Tasty Tuesday: Marshmallow Pops

Happy 4th of July!!!

Wait a minute. Yesterday was Fathers Day and today is July 4th???

I'm so confused.

Maybe I'll post something about Christmas tomorrow, just to keep you guessing.

These marshmallow pops are so quick and easy to make. Even easier than the brownie pops. (Though not quite as tasty. Shhh, don't tell my kids.)

 You'll need marshmallows, chocolate (we use Wilton candy melts), sprinkles, and sucker sticks.

 Start by putting the marshmallows on the sticks.

Melt the chocolate and dip the marshmallows into it. Tap the stick on the side of the bowl to remove the excess chocolate.

Working quickly before the chocolate hardens, add your sprinkles.


And last but definitely not least

Enjoy!

See? I told you they were easy!



Now, to start on that Christmas post . . .

Tasty Tuesday: Chocolate Cupcakes with Whipped Vanilla Frosting

We made cupcakes this week so Alyssa could take them to church for her birthday. When you homeschool, it's just not as exciting sharing your birthday treat with your classmate family. I asked her what kind of cake she wanted even though I already knew the answer. Chocolate. Always chocolate. And pink frosting, of course.

Thirteen ingredients. This is why people use a box mix.

Seriously though, this is one of the easiest chocolate cake recipes since it's made in 1 bowl in 2 steps.

 Dump in your dry ingredients and sift.

Add in your wet ingredients and mix well.

Easy and quick? Yep.

The only "problem" per se is that the batter is runny. Extremely runny. And messy.

I made 24 cupcakes  and the batter rose over the edges, making it difficult to remove the cakes. The cupcakes are incredibly moist, so they're very delicate. I suggest filling the liners a little less and making a few more cupcakes. More is good, right?

After the cupcakes are cooled, begin making your frosting. I highly suggest this recipe. It's probably not so much the ingredients, but the technique that really makes it. This picture is just the butter after it was whipped for 8 minutes. Thank God for a KitchenAid! 

Here's another tip - if you take your butter out of the fridge and let it sit for a couple hours in 75° weather, it's probably going to melt. All over. It also makes it difficult to "whip" since it just kinda slops around. If that should happen, just pop the bowl into the freezer for 10 minutes or so to stiffen the butter up before whipping. Ask me how I know.

Pour in the remaining ingredients after the butter is sufficiently whipped. The frosting will look done before the additional 7 minutes are up. Please, please, please continue to mix it. This is the lightest, fluffiest frosting I've ever made.

Wow. Like I said, the cake is incredibly moist and rich. Even Jake and Leighton liked them, and neither of them are big chocolate fans. In fact, Jake requested these for his birthday - minus the pink frosting, of course. The frosting itself is so airy and light. Jake said, "This is so yummy! I can really taste the 3 sticks of butter in it." I admit, I ate more than my fair-share of it. It's that sweet-tooth I have. I just can't help myself.

We even made the pink glitter sprinkles (post coming.)  It was so quick, easy, and fun!

I'm so sad the cupcakes are gone. Mmm, they were good. Both of these recipes will be added to our permanent collection for sure.

Anyone have a birthday coming up and need me to make you a cake??? One condition - you have to share!

Classic Chocolate Cupcakes
Ingredients:
1 1/2 c  flour                                                         

1 tsp salt
1 1/2 c sugar                                                        

2/3 c buttermilk (or 2/3 c milk + 1 Tbsp vinegar)
1/2 c cocoa powder                                             

1/2 c brewed coffee or espresso, hot
1 1/2 tsp  baking soda                                          

1/3 c + 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp  baking powder                                      

2 eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 tsp  cornstarch                                            

1 Tbsp  pure vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350° F and fill cupcake pan with  liners.
2. In the bowl of electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, sift all dry ingredients.
3. Add all remaining ingredients to bowl with the dry ingredients and mix for 2 minutes on medium speed and pour into prepared cupcake pan until just less than 2/3 full.  *Batter will be very liquidy.
4. Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until toothpick comes out with a few crumbs. Carefully remove cupcakes from the pan immediately and place them on a wire rack until completely cool.

Whipped Vanilla Frosting
Ingredients:
3 sticks + 2 tablespoons  unsalted butter, softened
3.5 cups  confectioners’ sugar, sifted
3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
a pinch of salt

Directions:
1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip butter for 8 minutes on medium speed. Butter will become very pale & creamy.
2. Add remaining ingredients and mix on low speed for 1 minute, then on medium speed for 6 minutes. Frosting will be very light, creamy, and fluffy.
3. Best used right away for ideal spreading consistency.

Tasty Tuesday: Glazed Doughnuts

We didn't make paczki for Fat Tuesday like we did last year. So sad, I know. But don't worry - we did make doughnuts! Yummy, delicious, comparable-to-that-famous-doughnut-shop doughnuts! 

Yeah, they're that good.

I had been wanting to make doughnuts for ages now. Leighton looked for a doughnut cutter for Christmas, but couldn't find any. I found the one I want on Amazon, but who wants to pay shipping on a $5 item. I added it to my cart a month ago, waiting until I purchase something else too. It's still sitting in my cart. We don't order online very often. I wasn't going to let my lack of fancy doughnut cutter keep me from making delicious doughnuts on Fat Tuesday though. No way! I just compromised and used my biscuit cutters. Not quite as easy, not quite as pretty, but they got the job done.

The recipe gives directions for proofing the yeast and mixing the dough in a bowl. But why go through all that work though when you have a bread maker???  I just had the kids dump the wet ingredients in the pan, followed by the dry, and finally the yeast. Ninety minutes later, and our dough was ready for step 3.

I rolled the dough out on a floured surface, being careful not to overwork it. Then, I used my 3 inch biscuit cutter to make the doughnut and my 1½ inch cutter to make the center.

I transferred the doughnuts and the holes to floured parchment paper. They rose covered on the counter for 90 minutes before I moved them to the oven to finish. I let the oven warm to 200° for a few minutes and shut it off. I placed the doughnuts inside for 10 minutes. Normally, it would take about an hour for the dough to double in size while sitting on the counter. Normally - as in if your house is warmer than 68°.

I talked Leighton into frying the doughnuts for me. I figured it was fitting since I was teasing him about taking control of the funnel cakes we made. (We made them again this past weekend for a banquet at church. He fried and I de-greased and helped with toppings.) The electric skillet is perfect  to use since it keeps a constant temperature. Just make sure you don't put too many in at a time and drop the temp, making them cook unevenly.

Also, make sure you very, very, very carefully place the dough into the oil. Otherwise, the doughnut will deflate, leaving an ugly flat blob. Tasty, yes; pretty, no. 

It was my job to coat the doughnuts. Some I dipped just the tops in the glaze and covered with sprinkles. Others I used a slotted spoon to fully coat  with glaze. 

The kids had fun coating the doughnut holes in a cinnamon/sugar mix.

As soon as the first doughnut made it to the racks to cool, all 3 kiddies started begging for one. And can you blame them? The fresh, warm doughnuts melt in your mouth and are absolutely delicious! You could easily eat 3 or 4 without even realizing it. The consistency and flavor truly resemble Krispy Kreme doughnuts. The kids and I love them fully coated in the glaze, but Leighton thinks it's a bit much.  It could be because I added only half the water in order to keep it thicker, thus causing more glaze to remain on the doughnuts, but most likely it's because he's more of a savory guy. The rest of us will take one any which way we can! We've already talked about next time we make them.

Mmm, next time. 

Make these and you will not be disappointed! Unless you eat the whole batch by yourself. Then you might be a wee bit disappointed in your waist size. But the doughnuts themselves will not let you down! 



* I halved the doughnut recipe, but forgot to halve the glaze. We ended up with plenty glaze left over. The dough made 12 full-size doughnuts and 20 doughnut holes. The original recipe is below.

Yeast Doughnuts
Dough Ingredients:
2 (.25 ounce) envelopes active dry yeast or 4 1/2 tsp                  2 eggs
1/4 c warm water (105 to 115 degrees)                                      1/3 c shortening
1 1/2 c lukewarm milk                                                              5 c all-purpose flour
1/2 c white sugar                                                                     vegetable oil for frying
1 tsp salt        

Glaze Ingredients:
1/3 c butter                                                                               1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 c confectioners' sugar                                                             4 Tbsp hot water or as needed

Directions:

1. Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water, and let stand for 5 minutes, or until foamy.
2 In a large bowl, mix together the yeast mixture, milk, sugar, salt, eggs, shortening, and 2 cups of the flour. Mix for a few minutes at low speed, or stirring with a wooden spoon. Beat in remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough no longer sticks to the bowl. Knead for about 5 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. Place the dough into a greased bowl, and cover. Set in a warm place to rise until double. Dough is ready if you touch it, and the indention remains.
3. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and gently roll out to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut with a floured doughnut cutter. Let doughnuts sit out to rise again until double. Cover loosely with a cloth.
4. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in confectioners' sugar and vanilla until smooth. Remove from heat, and stir in hot water one tablespoon at a time until the icing is somewhat thin, but not watery. Set aside.
5. Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large heavy skillet to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Slide doughnuts into the hot oil using a wide spatula. Turn doughnuts over as they rise to the surface. Fry doughnuts on each side until golden brown. Remove from hot oil, to drain on a wire rack. Dip doughnuts into the glaze while still hot, and set onto wire racks to drain off excess. Keep a cookie sheet or tray under racks for easier clean up.

Tasty Tuesday: Brownie Pops

Valentine's Day is fast approaching. There are so many Valentinesy recipes I'd love to make, but there just isn't enough time to make them all - nor enough people to help us eat them all! Michaels had a fantastic coupon ($5 off $5 purchase!) this past weekend and I was able to pick up a few things for free! I grabbed a bag of red candy melts, knowing they would come in handy this time of year. Also, I've had a bag of sucker sticks lurking in the cupboard for quite a while, begging to be put to good use. Throw in a batch of brownies and some sprinkles, and you got yourself a yummy Valentine - or anytime - treat. 

Start by making a batch of brownies. Line your pan with aluminum foil to make it easy to remove the brownies after they're baked.

 Once the brownies are cool, cut off the yummy crusty edges.

And of course, eat them! I absolutely love the end pieces of brownies. The chewiness of the edges, the mushiness of the middle, the richness of the chocolate . . . mmmm! You know, we bake a lot of different desserts and such around here, but the simple brownie will always remain at the top of my favorites list.

Once you've finished indulging in the discarded edges, put the rest of the brownies in a bowl and mash them into crumbs.

 You can tell how much Alyssa loved this part.

 Of course, little Zachy had to join in the fun.

 But I'm pretty sure it was just a ploy to eat more brownies.

We used our cookie scoop to measure approximately 2 tablespoons of brownie crumbs and rolled it into balls. 

If your brownies won't hold together on their own, you can add in 1/4-1/2 cup frosting to help them adhere. Ours were pretty fudgy and mushed together fine by themselves.

Push a sucker stick, or even a popsicle stick, deep into the brownie balls. Place the balls in the freezer for at least 30 minutes or the refrigerator for 2 hours to harden. 

 Dip a ball into melted chocolate, making sure to coat it all.

Allow the excess chocolate to drip off. Tapping the stick gently on the side of the bowl helps to speed the process.

 Hurry to add your sprinkles before the chocolate hardens.

 Repeat.

And repeat.

If your balls are out of the freezer too long before you get a chance to coat them, they will fall off the stick in a mushy mass into the melted chocolate. Fish it out, plop the stick back in, and pop it into the freezer to harden up again.

Then, do the respectable thing and eat it. You certainly wouldn't want to serve such a hideous pop to company. It's best to just discard the evidence before anyone can see it.

I had been planning to jam the sticks into styrofoam or floral foam to keep them upright while the chocolate hardened, but I couldn't find any in the house. My sweet hubby offered to make me a holder for them and returned a few minutes later with this wooden stand. I sure do love that man.

Now who wouldn't want to receive one of these lovely brownie pops for Valentine's Day??? They're small and cute and very festive! And best of all . . . 

 . . . there's a fudgy brownie inside!!!

Make a batch today and surprise the ones you love!



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