Foodie Friday: Leprechaun bark , Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

Hey guys..........Yes, I know I've been MIA and I totally wouldn't blame you if you fired me, although that would mean you will miss you on all the upcoming goodies. So.....  don't fire me just accept my "it's been a crazy few weeks but I've missed you guys" apology so you can continue to keep up with the Kardashians  this crazy broad name Brittany!

So St. Patricks Day is coming up and lets face it I would really love a shot of Jameson and some green beer but since my heart condition is a major buzz kill I will have to replace the beer with mint chocolate goodness to embrace my Irish roots. Who am I kidding ? I think we all know I would have eaten the cupcake ( or two or three ) anyway, I'll just have to settle for a glass of milk for the wash down as opposed to ultimate hangover known as Irish Whiskey.

Cupcakes:

Ingredients 

2 cups sugar

1 3/4 cup flour

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 tsp mint extract ( not peppermint )

1 cup boiling water

1/4 chopped dark choc or mini dark choc chips

Instructions

1. preheat oven to 350 and line with muffin tins with liners

2. stir flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt,in a bowl

3. add in eggs, oil,vanilla extract, mint extract, and milk and beat on medium high for 2 minutes

4. add boiling water and stir in choc chips (FYI your batter should be pretty liquidy so dont freak out ;)

5.fill cupcake tins about 2/3 full and make for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted

6. cool completely before frosting

   Frosting

   Ingredients

1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons mint extract

melted chocolate for drizzle (optional)

Mint Oreo cut in half for garnish

Instructions

1.Beat butter with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy

2. Add in powdered sugar gradually (about 1/2 cup at a time) with the mixer on low speed, slowly increasing the speed until it's combined. 

3.Add in vanilla extract and mint extract, then beat on medium-high speed

 until thick and fluffy ( about 5 min) 

4. Frost cupcakes and finish with half of a mint Oreo and chocolate drizzle

Ingredients :

2 cups dark chocolate 

2 tsp mint extract

5-8 mint oreos

mint m&ms

Instructions:

1.Cut each Oreo into about 6 pieces

2.melt chocolate in microwave safe bowl 

I use the Meltables by Wilton but reg chocolate chips would work too

3. Pour melted chocolate onto a wax paper lined cookie sheet and spread evenly

4.While the chocolate is still hot place Oreos and M&Ms

 onto the melted chocolate and press down slightly

5. Place cookie sheet in the freezer for 30 minutes

6. Break the chocolate into "bark" pieces. There is no science to this

             

Hope you enjoy these sweet St. Patricks Day treats! 

Stayed tuned for the next Beauty Bag Goodie Swap ! Signups will begin tomorrow so be sure to come back and check out the details! You wont be disappointed I promise! 

Happy Friday Ya'll

Foodie Friday: Turkey Meatballs, Churro Cupcakes

I'm not the biggest fan of ground turkey because I find it to be dry and bland. Forgive my fat lovin' self but I would much rather have a juicy hamburger full of all the unhealthy stuff . But since we had some ground turkey in the freezer I thought I would make do with what we had and throw together some turkey meatballs. These actually turned out really good and juicy because of the broth that they are cooked in. These are a tasty , healthy alternative to traditional ground beef meat balls.

Ingredients:

2 lbs ground turkey
3/4 cups breadcrumbs
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 egg (whisked)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
1/2 tablespoon dried basil
1 clove garlic(minced)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 small onion chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
1-1 1/2 cups chicken broth

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl whisk egg and add in all remaining ingredients
2. Make sure all ingredients are well incorporated and form a large ball with the meat mixture. Form small meatballs 
4. Heat olive oil in a skillet on med-hi heat and add meatballs to skillet
5.Cook meatballs until browned on all sides ( total about 8-10 minutes)
6.Add 1/2 cup of chicken broth. cover and turn heat to low. cook until liquid is almost completely absorbed about 7-10 minutes. add remaining 1/2 cup of broth and turn heat up to medium high . cook uncovered until liquid is almost all absorbed 

Churro Cupcakes

Last week when I shared the recipe for the Reeses cupcakes that I made for my brothers birthday I got I few requests for the Churro cupcakes that I also made for last weeks festivities. So , as promised, here it is :)

Ingredients 

Cupcakes

2 egg yolks + 1 egg at room temp

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup butter (softened)

2 tsp vanilla

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Frosting

5 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup salted butter, softened

2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Instructions

• Cupcakes
• 1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• 2.Whisk the eggs in a large bowl and mix in butter , vanilla, and sour cream
• 3.In a separate bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Stir ingredients
• 4. slowly add in dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix for about 1-2 minutes or until filly mixed
• 5.Pour batter into cupcake liners and bake for 16-20 minutes, or until a tooth pick comes clean. Do not over bake! Allow cupcakes to cool before frosting
• 
  
• Frosting 
• 1.Beat cream cheese and butter together until smooth 
• 2. Slowly add in powdered sugar and continue to mix.
• 3. Add in vanilla and cinnamon and continue to mix until smooth and creamy.
• 4.Frost cupcakes and sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top. If you don't have premixed cinnamon sugar you can combine one tsp of cinnamon and one teaspoon of sugar together and sprinkle on top.

I hope you get a chance to try these recipes out and when you do let me know what you think !

Now it's time to break it down with Whit on this lovely Back That Azz Up Friday ! This weeks song Katy Perry Dark Horse. I start envisioning choreography every single time I hear the first beat drop. The breakdown is so perfect for a large group dance . Excuse my hip-hop obsessions once a dancer always a dancer.

   

Foodie Friday: Rainbow Cupcakes , Dark Chocolate Merlot Cupcakes

My Christmas present this year was my gorgeous boysenberry colored Kitchenaid Mixer which means lots and lots of upcoming baking .I've never been the New Years resolution type and especially not the "eat healthier in the new year" type . I'm a dessert junkie and that's just the way it is ;)

Needless to say,this Foodie Friday includes two delicious cupcake recipes that I whipped up for New Years Eve with the help of my trusty Sous Chef.She helped me bake up a batch of Rainbow cupcakes for the kids to eat and I mixed up some special cupcakes for the adults. The "grown up cupcakes " were dark chocolate & Merlot ..... It's ok to drool, they were as good as they sound!

 The base for the rainbow cupcakes is a basic vanilla cupcake.Once the batter is made up distribute evenly into 6 bowls . I have ramekins that are the perfect size so that's what I used. Add food coloring to each bowl of batter to make one bowl of each color of the rainbow: red,orange,yellow,green,blue,purple. Use cupcake liners in your cupcake pan and spoon small amounts of each colored batter into each cupcake liner. We started backwards (purple first and red last) so that when they baked up they would follow the colors of the rainbow. If you want even layers of each color I suggest using a piping bag to ensure uniformity. We went with the easy way and when we didn't get them perfect they turned into "tie-dye" cupcakes :) Here is the Vanilla cake recipe that we used. 

             Dark Chocolate Merlot Cupcakes

Ingredients:

cupcakes

1 1/8 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup milk (2% or higher)
3 tablespoons merlot
8 ounces of high-quality dark chocolate chips  

                                                           frosting

1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

7 tablespoons merlot

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

melted chocolate for drizzle

chocolate sprinkles for topping

Instructions:

cupcakes
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees 
2.Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, powder and salt. Set aside. Line a cupcake tin with liners.
3.In a bowl, whisk egg, oil and sugar until together until smooth and no lumps remain.
4. Add melted butter, merlot and vanilla and mix until combined.
5. Add half of the dry ingredients, stirring to combine.
6. Add the milk then the remaining dry ingredients. Mix until batter until smooth. Fold in chocolate chips. 
7.Fill cupcake tins 3/4 of the way full and bake for 15-18 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting.

frosting
1.Beat butter with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy
2. Add in powdered sugar gradually (about 1/2 cup at a time) with the mixer on low speed, slowly increasing the speed until it's combined. 
3.Add in vanilla extract and merlot, then beat on medium-high speed until thick and fluffy ( about 5 min) 
4. Frost cupcakes and finish with chocolate sprinkles.

The flavor of the Merlot is delicious but not too strong so you could indulge in a glass of Merlot while enjoying your cupcakes ;)

Thank you for checking out this week's Foodie Friday post. If you try any of these recipes be sure to leave me a comment and let me know how you like it:)