Nutella-Filled Cupcakes!

Nutella is becoming a worldwide favorite everywhere. If you haven't heard of Nutella, basically it's a chocolate hazelnut spread with the texture of peanut butter. I made vanilla cupcakes yesterday and wanted to add something new to it, besides just frosting. So then I remembered having cupcakes with Nutella added to them, and decided to give it a shot. They turned out delicious! And they’re really easy to make.

All you have to do to add a Nutella filling to your cupcakes is this:

Make the flavor of cake of your choice. (I recommend white cake rather than chocolate to balance out the flavor) 

When they are baked and half-cooled, take a knife and cut a cone shape on the top of the cupcake. 

Next take your Nutella and fill in the the cone and place the top of the cupcake back on. 

Optional: Apply frosting to the top of the cupcake to cover up the cracks. 

A new twist on Hershey's Peanut Butter Blossoms!

Hershey's Peanut Butter Blossoms are a unique American favorite that just about everyone enjoys regardless of their cookie preferences. Peanut Butter Blossoms are basically small, puffy peanut butter cookies with a Hershey's kiss in the center. Recently I made these but found out I didn't have any Hershey's kisses, which are the main part of the cookie. So, I improvised and found that Hershey's chocolate squares work just as well! I actually liked using the squares rather than the kisses, because the squares are much more soft and easy to bite into. The kisses have a tendency to be messy because you can't really bite off a portion of the kiss, since it's hard.

Here’s the recipe I found online for you to try:

48 HERSHEY'S bar squares

1/2 cup shortening

3/4 cup REESE'S Creamy Peanut Butter

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1 egg

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Granulated sugar

1.    Heat oven to 375°F. Remove wrappers from chocolates. 

2.    Beat shortening and peanut butter in large bowl until well blended. Add 1/3 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture. 

3.    Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar; place on ungreased cookie sheet. 

4.    Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately press a chocolate into center of each
cookie; cookie will crack around edges. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely.

Source: Hershey's.com 

 Be sure to try this out sometime and tell me what you think! Check out the pictures below, as well. Enjoy!

Puppy Chow...

If you're ever looking to make a delicious snack that doesn't take long, Puppy Chow (Muddy Buddys) are the perfect food. It’s basically Chex Mix coated with a chocolate spread and powdered sugar. Puppy Chow is highly addicting, I will warn you, but it’s perfect if you’re having a group get-together or if you need to bring a snack somewhere. The best part about this snack is that it’s super easy to make- and also only takes around 10 minutes or less to make.

To make it:

Pour 9 cups of Chex Mix in a bowl and set it aside. 

Then melt in microwave on high for 1 minute:

1/4 cup butter, 1 cup chocolate chips & 1/2 cup of peanut butter in microwave for one min. (or until smooth) After it's all smooth, add 1 teaspoon of vanilla. 

Now pour the mixture over the Chex Mix and stir it in until the Mix is completely coated. 

Pour it into a 2-gallon resealable bag and add 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar. 

Shake the whole bag until the cereal is coated with the powdered sugar. (This doesn't take long) 

Then you're done! I hope you try making this sometime... it's a great quick-and-easy snack!

 

Puppy Chow (Muddy Buddies)













Puppy Chow up close......

Cake Pops!

I had actually never even heard of cake pops until I recently got one at a bakery and then researched how to make them.

Basically all you have to do is:

Make a regular cake (any flavor). I think it’s easier to use a box mix because the flavor isn’t much different since you’re just going to be crumbling up the cake anyway. Then break it up into small scraps, and finally add chocolate frosting and mix it until it's blended into a 'doughy' texture. (You'll have to use your hands to mix it to make the play-dough texture.) Then you roll them into balls, put a lolly pop stick in the center, and freeze them for about an hour, or until slightly hardened. Then pour a chocolate (or any flavor) sauce on top. I also think if you decorate them with sprinkles or, if you want to go over the top, decorate them with icing they look a lot more fun. :) 

Hint: When I made them I put in too much frosting in with the cake, so then they turned to be very sticky and too moist..... so be careful how much frosting you add!

Hope you decide to make them sometime!

The ingredients you'll need. 
(The white chocolate is for if you want to make white chocolate sauce to go over your cake pop, and the M&M's/sprinkles are for decorating)






These are the basic steps to making a cake pop: