June's Cupcakes, Light Versus Dark

I made cupcakes for Relief Society's June meeting. No surprise there. The hardest part is always deciding what flavor to make. I know some people don't like chocolate, so I when I know I'm making something chocolate, I try to offer a second choice. I was told they were both really good, and I have one person who has been waiting for me to post the recipes, so here they are. 

It gave me another reason to use my new ladder display that we (Bud, Laura and I) made last month. I'm loving that thing!

Forgive the off-balance display of the cupcakes. One container of chocolate cupcakes tipped over and were no longer presentable, so we were a little lopsided on how the remainder were arranged on the stand. None of the cupcake recipes are original, so I will just link you to where I found them. 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcakes, by Lizzy Mae Early (Your Cup of Cake), found here. The only thing I did differently was to drizzle some leftover peanut butter ganache over the top of the cupcake and used a regular chocolate frosting instead of the peanut butter frosting. 

Chocolate Frosting (this may or may not have been the frosting I used. Sorry if it is not!)

1 lb. powdered sugar (that's about 4 cups or so)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Beat the butter and cocoa powder in a standing mixer until mixed well. Add powdered sugar a cup at a time until you've added it all. Slowly add in the cream and beat for about five minutes until it is smooth. 

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes, again by Lizzy Mae Early, found here. 

After I made the cupcakes (I only put in the zest of one lemon instead of two, but I did use 1/4 cup lemon juice as directed), I cored out the center of the cupcakes and added a dollop of lemon curd from Leigh Anne Wilkes (Your Homebased Mom), found here. I replaced the top of the cored-out cupcake and frosted it with OBB's strawberry cream, found here, then added half of a strawberry to the top. 

That's pretty much it! If you tried one, I hope you liked it. If you didn't try one, you should have come to the Relief Society extra meeting! 

A Double Birthday Celebration

On Friday, June 3, my mom turned 85. We were supposed to have a party for my step father in May when he turned 95, but it was postponed because my mom had a 24 hour bug. Laura and I made a few desserts for the party. I baked everything and she did almost all the decorating. Her skills far and away outshine mine. 

Walt and Mom were given leis by my mom's sister, and my niece, Amy, had the very same idea, so my mom is wearing two leis! 

Here's the dessert table-

Mom was happy with how everything turned out. Here are a few close-up pictures of what we made. 

The cupcakes were supposed to be stuck into a styrofoam ball which had been glued to a clay flowerpot, but it was so warm that the cupcakes wouldn't hold onto the toothpicks, so because I didn't have enough time (traffic was miserable and it took twice as much time to drive there as it normally does) to go to plan B, which was to add frosting to the ball as a glue, I gave up on that idea and just set the cupcakes on the little table stands. 

The flowerpots are holding Rice Krispies treats. The flowers were supposed to be on a stick and standing up in the silicone pot, but I didn't put enough treats inside the pots for a base, so they wouldn't stand up. After the party, I had to fish through the trash can to find two of my little pots that had been thrown away. Yikes!

Here's the premier for the ladder stand that I made with some assistance from Bud and Laura. It had been so long since I used my scroll saw that I forgot a few key elements, but eventually we got it all to work. I'm happy with how it turned out. I bought the little stands as separate pieces from The Wood Connection, then stained and glued them together. I forgot to bring the doilies I bought to put under the large cookies. I always forget something! 

The sunflower ganache balls were a little too delicate and I had trouble keeping the petals in tact when I tried to peel away the liner. 

The sugar cookies were the hit of the party. Laura's diligence in making the flowers which went on top of the cookies had everyone in awe.

These puff pastry shells were filled with whipped cream and topped with a raspberry-chocolate chip flower. We had a different plan for these guys too, but went with a time saving option instead.

Laura made and arranged the flowers for the six layer orange-flavored cake. At the base of the cake are mini lemon tarts with homemade lemon curd. We never cut the cake. Cheryl took it home. 

The cupcakes are filled with strawberry cream. I didn't try one on the night of the party, but the couple bites of scraps I tasted earlier in the day were yummy. 

So there you have it. My mom provided the appetizers on a separate table. I think the guests who came all had an enjoyable time. I know these kids had a good time! 

Cupcake Recipe found here at McGreevycakes.com. This is a great recipe to use when you need to doctor a mix. We used half of the recipe, using one cake mix. 

Strawberry Cream Filling for the cupcakes found here. Bonus on this one is you get the recipe for cream puffs as well as ganache. Thanks OBB girls!

Swig Sugar Cookies copycat recipe found here at the Idea Room. Please try to overlook her misspelling of tartar (as in cream of). The cookies are fabulous. 

Lemon Curd found here at Your Homebased Mom.

Ultimate Bakery-style Rice Krispies Treats found here on Brown Eyed Baker who adapted it from Cookies and Cups, but this is a double recipe which makes a ton. I've done the math for you in case you want to make a single batch. 

Ultimate Bakery-style Rice Krispies Treats- slightly adapted (half recipe)

5 T. unsalted butter (71 grams)

16 oz. bag of miniature marshmallows (453 grams), divided

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

6 cups (158 grams) Rice Krispies cereal

Line a 9x9-inch pan with parchment paper; set aside. In a large pan, melt the butter, then add 8 cups (340 grams) of marshmallows. Over low heat, stir until the marshmallows are melted, then remove from heat. Add the salt and vanilla extract. Stir in the Rice Krispies cereal and stir until they are well coated. Add the remaining marshmallows and stir briefly. Don't over-mix though. Pour mixture into prepared pan and press down lightly (don't compact it). When treats are cool, cut into bars. Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 2 to 3 days. 

Happy birthday to Mom and Walt. I hope you had a fun party! 

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Chocolate Banana Cream Pie

We had some friends over last night and I served this pie. The ladies are always calorie conscientious so I offered a smaller choice to one of the ladies and a larger choice to her husband. After she finished her slice, she was eyeing her husband's pie thinking she might have to steal a couple more bites off his plate. She regretted accepting the smaller slice! The husband said he needed me to make this again in February and bring it to his house (he was referring to having me make this for his birthday. No cake for him, bring on this pie)! It's a little extra effort than this pie, but they all sure seemed to love it a lot, so I think it was worth it. I found the recipe on Pinterest which took me to this blog's post which I have adapted below. It is very similar to the custard I use for my coconut cream pie.

Chocolate Banana Cream Pie 
CRUST:
26 Oreo chocolate sandwich cookies
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
In a food processor or blender or a Ziplock bag and a rolling pin, process or crush the cookies into fine crumbs. Pour 1 1/2 cups of crumbs into a medium sized bowl, reserving the leftover crumbs. Add the melted butter to the bowl and stir together. Press the buttered crumbs into and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Place in refrigerator while making custard.
CUSTARD:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups milk (use whole or 2% milk)
3 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon butter
4 oz. white chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 bananas (not overly ripe, but not green either)

Pressurized whipped cream or sweetened whipped cream
Chocolate curls, if desired
Directions: In a small heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Add milk; stir until smooth. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat to low; cook and stir for 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat. Slowly stir a small amount of hot filling (about 1/2 cup) into egg yolks; return all to the pan, stirring constantly. Return pan to medium heat and bring custard to a gentle boil; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat; stir in the butter, the white chocolate chips and vanilla. Stir until the chips are completely melted. Cool slightly. Remove pie crust from refrigerator and slice bananas so they fit the bottom of the pie crust in a single layer. You will use about a banana and a half for this. Pour half of the custard on top of the bananas, then add reserved cookie crumbs on top of the custard. Slice the remaining banana(s) on top of this layer of custard. Place plastic wrap on top of the custard and refrigerate for about four hours. Just before serving, add whipping cream over pie and sprinkle with chocolate curls. You can garnish the plate with a little chocolate ganache if you happen to have some handy. Yield: 8 servings. 

Mississippi Mud Brownies

It's not unusual for me to crave peanut butter with my chocolate. I was thinking about making Tim Riggins Brownies from Our Best Bites, but it wasn't exactly what I was wanting (the brownie, that is. You'd be crazy to not be in the mood for Tim Riggins at all times!). Somehow I found a different recipe which was exactly what I wanted, but because I was feeling lazy that day, I simplified it and the results were fast, easy and delicious.

I had read somewhere that baking in condiment cups was a great idea because you don't need cupcake pans since the cup is sturdy enough to stand on it's own. While that is true, using cupcake pans is not a problem for me; I have several! I found the cup to be a little too sturdy, and it was difficult to get the brownie out of its wrapper. I won't be doing that again.
These are smaller than a normal cupcake, and the brownie to peanut butter cup ratio was off just a little, in my opinion. The next time I make these (which will be soon), I will make them in a normal cupcake size.

Mississippi Mud Brownies
1 box of your favorite brownie mix, plus ingredients listed on box to make brownies (I used Pillsbury)
Miniature Reese's Peanut Butter cups (or bells if they're available), unwrapped
Regular size marshmallows, cut in half (use a clean pair of scissors instead of a knife)
Chocolate frosting
Reese's Baking Bits and sprinkles (optional, but not really)

Heat oven to 350°F. Prepare brownie mix according to package directions. Fill cupcake liner 1/2 to 2/3 full.

Place a Reese's cup into the batter. If you can find the bells, put the bell into the batter upside-down. Bake for 18 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately top with a marshmallow half.

I had those flat marshmallows but didn't have regular ones, so you've gotta go with what you've got! Place back in the oven for 2 minutes or until marshmallows barely start to puff up. Remove from oven and allow to cool a few minutes in the pan and then remove from pan and cool completely.

When cool, frost with your favorite chocolate frosting.

Decorate, if desired. Go ahead, break out your stash of yumminess! 

If you need a favorite chocolate frosting recipe, try this one.

Chocolate Frosting
1/2 cup butter, softened
4 oz. cream cheese, softened (I used low-fat)
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp vanilla extract
3-4 cups powdered sugar
milk (or heavy cream) if needed

Beat butter and cream cheese together for about three minutes, scraping down the bowl if necessary. Add cocoa powder, vanilla extract and slowly add 3 cups of powdered sugar. Check the consistency and sweetness, adding more powdered sugar if necessary. If it is too thick at any point, add a tablespoon of milk or heavy cream. 

Avocado Chicken Enchiladas

I have a dear friend who can no longer process animal protein. We've been spending some extra time with him and to give his sweet wife a break, I've been cooking some of the dinners. While these are avocado chicken enchiladas, I just left the chicken out of a few of them so he could still eat the dinner too. 

                                          

If I keep blogging Six Sisters' Stuff recipes I'm going to have to give them their own label like I did for Our Best Bites! This starts with a homemade enchilada sauce which makes these super tasty. I spooned extra sauce over the top of this enchilada, so you aren't really seeing the cheese under there.

Avocado Chicken Enchiladas from Six Sisters' Stuff

Sauce

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 T butter

1 T all-purpose flour

1 cup chicken or vegetable stock

2 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/2 cup fat-free sour cream

1 cup mild or medium salsa verde

1/2 cup chopped cilantro (obbbbbbviously, I left this out!!! Blech!)

Enchiladas

3 to 4 cups cooked chicken breasts, shredded

2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese, divided

3 avocados, peeled and chopped

8 flour tortillas

1/2 - 3/4 cup French Fried onions

Preheat oven to 375°F. In a medium saucepan, sauté garlic in butter about 1 minute on medium heat. Stir in flour and cook about 2 more minutes. Stir in broth, cumin, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream, salsa verde and cilantro (if you're using it). 

Spray a 13x9-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Add about 1/2 cup sauce to the pan and spread until bottom of dish is evenly coated. 

On each tortilla, add some chicken, cheese and avocado to one end. Roll it up and place it seam-side down in pan. Pour remaining sauce over the enchiladas. Cover with 1 cup of cheese and bake uncovered about 20 minutes or until cheese is bubbling. Sprinkle the French Fried onions over the top of the casserole and bake 3-5 minutes longer until the onions are golden. 

Makes 8 servings.  

Slow Cooker Cranberry Pork Loin

Break out the slow cooker. You're going to want to try this soon! It's so easy and completely yum to the tum. 

                 

Six Sisters Stuff is to blame for this one. Here's the thing- I'm stuck in St. George and I only brought four cookbooks with me. Two of them are Six Sisters, and since I'm loving their "stuff" lately, that's what I'm cooking and blogging. Costco sells a two-pack of pork tenderloin, and within that two-pack are two tenderloins, so you're really dealing with four tenderloins per total package. Use two of the tenderloins (or one half of the total package you've purchased) for this recipe. 

I like to make my cranberry sauce (thank you OBB girls- I haven't forgotten you!). 

Slow Cooker Cranberry Pork Loin (Click to go to the original post at SSS)

3 lbs. boneless pork loin or tenderloin  

1 can (16 oz.) whole cranberry sauce (or click on the cranberry sauce link above to make your own)

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

1 T light brown sugar

1 tsp prepared yellow mustard

Place roast in a slow cooker coated with cooking spray. Combine the rest of the ingredients and pour over the roast. Cook on high 4-5 hours or on low 6-8 hours, making sure the internal temperature of the pork is 145°F. Remove roast and cover with foil while you make the sauce. 

To make the sauce, just add a little water and cornstarch to the mixture left in the crock pot. Whisk until combined. Serve with sliced pork.

I didn't thicken my sauce as I felt it was fine without the cornstarch mixture.  

Peppermint Sugar Cookies

These need to make it onto your Christmas cookie platter. I put them together three different ways and loved them all. Bake up your favorite sugar cookie recipe. I have a couple of favorite recipes that I really like. Try this one, or this one or try this one, depending on whether or not you have any sour cream or cream cheese in the house. Once you have the cookies baked, it's time for the frosting!

You can sandwich two cookies together

or you can pile some frosting on top

or you can omit the frosting and dip one edge in melted white chocolate and just sprinkle on some crushed candy canes (apologies for the weird lighting on the third photo. It was late which made for an off-red coloring). My favorite cookie was the middle option.

Peppermint Frosting

4 cups powdered sugar, divided

8 regular-sized candy canes (with more for decorating, if desired)

1 cup butter, softened

1 tsp clear vanilla extract

5-10 drops of peppermint oil (or extract to taste)

2-4 T milk

1/2 cup Cool Whip, thawed

In a food processor, add one cup of powdered sugar and the candy canes (I got that idea from my friends at OBB from this post). Pulse until you hear only small crunching sounds instead of major crunching sounds. You want the candy canes to be fairly small in size, but not turned entirely into dust particles. You can see the bits of candy in the photos. 

Cream butter for about a minute. Add the extract(s) and/or oil, and add the remaining powdered sugar (3 cups). Beat until it is well blended. It will be quite stiff at this point. Add 2 T of milk and continue beating. Check the consistency and if you want it a little thinner, add a little more milk. Fold in Cool Whip. This makes a nice light, not too sweet frosting that you can sandwich between cookies or pile on top of cookies. Then either roll the edges in crushed candy canes, or sprinkle on top of the cookie. 

To make a great tasting cookie without making the frosting, melt about 1 cup of white chocolate discs in the microwave for one minute. Stir the chocolate and melt for 30 more seconds if necessary. Dip one edge of cooled cookie into the chocolate and set on parchment paper. Immediately sprinkle with finely chopped candy canes. Let set for at least 15 minutes. 

In Time Out, Once Again

This weekend was Time Out For Women. It was held in the Maverick Center this year, for the first time. It is a bigger venue that the Salt Palace and could hold 3,000 more people, and the place was filled! Don't ask me how Cheryl and I scored front row seats for Saturday's session. It was amazing sitting dead-center in the front row. We had better seats than the presenters! This is the little art do-hickey they shined onto the floor, right at our feet.

We took a moment to take a picture and have it "framed." 

Yep, Cheryl was framed too. 

Then someone offered to take one of us together. I'm hogging the shot. Sorry, Sister. 

Friday night's first speaker was Sheri Dew. To top off the evening, Sheri interviewed Ann Romney.

On Saturday, I was thrilled to hear my very favorite singer, Hilary Weeks. See the guy behind her? That's Michael Dowdle. I have some of his cd's too. 

I could listen to Hilary's music all day. Oh wait, I DO listen to her music all day. Or at least whenever I'm in the car. Sometimes that is an all-day event.

She graciously pretended like we are friends, and she signed my cd jacket of her music.

Since we were front row goddesses, we got to hang with all the popular speakers. This is S. Michael Wilcox. He's taller than I realized. He was very generous with his time, and the women all seemed to want to chat with him. We spoke with him about three or four times. That's the perks of the front row!

Cheryl got Sheri Dew to sign her book on Friday night. She thought I grabbed my camera as we went up for the autograph. All I was doing was tucking my purse under my chair. We remedied the lack-of-photo-op on Saturday. Sheri Dew is the kindest woman when it comes to star-struck fans. But she is also rather business-like and keeps the line moving along so everyone gets a chance to hang out with her for a few moments. 

I believe this was the best time-out we've been to (although hanging out with Sara and Kate was pretty awesome). Next year I will have both of my sisters with me, and maybe even a daughter as well. We all deserve to be in Time Out! 

Snake Cookies

I have a fun cookie for you, just in time for Halloween. This can be done with any holiday color scheme, so if you are too stressed with Halloween plans, keep it in mind for Christmas, Easter, Independence Day or whatever! Make up your favorite sugar cookie recipe. If you don't have one, use this one from Our Best Bites. Once you get your dough made, separate it into however many colors you want in your cookie and tint your dough. I separated mine into four balls, and then split one ball in half so that my white and black stripes weren't as predominant as the green, purple and orange.

Now comes the fun part. Roll each color into a long rope and place them together. 

These are two feet long. 

Then slice off one inch at a time of the ropes. 

Take that one inch of dough, tip it on its side and press it together into a little circle, like this. 

Tip that circle back onto its edge and roll the dough into a "snake" about 8-10 inches long. Here's the trick- once you have it long enough, roll one end toward you and the other end away from you. This will give you a nice striped pattern.

Starting at either end, coil up the snake.

Sometimes you will see that your colors are matching up with the layer right next to them. 

If that happens (and you dislike it), just roll the tail of the snake slightly and it will eliminate that problem. 

Pick out some coordinating jimmies (sprinkles, decorettes, or whatever you want to call them) and roll the edge of the cookie in them, overlapping onto the top of the cookie a little bit. 

Bake for 8-10 minutes in a 350°F oven.

Cool on the pan for a few minutes, then move them to a cooling rack.

These would also look great as a cookie pop. 

Next time I'll make them that way and show you what I mean! Happy Halloween!