Triple caramel salted cupcakes

First and foremost, I have to apologize for my long absence. It's been a week since I've posted, but that's only because this week has been positively terrible, stressful and never-ending. But cupcakes fix things, right?

I'm not going to lie to you. These are some of the best cupcakes I've ever had in my life, but they're not for the faint of heart. I worked on these over the course of two evenings. This recipe is the combination of two recipes: Sprinkle bakes triple salted caramel cupcakes and Pioneer woman's caramel sauce. If you're really adventurous (and talented, which I am not), you can stick solely with the Sprinkles caramel recipe. It's pretty complicated, and I managed to ruin my favorite little kitchen tool.

Apparently melted sugar requires metal kitchen tools. Boo on you, plastic.

So let's get started!

Cupcake ingredients (as copied from Sprinkle Bakes website):

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder 
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt 
• 1 stick of unsalted butter, at room temperature 
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar 
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla   
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp. buttermilk

Cupcake directions (as copied from Sprinkle Bakes website): 

•  Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line muffin tins with papers.
• Combine flour, baking powder and salt; set aside
• Cream butter and brown sugar on medium high speed until pale fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated. 
• Add vanilla. Mix and scrape down sides of bowl as needed.
• Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and beating until combined after each.
• Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each about halfway full. Bake for about 25 minutes.
• When done, transfer tins to wire racks to cool for 10 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely.
• Once cooled, cut out a small chunk in the middle of the cupcake. We're going to fill that with caramel sauce.

If you are ever required to make caramel, this is the recipe to use. I've tried so many, but I could drink this stuff. It's Pioneer Woman's easy caramel sauce, and it is absolutely divine. And easy. Which makes it even more divine.

Ingredients (as copied from Pioneer Woman's website):

• 4 tbsp. butter
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup half and half
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla

Directions (as copied from Pioneer Woman's website):

• Mix butter, brown sugar, half & half, and salt in a saucepan over medium low heat.
• Cook while whisking gently for 5 to 7 minutes, until thicker.
• Add vanilla and cook another minute to thicken further.
• Turn off heat and pour sauce into a jar.
• Refrigerate until cold 
• Once the caramel sauce is cool, pour about a teaspoon of it into each of the cupcake holes you made, then "quark" the cupcake again with the chunk of cake you cut out.

Now onto the frosting. This is the most sinful part of this whole dessert, but let me tell you something — you have never tasted anything like this in your life. It's amazing.

Ingredients (as copied from Sprinkle bakes website):

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp. water
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 stick salted butter
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions (as copied from Sprinkle bakes website):

• In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or just use your hand mixer), beat butter and salt together until lightened and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and add powdered sugar. Mix until thoroughly combined.
• Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the caramel. Beat on medium high speed until light and airy, and completely mixed (about 2 minutes). Mixture should be ready to use without refrigeration. If your caramel was too hot when added, it will cause your icing to be runny. If this happens, refrigerate for 15-20 minutes.
• Top caramel-filled cupcakes with frosting.
• Top cupcake with a few "grains" of sea salt

So as you can see, this isn't the easiest cupcake recipe, but if you're up for a challenge, these are a-MAZING.

Love and caramel...and sea salt,
Rachael

Redneck Apple Dumplings

We all have those family friends; the ones who have seen you go from a COC (child of chunk), to a motivated high school student, to not-so-motivated college student, to a young married lady, to a part-time blogger.

Don't we?

The family I'm referring to are the Luffs. I spent countless summers at their camp in NorCal, Lassen Pines. To a fat little girl, it was paradise. The trees, fresh air and mountain scenery were always just what I needed. Not to mention The Blob (Google it), the cute older boy counselors, the go-carts, and last but not least, the buffet.

I truly love this family, which (respectively) consists of Gordon and Dotti (the hip and cool grandparents), their son and my dad's friend, Scott, his amazing wife, Inger, and their daughters (from left), Anna, Shae and Lindsay. I do have to take this moment and beg for Inger's forgiveness for stealing this recipe from her amazing blog. She claims it's Dotti's recipe, which I don't doubt, because Dotti is pretty fabulous herself. One summer when I was about 12 years old, she bought me a small container of perfume, and I thought I was the sexiest and best-smelling 6th grader in the state.

Turns out I wasn't.

I also have to take a minute and thank my equally-fabulous mother, who I "employ" to help me with my blog. Being a working lady herself, she gets how hard it can be to keep this blog updated, so she occasionally cooks a dish and sends me a recipe and a picture. The poor woman doesn't exactly enjoy doing this for me, but the moment I threaten to close up my womb and withhold grandchildren, she turns into Betty Crocker.

What a trooper.

Ingredients:

• 2 Large Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored
• 2 (10 ounce) cans of refrigerated crescent roll dough 
• 1/2 cup butter 
• 1 cup white suga
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon 
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle of Mountain Dew
• 1 tsp vanilla 

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 F.
• Grease a 13x9 inch baking pan.
• Cut each apple into 8 wedges and set aside. 
• Separate the crescent roll dough into triangles. 
• Roll each apple wedge in crescent roll starting at the smallest end. 
• Pinch to seal and place in the baking dish. 
• Melt butter in a small saucepan and stir in the sugar, cinnamon and vanilla, then pour over the dumplings. 
• Pour the can of Mountain Dew over the dumplings and bake for 35-45 minutes until golden brown. 
• Before serving, spoon some of the "sauce" from the pan over each dumpling. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Granted, I didn't make this myself, but I have two very important points that affirm the deliciousness of this recipe: 1) my mother does not have much of a sweet tooth, but she has a sweet tooth for this; and 2) Dotti is a true-blue, good, southern woman, and if she makes it, I eat it.

Love and dumplings,

Rachael

Chocolate souffle

I'm not going to try and act like this is some family recipe that my grandma wrote out and gave to me as some special family heirloom to hold on for years to come. If I'm being honest, I hit Google, trying to stifle the nerves that were building inside of me.

Chocolate souffle? Really?? I'm a burrito and lasagna kind of girl. But when Valentine's Day came around, I knew I had to step up my game.

I searched high and low for the easiest chocolate souffle recipe I could find. Being a newby, I was looking for simplicity. I came across this recipe by Curtis Stone, and it really was as easy as he said it was. This particular recipe is for two souffles, but the wonderful thing about this website is that you can change the amount of people you want it to serve, and it updates the ingredient list. I watched his step-by-step video, which was extremely helpful since it was my first time making this, and I would highly recommend doing the same if you're a scaredy cat like me.

And you didn't hear it from me, but he's not bad to look at.

I love you, honey.

I'm still going to copy his recipe and directions here, but like I said, I can't take credit for it. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 tablespoons (about) unsalted butter melted cooled

1/10 cup sugar plus more for coating dishes

2 large egg whites

1 3/10 ounces high-quality dark chocolate (62 to 70% cacao)

1/6 cup cold water

1/10 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Read more: http://www.kitchendaily.com/recipe/chocolate-souffl-s-85063/#ixzz1EAqQgdfH

1 tablespoons (about) unsalted butter melted cooled

1/10 cup sugar plus more for coating dishes

2 large egg whites

1 3/10 ounces high-quality dark chocolate (62 to 70% cacao)

1/6 cup cold water

1/10 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Read more: http://www.kitchendaily.com/recipe/chocolate-souffl-s-85063/#ixzz1EAqQgdfH

• 1 tablespoons (about) unsalted butter melted cooled
• 1/10 cup sugar plus more for coating dishes
• 2 large egg whites
• 1 3/10 ounces high-quality dark chocolate (62 to 70% cacao)
• 1/6 cup cold water
• 1/10 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Coat the interiors of six 7.75-ounce soufflé dishes completely with some of the butter. Refrigerate until the butter is cold and set about 2 minutes. Brush a second coating of butter over the interiors of the dishes. Coat the interiors completely with sugar. Place the dishes on a baking sheet.
• Using an electric mixer beat the egg whites in a large bowl until they are foamy. Gradually beat in 1/3 cup of sugar. Continue beating until the egg whites are shiny and form medium-soft peaks when the beaters are lifted.
• Meanwhile stir the chopped chocolate in a large bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water until melted and smooth. Remove from the heat. Add the water and cocoa powder and mix until smooth. Fold a fourth of the egg white mixture into the chocolate mixture. Fold in the remaining egg white mixture (the mixture will resemble chocolate mousse).
• Divide the soufflé batter equally among the prepared soufflé dishes. Using a large knife level the filling flush to the top of the dishes. Using a clean cloth wipe the very top edges of the dishes.
• Bake the soufflés on the baking sheet until they puff but are still moist in the center about 12 minutes. Serve immediately.

This was my first ever experience eating a chocolate souffle, and it was just as good as you'd guess. My husband, whose whole life is on a diet, ate his entire souffle.

P.S. Please forgive the awful photo. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to take a decent picture by candle light with your husband trying to get a "thumbs up" in there. My life is complicated.

Love and fanciness (kinda),

Rachael 

Red velvet cake balls

In honor of Valentine's Day, I'm baking my life away. See, I was granted a 4-day weekend at work, and instead of sitting on the couch and relaxing like I should be doing, I'm baking a hundred different types of treats for none other than mine and Tim's co-workers. This is one of the goodies, and while it was my first time making it, I'm partial towards anything that involves a) red velvet cake, b) cream cheese frosting, and c) melted chocolate. If you have a problem with that, then you have a problem with me. That's just how I feel.

Ingredients:

• 1 box red velvet cake mix (cook as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake)
• 1 16 oz. container of cream cheese frosting
• 1 bag chocolate chips (regular or white chocolate)
• 2 tbsp. shortening
• Wax paper

 Directions:

• Bake the red velvet cake as directed on the back of the box
• Let cool completely
• I left mine to sit for 30 minutes
• Add the container of cream cheese and mix.
• Some websites will tell you to use your hands. Trust me when I say that is not a good idea.

• Roll into quarter-size balls and place on baking sheet
• Let cool in the fridge for an hour+, or in the freezer for about 30 minutes. It's just important that they're extremely firm.
• While that's cooling, pour the chocolate chips and shortening into a sauce pan over low heat, stirring every 2-3 minutes until melted.
• Please do yourself a favor and don't get aggressive and try to turn the heat up to speed up the process. It will burn the chocolate.

• When the cake balls are firm, roll them in the melted chocolate
• Place on wax paper and let them cool (I put mine in the fridge)
• Drizzle with leftover chocolate to top it off.

This is one of those recipes that you will never need to look up again because you will never forget it. If you're looking to transport these around town like me, wrap them individually in tinfoil.

Happy Valentine's Day!!
Rachael

Peanut butter marshmallow cookies

Any day is a good day for a peanut butter cookie. Any day is a good day for a marshmallow. So, in case you're not good at math, I'll go ahead and give you the answer to what was not even a legitimate question:

Any day is a good day for a peanut butter cookie and a marshmallow. This is the exact reason why I have combined these two on this snowy day. Plus, I'm convinced peanut butter is a super food, although the FDA has yet to respond to any of my letters.

Well, I'm the CEO of this blog, and I say that peanut butter is a super food. It has the power to heal the soul after guys have destroyed it; it is the best thing in the world to watch my dog, Max, eat; and it perfectly compliments chocolate.

What's not superior about that?

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 3/4 cup mini marshmallows cut into pieces

Directions:

• Combine the butter and peanut butter. Mix until creamy.
• Add baking soda, baking powder, sugar and brown sugar
• Beat in the egg and vanilla
• Slowly add the flour
• Add the marshmallows and slowly mix 
• Roll dough into 1" balls and line them on a baking sheet
• Bake 7-10 minutes at 375 degrees
• Let cool and transfer to a cooling rack

It's that simple, folks! What's especially great about this recipe is that it really does only require a few things you can find at the back of your pantry. I don't know about you, but I don't need to take any extra trips to the store.

Love and peanut butter,
Rachael

Lemonade cake

Confession: My picky eater doesn't love lemonade, but everyone else who has come across this cake has loved it. It's perfect during the summer~it's light and fresh, but definitely "hits the spot" when you just need to eat some cake. Thank you, Betty Crocker!

Ingredients:

• 1 box lemon or yellow cake mix
• Water, vegetable oil and eggs necessary for cake mix
• 1 can (6 oz) frozen lemonade, thawed
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 container fluffy white or fluffy lemon frosting

Directions:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Make cake as directed on box for 13x9-inch pan. Cool 15 minutes.
• Mix lemonade concentrate and powdered sugar. Pierce top of warm cake every 1/2 inch with long-tined fork, wiping fork occasionally to reduce sticking. Drizzle lemonade mixture evenly over top of cake. Run knife around sides of pan to loosen cake. Cover and refrigerate about 2 hours or until chilled.
• Spread frosting over top of cake. Sprinkle with sugar. Store covered in refrigerator.
  
  

Chocolate bundt cake with glaze

Surprisingly, my picky eater is picky about desserts, too, not just the main course. This recipe is incredibly easy, and unless your picky eater hates chocolate, this should be a hit.

Ingredients:
*1 package dark chocolate cake mix (I'm all about a good milk chocolate, but for this, dark is better)
*1 1/4 cups confectioners sugar
*3 tablespoons milk

*1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
*2 of your favorite candy bars (optional)
*Chocolate sprinkles

Directions:
*Prepare/bake cake as instructed, except in a bundt cake pan (you can buy one for a whole $5 at WalMart). Note: Instructions on the back of the box will say how long to cook a bundt cake with that specific mix
*Crush candy bars in a zip-loc bag and pour into mix (optional). This adds a kick and some texture.
*After baking, let sit and cool
*Flip cake cautiously onto whatever plate you plan on serving it on
*Mix milk, confectioners sugar, and vanilla extract
*Slowly pour glaze over cake, allowing the remains to drain into the center
*Top with sprinkles

Gooey Chocolate Butter Cookies

So, Rebekkah and I threw a Christmas cookie swap.

And it was awesome.

There were 5 other lovely ladies there who made fantastic cookies, and yes, they did "follow the rules" and make Christmas-themed cookies. I, on the other hand, am rebellious and pushed the limits.
Is there anything Christmas-y about my cookies? No. But man, were they good.

My apologies-I'm bragging. Let's just get on with it. This is so easy. It's easier than any other cookie recipe I've ever tried (literally). It's just a few basic ingredients, and they'll be a huge hit.

Here we go.

Ingredients:

• 1 8 oz. block of cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 stick butter, at room temperature
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (18-ounce) box moist chocolate cake mix
• Powdered sugar

Directions:

• Throw the block of softened cream cheese in a mixing bowl.
• Add the stick of butter. Doesn't this have the makings of a healthy, nutritious dessert?)
• Mix it up. A friend of mine at work made these cookies after I brought her some to taste, and she tried to mix it by hand. BIG mistake. Do yourself a favor and use an electric mixer.

 Unless you want guns like this. Ow ow.

• Add an egg
• Add the vanilla 
• Mix it up.
• Add the chocolate cake mix and mix it up. It should come out as a very thick, rich texture. Go ahead and eat a few spoonfuls. I won't tell.
• You'll need to refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes; preferably an hour or two. When it's chilled, it's easier to roll into balls. 
• Once it's been refrigerated, roll them into little balls.
• Pour some powdered sugar into a separate bowl.
• Cover each ball completely
• Put them on a non-stick pan about an inch apart.
• Bake them at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. They are supposed to be gooey, so if they're still soft when you pull them out of the oven, that's a good thing. And the cracked look is how it's supposed to be.

And that's that, folks! Make these...they're insanely good.

Love,

-->

25 Perfect Pies for Fall

I didn't become a pie person until a few years ago. I had a weird aversion to fruit in a pie...my mother would scrape it all off, leaving me with only the buttery, flaky crust to eat with my ice cream.

Is it any wonder I was, as you say, a little chunky?

Now that I've "matured" and "grown," I can appreciate a good pie. And as Thanksgiving is fast approaching, I thought I'd send you this article I came across: 25 Perfect Pies for Fall.

Need I say more?

So pick one out and know 'em dead. I know you can do it!

Love,
Rachael

Monkey Bread

I'm sympathetic to a monkey's plight in life. They are hairy and have to endure onlookers' mimicking and mocking, all the while being caged in a zoo.

But they're just so dang adorable.

I mean, I could just take this one home with me.

So it was only natural that when I was introduced to monkey bread-the perfect breakfast, dessert, or coffee companion-I absolutely had to try it.

It turned out to be pretty much the best, most complicated-looking (but not complicated at all) dish I've made in a long time. Also, in case you were wondering, the reactions from my family were...

"Oh...my...gosh..."

"Kill me now."

"I have never tasted anything so good in my life."

Just in case you needed convincing.

Ingredients:

• 3 cans original biscuits
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 5 teaspoons cinnamon
• Large Ziploc bag
• 2 sticks butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

First grab 3 cans of original biscuit. Do not get the flaky kind-it's something you'll come to regret. Or so I'm told. Lay them out on a cutting board. Cut them up like you would a pizza (into 8 pieces). You will have many many pieces. That's a good thing. Mine have weird little yellow flakes, which is apparently butter. This is good news!

Fill a large ziploc bag with 1 1/2 cups sugar and about 5 teaspoons of cinnamon. Shake it up and add the biscuit pieces. Zip it back up and shake well until they're thoroughly coated.

Spray a bundt cake pan and throw 'em in there. Now it's time to start the caramel sauce (pronounced ca-r-a-mel). NOT carmel.

Melt 2 sticks of non-salted butter over medium high heat and add 1 cup of brown sugar and the vanilla.

Now take my word for it and use a whisk, NOT a spoon. It seriously cuts a ton of time off this step if you use the whisk.

Go ahead and pour the goodness over the biscuity cinnamony sugary chunks. Now let all the guilt leave your body. It's monkey bread. It's a part of nature. It's going to look like they're drowning. Don't try to save them. It's their destiny to die this phenomenal death.

Throw it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Keep an eye on it as every oven is different and it might take more or less time.

Let it cool about 20 minutes and flip it onto a plate. Serve with coffee, ice cream, or as a warm breakfast.


Come on, people. We eat donuts and chocolate muffins in this country for breakfast. Surely this should get the stamp of approval.

**This dessert has been approved by Tim**

Enjoy all!

Love,

-->