Peppermint Bark

http://www.food.com/recipe/peppermint-bark-345124?photo=29873 

• 12ounces chocolate chips
• 1lb white chocolate chips
• 1⁄2teaspoon peppermint extract
• 1⁄2cup peppermint candy, crushed

1. Preheat oven to 250. Line a 9x13 pan with foil, letting it hang over the sides. Spray foil. Pour the chocolate chips in an even layer on the foil. Place in oven for 5 minutes or until almost melted. Remove from oven, smooth with an offset spatula or knife. Place in refrigerator until cold and firm, about 20 minutes.
2. Melt white chocolate chips in a double boiler or in a metal bowl over simmering water (don’t let bottom of bowl touch water), until chocolate is almost melted. If you are daring, you can use your microwave. Remove bowl from water and stir until completely melted, stirring in extract. Let cool a little bit so it doesn’t melt the chocolate layer when you pour it on top. Pour this over chocolate layer, and, working quickly, spread to cover. Sprinkle with crushed candy (I pressed the candy in just a bit).
3. Chill until both layers are firm. Lift foil out of pan and shake off excess candy. Trim edges. Cut into 2” wide strips. Peel bark from foil and cut each strip as desired. Chill in covered container. Makes about 2 pounds.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO CHOCOLATE DELICIOUSNESS!!!

So when I was looking for a zucchini bread recipe I was talking to one of my friends and she reminded me of chocolate zucchini cupcakes I made 4 years ago...............seriously, 4 years?!?!?! They must have been good if she still remembered them so it was time to go searching for the recipe again. I found it but I had notes written next to it and could not remember exactly which ones I used so I went back to the comments section.  I made them for work but didn't tell people at first they had zucchini in them because I wanted to make sure that they liked them and were not predjuiced from the ouset. 

I love this frosting recipe - I elieve I had to make more than one batch...........Can't remember. 

 

CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI CUPCAKES WITH CHOCOLATE CREAMY FROSTING:
(Adapted from allrecipes)


INGREDIENTS:

Makes servings USMetricAdjust Recipe (Help)

4 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate, melted

3 eggs

1 3/4 cupspacked brown sugar

3/4 C vegetable oil

1 1/2 tspn vanilla

2 C all-purpose flour

1 tspn baking powder

1 tspn baking soda

1/2 tspn salt

2 C grated zucchini

3/4 C chopped walnuts(Optional - didn't use)

1/2 C walnut halves (Optional for frosting - didn't use)

DIRECTIONS:

- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

- In a large bowl, beat eggs with sugar for about 10 minutes or until thickened and pale. Blend oil and cooled chocolate into the beaten egg mixture. Add vanilla.

- In a small bowl stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; stir flour mixture into egg mixture until just blended. Stir in zucchini and chopped nuts. Using an ice-cream scoop, spoon batter into 24 paper-lined or greased muffin cups, filling the cups 2/3 full.

- Bake for 20 minutes or until fork or toothpick inserted in a cupcake's center comes out clean. Let cool in pans on rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pans; let cool completely.

CREAMY CHOCOLATE FROSTING

(Source: allrecipes.com)

INGREDIENTS:

2 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
6 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons evaporated milk (I used regular milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

- In a medium bowl, sift together the confectioners' sugar and cocoa, and set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream butter until smooth, then gradually beat in sugar mixture alternately with evaporated milk. Blend in vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy. If necessary, adjust consistency with more milk or sugar. ( I used more milk)

OMG WAVEY DELICIOUSNESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay this seriously might be my new favorite recipe and is so easy...............Seriously, I cannot make it anymore because I just cannot stop eating it, it has zucchini in it so it is healthy right?!?! I have also made this as gifts for people and little kids love it.  I have made it with and without the walnuts and it works well both times.  I need to cook it for about an extra 5-10 minutes. 

If you buy 2 medium sized zucchinis you can get about 3 cups so enough for 2 recipes but I have also bought some big ones that could be good enough for 1.

So one of the reasons why I  love allrecipes is for the comments section.  There was a good alternative for pumpkin pie spice which I used; I did everything but the nutmeg. 

 

 

Pumpkin Pie Spice: 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ginger, 1/8 tsp allspice and 1/8 tsp nutmeg.

 

Bottom Layer



 

Chocolate Layer

 

 

 

CHOCOLATE WAVE ZUCCHINI BREAD

(Source: Allrecipes) - Makes 1 Loaf

INGREDIENTS:

Makes servings USMetricAdjust Recipe (Help)

1/3 C shortening (I used butter)

1 1/3 C White Sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 C grated zucchini

1/3 C water

1 tspn vanilla extract

1 2/3 C all-purpose flour

1 tspn baking soda

1/2 tspn salt

1/4 tspn baking powder
1 tspn pumpkin pie spice(look above)
1/3 C chopped walnuts
3 T unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 C mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease one 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.

- In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugar together. Mix in eggs. Add zucchini, water, and vanilla; stir. Blend in flour, baking soda, salt , baking powder, and pumpkin pie spice. Stir in nuts.

- Divide batter in half, and add cocoa powder and chocolate chips to one of the halves. Pour plain batter into bottom of the loaf pan. Pour chocolate batter on top of plain batter.

- Bake until wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool 10 minutes, and remove from pan. Store in refrigerator.

SINCE I HAVEN'T BEEN POSTING I HAVE BEEN.......................

Wow so yeah New Year Resolutions were a bust! My iPhone is pretty ridiculous because it is all pictures of things I have baked but haven't posted! I think I got backed up and a little overwhelmed but time to get back on track!!! (I don't think anyone reads this blog so I don't think anyone missed me!) I have posted these recipes before but here are some oldies but goodies I have recently made:

 

At a goodbye party for our lifeguard with a

Giant Devils Food Cupcake and Peanut Butter Frosting

(about 1 1/2 times the peanut butter)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some Ring Cookies for a Jewelery Party


 

 

 

 

Summer Sugar Cookies for a Crab fest BBQ

(I think I have definitely improved over the past year)

 

Best Baked Eggplant Parmesan

As I repeatedly have said (to probably myself since I don't think anyone reads this) I am not a cook, a baker yes but a cook no. I think part of the issue is that I live by myself and will eat everything.  My favorite thing in the entire world is eggplant parmesan and I honestly found the best recipe.  Since I love to eat and could eat the entire thing I modified the recipe for a smaller pan; I also took out some ingredients because honestly, I am lazy. I sometimes don't use all of the spices but I do use Progresso Italian breadcrumbs and they are fantastic.

 

Breaded and Ready For The Oven

 

All Layered

 

Just Out Of The Oven

 

DELICIOUS

 

 

BAKED EGGPLANT PARMESAN
(Modified from: Martha Stewart)

INGREDIENTS:

Olive oil, for baking sheets - I use spray
2 large eggs

3/4 cup plain dry breadcrumbs (I just dump a bunch in a bowl)

3/4 cup finely grated Parmesan, plus 2 tablespoons for topping ( I omit this)

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

Coarse salt and ground pepper

1 large eggplant or 2 medium ones - sliced into rounds (I love the skin - recipe calls for peeled)

1 24 ounce jar of sauce (not a huge sauce person but works well for me)

1 bag of shredded cheese - I found an awesome mozzerela/parmesan blend

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush 2 baking sheets with oil; set aside. In a wide, shallow bowl, whisk together eggs and 2 tablespoons water. In another bowl, combine breadcrumbs, 3/4 cup Parmesan, oregano, and basil; season with salt and pepper.

2. Dip eggplant slices in egg mixture, letting excess drip off, then dredge in breadcrumb mixture, coating well; place on baking sheets. Bake until golden brown on bottom, 20 to 25 minutes. Turn slices; continue baking until browned on other side, 20 to 25 minutes more. Remove from oven; raise oven heat to 400 degrees.

3. I use a square 8x8 glass pyrex pan. I am not a huge sauce person - so I put a little bit on the bottom and then layer with eggplant; I don't leave any space so will cut some pieces of eggplant into half to fill up spaces. Sprinkle some cheese and keep repeating. I usually get about 3 layers.

4. Bake until sauce is bubbling and cheese is melted, 15 to 20 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Touchdown!

On Superbowl Sunday, to go with the Red Velvet Cupcakes I made Oreo Truffle Footballs. They looked like footballs until I got tired and just started dunking them in chocolate without a care in the world (and eyes half shut). I made some royal icing 9and 1/3 of the recipe) to make some "laces" for the footballs.  These came out bigger than I thought they were going to be so instead of going on the cupcakes I just put them in a bowl.  I am not really an Oreo fan; however, these were AMAZING and a huge hit so definitely will be made again!

OREO TRUFFLES
(Source: Kraft)


INGREDIENTS:

1 (16 ounce) package OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, divided

1 (8 ounce) package PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

2 bags of semi sweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

- Crush 9 of the cookies to fine crumbs in food processor (I used a blender and did it in batches); reserve for later use. (Cookies can also be finely crushed in a resealable plastic bag using a rolling pin.) Crush remaining 36 cookies to fine crumbs; place in medium bowl. (Don't need to seperate them if making footballs)
- Add cream cheese; mix until well blended. Roll cookie mixture into 42 balls, about 1-inch in diameter.
-  I melted the chocolate in the microwave in batches; a mug was super helpful for diping the balls in chocolate. Place on wax paper-covered baking sheet. (Any leftover chocolate can be stored at room temperature for another use.) Sprinkle with reserved cookie crumbs.
 - Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. Store leftover truffles, covered, in refrigerator.

Mini Happiness!!!

So Santa got me the Wilton Mini Donut Pan Set and I was trying to find reasons when and why to use it - even coming up with the idea of hosting a brunch to use it.  However, I also just joined the masses and got on pinterest, and this is the first the recipe I looked up.   I am definitely going to be using these pans again and I liked this recipe.  I really liked that these donuts are baked.  Anyone have any good donut recipes?

MINI CHOCOLATE BAKED DONUTS WITH CHOCOLATE GLAZE!!!
(Source: Real Mom Kitchen)

INGREDIENTS:

1 3/4 cups cake flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 Tbsp canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


GLAZE:

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 Tbsp butter
2 tsp. corn syrup


DIRECTIONS:

- In large mixing bowl, whisk together cake flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder and salt. You want to get rid of any lumps of flour.
 - Add buttermilk, eggs, oil and vanilla to the dry ingredients and mix gently until just combined. 
-  You can place the batter into a ziploc freezer bag and snip a small piece off the corner of the bag to create a pipping bag or just use a pipping bag OR just use 1 tablespoon of batter
 - Spray your donut pan with a light coat of non-stick cooking spray. Carefully pour about 1 tablespoon of batter
- Cook the donuts for 6 minutes in the donut maker. Repeat this process until all the batter is used up.
- Place the glaze ingredients in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for 20 second intervals, stirring after each one until the ingredients are all melted and combined well. This will take about 3 – 20 second intervals.
- Dip top half of donuts in glaze and place on a baking sheet to allow glaze to set. Sprinkle with sprinkles if desired right after dipping.

Fancy Sounding Frosting!

Way back in November I made these cookies; they were delicious, super soft and albeit a little bit sugary (even for me).  I would definitely make these again but a little goes along way with these.  They were huge hits. I also learned that penuche frosting is just another, fancier, way of saying brown sugar frosting :)

PUMPKIN COOKIES WITH PENUCHE FROSTING
(Source: Allrecipes)

COOKIE INGREDIENTS:

Makes servings USMetricAdjust Recipe (Help)

1 cup shortening (I used butter)

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree
1egg
1 tspn vanilla extract

2 C all-purpose flour

1 tspn baking soda

1 tspn baking powder

1 tspn ground cinnamon

1/2 tspn salt

1 cup chopped walnuts (I omitted these)

 

 

FROSTING INGREDIENTS:

 

3 tablespoons butter

1/2 C packed brown sugar

1/4 C milk

2 C confectioners' sugar

DIRECTIONS:

- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
 - In a large bowl, cream together shortening, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and white sugar. Mix in pumpkin, egg, and vanilla. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt; mix into the creamed mixture. Stir in walnuts. Drop dough by heaping spoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool on wire racks.
 
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the 3 tablespoons butter and 1/2 cup brown sugar. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1 minute, or until slightly thickened. Cool slightly, then stir in the milk, and beat until smooth. Gradually stir in 2 cups confectioners' sugar until frosting has reached desired consistency. Spread on cooled cookies.

 

Surprisingly Easy!

So if we can all remember back that far, let's talk about Thanksgiving desserts!! As a vegetarian and a sweets fanatic, dessert is my happy time for me - it is my Turkey. This year I made two staples, my Apple Oatmeal Crisp, which is honestly wonderful because there is a crisp later on the bottom and on the top.........thank god it is wonderful and worth it because the apples I bought from Target weren't big enough and I needed more so a quick run the nite before Thanksgiving to the foodstore we were back in business, my fresh Whipped Cream ( I think I did the recipe times 5 - no one will ever complain about too much whipped cream.) (I think new pictures are in order next Thanksgiving!

My cousin sent me an email asking me if I received Cooking Light with a picture of a recipe, after telling her no but the recipe looked great I was asked to make it for Thanksgiving.  I have never made a mousse before and some people (thanks mom) doubted my abilities to carry this off but I have to say in the long run it came out great and it was not hard at all.

The recipe does call for 1 tablespoon of Brandy and I somehow don't know anyone who keeps it on hand so my dad and I (family bonding right?) headed to the liquor store and bought a cheap MINI bottle - and seriously it worked out perfect.  Also, it says instant espresso granules and I don't drink coffee but my mom leaves some good British instant coffee in my fridge for when she comes down so I used that. For the Dutch Process Coco I just used my normal Hershey brand coco.  O yeah I forgot to read the Cool Whip directions on how to thaw it and so it wasn't really/fully thawed before I went to go use it so I mixed it a little before I measured it and I think put in some extra. Also, I had a 9 inch pan and just used that - maybe a little thinner but still delicious.

This recipe was declared a HUGE hit by the family even though when trying to cut and serve it, it fell apart a little bit. I love chocolate but even for me this is super chocolate so a little goes along way - isn't that what the whipped cream is for.

As I said one of my resolutions is to be better about taking pictures and honestly, this is the reason! I totally forgot to take the picture until people were halfway thru it!  




BAKED CHOCOLATE MOUSSE
(Source: Cooking Light)

Ingredients

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup Dutch process cocoa

1 teaspoon instant espresso granules

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped

1 tablespoon brandy

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs
2 large egg whites1/3 cup sugar

Dash of salt

1 1/2 cups frozen reduced-calorie whipped topping, thawed

Baking spray with flour (such as Baker's Joy)

 

DIRECTIONS:

  - Preheat oven to 350°.

 - Bring 1/2 cup water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add cocoa and espresso, stirring until smooth. Remove pan from heat. Add chocolates; gently stir until mixture is smooth. Stir in brandy and vanilla. Pour chocolate mixture into a large bowl. Let stand 10 minutes; stir occasionally.

- Combine eggs, egg whites, sugar, and salt in the top of a double boiler, stirring with a whisk. Cook over simmering water until a thermometer reaches 115° (about 2 minutes), stirring constantly with a whisk. Place egg mixture in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until ribbony, soft peaks form (about 5 minutes).

-  Gently stir one-third of egg mixture into chocolate mixture; gently fold in remaining egg mixture. Gently fold in whipped topping. Spoon batter into an 8-inch springform pan coated with baking spray, spreading evenly. Bake at 350° for 27 minutes or until almost set (center will not be firm but will set as it chills). Cool to room temperature on a wire rack. Cover and chill at least 8 hours or overnight.

OR USE WHIPPED CREAM: You can substitute an equal amount of whipped cream for the whipped topping BUT you have to cook for 5 minutes longer.

 

 

 

Game On!

Some people care about the game, I care about the food and commercials! May the best commercial..........I mean team..........win!

Red Velvet Cupcakes - supposedly in the colors of the Ravens and 49ers......I had trouble making the gold - o well - still delicious!

2013 New Years Resolution............ A little late!

Okay so even doing this post late is fitting because for 2013 I am really going to try and be better about blogging and keeping up with any comments (but I still don't think people read this blog - maybe if I actually blogged.........o catch 22 you get me every time!) I am also going to try and take time in taking my pictures and not oooooooooo last minute, hit someone's hand out of the way, and grab the iPhone type of picture.  Let's hope this goes well................

So Happy 2013 to All!

What will it bee?

I am at that stage in my life where my life is baby showers :) My cousin threw the most adorable baby shower up in NY that was bee themed because the expectant parent's (her sister/my cousin and her husband) did not know what they were having; what would it bee? (It ended up beeing the most beautiful baby girl).  I said I would make the cookies and bring them up to NY via the bus. I tried to plan ahead so I wouldn't be stressing out because October was a crazy month and I made the royal icing ahead of time......however, I messed it up because it seemed too stiff to me so I thinned it a little bit but once it got back to room temperature it was too thin!!! I ended up having all sorts of issues and the royal icing was too runny and I couldn't seem to be able to fix it. I ended up being a nut and the next day trimming the cookies so the icing wasn't all over the sides (I think this is about when I texted my best friend and told her I officially lost it).  I also ended up using lemon flavoring instead of lemon extract and had to guess on how much I actually needed (I also walked down the hallway with the bowl of icing at like 10pm to havemy neighbor try it!) While they didn't come out perfect they still looked cute and tasted awesome, even better!  I really have to get better on remembering to take good pictures but at least I got pictures of my cousin's totally cute beehive cupcakes. She really threw the most amazing shower, every detail was perfect!

Sweet and Salty!!

I feel like there are two types of people in this world: sweet or salty. I am definitely a sweet person.......taste preference not always in behavior :) When I started thinking about what I was going to make for the BaBy Q my mind kept wandering back to a great recipe I saw on Bee in Our Bonnet and I decided that this was going to be the time to make these caramel and chocolate covered pretzels.  Since I tend to be forgetful and overthink things (such a great combo) I couldn't remember what blog I saw the recipe at and so I started doing google searches and honestly the Bee in Our Bonnet recipe was the easiest and the best one so I am glad I finally found it again.  These were a HUGE hit and someone told me they tasted like a Twix - to me like a sality twix. They do take some time to make.

I used the Kraft Caramel squares and it worked out well; Bee in Our Bonet also suggested the caramel bits but I couldn't find them. I followed her directions  with melting the caramel in a pyrex and using the edge to scrape off a lot of the caramel.  I rested then ona cookie rack but then it got the lineson them so then I hand rolled all of them. However, they got the lines again with the chocolate but when I put the decorative chocolate on it I tried to  cover the lines up.  I was pretty lucky and my bag was pretty good and didn't have a lot of broken rods but I did break some when I was doing it so maybe have a second bag just in case.  The original recipe said she got around 30 ish.



I used approximately 2 cups of these and threw in 2 tsp. of water.  I microwaved it for 1 minute, then stirred, then microwaved it for 30 seconds more.  Your times may vary a little but this worked for me.

A 2 cup pyrex measuring cup is perfect to use.  It doesn't even have to be totally full.  If you tip it on it's side and roll the pretzel, you can get about 30ish pretzel rods out of it.  I bought plenty of extra pretzel rods because about 1/4 of the bag was always broken.

CARAMEL & CHOCOLATE COVERED PREZTELS
(Source: Bee in Our Bonnet)

INGREDIENTS:

1 bag of caramel squares - it is about 2 cups
2 tsp water
1 bag of chocolate
Something to decorate - colored chocolate, nuts, sprinkles

Directions:

- Melt 2 cups of unwraped caramels with 2 tsp water in a pyrex measuring cup in the microwave for 1 minute then stir and then add another 30 seconds.
- Angle the Pyrex and using the lip take some of the caramel off.
- After you let them dry a little bit melt the chocolate in the mircowave and then it can be helpful to use a Pyrex or taller. I can not remember but I might have done the chocolate in batches.
- Depending how you want to decorate either let the chocolate dry and then use the decorative chocolate or let it still be a little wet to dip it in the nuts etc.
-You can use a tall glass to disapply or just eat right away!!

BaBy Q Sugar Cookies!

For the BaBy Q I made cookies for the girls as favors and minis for the party...............the minis got devoured even by the boys.  I have to say I was really happy and proud of these cookies. I think it was because I planned and took my time but everything seemed to go well. I used my Sugar Cookie Recipe and Pink Martini and Pearls royal icing recipes that I have used before on the Bow cookies - this time I ended up making 3x times her recipe (2 times early on in the night and one later on).

THE BEST ROLLED SUGAR COOKIES:(Source: All Recipes)

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups butter, softened

2 cups white sugar

4 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

5 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:

- In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).

- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

- Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.


ROYAL ICING:
(Source: Pink Maritinis and Pearls)

INGREDIENTS: Times is by at least 2 - probably 3 times

1 lb. Powdered Sugar (does not need to be sifted)
3 Tbl. Meringue Powder
6 Tbl. Hot Water (from tap is fine)
1-2 Tablespoon of Lemon Extract (this is an addition by me but do it to taste)

DIRECTIONS:

- With a whisk attachment beat all the ingredients on high until fluffy. Do not under beat. Pink Martini mixes for at least 8 minutes. Put the icing immediately in a container with a tight lid to prevent it from drying out.

I then followed her directions for 10 second icing:

BaBy Q!!!!

I think I am at that age where I no longer go to weddings but now I go to baby showers.  I am also the type of person that offers to throw baby showers.................o why! I ended up helping throw a baby shower for my neighbors but we did it with a twist and threw a coed BaBy Q shower and had some awesome BBQ catered; of course, I did the desserts.  I am trying to get better about planning and because I am crazy and planned a last minute trip to Spain leaving the next day (you can check that out on my travel blog: Runaway Cubicle) I spread things out over multiple days and it totally made a difference - even though I was still up crazy late decorating cookies. Since it was a co-ed baby shower we didn't really want to do games but we did do one. I bought baby bottles and we did a beer race with 2 rounds (dads vs non dads) and the winner of each round went head to head. I do not have kids and bought the slow flow ones (um I am clueless) so we decided to puncture them and make them a little bit bigger.............yeah it wasn't a smart idea because it wasn't really a challenge so if you do it then don't make it bigger!

 

Bottles are solid chocolate

 

Red Velvet Cupcakes (regular size and mini)

The Boys Baby Shower Gift was a choice of different flavored Hot Sauces

They were labeled

Brubeck Temper Tantrum Sauce

Berry Heaven!

I so need a break from sugar cookies!!! If you cannot tell they are my albatrose but I am so stubborn that I have decided I am going to conquer them. My first non-sugar cookies recipe was going to be something for my mom's birthday. When I asked her what she wanted she said no chocolate and really no cake, is she trying to kill me!!! Plus this also had to be able to survive a car trip from DC to NY (O 95 how I love thee).  My mom loves pie (she originally suggested my berry bars) and my coworker told me about this pie recipe that was delicious and really it is a huge winner, not only because it is so easy (especially when you used a frozen pie crust) but it is delicious. It was a little tart but mom loved it that way!

The recipe calls for 5 cups of fresh blueberries. I used 2 of the big containers of blueberries, which I think is actually 4 cups and it was perfect!  A second time I made it I threw in 2 1/2 containers (guess the blueberries were smaller). When my coworker and I walked to the supermarket around the corner from work she said she made a pie crust from scratch........I am lazy and time crunched lately so I used a deep dish frozen pie crust and that worked perfectly! I know the pureists out there probably hate that but hey you gotta do what you gotta do :)

BLUEBERRY CRUMB PIE
(Source: Sweet Kat's Kitchen)

INGREDIENTS:

1 9-inch unbaked pie crust

FILLING:

3/4 c. granulated sugar
1/3 C. All- Purpose Flour
1 T. Cornstarch
1/2 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
1 T. Lemon Juice
5 C Fresh Blueberries (2 containers can work depending on the size of the blueberries)

TOPPING:

2/3 C. Packed Light Brown Sugar
3/4 C. Quick Cooking Oats
1/2 C. All purpose flour
1 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
1/4 Tsp. Ground Nutmeg
6 T. Butter, melted


DIRECTIONS:

- Preheat over to 375 degrees F. Press pie crust into 9 inch pie plate
- In a large bowl, stire together the sugar, flour, cornstarch, and cinnamon. Mix in blueberries. Add lemon juice and fold gently to combine. Pour into pie crust.
- Topping: In a medium bowl, stir together the brown sugar, oats, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix in melted butter with fork or hands ntil crumbly.
- Spread evenly over the pie filling.
- Bake for 60 minutes or until top is browned.
- HARD PART: cool completely on a wire rack.