Monday, July 26, 2010

~Peanut Butter & Jelly Cuppycakes~

My husbands Birthday was on Saturday! 
So after much debate over what kind of cake he wanted I finally hit the mark when I suggested these babies...
PB & J CUPCAKES --
The cake is very moist and flavorful and the PB frosting is to die for (we have some left over so we may just use it on our sandwiches;).  They were a huge hit that night at his party!!
Ingredients:
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 cup sour cream
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 large egg yolk, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup strawberry jelly ----> or really any favorite jelly!!
Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting, recipe follows
Confetti pastel sprinkles, for garnish - I just used gold sugar that I found at Smith's

Directions::
Put an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line a standard 12 cup muffin tin with cupcake liners.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter and sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Add the sour cream to the butter and sugar mixture and continue to beat until incorporated. Add the eggs and yolk, 1 at a time, beating until thoroughly mixed into the batter. Add in the vanilla and continue to mix. Slowly add the dry ingredients, in increments, and mix until combined.

Scoop the batter into the cupcake liners to fill 3/4 of the way. Put in the oven and bake until the cupcakes are a pale gold color and a cake tester comes out clean, about for 18 to 20 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and let cool in the tins for 5 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting and filling.

Meanwhile, fit a plain pastry tip to the bottom of a gallon-sized resealable plastic bag and fill with strawberry jelly. Once the cupcakes are cool, insert the tip far into the cupcake and slowly squeeze in about 1 tablespoon or so of jam. Be careful not to overfill the cupcakes or they will crumble and explode. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes. Frost the cupcakes with the Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting using a pastry bag and a star tip. Sprinkle lightly with the confetti sprinkles, top with a little bit more jelly and serve.

Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
In a large bowl, add the cream cheese and butter. Beat until well combined, then add the vanilla and peanut butter and beat until well mixed. Slowly add the confectioners' sugar and beat until well incorporated.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

{Red Velvet CUPCAKES}

I have been obsessed with CUPCAKES lately!  They are so fun to bake, create and EAT!!;)  So I whipped up a YUMMY batch of my infamous RED VELVET CAKE cupcakes for a friend of mine yesterday...
Go HERE for the recipe!!
Another WONDERFUL tool I used this time was a cupcake filler tube that attatched to my piping bag.  I got it along with a cupcake kit off of Amazon but I have read that you can use any narrow round tip to accomplish this.  Happy baking and let me know if you have ANY questions!
ENJOY!!

-:-Roasted Banana Cinnamon Rolls-:-

I made these YUMMY rolls today-mmmm!!
But I am going to post Picky Palate's photo cause mine definitely didn't look as pretty;)
I mixed up the butter so they were pretty buttery and I didn't let my banana's cool enough - that's what happens when you have a grumpy baby wanting your attention while your baking - lol!!
Boy did they sure taste DELICIOUS though --
Roasted Banana Cinnamon Rolls
2 ripe bananas cut into 1/4 inch slices
2 Tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 roll Pillsbury French Bread Loaf
4 Tablespoons softened butter
1/2 Cup brown sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 Cup powdered sugar
3-4 Tablespoons heavy cream

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place banana slices and cut up pieces of butter into a small baking dish. Sprinkle with brown sugar and bake for 25 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Remove and let cool for 10 minutes. Next, use a fork to smash roasted bananas until well combined.

2. Unroll Pillsbury French Bread dough into rectangle. Spread with softened butter and sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Place dollops of roasted banana mixture evenly over top. Starting from long end, roll up into log shape. Using a sharp knife, cut 1 inch slices and place onto a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until just turning golden brown. Remove and let cool for 10 minutes.

3. Whisk powdered sugar and heavy cream until combined; drizzle over top of warm rolls.
12 rolls

Thursday, July 8, 2010

BBQ FAVORITES

We LOVE the 4th of July - Especially the FOOD!!
Here are some wonderful recipes that grace our tables all summer when we like to have a barbecue --

Spaghetti Salad:

1 pkg spaghetti noodles - cooked, drained and cooled
1-2 chopped tomatoes
sliced olives
chopped pepperoni
fresh grated Parmesan
1-2 diced avocado's
bottle of Caesar or Creamy Italian dressing

Mix all ingredients together and add desired dressing till coated.  Stir lots because everything tends to mingle at the bottom! ;)  You can add other ingredients to this as well...such as chopped green onions, feta cheese or any shredded cheese, ham instead of pepperoni.  ENJOY!!

BBQ Turkey Tenders:
mmm - these are a tried and true FAVORITE at our house!!

2-3 lbs. turkey tenders or chicken breasts
1 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. vegetable oil
2 c. or 1 can lemon lime soda
1 1/2 T. horseradish

Marinate in Ziploc bag - the LONGER the better.  Toss on the grill and cook till done!  These are sooo yummy and mouth watering - ENJOY!!!!

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

FrUiT PiZzA - 4th of JULY StYle

I LOVE this Fruit Pizza recipe that is posted HERE!!
So for the 4th of July I doubled it into a jelly roll pan and turned it into a festive flag!
I rolled out two pkgs of sugar cookie dough...
Baked it, let it cool...
And frosted it with the YUMMY cheesecake frosting recipe!
(ps - I doubled the frosting but it was WAAAYY too much so no need to do that but it made GREAT dip for apples and bananas!)
Than I added blueberries and strawberrys to make an American Flag!!
This is a WONDERFUL treat for any BBQ this summer!!!!