Tag Archives: recipe

Banana Split Cupcakes!

Posted on May 29, 2015 by Ruthanne

Do you like banana split sundaes? If so, you will love these little cupcake treats- tasty and oh, so cute!!

I love going out for ice cream- not the soft-serve window kind, but the sit-down in a cute parlor with a million combinations of ice creams and toppings to decide from kind. I usually skip the banana split, because I’m not a huge fan of bananas unless they are in bread (or, in this case a cupcake!). Banana splits are the gold-standard of ice cream though- they have that sundae “look” to them. They are pretty.

I wanted to capture the look, and flavor of a sundae in these cupcakes and I love how they turned out! YUM!!!!

A few months ago I made Root Beer Float Cupcakes using scoops of Cool Whip as ice cream. They were so easy and cute and DELICIOUS, that I used the same idea here~ with banana cupcakes and a yummy strawberry ice-cream-topping filling!

Want to try them? Here’s how we made them: (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS:

One boxed banana cake mix (I used Duncan Hines), plus water, oil and eggs to make according to box.
1 stick (1/2 cup) of salted butter (softened)
1 stick (1/2 cup) of unsalted butter (softened)
1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar
2 teaspoons of strawberry flavoring
2 tubs of Cool Whip (frozen)
One jar of strawberry ice cream topping
One bottle of chocolate “shell” ice cream topping
1/2 cup of chopped pecans
Sprinkles and spoons (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Make cake mix according to package and bake in 24 cupcake liners in muffin tins.
Make frosting by combining butters, powdered sugar and strawberry flavoring in a large bowl and beating on high until light and fluffy. Place in a zip-top bag, fitted with a decorating tip.
When cupcakes are cool, remove a core from the center using a knife or a cupcake corer. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of strawberry ice cream topping into the middle (you could use pineapple here too, if you wanted) Place “top” of core back on cupcake.
Use a cookie scoop or a small ice cream scoop to scoop frozen Cool Whip onto the top of one cupcake. Immediately pipe frosting around the edges of the scoop to hold it in place. Keep cupcakes chilled as soon as they are frosted, and keep your second tub of Cool Whip in the freezer until ready to use.
Once all cupcakes are frosted, drizzle them with chocolate shell- this makes a little bit of a mess, but I just dropped them into a second cupcake liner to catch the drips 🙂

Immediately sprinkle with nuts and decorations.
Keep cupcakes refrigerated until serving.
Enjoy!!!

My thoughts: These are a little more time consuming that your average cupcake– but look at how fun they are!! The flavors and textures are just perfect too- that cold Cool Whip and those crunchy nuts with the banana cupcakes… YUM! I really hope you get a chance to try these little treats! ~r

Other ice cream- inspired treats here at Easybaked: (click on a photo to see the recipe)

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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)

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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

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Posted in Cookies and tagged baking devotions, candy melts, chocolate, chocolate cut-out cookies, crossword cookies, cut-out cookies, dessert, fun, kids devotions, letter cookies, mom, mothers day, mothers day cookies, mothers day gift ideas, recipe, royal icing. Bookmark the permalink.

Bajadera Torte (a recipe from Croatia)

Posted on April 24, 2015 by Ruthanne

Layers of cookies, almonds, and chocolate make this dessert recipe from the country of Croatia a beautiful, and totally unique treat!

There are so many of you who check in here on Easybaked every week for my latest dessert creation, and I feel like we have become friends, you and I. I follow many of your blogs and I’ve heard about your celebrations and sadnesses.

Blog friendships are a strange thing though. Most of you only know me as a baker. With a cute little white dog. That is a part of who I am, but it is really just a tiny little sliver of my life here on planet earth.

Did you know that about 2 years ago I lost my job in Genetics? I’d worked in medicine for 23 years and budget cuts did us in.
Did you know that instead of staying in medicine I spent 8 months in Rough Rock Arizona, working as a missionary with a little Navajo church?
Did you know that last fall I began raising support to be a full-time missionary with Josiah Venture- reaching out to young people in Eastern and Central Europe with God’s love for them?

Some of you who have faithfully followed Easybaked over the years know bits and pieces about these parts of my life, but the rest of you probably didn’t know those things. Today, I’d like to introduce you to the mission organization I am working with by sharing a recipe from one of the countries we are in: Croatia!

Aren’t those just so much fun? I can tell you, they are absolutely delicious too- very buttery and flakey.

These are a no-bake dessert and I think they are a perfect recipe for kids to help with! I read about 20 recipes for these online and there are a ton of different ways to make these (and lots of opinions about which version is the most authentic!) I will tell you that these are NOT authentic because rather than using “tea biscuits” or “butter cookies” I used good ol’ Nilla Wafers! You can certainly try the recipe with a more European-type cookie base, but I wanted to be practical, and every American family can get their hands on a box of Nilla Wafers!

Here is how we made them: (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS:

TORTE:

3 cups of vanilla wafers (or another plain tea-biscuit sort of cookie)
1 1/2 cups of blanched, peeled almonds (I found these in produce at my grocery)
1 1/4 cups of sugar
6 Tablespoons of butter
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips

GLAZE:

1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
6 Tablespoons of butter

DIRECTIONS:

Line an 8 inch square pan with aluminum foil.
Place vanilla wafers and almonds into the bowl of a food processor or food chopper and pulse until both are finely ground.
In a microwave-safe bowl, add sugar, 6 Tablespoons of butter and water and microwave on high in one minute increments (stirring in between) until butter is melted and sugar is mostly dissolved (mine took about 4 minutes)
Pour cookie and nut mixture into bowl with hot sugar mixture and mix well.
Divide out about 1/3 of the dough into a separate bowl.
Melt 1/2 cup of chocolate chips in the microwave and stir into 1/3 of the dough.
Press half of the “plain” dough into the bottom of the foil-lined pan.
Press all of the “chocolate” dough on top.
Press remaining “plain” dough on top of the chocolate layer.
Make glaze by melting 1 cup of chocolate chips with 6 Tablespoon of butter in the microwave.
Stir well and pour over top.
Refrigerate until glaze hardens, cut into pieces and enjoy!!!

My thoughts: These are absolutely delicious. If you want your version to be a little less sweet, use bittersweet or dark chocolate instead. Let’s hear it for Croatia, and a perfectly wonderful dessert!

Croatia is just one of 14 countries in Eastern and Central Europe that Josiah Venture is working in. Josiah Venture began just over 20 years ago, and now they have over 300 missionaries in 14 countries. Over half of those missionaries are nationals, because one of Josiah Venture’s firmly held beliefs is that our job is to partner with churches in each country and equip nationals to lead and serve in their own country. The focus is reaching out to young people with the good news that God loves them.

This is done in practical ways that provide for other needs in these countries. Most of these countries have excellent educational systems, but they lack extracurricular activities, like music and sports. Josiah Venture partners with a local church and the school to provide training in those things and to offer, at the same time, information about who God is and how to know Him. This has been, and continues to be, an incredibly effective way to encourage positive activities along with a relationship with God in this young generation.

In 2010 and 2011, I took the college ministry I led over to serve at a Josiah Venture camp in Slovakia, and I just loved meeting the young people who are becoming a positive influence in the lives of others in their country. It was incredible.

When I was preparing to leave the Navajo Nation last fall, I was invited to join Josiah Venture full-time as the coordinator of a program that offers internships to college-age students. We invite young people to spend 3 to 6 months overseas, partnered with one of our missionaries, to see if they might be interested in full-time work with youth overseas.

A picture of last year’s interns during training.

I’ve been raising the support I need to begin this position full-time, and I’ve been learning the systems in place for getting these interns prepared to serve overseas. We have just over 90 interns this year, and we are hoping to increase our capacity to invite more!

It’s a really exciting and new part of my life, and I’m really SO thankful for the opportunity to be a part of such an incredible movement of God both here- in the lives of these college students- and overseas.

I know that you are here for a recipe~ but maybe today you are here for more- to learn about what God is doing in another part of the world. There are several ways you can connect with Josiah Venture and with the intern ministry I am helping to lead.

1. The Josiah Venture Website is a wealth of information about each country, each ministry and each missionary.

2. My personal blog began out on the Navajo reservation and has been all about my journey from there to here.

3. My newsletter sends you updates on what God is doing with my little part of Josiah Venture. It is published monthly.

4. Josiah Venture on Vimeo has incredible videos of what God is doing in the lives of these students.

Hey~thanks for letting me tell you a little about something that really matters to me. Not that desserts don’t matter…but these other things matter for eternity.

Now, settle in with a piece of this beautiful torte and read a little about what God is doing in Croatia, and in all the other countries of Eastern and Central Europe! Enjoy!! ~r

I usually leave you with links to my favorite recipes here- but today, here are a few memorable moments from the past year: Preparing to leave for Arizona…Lessons from real-life shepherds…Learning about JV…and a Christmas we will never forget.

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Posted in Bar cookies, Travel Recipes and tagged almond cookies, Bajadera, blog, chocolate, Croatia, international dessert, Josiah Venture, Josiah Venture internship, Josiah Venture newsletter, JV, layered bar cookies, layered bars, ministry, Mission opportunities, missions in Eastern and Central Europe, recipe, torte, unique dessert recipe, Vimeo. Bookmark the permalink.

Mud Pie!

Posted on April 9, 2015 by Ruthanne

A layer of dense cake, topped with fudge, chocolate mousse and whipped cream. Yum.

Life is mud right now. At least if you live in the midwest and regularly walk a dog. My pup’s little white paws and belly are just caked in mud after every trip down our walking trail. There’s one kind of mud I don’t mind though- the edible kind!

Have you ever tried Mississippi Mud pie? I feel like there’s not an “official” recipe for this pie- sometimes pudding, sometimes marshmallow…I just put several things I love into an Oreo crust and called it mud. And it is delicious. I really think you’ll like it!

Here’s how we did it: (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS:

One pre-made Oreo crumb crust

Cake layer:

1/2 bag of Nestle dark chocolate chips (this ends up being just a little less than 1 cup)
2 egg yolks
2 Tablespoons vanilla
3 Tablespoons of heavy cream
3 Tablespoons of powdered sugar

Fudge layer:

remaining 1/2 bag of Nestle dark chocolate chips (this ends up being just a little less than 1 cup)
1/2 cup of heavy cream

Chocolate Mousse Layer:

1 Packet of Dream Whip
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 cup powdered sugar

White whipped topping:

1 packet of Dream Whip
1/2 cup milk

DIRECTIONS:

Cake Layer:

Unwrap Oreo crust and preheat oven to 350F degrees
Melt chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between until smooth.
In a separate bowl combine eggs, cream, vanilla and powdered sugar.
Add cream mixture to chocolate and blend well. Pour into crust and bake for 20 – 25 minutes until center is set. Cool completely.

Fudge Layer:

Melt remaining chocolate chips and cream together in microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between until melted and smooth.
Pour all but about 1/8 cup over cooled cake and allow this layer to firm up (I placed it in the refrigerator while I made the remaining 2 layers).
Pour remaining 1/8 cup into a small zip-top bag to use later for drizzle.

Chocolate Mousse Layer:

Add all ingredients to mixing bowl and beat on high for 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy.
Spoon on top of fudge layer and spread to edges.

Whipped topping:

Add all ingredients to mixing bowl and beat on high for 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy.
Spoon on top and spread to edges.
Take your small bag with 1/8 cup chocolate fudge filling (The one you set aside earlier), clip corner of bag and drizzle over the top. (I added a little shaved chocolate too)
Enjoy!

My thoughts: This is really as good as it looks…dense fudge bottom topped with the creamiest chocolate toppings. I usually eat that one bite I take off for a picture and give every bit of the rest away. But I ate the whole piece. Bad day for the diet, but a wonderful day to really savor this rich chocolate dessert. This is on my list of “must-make-again” recipes! I hope you get a chance to try it and enjoy it as much as I did!!!! Enjoy! ~r

Is chocolate the only way to do dessert in your house? Here are some other incredible chocolate treats from Easybaked~ just click on the photo to see the recipe!

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Posted in Cakes, Pies and tagged beautiful dessert, best, cake, chocolate, chocolate dessert, chocolate mousse, cream, dessert, fudge, fun, ganache, layered dessert, mississippi mud pie, mousse, mud pie, recipe, spring, whipped topping. Bookmark the permalink.

Homemade Mallo Cups

Posted on March 26, 2015 by Ruthanne

Dark chocolate and toasted coconut cups filled with creamy sweet marshmallow- YUM!

Last week we featured one use for silicone baking cups, and even gave two sets of them away! This week is another idea for these cups. If you missed the story last week, I was sent a set of these silicone cups to try out as an apology for a designer that stole one of my photos and used it in the product packaging of these cups. The cups I am using are Baketown Girls Silicone Baking Cups, and can be found on Amazon.com.

I was a little doubtful about the practicality of these cups (especially when I thought of doing cupcakes in them), but I’m having fun experimenting with the possibilities! I’m sure this won’t be the last recipe on Easybaked using these silicone cups.

Have you ever had Mallo Cups?

Dear me, they are amazing. They are considered the very 1st candy cup created, and they were one of my favorite childhood treats. They are a little hard to find these days, so I thought I’d re-create them. They are actually not very hard to make.

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

INGREDIENTS: (makes about 12 cups)

2 bags of Wilton’s Candy Melts (if you want a little better chocolate, try Country Kitchen chocolate. It’s a touch more expensive, but truly better in flavor (click here). )
1 cup of toasted coconut (to toast refer to instructions here)
One large jar (13 oz) of Jet-Puffed Marshmallow Creme

DIRECTIONS:

Set 12 silicone liners on a cookie sheet with edges.
Melt one bag of candy melts in a bowl in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between until smooth.
Spoon carefully into a large zip-top bag and seal well.
Clip a corner off the bag of chocolate and pipe a little chocolate (about 1 tablespoon) into each cup.
Tip and/or tap each cup until chocolate covers the entire bottom of the cup.
Refrigerate for about 5 minutes until hard.
Carefully spoon marshmallow into a second zip-top bag and seal well.
Clip a corner off this bag and pipe a dollop of marshmallow into the center of each cup- do not let it touch the sides.
Use bag of melted chocolate to carefully pipe chocolate all the way around each dollop of marshmallow- this seals it into the center and keeps it from leaking out. Melt more chocolate, as needed.
Refrigerate for about 5 minutes until chocolate is hardened.
Melt remaining chocolate and add finely crushed toasted coconut to it (save a bit out to sprinkle on top later if desired)
Spoon this mixture into a zip top bag and seal well.
Clip a corner and pipe chocolate/coconut evenly over each cup.
Sprinkle with toasted coconut, or any decorative topping you desire.
Chill until cup is hardened and then peel away silicone cup and enjoy!

Not too difficult- and the end result is so much fun (and delicious!)

My thoughts: These are just fun little treats to put together and they really are so yummy with the crunchy coconut and creamy marshmallow. I even made an Easter batch of them!!! I hope you get a chance to try them! Enjoy!! ~r

We love to celebrate spring! Here are some other fun springtime recipes: (click on photo to see recipe)

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Posted in Candy and tagged candy coating, candy cups, chocolate, classic candy, coconut, dessert, easy, easy candy, fun, mallo cups, marshmallow, recipe, silicone cups, toasted coconut. Bookmark the permalink.

Easy Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting~ and a GIVE AWAY!!!!

Posted on March 20, 2015 by Ruthanne

The easiest “cupcakes” you’ll ever make- plus the yummiest cream cheese frosting ever!

This recipe has a story (and my very first give-away on easybaked!!!)

Awhile back, a lovely lady named Karin emailed me with a dilemma. She had recently started a business called Baketown Girls, making products for use in the kitchen. She hired a designer to create her logo and product labels, but a short time after receiving her product she was googling “cupcakes” and immediately saw a photo of our Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes, and realized that her designer had stolen my photo for use on her product. Sigh. I cannot even tell you how many times that photo (in particular) has been stolen- people email me all the time about seeing it on products and logos. I’ve thought about slapping watermarks across all of my photos, but that’s just so SAD. I just shake my head and wish the world was a better, more honest place.

In any case, Karin felt bad, and offered to send me her product to try out. I’ve never use silicone cups (and actually never understood why you would use silicone cups), so I agreed.

About a week later, I got a box with 3 sets- one for me and 2 sets to give away to you all! More about that later.

I didn’t know how I would use them. I figured I could try making cupcakes in them, but (to be honest) my favorite part of cupcakes is matching fun liners with the cupcake recipe and these came in 6 colors which meant that no matter what, I’d be stuck with a variety of those colors. My other question- how do you give these away? I give away 99% of my blog desserts. Do I give away unwrapped cupcakes? That seems odd. And messy.

The day after I received this package of silicone cups I needed to make a batch of cinnamon rolls from one of those refrigerated tubes. I opened it (which is always a traumatic experience when it explodes open) and was ready to set them on a cookie sheet when I thought, “I should bake these in those silicone cups”. I sprayed 10 cups with non-stick spray and squeezed each roll into a circumference that would sit in the bottom of each cup and baked them according to the package.

They were AMAZING! They came out looking like little cupcakes and they were so much more moist than when they are baked on a cookie sheet.

I was genuinely surprised. I removed them from the cups, drizzled them with the provided icing and took them along with me to the event I was attending. People loved them.

I knew that if I added my favorite cream cheese icing on top that they would be even better….

They are cute in the colorful cups, but easily lift right out and can be served without the cups too. I’m a big fan of that, because I can bring them to events and not worry about tracking down my silicone cups.

Here’s how we made these cute little treats:

INGREDIENTS:

2 tubes of refrigerated cinnamon rolls- just the basic kind- not the super-sized jumbo rolls (makes 16-20 rolls, depending on the brand you use. I tried 2 brands, Pillsbury and a generic store brand, and both worked great)
4 oz (1/2 package) cream cheese (softened)
1/4 cup of butter (softened)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
dash of salt
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup white chocolate chips (melted)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to temperature required by package of rolls.
Set appropriate number of silicone cups on a cookie sheet with edges, and spray lightly with non-stick spray.
Open tubes of dough and squeeze each roll into a taller, smaller diameter size so that it will sit flat on the bottom of each cup.
Set each roll into individual cups.
Bake according to package (watch to make sure you don’t over-bake)
Serve warm with provided icing drizzled on top, OR cool and top with cream cheese icing:
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 cinnamon rolls.

Aren’t they fun?!?

Ok- so I have 2 extra sets of cups that I’d love to share with my readers! I looked into the various “raffle” sites available to host give-aways and they all seemed so complicated. I decided I will just do this myself.

Only 2 things I’d love to have you do (I can’t require them, but it would make me super happy!!):

1. Follow Easybaked here, by subscribing in the sidebar.

2. “Like” Easybaked on Facebook (here)- and COMMENT under this recipe. I will choose my winners (TWO of them) randomly from comments on Facebook under this recipe- so you actually do have to comment to be entered).

This is available for all readers in the United States (or readers who can have these cute little cups shipped to a US address).

The contest begins NOW and ends on Monday, 3-23-15 at 11pm. Good luck!!

PLEASE NOTE: THIS CONTEST IS FINISHED 🙂 Cups have already been given away!

A special thanks to Karin for providing us with these fun cups to give away. Stay tuned for another fun use of these next week here on Easybaked!

If you don’t end up winning, you can find them at this link on Amazon.com:Baketown Girls Silicone Baking Cups.

Love cinnamon? So do we! Try some of our other yummy cinnamon recipes by clicking on a photo:

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Posted in Cupcakes and tagged best, breakfast, cinnamon, cinnamon roll, cinnamon roll cupcakes, cinnamon rolls, cream cheese frosting, cream cheese icing, cupcakes, dessert, recipe, refrigerated cinnamon rolls. Bookmark the permalink.

Leprechaun Truffles

Posted on March 13, 2015 by Ruthanne

These fun truffles are made with green apple (or lime!) Kool Aid filling and they are SO yummy!

It’s the time of year when all things green are made. One of my favorite truffle fillings is made with Kool Aid, which makes the flavors limited only to what little packets of flavor you can find! I made these with green apple Kool Aid, but I’ve made them with lime before too- and they are delicious! This tart fruit filling is SO creamy and smooth. I absolutely love it!

Here’s how we made these delicious little green treats: (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS:

1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese (softened to room temperature!)
3 cups of powdered sugar
3 cups of white chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla
1 (0.16oz) packet of Kool-Aid drink mix (any flavor- I used green apple)
2 bags of Wiltons Candy Melts (in whatever colors you wish)

DIRECTIONS:

Cream together cream cheese, powdered sugar and Kool-Aid in a large mixing bowl.
Melt white chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 second increments (stirring in between) until smooth and creamy.
Add melted chips and vanilla to cream cheese mixture and combine until completely smooth.
Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Remove mixture from refrigerator and use a small cookie scoop or melon baller to make small balls of filling (I placed these on a plate and put them back in the fridge to chill while I prepared my chocolate to dip)
Melt the Wilton’s Candy Melts in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring until smooth and creamy.
Dip chilled balls of filling in the melted chocolate, draining away excess and placing on parchment paper to harden (if you want pictures of how I dip things click here for a previous recipe) The balls of filling need to stay cold, so keep them in the fridge until you are ready to dip them.
Decorate with drizzles of fun colored chocolate.
Enjoy!

My thoughts: Aren’t they cute? They are SO yummy too… my only recipe tip is to make sure those balls of filling are chilled and your melted candy isn’t super hot. I allowed my candy melts to cool a bit before I dipped. You just don’t want that soft filling to start melting while you dip.

These are as fun as can be using all sorts of fillings, which makes them a good treat for any holiday!

Here they are in other fun flavors. Click on the photo to see how I did them!

Finally, one of our most popular recipes on Easybaked is a St. Patricks Day treat! Bailey’s cupcakes are everyone’s favorite! You should probably try them. 🙂 Again, click on the photo to see the (oh so yummy!) recipe:

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Posted in Uncategorized and tagged best, candy, chocolate, Cream Cheese, creative, dessert, filling, fun, green apple, holiday, kool-aid, Kool-Aid dessert, Kool-Aid recipe, leprechaun, lime, recipe, St. Patricks Day, Truffle, white chocolate chips. Bookmark the permalink.

Caramel Turtle Bundt Cake

Posted on February 28, 2015 by Ruthanne

Swirls of caramel and chocolate cake, topped with caramel sauce and pecans, make this a beautiful and decadent dessert!

I love bundt cakes. They are just so pretty and fun to serve. This one is a combination of caramel and chocolate in a memorably beautiful and tasty display of yumminess!

This uses cake mixes and Kraft caramels, so it is a quick and easy dessert to put together, and it serves a ton of people, 14-16 at least.

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

INGREDIENTS:

One box of chocolate cake mix (plus water, oil and eggs to make according to box)
One box of caramel cake mix- I use Duncan Hines- (plus water, oil and eggs to make according to box)
32 Kraft Caramels (unwrapped)
1 can (14 oz.) of sweetened condensed milk
1 stick (1/2 cup) of butter
Whole Pecans (as many as you want to sprinkle on top)
Mini chocolate chips (as many as you want to sprinkle on top)
I also added some Kraft caramel bits as sprinkles because I had them and they sounded fun- those are the little round caramel bits you see in my photos.

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Make up both cake mixes according to package.
Alternate pouring them into a well-greased bundt pan. Fill the pan only 3/4 full. You will have a little cake mix left at the end, since both mixes don’t fully fit in the pan.
Place on a cookie sheet (just in case of overflow) and bake for 40-50 minutes. A cake tester or skewer should come out clean when cake is fully baked.
Allow cake to cool for 5-10 minutes in pan, and then tip onto a wire cake rack to finish cooling.
While cake cools, make caramel.
Place unwrapped caramels into a medium saucepan with sweetened condensed milk and butter.
Heat on medium/high, stirring constantly, until caramels are completely melted and smooth.
Place cake on serving plate.
Pour caramel sauce over the bundt cake, allowing it to run down the sides.
Immediately sprinkle with nuts and chocolate chips. If you wait these will not stick to the caramel as it hardens.
Allow topping to cool and firm up before cutting.
Enjoy!

My thoughts: This is such a moist cake, and if you aren’t a big fan of frosting this is perfect- no frosting at all- just a soft caramel. It’s a perfect fancy dessert that is so quick to make, and fun to serve!