Merry Christmas - Santa Hat Cupcakes

Today is our Annual work Christmas Party... so I made cupcakes...

Nothing crazy, vanila cake, vanilla buttercream center and vanilla buttercream frosting... but I did make them look cute!!!

Santa Hats!!!

ENJOY!!!!!

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

Another recipe I found on Pinterest... http://www.framedcooks.com to be exact!!  I must give credit because I didn't make any changes this time... though I will still write out the recipe at the bottom.  The hubby love Peanut Butter and Jelly, so to make as a dessert was a no brainer.  His buddies were over, so I knew they wouldn't go to waste.

I remembered to take a few more pictures this time.  Though, forgive me, they are not the greatest.

The first step is to cream butter and sugar, which is most definitely the yummiest thing in the World!!

Then you add the eggs, peanut butter and vanilla till its creamy goodness...

Then you add the flour mixture and mix until well combined (no pic for that, but you get the point)
I lined a 9x13 pan with foil and sprayed the foil with floured baking spray (so much easier than doing it the conventional way).  I pressed 2/3 of the batter into the pan... then spread the jam across the top of the batter... I chose grape because it's Johnny's favorite... the remaining batter was dropped onto the jelly in little clumps, and then topped it all off with chopped peanuts... YUMMY!!

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes...

And VIOLA... Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars...

Like I said in the beginning... I think it could have used a but more jelly... but that's ok... trial and error!!  The peanuts added a nice salty to the sweetness of the peanut butter "cake"...

I must say, it needs a glass of milk to go with it, but you will not be disappointed if you like peanut butter and jelly!!

RECIPE
2 sticks of butter (soft)
1 1/2 cups of sugar
1 tsp of vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups of creamy peanut butter
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cup of grape jam (ok, you can use whichever flavor you want)
1/2 cup of chopped peanuts

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Line a 9x13 pan with foil or parchment, grease and flour (or use baking spray like me).
Cream butter and sugar together in mixer, add eggs, vanilla and peanut butter, and mix until well combined.
Sift flour and baking powder together in separate bowl then add slowly to creamed mixture.
Spread 2/3 of batter into pan and spread to the edges.  Spread jam on top, then drop clumps of batter on top.  Sprinkle peanuts on top.

Bake for 45 minutes and golden brown!
Enjoy!! We all did over here!

Again... thank you to http://www.framedcooks.com for the recipe!!! I love your page and wanted to share your yumminess with my friends! (Everyone... enjoy her site... it's got good stuff on it!)

Chewy and Gooey Oreo Bars

I saw these on Bakergirl's Blog and had to make them... I knew I would eat the entire batch, so I made them for Johnny's guy friends... they are devouring them as I type this... I have to admit... I ate 2 before I even brought the plate into them! haha

They are SUPER easy to make... Ready for this... 3 ingredients and no baking!!!  I only got one picture, so it's going to be a short post!!

This picture doesnt do them justice... I guess I will have to make them again to get better pictures ;-)

So here's the recipe...
1 Package of Oreo's (crushed and crumbled, but not ground)
I bag of Large marshmallows
4 Tbsp of Butter

Crush up those Oreos and set aside... In a microwave safe bowl melt the butter and the marshmallows... about 2 minutes, but keep your eye on them, they expand... take out of the microwave and mix together, add cookies, keep mixing until well combined... some mix until all black, I like them chunky like this!  Pour into a square pan lined with foil (my advice, grease up the foil a little, I had a hard time with mine and was wishing I greased).  Cut into bars and serve!  Make sure to enjoy one or two before you share, or you might not get any!!

Enjoy!! and thank you Bakergirl for sharing the recipe! (check out her blog, she has yummy things and takes yummy looking photos!!)

Gracie's Second Birthday - Candyland

My special little munchkin Gracie Face Fury turned 2 years old this week... I cant believe she is 2, it feels like yesterday we were anxiously awaiting a call from her mommy and daddy to tell us she was here... Her "Deannie" makes her a cake every year!!  This year her mommy decided to do a Candyland theme... we kept the decorations somewhat simple, but the cake itself had a lot going on, and it was all good!!!

Ok... so now you know what it looks like... let me tell you what is inside... It all started with a cupcake that I had a couple months ago, and a decision to make it my own...

I started with crushed pretzels, some sugar and melted butter... and pressed it into the bottom of a cake pan...

Then I poured your standard chocolate cake batter on top...

Baked it... obviously... and this is what came out...

I made two of these... and the pretzel sides were to be the middle... but we couldn't just have pretzel middle so I made my special Peanut Butter cream... which is Natural Peanut Butter, confectioners sugar, milk, and in this case... crushed Tagalong Girl Scout cookies... yes, you read that right!!

The pretzel side of the top layer went pretzel down so that the middle of the cake was pretzel, peanut butter, pretzel... then I covered the wonderful creation with Caramel buttercream... The thick caramel is dark and makes the icing beige, so I dyed it pink.

I was out of fondant and needed to decorate this puppy to look like candyland... while at the grocery store I saw a bag of Airheads and a light bulb went off... I cut the Airheads to make the blocks... I put candy dots along the "path" and gooey gum drops along the bottom... some starlights and lollipops and we were all set!!

The birthday girl loved it...

And the adults sure did too!!  I told my DH as I was making it that this might be the best tasting cake I've ever made, and he told me to wait to try it before I make that claim... well I can honestly say, I was right!! ;-)

Its like chocolate covered, peanut butter filled pretzels!!! YUP!

Cake Batter Fudge - Trial and Error

I was on Pinterest the other morning and saw a post of Cake Batter Fudge... being in love with cake, I had to take a look.  It boasted being easy and quick, and I thought, even better... I never got around to making it that morning, but when I went to my friends house for a little girls night, we needed a quick dessert, and luckily she had all the ingredients. 

It didn't go so well... when I say epic fail, I mean, EPIC... it went in the trash!!  I don't take dessert defeat well, so I vowed to try it again.

The hubby had the guys over tonight, and after I made them a Crock-pot Lasagna and garlic bread, I took a stab at the fudge again! I made some modifications, and I must say, we have a winner!!

The pan I used was too thin, but maybe not, because it was REALLY sweet... But it only took a few minutes to put together and an hour to chill...and you make it in the MICROWAVE!!!  I edited the recipe... so it's mine now! haha... I doubled the cake mix and lessened the butter!!  Here you go!

Cake Batter Fudge:
2 Cups of Yellow Cake Mix
1 Cup of Confectioners Sugar
1/2 a stick of butter
1/4 cup of milk
Sprinkles (optional)

Mix the cake mix and sugar in a microwave safe bowl until combined.  Put butter in the center and pour milk on top.  Put in the microwave for 2 minutes.  Remove from microwave and stir until thick and combined. Add Sprinkles, but don't over mix, the color will bleed.
Pour into greased pan, and chill in refrigerator for 1 hour... or more...  Take it out, cut in squares and feed to hungry men!! haha... save some for yourself too!

There you have it friends... My version of Cake Batter Fudge!!

Avalanche Bars

I am a regular pinner over on Pinterest, as some of you may already know.  I have a board called Food Bucket List, and I am doing my best to achieve it all! Though I have pinned so many recipes, it might be an impossible feat... REGARDLESS, I will show what I can accomplish!

I was having some ladies over for a girls night, and decided I needed to try the Avalanche Bars... They are no bake, so I say, even better on a hot summer day!!  They are so easy to make, and SOOOO good... IF, you like white chocolate and peanut butter... (in my opinion, how could you not?)

I will include the recipe below, but here are some photos of the steps.

First, you melt a bag of white chocolate chips and then mix in a quarter cup of peanut till its all blended and smooth (and yummy)

Then you add your 3 cups of rice krispies (or if you are me and did it backwards with bowl sizes, you add your mixture to your rice krispies! hehe) and stir... the white chocolate mixture might still be warm, so you have let it sit a little, stirring occasionally so that it doesn't stick totally yet. When it's cool enough you add your mini marshmallows and mini chocolate chips.

Once everything looks good and combined, you pour it all into your greased pan, and pat the mixture down with the back of the spoon... be careful not to press too much, you don't to make your treats too hard.

Sprinkle remaining chocolate chips on top, and set aside to, well, set!  and Viola you have Avalanche Bars...

Yummy, Avalanche Bars... there were only 4 left, and I had to get them out of the house so I didn't eat the rest by myself, so I brought them to work, and they were devoured there!  They are super quick and easy to make, you'd be missing out if you didn't give them a shot!

Recipe:

Ingredients

• 12 oz bag of White Chocolate Chips
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 3 cups Rice Krispies
• 1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
• 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips (plus some extra to sprinkle on top) 

 Prep

1. Lightly grease a 9x9 pan
2. In a microwave safe bowl, melt white chocolate chips at 50% power for 1 minute, stirring occasionally to prevent burning, until melted.
3. Stir in peanut butter, and mix until blended and smooth
4. Add Rice Krispies
5. Let cool 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally
6. Add marshmallows and mini chocolate chips, stir to combine
7. Pour mixture into prepared pan, and press down (not too much)
8. Sprinkle mini chips on top, lightly pressing them in
9. Leave to set, cut into squares when ready to serve, and enjoy the yummy goodness that is an Avalanche Bar!!

ENJOY!

Impromptu Peach and Raspberry Galette

My dear friend Nicole called me up last night to invite John and I out for burgers.  We gladly accepted and went to Poppy's, a local little burger place in Beacon that makes fresh, grass fed beef burgers to order.  On the way back to her house she told us that she wanted to make a Peach and Raspberry Galette that she saw a recipe for.  Being a baker I couldn't just sit back and watch, so she gladly let me help!

A Galette is a term used in French cuisine for a flat, crusty cake... for our purposes it was a flat fruit pie!  We peeled and sliced 4 peaches, both white and regular, added a little less than a 1/2 pint of raspberries, and tossed them gently with sugar and corn starch.  We used pre-made pie crust, which I think is just wonderful... it's tasty and convenient. I save the pie crust from scratch for the holidays!!  We laid out the pie crust and circled the peaches around the center on top, putting the raspberries in sporadically... We decided to add a little sprinkle of cinnamon to the top.  We folded the edges up and around the fruit filling, and with a little egg white wash, basted the sides. Cut some butter along the top and baked at 425 degrees...

Nicole got a little impatient, but I assured her to let it bake at least 40 minutes... It smelled great and when it was all set and ready, we cut into still hot because we couldn't wait to dive in!

It was so super yummy with just the right amount of sweetness!  I will definitely make more of these... using all different kinds of fruit!  Feel free to attempt the Galette... our recipe is below!

Crust - just use Pillsbury!
Filling:
4-5 peaches peeled and sliced
1/2 pint of raspberries (or less if preferred)
3 Tbsp of Corn Starch
3/4 Cups of Sugar
Gently toss fruit in sugar and starch mixture.  Arrange on pie crust in the center, allowing space to fold up crust over edges of the fruit.  Sprinkle with cinnamon. Lightly brush egg white wash on crust.  Top Fruit with slices of butter.  Bake at 425 degrees for 40-50 minutes until golden brown!

ENJOY!!