Sunday, June 23, 2013

100 Grand Cupcakes




Ingredients:

Chocolate Cupcakes:

  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 cup boiling water
  • 8 frozen 100 Grand snack size candy bars, cut into thirds
Salted Caramel Frosting:
2 sticks unsalted butter; room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 pound confectioners’ sugar
1/3 cup caramel topping; plus more for drizzling
1 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

Chocolate Cupcakes:

Heat oven to 350°F.
Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin).
Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups.Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Add in one piece of frozen 100 Grand bar. Add an additional tablespoon batter on top to ensure the candy bar is covered. Bake 22 to 25 minutes.

Salted Caramel Frosting:

Cream the butter in the bowl of an electric or stand mixer. Add the vanilla extract, salt and caramel syrup and combine well.
Begin adding in the sugar and mixing thoroughly after each addition. After all of the sugar has been added and mixed thoroughly, give it a taste and decide if you want to add in more caramel syrup. For thicker frosting you can gradually add in a little more sugar.
Garnish with chopped 100 Grand bars and a drizzle of caramel of caramel syrup.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Oreo Truffles


 
36 OREO Cookies, finely crushed
8 oz Cream Cheese, softened
16 oz. Semi-Sweet Chocolate, broken into pieces, melted
  
Set aside 1/4 cup cookie crumbs. 
Mix cream cheese and remaining cookie crumbs until blended.
 Shape into 48 (1-inch) balls. Dip in melted chocolate; place on waxed paper-covered rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with reserved cookie crumbs.
Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. 

S'more Cookies


These are the best when warm, because everything inside it is still gooey and you really get the whole campfire feeling. You can microwave these for about 10-15 seconds prior to eating them so you melt the chocolate & warm the marshmallow.

Yield: 16 bars
Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 king-sized milk chocolate bars (e.g. Hershey’s)
  • 1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme/fluff (not melted marshmallows)
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.
  2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and vanilla. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined.
  3. Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan. Place chocolate bars over dough. 2 king-sized Hershey’s bars should fit perfectly side by side, but break the chocolate (if necessary) to get it to fit in a single layer no more than 1/4 inch thick. Spread chocolate with marshmallow creme or fluff. Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff (most easily achieved by flattening the dough into small shingles and laying them together).
  4. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Lemon Bar Muddy Buddies


Ingredients:
  • 8 c. Rice Chex cereal
  • 1 c. white chocolate chips
  • 1/2 c. lemon curd
  • 1/4 c. butter
  • 1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
Instructions:

1. Melt white chocolate chips and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly. (The melting won't be smooth - don't worry!)
2. Once melted, remove from heat and stir in lemon curd until smooth.
3. Pour Rice Chex into a large paper bag (grocery size) and pour lemon mixture over cereal. Fold the bag to seal and shake to coat cereal.
4. Add powdered sugar to paper bag and shake once more to coat. 
5. Spread out on cookie sheet to cool; once completely cool, store at room temperature in airtight containers.

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Pumpkin Protein Cinnamon Rolls


Yields 4 Rolls
Each Roll: 115 Calories | Protein 13 g | Carbs 9 g | Fat 3 g

Ingredients:

Roll Batter:
  • ¼ c. canned pumpkin (pure pumpkin – not pie filling)
  •  1½ scoops Gaspari Nutrition’s MyoFusion Pro – Cinnamon Roll
  • 2 tbsp coconut flour*
  • 1/3 c. egg whites
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • *Other types of flour may be substituted, but I prefer coconut flour due to the high fiber content (2.5 grams/tablespoon).
Glaze:
  • ¼ c. sugar free maple syrup (I recommend Vermont by Maple Grove)
  • 2 tsp. almond butter, smooth
  • Dash of cinnamon

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a bowl, mix all ingredients for the roll batter.
Spoon into a cupcake pan that has been sprayed with non-sticking cooking spray. You should end up with four rolls.
Place in oven and bake for about 10 minutes. Then, using a fork or knife, loosen the rolls from the pan and flip them over. Continue cooking the rolls for about 2-5 minutes. The rolls are cooked when you can insert a toothpick into the center of the rolls and it comes out clean (no batter on the toothpick). Be careful not to overcook.
Remove from oven, and allow the rolls to cool slightly.
Microwave the glaze ingredients for about 15-20 seconds. Remove from microwave and stir well.
Dip both sides of the rolls in the glaze mixture, set on a rack or plate to cool and sprinkle with cinnamon.
To maximize freshness, store leftovers in fridge.

Graham Cracker Peanut Butter Cups


Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (I buy the store bought crushed but you can always crush your own graham crackers)
  • 3 1/4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
  • 1 cup salted butter, melted
  • 1 bag (12 oz) semi sweet chocolate chips
  • 2 tablespoons butter*
Instructions

Combine the graham cracker crumbs and the powdered sugar in a large bowl.
Add the peanut butter and melted butter and mix well.
Pour the mixture into a 9x13 pan and freeze for 20 minutes or until firm.
While the peanut butter mixture is cooling, you can microwave or use a double boiler to melt your chocolate chips and 1-2 tablespoons of butter. I personally just throw the chips and butter in a microwaveable glass bowl and microwave 30 seconds on high, stir and repeat until they are melted. Works perfectly every time.
Pour the chocolate over the peanut butter mixture and spread evenly. Put the bars in the fridge and when the chocolate is set take out and cut yourself a little piece, and then get ready to take a short jaunt to heaven!!

Greek Yogurt Chocolate Truffles


This one is soooo easy.

Ingredients:

  • 4 teaspoons of fat-reduced cocoa powder + some extra cocoa to roll the truffles
  • 1 tablespoon of fat free Greek yogurt
  • 5 tablespoons of powdered skim milk
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 5 drops of butter flavoring
  • 3 teaspoons of Stevia or an artificial sweetener.

Instructions:

Mix everything together. Add extra powdered skim milk if necessary until the paste reaches a firm consistency. Put aside in the fridge for a few hours. Before serving them, roll the balls in cocoa powder.