Homemade Funfetti Cupcakes

29 Monday Apr 2013

Tags

baking, cupcakes, food, funfetti, recipe, recipes, secret recipe club, src

Funfetti is just what it sounds like.

Fun. (fun fun fun fun!)

So that’s why I decided to make them for my friend’s birthday party — AND it doubled as this month’s Secret Recipe Club recipe! This month I was assigned to Erin’s blog, The Spiffy Cookie. Let me say upfront that Erin has amazing, amazing, amazing recipes. I loved the look and sound of every single one of them, and if I had time, I would make every single one of them.

And maybe I will

But back to the cupcakes.

I know that it’s really easy to buy a box of Funfetti cake mix at the store. They’ll be fine. But that’s just the thing. They’re just fine. They’re just alright.

If you go with homemade? You can taste the butter when you bite into it. You get nothing but the fun fluffiness of a very sprinkley and vanilla-y cake.

In other words, nothing but joy.

Homemade Funfetti Cupcakes

Adapted from The Spiffy Cookie
Makes 30 cupcakes
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

For the Cupcakes:

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 tbsp pure vanilla
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
2/3 cup skim milk
2/3 cup assorted brightly colored sprinkles

For the Chocolate Frosting:

1 stick unsalted butter
2/3 cup cocoa powder
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/3 cup skim milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cupcake tin with paper liners.
For the cupcakes: Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until combined.
Combine the flour and baking powder in another bowl. Add half of the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar mixture, mixing until just combined. Add the milk. Once mixed, add remaining dry ingredients. Fold in the assorted sprinkles.
Pour into cupcake tins and fill 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting.
To make the chocolate frosting: Melt the butter in a medium bowl. Stir in the cocoa until dissolved. Alternately add confectioners’ sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla.

My Two Cents

Did I mention that this tastes like childhood?

This tastes like childhood.

And childhood was fun

Thanks, Erin, for another fabulous SRC Recipe!

CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO SEE ALL OF THE RECIPES FROM TODAY’S SRC REVEAL DAY!

Three Ingredient Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

18 Thursday Apr 2013

Posted by Megan in Cookies, Dessert

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

baking, banana cookies, bananas, Cookies, food, healthy dessert, recipe, recipes

This post was originally written before the marathon and was actually scheduled for the day after the bombings. I chose to postpone it to publish today, and though I’m still somber about this whole thing, the only way to go back to normal is frankly to be my normal self. Oh…and bake cookies……..healthy ones

I’m easily amazed.

For example.

These cookies.

They have only THREE INGREDIENTS IN THEM. There are bananas, oatmeal, and chocolate chips.

And they’re so phenomenal. And they’re so easy. And I could eat an entire batch of them in one sitting and feel way less guilty about doing that than plopping in front of the TV with my favorite jar of peanut butter (ahem, Dark Chocolate Dreams). You know…one of the most dangerous things you can do to me is give me a spoon and a jar of that peanut butter. Mindless eating = serious regret = serious guilt = sadness.

But rest assured. No sadness will stem from these beauts, though, my faithful followers. Nada. Zip. Zilch.

So let’s get to that recipe….if you can even call it that

Three Ingredient Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes 10-15 cookies
Adapted from The Burlap Bag
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

2 large ripe bananas
1 cup quick oats (don’t use old fashioned here)
1-2 handfuls of chocolate chips
Other optional add-ins: a handful of nuts, handful of dried fruit, dash of cinnamon

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl, mash the bananas, then mix in the oats. Fold in any add-ins you like.
Spoon the cookies onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper (or lightly greased). Flatten slightly with your hand, and bake for 15 minutes, or until they’ve firmed up.
Enjoy a few, share the whole thing, or freeze for a quick grab and go snack.

My Two Cents

Besides this being easy and delicious, oatmeal still never ceases to impress me.

Double the recipe. Triple the recipe. Quadruple the recipe. Make the cookies bigger. Tell everyone they’re your family’s secret recipe, but be careful — don’t even try to mention that they’re healthy.

Why? Because although my ears shoot up like a dog’s and my eyes widen at the sound of “healthy” and “dessert”, you will find most people will cringe without taking a bite, or retract their hand from the cookie plate if they think dessert is healthy.

Dessert can be healthy and can taste good at the same time.

Enjoy!

Cadbury Creme Egg Stuffed Cookies

31 Sunday Mar 2013

Posted by Megan in Cookies, Dessert

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

baking, cadbury creme eggs, Cookies, dessert, Easter, food, recipe, recipes

Happy Easter!

I made these Toll House Cookies stuffed with Cadbury Creme Eggs yesterday to celebrate

It’s so simple to do if you’re looking to make a fun treat today. First, take some Cadbury Creme Eggs from some little kid’s Easter basket and cut them up into chunks. Then simply mix up this batch of Toll House Cookies (or any chocolate chip cookie recipe). Take about two tablespoons worth of dough, flatten in your hand. Place a few hunks of Cadbury Creme Egg in the middle and roll the dough around the candy — seal it well or it might leak! Bake for about 13 – 15 minutes or until very slightly golden brown. Share with family and friends

Have a great day!

Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Energy Bites

15 Friday Mar 2013

Posted by Megan in Dessert, Easy, Snacks

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

easy, energy balls, energy bites, food, healthy, healthy snack, oatmeal, quick, recipe, snack

I’m mildly obsessed with oatmeal recipes.

I used to hate oatmeal. I only knew of its existence in its mushy and overcooked form that came in those little Quaker packages. The amount of added sugar and cinnamon didn’t make a difference in the taste or texture. I straight up hated oatmeal.

Until this year when I discovered baked oatmeal. I baked oatmeal muffins and most recently my own homemade oatmeal granola bars. No mush as the end result — just chewy and delicious goodness.

But I love variety and switching things up. When I saw these energy bites floating around Pinterest, I knew I had to try them. These would give me variation to my mid-morning snack options, and I knew they would fill me up. They’re full of peanut butter and flax seed. And just enough natural sweetness is added with the maple syrup — plus a little dash of chocolate chips.

In fact, these could could pass as a snack or a dessert!

Added bonus? They are no-bake.

Wins all around.

Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Energy Bites

Adapted from Carla’s Confections
Makes 15 – 20 balls
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup ground flax seed
1/2 cup peanut butter (any kind — smooth or crunchy, natural or not)
1/4 cup maple syrup or honey
1/4 cup fat-free milk or water
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup sunflower seeds (or any kind of nut of choice)

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl with a wooden spoon and mix until well combined.
Place bowl in the fridge for 30 minutes to 1 hour so the mixture firms up.
Roll the dough into one inch balls. Wrap individually or store in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to one week. These also freeze very well.

My Two Cents

These are the perfect snack. They are very small, and you will think that there’s no chance in all the heavens that just one of these will fill you up for a few hours, but they do! Peanut butter is magical like that

This recipe is incredibly versatile, too. There are dozens of combos you can go with. Add in some coconut. Sub in dried fruit for the chocolate chips. Sub in different kinds of seeds or nuts. The possibilities are endless.

This recipe yielded exactly 15 balls for me, and mine were about 1 inch in size. I used a large cookie scoop to measure them. I assume the recipe doubles very easily if you wanted to make these for a crowd, or make a giant stash in your freezer to last you the whole month.

Yum.

Mini Chocolate Peanut Butter Cakes

23 Saturday Feb 2013

Posted by Megan in Cake, Dessert

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

baking, Cake, chocolate, chocolate cake, dessert, food, molten cakes, peanut butter, recipe, recipes

You almost don’t even need me here to explain this.

Just the picture.

Sometimes pictures don’t do food justice.

And sometimes.

They Do.

I made these for Valentine’s Day. If you know me, I’m not the type of blogger that has her seasonal posts up on time. It’s a miracle I even remembered to take pictures of these. I’m the type that decides at 3 p.m. on Valentine’s Day that she’s going to run to the store and get steaks and champagne and cook an elegant meal to enjoy with her husband when he comes home from a long day at classes. And the perfect ending to all of that are molten chocolate cakes. I added peanut butter to the mix. Because peanut butter is awesome.

Wait, I said “molten”? These don’t look molten!? Ummm… they’re supposed to be molten cakes. But when you’ve had two glasses of champagne and are putting away leftover steak, you might forget that there are some beautiful cakes in the oven… Luckily these can work as either individual perfectly puffy and slightly underbaked cakes, or gooey molten cakes.

I’m going to stop talking now.

Mini Chocolate Peanut Butter Cakes

Adapted from Sunset
Makes 2- 3 mini cakes (depending on the size of ramekins)
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tsp cocoa powder
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 eggs
8 tsp sugar
2 tbsp peanut butter
Pinch of salt
2 tsp flour

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray 2 or 3 ramekins generously with cooking spray. If your ramekins are small (about 1/2 cup size), use 3. If they are large (about 3/4 cup size), use 2.
Put the butter and chocolate chips in a microwavable bowl and microwave on high for 30 seconds. Stir, then microwave for another 30 seconds if necessary, and continue these steps until the chocolate and butter are smooth and shiny, being careful not to scorch the chocolate. Let cool for a few minutes.
Whisk the egg, sugar, and peanut butter in a mixing bowl. Whisk in the chocolate mixture until well incorporated, then stir in the salt and flour until just combined.
Pour the batter evenly into the ramekins. Set them on a baking sheet and bake 7-10 minutes for a molten and gooey center, and 10-12 minutes for a firmer center (like mine).
Let cake cool for 2 minutes, then carefully invert the cake onto a plate, loosening gently with a knife. (This is why it’s so important to generously grease the ramekin, or it might get stuck!)
Top with drizzled chocolate, whipped cream, a piece of fruit, or all three.
Die and go to heaven.

My Two Cents

These are divine. I love molten cakes. They look so elegant, but are incredibly easy to make. Serve these at a dinner party and wow your guests, or like me, wow your date on a romantic evening for two! Or, hoard these for yourself and don’t share because they’re pretty damn good.

Enjoy

Nutella Filled Cookie Cups

31 Thursday Jan 2013

Posted by Megan in Cookies, Dessert

≈ 14 Comments

Tags

baked goods, baking, Cookies, food, Nutella, nutella cookie cups, recipe, recipes

These sinful morsels are all the rage.

They’re all over Pinterest. In fact, I think I subconsciously liked them so much before I made them that I accidentally pinned them multiple times.

And it makes sense. I mean, basically what these treats consist of are hunks of Nutella inside a cookie. How could you even possibly resist one?

So when my friend Rachel was in town visiting for a few days after her incredible adventures in South America (Yes, I’m terribly jealous of her travels — you will be too when you check out her blog), I devoted a whole day to hanging out with her — and told her she had the reigns. She could pick anything to bake, and we’d do it! She went on my Pinterest page for inspiration and saw these Nutella Filled Cookie Cups, and her decision was made. So we ran out to get a jar of Nutella and got straight to work.

The result? A plethora of little cookie-bite heavens. You really have to sink your teeth into a warm one of these. Because a warm, slightly underbaked cookie with a bit of melty Nutella nestled in its center…

…you get the picture.

Go make them. You’ll be the most popular kid on the block. Promise.

Nutella Filled Cookie Cups (From Daisy Chubb)
Makes 48 cookies
>> Click Here for Printable Recipe <<

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 to 1 jar of Nutella — it all depends on how heavy your hand is!

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a mini muffin tin.
In medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
Cream butter and both sugars in bowl until light, smooth and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla until fully incorporated. Gradually add the flour mixture and mix until just combined.
Roll dough into tablespoon sized balls. Place them in the mini muffin tin (do not squish down yet!), and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown.
When done, remove from oven and let sit for about 2 minutes. Then make wells for the Nutella with a shot glass, a similar object, or a spoon. Add about 1 tbsp of Nutella to each cup and swirl it around as it melts.
Let cool 15-20 minutes in pan (or eat while warm!), and serve
Store leftovers in an airtight container for 3-4 days, or freeze for a convenient treat.

My Two Cents: Give me a spoon and a jar of Nutella, and I’d be happy ’til death do we part.

Add a cookie to the mix?

Not sure there are good enough words.

Cooking Whims

Category Archives: Dessert