Gold For The Gold: Golden Oreo Pops

On Friday, our family was invited to watch the Olympics opening ceremony at a friend's house.  As I was looking through one of my Pinterest boards for a dessert idea, I came across these super easy oreo truffles.  I've been wanting to make oreo truffles and cake pops for awhile and decided this was the time to give it a try.

I pretty much followed the recipe but tweaked it slightly.  Since my friends are not huge Oreo fans (I KNOW!!!  I didn't find out until we were already good friends otherwise they might not have made the cut), I used Golden Oreos.  They turned out great and were absolutely so yummy!  You HAVE to make these and you don't need to wait for the next Olympics opening ceremony to make them.  If you NEED an excuse, you could always make them to celebrate your favorite Olympic event.  Or just because it's Monday.  I mean, Mondays are a GREAT excuse to make baked goods!

Here's what you need:

1 package Golden Double Stuff Oreos (you can use use any flavor Oreos but I recommend Double
        Stuff over the regular)
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
Wilton Candy Melts, white

I doubled this recipe.

Start by crushing the oreos with your blender or food processor.  Then add cream cheese and mix well.  I used my hands but you can use a spoon.  You can add more cream cheese but I really liked the texture and flavor of just 4 ounces cream cheese per package of oreos.

Using a 1 tbsp. scoop (I LOVE this one from Pampered Chef!), scoop cookie mixture and roll into balls.  Place on wax or parchment paper lined cookie sheet and freeze for approximately 15 minutes.  This firms the balls and allows the chocolate coating to harden faster and be less messy.

Just before taking the oreo balls out of the freezer, melt your chocolate or candy melts.  I melt mine in the microwave for approximately 2 1/2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds, until I get the melty texture I want.  Dip a lollipop stick (I use these) into the melted chocolate--just about 1/2 an inch in--and then insert stick into firm oreo ball.  Try not to insert more than 1/2 way into ball.  Then dip ball into melted chocolate to coat.  Lift ball out of chocolate and let excess chocolate drip off.  I used a spoon to cover the top of the ball and little bit of the stick.  You can see Bakerella show off her signature technique here.

Then, over another container, sprinkle the top of the pop with gold sprinkles.  Set pop on wax or parchment paper to harden.

After they were set (approximately 15-20 minutes) I attached these fabulous free Olympic printables.  I just printed them off and used my large scalloped punch to punch them out.  Then I just taped them to each stick.

These were a huge hit!  (I need try this with the Berry Burst Oreos soon.)  Go make them and then come back and tell me how they turned out.  Just, don't blame me when you can't button your pants the next morning.




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Strawberry Pie

The boys and I went strawberry picking last week.  It was so fun!  We came home with LOADS of strawberries.

And, what do you do with loads of freshly picked strawberries?  Make strawberry lemonade, strawberry smoothies, and try your hand at strawberry pie.

I'd never made a strawberry pie before but, how hard could it be?  Turns out..it's pretty easy!  I followed this recipe but used fresh strawberries, obviously, instead of frozen.  It was so YUMMY!

If you find yourself with tons of strawberries this summer, definitely try this easy pie.  My boys gobbled it up!

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French Toast Cupcakes with Maple and Bacon

Did I ever tell you that I teach 6th grade?

I do.

I LOVE it!

But, the last three weeks of school are RIDICULOUS!  I've been buried in 28 science research projects, planning the 6th grade promotion ceremony, putting together the 6th grade slideshow, writing 25 reading report cards and 28 homeroom report cards, and closing up my classroom for the summer.

It's tiring.  But so good, too.  I love the end of the school year for so many reasons.  Of course, summer vacation is obviously reason #1.  But, also, I love the end of the year because it's a time to wrap it all up, reflect on it, and think about the changes I want to make for next year.

While I continue to stalk teacher blogs and teacher pinterest boards, you need to make these cupcakes.  I made them in May for my son's school's staff for Teacher Appreciation Week.  They are so yummy with the saltiness of the bacon offsetting the sweet of the maple buttercream.  Delish!

You can download the recipe from Scribd here.

French Toast Cupcakes with Maple & Bacon Buttercream

1 box white cake mix (I prefer Pillsbury)
3 eggs
½ cup butter, melted
2 tsp cinnamon plus spice mix from pampered chef or 1 ½ tsp cinnamon and ½ tsp nutmeg
5-7 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
On low for one minute, beat cake mix, eggs, butter, and cinnamon.  Increase speed to med-high and beat for one more minute or until batter is smooth.  Do not overmix.  Scoop into lined cupcake pan filling cups 2/3 full.  Bake for 22-24 minutes.  Cool in pan for 5 minutes before moving to cooking rack.  Top with maple buttercream and crumbled bacon.

Maple Buttercream

1 C butter softened
1 ½ tsp vanilla
5 c. powdered sugar
2-3 tsp maple extract
Cream butter, maple extract, and vanilla well.  Start with 2 tsp. extract and add more as necessary.  Add powdered sugar one cup at a time, beating well between each cup.

Enjoy!
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Rocky Road Cupcakes

HEY!  Guess what?

I'm still here!

Shocking, I know.  Sorry for the silence.  It's been a crazy busy month.  I have made approximately 40 dozen cupcakes this month.  Plus both of my boys had soccer practice and games and by the time the dust settled, I was EXHAUSTED!

But, I'm back.  And I have some fabulous cupcakes to share with you today.  I promise to not ALWAYS post cupcakes but...it's kind of my thang.

I was asked a few weeks ago to make rocky road cupcakes for the husband of a wonderful teacher at my younger son's preschool.  I did but then she went on vacation for a week so I just today got feedback from her.  Her husband LOVED them!  So, know I feel good about sharing them with you all.

See that oozing marshmallow?  YUM!

You can follow along below or download the recipe from scribd here.


Rocky Road Cupcakes

Pre-heat oven to 350°
1 box chocolate cake mix (I prefer Pillsbury)
3 eggs
½ cup butter, melted
1 cup water
3 tbs dutch-process cocoa powder
marshmallow fluff
sliced almonds
mini marshmallows

On low for one minute, beat cake mix, eggs, butter, water and cocoa powder. Increase speed to med-high and beat for one more minute or until batter is smooth. Do not overmix. Scoop into lined cupcake pan filling cups 2/3 full. Bake for 22-24 minutes. Cool in pan for 5 minutes before moving to cooking rack.

Using a cupcake corer or small paring knife, cut a hole in the center of the cupcakes. Fill with marshmallow fluff and top with almonds.

Top cupcakes with chocolate buttercream, mini marshmallows, and more sliced almonds.


Chocolate Buttercream

1 CUP BUTTER, SOFTENED
4 CUPS POWDERED SUGAR
1 CUP DUTCH PROCESS COCOA
½- ¾ CUP HEAVY CREAM

Beat butter in a large bowl. Add powdered sugar and cocoa. Beat until mixed, adding cream in small amounts until buttercream is the right texture. I really go by feel on this.

These are very full cupcakes.  You might need a fork and a plate.  Or, you could just scarf it down as fast as possible and lick your fingers when you're done.  That's what I'd do.  Save yourself the trouble of washing an extra dish.

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Banana Caramel Cupcakes with Browned Butter Frosting

That title does not even BEGIN to describe these cupcakes.  They're really Dulce de Leche Filled Banana Cupcakes with Browned Butter Cream Cheese Frosting.

Help me!  These are AH-MAZ-ING!

I discovered these scrumptious beauties here and knew I HAD to try these.  I've tweaked the recipe and you can download it from Scribd here or just keep reading.


First, I made really yummy banana cupcakes.

Pre-heat oven to 350°
1 box white cake mix (I prefer Pillsbury)
3 eggs
½ cup butter, melted
1 cup mashed ripe banana

On low for one minute, beat cake mix, eggs, butter, and bananas.  Increase speed to med-high and beat for one more minute or until batter is smooth.  Do not overmix.  Scoop into lined cupcake pan filling cups 2/3 full.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Cool in pan for 5 minutes before moving to cooking rack.

Then, I used my handy dandy cupcake corer, purchased here, to pull the middle out of the cupcakes and then filled them with creamy, delicious dulce de leche.

They're not pretty but who cares?  They'll have mounds of yummy, creamy, delicious browned butter cream cheese frosting on them.  And, everyone will be so busy scarfing the whole thing down, they won't care what it looked like before the heavenly frosting was piped on.

Then, I made the best browned butter and added it to some tasty cream cheese frosting.  It was so easy! 

1 C BUTTER
3 TSP VANILLA
16 OUNCES CREAM CHEESE, SOFTENED
12 C POWDERED SUGAR
APPROXIMATELY ¼ C HEAVY CREAM

Melt butter over medium heat until it browns.  Watch it because it goes from brown to burned quickly!  Let butter cool approximately 20-30 minutes.  Add butter to cream cheese.  Cream butter, cream cheese, and vanilla well.  Add powdered sugar one cup at a time, beating well between each cup.  As the mixture gets stiffer, add small amounts of cream and continue mixing.

Finally, I topped each one with a yummy caramel cream candy.

These cupcakes are HEAVEN!  Have I said that already?  Yes?  Good.  I MEAN IT!  Go make them now.  Go.  NOW!

Sorry, I don't mean to be so bossy.  I can't help it.  It's the "only-child who's also a teacher" in me.  Sometimes it just sneaks out.  But seriously, go make these and then tell me what you think.


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Mimosa cupcakes

Orange cupcakes.  Buttercream.  Champagne.  What could be better?

OK, if they were calorie-negative, THAT could be better.  But, they're not.

My wonderful sister-in-law asked me to make these so she could treat her colleagues this morning.  These are so yummy!  This was my first time making these and I'm so happy with how they turned out.

You can download the recipe here.



Mimosa Cupcakes

1 box white cake mix (I prefer Pillsbury)
3 eggs
½ cup butter, melted
1 cup orange juice

Preaheat oven to 350.  On low for one minute, beat cake mix, eggs, butter, and juice.  Increase speed to med-high and beat for one more minute or until batter is smooth.  Do not overmix.  Scoop into lined cupcake pan filling cups 2/3 full.  Bake for 22-24 minutes.  Cool in pan for 5 minutes before moving to cooking rack.  Top with champagne buttercream.

Champagne Buttercream

1 cup butter, softened
1 ½ tsp. vanilla
5 cups powdered sugar
6 tbl. champagne

Cream butter, champagne, and vanilla well.  Add powdered sugar one cup at a time, beating well between each cup.

 Enjoy!

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Salted Caramel Chocolate Cupcakes

I'm warning you now.  These are sinful!  The coarse salt offsets the sweet caramel and chocolate curls perfectly.  I could eat this buttercream with a spoon.

You NEED to make these right now and then devour 3 of them before anyone in your house notices that you're baking.  You will NOT regret it.

Well, ok, so you might think twice about it tomorrow morning when you step on the scale but these cupcakes are worth it.  I promise.

I have to give credit to Kate of Grin and Bake It for her caramel recipe that I tweaked for this caramel buttercream.

You can download the recipe from Scribd here.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Cupcakes

1 box chocolate cake mix (I prefer Pillsbury)
3 eggs
½ cup butter, melted
1 cup water
3 tbs dutch-process cocoa powder

On low for one minute, beat cake mix, eggs, butter, water and cocoa powder.  Increase speed to med-high and beat for one more minute or until batter is smooth.  Do not overmix.  Scoop into lined cupcake pan filling cups 2/3 full.  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.  Cool in pan for 5 minutes before moving to cooking rack.


Salted Caramel Buttercream  adapted from Grin and Bake It (she has pics of the caramel that I found helpful my first time through)

½ CUP SUGAR
2 TBS WATER
¼ CUP HEAVY CREAM
 1 ½ TSP VANILLA
1 CUP BUTTER, SOFTENED
5 CUPS POWDERED SUGAR

ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS:

FRAN’S CARAMEL (or your favorite caramel sauce)
COARSE SALT
CHOCOLATE CURLS (I get mine at a local kitchen shop but you could make your own or just use shaved chocolate)
Stir sugar and water in a small pan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Continue cooking, without stirring, until mixture turns dark amber in color, about 5 minutes. Do NOT stir it.  Remove from heat and slowly add in cream and vanilla (start with a few spoonfuls), stirring until completely smooth. Set aside until cool to the touch.

Beat butter in a large bowl.  Add powdered sugar and about 1/3-1/2 of caramel.  Beat until mixed, adding caramel in small amounts until buttercream is the right texture.  I really go by feel on this.  All of the caramel is a little too much but I use ¾ or more of it.
Pipe onto cupcakes.  Working with 4 cupcakes at a time, drizzle Fran’s Caramel (or your favorite caramel sauce) over the top.  I find that I have to soften it a little in the microwave first.  Sprinkle a pinch of coarse salt over cupcakes and then sprinkle chocolate curls on top.

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Guinness cupcakes with chocolate ganache and Bailey's Irish Cream buttercream

Whew!  That's a long title.  Good thing these are amazing cupcakes!

My youngest son turned 4 this week.  4!  I swear I just birthed him a few months ago.  I keep trying to convince my boys to stop growing up but they are really bad listeners and just keep growing anyway.

His birthday party is today.  St. Patrick's Day.  Since I believe in equally sugar-highs for adults and kids, I make "adult cupcakes" for my boys' birthday parties.  The kids get their birthday-theme-related cupcakes and the parents get a little "thanks for bringing your kid to my kid's party" cupcake.  Because it's St. Patrick's Day, I decided the best cupcake for today's shindig is a Guinness chocolate cupcake filled with chocolate ganache and topped with Bailey's Irish Cream buttercream.

I've never made ganache before so I searched the internet and found several highly recommended recipes and started tweaking them.  My primary sources of inspiration were The Mess Pot and Red Shallot Kitchen.

One thing I learned about ganache-you can't rush it.  Boiling the cream takes no time at all but waiting for it to cool is an exercise in patience, my friends.  I used the refrigerator to help with the cooling process and that worked great.  Just be sure to stir it every 10ish minutes until it's almost the thickness you're looking for.  It will set up a little more after you remove it from the fridge.

You can download the recipe from my Scribd account here.

Guinness chocolate cupcakes with Bailey’s buttercream 

Pre-heat oven to 350°
1 box chocolate cake mix (I prefer Pillsbury)
3 eggs
½ cup butter, melted
1 cup Guinness
3 tbs dutch-process cocoa powder
Heat Guinness in microwave for 3 ½ minutes, stirring after each minute.  On low for one minute, beat cake mix, eggs, butter, Guinness, and cocoa powder.  Increase speed to med-high and beat for one more minute or until batter is smooth.  Do not overmix.  Scoop into lined cupcake pan filling cups 2/3 full.  Bake for 22-24 minutes.  Cool in pan for 5 minutes before moving to cooking rack.  Once completely cooled, use a cupcake corer (this one's mine and I LOVE it!), 1 inch round cookie cutter, or a small knife to cut the middle out of each cupcake.

Chocolate Ganache                   

2/3 C HEAVY CREAM
8 OZ. SEMI-SWEET BAKING CHOCOLATE, CHOPPED INTO PIECES
2 TBS BUTTER, SOFTENED AND CUT INTO PIECES
OPTIONAL: 2-3 TSP BAILEY’S IRISH CREAM

Place chocolate pieces in heat proof bowl.  Heat cream on stove top until boiling then pour over chocolate.  Let sit for one minute then slowly stir until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.  If needed, you can microwave cream and chocolate for 1-2 minutes to speed up the melting process.  Add butter and Bailey’s and stir again slowly, until smooth.  At this point, you need to let it cool until thickened.  You can either leave it on the counter for approximately 3 hours, stirring occasionally or put in the fridge for about one hour, stirring every 10 minutes.  Place heaping scoops of ganache in a piping bag, snip off the end, and fill cupcakes with ganache.

Bailey’s Buttercream                     

1 C BUTTER, SOFTENED
1 ½ TSP VANILLA
5 C POWDERED SUGAR
6-7 TBS BAILEY’S IRISH CREAM

Cream butter and vanilla well.  Add powdered sugar one cup at a time, beating well between each cup.  As the mixture gets stiffer, add small amounts of Bailey’s and continue mixing.  You can add heavy cream if you’d like but I just stick with the Bailey’s.

If you make these, let me know what you think.  I'm hoping everyone likes them this afternoon because I think they're heavenly.  (And, I don't even like Guinness.)

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