Kick the Can Cranberry Sauce

Brace yourself... today's recipe is not a dessert.  (I know!)  However, it may change your life - I kid you not.

What am I sharing with you today?  The answer is simple - cranberry sauce.  You might be wondering what's so special about cranberry sauce.  After all, isn't that just the can-shaped item that gets plopped onto a plate every Thanksgiving?  Au contraire... homemade cranberry sauce puts that stuff to shame. 

Consider me a cranberry evangelist (ecrangelist?) - I'm here to spread the word.  Kick the can this year - you won't regret it.  This recipe is so simple, yet so delicious.  You only need three ingredients - cranberries, orange juice, and sugar.

These three simmer for a while, and magic happens.  (Sometimes an overflowing stockpot happens too... it's okay. Embrace it.)  Here's the recipe:

Kick the Can Cranberry Sauce

4 cups cranberries
1 cup orange juice
2 cups sugar

Bring cranberries and orange juice to a boil in a large stockpot.  Add sugar and return to a boil.  Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the cranberries have popped.  (I recommend lowering the heat - simmer on low if possible.  You'll need to check the sauce periodically - it will occasionally overflow if you don't.  I wouldn't recommend leaving it completely unattended, although you can easily do other things in the kitchen while it's simmering away.)

Remove pan from heat.  Allow sauce to cool slightly.  While it's still warm, pour sauce into containers.  (When it cools to room temperature, it will look kind of like cranberry jam... and it will be delicious.)  Refrigerate until ready to use.  (You can freeze it too, if you want to save some for the future.)

Makes approximately 3 cups.

I told you it was easy.  It's also a snap to adjust quantities - to make more or less, just remember a 4:1:2 ratio of cranberries to OJ to sugar.  (I just made a slightly larger batch using 6 cups cranberries, 1 1/2 cups orange juice and 3 cups sugar.)

So, have I convinced you to kick the can and embrace the cran?  (I can't even believe how cheesy I just sounded.)

Happy Thanksgiving!  Perhaps you'll see this cranberry sauce again in a future dessert post...

Pumpkin cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese

For this month's Improv Cooking Challenge (hosted by Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker), the secret ingredients were pumpkin and cream cheese (another winning combo).  While trying to decide what to make, I stumbled upon this cute idea from Duncan Hines.  Cupcakes that looked like pumpkins seemed like the way to go.

Inspired, I set out to create a pumpkin cupcake with cream cheese icing that would look something like a pumpkin.  My version is a little more rustic, but I like it.

Candy corn bark

Today, I have a quick and easy treat to share with you...

All you need is a microwave, a sheet pan, and 5 ingredients.  Ready?

Candy Corn Bark
Adapted slightly from The Recipe Girl

Crushed oreos
Crushed pretzel sticks
Candy corn
White bark coating or white candy melts (approx. 16 oz.)
Chocolate sprinkles

1. Line rimmed baking sheet with wax paper.  
2. Spread oreos, pretzel sticks & candy corn in single layer.  (You can play with the amounts to fill the pan as needed - leave a little room at the edges.)  
3. Melt white bark coating and pour over the cookies, candy & pretzels.  Garnish top with additional candy corn and chocolate sprinkles.  
4. Put pan in freezer to set.  Once hardened, break into pieces and serve.

Cinnamon Caramel Apple Trifle

Today, I'm excited to take part in my first Improv Cooking Challenge from Lady Behind the Curtain!  (It's kind of like Iron Chef meets Chopped meets blogging.) This month, the challenge ingredients are apple and caramel - can't go wrong with that combo.

I thought about doing a cupcake, but I recently hosted a dinner party and decided to go with something a little different.  I had a trifle dish that I'd never used, and I wanted a dessert I could make in advance and not have to worry about.  Thus, I decided on a caramel apple trifle.  (Recipe appears at the bottom of this post.)

Are you ready for some football?

Somehow, I've managed to make it through week 5 of the NFL season with a 4-1 record in my fantasy football league.  I'm pretty proud of my team (the Rush Puppies), especially considering how poorly the season started last year.

Although I'm not really a fantasy football wizard, I like to think that I am a wizard when it comes to throwing a good party.  (I'm so modest, right?) 

So, if you're having friends over to watch a game, you might want to try out these cake pops.  (I made them for the Super Bowl last year, and I hope to make them again soon.)

I took my inspiration from Bakerella and made some cake pops in the shape of footballs.  You can find the basic instructions for making cake pops here.   

For these, I used chocolate cake mixed with chocolate icing.  Then I shaped them into little footballs and chilled them in the freezer.  I melted some chocolate chips and shortening together to dip them in and drew the laces on with white icing.  (Tip: the smaller ones held up a bit better, as the weight of the footballs made a few too heavy to stay on the stick.) 

They were adorable, and tasty too!

Do you make any fun football-themed desserts?

Monkeying around

As you can tell, I have been neglecting my humble little cupcake blog of late.  While it does take a back seat to the puppy one, I am a little embarrassed that I haven't posted in so long.

My baking time has been limited of late; however, with the holidays around the corner, that's about to change.  For example, I'm hosting a pumpkin carving party in October, so I'll have Halloween cupcakes, other holiday treats, and party ideas to share.  I'll also link to some cool ideas I've found on the Interwebs to share the cute.  Stay tuned - I plan to give this blog some TLC in the near future (and I don't mean that I'm going to sing "Don't go chasing waterfalls").  

Anyway, today I want to share with you a cupcake from my past.  I hosted a baby shower for a friend some time ago (in my pre-blog days).  The party had a sock monkey theme, so I made some monkey cupcakes.  Check them out - cute AND tasty.

(Note: the shower was also during my pre-awesome DSLR days.  Apologies for the photo quality.)

For instructions on how to decorate your own monkey cupcakes (and for some better photos), visit Amber's Delectable Delights.

The snouts are made of vanilla wafers (which I always have on hand in case I have the spontaneous desire to whip up some banana pudding... no wonder I felt an affinity for these monkey cupcakes).  For the ears, I chose mini-Nutter Butter cookies, but as Amber notes, you can use regular Nutter Butters as well.  I used M&Ms for the eyes.  Dab on some icing, and you're good to go!

You can use any cake/frosting combo - I went with a classic yellow cake and chocolate frosting.  Happy baking!

I'll have a scoop of the (mint) chocolate chip

This post was almost titled "why you should check your cabinets for ingredients before you start baking," but I decided that was a bit wordy.  In any event, let my story serve as a cautionary tale...

As you know, I've been in an ice cream-inspired mood of late.  So, when deciding what to make for a barbecue two weeks ago (obviously, I'm on blogging delay), I decided to go with something classic - just a basic cupcake inspired by some of my favorite ice cream flavors.  Chocolate chip ice cream or mint chocolate chip ice cream?  Why choose when you can have both?

I thought these turned out pretty well... don't they look like two scoops of ice cream waiting to be enjoyed?

I decided to do a simple chocolate cupcake as my base.  I found this recipe for One-Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes on Sprinkle Bakes, and it seemed like the perfect choice.  (My dear reader, do yourself a favor and click over to see what Sprinkle Bakes did with those chocolate cupcakes.  It's awesome.)  I with the cupcakes had been a tad more moist... so I think I'd make a few tweaks next time.  However, I was somewhat scattered that day, so perhaps I wasn't at the top of my game.  Exhibit A: I barely had enough sugar to make the cupcakes.  Once I'd measured it all out, my sugar supply looked like this:

I've never used all of my sugar before!  I usually have plenty on hand.  I should have recognized this bad omen and checked to make sure I wasn't running low on anything else, but I did not...

In any event... for the frosting, I decided to make two flavors - chocolate chip and mint chocolate chip.  (Recipe appears at the end of the post.)  After I creamed the butter, I realized that I was completely out of powdered sugar!  That's also something that has never happened to me before - I generally buy it in bulk from Costco.  I'm the only person I know who keeps 7 pound bags of powdered sugar on hand... and yet, I was out.  So, I left the butter in the mixing bowl and made an emergency run to the grocery store for powdered sugar.  Once that crisis was averted, I returned home to finish making the frosting.  Here are a few photos of the finished product - they were pretty tasty!

(Mint) Chocolate Chip Buttercream

2 sticks of unsalted butter (room temperature)
1 box  of powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 tbsp. milk
6 oz. mini-chocolate chips
1 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
24 drops green food coloring

Cream butter in mixer on low speed.  (I'm a Kitchen Aid addict - buttercream is a snap when you can use a stand mixer.)  Slowly add powdered sugar and mix until smooth.  Add vanilla extract and milk - beat on medium speed until creamy.  Add chocolate chips and mix on low speed until incorporated throughout.

Divide frosting into two portions.  Remove half from mixing bowl and set aside - that's your chocolate chip buttercream.  Add peppermint extract and food coloring to remaining frosting.  Mix on low speed until frosting is a consistent green color.  (Add more food coloring if you want a darker green color.)