Ikea's Pearl Sugar

Now that Ikea is so close to my house I visit it almost weekly! On my last visit I thought I’d take a lap of the grocery section right after you check out to see if there was anything fun. I stumbled across some pearl sugar so the compulsive buyer in me pulled out a five and walked up to the register.

I had high hopes, real high.

I am a little disappointed. My white pearl sugar turned the slightest shade of brown when I topped these cute cupcakes. It wasn’t a total let down, I choose to look at it as a learning experience. Next time I’ll avoid the chocolate.

I can’t believe I am going to say this but I am a little over chocolate for the moment!

Cream Filled take II

What can I say, I love me some cream filled cupcakes and so does everyone else! After my first attempt at these bad boys everyone was super impressed. I mean, I don’t like to toot my own horn but ‘toot-toot’. Well that’s not the truth, I love to :)

So here goes round two. Personally I think these are the best yet. I doubled the chocolate glaze. I also tried to take more photos of the actual process. Let me just say when you are covered in chocolate and everyone is coming in to taste test, photos are not so east to take.

You can get the recipes for the frosting and cupcakes here.

Enjoy!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

You’ll get a pinch
If you don’t wear green
So find something quick
And make sure it’s seen!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Hope you have a good one :)

The good, the bad and the ugly… Rocky Road cookie

I came across this recipe for Rocky Road cookies and I knew it was going to be love. I quickly set out to making a batch. I followed the recipe to a tee, something I don’t normally do. Rolled the dough, popped them in the oven and set the timer.

8 minutes later

Open the oven
Look thoroughly confused
Say aloud “What?!”

My cookies looked like… well to be honest they didn’t look good.
I was so disappointed. In just minutes I was going to meet the girls for game night and my cookies appeared less then appetizing. Oh well, there was no time to do anything about it now.

Although I thought the cookies turned out like crap, they were delicious. They were super moist and chewy.

*What went wrong? The marshmallows couldn’t take the direct heat of the pan. I’ll have to take more care while rolling the cookies to make sure that no marshmallow is exposed. Above is a photo of batch #1 ugly but good and batch #2 when I tucked the marshmallows in :)

There is an important lesson to be learned here. You can’t judge a cookie by its looks. Now hear me out on this one. They say you eat with our eyes before you eat with your mouth, and while there is truth in this statement, it is important to not let your eyes deceive you. Not just with baked goods, but with all things.

Here is the recipe. Enjoy!


Rocky Road Cookies

from Bucky’s Barbecue and Bread

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup mini marshmallows
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt and set aside.
2. Beat together the melted butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Beat in the egg, then beat in the egg yolk. Beat in the vanilla.
3. Gradually add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture until just moistened. Mix in the nuts, chips, and marshmallows by hand.
4. Roll into balls or drop by spoonfuls onto a greased and/or lined baking sheet, and press down on the cookies with your palm a bit to flatten (not too much!).
5. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the edges look golden brown. Remember that they need to cool on the baking sheet, so even if they don’t look quite set, it’s okay because they continue to cook after you remove them from the oven. Allow to finish cooling on a rack or on a different surface. Makes about 15-20 cookies.

Toffee cupcakes

Sometimes I feel like I am just making the same thing over and over. Chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting. Don’t get me wrong I love chocolate on chocolate but sometimes a girl needs to mix things up a bit. I gotta be honest. I didn’t have a whole lot to work with so while looking through the pantry yet again I stumbled across a half bag of toffee chips. Perfect. Not only did these cupcakes look tasty, the crunchy topping added a little something…unexpected, in a good way of course : )

I think next time a make these I’ll fill the cupcake with this homemade caramel recipe.

Homemade Caramels

Preheat oven to 425° F.

Pour 1 can (14 oz.) CARNATION Sweetened Condensed Milk into 9-inch pie plate.
Cover with aluminum foil; place in shallow pan (pan should be larger than pie plate). Fill pan with hot water.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until thick and light caramel-colored.

Pour milk into small mixer bowl add 1 tsp. vanilla extract; beat until smooth.