I had some leftover cake batter and decided to bake mini cakes and layer them for a work treat.
Vanilla buttercream and chocolate buttercream decorations. Snowflakes of course, I’m on a snowflake kick.
Two chocolate layers, two vanilla layers…
I had the best idea, but not until it was too late. How awesome would it have been if I did chocolate frosting between the layers!? Oh well, maybe next time.
Filed under Cakes
Here are some cupcakes I did for a friend:
I did the same chocolate cake recipe I used here, but this time with chocolate buttercream frosting.
Now for my adventure with the frosting:
I had never made chocolate frosting before, so I started off with the frosting recipe on the cocoa box. It was too runny to pipe, so I ended up adding a lot more powdered sugar to make it thicker. I honestly couldn’t tell you what the end quantities were… next time I make it I will keep better track of it. If I had to guess, I used at least 2x the powdered sugar. It still wasn’t thick enough, so I decided to add another stick of butter. The butter would not integrate into the frosting (because it was so runny) so there was little lumps of butter throughout. I stuck the whole thing in the fridge thinking it would thicken up a bit and then I could try whip it again. Still didn’t work… As a last ditch effort, I stuck the whole bowl of frosting in the microwave. I let it all get runny and melty (and smooth!) then I stuck it back in the fridge for a while. When I pulled it out and stuck it back in the mixer, it whipped up perfectly! I will be making it again, as it was approved by the chocolate lovers in my family. Except next time I will know exactly what to do to thicken it up!
The bling on top is blue candy melts with clear sugar crystals. Same technique as the pumpkins here.
I love these plastic cupcake boxes. The cupcakes slide in and out easily, nothing gets messed up from bumping into each other, and they are stackable!
Filed under Cakes
When the craving strikes, you gotta do it!
Chocolate chip cookies are one of the easiest things to make. No store-bought dough allowed!
I liked my recipe last Christmas, but it wasn’t perfect. The last time I made chocolate chip cookies, I went specifically for chewy, but that receipe wasn’t perfect either. I must find the perfect chocolate chip cookie! Eventually I will if I keep trying, right? This one isn’t perfect, but I think it’s my best so far. Next time I may try a mixture of the last 2 recipes.
Chocolate Chip Cookies with Walnuts & Oats
recipe adapted from Better Homes & Gardens
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 12oz package chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
1 cup oats
Beat shortening and butter together for 30 seconds. Add sugars and baking soda and beat until combined. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until combined. (You may need to scrape down sides in between to get everything incorporated.) Beat in flour. Add in chocolate, nuts, and oats and stir until combined well. Use a cookie scoop or tablespoon to scoop balls onto parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes.
Tips:
*Mine did not spread at all. First batch came out in balls just like when they went in. I had to kind of squish down the balls to get the cookies to cook and look better.
*Parchment is not necessary, but trust me it’s the best change I have ever made in my baking.
*I didn’t write it in the ingredients above because I didn’t use it, but if I made it again I would add a bit of salt – it really needed it. I’ve never before seen a recipe without salt and it didn’t occur to me that it was missing until I tried one.
Look at all the goodies in there! Definitely the best part of these cookies.
Filed under Cookies
Who doesn’t like s’mores? Well, I guess vegans.. but that’s a whole other story.
Last time we went camping, everyone was trying to come up with how I can do a s’more cookie and what I should call it. I haven’t quite gotten there, but this is a good step in the right direction!
This dessert was brought to our friends’ house for dinner get-together. I thought it up just hours beforehand… and it turned out amazing!
I started with crescent rolls broken into the individual triangles, then brushed them with caramel. (The runny kind…)
Gave it a pile of chocolate chips…
Followed by a pile of marshmallows…
**These pictures were taken before I had really done a few. I ended up finding it easier to pile them all in the center and wrap the crescent roll over it.**
I wrapped them up, making sure everything was sealed in as much as possible. Spaced them out on a foil covered baking sheet…
Then brushed the top with honey.
Baked them at 375 for about 12 minutes. They ooze quite a bit, so don’t forget the foil!
My husband said this is like “a chocolate chip cookie on steroids.”
Think of the possibilities here… nearly anything can be an ingredient packed into these, as long as one of them is melty! I will definitely be doing these again with new ingredients… or maybe a “make your own” kind of thing at a party? Hmm…
Filed under Marshmallows, Misc
Yes, you read that right. Chocolate.
I don’t really like chocolate, which is why I rarely use it. I have never made a chocolate cake/cupcakes, boxed or from scratch. Ever.
Until today.
Why did I do it? Because tonight I am seeing 2 of my best friends, and we are celebrating both of their birthdays. Normally I would do funfetti or something like that, but I happen to know that they both love chocolate.
A while back, someone told me about an amazing chocolate cake recipe. As soon as I decided I wanted to make chocolate, I knew this was the recipe I had to try. Guess where I got it?
That’s right, it’s right on the cocoa box! The recipe says to use 2 9″ pans, but of course I wanted to do cupcakes.
This batter was very runny. Normally home-made recipes are thick, so it was nice to have a pour-able substance!
The recipe for cake said 30-35 minutes, but as cupcakes they were done in my oven after about 21 minutes.
Okay on to the frosting!! I printed out this Marshmallow Frosting recipe almost 5 months ago. I hadn’t tried it yet, but I thought it would go fabulously with the chocolate cupcakes. My husband agreed so I went for it!
If you’re going to try this frosting recipe, either get a man to hold your hand mixer for you, or buy a stand mixer. Because this seriously took forever to get “stiff peaks.” And I’m not even sure I went long enough.
It seriously tastes like ooey gooey mashmallows!
And the cupcakes are awesome!
For someone who doesn’t like chocolate, I was impressed. It was moist and just the right amount of chocolate – – not too rich or too sweet.
I asked my husband and friends to judge it for me, and all they had to say was “it’s good.” Not much of a review for the blog, but it’s all I could get them to say. They did have more than one each if that counts for anything?
Filed under Cakes
This is the first thing in a long time that I could not stop eating.
It’s not hard.
Just fun, easy, and yummy. Very yummy.
Oh and I made it look fancy.
If I had had more time, or if I wasn’t moving right now and had a ton of my kitchen packed up, I would have done colored candy melt drizzles too…
I also made some small ones…
I just skewered them on toothpicks. They were a little harder to dip/roll in the chocolate, but they came out so cute!
The white ones above are dipped/rolled in white candy melts then covered in sprinkles, then drizzled like the chocolate ones.
Filed under Candy, Marshmallows
This cake I made just to use my new cake pans. I bought 2 6″x2″ circles, so that I can make “mini” cakes. I used quotes because this cake did not come out so mini…
I did boxed funfetti cake cuz it’s easy and fast and I was making it at a friend’s house. When she picked me up from my house, we had agreed upon brownies, so I didn’t bring any of my baking “stuff” with me. When we changed our mind, we went to buy the cake pans that I had been wanting to get this weekend anyways. Turns out she doesn’t own an electric hand mixer. I was soo mortified, but I had to buy frosting in a can – something I swore I would never do again!
However, it turned out tasty of course. And we paired it with some ice cream. Such a perfect combination!
I filled each pan 2/3 the way, which used up all of the cake mix. Hence the cake wasn’t so mini after all. In the future I would do less batter in each pan so that the layers are quite so thick… then my cakes will be a bit more mini looking.
Filed under Cakes
Okay so I have mentioned before that I don’t really like chocolate that much. Basically I don’t like chocolate just by itself. No chocolate cake, brownies, chocolate bars… the exception comes in when you add stuff to it. Nougat, caramel, nuts… I love Milky Way, Snickers, Sees caramels in the nuts and chews box.. mmm… So anyway, I don’t eat brownies. Like never.
About a month ago, a coworker and I had a play fight over him eating too many of the sugar cookies I brought in to work… somehow the result of this play fight was him trying to “out do” me and bring something yummier than my cookies. So he brings in brownies. I had to let him down with the news that I don’t like brownies/chocolate, and he INSISTED anyway that I try one. Ugh, fine. I took one and it sat on my desk a few hours before I figured what the hell.. and took a bite.
O.M.G. – Heaven. In my mouth. Like Seriously.
I was a little too embarrassed to tell him that I was in love with it, after just telling him I don’t eat brownies. I did however, go back for another before they ran out! By the end of the day I did confess that the brownie was the best thing I have ever eaten. He promised he’d bring me the recipe, but kept forgetting… But I decided I wanted to make them for a wine party I was going to last night. (Wine+chocolate=perfect, right?) He was kind enough to finally remember to get me the recipe. And I am now going to share with anyone who happens to read my little blog! Trust me, you’re gonna want to print this one out and keep it!
Caramel Brownies
14 oz bag caramels
5 oz can evaporated milk
box chocolate cake mix w/ pudding in mix
1/2 cup (1 stick) margarine
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
6 oz bag chocolate chips
Unwrap caramels and put in small pot with 1/3 cup (half of the can) of evaporated milk. Turn on low and stir every once in a while to get things melty. We eventually want it to be smooth, but it can get started while we get the rest ready.
Beat together cake mix, the rest of the evaporated milk, and the margarine. It will eventually turn into a ball of dough.
Press half of the dough into the bottom of a greased 9×13 inch pan. Bake at 350 for 6 minutes.
Pull the pan out of the oven and sprinkle 1 cup of chopped walnuts over the top of the dough, followed by the chocolate chips.
When the caramel is good and melty smooth, pour it evenly over the top of the chocolate chips. Don’t drool into the caramel!!!
The rest of the cake/dough mixture goes on top. I tried to smoosh it down and it wasn’t working well with the caramel there. Instead I took small pieces of the dough and flattened it as much as I could with my fingers then laid it on top the caramel. It doesn’t need to be perfect, just as good of coverage as possible.
Sprinkle the rest of the nuts across the top. (This helps hide the holes!)
Pop the pan back in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
Let cool completely then cut up and serve. These pics arestraight out of the oven. Look at the crispy gooey caramel on the corner!
Plated and ready for the wine party!
The brownies were brought out just in time for the red wines, and they paired perfectly! I will definitely be making these again and again and again… you should too!
*PS – they are good cold! We kept the leftovers in the fridge and my husband said it made them even better!*
Filed under Brownies
Usually when I make something, I get little to none of it because I either make it for someone else, or I make it to share.. Well last night I felt like cookies. Did it matter that it was 10pm and I was out of sugar? Nope. I borrowed some from my parentals (who live very close-by) and I made cookies at 11pm.
I wanted chewy.. the cookies I have made before had good flavor and ingredients, but they were always harder than I prefer. Here is the recipe I used. Apparently there is scientific evidence that makes these chewy cookies so good. And they really were. Although I think they are better after cooling completely (yes I had one for breakfast) than they did last night when they were warm.
Recipe says 10-13 min, and I definitely went the full 13 and they were still a little uncooked-ish in the middle, but letting them cool on the pan definitely helped them set. I used only about a cup of chocolate chips, I don’t like when they take over my cookie and I’m not the biggest chocolate fan. Oh and I used chopped walnuts, the recipe didn’t include nuts. I think next time I am going to add some oats, my mom’s cookies have oats and I love it…
I know chocolate chip cookies are a little boring compared to my other cookies, but this recipe is good so I wanted to share! Plus, what’s easier and quicker than homemade chocolate chip cookies?!
Filed under Cookies
For Mother’s Day I wanted to make something amazing to take to my mother-in-law’s. I know they favor lemony desserts and so I offered to bring this cake that I already had on my “need to make this one of these days” list.
My aunt makes an amazing lemon cake that I have always liked. It starts from a box, and I know if has some pudding mix in it.. and then she pokes holes in the top and mixes powdered sugar and lemon juice and pours it over the top of the cake… I decided I wanted to try and make something similar, but maybe “fancier” looking, since hers doesn’t actually have frosting or anything on it.
I found this recipe while perusing different lemon recipes and I thought it sounded amazing… plus it is accompanied by a light frosting so I could “fancy” it up. I pretty much just followed the recipe with only a few minor changes. A few of the comments recommended using lemon cake rather than yellow, so I went with that. (I am of the opinion that it’s difficult to get desserts too lemony.) For the icing I used lemon juice rather than extract, cuz well, I don’t have extract.. and I used 2x as much. Also, I don’t have a 10×15 inch pan. (Seriously?! Who has a pan that big?) so I did half at a time using an 8×8 pan, and just slopped some of the icing in between.
I think the “beat for 4 minutes on high” part made the the batter uber smooth and the cake itself looked like velvet coming out of the oven. Also the comments said to definitely keep the cake in the fridge – the cool whipped icing is key for the refresh-ness of this cake!
Here is the final picture:
I left it pretty plain looking… and of course, here is the cut picture:
Served with fresh cut up strawberries of course. It paired perfectly! This cake was YUMmy! Super smooth and light and moist. I wished there was more of the icing. It is definitely better cold right out of the fridge. I think the strawberries were an essential part, I don’t think I would make it again unless I had the fresh strawberries for it.
For “fresh” strawberry definition, see this post!
Since we are lucky enough to have both families in town, we spend brunch/lunch with my in-laws and dinner with my family. I told my family I was bringing strawberries. I don’t know what they were expecting, but I brought these:
My grandma loved the strawberries (yes they are fresh!) so much I am making her some for her bunco group later this week. (The cups near the center are filled with chocolate drizzled walnuts.)
After brunch with the in-laws I had HALF of the lemon cake left over. So before heading to my family dinner, I stopped home and used the leftover frosting and frosted the cut side. It looked good as new, you couldn’t even tell that it was reused!
**Coming up next… I am making my own birthday cupcakes!
Cookie Carrie 