Cupcake Crumble in a Jar Recipe!

Here is what you will need:
* 2 or more leftover cupcakes – pop off the frosted flat tops (set aside) and crumble up the cake bottoms
* whip up your favorite vanilla or chocolate (or both) pudding
* a clean medium sized glass jar with lid – not too tall (I used a short and stout roasted red pepper jar)
* optional additional crumble ingredients (fudge sauce, nuts, marshmallow creme, canned fruit, berries and more)

How To:
Now you start layering.
First add some pudding.
Then the cupcake crumbled bits.
Then another layer of pudding.
Then one of the frosted cupcake flat tops.
Then more pudding.
More crumbles.
(Add additional ingredients along the way if you’d like)
Last layer is one of the frosted cupcake flat tops.
Close the jar lid and chill in the fridge for a while before serving. This way the pudding will help moisten the crumbles.
Serve by spooning into dessert cups.

There! You just turned your leftover cupcakes into a snazzy new dessert treat – fit to please those “cupcake in a jar” enthusiasts!

Source: http://blogs.babble.com/family-kitchen/2011/03/28/cupcake-crumble-in-a-jar/

Red Velvet Sandwich Cookie Recipe!

Homemade Red Velvet Cookies adapted from Paula Dean
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon natural red food coloring such as Seelect or India Tree
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add in egg and beat well. Beat in vanilla and red food coloring. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet.
Scoop dough onto a lined cookie sheet using a generous medium scoop (2-3 tablespoons). Bake at 375 degrees F for 10-12 minutes until centers appear set. Allow to cool sightly. Then pull the liner onto the wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Cheater Red Velvet Cookies
1 box red velvet cake mix
2 eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons flour
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix together cake mix, eggs, oil and flour. Scoop onto lined baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool. Spread one cookie with filling and top with a second cookie.
Cream Cheese Filling
8 ounces cream cheese
4 tablespoons butter, softened
2 teaspoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar
Cream together cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl. Beat in milk and vanilla. Sift powdered sugar over the wet ingredients and beat in until smooth. Spread in between two cooled red velvet cookies.
Makes 10-15 sandwiches.

Source: http://blogs.babble.com/family-kitchen/2010/11/08/red-velvet-sandwich-cookies/

Blue Velvet Cupcakes with Strawberry Swirl Buttercream Recipe!

Blue Velvet Cupcakes with Strawberry Swirl Buttercream
adapted from Magnolia Bakery

3 1/3 cups cake flour (not self-rising)

1 1/2 unsalted butter, softened
2 1/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
6 tablespoons blue food coloring (or two or three squirts blue food paste)
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons cider vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
For the frosting:
2 sticks unsalted butter
6 to 8 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 to 3/4 cup chopped strawberries
1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
2. In a small bowl sift together the cake flour and salt. Set aside. In an electric mixer cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. In a separate small bowl whisk together the blue food coloring, cocoa and vanilla, add to the batter and beat well. Note, the batter has cocoa in it so it will take a quite a bit to turn it blue.
4. With the mixer on low alternate adding the buttermilk and flour mixture, ending with the flour. Finally, in a small bowl stir together the cider vinegar and baking soda. Add it to the batter and mix well.
5. Line a 12 cup muffin tin and fill each cup 3/4 full. Reserve the remaining batter for a second batch. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes.
6. To make the frosting: Add the butter, 4 cups of the confectioners’ sugar, the milk and vanilla to a mixing bowl and beat together. Add in the remaining sugar one cup at a time until thickened and fluffy. If you prefer thicker icing add the final two cups of sugar a little bit at a time, beating well after each addition. Finally, add the chopped strawberries and beat until just combined.

Source: http://blogs.babble.com/family-kitchen/2011/06/30/fourth-of-july-blue-velvet-cupcakes-with-strawberry-swirl-buttercream/

Copycat Recipes: Hostess Ho-Ho's!

Homemade Ho-ho’s
for the genoise:
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
5 tablespoons cocoa powder (preferably Dutch processed), plus more for dusting pan
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
5 tablespoons butter, melted
for the filling:
1/2 cup sugar
4 ounces cream cheese
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
for the frosting:
2 cups good quality chocolate chips 
2 tablespoons butter

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a half sheet pan (17×12 inches), then line with parchment paper. Butter the paper and sides of pan and dust with cocoa powder. In a medium-sized, heat-proof bowl, set over a saucepan of simmering water, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder. Whisk almost constantly until mixture is warm to the touch. Remove from heat, and with an electric mixer, beat on high for several minutes until the mixture is smooth, falls in ribbons, and is cool to the touch. Stir in vanilla.

2. Combine the rest of the cocoa powder, flour, and salt in small bowl, and fold a third of it into the egg and sugar mixture. Fold the next third in until well incorporated, followed by the melted butter, and the last third of the flour mixture. The batter should now fall in thick ribbons. Spread evenly into prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes, or until cake springs back when touched. Allow to cool.

3. While the cake cools, make the filling. In a medium-sized bowl, with an electric mixer, cream sugar and cream cheese until the sugar dissolves. Switch to the whisk attachment (if you have one), and add in cream, a little at a time, until it is well incorporated. Raise the speed to high, and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold into vanilla. You may taste a little, but try not to go crazy. You’ll need it for the filling.


4. When the cake is almost fully cooled, cut into 10 equal pieces. Spread filling even over the cake, and take each section and carefully roll up, being careful not to break the cake or squish out the filling (but this will probably happen, so don’t panic. My son said that the frosting is for filling in the cracks). When all pieces are rolled up, place in the freezer to set for about 20 minutes.

5. In a small, microwave safe bowl, combine the chocolate chips, and the butter. Microwave on high for 45 seconds. Stir, and microwave for 10 seconds more until all the chips are melted.

6. Remove the naked ho-ho’s (no innuendo intended here) from the freezer, cut off any filling oozing out the sides, and coat in the the melted chocolate mixture. Place on parchment paper, and return to the freezer until the frosting is set.

Source: http://blogs.babble.com/family-kitchen/2010/05/24/homemade-ho-hos/

Copycat Recipes: McDonald's Shamrock Shake Recipe!

McDonald’s Shamrock Shake Copycat Recipe (makes 1 giant shake, or 2 generously sized shakes)
3 cups good quality vanilla ice cream
1 3/4 cups 1% milk
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
Green food coloring, if desired
1. Blend all ingredients in a blender until completely thick and smooth. Pour into glasses and serve!

Source: http://blogs.babble.com/family-kitchen/2011/02/21/the-mcdonalds-shamrock-shake-copycat-recipe/

Copycat Recipes: McDonald's Fried Apple Pies!

makes 5-6 pies

for the tart shell
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons cold butter
1/4 cup ice water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar

for the filling
2 cups peeled apples, chopped to 1/2” squares
1/2 cup apple cider
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
zest and juice of 1 lemon
big pinch salt
2 tablespoons flour

In the bowl of your food processor, combine the flour, salt, and sugar by pulsing 3 times. Cut up the butter into large chunks, and add to the flour. Pulse several times, until the mixture is sandy and crumbly. Drizzle in the ice water, and pulse 2 or 3 times until the dough just holds together.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and form into a 6” disc. Wrap the disc tight in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the filling. Combine the apples, cider, sugar, zest and juice, and salt, and cook over medium heat. The mixture will bubble, and cook down. After about 15 minutes the apples will soften, but still have a little texture. Stir in the flour and cook for a minute or two more. Remove from heat and set filling aside to cool.

Either in an electric skillet, deep fryer, or heavy-bottomed pan with deep sides, heat a neutral cooking oil to 350 degrees.

On a lightly floured surface roll 1/3 of the dough into a 10 – 12” oval. To make the first two pies, cut the oval in half, and carefully pile 1/3 cup of filling on one half of each semi-circle.  Quickly wet the edges, and fold over, pressing each into a turnover shape. Seal the edges with the tines of a fork. Fry the pies for a total of 3 – 4 minutes, flipping them halfway through. Remove from oil when the pies are a deep golden brown. Place on a stack of paper towels, dust with confectioners sugar and serve. Follow these steps for the other four pies.

Source: http://blogs.babble.com/family-kitchen/2011/02/24/mcdonalds-copycat-recipe-fried-apple-pies/

Copycat Recipes: Ferrero Rocher

2 cups hazelnuts
1-2 tsp. canola oil
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1/4 cup honey
1 cup chocolate chips or chopped milk or dark chocolate

Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Spread the hazelnuts out on a large rimmed baking sheet and roast for 10-15 minutes, shaking the pan once or twice, until the skins break and the nuts look pale golden. Pour the nuts from the sheet onto a clean tea towel and let cool.
Once cooled, rub the nuts in the tea towel to loosen their skins. (Don’t worry about getting every bit of them off.) Put the nuts into the bowl of a food processor and discard the skins left over in the towel.
Pulse the hazelnuts until they are completely ground. Let the machine run, adding about a teaspoon of canola oil, for 2-3 minutes or until it turns into a thick paste. Add the confectioners’ sugar, cocoa, honey and another teaspoon of canola oil and blend for another minute, until it’s well blended and thick.
Roll the mixture into walnut-sized balls, place on a tray and refrigerate. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate. Dip each ball into the melted chocolate (I do this with a fork or by impaling it on a bamboo skewer) to coat, then place on a piece of waxed paper and let sit or refrigerate until set. Makes lots.

*Please note:  These don’t have the wafer crunch of real Ferrero Rocher, but all the chocolatey, hazelnutty flavor everyone seems to love so much.

Source: http://blogs.babble.com/family-kitchen/2011/03/29/easter-chocolates-homemade-ferrero-rocher/

Copycat Recipes: Hostess Blueberry Pies!

1 batch of Perfect Whole Wheat Pie Crust
 1 C whole wheat
1/2 C white flour
2 t sugar
1/2 t salt
½ c. cold butter, sliced
4-5 Tbsp. cold milk
In large bowl, stir together flours, sugar, and salt. Cut in slices of butter using a pastry cutter (or fork, if you have to) until the largest pieces resemble peas. It’s important that you don’t touch the crust with your bare hands, no matter how tempting that mixing option might be. You want the butter to stay as cold as possible and your hands will warm it up and make the crust less flaky. Pour the milk over the mixture, one tablespoon at a time, just until moistened enough to hold the dough together. Use a fork to stir the dough after you’ve added each Tablespoon of milk. Quickly form the crust into a ball. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Blueberry Filling:
1 pt. blueberries
½ c. sugar
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
Glaze:
2 c. powdered sugar
2-4 Tbsp. heavy whipping cream
1 tsp. pure vanilla
 
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium saucepan, combine all filling ingredients. Stir together over medium-high heat until thickened, about 5-7 minutes. Allow to cool. Roll pie crust to ¼” thick, cut into small circles that are approximately 4-5 inches in diameter. Place a small dollop of the blueberry mixture onto the center of each circle of crust. Pull the edges of the crust up—taco-style—gently pinching the two sides together. Lay the pie onto its side and use the tines of a fork to seal the edges. Place on a baking sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the edges of the pie begin to brown slightly. Remove and cool until warm to the touch. Whisk together all glaze ingredients until smooth. Dip warm cutie pies in the glaze until fully coated. Transfer to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool completely before serving.

Source: http://blogs.babble.com/family-kitchen/2010/07/23/homemade-hostess-blueberry-cutie-pies/

Copycat Recipes: Homemade Hostess Cupcakes!

For the cupcakes:
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
3/4 cup Dutch process cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup oil
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup hot coffee
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl sift together sugar, flour, Dutch process cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, beat together eggs, oil, buttermilk and vanilla and then add into the dry ingredients. Whisk in the hot coffee.
Fill lined muffin cups 2/3 full and bake at 350 degrees F for 18-20 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
For the filling:
4 tablespoons butter
1 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup marshmallow creme
In a medium bowl, beat together all filling ingredients. Fill a large piping bag. When cupcakes are cool, press tip into the center and squeeze 1-2 tablespoons of the cream filling into the center. Repeat for all cupcakes.
For the ganache:
3/4 cup cream
7 ounces chocolate
Heat the cream in a saucepan over medium heat stirring frequently until the cream is hot and just starts to boil. Immediately pour the cream over the chocolate and whisk until smooth. Spread warm but slightly cooled ganache over the tops of the filled cupcakes.
For the icing:
1/2 stick butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2-1 tablespoon milk
Once the ganache is set, whip together all icing ingredients until smooth, adding more milk if necessary. Fill a piping bag and pipe on the curls or write fun messages on your cupcakes.
Makes 12 homemade Hostess cupcakes.

Source: http://blogs.babble.com/family-kitchen/2010/10/06/homemade-hostess-cupcakes-copycat-recipe/

Copycat Recipes: Wendy's Spicy Chicken Sandwich!

2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. onion salt
1 tsp. celery salt
1 tsp. sugar
1/3 c. cornstarch
2 eggs, well beaten
2 chicken breasts, sliced halfwise to create 4 pieces

1 c. light olive oil or canola oil for frying In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium high heat. While the oil is heating, combine cornstarch and all other spices in a shallow dish, stirring together until well mixed.  Pour well beaten eggs into a second shallow dish. Coat chicken pieces thoroughly with the cornstarch/spice mixture. Dip both sides into the egg mixture, then transfer immediately to hot oil and pan fry on both sides until cooked through (about 2-3 minutes per side). Remove from oil, placing cooked chicken on a paper towel momentarily to drain excess oil from the sandwich. Serve on hamburger buns with mayonnaise and lettuce. Enjoy!

Source: http://blogs.babble.com/family-kitchen/2010/07/27/real-fast-food-spicy-chicken-sandwiches/

Copycat Recipes: Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte!

Ingredients
2 cups half and half, whole milk reduced fat or skim milk
2 tablespoons canned pumpkin puree
1 – 2 tablespoons sugar, stevia or splenda
2 tablespoons vanilla extract, yes tablespoons
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1-4 shots espresso or very strong coffee (I double the amount of grounds I use per cup to get my strong coffee)

Method
1. Brew your espresso or strong coffee. If brewing strong coffee, use double the amount of grounds you would in your regular coffee.
2. Combine half and half or milk, pumpkin, sugar, and pumpkin pie spices in a small saucepan. Heat until very hot, but do not boil. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Transfer to a blender or a milk frother and blend until frothy.
3. Pour 1 cup warm pumpkin milk mixture into coffee mug and add 1-4 coffee shots. Dust with more pumpkin pie spice if desired.

Makes about 1 – 2 servings.

Source: http://blogs.babble.com/family-kitchen/2010/10/12/pumpkin-spice-latte-starbucks-copycat/

Layered Fruit and Yogurt Salad Recipe!

Ingredients
fresh blueberries
grapes
strawberries
chopped cantaloupe
sliced kiwi
vanilla yogurt
tall glass or trifle dish

Instructions
Layer 3 of the fruits, followed by some yogurt. Layer the next 3 fruits and top with more yogurt.

Source: http://blogs.babble.com/family-kitchen/2012/02/21/layered-fruit-and-yogurt-salad/

Rainbow Cake in Jar Recipe!

• 1 box white cake mix made according to package instructions
• Neon food coloring in pink, yellow, green, turquoise, and purple
• 3 one-pint canning jars
• 1 can vanilla frosting
• Rainbow sprinkles

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Thoroughly wash and dry the inside of each canning jar. Spray the inside of each jar thoroughly with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
Scoop about 1/2 cups of cake batter into five small bowls. It doesn’t have to be perfect, don’t panic if you get a little more of less of one color than another.  Tint each bowl of cake batter with the food coloring until very vibrant.
Spoon about 3 tablespoons of the purple batter into the bottom of each jar.  Spoon equal amounts of turquoise batter, then green, yellow, and pink.  Place the jars in a shallow baking dish, add about 1/4″ in water in the baking dish. Place the baking dish in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes.
Remove jars and allow to cool completely before scooping a small portion from the top of your cake and adding a hefty dollop of vanilla buttercream to the top. Sprinkle & serve, or cover with a lid and store in the fridge or pop into the mail & surprise someone you love!
POST EDIT: Several commenters have indicated that the cake is not cooking all the way through in the 30-35 minutes indicated in the recipe.  This was enough time for our cake, but I’m cooking at high altitudes, and my oven tends to bake hot.  So, I’d recommend baking the cake for 40 minutes, then return it to the oven if it still doesn’t spring back to the touch when you check to see if it’s finished.  As for the cake puffing up and out of it’s bottle, ours did that a bit, as well.  Easy fix. We just scooped a bit of the cake out to make room for the frosting and wiped the outside of our jars clean.  Several people have indicated that the wide-mouthed mason jars work a little better for this purpose.  I’ve not yet baked with wide-mouthed. What you see above is what was baked in my kitchen according to the recipe instructions, and what came out of the oven when it was all.   Of course, if you’re feeling wildly impatient, you can also zap the cake in the microwave for 2 minutes.  It’s going to bubble up, for sure, but you can scoop the top part of that cake out, frost it, and no one will ever be the wiser. Good luck, everyone! This is such a fun cake. My kids went nuts over it, and I hope it works as beautifully for you as it did for us!

Source: http://blogs.babble.com/family-kitchen/2011/04/08/rainbow-cake-in-a-jar/

Disney Animated Film Recipes: Fantasia - Sugar Plums

5-6 dried figs (stems trimmed)
7-8 dried apricots
1/3 cup sliced or slivered almonds, toasted, or 1/2 cup toasted whole hazelnuts
3 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa
3 Tbsp. honey or golden syrup (or less, if your fruit is nice and soft and sticky already)
a bit of grated orange zest (optional)
1/4 tsp. almond or vanilla extract (optional)
1/4 tsp. cinnamon (optional)
sugar, for rolling
Trim tough stems from figs and cut them in half. In a food processor, pulse the figs, apricots, almonds and cocoa until finely chopped. Add the honey, orange zest, vanilla and cinnamon and pulse until well combined. Add some extra cocoa or nuts if the mixture is too wet; some extra honey if it won’t stick together.
Place some sugar in a shallow dish. Roll the sugar plum mixture into bite-sized balls, then roll them in sugar to coat. If you like, place them in paper or aluminum candy cups, like truffles. (Sugar plums can be made up to a week ahead; store in an airtight container at room temperature, or in the fridge.)

Source: http://blogs.babble.com/family-kitchen/2010/12/24/homemade-sugarplums-for-santa/

Copycat Recipes: McDonald's Big Mac

2 uncut bakery buns (with sesame seeds for authenticity)
butter
1/2 pound ground beef
1 slice cheddar cheese or 2 thin slices (don’t bother with the American stuff, not even for authenticity)
1/4 cup shredded lettuce
1 dill pickle, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons diced onions
1/4 cup thousand island dressing

Light the grill. Cut the bakery buns into thirds and butter the cut sides. Split the ground beef into four equal parts (1/8th pound each) and pat each portion into a thin circle, larger than the size of the bun to allow for shrinkage. Place the patties on the 400-degree grill and grill four minutes. Flip and cover with cheese slices. Grill an additional 4 minutes or to desired doneness.
Remove patties from grill and allow to rest while you lightly toast the buns. This will help them support the stacking that comes with building a Big Mac.
Build your Big Mac: bottom bun > patty covered with cheese > lettuce > thousand island dressing on bottom of the middle bun > patty (covered with cheese) > onions > pickles > more lettuce > thousand island dressing on the top bun.
Makes 2 large, 1/3-pound burgers.

Source: http://blogs.babble.com/family-kitchen/2010/09/22/real-fast-food-mcdonalds-big-mac-copycat-recipe/