Tag Archives: fun

Praline Fudge Brownies

Posted on December 8, 2015 by Ruthanne

A dense brownie covered in creamy praline filling and topped with chocolate fudge and pecans. This will satisfy the most demanding sweet tooth!!!!

I adore pralines. Especially around Thanksgiving and Christmas when anything with pecans is somehow better. Some people say they are just too sweet- and this filling is no exception! Paired with this not-too-sweet brownie, I think it is perfect though. These got rave reviews and several people exclaimed, “These taste like Christmas!”

So let’s make these yummy little treats! (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS:

Brownie:

1cup butter
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk

Praline Filling:

1 cup whipping cream
12 Tablespoons of butter
3 cups of brown sugar (packed)
1 1/2 cup of finely chopped pecans (divided)
3 cups of powdered sugar
2 teaspoon of vanilla

Fudge Topping:

12oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
12 tablespoons butter (do not substitute margarine here!)

DIRECTIONS:

Brownie:

Preheat oven to 350.
Cream butter and sugar together.
Beat in eggs, cocoa, vanilla and salt.
Add flour and milk (alternating them and mixing well in between)
Spread evenly in greased jelly roll pan (12 1/2 x 17 1/2 x 1″).
Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until done in center and just starting to pull away from sides.
Cool.

Praline filling:

In a large saucepan, mix cream, butter and brown sugar.
Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until mixture comes to a boil.
Cook for one minute, stirring constantly and then remove from heat.
Stir in powdered sugar, vanilla and 1 cup of pecans (you may need to do this in a separate bowl if your saucepan isn’t big enough)
Cool for 5 minutes, stirring often until it thickens up a bit.
Spoon mixture over cooled brownies and spread into a smooth layer over the top.

Fudge Topping:

Melt butter and chocolate together in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between until completely melted and smooth.
Pour over praline filling and spread evenly over top.
Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup of chopped pecans.
Chill until top layer is hard and cut into bars.

My thoughts: These aren’t hard to put together and they are oh-so-yummy!!! I froze about half of the batch in an air-tight container for several weeks and just pulled them out for a party I was having- they freeze GREAT. In fact, they are pretty yummy frozen. 🙂 I hope you get a chance to try these and enjoy them as much as I did!

Other yummy Christmas desserts: (click on a photo to see the recipe)

6 Comments

Mini Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

Posted on November 23, 2015 by Ruthanne

Pumpkin Cupcakes4

These cute little bites of pumpkin and sweet cream cheese frosting are a perfect Fall treat! Top them with a little Hershey Kiss acorn, and they are a sweet place setting for Thanksgiving!

Pumpkin Cupcakes1

If you have followed this blog for very long, you know that I hate pumpkin. I cave in to autumn recipes though and sometimes create pumpkin treats for you all. I rely on others to tell me how they taste, and these got RAVE reviews from my taste-testing friends.

They are an adaptation of my mom’s delicious Pumpkin Roll, but in cute and bite-size portions!

And then there are those cute little acorns- easy and fun to make for your fall celebrations.

Pumpkin Cupcakes3

Here’s how we created all of this yummy-ness! (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS: (makes about 38-40 mini cupcakes)

Cupcakes:

2/3 cup pumpkin
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/2tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda

Frosting: (halve this if you don’t like piles of frosting as shown in my photos!)

8 oz (1 package) cream cheese (softened)
1/2 cup of butter (softened)
1 teaspoon vanilla
dash of salt
4 cups powdered sugar
1 cup white chocolate chips (melted)

Acorns:

40 Hershey kisses
40 mini Nilla Wafers
about 1/2 cup of chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

Cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix together all of the cupcake ingredients, adding the flour, cinnamon and soda last. Blend well.
Spoon into mini cupcake liners, filling each about 3/4 full.
Bake for 14-16 minutes
Cool completely and frost.

Frosting:

On medium speed, beat together cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and salt until creamy.
Gradually add powdered sugar, beating until smooth.
Melt white chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between, until smooth.
Add melted white chocolate to icing and beat on low until completely combined.
Place in a zip-top bag fitted with a decorating tip and pipe frosting on top of cooled mini cupcakes.
Add leaf sprinkles and acorn (if desired)

Acorns:

Count out about 40 chocolate chips, Nilla Wafers and (unwrapped!) Hershey kisses.
Melt remaining chocolate chips
Set Nilla Wafers flat side up on a plate.
Spread a small amount of melted chocolate on the bottom of a Hershey kiss and set it (melted chocolate side down) on a Nilla Wafer. Repeat until all kisses are placed and refrigerate until hardened together.
Use a toothpick to put a small amount of melted chocolate on a chocolate chip and carefully hold to the top of the Nilla Wafer until it hardens and stays (when the Nilla Wafer is cold from the fridge, this happens in seconds).
Use to decorate your table and your cupcakes!!!

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My thoughts: Cute, easy and (according to my friends!) delicious! I hope you get a chance to try these little bites of fall happiness! Enjoy!! ~r

Pumpkin CUpcakes5

Other really fun and cute fall treats: (click on a photo to see the recipe!)

8 Comments

Posted in Cupcakes and tagged acorn, acorn candy, acorn cupcake toppers, cream cheese frosting, cupcake, cupcakes, dessert, fall, fun, leaf sprinkles, mini cupcakes, pumpkin cupcakes, thanksgiving. Bookmark the permalink.

Peanut Butter Bomb Brownies

Posted on August 29, 2015 by Ruthanne

What could be more yummy than a chocolate brownie covered in creamy peanut butter ganache and topped with a chocolate covered peanut butter mousse bomb? If you are addicted to chocolate and peanut butter, this dessert is for you!

Chocolate and peanut butter are a timeless combination, and these brownies combine those flavors in such a fun way!

The homemade brownies are dense, but not too rich. They compliment that sweet creamy peanut butter mousse perfectly and are such a pretty dessert!

You will need a silicone bomb mold for this, and a brush for coating it in chocolate. I found both of these at a local cake-decorating shop and they were really inexpensive.

Want to see how we did these? Here’s the recipe: (printable version)

INGREDIENTS: (makes 18-24 brownie cups)

Brownie:

Two sticks (1 cup) butter
2 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
1 cup milk

Ganache:

1 cup of peanut butter baking chips
1/2 cup of heavy cream

Bombs:

1 to 2 cups of dark chocolate candy melts
1 c. creamy peanut butter
8 oz. Philadelphia Cream Cheese (softened to room temperature)
1/2 c. sugar
8 oz. Cool Whip topping

DIRECTIONS:

Bomb:

Make these first, so they are ready to use once you need them.
Melt chocolate candy melts in 30 second increments in the microwave, stirring between until melted and smooth.
Use a brush (clean, food brush) to brush the inside of each cavity of the bomb mold with melted chocolate.
Freeze for about 3 minutes and repeat, to give a nice thick layer of chocolate. Re-freeze for another 4-5 minutes.

Make filling by beating together peanut butter, cream cheese and sugar.
Gently fold in the container of whipped topping.
Place filling in a large zip-top bag and keep in the fridge until use.
Cut a corner off the bag, and squeeze filling into each chocolate coated bomb mold. Smooth tops with a spatula.

Refreeze for about 15 minutes- until filling is hardened.
Gently peel mold away from bomb. Place each one on a plate covered in parchment paper and freeze until use.

Brownie:

Preheat oven to 350.
Cream butter and sugar together.
Beat in eggs, cocoa, vanilla and salt.
Add flour and milk (alternating them and mixing well in between)
Spoon into 18-24 cupcake liners placed in a muffin tin (only fill 1/3 to 1/2 full)
Bake at 350 degrees for 12-14 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Ganache:

While brownies bake, heat peanut butter chips and heavy cream in a microwave safe bowl in 30 second increments. Stir and repeat until smooth and creamy.
When brownies are out of oven, carefully remove them from muffin tins and spoon warm ganache over warm brownies. Allow both to cool until ganache is firm but still a bit sticky.
Gently place a chocolate bomb on top of each brownie, and press gently into ganache.
Drizzle a bit of white chocolate on top if you desire.
Keep refrigerated. Leave at room temperature for a few minutes to warm before serving. Yum.

My thoughts: Yum!!! These were a huge hit among my friends and family. They do take a little extra time to make that bomb on top– but the wow factor is worth it! I will definitely be using these little silicone molds again- they are easy to use and I love that fun dome of chocolate! I hope you get a chance to try these!! Enjoy!!! ~r

Other yummy peanut butter treats on Easybaked:

11 Comments

Posted in Brownies, Candy and tagged best, brownies, chocolate, chocolate bomb, chocolate dessert, dessert, fun, mousse, peanut butter, peanut butter bomb, peanut butter mousse, recipe, unique dessert, unique recipe. Bookmark the permalink.

Fourth of July Dessert Ideas!

Posted on July 1, 2015 by Ruthanne

Bomb Pop Cupcakes!

Oh my, I love the fourth of July! I love the picnics, and pool parties, and cookouts, and fireworks…and the time with family!

My parents have always (like always, for as long as I can remember!) had a giant pool party for the fourth and invited our entire extended family for burgers and brats and volleyball and sunshine….and for a competitive display of our best “at home” fireworks we could find, later in the evening. I have so many fun memories of chasing fireflies and waving sparklers with my cousins (that are all grown with kids of their own now!). This year is different. For starters, mom isn’t here to orchestrate the complexities of the celebration. The house is in boxes and bags- ready to show to whomever might be interested in buying, and the pool and yard are immaculately kept. Pool toys and floats are all deflated and either sold or put away. Sometimes I sit on the back porch and watch the fireflies and remember all the laughter and fun.

I know that these times are not forever over. This year is different, but once dad settles into his new place there will be other celebrations and family times over the fourth. This year though…my heart wasn’t in the “create something new and fun” place. So instead, I thought you might enjoy a collection of some of my previous red-white-and-blue recipes. You can click on the photo or the title, to be taken to the recipe.

American Flag Oreo Pops

Patriotic Polka Dot Cake!!!

Flip Flop Cookies for the Fourth!

Patriotic Tie-Dye Cake!

Stars and Stripes Brownies!

Red White and Blue Bundt Cake!

And if you are grilling out for the Fourth, you might need these…

BBQ Grill Cupcakes!

Grilled Burger Cupcakes!

However you celebrate this summer, I hope you have fun making memories with your friends and family~ and I hope you enjoy trying fun, new recipes that become a part of your family traditions! ~r

1 Comment

Posted in Brownies, Cake Pops, Cakes, Cookies, Cupcakes, Seasonal dessert and tagged brownies, bundt cake, cake, chocolate, cookies, cupcakes, dessert, dessert collection, Fourth of July cake, fourth of july cookies, fourth of july cupcake, fourth of July recipes, fun, kids, oreo pops, patriotic recipes, recipe collection, red white and blue, red white and blue dessert, stars, summer. Bookmark the permalink.

Fire Cracker Cookies!!

Posted on June 26, 2015 by Ruthanne

These fun little fire cracker cookies have a crackling surprise inside– pop rock candy! A perfect treat for your Fourth of July celebrations!!!

I can’t believe it’s almost July already- this summer is passing too fast…! These cookies were a HUGE hit among my friends- the experience of eating a cookie that is popping in your mouth is truly a unique one, and everyone was a huge fan!

I adore sugar cookies…especially in the summer. They are so…expected at Christmas- but the 4th of July? Such a fun treat! These are easy to make and cut just beautifully. The dipping in candy melts takes a little time, but the end result is just so fun!

Here’s how we made these: (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS: (makes about 60 circles that end up at 20 completed cookies)

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter (softened)
1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 teaspoon of butter flavoring
3 cups of flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
3 bags of Wilton Candy Melts in red, white and blue
Star sprinkles
3 packets of Pop Rocks in any flavor
String licorice (or the pull-apart kind works too)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth.
Add eggs, vanilla and butter flavoring and mix well.
Add all dry ingredients and mix until able to knead into a firm ball of dough (add additional flour if necessary).
Roll out on a floured counter with a flour coated rolling pin to desired thickness (I made them fairly thick)
Cut about 60 circles using a cookie cutter (I used a 1″ cookie cutter)
Use a smaller circle cutter to cut out a center circle from 20 of these cookies.
Place cookies on cookie sheets covered in parchment paper and bake at 350F degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.
Slide baked cookies and parchment paper together onto a counter to cool completely.
Melt candy melts in microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between until smooth.
Dip 1/3 of cookies into blue melts first and allow them to harden slightly before setting a snip of licorice on top. You may need to experiment with this a bit. The melts need to be soft enough to stick the licorice in, and hard enough to hold it upright.
Dip remaining cookies- 1/3 into red and 1/3 into white melts (add star sprinkles on the sides of the white cookies) and allow them to harden completely.
Put the cookies together by piping or spreading a little white candy melt on the bottom of the white piece and setting it on the red. Fill the open spot in the white cookie with pop rocks, pipe or spread a little white candy melt on the top ring of the white cookie and set the blue cookie on the very top. Allow cookies to harden together. Enjoy!!

My thoughts: These take a little time, but they are genuinely fun to make and SO fun to serve! I loved the giggles at those surprise Pop Rocks in the middle!!! I hope you get a chance to try them!!!

Other fun summer cookie recipes: (click on a photo to see the recipe)

1 Comment

Posted in Cookies and tagged cookies, cookies for kids, dessert, firecrackers, fourth of July, fun, independence day, patriotic, pop rocks, recipe, stars and stripes, Wilton candy melts. Bookmark the permalink.

Fishing Pond Cupcakes

Posted on June 19, 2015 by Ruthanne

These delicious chocolate cupcakes are filled with a blue frosting “pond” and salty goldfish crackers! A perfect treat for the fish (or fishing!) lovers in your life!

We have a fishing theme on Easybaked these past few weeks. Last week I shared my fishing bobbers and this week a cute little fishing pond! I cannot underestimate the yummy sweet and salty combination of these cupcakes! Those goldfish are a perfect little bite of salt- and simply adorable! These are cute for Father’s day or Birthdays~ and you can even add a few little flower sprinkles for the girls in your life that adore their goldfish!

These are easy-peasy to make, they use a boxed cake mix and a tub of frosting (although, if you are an over-achiever you certainly could do both from scratch!)

Here’s how we made them: (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS:

One boxed chocolate cake mix (plus water, oil and eggs to make according to package)
Two tubs of white frosting
About 2 cups of green sugar crystals
One bag of Goldfish Baby crackers (they are smaller than the original crackers)
Green and blue food coloring gels

DIRECTIONS:

Make cake mix according to package and bake in 24 cupcake liners set in a baking tin. Cool completely.
Open one tub of frosting, spoon it into a bowl, heat it for about 15 seconds in the microwave to soften it a little and color it green with food color.
Open the second tub of frosting spoon it into a bowl, heat it for about 15 seconds in the microwave to soften it a little and color it blue with food color. Spoon it into a zip-top bag and set aside.
Pour green sugar into a small bowl.
To assemble: Cut a pond-shaped circle hole into the top of each cupcake using a small knife and pull out the core.
Dip the top of the cupcake into the green frosting and then into the green sugar, coating it completely.
Cut a corner off the bag holding the blue frosting and pipe it into the pond opening on the top of the cupcake.
Add a couple of goldfish and flower sprinkles if desired –and enjoy!!!

My thoughts: How fun!!! I hope you get a chance to make these cute little cupcakes for your next “fishy” get-together ~ maybe this weekend at the lake cottage??? ~Enjoy!!!

Need some other fun summer ideas? We have lots of them! Click on a photo to see the recipe:

3 Comments

Posted in Cupcakes and tagged baby goldfish crackers, best, chocolate, cupcakes, Father's Day, fish cupcakes, fishing pond cupcakes, frosting, fun, goldfish crackers, lake vacation recipe, recipe, summer. Bookmark the permalink.

Fishing Bobber Cupcakes!

Posted on June 12, 2015 by Ruthanne

If your dad loves fishing, these fun bobbers on waves of blue buttercream frosting will make him smile!

A perfect Father’s Day treat!

The idea for this recipe began last year before Father’s Day. I was pondering the idea of cutting a hole in the top of a cupcake and finding (or making) an edible golf ball to set inside of it. One morning the lightbulb came on: Lindt White Chocolate Truffles! They were perfect, and as I unwrapped all that yummy chocolate I brainstormed for other ideas.

One of those ideas was another Father’s Day treat- fishing bobbers! I filed the idea away until this year came around and then gave it a go. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to dip the truffle in warm chocolate without it melting, and if it would actually look like a bobber– but I love them! My dad loved them too.

Here’s how we made these yummy treats for dad: (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS:

One boxed cake mix (plus water, oil and eggs to make according to package)
Blue food coloring gel
2 sticks (one cup) of salted butter
2 sticks (one cup) of unsalted butter
3 cups of powdered sugar
2 teaspoons of clear vanilla flavoring
24 Lindt white chocolate truffles
One bag of Wilton candy melts in red

DIRECTIONS:

Make cake mix according to package.
Divide out about 1/3 of batter and color it blue
Swirl the 2 colors together (don’t mix too much!) and scoop into 24 cupcake liners placed in a baking tin.
Bake according to package and cool cupcakes completely
Make frosting by placing butters, powdered sugar and vanilla into a large bowl and beating on high until light and fluffy.
Divide frosting in half and color one half blue. Swirl together the blue and white frosting and place into a large zip-top bag, fitted with a decorating tip.
Pipe frosting on top of cupcakes.
To make toppers: Unwrap all Lindt truffles.
Melt red candy melts in a bowl in the microwave for 30 second increments, stirring in between, until melted and smooth.
Allow candy melts to cool a little before dipping.
Use a small skewer or fork to dip each truffle into red candy melts, covering the bottom half in red. Place these on clean parchment paper to cool and harden.

Place remaining melted red chocolate into a small zip-top bag. Clip a corner and carefully pipe a small circle of red on the top of each “bobber”, covering the hole made by the skewer used for dipping.
Once “bobbers” are completely cooled and hardened, place them on the top of each cupcake and enjoy!!!

My thoughts: I really have the most incredible dad. He is funny (hilarious!) and smart and brave. He loves golf (last year’s cupcakes) and he loves fishing (this year’s cupcakes)~ he goes to Canada every summer to fish for GIANT Walleye and Pike and then he fries them up for us all when he gets back- and they are delicious! He does roll his eyes when I say that I like bobber fishing best….but in any case, these are for you dad! I love you!!!!!!!

Need more ideas for your Father’s Day celebration? Try some of these! (click on a photo to see the recipe)

5 Comments

Posted in Cupcakes and tagged best, chocolate truffles, cupcakes, dessert, desserts for dad, edible fishing bobber, Father's Day, Fathers Day cupcakes, fishing bobber cupcakes, fishing cupcakes, fishing dessert, fun, lindt chocolate, lindt white chocolate, recipe, summer, white chocolate. Bookmark the permalink.

Watermelon Cupcakes

Posted on May 22, 2015 by Ruthanne

What could be a better picnic treat than these sweet watermelon cupcakes~ covered in “ants” and filled with chocolate chip seeds???

These are so fun to make- and watching people’s surprise at that filling is fun too! My favorite comment? “Oh my, this tastes like WATERMELON!” Um…yes. It does. *smile*

This recipe uses a cake pop maker. I hesitantly purchased one a few years back to make a polka dot cake, and I thought I’d end up selling it on a garage sale after that one use. NOT SO!!! I love it! So many possibilities! I just made fun little pancake balls the other day for breakfast- not to mention all the yummy recipes we have done here with it! Get a cake pop maker!! (or, if you must, make your pink centers in mini muffin tins. Just know that you are missing out on some serious fun!)

I also used fondant on the top of these cupcakes. I know that for many of you, this step is a tedious one and I say frost these cupcakes however you like! Green frosting, pink frosting with sprinkles of mini chips….whatever! Just don’t miss out on that fun center!

Here’s how we made them: (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS:

One boxed white cake mix (with water, oil and eggs to make according to box)
One small packet of watermelon Kool-Aid drink mix
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1 stick of salted butter
1 stick of unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar
2 teaspoons of clear vanilla
Green, Pink, and Black Food Color Gels
One box of Wilton fondant in white (or make your own, using my recipe)

DIRECTIONS:

Make cake mix according to package
Remove one cup of batter and place in a separate bowl.
Add 1/2 a packet of Watermelon Kool-Aid powder (use more or less to taste)
Add pink color gel to intensify the color to desired shade
Mix in mini chocolate chips.
Bake in cakepop maker (or use a small mini-muffin tin), making 24 cake pops (or mini-muffins)

Add green color gel to remaining batter, mixing well.
Spoon a little green batter into a cupcake liner, placed in a cupcake tin.
Place pink cake pop on top.
Spoon green batter over the top, covering the cake pop. Use less, rather than more batter here- if you use too much it will bake over the edges.
Bake at 350F degrees for 15-18 minutes.
Cool completely.
Make frosting by placing butters, powdered sugar and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and beating on high for 3-4 minutes until very light and fluffy.
Color frosting green, if desired, and set aside.
IF you use fondant, color a batch with green color gel (leave out a little bit to make ants if desired), cut into circles that fit the top of your cupcakes using a round cookie cutter. Keep circles covered to prevent drying.
Working one cupcake at a time, spread frosting and then gently lay fondant on top of frosting and press edges down inside of cupcake liner.
Use dark green color gel with a little water (think watercolor paints) to paint on watermelon stripes.
Color remaining fondant black and roll into 3 small balls to stick together as an ant on each cupcake. use a toothpick or small brush to paint little ant legs under each ant.

***If you have used fondant before, this should all be easy, but if this is your 1st time and you are wondering what I mean by things like “color fondant”, see my tutorial on making and using fondant here. You’ll make your ants like the caterpillars shown in the tutorial.***

My thoughts… These are really fun little cupcakes. I’m not a huge fan of watermelon flavor, but only the center is flavored and for me it was the perfect little surprise “pop” of flavor. You could certainly add Kool-Aid to your frosting too- it will just end up being a little pink, rather than green.

Nothing says SUMMER like watermelon~ enjoy these little cupcakes at YOUR next summer celebration!! ~r

Other ways to use that cake pop machine you just got 😉 (click on a photo to see the recipe)

2 Comments

Posted in Cupcakes and tagged best, cake pop machine, cake pops, chocolate chips, cupcakes, filled cupcakes, fondant, fun, Kool-Aid dessert, Kool-Aid recipe, picnic treats, recipe, Summer recipe, watermelon, watermelon cupcakes, Watermelon Kool-Aid. Bookmark the permalink.

Cupcakes for Puppies!!!

Posted on May 15, 2015 by Ruthanne

These delicious little peanut butter cupcakes are a yummy treat for puppies and people!

(Just don’t sprinkle the people-ones with dog treats!)

So, I have this dog named Casper.

He was an answer to prayer 6 years ago and he has been making me smile and cheering my heart ever since. His 6th birthday is coming up in June and I wanted to celebrate with a dessert made just for him. I took my peanut butter cookie recipe (which is delightfully simple, using pup-friendly ingredients) and scooped it into mini-muffin tins to bake. They bake up into adorable little bite-size treats. I topped the puppy ones with whipped cream and puppy treats. Then I added a little chocolate on top of the “human” variety.

Here’s how we made them: (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS: (makes 24-30 mini cupcakes)

1c. creamy peanut butter
1c. sugar
1 egg

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Mix peanut butter, sugar and eggs together in a mixing bowl.
Use a medium size cookie scoop to scoop dough into mini cupcake liners placed in a mini cupcake tin.
Bake at 350 degrees for 12-14 minutes. Cool completely.
Serve plain, or top with a little whipped cream and dog treats (for dogs)
I like a little chocolate with my peanut butter (for humans ONLY though- chocolate makes puppies sick!)
Enjoy! (and help your pup with that paper wrapper!)

Just like that, his “pupcake” is gone! (he needed a little help with the paper wrapper…)

Then we played with the extra whipped cream a little bit…just for fun.

Love him!!!!!

My thoughts: Easy, fun and yummy for both you and your furry friends. Casper and I shared these with both human and puppy friends and they were a hit! There are only 3 basic ingredients in these, but you’ll want to make sure that neither dog nor human have allergies to them before serving! ~Enjoy!!!

Don’t miss Casper’s other recipe feature here: “Cupcakes for Casper”

Chocolate Crossword Cookies

Posted on May 8, 2015 by Ruthanne

These delicious chocolate cut-out cookies are the perfect way to spell out your love to Mom on Mother’s Day!

Goodness, I love these cut-out cookies. They are one of my very favorite chocolate cookies and they roll out and cut beautifully! I’ve used them often with various projects here on Easybaked.

This Mother’s Day is different. It is my very 1st Mother’s Day without a Mom. For those of you who follow me here at Easybaked, you know that we lost mom very suddenly last Christmas season to cancer. Almost every day feels strange without her here, but I guess Mother’s Day seems even more strange.

I’ve had a lot of people ask me if I would have a recipe this year here in celebration of Moms- and I said, “Yes!”

Moms are such a wonderful gift, and if you have one this weekend– give her a big hug and really enjoy having her in your life. I have no regrets about my time with my mom- we made so many wonderful memories together and I love thinking about all the times we spent talking and laughing in my 44 years.

This idea is for her. She was positively addicted to crossword puzzles, and I know that these cookies would have made her smile.

My icing skills are not something to be terribly proud of…man, I cannot draw a straight line!!!!

Here’s how we made them: (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS: (makes about 30, 1 1/2” square cookies)

1 sticks (1/2 cup) butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Wilton’s candy melts (to mold or write letters with)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Add butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and cocoa together in large mixing bowl.
Blend on medium speed with a mixer until smooth.
Gradually add dry ingredients and mix until smooth (use clean hands at the end, to knead into a soft ball of dough)
Roll out cookie dough on floured counter, using a floured rolling pin.
Cut into 1 1/2″ squares and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Bake for 8 to 11 minutes until the edges are firm.
Gently slide parchment paper off of cookie sheet and onto a flat surface.
Before frosting, make letters by using a candy letter mold in 1″ letters. Pipe melted Wilton’s Candy Melts into the letters you need and allow them to harden completely before tapping to remove. You can also just “write” letters on the frosted cookies using melted chocolate or even use pens designed to write in edible ink.
Frost using Royal Icing. Click here for my printable royal icing recipe and instructions for use.
As soon as you frost, lay letters in place before the frosting hardens (if you are “writing” directly on the cookie you will wait until the frosting is very hard 1st).
Decorate extra cookies with fun sprinkles.

My thoughts: These are yummy little cut-outs! If you don’t want to go with a crossword theme, you can cut these into any shape and decorate them just for your mom!

I will leave you with a (very!) old picture of my mom and I together. I’m so thankful for all the years between this picture and now.

Happy Mother’s Day!!!

Looking for that perfect gift for moms and grandmas? Get them my cookbook- specially designed to use with kids and grandkids, teaching them both kitchen skills and about God’s love for them! Fun!!!

Life Is Sweet: 12 Baking Devotions for Kids