Edible Delectables

Salty Peanut Brownies

noreply@blogger.com (~ dee ~) — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 17:03:00 +0000

Salty Peanut Brownies

After watching an episode of Anne Thornton’s “Dessert First” I wanted to give these a try.

Oh my . . . this is what I got . . .

Hard, dry brownies, with a layer of dee-licious peanut butter filling and salted peanuts, topped with a thick layer of chocolate ganache.

I did as some of the reviewers suggested and made additional ganache for the top layer. That was a good idea. And the center layer, the peanute butter buttercream was delicious! That part of the recipe is a keeper. But despite using an oven thermometer so I kenw my temperature was correct, following the recipe exactly, and even cutting down on the baking time, I ended up with a dry, icky browniew layer. About as far from "fudgey" as one could get! I think I would make these again, but use my favorite box brownie mix. It would be much taller - you certainly could not bake and make the entire product in a 9 x 13 sheet pan. Maybe that should have been the first clue that these were going to be very flat brownies. . . .
But everyone else that reviewed this recipe on the Food Network loved it (it got 5 stars), so I must have done something wrong. But what?????

I advise eating these only if you have your own teeth!
However, they do photograph well.

Dee-vil Dogs

noreply@blogger.com (~ dee ~) — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 23:17:00 +0000

Dee-vil Dogs!

The east coast may have Devil Dogs, but the west coast has Dee-vil Dogs! This was my first time using my Canoe Cake Pans. How fun! I baked devils' food cake, and piped them full of vanilla marshmellow cream filling. They are yummy!

I have seen these exact pans by Norpro selling packaged as "Twinkie Kits" for up to $99.00. How crazy is that? You can find them on Amazon.com for under $20.00.

Salted Caramel Apple Cupcakes

noreply@blogger.com (~ dee ~) — Mon, 30 May 2011 22:44:00 +0000

Salted Caramel Apple Cupcakes

Today I made Salted Caramel Apple cupcakes. Inside the apple cake is a gooey caramel center. I topped them with cream cheese frosting, drizzled them with some salted caramel, then sprinkled with coarse sea salt. This only made 14 cupcakes, the exact number I need for the COW Club, so I won't get to taste these unless someone isn't there tomorrow. But, the batter was good! Using these tulip shaped cupcake liners lets you add more batter to each cupcake paper without it spilling out, so they are bigger than my standard cupcakes.

We'll see what the tasters say!

Peepsicles!

noreply@blogger.com (~ dee ~) — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 17:58:00 +0000

Easter Bunny Peepsicle

Just when you thought Peeps couldn't get any sweeter! The classic Easter Bunny Peep, on a stick, then dipped in white or chocolate and covered with sprinkles. Individually wrapped and ready to tuck into any Easter basket.

Whoopie Pies!

noreply@blogger.com (~ dee ~) — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 20:29:00 +0000

Mini Whoopie Pies

"A whoopie pie's a wondrous thing,

like newborn pups or early spring.

It fills the mouth with rapture sweet,

This yummy chocolate sandwich treat."

- Anonymous

I recently got a Babycakes Whoopie Pie maker . . . for FREE! So, I had to try it. Since I had all the ingredients already at home, I decided to make the classic devil's food with vanilla filling.

The whoopie pie maker is kind of along the lines of a George Foreman grill, or one of those sandwich makers. You just plug it in, wait for it to heat up, pour in your batter, close the lid, and 2 minutes later you have 12 little baby whoopie pie halves! It took 3 batches befoe I got decent looking ones, which was an acceptable amount of learning tiome. I didn't waste too much batter. Although the instruction booklet and the instruction on their website don't agree (one said use a teaspoon of batter - the other said one tablespoon) I found neither measurement to be correct. One teaspoon gave tiny little rounds that didn't even fill the cavity, and a tablespoon made slightly bigger rounds that still didn't fill the cavity. I finally put the batter into a large piping bag and just squirted in enough to fill the bottom of each little well. Perfect! They're so cute!

I used the "Creamy Vanilla Filling" recipe from the booklet, but added half of a fresh vanilla bean to it. Yum! There is a big whoopie pie debate going on about what whoopie pies should actually be filled with. A marshmallow-tpye filling or more of a creamy-frosting-y type filling. I chose what I think is actually the traditional, the creamy vanilla. The little booklet included with this maker includes recipies for both, as well as several other fillings like chocolate and cream cheese. It also several recipes for different whoopie pie flavors, such as vanilla, chocolate, red veltet and pumpkin. It evn has directions for converting a box cake mix.

And yes, I know you don't need an official "Whoopie Pie Maker" to bake whoopie pies. You can use a plain old cookie sheet with parchment paper. What I like about the maker, though, is that you get the same size everytime - no trying to match different sized tops and bottoms. I like them to look perfect! And since it makes mini sized pies, it would be no trouble at all to make a few different flavors and not feel too bad about trying more than one.

So, I am very happy with my new gagdet! The Babycakes company also has makers for cupcakes, cake pops, and donuts, which you can check out on their website HERE. I have read mixed reviews on some of them, but I have to say I am happy with the Whhopie Pie maker! These are also sold locally at WalMart and Kohls.

Cupcake Pop

noreply@blogger.com (~ dee ~) — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 00:52:00 +0000

Oreo Truffle Cupcake Pop

Well, by now, thanks to Bakerella and her book, we all know and love cake balls and cake pops! Even Wilton has gotten in on the act with their new book, called Pops! Sweets on a Stick. And I just discovered something really cool - a cupcake shaped mold! Now that makes life a whole lot easier if you want to make the actual cupcake shape! And the molds are very affordable! Check them out at My Little Cupcake Pop.

So this rainy Sunday I tried a batch using the Oreo Truffle recipe. I think you have to make things once to learn what you need to do to make the actually look good the next time you make them. But since it had been so long since my last post, I decided to show you, even though they are not perfect, and my photo is bad. But you get the idea. And the possibilities, both for flavors and designs are endless.

German Chocolate Cupcakes

noreply@blogger.com (~ dee ~) — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 23:11:00 +0000

German Chocolate Cupcakes

I love homemade coconut pecan frosting! Who needs the cake?!? Anyway, I sliced German Chocolate cupcakes in half and sandwiched the first layer of frosting in between. I added the top half and piped a border of my other favorite frosting - Hershey's homemade chocolate frosting - and plopped another nice big spoonful of coconut pecan frosting in the center of that.

For the ones I was taking to work, I layered in plastic cups with a lid. You can see something similar in a previous post, found here.

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream

noreply@blogger.com (~ dee ~) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 18:24:00 +0000

Red Velvet with Cinnamon Buttercream

Straight from the pages of Baked: New Frontiers in Baking comes Red Velvet Cake with Cinnamon Buttercream Icing. Moist tender cake topped with my favorite vanilla boiled buttercream frosting, to which a hint of cinnamon was added. This made a lot of cupcakes! The recipe said it made a triple layer cake, and you can never have too much cake! I added a cinnamon red hot "glued" with melted chocolate to the bottom of a chocolate chip and perched in right on top.

noreply@blogger.com (~ dee ~) — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 02:42:00 +0000

Ginger Carrot Cake with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

YUM! Love this frosting! It reminds me of an orange creamsicle. I've been struggling to find a cream cheese frosting that I am perfectly happy with. The flavor of this one is the best so far! It has some orange juice concentrate added to the rest of the ingredients. The frosting sits on top of a ginger carrot cake with fresh carrots and plump raisens.

Cupcake Challenge - Banana Split Cupcakes

noreply@blogger.com (~ dee ~) — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 02:33:00 +0000

Banana Split Cupcakes

I remember summers when I was in junior high - I think I was around 12 or so. Back in the day when you could stay out somewhere until the street lights came on and your parents did't have to worry that you had been abducted, or worse. Old enough that I was trusted to roam the neighborhood and wander down to the "shopping center". I don't think we had "malls" yet. Anyway, during the summer, when it stayed light outside until 8:45 pm or so, my friend Nancy and I would walk towards the shopping center, and stop on one of two corners before we actually got to JJ Newberry's. We stopped at either Carl's Jr. or 31 Flavors, aka Baskin Robbins Ice Cream. At Carl's Jr. we got ice tea and onion rings. At Baskin Robbins we got Banana Splits. Either way, you can't lose! Very fun times, and what I immediately though about when I read that the theme of the Hoosier Homade's Cupcake Challenge this week was Summer Fun! Of my two summertime treats, I thought a banana split cupcake seems way more appealing than a than and onion cupcake. Done deal.

So, I made a moist banana cupcake and filled it with fresh strawberry cream. I have recently discovered a WONDERFUL boiled vanilla bean buttercream frosting, so I piled my filled cupcake high with that, topping it off with chocolate ganache, chopped nuts and a cherry! My co-workers loved me this week . . . .

So wish me luck in the Cupcake Challenge! Its my first one!

Spiced Apple Cupcakes

noreply@blogger.com (~ dee ~) — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 01:16:00 +0000

Spiced Apple Cupcakes

Moist spice cupcakes are filled with cinnamon apples, and are topped with cream cheese frosting and a light dusting of cinnamon sugar. They smelled wonderful while baking, and taste even better.

I also took some pint mason jars, split the cupcakes, layered them with cream cheese frosting, and closed the lid. I think this would be a great way to ship cupcakes to my son in Chicago, my friend in Washington . . . wow - i can send them all over now!

Not Yo' Mama's Banana Pudding!

noreply@blogger.com (~ dee ~) — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 00:55:00 +0000

Not Yo' Mama's Banana Pudding

Well, this is true . . . because I don't remember my mama ever making banana pudding! Having said that, THANK YOU Paula Deen . . .this truly is delicious. I have never actually had banana pudding before so I don't really have anything to compare it to. I think I expected the typical pudding texture, but this was a light, fluffy bite of goodness. Although the recipe uses a box of vanilla pudding, the taste is all banana. And one thing I especially like - if you want to make this NOW you don't have to wait for brown-speckled over ripe bananas. Use the bananas at the ripeness stage you like them. Paula's recipe can be found here.

Enjoy!

Root Beer Float Cupcakes

noreply@blogger.com (~ dee ~) — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 22:09:00 +0000

Root Beer Float Cupcakes

Even I am impressed with these! Root Beer cake with boiled vanilla buttercream frosting. Dee-licious! The cake has the most tender crumb I have baked in a long time. A taste of root beer, but not overpowering. I had also made a root beer glaze to drizzle over the top, but that was overpowering, and it went down the sink. But the frosting - WOW - tastes like vanilla pastry cream. I couldn't stop stealing frosting from the bowl! I will definintly be making this frosting again. More work than typical buttercream . . . but so worth it!

Flourless Chocolate Cupcakes - MS Cupcake Club - July 2010

noreply@blogger.com (~ dee ~) — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 00:26:00 +0000

Flourless Chocolate Cupcakes with Raspberry Buttercream

The goal of the Martha Stewart Cupcake club is to make and bake all the 175 cupcake recipes in the

Martha Stewart Cupcakes book. Each month, one member of the club is selected to choose the cupcake the rest of the members bake each month. This month's recipe was chosen by Bella Baker. A blogroll of all the members is posted, and you are invited to visit the sites and see all the delicious creations!

The July selection for the MS Cupcake Club is Flourless Chocolate cupcakes. I added a topping/filling of raspberry puree, and topped it with raspberry buttercream, a fresh raspberry, and a chocolate leaf.

These did not crack and sink in the middle as I expected them too. They actually had a nice domed top, which level to flat as they cooled. Most people complaind they DID fall - well, they are supposed to. No telling why mine didn't. They taste wonderful, though!

Peach Crunch Cake with Vanilla Bean Creme Anglaise

noreply@blogger.com (~ dee ~) — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 21:05:00 +0000

Peach Crunch Cake with Vanilla Bean Creme Anglaise

I have made this before, but not as a COW. It is one of my easiest and favorite recipes! Five ingredients total, and you make it right in the pan. This recipe is given in a previous post, which you can find here. This time I made Vanilla Bean Creme Anglaise to drizzle over the top. I used a cake mix (Bettty Crocker) that had pudding in the mix, and I think I prefer the mix without pudding (Duncan Hines) for this recipe. It seems like this one didn't rise as much.

I love using little plastic cups to package these in. SO easy! Here they are, packaged and ready to eat . . .

Tarts & Tassies

noreply@blogger.com (~ dee ~) — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 01:01:00 +0000

Lime Tarts & Lemon Tassies

Its a citrus extravaganza! Sorta easy and sorta not. I will make the Lemon Tassies again, for sure. The lime tarts - probably not. Just because I think I would do a larger chessecake type tart. These sunk in the center, and you really didn't get a lot of lime-ness. The Tassies filled with lemon curd were delicious! And much more filling per bite. They are a winner!

Easy Cheese Danish

noreply@blogger.com (~ dee ~) — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 19:46:00 +0000

Easy Cheese Danish

These were tasty! "Easy Cheese Danish", courtesy of Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa. In half of them I added rasperry jam to the cheese filling, and the other half I added lemon curd. Hard to choose which I liked better - they were both good! They are not sweet, sticky Danish, so I think the addition of the fruit made them a little tastier than if I had follwed her original recipe, which you can find here. And, unlike a lot of the reviewers of this recipe, I had no problems with the cheese filling being too loose, and running out. Be sure you read through the reviewers comments, because you will pick up some good tips. There are a least 2 recipes for icing, if you would like to drizzle that on at the end.

This would be a fun recipe to make with kids - it is super simple. Think about sprinkling some raw surgar crystals on top the egg wash before baking, too. I meant to do that, I even had the sugar out, and then forgot! Another nice thing is you can prepare these the night before, and then bake them off in the morning if you are making these for company, or as a holiday breakfast. Give yourself that extre time to squeeze some fresh OJ!

Whoopie Pies - but just for ME!

noreply@blogger.com (~ dee ~) — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 19:03:00 +0000

Whoopie Pies by Guest Baker, Laila

These were just so cute, I had to share! They were delicious bites of goodness with a sweet cream filling.

(I am saying “were” since they no longer exist – yum!)

She even cut them out with a heart shaped cookie cutter before filling them. I think they are absolutely gorgeous! She can bake for Edible Delectables anytime.

It’s not very often someone bakes for me . . .so I was really happy to see these coming to my desk. (She really made them for a school project but I am pretending they were just for me!)

Thanks, Laila!

Now, what are you making next week???

Brownie Pops!

noreply@blogger.com (~ dee ~) — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 01:54:00 +0000

Brownie Pops

BONUS! I made an extra goodie this week - Brownie Pops! I will take them in to work on Wednesday, since tomorrow I alradt have raspberry and lemon danish ready to bake before work.

I used the Wilton Brownie Pop silicone pans to make these, and although I have read numerous reviews with people complaining that the pop didn't release from the pans, I had no problem. I sprayed them with Pam, and they popped right out! After they cooled, I dipped them in melted peanut butter chips. I then dipped half in chocolate jimmies, and the other in Turtle sprinkles (just because they matched!). I think these would be really cute dipped in white chocolate, and the topped with pink, blue or yellow flowers or sprinkes for a baby shower favor.

These were fun to make and wrap, and I will definitly do them again!

Congo Bars vs Congo Bars

noreply@blogger.com (~ dee ~) — Sun, 23 May 2010 23:39:00 +0000

Congo Bars 1

The battle of the Congo Bars! So many recipes - what's a Libra to do?! Bake more than one, I guess!

Congo Bars 1 are the version found on Bakerella's site. They seem to be a cross between a Blondie with choholate chips and a chocolate chip bar cookie. But these are nice and chewy. I made her "hand mixed" version. Mine have milk chocolate chips and pecans.

Congo Bars 2 have toasted coconut, toffee chips, and semi-sweet chocolate chips. They seem to be a little more dense than Congo Bars 1. This recipe version can be found here on the Treat a Week Recipes blog.

Congo Bars 2

So, who will reign supreme? Let the testers weigh in . . . .

Fudge Marble COW

noreply@blogger.com (~ dee ~) — Mon, 17 May 2010 17:15:00 +0000

Ok - we are back to COWs! If you have been with me from the beginning you'l know that is Cupcake of the Week! I am so happy to be past the nightmare brownie adventure. This week it is a yellow and chocolate marble cupcake, filled with a rich fudge filling. Gotta have my favorite homemade Hershey's frosting piled hig on top! A few chocolate sprinkkles, and Voila! YUM!

Lemon Cupcakes with Candied Lemon Peel

noreply@blogger.com (~ dee ~) — Mon, 10 May 2010 12:00:00 +0000

~ Happy Birthday, Rhonda! ~

Like last year, Rhonda picked her favorite flavor for her birthday. Lemon cake with wedding-cake frosting. I took the liberty of making fresh lemon curd from scratch to use as a filling, and I also made candied lemon peel for garnish. I love the lemon curd - I could eat that straight. And the candied lemon peel was easy and tasty too. I baked the cake using a Wilton recipe. Very odd texture to this cake, but a good flavor. I added 1/3 cup lemon zest to it so it would be sure to be lemony. Success! Great lemon flavor, but I am still trying to find a scratch cake that I am happy with the texture of. At least no one minds that I am practicing! And I have another year to perfect the lemon recipe. . .

Olive Garden Lemon Crunch Cake

noreply@blogger.com (~ dee ~) — Mon, 10 May 2010 01:28:00 +0000

~ Before I go any further, Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there! ~

I was trying lemon recipes in anticipation of making a lemon cake for Rhonda's birthday. I found this recipe in Todd Wilbur's More Super Secret Restaurant Recipes cookbook. I am not impressed. Not very lemony at all, all though it does look like the restaurant version. But at $6.95 a slice, I'll pass!

Pineapple Crunch Cake

noreply@blogger.com (~ dee ~) — Mon, 03 May 2010 19:57:00 +0000

This was another version of my Peach Crunch Cake. I was trying it with another fruit. After it was baking I though, hmmmm . . . I should have sprinkled some coconut on the bottom! Ah well, too late.

I think the peach was better.

Death by Chocolate Upside Down Cake

noreply@blogger.com (~ dee ~) — Sun, 02 May 2010 22:10:00 +0000

This is VERY RICH! The frosting goes through the cake and ends up on the bottom of the pan. Cut pieces of cake and scoop the frosting off the bottom, or invert the cake onto a board.
I packaged these in individual plastic cups with lids, since I was transporting them to work for ny co-workers.

For the Cake:

1 cup flaked coconut

1 cup chopped pecans

1 package German chocolate cake mix

1-1/4 cup water

1/3 cup oil

3 eggs

3-1/2 cups (about 1-pound) powdered sugar

1 cup butter, melted

8 ounce package cream cheese,

3/4 to 1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375° F. Grease 13 x 9-inch pan.

Sprinkle coconut and pecans evenly over bottom of greased pan.

In large bowl combine cake mix, melted butter, water and eggs at a low speed until moistened.

Beat 2 minutes at high speed.

Spoon batter evenly over coconut and pecans.

Frosting:

In another large bowl combine powdered sugar, margarine and cream cheese and beat until smooth and creamy. Spoon evenly over batter to within 1 inch of edges. Sprinkle with chocolate chips,

Bake at 375° F for 40 to 50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

** Learn from me! **
I spent a long time making sure the batter I spooned on top of the coconut and pecan layer was nice and even, completely covering the coconut and nuts. I think now, though, it would be better to leave the batter in blobs.That way, the blobs of frosting can melt down between the cake and really get to the bottom of the pan.
One more thing - if you're putting this into plastic cups, be sure to let the cake cool completely first!

Edible Delectables

Salty Peanut Brownies

Dee-vil Dogs

Salted Caramel Apple Cupcakes

Peepsicles!

Whoopie Pies!

Cupcake Pop

German Chocolate Cupcakes

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream

Cupcake Challenge - Banana Split Cupcakes

Spiced Apple Cupcakes

Not Yo' Mama's Banana Pudding!

Root Beer Float Cupcakes

Flourless Chocolate Cupcakes - MS Cupcake Club - July 2010

Peach Crunch Cake with Vanilla Bean Creme Anglaise

Tarts & Tassies

Easy Cheese Danish

Whoopie Pies - but just for ME!

Brownie Pops!

Congo Bars vs Congo Bars

Fudge Marble C*O*W

Lemon Cupcakes with Candied Lemon Peel

Olive Garden Lemon Crunch Cake

Pineapple Crunch Cake

Death by Chocolate Upside Down Cake

Fudge Marble COW