Temptations

Today my husband locked his keys in the car. I woke up to his phone call at 11:00am, saying that I would need to a find a way to get across town, where he was reffing soccer, and get his keys and wallet out of the car. After this stressful episode today, I decided to feature my husband’s favorite dessert. It actually isn’t a dessert – it’s candy, but I made it into a dessert.

 

Andrew will do nearly anything to get any dessert that includes a Reese’s peanut butter cup. And so, I made one of my Grandma’s most common desserts. It is simple, really. Chocolate chip cookie dough with a Reese’s peanut butter cup. Our family refers to this wonderful dessert as “Temptations”.

Directions:

1. Make your favorite chocolate chip cookie dough recipe
2. Fill a cupcake pan with dough
3. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges begin to brown
4. Take pan out of the oven and insert Reese’s peanut butter cups in the center
5. Bake for another 3-4 minutes.

Thankfully, Andrew loved this tempting dessert. I think was a good ending to a stressful day. And I was also able to give some as a thank-you to the helper who broke into our car and retrieved Andrew’s keys. J

If you ever have some Reese’s on hand, give this recipe a try. I am sure you will love it!

Top Three "Last Minute" Desserts

Like anyone else out there, I often have situations that require a last minute dessert. If this hasn’t happened to you, don’t worry because it will at some point. You may forget a party that is coming up or have friends over with no more than an hour’s notice. But, what can you always have on hand to make. You need some back-up. Always.

Here are the top three “last minute” desserts that you always should have the ingredients for. Just in case something comes up- and it will!

Top 3 Must-Have Desserts on Prezi

Cupcake = Little Piece of Heaven

One of the first posts that I have planned on doing is about my recent obsession with cupcakes! However, I know nearly nothing about this delicious, wonderfully-sized dessert. So, for an answer to my questions, I was honored to have an interview with Tina Horneck. I found her to be quite an expert on the topic! J

The first cupcakes that Tina decorated were for a baby shower in October 2010, although she has been making various delicious desserts for years. She described cupcakes as ‘the perfect dessert’ – an opinion that I share, also. Over the past year and a half Tina has made various designs for baby showers, bridal showers, birthdays, holidays, and everything in between.

When I asked Tina what major components one would need to know about cupcakes, she summarized basic knowledge of cupcake making into the following two points:

1. Moisture in the cupcake is vital. A tip she gave is to make the cakes ahead of time, wrap, and freeze them until they are ready to be served so they conserve moister.
2. Four basic frostings are used for cupcake decorating. Each of these frosting is used for a different design.

·         Whipped – a light frosting made of cream and sugar

·         Buttercream – thicker frosting used for support designs

·         Royal – dries stiff and can be used for the creation of stick designs

·         Ganache – both used as filling or icing

In the future, Tina will be busy with more cake/cupcake decorating as she is planning to make the cupcakes for her brother and future sister-in-law’s wedding this summer. The theme of this design is Christmas in July. Can’t wait to see how she pulls this cupcake extravaganza off! J