Cookie Stuffed Funfetti Cupcakes

That lovely woman Colleen gave me another idea for cupcakes.

If I ever get diabetes, she's to blame. :P

I modified her recipe. I didn't use cake flour (which was a mistake) and I used my standard vanilla cupcake recipe instead. I also used plain vanilla frosting instead of her super sweet cookies n cream frosting.

Ingredient list

-1/2 cup softened butter (1 stick)
-3/4 cup sugar
-2 eggs
-2 tsp vanilla extract
-1.5 cups all-purpose flour
-1/2 tsp baking powder
-1/4 tsp salt
-2/3 cup cold milk

-Rainbow sprinkles

-Chocolate sandwich cookies (I used Newman's Organic Cookies)

Vanilla Frosting 

 -1 cup of unsalted butter, softened
-2 tsp of vanilla extract
-2-3 cups of powdered sugar (you can adjust according to how much you need).

1) Beat together the butter and sugar. Preheat the oven for 350 degrees.

2) Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

3) Once the butter and sugar are mixed together, add the eggs in one at a time, then the vanilla extract. Mix it all together.

4) Gradually stir in the dry ingredients until incorporated, alternating with the milk. Stir in the sprinkles gently. I didn't measure the sprinkles, I just added them until I was happy with the amount I had. 

5) After you line a muffin pan with paper liners, place a tablespoonful of cake batter in the liner. Put a cookie on top and press down a little. Top with another spoonful of batter, making sure to cover the cookie completely. Repeat until all of the batter is used up. 

6) Bake for 15-18 minutes. Let them cool before frosting them. 

  

Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies

The only way to improve on these cookies would be to have an angel serve them to you on a silver platter while you recline on a couch made of cotton candy.

Your pants would be covered in colored spun sugar, but hey, it's okay, because it's a fantasy!

Ingredient list:

-1/2 cup of butter, softened
-2/3 cup of sugar 
-2 tblsp of milk 
-1 egg
-1 cup of all-purpose flour
-1 tsp of vanilla extract
-1/3 cup of cocoa powder

-1/4 tsp of salt

1) Mix flour, salt and cocoa powder together.  Set aside.

2)  Beat together butter, sugar, vanilla extract and egg, in that order. Gradually stir in the dry ingredients. 

3) Chill for at least 1 hour.

4) When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

5) Pinch a little of the dough using powdered sugar coated fingers (you can also use flour). Roll into small balls and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Press your thumb into the ball to create an indentation. 

6) Bake for 10-12 minutes. 

  

7) Once they are baked and cooled, fill with dulce de leche and top with chocolate sprinkles. 

 

Tres Leche Cake

I know I've been seriously MIA lately. I have 2 jobs this semester in addition to full time college student status. Forget about having time to blog- I barely have time to cook anymore!

However, this cake was far too tempting to overlook, I wound up making it and sharing it with friends.

Ingredient list:

Cake
-1.5 cups of all purpose flour-1 tsp baking powder 
-1/2 cup of unsalted butter 
-1 cup of sugar
-4 eggs 
-1/2 tsp of vanilla extract

-2 cups whole milk
-1 (14 oz) can of sweetened condensed milk-1 (12 oz) can of evaporated milk 
 

Whipped Topping

-1.5 cups of heavy whipping cream 
-1 cup of white sugar 
-1 tsp of vanilla extract 

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease and flour a 9x13 baking dish.

2) Sift flour and baking powder together. In another bowl mix butter and sugar until smooth. Add in flour gradually and stir together.  

3) Pour into baking dish and bake for 30 minutes. 

4) Let the cake cool. Once it's mostly cool, pierce it several times with a fork. There should be pinpricks all over it. Mix the three milks (condensed, evaporated and whole) together and pour it over the cake. You may have to pour half of it first and wait for it to soak in. It's a lot of liquid! Pour the rest over the cake. If the liquid does not soak in, you may have to discard the rest of the milk mixture. 

5) Place the cake in the fridge. Use an electric mixer to beat together the whipping cream, sugar and vanilla extract. Beat until it forms peaks and is fluffy. Spread over the cake. Store in the refrigerator. 

 

Shortbread Cookie Bars

What happens when your shortbread recipe fudges on you and doesn't turn out well? You smash them up and make cookie bars!

Ingredient list:

-2 dozen shortbread cookies
-1/2 cup of cocoa almond spread or Nutella
-1/2 cup of salted caramel
-8 marshmallows, chopped
-4 ounces of milk or dark chocolate, melted (or a mix of the two)

1) Crush the cookies and place them in a bowl. They should be crushed finely. You can use a food processor.

2) Add the chopped marshamallows, salted caramel and Nutella. Mix until it's all incorporated and smushy. There should not be any loose or dry crumbs.

3) Press into a 9x5 pan, or any 9 inch round or square pan.

4) Pour the melted chocolate on top, Spread it around. Place it in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

 

Irish Ginger Snaps

Remember when I told you I have a fascination with Irish food? Yeah.....that still lingers.

Ingredient list:

-2 cups of all-purpose flour
-1 cup of sugar 
-1 egg
-1/4 teaspoon of salt 
-3/4 cup butter
-1/2 tsp baking soda
-1 tsp of ground allspice
-1 tsp of ground ginger
-1 tsp of ground cinnamon 

-Powdered sugar

 1) Mix together the butter and sugar. Add the salt and egg.

2) Mix in the flour, baking soda and spices.  Once you get an even consistency, pinch about a teaspoon of dough and roll it into a ball. Roll the ball in powdered sugar then place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 6 minutes.

3) After the cookies cool, mix some powdered sugar with water to get a runny icing. Drizzle the icing over the cookies to decorate.

Coconut Cherry Bars

In the mood for sweet? If you said yes, now I must ask you if you're in the mood to have your teeth fall out from sugar overload.

Yes? Then keep reading.

Ingredient list:

-2 cups of graham cracker crumbs
-1 stick of butter, melted
-1 (14 ounce) can of sweetened condensed milk
-4 ounces of chocolate chips
-10 ounces of maraschino cherries, chopped
-1 & 1/3 cups of dried coconut flakes

1) Combine the graham cracker crumbs and melted butter. Mix well and press into a 9x13 pan. 

2) Spread the condensed milk all over the graham cracker mix. Top with the chocolate chips and cherries. Finish with the coconut. 

3) Bake at 325 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Wait until it cools, then cut into squares.

 

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

I have a thing for Irish food. How did a New York City born and bred lady of Indian extraction wind up taking an interest in Gaelic cooking? Beats me, but all I know is that I try to find ways to veggie up meat-heavy Irish dishes. I guess that's the fun in it: the challenge of altering a traditional meaty dish to make it suitable for vegetarians.

Ingredient list:

-5 russet potatoes, peeled and boiled
-1/2 cup milk (I used almond milk)
-1/2 cup of mayonnaise
-3 tblsp of cream cheese
-1 onion, peeled and chopped
-2 carrots, peeled and chopped
-3 stalks of celery, chopped
-1/2 peas
-1 tomato, chopped
- 1 tsp of Minced garlic
-1 package of ground meat substitute (I used Trader Joe's Meatless Meatballs)
-1 cup of shredded Cheddar cheese

1) After you boil the potatoes, smash them with a fork or potato masher. Mix in the cream cheese, milk and mayonnaise. You can add salt, but I chose to leave it out. Set aside.

2) Pour olive oil into a pot. Toss in onion, carrots, celery, peas, chopped tomato, meatless meatballs and garlic. Cook until it's all brown and well cooked. Be careful not to overcook it.

3) When it's done, pour the veggie mix into a casserole dish. Top with mashed potatoes. Spread it all out so it's even. Sprinkle Cheddar cheese on top.

4) Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.