups flour
2/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup ground pecans
1/2 cup ground walnuts
nice pinch of salt
2 big spoonfuls of maple syrup
splash of vanilla extract
pinch of cinnamon


after i mixed this together, i wrapped in cling film and put in the fridge for 2 hours. after that, i rolled the dough into small dough balls, and placed on a baking sheet. bake it at 350 for 15-18 minutes. after that, let them cool for a few minutes. then, while they are still a tiny but warm, toss them in confectioners' sugar until well coated. let them set and cool. then... nom nom nom your vegan sweets for days.




the packaging for my cookies were courtesy of blue ribbon general store and a cook's companion. i LOVE both those stores--- i could spend hours debating between sprinkles, stickers and gift boxes...




a very merry brooklyn chrismakkah to all!

x

the brooklyn flea... dumbo

i love the brooklyn flea! mostly, i'm in it for the food... i mean there are some cool crafts/clothes/jewelry etc, but that stuff is sometimes out of my price range. on the other hand- i always have $5 to spare for a papusa or some asia dog with kimchi! today it was nearly 70 degrees, so Jojo BonBon and i headed to Dumbo, coffee in hand, sunglasses on--- in NOVEMBER. Jojo and i took a long walk around before we decided papusas were the right choice. the tables inside the flea were packed, so we took a walk to the Dumbo park by the water... i really LOVE this park, and have a soft spot for the tobacco factory in the background. Jojo and i grew up in Brooklyn, so i think sometimes we forget how nice it is to take advantage of places like this-- i don't come here enough.

so, i got a chicken and a bean & cheese papusa with cabbage, tomato sauce, jalapeno and sour cream- the works!



it was delicious as always! Jojo and i listened to some lady gaga and solange. we had some good chats and sat in the park until we got kicked out... i love you brooklyn. can't you be 70 degrees every autumn sunday?







also- i made a second batch of the pumpkin cream cookies, but i used a pastry bag to make them look a little 'fancy'... they taste delicious either way. i was mostly looking for an excuse to make them again because i thought they were so yummy.