Yummy Balls

Get your mind out of the gutter people!

I am talking about some melt-in-your mouth amaretto and rum balls my friend Iwona made me. Look at these! They are even more delicious than they look. Oh and that rum packs a punch...mmmhmmm.

I have my ups and downs with this blog and I am consistently inconsistent with my posting. I sometimes feel defeated or overwhelmed when I haven't posted for a period of time. Other than that, this blog has brought good people into my life (you know who you all are!). Thank you everyone who reads this blog and thank you Iwona! Your balls are delicious. 

Chocolate Cream Cheese Cupcakes

I adapted this recipe from SmittenKitchen.com and they have quickly become a favorite. I enlisted my friend Mark to help out with this fabulous recipe. It's a perfect blend of chocolate and cream cheese. A perfect 'beat the mid-winter blues' kinda recipe. It's just the kind of sweet treat I need to make it through the final winter stretch.

Printable Recipe

INGREDIENTS

For the chocolate cupcakes:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
5 tablespoons natural unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the cream cheese filling:

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper muffin cups.

2. In a large bowl combine flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Combine well. Create a small well in the center of the mixture.

3. In a separate bowl combine water, vegetable oil, vinegar and vanilla extract. Pour into the the center of the flour mixture. Slowly stir, combining the flour and liquid. Do not over-stir. The batter will look a little bubbly and even just a little lumpy. That's okay as long as the dry and wet ingredients are blended.

4. In a separate bowl with a mixer, beat the cream cheese, sugar and egg. Fold in the chopped chocolate.

5. Divide the chocolate cupcake batter evenly between the 12 muffin cups.

Mark, evenly distributing the chocolate batter. What a great job he's doing!

6. Evenly distribute the cream cheese mixture, on top of the chocolate mixture, between the 12 muffin cups.

 Me, distributing the cream cheese batter. I'm also doing a good job. Ha!

7. Bake on the center rack for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

These are really delicious. Print this recipe, go get the ingredients and make them! Yum.

Strawberry Brown Butter Bettys

Recently my friend Bianca came over for a baking night. It's always fun to bake with friends. She found a recipe from SmittenKitchen.com that involved strawberries so I was all about it. And might I add, I LOVE this site. Her recipes are great and I love her photographs. Please go check it out! Here is the recipe we made. Turned out deelish. Here are some photo highlights from the evening courtesy of Bianca:

Wonder Bread is wonderful

chop chop!

Fresh strawberries

Action shot

Deelish!

Baking With Friends!

So what's better than baking? Baking with friends of course! My friends Audrey and Bianca joined me for some child-like fun in the kitchen. We chose to bake something reminiscent of our childhood, something nostalgic and playful. We chose:

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes!

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup milk
24 flat bottomed ice cream cones

DIRECTIONS:

1. Drink Miller Lite and amish wine. Now this step is completely optional of course but it makes for some good times.

2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

3. Cream butter and sugar together well in a large mixing bowl while Audrey and Bianca stare at you and take pictures.

4. Beat in eggs one at a time then add vanilla. Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Add milk to butter mixture in 2 parts alternately with flour mixture in 3 parts, beginning and ending with flour.

5. Drink more wine and take pictures.

Cheese!

6. Fill cones about 3/4 full leaving the batter 1/2 inch from top.

NOTE: If you chose to do step 1 be careful when filling cones. Apparently amish wine can really affect your judgement during this step. Do not fill them all the way to the top! We made that mistake and our cupcakes spewed copious amounts of batter while baking.

7. Place filled cones on a baking tray. Bianca had a brilliant idea for this step. She took paper muffin cups, turned them upside down, cut an "X" in the center and put the cone through the hole. This gave the cones support.

Bake in oven for about 15 to 20 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Now let's make frosting!

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar, sifted
1/4 cup softened butter
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
sprinkles

DIRECTIONS:

1. Beat the confectioners' sugar, butter and salt with a mixer or make your friend mix it like so:

What great technique

2. Add the cream and vanilla and beat until smooth. If the frosting is too thick you can just add more milk until you reach the desired consistency. Now frost the cupcakes and cover with sprinkles!

Eat and enjoy!

Yum!