"BERLIN-STYLE" MOSCOW MULES

A few years ago, I was lucky enough to take a trip to Berlin, Germany with my boyfriend, Alex. Alex was actually born in Berlin, where he lived for the first seven years of his life, before his family picked up and moved to Southern California. I can truly say that visiting Berlin has been my favorite trip thus far, and if I was able to, I would move there in a heartbeat. The restaurants, bars, parks, people... EVERYTHING was amazing and so beautiful. I was pretty much crying the day we left and have been counting down the days until we can return (hopefully next May, fingers crossed). 

When preparing for a trip, I actually look forward most to researching and outlining an informal guideline to follow. I scour the internet reading through personal blogs and food websites, in addition to flipping through lifestyle/food magazines to look for the best recommendations and tips to make the most of our experience. When I say an "informal" guideline, I mean that I'm not writing out an itinerary for every day of our trip; I'm just getting an idea of what each neighborhood has to offer in that particular city. I always, always assume we will wonder around and stumble across an amazing spot that I didn't read about - and we always do.

The month before we left for Berlin, I received my Bon Appétit magazine subscription in the mail and coincidentally, there was a travel guide for Berlin featured. One of the places the magazine deemed a "must-visit" was ORA, a restored 18th century pharmacy that was repurposed into an all-day café. The description and pictures alone made me put ORA at the top of our list, and needless to say it was one of the best decisions trekking there.

Located in the neighborhood of Kreuzberg, a very cool and hip area filled with amazing bars and restaurants, ORA is where Alex and I discovered how Berlin does Moscow mules differently than they do here in America. Instead of the classic recipe composed of vodka, ginger beer, and lime juice, we were served a Moscow mule with vodka, ginger beer, bitters, and cucumber. I thought it was an odd combination but the moment I took a sip, I was hooked and vouched to always add cucumber/bitters to my Moscow mules. Below is a picture from our night at the bar. 

After ORA, we decided to walk around the neighborhood and ended up going to a crowded cocktail bar that looked very cool. The bar, Würgeengel, ended up being one of our favorite bars from the trip to the point that we made a second trip on our last night in the city. At Würgeengel, I also ordered a Moscow mule to see if it would be prepared the same as it was at ORA and it was except for the addition of bitters. It was here where I noticed that the type of ginger beer that was being used was Fever Tree, a brand sold here in America and by far my top choice as far as ginger beers go. 

My assumption is that cucumbers are just more readily available than limes, and Germans have adapted the Moscow mule accordingly. So today I provide you a delicious recipe inspired by the Moscow mules that we enjoyed while in Berlin. To add more of the cucumber flavor, the recipe entails muddling a few cucumber slices and shaking it with the vodka to infuse the liquor. This step really makes a great difference in taste, so I would suggest not skipping it! 

"Berlin-Style" Moscow Mules

Yields 2 cocktails

Ingredients

• 4 peeled cucumber slices

• 4 oz. vodka

• Handful of ice

• 4-5 oz. ginger beer, per drink

• 2-4 dashes of Angostura bitters, per drink

• Sliced cucumber, to garnish

Directions

1. In a cocktail shaker, muddle the peeled cucumber slices. Add the vodka and ice and shake vigorously for about 10-15 seconds.

2. Pour the liquid through a strainer into two prepared glasses filled with ice, making sure to divide the liquid between the two glasses equally.

3. Top off each drink with ginger beer and your desired amount of bitters. Stir with a spoon. Garnish with a cucumber slice, if desired. Sip and enjoy!

SALTED TOFFEE + BROWN SUGAR COOKIES

I remember a very dark period in my life when I didn't care for toffee. I know, I know it's crazy to think that there are people in this world who don't like toffee, but they exist, and I sadly used to be one of them! I don't remember when I switched over to the other side (re: the happier side) but I kind of have a feeling that these salted toffee and brown sugar cookies had something to do with it.

I'm a pretty simple person when it comes to cookies: any kind that has chocolate in it I will most likely eat and love until the end of time. And any other kind of cookie that doesn't have chocolate in it like a peanut butter or sugar cookie are perfectly adequate in my opinion, but I don't usually go gaga over them. 

But with these non-chocolate cookies, I can and will eat 5 in a sitting without even thinking twice about it. The toffee just melts in your mouth, the texture is so chewy and addicting, and the juxtaposition between the brown sugar/toffee combo and salty topping is perfect. Who needs chocolate when a cookie can deliver all of this?

So the next time you're at the grocery store and you find yourself in the baking aisle right near the chocolate chips (I find myself here more often than not), grab a bag or two of toffee bits, make sure you have a good supply of brown sugar, and for the love of God don't forget the precious flaky sea salt. I know I'm a bit zealous with my sprinkling of sea salt on baked goods (evidence #1 and evidence #2), but trust me on this one: you NEED the salt on top. 

Salted Toffee and Brown Sugar Cookies

Yields about 25-30 cookies, depending on size

Recipe adapted from Everyday Annie

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 tsp. baking soda

• 1/2 tsp. salt

• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

• 1/4 tsp. ground ginger

• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks, 6oz.) unsalted butter, room temperature

• 1 1/4 cup brown sugar (any kind works)

• 1 large egg, room temperature

• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

• 1 cup toffee bits

• Flaky sea salt, to finish

Directions

1. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and ginger. Set aside.

2. Using a hand mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and brown sugar together until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the egg and vanilla extract. Mix until combined and scrape the bowl again.

3. Add the dry ingredients to the stand mixer and mix on low until just combined. Fold in the toffee bits with a spatula. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.

4. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper, and using a spoon or a cookie scoop (I use the medium size), scoop out 1.5-2 tablespoons of dough for each cookie.

5. Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, rotating the cookie sheet halfway through. The cookies are done when the edges are set and slightly browned, with the center still soft. Do not overbake! Once taken out of the oven, sprinkle with flaky sea salt and allow the cookies to sit on the pan for about 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

APPLE CRUMB MUFFINS

I've gotta be honest and say that these weren't the muffins I was intending on giving you today. My plan was to make my favorite muffins but silly me forgot that the main ingredient of that kind is only available in grocery stores from about October to December. Any idea as to what I could be hinting at? CRANBERRIES!  

I really wanted to share my cranberry orange muffins (or scones!) with you, but I forgot that fresh cranberries come and go so quickly. Smart people very wisely save and freeze cranberries for when a craving occurs in the middle of the year, but I am not one of those people apparently! Also, even though fresh cranberries are obviously the way to go, I just realized that Sprouts, a grocery store with an amazing bakery and home to some delicious cranberry muffins, actually uses dried cranberries in their recipe. So maybe I'll try using dried next time and see if they are just as good as muffins with fresh cranberries.

But I digress. Today I offer you another great muffin option: apple crumb muffins. And yes I know that apples are usually favored in autumn when the leaves are falling and Thanksgiving is right around the corner, but I like to enjoy apples all year round. Don't we all?

These muffins are perfectly moist from the addition of any yogurt of your choosing (Greek, plain, flavored - I used nonfat plain Greek yogurt) or can be substituted with sour cream. And everyone knows that the best part of any muffin is the top, and this recipe in particular takes it up a notch with a crumb/streusel topping. I won't judge you if you make a batch of these and just eat the muffin tops... it's your life, and I may or may not do the exact same thing. 

Enjoy these muffins with your coffee first thing in the morning, and know that within time, I will be gifting you with cranberry orange muffins. 

Apple Crumb Muffins

Makes 12-14 muffins

Recipe adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction

Ingredients

For the crumb topping:

• 1/4 cup (half a stick, 60 g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

• 1/3 cup (67 g) brown sugar (light, golden, or dark works), packed

• 1 tbsp. (15 g) granulated sugar

• 1 tsp. cinnamon

• 2/3 cup (84 g) all-purpose flour

For the muffins:

• 1/2 cup (one stick, 115 g) unsalted butter, room temperature

• 1/2 cup (100 g) brown sugar (any kind), packed

• 1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar

• 2 large eggs, room temperature

• 1/2 cup (120 g) yogurt or sour cream, room temperature

• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

• 1 3/4 cup (220 g) all-purpose flour

• 1 tsp. baking soda

• 1 tsp. baking powder

• 1 tsp. cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp. salt

• 1/4 cup milk (any kind), room temperature

• 1 3/4 cup peeled and chopped apples (any variety you want, I used Honeycrisp) - about 2 small apples

Directions

1. Make the crumb/streusel topping. In a small bowl, mix together the melted butter, both sugars, and cinnamon. Fold in the flour with a spatula until incorporated. Set bowl aside.

2. Preheat oven to 425°F. Grease a 12-count muffin tin with cooking spray or butter, or line with cupcakes wrappers. Depending on the size of your muffins, you may need to make the muffins in batches.

3. With a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer fixed with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and both sugars until fluffy, a couple of minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs, one at a time, allowing each to incorporate before adding the next. Add the vanilla extract and yogurt (or sour cream), and mix until combined. Scrape sides of bowl again.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together. Add this mixture to the wet ingredients, along with the milk and mix on low until just incorporated. Fold in the chopped apples.

5. Using a spoon or an ice cream scoop, fill each muffin cavity to the brim with batter. Sprinkle the crumb mixture over the top of each muffin, making sure to press down on the crumbs so they will stick while baking.

6. Bake for 5 minutes at 425°F, and then turn the oven down to 350°F and bake for another 15-17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The blast of initial heat helps the muffins get their height.

7. Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for a couple of minutes before taking them out. Muffins are best eaten on the day they are baked, but can be enjoyed for 1-2 days after if covered and left at room temperature.