#3 North Pole Cupcakes

NORTH POLE CUPCAKES

(You'll see a lot of my inspiration from Pinterest!)

This isn't really a recipe. I used box cake (gaaaasp! I know!) and "box" icing (gaaaaasp! I know!) that tasted like peppermint. Made the cupcakes according to the direction and frosted them. I sprinkled a little white sugar over top to give it the "sparkly" snow has. Take a peppermint stick (or break candy canes apart, like I did) and then put a little icing on top and top it off with a red M&M.

A few hints:

• Don't put the peppermint sticks in until you are ready for delivery or to eat--the candy "melts" and will make the snow look more like blood....trust me on this one. You could probably freeze them to prevent bleeding as well, but don't quote me on that.
• The peppermint icing was AWESOME and gave it more of a unique flavor rather than just plain vanilla.
• Get a HUGE bag of M&Ms so you can eat all the ones you didn't use!
• Put in clear plastic cups for a cute shell around it and delivery it without any hiccups!
• These are PERFECT for bake sales!

#2 Dark Chocolate Candy Bar Bark

DARK CHOCOLATE CANDY BAR BARK

(that's a mouth full, huh?)

6-oz chocolate-flavor candy coating, chopped
6-oz dark chocolate, chopped
1 T shortening
2 cups assorted chocolate candy bars or candy (english toffee, malted-milk balls, goobers, snickers)
1/2 cup salted peanuts, chopped

• Line baking sheet with heavy-duty foil; grease. 
• Melt together chocolate candy coating, chocolate and shortening (double boiler or microwave). Stir in 1 cup of assorted chopped candy bars and peanuts into melted chocolate mix. 
• Pour into prepared baking sheet. Spread evenly in a layer about 1/4 in thick. Sprinkle with remaining candy bars, lightly pressing them into chocolate mix. 
• Chill for about 30 minutes or until firm. Use foil to lift candy out of pan. Break into pieces.

White chocolate candy bar bark: substitute with vanilla-flavor coating, white chocolate squares, and toasted almonds (instead of peanuts).

The recipe is from Better Homes and Gardens Special Interest magazine Dec 2011 edition

Candy Corn Cupcakes (CCC!)

I made these for a Halloween party I went to this past week....they were such a huge hit!

Guess where I found this idea? YUP. Pinterest. Hi, my name is Carolyn, and I'm addicted to Pinterest.

CANDY CORN CUPCAKES

The ones I saw also had a little bit of white in the batter...but I just kept the white as the icing. They were actually pretty easy, but learned a bit for next time I make them.

What you need:
White/Vanilla Box Cake
Food Coloring
White/Vanilla/Cream Cheese icing

Make the box cake as directed. If you're going to do the little bit of white in the cupcake, reserve about 1 cup of batter in another bowl. For the rest of the batter, put the yellow food coloring in. It takes a lot too! Use a big (icecream) scoop into cup cake pan. When you are finished filling the yellow part, add some red food coloring to the batter enough to make it a good orange color. Then put the orange batter in cupcake pan as well. If you reserved white batter add that on top. Bake according to box directions. Let cool completely and pipe the icing on top. Garnish with a candy corn and you've got the perfect treat!

Daring Bakers Challenge: Candy

The August 2011 Daring Bakers’ Challenge was hosted by Lisa of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drive and Mandy of What the Fruitcake?!. These two sugar mavens challenged us to make sinfully delicious candies! This was a special challenge for the Daring Bakers because the good folks athttp://www.chocoley.com offered an amazing prize for the winner of the most creative and delicious candy!


RECIPE IS FROM DARING BAKERS CHALLENGE INSTRUCTIONS, BUT THE IMAGES ARE MINE!

White Chocolate Dipped Candied Orange & Pistachio Marzipan Bonbons

Servings: Makes about 40 chocolates, recipe easily halved or quartered
Marzipan Prep Time: 1 - 1½ hrs
Tempering & Dipping Time: 1 - 2 hrs
Setting Time: 20-40mins

  

Ingredients1½ cups (17½ oz/500gm) Marzipan1/2 cup (2 oz/60gm) Pistachios, shelled & peeled, whole or roughly chopped
1/2 cup (3 oz/90gm) Candied Orange Peel, Finely cut [I couldn't find candied orange peel, so I skipped this ingredient & the liqueur]
2 tablespoons (1 oz / 30ml) Cointreau or Grand Marnier Liqueur, optional1¾ cups (9 oz/250 gm) white chocolate

Directions:

1. (If using liqueur) Pour the Cointreau or Grand Marnier over the candied orange peel, place into a covered dish and allow to soak overnight [I skipped this step]
2. Knead the soaked peel & pistachios into the marzipan until well distributed
3. Using a small amount of icing sugar to stop the marzipan from sticking, roll out to a height of about 2cm
4. Cut into squares
5. Temper the white chocolate
6. Carefully lower each square of marzipan into the chocolate with a dipping fork
7. Tap the fork on the side of the bowl to remove excess chocolate
8. Place chocolate on parchment paper
9. Decorate as you like
Tip: You can use transfers or sprinkle crushed pistachio or candied peel. You can also wait for the chocolate to be semi set then use your dipping fork to mark the top of the chocolate
10. Once fully set, cut off any feet with a sharp knife
11. Enjoy!

     

Last day to enter the 200 Followers GIVEAWAY!

Today is the last day to enter! 

A BBQ GRILL CUPCAKE KIT!

Kit Includes:

• Chocolate Cake Mix
• Foil Cupcake wrappers
• Black Icing
• Bag of Hot Tamales
• Bag of Mike-n-Ikes
• Bag of Caramels with cream centers
• Orange Sprinkles
• Toothpicks

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!
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FB & 200 Followers GIVEAWAY!

First with the good news--I've created a page on FaceBook for Cookin' for my Captain! Thank you to all my friends and fans who have giving me the courage to take it to the next level.  My facebook platform is on the left column if you would like to take a look!
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Thanks AGAIN to everyone! I honestly never thought I would make it this far in such a short time. I really appreciate each and every one of you and all the lovely comments! I wanted to do this sooner, but had no idea what to do until now.

I'm giving away.....

A BBQ GRILL CUPCAKE KIT!

Kit Includes:

• Chocolate Cake Mix
• Foil Cupcake wrappers
• Black Icing
• Bag of Hot Tamales
• Bag of Mike-n-Ikes
• Bag of Caramels with cream centers
• Orange Sprinkles
• Toothpicks

Enter your name and email once...DAILY! Giveaway is now open and will close on Saturday night (June 25th) at 11:59pm Central Time Zone. Entries available to the US only (sorry, it's only because of the shipping!)

Don't forget to submit your name and email every day! Winner will be chosen at random and will be posted on June 26, 2011.  Goodluck!