I’m pretty sure a lot of you have seen the chocolate chip cookies that have been floating around Pinterest and the internet that require 36 hours of chilling before baking.  I had often wondered myself what all this chilling really does for a cookie… I have never really tried it with a cookie other than my Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, but reading all these blogs talk about how amazing their cookies were after a prolonged chill… I got to wondering if this would work with other cookie dough recipes?

Peanut butter cookies are similar in ingredients to the chocolate chip cookie, brown sugar, butter, egg, flour, etc etc so I thought it might work.  Plus, everything I’d read about this long chill, the cookies turn out crisp on the edges and chewy in the centers… which is exactly what I wanted for these peanut butter cookies.

So, I’m patient… but I’m not THAT patient.  I didn’t chill these cookies for 36 hours, I made it about 19 hours.  But… I’m thinking that it’s a perfect amount of time because the cookies turned out perfect!! Chewy in the middle, a bit crisp on the edges, golden brown and so good!

This shortcake makes enough for 12 servings and can be easily made in two batches for a larger group… but for me, I don’t want to share… I might be eating most of this myself.  I LOVE biscuits and I LOVE strawberries.

Nom.

Nom nom nom.

NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM!

Go get some strawberries and make this!

There really isn’t much to say about these bars…. except they are DELICIOUS and YOU SHOULD MAKE THEM!

Ha!

Enjoy!

I recently bought a couple containers of the KRAFT Jet-Puffed Mallow Bits.  If you aren’t familiar with these, they are super mini marshmallows, the kind you’d find in your packets of hot chocolate.  And ya know what? They are PERFECT for cookies!  (PS: They’re perfect for topping cupcakes with too!)  I made S’mores cookies a few days ago and today I’m making a Mocha Mallow cookie with these mini bits of heaven!

I started with a recipe that I’ve seen on several blogs from Annie’s Eats to My Baking Addiction and then put my personal spin on them.  I added the mallow bits, reduced the chocolate chips, added espresso powder and vanilla.   Adding the Mallow Bits was my hubby’s idea.  I think he’s a genius.  The original recipes for this cookie also wanted me to make them giant cookies… but I needed to feed a bunch of people, so I decided to make them a bit smaller so the batter would go further.

They turned out pretty darn yummy.

PS… For the I also made M&M Cookie Bars (which you should make too… cause UHM YUMMMM!)

I’ve made Scones, Cupcakes, Muffins and now Cookies!  Oh, and don’t forget the Fudge!

I’ve gotten into a little routine with Matty in the morning.  We stay in bed until about 8am,  then get up, have breakfast and then he goes down for a nap.  While he’s napping, I get to baking!

Last week, my husband wanted me to make something to take into the office to share with the guys.  So, I searched Pinterest for some ideas and I came across a delicious recipe for S’mores Cookies by Sugar Crafter!

They turned out pretty darn YUMMY!  And the mini’s in them were perfect for these mini cookies!

Four friends, four babies, four weeks.

Needless to say, it’s been a crazy few months for all of us.  So now that our babies are all 2 months old, we decided it was time to get together so they could play and we could drink coffee and chat.

This morning, two of my friends and their babies came over to play!

Of course, I needed to bake something delicious for us to enjoy during our Coffee & Babies Play Date… so I whipped up these muffins.

I’ve already eaten three of them… cause yeah, they’re that good.

A few days ago, my friend Erica (she’s an Army Wife too & our husbands worked together at JBLM in Tacoma, WA.) said she was making peanut butter fudge and my ears perked up like a dog who heard a fire truck and wanted to run after it!  Immediately, I asked for the recipe and Erica responded with 5 simple ingredients.  Seriously, could fudge be that easy?  This recipe comes from her Grandma Dillow… which means it’s sure to be a winner if it comes from Grandma!

So today, I tried it.  Erica’s recipe didn’t call for the use of a candy thermometer, but I had a brand new one I wanted to try out, so I used mine.  I can’t say I’ve ever really been a successful fudge maker, but after making this recipe… I think I am!

Grandma Dillow didn’t top her fudge with chocolate, but I LOVE chocolate and peanut butter so, I added a thin layer of chocolate to the top of the fudge.  YUM!

Thanks Grandma Dillow and thanks to Erica for sharing this yummy family recipe!

If you’re like me and are new to making fudge, read this helpful post: Tips for Making the Perfect Fudge!

Hmmm… So yeah.  I made cupcakes today.  And, I didn’t start back into baking cupcakes slowly.  No, I didn’t ease into things.  I went BIG!

Chocolate cupcake + Cookie Dough = HOLY GOODNESS!!!

Baked inside this cupcake is a chocolate chip cookie dough ball.  Yah, you read me right.  Cookie Dough.  The best thing that God ever created inside this cupcake.

And to make things even better…. the frosting.  Cookie Dough.   Both my hubby and my neighbor told me I needed to just make this frosting.  A big giant bowl of it so they could take a spoon and scoop it out and shove it in their mouth.  It’s that good.

Personally, I found the bottom of the cupcake to be the best.   But hey, everyone has their preferences.

Strawberry

Lemonade

Scones

Yah… I said it.  Two of the most perfect fruits paired together to make a sweet and tart delicious breakfast treat!

I actually wanted to make these over the weekend for my family, but when I went to the store to buy the berries…. they were all out!!  How rude of them to be out of berries when I needed them.

I was inspired to make these scones by Munchkin Munchies.  She made a strawberry lemonade scone and it looked so yummy!  But, I’m lazy and didn’t want to make lemon curd to top it with… so I came up with my own recipe to incorporate the lemon more into the dough to create a stronger lemon taste.

I’m thinking they turned out pretty darn amazing!

Enjoy!

This recipe is really quite easy to make… and you’ll never want to go back to making canned refried beans again.  Seriously… they are THAT GOOD.

The next time you have taco night at your house… make these beans too!

(PS… Sorry for the crappy camera phone picture!! lol)

I don’t know what I was thinking before Matty was born… but I honestly believed I’d have more time to bake.  At least once or twice a week I thought to myself.

I. Was. Wrong.

Before today, I’ve been in the kitchen to bake exactly ONCE.  And even then… it wasn’t really baking, it was throwing together canned prepared stuff from the grocery store to make something that resembled home baked goodness.  (Click HERE for that recipe.)

This morning, I set Matty down in his crib for a nap and headed to the kitchen.. but it wasn’t 5 minutes later (I just happen to be in the middle of creaming the butter & sugar) that he started to scream.  Shoot… it was time to feed him.   Thank goodness for my daughter, Emily.  Because today she is on Spring Break and is home to help Mommy.  YAY FOR TEENAGERS!  So, I fixed Matty a bottle and took him upstairs to my beautiful daughter and she fed him for me so I could get my much needed time in the kitchen.

Back to the kitchen I go. Now, mind you… I’m still in my jammies with an apron on but hey, who needs to be dressed while baking?  I mean… do people really do that?  Get dressed before baking?  (I’m trying to convince myself that it’s okay I’m not dressed before 11am haha).

Ok… the kitchen.  As I’m putting together the cookies I’m pondering why it is I really need to be in the kitchen baking.  I mean really, why is there always a burning desire to bake.  I came to the conclusion that it’s for a couple of reasons.

First, I love being creative with baking.  I’ve never really been a creative person artistically, but once I started seriously baking I realized that I am really good at it.  Creating new recipes, coming up with creative ways to use ingredients is my way of expressing myself… it’s my artistic outlet.  I’ve never had an outlet for creativity before my baking.

Second… and this one I’ve said before, is that I LOVE to see other people happy.  I love to bake because when I give my creations to someone, it fills my heart with joy to see the expressions on their face when they light up as they take a bite into whatever I’ve made.  That truly  makes me happy.

So… with all that said. I hope to be able to get into the kitchen once a week to bake.  If I don’t, that’ll be okay too.  I’ve got this adorable little bundle of joy here to keep me happy.

Recipe Inspiration: Cast Sugar

So for this months Berry BlogHop I decided I needed to fill empanadas with berries and dunk them in chocolate.

Oh yeah.  OH YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH.

Please be sure to check out what my fabulous co-hosts are bringing to the table:

A little bit of everything ~ Roxana GreenGirl ~ @RoxanaGreenGirl
Baker Street ~ Anuradha ~ @bakerstreet29
Baking and Cooking, A Tale of Two Loves ~ Becky Higgins
BigFatBaker ~ Erin Meyer ~ @bigfatbaker
Bon à croquer ~ Valerie ~ @valouth
Cake Duchess ~ Lora ~ @cakeduchess.com
Easily Good Eats ~ Three Cookies
Elephant Eats ~ Amy
Hobby And More ~ Richa ~ @betit19
Java Cupcake ~ Betsy Eves ~ @JavaCupcake
Mis Pensamientos ~ Junia ~ @juniakk
No One Likes Crumbley Cookies ~ T.R. ~ @TRCrumbley
Oh Cake ~ Jessica ~ @jesshose
Queen’s Notebook ~ Elizabeth  Quirino ~ @Mango_Queen
Rico sin Azúcar ~ Helena ~ @ricosinazucar
Simply Reem ~  Reem ~ @Simplyreem
Soni’s Food for Thought ~ Soni ~ @sonisfood
Teaspoon of Spice ~ Deanna Segrave-Daly ~ @tspbasil
That Skinny Chick Can Bake!!! ~ Liz ~ @thatskinnychick
The Art of Cooking Real Food ~ Laura ~ @TAofCRF
The Wimpy Vegetarian ~ Susan ~ @wimpyvegetarian
Vegan Yack Attack ~ Jackie S. ~ @veganyackattack
Vegetarian Mamma ~ Cindy ~ @vegetarianmamma

We always have a wide array of fresh fruit in our house too.  This morning we had blueberries, bananas, strawberries and raspberries and used all that delicious fresh fruit to stuff inside a thick slice of Paderborner bread to make stuffed french toast! YUM!

It’s really super simple to make and SO GOOD!  Especially when topped with a dollop of Nutella or a drizzle of honey.

Hello! I’m Jessica from Oh Cake and I’m very pleased to be guest posting for Betsy today. In honor of her baby boy and of course, because everyone loves cake, I made these luscious lemon yogurt cupcakes topped with a blueberry cream cheese frosting. The lemon flavor is very pronounced so if you love lemon these are the cupcakes for you! To balance the slight tartness inherent in all lemon desserts the blueberry frosting is sweet and gooey – the perfect way to welcome spring and a new baby!

Lemon Yogurt Cupcakes ~ makes 18 cupcakes
adapted from Scientifically Sweet

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cake flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk
6 oz lemon yogurt
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp lemon extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
zest of one lemon

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line 15 muffin cups from two standard muffin pans with paper liners and set aside.

In a large, wide mouthed (versus deep) bowl beat together the butter and sugar. In a medium bowl sift together the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Sift again over the butter mixture but do not mix.

In the bowl that held that dry ingredients whisk together eggs, yogurt, oil, extracts, and zest until smooth. Add it to the flour-butter mixture and beat until just incorporated.

Spoon halfway up into lined muffin cups and bake until a tester comes out clean, about 16 minutes. Transfer cakes to a wire rack to cool completely.

Blueberry Cream Cheese Frosting
6 oz cream cheese, very soft
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3 cups sifted confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup blueberry jam

Cream together cream cheese and butter. Add vanilla extract and blueberry jam. Add sifted sugar one cup at a time until desired consistency is reached. If too warm let sit in fridge for 10+ minutes until stiffened. Frost cupcakes and garnish with chocolate teddies or fresh blueberries. Watch out for bears, though… they love fresh cupcakes!

Enjoy!

When I first opened the bag, I noticed the smell… they were different from the regular Oreos.  Then, I tasted them.  OH EM GEE.  They taste like birthday cake!  Those Oreo people are GENIUS!

So, into my cupcakes these cookies went.  I made a basic vanilla cupcake batter, added a birthday Oreo to the bottom of each cupcake and filled the batter with funfetti rainbow sprinkles.  I then topped the cupcake with a basic vanilla cream cheese buttercream topped with more funfetti rainbow sprinkles and a birthday Oreo!

Simple.  Cute.  Delicious.

PS… I was in a hurry and didn’t bring my eggs and milk to room temperature and didn’t bake them quite long enough, so my cupcakes didn’t rise like I wanted them to.  :( Bummer.  Make sure yours are room temperature and be patient!!

Hello! I am Becky from Baking and Cooking, A Tale of Two Loves. I am so excited to be a Guest Blogger for Betsy while she is on maternity leave. I want to thank Betsy for the the opportunity to be a guest Blogger on Java Cupcake. I met Betsy, when I joined #Love bloghop, a fun group. Betsy has amazing cupcake creations, as well as many other baked goods, and she was still baking at 9 mos. pregnant.

When I found out that I would be a guest blogger, I started to think of all the recipes, that I could make for St. Pat’s Day, that were baked goods. Now, there are lots of recipes that have mint flavoring or green food coloring, but immediately my mind went to something with Bailey’s Irish Cream, which isn’t green, but it’s sure Irish. With a last name of Higgins, the recipe couldn’t be anything less. Bailey’s Irish Cream is my favorite liqueur, especially with coffee. We even named our dog, Bailey, because she is the color of Irish cream, true story.

This recipe has a rich, fudgy brownie topped with a layer of Irish Cream Butter Cream and topped with a Chocolate Irish Cream Ganache. These brownies taste heavenly! You are going to think that you have a pot’ gold and will have the “Luck of the Irish, when you take your first bite. My husband doesn’t even know that I made these babies, or he would want to eat them all. I hid them in the freezer, Sshh, Dont’ tell him.

I used my go to brownie recipe baked in an 8×8 pan. Then I made Vanilla Butter Cream, substituting Bailey’s Irish Cream for the milk in the Butter Cream for the Irish Cream Layer. Finally, the ganache recipe used the heated Bailey’s to melt the chocolate, and then was carefully spread over the Irish cream layer. Pure delight! Chocolate and Irish Cream in three layers.

This was not a not a sponsored post and the opinions expressed here are mine.

Oh, you didn’t know I had a baby?  YES… this week, Monday!

Matthew William was born (via c- section) on Monday, March 5, 2012 at 8:31am in Weiden in der Oberfalz, Germany weighing 5lbs 12oz and 19.5in long.  He has all 10 fingers and 10 toes, blue eyes, brown hair and looks just like his daddy! He’s pretty  much perfect and I’m so in love with him.

Matty came home on Thursday and this morning I decided that I wanted to bake something simple.  I can only stand for a few minutes at a time since I’m healing so slowly.  (In Germany, they don’t give you any pain medication or send you home with anything after a c-section, so I hurt… a lot.) I decided to use a can of pre-made crescent rolls and saucy them up with ooey gooey filling of cinnamon, sugar and butter.  It only took me about 10 minutes to put together and a few more in the oven before these breakfast pastries were ready!  A perfect way to get back in to the kitchen!

My last morning before baby arrived I decided I needed to do some baking.  Usually, I wake up in the morning and eat a bowl of cereal topped with raspberries and other fruit… but I’m always in need of a mid-morning snack.  So this breakfast cake will be perfect for that!

I saw the recipe for Cinnabon Cinnamon Roll Breakfast Cake on Six Sisters Stuff… one of my new favorite blogs to read!  There are so many blogs out there that it’s hard to keep up with them some times.  I was featured on their blog a couple of weeks ago, so I

bookmarked them, follow them on Facebook and keep coming back to their recipes!

This cake is good room temperature, but we sliced it right out of the oven after I drizzled the glaze on top and it was so OOOEY AND GOOEY and yummy!  Swirls and chunks of the cinnamon/sugar all through it with the sweet glaze on top.  It’s pretty much a perfect Sunday morning treat for the family!

Definitely a WINNER!

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from: Six Sister’s Stuff

I’ve often wondered though… what exactly goes into a Cowboy Cookie?   I did a little digging online and couldn’t really find a solid history of the cookie.  I’ve seen them made with everything from nuts and coconut to oats and raisins and of course… chocolate! I kinda always thought of these cookies as a “whatever you’ve got left in your kitchen” type of cookie.  So, that’s what I’m going with today.

These cookies have butterscotch, white chocolate, and semi-sweet chocolate chips, M&M’s and pretzel chunks.  Oh… and a special little ingredient for some added kick: espresso powder! (Everything but the kitchen sink!) I’ve made a cookie before with pretzels in them and everyone who ate them were surprised at how tasty they were… but pretzels in cookies?  Ya just gotta try it! YUM!

I made a double batch of these so I could take them into my husband’s office… made a few jumbo cookies and a few regular size too.  I’m pretty sure the soldiers will love them!

Recipe inspired by: For the Love of Cooking

Usually when I bookmark a recipe, it stays there for a few days until I muster up the energy to make them.  But… not these brownies.  Two bowls, no mixer and only 18 minutes in the oven.  Seriously, it only took 45 minutes before I was putting one in my mouth.

The original recipe called for mini M&M’s on top… but I didn’t have any.  So I used rainbow sprinkle jimmies.  I also tweaked the ganache recipe a bit too.

So uhm yeah… make these.

They were gone in 5 minutes.

Seriously, go buy yourself a bag of Strawberry marshmallows, a bag of M&M’s and make these.  Simple, quick, easy and SO GOOD!

I’ve had 4 ripe bananas on my counter for 4-5 days now waiting for me to use them.  All I can think about is baking but my pregnant body just won’t have it.  HA!  So, I’ve procrastinated.  This morning my daughter wanted to eat a banana for breakfast but I was said, “NO! I might want to use those today.” Hahah, ya right.

But, then after my morning hour of drooling over recipes on the internet, I discovered that it’s actually National Banana Bread Day.  Well shoot, I have no excuse now… I HAVE TO make banana bread!

I didn’t want to make Emme’s Banana Bread again (although it’s probably one of the most tasty breads we’ve ever made here in our house) so I decided to come up with something new.

Peanut Butter, Chocolate and Bananas.  Can’t go wrong with that, right?!?

Recipe adapted from: Taste & Tell

Since I needed to color the batter, I needed a basic white base to start with.  So, I whipped up a simple vanilla buttermilk cupcake.  But… you know me, nothing I do is ever basic.  These cupcakes have my favorite Madagascar vanilla beans, buttermilk and some added sour cream for flavor.  There is nothing basic about the flavor of these bad boys!

I topped them with a cinnamon cream cheese frosting and them embellished them with some fun sprinkles and mini cupcakes made with pb cups.  Topsy Turvy Cupcakes!

These cupcakes will be READY TO PARTY tomorrow morning!  I hope the radio station is ready for the sugar rush!

I came across a few recipes for pie crusts made with Nilla Wafers, lemon meringue pies, and some tarts… I decided to combine a few of the ideas together to make one delicious dessert.  This creation is a cross between a pie and a tart… mainly because I didn’t have a tart pan and I didn’t really want to go all out and make a lemon meringue pie.

It starts with a pre-baked Nilla Wafer pie crust then I fill it with a sweet lemon filling… bake it and let it cool.  Then I top it all off with my favorite raspberry preserve and a drizzle of white chocolate and put it in the fridge to set.  Now, if I wanted to get really fancy… I’d dollop each slice with some heavy cream and top with a few fresh raspberries.  But, let’s not get too carried away with ourselves!

Recipe inspired by Just Jenn &  Gourmande in the Kitchen

I borrowed this picture from http://thepastathemeatthecheesethesauce.blogspot.com/ because it looks exactly like what I ate!

Here in Germany, crepes are very popular.  I’d seem them in the states before, but never really ventured to try them… I mean really, it just seemed like a skinny pancakes with fruit.  How good could that be?

But… then I moved here and they are everywhere!  There is always at least one crepe stand at every market, festival or event we go to!  Every couple months, the little German candy store at the PX has a crepe cart out front and makes them fresh to order.  The other day, I ordered one stacked with fresh cut strawberries, bananas and NUTELLA!

Oh. My. Nom.

I don’t know what was wrong with me to think these things weren’t anything but DELICIOUS and that they should be consumed as often as possible.

How do I go from crepes to muffins?  Well, I have lots of strawberries currently in my kitchen and I scored big on a bunch of ripe bananas at the store yesterday and of course I have a big giant jar of Nutella in my cabinet… so basically that means I have no excuse not to make something with them!  I haven’t made a muffin in a while… so WAH LAH! This creation was born!

First, I used my favorite red and white liners from Sutton Gourmet Paper that owner Kellie sent me.  Seriously, these make any red and white cupcake so much more beautiful.  They hold their color so well… I just love them!

Second, I filled those awesome liners with my recipe for Red Velvet cake… which, I think I’ve pretty much perfected.

Third, I topped them with a simple cream cheese and vanilla bean frosting.

Finally, I added the cutest red heart sprinkles… making these the perfect Valentine treat!

Here’s to wishing all of my fantastic readers a very

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY! 

Please know how much I love each and every one of you and truly am thankful for your love and support over the years!

I’ve posted the recipe before (Spring Sugar Cookies) for the cookies, but have since then added my own homemade buttercream to the mix instead of a jar of pre-made frosting.

So, here they are together… my favorite sugar cookie recipe with my favorite vanilla buttercream recipe.

These cookies are full of flavor, soft, and puff up perfectly when baking. The frosting, it’s smooth, creamy and so delicious!!

Box mixes are a huge NO NO in my kitchen!  I do not use them to make any of my cakes or cupcakes… EVER.   I am a strictly a “from-scratch” kinda baker.

BUT… I kept seeing pictures for Cake Batter cookies on Pinterest and I kept thinking to myself that I needed to try them.  The box mix wasn’t the main ingredient so it must be in there just add some flavor and texture.

So, I bit the bullet and bought a box of yellow cake mix.

*sigh*

I know… I almost feel like a traitor as a baker.  That was until I saw how amazing the cookies turned out and I understood.

These cookies are light, fluffy and FULL of yummy flavor.  The dough was pretty stiff, so I wasn’t sure how they’d turn out… but seriously, they are super yummy!  They’d be perfect for anyone who just wants a simple cookie without any fuss!

Cake Batter & Pudding Cookies
Makes 3+ dozen cookies

3/4 cup (12 tbsp) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup sugar
1 (3.4 oz) package JELL-O French Vanilla instant pudding mix
3/4 cup yellow cake mix
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1 1.25oz jar of star sprinkles (or any shape you have on hand)

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.  Line cookie sheet with parchment paper and lightly spray with cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugars.
4. Add the eggs and vanilla, scrape the sides of the bowl and mix on high until smooth.
5. Mix in the pudding mix and cake mix and beat on high until incorporated.  (About 30 seconds.)
6. Add the flour mixture and mix on medium-high until combined.  NOTE:  Dough will be thick!
7. By hand stir in all but 2 tbsp of the sprinkles into the dough.
8. Roll 1in. balls of dough and place onto cookie sheet at least 1-2 inches apart.
9. Using the reserved sprinkles, press a few stars on top of each ball.  This will ensure that you can see that there are sprinkles baked into the cookies!
10. Bake for 10-12 minutes, rotating pan after 8 minutes.
11. Let cool on pan for 1 minute before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
12. Serve with milk and enjoy!

I searched the internet and didn’t really find a recipe that stood out to me as being simple enough for a first go-round with these pans but yummy enough to be successful.  So, I took inspiration from a few places and came up with my own recipe.

I made these three ways… first I shook them in cinnamon-sugar and second, I dunked them in glaze and third, I dunked them in glaze and sprinkles.

I think for my first round of baked doughnuts using these pans, they turned our pretty good! I’m not sure if they’re going to make it to my husbands work tomorrow! HA!

PS…. I even dressed a few of the mini’s up for Valentine’s Day!  These would make a super simple, easy treat for teachers on the special day of love!

Enjoy!

Baked Sour Cream Doughnuts
Makes about 1 dozen full size and 1 dozen mini doughnuts

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp nutmeg
3/4 tsp salt

2 2/3 cup flour
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 425 F degrees.  Grease doughnut pans with cooking spray.
2. Cream together the butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla until smooth.  (About 4 minutes)
3. Mix in the baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg and salt.  Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl so that everything is incorporated.
4. On low speed, add half the flour and mix until just combined.
5. Mix in the sour cream then add the remaining flour.  Mix just until combined.
6. Add the milk and bring up the speed to medium for about 15 seconds or until the batter is glossy and smooth.  Do not over mix!
7. Using a pastry bag, fill the holes of the doughnut pan 5/6 full.
8. Bake for 10 minutes, rotating pan after about 7 minutes.  (This time works for both the full size and minis.)
9. NOTE:  The bottoms of the doughnuts will be a bit browner than the top, but this will be covered by any glaze or cinnamon you add to the doughnuts.
10. Let cool in pans for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool a few more minutes before glazing.

Cinnamon-Sugar
1-2 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar

1 tbsp melted butter

1. Combine the cinnamon and sugar in a zip-loc bag.
2. LIGHTLY brush doughnuts with melted butter on all sides.  NOTE:  You don’t want to brush on too much butter because they won’t dry properly and will get mushy.
3. Place 1-2 doughnuts at a time in the sealed zip-loc bag and gently shake the doughnuts until covered.  Be careful, because they are warm, they are very fragile and can break or crack, so shake GENTLY!
4. Place on wire rack to cool completely before storing.

Glaze
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1-1 1/2 tbsp milk

sprinkles

1. In a bowl with a flat bottom, whisk together the sugar and milk until smooth.  Add a few more drops of milk if you want a thinner glaze, but be careful a little milk goes a long way.
2. Place sprinkles in a flat bottomed bowl just big enough to fit the doughnut.
3. After the doughnuts have cooled, dunk the tops in the glaze and swirl a bit to shake off the excess.
4. Immediately dip glazed top into the sprinkles.
5. Set doughnut on cooling rack to drip.
6. Allow doughnuts to set up for at least an hour before storing in containers with lids.
7. If you are just glazing the doughnuts, set them on the cooling rack immediately after dunking and shaking off excess glaze.

Imagine… peanut butter, cream cheese, and sugar… with pb and chocolate chips… rolling around in your mouth.  Seriously… my daughter, she took spoonfulls of this ball, didn’t even need crackers!

The only downside to this ball is that it really needs to sit overnight in the freezer to set up perfectly… so you have to make it a day ahead.  No biggie though, one less thing for you to do the day you party down with this ball!

Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Cheese Ball

8oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tbsp packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla

approx 3/4 cup milk chocolate chips
approx 3/4 cup peanut butter chips

Nilla Wafers and Cinnamon Graham Crackers

Wax paper

1. Cream together the cream cheese and peanut butter.
2. Add the sugars and vanilla and mix until smooth.  NOTE:  If it seems a little sticky still, add a bit more powdered sugar until it firms up.
3. Place mixture onto a large sheet of wax paper and form into a ball.  Fold the sides of the wax paper to cover the ball and place in freezer for 90 minutes to set it’s shape.
4. After the 90 minutes, mix the pb and choc chips together on a plate. Remove the ball from the freezer and press the chips into the side of the ball until it’s covered.
5. Place the ball on plate you will be serving it on, cover and freeze 4-5 hours (AT LEAST) or over night.
6. Remove from 20-30 minutes before you want your guests to enjoy it.  Serve with Nilla Wafers, Cinnamon Graham Crackers or whatever other kind of cookie, cracker you want! YUM!

Today… it’s Red Velvet, Cream Cheese & Chocolate Brownies.  Now, you may have noticed that I don’t make many red velvet things… I’m not really a huge fan.  I don’t always have red food dye on hand and I’m not a huge fan of cream cheese.  Call it pregnancy hormones and cravings… but for the first time in my life, I’ve been wanting to use cream cheese in every dessert I make.

The recipe is pretty simple… there are a few steps, but it really didn’t take much time at all to put together!

I made these especially for the #ChocolateLove BlogHop that I’m apart of!  So make sure you visit the BlogHop Co-Hosts listed at the bottom of this post and add your favorite CHOCOLATE recipe to the list!

ENJOY!

Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies
Makes 12-16 brownies

Brownie Batter:
9 tbsp unsalted butter
7oz 70% dark chocolate

3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp red food coloring gel/dye

3/4 cup + 2 tbsp flour
1/4 tsp salt

Cheesecake Batter:
12oz cream cheese, room temperature
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.  Line 9×13 glass pan with parchment paper and spray lightly with cooking spray (or grease/flour pan – I prefer parchment paper, makes the brownies easier to pull out at the end).
2. In a double boiler, melt the butter and chocolate together.  Stir often.  Set aside to cool slightly when melted.
3. While that’s melting, in a small bowl, whisk together the flour and salt and set aside.
4. In an even smaller bowl, with a fork, stir together the cocoa powder and food coloring until it becomes a paste and set aside.
5. While the chocolate/butter is cooling, in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the eggs, sugar and vanilla until smooth.
6. SLOWLY pour in the slightly cooled chocolate.  Start with a little bit at a time, you don’t want to add it all too much, too hot and cook the eggs.
7. Add the cocoa powder/food coloring.  Scrape the sides of the bowl and beat until your batter turns a dark red color.  If you want, you can add more red coloring at this time.  Make sure the food color is very well incorporated before you move on.
8. Slowly add the flour and mix until smooth.  Don’t beat too much… just enough until all the clumps are out and the batter is smooth.
9. Remove 1/2 cup of batter and set aside.
10. In a clean bowl for the stand mixer, mix together the cream cheese, egg yolks, sugar and vanilla on high speed until whipped and smooth.
11. 
    Spread brownie batter in the bottom of the pan, making sure to get it into the edges and corners.
12. 
    Dollop the cream cheese mixture on top of the brownie mixture.  Using an offset spatula, gently spread to cover the brownie mixture.
13. 
    Drizzle remaining brownie mixture on top of the cream cheese.  Using your offset spatula, swirl the three layers together.  NOTE:  Don’t swirl too much!  You want a lot of the white cream cheese to show through!
14. Bake for 20 minutes, rotate pan, and cover with foil.  Bake another 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with crumbs, not wet batter.
15. Allow to cool completely in pan before removing to cut into squares.

Recipe adapted from An American Cupcake in London

ChocolateLove BlogHop CoHosted by:

A Little Bit of Everything ~ Roxana ~ @RoxanaGreenGirl * ASTIG Vegan ~ Richgail ~  @astigvegan * Badger Girl Learns to Cook ~ Kimberly ~ @BdgrGrl * Baker Street ~ Anuradha ~ @bakerstreet29 * Baking and Cooking, A Tale of Two Loves ~ Becky Higgins * Baking Extravaganza ~ Samantha * BigFatBaker ~ Erin ~ @BigFatBaker * Bon a croquer ~ Valerie ~ @Valouth * CafeTerraBlog ~ Terra ~ @CafeTerraBlog * Cake Duchess ~ Lora ~ @cakeduchess * Cakeballs, Cookies and More ~ Sue * Cooking with Books ~ Marnely ~ @nella22 * Creative Cooking Corner ~ Karriann ~ @KarriannGraf * Easily Good Eats ~ Three Cookies * Elephant Eats ~ Amy * Georgiecakes ~ Georgie ~ @georgiecakes * Hobby And More ~ Richa ~ @betit19 * Java Cupcake ~ Betsy ~ @JavaCupcake * Kitchen Belleicious ~ Jessica * Mike’s Baking ~ Mike ~ @mikesbaking * Mis Pensamientos ~ Junia ~ @juniakk * No One Likes Crumbley Cookies ~ TR ~ @TRCrumbley * Oh Cake ~ Jessica ~ @jesshose * Preheat the Oven ~ Jason ~ @officialchefjae * Rico sin Azucar ~ Helena ~ @ricosinazucar * Savoring Every Bite ~ Linda ~ @Spicegirlfla * Simply Reem ~ Reem ~ @simplyreem * Smart Food and Fit ~ Lisa ~ @LisaNutrition * Soni’s Food for Thought ~ Soni ~ @sonisfood * Sprint 2 the Table ~ Laura ~ @Sprint2theTable * Teaspoon of Spice ~ Deanna ~ @tspbasil  * That Skinny Chick Can Bake ~ Liz ~ @Thatskinnychick * The Dusty Baker ~ Jacqueline ~ @dustybakergal * The More Than Occasional Baker ~ Ros ~ @bakingaddict * The Spicy RD ~ EA ~ @thespicyrd * The Wimpy Vegetarian ~ Susan ~ @wimpyvegetarian * Vegan Yack Attack! ~ Jackie ~ @veganyackattack * Vegetarian Mamma  ~ Cindy ~ @VegetarianMamma * You Made That? ~  Suzanne ~ @YouMadeThatblog

My favorite though… the bag of pink, white and red M&M’s.  Simple yet so darn cute when used just right!

Today, there is 3 inches of new snow on the ground and it’s a perfect day to stay inside and whip up something sweet with these Valentine themed M&M’s for my daughter and her friends.  They’re spending the afternoon sledding and playing in the snow… so they’re definitely going to need a little energy from these cookie bars!

Normally, when I make sugar cookies, I use a dough that needs to be chilled and rolled… but I thought I’d try something a little different this time.  A sugar cookie that is cut, like a bar or with a cookie cutter, already frosted and decorated… and I use the Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Recipe.  This recipe is just as easy, if not simpler and it gets pressed into a jelly roll pan!

The frosting, it’s my new favorite.  A bit of cream cheese and a lot of Madagascar vanilla!  YUM!

Sweetheart Sugar Cookie Bars
Makes 18+ bars

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp almond extract
the seeds of 1 Madagascar vanilla bean (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)

5 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 drop of Americaolor “Red Red” food gel

1. Preheat oven to 375 F degrees.  Line 13x18x1 in jelly roll pan (really big, deep cookie sheet!) with parchment paper and spray paper and sides of pan with cooking spray.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer using a paddle attachment, cream together the butter, sugar, eggs, almond and vanilla.  You want to beat this mixture on high for 4-5 minutes to get it very light and fluffy!
3. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking soda.
4. With the mixer on low, add the flour in three parts.  Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix until incorporated thoroughly.
5. Press the dough into the pan.  NOTE: I used a piece of wax paper to help spread out the dough into the edges and corners.
6. Bake in the center of the oven for 15-20 minutes or until the edges begin to turn golden.
7. Cool completely on a wire rack, in the pan, before frosting.

Madagascar Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting

2oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 lb powdered sugar
3-5 tbsp Madagascar Vanilla Cream

1. Cream together the cream cheese and butter.
2. Slowly add the powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
3. Add the cream until you get your desired consistency.  I like a thinner, smoother frosting for cookies so I add more cream than less.
4. Beat on high for 5-6 minutes.

To Assemble Cookies: 

Cutting board
Offset spatula
Large knife
Cookie bar
Frosting
M&M candies
Heart shaped cookie cutter

1. Use a knife to loosen cookie from the pan.  Gently slide the cookie out of the pan and onto the counter or a large cutting board.
2. Using an offset spatula, spread a thin layer of frosting evenly over the cookie.
3. Sprinkle whole M&M’s evenly over the cookie bar.  Chop more M&M’s into small pieces, even crushed a bit, and sprinkle evenly over the cookie bar.
4. Cut into squares and serve with a big glass of milk!
5. You could also cut a few using a heart shaped cookie cutter too if you wanted to be really creative!

So… to keep my mind occupied the day before (and hopefully off the throbbing in my mouth), I decided to bake cupcakes!  Last week, I made Thin Mint Cupcakes with Girl Scout cookies so today I’m trying out a recipe for Tagalong Cupcakes made with my favorite peanut butter and chocolate GS cookie!

I asked on my Facebook page how exactly I should make this Tagalong cupcake and I really enjoyed the suggestion of one reader to make a thick crumb cake.  I’ve never actually tried to purposely make a cake with a big crumb and I thought this might be the perfect time to try that.  I did an internet search for thick crumb cake recipes and found lots of recipes for a New York Style Crumb Cake and I thought hmmm…. with a little tweaking, this could be pretty darn good as a cupcake!

And of course, the cupcake has to be filled with peanut butter… just like the cookie!  For this filling, I used a variation of my favorite peanut butter buttercream recipe, but made it more creamy and smooth than thick like a frosting.

Oh the frosting.  When you see a Tagalong cupcake…. you first see the dark chocolate covering the cookie.  It’s shiny and sometimes, I just bite the edges of the cookie off and eat just the chocolate part first.  So I knew this cookie had to have that same shine and color.  Creamy chocolate was a MUST!

New York Style Vanilla Bean Crumb Cake
Makes 12 cupcakes

1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

6 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup vanilla sugar (regular sugar is okay too)
1 large egg
seeds of one vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla extract (split bean length wise and scrape out seeds)
1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup heavy cream

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.  Line cupcake pan with liners.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and vanilla sugar for about 2 minutes.
4. Add the vanilla bean seeds egg, scrape the sides of the bowl, and beat on high for at least 3 minutes until light and fluffy.
5. Mix in the sour cream, making sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.
6. Add the flour in two parts and mix just until smooth.
7. Add the heavy cream and mix only until incorporated.  DO NOT OVER MIX!
8. Scoop evenly into 12 cupcake liners.
9. Bake 18-19 minutes, rotating pan after 12 minutes.
10. Cool in pan 4-5 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe inspired by: First Look, Then Cook

Whipped Peanut Butter Filling
Makes enough to fill & garnish 12 cupcakes 

2 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp heavy cream

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer using the whisk attachment, cream together the butter and peanut butter.
2. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and add the powdered sugar.  Mix until smooth.
3. Scrape sides again, add the vanilla and heavy cream.  Whip on high for 3 minutes until light and fluffy.

Creamy Chocolate Frosting
Makes enough to frost 12 cupcakes

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 oz cream cheese
1 lb powdered sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup heavy cream

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and cream cheese.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and cocoa powder.
3. Add the sugar/cocoa to the butter mixture and beat until smooth.
4. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix in the vanilla extract.
5. Add up to 1/2 cup heavy cream or until you get the smooth consistency you want.
6. Beat on high for 3 minutes.

To Assemble the Cupcakes:

6 Tagalong Girl Scout Cookies, halved
Whipped Peanut Butter Filling
Creamy Chocolate Frosting
Piping bags & tips

1. Core the center of each cupcake using an apple corer.  I wanted to make sure these cupcakes had LOTS of peanut butter filling, so I cored them all the way down to the bottom liner.
2. Using a small closed star tip, pipe the whipped peanut butter filling into each hole making sure a little bit peeps out the top.
3. For half of the cupcakes, I stopped there with the peanut butter filling.  On the other half, I piped a small layer of the peanut butter filling on top of the cupcake as well.
4. Using a Wilton 1M tip, pipe a beautiful pile of creamy chocolate frosting on top of each cupcake.
5. With the remaining peanut butter filling, pipe a small dollop on top of the chocolate frosting on the cupcakes that are only filled in the middle.
6. Garnish with half a Tagalong Girl Scout Cookie.
7. EAT!

I can’t resist.  I bought 10 boxes.  Yes.  You read that correctly.  10 boxes.

2 to eat (with in the first 24  hours).

8 to bake with.

Yeah… you read that correctly.  8 boxes to bake with.

Last year I made Samoa Cupcakes and Tagalong Brownies.  This year… I started with Thin Mint Cupcakes.  These cupcakes are a super decadent chocolate cake filled with a whipped chocolate ganache topped with a mint buttercream.  Serious amounts of NOM NOM NOM.

PS…. This is my new favorite chocolate cake recipe.  I know it’s got beer in it… but I’m totally using it for every chocolate cake I make from now on!!

Chocolate Stout Cupcakes
Makes 24 cupcakes

1 bottle of Guinness Stout Beer
1 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tbsp espresso powder
1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt

2 eggs
2/3 cup sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.  Line cupcake pans with liners.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.
3. In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter on medium-high heat.  Add the vanilla beer, whisk together and heat until it just begins to simmer.  Whisk in the cocoa powder and espresso powder and heat until it just begins to bubble up.  DO NOT BOIL.  Remove from heat and whisk until smooth.   Cool slightly.
4. In the meantime, in a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sour cream.  Slowly pour in the slightly cooled chocolate mixture. NOTE:  DO THIS SLOW! You don’t want to cook the eggs, so start pouring a very small amount of the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture… DO NOT DUMP IT IN ALL AT ONCE.
5. In three parts, add the flour mixture to the chocolate/egg mixture.  Whisk until smooth.  Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, making sure everything is incorporated.
6. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full with batter.
7. Bake 18-20 minutes, rotating pan after 12 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
8. Cool in pan for 3-4 minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool completely before filling and frosting.

Whipped Chocolate Ganache

4 oz dark chocolate, chopped

1/3 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp corn syrup

1 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Place the chopped chocolate in a medium glass bowl.
2. In a small sauce pan, heat the heavy cream and corn syrup just until it bubbles.
3. Pour heavy cream over chocolate and stir until smooth.  If the chocolate doesn’t melt all the way, place the bowl over a double boiler and continue to stir until smooth.
4. Mix in the butter and extract.
5. Allow ganache to cool to room temperature.
6. Using a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk the cooled ganache until fluffy.  Don’t over mix or it will get grainy.

Vanilla Bean Peppermint Buttercream

12 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
4 tbsp cream cheese, room temperature
2 lbs powdered sugar
1/2 cup Madagascar Vanilla Bean Cream
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
pinch of salt
Wilton Green Food Gel

1.  Cream together the butter and cream cheese.
2. Add half the powdered sugar and mix on high until incorporated and smooth.
3. Beat in half the vanilla bean cream until smooth.  Scrape the sides of the bowl, making sure all the sugar is combined.
4. Add the remaining sugar and the peppermint extract.
5. Mix in the food gel until it’s the color you desire.
6. Add remaining vanilla bean cream until you get the consistency you want.  Mix on high 3-4 minutes until smooth and fluffy.

To Assemble Cupcakes:

Thin Mint Cookies
Peppermint Buttercream
Chocolate Shavings
Piping bag & large round tip
Apple corer

1. Core each cupcake using the apple corer.
2. Fill each cupcake with whipped ganache.  (I filled a disposable piping bag, cut off the top and filled each one with that.)
3. Using a large round tip and a piping  bag, pipe a round swirl of buttercream on to each cupcake.
4. Top with a Thin Mint cookie and chocolate shavings.
5. EAT! ENJOY!

And this is what you do when you have left over peppermint buttercream.  NOM NOM NOM

So brownies it is.  BUT!  Not your traditional brownie… it’s a cookies n’ creme brownie!  This delicious thing has oreos baked inside of the brownie as well as a creamy oreo buttercream slathered on top.

NOM!

It’s a pretty easy recipe too, only took me about 10 minutes to whip up and get in oven… then another few minutes to beat up the frosting, spread and cut!

If the soldiers at work don’t love these at the potluck… well shoot.  hahaha!

Cookies ‘n Creme Brownies
Makes 16 brownies (depending on how you cut it)

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
3 oz (3 squares) unsweetened bakers chocolate, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt

8 Oreo cookies, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.  Great 9×15 in dark pan with shortening or butter.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter, sugar and eggs.
3. While that is creaming, melt the chocolate and set aside to cool for 2 minutes.
4. Add the slightly cooled chocolate to the butter mixture, scrape the sides of the bowl and mix until combined.
5. Mix in the vanilla.
6. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder, flour and salt.
7. Add the flour to the butter mixture and mix only until just combined.
8. Remove bowl from mixer, scrape off paddle attachment and sides of the bowl.  Fold in the Oreo cookies and make sure the batter is smooth and combined.  This should take about 7-8 strokes.
9. Spread batter evenly into the pan using an offset spatula.
10. Bake for 25-35 minutes or just until barely done.  Do not over bake!
11. Cool completely on a wire rack.  (If you’re in a hurry like I was, allow brownies to cool for 10 minutes in front of an open window, then remove them from the pan to cool more on the wire rack by the window!)
12. Frost with Oreo buttercream then cut into squares!
13. Eat…. nom nom nom!  Enjoy!!!

Recipe adapted from: How Sweet It Is

Oreo Buttercream

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 lb powdered sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp salt
8-10 Oreo cookies, in chunky pieces

1. Cream together the butter, sugar and salt – about 3-4 minutes.
2. Add half the cream and beat until smooth.
3. Mix in the Oreos and beat until they are broken up.  You want a few chunks in the frosting, so don’t mix too long.
4. Beat in the the remaining cream until you get your desired consistency.
5. NOTE:  This frosting is VERY SWEET.  You can cut back on the sugar, oreos or add a pinch more salt to change the flavor.  Play around with it until you get it the right sweetness.

These beans are so fresh, so moist, and so full of great vanilla flavor…  I really can’t wait to use them in EVERYTHING for the next few months.  I just hope that 1/2lb was enough!

First thing I made took me no time at all.  Vanilla Sugar.  Seriously, get some vanilla beans and make some of this yourself.  It takes 2 minutes and your sugar will thank you!!

Vanilla Sugar
airtight container
5lb bag of sugar
2 Madagascar vanilla beans, split length wise

1. Empty the bag of sugar into the airtight container.
2. Add the two vanilla beans to the sugar.  Put the lid on and shake until the beans are covered in sugar.
3. Let the beans hangout over night in the sugar.
4. Take the lid off, smell, taste, enjoy!  You now have vanilla sugar!

NOTE:  You can just keep adding sugar to the container as you go through it as well as any other used vanilla bean husks as you bake.  Just take the old ones out when they’re all dried up.  You can used the dried up beans in milk/cream to make vanilla cream! Nom nom nom.

And then I made Vanilla Cream.  You can use this cream in place of any recipe that calls for milk or heavy cream.  It will add such a rich, delicious vanilla flavor to whatever it is you’re baking.

You could also use it as coffee creamer.  Nom nom nom

Vanilla Cream
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 Madagascar vanilla bean

1. Split the vanilla beans open length wise using a sharp knife.  Scrape out the vanilla bean paste from inside the pod.
2. In a small heavy bottomed pot, whisk together the heavy cream, vanilla bean pod and paste.
3. Cook on LOW for about 10 minutes, whisking often.
4. Increase heat to medium until the milk just begins to simmer and bubble.  NOTE:  You don’t not want it to reach a full boil or burn.  Just a nice, slow simmer.
5. As soon as the milk begins to bubble up, remove it from the heat and whisk.
6. Allow to cool to room temperature.
7. A film may form on the top of the cream, just whisk it until it’s smooth again.
8. Remove the vanilla bean pod if you’re going to use all the cream immediately.  If you plan to store the cream for later use, leave the bean in the cream until you’re ready to use it.

So yeah… I made a cupcake… with all those things in it.

I started with a basic banana cupcake base, added some maple syrup, chopped up some bacon and BAM… YUM!  Then, I topped the whole thing with my favorite peanut butter buttercream and a chunk of crispy bacon that’s been drizzled with maple syrup.

So yeah… you could totally eat this cupcake for breakfast.

PS… So, I’d love to share the peanut butter buttercream with you, but a certain baker in Seattle would kick my ass for sharing it with you.   You’ll have to use your own pb buttercream for these cupcakes.  (PS,  it’s not a cream cheese based frosting either… all butter, baby!)

Banana & Bacon Maple Cupcakes
Makes 18 cupcakes

1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

1 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 eggs
1 tsp banana extract
3 large bananas, diced and lightly mashed (we want lots of banana chunks and just a little bit of mush)
1/4 cup maple syrup

7-8 strips of crispy bacon, diced

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.  Line cupcake pan with liners.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. Make a well in the center of the flour and add the butter and 1 egg and mix 7-8 strokes.
4. Add the second egg and mix until combined, about 4-5 strokes.
5. Add the bananas, vanilla extract and maple syrup and fold in with a spatula until combined.
6. Fold in the diced bacon, making sure the sides and bottom of bowl have been scraped and combined.  Do not over mix the batter!
7. Fill liners 2/3 full and bake for 18-20 minutes.
8. Let cool in pans for 3-4 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely.
9. Top with your favorite peanut butter buttercream and a chunk of bacon soaked in maple syrup.

I used my homemade peanut butter, added some vanilla and a bit of flour. They taste YUMMMMM… but to be 100% honest with you, I’m not in love with how they look.

I will try them again though (maybe this afternoon if I’m up to it)… using store bought peanut butter. I’m sure that’s what is making them spread like they did instead of being so fluffy like Joy’s.

Thin & Crispy Peanut Butter Bacon Cookies
Makes 1 dozen giant cookies and 1 dozen regular size cookies

1 cup homemade peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, loosely packed
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda

6 strips of crispy bacon, chopped into pieces
1/4 cup sugar, for rolling

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.  Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray and set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix together the peanut butter and sugars until combined.
3. Add the egg and vanilla and mix 1-2 minutes, making sure to scrape the sides of the bowl.
4. Add the flour and baking soda and mix until just combined.
5. Fold in the bacon until it’s evenly incorporated into batter.  Batter will be soft and will feel greasy.
6. For large cookies, roll walnut size (1 1/2 – 2 inch) balls of dough in the 1/4 cup sugar and place on pan.  Use a fork to press cookies down using a cris-cross pattern.  (Pressing down with the fork I found really wasn’t that necessary… but you can still do it if you want.)
7. Bake large cookies 10-12 minutes.  Remove immediately and place on wire rack to cool.
8. For smaller cookies, roll 1 in balls of dough into the sugar.  I didn’t press these down and they turned out a little better.
9. Bake small cookies 10 minutes.  Remove immediately and place on wire rack to cool.

Actually, it’s just another reason for me to bake. Haha. My hubby and I don’t usually celebrate Valentine’s Day because he’s either been in the field training or deployed to war. This year, he’s home…. but we’re still not celebrating.

Instead, I’ll be making cookies and cupcakes in the weeks leading up to this mushy, pink, lovey dovey holiday!

But seriously, is anyone really going to complain about that? Probably not!

My first cookie is a spin on all the holiday blossom cookies I made during December. Hershey’s has a raspberry filled white and pink hug KISS this season which I thought would go perfectly on top of a blossom cookie! So these cookies are made with my favorite raspberry jam and a super dark chocolate rolled in hot pink sugar crystals and topped with a Hershey’s Raspberry Kiss! nom nom nom nom

Enjoy!

Dark Chocolate Raspberry Hugs Blossom Cookies
Makes 3+ dozen cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
1/3 cup raspberry jam (I used Smuckers because it’s my favorite!)
2 cups flour
2 tbsp milk
3.5 oz chopped 70% dark chocolate, chopped

1 cup hot pink sanding sugar
Hershey’s Raspberry Hug Kisses

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.  Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the sugar, butter, salt and vanilla.   About 2-3 minutes.
3. Add the raspberry jam, scrape the sides of the bowl, and mix until well combined.
4. Add the flour and mix on medium speed until combined.  Add the milk just before flour is completely combined.   This will help the flour incorporate into the dough.
5. Add the chopped chocolate and fold in using a spatula.
6. Chill for 20 minutes in refrigerator.
7. Scoop 1 inch balls of dough and roll in hot pink sugar crystals.   Place on a baking sheet at least 1-2 inches apart.  (Note: Don’t roll dough balls any larger than 1 inch or they will spread too much on your cookie sheet!)
8. Bake for 11-13 minutes or until edges begin to brown.
9. Immediately press a Raspberry Hug into the middle of each cookie.  Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
10. Eat and enjoy!