Snickers Cupcakes

Snickers Cupcakes
Idea from The Food Network Magazine Jan/Feb 2010 Issue

I recently subscribed to the Food Network Magazine. The first issue I received was filled with great ideas. I adapted their recipe for what I had on had plus I wanted to use my own creative twist.

Ingredients
your favorite chocolate cake recipe for 24 cupcakes
1 cup roasted, salted peanuts
1/2 cup caramel topping
1/2 cup chocolate melts
1/2 cup marshmallow fluff

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with cupcake liners. Prepare your favorite chocolate cupcake recipe per recipe directions. Fill cupcake liners 1/3 full with cake mixture. Sprinkle 6 to 10 peanuts over each cupcake. Drizzle caramel topping over peanuts. Fill cupcakes with additional cake mixture until 2/3 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 18 to 21 minutes. Allow cupcakes to cool completely. Mix remaining caramel topping with marshmallow fluff to resemble the nougat layer of a Snickers candy bar. Top each cupcake with "nougat". Sprinkle 6 to 10 peanuts over each cupcake. Heat chocolate melts in the microwave until melted (approximately 1 minute on high, stirring frequently). Drizzle chocolate over each cupcake. Place cupcakes in freezer for a few minutes or until chocolate hardens. Serve immediately.

S'mores Cupcakes

S'mores Cupcakes
adapted from: Annies-eats.com

I saw these cupcakes on Annies-eats.com and they looked so good. Mine didn't turn out nearly as cute but I really like the idea of using marshmallow fluff instead of an egg white meringue frosting. These cupcakes have a graham cracker crust base, chocolate cake, marshmallow fluff frosting, topped with a graham cracker or chocolate square garnish.

For the graham cracker crust:
1½ cups graham cracker crumbs
5 1/3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

For the chocolate cake:
your favorite chocolate cake recipe for 24 cupcakes

For the frosting:
2-10 oz containers of marshmallow fluff

Garnish:
graham cracker and/or chocolate pieces

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners. Blend graham cracker crumbs and melted butter in a food processor or by hand. Sccop 1 Tablespoon of the graham cracker mixture into each cupcake liner. Press mixture into bottom of each liner to form a crust. Prepare cake mixture according to your favorite recipe. Fill cupcake liners with the chocolate cake mixture until 2/3 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 18 to 21 minutes. Allow cupcakes to fully cool. It is very important to allow cupcakes to fully cool otherwise the marshmallow frosting will drip off. Top each cupcake with marshmallow fluff. Toast the marshmallow fluff with a creme brulee torch. Top with graham cracker pieces or chocolate pieces to garnish. Cupcakes should be served immediately.

Cocoa Almond Meringues

Cocoa Almond Meringues
Source: Baking: From My Home to Yours
Makes about 30 cookies

1 C. confectioner’s sugar (plus extra for dusting) *Note: I skipped the dusting
1/3 C. finely ground almonds
1/4 C. unsweetened cocoa powder
4 large egg whites, at room temperature
Pinch of salt
1/2 C. sugar
1/2 t. vanilla extract
1/3 C. finely chopped bittersweet chocolate *Note: I used semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 300. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Sift together the confectioner’s sugar, ground almonds, and cocoa. (Note: If you have a food processor, it’s incredibly easy to grind the almonds. Just toss a handful in and pulse until you have a fine meal.)

Working with a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer in a large dry bowl (make sure the bowl is impeccably clean and dry), whip the egg whites and salt on medium speed until the whites are opaque. Increase the speed to medium-high and continue to whip as you add the granulated sugar about 1 tablespoon at a time. Then whip until the whites are firm and hold stiff peaks — they should still be very shiny. Beat in the vanilla, and remove the bowl from the mixer. With a large rubber spatula, quickly but gently fold in the dry ingredients, followed by the chopped chocolate. The whites will deflate a bit as you fold in the dry ingredients — just try to work rapidly and use a light touch so you deflate them as little as possible.

Drop the meringue by tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between the mounds. Dust the tops of the cookies very lightly with powdered sugar.*

Bake for 10 minutes. Then, without opening the oven door, reduce the oven temp to 200 degrees and bake for 1 hour more. Remove the baking sheets from the oven and allow the meringues to stand in a cool, dry place (not the refrigerator) until they reach room temperature.

Carefully peel the meringues off the parchment paper. Store in an airtight tin in a cool, dry environment.

Notes: I tried to make the cookies tablespoon-sized, but I still ran out of room on my two cookie sheets and had leftover dough. I baked two cookie sheets side-by-side in the oven, but I suspect you could do one sheet on each rack. Use the racks to divide the oven into thirds first.

If you like this recipe then you might also try Snow Caps.

Breakfast Casserole

Breakfast Casserole
adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1 (2 pound) package frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed or 3 medium potatoes, skinned, shredded in a food processor, and browned in a skillet with butter
  
• 1/2 pound pork sausage
• 4 strips bacon
  
• 5 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 12 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 2 quart baking dish. Place the hash brown potatoes in the bottom of the baking dish.
2. Heat a skillet over medium heat and cook and stir the sausage until the sausage is crumbly, evenly browned, and no longer pink; drain.
   
3. Heat 4 slices of bacon in a skillet and brown on both sides. Let cool then chop into 1/2 inch pieces.
   
4. Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs, milk, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper, and pour over the potatoes. Layer with half the Cheddar cheese, the sausage and bacon, and the remaining Cheddar cheese. Cover with aluminum foil.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour. Remove cover; return casserole to the oven and bake until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 10 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Cookie Bouquet

One of my 12 Days of Christmas Treats items was a Cookie Pop. Each Cookie Pop can be given away individually or as a Cookie Bouquet. Here is a picture of one of my Cookie Bouquets.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

12 Days of Christmas Treats: Day 12

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

From: http://smittenkitchen.com

1/2 cup (1 stick or 4 ounces) butter, softened
2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt (I often use a half teaspoon, but I like more salt in my baked goods)
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together. Stir this into the butter/sugar mixture. Stir in the oats, raisins and walnuts, if using them.

At this point you can either chill the dough for a bit in the fridge and then scoop it, or scoop the cookies onto a sheet and then chill the whole tray before baking them. You could also bake them right away, if you’re impatient, but I do find that they end up slighly less thick.

The cookies should be two inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake them for 10 to 12 minutes (your baking time will vary, depending on your oven and how cold the cookies were going in), taking them out when golden at the edges but still a little undercooked-looking on top. Let them sit on the hot baking sheet for five minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool.

See's Fudge

12 Days of Christmas Treats: Day 11

See's Fudge
A friend gave me this recipe that was passed down to her through several generations in her family. Supposedly this is the original fudge recipe used by the See's Chocolate Company.

1 12 oz can evaporated milk
4 cups sugar
18 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 stick butter
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups walnuts (optional)
28 mini marshmallows

Mix and cook milk and sugar. Bring to a boil (will be frothy). Simmer on low for 10 minutes. Add and melt chocolate and butter. Add all marshmallows last. Continue to simmer on low and stir constantly until all marshmallows melt (this can take a while). Pour into tins. Allow to set and cool.

Cut into small squares and package in a box for a nice homemade Christmas gift.

This recipe is labor intensive and requires a lot of time. If you prefer a simpler fudge recipe try Jell-o Chocolate Pudding Fudge.