Bailey's Salted Caramel Chocolate Pie.

This dessert is SO simple, and so delicious.  For all you chocolate lovers, this is for you.  This dessert has been made 3 times in the past week.  I've made it in a pie pan, and in an 8x8 pan, both are convenient. The original recipe called for "Bailey's with a hint of caramel", since I only had regular Bailey's (I know, what a bummer), I just drizzled the top of the pie with some caramel sauce and it tasted fabulous!

Ingredients:
6 oz. semi sweet chocolate chips
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon sugar5 tbsp. Bailey's
1 chocolate cookie pie crust (I used about 2 cups of crushed chocolate graham crackers and a stick of butter for the crust)
coarse salt for sprinkling
Caramel sauce for drizzling

Directions:
-Melt chocolate chips in a double boiler.....let cool slightly.
-Whip cream and sugar. When soft peaks begin to form, gradually add the Bailey's.
-Gently mix in the melted chocolate.
-Spread mixture into pie crust and sprinkle top with caramel and coarse salt.
-Refrigerate for 4-6 hours.
-Enjoy!

Guinness Cupcakes w/ Bailey's Buttercream Frosting.

SHAMROCKED. Who doesn't like alcohol in a cupcake? If you don't, get out of town.  St. Patrick's day has come and gone, but these little gems can be made any time of the year. What did St. Patrick do anyways to get a whole day of drinking dedicated to him? Run all the mice out of Ireland???...snakes, mice, same thing.  Tomato, tamato.

 

Ingredients:

12 oz. of Guinness
2 sticks unsalted butter
3/4 unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

2/3 sour cream

For the buttercream:
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
3 to 4 cups confectioner' sugar
3 tablespoons Bailey's Irish Cream
1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream

Directions:-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.
-Bring Guinness and butter to a simmer in large saucepan over medium heat.  Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth.  Cool slightly.
-In a stand mixer, beat eggs and sour cream until smooth.  Add Guinness/chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat until combined.  Add flour mixture and beat on medium-low speed until combined.

- Divide batter among cupcake liners, filling them 3/4 of the way full.  Bake until toothpick comes out clean....about 17 minutes.  Cool completely before frosting them.

For the frosting..
-Beat butter in large mixing bowl and beat until creamy.
-Gradually add the sugar; 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition, until the icing is at the consistency that you like.
- After sugar has been added, add the Bailey's and milk and blend until just combined.
-Pipe out onto cupcakes and enjoy!!

Lemon Poppy Seed Whipped Cream Cake. Oh yes.

Aren't Sundays wonderful?  There's just something lazy about them.  Wake up, go to church, eat breakfast, lay around.  The end.  I mean, it is the day of rest so I'm just following what the Big Guy said.  Although, I did go shopping today, and spent more than I would have liked on WORK clothes. GAH!  On the other hand, I received $$$ back by demanding my shipping & handling expenses to be refunded.  I'm such a doll to deal with.  And last, but certainly not least, I whipped (no pun intended) up a Lemon Poppy Seed Whipped Cream Cake on this lazy Sunday afternoon.  This may be one of my favorite recipes I've tried!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
3 Eggs
1 cup + 2 tablespoons superfine sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cup cake flour (or you could use 2 cups all purpose)
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 1/2 tablespoon oil
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 375 degrees (or 350 degrees if using a dark pan)
-Butter/Flour a fluted pan/bundt pan
-Whisk together the eggs and vanilla in a small bowl until combined.  Set aside.
-Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix in the poppy seeds and lemon zest into the flour mixture.  Set aside.
-Whip the cream on medium until cream thickens and forms stiff peaks.
-While still whipping, pour the egg mixture into the cream.  (it will become a mayonnaise-like consistency.)
-Best the sugar into the mixture until mixed.  Turn off.
-Fold the flour in 2 batches.  Mix well until all flour is combined.
-Stir in the oil and lemon juice.

--Pour into greased pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean!

*And for the glaze on top I just mixed about 2 cups of powdered sugar, 1 tablespoons of lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon of heavy whipping cream that was leftover.  If the consistency isn't how you would like it, just add one of those three ingredients as needed.  Eye balling this would be your best bet.

Banana Bonanza

These suckers are Banana Cupcakes with Brown Butter Frosting.  Divine.  I totally scorched the heck out of the tips of my fingers on a bagel I toasted today.  It hurts to type, but I'll make it through just for you.  So dedicated.

Ingredients:
Banana Bread Cupcakes-
3 ripe bananas - well mashed
2 eggs - well beaten
2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line cupcake tins with liners (about 24). 
-Mix the bananas and eggs together in a large bowl.
-Stir in flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda.
-Distribute batter evenly among the cupcake liners.
-Bake for 1 hour.

Ingredients:
Frosting-
1/3 cup butter

3 cups powdered sugar - sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 -4 tablespoons milk

Directions:
-In a medium saucepan heat 1/3 butter over medium heat until light brown.  Watch carefully for it can burn very quickly!
-Remove from heat, cool for 5 minutes.
-In medium bowl, beat butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk until smooth and spreadable. 
-After the banana bread cupcakes have completely cooled, frost each one and garnish with a sliver of banana!

Creamy Lemony Crumbly Bars-y?

As I'm typing this my dog is barking like a mad man right outside my window so I can't really concentrate.  Although, this doesn't require lots of concentration, I get distracted easily.  Oh, and I would like to say that I saw a bumblebee buzzing around today. Oh Spring time, how I love thee! You're so close I can almost taste you!! Such wishful thinking! Anywho, these lemon bars are pretttyyyy tasty! Although make sure you put the zest in when it calls for it! For some reason, the lemons I used for this would not zest, and that definitely plays a huge part in the taste of these.

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter - slightly softened
1 cup brown sugar - lightly packed
1 cup oats
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-Mix butter and brown sugar until well combined.
-Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder.
-Add oats and flour to sugar/butter mixture.  Mix to combine.
-Press half of the oat crumb mixture into the bottom of an 8 x 11 glass pan.
-Mix together the sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice, and zest until combined.
-Spread on top of the crumb mixture.
-Distribute the rest of the crumb mixture on top of the milk/lemon mixture, but do not press down.

-Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Healthy Pound Cake...& by healthy, I mean not healthy.

This pound cake recipe is THE BEST.  Courtesy of Great Aunt Helen whom I have no idea who she is.  My best friend Frannie gave me this recipe that her family always uses.  We get a pound cake from them every Christmas, except this past Christmas was a little different.  Ginger the dog ate it.  So they made us a new poundcake along with the recipe just in case.  Thanks Fran! haha

Ingredients:8 oz cream cheese - room temperature
3 sticks of butter - room temperature
3 cups sugar
3 cups all purpose flour
dash of salt
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
6 large eggs

Directions:
-Set oven to 325 degrees
-Grease the pan like it's your job.  Must be greased excessively.
-Mix the cream cheese and butter together on medium until light and fluffy.
-Continue to mix while adding in the sugar, flour, salt, vanilla.
-Add each egg individually, still mixing.
-Bake for 1 1/2 hours!

Add chopped up strawberries and some whipped cream to make a strawberry shortcake :)

Orange Creamsicle Cookies

I made these a couple weeks ago, and never blogged about them.  They are ridiculously delicious.  Tastes like a real creamsicle melting down your hand on the 4th of July.  I made abour 3 dozen of these the other day and by the next day I think there were 9 left.  Highly recommend these bad boys.

 

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter - softened
1/2 cup sugar

1/2 brown sugar - packed
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons orange zest (about 2 oranges)
1 bag of white chocolate chips

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 375 degrees

-In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt
-In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and creamy.  Beat in egg and vanilla until smooth.  Gradually add in the flour mixture until all is combined.  Stir in the orange zest and white chocolate chips.
-Drop spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.  Do not flatten the cookies.  Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown edges.  Cookies will be nice and plump.  Cool for a couple minutes on the cookie sheets, then tranfer to a wire wrack to completely cool! Enjoy!