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)

 

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.

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!

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!

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

Sugar Cookies Summer Style!!! Part 2!!!!!

This is a continuining series in my adventures of trying to find a sugar cookie recipe!

Okay so cookies are my albatrose..........I am really good with cookies, pies, cupcakes but not with round cakes and sugar cookies! I am stubborn and have decided that I will get this skill so I can put it in my back pocket. This includes getting recipes I am really comfortable with. I decided to try something different then my normal icing recipe and to do a royal icing recipe. After looking (really stalking) a lot of wonderful blogs (seriously, there are so many talented (patient) sugar cookie people out there and I am just not one of them) I decided to try The Sweet Adventure's of Sugar Belle's Royal Icing Recipe.  I liked this recipe but felt like it took forever to make, I do not have one of the awesome Kitchen Aid mixers. I also had trouble with getting it to dry really well but I blame that on the user and not the recipe; this is a reoccuring problem and why I started to look for a new recipe.  It was a great way to kick off the summer!

I only made 1/2 of the recipe and it was enough for my cookies. I also used lemon juice (not extract) instead of vanilla so it definitely could have been user era. Also I know my cookies will never look good as hers!


O I used my new Sugar Cookie Recipe! Sorry the pictures are not the best - quick snaps with the iPhone.

Uh-Oh!!!?!?!? Sugar Cookies Part 1......

WARNING: LONG POST............OOPS! (but wait is anyway even reading this blog :) )

You know when you find the most perfect recipe, the one that you think will answer all your baking problems, the holy grail of baking? It is such a good feeling when it works out and you think okay maybe I can do these sugar cookie recipes and make them look as pretty as Sweet Sugar Belle or Bee in our Bonnet. So then you go to grab that recipe and you cannot find it!!?!?!? All of your sugar cookie dreams come crashing down! Then after some slightly psychotic searching, which you will never admit to anyone because it will clearly end with you on a psychiatrist's couch or a friend intervention (see How I Met Your Mother's intervention episode for some hilarity), you find it! Even with some questioning (hmmmm am I sure this is it) you try it out and it works woohoo. That is what happened to me with my sugar cookie recipe. I then wrote this blog entry feeling all superior and o wait........lost it again!!!! I only knew the recipe from the picture next to it and even though I didn't find the picture again I think we are back on track now! I am seriously a hot mess!

I have used various sugar cookie recipes and for some reason I have always had a hard time finding one that works well with molds and tastes good. When I made sugar cookies for my coworker's baby shower I thought I had it but while they tasted awesome they did not stay in their shape in the oven. So then I made a new sugar cookie recipe for my friend's shower and it worked out well but then alas it went MIA. I like this recipe and it is easy to work with, even when you cut the recipe in a 1/4 so I am going to stick with it!

After reading some blogs I realized that I could make a lot of cookies and freeze them to decorate for later and this made it a lot easier when I decided to make these adorable ring cookies for a girls nite/bachellerotte get together and then for a jewelry party. One of the blogs that I read (I can't remember which one!!!)mentioned that it easier to roll and cut the dough on the slip pat sheets that go in the oven so you don't have to worry about ruining the design. This cookie cutter does not have the center cut out and while I made a few with the center left in (which is a great idea if you want to put someone's initial) I liked them best looking like a ring; so I used a circle piece of one my cake writing sets but if you had a round cookie cutter that would work well too. Once the center is cut it is harder to move them so I totally suggest just rolling and cutting it on your slip pat or wax paper, really a life saver so thank you to whoever you are!

I learned a lot in decorating these cookies between the first and second time. I used my previous icing recipe, which is delicious if you add the lemon juice and easy if you don't have meringue powder around (maybe not perfect in the setting process but it works)! When I needed to thin it I used lemon juice and a little bit more mix. I discovered that Tip #21 was perfect for doing one big circle on the band, I also piped the top of the ring and then flooded it and threw some fun sprinkles and sparkles on them.

With the left over dough I made some mini cookies, hearts and shoes, that were also a big hit.

While these are not perfect and I have a long way to go I felt like this was a good start! More adventures in sugar cookies to come.........

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.



ICING:
(Source: Sheila's Cookies)

INGREDIENTS:
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup margarine, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons milk

DIRECTIONS:

- To make frosting, combine the 3 cups confectioners' sugar, 1/4 cup margarine and 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice in a medium bowl. Mix until smooth, adding milk 1 tablespoon at a time until frosting has reached its desired consistency.

Beating the Heat!

Okay I have written this post twice (once last year and once again this year) but I have never posted it because BOTH times I forgot to take pictures!!!!! I am not a cook, I just don't like it and I am a vegetarian. However, even knowing this Las year I decided to throw a BBQ Memorial Day weekend on my small patio. I made enough food for a small country, seriously it was ridiculous. I don't think 1/4 of the food was eaten. However, one thing that went like hot cakes was my Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches. I am not sure if they went so quickly because it was ridiculously hot, I just love that DC is in a swamp, or because my air conditioning decided to break, or maybe it was because they were that delicious. I actually had some left over and they stayed very well in the freezer. I just made my Chocolate Chip Cookies (with minature chocolate chips) and after they cooled put some (melted because it was 1001 degrees inside my apartment) Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream and froze them over nite. Even after the BBQ was over I still had a lot left but they were good for the rest of the week and a great treat just to grab out of the freezer!!

O a little tip I learned from this food extravaganza: the deep, disposable lasagna containers are awesome for cooking a ton of marinated veggies on the grill. This way I didn't have to sit there and skewer for hours!

So no picture but just imagine these cookies with an ice cream scoop size of ice cream in the middle!

Happy Belated Cinco de Mayo Cookie Style

Happy Belated Cinco De Mayo!!! I actually attended a Quatro de Mayo party and wanted to make something festive so I made my Margarita Cupcakes with Lime Cream Cheese frosting; the party was on Friday nite but I brought them into work via the metro and kept them in our fridge during the day until my friend's husband came to pick them up during the day. My friend who was throwing the party was doing it to celebrate her husband's half Mexican heritage and her love for margaritas. I asked her if her husband felt Chocolate Mexican Wedding Cookies would be sacrarelig and thankuflly she said no because these came out so good and are so easy to make. The directions say to wrap the dough and let it harden for an hour but in true fashion I didn't buy enough pecans so made it in the night before and then came home for work took the dough out to let it soften for awhile and added the pecans mixed it and just went from there. They are sooooooo good and will be definitely be made again.

O if you buy one German Chocolate Bar then you will be fine! I used the blender to grate it but just remember that the blades can melt it so either do sections or just do it quickly (you can also freeze the bar if you want to).

Happy Cinco De Mayo! Now go pour yourself a Margarita!

Yet again I am a bad blogger and forgot to take a picture until I was at work so it was taken while they were in the box with my iPhone.

CHOCOLATE MEXICAN WEDDING COOKIES
(Source: Allrecipes)

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup ground pecans (I just threw them into the blender)
1/2 cup German sweet chocolate, grated (I just threw it into the blender)
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon1 pinch salt
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup German sweet chocolate, grated


DIRECTIONS:

- In a large bowl, cream the butter and 1/3 cup confectioner's sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, ground pecans, 1/2 cup ground chocolate, cinnamon and salt; mix well.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture.
- Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill 1 to 2 hours, or until firm.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (180 degrees C).
- Shape the dough into 1-inch balls. Place balls 1 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake 15 to 18 minutes, or until the cookies are firm to the touch. Cool 1 minute on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack.
- For the coating, sift 1/2 cup of the confectioner's sugar and 1/4 cup of the ground cocoa into a shallow bowl. While cookies are still warm, roll them in the coating.

Giganticness Part II

Here is another Gigantic Red Velvet cupcake! This was for my other neighbor, I really do have the best neighbors. The only problem with this one was that I got stuck talking to these awesome neighbors in the hallway and forgot that the cake was in the oven! I could have kicked myself because I was trying to be a perfectionist watching it bake but I still think it came out great.

Also, I could not remember how much frosting I needed for this cake; I usually squirt some into the bottom part and then use it to seal the two halves together. I started making double the frosting recipe and ran out of ingredients so I got up early the next morning to run to the store only to learn that I really needed 1 - 1 1/2 of the cream cheese frosting recipe. For the amount I bake I definitely should know these things! Now I do for the future :)

Birthday Giganticness!

Last Saturday was a busy baking day! At the same time that I was making my KU Cake I was also making another giagantic cupcake. This time I made a gigantic red velvet cupcake and injected some cream cheese frosting into the middle of it and used cream cheese as glue to put the top and the bottom together. I split purple cream cheese frosting into 2 batches and added pink to the second batch. I put the purple frosting into the bag first and then added the pinkish frosting so they would swirl together; unfortunately, my apartment was super hot and it was not sitting right on the cupcake (I was going top down) so I took it all off and started again but this time bottom up and then went back and went around the gap from the top to the bottom. I was also usper excited to use my new purple sprinkles.

This cupcake looks so cute and my neighbor loved her birthday cupcake! She actually brought it to a friend's house where they were watching the basketball games and she said that the little 2 year old's eyes grew so big when he saw the cupcake and also asked where the rest of it was going when she left with it (after leaving him some for the next day).

One tip I recommend with using this pan is to fill the bottom and cook it for 10 minutes; I also, haven't used this pan in a really long time so I kept checking it and adding 6 minutes over and over again so just make sure you keep your eyes on this one.

March Madness!!!

One of my very good friends is an alumnae and big fan of KU basektball! So when we all got together to watch them play (and win!) their semifinal game on Saturday I made a red velvet double layer round cake. It has been awhile since I have made a good ol' fashined round cake and let me tell you it showed! it got stuck in the pan and then I tried to put it back together with some glue (aka cream cheese frosting). While it was slanted it still tasted good! I really need to work on the basic cake! Good Luck to KU on Monday!

To do the KU and the design I changed a recipe recipe and it worked out well! I halved the recipe below:

DECORATIVE FROSTING
(Me modified from: allrecipes)


INGREDIENTS:

1 cup butter
4 cups confectioners' sugar
4 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract


DIRECTIONS:

- Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Beat on low speed of electric mixer until well blended and very smooth.

Easy and Delicious Guacamole

As I have said before I like to bake but not to cook so of course when I started planning margarita nite I planned the drinks and the dessert but did not think of food. The day before having everyone I was talking to my coworker and said that I couldn't decide if I was going to buy guacomole or make it fresh. Her husband is Mexican and in turn has become an excellent Mexican cook so she said that it was sooooooooooooo easy that I had to make it myself.

Even though I had no idea how to peel an avocado (I tried to use a peeler and then ended up just tearing the skin off but later she said the easiest thing to do is cut it in half and take the pit out and then scoop out the insides) and no idea how to actually cut and mash an avocado it came out delicious! (I think I might be really picky about guacamole because I either love it and that's rare or hate it because it reminds me of a face mask but this one is a love). She said I could use a potato masher to mash it up but if it is not a baking tool I do not have it, so I ended up cutting it a little bit and then acting like I was a 4 year old and using my hands to mash it, I left part of it chunky.

Also, the originally recipe was for 4 servings but I ended up doubling it but instead of using 4 tomatoes I used 3 and not quite 1 cup of onions. Everyone kept raving about it and the 5 of us destroyed it! (I bought regular tostitos and the whole wheat scoop ones.)

From searching the internet I learned a little trick that is helpful and impressive once your friends hear about it; take an avocado pit and stick it in the middle of the guacamole until it is time to serve it, it will help it from turning brown.

I apologize for the bad iPhone photo!

GUACAMOLE
(Source:allrecipes)


INGREDIENTS

3 avocados - peeled, pitted, and mashed
1 lime, juiced (I used 1 Tablespoon of bottled lime juice)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup diced onion
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 roma (plum) tomatoes, diced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 pinch ground cayenne pepper (optional)


DIRECTIONS

- In a medium bowl, mash together the avocados, lime juice, and salt. Mix in onion, cilantro, tomatoes, and garlic. Stir in cayenne pepper. Refrigerate 1 hour for best flavor, or serve immediately.

Bucket of Deliciousness!!!!!

I decided to host a margarita girls night in the honor of my neighbor who was getting married. Well things didn't go as planned and instead of having 10 or so girls we had enough food to feed that many and had like 4 of us. o well more food for the rest of us! A few years ago I hosted a margarita night and I just remember spending most of my night in my kitchen making margaritas so I wanted a recipe that was easy and delicious and that is when I stumbled upon the Bucket of Margaritas recipe. This is a DEFNITE winner and keeper. I made 2 batches at once and kept it in a big plastic jug but some other people suggested making it and storing it plastic baggies. I took it out about 25 minutes before people got there and it took awhile to defrost but it was slushy and delicious (and a little strong). This is definitely a recipe worth keeping because not only is it delicioud but you can enjoy your guests too.

The second recipe I ended up using primarily as non-alcholic margaritas, one of the girls is pregnant so why should she miss out, and I made it with about a can and half of water. However, after she left I poured the rest of it into our glasses and added the Tequilla and Cointreau into the glass. One of the girls mixed the two and said it was delicious.

Bucket of Margaritas

(Source: allrecipes)

INGREDIENTS

4 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups tequila
1 (12 fluid ounce) can frozen limeade
1/2 cup triple sec (orange-flavored liqueur)
1 whole lime, cut into 6 wedges

DIRECTIONS

- Mix the water, tequila, limeade, and orange liqueur in a freezer-proof container with a lid; stir.

-Cover and store in freezer until it reaches a slush-like consistency, about 24 hours. Serve in glasses garnished with lime wedges.


STRAWBERRY MARGARITAS
(Source: allrecipes)

INGREDIENTS

1 (10 ounce) package frozen strawberries
1 (6 ounce) can frozen pink lemonade concentrate
1 cup tequila
1/4 cup triple sec
ice cubes (I actually didn't use any because I kept it pretty thick).

DIRECTIONS

- Place strawberries, lemonade concentrate, tequila, and triple sec in a blender. Blend until smooth. Add ice cubes as needed.