Caramel Shortbread Brownie Bars

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 Caramel is certainly in my top 3 favorite snack flavors. Patrick, however, doesn't "like" it...I find it absurd. But since he doesn't like it, I rarely make things that are super caramel-y. I think I am going to just make them anyway from now on. He actually doesn't even eat most of the things I make anyway! CRAZY TALK, I know. So anyway, I made these super delicious bars. I was very pleased with them.

This is what they SHOULD look like...

This is what MINE looked like (again because I am impatient and cut them while they were hot...heh..I also used the wrong chocolate so mine were flatter..still just as yummy though!)

(makes about 24)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups (3/4 lb.) butter
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 12 ounces individually wrapped soft caramels, such as Kraft
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 10 ounce bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

• - Cut 1 cup butter into chunks. In the bowl of a food processor, combine 2 cups flour, 1/2 cup sugar, cornstarch, and the butter chunks. Whirl until dough comes together. Press evenly over the bottom of a buttered 9- by 13-inch baking pan. Bake in a 325° regular or convection oven until top feels dry and is just beginning to brown, about 25 minutes. Let cool completely.
• -Meanwhile, unwrap caramels and place in a microwave-safe bowl with milk. Cook in a microwave oven on full power (100%) for 1 minute. Stir mixture, then cook and stir at 30-second intervals until melted and smooth, about 3 minutes longer. Spread caramel mixture evenly over cooled crust and chill until firm, about 20 minutes.
• -In a large bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water (bottom of bowl should not touch water), stir chocolate and remaining 1/2 cup butter often until melted and smooth. Remove bowl from over water and, with a whisk or a mixer on medium speed, beat in remaining 3/4 cup sugar, eggs, and vanilla until well blended. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup flour, baking powder, and salt until well blended.
• -Pour chocolate mixture over caramel layer and use a knife or spatula to spread level, completely covering caramel.
• -Bake in a 350° regular or convection oven until a wooden skewer inserted into the chocolate layer comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes.

Oreo Truffles!

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 EASY. SO EASY! I will definitely be making these again! They took basically no effort at all and were so so yummy.

You could even make these into Easter truffles, by using white bark and coloring pastel colors ;)

Ingredients:

1 (1 lb.) pkg. Oreo cookies (don't use double-stuffed)
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, at room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
16 oz. chocolate bark

Instructions:
1. Break Oreos slightly and add them, cream and all, to a food processor or blender.

2. Grind until Oreo crumbs resemble something like coarse coffee grinds.

3. Dump Oreo crumbs into a bowl and add cream cheese and vanilla.

4. With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat Oreo mixture until well mixed. You can also do this by hand.

5. Cover and refrigerate about 45 minutes to an hour.

6. With your hands, shape into small eggs (about 1 1/2" long). Place eggs on waxed paper and refrigerate another hour.

7. When ready to dip, melt chocolate bark. 

8. Spear each Oreo egg with a toothpick and dip in white chocolate. Allow the excess to drip away. Place gently on waxed paper.

9. Let sit 15-20 minutes to set. Decorate with drizzled chocolate as desired. Cover and store in the refrigerator until ready to eat. They taste even better the next day!

Cookie Dough Cupcakes!

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 Omg. This isn't the first time I have made the delicious cookie dough filled cupcake. It was however, the first time that I decided to make cookie dough truffles and add them to the top as well. So you have the cake with a cookie dough ball stuffed inside, icing, and another cookie dough truffle on top. Heaven. The best part is there are no eggs, so you don't have to worry about getting salmonella and pooping your pants from indulging in the ever so delicious cookie batter! That's a plus!
 I don't know how many calories are in this bad boy, and I don't want to know!

I made the cookie dough filling/truffle balls first because you have to let them chill before forming the balls because they are so sticky. Oh and another thing I have learned with this recipe is you can fill the cake pretty high in the liner because they don't get all crazy big.

(makes 24)
Cupcakes:
- 3 Sticks unsalted butter, room temp
- 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 2 2/3 cup flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup of milk
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup chocolate chips

Filling/truffles:
- 8 TBL unsalted butter, room temp
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 1/4 cup flour
- 1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup choc chips
- package of chocolate melts

Frosting:
- 3 sticks unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 3 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
- 1 cup flour
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 3 TBL milk
- 2 1/2 tsp vanilla

Filling/truffle directions:
As I stated, I made the dough balls first. Combine butter and sugar and cream until fluffy. Add flour, condensed milk and vanilla. Fold in the chocolate chips.Cover, put in freezer for about 45 minutes.
Roll out the balls..I rolled out 24 and put them in the fridge. With the remainder, I made the truffles. Do do so, just melt the chocolate melts, and dip! Once dipped, I added those to the fridge as well and started working on the cake.

Cupcake directions:
 Preheat over to 350 F. Line cupcake pans. (makes 24). Combine butter and brown sugar about 3 minutes. Mix in eggs, 1 at a time. Scrape sides of bowl as needed.

Combine the dry ingredients in separate bowl. Add to the butter/sugar mix, alternating with the milk, starting with the dry ingredients and ending with the dry ingredients.

Add vanilla, then fold in chocolate chips.

Add batter to the liners and bake for about 18 minutes. (depending on your over anywhere from 18 to 20)

When finished baking, take out and let cool completely. Once cool, cut a cone shape out of each cupcake and fill whole with a cookie dough ball, and then add the top back to the cupcake. They might look a little weird, but you won't be able to tell once the frosting is on, don't worry!!

Frosting:
Mix butter and brown sugar. Add the confectioners' sugar, the the flour. Add the salt, then milk, then vanilla.

Strawberry Banana Smoothie!

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 Just sharing my most favorite smoothie recipe. No biggie. I drink this pretty much every day for lunch.

(makes about 2)

- 2 cups strawberries
- 2 bananas
- 1 cup vanilla yogurt
- 1 cup of ice
- pineapple juice (I just eye ball it...I probably use a 1/2 cup though)

Blend..enjoy!

Easter Carrot Cakes Balls/Pops

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  These are so freaking cute!!! I used a carrot cake box mix, and made homemade cream cheese frosting. Food colored some white melts and sprinkled coconut on top!!!

 -Make carrot cake as directed on box

Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 4 oz soft unsalted butter
- 4 oz soft cream cheese
- 2 cups confect. sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla

- Mix cream cheese and butter, add sugar, then vanilla


You make these the same as the chocolate cake pops I posted last week. I am being lazy and don't feel like retyping it! Ha...it's one of those days!

I would recommend keeping these in the fridge after making until enjoying because of the cream cheese...mine were pretty soft and needed to be..

Can't wait to be back in Austin!

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Cotton Candy Cupcakes

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 First let's start of with the fact that I want this

I think it is going to be added to my wishlist...I am already hinting around the fact that I NEED a red old fashion pop corn maker for my kitchen..hint hint...so maybe once I get that, I can then get a cotton candy maker...it would be heaven, really.

 Cotton candy makes me really happy. It's fluffy, cute,and pink! (Although I had forgotten how gross and annoying it gets on your fingers after eating a few bites...I hate being sticky,blah)..Anyway, so I made cotton candy cupcakes! I used my go-to buttercream cake and frosting recipe...it's seriously the best cupcake in the world, in my opinion. I added cotton candy to the icing and then on top of the cupcakes. If you are SUPER serious about cotton candy, it would also be quite delicious to add cotton candy flavoring to it! I had only thought of that AFTER I started making them, and I don't have cotton candy flavoring just laying around...although I probably should?

 I became very irritated while making these cupcakes. I bought these cute liners from Michael's Craft store, I was thinking to myself, WOW these would be perfect for my cotton candy cupcakes! WELL, they weren't. Upon opening them, I noticed they were very thin, and I questioned whether or not to put a liner inside these cute pink liners. I read the box and it said just to fill with batter-BIG mistake. After taking the cupcakes out, they looked greasy :( wah wah. Cupcake aesthetics is more important to me than actual taste sometimes, so that really put me in a nasty mood. The SECOND thing to piss me off is that the cupcakes look way darker in my photos than they did in real life. I feel like the cotton candy-ness was not captured, haa. We can blame that on my location, "Dreary Erie". I usually take my photos in daylight because they look best, but since it was dark and snowing when it should have been pretty and sunny, my photos paid the price.

 So other than my two complaints, they tasted delicious, and I knew they would. It' not my favorite recipe for nothing.

Buttercream Cupcake
Ingredients:
-1 3/4 cup cake flour
-1 1/4 cup flour
-2 cups sugar
-1 TBL bkg powder
-3/4 tsp salt
-1 cup (2 sticks unsalted butter,room temp)
-4 large eggs(room temp)
-1 cup milk
-1 tsp vanilla (i use a little more)

350 degrees,20 to 25 min.
 A mixer with a paddle attachment really does wonders with this recipe, it makes them perfect!
-Combine all dry ingredients
-Add cubed butter to dry ingredients and mix until covered
-Whisk eggs,milk and vanilla separately,add in 3 parts to butter/flour mixture, mix well
-Bake!

Since I use this recipe a lot, I have really figured out how it bakes..I like giant cupcakes, so I fill them 2/3 full...if you do not want them so big, only fill about half way!

Best Buttercream Frosting(with cotton candy added)
Ingredients:
-2 sticks of unsalted butter(room temp)
-6 to 8 cups confectioner's sugar
-1/2 cup milk
-1 tsp vanilla

-start by creaming the butter(mix well)
-once creamed, add sugar, I usually use 7 cups..add gradually
-add vanilla
-then add milk (you can use more or less milk depending on how you want your frosting to be)
-in this case, add a cup or so of broken up cotton candy
-and pipe cupcakes!

*Ok, now I am not implying any of you would do this, BUT I DID..DO NOT add cotton candy to tops until you want to serve, or eat them! I wasn't thinking and put the cotton candy on top right away last night, and was planning on giving them to people today, and the cupcake sucked up all the cotton candy :(( Just a little pointer!*