EASYBAKED

S’mores Cookie Cups

Posted on July 12, 2013 by Ruthanne

These mini graham cracker cookie cups are overflowing with soft marshmallow and chocolate~ a perfect replica of the summertime favorite~ in cookie form!!

These little cookie cups were eaten up faster than any dessert I can remember. You simply can’t stop at one! I guess that’s because they are made with all the ingredients used in S’mores! The marshmallow stays soft, and the soft chocolate layer on the inside….? Oh my.

Here’s how to make them: (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS: (makes 48 mini cups)

One tube of refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1 cup of finely crushed graham crackers
1/4 cup of heavy cream
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 (13oz) jar of Jet-Puffed Marshmallow fluff
48 Hershey Kisses (unwrapped!)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Place cookie dough and crushed grahams (save 2 to 3 tablespoons of crumbs to sprinkle over cups at end) in a mixing bowl and using hands, combine crushed grahams with cookie dough until completely incorporated.
Evenly divide dough into mini muffin tins (I used a medium cookie scoop to do this and got about 48 cookies)
Bake at 350F degrees for 7 to 9 minutes, until turning a light brown at edges.
Remove from oven and immediately press centers in using a mini tart shaper (or a wooden spoon~ although I highly recommend the tart shaper as it is a small and inexpensive tool that I love and use all the time!)
Allow cups to cool for 2-3 minutes and then gently run a small knife around the edges and pop the cup out of the tin. Allow cup to completely cool on counter.
Place all cups on a cookie sheet (preferably one with raised edges)
In a small sauce pan, heat up heavy cream until just bubbling at the edges (20 seconds or so).
Add chocolate chips, cover and allow them to sit for 5 minutes.
Stir melted chips with cream until smooth (turn heat back on if needed)
Place chocolate sauce in a zip-top bag, clip a corner and pipe chocolate evenly into each cup.

Fill a mug or small bowl with HOT water, and place a medium cookie scoop into it. Shake off excess water and scoop one scoop of marshmallow fluff into each cookie cup. Place scoop back in hot water as soon as the fluff starts to stick to the scoop.

Turn broiler on high and place entire cookiesheet full of cookies in the oven under the broiler. WATCH the cookies– in about 30 seconds the marshmallows will start to brown. Take the cookie cups out and immediately place a Hershey kiss on the top of each hot marshmallow top. Sprinkle with graham crumbs (and drizzle with a little white chocolate if you like).
Let these sit for about an hour. The bottom of the kiss will melt and attach to the marshmallow.
You can serve these warm, or at room temp.
Once they are cooled, you can store them in an airtight container for about a week.

My thoughts~ These cookie cups were a big hit. They really capture the flavor of a s’more and they aren’t very difficult to make. The marshmallow fluff was a little fussy, just because it is so sticky. I highly recommend it though- it was perfect biting into the gooey soft cream rather than an actual marshmallow. It captured that melted marshmallow feel. I *highly* recommend you use a cookie scoop for these. You can get a scoop almost anywhere these days, but if you can’t find one, try ordering one at Amazon. I hope you really enjoy making (and eating!) these yummy little treats!!! ~r

Other cookie cup recipes you might enjoy:

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Posted in Candy, Cookie Cups, Cookies and tagged baking, best smore recipe, best summer dessert, chocolate, chocolate ganache, chocolate layer, cookie cups, cookies, dessert, food, graham crackers, hershey kisses, jet puffed marshmallow, marshmallow fluff, melted chocolate, muffin tins, recipe, s'mores, S'mores desserts, sugar cookie dough, summer dessert, sweet chocolate chips, toasted marshmallow. Bookmark the permalink.

Baileys Irish Cream Cupcakes

Posted on July 4, 2013 by Ruthanne

These amazing cupcakes are made with Baileys Irish cream and topped with a Baileys buttercream frosting. They are incredibly good–and the way I came across this recipe is quite the story!

Have you watched the TV show that’s out right now called The American Baking Competition? The one with all of the challenges each week– breads, cakes, pies…? I love it. Aaaaand…I auditioned for it last fall. I’m actually not one of those “I wanna be on TV” people, but I am one of those “that sounds like a crazy fun adventure, let’s do it!” people. In 2002, my coworkers dared me to audition for The Weakest Link game show and they picked me– I’d never actually seen the show which made things a little awkward at first…lol! So auditioning for a cooking show? Why not??

I know you are dying to know how these cupcakes are made, so I will save my story-telling for later, but long story short– I met a ton of wonderful bakers at the audition and one of them was Lauren Shilt. She brought these Baileys cupcakes to her audition and gave me an extra. I fell in love with this cupcake! It is so dense and moist and rich….so I begged for the recipe and Lauren kindly obliged.

Here you have it… Baileys Cupcakes: (printer friendly recipe)

INGREDIENTS: (makes 30-36 cupcakes)

Cupcakes:

2 1/2 cups cake flour
3 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (use super fine sugar, if you can find it!)
3/4 cups unsalted butter room temp.
3 eggs room temp.
3 teaspoons of vanilla
1 cup Bailey’s Irish Cream (separated, 1/2 cup for the cakes, 1/2 cup to pour over the cakes after they have been baked)

Buttercream Frosting:

2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter, room temp.
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temp.
3 cups of powdered sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 to 1/2 cup Baileys Irish Cream-enough to get the frosting to the desired flavor and consistency.

For the Chocolate Ganache to drizzle over the top:

1/2 cup of heavy cream
1/4 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips (or if using a bar, chopped)
3 tablespoons Baileys Irish Cream

(I used 1/4c. heavy cream and 1/2c. semi-sweet chips plus 3 teaspoons of Baileys for mine, and I made it at the end since it was thick enough to use as soon as it cooled a bit. It’s just how I always do ganache and I needed to save time.)

DIRECTIONS:

Make the Ganache first (unless you use my recipe)

In a saucepan bring the cream to simmer over med heat
Remove from heat and whisk in chocolate until it is melted and incorporated
Whisk in the Baileys Irish Cream
Refrigerate until it has a good consistency to drizzle over the top

Cupcakes:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line the muffin tins with 36 cupcake liners (my batch only made 30)
In a large bowl mix together the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon
In a large bowl, use a mixer to cream together the sugar and butter for about 3 minutes until light and fluffy.
Add eggs once at a time until incorporated and then mix in vanilla.
Add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the Bailey’s Irish Cream, starting and ending with the flour mixture.
Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full and bake for 17-20 min. (mine were slightly over-baked at 17 min, so check often!)
Cool in pan for a few minutes
Using a toothpick poke holes in the tops of the cupcakes and using a pastry brush, brush the additional 1/2 cup of baileys over the cupcakes.

Baileys Buttercream Frosting:

Place butters, powdered sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl.
Beat on high until light and fluffy.
Add Baileys Irish Cream a bit at a time until buttercream is desired flavor and consistency.
Frost cooled cupcakes using a pastry bag, then drizzle with Bailey’s Ganache.

My thoughts: You are simply going to love these cupcakes. I’ve had 4 people (so far!) tell me that these are their favorite cupcake I’ve ever made. They are SO good!!!!! Plus, (be very proud of me!) they are not a cake mix! 😉

Ok. Story time.

So crazy, adventure-seeking me sent in my application for this “baking show” on CBS. I was invited to come to Chicago to do an in-person audition for the show. I needed to bring my “signature” baked good. Signature? How to choose from all my favorites? I decided on Salted Caramel Cookie Cups, because everyone loves them, they are easy to travel with and they are signature (in that they use lots of pre-made ingredients), making them EASYbaked 🙂 My motto.

A few days before the audition I got a call from CBS confirming my audition time and making sure I would be bringing everything I needed. This very nice man said–“now, be sure you plate your baked good”. I was like… “um…ok. I will make sure I put it on a plate.” Long pause. “No, you need to plate it.” “Yes,” I replied, “I will put it on a plate.” “You need to plate it- you know, make it look all fancy for the judges?”

Sigh. My 1st clue this isn’t going to go well. I hang up and google “how to plate a dessert”. Then I go to the store to buy little bottles with tips….and I practice “plating” my little desserts.

Laura and I pack up all my supplies and off we go to a very rainy and cold Chicago.

When I arrived and checked in I was seated in a room FULL of people carrying baked goods in all sorts of containers. I love meeting new people and within no time I had met all of the people sitting around me. It was SO much fun! A whole room full of people comparing ganache recipes and favorite frosting ideas. AMAZING! About 5 of us chatted while we waited to get called back and we all ended up getting called back together. We had to “plate” our items for the judges (thank goodness I got all of that sorted out ahead of time!) and they tasted our items and asked us questions. Lauren and I made it to the second round and we spent our waiting time really getting to know each other and exchanging our extra desserts with the bakers around us.

New Baking Friends!!!

The second interview was questions, asked in a group setting. Not too intimidating… The casting person (who, apparently was also a trained culinary person) asked me how I made my wonderful caramel filling. I explained that I use Kraft caramels, sweetened condensed milk and butter to make it.

There were audible gasps.

Everyone was staring at me.

What had I said wrong?

The interviewer said- you mean you didn’t make this from scratch?

Ummm…no.

Why would you bring this as your signature baked good if it isn’t from scratch?

Because my baking is rarely from scratch. Why slave over homemade caramel if you can just use caramels to make a filling?

But it’s not homemade….

Well, you loved it and sent me to the next round of interviews…?

I didn’t tell her that the crust was made of refrigerator cookie dough… yikes.

The next baker was a woman who literally forages in the woods for all of her ingredients. Literally. Forages.

I wanted to jump in and say that I foraged at WalMart on Black Friday for my ingredients…nearly died…got them cheap….?

I was fairly certain I was “out” of the running. Until I was handed a paper that said:

What?!?! This involved staying an extra day in Chicago (thank you dear, patient Laura!), panicking over the fact that I only brought a Green Bay Packer Jersey to wear home the next day…(can you interview on camera for a baking show dressed like a football player?), waiting for 2 hours, falling asleep in a hotel lobby and defending my use of Kraft caramels on camera for Hollywood to see.

Needless to say, I wasn’t called and invited to be a contestant on the show. Have you watched it? I would have gone down in flames the 1st week. These people are amazing! Francine is my favorite~ she uses crazy creative ingredients like bacon and red-hot candies in her recipes (anyone who bakes with candy is my hero!) Hope she wins!

After my long day of interviewing, Laura and I settled in at our hotel and pigged out on all the treats I exchanged with other bakers during the day. This was when I first tasted Lauren’s cupcakes…oh. my.

A collection of amazing baked goods!

A big BIG thanks to Lauren for sharing her recipe with us! If you’d like to get to know her and see some of her incredible baking creations, she is on facebook. Visit her page and give it a “like” by clicking here.

Lauren

I usually stick to sharing recipes in my posts, but this story was just too fun. Thanks for listening– now go and make these cupcakes— you will love them— I promise!!! ~r

Other “from scratch” recipes on Easybaked…yes, there are a few!!!!

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Posted in Cupcakes and tagged american baking competition, bailey s irish cream, baileys, baileys cupcake, baileys irish cream, baking, buttercream, cake flour, chocolate ganache, cupcake, cupcakes with alcohol, dessert, food, fun dessert, homemade cupcake recipe, recipe, sweets. Bookmark the permalink.

Polka Dot Cake~ a recipe revisited!

Posted on June 28, 2013 by Ruthanne

Day #5 is here, along with our final revisited and recreated recipe. I’ve really enjoyed remembering these recipes with all of you. I hope you have found one to try for this upcoming holiday weekend!

Our final recipe is my personal favorite of the week, mainly because it brings the most smiles. If you want to make a cake that will be a show-stopper at your holiday celebration, this is it.

This recipe was published recently, in January of 2013. It is so incredibly fun to make. I’ve made it 5 times now and each time I do, I love it more. You can color the cake layers, you can color the polka dots…endless fun possibilities!

It is not a difficult recipe, but it is time consuming and it requires a cake ball maker (or, according to my commenters on the recipe, a mini muffin tin).

It takes two cake mixes and I made both mixes and simply divided them evenly into the three colors. I made 12 cake balls in each color and one layer of each color.

The original blog post has detailed instructions and photos, so I recommend you visit there 1st if you want to make this cake. The comments are also very helpful and full of tips on making this work well.

To see the original recipe and instructions click here.

To print the original recipe click here.

Thank you so much for joining me this week for a trip down memory lane. I hope it was as fun for you as it was for me.

Did you catch all of our recipe remakes this week? If not, click on the ones you missed to be taken to the post!

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Posted in Cakes and tagged baking, buttercream frosting, cake, cake mix, cake pops, dessert, food, fourth of July, holiday cake, layer cake, Patriotic Polka dot cake, Polka dot cake, polka dots, recipe remakes, red white and blue. Bookmark the permalink.

Oreo Pops~ a recipe revisited!

Posted on June 27, 2013 by Ruthanne

Day #4 of our celebration of past recipes. This week is going fast! Today’s recipe is the 4th most viewed recipe on the Easybaked site. It has had nearly 60,000 visits since it was published in February of 2012. Can you guess what it is????

These little treats are a favorite of mine. They have been remade as mummies and snowmen already- the decorating possibilities are just endless!

These have been the star attraction at birthdays, showers, picnics, retirement parties, and even as favors at weddings. They have been decorated in flowers and butterflies and school colors and even with Barney the Dinosaur! The end of July they will be featured in Women’s World Magazine (so be on the look-out and grab a copy!).

For the Fourth of July holiday I simply dipped them in red white and blue and decorated with drizzles and sprinkles. SO easy. I tied these up in little favor bags and they are all set to travel to all of my upcoming holiday parties and picnics! I just love things you can make ahead!

To see the original recipe and get directions for how to insert the stick and dip these, click here.

To print a copy of the recipe and directions, click here.

Don’t miss our very last recipe remake tomorrow morning~ you’re going to love it!!!

Want to know what our other most-visited recipes are? Here’s what’s at the top of the list:

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Posted in Candy, Cookies and tagged chocolate, chocolate covered oreos, dessert, fourth of July, Holiday Oreo Pops, oreo cookies, oreo pops, Patriotic Oreo Pops, popsicle sticks, red white and blue, Wiltons candy Melts. Bookmark the permalink.

Colorful Bundt Cake~ a recipe revisited!

Posted on June 26, 2013 by Ruthanne

Welcome back to day #3 of our fun Fourth of July week! Today, I’d like to revisit one of my favorite Halloween cakes~ and try it in red white and blue!!! It’s incredibly easy to make and the colors are just too much fun! Ready to revisit another recipe? Here we go:

This recipe was originally published on October 6, 2012.

I’ve made layered cakes before in all sorts of colors and it is SO tedious to layer everything “just so” This cake involves just pouring colors in together and baking. The patterns come out different each time and the possibilities are endless. I just love it red white and blue! The glaze on top is just pre-made frosting that has been softened in the microwave and colored with food color gels. Easy easy easy to make~ plus its so much fun to cut into and see what pattern happened inside!

To see the original recipe click here.

To print the recipe and try it for yourself, click here.

Don’t miss another great recipe remake tomorrow! Follow Easybaked on Facebook, or sign up for recipes to be emailed directly to you. All the information you need to do both of these things is just to the right of this recipe!

More fun summertime recipes:

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Posted in Cakes and tagged baking, bundt cake, cake, cake mix, dessert, Fourth of July cake, fun cake, Memorial day cake, pre-made frosting glaze, red white and blue. Bookmark the permalink.

Flip Flop Cookies~ a Recipe Revisited!

Posted on June 25, 2013 by Ruthanne

I’m excited to be back for day #2 of our walk down memory lane! Today’s treat just had to make the list of fun and colorful recipes to revisit. It’s not only fun and colorful, but the perfect summer treat…

This recipe was originally published during my first summer of blogging, on June 11, 2011. It is particularly memorable for me because it was my first photo published on Foodgawker. If you even knew how hard I was trying at the time to get a photo accepted on that site….oh my. I’m very competitive and I had about 60 photos rejected before this one. I was jumping up and down for joy! I took this photo at my friends Tom and Tina’s house at the lake. I knew the lighting was perfect that day and I pulled my little point and shoot out to snap some photos. Tom suggested I try his higher-end camera and Tina popped that pretty orange flower in the background and I learned two things: 1.Staging food is a must in photography and 2. I needed a better camera.

Since that date I’ve had 55 photos accepted on Foodgawker and SO many rejected. It has been so good for me to have outside judgement on my photography though. It is making me better. Will today’s photo be accepted? I think not. I’m not happy with the exposure in any of the pictures, but we will see!

These are white chocolate dipped Nutter Butter cookies (in case you were wondering!) Originally dipped in rainbow colors, these are dipped in patriotic red, white and blue and garnished with a little star sprinkle. Serving them on brown sugar gives them a beach feel. These are a perfect summer treat and really easy to make.

To see the original recipe (along with photos showing how to dip them) click here.

To print the original recipe and instructions click here.

Enjoy! ~r

We dip lots of things into candy melts and chocolate here at easybaked. Here are a few of our favorite candy melt treats:

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Posted in Candy, Cookies and tagged baking, cookies, desserts, flip flop cookies, fourth of July, fun, Labor day, Memorial day, nutter butter cookies, Nutter Butters, rainbow colors, recipe, summer cookies, Wilton candy melts. Bookmark the permalink.

Tie Dye Cake~ a recipe revisited!

Posted on June 24, 2013 by Ruthanne

I miss my recipes sometimes…I didn’t realize when I started this blog that it would launch me into a world of constantly new and changing recipes. If I’m asked to bring a dessert to something I rarely return to my favorites. Instead I create something new that I can share with all of you! This week I am revisiting some of my favorites in honor of the Fourth of July. I chose some of my most colorful and fun recipes to recreate in Red White and Blue. Each of these recipes can be tweaked to fit any color theme, but this week we are celebrating the USA with each recipe. Here we go…..!

The original Tie Dye cake recipe was created October 10, 2012 in honor of my nephew Marshal. It has gotten rave reviews for how easy it is to make. It’s been the star dessert at birthday parties, Easter celebrations and even a Luau! It was featured in the Huffington Post in an article celebrating all things tie dye.

Visit the original recipe to see how it was put together by clicking here.

Print the original recipe and try it for yourself by clicking here.

Stay tuned…I will be back tomorrow with another revisited recipe!

Enjoy!! ~r

Modifications to the original recipe:

Instead of rainbow colors, I used red and blue. USE COLOR GELS if you want bright and vibrant color. Liquid colors will not give you the deep colors you want. I actually ran out of red and ended up a little more pink than I wanted! I love my color gels– I use them a lot!

I used the buttercream from the original recipe but added vanilla instead of the raspberry flavoring, and I left it white with a few sprinkles.

Ruthanne’s top four favorite easybaked recipes:

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Posted in Cakes and tagged baking, buttercream frosting, cake, dessert, food color gels, fourth of July, fun cake recipes, Labor day, Memorial day, patriotic cake, red white and blue cake, tie-dye cake, white cake. Bookmark the permalink.

Coconut Caramel Cupcakes

Posted on June 20, 2013 by Ruthanne

Half-n-half coconut and caramel cupcakes topped with coconut buttercream and melted caramel sauce…yum…!

I was in the baking aisle of my grocery store the other day (of course!) and I saw these:

I was understandably intrigued….two flavors in one cupcake….? This has to be better than just one lonely flavor…..? Plus they weren’t very expensive. I had to try them! So I stood in front of the cake mixes pondering the possibilities… caramel sounded good…but with what? Coconut!!! Like those yummy Girl Scout cookies….

I grabbed two cake mixes, some caramels and some coconut. Ready to go. Note the two cake mixes. If you want two flavors you need two mixes, which means that this recipe makes a TON of cupcakes. 48 to be exact. I made 24 full size cupcakes and then used the rest of the batter making minis for a different recipe idea. You could make the full 48 and freeze half without the toppings too- just thaw and frost when you need them!

Here’s the recipe. Makes and frosts 48 cupcakes. (printer-friendly recipe)

INGREDIENTS:

1 boxed caramel cake mix (with water, oil and eggs to make according to package)
1 boxed white cake mix (with water, oil and eggs to make according to package)
1 cup shredded coconut (divided)
4 teaspoons of coconut flavoring (divided)
32 Kraft caramel candies (unwrapped)
1 (14 oz) can of sweetened condensed milk
2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) salted butter (divided)
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter
3 cups powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Make both cake mixes according to box instructions
Add 3/4 cup of shredded coconut to the white cake mix along with 2 teaspoons of the coconut flavoring. Mix well.
Place the rest of the shredded coconut on a small cookie sheet in oven for 10-12 minutes until toasted and browned. Set aside to cool and use for topping at the end.
Place cupcake liners in a cupcake pan and set batter dividers into center of cups. (get 12….I got 6 and it took longer than I wanted it to!!)
Gently spoon batter on each side of divider and tap pan to settle batter into bottom of cup.

Once batter is evenly spooned in on both sides, just pull divider straight up and out, leaving a half caramel/ half coconut cupcake! (so fun!!!)
Bake at 350F degrees according to times on boxed mix, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

While cupcakes are baking, make your caramel sauce:

Place 32 Kraft caramels, sweetened condensed milk and 1/4 c. (1/2 stick) of salted butter into a saucepan and heat it on high, stirring constantly, until melted and smooth (takes about 5-6 minutes). Set aside.
Make buttercream frosting by adding 2 sticks of salted butter, 2 sticks of unsalted butter, powdered sugar and remaining 2 teaspoons of coconut flavoring to a large mixing bowl and beating it until it is light and fluffy.
Cool cupcakes completely.
Mix caramel sauce (reheat a bit if it has started to harden) and dip the tops of each cupcake in the sauce.

Allow caramel sauce to harden and cool completely (or it will melt your buttercream!)
Place coconut buttercream in a large zip top bag that has been fitted with a piping tip in one corner.
Pipe frosting over top of each cupcake.
Sprinkle toasted coconut on top.
Drizzle with any remaining caramel sauce you have left….and enjoy!!!

My thoughts: Loved these cupcakes…so flavorful and fun! The two-flavor center got lots of “wow”s and that caramel topping…yum….! I would get 12 of the batter dividers. It was just inconvenient to need to wash and dry them half way through. I’m excited to try other color and flavor combinations now. Super fun for school colors or sports team cupcakes (go Packers!!). Hope you are inspired to try these. I think you will really love them! Enjoy!!!! ~r

Lemonade Cookies…with a twist!

Posted on June 15, 2013 by Ruthanne

Chewy lemonade cookies made with bits of strawberry licorice…a fun treat that every kid (or kid at heart) in your life will love!

Months ago I received a baking challenge from an 8 year old boy named Zao. His mom Erika works with me and he asked her, “Do you think Ruthanne could make cookies with red licorice in them?” Well, of course we can!

Now, as a little warning to you: the bits of licorice are yummy, but they are very chewy and you end up eating licorice after the cookie is all gone in your mouth. Remember bubble gum ice cream? It’s a little like that sort of dilemma. The taste combination is wonderful though and if you can get past the consistency you will love these!

For those of you not-so-brave folks out there….the cookies are soooooo yummy without the licorice too! I made two batches– one with and one without the licorice. I loved both varieties (and it gave me an excuse to eat TWO cookies instead of one!)

Here’s how to make them: (printer- friendly recipe)

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup butter, at room temperature
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 packet (0.23oz.) Kool Aid Lemonade
Yellow food coloring gel
2 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup of chopped Twizzler Strawberry Licorice. (I just chopped them into chocolate chip-size bits using a sharp knife)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350F degrees
Using a mixer, beat together butter and sugar until smooth and creamy.
Add egg and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
Add Lemonade powder and coloring gel (if needed) to create a nice yellow color. Mix well.
Blend in the dry ingredients, using clean hands to knead the dough together at the end.
Add chopped strawberry licorice bits at the very end and blend well (this step can be skipped if you aren’t feeling wild and crazy– you’ll just have yummy lemonade cookies!)
Roll rounded tablespoons of dough into balls and place on baking sheets that have been covered in parchment paper.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until cookies are set.
Slide parchment paper (with the cookies still on top) onto a cool counter and allow cookies to cool right on paper.

My thoughts: With or without the strawberry bits, these are great cookies. I think they balance perfectly between sweet and tart. I was surprised at how many people loved the idea of putting licorice bits into cookies. I think they would be great with a strawberry or raspberry icing on top. Yum….! Enjoy!

Enjoying his cookies– thanks for the recipe idea Zeo!

You might also enjoy:

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Posted in Candy, Cookies and tagged baking, candy, cookies, cookies for kids, crazy cookie ideas, fun cookies, lemonade, lemonade cookies, recipe, red licorice, strawberry, strawberry lemonade cookies, strwaberry licorice, taste combination, Twizzler licorice, unique cookies. Bookmark the permalink.

Mocha Cupcakes (in edible coffee cups!)

Posted on June 6, 2013 by Ruthanne

Rich chocolate cupcakes and mocha buttercream nestled in an edible marshmallow mug…how much fun is that??

The past two posts have been full of my adventures with my friend Megan from Happily Ever After Cakes. We made chocolate cut-out cookie pops decorated with royal icing and fondant-covered cupcakes decorated with fun ladybugs and caterpillars. This is the third and final project from that weekend and I just love how it turned out!

This project starts with easy mini mocha cupcakes with mocha buttercream frosting. You can stop there and they are just wonderfully yummy –even without the mug!

The mug uses my new-found love of marshmallow fondant to add a little “wow” factor to the cupcakes.

Let’s start with the cupcakes: (printer friendly recipe)

INGREDIENTS: (makes and frosts 48 mini cupcakes)

One box of chocolate cake mix (plus eggs, oil and water to make according to box)
3 Tablespoons of instant coffee granules (divided)
2 sticks (1 cup) of salted butter- softened to room temperature
2 sticks (1 cup) of unsalted butter- softened to room temperature
3 cups of powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons of vanilla

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350F degrees
Make cake according to box, but add 2 Tablespoons of coffee granules to the water required by cake mix first.
Allow granules to dissolve and then add to cake mix with eggs and oil according to box.
Place mini cupcake liners into mini cupcake pan and spoon batter into liners.
Bake for about 12 minutes until centers are firm.
Cool completely
Make buttercream by placing vanilla and remaining 1 Tablespoon of instant coffee into a small bowl to dissolve.
Add butters and powdered sugar to a large bowl and beat on high until light and fluffy.
Remove a small bit of this vanilla-free icing to garnish the tops of cupcakes and set aside.
Add vanilla/coffee mixture and beat again until well- combined.
To make plain cupcakes, just pipe coffee frosting on top of cooled mini cupcakes and then pipe a tiny bit of the white frosting at the tip of the cupcake.
Sprinkle with cocoa powder if desired.

Yum.

To make the cupcakes into little edible mugs, you will need to make fondant and a thick buttercream ahead of time. My previous post goes into great detail on making fondant and buttercream icing. Click here to see the entire process.

If you’d like to print the recipes for these two things:

Printer friendly recipe for thick buttercream icing

Printer friendly recipe for marshmallow fondant

Once you’ve made both of these items, assembling the little mugs is fairly easy:

Unwrap the mini cupcakes you wish to use in mugs.
Spread thick buttercream icing around the sides of each cupcake.
Roll fondant out fairly thick and trim into rectangles that wrap around mini cupcake and touch without overlapping. (You’ll need to grab a cupcake and experiment until you know how long and high to make these)
Also cut small strips of fondant to use as mug handles.
Wrap sides of mug around the frosted edge of each mini cupcake and seal the edges by brushing with a bit of water and holding together.
Attach the handle over the sealed edge with a bit of water.

Set mugs on a plate or dish with a lipped edge to hold the handle in place until it sets.
Once handle is dried in place, pipe mocha frosting on top of cupcake to fill mug in.
Spread frosting flat and pipe a tiny bit of the white frosting on top.
Sprinkle with cocoa powder if desired.

Megan (more artistic than I!) decorated some mugs to personalize them for us. She used decorating brushes with gel food coloring to paint the cups….aren’t they cute????

My thoughts: These are really yummy cupcakes- even without the mugs. The mugs are a little time consuming, but if you want something REALLY unique and fun they are both! The marshmallow fondant got rave reviews from our friends– they loved it and ate the entire mug with the cupcake.