Cookies and Cream Cupcakes...

Who doesn't need a sugar fix every now and then?  (Or constantly..)

These cupcakes will cover all of your necessary needs.  Be prepared, though, for sugar withdrawl once the days nears its end. 

I discovered the original recipe while stalking doing my daily reading over at Kristan's blog, Confessions of a Cookbook Queen.  She's a riot.  If you think it, she says it.  It's a beautiful thing.  Like these cupcakes.   

She got her cupcake recipe from Tidy Mom, and I altered it ever so slightly to use what I had on hand.  (I basically just used a different cake mix..)

I made them for Oliver's first birthday party and there was nary a cupcake left when it was over.

So, splash a little cold water on your face, take a deep breath, and go big or go home. 

Cupcakes
1 box Betty Crocker Confetti Cake Mix
1/2 Cup Butter, melted
1 cup water
3 eggs
24 whole Oreos (I used 12 Original and 12 Golden)

Preheat oven to 350 and line your muffin tins with papers.  Place an Oreo in the bottom of each one. 

In your mixer, combine cake mix, eggs, melted butter, and water. Blend on low speed for about one minute. Increase speed to high and beat for another minute.  Top the Oreos with batter, filling your liners about 2/3 full. 

Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until cupcake tops spring back when touched lightly. 

While your cupcakes are cooling, you can make your filling.  Yes, filling!

Filling

3/4 of a 16 Oz. Jar of Fluff (Marshmallow Creme)
1/2 Cup Softened Butter (I used salted to cut some of the sweetness.)
1/4 Teaspoon Vanilla
4 Tablespoons Whipping Cream
1 1/2 Cups Icing Sugar

In your mixer bowl, beat Fluff, butter, cream, and vanilla on medium until smooth.

Slowly add the icing sugar and increase speed to medium-high.  Beat for about a minute.

Refrigerate filling until cupcakes are done cooling.

Once your cupcakes are cooled, you can fill them with the marshmallow filling.  I used a long skinny piping tip to inject the filling, but if I were to make these again, I'd use the cone method to get more in there. 

Icing

2 Cups Butter, Softened (Again, I use salted to cut some of the sweetness..)
1/4 Cup Whipping Cream
2 Teaspoons Vanilla
7-8 Cups Icing Sugar

Again, in your mixer, beat your butter, whipping cream, and vanilla until smooth and well blended. 

Slowly add in your icing sugar (so you don't have a mushroom cloud of sugar) and mix on low for a few seconds.  Once almost blended, turn up to medium and whip until smooth, about 2 minutes.

Once blended, fold in about 10-15 finely crushed oreos.  (Folding ensures the cookies don't just turn your icing grey, and finely crushing them ensures that everything will pipe smoothly with no clumping.)

Pipe (Or slather) the icing on your cupcakes.  I drizzled the tops of mine with more marshmallow filling before serving.

Keep any uneaten cupcakes in the refrigerator to keep them fresh. 

Garlic Parmesan Potatoes...

Not the best photo but it's the taste and smell that count!

We do a lot of side dishes here.  Oliver needs finger foods and Gabriel needs variety.  (Big Daddy just needs food.)  They're the two easiest little people to feed.  They love their veggies, and Mama's potatoes never go astray. 

I must warn you, neither recipe is short on butter or garlic, so obviously, you can adjust according to personal taste. 

Garlic Parmesan Potatoes

(Feeds 2 and 2 little people)
(Printable Recipe)

4 Medium Yukon Gold Potatoes; washed and poked

2 Cloves Garlic; minced, pressed, or grated

Approx. 1/3 Cup Butter

1-1 &1/2 Cups Breadcrumbs (I used Panko)

1/2 Cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Begin by microwaving your potatoes for approximately 10 minutes. (My microwave has a tater setting.)  Set aside for a few minutes until they're cool enough to handle while you prepare your garlic.

I use a small rasp to grate my garlic and set it aside. 

In a decent sized frying pan or skillet over medium heat, melt your butter and soften your garlic.

Add potatoes and allow them to absorb some of the butter, keep it all moving around the pan to coat evenly.

Sprinkle bread crumbs over the potatoes until well coated and continue frying until cooked.  (Test firmness with a fork.)

Before removing from heat to serve, toss with parmesan. 

Make sure whoever you'll be making out with eats this too.  Otherwise, you'll reek of garlic alone.

We all know it's more fun to stink of garlic as a family.

Cookie Dough Brownies...(Crownies)

You can seriously add cookie dough to anything to make it better.

Kids don't like spinach?  Add cookie dough.

Having a rough day?  Have some cookie dough.

Cut your arm?  Put some cookie dough on it.

Car won't start?  Yep, cookie dough.

Because cookie dough makes everyone feel better, enjoy these. 

Brownies are good, but add cookie dough?  Better. 

"Crownies"
(Printable Recipe)
(Cookie Dough)
Recipe from Hershey

1 C Shortening or Butter (I rarely use shortening, but in this cookie, it keep them moist and from burning)
1 C Packed Brown Sugar
1 C Granulated Sugar
2 Eggs
1 & 1/2 tsp. Vanilla
2 C AP Flour
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Salt
2 C Chocolate Chips (I used Hershey's Chipits.)

Cream together shortening and sugars.  Beat in both eggs and vanilla. 

Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt and add it gradually to the creamed mixture.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Set aside.

Brownies
I cheated this time and used a Duncan Hines Decadent Milk Chocolate Chunk Brownie Mix.

~Follow directions on box, spreading blended brownie mixture into a greased 9 x 13 pan and top with spoonfuls of cookie dough.  Bake at 350 for approximately 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean. 

I'm not gonna lie, I let these rest for 4 minutes and cut into them.  I brought a few over to my neighbours, but mostly risked burning off the tip of my tongue for a taste. 

Once they were mostly cooled, though, we turned them into brownie sundaes.  Gross.

Don't do it.

You won't like these topped with ice cream.

AT ALL.

Seriously.

Do it.

WW: Rainy Day Dress-Up...

Cinnamon Roll Cookies...

After the Blogger Fiasco of last week, I got discouraged when my Strawberry Chiffon Pie draft/post disappeared.  Then, I found these.

Normally I tinker and fiddle with recipes, but for this one, I used the sugar cookie recipe over at Picky Palate dead-on. 

It was perfect, moist, flavorful, easy to work with, and tastes AHMAZING when slathered with butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. 

Cinnamon Roll Sugar Cookies
(Recipe from Picky Palate)
(Printable Recipe)
2 Cups Sugar
1 Cup Softened Butter
3 Eggs
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
1 Cup Sour Cream
6 Cups Flour
2 Teaspoons Baking Soda
2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
1/4 Teaspoon Salt

Filling
12 Tablespoons Softened Butter (You'll use about 2 per oval, which will total 12 TBSP.)
1 1/2 Cups Packed Light Brown Sugar, divided into 1/4 Cups
1 1/2 Tablespoons Ground Cinnamon, divided
(Not gonna lie, I used ZERO measurements for the filling, I just sprinkled and slathered until I was satisfied these cookies would oooooooze butter and brown sugar.)

Frosting
8 oz Softened Cream Cheese (I used Philly)
1/2 Cup Icing Sugar
2-4 Tablespoons Milk
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla (I used Vanilla Bean Paste, mostly due to my current obsession..)


1. With your mixer, cream the sugar and butter. Add eggs, vanilla, and sour cream until well combined. Slowly add in the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt until you've produced a uniform, well combined dough.

2. In 2 separate batches, place the dough in plastic wrap and form into a disc shape.  Chill for at least 2 hours for best results.

3. Once chilled, cut each disc into thirds and roll into an approximate 1/8 inch thick oval, about 12 inches X 5 inches.   (I worked with 1/3 at a time and put the rest in the fridge so it would stay firm.  Soft dough=sad dough.

Spread each rolled piece of dough with 2 Tablespoons softened butter, 1/4 Cup packed brown sugar and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon.  (Again, no measuring, just slapped it on!)

Starting from the long end closest to you, roll into a log shape.  Using a sharp knife, cut 1/2 inch pieces of dough then placing onto a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 9-11 minutes. Remove and let cool for 5 minutes before removing from baking sheet.

4.  To prepare frosting, beat the cream cheese until softened and smooth, slowly add powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk until desired consistency. 

Frost cookies then place in refrigerator until ready to serve. 

Makes at least 6 Dozen cookies. 

Like it states on Picky Palate, these cookies are just a little bit better after they've chilled in the fridge for a bit. 

Most of mine didn't make it there. 

Or get frosting. 

Or even completely cooled. 

I'm linking this up at Tea Party Tuesday.  :)

WW: Waiting for Spring...

A Lemonade Birthday...

Every year, Big Daddy gets to choose what type of birthday cake he'd like and this year was no different.  He'd already decided that lemon was the flavor and then I showed him this.

It's like Shelly over at cookies and cups lives with me, or at least hears our cravings while I'm showing BD EVERY delicious thing she makes. 

I only made a few changes to her original recipe, nothing major, just played around a little to make sure I'd be able to feed all the hungry, salivating mouths that were waiting for it!

BD's parents were here for the week and we also had one of their cousins join us, so rather than just the 2 grown-up and 2 teeny mouths we normally feed, I had a whole lot more!  The general concensus is that it's the best cake I've ever made.  Thanks Shelly!

Lemonade Cake
(Recipe slightly adapted from cookies and cups)
(Printable Recipe)

Cake:
1 Boxed Lemon Cake Mix (Like Shelly, I used Duncan Hines)
4 Eggs
1 1/4 C Milk
1/3 C Vegetable Oil
2 T Frozen Lemonade Concentrate (Keep remaining in freezer, you'll use it again!)

Blend all ingredients together in your mixer for 30 seconds on low and after scraping down the bowl, beat on medium for 2 minutes. 

Pour into greased and floured cake pans and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes until cake is set and toothpick comes out clean. 

Cool completely in the pans.  Once cool, level the cakes so that they're all flat on top.

~Instead of using the glaze the recipe called for for the cake layers, BD wanted it to be like a "poke" cake. 

1 Pkg. Lemon Jello
1 C Boiling Water
1 C Cold Water

Mix according to directions on box and once cake is cool, poke it all over with a fork and pour lemon jello all over. 

Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours. 

When cake is ready, make your icing.

Lemonade Cream Cheese Icing
1 8 oz. Pkg. Cream Cheese (I used Philadelphia)
3/4 C Butter
3 T Frozen Lemonade
1 t. Vanilla Bean Paste (I used this rather than liquid vanilla because I just got it and am OBSESSED!)
5-6 C Icing Sugar (Until your desired consistency is achieved)

Beat cream cheese and room temperature butter and blended and fluffy.  Add lemonade and vanilla and mix until combined. 

Slowly add your powdered sugar until well blended and spreadable. 

I spilt my layers in half to make a four layer cake but you don't have to, two is fine.  When you're all set, remove your cakes from the fridge and frost as desired. 

Enjoy!!

WW: Walk This Way...