Another cupcake recipe

Ok I am in love with this book! 101 Gourmet Cupcakes in 10 minutes I would recommend it to anyone! I have tried several of the recipes and LOVED every one! I have to post just one more, which is my current favorite. Chocolate Peanut butter cup! TO DIE FOR! I gave up some of these babies(because I would have eaten all 24 had I not) and everyone I gave them to said the same thing TO DIE FOR! Try them for yourself. There is a whole Reese's Peanut butter cup hiding inside! Super easy and super yummy! If you like cupcakes, this book is for you!



Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes

1 box chocolate cake mix (I used the chocolate fudge)
3 eggs
1 cup milk
1 bag chocolate peanut butter cups (a regular bag only has 14 cups in it.. so I bought 3 of the 8 packs, had as many as I needed and it was about the same price as the bag)

Mix together cake mix, eggs, and milk. Pour 2 tablespoons of batter into paper liners and place a peanut butter cup on top then fill liners 3/4 full with more batter. Bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes or until the cake springs back when lightly touched. Remove from oven and allow to cool on wire rack. Frost when completely cooled.

Peanut butter frosting
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup butter, room temp.
2 cups powdered sugar
3-4 TBSP milk or cream
1 tsp vanilla

Combine peanut butter and butter in a large bowl, mixing together until light and fluffly. Stop mixer and add sugar, 3 tablespoons milk and vanilla. Start slow and mix together, gradually increasing the speed. Mix until smooth and creamy. Add 1 tablespoon milk if frosting is too thick.

A yummy treat!

Ok, so I know this is suppose to be a dinner blog. But I occasionally have to post a treat! What's life without treats right? I have been wanting to make these cute little things since I saw them over at picky palate, but I needed to save them for when we had guests over.. or I knew I would end up eating them all by myself. (My hubby is not big on treats) So, we had some friends come over tonight for dinner and so it was the perfect time to make them. Oh my goodness they are truly yummy! They take some time to make but are pretty easy, and well worth it. One way to save some $ on this treat is to buy your vanilla wafers at the dollar store. When I saw them at Walmart for nearly $4, I just had to try the dollar store. Sure enough they had them and they tasted just fine!


Peanut Butter-Finger Mini Cheesecakes

1 Cup ground Vanilla Wafers
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons butter
1/8 teaspoon salt

8 oz softened cream cheese
1/4 Cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 Cup sugar
1 egg
2 Tablespoons heavy cream
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 Fun Size Butterfinger Candy Bars, crushed

1 Cup semi sweet chocolate chips
2-3 Tablespoons heavy cream

2 Fun Size Butterfinger, crushed

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place cookie crumbs, sugar, butter and salt into a bowl; mix to combine. Spoon mixture into bottoms of mini cheese cake pan or mini cupcake pan(I used the mini cupcake pan with excellent results)and press. Bake for 10 minutes and remove from oven.

2. Reduce heat to 300 degrees F. In a stand or electric mixer, beat cream cheese and peanut butter until smooth. Beat sugar, egg, cream and salt until well combined. Slowly stir in crushed Butterfinger. Evenly pour batter over baked crust. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until cheesecake is set. Let cool for 2 hours, then remove from pan.

3. Melt chocolate chips in microwave in 30 second intervals until smooth. Stir in cream until smooth and glossy. If needed, return back to microwave for 15 seconds or so until smooth. Spoon over tops of cakes then sprinkle crushed butterfinger over top.

Enjoy!

A Treat - Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies

I know this blog is for dinners but what is dinner without the occasional desert? Well, I wouldn't know.. I don't make sweets too often anymore because my hubby will rarely eat them. Sad, I know! I usually just go for a pint of Ben and Jerry's Phish Food(best flavor ever) and call it good. I do love to bake though and my toddler loves to help! So, after my husbands grandma told me about these cookies I thought I would give them a try. Afterall, I do love chocolate and marshmallow together. I think they are pretty good, but they sparked an idea that I am going to be trying out and if it's good I will post it later. They are pretty chocolatey so I would have a glass of milk close by. :)


Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies

1 3/4 c flour
1/2 tsp soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c cocoa
1/2 c shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 c milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c nuts(I'm not a fan of nuts.. So I didn't use them)
Marshmallows
Chocolate frosting(I was lazy and just bought some)

Cream shortening sugar and eggs. Add dry ingredients and milk alternately. Add vanilla and nuts. Drop teaspoon full of dough onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 9 min. Take out of the oven and press 1/2 of a marshmallow into cookie. Return to oven and cook an additional 2 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for a minute on the baking sheet, then remove to wire rack. Let cool a little bit more and frost with chocolate frosting. This is a little tricky.. I put some of the frosting in the middle of the marshmallow and gently worked my way out to the edge of the cookie. Enjoy!

Next up from me : Baked Spaghetti