Cream Cheese Macaroni and Cheese

Cheese is one of my favorite things, any kind, it doesn't matter. Macaroni and cheese is therefore a no brainer for me. Pasta and cheese has got to be one of the best combinations ever. I've been wanting to make homemade macaroni and cheese for some time now, but I would just never get around to it. Either I didn't have the cheese, or the right noodles, or I wanted to eat something lighter for dinner, etc., I always seemed to have an excuse. A few weeks ago though I put my foot down and told myself I was just going to do it. I think the hardest part is picking a recipe. There are a million out there to choose from and they all sound delicious, how is one to choose? In the end I picked this recipe because I happened to have a block of cream cheese in the back of my fridge that I didn't know what to do with, and since I think cream cheese makes just about everything better I knew this had to be good. I was beyond right.

This mac and cheese turned out super cheesy and gooey and absolutely delicious. I chose three cheeses at random to go with the cream cheese and I think I picked the winning combination, it was so delicious. First I went with cheddar because I always have it in the fridge, and it just seems like the right thing to put in mac and cheese. Next I went with fontina because I love it, it is so creamy and flavorful, and it melts wonderfully. Finally I wanted something with a more unique flavor so I decided that something smoked sounded good. I ended up buying smoked mozzarella which I think was perfect. It added a hint of smokiness to the final dish without overpowering it. The smoky undertones from the mozzarella, the sharp bite of the cheddar and the creamy finish of the fontina made this a meal to remember for a long time.

The original recipe did not have a crunchy topping with it, but I love crunchy, cheesy breadcrumbs on top of my baked mac and cheese so I threw together my own version of a breadcrumb topping. It turned out quite delicious if I do say so myself. The butter, cheesy breadcrumbs are the perfect balance to the rich creamy pasta, don't skip it. Trust me, you won't be disappointed.

I actually halved the recipe as written and made it in a 9-inch square pan, but it would be just as easy to make the full batch and throw it into a 9x13. Even though I only made half I did have enough cheese for a second go at this dish. I just stuck it in the freezer, waiting for the perfect time to try again. Guess what I'm having for dinner this weekend?!

The star of the recipe, the cheese

Grate it up

Make sure you have some noodles, I like shells

Toast up your breadcrumbs

Add cheese and spices to make

a the delicious topping

Boil up the noodles, but don't cook them all the way

through, they'll finished cooking in the oven

Then you can start making the sauce,

start by melting the butter

Add in the flour

Stir it around and let it cook for a few minutes to 

cook away the raw flour taste

Then add in the milk and cream cheese, dijon, salt and pepper

Stir it all around until the cream cheese melts and the

sauce gets nice and thick and creamy, yum!

Throw in the partially cooked noodles

And the cheese of course!

Mix it all up until everything is covered in 

the gooey cheese sauce

Pour it into a greased pan

Admire all the cheesy goodness

Then cover with crunchy topping

And bake!

Dish it up next to something healthy, 

to make yourself feel better :)

Dig in!

Cream Cheese Macaroni and Cheese
Adapted from Tasty Kitchen
Ingredients

• 1 pound Macaroni Noodles
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups milk
• 8 ounces cream cheese
• ½ teaspoons Salt
• ½ teaspoons Black Pepper
• 2 teaspoons Dijon Mustard (heaping)
• 3/4 cup Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• 3/4 cup Fontina
• 3/4 cup Smoked Mozzarella

Topping

• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
• 4 tablespoons parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons each of the three cheeses used in the mac and cheese

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Start by making the topping. Place the breadcrumbs in an even layer on a baking sheet and toast for about 5 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool a few minutes. When cool, add the remaining ingredients and set aside. 

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add noodles and cook until al dente; drain.

In a saucepan melt butter and stir in flour. Cook for about 1 minute, until smooth and bubbly; stirring occasionally. Mix in milk, cream cheese, salt, pepper, and Dijon mustard. Continue cooking until sauce is thickened. Add cooked macaroni and the 3/4 cups of each cheese.

Pour into a 2-quart casserole dish and sprinkle the topping mixture on top. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until heated through and topping is brown and crunchy. Remove from oven and let cool a few minutes before digging in.

Mocha Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

My recipe binder is continually expanding, filling up with all the yummy new recipes I try. Every once in a  while I attempt to clean it out, but I liked almost everything in it and I want to want to keep all the recipes. They all bring back memories, almost all of them good. It's rare that I make something that I don't like. These muffins have been in my recipe binder for a couple of years now. I remember the first time I made them I really liked them, but I don't remember much else. So when I finally had some ripe bananas I decided it was time to try these again, and I'm glad I did!

These mocha muffins are full of chocolate chips and bananas and are very tender and buttery with a nice crispy top. Both the coffee flavor and the banana flavor are nice but quite mild. I might increase the amount of espresso powder I add next time if I'm feeling like a little more mocha flavor. I love their darker, golden brown color due to the espresso powder. The moment they came out of the oven I wanted to devour them all. If you have a few extra ripe bananas lying around and want to try something new, I would definitely recommend this recipe. A wonderful muffin to accompany a morning cup of coffee.

Start with the butter

Then the sugar

Egg next

Finally the banana and espresso powder

And don't forget the vanilla

Mix it all up

(I didn't quite follow the recipe, next time I'll 

remember to cream the butter and sugar first)

Add the flour mixture

Nicely mixed together

Time for the chocolate

Into the muffin pans

Top with a few extra chocolate chips

Bake them up until golden brown

Breakfast anyone?

Mocha Banana Muffins
From allrecipes.com
Ingredients

• 1 cup butter
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 egg
• 3 ripe bananas
• 1 tablespoon instant espresso (or 1 tablespoon instant coffee granules dissolved in 1 tablespoon water)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions
In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda, set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer beat together the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg, banana, instant espresso and vanilla and beat until combined. 

Add the flour mixture, mixing until almost combined. Add the chocolate chips and mix a few times by hand, just until incorporated. Spoon the mixture into lined muffin cups. Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool on wire racks.

Gooey Cream Cheese Butter Cookies

When I heard these cookies described as being somewhat like baked cream cheese frosting I was sold. A cookie dough lover's cookie at its finest? Yes please, now please. Since I also happened to have a block of cream cheese sitting in the back of my fridge, just begging me to do something with it, I knew it was meant to be. It's funny how there are some recipes you come across that you just cannot pass up. They must be made and they must be made soon, today if possible. This was one of those recipes.

These cookies lived up to their name and description. They were pillows of buttery, cream cheesy goodness, super soft and full of vanilla goodness. They were as light as air, almost seeming under baked in the center, reminiscent of cream cheese frosting. The cream cheese flavor really came through, so if you aren't a big fan these probably aren't for you, but since that isn't a problem for me I thought they were fantastic. I like pretty much everything under baked; cookies, cinnamon rolls, brownies, hey, I even like my steak as rare as possible, so this recipe was perfect for me, it's meant to at least seem like it is under baked.

The recipe was a simple one, all you need are the basics along with cream cheese. It calls for a vanilla bean but if you don't have one I'm sure they will still turn out amazing. The next time I make these I think I will try the addition of some mini chocolate chips, chocolate makes everything better, right?

Butter, sugar, cream cheese and vanilla bean

Beat until nice and fluffy

Add the egg

Mmm...creamy

After adding the flour mixture

Shaped, covered in powdered sugar and ready to bake

The finished product

Try to let them cool at least a little before eating, if you can handle it that is

Gooey Cream Cheese Butter Cookies
From  See You In The Morning
Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
• 1 stick butter
• 1/4 - 1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped (optional but wonderful!)
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• powdered sugar for rolling and dusting

Directions
Stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt, set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the cream cheese, butter, vanilla bean seeds, and sugar together until fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla extract, beating until combined. Add in the flour mixture, stirring until just combined. Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 325. Shape the dough into roughly 1 ounce balls and toss in the confectioner's sugar, rolling around to coat. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and bake until they spread and puff slightly, about 12-16 minutes. They will be really soft in the center. If they start to brown, they've gone too far. Cool to room temperature.

*refrigerate and serve cookies cold out of the refrigerator...these cookies are said to taste much better cold than warm.

Stewed Lentils and Tomatoes

Over the past few months I've become a big fan of lentils. Until recently I had never tried a lentil, but now I've had them in several dishes and really like them a lot. They don't have a lot of flavor, so you can add them to a lot of different things and they don't change the taste of the dish much. I first bought them because I was looking for a cheap and easy to store protein source. Lentils are a high-fiber, protein-rich legume that cook quickly without any need for presoaking or anything like that. There are a lot of different kinds of lentils, but so far I've only used green lentils, they stay firm and don't get mushy when you cook them. As I've used them they have really grown on me and now I like them a lot. If you've never tried them before, go out and pick up a bag, you really have no reason not to.

This is one of the lentil recipes I've tried recently. It was very simple, hearty and extremely healthy. Basically it is just vegetables, lentils and spices, that's it. Throw it all together in a pot and let it cook for 40 minutes, dinner is served. This recipe uses carrots, onions and tomatoes, but you could really do whatever you wanted and whatever you like best, it is really versatile. In the end it turns into a really thick stew. If you wanted you could add more liquid and make it into more of a soup, either way would work I think. Slice up some nice crusty bread for dipping and you have a delicious and healthy meal, perfect for a cold, blustery night.

Chop just a few veggies

Throw them into the pot

Grab the rest of the ingredients

Once the veggies soften, add the tomatoes...

...lentils...

...and spices

Stir it all together, cover and cook

40 minutes later

A nice, hearty bowl

Stewed Lentils and Tomatoes
From Smitten Kitchen, originally from Barefoot Contessa at Home
Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons good olive oil
• 2 cups large-diced yellow onions (2 onions)
• 2 cups large-diced carrots (3 to 4 carrots)
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
• 1 (28-ounce) can whole plum tomatoes
• 1 cup French green lentils (7 ounces)
• 2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
• 2 teaspoons mild curry powder
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Directions
Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onions and the carrots and cook over medium-low heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until the onions start to brown. Stir occasionally with a wooden spoon. Add the garlic and cook for one minute more.

Meanwhile,  coarsely chop the tomatoes, either in a food processor or use a pair of kitchen scissors to cut them into piece right in the can. Rinse and pick over the lentils to make sure there are no stones in the package.

Add the tomatoes, lentils, broth, curry powder, thyme, salt and pepper to the pan. Raise the heat to bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer covered for about 40 minutes, until the lentils are tender. Check occasionally to be sure the liquid is still simmering. Remove from the heat and allow the lentils to sit covered for another 10 minutes. Add the vinegar, season to taste and serve hot.

Vegetable Parmesan

First of all, I have to say a big thank you to my cousin Anna for giving my blog a new look! I knew I wanted something new and fun, but to be honest I didn't really know what else. So with very little direction Anna came up with a new, fantastic header! I think she did a wonderful job. I know I never could have done it on my own, so thanks Anna! Now on to this yummy cheesy vegetable dish.

This recipe comes from the cookbook Giada at Home by Giada De Laurentiis, a really fun cookbook. In it she says that this dish is the biggest hit of any recipe she's made for her TV show, everyone just loves it. Since I have yet to make a Giada recipe I don't like, I knew it was bound to be good. It is a very simple recipe, but it does take some time to assemble all of the components. All you need are vegetables, marinara, cheese and breadcrumbs, that's basically it. Layer it all up like a lasagna and stick it in the oven. The smell emanating from the oven while this dish cooking was fantastic, a mix of peppers, cheese, toasting bread and tomato sauce. It was like I apparated to Italy!

I started out by whipping together a quick and simple marinara sauce, but canned is good too if you don't have the time (or desire) to make your own. While that cooked I cut and prepped the vegetables for grilling.  The slightly smoky flavor that comes from grilling was really yummy, but if you don't have a grill pan I'm sure you could roast the veggies in the oven instead. After that it was just a matter of layering all the ingredients.

Since I already had onions, and didn't feel like going out to buy fennel, that's what I used and it turned out really nice. I would probably cut the onion a little thinner next time to make sure it cooked through, but it wasn't a big deal. The peppers added really nice flavor, while the eggplant contributed a great contrasting texture. I think summer squash would work really well too. You can use whatever veggies you have on hand at the moment, or just use your favorite. Whatever you choose, it's bound to be delicious!

 The eggplant was so pretty I had to take a picture

 All the vegetables cut up and ready for grilling

 After the grilling, they got some nice grill marks

 Start the layering, first sauce and then eggplant

 Some cheese is next

 Then the peppers

 More sauce

 Cheese and then onions

 The rest of the sauce

 And finally the rest of the cheese

Cover in bread crumbs, drizzle with olive oil, and bake

Crusty and golden, your house will smell like an Italian restaurant, I promise

Vegetable Parmesan
From Giada at Home
Ingredients

• Butter, for greasing 
• Olive oil, for drizzling 
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 
• 1 medium eggplant, cut into 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick slices 
• 2 medium fennel bulbs, trimmed and sliced into 1/4-inch thick pieces ( I used onions instead) 
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into thirds 
• 1 yellow bell pepper, cut into thirds 
• 1 orange bell pepper, cut into thirds 
• 1 (26-ounce) jar marinara sauce 
• 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese 
• 1 cup grated Parmesan 
• 1 cup plain bread crumbs 

Directions
Put a grill pan over medium-high heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Put an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a 13 by 9-inch glass baking dish.

Drizzle the eggplant slices, fennel slices and peppers with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Grill the vegetables for 3 to 4 minutes each side until softened.

Spoon 3/4 cup of the marinara sauce over the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Arrange the eggplant slices on top. Sprinkle with 1 cup of mozzarella cheese and 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese. Arrange the peppers in a single layer on top. Spoon 3/4 cup of marinara sauce over the peppers. Sprinkle with 1 cup of mozzarella cheese and 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese. Arrange the fennel on top and cover with the remaining sauce. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Scatter the bread crumbs over the cheese and drizzle liberally with oil. Bake until the top is golden and forms a crust, about 30 to 35 minutes

Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Note: The vegetables can also be baked in a 375 degrees F oven for 15 to 20 minutes until softened.

Simple Winter Mushrooms

I never really cared all that much for mushrooms. I think it was just the texture thing and the fact that they are a fungus. I mean really, who thinks that eating a fungus sounds appetizing? They are just kind of weird. That said however, in the past year or two, mushrooms have been growing on me. They can really add some nice flavor to different dishes, and can add meatiness to an otherwise umami-less meal. The more I use mushrooms, the more I like them. A few weeks ago I was at Eastern Market in Detroit on Saturday morning, picking up some vegetables to use over the next week. I got sidetracked when I walked by the guy selling mushrooms and saw these beauties. I knew I had to try them, even at twenty bucks a pound. I snatched up a quarter pound and took them home, not having any idea of what I was going to do with them.

I don't remember everything the mushroom man told me, but I believe these are winter chanterelles (if I'm wrong please let me know, I really know next to nothing about mushroom varieties). I just thought they were so pretty; the golden color and the slender elegance of the stems just made me want to eat them right there. I asked the mushroom man what to do with them, and he said all they need is a few minutes in a pan with butter, that sounded good to me.

After spending a few minutes online, I decided that I was just going to use butter and a little of the thyme that I had in my fridge. There is really no recipe for this, all I did was melt a nob of butter in my pan, threw in the thyme leaves and let the butter cook for a little while until it was starting to brown slightly, then in when the mushrooms. Sauté those up for 3-4 minutes and you're done, that's it. It couldn't be simpler, and the aroma in the kitchen was buttery and delicious. The results were outstanding. My very first thought upon taking a bite was, meaty. The mushrooms were so meaty and hearty, it was hard to believe they are a fungus, it was almost like eating a piece of meat. They were buttery (obviously) and full of flavor. There was nothing bland about these mushrooms. Adding the little bit of thyme really complemented the natural flavors, it was the perfect combo.

Although I probably won't buy these little guys again very often (too expensive), I will definitely make them again. So simple and so delicious. This experience has really made me excited to try other kinds of mushrooms, and to use mushrooms in new and different ways. They really are a unique and interesting food that I want to get more comfortable using and better at preparing in delicious ways.

 Delicate and beautiful

 A mushroom forest!

 Into the pan with the butter and thyme

 Saute for a few minutes

Plate them up, add a little salt, and dig in

Bagels

In case you haven't noticed, I have a rather large sweet tooth and enjoy having a nice sweet for breakfast on a regular basis. Hence, a lot of my baking tends to lean towards the sugar filled finished product. This does not mean however, that I always need to have something sweet in the morning, this recipe proves that. I've been wanting to make both bagels and English muffins for some time now, and I can finally cross one of those off my baking to-do list. Who doesn't love a fat, chewy bagel, covered in butter, cream cheese or my personal favorite, topped with a couple of slices of swiss cheese and then toasted in the toaster oven. Savory and delicious and oh so delectable, even if they aren't loaded with sugar.

These bagels were fun to make, but they definitely aren't quick to put together. They take two days to complete, with most of the work done on day 1. Making the dough, letting it rise, and shaping are all done on this first day, and then the shaped bagels are left to sit in the fridge overnight and develop a lot of yummy flavor. Day two is just for boiling and baking, the fun part!

I ended up making 10 bagels from this recipe but the recipe says it makes 12 large or 24 mini bagels, so you can really make however many you want. However many you end up making, you won't be disappointed. These bagels ended up full off flavor, chewy and not at all dry; they toasted up beautifully and were perfect for breakfast, finished off with your favorite topping. I would for sure make these again, they really were wonderful. As fresh as you'll find anywhere, and just as good, if not better.

Getting the sponge ready

Mix it together and let it do its magic for 2 hours

2 hours later, nice and poofy

Add in the rest of the dough ingredients

Knead it up until smooth

Divide the dough

Shape into bagels, aren't they cute?

Into the fridge for an overnight retard

The next day, time to boil

All done swimming and ready for the oven

Out of the oven and ready to eat!

Yum, ready for toasting and buttering

Bagels
From The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart
Ingredients
Sponge

• 1 teaspoon instant yeast 
• 4 cups bread flour 
• 2 1/2 cups water 

Dough

• 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast 
• 3 3/4 cups bread flour 
• 2 3/4 teaspoons salt 
• 2 teaspoons malt powder or 1 tablespoon brown sugar 

To Finish

• 1 tablespoon baking soda 
• cornmeal for dusting 
• Any toppings of your choosing (sesame seeds, poppy seeds, kosher salt etc.) 

Directions
Start by making the sponge: mix together the yeast and flour in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the water and stir only until it forms a smooth batter (like pancake batter). Cover the bowl and let sit for about 2 hours at room temperature until the mixture is bubbly and foamy and swells to about double the original size.

Make the dough: int eh same bowl, add the additional yeast to the sponge and stir to combine. Add 3 cups of flour and all of the salt and malt or brown sugar. Mix on low speed until the ingredients form a ball, all the while mixing in the additional 3/4 cup of flour.

Knead the dough for about 6 minutes in the mixer until firm and stiff but still pliable and smooth with no traces of flour remaining. Add more water or flour as needed. The dough should be satiny and pliable but not tacky. Immediately divide the dough into equal size pieces and form them into rolls. Cover the rolls and allow them to rest for about 20 minutes.

Line 2 sheet pans with parchment and mist with oil. Shape the bagels either by poking a hole in the dough and rotating you thumb around inside the hole to widen it to about 2 1/2 inches in diameter (try to stretch the dough as evenly as possible) or by rolling the dough into a 8 inch rope and wrapping the rope around the palm of your hand, overlapping the ends and pressing the ends into the counter, rocking your hand back and forth to seal.

Place each shaped bagel onto the parchment lined pans. Mist them lightly with oil and cover with plastic wrap. Let the pans sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes.

Use the float test to see if the bagels are ready to go into the fridge to be retarded. Fill a bowl with cool water. Drop the bagels into the water. If they float within 10 seconds they are ready for the fridge. If they don't float, return the bagel to the pan, dry it off, and check again in 10 to 20 minutes. Once the bagels pass the float test place the covered pans in the fridge overnight (or up to 2 days).

The next day, or whenever you are ready to make the bagels, preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to boil and add the baking soda. Remove the bagels from the fridge and gently drop them into the water, don't overcrowd the pot. After 1 minute, turn them over and boil for another minute (if you like really chewy bagels, let them boil for 2 minutes a side). While the bagels are boiling, sprinkle cornmeal on the parchment paper. Return the boiled bagels to the cornmeal lined parchment paper and repeat with remaining bagels. If you want to top your bagels, do so right after they come out of the water.

When all the bagels have been boiled, place the pans in the middle of the oven and bake for 5 minutes. Rotate the pans and switch shelves and lower the oven to 450 degrees and continue baking for about 5 minutes, or a little longer if you prefer them darker.

Remove pans from oven and let bagels rest for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Sometimes it's best to just keep things simple. A bag of chocolate chips and a quick batter, mix them together and what do you get, only these amazing chocolate chip muffins! I love muffins for breakfast and I love them to include chocolate so these are perfect. They remind me of chocolate chip cookies in muffin form so I like to call them incognito chocolate chip cookies. Nothing out of the ordinary in this recipe, except for perhaps how good the finished product is. If you don't know what to have for breakfast tomorrow, don't blame me.

Honestly, this recipe takes about five seconds to put together. You get to melt the butter, and since it calls for a whole bag of chocolate chips, you don't even have to measure them out. I love it when that happens. Wet ingredients, dry ingredients, chocolate chips, mix them all together and pop them in the oven. In just a few minutes you have hot, fluffy muffins, loaded with chocolate and ready to devour.

Everything's all set

Add the wet to the dry

Mix it up, but not all the way

Add the chocolate!

Finish combining (don't over mix)

Into the muffin cups

A few more chippers on top for good measure

They're ready!

Chocolate Chip Muffins
From: Blogchef.net
Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup milk
• ½ cup butter (melted and cooled)
• 2 eggs (lightly beaten)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (11 ½ ounce) package milk chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line muffin tins with liners. In a large bowl mix together flour, white sugar, brown sugar, baking powder and salt.

In another bowl stir together eggs, milk, butter and vanilla until well blended. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour the milk mixture into the well and stir until well combined. Lightly stir in chocolate chips.

Spoon batter into muffins cups or tins. Place into the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes.