Cupcake Contest August 2013!

My mom wasn’t a big fan of sweet food, so growing up, my siblings and I really didn’t have much exposure to desserts. I remember vividly how shocked people used to get when we refused their candies as little kids. Don’t get me wrong though, we did have plenty of birthday cakes and occasional ice-cream every now and then, we were just not that crazy about sweet food in general. As I got older, I got more and more interested in cooking, I discovered the magic of sugar. Wow, what an eye-opener! I have to admit I’m still an amateur in this area, but I'm getting better. I never knew there was such a huge craze with cupcakes until my recent years of my life here in America. At my job, I have gained a group of friends/coworkers who love to cook like me. We cook for each other for different occasions and and sometimes compete in cooking for fun. Here’s the most recent one with CUPCAKES again! Turned out that we have a lot of "PROS" around.  Yes, did I mention that I like sugar now? Ha!

First Place: Sarah Wolff 
Entry: Kahlua Cupcakes
What's in it? Wow, a true winner of a piece. A chocolate cake with a mocha mousse filling and a Kahlua soaking syrup with caramel icing and a caramel and chocolate drizzle topped with a caramel bliss chocolate. Just listing out the ingredients is enough to make my mouth water for more!

 

Second Place: Casaundra Bronner & Faye Smith
Entry: Mochaccino Cupcakes (Casaundra), Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes (Faye)
What's in it?  
I was surprised by how light these 2 cupcakes were. They were fluffy and full of flavor. I could easily eat more than one at a time. Goes perfect with a cup of hot coffee or tea. 
Mochaccino Cupcakes: Coffee flavored chocolate cupcakes, topped with coffee butter cream, drizzled with vanilla salted caramel and garnished with a vanilla pirouette cookie.
Lemon-Blueberry Cupcakes with Honey-Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting:  Delicious combination of fruit flavors - lemon and fresh blueberries - all wrapped up in a buttery batter. The cupcakes use the lemon zest from 4 lemons; 3 in the batter and 1 in the frosting, which gives these guys a wonderful flavor and sparkle. Topped with a delicious cream cheese frosting enhanced with honey and lemon zest, this cupcake is a refreshing delight.

Third Place: Cindy Graham

Entry: Chocolate Caramel Cupcakes 

What's in it?  

So beautifully decorated that I almost hesitated to put my fork into it. This chocolate caramel filled cupcake was moist and delicious. The cupcake is a rich and moist chocolate cake with mini-chocolate cups floating in it with a soft caramel filling. Really great with a cold glass of milk or a hot cup of coffee. It’s a great way to sink into chocolate bliss. Mmmm, yum yum, Cindy. Great job as usual!

More delicious entries!!

Contestant: Christy Massie

Entry: Deluxe Peanut Butter Cupcakes

What's in it?  

These cupcakes are my personal favorite. I don't like peanut butter that much normally but somehow these cupcakes really worked. Christy outdid herself with these absolutely perfect cupcakes. She combined chocolate cake and peanut butter cake and topped it with a smooth peanut butter icing, chocolate ganache, and cruchy chopped peanut butter cups. OMG, sooooooooo good.

Contestant: Casaundra Bronner (2nd entry!)

Entry: Raspberry Chocolate Cupcakes

What's in it? 
These classy cupcakes reminded me of a beautiful ice-cream sundae from my childhood. They were yellow cakes with raspberry whipped cream filling, topped with a tier each of chocolate, vanilla and raspberry whipped cream icing, a raspberry and chocolate sprinkles. So light and delicious that you don't want to stop at one.

Contestant: Stacie Eftink

Entry: S'mores Cupcakes

What's in it? 
Cute cute cute. S'mores on a cupcake. Who can say no to that? These are chocolate cake topped with a toasted marshmallow, Hershey's chocolate and graham cracker on top of a dollop of marshmallow créme with a piece of Hershey's chocolate and a graham cracker crust bottom. Wow, talk about childhood, this one sure is a winner.

Contestant: Frances Wun

Entry: Raspberry Cheesecake Cupcakes

What's in it? 

These cupcakes were elegant. They were easy to make yet have a sophisticated appeal. The simple cheesecake was made from natural ingredients, topped with a homemade raspberry jelly and fresh raspberries. Sprinkled with powder sugar.

Contestant: Rica Kirn (Scott Kirn's Wife)

Entry: Oreo Chocolate Cupcakes

What's in it? 
Oreo, yes, I knew this would come up in this competition. Oreo is increasing in popularity in today's desserts. Scott's wife Rica took a creative turn with the yellow oreo cupcakes chocolate cake mix with a cream filling and mini Oreo’s inside. I smell love in the air.

Contestant: Mandi Stone

Entry: Meatloaf Cupcakes

What's in it? 

Let me say this, these were delicious. So good that they would go with any meal. Mandi actually didn't enter the competition with these cupcakes, but she really should have in my opinion. While we were chowing down on the pot luck, I looked around and almost everyone in the room had one of these meatloaf goodies on their plate. So inviting that you just had to taste it. Mandi's words, "You just make the meatloaf in foil cupcake liners. I used 90% lean beef. Topped with gold mashed taters, ketchup and bacon." 

That's it for now. More to come soon!!!
 

Carabao/Champagne Mango Smoothie

Mango Mango! One of the best ingredients for smoothies on those hot summer days, hands down. Carabao/Champagne mangos are extremely sweet and juicy when riped. When you make it in a drink, you won't even need to add sugar to it. The fruit is so good that you really can't go wrong with it...so many varieties you can make it into a drink. A friend of mine liked her mango drink with yogurt and honey. Here's how I made mine tonight. Really simple ingredients and so refreshing. Thumbs up from my family!

 Ingredients: (makes about 24 regular cookies)

• 3 riped Carabao or Champagne Mango
• 1 cup of condensed milk
• 3 cups of ice
• 1 big scoop of vanilla ice-cream (Yes!)
• Whipped cream topping

Step 1: Wash the mangos and wipe dry. Cut down both sides of the mango to the part where your knife touches the seed to get the mango flesh.

Step 2: Place the mango flesh in the blender with ice-cream, condensed milk and ice. Put the lid on and turn on the blender high until it's smooth. Pour into glass containers and top with fresh whipped cream. Serve immediately! Enjoy!

Grammie's Seven Layer Bars! by "The Naptime Chef" - Kelsey Banfield

Check these out! I really wanted to share this recipe with you guys. Perfect for social gatherings! A great, tasty treat for everyone of all ages. Even picky kids will fall in love with these yummy bites. Way way better tasting than commercial chocolate bars. The consistency of the coconut worked very well with the sweetness on top. I wouldn't want to change the combination of the ingredients for that reason. So easy to make and so happy to find the recipe. The result was superb. I will sure make it again and again. Thank you Kelsey!

 Ingredients: (makes about 24 regular cookies)

• 1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs (from about 8 crackers pused in the food processor)
• 1 shrededed sweetened coconut
• 1 (12oz) package semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 (12oz) package butterscotch chips
• 1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350F.

Step 2:  Pour the melted butter into the bottom of a 13x9 inch bakery dish and swirl the pan so that the bottom is evenly coated with butter. paying special attention to the corners. sprinkle the graham cracker crumbs evenly over the butter and press down with your fingertips to form a very thin crust .

Step 3: Create even layers on top of the graham crackers with the remaining ingredients in this order: shredded coconut, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, sweetened condensed milk, and chopped pecans on top.

Step 4: bake the bars for 35 mins, or until the ingredietns have completely melted together to form one uniform batter.

Step 5:  Remove the pan from the oven and allow it to cool to room temperature. Then cover it to cool to room temperature. Then cover it with plastic wrap and place it in the refirgerator for 2 hours. or until the bars have chilled and are completely solid.

Step 6:  cut the bars into 2" squares with a sharp knife and store them in a container lined with waxed paper.

Enjoy!

Supreme Cookies with Mint, White, Dark Chocolate Chips and Pecans!

Mmmmm, chocolate chips cookies, who can refuse them? They are everybody's favorite, especially during the holidays. I have to admit that I was somewhat skeptical when I came across this recipe from Southern Living Cookbook by accident few weeks ago. I attempted to look it up online for this post, but no luck. This recipe was the closest I could find if you would rather want to stick with the traditional version: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/all-time-favorite-chocolate-chip-cookies-10000001831998/

But if you want to go WILD, here's one MONSTER COOKIES recipe for you. The secret ingredient apparently is the INSTANT VANILLA PUDDING MIX! Some of you experienced bakers might already know the trick. It was easy and it worked. The pudding mix made the cookies really moist and completed the melt-in-your-mouth effect! While dark chocolate chips and pecan were not a new combination to the cookies world, I also added mint and white chocolate morsels for a crazy holiday touch.

Yep, I know, there were a lot of goodies in these babies. That's what I wanted to do one day when I woke up on one cold morning ... It's like a SUPREME PIZZA with everything on it!! The slight minty flavor was subtle, yet the taste and color suggested these cookies were no ordinary chocolate chips cookies.

So, what do you say? Lets forget the rules and put away the store bought chocolate bars. Make these beautiful cookies, pour some nice, cold milk and REJOICE to 2013!

Ingredients: (makes about 24 regular cookies)

• 1/2 cup shortening 
• 1/2 cup butter softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 (3.4oz)package vanilla instant pudding mix
• 2 1/4 cups plus 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 oz dark chocolate morsels
• 6 oz  mint chocolate morsels
• 6 oz white chocolate morsels
• 1 1/2 cup pecans
• 1 cup uncooked quick-cooking oats
• Parchment paper

Step 1:  Preheat oven to 350°. Beat butter, shortening and sugars at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until creamy. Add eggs and 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla, beating until blended.

Step 2:  Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl; gradually add to butter mixture, beating just until blended. Beat in morsels just until combined. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets.

Step 3:  Bake at 350° for 10 to 14 minutes or until desired degree of doneness. Remove to wire racks, and cool completely (about 15 minutes).

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!