peppermint kiss brownie bites*

Happy December! I cannot believe it is almost Christmas! This year I think we are going to be scrooge's and not even put up a tree. Not because we don't love our Christmas tree, but because right now our front room is still bare, and it would practically be the only thing in the room. It seems like a lot of work for it to just sit there all by its lonesome, without even any furniture for us to sit in to admire its beauty. We are buying each other couches for Christmas, however, so our room will soon not be so bare and next year I will definitely be more festive!

And I swear this year I am going to buy new tree decorations after Christmas when they are on sale! I have told myself that I was going to do this the last 2 years, but I think the hard part is where you won't even get to use them for almost a year. Doesn't make the shopping as much fun as if it would if you were to buy them right before. But this year is the year.

I am in LOVE with these peppermint kiss brownie bites! Only mine didn't really turn out to be 'bites'. I didn't make mine in a mini muffin tin, but in a regular-sized muffin tin. I made these for dessert for the students, and dessert is a really big treat since they only get dessert about once a week, so I figured they were appreciate a bigger 'bite'. And man, they did not disappoint! I could eat one of these every single day, especially during the Christmas season! You must make these for your next Christmas party or family get-together, or maybe just because it's a Tuesday. Whatever your reason, it's a great one if you have one of these little guys in tow!

Peppermint Kiss Brownie Bites
adapted from Picky Palate

mint oreo cream filled chocolate cupcakes*

Ok, it's time to get down to business. I just made a list of all of the recipes that I have yet to blog, and I have 29 that I need to catch up on! TWENTY-NINE! Now that is some serious slacking. I promise that my goal for April is to keep up on my blog and give you some wonderfully DELICIOUS recipes!

These cupcakes are simply heaven. They are so amazing! We have been on a mint kick lately - at least since St. Patty's day. One of my favorite food combos is mint and chocolate. Those are two things that were made for each other! This was the first time I have ever had a mint Oreo, and I must admit, pretty darn good. I'm not a huge Oreo fan - well, that's a lie. I like the cookie part (I have Landon eat the middle). But the fact that the middle is pretty much pure shortening freaks me out. But if I'm going to pick, I would definitely pick the mint ones. They are pretty tasty.

We made these for dessert for dinner on Thursday. Thursday was the last day for the Biggest Loser at work, so we were all excited to do our final weigh in and then get to indulge in one of these babies! And indulge we did! We made a couple extra because I was bound and determined to eat 10. Extreme?? Maybe. I only ended up eating 1 1/2. I was so excited to eat everything in my sight, that I got full before hardly eating anything. In the end it was probably a good thing, but I do wish I would have eaten at least a couple more of these cupcakes before they were all gone! The kids definitely gobbled these little guys all up!

Mint Oreo Cream Filled Chocolate Cupcakes
from Sweet Treats and More

Mint Oreo Cream Filled Chocolate Cupcakes

1 box chocolate cake mix (along with water, oil, and eggs required)

Make cupcakes according to directions on the box. Let cool completely. Cut a cone-like shape out of the center of each cupcake (hallowing out). Set cupcakes aside.

Mint Oreo Cream Filling

12 mint oreos, crushed or chopped in food processor.

1 c. Whipping cream
3 tbs sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp mint exctract

Beat cream, sugar, and vanilla at high speed for about 5 minutes, until soft peaks form then mix in crushed mint oreos.

Spoon the cream filling into each of the cupcakes (or you can put the big star tip into your pastry bag and simply push the tip into the cupcake and squeeze the filling inside).

Place cupcakes in the freezer for 15-20 minutes. In the meantime crush 5 or 6 more oreos and set aside. Remove cupcakes and immediately frost with chocolate frosting (I used this amazing chocolate frosting recipe). Sprinkle crushed oreos over the top.

And finally...DIG IN!

If these don't cure your sweet tooth - nothing will. Simply AMAZING. And if you don't have time to make the cupcake, just make the filling and eat it with a spoon. Seriously. Do it. You won't regret it!


-alyssa*

chocolate mint grasshopper cupcakes*

Here is round 2 of our St. Patty's Day celebration! I actually made this recipe around Christmas time and handed them out to some of my fellow co-workers as Christmas gifts. Only instead of a cupcake it was a cupcake in a jar, and it was peppermint fudge for the holiday. I have never done any canning in my life, so I was excited to feel like a homemaker and use my jar for none other than a cupcake (much better than canned peaches right?). Anyway, I thought that recipe would be equally delicious as a chocolate mint grasshopper cupcake!

Let's talk grasshopper cookies for a minute. If you don't like grasshopper cookies, you are crazy. If you have never had one, what on earth are you waiting for??? They are a replica of the Girl Scouts cookies Thin Mints, only they are available year round. Personally I think that Keebler makes Thin Mints, but that is strictly my own opinion. Anyway, they are amazing and one of my top all time favorite cookies EVER.

Chocolate Mint Grasshopper Cupcakes

adapted from Our Best Bites

1 box chocolate cake mix (I used milk chocolate mix)

Make and bake the cupcakes according to the directions on the box. When done baking, set them aside to cool for at least 30 minutes.

Mint Ganache

4 oz semi-sweet chocolate (chocolate chips are fine)

1/2 C heavy cream

1/4 tsp mint extract

Place chocolate chips in a bowl.  Heat cream in microwave until bubbles form around the outside.  Pour in bowl over chocolate chips and immediately cover bowl with plastic wrap.  Let sit for 5 minutes, add peppermint extract and then whisk until smooth.  Let cool un-covered until thickened slightly, almost like a thin pudding.

To assemble, use a paring knife to first hollow out a well in the middle of the cake. Pour ganache until the hole is full. Let sit for about 10 minutes until the ganache has started to harden. Then dip the top of the cupcake into the ganache.

Perfect Cupcake Frosting and Filling

adapted from Our Best Bites

3 T Flour
1/2 C milk (whole milk is best, but I used non-fat when it's all I have and it's actually fine)
1/2 C real butter
1/2 C sugar (that's granulated sugar, not powdered sugar)
1 t vanilla extract, or other flavor if you wish.

green food coloring

Whisk together the flour and the milk. Heat in a small sauce pan on medium heat. Whisk continuously until it starts to thicken. I think this is the critical point for any of you who have had problems with this recipe. I have a feeling people are under-cooking this part. Let it cook, while stirring, until it looks like pudding (you should be able to see the bottom of the pan when you stir it). Even though it's thick, you can still it through a mesh strainer (just whisk the mixture in the strainer to push the thick stuff through) and then let it cool completely to room temp. or chill it in the fridge. It needs to be cooled completely. If you don't let it cool completely, it will melt the butter and you'll have runny frosting.

It an electric stand mixer, beat the butter and the sugar for a minute or two until well combined and fluffy. You'll want to use the whisk attachment on a stand mixer, not the flat paddle. Then while beating, add in the thickened milk mixture and the vanilla. Beat on the highest speed you can get to without it spraying all over the place for 7 minutes. Yes, 7 whole minutes, maybe even 8 or 9. I know that seems like a long time, but that's when the magic happens!

You will be scared because it will look like a weird goopy mess at first and you'll wonder what on earth you did wrong. 

Keep beating and something amazing happens. It goes from that goopy mess to something thick, velvety smooth, and perfectly fluffy.

At this point add your food coloring. Then put your frosting in a pastry bag with the big star tip. Place the tip in the center of the cupcake and press your frosting out until you have a cute little dollop. Then, the best part. Top with a 1/2 piece of those AMAZING grasshopper cookies! MMMmmmmMMM!!!

Does it get any better than this people?? Does it? I really don't think so.

Heads up on great things to come! Tomorrow I am going to my brother-in-laws parents cabin up in the Uintah's (again, I don't know how it's spelled...) and I am going to be making coconutty sweet chex mix, cookie dough stuffed cupcakes, and creamy crepes with lemon strawberries. Tune in next week for the reveal of these delicious goodies! HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

-alyssa*

chocolate mint brownies*

HAPPY ST. PATTY'S DAY TO ALL! One of things I LOVE about my new position is the fact that every holiday big or small are equally exciting! Sarah (my best assistant) and I were talking today about how each holiday gives us an excuse to make AMAZING things, so for that thank you St. Patty's Day for existing! Without you these two desserts may have never come into our lives!

Today we made chocolate mint brownies, as well as some chocolate mint grasshopper cupcakes. And for breakfast, green eggs and ham. Dang, I forgot to take a picture of the eggs! They were as green as a leprechaun for real! I am sure the kids weren't huge fans of them, but they will be something that they hopefully remember for years to come. So let's hop to it (oh wait, Easter isn't for a few weeks...) and I'll show you how to make these incredibly amazingly yummy and EASY chocolate mint brownies!

Chocolate Mint Brownies
from Betty Crocker

Brownie Base 

1

box (1 lb 2.4 oz) Betty Crocker® Original Supreme Premium brownie mix

Water, vegetable oil and egg called for on brownie mix box 

Filling 

2 1/2

  cups powdered sugar

3 

tablespoons butter or margarine, softened

3 

tablespoons whipping cream

2

  oz cream cheese, softened (from 3 oz package)

1/8

  to 1/4 teaspoon mint extract

2

  drops green food color 

Topping 

1/3

 cup whipping cream

1 1/3 

cups (8 oz) semisweet chocolate chips

1/3

  cup butter (do not use margarine) 

Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Grease bottom only of 9-inch square pan with shortening or cooking spray. (For easier cutting, line pan with foil, then grease foil on bottom only of pan.) Make and bake brownie mix as directed on box. Cool completely, about 1 1/2 hours. 

In large bowl, beat filling ingredients with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Spread over cooled brownies. Refrigerate about 1 hour or until set. 

 

Meanwhile, in 2-quart nonstick saucepan, heat topping ingredients over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until melted and smooth. Cool about 10 minutes or until lukewarm. 

Pour topping over filling; spread to cover. Refrigerate uncovered about 2 hours or until set. 

Before cutting into bars, let stand 10 minutes at room temperature. For bars, cut into 5 rows by 4 rows. Store covered in refrigerator.

Makes 20 brownies

So cute huh!!!! Now move on to my next post where I will reveal our chocolate mint grasshopper cupcakes!

-alyssa*