Baby Rattle Cupcakes

by penji1
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Baby Rattle Cupcakes

I made these for my cute friend Jessica’s baby shower this morning.  They were pretty easy to make and came out pretty cute.

1 batch cupcakes, your choice (I made lemon white chocolate chip)

1 batch frosting, your choice (I used my favorite Buttercream Icing)

1 – 2 bags large gumdrops

paper straws, cut in half

various decorations such as M&M’s, mini M&M’s, colored sugars, sprinkles, etc

1  Prepare cupcakes and frosting.

2  Cut straws in half and press a gumdrop onto the end of each straw.

3  Frost and decorate cupcakes as desired.

4  Using a toothpick or a cake tester, poke a hole into the side of each cupcake through the paper liner, turning a bit to make the hole larger then press straw with gumdrop on end into the hole to make the rattle handle.

Here’s a closer look

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Baby Rattle Cupcakes

inspiration from Betty Crocker

Salted Caramel Crumble Bars

by penji1
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Salted Caramel Crumble Bars

My son Zach got his tonsils out on Wednesday so I’ve been sticking close to home to take care of him.  My daughter Courtney came over to visit last night so I made some dinner and these little bars of yummyness!  Salted Caramel is my new favorite, right after chocolate of course and these were delicious!

1 pouch Betty Crocker Salted Caramel cookie mix (it says limited edition on the bag so you might not be able to find it anymore) or 1 pouch sugar cookie mix plus ingredients to make cookies (which is 1 egg and 1/2 stick butter)

1/2 cup caramel topping

2 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1  Heat oven to 350.  Spray 8″ square pan with cooking spray.

2  Prepare cookie mix as directed on package, reserve 1/4 of the dough and press the remaining 3/4 dough into the bottom of the pan.

3  Bake 20 – 25 minutes or until light golden brown.  Let cool 10 minutes.

4  While waiting for it to cool, stir caramel topping and 2 tablespoons flour together.  Pour over cooled crust and spread evenly.  Sprinkle salt and 1/4 cup of chopped pecans over caramel.

5  Mix remaining dough and remaining pecans together and crumble over mixture in pan.

6  Bake 30 – 35 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool 1 hour before cutting.

recipe from Pillsbury

Groundhog Day Cupcakes

by penji1
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Groundhog Day Cupcakes

Every time I look at this, I giggle!  Happy Groundhog Day everyone!  I meant to get these up on the blog this morning but life got in my way and I haven’t had a chance to sit and blog until now but I wanted to get these up on Groundhog Day.

1 batch of cupcakes, your choice, chocolate will work better for the color

1 batch frosting, your choice, again chocolate will work better for the color

1 package Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafer Cookies, processed in food processor until fine crumbs

1 – 2 bags Snack Size Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

1 – 2 bags Hershey’s Chocolate Drops

brown M&M’s

Jet Puffed Mallow Bits

candy eyes

mini brown M&M’s

brown Wilton candy melts, melted according to package directions

1  Make groundhog faces using melted candy melts to attach 2 Hershey Drops for cheeks, 2 mallow bits for teeth, 1 brown mini M&M for a nose, 2 candy eyes and then 2 regular size brown M&M’s for ears.  Allow chocolate to set.

2  Frost cupcakes with a thick layer of frosting then roll tops in crushed wafer cookies until coated.  Carefully press face into top of cupcake then add 2 more Hershey Drops for paws using the melted chocolate to hold them in place.

and one more picture because they’re so dang cute!

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Groundhog Day Cupcakes

recipe from Bakerella

 

Nutella Bundt Cake

by penji1
Nutella Bundt Cake (2)

Nutella Bundt Cake

Made this cake yesterday for some friends who are having a rough week, they lost a parent/grandparent so a neighbor and I took dinner/dessert over.  My friend texted me later and said the cake was “DIVINE” so I guess it was a win, with Nutella in it, how could it not be?

cake

1 box chocolate cake mix

1 (3.9 oz) box chocolate pudding mix

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup Nutella

3/4 cup oil

3/4 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

4 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

frosting

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup Nutella

1  For the cake, preheat oven to 350 and grease a bundt cake pan.

2  Mix all cake ingredients on low for 1 minute then on medium for 2 minutes or until well blended.  Pour into prepared pan.

3  Bake 45 – 50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Let sit in pan for 10 – 15 minutes then invert to serving tray.

4  For frosting, beat all frosting ingredients until smooth and creamy.

5  Scoop frosting into a large Ziploc bag and snip corner off.  Pipe frosting onto cake in big loops, back and forth.

recipe from Chef in Training

Oreo Donuts

by penji1
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Oreo Donuts

I made these sweets for my sweet friend Chantal’s bridal shower this morning.  They were easy to make and delicious, super chocolaty!

donuts

3/4 cup flour

1/3 cup cocoa

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1/3 cup milk

1/4 cup oil

2 teaspoons white or cider vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 Oreos, finely crushed

glaze

1 ounce cream cheese, softened

3 tablespoons milk

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 Oreos, finely crushed

1  For the donuts, preheat oven to 350, 325 for darker pans.  Grease donut pans.

2  In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

3  In a small bowl, whisk together egg, milk, oil, vinegar and vanilla.  Add wet ingredients to dry and stir to combine.  Gently fold in crushed Oreos.

4  Transfer batter to large pastry bag or large Ziploc bag and snip corner.  Pipe batter into donut pans, filling about 2/3 full.  Bake about 10 minutes or until knife inserted in donut comes out clean.  Cool 10 minutes before glazing.

5 For the frosting, while donuts are cooling combine all glaze ingredients except crushed Oreos and whisk until smooth.  Dip each donut into glaze and sprinkle with crushed Oreos.

I doubled the recipe and it made 19 donuts.  You don’t need to double the glaze recipe, it makes plenty for a double batch.

I also made some heart shaped donuts:

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Oreo Donuts

recipe from Broma Bakery

Brownie Mix Cookies

by penji1
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Brownie Mix Cookies

I made these to take to a friend but they got eaten before they got out the door.  (It happens sometimes!)  So in summary, they were delicious and the friend got a different treat.

1 (18.25 oz) brownie mix

2 eggs

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup flour

3/4 cup chocolate chips

1  Preheat oven to 375.

2  Combine all ingredients except chocolate chips in a mixer bowl and mix until well combined.  Stir in chips.

3  Scoop onto ungreased cookie sheets and bake for 10 – 12 minutes.

4  Remove from oven and tap pan on counter gently to get a nice crackly top.  Let cool 2 – 3 minutes before removing from pans.

recipe from Something Swanky

Balsamic Penne with Broccoli and Green Beans

by penji1
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Balsamic Penne with Broccoli and Green Beans

Dinner yesterday, quick, easy and yummy, my three favorite things!

1 pound package penne

2 cups broccoli florets

1/2 pound fresh green beans, ends trimmed

Parmesan cheese, for topping

Balsamic Vinaigrette

1 – 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

1/3 cup Balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 teaspoon basil

1/2 teaspoon oregano

drop of honey

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1  Cook pasta according to package directions.  During last 4 minutes of cooking time, add the green beans and during the last 2 minutes of cooking time, add the broccoli.

2  While pasta is cooking, combine all vinaigrette ingredients in a small bowl.

3  Drain pasta/veggies and return to cooking pot.  Pour vinaigrette over pasta and stir to combine.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese before serving.

vinaigrette recipe from Cincy Shopper

Inside Out S’Mores Bars

by penji1
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Inside Out S’Mores Bars

The treats to go with dinner for my friend and her family because S’mores always fit the bill, am I right?

1 box brownie mix (for 9 x 13″ pan)plus ingredients to make brownies

7 graham crackers

2 cups mini marshmallows

1  Preheat oven to 350.  Spray 9 x 13″ pan with cooking spray.

2  Prepare brownie mix as directed on box and pour half of the batter into the pan.

3  Cover brownie batter in pan with a layer of graham crackers then sprinkle marshmallows over the crackers in an even layer.

4  Drizzle remaining brownie batter over the top of the marshmallows.

5  Bake for 25 – 30 minutes, until edges are crisp and center is set.  Let cool 15 minutes before cutting into bars.

recipe from Tablespoon

4 Ingredient Pizza Bake

by penji1
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4 Ingredient Pizza Bake

I took this to a friend and her family for dinner so I can’t show you what this looks like on the inside, nor can I comment on the taste since I didn’t have any.  She sent me a text saying dinner was wonderful so hopefully that applied to this!  I can tell you this, it was easy to put together and smelled delicious while baking.

3 1/3 cups Bisquick

1 cup milk

1 (14 oz) jar pizza sauce

1 (5 oz) package pepperoni

2 cups (8 oz) pizza cheese

1  Heat oven to 375.  Spray 9 x 13″ pan with cooking spray.  Mix together Bisquick and milk until well combined.  Press into bottom of pan and bake for 10 minutes.

2  Remove pan from oven.  Spread sauce over Bisquick layer, top with pepperoni and then sprinkle cheese over pepperoni.  Return to oven for 15 – 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and golden brown.

recipe from Betty Crocker