Love is in the Air

I had quite the Valentine's Day baking weekend, making Joe lots of surprise goodies, baking cookies with Kylie, and testing out the conversation heart cupcakes shown in my calendar I mentioned last post!

I melted milk and white chocolate and dipped Oreos and pretzel rods - decorated with frosting, sprinkles, and conversation hearts.

I attempted to make those Cake Pops that everyone has been talking about, but from brownies instead.

They taste good, but they turned into bon-bons because the lollipop sticks wouldn't stay put, and the balls barely stayed together anyway.

With some online research, I read that you are supposed to mix frosting with the cake pieces in order for the balls to hold their shape and the stick. Oh.

Next time!!

But, here they are:

Then, the Pièce de résistance! The conversation heart cupcakes!

I made regular cupcakes and frosted them - Funfetti, of course...because...they're more..FUN!

Cut hearts out of thawed Sara Lee frozen pound cake.

And actually regular store bought frosting in a can melts in the microwave very nicely - I thought it might get weird.

So I melted the frosting and dyed it different colors.

Then, dipped each pound cake heart into the frosting and let harden.

Decorated with a bit of red food coloring, and voila!

A little messy...excuse the fingerprints!...but pretty cute!

Then, made some heart-shaped sugar cookies to decorate with the munchkin! We decided the misshapen ones looked like a hippo, and Minnie & Mickey Mouse, and decorated accordingly :)

And the adorable Valentine Kylie made me <3

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

Willy Wonka...Willy Wonka...

Felt like freaking Willy Wonka over here making peppermint bark for the season...12 batches to be exact! I made it for party favors to hand out to our Christmas party guests, and to bring to two Holiday parties.

So much time, so little to do. Strike that. Reverse it.

It is pretty easy once you get the hang of it!

Peppermint Bark Recipe (Yes, I multiplied this by 12.....I've got a golden ticket....!)

6 ounces milk chocolate, coarsely chopped ( I use chocolate chips, they work fine)

6 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 teaspoons vegetable oil  (helps the chocolate melt evenly, and stay the right consistency. Don't use too much, or the two layers won't stick together...batch one...)

4 teaspoons of peppermint extract (NOT MINT. Tastes like toothpaste!!! PEPPERmint only ;)  Candy making is serious business, people.)

1/3 cup crushed candy canes (I crushed these in the food processor. AMAZING. really freaking loud, but it works. Or, the way I used to do it.....plastic bag....hammer.....go.) I didn't need close to 6 cups of candy canes for my 12 batches....anyone need dozens of candy canes?? Much less was about all that I seemed to need - just a good sprinkling on top.

Peppermint Bark: Line the bottom and sides of a 9 inch square baking pan with aluminum foil, smoothing out any wrinkles.

Melt the milk chocolate and 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. (double boiler = amazing. heatproof bowl balanced over a bowl of simmering water = just fine)

Once it is melted and smooth, quickly add 2 teaspoons of the peppermint extract, and stir thoroughly.  (It changes the texture...wants to like dry it out...so stir quickly to bring back original melted texture)

Immediately pour the melted chocolate into the prepared pan and tilt the pan so the chocolate makes an even layer.

Place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes, or until the chocolate has set.

Then, melt the white chocolate and remaining 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Again, add the other 2 teaspoons of peppermint extract at the end, once melted.

Immediately pour the melted white chocolate over the milk chocolate and tilt the pan so the chocolate is in an even layer.

Sprinkle the crushed candy canes evenly over the white chocolate. (Press down a bit so it sticks into the chocolate, and doesn't all fall right off when you go to break this into pieces)

Place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes, or until the chocolate has set.

Remove the Peppermint Bark from the pan by lifting the edges of the aluminum foil.

Peel back the foil and break the bark into small irregular pieces.

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Makes about 25 pieces.

 double boiler...

 layer one

 layer two

 with candy cane pieces sprinkled on top

 Pulled out of the pan, once chilled

 breaking into pieces

 bark!

....12 batches of bark....!

                                          

Thanksgiving Pot Luck!

We had a Thanksgiving pot luck & Chili/Soup cook-off at work! Very cool.
I brought a salad to balance out the mass amounts of chili I knew everyone would be consuming.
I love salads with fruit in them, so I decided to make up my own recipe with some in-season fruits, and one that was easy to make ahead of time!

It was so simple to make, and everyone really liked it!

I put baby spinach in first, with a raspberry vinaigrette dressing. 
Then, added layers of :
freshly sliced oranges,
canned Mandarin oranges,
canned, sliced pears (because fresh would have turned brown),
grapes that I halved,
halves and pieces of walnuts
and dried cranberries

...and tossed the whole thing together.

I actually made this the day before, dressing and all, kept it in the fridge overnight, and in the fridge at work all morning, and by lunch it was still great!

Spinach holds up really, really well to dressing and doesn't wilt for a long time.  This made the salad even easier, since I could assemble everything ahead of time.

I sliced oranges the fancy way, and then also added some canned ones. ( in their own JUICE, NOT syrup)
I don't know WHY Joe & Kylie don't like canned Mandarin oranges - I love them!!
But, the trick to fancy orange slices is to peel the orange with a knife, taking off both the peel and all the white part. Then, cut in to each orange section right inside the white part from the left side, then the right, at a V angle, leaving you with perfect orange slices with no white part at all! You're so fancy!

Another fancy tip is to slice all the grapes in half. Not only are they easier to eat without flinging them across the room, while attempting to stab them with your fork...but they look very professional.
I don't think you need a step by step on this one, but I promise it doesn't take as long as you are thinking...just do it!

Now, the canned pears you may be thinking....umm, I don't want my salad to taste like an elementary school fruit cocktail... don't worry! Get the kind canned in their own juice, not sugar syrup, and slice them all evenly, and they really taste good! The reason I did this (I know pears are in season!) was because I knew the fresh pears would brown and look really gross, if I was going to make this all the day before.  Canned pears hold up nicely.

This salad, whether made for 2 people, or 75, is a simple, and wonderful addition to any meal!
So there. YUM!!

It's Halloweeeeen Tiiiiime!

I made some pretty delicious cupcakes for our office Halloween Party. Did I MENTION I am on the Fun Team at work?!
The cupcakes are a yellow cake, with cream cheese vanilla icing, drizzled with pumpkin butter, and topped with a candy corn!
We'll call this one.....Semi-Homemade. Thanks Sandra Lee!

So to make said amazing cupcakes, first you'll need a mini cupcake baking pan.
Reason #2 you will want a couple of these? They are adorable!!!!

Reason #1 - besides baking the perfect bite-size cupcake to bring to a party (where everyone is too embarrassed to publicly try to neatly devour an entire regular cupcake, while engaging in semi-awkward co-worker conversation...), they also work great for (MINI- everything!!!!) mini quiche, individual omelets for a breakfast buffet - aka quiche with no crust; mini tarts, brownie bites, and more.
So!, you ask. "Where can I find such a wonderful baking pan?!?!"
Anywhere.
Mine are from Target: 24-cup Muffin Pan
It should make 24 cupcakes, whereas the regular size pans make 12.

This one with handles would actually be better ;) Muffin Pan

OK, so once you have the little cupcake pan, (get 2, one box of cake mix makes a lot of cupcakes) you will also need (adorable!!) little paper liners.
Occasionally found hiding in the baking/cake decorating section of the grocery store (I have had pretty good luck with this).

Also found in more varieties than white at your local Party store or Craft store.
See: Party City - search results: Mini Baking Cup = AWESOMENESS!

And now for the recipe. If you can even call it that...

Cupcakes:


1 box yellow cake mix (+ eggs, oil, water as directed by box)
1 jar cream cheese frosting.
1 jar vanilla frosting (I mixed the 2 two to mellow out the cream cheese flavor, but you can use either/or)
1 jar pumpkin butter (From Trader Joe's in the jam section. think: apple butter. Also amazing on toast.)
1 bag candy corn
(That's it!)


Directions:


Mix cake batter in large mixing bowl as directed.
Line pan with baking cups.
Fill each baking cup 3/4 full with batter.
Bake ABOUT HALF THE TIME OR LESS OF THE TIME DIRECTED FOR REGULAR SIZE CUPCAKES. Make sure to not over cook! Test by sticking a toothpick into them every couple minutes after they start to look about done.


Remove from oven and let cool completely.


Mix 2 frostings together (or make your own...HA oops.)
Use fancy new frosting piping bag you bought (woohoo, finally!), or a plastic bag with a corner cut off, or just a knife to frost the cupcakes with prepared frosting.


To Decorate:


Pumpkin Butter: Once frosted, use another frosting piping bag, or drizzle with a small spoon (less pretty, same taste!), fill with pumpkin butter, and drizzle over the top of all the cupcakes.


Candy Corn: Umm.....top with a couple Candy Corn.

And....voila!

We had such a fun Halloween season with a couple trips to the Pumpkin Patch, carving pumpkins, dressing up, and baking cookies, too!