Ballin'

These have been floating around the blogosphere... Have you seen it???
Cake Balls...Brownie Balls

I saw this post and knew I had to try it. I am thinking of doing them for a baby shower for my friend. These would be cute as mock baby rattles.

Ingredients:
1 13"x9" cake, baked as directed (I used chocolate but you could use any cake)
16 oz. cream cheese frosting
Candy wafers in a few different colors
lollipop sticks

1. Make cake and let cool. Crumble cake in a bowl and add cream cheese frosting.
2. Form into balls. (I also thought of finding a pan that would keep the form of the ball on the bottom so it would not be flat)
3. Put into freezer for at least 30 minutes or in the fridge for a few hours.
4. Insert stick
5. Melt Chocolate and dip them, tap off excess chocolate on the side of bowl.

These turned out really good actually. I was quite pleased. They are SUPER easy to make and worth it!

Some tips from my experience:
---I left the balls in the freezer for quite a few hours. So you can leave them for however long you want.
---You can do any combination of cake and frosting. Just watch the consistency as you are adding your frosting so it is not to wet or to dry.
--- You can also do this with brownies, and mix it with some cream cheese frosting.
--- Someone commented that Michael's has a pan/mold that you can cook the brownies in with out adding frosting that are already formed into balls. I am just unsure as to how those would hold up. I am sure you would still have to freeze them so the chocolate would not crumble them.
--- For me...one cake mix made approximately 30 balls. I also only needed one 1lb. bag of the chocolate melts to cover them all.

So here are some blogs that I have seen with these...check them out...give it a try and let me know how you liked them.

Or so she says: offers GREAT step by step instructions and pictures
Be Different...Act Normal: addresses using brownies instead of cake...YUM!
All Recipes: this one shows that you dont have to use a lollipop stick...hmm...I like this idea as well....
The Pioneer Women
Bakerella: she has made a few of these...more great ideas on how to decorate them HERE too...Get creative!

I think they would be perfect for any occasion!

Vanilla Bean and Orange Cupcakes

My Mom and I made these amazing cupcakes Friday night. This was a bigger task than we imagined but we had a lot of fun. We doubled the cupcake recipe as the recipe only makes 12-14. The frosting recipe makes a lot so we actually made another dessert with the leftover frosting. Vanilla Beans are expensive (I did not know this) so instead of doing 4 in the cupcake batter we did 3 and only 1 in the frosting, thus saving $10.00. We also decided we would add more salt probably double what it calls for. Also, START with the frosting. It is a long process so start with that so it is done by the time the cupcakes are completed. Try them out...they were delicious!

Vanilla Bean and Orange Cupcakes

4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 vanilla beans, split and scraped
1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
2 large eggs
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

**Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Cream butter for about 3 minutes, then slowly add the sugar, vanilla seeds, and orange zest and continue to beat until the mixture is pale and fluffy. With mixer running, add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl.

**Combine cream, orange juice, and vanilla extract in a small bowl. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture to butter mixture in 3 batches, alternating with cream mixture, ending with flour; beat until just combined. Make sure you are scraping down the sides of the bowl between additions.


**Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each 3/4 full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until testers inserted in the centers come out clean, about 25 minutes.

Magnolia Bakery creamy vanilla frosting (makes enough for 3 dozen generously frosted cupcakes)

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
2 vanilla beans, split and scraped (my addition)
2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar (I only use superfine baker's sugar for this recipe)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Zest of one orange (my addition for this particular cupcake)

**In a medium-size saucepan, whisk the flour into the milk until smooth. Do this by adding a tiny bit of milk to the flour, whisking it into a thick paste and then slowly adding a bit more and stirring until it is all incorporated. This takes a bit of time, but if you try to do it too quickly you will end up with a lumpy mixture that is even more of a hassle. If using vanilla beans, add them here. Place over medium heat and, stirring constantly, cook until the mixture becomes very thick and begins to bubble, 10-15 minutes. Cover with waxed paper placed directly on the surface and cool to room temperature.

**In a large bowl, on the medium high speed of an electric mixer, beat the butter for 3 minutes, until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the sugar, beating continuously for 3 minutes until fluffy. Add the vanilla and beat well. Add orange zest if desired.

**Add the cooled milk mixture, and continue to beat on the medium high speed for 5 minutes, until very smooth and noticeably whiter in color. Cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes before using.

These were so good!!!! Thanks Mom for making them with me, so Fun! They were delicious!

Oh this is DANGEROUS!

5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE
4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
A small splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly.
Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.
Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again.
Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts.
The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed!
Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.
EAT! (this can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous).


We liked it but found that it tasted kind of bland and rubbery. So we decided to try an alternative experiment.

5 Minute Cake Mix Cake
1/2 cup Cake Mix
1 egg
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup oil

Follow the same directions as above. We spiced it up with some powdered sugar.

ENJOY!

Seven Layer Dip

I had a potluck on Friday for the superbowl and made 7 layer dip.
It was soo good and soo easy!

Layers:
2 cans of refried beans
Guacomole
8 oz. sour cream mixed with 1/2 a package of Taco Seasoning
Cheese
Green Onions
Tomatoes
Olives

Many people commented on how pretty it looked... That is all thanks to my mom, she likes when things go to the edges ( I agree!) Thanks for helping!

Sugared Bacon Smokies

These are so good. And so so easy!

Ingredients
Lit'l smokies
Bacon
Brown sugar

Cut the bacon into thirds and wrap around a lil smokie. Secure with a toothpick. Line on a foil covered cookie sheet and cover with at least 1 pound of brown sugar. Cook at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. They are so good and would be great as a Superbowl snack!
Let me know how you like them!

Honey Bun Cake

We made this from a recipe I found here!

-Ingredients-
1 box yellow cake mix
4 eggs
3/4 cup oil
8 oz sour cream
-Filling-
1 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon
-Icing-
2 cups powdered sugar
4 Tbsp milk
1 Tbsp vanilla

I tweeked it a bit and instead of doing icing we did a crumb topping so it turned out to be more of a crumb cake...
-Crumb Topping-
1/4 C. butter
1/2 C. sugar
3/4 C. Flour
(we also added in a bit of the cinnamon and brown sugar mixture)

Cook at 325 degrees for 30-40 minutes...

Its delicious...Try it and let me know how you like it!

Crownies

It's not quite brownies and not quite cake. Therefore we decide to call them Crownies. And the they will be called Crownies. And they shall be my Crownies. ok...sidetracked...

The Ingredients

1 cup margarine, melted

1 cup water

3 rounded Tbsp. cocoa

Boil above ingredients and let cool.

Add to cocoa mixture:

2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

2 cups white sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup sour cream

Bake in large cookie sheet at 350F for 20 minutes.

Icing:

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1/3 cup margarine/butter, melted and cooled

3 Tbsp. cocoa
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla and mix well.

Pour over cake while still warm. Enjoy!