LOST

It’s finally here, the last season of LOST! I know I am a bit late on posting this but better late than never right? I hand piped dark and white chocolate to make the DHARMA initiative symbol. I am not going to lie; it took a really long time. By the time the chocolate was hard enough for me to pipe out the lettering my hands and eyes hurt so badly. The DHARMA initiative symbols were only about an inch and a half in diameter. They got placed atop a cream filled chocolate cake with chocolate glaze. Thanks to Natalie we enjoyed these little treats with DHARMA wine straight off the compound! By far the best LOST night to date. Big thanks to Graham and Peter, we’d be lost without you guys :)

CREAM FILLED CUPCAKES

Make your favorite chocolate cake according to the cupcake directions.
Let cool completely before filling or the cream will melt.
CREAM FILLING
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup shortening
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 pinch salt
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Make filling:

In a large bowl, beat butter and shortening together until smooth. Blend in confectioners' sugar and pinch of salt. Gradually beat in 3 tablespoons milk and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy. Fill a zip lock bag with mixture and cup off the tip. Using the handle of a wooden spoon, make a hole in the top of the cupcake. Fill each cupcake being careful not to over fill. Cover with glaze.

CHOCOLATE GLAZE

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
In a double boiler over hot, but not boiling water, combine chocolate chips, butter and corn syrup. Stir until chips are melted and mixture is smooth, then add vanilla.
Spoon over cupcakes.

Quad- Brownie

In my book you can’t go wrong with a brownie, especially one that’s made with four different types of chocolate! Yes you heard me right, 4 kinds of chocolate…

First you start with your favorite brownie recipe then you add a half cup each of milk, dark, semi-sweet, and white chocolate chips. If you are feeling like you need just a little more chocolate in your system or it has been a really rough work week please feel free to add a rich, gooey chocolate frosting :)

Here is one of the brownie recipes I use frequently. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 cup butter, melted
3 cups white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt


Directions

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish.

2.Combine the melted butter, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each, until thoroughly blended.

3.Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Gradually stir the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture until blended. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared baking dish.

4.Bake in preheated oven until an inserted toothpick comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove, and cool pan on wire rack before cutting.

Yellow Cake

Yellow cake + chocolate frosting + Baby Leland = a good time.

We went to meet our new cousin Leland and brought along these. I must say I desperately need a new yellow cake recipe. Yellow cake always turns out so dry for me and I am not sure why. If you have a fool proof recipe will you send it my way?

Monday morning pick me up...

Just a little something to start the day :) You can’t go wrong with chocolate on a Monday morning!

Chocolate Peanut Butter

Ok, let me start off by saying these are fantastic. If you have little willpower you should not keep reading because I will be posting the recipe. Once you’ve had a taste of these you’ll crave them. Dare I say even dream about them :)

Whoever first paired chocolate and peanut butter, I applaud you!

Peanut Butter Frosting

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons milk, or as needed
2 cups confectioners' sugar
DIRECTIONS
1. Place the butter and peanut butter into a medium bowl, and beat with an electric mixer. Gradually mix in the sugar, and when it starts to get thick, incorporate milk one tablespoon at a time until all of the sugar is mixed in and the frosting is thick and spreadable. Beat for at least 3 minutes for it to get good and fluffy.

Oreo Fudge Bars

These are so scrumptious and rich! Have a big glass of ice cold milk close by if you attempt to make these! I know they are called Oreo Fudge Bars but I guess I didn’t think they were going to be so fudgey! I ended up chopping these in to bite size pieces because I think had I kept them in the original size I’d cut them it would have been to much to handle. The recipe is as follows.

Oreo Fudge Bars
adapted from thecrepesofwrath
1 18 oz. package of Oreo cookies
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1 cup white chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 9×13 pan with foil and lightly spray with Pam. Set aside 6 Oreo cookies for the topping.

2. In a small food processor grind the rest of the cookies. If you don’t have a food processor, just pound with a rolling pin until the cookies are crumbs. Add the salt
to the crumbs and stir to combine.

3. Melt the butter and gently stir together with the cookie crumb mixture. Press firmly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Coarsely chop the remaining cookies into chunks and set aside.

4. Over a double boiler or in the microwave (careful not to burn the chocolate - I usually melt the chips halfway and then stir them until they’ve melted completely), melt 3/4 cup semi-sweet and 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips together with the condensed milk and vanilla.

5. Stir the chocolate mixture frequently until smooth and spread evenly over the prepared cookie crust.

6. Sprinkle the mini (or regular) chocolate chips and the Oreo cookies chunks over the top of the filling. Press down gently into the chocolate topping. Bake for 20-22 minutes oven.

8. Chill in fridge until completely cold and set before cutting into bars or it will make a big mess

Chocolate Easter Cupcakes

yummy...

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 :)

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.

Cream Filled Cupcakes

I usually bake once a week for work to keep the spirits up of my co-workers. This little number I made for our inventory day. Let me just tell you that I ended up working a 13 hour day (some people had a 16 hour day!) and the work week to follow was insane. Needless to say by the time I got around to photograph these cupcakes they were a good 5 days old! I had them on a plate in the kitchen with a note that said “Please don’t eat!” In my family if there was no note who cares how old it was my dad would have eaten it!

These were actually really simple. Here is the recipe I used. I adapted it from allrecipes.com

CREAM FILLED CUPCAKES

Make your favorite chocolate cake according to the cupcake directions.
Let cool completely before filling or the cream will melt.
CREAM FILLING
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup shortening
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 pinch salt
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Make filling:

In a large bowl, beat butter and shortening together until smooth. Blend in confectioners' sugar and pinch of salt. Gradually beat in 3 tablespoons milk and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy. Fill a zip lock bag with mixture and cup off the tip. Using the handle of a wooden spoon, make a hole in the top of the cupcake. Fill each cupcake being careful not to over fill. Cover with glaze.

CHOCOLATE GLAZE

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
In a double boiler over hot, but not boiling water, combine chocolate chips, butter and corn syrup. Stir until chips are melted and mixture is smooth, then add vanilla.
Spoon over cupcakes.

Pink is the new red.

Pink is the new red.

Ask anyone.

I <3 cupcakes

Simple, elegant and oh so delicious.

I <3 cupcakes!

3 Second Rule

Sometimes food falls on the floor. Sometimes that floor is a little dirty. Sometimes it’s a lot dirty. Sometimes I don’t care.

3 second rule…I love you.

Yeah I ate this after it fell over :)

Inauguration Day

If you know me at all you know I am not one to talk politics.

I’ll make this short and sweet.

Here’s to the next 4 years Mr. President.

Haystacks

My sister Nora usually makes these but as I was looking through the cupboard looking for something to make I had all the ingredients for these tasty treats. I usually am not a fan of butterscotch but I love it in this form. Recently I heard of people using peanut butter chips in place of the butterscotch but have yet to try that.

HAYSTACKS

INGREIDENTS

1 bag semi sweet chocolate chips
1 bag butterscotch chips
1 bag Chinese chow mein noodles

Wax paper

DIRECTIONS

1. Melt together chocolate and butterscotch over a double boiler.
2. Add in the whole bag of Chinese noodles.
3. Mix well but try not to break noodles.
4. With a spoon scoop out and form into a mound on wax paper.

Let cool completely before storing in an air tight container.

Chocolate Pretzel

Salty and Sweet is one of my favorite flavor combinations. There is something so satisfying about it.


CHOCOLATE PRETZELS

INGREIDENTS

1 bag pretzels, any style will work
½ bag your favorite chocolate chips (milk, dark, white or a combination)
Sprinkles
Wax paper

DIRECTIONS

1. Melt chocolate over a double boiler

2. Dip half of the pretzel into melted chocolate. Shake off excess and dip into sprinkles.

3. Lay flat on a piece of wax paper

Let cool completely and store in air tight container.

Chocolate Crinkles

I experienced a little heart break while making these cookies. I was so excited to try this recipe. When I got home from work I decided that it was a great day to bake. I got out all my recipes I've been wanting to try and got started. I made the dough and because it was so cold outside today (31 was the high) I thought I would chill it outside. The recipe says to refrigerate it for at least 4 hours but I just couldn’t wait that long so I made a practice batch. They turned out great but the dough was a little hard to work with so back outside it went. That was at 6:00pm. It is now 8:00pm. I just went outside to grab the dough so I could wrap up my day of baking only to find 2 HUGE raccoons eating my dough! Needless to say the dough was unsalvageable. The few cookies I got out of it before the raccoons got to it were wonderful. I think I may add chocolate chips the next time I make this.

Lessons learned today:
1. Don't leave food unattended outside.
2. Raccoons are not my friend.


I hope you have better luck with this than I.

Thanks allrecipes.com
Chocolate Crinkles


INGREDIENTS

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium bowl, mix together cocoa, white sugar, and vegetable oil. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into the cocoa mixture. Cover dough, and chill for at least 4 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Roll dough into one inch balls. I like to use a number 50 size scoop. Coat each ball in confectioners' sugar before placing onto prepared cookie sheets.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Let stand on the cookie sheet for a minute before transferring to wire racks to cool.

Cake Mix Cookies

I am a big fan of cake mix. When I use it I like to play it off like it’s homemade. This wonderful concoction is a simple recipe I found on allrecipes.com. They turned out super moist. Everyone at work loved them and when I told them how east they were one of the guys I work with made them for himself at home later in the week. I love when people get inspired :)

INGREDIENTS

1 (18.25 ounce) package chocolate cake mix
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the cake mix, butter and eggs until smooth and well blended. Mix in the chocolate chips. Drop by spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.