I was blessed these past few weeks by friends. I was asked by three people to created sweet treats for them to pass on to others. First it was Finding Dory cupcakes for a friend’s sweet daughter’s birthday party, then a celebratory cake for a local business celebrating 68 years in business and then a birthday cake for a husband for his 30th!
It is honestly the little things in life that I feel give back the most joy! I was honored and flattered that people took time to find me and ask me to make these fun treats!
First it was a red, white and blue swirled vanilla cake frosted with a simple vanilla buttercream, decked out with a fondant and buttercream logo.
Second was 24 Finding Dory cupcakes – 12 chocolate, 12 vanilla, frosted with vanilla buttercream, topped with cute candy decorations (Pop Rocks, Starburst coral and fondant seaweed, and sticker characters from the movie.
Third was a chocolate and peanut butter explosion cake! Chocolate cake frosted with peanut butter buttercream topped with chocolate ganache and chopped up peanut butter cups.
I was asked recently if I get joy out of baking simply for the act of baking or do I get joy out of the happiness it brings to others. It’s both. I love how I can get lost in baking like I can in a good book. It clears my head, sets my soul at ease and brings my heart all kinds of happiness. I also love the look on someones face as they bite into something I have made them that makes their taste buds do a happy dance. So if you are having a bad day do what brings you joy!
CHAOS! A hamster running on a wheel going over and over the same information. It can be something small that just gets stuck in my head and even though the rational part of me knows that between the hours of 11 p.m. and 3 a.m. nothing can be solved (usually), but I still dwell. The remedy usually comes in the form of using my hands to create a delicious treat. It soothes my soul, quiets my mind and gives me peace – even if just for a few hours.
I knew this week that I had been craving something salty and sweet – not just salted caramel, but I wanted MORE! Since I already had pretzels and kettle corn, and chocolate, heavy cream, caramels, sweetened condensed milk, butter and more – I knew I could bang out a batch of cupcakes in no time. The creative team at my work has been slammed the past few weeks. They bust their asses on a daily basis and are asked for more favors than most people I know in our work place – they deserve the enjoy my salty and sweet treats!
For these cupcakes I made a basic chocolate cupcakes from Betty Crocker, only I made them with dark chocolate cocoa powder. You can also use a box mix – THERE IS NO SHAME IN CHEATING WHEN IT COMES TO BAKING/COOKING! I filled them with a basic and quick salted caramel (consisting of melting 2 bags of Werther’s soft caramels and 1 can of sweetened condensed milk, and adding crushed sea salt to taste) and topped them with chocolate ganache (1 bag of dark chocolate chips and 1 sm. container of heavy cream – melted until smooth. I let this batch of ganache sit in the fridge to cool and whipped just before it set so it had the consistency of mousse rather than frosting). Then came the fun part – I broke up a few small pretzels to top half and opened a bag of Smartfood Kettle Corn mini bag to top the other half.
Sometimes it is the littlest and easiest detail that really makes things look like you slaved FOREVER on something that really took less than an hour. Google Images can provide you some great ideas! Put in something simple – chocolate and caramel or brownies and cookie spread or fruit and chocolate. Skim through the images and see what catches your eye! A lot of times things only look detail or hard – don’t just a book by it’s cover. Don’t just overlook something because you think it my take too long or be too hard – you just never know what you might be missing!
I hear her laugh and I immediately smile. I can hear the smile in her voice and even if I am not in sight of her, I know her smile is from ear to ear. I love that for every serious photo she takes there are 20 that have some goofy expression or her tongue sticking out. She is one of the most sincere people I have ever met and her hard work and dedication are to be admired. SHE IS THE BEST HUGGER EVER and her freckles … adorable!
When I found out Michele was engaged I couldn’t have been happier for her. She was absolutely glowing. I knew before she started planning that her wedding would be gorgeously planned and stunningly beautiful – she is a graphic designer after all – and I knew she would put that flourish into every part of her wedding planning.
During this time my relationship with Michele grew so much, we became more than just work friends. I went with her to see the wedding gown she had picked out and I watched her transform as she walked out with that gown on. I got to meet her wedding planner and shop for wedding decorations and ideas. My good friend and co-worker, Mariza, and I were asked to put our baking skills to the test; we were asked to bake for the wedding. Michele’s wedding colors were orange and navy blue, so we made blueberry cobbler and peach cobbler. Mariza and I spent several hours one evening testing recipes and coming up with a plan to feed 150+ people cobbler. The night before the wedding we went to Michele’s house and took over her kitchen! There are a handful of times I have made something and really poured my heart and soul into it, and this one of those times.
Mariza and I drove down the coast of Maine with my girls first thing the morning of the wedding so that the cobbler could be delivered to the venue before the celebrations began. We put our heads together and managed to fit many, many dishes of cobbler into the back of Mariza’s Jeep. Since we were early to the wedding and after sneaking peeks of the tent where the reception was being held- it was breathtakingly beautiful and elegant – we decided to wander the roads for a bit. We ended up in Blue Hill and we were pulled into the charming shop of Black Dinah Chocolatiers Tasting Room.
My girls were captivated by the amazing smells as we walked through the shop. There items for sale, along with goodies for sale. Mariza and I each decided on a molasses cookie half dipped in dark chocolate. I never would have thought of this combination on my own. It was amazing. That warm spicy flavor of the cookie, with it’s soft and chewy texture, mixed with the smooth and rich flavor of the dark chocolate. AMAZING! I was hooked.
My relationship with Michele continues to grow, like any great friendship does. Her outlook on life, her zest for enjoying what life has to offer, and her beautiful, encouraging soul has made me a better person. I love laughing with her, swapping random funny photos found on the internet, and watching her grow as a mommy to a beautiful baby boy, with the most adorable curly red hair. Thank you Michele for alway encouraging me and being there to listen. My courage to start this blog and let it take me where it may, is in part from you and your love! XOXO
Betty Crocker Molasses Cookies INGREDIENTS: 1 c. packed brown sugar
3/4 c. shortening
1/4 c. molasses
1 egg
2 1/4 c. AP flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. granulated sugar
DIRECTIONS: Heat oven to 325°F. In large bowl, beat brown sugar, shortening, molasses and egg with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon. Stir in remaining ingredients except granulated sugar. Shape dough by rounded tablespoonfuls into 1 1/2-inch balls. Dip tops into granulated sugar. On ungreased cookie sheet, place balls, sugared sides up, about 2 inches apart. Bake 13 to 16 minutes or just until set and cookies appear dry. Immediately remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. After the cookies have cooled slightly I take a bag of dark chocolate chips and slowly melt them down. You can do this in 30 second bursts in the microwave or using a double-boiler on the stove. Just make sure to keep stirring so that you don’t burn your chocolate. Gently dip cookies half way and place on parchment paper for setting. Try not to eat them all at once!
Peanut butter + Chocolate = LOVE for most people, but I am not one of them. I would much rather drag my celery sticks through thick and gooey creamy peanut butter or slather on some chunky peanut butter and raspberry jam onto toast for a great throw back sandwich. Whenever I think of peanut butter cups I think of my brother, who is a peanut butter and chocolate lover, and “50 First Dates” with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore. “Want me to put some peanut butter cups in your eggs?” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4quLuThn_Sc I had intended to make these awhile back for a friend and his tattoo shop. They were doing a great donation night for Project Semicolon. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to go and support this great endeavor due to previous obligations with my children, but I was there in spirit (and still owe Sam some goodies!).
Since I was going to be making quite a few of these in not a lot of time, I had bought pre-made chocolate shell cups. I do have a candy mold to make these by hand, but this was way simpler for the time I was going to have to make them. I bought three packages (about $4 each at Walmart) of ChocoMaker dessert cups. These cups come in two trays of six and unwrapped. There is no need to peel anything off these delicious Dark Belgian Chocolate cups. To make these from scratch you would need a mold and tempered chocolate. These cups are so versatile. You can fill them with any type of ganache or cream, the possibilities are ENDLESS!
I made up a triple batch of chocolate ganache (ensuring I would have some leftover to make some goodies that I do like!). Ganache is so easy to make. It is my go-to filling for cupcakes and cakes. If you leave it out at room temp. it will set and can be used for a rich and decadent frosting. For a single batch of ganache you will need 1/2 cup heavy cream and 8 oz. of good chocolate chips – I used dark, and a pinch of salt and a tsp. of instant coffee granules.
Keep in mind, dark chocolate is easiest to make into a ganache and white chocolate is the hardest. I put all my ingredients into a pan and and stirred constantly until it was smooth, creamy and combined. Don’t let this mixture stand or it will burn; you need to keep stirring it. You can do this in a microwave by combining all the ingredients in a microwave safe bowl and heating in 30 sec. intervals and stirring throughly between each heating session.
After ganache was made, I set it aside off the stove to set slightly before using as my peanut butter cup topping. For the centers I used double batch of filling. For a single batch you will need 1 c. creamy peanut butter, ¼ c.unsalted butter, ¼ c. light brown sugar and 1¼ c. powdered sugar. In a medium saucepan over med. heat, combine peanut butter, butter and brown sugar. Heat until completely melted, stirring constantly. Pour mixture into a mixing bowl and add powdered sugar a little at a time. Mix on low until it is complete incorporated. Set aside and let cool slightly. I put this mixture into a disposable piping bag, which makes the process much cleaner and easier. Once the mixture is cooled, pipe into shells. You will need to flatten the top slightly and push it into any open gaps.
Then spoon on the ganache and smooth it out for a delicious and indulgent treat! P.S. – You might want a glass of milk – just sayin’! ENJOY!
First it was a red, white and blue swirled vanilla cake frosted with a simple vanilla buttercream, decked out with a fondant and buttercream logo.
Second was 24 Finding Dory cupcakes – 12 chocolate, 12 vanilla, frosted with vanilla buttercream, topped with cute candy decorations (Pop Rocks, Starburst coral and fondant seaweed, and sticker characters from the movie.
Third was a chocolate and peanut butter explosion cake! Chocolate cake frosted with peanut butter buttercream topped with chocolate ganache and chopped up peanut butter cups.
Have Sweets, Will Share. 