Tag Archives: party

Maple Hedgehog Cupcakes!

Posted on April 17, 2015 by Ruthanne

Hedgehogs are the MOST adorable things, and these yummy maple cupcakes capture all the cuteness in edible form!

Seems like hedgehogs are all the rage these days. I’ve seen slippers and t-shirts and recently found the MOST adorable hedgehog salt and pepper shakers at Target.

I love them. I think they fall into the category: “so ugly they are cute”, in the animal kingdom…along with the walrus and basset hound…

In any case, I decided that the cupcake world needed a cute (and EASY) version of these, and here they are!

Now, the dilemma of every blogger of desserts is this: who do I give these to, so that I don’t eat them all and gain 500 pounds?

I had an obvious answer for these little hedgehogs: Warner Press!

You see, about a year ago at this time I was getting ready for the publication of my first cookbook, and I was partnered with an absolutely WONDERFUL publisher~ Warner Press. Through the process, many of the people I worked with became dear friends. One of those friends HATES hedgehogs. In fact, it is a long-standing office joke that Regina despises the cute little rodents. Obviously, she needed Hedgehog cupcakes~ so I went for a visit!

We had a fun day of cupcakes and catching up- and I promised them I would tell you all about the (adorable!) boxed set of Hedgehog cards that Regina reluctantly approved for publication. She was so convinced that they would be an epic fail, that she agreed to a wager: If the hedgehog cards make it into the top 10 selling items at Warner Press she would take them all out for dinner…and they are close…!

I love them, and thought I’d give you all a chance to purchase some (and maybe put them into the top ten best selling items?!?!) They would be a cute gift for Mother’s Day! Click here to see the rest of the fun hedgie pictures and to order.

The cupcakes are as easy as can be! Here’s how we put them together: (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS:

1 boxed cake mix (plus water oil and eggs to make according to package)
1 tub of pre-made vanilla frosting
2 teaspoons of maple flavoring
1 cup of chocolate jimmies
1/2 cup of Wilton’s Candy Melts in dark chocolate (or you can use mini chocolate chips)
1/4 cup of Wilton’s Candy melts in pink.

DIRECTIONS:

Make cake mix according to package and bake as cupcakes for recommended time and temp. Cool completely.
Place frosting into a small bowl and heat for just 15-20 seconds in the microwave until soft. Add maple flavoring and stir until combined.
Dip tops of cooled cupcakes into frosting and pull into a slight “point” on one end of the cupcake for a little nose (see photo)
Immediately (over a plate) pour and pat jimmies into place, opposite the “point”, leaving a small circular section empty for face. Finish all cupcakes this way ( if you use mini chips for eyes you should place them now, before the frosting hardens)

Melt candy melts in the microwave in a small bowl in 30 second increments, stirring in between until smooth.
Place each color in a small zip-top bag and seal.
Clip a small corner off and squeeze out drops of chocolate for the eyes and pink candy melts for the nose- right on the end of the “point” left by the frosting.
Allow cupcakes to harden up.
Enjoy!!!!

My thoughts: Cute and easy! Plus that maple frosting is YUM-MY! You certainly could use your own favorite cupcake recipe for these too- I just used a cake mix for simplicity. Such a fun recipe for kids too! Gotta love those hedgehogs– right, Regina?!? Enjoy!! ~r

Other unique cupcakes from Easybaked: (click a photo to see the recipe)

9 Comments

Posted in Cupcakes and tagged cake mix, chocolate, chocolate jimmies, cupcakes, fun, funny cupcakes, greeting cards, hedgehog, hedgehog cupcakes, maple frosting cupcakes for kids, party, sprinkles, unique cupcakes, warner press. Bookmark the permalink.

Lucky Charms Truffles

Posted on March 6, 2015 by Ruthanne

If you like Lucky Charms Cereal, you will love these chocolate-covered treats!

I was walking down the cereal aisle and a box of Chocolate Lucky Charms jumped into my cart and begged me to make a dessert with it.

That’s almost how it happened…! I love Lucky Charms and I adore the chocolate version. Did you know that just before St. Patrick’s Day they have a limited time version full of shamrocks and pots of gold. Too cute!

I had actually been wondering if the oft-used technique of Oreos + Cream Cheese, rolled into a ball and covered in chocolate would work with cereal. Perfect opportunity to try!

These are yummy little chocolate-y and marshmallow-y treats that are SO cute for the month of March!

Here’s how we put them together: (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS: (makes 24-36 truffles, depending on how big you make them)

4 cups of Lucky Charms Chocolate cereal (marshmallows and all)
1 bar of Philadelphia Cream Cheese (at room temp)
1 bag of Wilton’s candy melts (in any color you like- I used up some leftover bags in a variety of colors)

DIRECTIONS:

Finely crush cereal into crumbs (I used a food-chopper).
Combine with cream cheese until it forms a soft ball of dough.
Roll dough into small balls.
Melt candy melts in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between, until melted and smooth.
Use a fork to dip balls of cereal into the melted candy. Tap the fork on the side of the bowl to drain off excess melted candy, and slide fork along edge of bowl to remove excess.
Place each truffle on parchment paper to harden. Top with marshmallow bits from the cereal, or sprinkles.
Allow them to harden completely.

My thoughts: Aren’t they cute? They are pretty yummy too. I thought the consistency was a little weird, but once they are covered in chocolate it’s not as noticeable. I got a thumbs up from friends who tried them and kids LOVED them. Just a fun little St. Patricks Day project! Enjoy! ~r

Other yummy St. Patrick’s Day treats here on Easybaked: (click on image to see recipe)

5 Comments

Posted in Candy, Cookies and tagged best, candy, chocolate, Cream Cheese, dessert, easy, fun, Lucky Charms, Lucky Charms Cereal, melted chocolate, party, philadelphia cream cheese, shamrocks, St. Patrick Day, truffles. Bookmark the permalink.

Learning to make Scones

Posted on February 21, 2015 by Ruthanne

These dense, rich scones can be made with a variety of flavors, and they are SO good!

One month ago I could say that I had never even tasted a scone before, much less made one. Today I made nearly 80 of them and they are one of my new favorite treats!

About a month ago, I offered to help with a baby shower for my friend Heather. I asked if they needed help with food, thinking cake or cupcakes or fancy cookies- typical shower requests. Heather’s mom Sharla explained that they were having an English tea for Heather and could I please make scones?

Scones…? I agreed and started to read up on scones. They sounded difficult. They sounded dry and crumbly and b-o-o-o-ring…. yawn.

I started with a basic recipe for chocolate chip scones. I won’t tell you where I got it, because it wasn’t very good. At the time, I thought it must just be how scones are supposed to be (since I’d never tasted one before). Yuck.

I was explaining my dislike for scones in a group of friends one night, and one family started protesting that they make the best scones ever. The mom (my friend Beth), got the recipe from her mother-in-law, who sold them in a tea shop she ran years ago.

It sounded promising, and Beth sent me home armed with the recipe, tips and two scone pans (I didn’t even know those existed, but I LOVE them!).

I started with Apricot White Chocolate Scones, and the rest is history. I love them. They are easier than cookies and so much yummier!

Here is how to make them: (printable recipe)

You really need to have a pastry cutter (you can cut cold butter in with a knife, but it is SO much harder). You might also want to consider a scone pan. Those links will take you to products on Amazon, and if you get them I will get like 6% of what you spend. And then I will buy a scone pan for myself. *smile* If you want, you can cut the scones and bake them on a cookie sheet too- but they aren’t quite as moist and amazing that way.

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons of sugar
4 teaspoons of baking powder (fresh!)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup of dried fruit, chocolate chips, nuts, or any combination of those three
1 stick (1/2 cup) of cold butter
2 eggs (beaten)
3/4 cup of whipping cream
Milk (as needed)
Sugar/ Cinnamon to sprinkle on top.

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F, and spray pan (or sheet) liberally with cooking spray.
In a large mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
Add stick of butter and cut into crumb-like pieces using the pastry cutter.
Add nuts or chips (if using) and toss together with dry mixture until coated.
In a medium mixing bowl, mix together whipping cream and eggs until well combined.
Add dried fruit (if using) and toss together with wet mixture until coated.
Make a “well” in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into it.
Combine and then gently knead with hands until it holds together in a ball. Add milk if mixture is too dry (this is most often the case when no fruit is added). Don’t over-knead this dough (you’ll melt all those little pieces of butter with the heat of your hands!)

If using a scone pan, set aside about 1/4 of the dough to bake in a second batch. I overfilled my pan and they rose too high (as you can see in my pictures). When I made them for the shower, I used less dough and it was perfect!
Press remaining dough into a square on a floured counter and cut into triangles as shown (I used a pizza cutter and a knife- both worked fine).
Set into pan (or on cookie sheet) and brush tops with milk. Sprinkle with sugar (I used cinnamon and sugar).
Bake at 400 degrees F for 12-15 minutes.

Allow them to cool in pan for about 5 minutes and pop out with forks.
Enjoy!!!

My thoughts: Goodness…this sounds complicated, doesn’t it? I thought so too, but now that I’ve made a bunch of them I really do think they are easier than cookies! Today for the shower I made 4 kinds. I added white chocolate chips and apricots to the first (I cut the dried apricots into smaller pieces using kitchen scissors). I added dried berried (cherries, blueberries and cranberries) to the second. I added mini chocolate chips to the third, and I added Hershey’s cinnamon chips to the fourth.

Here’s Heather, the beautiful mom-to-be at her English tea baby shower- SO much fun! Enjoy!!~r

Other fun shower desserts here at Easybaked (click on a photo to see the recipe):

16 Comments

Posted in Pastry and tagged best, bridal shower, chocolate, chocolate chip scone, chocolate chips, dessert, easy, fruit, party, pastry, recipe, scones, white chocolate scone. Bookmark the permalink.

Confetti Sugar Cookies!

Posted on December 26, 2014 by Ruthanne

What better way to celebrate the New Year than with confetti? Especially the edible kind that pours out of the center of a delicious sugar cookie? So. Much. Fun!!!!

These sugar cookies are a fun and festive surprise that are sure to make your guests smile as you ring in 2015! These are easy to put together and a creative addition to any celebration!

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

INGREDIENTS: (makes about 24 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
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 bags of Wilton Candy Melts in any colors you wish to use
2-3 cups of small confetti sprinkles

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.
Cut about 72 circles using a cookie cutter (I used a 2″ cookie cutter)
Use a slightly smaller circle cutter to cut out a center circle from 24 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 about 1/4 of a cup of candy melts (I used white, but you can use whatever colors you’ve chosen) in the microwave for 30 second increments, stirring between until completely melted and smooth. Place the melted candy in a small zip top bag and cut one corner off.
Pipe around the bottom of the “ring” cookie and place it on a “solid” cookie.
Fill the open center of the “ring” cookie with confetti sprinkles.
Pipe melted candy melts around the top of the “ring” cookie and set another “solid” cookie on top.
Allow these cookies to harden completely (I placed mine in the fridge for about 20 minutes).

Melt remaining candy melts in the microwave in 30 second increments until completely melted and smooth.
Dip cookie into melted candy and cover completely, using a spoon. Use a fork to lift out and tap against side of bowl until excess melted candy falls away. Slide bottom of cookie against side of bowl and gently slide onto parchment paper to harden.
Immediately sprinkle with confetti or other decorations before candy melts harden.

Package up in a tightly sealed container or in cello bags.
Wait until midnight and celebrate with the BEST confetti ever– the edible kind!!!

My thoughts: these look complicated to make, but they really went together quickly and it was so fun to see people’s surprise at all that confetti inside. I did warn them to take that 1st bite over a plate- haha- I guess that just depends on how messy you want your floors during that NYE party! Enjoy!!!

Other fun NYE treats:

12/19/14: On a personal note: I blog my recipes ahead, and I prepared this post (and scheduled it to publish) several weeks ago. Since that time, my mom has been diagnosed with very, very aggressive cancer and admitted to Hospice. I just wanted to ask for all of you who have followed this little blog and enjoyed these recipes to keep our family in your prayers as we say good bye to her during this Christmas and New Year season. Because of this, and because I am in the process of starting a new job, I will be taking a few weeks off from publishing recipes here. May this New Year bring great hope and joy to you and your family! God Bless! Back in a few weeks. *Hugs* ~Ruthanne

13 Comments

Posted in Candy, Cookies and tagged birthday party cookies, chocolate cut-out cookie recipe, confetti, confetti cookies, cookies, dessert, fun cookie recipe, holiday, kids, New Years dessert, New Years eve cookies, party, sugar cookies, sweets, unique cookies. Bookmark the permalink.

Jeepers Creepers Oreo Pops!

Posted on October 24, 2014 by Ruthanne

These scared little pretzel monster Oreo pops are not only adorable but a perfect salty and sweet combination!

Because I love desserts and I obviously blog about them all the time, my friends are often pointing out cute ideas they find online. That was the case with these cute little pretzel monsters. A friend found them in Family Fun Magazine and posted a picture on my Facebook wall. As soon as I saw them I knew they belonged on an Oreo pop! Aren’t they so cute?!?

They are also very easy, and a great make-ahead treat for fall parties!

Here’s how to create them for yourself: (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS: (makes about 26-30 pops)

One box of Oreo Double Stuff cookies
30 lollipop sticks
1 bag of Wilton’s Candy Melts in black or purple (or both, if you want both colors!)
Small amounts of Wilton’s Candy Melts in other halloween colors (for the “eyes”)
Round sprinkles
30 Flipz white chocolate covered pretzels

DIRECTIONS: (Need a visual for making Oreo pops? Click here.)

Make pretzel monsters first by laying all 30 Flipz out on a piece of parchment paper.
Melt a small amount (maybe 1/3 cup) of any Candy Melt color for the eyes, and spoon into a small zip top bag.
Zip bag closed and clip a corner off. Pipe color into top two holes of pretzel and gently set a sprinkle “iris” in place.
Repeat with other colors and allow eyes to harden completely.
For Oreo pops, carefully twist apart all of the Oreo cookies
Using one of the lollipop sticks, make an indentation in the white filling of each cookie.
Melt the about 1/4 of the black or purple Candy Melts in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring until completely melted and smooth.
Dip the end of one stick into the melted candy, drizzle a little in the center of the cookie filling and then gently press it into the indentation made.
Place the top of the cookie back on and allow candy melts to harden (20 minutes or so), cementing the cookie back together with a stick inside. (Freeze for 5-10 minutes to speed this process up)
Melt remaining black or purple Candy Melts in the same manner.
Holding the stick, lower the entire Oreo into the bowl of melted Candy Melt, spooning it over the top and sides to cover it completely.
Allow the excess to drain off and gently place covered Oreo on a piece of parchment paper.
Immediately place a pretzel monster on top and allow the Oreo to harden completely.

My thoughts: These are cute and yum yum yummy! I like the cute little surprised looks on the pretzel monsters, and they taste GREAT! Wrap these up in cello bags with cute ribbons and you have a fun party treat to share! Enjoy! ~r

A few other October treats here on Easybaked (click on photo to see recipe):

4 Comments

Posted in Cake Pops, Candy, Cookies and tagged alien, candy, chocolate, creepy, dessert, Flipz, fun, Halloween, monster, October, oreo, party, pretzel, treat. Bookmark the permalink.

Pumpkin Guts!

Posted on October 17, 2014 by Ruthanne

This delicious coconut cream pie dip is disguised as gooey pumpkin guts (with sliced almond “seeds”)~ a perfect Halloween treat!!

I love carving pumpkins. The smell is my favorite part, it reminds me of being very small and in a homemade costume anxiously awaiting trick-or-treat time. We always carved pumpkins several days earlier, but we lit them on Halloween and all evening the lids would quietly cook in the candle flame, filling the house with an indescribably wonderful scent that still reminds me of childhood whenever I smell it.

I carved a pumpkin for this recipe.

1. To serve this dip in.

2. To use as a reference in coloring this dessert!

Isn’t it fun? I savored the smell and enjoyed the squishy guts between my fingers…I even roasted a few seeds and ate them with salt as a reward for getting my pictures taken!

Want to know how to make this yummy fall treat? It is SUPER easy! (Printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups of shredded sweet coconut (to desired consistency)
1 cup of sliced almonds
1 box (3.3 oz.) Jello Brand White Chocolate Pudding (instant)
Milk (to make pudding according to package)
Orange and yellow food coloring
Chocolate cookies for dipping!

DIRECTIONS:

Make pudding as directed on package and color to desired shade with food colors
Place coconut in a large zip-top bag and add the same food colors to the bag. Toss and mix coconut until colored as well.
Mix pudding with enough coconut to make a gooey pumpkin consistency.
Mix about half of the almonds in, and use the rest to sprinkle on top.
Serve with chocolate cookies or graham crackers for that “Almond Joy” taste!
Enjoy!

My thoughts: Well, I love coconut, almonds and chocolate- so this was a given “perfect” dessert for me! I think it would be fun to serve this with a “murdered” pumpkin, I just didn’t have time to draw a dramatic face and stick a big knife in mine! Serve it up classy, or make it into a funny Halloween treat- either way, it is easy and soooooo yummy! ~Enjoy!!!!! ~r

Other fun fall desserts here on Easybaked (click on a photo to see the recipe)

1 Comment

Posted in Easy recipes, Miscellaneous, Pies, Seasonal dessert and tagged almond joy dip, almonds, chocolate, coconut, dessert, dip, fall, fun, Halloween, halloween party dessert, party, pudding, pumpkin dip, pumpkin guts, unique. Bookmark the permalink.

Creepy Earthworm Cupcakes

Posted on October 10, 2014 by Ruthanne

These fun little cupcakes will entertain your family and friends with slimy (raspberry!) earthworms poking out of the top!

Well, it’s October, and that means it is time for creatively creepy edibles! Last year I had SO much fun with my Broken Glass Cupcakes and my Toxic Slime Cupcakes! Oh my goodness, I love both of those recipes so much that it was hard to think of anything that fun and creepy for this year!!!

I loved the idea of worm-filled cupcakes and decided that gummy worms are way too cheery, with all their fun bright colors. I wanted WORMS- big fat earthworms- in my cupcakes.

I’m not sure why these are not readily available for purchase in the candy aisle of my grocery store, but fortunately I found a TON of recipes for make-your-own gummy earthworms online. I read about 10 recipes (they were all very similar) and gave it a shot.

I love them!!!! I had a hard time biting into one to try out the flavor because they were so realistic! These are really not very hard to make, and I can think of a TON of desserts these would be fun to serve with. These are even Father’s Day friendly (I realized this when the men who were eating the cupcakes started talking about fishing with earthworms…) or maybe you could “dress up” my apple cupcakes from last week with a few worms! 🙂

Here’s how to make these fun little desserts: (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS:

1 boxed chocolate cake mix (plus water, oil and eggs to make according to package)
2 sticks (1 cup) of butter (softened)
1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar
2 tablespoons of vanilla
Green sugar crystals
About 15 Oreo cookies crushed into crumbs
brown and green food color gels
1 (6 oz) packet of raspberry jello
4 (1/2 oz) packets of unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 cups boiling water

DIRECTIONS:

WORMS: (make the day before)

Take about 40-60 bendable plastic straws and pull them out to full length.
Place them each in a tall glass with the bendable part down.
Put a rubber band around the top to hold them together and upright.
Mix jello and unflavored gelatin together in a mixing bowl and add boiling water.
Stir until dissolved and refrigerate for about 20 minutes until cooled.
Place cream and a little bit of green food coloring in a separate bowl and mix well.
Mix cream with gelatin mixture until well combined.
Gently pour the mixture over the tops of the straws until they, and the glass are full.
Refrigerate overnight.
Place a sheet of parchment paper on a cookie sheet, and lightly spray it with cooking spray.
Run warm water over the glass until you can pull the entire jello mold out (straws and all!)
Gently pull apart straws and use a rolling pin to roll each little worm out.
Place each worm on the parchment paper until all of them have been removed from the straws.
Keep covered and refrigerated until use.

CUPCAKES:

Make cake mix according to box and divide evenly among 24 cupcake liners placed in tins.
Bake according to package, and allow them to cool.
Make frosting by placing butter, powdered sugar and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and beating it on high for about 3 minutes, until light and fluffy.
Color frosting using a combination of green and brown to make a clay-like color for inside the cupcakes
Use a cupcake corer or a small knife to cut a core out of each cupcake.
Pour green sugar into a small bowl.
Use a knife to spread a thin layer of frosting on the top of each cupcake, around the hole cut out by the corer.
Turn the cupcake top down into the green sugar, coating the frosting entirely.
Spoon or pipe a small amount of frosting into each cored cupcake.
Set a worm into the frosting, letting it “stick” and be held in place.
Spoon Oreo crumbs over the worm and frosting, filling up the rest of the hole in the cupcake.
Keep refrigerated until serving.
Enjoy!!

My thoughts: These crack me up. Everyone loves them, but kids are SO suspicious that you might have used real worms! One of my friends gave some to her grandkids and the oldest just sat and stared at hers and finally declared, “I saw one move!” They are disturbingly life-like. These are great covered in the fridge for a day, but at room temperature the worms start to dry out after a few hours. I hope you get a chance to try this creepy little treat! Enjoy!!! ~r

Other creepy recipes for your October fun: (click on a photo to see the recipe)

12 Comments

Posted in Cupcakes and tagged baking, chocolate, cupcakes, dessert, frosting, fun, gummy worms, Halloween, halloween dessert ideas, how to make gummy earthworms, Oreo dirt, party, recipe, sugar, unique, worms. Bookmark the permalink.

Fall Apple Cupcakes

Posted on October 3, 2014 by Ruthanne

Celebrate fall with these cute little apple cupcakes! Filled with a chocolate chip “seed” core, these are sure to make everyone smile!

Well. Fall is here. I just began to notice the changing leaves this week, and of course every morning it’s a little bit darker on my drive to work.

Every fall, our family makes a special trip to a local orchard to sample apples, doughnuts and cider. As the temperatures drop I find myself looking forward to pumpkins and rustling leaves and all the fun flavors that come with this new season! These little cupcakes don’t taste like apples, but they sure do look like them! I even added a fun seeded core to these, using my trusty cake pop maker.

How fun is that? Surprise chocolate chips are always a plus in my book! You can skip the “core” if you want- just make solid-colored cupcakes instead of using my added steps in the recipe. Either way, these are a lot of fun and easy to make!

Here’s the recipe: (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS:

1 boxed white cake mix (plus oil, water and eggs to make according to package)
Food coloring gels in desired colors.
1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips (if making core)
2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter, softened
2 sticks (1 cups) unsalted butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons of vanilla
Colored sugar sprinkles (in desired colors)
Fondant for stems and leaves (or use pretzel sticks for the stems and spearmint gummy leaves instead!)

DIRECTIONS:

Make cake mix according to package
Remove one cup of batter and place in a separate bowl.
Mix in mini chocolate chips.
Bake in cakepop maker (or use a small mini-muffin tin), making 24 cake pops (or mini-muffins)
Divide remaining batter into separate bowls and color using color gels. I did green, red and yellow apples, but you can do just one of those colors if you want.
Place cupcake liners into tins and spoon just a small amount of batter into each liner.
Use a cake pop to spread batter evenly into bottom of liner and then leave the cake pop in the center.
Spoon remaining batter evenly over the cake pops, covering each pop completely.

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.
Use a medium cookie scoop to scoop frosting on each cupcake, and then turn cupcake upside down into a bowl of decorating sugar, pressing until all of frosting is covered in sugar.
Decorate with fondant leaves and stems, or use pretzels and spearmint leaves.
To use fondant, you can buy it already made in white and color it with gel in green and brown, or you can make it from scratch and color it the same way.
Use a leaf fondant cutter to make leaves and just roll and cut the stems.
If you are new to fondant, we did a tutorial on it here. It is MUCH easier than it seems like it would be, and you can make such cute decorations with it!

My thoughts: These are such a happy fall treat! You can go all- out and make little chocolate chip cores, or just make plain cupcakes in various colors. Either way, they are a yummy, easy, fall treat that look beautiful on a fall-themed table. Hope you get a chance to try these! Enjoy!! ~Ruthanne

Other fun fall recipes here on easybaked:

14 Comments

Posted in Cupcakes and tagged apples, best, buttercream frosting, cupcakes, fall, filled cupcakes, fondant, fun, Halloween, leaves, October, party, recipe, school, teachers, unique, vanilla. Bookmark the permalink.

Caramel Gelato with Gingerbread Spoons

Posted on September 19, 2014 by Ruthanne

This creamy frozen caramel dessert is perfect when it is eaten with a spicy gingerbread cookie spoon. Does dessert get much more fun than this?!?

This recipe has a story. I was flying home to Michigan for a wedding when I saw the most amazing dessert in one of those in-flight magazines. It was some sort of mousse with a COOKIE SPOON in it. I stared at it and thought….and wondered if spoon cookie cutters exist (they do), and I decided right then that I would make something caramel with gingerbread spoons.

Something caramel…..something sweet and rich. About a week later, I saw this post on Foodgawker and the words, “Three ingredients. No churn. No machine. No whipping cream. It’s magic.” swirled in my head. Sour cream, Sweetened condensed milk, Vanilla. No machine.

What if I added Dulce de Leche instead of the sweetened condensed milk? I had to try it. I felt like I was surely wasting a container of sour cream when I mixed this up….but then…. creamy, cold caramel deliciousness. It is magic. You need to try this!

Here’s how: (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS:

Caramel Gelato:

1 1/2 cups of sour cream (use full-fat)
1 can (13.4 oz.) of La Lechera Dulce de Leche (now….imagine coconut cream in this recipe….!)
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Cookie Spoons:

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup dark molasses
1 tablespoon vinegar
2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon of baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon of ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves

DIRECTIONS:

Caramel Gelato:

Mix all ingredients together well, spread into a freezer safe bowl and cover tightly.
Freeze overnight.
Allow gelato to warm a little before serving.

Gingerbread Cookie Spoons:

Cream together butter and sugar.
Beat in egg, molasses and vinegar.
Blend in sifted dry ingredients.
Chill 2-3 hours (this is important– the dough is very easy to roll after chilling)
Roll 1/8 inch to 1/4 inch thick on a floured counter or board and cut into spoon shapes, using a cookie cutter, and place on greased cookie sheets.
Bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes. Check often- take out when cookies have risen and are easily removed from sheet.

My thoughts: This caramel desert is unbelievably creamy and rich. I pictured 2 scoops in my photos, but I would serve just one. It is almost like frozen custard- so heavy and rich. The caramel flavor is amazing though! Amazing. The cookies are so delicious with the caramel. They are hard to actually use as spoons until the frozen caramel warms a bit. I love this flavor combination! I hope you get a chance to try it! Enjoy!!! ~r

Other fun chilled desserts you might enjoy:

16 Comments

Posted in Cookies, Frozen desserts and tagged baking, caramel, caramel gelato, cookie spoons, cookies, fall, frozen custard, frozen desserts, fun, gelato, gingerbread cookies, ice cream, idea, party, spoons. Bookmark the permalink.

Cheesehead Cupcakes!

Posted on September 4, 2014 by Ruthanne

Cheesehead Cupcakes!!!!! These colorful Green Bay Packer CHEESEHEAD cupcakes are the perfect treat for game day!!! Make them in YOUR team colors and start the season off with some fun!

Today is the day!!!! NFL football season starts!!!! Tonight it’s the Packers vs. Seattle (GO PACK GO!!!!!!!), and I had to add some cheese on these fun little cupcakes to make them just perfect!

Wait— what’s inside? That’s what makes these so much fun!!!!!

A little splash of team color hidden in the middle. You can make these in any team colors you want- but if you make them for the Chicago Bears or the Detroit Lions you will need this tutorial here to make your cupcake toppers. 🙂

Here is how we made these: (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS:

One boxed white cake mix (plus water, oil and eggs to make according to box)
Green and gold food color gels (or your team colors)
2 sticks (1 cup) of salted butter, softened
2 sticks (1 cup) of unsalted butter, softened
3 cups of powdered sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla (or any flavoring you’d like to add to your frosting)
1 bag of Wilton’s candy melts in yellow (if you want cheesehead toppers!!) You will also need little triangle chocolate molds for these.

DIRECTIONS:

Make cake mix as directed on box, and take about 1/4 of the batter and mix it with yellow food color gel.
Using a cake pop maker or a small mini muffin tin, make 24 small, baked balls of cake in yellow. (click here for pictures of how to make these cake balls)
Color remaining batter with green food color gel.
Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Spoon a little bit of green batter into 24 cupcake liners placed in muffin tins.
Place one cake ball in each cavity in the center of the green batter.

Carefully spoon more green batter over the top of each yellow cake ball, filling each cup only 2/3 to 3/4 full (be careful to not over-fill. That is easy to do when you are focused on covering up that cake ball!)
Bake at 350F degrees for 15-18 minutes.
Allow cupcakes to cool completely.
Make frosting by placing butters, powdered sugar and vanilla in a large bowl and beating on high for 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy.
Divide frosting in half and color one half gold and the other half green. Place each color in a zip top bag that has been fitted with a decorating tip.
Pipe yellow icing on 1st followed by green and top with a bit of cheese!!!!!

To make little cheese head cupcake toppers:

Yes, that is a tire pressure gauge…..

Melt yellow candy melts in a microwave-safe bowl, in the microwave, in 30-second increments, stirring in between.
Put candy melts into a sturdy zip top bag, clip a corner and pipe into triangle candy molds.
Tap on counter to remove bubbles, and place in the freezer for 5 minutes, or until completely hardened.
Turn mold upside down and tap on counter to remove chocolate.
Repeat this process.
Allow the triangle chocolates to return to room temperature, and use whatever you find handy to put “holes” in your cheese. I used a (cleaned in hot soapy water) tire pressure gauge for mine. Let’s hear it for problem solving in the kitchen!!!!!!

My thoughts: These are just plain fun. I recommend using a cake pop maker for the center circles. It really does take less time and it makes the most adorably round little cake balls. Plus you can make a Polka-Dot cake with it too!!! I hope you get a chance to celebrate your team with these fun and colorful cupcakes!!! IT’S FOOTBALL SEASON!!!!!!