Miss Anthropist's Kitchen

Butterbeer Cookies

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Miss Anthropist

Harry Potter always brings joy to my heart.

My friend and I made these incredible butterbeer cookies the same day we made the Butterbeer Floats (btw, butterbeer cookies and floats? A match made in heaven). The reason I hadn’t posted until now was because we made these at night and the pictures had turned out awful as a consequence of artificial light…

I was going to recreate these cookies and take better pictures, but seeing as how I’m in Egypt and butterscotch chips are as rare as diamonds…I figured I should share this incredible recipe, even if there is only one ~~poorly taken~~ picture.

I must warn you…the glaze is to die for. I seriously don’t think it’s possible to not lick the bowl clean. So so addictive!

Long live the spirit of Harry Potter! :)

Continue reading →

Posted in Cookies | Tagged butterbeer, butterscotch, Cookies, Delicious, harry potter | 21 Comments

Homemade Marshmallow Peeps

Posted on February 4, 2012 by Miss Anthropist

Six. Months.

Six months since I’ve last posted a recipe. The semester is finally over, and I’ve missed blogging more than you can imagine. As a comeback recipe, I wanted to make something cute. Something special.

You could say I wanted to make a tribute to all my “peeps”! (pun totally intended)

Homemade marshmallow peeps! (To those of you who aren’t familiar with the famous marshmallow bird, here’s a picture of a box of Peeps):

I used to absolutely adore Peeps as a child (sugary outside, marshmallow-y inside…what’s not for me a kid to love?), but unfortunately had to stop eating them due to the pork gelatin content.

Beef gelatin

Luckily… I’ve discovered that I can make them at home! You’ll need a candy thermometer and colored sugar. I can’t help you with the candy thermometer thing, but…I can totally help you with the colored sugar thing. :)

Simply put a few drops of dye into sugar, mix well with a fork, and let dry for a little while if wet (five minutes in the oven did it for me).

Easy!

Unfortunately, getting the shape of the bird is definitely not as simple as coloring sugar. It takes a bit of practice, but once you get the hang of it it shouldn’t be much of a problem. Just try and make sure you have the right consistency–stiff marshmallow piping. I didn’t make the marshmallow frosting stiff enough at first, so my birds kept “melting”, but that’s generally easily resolved with a little more time in the stand mixer.

The peep hatching out of its sugar shell :)

Continue reading →

Posted in Candy | Tagged colored sugar, Homemade, homemade marshmallows, marshmallows, peeps, piping, Sugar | 28 Comments

I Miss You!

Posted on October 7, 2011 by Miss Anthropist

It has been so long–too long! Even though I don’t have any new recipes to share with you guys [insert super sad face here], I thought I should at least update everyone.

I will spare you the details of everything that has happened the past 2 months, but for one thing, (my Facebook fans will already know this) I’m back in Pharmacy school! And while I’m happy to be back college and in contact with human civilization again, this also means that there is NO time to blog. Or sleep for that matter.

I drew you a picture to show you both how sorry I am and how much I’ve been studying:

There isn’t an amino acid with an “O” abbreviation, so I guess “sry” will have to do.

I will try to post a new recipe as soon as possible, but for now, please enjoy this picture of a cupcake that I drew.

Thank you for your patience and support, guys!

If you need me, I’ll be studying in the corner.

Posted in Uncategorized | 32 Comments

Kunafa, Konafah, Kanafeh

Posted on August 22, 2011 by Miss Anthropist

First of all…Ramadan Kareem! I hope everyone who is fasting this month has had a great and blessed month :)

I genuinely thought that I would be able to consistently blog during Ramadan…but I was so, so wrong. It’s insanely difficult (read: impossible) to get up and make food you can’t eat, let alone blog about it.

Ramadan always reminds Muslims how much of a blessing food really is. It blows my mind that people in countries like Somalia are suffering from famine… we should thank God for every bite we get to take.

I love the month of Ramadan, not only because it makes us appreciate our blessings more, but also because it brings our family closer during dinner. At a typical day in our house, we don’t eat together at the same time–normally everyone puts food for themselves whenever they are hungry and that’s that.

But in Ramadan, when the sun finally sets, we’re all at the table together (whether it’s with close family or distant family), eager for the food that awaits us. We say a prayer (it’s not actual prayer like we do 5 times a day, it’s called a duaa in Arabic), and then we happily dig in!

After over 12 hours of deprivation from food, everything seems to taste better.

In (belated) spirit of Ramadan, I’m sharing of my favorite Middle Eastern desserts: kunafa (or, as the Palestinians pronounce it: kanafeh)! This sweet, creamy, and crunchy dessert has long been one of my favorites. The hay-like things you see in the pictures are shredded phyllo dough, which can be purchased in any Arabic store.

Kunafa can be made in several ways (with cheese, nuts, raisins…), but my personal preference is custard-filled, without any nuts or raisins. So easy and SO. Good! And I’m not just saying that because I’m hungry. :) Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged atayif, cream, kanafeh, konafa, konafah, kunafa, kunafah, kunafeh, oven, phyllo, phyllo dough, ramadan, ramadan kareem, recipe, syrup | 51 Comments

Butterbeer Float

Posted on July 30, 2011 by Miss Anthropist

Some of you may already know that I’ve watched the final Harry Potter movie. Not to impose my opinion upon any of you…but it was undeniably the best one of them all. I’ve never felt so strongly about a Harry Potter movie (the movies just never did it for me–it was the books I truly adored). But this movie was just… *wipes tears, sucks in breath* magical. (If you don’t cry at least 3 times, you have no soul).

You will leave the theater both ecstatic (because of how incredible the movie turned out) and depressed (because it’s over…). But! I have something for you to cure that depression. Introducing…

Butterbeer floats!

In case you are not familiar, Butterbeer is a nonalcoholic drink served in the Harry Potter books (and now in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Florida…which I am dying to go to).

I have seen Butterbeer around the food blogosphere and have been wanting to try making my own for a while now. I decided to make a butterbeer float (instead of root beer, butterbeer!) by subbing whipped cream for ice cream and combining different recipes I’ve found for butterbeer. It is sooo yummy.

Magical Picture!

I made it with my friend (hi, Lena!) after we watched the the Harry Potter movie and we both agreed that it was everything we imagined a butterbeer would taste like. (Though I will make sure my brother is the judge of that, since he actually went to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and tried a Butterbeer himself…lucky!). The ice cream gets super fizzy in your mouth and the flavor is delicious.

The Vanilla Butter & Nut Flavor made it slightly yellowish, but I think that's okay since it's *butter*beer :)

Enjoy!

Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged butter, butterbeer, butterscotch, deathly hallows, drink, flavor, harry potter, ice cream, movie, root beer float, vanilla, vanilla butter and nut | 51 Comments

Simple Cilantro Oven-Roasted Potatoes

Posted on July 25, 2011 by Miss Anthropist

This has got to be one of the most simple, yet incredible, meals I have ever made.

For my 19th birthday a few weeks ago, we ate at Applebee’s for the first time. All of the food was incredible. One of the things that came with my mom’s meal was a side of roasted potatoes…to our surprise, we loved it! It was so simple, nothing fussy–no cheese, spices, or weird herbs–but regular roasted potatoes. They were absolutely delicious.

My mom and I decided to recreate them at home, and I have to say it was definitely a success :)

And do you want to know something else? The only “seasonings” you need are a little olive oil, salt, and cilantro. That’s it! Three simple ingredients most likely already found in your pantry. There aren’t really even measurements…you put according to your taste. It’s the perfect solution to those lazy dinner days. Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 30 Comments

Spicy Beef Kebabs

Posted on July 20, 2011 by Miss Anthropist

There’s something about things on a stick that makes eating more enjoyable.

Grilled things also make my taste buds tingle. So the fact that this is grilled and on-a-stick? A match made in heaven.

Plus…can a recipe by Alton Brown ever really be bad? I don’t think it’s possible.

Besides this being a delicious meal, making it is really enjoyable. I’m more of a baking-gal myself, so I can honestly tell you that you don’t feel like you’re “cooking” in the sense of doing a chore or watching something over the oven. Marinate, chop, arrange, and grill. Easy! Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 27 Comments

Baked Doughnuts (Glazed and Cinnamon-Sugar)

Posted on July 16, 2011 by Miss Anthropist

Fact: I didn’t know donuts were fried until I was a tween.

Can you blame me? Donuts weren’t anything like french fries and didn’t even taste greasy…all I knew when I was a kid was that donuts tasted good, and that was all that mattered. Ignorance is truly bliss.

So when I got older and became more health-and-weight-conscious, I simply gave them up. (The fact that I was living in a donut-free Egypt at the time helped too). And that was that.

But then a few days ago, while shopping, I spotted something. A donut pan. I tried to ignore it, but it called out to me. It begged me to take it home…so I did.

After a little research, I spent the next day choosing between two recipes: a cake-like doughnut and a bread-like doughnut. I went with the bread-like doughnut since I couldn’t stand the thought of a doughnut being similar to cake. My parents and grandparents loved them!

I tried making two kinds of donuts: cinnamon sugar and confectioner’s glazed (I really wanted to make chocolate glaze, but I was just too tired to make another mess). Both were really good, but next time I would add more powdered sugar to the glaze so it would crust faster. And although tastes differ, I think most people enjoyed the cinnamon sugar more.

Now for the ultimate question: can they compare to fried donuts? Continue reading →

Posted in Donuts | Tagged baked, baked donuts, baked doughnuts, Cinnamon, cinnamon sugar, donuts, doughnuts, glazed, glazed donuts, Sugar | 29 Comments

Celebrations and a Giveaway

Posted on July 8, 2011 by Miss Anthropist

Welcome to my official site! (Yay!).

I will keep everything on my old blog for now, but will eventually delete the content or link it all back here. This also means that my subscribers will have to resubscribe if they want to continue receiving notifications of new blog posts –>

Because I’m celebrating my official new site, my 19th birthday (which was yesterday), and my 50th recipe post…I’ve decided to have my first giveaway! I’m giving away Wilton Rainbow Sparkling Sugar Sprinkles and a pack of really cute cupcake liners I bought from Michael’s.

I know the giveaway is nothing too fancy (I am a parent-dependant teenager after all), but I figured it’s a prize anyone, no matter how old or young, would be delighted to win. I’m certain that even if I had a hundred types of sprinkles and cupcake liners, I would still want more…and I don’t think I’m alone in this. :)

To enter, all you have to do is subscribe to the new blog by email and leave me a comment telling me you did. Easy peasy.

If you want to up your chances of winning, you can just “like” Miss Anthropist’s Kitchen on Facebook and leave me another comment telling me you did or already do.

Only residents from the United States can enter the giveaway…sorry, international friends!

~~Giveaway ends on Monday, July 11. The winner will be announced on Tuesday, July 12.~~
Giveaway winner has been chosen randomly! Congratulations, Lucy! I’ve sent you an email :) Thank you to everyone who has entered!

***

Back to the birthday cake! I made my first real stacked, iced, and decorated birthday cake for my 19th birthday (which was yesterday). I made the pink vanilla frosting myself, but to keep things easier and less disastrous, I used store-bought French Vanilla cake mix (when you’re going to be decorating a cake for the first time, the least thing you want to do is deal with cake-bake drama).

Decorating the cake was a fun experience, and everyone really loved the overall look (I was going for pink and girly, because I don’t want to grow up and want to cling on to my childhood as much as possible). The cake tasted like it came from a bakery. :) Continue reading →

Posted in Cakes | Tagged birthday, birthday cake, Cake, frosting | 56 Comments

Fluffer Nutter Cups

Posted on July 3, 2011 by Miss Anthropist

You read correctly: not peanut butter cups– fluffer nutter cups!

For those of you who have never had the joy of combining peanut butter and marshmallow fluff (aka fluffer nutters)… I’m sorry. You have been missing out.

I don’t know why I thought to create them…I just did. They’re kind of incredible.

Check out my guest post at Procrastibaking for these beauties as well!

Continue reading →

Posted in Candy Bars | Tagged fluffer nutter, marshmallow fluff, marshmallows, Peanut Butter, peanut butter chocolate, Peanut Butter Cups, Reeses | 26 Comments

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

Posted on June 27, 2011 by Miss Anthropist

Wow. Being ‘Freshly Pressed’ on WordPress for the past 3 days has been such an unexpected honor.

I’ve received so many incredible comments, likes, shares, and subscriptions that it’s hard to keep up! (I’ve tried to respond to all the questions, but if I missed one, be sure to let me know). Thank you so much to everyone who has shared my blog with a friend or family member…I really appreciate it! And if anyone has tried a recipe or taken pictures, don’t hesitate to share it on the Facebook fan page.

But, you know…as happy and excited as I’d been the past few days, I’ve also been stressed… like s-t-ressed–I mean, I didn’t want to disappoint anyone with a lame new post, and what could possibly top the homemade Goldfish crackers with a homemade cookie cutter? It’s the equivalent of going on stage to sing when the person who preceded you was some adored rock star. So I spent the past few days brainstorming, and brainstorming, and brainstorming…

And suddenly, I had a vision. It came in the form of a cupcake.

A wonderful cinnamon-y snickerdoodle cupcake with fluffy whip-like frosting.

I spotted these beautiful cupcakes a while back on the Martha Stewart website and couldn’t wait until I finally got the chance to try it. Mine are certainly nowhere near as elegant as Martha Stewart’s, but I still thought they were so pretty…the cinnamon and sugar sprinkled on top look like edible glitter!

The cupcake itself is nothing too fancy–a perfect yellow cake with a hint of cinnamon. I’m making this my go-to yellow cake from now on. The cake itself is extremely easy to make, and they puffed up beautifully in the oven. Continue reading →

Posted in Cupcakes | Tagged cupcakes, Homemade, recipe, snickerdoodle cupcakes, Snickerdoodles, thank you | 37 Comments

10-Minute No-Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Cookies

Posted on June 11, 2011 by Miss Anthropist

I don’t think there’s any dreamier combination than chocolate and peanut butter. It just can’t be beat.

Not only that…but a chocolate peanut butter recipe that can be made in 10 minutes flat? This is my idea of a perfect recipe.

They look crunchy, but they’re not…the crunchy looking things on it are actually the rolled oats I used. The cookies are really soft (and not crumby at all), and have this perfect creamy peanut butter chocolate taste.