Food For Thought

So I have this issue. Whenever I have a lot of work to do, I always find something else to do, like clean my apartment, go to the gym, or watch a movie. Sometimes, my distractions involve mass amounts of butter, sugar, and Martha Stewart. This is one of those times.

While home this past weekend, I went to Borders with a friend. Let me just say now, I should not be allowed into a Borders, Barnes & Noble, or any store that sells copious amounts of cookbooks. I bought three more cookbooks to add to my stack, one of which is 400 Soups (400?! I might make 5.) I have a problem. If you know of a cookbooks anonymous group I can join, please let me know.

The purchase I feel will get the most use however, is the Cupcake cookbook by Martha Stewart. I go through cravings like a pregnant woman, and lately anything citrus pretty much does it for me. So when I saw “Triple Citrus Cupcakes” on page 64, I involuntarily made an inappropriate noise in the bookstore. It was deserved. These dense little cakes remind me of a good poppy seed cake recipe, minus the poppy seeds. They are by no means a Weight Watchers recipe (they’d probably be 7 points a piece), but oh are they worth breaking the rules to eat. Coming from someone in the midst of training for a half marathon, this is a welcome break from fish over salad and steel cut oats. And it seems like they’re taunting you, saying, “you know you want to eat me, stop kidding yourself.” Bitches… Delicious. Little. Bitches.

Triple Citrus Cupcakes (From Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes) Yield – 36 cupcakes

3 ½ cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons salt

1 pounds (4 sticks) of unsalted butter

2 cups sugar

Zest from:

3 large lemons

3 large limes

2 large oranges

9 eggs (yes, 9 WHOLE eggs)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Citrus Glaze

1 ½ cups powdered sugar

¼ teaspoon citrus zest (any combination you like)

3-4 tablespoons citrus juice (again, get creative)

Preheat oven to 325F.

In a large bowl, mix the flour and salt until well combined.

In an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, a few minutes, scraping bowl when necessary. Add the citrus zest and vanilla and mix until combined. Add the eggs, 3 at a time and mix until combined. Add the flour and salt mixture in batches mixing only until just combined. (It’s best to stop mixing with the machine when there is still a bit of flour visible. Mix the rest by hand, making sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl.)

Scoop evenly into muffin tins, filling about ¾ the way full. Bake for 10 minutes, rotate, and bake for another 10 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out cleanly. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto racks and cool completely.

Combine glaze ingredients in a large bowl, and dip each cupcake until just coated. Quickly flip right side up and let dry until glaze hardens. Give a few to your friends (you’ll thank me when you don’t have a stomach ache) and keep a few for those moments when you need a little pick me up; especially in these awful winter months. )