Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cupcakes

Yes, these are Halloween cupcakes, and yes I realize it is a tad too early. But I LOVE Halloween and I'm super excited to make delicious Halloween treats and since my mom and sister are visiting, it is time to try out some fun stuff!

These are chocolate cupcakes with a peanut butter cup baked right into the center. Peanut butter frosting, Reeses Pieces spiders and chocolate webs and legs. If I were to do these again, I would probably leave out the peanut butter cup because I didn't feel like it really enhanced the cupcake at all, it was hardly noticeable. But I loved the frosting (a recipe my grandma gave me to try a while back) it is surprisingly light and fluffy. I also think I would use frosting instead of melting chocolate for the webs because it would have been easier to control and I got a little sloppy.





Peanut Butter Icing
1/2 C butter
1/2 C shortening
1 C peanut butter
2 C powdered sugar
1/4 tsp salt
3 T milk

Combine butter, shortening, and peanut butter until creamy. Add sugar and salt. Add milk, one tablespoon at a time until you get a nice spreadable consistency.

Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Bars

MMMMmmm! Soft cookie bars! Actually, my Hershey's book made it look like these would be more fudge like, but they were definitely more cookie like. So that is what I was craving/imagining. However, they were still delicious and satisfied my sweet tooth!

Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Bars

3/4 C softened butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 C flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 3/4 C chocolate chips
3/4 C macadamia pieces
vanilla glaze

1. Heat over to 375
2. Beat butter, brown sugar, and regular sugar in a large bowl until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, beat well. Add flour and baking soda, blend well. Stir in 1 cup chocolate chips and the nuts. Press into ungreased 13x9 pan.
3. Bake 22-25 minutes of until golden brown. Cool completely and drizzle glaze on top, allow to set before cutting into bars.

Glaze

Combine 1 cup powdered sugar, 2 T milk, and 1/2 tsp vanilla. Stir until smooth.

Quick and Easy Peanut Butter Fudge

I copied this recipe from a website a while back. I think I added less powdered sugar than I was meant to because I was measuring in cups, not a pound like the recipe calls for, which made for a softer consistency. It was really good and actually reminded me of the inside of a peanut butter cup. Maybe next time I will include some chocolate!

Peanut Butter Fudge

3/4 C butter
1 C peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 pound powdered sugar

In a sauce pan over medium heat, melt butter and peanut butter. Once it is well combined, remove from heat and add vanilla and powdered sugar. Pour into a pan lined with wax paper. Refrigerate until cool and firm, cut into 1 inch pieces.

Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies

My grandma shared this recipe with me that she had cut from a magazine, but never got around to trying out. I decided they sounded seriously delicious and got the stuff. I really enjoyed the layers of flavor between the cherry, chocolate, orange zest, and cinnamon. I also really appreciate the texture that baking with oatmeal provides. These were yummy!



Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 C dried cherries, chopped
1/3 C hot water
6 T shortening
6 T butter
1 1/2 C brown sugar
1/2 C sugar
2 eggs
3 tsp grated orange peel
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3 C oats
1 3/4 C flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 C chocolate chips

In a small bowl, soak cherries in hot water for at least 10 minutes. In a mixing bowl, cream the shortening, butter and sugars until fluffy. Beat in eggs, orange zest, and vanilla. Combine oats flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in separate bowl. Gradually add oat mixture to creamed mixture, beating until combines. Stir in the cherries (including the liquid) and chocolate chips. Drop onto ungreased cookies sheet. Bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes.

Happy Birthday Travis!!!

Today is my sweetheart's birthday! It is a very special day indeed, so it called for an extraordinary cake! I went with homemade yellow cake, homemade butter cream frosting, AND homemade fondant! I'd never made homemade fondant before so I was a little unsure of what to expect. But Travis LOVES fondant and I really wanted to try decorating with it. I actually think for a first timer, I didn't do too bad. I'm not all that skilled in pipping frosting either, so I am quite proud of my jumpman!




Pretty yummy with a glass of milk! Although I admit some ice cream would have been really nice. But now that we live waaay out in the middle of nowhere, we can't run to the store to pick up ice cream on a whim! I'll plan ahead for that next time!
I think Dillon was actually trying to dodge the camera, the little stinker! At least he enjoyed my cake, even though he was very tired and ready for bed.

Fondant

2 C marshmallows
2 T water
1 tsp vanilla
3 C powdered sugar

In a big pot on the stove add water to marshmallows, slowly heat and stir until it is like syrup. Mix in vanilla. Remove from heat. Mix in sugar. Coat hands and work surface with crisco, and be careful because it will be hot. Knead until it is smooth, add more sugar or water if necessary.

Puffs

Recently for a little snack I made something called puffs from my Better Homes and Gardens book. They were light and fluffy and fun to eat. I can imagine them being quite savory filled with cheese and spinach or with a honey butter and berries or some kind of butter and fruit spread. I'm hoping to do them again when my mom and sister come!


Puffs

1/2 C butter
1 C milk
3/4 C flour
4 egss
1 T sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375. Grease 12 muffin cups well, including edges and top. In a saucepan, melt butter. Add milk and boil. Add flour all at once, stirring vigorously. Cook and stir until mixture forms a ball. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
2. Add eggs one at a time, beating for a minute each with a wooden spoon until smooth. Divide into muffin cups and sprinkle with sugar.
3. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown and puffy. Remove from pan and serve immediately.

Oreo Bark

I whipped up a batch of Oreo bark the other night to satisfy the sweet tooth. We are only partially moved in at the moment and don't have much food or a microwave, but I was still able to come up with a yummy treat. This is the same thing I made a while back that my sister introduced us to. I melted white chocolate on the stove, poured onto wax paper, then melted the dark and poured it on top. Sprinkled it with crushed Oreos, chilled it in the fridge and it was delightful!