kim, Author at Lovin' From the Oven

SweetXO Cookies & Giveaway!

June 15, 2014 by kim 11 Comments

I did something a little crazy; I went into SweetXO, filled up a bag full of candy, went home, and threw everything into a cookie. It was the best decision I’ve made all week.

The result? A cookie that will knock your socks off.

SweetXO has a couple of locations in Southern California. They’re in Agoura Hills, Santa Anita, Huntington Beach, Manhattan Beach, and Thousand Oaks. I went to the location in Agoura and blown away. How have I not visited this store before? It’s basically my dream store that I’ve been picturing in my head for all of these years, but in real life. They have frozen yogurt with over a hundred toppings, ice cream, frozen popcorn (c’mon guys.. FROZEN popcorn!), freshly baked cookies, brownies, warm candied nuts, clothes, assorted bulk candies, a Coke FreeStyle soda fountain, and miscellaneous gifts for everyone in your life.

It may be a little overwhelming at first, but you’ll soon realize that even though the store carries a lot, it’s very well organized. The store is divided into sections that actually make sense: kids, women, men, frozen goods, and bakery items. As for the bulk candy bins, they’re scattered throughout the store by category.

Let’s talk about the frozen popcorn. They have twelve different flavors that change daily. My favorite was the Cini Mini Pops (cinnamon and caramel), which is basically caramel popcorn rolled in cinnamon sugar. That cinnamon sugar combination gets me every time. All of the popcorn is air popped, gluten-free and vegan!

Right next to the popcorn was their ice cream section. Again, the flavors change daily and are made in house.

Naturally, we had to sample every flavor. They had flavors like frosted flakes, glazed maple donut, and circus animal cookies. My favorite was crumb cake. I topped it with some cookie dough and warm Oreo brownies.

I dove into my ice cream and yelped when I realized that my spoon was changing colors! The cold temperature of the ice cream made my yellowish spoon transform into a dark green color. How fun is that?! Sadly, I had to cut my visit shorter than I wished to catch a dinner. I grabbed a candy bag to fill up from the bins so I would have something to take home with me.

Can you tell that I was in a chocolate mood? Milk chocolate covered pretzels and rainbow sno caps were on my mind.

I loved that their bags had a ziploc top rather than a twist tie or sticker. It makes my life a lot easier since I’m always opening and closing my candy bag to get a bite

Milk chocolate covered pretzels and rainbow sno caps look better in a cookie than they do in a bag, don’t you think?

The cookies are sweet, soft as can be, and has a lot of different textures going on with the crisp from the pretzels and the bite from the nonpareils.

This recipe comes from Sally’s Baking Addiction. All I did differently was add sno caps and change white chocolate to milk chocolate. Do you live in Southern California and want to visit SweetXO for yourself? Wonderful! I’m giving away a $50 SweetXO gift card on my blog to celebrate it being National Candy Month! Check it out on the Rafflecopter underneath for a chance to win. The contest ends this Saturday, so make sure to do it before then!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

SweetXO Cookies

Ingredients

3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cups chopped milk chocolate covered pretzels
3/4 cups rainbow sno caps

Directions

Cream butter and sugars together until fluffy. Mix in egg and vanilla.
Gradually add in flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt.
Stir in chocolate covered pretzel pieces and sno caps, saving a couple to press onto the tops of cookies. Wrap the dough in saran wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.
Preheat oven to 350F. Drop balls of dough (2 tablespoons each) onto cookie sheet. Press a couple of sno caps onto the top, if desired.
Bake for 9-10 minutes.
Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring to cooling rack to cool completely.

https://lovintheoven.com/sweetxo-cookies/

I also have bigger news involving SweetXO coming up soon, so stay posted to hear more!

Balsamic Bacon Grilled Cheese

June 7, 2014 by kim 13 Comments

I’ve always had a soft spot for grilled cheese sandwiches, no matter what time of the year it is. They’re simple to make, great to eat on the go, and tasty.

I’ll eat them as is, but I’m a sucker for dipping the ends in a creamy tomato soup.

This month’s hatchery box seemed a teeny bit different than the last two. It was packed in a smaller box (don’t worry, the contents haven’t changed.. they’re still wonderfully consistent).

Then, I read on their Facebook page that after months of testing, Hatchery has come out with a box that’s made from 100% post-consumer fibers! No trees were harmed in the making of your Hatchery box. The crinkle paper tucked away inside the bright red box is also fully biodegradable.

Not only does Hatchery support local artisans, they support the earth with environmentally-conscious materials. I can definitely support a brand like that.

In this month’s Hatchery Box, we have (from top to bottom, left to right):

Organic Blueberry Fruit Spread from Delta Blue Blueberries
Glicco’s Arrabbiata Pasta Gravy from Elbow Foods
Motherlode from Murphy’s Mustard Company
Maple Flakes from Tonewood
Salmon Chemise Spice Blend from Two Snooty Chefs
Fig Balsamic Vinegar from O Olive Oil

I chose to use the fig balsamic vinegar for today’s lunch.

It added a wonderful sour taste that balanced out the creaminess of the cheese. Since balsamic vinegar is great for dipping breads in, it only makes sense that it would taste just as good drizzled on top of a sandwich.

The sample that I used had plenty for making one sandwich. In fact, I’m sure you could use one packet from your Hatchery Box to top off four sandwiches.

You can sign up for your own Hatchery Box shipment for just $20/month here. You’ll get 5-6 hand selected artisan ingredients sent straight to your door. It’s a great way for trying ingredients that you never would have thought about trying before. After three boxes, I’m still a fan!

Balsamic Bacon Grilled Cheese

Ingredients

2 slices of wheat bread
1 teaspoon butter
1 slice of muenster cheese
2 slices of bacon, cooked
about 1 teaspoon Fig Balsamic Vinegar (or more, if desired)

Directions

Spread butter on one side of both breads.
In a skillet over medium heat, place one slice of bread with the butter side facing down. Layer the cheese and bacon on top, followed by the last slice of bread (butter side up).
Let cook until brown, about 2 minutes.
Carefully use a spatula and flip your sandwich, allowing the other side to brown as well.
Once down, slice in half and drizzle balsamic vinegar on top.

https://lovintheoven.com/balsamic-bacon-grilled-cheese/

Nutella Donuts

June 6, 2014 by kim Leave a Comment

Oh, how I love social media for informing me that today is National Doughnut Day. This might be my second favorite day of the year (nothing beats Christmas)!

To celebrate National Doughnut (or Donut?) Day with you, I have Nutella donuts to share. I really need to get myself a donut or two after staring at all of these pictures this afternoon.

These are some beautiful donuts. The glaze on top hardens just a bit while still maintaining their glossy shine so you can properly hold it without getting Nutella all over your fingers. Not that that’s a bad thing…

I even took some step by step photos, which I normally never do because my camera would get covered in flour, butter, sugar, and eggs:

Easy peasy.

Fill up your mold and then start making that dreamy glaze.

Look how shiny it is!

These donuts puffed up beautifully. I still have yet to make a disaster in my Norpro donut pan. That thing is pure magic, I tell ya.

After the donuts have cooled off a bit, it’s time to dunk the top into Nutella.

Hmmm… one dunk doesn’t seem like enough so let’s do that again.

There we go! Now, before we leave them on a cooling rack to set, let’s add a little something extra on top.

Ice cream topping praline crunch isn’t just for ice cream.

Now they look complete.

I apologize for this post having a million pictures, but I just can’t help myself.

Have you had your donut today? I still need to go get mine. Yelp hasn’t helped me at all. Apparently people don’t like to review small donut shops. Anyone know of any good ma and pa donut shops near Glendale, California? Krispy Kreme is just a couple of miles away from me, but I’m a sucker for the smaller donut shops that are open 24 hours.

Recipe from Damn Delicious.

Nutella Donuts

Serving Size: 6 donuts

Ingredients

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar
1 large egg
Crushed hazelnuts, for sprinkling

For the ganache:

1/2 cup Nutella
1/3 cup heavy cream
toppings (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Spray a donut pan with nonstick spray.
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cornstarch, baking powder and salt.
In a measuring cup or another small bowl, whisk together milk, butter, vinegar and egg.
Gradually pour the mixture over dry ingredients and stir using a rubber spatula just until just moist.
Divide the batter evenly into the donut pans.
Bake for 7-8 minutes, or until donuts are slightly browned and spring back when touched.
To make the glaze, mix together the Nutella and heavy cream.
Let the donuts cool for ten minutes and then dip them in the Nutella mix.
Sprinkle any toppings, if using.
Allow glaze to set before serving.

https://lovintheoven.com/nutella-donuts/

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