We have been programmed to believe that “Nothing says Love like Chocolates [and flowers]“.
I really enjoy chocolate more than anything – so that is the type of love we are featuring here today!
December 29, 2011
[last minute] New Years Suggestions Wrap-Up
I’m taking some of the best Appetizers and Goodies that I have made over the past year or so and sharing them here with you, just in case you are still looking for some last minute ideas!
Fondue
Spinach Parmesan Balls
DIY Ranch Dressing
Stuffed Tomatoes
Sushi
(make a party out of sushi making)
Chocolate Cups filled with Mousse
.… do you have any idea or suggestions as to what makes the Perfect New Years Eve Celebration?
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What to do…
Play some Board Games
Look through Photos of the Past Year with friends/family
watch the Rockin New Years Eve
Go Ice Skating
Watch some Fireworks
Cook up some Goodies & make it a Food Night
Catch up on Sleep
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Happy New Year – wishing You and Yours the Happiest of Years and I’m looking forward to an exciting year ahead of blogging and your support and feedback!
June 11, 2011
Coconut Chocolate Chip Bars
Think “Blondie Brownie” with all sorts of goodies added in!
I guess these are called “Congo Bars” – but I had never heard them called that (I do not think I have ever had them before either). These bar cookies are a perfect way to use up some of those 1/2 bags of sweets you have left over from other sweets. I did not have plain chocolate chips, so used a mix of plain/peanut butter. My mom hates coconut, so for her I would replace that with something else. You could make this with dried fruits to pretend to be healthier.
We recently brought these to a pot-luck (that we showed up late to) and even though most people had already eaten & had dessert – these still ended up disappearing!
Coconut Chocolate Chip Bars
Congo Bars
(as adapted from The Curvy Carrot, check out the “Congo Bars“)
- 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 12 tablespoons (1 and 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted/cooled
- 1 and 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- CHIPS: 1 cup total, mix it up with chocolate, white chocolate, caramel, & peanut butter
- 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips, plus an additional 1/2 cup for topping the bars
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chips, plus an additional 1/2 cup for topping the bars
- 1 and 1/2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut, toasted, plus more for garnish
- [1 cup almonds, toasted and chopped coarsely] – skip for the “no-nut” crowd
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Fold and fit two large pieces of foil perpendicular to one another in the baking pan, making sure to leave about 3 inches of overhang on each side. ***This will help you remove the bars from the baking pan. Spray the foil with cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the melted butter and brown sugar until combined. On medium-low speed, add the eggs and vanilla, mixing well. Stop the mixer and manually fold in the flour mixture with a rubber spatula, mixing until just combined. Add the chocolate chips, nuts, and coconut to the batter. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared baking pan.
Bake for at least 22-25 minutes (until the top is slightly cracked and the bars feel firm to the touch). *I ended up baking mine for at least 30 minutes – but be sure to check frequently to avoid over-baking. Remove the bars from the oven, garnish with the additional chocolate chips and coconut (if desired) and cool on a wire rack. Remove the bars from the pan by holding on to the overhanging foil edges and cut into bars.
And I leave you with this… these bar cookies are made with your “sweets leftovers” – so the next time you meet someone who tells you they don’t like leftovers (even though I’m not sure how that is possible) you should direct them to these bar cookies & then ask them how they feel about leftovers!
June 7, 2011
S’mores Cupcakes
“Please sir, may I have s’more”
Welcome to the summer season! There is nothing that screams summer more than some warm roasted marshmallows (ok – maybe grilling screams summer pretty loudly too, but I grew up in a house where dad grilled in a winter coat). There are so many awesome S’mores inspired recipes out there (none of them for that winter-grilling father of mine who hates them) and I finally had to pick one and make them.
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We went to a BBQ with some friends and I decided these would be perfect to bring (especially after my amazing baker co-worker made some a few weeks ago for us). These cupcakes were voted “best dessert at the bbq” (which I think is a pretty big compliment since almost everyone there is very into mountain/road biking and very health-conscious, so these can even convert your ‘healthy friends’ to the ‘dark side’)
RECIPE
S’mores Cupcakes
(adapted from 6 Bittersweet’s as she adapted it from lots of other places)
Makes 18 cupcakes
- 1 cup PLUS 2 Tbsp graham cracker crumbs (from about 16 squares/8 crackers)
- 3 Tbsp sugar [you can skip if using cinnamon/sugar crackers]
- 5 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- [6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped] – SKIPPED
- 1 cup PLUS 1 Tbsp sugar
- 3/4 cup PLUS 2 Tbsp flour
- 7 Tbsp cocoa powder
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup boiling water
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard muffin pans with 18 cupcake liners; set aside. Place the graham cracker crumbs, 2 tablespoons sugar, and melted butter in a large bowl; stir until well combined. Place 1 tablespoon of the graham cracker mixture prepared earlier into the bottom of each prepared muffin cup. Use the bottom of a small glass to pack crumbs into the bottom of each cupcake liner. Reserve remaining graham cracker mixture for topping. [Place 2 teaspoons of chocolate in each muffin cup.] Place the pans in the oven and bake until the edges of the graham cracker mixture is golden, about 5 minutes.
Sift the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together into a large bowl. Mix these together until evenly combined. In a separate large bowl, mix together the egg, milk, oil, and vanilla. Add the liquid mixture into the flour mixture and beat on medium speed for 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and continue mixing on medium speed for 1 to 2 minutes. Add boiling water and stir to combine; set cake batter aside.
Get your prepared graham cracker crusts cupcake pans & fill each cupcake liner 3/4 full with cake batter. Sprinkle each with [the remaining chocolate and] graham cracker mixture. Return to oven and bake until tops are firm and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes.
Transfer muffin pans to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan and let cool completely.
Marshmallow Fluff Buttercream
(as adapted from Creative Loafing)
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
- 1 (7 oz) jar marshmallow creme (or more)
- 3 cups confectioner’s sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp. milk
Beat butter until fluffy. Beat in marshmallow creme until incorporated.
Add sugar and beat until fluffy (3-5 min). Add the vanilla extract and beat another 30 seconds, taste & decide if you want/need more marshmallow or if needed, add milk to get desired consistency.
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Now that these cupcakes are done, I came across Domestic Fits Smore’s Cheesecakes which I look forward to brining to my next (indoor) summer event - not sure how well cheesecakes would do outside. I wonder if maybe even my cheesecake loving but s’mores hating father would like these!?
I leave you with a question to ponder… One of the joys of S’mores is their simplicity, whereas these cupcakes take them to a different level of preparation and difficulty – which do you prefer!?
May 25, 2011
Fondant Fun for a Sweet 16
My baby sister turned 16!
Ok – lets back this up. She isn’t the youngest of the family AND she isn’t really my sister. Many moons ago I began doing theatre in my middle school. I instantly clicked with my directors, a husband & wife team (they may be regretting this today). My first show that I did with them was “A Christmas Carroll” and for some reason they thought it would be a good idea to let this 7th grader carry their 4 month old on stage as a poor beggar woman (yes, I have known her for 16 years since she was an infant). Luckily for that little baby, she cried before the curtain went up every night and I went onstage with just a basket (and ‘threw’ the crying child at my mom who was helping backstage). The next year one of my featured roles was walking around dressed as a maid with my [5-year-old?] “brother” dressed as Sandy the dog on a collar/leash (guess he actually listened to me at that point and that is how I got that part – hey, he listened to me, imagine that).
officially sisters as of 2000: Music Man
A few years later and that boy-dog is capturing hearts on stage being adorable & the crying baby is still shy but now wearing matching outfits as me during “Music Man” I always wanted a sister and being cast as Zaneeta with J as my little sister (I think she had an official name!?) gave me the opportunity to call this girl my sister.
Fast – forward another 11 years and we reach today where this beautiful young woman introduces me to her friends as her “big sister” and I have spent many-a-holiday and random event at their house.
my siblings - the ones I choose
They taught me many things over the years, including: you’re never fully dressed without a smile, a good night’s sleep is important, Irish accents are great fun, happiness is anything that’s loved by you, and that yes – there is hope! It is said that that the family you choose is just as important as the family you are related to – well those 6 people in that family that I chose are some of the most important people in my life and I wouldn’t imagine it any other way.
Wow – that was a long & sappy sidetrack, sorry!
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To decorate these I colored 1/2 the container of frosting bright pink and the other half a bright green (using a combo of colors from the Wilton 12 icing color pack). Then I did the same thing with the fondant (yay to playing with play-doh) and rolled it out (it should have been way thinner). Finally I just used my nice, small cookie-cutter to make a whole bunch of stars.
"naked" cupcakes
These may look really pretty (ok, really pretty for my first time – at least maybe give me that?) but the taste is just ‘eh’. I was not a fan of any of the “boxed” flavors and the fondant tastes like worn out bubble gum. I am usually a taste over looks kinda girl (you can’t just be a pretty face) so overall, I give these a thumb down… even though they did look nice on the dessert part of the table.
stars for the star
JoElle's beauty
Talk about looking nice, why don’t we take a look at JoElle’s (first attempt too, might I add) fondant covered cake that she made. Somehow we created almost the same color fondant too! From now on, I am leaving major cake decorating to former classmate JoElle & I’ll stick to other things… great work lady!
p.s. bonus points if you can name the shows that I kinda-sorta-ish referred to in this post that I was in….
