Sweet & Simple Sunday {fifteen}

Good Morning Starshine, The Earth Says 'Hello'!!!

Sorry about that!

Just feeling a little fun today.

It's Sunday, my last day of my impromptu Staycation.

That I'm kind of bummed about...I just need about 10 more days by myself to get all of this work done in my house and get it to not smelling like paint fumes.

Can you guess what I've been doing?

I so can't wait to share all of these fun projects with you, I've been feeling a little crafty and breaking out my Girl Power!

Look! I even used power tools!

Sssshhhh! Don't tell dear hubby that I broke out his circular saw!

I've even been a little more productive in the kitchen this week.

I'll be sharing this sinful recipe later this week!

So enough about what I've been doing. What have all of you been up to?

Here's what 3 of my readers have been up to, these are the features from

Sweet & Simple {fourteen}

1. Pink Ombre Mini Cakes from Baking with Blondie

2. Funfetti Fun Cupcakes from Pamela's Heavenly Treats

3. Banana Pudding Cupcakes from Shaken Together

Aren't they gorgeous?!!

So now, what are you up to this week? Link up and be sure to share the love!!

And don't forget, Pamela's Heavenly Treats is hosting a Giveaway here at Cups by Kim

Click here and get entered to win!!!

The Ohio State Buckeye Ice Cream Cupcake

I've never considered myself a social butterfly.

I knew when I went to college that I'd be the paranoid friend.

"Well, how are we going to get home?"

"I'm underage!"

"I just don't feel comfortable using a fake ID to get into Canada. It would be my luck I'd be stuck there"

"My parents would kill me!!"

And even though I was the paranoid one when it came to, well...social events, I was first in line for the, "I'm finally 18, away from home, and have my own money, tattoo."

Yep. Out of all of my friends that night, I was the only one who came home with Ink.

That was my rebellious moment in college.

I loved college.

The fall football games. The dorms (yeah, I'm weird). The freedom from being away from home.

My lovelies of Alpha Xi Delta. It was great!

I'm from Ohio, and to most kids in Ohio the only college to go to is

The Ohio State University

but for me, that spell ANXIETY in every language.

So instead, I went to the great

University of Toledo.

I loved it and I miss that campus so much.

But I have to tell you, I am a huge OSU Football Fan!

And I am positive God knew what he was doing when he put me here on Earth in Ohio because I LOVE Buckeyes. And I'm not talking football or tree's here people.

The candy.

Have you tried them?

If you haven't, obviously you have not experienced one of the greatest candies in the world!
So when I saw the ad for this

 I decided to pay homage to my home state of Ohio and make a Buckeye inspired cupcake ! Or what I would like to refer to as

The Ohio State Buckeye Ice Cream Cupcake

This is the Cupcake Project and Scoopalicious 5th Annual Ice Cream Cupcake Contest!

A chance for bakers everywhere to showcase their Ice Cream Cupcake creations for a chance at $250.00 to their favorite cooking/baking store and many other "sweet" prizes!

I've seen this post on Cupcake Project for the last few years and decided this year I wanted in on the action. So I decided to go with

The Ohio State Buckeye Ice Cream Cupcake

It's a mix of my most favorite chocolate cupcake, homemade peanut butter ice cream, peanut butter and chocolate topping.

Yum with a capital Y!!

I am totally addicted to these!

And they're pretty simple to make. Here's what you'll need!

For the Cupcakes:

1 Devil's Food Cake Mix

4 large eggs, room temperature

1 cup sour cream, room temperature

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 small box of Chocolate Jell-O Instant Pudding

3/4 cup Guinness beer, room temperature

For the Peanut Butter Ice Cream:

1 cup Half and Half

2 Tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup salt

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

Toppings:
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter, melted but cooled.
Chocolate Magic Shell Ice Cream Topping

Here's what you do!

In a large mixing bowl combine eggs and sour cream. Mix well.

Add in Pudding Mix.

Slowly add in melted butter, mix well.

Alternatly add cake mix and beer, mix just until it is mixed together. Do not overmix.

Fill cupcake wrappers 2/3 full and bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes.

Remove from pans and allow to cool completly.

In a small ziploc bag combine Half & Half and Sugar.

Fill a large (gallon) ziploc bag half full of ice. Pour salt into large bag.

Place small ziploc bag inside large bag, be sure both bags are sealed completely.

Shake bags for 5 minutes.

Remove small bag and carefully rinse bag with cold water.

Pour ice cream into a small bowl.

Mix in creamy peanut butter.

Place in freezer and allow to set for 30-40 minutes.

Once cupcakes have cooled, remove wrappers and slice in half. Place bottom slice of cupcake into a clean cupcake wrapper.

Spoon some ice cream onto bottom half of the cupcake and place the top half of the cupcake back on top.

Spoon some peanut butter topping over the cupcake top.

Place some of the ice cream into a piping bag and pipe a swirl of it on top of the cupcake.

Cover the ice cream "frosting" with Chocolate Magic Shell topping.

Dive in with a big spoon!!!

This was so much fun. I went through so many ideas in my head before I decided on this cupcake and although all of those ideas sound delicious,  I couldn't pass up the chance to mix peanut butter and chocolate!

I hope all of you enjoy these AH-MA-ZING Cupcakes!!!



Kid & Caramel Overload

Do you ever have days where you just wish you could call a do-over.

I'm having one of those days.

Since becoming a parent 7 years ago I've learned that sleep is never a given. Especially sleep on the weekend. I don't know why in the last seven years I've fooled myself by thinking, "oh they'll sleep in tomorrow I'm sure!" It never happens that way. I've so badly wanted to sleep in the last couple of days, but dear little Sophie decided that she wants to be up early, and has all of a sudden decided naps are no longer part of her schedule.

She has been fighting a nap for the last hour or so, no matter what I do. I'm about to loose my mind. So what do I do? I sit down at the computer and begin to type.

Because I know that most of you can relate.

I know that like me, you too have had those never ending, tear filled days where you just want to throw in the towel and scream,

"I QUIT!"

But we can't quit. We can't give up on our kids or ourselves.

We have to trek on, apron strings tied and smile on our faces.

It's not always fun, but it's defnitly rewarding. That the Kid Overload part.

If I had a gallon of Peanut Butter Buttercream today, I'm sure I'd have already eaten the entire container.

But instead of Peanut Butter today, I've got Caramel.

Caramel Cupcakes filled with Caramel and topped with Caramel Buttercream

Yep, that's the Caramel Overload part.

I know some of you have never attempted the whole homemade caramel process. And trust me, as many times as I've attempted it, I'd rather buy it in a jar at the grocery.

I was searching for a caramel recipe and that's when I found the greatest way to do this EVER!

I'm not sure if this really counts as "caramel" or not, you decide, I really don't care, I refer to it as the sweetest, yummiest, carmaliest thing I've ever made or tasted.

Okay, so here's what you need to do first.

Simple Homemade Caramel Sauce

1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 Crock Pot

That's it!

Peel the label off of the Sweetened Condensed Milk.

Lay it in your crock pot.

Completely cover it with water.

Cook on Low for 8 hours.

Remove from Crock Pot and Voila! Caramel Sauce!

I told you! It is so easy! And no, I did not eat it right off of that spoon. I wanted to. But I practiced self control in this particular case!

Now, once you have your caramel sauce made, it's time to bake up the cupcakes.

Caramel Cupcakes

1 Golden Butter or Yellow Cake Mix

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

2/3 cup milk

3 eggs

1/2 can caramel sauce (homemade kind works best!)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin tins.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, butter, milk, and eggs until everything is incorporated. Slowly add in caramel sauce and mix well.

Using an ice-cream scoop, fill the muffin tins 2/3 full.  Bake for 15-18 minutes or until tops bounce back.

Remove from pans and cool completely on a cooling rack.

Once cupcakes are cooled, pipe some of the left over caramel sauce into the top of each cupcake. I used a large round decorating tip for this.

Caramel Buttercream

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup shortening
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar
3-4 Tablespoons milk
Caramel Sauce

In a large mixing bowl combine butter and shortening. Add in vanilla. On slow speed begin adding in powdered sugar. Add milk one Tablespoon at a time if needed. Add in caramel sauce to your liking Continue mixing until frosting is piping consistency.

Pipe frosting onto cupcakes. And then as if that wasn't enough caramel, melt some remaining caramel sauce and drizzle over the top of each cupcake.

I'm feeling much better just thinking about these cupcakes. Enjoy!

Chocolate Almond Cupcakes {top secret ingredient}

 

 

A couple of months ago I participated in a Trading Blogs Party where we got to swap blogs for a day and share one of our recipes on someone elses page. Hoping to gain more attention for both bloggers. Well, if you didn't hop on over to the other blog to check out my recipe, here it is!
Chocolate Almond Cupcakes
I decided to make chocolate cupcakes using Almond Milk.
And if you've never tried Almond Milk, you are seriously missing out.
I love the stuff, and prefer it so much more over cows milk.
But these cupcakes carry another secret inside their pleated little skirts, they are not only Gluten Free, they have a top secret ingredient...
Quinoa.

(okay a little side note, please excuse the digression, I have to get it out)

So this thing Quinoa. I've been intrigued by this for a while now, and though I haven't been brave enough to try it, I finally decided to put on the big girl panties and cook it up. It was pretty simple to make, and was perfect for these cupcakes, and I will admit, Sophie actually enjoyed it. But I very much disliked it. Not because of the taste or anything like that, but because of the mess it makes.

There are a few things that I abosolutely despise doing in the kitchen.

Chopping Broccoli.

(I hate the little tiny pieces that get everywhere and are impossible to wipe up.)

Using Stainless Bowls.

(I have white countertops, need I say more?)

And now experimenting with Quinoa has been added to this ever growing list. Why you ask?

Because it sticks to everything!

I think Quinoa is one of NASA's Top Secret science projects that went terribly wrong in the easy remove glue department, but went terribly right in the good for you category.

If you're up to it and have figured out a way to prevent this from sticking to every horizontal surface in your kitchen I would highly recommend these cupcakes.

I'm not convincing you am I?

Really, the flavor of these cupcakes outshines the stickiness of the Quinoa completely.

Really. You need to try these.

Okay so enough digression, how about the recipe.

Well here you go!

Chocolate Almond Cupcakes

Ingredients:

2/3 cup white or golden quinoa
1 1/3 cup water
1/3 cup almond milk
4 large eggs
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
Directions:
Bring the quinoa and water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Cover, reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the covered saucepan on the burner for another 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and allow the quinoa to cool.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line cupcake tins with liners and set aside.

Combine the milk, eggs and vanilla in a blender or food processor. Add 2 cups cooked quinoa and the butter and continue to blend until smooth.

Whisk together the sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Add the contents of the blender and mix well. Fill the cupcake pans 2/3 full. Bake for 15-18 minutes. Remove from oven, allow to cool in pans for about 5 minutes and then remove to cooling rack. Allow cupcakes to cool completely and frost as desired.

These cupcakes are so rich and chocolatey they didn't need any frosting at all, but they looked kind of naked in the pictures, so I decided to try them with some cream cheese frosting and hazelnut spread.  TA DIE FOR!

So if you need a Gluten Free, Chocolately, Tasty, Craveable Cupcake then these are perfect!
Enjoy!!

Key Lime Cupcakes

I really wish this weather would decide one way or the other if it's Winter or Spring. I was totally diggin' the warmer weather (again, not so much the pollen), but now it's started cooling off again. Dear Hubby thinks that it's perfectly normal to sleep with the windows open when it's 29 degrees outside! Wha?? Well now that I have him feeling bad about me freezing he decided to be nice and close them. Because it's been feeling pretty chilly around here, I decided to go on a little stay-cation. Well, sort of. Mostly just in my mind. I envisioned sitting on the beach, warm sand between my toes, drinking a nice fruity drink with those little umbrellas and snacking on one of these, A Key Lime Pie Cupcake.

Then I opened my eyes and realized I was sitting in my kitchen, cracker crumbs between my toes (wonder who those are from), oven door open drinking a Diet Mt. Dew (I know, I live on the wild side!) Hey, a girl can dream right? At least this cupcake is for real!

I've tried doing Key Lime Cupcakes in the past and have struggled with the question whether to do the frosting as the key lime and the cake as the graham cracker or the other way around. I've done it both ways, in fact I think I've tried 4 different recipes at this point, and finally I found one I like love!

There are very few ingredients needed for this cupcake, which makes it even more loveable. Here's what you'll need.

Key Lime Pie Cupcakes

1 Lemon Cake Mix
1 box (4 serving) Lime Jell-O
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup Key lime juice
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 8 oz package cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup butter
4 cups powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons milk

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 muffin tins with cupcake liners. Set aside.
Mix together cake mix, Jell-O, lime juice, oil, water, and eggs in a mixing bowl until all ingredients are well combined.
Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full with batter.
Bake for 15-18 minutes or until cupcakes bounce back when lightly touched. Remove from oven.
Remove cupcakes from tins and cool on wire racks.
In a mixing bowl combine cream cheese and butter. Slowly add in powdered sugar until mixed well. Add in a little milk until smooth. Mix in 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs. Combine well.
Place 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs in a small bowl.
Once cupcakes are cooled completely, pipe or spread frosting onto cupcakes and then dip the tops into the graham cracker crumbs.

Now that you've made these tropical delights, whisk yourself off to the deserted island in your mind, sit back, relax, and enjoy!

S'more Please!

So a few weeks ago I did a guest blog post over at Something Swanky and made these cupcakes and I thought it was about time to share there here too!

S'More Cupcakes

It's finally starting to warm up here in this part of the country, and although we've had a very mild winter, it's about time to start with the campfires. In fact, we had our first one a couple of weekends ago. I love campfires. The smell of the smoke, the way food tastes cooked over the fire, and the dancing flames that could very easily put me to sleep (and trust me, they have). And what's better than a fresh, ooey, gooey S'mores over the fire, how about these that you make in your kitchen. No need to wait for warm weather, or deal with mosquitos!!

In all the time that I've been cooking and baking I've always been envious of those individuals who have those amazing little kitchen torches that are used for creme brulee and other wonderful desserts, and then I realized, why can't I use my hubby's hand held Bernz-o-matic from the garage to do the same exact thing!

I decided this was my chance.

I felt a little intimidated at first, after all, I didn't want to destroy my entire home by the undaunting desire to use a torch on a cupcake! Now, if you don't have a torch to do this, you can achieve the same "toasted" effect by using your broiler in the oven, just be careful!

Okay, so enough about my torch experience, on to the cupcakes!

S'Mores Cupcakes

FOR THE GRAHAM CUPS
9 sheets graham crackers (I acutally used about 1 1/2 cups already crushed graham cracker crumbs)
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Lightly spray a muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.

Either crush the graham crackers by hand, until they are like rough sand, or process in a food processor for several pulses. Add the sugar and mix to combine. Add the butter and mix until thoroughly combined and resembling wet sand. Press firmly into the cups of the muffin pan, being sure to push it up the sides of the cups. Bake until golden and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Allow to cool completely before filling.

FOR THE CUPCAKES
1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2/3 cup sour cream

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, or the bowl of a standing mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until just combined. Stir in the vanilla.
Sprinkle 1/3 of the flour mixture into the mixing bowl and mix until just combined. Add half of the sour cream, mixing until just combined. Repeat, alternating the remaining flour in 2 more additions with the remaining sour cream in one more addition (ending on flour).

Place 2 scant tablespoons of batter into each prepared muffin cup. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until the tops of the cupcakes spring back lightly when touched.

Transfer to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool completely before frosting.

Beatiful Chocolate Graham Cracker Cupcakes fresh from the oven!

Graham Cracker Cups baked to a light golden brown

Toasted Marshmallow Frosting

3 egg whites, room temperature
1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine sugar, egg whites, and cream of tartar in a medium bowl set over a pot filled with a couple of inches of barely simmering water. Whisk the mixture frequently to prevent the egg whites from cooking. Continue whisking until the mixture reaches 160 degrees. Remove the bowl from the heat and whisk the mixture on high until it is shiny and stiff peaks form, then stir in vanilla extract.

Once cupcakes have cooled completly, pipe or spoon some of the Toasted Marshmallow Frosting onto the top of each cupcake. Here's where my ultimate kitchen tool came into play. "Toast" the cupcakes either by using a hand-held torch or using your broiler. I then topped each cupcake with a chocolate covered marshmallow topper made by dipping two mini marshmallows in Wilton dark chocolate candy melts.

Aaahh, the beautiful Bernz-O-Matic!

 These cupcakes are the perfect mix of graham cracker, chocolate, and marshmallow!

Who knew that this was even possible!!

I must say it again, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE be CAREFUL if you decide to use a torch on these.

I'd love to hear about your experiences making these, but ER stories make me a little queesy!

Have a great week!!

Peace. Love. Cupcakes.

Kim

Check out where I'm partying this week!!