Cookies for the Queen of Hearts

Posted on August 17, 2011 by sweetsimplestuff

These shortbread cookies were made for a bridal tea with an “Alice in Wonderland” theme. My niece, Brittney, is going to be a bridesmaid in a wedding and therefore helped organize a shower. She wanted to make cookies … so “The Queen of Hearts” crown was our project.

We made my favorite shortbread cookies … for the recipe and directions click on “Cupcake Shortbread Cookies” on the right hand side of this screen.

After the cookies were baked and cooled we started decorating with royal icing. I haven’t used royal icing in some time so I referred to http://www.sweetsugarbelle.com. She has wonderful recipes and directions for royal icing.

First we outlined with black icing …

Then “flooded” with yellow icing …

Brittney did the decorating … she used pink disco dust, red heart candies and silver dragees (for decoration only) …

This is her creation …

The tea was last Saturday and the cookies were a big hit.

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Wilton Sugar Sheets – Product Review

Posted on August 11, 2011 by sweetsimplestuff

This gallery contains 3 photos.

Yesterday I said that I would show you how I “wrote” on the Peanut Butter Cupcakes. Well, I cheated … I didn’t write anything. I was at Michael’s a few weeks ago … had a coupon … and found this. … Continue reading →

Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

Posted on August 10, 2011 by sweetsimplestuff

Peanut butter cupcakes + peanut butter frosting = one happy hubby! But I made these cupcakes for his brother’s birthday … and he was happy.

I made a few small adjustments to this recipe, but do not remember where it came from … so I can’t give credit to the creator … sorry.

Line your cupcake pans with 20 paper or foil liners …

In a medium-size bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt … set aside …

This is my favorite measuring cup for peanut butter … it’s from Pampered Chef, but there are others available. I like the fact that it is clear and easy to tell if you have air pockets. Then you just push the peanut butter out and don’t have to keep scooping and scraping …

In large mixing bowl and paddle attachment, beat together peanut butter and butter until smooth …

Add sugar gradually and beat until totally combined …

Continue beating for about 3 minutes or until mixture is a light tan color …

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, about 2 minutes total …

Add the flour mixture, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture …

Stir in the vanilla …

Scoop the batter into the lined cupcake pans … about 1/4 to 1/3 cup each … and bake …

For the frosting … in a medium size bowl, beat peanut butter and butter until smooth …

Mix in half of the confectioners’ sugar …

Alternate with milk …

Beat until smooth and no lumps remain …

Frost your cooled cupcakes …

Then roll the edges in chopped peanuts …

Tomorrow I will show you how I “wrote” Happy Birthday on these cupcakes.

Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

Cupcakes:

1-3/4 cups unbleached flour (or all-purpose)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened (salted is OK)

1-1/4 cups sugar

2 eggs

3/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Frosting:

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened (salted is OK)

2-1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

1/3 cup milk

1/2 cup chopped lightly salted peanuts, for garnish

1. Heat oven to 350°. Line cupcake pans with 20 foil or paper liners.

2. Cupcakes: In medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

3. In a large mixer bowl with paddle attachment, beat together peanut butter and butter until smooth. Add sugar gradually: beat until thoroughly combined, and mixture is a light tan color, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, about 2 minutes total.

4. Add the flour mixture, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Stir in vanilla extract. Divide batter evenly among prepared cups, about 1/4 – 1/3 cup for each.

5. Bake at 350° for 25-27 minutes, or until lightly browned on tops. Remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

6. Frosting: In a medium bowl, beat peanut butter and butter until smooth. Add half of the confectioners’ sugar, alternating with milk. Beat until smooth and no lumps remain. Spread over cupcakes. Garnish with chopped peanuts.

Makes 20 cupcakes.

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Cheesecake Bars with Sugar Cookie Crust

Posted on August 8, 2011 by sweetsimplestuff

Summer time is birthday time for our family. In a five-week span we celebrate the following birthdays … my hubby (the peanut butter addict), son #2, son #3, one nephew, one brother-in-law, one sister-in-law and mine! My two sons’ birthdays are one day apart … not good planning on our part. If we aren’t careful, we could suffer from birthday cake overload. We have learned to have birthday dessert … not always cake. This is one of those desserts!

Before we start … let me explain that I sometimes use mixes for cakes or brownies. But, I always make cookies from scratch … never a mix … never ready made cookie dough … except for this recipe. I have had this recipe for many years, it calls for ready made refrigerated sugar cookie dough. After making these cheesecake bars several times, I thought it was silly to buy sugar cookie dough … so I made my own dough. I don’t know why … but the cookies made with the ready made refrigerated dough won the contest. I felt defeated … the Pillsbury Doughboy won … well, at least he’s cute!

I have altered the recipe to fit our family’s tastes … I live with picky people! Today we have one half blueberry and one half chocolate chip.

This is what you will need … sugar cookie dough, cream cheese, sugar, an egg, blueberry pie filling, chocolate chips and oil spray …

Spray a 9″ x 13″ pan … then press the room temperature sugar cookie dough on the bottom and slightly up the sides of the pan …

Beat the softened cream cheese and sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer …

Add the egg and beat until smooth …

It should look smooth like this … if you didn’t drop it on the floor like I did! Good news … the mixer survived and it didn’t even crack a floor tile!

Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over the crust …

Sprinkle chocolate chips over half of the pan to make Son #2 happy …

I can’t forget Son #3 … so dollop (that’s a technical term) blueberry pie filling on the other half …

Using a butter or dinner knife, swirl the pie filling with the cream cheese and press the chocolate chips in the cream cheese a little …

Bake … and cool completely before cutting …

The original recipe called for blueberry pie filling only … I like to add a little lemon zest in the cream cheese. I am giving you the recipe for the way I made it … one half blueberry and one half chocolate chip. This is one of those recipes that can be changed to fit your needs. Have fun with it!

Cheesecake Bars with Sugar Cookie Crust

1 16.5 ounce package of refrigerated sugar cookie dough (room temperature)

8 ounces cream cheese (softened)

1 egg

1/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup blueberry pie filling (1-1/2 cups if making all blueberry)

3/4 cup chocolate chips (1-1/2 cups if making all chocolate chip)

1. Press dough evenly in a greased 9″ x 13″ baking pan.

2. In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar. Add egg and beat until smooth.

3. Spread cream cheese mixture over cookie dough.

4. Dollop pie filling on half of the cheese mixture and sprinkle chocolate chips on the other half.

5. Using a knife, swirl the pie filling and cream cheese mixture. Press the chocolate in the cream cheese mixture.

6. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes or until edges of crust are golden brown.

7. Cool completely, cut into bars, refrigerate.

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Brownie Oreo Cupcakes

Posted on August 2, 2011 by sweetsimplestuff

This was an experiment … I have made brownie cupcakes before and love the convenience of single servings, no cutting required … but I have never stuffed a Oreo in one. I have seen many recipes recently with Oreos inside cupcakes, cookies and brownies, so I gave it a try. I will do it again, but it will probably be an experiment again!

First of all, I must confess that I used a brownie mix. You see my family prefers brownies from a mix over brownies from scratch. So, I keep my family happy and my life simple!

I followed the directions on the box and filled cupcake papers with the brownie batter. I got 13 cupcakes from a mix that made a 9″ x 13″ pan of brownies …

Then put the Oreos in the cupcake batter … and put them in the oven @ 350° for 25 minutes …

This is what happened … the Oreos that I laid on top of the batter, stayed … I stood 3 Oreos on end and 2 fell down … next time I may do it differently … maybe pour a little batter in the bottom, place a Oreo on the batter and then cover the Oreo with more batter …

I made these cupcakes to take to a birthday lunch … they looked so plain … so I added a little dollop of icing …

They needed more … a few sprinkles “partied” them up … and I put them in individual cupcake boxes for everyone to take home …

These Brownie Oreo Cupcakes were very easy and tasted good. Let me know if you try it this way or another … I always appreciate input! Just leave a comment below ….

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Easy pudding with berries

Posted on July 20, 2011 by sweetsimplestuff

My sister-in-law, Georgia, has been here on vacation and is on her way home to Tennessee. We usually get to see her only once a year and had a good-bye dinner the other night … I was asked to bring dessert. I needed to use whatever I had at home and because there was no time for a grocery store trip. Seven people would be at the dinner … four of which are diabetic and I know that they rely on sugar-free instant pudding as a safe dessert. There were strawberries in the fridge that “needed” to be used. So, I came up with this combo and it was sooo simple and fast!

This is what I used … strawberries, sugar-free (or regular) instant pudding mix, milk, cream cheese and vanilla bean paste …

In a mixing bowl, beat softened cream cheese and vanilla bean paste …

Add milk … and pudding mix

Beat until smooth …

Scoop into dessert dishes …

Top with berries …

Garnish with whipped cream, if desired …

Easy pudding with berries

4 ounces softened cream cheese

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (vanilla extract may be substituted)

3 cups milk

1 box (6 serving size) instant vanilla pudding mix (regular or sugar-free)

2 – 2 1/2 cups sliced strawberries (other berries may be substituted)

Whipped cream for garnish

In a medium mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and vanilla until smooth. Add milk and pudding mix … beat until smooth. Scoop into dessert dishes. Top with berries and chill until ready to serve. Top with whipped cream if desired.

Serves 8

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Chocolate Dipped Nutter Butter Marshmallow Pops

Posted on July 14, 2011 by sweetsimplestuff

Nutter Butter cookies, marshmallows, chocolate, sprinkles and chopped peanuts … some of my hubby’s (The Peanut Butter Addict) favorite foods. I think his eyes were twinkling when he saw these treats.

What should they be called? I couldn’t come up with a name … just a description. Oh, I did decide they are pops because the Nutter Butter cookie is the stick … an edible stick … or should it be called a handle?

The whole creation came about because I have come across so many recipes for cookies and brownies stuffed with Nutter Butters or Oreos. I decided to stuff Nutter Butters in marshmallows … easier said than done. I broke several Nutter Butters trying to stuff marshmallows … and finally decided a different approach was necessary. I know that this is not a great culinary creation … just a fun little no-bake treat!

This is what you will need … about 1 pound of chocolate or candy melts, one 10 oz. bag of large marshmallows, 1 package of Nutter Butter cookies, chopped peanuts and sprinkles …

Set up an assembly line … cover a baking sheet with waxed paper or parchment, cut the marshmallows in half (scissors work well), melt the chocolate … put some melted chocolate on the cut side of the marshmallow … the chocolate will act like glue …

Attach one half of the marshmallow to the Nutter Butter and then attach the other half to the other side of the cookie …

Let the chocolate harden up …

Dip the marshmallow in melted chocolate … covering the entire marshmallow … tap off the excess chocolate …

Dip in sprinkles, chopped nuts or ? … and set on waxed paper … pop them in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes to harden the chocolate …

Peaches ‘n Vanilla Cream Pie

Posted on July 6, 2011 by sweetsimplestuff

Every summer, I ~~need~~ ~~find it necessary~~ like to make peach pie. Sometimes it is a cooked pie, sometimes it’s a fresh peach pie … sometimes a rolled pie crust, sometimes not. This is my first pie of the summer. I took my normal fresh peach pie recipe and made an addition … vanilla cream made with vanilla bean paste! The thing that I love about using the vanilla bean paste (besides the flavor) is the appearance of the little brown flecks … is seems so special and decadent!

I made this pie to take to Rich and Gwen’s (~~very old~~ long time and very good friends) house for dessert … after swimming and dinner. Well, it was like a comedy act. I was running behind schedule … as usual … I phoned and asked Rich if I could bring the pie, half made … he said “sure” … the message was conveyed to Gwen that I was bringing half of a pie. No swimming took place … the Peanut Butter Addict left his trunks at home (sitting by the front door) and I haven’t been in a bathing suit in about 100 years or was it 100 pounds ago (but let’s not go there). However, I finished making the pie at their house and tried to take photos for this post with a dead camera battery. So, the photos are not great … but the pie sure tasted good. It got a 4 thumbs up!

This is what you will need for the crust – graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter. For the pie – peaches, sugar, cornstarch, cream cheese, vanilla bean paste and whipping cream

Make the crust … in the pie pan (why have another bowl to wash) combine the graham cracker crumbs and sugar … then stir in the melted butter …

Press the crust against the sides and bottom of the pan using the back of a spoon (or your fingers) … put it in the fridge to chill …

Pour the whipped cream in a chilled bowl … add the sugar and vanilla bean paste … whip it until peaks form … can you see the little brown flecks?

Whip the softened cream cheese and sugar until well blended … then fold in 1 cup of the whipped cream … put the remaining whipped cream back in the fridge and save for garnish …

Spread the cream cheese mixture on the crust … and put it back in the fridge …

Now … peel, pit and slice the peaches for the pie and glaze … 4 cups for the pie … 3/4 cup for the glaze …

In a saucepan, mash-up the peaches for the glaze … add water … boil for 2 minutes …

If you want to be really fancy, strain the mixture at this point to remove the chunks of fruit … I didn’t do it … I don’t mind them … in fact I like them.

Mix cornstarch and sugar together and then stir into boiling mixture … cook until thickened … remove from heat and let it cool for a few minutes …

Mix the glaze and sliced peaches … then spread in the pie pan … and chill for a few hours .. serve with remaining whipped cream …

Now here are the photos of the pieces of pie …

We were impatient … the pie should have chilled longer before cutting … but the flecks in the whipped cream look good!

The pie looks better, bad lighting and the heat did a number on the whipped cream! Sorry!

Like I said, it may not be pretty … but it sure tasted good.

Peaches ‘n Vanilla Cream Pie

Pie Crust

4-3/4 cups sliced peaches (5-6 medium) 1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1 cup sugar 1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons cornstarch 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

3/4 cup water

4 oz. softened neufchatel/light cream cheese

1 cup whipping cream

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (vanilla extract may be substituted)

Make the crust – Mix together the graham cracker crumbs and 1/4 cup sugar. Melt butter and combine with crumb mixture. Press into a 9″ pie pan.

Make whipped cream – Using a chilled bowl whip cream, 1/4 sugar and vanilla bean paste until peaks form. Store in the fridge.

Beat together softened cream cheese and 1/4 cup sugar until combined throughly. Fold 1 cup of whipped cream to cream cheese mixture and spread in pie crust. Store in the fridge.

Make glaze – In a small sauce pan mash 3/4 cup of peaches, add water, bring to a boil for 2 minutes over medium heat. Combine 1/2 cup sugar and corn starch, add to boiling mixture and cook until thickened. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Mix glaze and remaining peach slices. Pour into pie pan. Chill for a few hours and serve with remaining whipped cream. Makes 1 generous 9″ pie.

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Sweet Slider Cupcakes

Posted on July 1, 2011 by sweetsimplestuff

Sliders … teeny weenie hamburgers … on cupcakes? My sliders aren’t hamburgers at all … but I’m sure you knew that. They are made with Nilla Wafers, York peppermint patties and candy coating. The cupcakes … well, it is summer … I’m lazy … I used a mix … but I did make my favorite decorator icing (recipe above – all butter version).

This is what you will need to make the sliders … Nilla Wafers, small York peppermint patties and candy coating (frosting could also be used) – red/ketchup, orange/cheese and green/lettuce … I happened to have some candy in tubes (which is very handy, but not necessary) …

This is just like building a real burger … get your buns (Nilla wafers) and hamburger (York) patties ready … put some ketchup (red candy) on the bottom bun …

Then put the hamburger patty on the melted candy … add some melted cheddar cheese (orange candy) on top of the patty …

Don’t forget the lettuce (green candy) … and the top bun … your sliders are cooked!

Now, for the cupcakes … bake your favorite recipe or mix … make your icing … I used a bag and a plain round tip (#12) …

This is the voice of experience … do not make your icing and put it in the fridge … then try to pipe it out of a bag while it is still cold (like I did) … or this will happen … a hard skinny line of icing comes out of the tip … it breaks … it has some pretty big air bubbles … it is pretty ugly … let your icing come up to room temperature (or at least close) …

But help is on the way … sprinkles will save the day! Sprinkles are a wonderful invention and cover a multitude of boo boos …

Place the sliders on top of the cupcakes …

I believe that if some sprinkles are good … more must be better!

Marshmallows for the 4th of July

Posted on June 30, 2011 by sweetsimplestuff

Today’s 4th of July marshmallows are so simple …

I did use a different brand of marshmallows this time. The brand name is “de la Rosa” and they are flavored vanilla and strawberry! They are available in two sizes, large and extra giant. Here is a photo …

You will need marshmallows, candy melts or chocolate, sprinkles and lollipop sticks. To make the glittery star you will need Starburst (or any other candy that will work for you), “Disco Dust” (non-toxic glitter available at cake supply stores) and a star cookie cutter …

First melt your chocolate … put a stick almost all the way in a marshmallow (or 2 or 3 marshmallows) … dip it in the chocolate to coat …

Tap off the excess chocolate …

Add sprinkles …

Put it in a stand or styrofoam … pop it in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes to set the chocolate …

To make the glittery stars … flatten the Starburst candy … I used my fingers … cut out the star using the cookie cutter …

Now sprinkle the Disco Dust on the star … do this on a piece of parchment or wax paper so that you can reuse any excess dust … try to keep you fingers out of the dust … it flies everywhere! The Disco Dust will stick to the candy automatically …

I dipped some marshmallows and did not add sprinkles before putting them in the fridge … use some melted chocolate to attach the star to the marshmallow …