Birthday Cakes!

So a couple weeks ago I was asked to make a cake for a friend of the families 16^th birthday! I was told that I could make whatever kind of cake I wanted to. I didn't want to make a normal layer cake since it was his 16^th birthday. I found out that 2 of his favorite candies were Butterfinger and gummy worms so I decided to make my own version of a dirt cake and chocolate Butterfinger cupcakes!

Dirt Cake

Ingredients:

1 box chocolate cake mix + ingredients to make cake

1 package instant vanilla pudding

1 package instant chocolate pudding

1 tub cool whip

1 package Oreo's, finely crushed

gummy worms

Directions:

Mix and bake the cake according the directions on the box for 2 round cakes. Let the cakes cool completely. In the meantime make the puddings according to the directions on the packages (you can mix them up in the same bowl since they'll be combined any way!) fold in the cool whip to the pudding. Next, place one of the cakes at the bottom of your serving dish, I had to trim the edges of my cake for it to fit. Then layer the pudding mixture, Oreo crumbs, gummy worms and the other cake round into your dish in any order that you wish! Finally add some worms to the top of the cake and you're done!

Butterfinger Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 box chocolate cake mix + ingredients to make the cake

2 packages fun size Butterfingers

Directions:

First chop up the Butterfinger's into small bite size pieces. Next prepare the chocolate cake mix according to the directions on the box. Once the batter is mixed fold in about 3/4 of the chopped Butterfinger. Line your cupcake pans with liners and fill each liner about 3/4 the way full and bake at 350 degrees for 20-22 minutes. Let cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting I tried out this new recipe from Williams-Sonoma, which was so good! After all the cupcakes were frosted I sprinkled the rest of the Butterfinger on top of the cupcakes!

Told You I've Been Busy!

So I know that the SuperBowl was more than 2 months ago but I never got around to posting a blog about the food I made for the party I went to!

We went up to my friend Mary Grace’s place to watch the game and she had asked me to make something for the party but I had the hardest time coming up with just one thing to bring to the party so I decided to make 3 things: Cream Cheese & Chicken Rolls, Cappuccino Cookies and Chocolate Bacon Cupcakes with Carmel Swiss Meringue Buttercream (which I had originally seen on Beantown Baker ) I wasn't so sure about the Chocolate Bacon cupcakes but I figured 'Hey its the SuperBowl, why not?!' Well they were a big hit with the guys so it is definitely a keeper!

First there is:

Chocolate Bacon Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting

200 grams of dark chocolate, chopped
3 sticks butter (340 g), at room temperature
2-1/4 cups sugar (250 g)
8 eggs
1-1/4 cup flour (165 g)
1/4 cup cocoa powder, unsweetened (23 g)
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 pound uncooked bacon

Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit.

Cook the bacon until crispy. Chop the bacon into very small pieces and set aside.

Place chocolate and butter in a metal bowl and put the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir until everything is melted.

Remove the bowl from the water and stir in the sugar. Let the mixture cool for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt; set aside.

When the chocolate mixture is cool, beat with an electric mixer or your stand mixer for 3 minutes. The mixture will get just a tad thicker.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 30 seconds between each one. After two or three eggs, the mixture will start to get thicker and shinier.

Once all the eggs are incorporated, add the dry ingredients. Mix on a low speed until the dry ingredients are just incorporated.

Add the bacon and fold it in with a spatula.

Scoop the batter into cupcake cups until 1/2 to 2/3 full.

Bake at 350° Fahrenheit for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool for a few minutes in the pan before removing to a cooling rack.

Caramel Swiss Meringue Buttercream

1 1/4 cups sugar (250 g), separated in half (1/2 c + 2 Tbsp per half, or 125 g)

1/4 cup water
1/3 cup heavy cream
6 large egg whites or enough powdered egg whites and water
Pinch of salt
1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened and cut into tablespoon-sized pieces
1 tsp vanilla

Make the caramel

Place half of the sugar and the water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is clear. Let the syrup come to a boil, washing down the sides with a wet pastry brush if necessary to prevent crystals from forming.
Boil the syrup, swirling occasionally, until it changes color to dark amber (~340° on a candy thermometer).

Immediately remove from the heat (the sugar will burn if it gets to 350°). Carefully add the cream, standing away from the pan since the mixture will bubble a lot. Stir the caramel until smooth and transfer to a heatproof bowl to cool. (I actually put the bowl into an ice bath, stirring occasionally, to help it cool faster.)

While the caramel cools, place the rest of the sugar, the egg whites and the salt in the metal bowl of a standing mixer. Place the bowl over a pan of boiling water. Whisk continuously until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture reaches 140° Fahrenheit.

Fit the standing mixer with the whisk attachment and put the bowl in place. Beat the mixture on medium-high speed until it is stiff.

Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low and begin adding the butter, a tablespoon or two at a time. Beat until the butter is no longer visible, and add in more, until it is all added. At some point it will look curdled and broken, but just keep on beating and beating until it gets smooth again. This could take a few minutes.

Switch to the paddle attachment and add the caramel and vanilla extract. Beat on low until combined and smooth, 3 to 5 minutes.

At this point you can frost your cupcakes, or you can refrigerate the buttercream for up to 2 days. When you want to use it, take it out of the fridge and bring to room temperature, about an hour. Rebeat in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.

***Swiss meringue buttercream has become my absolute favorite frosting! It is so light and fluffy but has a great buttery taste!***

Next we have:

Cappuccino Cookies from I Heart Sugar

Makes About 30

Ingredients:

2 envelopes instant cappuccino powder

1 Tbsp. hot water

1 Cup butter, softened

Scant ¾ Cup superfine sugar

1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

2 ½ Cups all-purpose flour

Pinch of salt

6 oz white chocolate, broken in pieces

Unsweetened cocoa, for dusting

Directions:

Empty the cappuccino envelopes into a small bowl and stir in the hot water to make a paste. Put the butter and sugar into a bowl and mix well with a wooden spoon, then beat in the egg yolk and cappuccino paste. Sift the flour and salt into the mixture and stir until thoroughly combined. Halve the dough, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Unwrap the dough and roll out between 2 sheets of parchment paper. Stamp out cookies with a 2 ½ in round cookie cutters and put them on the prepared cookie sheets, spaced well apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool on the sheets for 5-10 minutes, then using a metal spatula, carefully transfer to wire racks to completely cool. When the cookies are cool place the wire racks over a sheet of parchment paper. Put the chocolate into a heatproof bowl and set over a saucepan of gently simmering water until melted. Remove the bowl from the heat and let cool, then spoon the chocolate over the cookies; gently tap the wire racks to level the surface and let set. Dust with cocoa before serving.

And Finally:

Chicken Crescent Rolls

By Me!

2 Cans Crescent rolls

1 can Tyson Chunks White Chicken, drained and shredded

1 8oz package cream cheese, semi softened

Salt

Pepper

Other seasonings to taste

Combine chicken, cream cheese and all seasonings in a bowl till well combined. Spoon about a tablespoon or more of filling onto each crescent roll, wrap up the crescent rolls and place on a baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 12-14 minutes. Let cool for about 5 minutes before serving them.

What I've Been Up Too!

I can’t believe that it’s been more than 2 months since I last blogged! Life has been so crazy lately! It all started with Valentine’s Day …

Working at a florist during Valentine’s Day was an experience to say the least, and being the shops main driver made my day crazy! I ended up making over 70 deliveries! The picture above was just my first run!

After Valentine’s Day I was able to fly down to Florida with my grandma and aunt for the adoption of my little cousin Allie!

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Isn't she is the chubbiest, cutest thing ever!?!

My aunt and uncle had been fostering her for a couple of months when they found out that they were able to adopt her, so as soon as we found out, we bought our plane tickets and flew down to be there for the big day! I had so much fun getting to hang with my family and get to know my new little cousin!

All of the Schiwietz girls there!

Allie's new family that was there for her adoption!

The Happy Family!

After Florida was Spring Break! Even though I’m not a student anymore my sister had the week off so my family and I decided that we would take a long weekend trip down to the Austin area for some shopping!

Dad just LOVED getting his “strawberry milkshake thing” and petite cupcake from Starbuck after shopping all day with his girls! ;-)

After our day of shopping we headed to dinner at The Oasis just outside of Austin.

I had been there last summer with my aunt when she took me on my graduation trip and have wanted to go back ever since then! Their food is fabulous but the best part is the view!

And the sunsets! (They ring a bell when the sun sets and everyone claps!)

It is definitely the place to have dinner if you’re ever in Austin!

The next day we headed back to Dallas but stopped by the University of Mary Hardin Baylor to see and pick up my cousin Abby from College and bring her home for her spring break! It was so fun to see my little cousin at her college and a great way to end our spring break trip!

So that’s what I have been up too lately and I’ll try to keep up with my blog better!

Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter And More Peanut Butter ... And A Little Bit of Chocolate

So I have totally been on this peanut butter kick lately and this past weekend was no exception! My sister came home for the weekend for the first time since before the new year to run a half marathon here in Dallas and so I told her that I would make her WHATEVER she wanted! Well her 2 favorite cookies are Peanut Butter Blossoms and Oatmeal Chocolate Chip so I made her those plus Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cake Balls!!!

Peanut Butter Blossoms

Ingredients:

Hershey's Kisses

1/2 cup shortening

3/4 cup peanut butter

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1 egg

2 Tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

granulated sugar

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Remove wrappers from chocolates.

2. Beat shortening and peanut butter in large bowl until well blended. Add 1/3 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.

3. shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar; place on ungreased cookie sheet.

4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately press a chocolate into center of each cookie; cookie will crack around edges. remove from cookie sheet to wire racks. Cool completely.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

For the past year me and my sister have been trying to find the BEST Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookie recipe and I think I have finally found one! It's from Allrecipes.com and you can see it here!

Me and my sister before the start of the race!

Ericka and her boss Ashley after they completed the Texas Half (This was Ericka's first 1/2 marathon and she finsished it in 2 hours and 15 mintues!) I am so proud of her!!!

Ashley's little girl was definitely enjoying the cake balls after the race! :-)

Another treat I made this weekend for my sister was 'Texas Sized' Peanut Butter Blossom Cupcakes! I first saw this awesome treat at Bake it in a Cake! What you do is take an already baked Peanut Butter Blossom and bake it INSIDE a Cupcake!

I made my cupcakes a little different though ... I used the Peanut Butter Cupcake and frosting recipes from my Betty Crocker Just Cupcakes cookbook! It is probably one of the easiest cupcake recipes in the world!

All you do is take a box of yellow cake mix and mix it up according to the directions on the box but you add 1/2 C of peanut butter to it all before mixing it together! I usually end up adding a little extra water and/or oil till I get the consistency that I like.

Then you just bake the cupcakes according the the temperature and time on the box!

For the frosting this time (since I was running short on time) I just took a can of store bought chocolate frosting and stirred in enough peanut butter till I got the taste I wanted but you can also make up a batch of buttercream frosting and add in some peanut butter!

All of the Peanut Butter goodies from the weekend ... now all I need is a tall glass of milk!

More Holiday Baking

So I was going through the photos for my blog when I found these that I forgot to upload from our family Christmas dinner!

For my birthday this year I was given the ice cream maker attachment for my Kitchen Aid mixer and so I have been trying different flavors of ice cream so for Christmas I made ... Peppermint Ice Cream!!!

Ingredients

4 egg yolks

1 1/2 cups half-and-half cream

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups whipping cream

4 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup crushed peppermint candies

Directions

1. In a heavy saucepan, whisk egg yolks, half-and-half, sugar and salt. Cook and stir over low heat until mixture reaches 160 degrees F and coats the back of a metal spoon. Remove from the heat. Place pan in a bowl of ice water; stir for 2 minutes. Stir in whipping cream and vanilla.

Press plastic wrap onto surface of custard. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

Fill cylinder of ice cream freezer two-thirds full. (Refrigerate any remaining mixture until ready to freeze.) Freeze according to the manufacturer's directions. Stir in peppermint candy. Allow to ripen in ice cream freezer or firm up in the refrigerator freeze for 2-4 hours before serving

This recipe was DELICIOUS! If you have an ice cream maker I highly recommend this recipe ... it was so creamy! I am probably going to use this base recipe from now on whenever I make ice cream!

The other dessert I made for our family Christmas dinner was ...

Pumpkin Praline Cake

½ cup butter or margarine

¼ cup whipping cream

1 cup packed brown sugar

¾ cup coarsely chopped pecans

1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® yellow cake mix

1 cup (from 15-oz can) pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)

½ cup water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

Additional coarsely chopped pecans, if desired

1. Heat oven to 325°F. In 1-quart heavy saucepan, stir together butter, whipping cream and brown sugar. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, just until butter is melted. Pour into 2 (9- or 8-inch) round cake pans; sprinkle evenly with 3/4 cup pecans.

2. In large bowl, beat cake mix, pumpkin, water, oil, eggs and 1 teaspoon of the pumpkin pie spice with electric mixer on low speed until moistened. Beat 2 minutes on medium speed. Carefully spoon batter over pecan mixture in each pan.

3. Bake 43 to 45 minutes or until cake springs back when touched lightly in center. Cool 5 minutes; remove from pans to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

Whipped Cream Frosting

4 ounces softened cream cheese

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 – 1 cup powdered sugar (or more to taste)

1 cup heavy whipping cream

Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, vanilla, and sugar until light and creamy. Beat in 1/4 cup whipping cream until smooth (scrape and stir with spatula as necessary). Add the rest of the cream and beat until it has the consistency of whipped cream (don’t overmix). Spread half of the frosting between the two cake layers then spread the rest over the top layer. Decorate with pecan halves if you have some left over!

This was a really good cake and was really simple to make and put together. My only suggestion is that if you are taking this cake anywhere to frost it once you get there otherwise the cake will start sliding apart and I know this from experience! ;-)

Not Your Average Cupcake!

My favorite thing to bake is cupcakes and for Christmas I was given a jumbo cupcake pan that makes the cupcakes twice the size of a normal size cupcake.

I like to call them "Texas Size" cupcakes! So to try out the pans for the first time I decided to make one of my FAVORITE cupcake recipes ... Peanut Butter!

I love this recipe because it is so easy! All you do is mix a box of yellow cake mix according to the directions on the box and then add in 1/2 Cup Peanut Butter! simple as that!

For the frosting I made up a chocolate buttercream and added in some peanut butter but if you don't want to make a buttercream another easy frosting is to use the tub chocolate frosting from the store and just stir in peanut butter!

So if you ever need a quick and easy dessert definitely try this out ... try even adding chopped up Reese's peanut butter cups on top for a special treat!

2 of My Favorite Foods!

Anyone who has been around me when I cook or lived with me for any amount of time knows that my 2 favorite foods are Chicken and Macaroni n' Cheese! I probably eat Chicken for at least one meal a day and so I'm always trying to come up with new ways of cooking it. I found this recipe a little while ago and decided to try it this past Tuesday for dinner.

Parmesan Panko Crusted Chicken

3-4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 2 lbs)
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 cup shredded/coarsely grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Trim any fat from chicken breasts, butterfly, cut in half, and pound to an even thickness, about 1/2" thick. Season both sides lightly with salt and pepper. In a shallow bowl, whisk together buttermilk and egg and add a little salt and pepper (about 1/2 tsp each). In another bowl or on a plate, combine bread crumbs, cheese, thyme, rosemary, and garlic. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat with 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil, enough to coat the bottom of the pan liberally. Bread the chicken cutlets by first dunking both sides in buttermilk mixture and then coating both sides with bread crumb mixture. Add to hot pan. Don't overcrowd the pan, a 10" skillet will hold about 4 pieces so you may need to cook it in 2 batches.

Cook about 4-6 minutes on the first side, flipping when the breading is a deep golden brown crust. The second side will cook slightly faster. Line a large plate with paper towels and remove cooked chicken to plate. Cover with foil while you cook the second batch.

I really liked this recipe ... The only change I would make to this recipe is to sure to pound out the chicken before coating and cooking it.

I LOVE Macaroni and cheese ... it reminds me of my childhood I guess! I have found several recipes for Macaroni n' Cheese and my goal is to try them all and to find the best "grown up" version! Here is recipe #1

Stove-Top Macaroni and Cheese

Recipe adapted from Alton Brown via Food Network

14 oz whole wheat short cut pasta

3 T butter

2 eggs
9 oz evaporated milk
1/2 - 1 tsp all-purpose seasoning
3/4 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp dried thyme
2 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated
Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat a large pot of water to boiling, salt liberally and add pasta. Cook to al dente per package directions and drain. Reduce heat to medium low, return to pan and add butter. Melt and stir to coat pasta. Whisk together eggs, milk, hot sauce, mustard, thyme, salt and pepper and pour over pasta. Stir and cook about one minute.

Add cheese and stir to melt and incorporate, cook about two minutes, add additional salt and pepper if desired and serve.

I really liked this Macaroni a lot and I used fat free evaporated milk and skim milk which helped with cutting the calories. The only comment I have is when its creamy and ready to go pull it off the stove! I kept mine on the stove while my parents were out to keep it warm but it kept heating the cheese and so it wasn't as creamy when it came time to eat it as it was when I was making it ... but it was still delicious!

And here is the delicious meal, complete with a spinach salad and sweet tea!