SuperBowl Cupcakes

I'm so happy to be back in the kitchen and had just in time for the Super Bowl! I some fun with this year's Super Bowl by making themed cupcakes! I'm so happy how they turned out. This was my first time carving fondant and using the Edible markers.

I used the Marshmallow Fondant recipe which I kept some white and tinted some green.

These I made a few days earlier (my snow day from work).

Go Packers!

Yellow cake with lemon filling and a butter cream frosting

Yellow Cake

• 1 1/1 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup whole milk
• 5 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 2 large eggs
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp almond extract
• Directions

1. Position rack in middle of the oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 12 muffin tin cups with liners
2. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. Put milk and butter in a small saucepan and heat over low heat just until hot; it should measure about 150 degree in a thermometer (this won't take long). Remove from heat.
3. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the eggs, egg yolk and sugar until thickened and lightened to a cream color, about 3 minutes. Scrape sides of bowl as needed. Add the vanilla and almond extract. On low speed, mix in the flour mixture to incorporate it. Slowly mix in the hot milk mixture until the batter is smooth.
4. Fill cupcake liners with 1/3 cup of batter to about 1/4 inch below top of liner. Bake just until the tops feel firm and toothpick comes out clean, about 17-22 minutes.
5. Cool cupcakes in pan on wire rack until cool enough to handle, about 10 minutes. Then transfer cupcakes to wire rack to finish cooling.

Lemon Filling

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 large eggs
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 Tbsp cornstarch, dissolved in 1/4 cup water
• 1 tsp grated lemon zest

Directions:

1. In medium saucepan, heat the butter and lemon juice over medium heat until the butter melts and mixture is hot.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, egg yolks and sugar together to blend, then whisk in the dissolved cornstarch. Whisking constantly, slowly pour the hot butter and lemon juice into the yolk mixture.
3. Return mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a large spoon, just until it comes to a boil and thickens; it will take about 6 minutes. When thickens, the sauce will leave a path on the back of the spoon if you draw your finger across it and looks clear rather than cloudy.
4. Immediately remove from heat, strain into a small bowl, and stir in lemon zest. Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the sauce (this prevents a skin from forming on the top of the lemon curd), use a toothpick to poke a few holes i the plastic wrap to let steam escape, and refrigerate until cold.
5. Once filling is cold and firm, place into a piping bag and fill your cupcakes. This filling can also be froze for up to 3 months!

Go Steelers!

Chocolate sour cream cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream frosting

Chocolate Sour Cream Cupcakes

• 3 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup water

Directions:

1. Put chocolate in a heatproof bowl and place it over but not touching a saucepan of barely simmering water. Stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove from the water and set aside to cool slightly.
2. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set side.
3. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and sugar until smoothly blended and creamy, about 2 minutes. Scrape sides of bowl as needed. On low speed, mix in the melted chocolate.
4. On medium speed, add the eggs one at a time, mixing until each is blended into the batter. Add the vanilla and beat until mixture looks creamy and the color has lightened slightly, about 1 minutes.
5. Mix in sour cream until no white streaks remain. On low speed, add half of the flour mixture, mixing just to incorporated, mix in water and then remaining flour mixture until batter is smooth.
6. Pour into cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake for 17-22 minutes. Cool

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

• 3 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3 1/2 cups unsalted butter, at room temp
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, at room temp

Directions:

1. Put chocolate in a heatproof bowl and place over but not touching a saucepan of barely simmering water. Stir the chocolate until it is melted and smooth. Remove from water and set aside to cool slightly.
2. Sift powdered sugar and cocoa powder into a large bowl. Add the butter, and using an electric mixer on low speed, beat until smoothly blended, about 2 minutes. At first the mixture will look crumbly, but then it will form a smooth mass.
3. Beat in melted chocolate. add vanilla an cream, mixing to incorporate. On medium speed, beat frosting for at least 3 minutes, until it looks smooth and creamy.

Wake up those taste buds

I'm always looking for new dips and appetizers to try for get together's with friends and family. I made this easy appetizer for our small Superbowl gathering. It's creamy, cheesy and has quite a kick to wake your taste buds, it might have helped that I used hot jalapenos!

Jalapeno Popper Dip
Source: My Baking Addiction

• 2 (8 oz) pkgs cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 (4 oz) can chopped chilies, drained
• 4 oz canned diced jalapeno peppers, drained
• 1/2 cup shredded Mexican style cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup Panko bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray oven safe serving dish with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Using an electric mixer, blend the cream cheese and mayonnaise until smooth.
3. Stir in green chilies, jalapeno peppers and Mexican and mozzarella cheeses. Spoon this mixture into the prepared baking dish.
4. Mix together the Panko and Parmesan cheese and sprinkle it over the cream cheese mixture.
5. Spray the Panko and Parmesan with a quick spay of non-stick cooking spray
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the mixture is hot and the topping lightly browned.

Notes: If you are in a hurry, skip the Panko/Parmesan topping and simply microwave the cream cheese mixture until hot and bubbly.

Serve dip with French bread, fresh veggies tortilla chips, crackers...pretty much anything that pairs well with cheese!

Best With Milk

I love Oreos, especially the Double Stuffed ones! They are one of the best cookies to dunk in milk, which is my favorite way to eat them. So when I saw this recipe to make them homemade I had to see if it was the real deal.....and they are! Shockingly, they really do taste like the real thing and the best part you can put as much filling as you want to make them single or double stuffed. There are so many different flavors of Oreos now too, so I think next time I make them I might experiment with adding flavors to the filling (mint, strawberry, etc).


Homemade Oreos
Source: Smitten Kitchen

For the chocolate wafers:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa (I used Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp ( 1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp
• 1 large egg

For the Filling:

• 1/4 cup (1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp
• 1/4 cup shortening
• 2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• Optional - gel dye

Directions:

1. Set two racks in the middle of the oven. Preheat to 375 degrees.
2. In a food processor or bowl of an electric mixer, thoroughly mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar. While pulsing or on low speed, add the butter, and then the egg. Continue processing or mixing until dough comes together in a mass
3. Take rounded teaspoons of batter and roll dough into small balls then place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet approximately two inches apart. With moistened hands, slightly flatten the dough. Bake for 9 minutes, rotating once for even baking. Set baking sheets on a rack to cool.
4. To make the cream, place butter and shortening in a mixing bowl, and at low speed, gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla. Turn mixer on high and beat for 2-3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy. (Optional-Blend in a tiny bit of gel dye until you reach your desired color.)
5. To assemble the cookies, in a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch round tip, pipe teaspoon-size blobs of cream into the center of one cookie. Place another cookie, equal in size to the first, on top of the cream. Lightly press, to work the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookies. Continue this process until all the cookies have been sandwiched with cream. Dunk generously in a large glass of milk.

Makes 25-30 sandwiched cookies

Game Day Dip

With Super Bowl XLV fast approaching I'm starting to think about all the great food to eat and what I'm going to make. I like football although I'm more of a college football fan, but that doesn't stop me from looking forward to the Super Bowl every year. I really look forward to the food more than the game itself. One of my favorite dips to make for games is this Pizza Dip. Ohh it's soo delicious. I love to toast up some French Bread to serve it with, it seriously tastes like a pan-style pizza!!! This is definitely a must try dip!!

Pizza Dip
source: Family Circle

• 1 - 8oz pkg cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp dried parsley
• 1/4 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup pizza sauce
• 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 can sliced black olives
• 4 oz pepperoni, chopped
• 1 can sliced mushrooms

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese, oregano, parsley, basil, and Italian seasoning. Spread mixture on the bottom of a 9-inch pie plate or shallow baking dish.
2. Sprinkle 1/2 cup mozzarella and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese on top of the cream cheese mixture. Then cover with the pizza sauce.
3. Top with remaining cheeses and your favorite pizza toppings, I like to add pepperoni, green peppers, olives and mushrooms. Refrigerator over night. This is BEST made the night before, but can be serve the same day.
4. Bake 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, you can also microwave for 5 minutes if you would like. Serve Hot!!
5. Serve with French bread, Triscuits, tortilla chips, bagel chips, bread sticks, or whatever you like. For the French bread, cut into 1-inch pieces and spread onto a baking sheet. Then drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and toast for about 15 minutes.

BIG Chocolate Chip Cookies

I made these a few weeks ago and they didn't last long! I found them to be MUCH better then the recipe on the back of a bag of chocolate chips, which is how I usually make my chocolate chip cookies (not very inventive I know!). Mine usually come out flat but these were nice and thick and 3 times the size of a regular cookie which made them even more enjoyable!! Definitely best with a glass of milk :)


Big Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cubed
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp table salt or fine sea salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 2 1/2 cups good quality semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup walnuts, optional

Directions:

1. Preheat over to 375 degrees
2. In bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle, cream together butter and sugars until well blended and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mix in vanilla and beat until well incorporated.
3. Add flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and mix until just combined. Gently fold in chocolate chips.
4. Transfer dough to clean work surface and gently mix dough by hand to ensure even distribution of ingredients.
5. Weight out the dough into 4 ounce portions and gently roll into a ball.
6. Place each on a baking sheet pan lined with parchment paper and bake in the pre heated oven for 15-20 minutes, depending on how gooey you would like the interior. Bake until lightly browned but be careful not to overbake.
7. Let cool on rack and store what you don't immediately eat in an airetight container.

Tips:

• These are best eaten on the day they are made, especially warm out of the oven!
• To freshen them after a few days, give them a quick nuke in the microwave for 5-10 seconds
  
  

Chinese Done Right

Many people choose to start working out or eating better for their New Year's resolutions, so in keeping with this theme I decided I'm going to try and find healthier meal options for dinner! My first choice, Chinese. Stir-fries can be loaded with sodium and saturated fat, but they don't have to be! I found this recipe on TheNest.com and served it with a 1/2 cup rice per serving. I also added green and red peppers, water chestnuts and red pepper flakes. This proves you don't have to sacrifice flavor to save calories!!

Sweet Orange Chicken - Serves: 4
Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon water
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon cooking oil
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, quartered
• 3/4 cup thinly sliced carrot

• 3/4 cup orange juice
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar, packed
• 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons Hoisin sauce
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

1. Stir water into cornstarch in small cup. Set aside.
2. Heat large frying pan or wok on medium-high until very hot. Add cooking oil. Add chicken. Stir-fry for about 5 minutes until browned. Add carrot.
3. Combine remaining 6 ingredients in small bowl. Add to chicken mixture. Stir. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, covered, for about 6 minutes until chicken is no longer pink inside and carrot is tender-crisp. Stir cornstarch mixture. Add to chicken mixture. Heat and stir for about 1 minute until boiling and thickened.
   

1 serving: 229 Calories; 9.1 g Total Fat (3.6 g Mono, 2.3 g Poly, 2.2 g Sat); 76 mg Cholesterol; 14 g Carbohydrate; 1 g Fibre; 22 g Protein; 191 mg Sodium

A Birthday Present

Yesterday we celebrated a birthday, Christmas and New Year's all in one! Dave's uncle's birthday was at the beginning of December but he lives out of town and wasn't able to make it back here on Christmas Eve due to him working and the weather. So instead we got to celebrate all three at once. Dave asked me if I would make a cake for him and he wanted it to look like a present. I decided to go with a square cake to look like a box.


For the cake I just used a chocolate pre-made cake mix. I made a chocolate ganache for the filling and used chocolate buttercream for the frosting. When using a filling you need to pipe a thick line of frosting around the edges of the first layer and THEN fill will the filling. This is to keep the filling inside the cake and prevent it from dripping down the sides of the cake. I then refrigerate it for about 15 minutes to firm up before I continue.

Then I place the second layer on and frosted a crumb coating with the chocolate butter cream to keep all the crumbs from mixing in with the rest of the frosting. This really isn't that important for this kind of cake since I covered it with fondant but I find it easier to frost the cake as this one was very moist! Once the crumb coat is on you put in the refrigerator again just to firm up and then you can frost your cake beautifully. Once frosted I covered it with marshmallow fondant I tinted green. I then tinted some fondant brown and rolled out ribbons and a name tag.

Chocolate Ganache

Bring 3/4 cup heavy cream, 1 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp sugar to a boil. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Place 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips in a medium bowl. Pour mixture over chocolate chips and let stand for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth let stand 15 minutes or until filling reached desired consistency. As the chocolate mixture cools it gets thicker.

I love seeing all the layers!