cadbury egg cupcakes

I made these very yummy cadbury egg filled cupcakes for Easter.

I know, I know, Easter was two weeks ago now - but I've been busy!

 

These cupcakes have a mini cadbury creme egg inside a chocolate cupake topped with vanilla buttercream. YUM!

 

 

These cupcakes have a mini caramel cadburry egg in a chocolate cupcake with caramel buttercream. YUM again!

 

 

 

These cupcakes are easy. All you have to do is freeze the mini cadburry eggs and add them to your cupcake pans filled with batter just before baking! Told you it was easy!

Now you just have to wait a year until you can find mini cadburry eggs in stock at the grocery store again. Interesting note, my friend Sarah is from England and she says they have cadburry eggs in the store all year long!

halloween themed cake balls

Here's the low down on the cake balls I made for Halloween, first seen here.

First you make a cake (I just used a box mix)

Let the cake cool, and crumble into a bowl.

Add enough icing to form ball shapes

(I used 3/4 can prepared milk chocolate icing)

Roll into 48 1" balls

Refrigerate for an hour or freeze for about 10 minutes.

Prepare candy coating

Melt candy coating in microwave (do 30 seconds at a time).

Push popsicle sticks 1/2 way through cake balls working with a couple at a time

and leaving the rest in the refrigerator.

Dip cake balls into melted candy coating and let excess drip off

(I tapped the stick to the sides of the bowl).

For the "slime balls" I used the extra candy coating, a frosting bag and #2 tip to drizzle on the "slime"

For the Jack O' Lanterns I used white melted candy coating colored black to draw the faces

and colored green to add the stems (still using a frosting bag and #2 tip).

These keep in the refrigerator really well. I even made them a week ahead of time.

The basic cake ball was much easier to make that I first thought it would be. The time consuming part was adding the details, but I love how they turned out! Definately worth the effort!

peanut butter blondies

I got this recipe from the October 2009 Family Circle magazine.

These pretty much taste like soft iced peanut butter cookies... did someone say YUM?!

Peanut Butter Blondies

2 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup shortening

1 cup peanut butter

1 lb brown sugar

3 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla

1/2 cup chopped peanuts (I omitted)

Heat oven to 350. Coat two 9x13 pans with cooking spray. In a large bowl, beat shortening, peanut butter and brown sugar on medium-high for 3 minutes. Add eggs; beat 3 minutes more. Add vanilla. On low spead add flower, baking powder and salt. Beat until mixed. Stir in the peanuts (if desired). Divide batter between prepared pans. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool slightly.

Frosting

1 lb confectioners sugar

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup shortening

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup hot water (I used a little more)

Beat sugar, peanut butter, shortening, salt and vanilla. Add hot water a little at a time. Beat until smooth. Spread over blondies while still warm.

Two pans is a big batch, but I brought one to work so that took care of half pretty quick!!

I just love how these are a "soft" cookie!

chocolate caramel cake

I found this recipe a few weeks ago and knew this was my kind of dessert! Layers of cake caramel, more cake, and then frosting make this recipe soooo rich!

Honestly though, because it is so rich you just need a small piece. I have a plan in my head to turn it into bite sized pieces using mini cupcake pans so stayed tuned for that update!

Chocolate Caramel Cake

1 box German Chocolate Cake mix and the ingredients on the box

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 lg bad of kraft caramels

2 sticks butter

Mix cake mix according to directions and then divide the batter into 2 seperate bowls. In the first bowl of batter, add 1 stick melted butter and 1/2 the can of condensed milk. Mix and pour into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes. In double boiler melt 2 stick of butter, all of the unwrapped caramels and the remaining 1/2 can of conddensed milk. Pour over first layer of baked cake and let set for 2-3 minutes. Pour remaining cake batter over caramel layer and bake another 20 minutes. Now, onto the frosting:

1 stick butter

4 tablespoons cocoa

5 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

powdered sugar to taste (about 4 cups)

Cook butter cocoa and milk on stove until boiling. Cook 1 minute more. Remove from stove and add vanilla nd powdered sugar. Frost cake.

CAUTION: this is delicious, but please do not get carried away or you will go into a chocolate-caramel-sugar comma. Please devour responsible in the company of friends :)

Candy Road Brownies

I took this recipe off a betty crocker box last summer and have made it many times since then. It's so easy and yum yum yum! It's a little gooey so I might not take it to a black-tie even, but for other things, like say, breakfast, it's perfect! (haha - I love sugar for breakfast!)

Candy Road Brownies

1 box Betty Crocker Frosted Premium Brownie Mix

water, oil, and egg called for on brownie mix box

1 1/2 cup miniature marshmallows

1/3 cup candy-coated chocolate candies

(I used mini MnM's)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom only of  8" or 9" square pan with cooking spray or shortening. Make brownie batter as directed on box. Spread in pan. Bake 8" for 30 minutes or 9" for 26 minutes. Sprinkle with marshmallows. Bake 10 to 12 minutes longer or until marshmallows are puffed and golden. Immediately sprinkle with candies. Squeeze frosting into microwavable bowl. Microwave uncovered on High 15-20 seconds or until thin enough to drizzle. Stir. Drizzle over brownies. Cool completely. For easier cutting use plastic knife. Makes 16 brownies.