Baking Junkie

Misc. Category

Sunday, December 4th, 2011

Cookies and Cream Bark

I imagine that many of you have been busy baking away in your kitchens. I usually try to spend one long day in the kitchen doing all of my holiday baking at once. Because of my schedule this year that isn’t possible, so I am spacing things out and just baking one thing here and there. My biggest dilemma is trying to find the balance between making all of my traditional goodies and also trying to add in some new recipes as well. I decided to kick things off with something new, and this is the recipe I chose.

It helps that it only requires two ingredients!

I have made various different barks in the past, but not for several years. I loved this recipe because of it’s simplicity, but mainly because of it’s taste. One piece was usually not enough for me. You know that something is good when Derek has to hide it from me! Enjoy!

Cookies and Cream Bark
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15 Oreo cookies, coarsely chopped
1 (12 0z) bag white chocolate chips

Place the chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 30 second intervals until melted, stirring after each interval.

Once the chocolate has melted, mix in cookies. Pour onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper, smoothing out with a spatula. Chill for approximately 10 minutes, or until chocolate has hardened. Remove from wax paper and break into pieces.

Tags: Candy, chocolate, Christmas, No Bake, Oreo, White chocolate

Posted in Misc. | 2 Comments »

Wednesday, November 9th, 2011

No Bake Energy Balls

Recipe adapted from Smashed Peas and Carrots

This is another fabulous recipe that I found on Pinterest, and I can gaurantee you it will not be the last.

These are incredibly easy to make. I have many friends who say they cannot bake, but trust me, anyone can throw these together. You simply mix together all of the ingredients, chill in the refrigerator, and roll into balls! What I love about the recipe is how easy it is to make substitutions. I added butterscotch chips, which I thought added a great fall-like flavor. I am planning on making these around the holiday season with some red and green M&Ms added in. I kept these in my refrigerator and grabbed a few at a time for a quick and easy snack. Enjoy!

No Bake Energy Balls
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1 cup quick cooking oats
½ cup creamy peanut butter
⅓ cup honey
1 cup coconut flakes
½ cup ground flaxseed
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup mini chocolate chips
¼ cup butterscotch chips

In a medium sized bowl mix together all of the ingredients until well combined. Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Roll into balls. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Tags: Butterscotch, chocolate, Coconut, No Bake, Oatmeal, peanut butter

Posted in Misc. | 6 Comments »

Monday, June 27th, 2011

Wedding Cupcakes

I have mentioned it a few times before, but a friend/co-worker of mine asked me to make cupcakes for her wedding, which happened to take place this past weekend. This was the first wedding I have ever baked anything for, and my first big event in general. I had tried out all of the recipes ahead of time so I knew there would be no surprises. I honestly didn’t get nervous until the day before I baked everything (the day before the wedding), but it quickly turned to excitement.

I vastly underestimated how much work making 260 cupcakes would be. All in all it was a long 10 hour day spent in the kitchen, covering myself with flour, powdered sugar and frosting. I was completely exhausted, with a very sore right shoulder and hand by the end of the day. Luckily I had some helpers along the way. I wouldn’t rule out doing any more weddings or big events, but I would definitely try making as much as I could ahead of time!

It ended up being a beautiful day for the wedding, and the cupcakes seemed to be a huge hit. They were gone probably about an hour into the reception!

Here are the links to all the recipes I used:

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Almond Delight Cupcakes

Carrot Cake (Cupcakes)

Chocolate Cherry Coke Cupcakes

I also made some plain vanilla and chocolate cupcakes topped with either vanilla or hot chocolate buttercream (recipe to come)!

Congratulations Heather and Matt!

Tags: Buttercream, Cupcakes

Posted in Cupcakes, Misc. | 7 Comments »

Thursday, December 30th, 2010

Christmas Gifts and Top Recipes of 2010

I hope you all haven’t minded my absence over the past week or so. I have been enjoying a much needed “staycation” away from both work and blogging. I can’t even begin to tell you how well rested and stress free I feel right now!

I hope you all had a great Christmas. Ours was wonderful as usual, and we were completely spoiled by our families. Of course I received several presents that are relevant for the blog so I wanted to share them with you!

This lens was my present from Derek. I have to be honest, this wasn’t much of a surprise, since I have been wanting this lens ever since I got my digital SLR camera in April. I informed Derek that I didn’t care who it came from, but he needed to make sure that someone got this for me for Christmas. He was sneaky about it and hid it inside the tree so that I never saw it until we opened our gifts!

This was the other big present I really wanted this year, an ice cream maker attachment for my KitchenAid mixer. I have seen a lot of homemade ice cream recipes on blogs this year and have been dying to try my own. I haven’t had the opportunity to use it yet but have plans to try it next weekend.

I am so excited about getting Booze Cakes from my sister-in-law. There are so many delicious looking recipes that I am dying to try!

I also received a doughnut pan so I can make them baked instead of fried, and a book on how to create cute little characters with marzipan and fondant, plus a few cupcake calendars and an adorable cupcake apron.

I hope you all were spoiled as well!

Since it is the end of the year I have been looking forward to doing a bit of a recap of the past 6 months of blogging. These are the recipes that you guys have been looking at the most!

TOP TEN POPULAR RECIPES

10. Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies
9. Special K Bars
8. Cinnamon Sugar Pretzels
7. Pudding Shots
6. Graham Cracker Caramel Apple Cookies
5. Caramel Corn
4. Strawberry Golden Oreo Cupcakes
3. Dutch Apple Cheesecake
2. Halloween Oreo Cupcakes
1. Pumpkin Bread

Since Derek is the official Baking Junkie taste tester, I also had him compile a list of his top favorites.

DEREK’S TOP TEN FAVORITES

10. Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes
9. Glazed Doughnut Muffins
8. Cinnamon Rolls
7. Chocolate Peanut Butter Blowout Cookies
6. Candy Cane Cake
5. White Chocolate Chip Blondies
4. Caramel Apple Bars
3. Oatmeal Carmelitas
2. Beer Bread
1. Double Chocolate Cookie Dough Cupcakes

And last but not least, here is a list of my personal top ten favorites. I have to say that I have enjoyed everything that you’ve seen on the site so this was REALLY hard for me, but here they are.

AIMEE’S TOP TEN FAVORITES

10. Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
9. Chocolate Peanut Butter Blowout Cookies
8. Graham Cracker Caramel Apple Cookies
7. Pumpkin Apple Streusel Muffins
6. Candy Cane Cake
5. Caramel Apple Bars
4. Lemon Bars
3. S’more Cookie Bars
2. Cinnamon Rolls
1. Double Chocolate Cookie Dough Cupcakes

As you can see the Cookie Dough cupcakes are quite popular around here, and I have made them more than anything else from the blog (I think the count is up to 8 times since July)! They are hugely popular whenever I make them and are my most requested item.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect when I started blogging in June, but you guys have all blown me away with your kindness and comments. I truly read and appreciate every single one. If you have any special requests or anything particular you would like to see more of I would love to hear about it! Do you like step by step pictures? More personal stories and pictures? More of a certain kind of dessert? Please let me know!

Just a reminder, you can also follow Baking Junkie on Facebook and Twitter.

I hope you all have a safe and happy New Year’s. I will be back with more recipes next week!

Aimee

Posted in Misc. | 1 Comment »

Tuesday, November 30th, 2010

Pudding Shots

It’s Christmas time, which inevitably means Christmas parties right? I am telling you right now, if you are hosting (or attending) a Christmas party this year you MUST serve (or bring) these pudding shots! I don’t often demand things of you (just my husband), so you know these have to be fabulous!

Everyone is familiar with jello shots, but I don’t really care for jello so they aren’t my favorite. THESE, however, are my favorite! I got the recipe from a friend, who got the recipe from her neighbor. These are not only easy to make, but the pudding and alcohol flavors can be easily substituted. We most commonly make these with chocolate, and I recommend using plain chocolate pudding instead of devil’s food. Recently we also used cheesecake pudding with cherry vodka (in place of the Baileys), and the highlight of our recent party was butterscotch pudding with butterscotch schnapps (pictured above). There are so many possibilities! If you make these with different flavor combinations I’d love to hear about them. Enjoy!

Pudding Shots
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1 box instant pudding (3.4 oz)
¾ cup milk
¼ cup vodka
½ cup Baileys Irish Cream
8 oz cool whip, room temperature

Mix together pudding and milk, then add remaining ingredients. Pour into dixie cups or disposable shot glasses, filling ⅔ to ¾ full. Refrigerate at least one hour to set.

Tags: Alcohol, No Bake, Pudding

Posted in Misc. | 9 Comments »