DIY Dark Chocolate Speculoos Cookie Butter Cups with Sea Salt

I'm back! And I brought treats!! The hubby came back from being in Abu Dhabi for three weeks, just in time for our two year anniversary. My man got me our wedding cake stand, which I tracked down late one night while admiring our wedding pictures. I topped it off by re-created our wedding cake, complete with chocolate cake, chocolate bavarian cream (with vegetarian gelatin!), and chocolate whipped cream frosting. I snapped pictures, recording measurements, totally intending to share with you guys, then... we had structural failure. I'm talking disastrous failure. Apparently I'm incompetent at leveling cakes. Next year! 

We celebrated these past two years by taking off to Sonoma County for a whole week. We brought P, drank wine, and ate fantastic food. I can't wait to share all the details soon. In the meantime, Happy Halloween! What better way to celebrate than with DIY homemade candy. 

A couple years back while living in NYC, I developed a deep deep love for speculoos cookie butter at a Waffles and Dinges food truck. Since then, this Dutch delicacy has become pretty mainstream, even sold at Trader Joe's. Have you had it? If not, I have to warn you, it's seriously addicting. I often find myself going into the pantry with a spoon and coming out with the perfect one bite treat that always satisfies that little dessert craving. 

These cookie butter cups are like homemade peanut butter cups but better. They are made with dark chocolate and topped with sea salt which makes them totally sophisticated. Candy for adults. Goodbye processed mainstream candy. You've been replaced. 

DIY Dark Chocolate Speculoos Cookie Butter Cups with Sea Salt 
Adapted from Food52
Makes about 24 full-size cups 

1 pound dark chocolate, roughly chopped 
2 tbsp coconut oil 
3/4 cup speculoos cookie butter 
Fleur De Sel* 

Prepare a rimmed baking sheet with 24 cupcake liners. Warm chocolate and coconut oil in a double broiler until completely melted. Or microwave mixture 30 seconds at a time, stirring until completely melted. Pour about 1/2 tbsp of melted chocolate into each cupcake liner. Smack baking sheet on the counter 3-5 times until chocolate forms a smooth layer on the bottom of each liner. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. 

Remove liners from the fridge and top each cup with a heaping 1/2 tbsp cookie butter (I used a cookie scoop). Using the back of a spoon, smooth the cookie butter into a flat layer on top of the chocolate base, leaving a tiny border around the edges for chocolate to drip down. Top each cup with just enough chocolate to cover, then use the back of a spoon to smooth the chocolate over the cookie butter, covering it completely. Top with a liberal sprinkling of Fleur De Sel (I wish I'd use more than I did in the photos). Refrigerate for 25-30 minutes until completely set.  

*I recently splurged on this, which I used, but you could totally use regular sea salt. 

Best Damn Guacamole with Persimmons

For as long as I can remember guacamole has been always been my thing. Despite a serious lack of culinary skills, I've whipped it up from the time I was in elementary school. Of course it's evolved and changed since then, but I can confidently say I think my guac is the best out there. But the best thing about guac is that it's totally flexible. Don't like tomato? Skip it. Love the tangy bite of lots of lime? Add more! Don't have cilantro in the fridge? It will still taste pretty fantastic without it. 

That being said, this weekend the hubby and I went to the Calabasas Farmer's market and came home with a bag full of persimmons. Have you ever had them? I hadn't either. I'd heard of them, seen them, and even read recipes with them but honestly I'd never tried them. Despite looking shockingly similar to tomatoes they taste nothing like them. They are sweet like a mango with an inner texture like a firm pear, and they are in full bloom this time of year. The secret to making them taste extra sweet, at least according to the man who sold them to me at the Farmer's Market, is to remove the skin. 

So when we got home, hot and hungry, and I saw a giant ripe avocado sitting in our fruit basket, I decided to have some fun. The persimmons add a sweet unexpected, but totally appreciated, surprise to this very traditional guacamole. The texture blends in perfectly and even adds an extra element of chunkiness. If there's something I think we can all agree on, it's that guacamole should be chunky. Not to mention, it's football season, and I don't know about you but I've never met a person who didn't like guacamole, especially devout and very serious footballs fans (go niners!). 

Best Damn Guacamole with Persimmons 
Serves 4 as an appetizer 

2 small avocados (or 1 large)
1 tbsp salsa verde* 
2-3 tbsp diced yellow onion 
2 packed tbsp diced Roma tomatoes, seeded 
small handful of cilantro, roughly chopped 
1 small persimmon, peeled and diced 
1/4 tsp sea salt 
fresh ground pepper to taste 
1 tbsp lime 

*You can totally use store-bought salsa verde. I like Trader Joe's brand. 

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Using the side of a fork, roughly chop avocado then mix all ingredients together until you'd achieved your desired chunkiness. Serve with chips and devour. 

Cinnamon Apple Pie Ice Cream

I'm a firm believer that a good home should have fresh homemade ice cream in the freezer at any given time, and preferably multiple flavors. It's the perfect treat for guests and it lasts months (though it never makes it that long). I realize this makes me a snob and I'm okay with that. This week, my good friend came over to cook, and since most "normal" people cringe at the idea of dairy-free ice cream, I went with the full cream variety this time (though I'm more than certain you could substitute it with coconut cream + coconut milk and fully intend on updating you when I do). 

Since it finally feels like Fall, I wanted to celebrate with apples and cinnamon. I figured while I was at it why not throw an entire apple pie into the ice cream. So that's exactly what I did. What I love most about cooking is that you can pretty much do whatever the hell you want, there really aren't rules, the more creative you are the better, and chances are you can find a way to make it work. This philosophy applies so well to homemade ice cream. So this stuff starts with my favorite all-butter pie crust, and cinnamon nutmeg maple syrup stewed apples. How could I go wrong? The answer is I can't. This ice cream is fantastic in every way. 

Cinnamon Apple Pie Ice Cream 
Makes one quart 

For the ice cream base: 
2 cups heavy cream 
1 cup whole milk 
1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp cane sugar, divided  
1/4 cup brown sugar 
1/4 tsp salt 
1 vanilla bean
1/4 cup maple syrup 
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg 
3 egg yolks 

For the pie crust (from The Art and Soul of Baking): 
1 stick unsalted butter 
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt 
3 - 4 tbsp cold water 

For the apples: 
2 large apples (I used Pink Lady) 
2 tbsp brown sugar 
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp cinnamon 

Make the ice cream base. In a medium saucepan combine heavy cream, milk, 1/4 cup cane sugar, brown sugar, salt, vanilla beans along with pod, and maple syrup. Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a gentle boil. In a separate bowl whisk together egg yolks and 1 tbsp cane sugar. Pour about 1/4 cup of the warm cream mixture into the egg yolks and whisk quickly. Slowly add the rest of the cream mixture to the add yolks, a little at a time until completely combined. Pour entire mixture through a fine-mesh strainer to remove any egg chunks along with the vanilla bean pod. Stir in cinnamon and nutmeg, cover and refrigerate until cold, at least two hours.  

Meanwhile, slice your butter into 1/2 inch pieces and freeze for 15-20 minutes. Combine flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Add in butter chunks and pulse until the mixture looks like sand with pea-sized pieces of butter. With the food processor running pour in water. On a lightly floured surface, press the dough pieces together to form a disc and knead one or two times. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment. Remove your dough from the fridge and roll it out onto your parchment paper until it's about 1/8 inch thick. Bake for 25-30 minutes until slightly browned around the edges. Set aside and let cool. 

Peel, core and slice your apples. In a small saucepan, combine apples, brown sugar, maple syrup, lemon juice, and cinnamon. Cook over medium-low heat for 20-30 minutes until apples are soft. Set aside to cool. Once cooled, add the apple mixture to a food processor with a blade and pulse 2-3 times until you achieve your desired consistency. Refrigerate. 

Pour the ice cream base into your ice cream maker, following your manufacturer's instructions. Just before your ice cream is finished churning, break up your pie crust into chunks and add about 3/4 of it to the ice cream followed by the apples. If you like a soft-serve consistency you can serve right away. Or pop it in my freezer for 20 minutes to harden up like traditional ice cream. Top with remaining pie crust crumbles and serve.