Donut Chips

Aaaaaand to continue the theme of totally unhealthy and absurd desserts!  Yeah, I'm not stopping with chicken and waffles. I'm going straight up Paula Deen-style this week, minus the absurd amounts of butter. 

I've found myself sucked into the YouTube vortex way too often lately. Considering that all of my homework is done on the computer, procrastination is my absolute worst enemy. I can't even begin to count the amount of times I find myself sneaking in a study break and ending up far too deep into the vortex, usually watching some strange airplane crash documentary, this really creepy video of some Asian woman making cookies (seriously, what is going on in this video), or an episode of Telefrancais, despite the fact that the only words I know in French are food items. (If you have a favorite video I need to see immediately, throw it in the comments below!) 

Though YouTube is generally my procrastination tool of choice, there's also a huge food community that I'm way too obsessed with. There are SO many great accounts with a wealth of inspiration! I kiiinda want to start making baking vlogs; maybe one day! In the meantime, check out my favorite users: Sorted Food, Donal Skehan, Dulce Delight, Cupcake Jemma, and PopSugar Food. 

These donut chips come straight from the beautiful minds over at PopSugar Food. Think of these bad boys as America's version of the true Belgian Liege sugar waffles. Sure, a waffle is not a donut, but both have a sweet, yeasted dough base, so I think we can call them distant cousins. After a dusting of cinnamon sugar and a quick grill on the panini press, the glaze begins to caramelize into a crispy burnt sugar, just like the chunky Belgian pearl sugar in a liege waffle.

Seriously, these are the bomb and they couldn't be any simpler! Three steps and you're done. I used traditional glazed donuts to make these donut chips, but donut holes or any other flavored glazed yeasted donut should work. (Just make sure to stay away from cake donuts; I tried a few, but the crumb yielded a wonky texture.) The possibilities with these are endless. I covered them in Nutella and jam, but I'm already envisioning how great these would be with a giant scoop of ice cream. 

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Donut Chips 

• one dozen glazed donuts
• cinnamon sugar

Heat your panini press to 400F. 

Slice donuts in half, then coat in cinnamon sugar. Grill the donuts for about 30 seconds, until grill marks are present and the glaze begins to caramelize. Remove from the oven and let cool. The chips will crisp up as they cool. 

Serve with anything and everything, but I loved them slathered in Nutella and jam. 

Coffee & Beignet Ice Cream Sandwiches

I think about food a lot. Actually, I'm thinking about food at least 90% of the time. The other ten percent of my brain activity is taken up by "more important" things (emphasis on the air quotes) like college, my future, what I'm going to wear tonight... But don't worry, my constant food thoughts aren't of the unhealthy variety. (You know, like thinking about eating all of the food ever. Actually, I do that sometimes, too.) Instead, I'm usually dreaming about what I can do with food. 

The other day I had an epiphany. In the midst of an intense New Orleans dessert brainstorm sesh, I came to the conclusion that if I was held at gunpoint and forced to crown one local dish as the quintessential New Orleans sweet, I'd probably pick beignets. I mean really, what's better than little squares of fried dough drowning in a sea of powdered sugar. (Nothing.) Naturally, my food-obsessed brain then started thinking about the beignet's liquid lover, a piping hot cafe au lait perfectly balanced with a hint of chicory. And then, bam! The idea came to me: beignet ice cream sandwiches. And the rest is history. 

Though research of the interwebs shows that nobody has ever done such a thing. Call me a trendsetter. *hairflip*

Let's talk about this coffee ice cream. Nigella Lawson is pretty much a miracle worker, considering that she shared her secret to making creamy, soft, delicious ice cream at home without using an ice cream maker. I even have an ice cream maker, but this ice cream is so good that I've decided to skip out on making the real stuff. Only four ingredients, a whisk, and just a few hours chilling away in the freezer before you are left with the creamiest, richest, amazing-est coffee ice cream ever made. Too easy, almost. 

Sandwich that stuff in between homemade beignets and you're set. One bite and I'm instantly transported to one of my countless childhood powdered sugar fights at Cafe du Monde in the French Quarter. That's nostalgia alright. 

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One-Step, No-Churn Coffee Ice Cream

(the amazing Nigella method! makes 1 pint)

• 1 1/4 cup heavy or double cream, well-chilled
• 2/3 cups sweetened condensed milk
• 2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
• 2 tablespoons espresso liqueur (I used Kahlua) 

Whisk all the ingredients together just until the whisk leaves trails of soft peaks in the bowl, and you have a gorgeous, caffe-latte-colored airy mixture.

Freeze for at least 6 hours, or overnight. Serve straight from the freezer.

Cafe du Monde-style Beignets 

• one 0.25 oz packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast

• 1 1/2 cups warm water 

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2 eggs

• 1 cup evaporated milk

• 7 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/4 cup shortening

• vegetable oil (for frying)

• confectioners' sugar (for dusting)

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in the warm water. Once dissolved, add the sugar, salt, eggs, and evaporated milk. Mix well. Add in 4 cups of the flour and beat until smooth. Add the shortening, and then the remaining 3 cups of flour. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. (The longer, the better!)

Roll out the dough to a 1/8-inch thickness and cut into 2-1/2 inch squares. Fry the dough in hot oil (360 F). If beignets do not pop up, oil is not hot enough. Drain onto paper towels to cool. Once cool, cut beignets in half and place a scoop of the prepared coffee ice cream in between. Dust with confectioners' sugar. 

Cookies & Cream Tart

I started my junior year of college this week. 

Junior.... COLLEGE.... Um... WHAT? 

It's bizarre, really, how fast we grow up. It feels like just yesterday I was running to the office in middle school because I ripped my shorts straight down the middle because I dropped it like it was [a little too] hot on the playground. (True story; I was a wild 5th grader.) I can vividly remember the first day of 8th grade at my high school, exactly what I ate and where I sat at lunch that day, how my mom picked me up and I immediately proclaimed how much I hated it. I remember the first day of senior year, thinking about how ready I was to graduate, but how equally scared I was to leave my comfort zone. Just as vividly, I remember walking blocks upon blocks from my dorm in the East Village with the most painful blisters on the backs of my ankles for the hot minute I was attending college in New York City. and now, here I am... only two years away from being done with school forever. (Don't you dare mention grad school, just no.) 

The first day back at school after summer break has always been my least favorite day of the year. Almost routinely, my first days have always been marked by so much knowingly unnecessary, yet unavoidable anxiety. This time around was no different. I was awkward when I introduced myself, my voice started shaking whenever I had to tell my teachers that I went by Graham and not Anthony (my actual first name), and once I got home, I may or may not have chugged a watermelon martini and went to bed at 9pm out of pure exhaustion. But this year, I was actually, wait for it .... excited to go back. I guess I really am getting old. 

To celebrate my second-to-last first day of school, I decided to whip up something special. Remember: it's scientifically* proven that sugar can calm your nerves on the first day of school. 

* Disclaimer: Though Graham Blackall likes to believe he is a scientific authority, he is just a lowly boy with a sugar addiction. 

Well, attempted to whip up something special. I don't know whether or not it's because of school, but I'm having an off week in the kitchen. In 24 hours, I have ruined three different recipes. I had this lovely idea of celebrating back-to-school with a peanut butter and jelly dessert. Cute, right? Well... my oven didn't agree. First, I made a peanut butter pavlova — the meringue fell. After that, I decided to make a big giant vanilla cake that I would going to cut into a giant pb&j — my eggs scrambled when I added them into the batter. Finally, I had the genius idea of making a concord grape cake (strange, I know) with peanut butter mascarpone frosting. I had spent hours perfecting the recipe and as I was taking the cakes out of their pans, every single one of them cracked in half. This is when I realized that PB&J just wasn't going to work out. 

Luckily, I've had this recipe waiting, ready to be posted since last week. It's the most delicious white chocolate mascarpone tart in an Oreo crust. Aaand it's no-bake, so you have less chances to mess it up! To top it off, I made an Oreo whipped cream and covered the whole tart in cookie pieces and white chocolate shavings (not pictured). Absolutely amazing and pretty damn painless to make. 

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Oreo Crust 

• 10 oz. Oreo cookies
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1/8 tsp. salt

In a food processor or blender, process the whole Oreo cookies (including the cream) until they turn into fine crumbs. Add the crumbs to the melted better and the salt. Mix until they form a workable crust. Press the crust into your tart pan. Freeze the crust while making the filling. 

White Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse

• 8 oz. high-quality white chocolate, chopped
• 3/4 cup plus two tablespoons heavy cream 
• 8 oz. mascarpone, room temperature
• 1/4 cup icing sugar 

In a large bowl over simmering water, melt the white chocolate until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. 

Whip your cream until soft peaks form. 

In another bowl, mix together the mascarpone and confectioner's sugar until combined. Add in the cooled white chocolate and combine. Fold in the whipped cream. 

Pour the filling into the prepared crust. Refrigerate overnight to set. Serve with Oreo whipped cream, cookie pieces, and white chocolate shavings. 

Oreo Whipped Cream

• 10 Oreo cookies
• 1-1/2 cup heavy cream
• sugar, to taste
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

In a small bowl, cover the oreo cookies with heavy cream. Let sit for 1-2 hours in the refrigerator to infuse the cream. Strain the infused cream into a bowl and whip with the sugar and vanilla extract until you reach your desired consistency. Use immediately or store in the fridge.