Thursday, January 12, 2012

Bacon, Egg, and Toast Cups

Hey Y'all! I found this recipe on Pintrest. I just had to try and make these cute toast cups! They turned out pretty good. I overbaked my eggs a bit, but it was still very yummy! I also used 2 strips of bacon per cup intsead of one.



Bacon, Eggs, and Toast Cups

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
8 slices white or whole-wheat sandwich bread
6 slices bacon
6 large eggs
Coarse salt and ground pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly butter 6 standard muffin cups. With a rolling pin, flatten bread slices slightly and, with a 4 1/4-inch cookie cutter, cut into 8 rounds. Cut each round in half, then press 2 halves into each muffin cup, overlapping slightly and making sure bread comes up to edge of cup. Use extra bread to patch any gaps. Brush bread with melted butter.

In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium, until almost crisp, 4 minutes, flipping once. (It will continue to cook in the oven.) Lay 1 bacon slice in each bread cup and crack an egg over each seasoning with salt and pepper. Bake until egg whites are just set, 20 to 25 minutes. Run a small knife around cups to loosen toasts. Serve immediately.

Eat and Enjoy!

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Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Cookies N' Cream Cupcakes

Hey Ya'll!  I found another awesome cupcake recipe I just had to try out! I was asked to make some cupcakes for a co-workers kids birthday. I had these in my to-do file for awhile now, and decided that this was the perfect opportunity to try these out. They were such a big hit! If you like Oreo's and chocolate cupcakes, these are for you. They are so yummy and the cupcakes are super moist.



Cookies N' Cream Cupcakes

1 batch of your favorite chocolate cupcakes
(I used the same recipe from the S'more Cupcakes)
1 bag of White Chocolate Melting Disc
1 package of Oreos
1 Recipe Cookies N' Cream Buttercream 
Cut a small filling hole in the top of each cupcake. Reserve the caps. Fill each hole with a tablespoon of the Cookies N' Cream buttercream.  Spoon melted white chocolate over the top of each cupcake. Sprinkle with crushed Oreos.



Cookies N' Cream Buttercream
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. shortening
3 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar
Crushed up Oreos (the amount just depends on how much you like)
Whisk together the butter and shortening. Add the powdered sugar and milk alternately, beginning and ending with the powdered sugar and beating well between additions. If you want it thinner: add more milk a tablespoon at a time to reach desired consistency. Mix in the vanilla. Use a rubber spatula to mix in the Oreos.

Eat and Enjoy!

Do you have a favorite cupcake?

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Saturday, January 7, 2012

S'more Cupcakes

Hi ya'll! So I'm sorry for my absence.. I am back though! I have many plans for this blog this year! I thought I would start the year off by sharing some cupcake recipes. I made this one for my work Christmas party. We all got to vote on our favorite dish, and my cupcakes lost by one vote.. So these are 2nd place cupcakes lol! Anyways.. I hope you enjoy these cupcakes as much as I did!

S'more Cupcakes



Graham Cracker Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup melted butter
2 Hershey's bars, broken into small pieces or roughly chopped

Cake:

1 chocolate or devil's food cake mix
4 egg whites
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 small package of instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup full-fat sour cream


Frosting:
8 large egg whites
2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 Hershey's bars, broken into pieces along the scored lines

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners. In a small mixing bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter; mix well with a fork. Drop about 1 tablespoon of the graham cracker mixture in the bottom of each cupcake liner and press down to line the bottom - try to avoid going up the sides of the cupcake liner too much. Place a bit of the chopped chocolate bar into each cup and then put the pans into the oven for 5 to 10 minutes. When you remove the pans, if the chocolate hasn't melted enough to form a uniform layer, spread the soft chocolate out with a spoon


To make the cake batter, combine all ingredients and mix until moistened and you don't see any lumps. Be careful not to overmix - your cupcakes will be dry. I used the Duncan Hines cake mix.


Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cupcake liners, filling each about 3/4 of the way full. Return the pans to the oven and bake about 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Rotate the pans halfway through baking. Allow to cool in the pans 5-10 minutes, then remove and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.




To make the frosting, place egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer. Set over a saucepan with simmering water. Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and whites are warm to the touch, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer bowl to electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and beat, starting on low speed, gradually increasing to high, until stiff, glossy peaks form, 5 to 7 minutes. Add vanilla, and mix until combined.

I then put the frosting into a piping bag with a large star tip and piped the icing unto the cupcakes into a swirly tower. Use a kitchen torch or lighter to toast the tops of all of the cupcakes. If you hold the torch steady and rotated the cupcake, you get better results. Then place one square of the Hershey's bar into the frosting on each cupcake.

Eat and Enjoy!


How was your holiday?
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