Baking Junkie

July, 2010

Thursday, July 29th, 2010

Strawberry Golden Oreo Cupcakes

Recipe by Aimee

Do you guys like Dairy Queen? While I have to admit that Cold Stone Creamery wins hands down for me, I still enjoy a good DQ blizzard every once in a while. Derek is a fan of all things strawberry, so when the blizzard of the month in June was strawberry golden oreo he was dying to try it. I took the advice of a coworker and ordered extra golden oreo, and it was delicious! Now, me being who I am, I of course thought “I bet I can make a cupcake out of this”, and that was how these were born.

Like all of the cupcakes I’ve created, I try to make them as simple as possible. I used a box of strawberry cake mix and made it according to directions. I got my idea for the oreo filling from Annie and quartered the oreos then placed them in the dough. I also considered just placing an oreo at the bottom of each cupcake, which I may try in the future. For the time being I was pretty happy with how these turned out. The frosting is a basic vanilla buttercream and I drizzled some caramel on top for extra flair.

I have to say that when I first bit in to the cupcake I was really surprised. When baked the golden oreos have a different flavor than I was expecting. To me, it was similar to maple syrup or french toast. This flavor combined with the strawberry, and the sweetness of the frosting and caramel was a really great combination (think french toast with strawberries and whipped cream!) Enjoy!

Strawberry Golden Oreo Cupcakes

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Cupcakes:
1 Box strawberry cake mix (I used Pillsbury)
1 cup water
1/3 cup oil
4 eggs
24 Golden Oreos, quartered

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine cake mix, water, oil and eggs. Mix in oreos gently to avoid breaking up the pieces too much. Pour into cupcake liners, filling them about 2/3 full. Bake approximately 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

Frosting (adapted from Wilton):
1 cup shortening
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
2 tsp vanilla
6 cups powdered sugar (more or less to taste)
1 Tbsp milk
Hershey’s Caramel Syrup for drizzle

Cream together shortening and butter, then add vanilla. Add powdered sugar in one cup increments, mixing well after each addition. Mix in milk (add more or less until the desired consistency is reached). Frost cupcakes and drizzle with caramel syrup if desired.

Tags: Buttercream, Oreo, strawberry

Posted in Cupcakes | 12 Comments »

Monday, July 26th, 2010

S’more Stuffed Brownies

Recipe from Picky Palate

You guys remember how much I like s’mores right? It seems like you can turn any dessert into a s’mores dessert, but when I saw this recipe from Jenny, I knew I had to try it out. I also knew they would taste fabulous (like all of her stuff), and boy was I right! I have always enjoyed eating brownies, but until now I have made them very infrequently. Let’s just say this recipe will change that!

This recipe is incredibly easy, which always scores points in my book. The ingredients are minimal and so simple to put together. You could use any brownie recipe you like, but a box works fine for me. When you bite into one of these treats, you get the full taste of both the s’more and the brownie, which is an incredible combination. Now that I am baking so much I try to stick to the “only sample one” rule, but I had to break it for these! They have definitely moved to the top of my all-time favorites. Enjoy!

S’more Stuffed Brownies
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1 box of Brownie Mix + ingredients listed on back
4 1/2 graham crackers
4 full size Hershey Bars
16 large marshmallows

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare brownies according to directions. Place aluminum foil in 8 x 8 inch baking pan and coat with cooking spray. Pour half of the brownie batter into the pan. Place graham crackers over brownie mix, then place Hershey bars over graham crackers. Place marshmallows on top of candy bars and pour remaining brownie batter on top. Bake for about 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Let cool completely before cutting (if not you’ll have a gooey mess).

Tags: Brownies, chocolate, S'mores

Posted in Brownies | 3 Comments »

Thursday, July 22nd, 2010

Double Chocolate Cookie Dough Cupcakes

Recipe adapted from Annie’s Eats

Derek’s birthday was a few days ago, and with him being married to an avid baker, he always gets to pick whatever he wants for his birthday dessert. You know, I don’t think I have ever made him an actual cake for his birthday! His usual requests are strawberry pie, strawberry cheesecake, or banana cream pie. This year I told him he could choose whatever he wanted, but I was secretly hoping he would choose something new….boy did he!

He thought long and hard about this, and finally decided on a chocolate cupcake with cookie dough filling. I had seen this recipe from Annie a few months ago and knew it would be perfect. Now initially he wanted vanilla buttercream (he actually said buttercream instead of “frosting”…I have him well trained!) with caramel drizzled on top, which sounded great to me! When given the choice between that and an actual cookie dough buttercream though, he chose the cookie dough (I’m so glad he did).

These cupcakes were a little time consuming, but so worth it in the end! I used a box of devils food cake mix, but any chocolate cake recipe would work. I was a little unsure about the filling at first because it had somewhat of an artificial taste to me, but once it firmed up and was combined with the other flavors of the cupcake, it was just like eating regular cookie dough! The frosting is absolutely amazing and I had to stop myself from eating it by the spoonful. Next time I make these (there will definitely be a next time) I think I will make the holes in the cupcake just a little bigger to make room for even more filling.

Derek and I are both trying to lose some weight (ok ok, I’m always trying to lose weight), so I didn’t think he would have a problem sharing these with coworkers. I was terribly mistaken. He was horrified at the thought of these heavenly treats leaving our kitchen and refused to let me bring them anywhere. They have now shot up the ranks to his #1 favorite dessert of mine! Enjoy!

Double Chocolate Cookie Dough Cupcakes
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Cupcakes:
1 box Devil’s Food Cake Mix (I use Duncan Hines)
Ingredients on box + 1 extra egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients and mix well. Pour into cupcake liners, about 2/3 full. Bake for approximately 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool completely.

Filling:
4 Tbsp salted butter, at room
6 Tbsp packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup + 2 Tbsp flour
7 oz (1/2 can) sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cream together butter and sugar for approximately 2 minutes. Add in vanilla, then flour, and lastly sweetened condensed milk. Stir in chocolate chips. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for about an hour to let the filling firm.

Frosting:
3 sticks salted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup flour
3/4 tsp salt
3 Tbsp milk
2 1/2 tsp vanilla

Cream together butter and brown sugar. Add powdered sugar in increments until smooth. Add in the flour and salt. Then add the remaining liquid ingredients.

Once cupcakes have cooled cut a cone shaped portion out of the center of each using a small paring knife. Discard these sections. Roll a small amount of the filling mixture into balls and place inside each cupcake. Frost cupcakes and garnish with mini chocolate chips if desired.

Tags: Buttercream, chocolate, Cookie Dough, Cupcakes

Posted in Cupcakes | 10 Comments »

Monday, July 19th, 2010

White Chocolate Chip Blondies

Recipe adapted from The Secret Recipe Blog

I have to admit that I feel like a terrible, imposter of a baker when I say that I have never had a blondie until now. I have been wanting to make these goodies for quite some time, and now I have the perfect excuse (a definite blogging bonus)! Whenever we eat at Applebee’s I always think about ordering this dessert because it looks so fantabulous (another blogging bonus, I can make up my own words!). I am usually too stuffed and feeling too guilty to order dessert, but now I can just make it on my own time.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with blondies, they are simply brownies, minus the chocolate. To some people this may not sound too appealing. Brownies are just so good, why would you want to take the chocolate out of them, right?

Wrong (well, sort of).

Yes brownies are delicious and a little piece of chocolate heaven, but these are just as good folks! This recipe comes with a maple butter sauce, which I decided to leave out on this round. Maybe it was my imagination, but I swore I could still taste a slight hint of maple in these bars. The brown sugar is what gives these their incredible flavor. The dough is incredibly easy, which always scores points with me. My one and only complaint is that they turned out a little thin. I think next time I will double the recipe to make thicker bars. Enjoy!

White Chocolate Chip Blondies

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1/3 cup butter, melted

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup flour

½ tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp baking soda

½ cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium size mixing bowl combine melted butter and brown sugar. Add in egg (beaten) and vanilla. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix well. Add chocolate chips. Spread dough in a greased 8 x 8 in pan. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

For thicker bars double the ingredients.

Tags: Bars, Blondies, White chocolate

Posted in Bars, Blondies | 2 Comments »

Thursday, July 15th, 2010

Peanut Butter & Jelly Shortbread Cookie Bars

Recipe adapted from Picky Palate

I’ve been getting some really good feedback about the blog lately…thanks for the love!
I’m really glad that you all are enjoying the recipes. I’m really enjoying myself as well, and the best part is that I always have an excuse to bake!

What I have been enjoying the most is searching for and trying new recipes. One of my new favorite blogs is Picky Palate by Jenny. She blogs about both baking and cooking, and let me tell you…her stuff looks amazing! There are several of her recipes I’m dying to try, but I started with these amazing little treats.

I’ve eaten shortbread cookies a few times in my life, but until now I’ve never had any desire to bake them myself. Let me just say that I am IN LOVE with this shortbread recipe and can’t wait to play around with it some more! The recipe is very basic and easy, just 5 ingredients! The dough gets very thick, so if you are using a hand mixer this may get tough at the end.

Jenny used only half of the dough and froze the other half, but I made 2 pans (the more the better, right?). I used strawberry freezer jam, but any jam or jelly should work. When I sampled the first bar (ok ok, first of many) I thought the strawberry taste was a little overpowering, but with later samples I thought it was perfect. These could be served with or without the glaze, but trust me they are much better with. Enjoy!

Peanut Butter & Jelly Shortbread Bars

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Bars:

4 sticks salted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

¼ cup brown sugar

½ tsp salt

3 ¾ cups flour

½ cup creamy peanut butter

½ cup strawberry jam

Glaze:

4 Tbsp melted butter

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tsp milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix butter, sugar and brown sugar until well combined. Slowly add in salt and flour until combined (dough will get thick). Line 2-8×8 inch pans with foil and coat with cooking spray. Press half of dough into each pan. Melt peanut butter and jam (separately) in the microwave for approximately 20 seconds, or until they are smooth and easy to pour. Pour half of peanut butter over each shortbread, then top with half of jelly in each pan. Using a butter knife gently swirl peanut butter and jelly (do not cut into dough). Bake for 30-35 minutes or until edges start to brown and centers are cooked through.

Remove and cool completely before topping with glaze.

To make glaze, add vanilla to the melted butter, then add powdered sugar. Stir until combined. Add milk to thin. If glaze is not thin enough you can add more milk until desired consistency. Drizzle over bars.

Tags: Bars, peanut butter, strawberry

Posted in Bars | 1 Comment »