Chocolate Macaroon Cupcakes with Toasted Coconut and Cream Cheese Frosting

Do you want the good news or the bad news first?

I'll start with the bad...The bad news is that I didn't follow the instructions when the recipe said to spray the cupcake pan and I used liners instead. The consequence was that they stuck HORRIBLY to the paper and much was inedible. Plus I made these for dinner when we had our neighbors over and I was sad and embarrassed to have such a flop. But I suppose that just goes along with the fun of trying new recipes all the time.

The good news is that the parts you could eat were yummy!


Chocolate Macaroon Cupcakes

2 T (1 oz) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
3/4 C condensed milk
1/8 tsp salt
2 C shredded coconut
1 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spay cupcake cups with cooking spray.
2. In a double boiler melt the chocolate with the milk and salt. Stir in the coconut and vanilla.
3. Fill the cups 1/2 full. Bake for 30 minutes and allow to cool.

Toasted Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting

4 T softened butter
2 C coconut
1 package softened cream cheese (8 oz)
2 C powdered sugar
2 tsp milk
1 tsp vanilla

1. Melt 2 T butter in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in coconut and keep stirring until golden brown, about 8 minutes.
2. In a bowl, cream the other 2 T butter with the cream cheese until creamy. Add in sugar, milk, and vanilla, beating after each addition until smooth. Stir in the toasted coconut.

Cookie Dough Truffles

These truffles are amazing!!! I love cookie dough and chocolate so this was the perfect candy recipe to me! The inside seriously tasted like an awesome cookie dough, but it was great cause there is no egg inside, so no worries!

Cookie Dough Truffles

1/2 C butter
3/4 C brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 C flour
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 C mini chocolate chips
1/2 C chopped walnuts
1 1/2 lbs melting chocolate

1. In a large bowl cream butter and sugar til light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Gradually add the condensed milk alternately with the flour, beating well after each addition. Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts. Drop onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Refrigerate 2 hours, then shape into balls.

2. Melt the melting chocolate and dip the balls into the coating. Place back on waxed paper and cool in fridge 15 minutes. Store in the fridge.

Chocolate Bliss Cheesecake

Can you say YUM?! I can!!!

I made this for my mom and sister (with my new spring form pan that my grandma gave me). It was the dessert after a very girly, frilly dinner that we made. It was rich and delish!!!

Chocolate Bliss Cheesecake

18 crushed Oreos (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 T butter
3 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
3/4 C sugar
1 tsp vanilla
8 oz (1 package) melted semi-sweet baking chocolate (I used dark chocolate chips which was just fine) and cooled slightly
3 eggs
powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 325 for a 9 inch silver pan or 300 for a dark pan. Mix cookie crumbs and butter, press firmly into pan.

Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in large bowl until wells blended. Add melted chocolate, mix well. Add eggs one at a time and mix well after each addition. Pour over crust.

Bake 55-60 minutes or until almost set. Run knife around cake to loosed edges. Store in fridge. Cool completely before removing from spring form pan. Refrigerate at least 4 hours.

Cut a heart out of wax paper, place on top and sprinkle powdered sugar on top.

Pineapple, Cherry and Walnut Cookies

So I wanted to try a new recipe since my mom is visiting. I picked this one out because it sounded good and summery. They had a good, soft, fluffy texture but they were lacking in flavor. I decided not to bother typing out the recipe cause it really wasn't all that fabulous, but I'll still share the pictures...