You’d think that come girl scout cookie season, there is not much you can do to avoid buying a box or two. I’m sure in most neighborhoods, brownies run rampant, and it’s not like you can say no to a sweet face and the promise of even sweeter treats.

But if you live in a building where the children are scarce, and the few that are around are still far too young to be hocking cookies, then getting your hands on a box or two of Tagalongs is no easy task. To get a box, we’d have to make the extra effort to scout a girl scout. So instead of braving the neighborhood mega mart on a Saturday afternoon (that is where they all congregate, isn’t it?) I figured, why not just make my own?

The final result is quite delicious. Although it’s been two solid years since I’ve had a real Tagalong, I can honestly say I don’t really care anymore. These are a damn good substitute for the real thing. And this chocolate covered peanut butter and shortbready goodness will satisfy your tagalong cravings all year round.

They are surprisingly easy as well, so don’t let the multiple-step process fool you. Yes, you bake cookies. Yes, you make a filling, and yes, you then dip the entire thing in chocolate. It may be messy, but that only adds to the fun.

I couldn’t figure out how to dip the ENTIRE cookie in chocolate. So I grabbed the very edges of the cookie, inverted it, and submerged as much as I could (including the fingers holding the cookie) in the melted chocolate coating. You can’t linger in the chocolate too long or the peanut butter will melt. Dip it and get out quick. I just barely had enough coating for all the cookies, otherwise I probably could have come back after and done a second dip or spread of chocolate on the bottom.

Peanut Butter Patties

Makes about 3 dozen. Recipe adapted from Baking Bites.

Ingredients
Cookies
1 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp milk

Filling
1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter (natural or regular)
3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
generous pinch salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Coating
about 8 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
2 oz cocoa butter OR 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Mix in flour, baking powder and salt at a low speed, followed by the vanilla and milk. The dough should come together into a soft ball.

Take a tablespoon full of dough and flatten it into a disc about 1/4-inch thick. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough. Cookies will not spread too much, so you can arrange them fairly closely together.

Bake cookies for 11-13 minutes, until bottoms and the edges are lightly browned and cookies are set.

Immediately after removing cookies from the oven, use your thumb or a small spoon to make a depression in the center of each cookie. Cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make filling, whisk together peanut butter, confectioners’ sugar, salt and vanilla in a small microwave-safe bowl. When the mixture has come together, heat it in the microwave (in short intervals, stirring frequently), until it is soft. Working carefully with the warm filling, transfer it to a pastry bag (or plastic bag with the tip cut off) and pipe a generous dome of the filling into each cookie’s “thumbprint”.

Chill filled cookies for 20-30 minutes, or until the peanut butter is firm.

Melt the chocolate and cocoa butter in a small, heat-resistant bowl placed over a small saucepan filled with simmering (not boiling) water.

Dip chilled cookies into chocolate, let excess drip off, and place on a sheet of parchment paper to set.

What is your day job?
Good question! It’s easy to believe that we just sit around baking cupcakes all day, but that’s not the case. In fact, we work from home (yes, together, all day, every day). We run two web businesses, Purr Design, web and graphic design, and Pattern & Paw, handmade cat and dog collars (and psst! since we love you all so much, enter coupon code *LAOO* upon checkout and get 15% off your order!) Two very different endeavors, but they keep us very busy!

What IS Taylor’s favorite food?
A little dish he calls pizza-burger-sushi-pho-hotpastramisandwich, with a side of italian sausage and a cold beer.

How did Taylor propose? (I’m a hopeless romantic.)
Only the best proposal, like, ever: http://www.loveandoliveoil.com/2008/04/a-sweet-proposal.html. I mean really, how could you say NO to a guy who bakes you 12 dozen mini chocolate cupcakes?

Be honest. What is your worst habit? Nail biter, bed wetter, nose picker etc?
Can we answer this about each other? Ok…
Lindsay: Taylor stuffs himself until he can’t move. The boy needs to learn to stop eating when he’s full. I’m working on him though, I’ve learned if I’m the one to portion out his plate, he won’t go back for seconds. Good boy.
Taylor: Lindsay doesn’t clean up after herself… she leaves a trail of destruction everywhere she goes.

Name one pet peeve.
Lindsay: Intolerant people (guess you could say I’m intolerant of them. Does that make me a hypocrite?) Also, oblivious people. Like the ones that tromp down our hallway at 3 in the morning. Yes, we can hear you.
Taylor: Ditto. Noisy neighbors that come home at 3 in the morning are not fun.

I know it’s a food blog, but would you consider posting occasional photos of “The Kitty”?
Sure! I post a lot more on our Pattern & Paw blog (since it’s all about pet collars, pet photos fit right in over there!) But if you guys want kitty pictures here I’m happy to post them. :) Oh, and in case you’re wondering, her REAL name is Kalypso. Though “The Kitty” is what she is called more often than not.

Why are you just now starting on Twitter, Taylor?
Taylor: I’m not even sure if I’ve really started. Lindsay told me to.

What started your fascination with cupcakes, Lindsay?
Maybe the fact that I don’t have to share? hehe. I don’t know, actually. I’ve always been more of a cookie person than a cake person. Until a few years ago. I baked some cupcakes just for kicks (almond ones, these), and never looked back.

What would you (both/either) like to learn to cook that you never have?
Lindsay: Hmmm… I have yet to master caramel. Or any cooked sugar, really. Or English Toffee. I’ve always loved it but have never actually tried to make it myself.
Taylor: A big rack of lamb. Actually being able to make really good pizza, like pizzeria style, would be awesome. I know we don’t quite have the right equipment for that, though.

Can you create a cupcake worthy of calling both breakfast & a yummy dessert?
I’ve made some banana cupcakes and pumpkin cupcakes that you could probably pass off as a muffin. A really decadent muffin.

What food tastes better because you cooked it? What food would you rather eat out in a restaurant?
Most food tastes better when you cook it yourself. There’s nothing worse than dropping $30 for a restaurant meal and knowing you could have done better at home. Maybe that’s the reason we don’t eat out much. Maybe 2-3 times a month, max. And most of that involves pizza, burgers, or hot dogs (case in point – we just got back from one of the nicest restaurants in town. We both ordered pizza. It was darn good pizza, but still).

How do you get such great food photos? What is your setup?
It’s a never-ending learning process. If you go way back into the archives (and I’m NOT going to link you there), you’ll definitely notice a difference. At first I thought it was cool to get as close as humanly possible to my food. You could barely tell what the whole thing was. And for that I apologize! hehe. For those interested, I shoot all my photos with a Canon Rebel XTi digital SLR camera, outfitted with a Canon EF 50mm f1.4 lens. I do have a macro lens I use on occasion, but not as often as you’d think. I try to use natural light whenever possible (our huge windows are absolutely wonderful for this), but in the wintertime I’m often stuck using just the track lighting above our dining table. I’m still trying to figure out a better nighttime lighting setup, and will be sure to let you know when I do.

I want to know about your exercise habits. How did you look so thin in your wedding photos after baking all of those cupcakes?
I’m going to apologize in advance, because both of us are very lucky in that we have never had to deal with weight issues. HOWEVER, that doesn’t mean we just go and eat anything and everything we want. Weight isn’t the only factor in overall health. We really make an effort to eat well and live healthy lifestyles in general. We work out 4-5 times a week (the program we do is called P90X, if anyone is interested, it is seriously INTENSE, albeit cheesy). We also do our best to make healthy eating choices, something that is much easier to do when you are cooking your own meals rather than eating out. I am and always have been a very light eater (and I’m working on Taylor and his tendency to stuff himself). We are only periodic meat eaters, maybe twice a week at the most, and then it’s usually seafood or poultry. We eat very little dairy or fried foods, and rarely go out to eat (maybe 2-3 times a month). So while yes, I admit I have a very large sweet tooth (or two), we still consider ourselves on the healthy side of things and try to keep it that way.

I would love to see a picture of your kitchen if possible.
Sure. :) We live in a place with a very open layout – our kitchen is basically part of the living room. But that means tons of light, super high ceilings, and… very little storage. Like, practically none. So we had to get creative. The “pantry” you see is an old antique hutch we inherited and refinished. It sits on the wall across from the kitchen and holds all of our dry food in a collection of jars and various containers. We also had to find a shelving piece to hold all of our dishes… this particular one was actually an old store display shelf we found on sale. We’ll replace it with something more sturdy… someday. You can see more photos of our home and kitchen on flickr.

Would you take on a diabetic baking challenge?
Always up for a challenge, though I am completely clueless here. I’d be hesitant only because I wouldn’t want something I made without any in-depth knowledge on the topic to end up doing more harm than good.

How can you make fondant taste good?
Buy it carefully. I’ve never made it from scratch, so I can’t say what that tastes like, but the brand I have been using, Fond-X, tastes more like a marshmallow than anything. Still an odd texture so I peel it off anyway, but a lot better than some of the fondant I’ve tried.

Favorite brand of olive oil?
We usually buy whatever is cheapest (guilty as charged – we’re thrifty). Recently we’ve been buying the Trader Joe’s brand EVOO, which is pretty darn good for the price.

How about other olive oil recipes?
Olive oil is our oil of choice, whether it be for sauteing or marinading or drizzling. We only use canola sparingly in more asian-y recipes or baking. So, to answer the question, just about ALL our recipes use olive oil in one way or another. :)

What do you eat for breakfast?
Lindsay: I usually start the day with a glass of chocolate soy milk, and then eat a bowl of cereal (granola or shredded wheat) a few hours later. Boring, but, whatever. Breakfast is not my favorite meal of the day.
Taylor: Steel cut oats with whole flaxseed, dried fruit, and various nuts (L: aka his “manly breakfast” – he saw it mentioned on Dr. Oz as the best breakfast and has been eating it ever since).

What is your dream vacation?
Taylor: Paris and Rome. London. Basically any big city with lots of history and stuff to explore.
Lindsay: Taylor and I definitely don’t agree on this one (maybe that’s why we have yet to take a honeymoon). I’d much rather go to a relaxing beach resort somewhere, like the Caribbean. Or Club Med. I love Club Med.

Are there any foods that took you a long time to get used to cooking with?
We still battle with meat in general… and cooking it to the perfect doneness. We’re scared to undercook it, but also don’t want to overcook it. In the case of whole roasted chicken or turkey, we end up poking the thing so many times to take it’s temperature before we feel comfortable taking it out of the oven.

What is Taylor’s favorite brand of guitar?
Taylor. Duh.

You’ve made some of my favorite cupcake recipes/flavor combos. How do you come up with them or figure out what to put together?
Flavors usually come out of my random sugar cravings. Other times I see a sweet treat in another form (cake, truffle, candy, drink) and think that it would make a great cupcake. Sometimes it’s just seasonal ingredients, like the recent Blood Orange Chocolate cupcakes.

What got you started blogging?
Lindsay: I’ve always been a bit of a computer nerd, and was involved with various online ‘newsletters’ and ‘journals’ long before blogs even existed. But what got me started with THIS blog was a fancy new camera and macro lens. What better to take really close up detail shots of than food? And since we’re always cooking, I figured, why not!
Taylor: I don’t blog. I do the dishes.

I think I set myself up for a cheese overload.

As you may know, we don’t eat a lot of dairy. Or, should I say, I don’t. While I’m not technically lactose-intolerant, something about the richness of dairy just doesn’t sit right with me much of the time. For a few years I was virtually dairy free (with the exception of goat cheese, butter, and parmesan), but now I am gradually reintroducing bits of dairy here and there (can you say, hello! cheese pizza!).

But these little cocotte concoctions took that a bit too far. As precious as they were, we’re just not used to eating this much dairy in one little pot. Goat cheese. Parmesan. Cream. Ricotta-filled ravioli. So maybe I can tolerate one kind of dairy in a sitting. But 4 is pushing it. Even Taylor thought they were a wee bit rich.

Next time? While they won’t technically be “gratin” if they aren’t swimming in cream, we may actually try chicken broth as a replacement for the liquid. That, paired with a different kind of ravioli, and maybe a speck less basil (the basil was quite overpowering, and I’m never a fan of anything that covers up the taste of my beloved goat cheese). But all in all this one definitely gets high marks in our book.

Not to mention they are just too stinkin’ cute.

Ravioli Gratins with Goat Cheese and Basil Pistou

Makes 4 cocottes. Recipe from Mini-Cocotte by Le Creuset

Ingredients
4 oz. crumbled fresh goat cheese
2 bunches fresh basil
4 cloves of galric
Dash of olive oil
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter
3/4 cup cream or milk
8oz fresh or frozen cheese ravioli (12)
2 oz pine nuts
4 tablespoons Parmesean cheese
Pine nuts and fresh basil leaves, for garnish

Directions
Prepare the basil pistou: Combine fresh basil and garlic in a small mixer, and add a small dash of olive oil. Pulse until no large chunks of basil remain.

Precook the ravioli for 1-2 minutes in salted boiling water. Remove from pot and drain well, tossing gently with a splash of olive oil to prevent them from sticking together.

Preheat the oven to 400?F.

Lightly butter 4 mini cocottes (or large ramekins).

Add to each, a layer of ravioli, a spoonful of crumbled goat cheese, and a spoonful of basil pistou. Add one teaspoon of pine nuts. Continue with another layer of ravioli, one tablespoon of cream, a spoonful of goat cheese and another of pistou. Top each cocotte with a ravioli, a tablespoon of cream, and a generous sprinkling of grated Parmesan.

Bake, uncovered, for about 10 minutes, or until the tops look crunchy and the cheese begins to brown.

Garnish with remaining pine nuts and some roughly chopped basil leaves.

Now that’s a manly cake if I ever saw one.

So what if it’s girly. And flowery. And sparkly. That didn’t stop be from bringing it to our neighbors Super Bowl party. I think it’s the perfect super bowl cake, don’t you? :)

It is, in fact, my second (successful) attempt at a fondant covered cake, courtesy of SweetWise cake and pastry supply shop and their fabulous cake decorating classes. You would think a cake like this would take weeks to perfect. But nope. This is the outcome of Fondant 2. Only the second class I’ve ever taken, the second fondant covered cake I’ve ever made.

Can’t wait to see what #3 looks like (and a hint: it may just have something to do with this little blog of ours celebrating three years strong).

On that note, after three years, you think you would know a little something about us. And I realize that I usually don’t get too personal (other than sharing somewhat random facts like Taylor’s cupcake-eating habits) within posts. This is, after all, a food blog. Not a diary.

But I figured that there are probably things about us you’re just dying to know. Like, what is Taylor’s favorite food? Just how many cupcakes has Lindsay baked? What exactly DO we do besides cook? Seriously. Ask away. Doesn’t even have to be food related. Post your question in a comment on this post, and we’ll answer them in an upcoming post.

And we won’t be offended if no one asks anything. Not like you NEED to know the color of my kitchen aid to enjoy the buttercream recipes that come out of it. :)

This is how it usually goes down in our house:

I spend hours slaving over a hot kitchen aid, whipping up cupcakes with mounds of beautiful buttercream, sprinkles, fondant flowers, the works. Taylor gets his hands on one, and proceeds to push 2/3 of the frosting (oh the beautiful swirl of frosting!) onto the side of the plate before eating the cupcake. All this effort I put in to the frosting, I may as well leave half the batch unfrosted for him, or heck, just make muffins (boo).

We would have gotten along well as children. I would yearn for the coveted corner piece of the grocery store sheet cake every time one of my classmates had a birthday. The corner piece was obviously the best, because it had twice as much frosting as all the other pieces.

If I had known Taylor, it wouldn’t have been an issue. He’d give me his frosting, I’d give him my cake. It’d be a match made in sugary heaven.

And it wouldn’t stop at just cake. Take corn dogs, for example. I loved corn dogs when I was little, but only the corn part. I’d eat the whole outer coating off of the dog and ceremoniously pass it to my dad when I was done. Taylor, on the other hand (if given no other choice), would peel every last spec of batter off before eating it.

I mean, seriously. How perfect would we have been for each other? (and I’m sure my Dad would have appreciated not having to eat so many mutilated corn dogs).

But these cupcakes were different.

I watched in awe as Taylor practically licked the cupcake clean of frosting. No mound on the side. He ate every last bit (though, I do admit he pulled off the heart sprinkles prior to doing so).

That’s how I know I’ve done good. I’ve done real good.

The frosting is not, in fact, new. You’ve seen it before layered so beautifully inside this cake. Yes, I’m talking about the Tiramisu Buttercream. It’s a basic swiss meringue buttercream with a splash of coffee, and the final result is so unbelievably smooth and buttery and not overly sweet like the typical American-style buttercream. It is SO worth the extra effort.

The cake itself is almost identical to almond-based cupcakes I’ve made before, except I substituted finely ground toasted hazelnuts for the almond. And it surprised me how distinct the hazelnut flavor was, I didn’t expect it. A good pairing with the coffee buttercream.

The perfect treat for your one true love.

Hazelnut Cappuccino Cupcakes

Makes 12 cupcakes.

Ingredients
Cupcakes:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup hazelnuts
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup soy milk
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cappuccino Buttercream:
3 large egg whites
3/4 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon warm water
1/2 tablespoon instant coffee

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine soymilk and vinegar and stir to combine. Set aside for 5 minutes. Mixture will curdle.

Toast hazelnuts in a dry pan over low heat until one shade darker and fragrant (watch them carefully or they will burn). Remove skins if desired (or if you can). Transfer to a food processor and pulse until very finely ground.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, ground hazelnuts, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Whisk sugar, oil, and extract into curdled soymilk mixture. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix until relatively smooth. Fill cupcake liners with a scant 3 tablespoons of batter (cups should be just under 2/3 of the way full). Bake for 20-22 minutes or until lightly golden, and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to cooling rack and allow to cool completely.

To make buttercream, combine the sugar and egg whites in a large heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 5 minutes. The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like marshmallow cream. Remove from heat and transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer, and whisk on high speed until mixture is completely cooled and stiff peaks form, about 6 minutes. Add butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, on low speed, mixing well after each addition. Beat until smooth, about 3 minutes. Beat in vanilla.

Stir instant coffee into warm water until dissolved. Add, 1 teaspoon at a time, to buttercream, mixing well after each addition. Pipe or spread onto cooled cupcakes.