Peep Bunny Cupcakes

Here are the cupcakes that Miss V had me make for her school birthday celebration.

I did them in her school colors since I couldn't find green bunnies. 

2 dozen cupcakes
1 can of white frosted tinted green
Sweet Tart Jelly Beans
2 packages of Bunny Peeps

Pipe the green grass onto each cupcake then add your Peep.

To keep the bunnies standing up I do insert a tooth pick in the bottom of Peep and then place the Peep onto the cupcakes.

Place a few jelly beans onto the "grass".



If you are coming over from Pinterest,

I enjoy reading any and all comments! Feel free to ask any questions you have, about this recipe. If you have tried this recipe, please let me know how you liked it or if you would change it in any way.

Hawaiian Grilled Cheese

I love getting the newest Food Network Magazine!  Tonight we made the Hawaiian Grilled Cheese.

Spread 2 slices of Hawaiian Sweet bread or challah with Pineapple Preservers.  Sandwich with 2 slices of monterey jack cheese and ham.   Cook flipping once until golden brown.  (I did butter the sandwiches)



I served it with fruit salad and potato chips.

Chocolate Banana Bread

I have a bunch of bananas that need to get baked up today. I found a great banana bread recipe on the Joy of Baking website.

1/2 cup toasted walnuts or pecans, coarsely chopped (I used pecans)
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white or dark chocolate chips (I used dark)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 ripe bananas, mashed well (about 1-1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place oven rack to middle position. Butter and flour (or spray with a non stick vegetable/flour spray) the bottom and sides of a 9 x 5 x 3 inch (23 x 13 x 8 cm) loaf pan. Set aside.

Place the nuts on a baking sheet and bake for about 8 - 10 minutes or until lightly toasted. Let cool and then chop coarsely.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a medium-sized bowl combine the mashed bananas, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla. With a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, lightly fold the wet ingredients (banana mixture) into the dry ingredients until just combined and batter is thick and chunky. Fold in the nuts and chocolate chips. Scrape batter into prepared pan and sprinkle the top of the bread with coarse brown sugar (optional).

Bake until bread has risen and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 to 65 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool and then remove the bread from the pan.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 1 - 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf

Oatmeal Blueberry Cookies

Today I noticed that I had a bag of dried blueberries in the pantry. I bought them this winter with the idea of adding them in oatmeal, but it was not a cold winter.

So I thought for a little while and decided I would add them in oatmeal cookies instead of raisins.

1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups rolled oats
1 bag dried blueberries (3.5 oz)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

In a large bowl, cream together the butter flavored shortening, brown sugar, white sugar, eggs, and vanilla until smooth. Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Stir in the oats and dried blueberries. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets or parchment lined cookie sheets.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes until light and golden. Do not overbake. Let them cool for 2 minutes on the cookie sheet. After 2 minutes remove cookies and place on cooling racks.

I can't even begin to tell you how yummy they are!  The bluberries give the cookie a nice subtle fruity flavor.

Dark Chocolate Dreams Peanut Butter Cookies

I felt like making a small batch of cookies so I just whipped these up.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup creamy or chunky peanut butter (I used Dark Chocolate Dreams)
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup chopped roasted peanuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl, set aside. Beat the butter and sugars with an electric mixer set on medium, until light and fluffy.

Add the egg, vanilla and peanut butter. Beat until well blended. Gradually add the flour mix. Stir in the peanuts if desired.

Shape dough into 1 inch balls; place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten dough balls with a fork, creating a criss-cross pattern.

Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool cookies on cookie sheets for 2 minutes. Remove to wire rack and cool completely.

I make mine a bit bigger with a medium cookie scoop.  This makes 24 nice sized cookies.

These came out really well!   I love the subtle chocolate flavor.  I bet Miss V is going to love them when she gets home from school.

50 Brownies from Food Network Magazine - Fudgy Brownies

I have been itching to make the Fudgy Brownies since I bought the magazine.  Well I got around to making them last week and then forgot to blog about them.

How to bake brownies:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Coat a 9-by-13-inch pan (or other pan as noted) with cooking spray. For easy removal, line the pan with foil, leaving an overhang, then coat with more cooking spray.
Add the batter and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out almost clean. Cool on a rack, then cut into squares.

Fudgy Brownies Melt 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips and 1 stick butter in a saucepan over low heat, stirring. Off the heat, whisk in 3/4 cup each light brown sugar and granulated sugar; cool slightly. Whisk in 4 eggs, one at a time, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Stir in 1 cup flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Spread in the pan; bake 45 minutes.

Well..............I am not sure where or what I went wrong with.  They were super easy to make, but trying to get them out of the pan was a nightmare!  I sprayed my pan very well like any other time I make brownies, but these were sticky!  Usually brownies will pull off the side of the pan a bit, but these didn't.  I baked them for 45 minutes and then let them cool.    I am not sure if I under baked them?

I don't know if I will attempt these again.  The little pull out has so many other kinds that I would like to try, maybe I will just stick with the standard box mix and then mix in the other ingredients.

I couldn't even get a good picture of one, maybe that is why I forgot to blog about them.

Kid Cuisine Flip n' Dip Pancakes

Ok...don't shoot me, but I do keep some Kid Cuisine Meals in the freezer.  Miss V enjoys them once in a while and they come in handy.

So on Shrove Tuesday, I really didn't feel like making pancakes and I remembered that I had a Flip n' Dip Pancake meal in the freezer.  Miss V was very happy about that.

Well the meal comes with two pancakes, tater tots, cranberry sauce and one turkey sausage.

Before I cooked it:

Well.....something is missing.  Can you tell what?

The turkey sausage!!!

So after I heated it up and Miss V ate, I called ConAgra Foods.  I spoke with a super nice woman in Consumer Affairs.  She took down all the information from the box and said that ConAgra foods would be sending out a couple of coupons and one would be a for a free meal and another coupon would be $.50 off another item.

The coupons came very quickly and I can say that my experience with Consumer Affairs was fantastic!!!!

Apple spice muffins

Apple spice muffins

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
3/8 cup oil (that is 1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons)
1 cup peeled chopped apple
1/2 to 3/4 teas. apple pie spice

Stir together dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Add wet ingredients and any optional ingredients and stir just until moistened.

Scoop into greased muffins tins (an ice cream scoop works well for this).

Sprinkle the tops with sugar if desired, and bake at 400 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until done.

Makes 12 regular size muffins.