Brownie Cheesecake

Brownie Cheesecake

Brownies plus cheesecake, could it get any better?? I found this recipe on the back of a brownie box and knew I had to try it. I'm so glad I did! It was amazing! Imagine the perfect brownie paired with the perfect slice of cheesecake, with a little bit of strawberry and hot fudge, and you get the brownie cheesecake. It was SO good. The recipe was simple...all you had to do was follow the directions on the box! Measurements...time...everything was calculated perfect. There was honestly no flaws in this recipe. It's one for the books, and I'll definitely be making it again!

Hershey Kiss Pies

This is yet another Pinterest recipe. You can find it here: http://picky-palate.com/2010/12/20/kiss-pies/. You can really do any kind of Kisses you like, I just had these in my home already. But these are seriously soooo good. They like melted in your mouth! So. Good. And they were simple! All you had to do was cut circles around the Kisses from pie crust, fold it up over the Kiss, dab it with some light egg wash, and then sprinkle it with sugar! Then you placed it in the oven and let it bake and before you know it you have Hershey Kiss Pies! When they get that perfect golden brown, like the bottom photo, they are done and are done perfectly! Definitely an easy recipe to continue doing over and over!

Sugar Cookie Bars

I'm going to be honest with you. This recipe was a total mess up. But, some how, everyone still loved these Sugar Cookie Bars! Like so many of my other recipes this one was also found through Pinterest and you can get the recipe here: http://www.crunchyrock.com/2011/01/sugar-cookie-bars.html. Anyways, my mistake in making this recipe was kind of a big one. The recipe called for 5 cups of flour, and I got distracted and lost count. So, 6 cups of flour were added to the mixture. A whole extra cup of flour was added! Which, may not seem like a lot, but it is. Note to self: Do NOT watch TV while counting out cups! I really didn't want to bring these to let people eat, but I had no other choice. It tasted like bread! So, I used the last of my pink lemonade frosting to try and sweeten it up, and sprinkled some sprinkles on! Which a good tip is to use wax paper to lightly press the sprinkles into the frosting to prevent them from rolling off the bar. I took them to class and everyone loved them!! I couldn't believe it because I really thought these were going to be a disaster! I even had other people from a different class try them and love them! I'm definitely going to try this recipe again, and I recommend it because it was a good recipe! I will just need to follow it more closely the next time. ;)

Scrambled Eggs

 

"Barbie" Eggs

I have been making this recipe in the morning for, well, for as long as I can remember! They're really just scrambled eggs with a few ingredients added in. Our family nicknamed them Barbie eggs because our family friend, Barbie, would make these ALL the time. She's definitely the professional at making them, but I like to think I'm a close second. ;) So first off, you need chopped ham and mushrooms, garlic, shredded cheddar cheese, salt, and beat your eggs in a separate bowl. You begin by heating up the ham, mushrooms, and garlic (shown right.) Once they are all cooked, you slowly add the beated eggs to the pan, making sure to continuously stir them so they don't stick. This should look like the picture shown bottom left. Use a spatula to stir the eggs around until they get nice and fluffy, like regular scrambled eggs would. Once your eggs are cooked all the way through, you'll want to start adding your shredded cheddar cheese, shown bottom right. I add a lot, because the more cheese the better! However, you don't want to cook the cheese on there too long so it melts all the way into the eggs. You really just want to cook them so the cheese gets nice and gooey. Once this is done, you'll want to take your eggs out of the pan and put them in a new bowl, shown at the very bottom. The lighting may be a little off, but these eggs truly are scrumptous!

Pink Lemonade

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes with Pink Lemonade Frosting

This recipe is from the box. I made these for my little sister, who was turning 14, because she LOVES pink lemonade. So yes, this recipe may be a "cheat" or "too easy" but baking is baking! :) The cupcake materials are from Pillsbury, which can be found in almost any grocery store. These cupcakes were for my sister's birthday party for her friends. Personally, I thought they were way too sweet. But, the girls all loved them and couldn't stop talking about how amazing they were! They were definitely the hit of the night!

Dr. Pepper Cupcakes

Dr. Pepper Cupcakes

These were by far my favorite to make. They took FOREVER, but they were unique, fun, and cute! It was yet another recipe I found on Pinterest. But, I figured I love Dr. Pepper so much how could I pass up this recipe?! And I'm totally glad I didn't, the recipe was amazing, and so were the cupcakes! There were a lot of ingredients to go into this recipe (shown above) but then again, Dr. Pepper does have 23 flavors! You can find the recipe here: http://bsinthekitchen.com/dr-pepper-cupcakes/

One of my favorite things about this recipe was that it only called for the egg whites. I had never made a recipe before where it needed just egg whites, so this was a new experience! I felt really professional getting the egg whites (shown above.) By the time I got to the last egg, I was pretty much a pro at getting the egg whites. However, the hardest part, was definitely the frosting. This would be the only thing I would change about the recipe, because it was so difficult to do! Also, the recipe made a TON of extra frosting, so after I was done frosting the cupcakes I pretty much still had a whole bowl full of frosting! But, the frosting did taste amazing! But it was also very runny, so I had to try refrigerating and putting it in the freezer for a little bit to see if it would thicken up. It never got to the consistency I would have liked, but it didn't turn out too bad, and the cupcakes were still amazing. So to top it all off, I made my Dr. Pepper cupcakes look like little Dr. Peppers! I cut off the tops of the small Dr. Pepper cans, and placed the cupcake in there, put a cherry on top, stuck in a straw, and viola! Dr. Pepper! This recipe was by far my favorite to do and I'm really proud of the way it turned out!

Brownies

Scratch Brownies

Week two of brownies and it's time for the brownies made from scratch. When surfing the web for the scratch brownie recipe, I came across "Hershey's BEST Brownies." So obviously I chose that recipe because it stated they were the BEST brownies right in the name! I thought, well if the name says best, they must be best, right?! I found the recipe on: http://www.hersheys.com/recipes/recipe-details.aspx?id=5008&name=Best-Brownies but ommitted the chopped nuts and frosting for the top.

And, the name said it all! These brownies truly were the BEST! Well, maybe for scratch ones. For a novice baker like me, I still think box brownies are the best! ;) But these scratch brownies were still amazing! They were nice and moist and chocolatey, like a brownie should be!

These brownies did lose to the box brownies, but just barely! For taste they got a 4.4 average out of 5. For visual appeal they received a 4.3 average out of 5 (beating the box brownies!) Like I said, this recipe truly was the BEST! It's definitely one I will go back to the next time I want to make some scratch brownies!

Brownies

Box Brownies

Who doesn't love chocolate brownies?! No one. My first idea was to just make brownies from scratch, but then I had an even more brilliant idea. Why not compare box brownies with scratch brownies?!
These box brownies, from Pillsbury, were obviously easier, just adding in the eggs, oil, and water to the powder. But who can complain? Box brownies ALWAYS turn out amazing. To top things off, I even sprinkled them with powdered sugar..yum! :)
These brownies, which I probably could've eaten the whole pan of, received an average of 4.7 out of 5 for taste. That's pretty dang good!! For the visual aspect, they received a 4.2 out of 5. Lower than the taste, but that's still a good review! So the class was given these one week, and the week after they were given the scratch brownies. It was up to them to decide whether it was box or scratch brownies that were best!

Fruity Rice Krispies



This was most definitely one of the harder recipes I have made, only because I couldn't get the recipe to work! These "rice krispies" were supposed to be birds nests...but there were some complications. First off, I heated the white chocolate and the shortening and mixed it with the fruity cereal, but..it wouldn't stick together! They were very crumbly and I had a hard time getting them to stay in a ball. Also, even though the mixture was very hot, the marshmallows didn't melt all the way, which was probably why they didn't stick together too well. I didn't even get to change them into birds nests because when I tried to put the eggs (jelly beans) in, the balls just fell apart! So, I kept them as balls.
My first reaction was, "Great. I'm supposed to bring these fail of attempt rice krispies to my class to eat. This won't end well." BUT! I worried for no reason! Everyone thought they were great! They were sweet tasting, and fun, if not a bit messy from the crumbling! I probably won't try this recipe again, or if I do, try a new one to follow to see if I get different results, or if it's just my lack of rice krispie making skills.

Oreo Cheesecake Cupcakes

Oreo Cheesecake Cupcakes

These cupcakes were amazing. Like, I'm in Heaven amazing. They were even easy to make! These are definitely a recipe I will be making many times in the future. For you guys, I got the recipe from the internet, naturally. It's another thing I saw on Pinterest! :) You can make your own by following the same recipe I did! It's from: http://www.handletheheat.com/2010/02/cookies-cream-cheesecake-cupcakes.html.

So, the cupcakes feature a whole Oreo sandwhich on the bottom of the cupcake, with Oreos crushed into the cheesecake batter. The only problem I found with this recipe was the cooking time. The recipe says to cook 11 minutes, then rotate, then cook 11 more minutes, for a total of 22 minutes. My first batch I accidentally overcooked (but they still taste great.) I cooked them for about 15 minutes before rotating. My second batch I cooked for 13 minutes and they turned out PERFECT. Also, the recipe said it'll make 30 cupcakes, but I ended up making three full pans which was 36 and still had a teeny bit extra.

Everyone who had these loved them, and were described as "The best thing all year." This is definitely a recipe I will share and make as often as possible!

Baked Egg in an Avocado

This recipe was a Sunday-morning-spur-of-the-moment. It's super simple too! All you need is an avocado, 2 eggs (1 for each half,) salt, garlic, and cayenne pepper! First, you'll need to pre-heat your oven to about 350 degrees. Then you'll want to cut your avocado in half, and remove the pit. I found it was easier to get rid of some of the egg white before putting it in the avocado. I did that by just pouring it back forth in the egg shells. Then, just pour the egg right into the hole where the avocado pit used to be! Do this for both halves of the avocado, and after that, add a pinch of salt and cayenne pepper. And add your crushed garlic. You can pretty much add whatever seasoning you like..those were just my choices! After you've finished those steps, place both avocado halves onto a cookie sheet and place it in the oven. There's really no time to this so you'll need to keep an eye on them. Pull them out when the egg is the way you like it! Mine stayed in for around 10 minutes. After I pulled them out I added just a dash more of cayenne pepper, and viola! You have a baked egg in an avocado! :) Yum!

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Heart Shaped Red Velvet Cupcakes

Valentine's Day 2012

 These cupcakes were absolutely amazing! I found the recipe here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/red-velvet-cupcakes-with-cream-cheese-frosting-recipe/index.html. Paula Deen is awesome. I followed her recipe exactly, except for adding a little extra cocoa. The overall recipe was easy to follow, and turned out perfectly. I wish I could have these cupcakes every day!

I was messing around on Pinterest, and found a heartshaped cupcake. I thought, "What better cupcake for Valentine's day?!" Not to mention, it's simple to do. All you have to do is place a marble in the pan on the outside of the cupcake liner before you place the batter in. Let the cupcakes bake with the marbles in the oven. It was a little hard to get them to stay put, so it was easiest to put the marble in, then place the batter in right away. I also found it was easier to fill the cupcakes only about 1/2 full instead of 3/4 because these cupcakes do rise a bit more than normal cupcakes. Even without frosting I thought they looked good enough to eat right then! I was a little hesitant when I was making these. I don't make cupcakes all too often, especially red velvet cupcakes. I usually stick to just brownies and bars.. I thought these cupcakes were using an awful lot of oil so I thought for sure these weren't going to turn out.

The frosting? To die for. It was absolutely amazing! It was just a basic cream cheese frosting, but, it was the best frosting I had ever tasted. I could have probably just sat there and eaten the whole bowl..but that's gross..right? :) The other frosting recipe I tried was a lot harder, and didn't turn out exactly the way I wanted. This frosting was perfect. Easy, light, fluffy, delicious. Did I mention it was amazing?

I even got all professional and squeezed the frosting onto the cupcakes. I just used a ziploc baggie and the attachments for a frosting squeezer...it did get a bit messy because every time I squeezed, the frosting would try to squeeze out of the top of the baggie. It's also easiest if you put the frosting right into the corner you're squeezing out of. 

I mean look at the end product..doesn't it look amazing?! They were like heaven in your mouth.