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Archive for the ‘Recipe Box’ Category

I pulled this recipe from my Southern Living Magazine back in 2000 thinking it would be a cute Halloween dinner idea to try with the kids. Little did I know what a hit it would be. It has turned into a Halloween dinner tradition for our family, we have made it loyally every Halloween for the past 13 years! It’s so good I was able to draw two of the kids home from college for Halloween dinner tonight! Below are a few pictures I snapped while I prepared it per the same Southern Living Recipe back from 2000. You can get the recipe here.

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Putting it together…

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Adding the egg wash for color…

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Happy Halloween!

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This Halloween with all three kids in college, I decided to make sweet treats for them to share with their roommates and dorm buddies! My husband and I drove to Charleston to give our youngest his take of the goods earlier this week, while the other two are venturing home (they are only 45 minutes away) for Halloween dinner. I am making our traditional Jack-o-lantern cheeseburger pie, I will post the recipe and photos when complete!

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These Spook-tacular cupcakes are a breeze to make (especially if you use boxed cake mix) and taste sweeter than candy corn after being smothered in this “to die for” butter cream frosting!

Prepare cupcakes as directed on the box using 2 boxes of cake mix (I used 2 boxes of chocolate cake mix for my Spook-tacular cupcakes). I also used decorative paper cupcake liners I found on clearance. Using decorative cupcake liners adds an extra seasonal feel to your creations!

Let cupcakes cool on wire rack before frosting with the Deliciously Delectable Buttercream Frosting recipe below.

Deliciously Delectable Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients (makes 48 cupcakes)

2 pounds confectioners sugar

1/3 cup water *

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla flavoring

1 teaspoon butter flavoring

2 cups shortening

Directions

In large mixing bowl, add sugar, water, vanilla and butter flavorings and 1 cup of the shortening. Mix on low speed until well blended. Turn speed up to medium and mix an additional 2 minutes. Test frosting for consistency (* if frosting forms a ring around the top of the mixing bowl you might need to add water 1 tbsp. at a time to the mix). Using a spatula scrape the sides of the mixing bowl to incorporate any undiluted sugar to the mix. Mix and additional 2 minutes on medium speed. Add the last 1 cup of shortening to the mixture. Mix about 2 more minutes until creamy and smooth. Depending on the color of frosting you desire, you may add the color now and using a spoon stir the mixture to incorporate the color throughout. I used yellow and red icing colors until I reached the orange color I wanted for my Spook-tacular cupcakes.

I used a 16 inch disposable plastic piping bag and a Wilton’s 1M star tip to pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes.

After piping frosting on the cupcakes I showered brown and dark green sprinkles on each cupcake. Finishing my little creations with plastic bat & spider rings purchased at my local dollar store.

Boo-ya! Cute, delicious Spook-tacular cupcakes!

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I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted a public post (try a year), but vow to try and be more consistent with my postings from now on. Plus, I just HAD to share the recipe for my Peanutty-Candy Corn Treats! The kids were all home last night (very unusual occurrence these days) so I decided to make this “seasonal” extra special dessert! The best way I can describe these little “yummies”…”they are like rice krispie treats on STEROIDS”!

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INGREDIENTS

1 box cake mix (I used yellow but chocolate might be yummy too!)

1 egg ½  cup butter – softened

3 cups mini marshmallows

½  cup light corn syrup

½ cup sugar

¼  cup light brown sugar

½ cup creamy peanut butter

2 tsp. vanilla

2 cup rice krispies

1 ½ cups peanuts

1 ½ cup candy corn

RECIPE DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Mix cake mix with softened butter. Mix until well incorporated.

3. Add egg and mix until well blended.

4. Press dough mixture in a greased 9” x 13” glass casserole.

5. Bake for 15-20 minutes (you want the mixture to be firm and edges golden brown – not doughy.)

6. Sprinkle mini marshmallows over the top of the cake mixture in casserole.

7. Place casserole back into the 350 oven for 3-5 minutes (marshmallows should be puffy and starting to turn golden brown on the tips).

8. Remove from oven and set aside.

9. Add corn syrup, sugar, and brown sugar to a pot and bring to boil over medium high heat, stirring constantly.

10. Remove sugar mixture from heat and add peanut butter and vanilla. Stirring to smooth consistency.

11. Add cereal, peanuts, and candy corn. Mix.

12. Spoon over marshmallow/cake mixture.

13. Let cool and cut into small bars!

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Okay, here it is… you requested that I explain how and what supplies were used to make my youngest son’s “Music” themed graduation cake so here it is! Cameron’s high school graduation cookout required a special cake for his special occasion. His love for music as well as his musical talent helped him procure several music scholarships and I wanted to touch on this “musical theme” while making his graduation cake! I describe below how I constructed his cake and what supplies I used.

For the bottom cake tier I baked 2 – 14” round (3” deep) layers of butter flavored cake. I then split each layer into 2 layers for a total of 4 layers for the bottom tier.

The middle and top layers were 2 – 10”round (3” deep) layers of butter flavored cake. I also split each layer into 2 layers for a total of 4 layers.

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After leveling and splitting each layer, I placed a plastic tier support between the bottom and middle tiers for added support. I then used white buttercream frosting to fill between all layers and dirty ice the cake. I layered each tier in this order…

  • Bottom tier: 4 layers (2 regular layers) of 14” round cake
  • Middle tier: 2 layers (1 regular layer) of 10” round cake
  • Top tier: 2 layers (1 regular layer) of 10” round cake – Cut in half and discard one half (or dirty ice it for a “sneak taste test”

A lot of you wanted to know why I didn’t use fondant to get that very popular “smooth” finish. I did a taste testing weeks beforehand with my family and they were not fond of the fondant! (No pun intended) ha! We prefer the rich creamy texture of traditional buttercream frosting. You could use fondant if you prefer.

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After smooth frosting the whole cake with buttercream frosting, I used an icing comb to add the textured lines to the bottom tier as well as the “front” side of the top layer half to give it a musical line type finish.

I ordered chocolate molds online and made the musical notes, treble clefs, bass clefs, sharps and flats a day ahead. I used black melting chocolate to fill and make each candy mold. You can buy colored melting chocolate disks at almost every craft store, local Walmart,  or Target. After pouring the melted chocolate in the molds I placed broken in half toothpick pieces into each mold, (careful not to push all the way through) and then I placed plastic wrap over each mold to hold the toothpicks in place until the mold hardened. These “picks” on the back side of each chocolate piece was used to hold the candy in place on the cake.

Thanks to the internet I was able to find the musical staff with notes sugar transfer sheets as well as the plastic “celebrate” easel for the top of the cake and the plastic “graduate” cap.

NOTE: Do not place the sugar transfer sheets on the cake until the day of the event! If left on the cake too long, they draw moisture and begin to “bleed” onto the cake.

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My daughter made a copy of her high school diploma using a fine elegant paper, rolled it up and tied it with a bow for extra decoration!

I finished up the cake with colored chocolate candy balls that I found online in his future college colors also.

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OH HAPPY DAY!!!

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Having our oldest two children attend the University of South Carolina has bred loyal Gamecock fans over the past several years! I wanted to make a special dessert since we were tailgating at the USC / Missouri football game for my hubby’s birthday. I really didn’t want the traditional “birthday cake” so I got creative! Wanted something that would transport easily and be a breeze to serve. I came up with these easy to make, easy to serve no bake yummies! No bake Strawberry Cheesecake and Dirt desserts. I constructed individual desserts in mason jelly jars and decorated them with fabric top cutouts, team color ribbons, and coordinating plastic spoons. I made each the night before and stored in the refrigerator, then placed in a cooler to transport to the game. So easy to make, transport, and serve! I have included my recipes for both No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake and Dirt dessert below! Happy Tailgating!!!

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No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake Desserts

1 ½ cups Graham Cracker crumbs, crushed

¼ cup Sugar

1 stick Butter – melted

1 (8 ounce) pkg. Cream Cheese

1 (8 ounce) tub Cool Whip

2/3 cup Sugar

1 tsp. Vanilla flavoring

Fresh Strawberries

1. In a large bowl, combine the Graham Cracker crumbs, ¼ cup of the Sugar and melted Butter until the crumbs are well coated.

2. Spoon 3 tablespoonfuls of the crumbs into each of the 8 mason jelly jars.

3. In a large bowl beat together Cream Cheese, Cool Whip, Vanilla flavoring and remaining Sugar with a mixer until smooth and creamy.

4. Spoon several tablespoons of the Cheesecake mixture over the crumb mixture in each of the 8 mason jars, then layer with more Graham Cracker crumbs and another layer of the Cheesecake mixture. End with a layer of Graham Cracker crumbs on top. *** TIP *** I spooned the Cheesecake mixture into a plastic disposable decorator bag and used a large round tip to pipe the mixture into the jars. This method was less messy than using a spoon!

5. Chill to set. – Before packing in the cooler on game-day be sure to slice fresh Strawberries and place several on the top of each individual dessert.

 

“Dirt” Dessert

1 large pkg. Oreo’s – crumbled into fine “dirt” consistency
3 cups Milk
8 oz. Cream Cheese
½  cup Butter
2 small pkg’s. Instant Vanilla Pudding
1 cup Powdered Sugar
1 large tub Cool Whip
1 tsp. Vanilla flavoring

1. Crush Oreo’s into consistency of “dirt” using a food processor or by placing cookies into a ziplock bag and crush using a rolling pin.

2. Spoon about 3 tablespoons of the crushed Oreo’s into the bottom of 8 jelly size mason jars. Set remaining aside for later use.

3. Cream the Cream Cheese and Butter with a mixer until smooth. Add in the sugar and continue to cream. Finally, fold in Cool Whip until well blended.

3. In separate bowl, mix the Vanilla Pudding, Milk and Vanilla flavoring. Fold in the Cream Cheese/Sugar mixture.

4. Spoon several tablespoons of the pudding mixture over the crushed Oreo’s in each of the 8 mason jars, then layer with more crushed Oreo’s and another layer of pudding mixture. End with a layer of the “dirt” (Oreo) on top. *** TIP *** I spooned the pudding/sugar mixture into a plastic disposable decorator bag and used a large round tip to pipe the mixture into the jars. This method was less messy than using a spoon!

5. Chill to set. – Before packing in the cooler on game-day be sure to place several Gummy Worms on the top of each individual dessert. (I stick one or two coming out of the “dirt”).

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