Cinco de Meg-o and Sombrero Cookies

That's right. I may have just made my own holiday. I'm clever like that. Maybe you saw a little of my inspiration here, maybe you didn't. In any case, we had a great party this weekend to celebrate our birthdays (Zach's was a couple weeks ago), the end of busy season, and Cinco de Mayo (ahem, Meg-o). 

I had fun going all out Cinco de Mayo... I cut up some brightly colored tissue paper and attached it to some yarn to make some pretty garland to put up around the house. We even caught the Derby on TV - way to go, I'll Have Another. It really is pretty exciting for those two minutes!

I've been waiting to use these empty cans for something for a while now. The perfect size to hold some silverware. I just added some scrapbook paper to the outside to make them a little more festive. A great (and cheap!) way to add a little color.  

I even added a little colorful paper around the little cacti pots too. I got them for about $3/each at Home Depot. I love how colorful and tiny they are!

Probably my favorite thing was the Sombrero Cookies! Aren't they cute? I used my trusty Sugar Cookie recipe - it never fails! After you let the cookies cool, just add a little vanilla frosting around the outside and then a small circle in the middle (I used store bought frosting and put it in a bag). Turn it upside down and dip in a plate full of sprinkles until its covered. Then I added a dot more of frosting in the middle and put on the gum drop for a little mini sombrero. Ay ay ay!

I bought a yard of colorful fabric to make a table runner. Anything to add color for the festivities!

We served Salsa Chicken Tacos and they were delicious! Super easy too - in the crock pot, just add chicken breast, salsa and some onions. Mmmmhmmm. Such a fun party and my favorite food too. Any excuse to be a little creative and get together with friends!

Did you have a good weekend? Do any celebrating for Cinco de Mayo or maybe the Derby? 

Chai Latte Cupcakes

I don't usually make cupcakes, but had to try these out. It's my friend's recipe and they are delicious (Thanks, Sutira!). It's a little complex for me - lots and lots of steps! I guess I'm just not used to making cupcakes and frosting from scratch (box mix is much easier! and faster!) but it was well worth it for these ones.

Chai Latte Cupcakes

// 350 degrees // 15-18 minutes // makes about 12 regular cupcakes //

Chai Spice Mixture

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

1 teaspoon ground ginger 

1 teaspoon ground cloves 

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom 

Combine the spices together in a small bowl.

(FYI - cardamom is super expensive... like $12 for a little itty bit. So being on the spending diet that we are, I ended up using about 1/4 teaspoon each of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and allspice. It's not an exact substitute for cardamom, but I think it did the trick.)

Vanilla Chai Cupcakes

1 ½ cups cake flour 

1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder 

½ teaspoon salt 

2 teaspoons chai spice mixture 

½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature 

1 cup sugar 

1 egg plus 2 egg whites 

½ cup whole milk 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees 

2. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners

3. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together into a medium bowl

4. Stir in the chai spice mixture

5. Cream the butter and sugar together in a stand mixer with paddle attachment on medium speed until soft and creamy

6. Add in egg and egg whites, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition to combine before adding the next

7. Add in the flour mixture and milk mixture in three alternating additions, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Beat just to combine each addition before adding the next

8. Using a spoon or a cookie scoop, fill each cupcake liner about ¾ full with batter

9. Bake in oven for 15 to 18 minutes

Now for the frosting... I've never made buttercream or meringue before, so this was interesting. A lot of work if you ask me (and a lot of butter!) but it was pretty darn tasty.

Swiss Meringue Honey Buttercream

Ingredients

3/4 cup sugar 

2 teaspoons honey 

4 large egg whites 

1 ½ cups unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into 1-in pieces 

1 tablespoon vanilla extract 

Directions

1. Combine the sugar, honey, and egg whites in a medium metal bowl and place over a pan of simmering water

2. Whisk the sugar mixture constantly over heat until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture looks smooth and shiny. Continue whisking until the mixture reaches 160 degrees

3. Remove mixture from heat and pour into a stand mixer bowl. Whisk on medium speed for about 5 minutes until the mixture has cooled

4. Switch to the paddle attachment and with the speed on low, add the butter a few pieces at a time, beating until smooth. Do not add the butter too quickly or beat too quickly or the buttercream may 

break

5. When all the butter has been added, beat the buttercream on medium-high speed for about 6-10 minutes until it is very thick and smooth. It may appear to separate briefly but continue beating and it should come back together

6. Add in the vanilla extract and beat to combine. Place a piece of plastic wrap against the surface until you are ready to use it to prevent it from drying out. 

Enjoy!

Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies

Only one week until Valentine's Day and I'm starting to get into the spirit. Last year, I made sugar cookies for my sweetie - some of the heart variety and some of the Star Wars variety. The hubby loved them. This year I wanted to try something red velvet-y since I've never really attempted it before. And because anything red velvet screams Valentine's Day. It's kind of perfect. 

I found this recipe on Pinterest (of course) from A Small Snippet (original recipe from Bakerella) and it was delicious. I've made them twice this week so far! Once for Zach's school potluck and once for the Super Bowl party we went to. 

The best part is it's super easy! 

Ingredients

Red Velvet Cake Mix

2 eggs

1 stick butter, softened

Frosting

1 stick butter, softened

1 8 ounce package cream cheese

1 1 pound box confectioner's sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine cake mix, eggs, and butter.

3. Place on cookie sheet in balls (I used my cookie scoop the first time, and then used smaller dough balls the second time)

4. Bake about 10 minutes.
5. If desired, use a cookie cutter to cut hearts out of cooled cookies. I did this for a few, but decided to leave them as full cookies for the rest. 

6. I didn't make the frosting this time, just used some pre-made pink vanilla frosting. (Once I ran out of the frosting, I used Nutella and it was really good too!) Frost one side of the cookie and then put two cookies together to make a little sandwich.

So delicious!

These are so fast and easy to whip up. I hope you enjoy!

Peanut Butter Kisses

I think we all know that my favorite food combo is peanut butter and chocolate. It's been a love affair that dates back to my early childhood and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. They were (and still are) my mostest favorite candy. Well, this little cookie has the best of both. My favorite flavors all in one. So yummy and delicious. 

I used the regular peanut butter cookie recipe (from here), minus the chocolate chips, plus the Hershey's Kisses). Bake the peanut butter balls according to the recipe (but without chocolate chips or kisses) and then right after you take them out of the oven, put a kiss in the middle. There you go! 

They are so tasty. The best time to eat them is after they are slightly cooled, when the kiss in the middle is still warm and a little gooey. I seriously had to stop myself from eating a dozen all at once. That good.

Have you made any chocolate and peanut butter treats lately? Know of any other chocolate/PB recipes I would like to try?

Nutella Cheesecake Brownies

Time for a little Pinterest baking! These bad boys had me at nutella. They were pretty different than anything I've made before - kind of half cake/half brownie/half cheesecake/half delicious goodness. I realize now that there are way more halves, but that's just how good it is. Here's the recipe (found here).

// 350 degrees // 40-50 minutes // makes a pan full //

Ingredients

Cake:

1 package devil's food cake mix

1 egg

1/2 cup butter, melted

Filling:

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1 cup nutella

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 (16 ounce) package powdered sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mix devil's food cake mix, egg, and butter together until combined. Pat into the bottom of a 9x13 pan (lightly greased).

3. Beat the cream cheese and nutella until creamy.

4. Add eggs, vanilla, and butter. Slowly mix in powdered sugar until blended.

5. Spread nutella mixture on top of cake mixture. 

6. Bake for 40-50 minutes. Don't overcook! It should be gooey at first and then will congeal if you let it sit overnight (it's much better once congealed!).

Enjoy! It's sinfully good!

Fudge

Over the holidays I did a bit of baking, but it was most of the good old favorites like sugar cookies, crinkle cookies, and spritz cookies (gluten free!). I did make some fudge though. It's my bro's favorite holiday treat, so I had wanted to make some for him. Who am I kidding, it's one of my favorites too (and so addicting)! 

I've had trouble in the past when making fudge. It gets stuck in the dish and then it becomes really hard to cut pieces out and then Megan gets mad because all she wants is a little piece of chocolate-y goodness. Yes, apparently I sometimes talk about myself in the third person. Sooooo... when I was at IKEA back in November sometime I picked up a variety pack of cupcake liners in their cute Scandinavian prints (I loved all their Christmas stuff this year and went a little crazy!). The liners came in three sizes and I thought the mini-cupcake size was perfect for little bite-size balls of fudge. No sticking to the dish and no trouble cutting a piece here!

Anyways, short story long, here's my Fudge recipe:

// No baking required! //

Ingredients

3 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1/4 cup butter

1. Heat all ingredients in a pan on the stove until completely melted (you can also heat it up in the microwave).

2. Pour into an 8 x 8 glass pan and refrigerate until hardened (I think if you put some tin foil down before you pour in the fudge batter it will be easier to get out of the pan too). 

3. OR, if you want you can use a cookie scoop and put the fudge batter in little cupcake liners for the perfect bite-size fudge balls like I did!

They were delicious! What kind of holiday or New Year's treats did you make this year?

Gingerbread Cookies

Well, we didn't make it to Leavenworth this weekend (boo-hoo). I know, I know, all that hype and no results. Lame. I wasn't feeling very good on Saturday... huge migraine and all that, so we postponed our little day trip until next weekend (weather permitting). 

We did have a great time at my work Christmas party! I even got a new dress and got all gussied up (that's right, I said gussied up). Then we had a little Friends-mas celebration last night. So much fun to celebrate with friends for the holidays!

Anyways, let's get down to business. I made some gingerbread cookies this weekend. It was my first time making them (it's been my goal to try new recipes lately) and they turned out great. I even made them into cute little gingerbread men (and women)! They were very chewy and delicious. Although, I didn't add any gum drop buttons (not my gum drop buttons! - name the movie... Go!) Here's the recipe (found from Martha, here):

// 350 degrees // 10-18 minutes // makes 36 //

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened (I used sweet cream butter)

1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/3 cup unsulfured molasses

1 large egg

Sprinkles! Lots and lots of sprinkles!

Directions

1. Whisk together dry ingredients (all but the brown sugar) in a separate bowl.

2. Beat butter and brown sugar until smooth.

3. Add molasses and egg.

4. Mix in dry mixture on low. 

5. Put dough in plastic wrap (make sure to put some flour down first) and form into 8-inch .

6. Chill in fridge for 1-2 hours (I only chilled for one hour and they were fine).

7. Roll out dough with rolling pin to about 1/8 inch thick and then freeze for 20 minutes (I only put it in the freezer for about 5 minutes and they still baked well).

8. Cut out with a cookie cutter of your choice.

9. Bake at 350 for 10-18 minutes (depending on cookie size - the bigger the cookie, the more time you need). I baked for about 10 minutes since my gingerbread men (and women) were not too big. 

Enjoy!

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Let me just start with this: these cookies are Amazing! With a capital A. They really are that good. Chocolate Crinkle Cookies are the hubby's favorite Christmas cookie and I can see why. I made these for him a while ago and failed miserably, so I've been a little hesitant to try again. I finally did and it paid off! The crew at work gave it two thumbs up and the hubby went back for 4...5...6 cookies last night? So yeah, they are pretty tasty. 

Here's the recipe - originally from Betty Crocker (found here):

// 350 degrees // 10-12 minutes // makes 72 //

Ingredients

1/2 cup vegetable oil

4 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, melted and cooled (Remember: you can substitute 3 tablespoons cocoa and 1 tablespoon cooking oil for every 1 ounce of unsweetened chocolate)
2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Directions
1. Combine oil, chocolate, white sugar and vanilla.
2. Stir in eggs, one at a time.
3. Mix in flour, baking soda and salt.
4. Refrigerate for 3 hours (I only put it in the fridge for 1 hour though...).
5. Grease cookie sheet or use parchment paper (I used parchment paper - it's my new favorite).
6. Make 1 inch round balls and roll in powdered sugar so they are covered and place on the cookie sheet.
7. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Trust me, these are so good. I hope you enjoy!


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My Mama's Pumpkin Bars

Like pumpkin? Well you should probably be baking and eating these pumpkin bars right now. Yup, they are that good. This is my Mama's recipe and it is delicious. I finally baked these for the first time and they turned out great - very moist and pumpkin-y and the cream cheese frosting really makes them awesome. Hope you enjoy!

// 350 degrees // 25-30 minutes // makes 36 bars //

Ingredients

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

4 beaten eggs

2 cups canned pumpkin

3/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

1 can cream cheese frosting

Directions

1. Stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.

2. Beat until combined: eggs, pumpkin, sugar and oil.

3. Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture, mix well. 

4. Spread batter in un-greased 15x10-inch baking pan. 

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes,

6. Cool, frost and cut into bars. 

Homemade Brownies

The Mister and I love some good dessert (thus, all my cookie baking) but sometimes when I don't want to make four dozen cookies, brownies are a great substitute! Especially when you just use the box mix (our favorite is the Ghirardelli double chocolate brownie mix from Costco. Can't go wrong with bulk!

The other night we wanted a quick snack so I decided to make some homemade brownies since we were all out of mix. It was pretty easy, and the recipe I used was quite tasty too. Here's the recipe from my good old trusty Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook:

// 350 degrees // 30 minutes // makes 16 brownies (or 9 if you are like us) //

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate*
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup chocolate chips (optional)

*Note - if you don't have any unsweetened chocolate on hand, you can substitute (like I did!) 9 tablespoons cocoa powder plus 3 tablespoons cooking oil. Conversion is: 3 tablespoons cocoa and 1 tablespoon cooking oil  = 1 ounce unsweetened chocolate.

1. Melt butter and unsweetened chocolate (or substitute conversion) over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove and let cool.
2. Grease an 8x8 pan.
3. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
4. Stir in vanilla.
5. Stir in flour and baking soda.
6. Add chocolate chips (this makes them so much better!)
7. Spread in pan and bake for 30 minutes.

These ones turned out great. Not too doughy, not to crunchy. Just right.

We also love to bake our brownies as cupcakes too! My friend, Amanda, gave me this idea and I think it is genius! I actually like them a lot better this way because each brownie cupcake bakes evenly. You don't get the edge brownies that are super crunchy while your middle is all gooey. I even like to put a mini Reese's in there every once and a while too.

Happy Halloween!

It was pretty good Halloween in the Kane household this year. We got trick or treaters for the first time! We probably had about 30 little kiddos come to the door.

The first one was a complete failure (on my part, not the little kids). He knocked on the door and Buster immediately started barking (I forgot to factor in the BBoy). I proceeded to crack the door open, grab Buster with one hand and the candy bucket with the other, while the kid's mom gave me a dirty look for my dog barking. FAIL.

The hubby finally got home and had to hold/pet Buster every time while I handed out the candy. I was impressed with all the little super heroes. I saw Batman, Superman, Ironman, even Buzz Lightyear. My favorite, though, was a little Spiderman dude that had his mask on so he couldn't see out of the eye holes. I opened the door and he was facing the wrong way! Too cute!

We ended up running out of candy... we should have been more prepared! Oh well, next year.

At work, we had a cookie decorating contest. I volunteered to make 150 sugar cookies for the whole crew. That's right. 1.5.0. It took me about 5 hours on Sunday to get all the dough made, rolled and cut. They were a hit though (here's the recipe)!

Oh, and guess who won the cookie decorating contest? Muah! (and one other lady...) That's right! Check out my mad skillz. Yes, that's skills with a z.

Did everyone have a good Halloween? Any fun/crazy/awesome costumes?

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies (w/White Chocolate Chips)

The weather is definitely changing and lately I've been having a craving for all things pumpkin. I found this recipe on Pinterest and these cookies are quickly becoming one of my new favorites. So chewy and delicious and pumpkin-y. Yum. I took some to work and two different people said they were the best cookies they've ever had! Here's the recipe (from My Baking Addiction):

//350 degrees // 12-14 minutes // makes 48 //

Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 cup pure pumpkin puree
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup white chocolate chips

Directions
1. Preheat oven and line cookie sheet with parchment paper (I had never used parchment paper before, but it worked great!)
2. Combine flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt in a separate bowl.
3. Beat butter, brown sugar and white sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Add pumpkin, egg and vanilla extract. Combine with flour mixture.
4. Stir in white chocolate chips.
5. Drop on to cookie sheet in rounded balls.
6. Bake 12-14 minutes or until lightly browned.

And here's some more pictures just because I like to take pictures of cookies.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Last week I made Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars to take in to work for the big tax deadline. Let's just say, they were gone before lunch. :) Here's the recipe I got from the trusty Better Homes & Gardens cookbook.

// 375 degrees // 15-20 minutes // makes 60 cookies (depending on how big you slice them)

Ingredients
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 12-ounce package semi sweet chocolate chips

Mix butter and shortening on medium-high for 30 seconds.

Add sugars and baking soda.
Beat in eggs and vanilla.

Mix in as much flour as you can. Stir in chocolate chips.

Press dough into an un-greased 15x10x1 baking pan (I just used a cookie sheet).

Bake @ 375 for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Mmmmmhmmmm. I used a pizza cutter to slice up the bars and it worked amazingly. Look at those perfectly cut cookie squares.

I probably could have cut them a bit smaller, but like I said, they were gone before lunch. Yum!