Texas Sheet Cupcakes

Hmm...Just realized I never posted these. I got all excited about them when I made them and then kinda forgot about them! Here's what I found when I clicked "edit this post"

 

Yep, just a bunch of pictures...but don't they look delicious.

 

(If you're looking for the recipe, I found it on pinterest from this blog.)

Top Seven Reasons I Love My New Cupcake Corer

7. It's cute!

6. The middle part is shaped like a flower (I know, more cuteness).

5. The cute flower shape shows you exactly where to stop so that the hole won't be too deep.

(Not just cute, but also functional!)

4. After you pull out the center of the cupcake, the little red plunger lets

 you drop it right into a bowl; no mess and no digging out the cake.

3. It makes a nice round hole everytime...Beautiful!

2. The hole is the perfect size for filling up with a tasty suprise,

in this case strawberry yogurt.

1. It makes filling cupcakes so much easier! Yay!

Pinned It, Made It: Peanut Butter Banana Cupcakes

These delicious treats were our Easter dessert.

They are a tasty combination of a banana cupcake, chocolate peanut butter frosting, and a secret weapon: pretzel crust!

They are the perfect combinatin of salty and sweet. My mom said they are the best thing I've ever made. Too bad it's not my own recipe...find the original one here at How Sweet It Is.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

When I went searching for Thanksgiving desserts this year, there was really only one place to look. You know what I'm talking about...time for another Pinterest recipe! {See, it really is taking over my life.} This one is from 52 Cupcakes. If you haven't been there, go check out all of their amazing looking recipes!
When I saw this picture...


Original Here



...I knew I had to make these. Love me some Reese's peanut butter cups! And at the bottom of a cupcake? Even Better!

Then I went to check out the recipe, and it couldn't be easier. All you do is gather the ingredients (starting with a boxed cake mix!), throw them in the mixing bowl, and mix them up.

Before spooning the batter into each cupcake liner, add your secret ingredient to the bottom of each one.

Then spoon enough batter into each cup to cover up the peanut butter cup, and stick them in the oven.

While they are baking, gather up your frosting ingredients and mix them all together.

Then frost the cupcakes, and get ready for a delicious cupcake with a special surprise at the bottom!

{For the original recipe (if you want to make your own), head over to 52 Cupcakes}

On Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving dessert, and a good reminder of what we can be thankful for today...

Boy or Girl?

My sister is having a baby in February, and she and my brother-in-law decided to have a Gender Reveal Party. You know, where no one knows if it's a boy or girl...

...and there are cupcakes with pink or blue filling or balloons in a box in the appropriate color. My sister chose me to be the one to find out first and then make some cupcakes filled with pink or blue. (I think they turned out pretty darn cute, too!)

Boy or Girl?

It's a...

BOY!

P.S. Check out my new favorite frosting recipe here. It's kind of a long, involved process to make, but worth it!

Fourth of July Baking: Oreo Pudding Cups

My second 4th of July dessert is a super easy no-bake Oreo dessert. We call it "Roger's Dessert" because my aunt's friend (named Roger) introduced us to it.

Here's the simple recipe (then I'll tell you how I tweaked it to make the pudding cups)

For the pudding cups, cross out butter from your list of ingredients. All you need for the crust is:

Don't follow steps 1 and 2 in the recipe. Instead of crushing all of the oreos together in a bowl, follow these easy steps...

1. Place muffin papers in 2 1/2 muffin tins (about 30 cups). Then put 1 whole oreo in each muffin cup.

2. Get out your meat tenderizer (or other appropriate crushing tool) and mash each oreo into a few pieces. They don't have to be super small, just make sure it breaks apart.

When your crust is ready, gather up your ingredients to make the filling.

While I was making this dessert, I realized that I have been making it wrong all this time, because instead of layering the pudding mixture with the cool whip on top, I just mix it all in together. So in the recipe, in step 3, add the cool whip in too. It makes it easier, and tastes great!

The last step is super easy - just spoon some of the filling into each pudding cup. Sprinkle the top of each one with some leftover oreo crumbs. Arrange on a pretty plate, and enjoy!

The One with Spring Cupcakes

Hooray! The sun was finally shining today and it was beautiful outside. Maybe spring is finally on its way around here. Or maybe it's a big trick and next week the weather will be gloomy and rainy again. Either way, the sun today makes it seem like a perfect day to share these spring-y flower cupcakes with you:

Here's all you need to make your own cupcake garden:

Cake Mix and Frosting (w/Box Tops!)

 

Flower-Shaped Cupcake Tin

 

Fun Sugar Sprinkles

The real fun in making these is the decorating part. 

I made 2 different types of flowers, with 3 different colors of sprinkles.

For the first kind, start by frosting the whole cupcake in white, then cover it with sprinkles. Next pipe on petals with the white frosting. Finish off the flower with a yellow round disc sprinkle for the center.

For the second kind, start with a white frosted cupcake, then pipe the flower outline just around the edge of the cupcake. Fill in the rest with sprinkles, leaving the middle free for a yellow disc sprinkle.

Enjoy your cupcakes and keep your fingers crossed that spring is really here!



Nutter Butter Surprise Cupcakes!

Chocolate and peanut butter is one of my very favorite combinations, so when my sister found this recipe, I just knew these would be the cupcakes for me! The original recipe is from Inside BruCrew Life. You can find it here if you want to make the exact recipe. They are super easy, and super tasty! Here's how I made them...

Step 1: Make the Nutter Butter Suprise

4 Basic Steps for this part:

1. Crush up 1/2 a package of Nutter Butter cookies in a bowl.
2. Put in a blob (about 1/2 a cup of each) of peanut butter and cream cheese, and a tsp. vanilla extract. 
3. Mix it all together.
4. Roll the mixture into small balls and put them in the fridge for about an hour. I didn't know how small was small, so mine turned out like this:

FYI: Next time I would make them a little smaller.

Step 2: Make the Brownies

This is the easiest step - Just buy a box of your favorite brownie mix. {Mine happens to be the Ghirardelli with chocolate chips in the mix.} Mix it up according to the directions on the box.

Step 3: Puttin' It All Together

This is where it gets a little more complicated.... 

1. Put cupcake papers into a cupcake tray (about 12). Cover the bottom of each paper with about 2 tsp. of brownie batter.
2. Place a Nutter Butter ball into each cupcake. Don't smoosh it all the way down.
3. Cover up the Nutter Butter ball with more brownie batter.
4. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

*This is why I would make the balls smaller next time. Mine were so big that it was hard to get them covered all the way with batter. My other idea would be to make them flat discs instead of balls next time.

Step 4: Frosting!

While the cupcakes are baking, make your frosting. This frosting turned out so good that I need to give you the recipe...

Mix together 1 stick butter, 1/2 tsp. vanilla, 2 Tbs. milk, and a pinch of salt. Add about 1 3/4 c. powdered sugar and 1/4 c. dark cocoa powder. If it's too thick, add a little more milk. If it's not thick enough, add a little more powdered sugar.

Let your cupcakes cool, then frost them up with this. Delicious!

P.S. I also had a bunch of left over Nutter Butter balls, so I decided to dip them in chocolate (like cake balls) and they turned out pretty tasty, too