Name: Milky Way Cupcakes
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 24
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 chocolate cake mix; 3 large eggs; 1 1/3 cups water; 1/2 cup oil; 1/4 cup sour cream; 1/4 cup dark cocoa powder; 2 Tablespoons instant coffee (optional); 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream; 1 cup chocolate chips; 1 cup + 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened and divided; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1/8 teaspoon salt; 2 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream; 4 cups powdered sugar; 8 snack size Milky Way candy bars + extra for garnish

Pumpkin Spice Brownie Bites

These Pumpkin Spice Brownie Bites are the perfect way to enjoy a chilly fall day.

I bought a bag of yummy pumpkin spice kisses last week at Target.

I hope you have them in your town, because they didn't last very long in our house. I mean come on, it was chocolate and pumpkin.

What's not to love???

[Read more...]

Milky Way Cupcakes

Melted candy bars added to frosting makes an impressive cupcake to serve to anyone. These Milky Way Cupcakes with a hidden chocolate center did not last long at all around here.

How about a cupcake to drool over for the weekend???

As you know, I am all about being a crazy baking lady 🙂
And this week was no different than most...
I had the urge to melt something and
add it to my butter cream frosting.

Because that is just what I need...
more sugar added to a buttery sugary frosting.

The "star" of this cupcake is the Milk Way Bar.
Did you know that most candy bars
can be melted down and whipped into
your fav butter cream frosting recipe?

Hhhhmmmm,,,now I am wondering what else to melt down???
Nothing will be safe in my kitchen for now 🙂

Recipe

Milky Way Cupcakes

Yield: 24 cupcakes

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

A hidden chocolate center and Milky Way frosting turn these rich chocolate cupcakes into a delicious treat.

Ingredients

For the Cupcakes

1 chocolate cake mix
3 large eggs
1 ⅓ cups water
½ cup oil
¼ cup sour cream
¼ cup dark cocoa powder
2 Tablespoons instant coffee (optional)

For the Filling

½ cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup chocolate chips

For the Milky Way frosting

1 cup + 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened and divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
⅛ teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream
4 cups powdered sugar
8 snack size Milky Way candy bars + extra for garnish

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place 24 cupcake liners in muffin tins.
Place all of the cupcake ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Beat for 2-3 minutes.
Fill cupcake liners ¾ full and bake for 20-22 minutes. Let cool completely.
Remove the center of the cupcake with a cupcake corer.
Heat the chocolate chips and ½ cup heavy whipping cream in a microwave safe bowl for 30 seconds. Stir until creamy.
Fill the cupcake center with a spoonful of the chocolate.
Beat 1 cup softened butter, vanilla, salt, and 2 tablespoons of whipping cream until creamy. Slowly add sugar until thick. Set aside.
Cut the Milky Way bars up and put in sauce pan with the 3 tablespoons of extra butter. Stir over medium heat until it is melted.
Beat the frosting again and slowly add the melted candy bars as it mixes. Whip for 2-3 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
Frost the top of the cupcakes with the frosting and top with extra candy bars, if desired.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 24 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 294Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 37mgSodium: 66mgCarbohydrates: 39gFiber: 1gSugar: 34gProtein: 2g

Nutrition facts are an estimate and are not guaranteed to be accurate. If you need special diet advice, please see a registered dietician.

Easy Plum Butter Recipe

Every Fall I get the urge...
the urge to make some sort of "butter".
The smell of it cooking in my kitchen
just makes it officially fall...at least in my world.This year was no different.
I was at the store looking at all the fruit
and the plums just called out to me.Honest I heard little voices saying
what yummy butter they would make.
I couldn't resist the urge to buy some right then and there.

You know what?
The voices were right.

Plum Butter is so yummy!
And my house smelled AWESOME the entire day!
Love that!

So here is the recipe that I used from...
what I like best about it is that it doesn't make a ton!
Only 3 small jars.
I knew those empty jelly jars that I saved would come in handy.
(my hubby laughs at me for saving all sorts of jars and boxes...but I showed him... this time anyway)

Recipe

Easy Plum Butter

Yield: 3 cups

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

This plum butter is easy to make and tastes amazing.

Ingredients

1 ½ pounds plums (12 large)
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Stir diced plums and ½ cup sugar in a large pot. Heat over low heat until the juices come out of the fruit.
Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and cook 5 minutes or until fruit is tender.
Pour the mixture into blender. Chop on low speed, 2 seconds. Return to pot; add remaining sugar and spices. Bring to boil.
Reduce heat, cover loosely, and simmer for 20-30 minutes or until your desired thickness.
Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Cool slightly before spooning into 3 - ½ pint jars. Refrigerate for 2-3 weeks. Use 2 Tablespoons on toast or pastries.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 32 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 59Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 0mgCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 0gSugar: 15gProtein: 0g

Now to find some cookie or cake recipes to use some
of this "butter" goodness in.

Harry Potter Tea Party

Enjoy a magical Harry Potter Tea Party that includes a pitcher of homemade Butter Beer and other food inspired from the movies. Harry Potter fan's will love this fun themed party.

One of the things on our summer to do list this year was a tea party. Since the boys wanted to be included in this, I had to think outside the box and come up with something that was cool enough for girls and boys.

What better than a Harry Potter tea party?

All three of our kids love these movies and can't wait for the next installment. They keep asking when the next one is coming out.

[Read more...]

Flip Flop Cupcakes

Ok, so when cupcakes are in pairs...
that just means you have to eat them 2 at a time,
right?? :-)This week is round 2 of the cupcake challenge
at Hoosier Homemade.
We had to create a summertime themed cupcake
based on something we did this summer.
In May we headed to the beach for a week of fun in the sun.
Everyday that we went to the beach,
we all would take off
our flip flops and leave them
in a pile on the sand.

For some strange reason I liked seeing that pile each day:-)
I don't know why...I just did.

Now yes, this "pile" of flip flop cupcakes is way
neater than how our real pile looked...
but I had to make it look appealing:-)
Also, I always had to have some Diet Dr. Pepper in our cooler.
It is one of my fav drinks of all times.
So I tried out the Weight Watcher's cake recipe...
1 cake mix + 1 can of diet dr. pepper = a yummy cupcake
that is somewhat healthier...
but I think I ruined the health factor by adding
lots of frosting, sugar, and candy. LOL!
Hey, with all the cupcakes I have been baking
I had to try to limit a few calories...

These cupcakes were actually pretty easy to make.
I used foil balls (flattened) on the sides
of the cupcake liner so that it couldn't bake round.
(It helped give it the flip flop shape I was going for.)
The cupcakes were frosted and dipped in colored sugar.
Then I used spice drops to create the flowers.
Now I was going to make some boy flip flops, but
they just looked so plain and boring that I decided to
make them all girly:-)
For the straps I used peach rings cut in half,
some licorice lace candy that I braided for a fun strap,
and some more spice drops flattened and rolled.

Wouldn't these be adorable for a beach or pool party???

Recipe

Flip Flop Cupcakes

Yield: 24 cupcakes

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Fun flip flop cupcakes made from a variety of candies.

Ingredients

1 white cake mix
1 can diet Dr. Pepper
1 container white frosting
colored sugars
spice drops
peach rings
licorice laces

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°.
Mix together the cake mix and Dr. Pepper. Make small foil balls and place on either side of the cupcake liner making a flip flop shape. Fill the liner ⅔ full. Bake 18-20 minutes. Let cool.
Frost the cupcakes and dip the tops in colored sugars.
Cut the peach rings in half for straps.
Braid the licorice laces for other straps.
Flatten the spice drops and cut into small pieces for flowers.
Put the candy on the cupcakes with a little bit of frosting on the back of each piece. Makes 24 cupcakes.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 24 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 180Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 15mgCarbohydrates: 30gFiber: 0gSugar: 2gProtein: 0g

Nutrition facts are an estimate and are not guaranteed to be accurate. If you need special diet advice, please see a registered dietician.

Mocha Oreo Cheesecake

So last Friday was National Cheesecake Day...
seriously who comes up with all these "different" national days?
But, since it was a "holiday" of sorts,
we celebrated with this delicious ooey gooey cheesecake 🙂
(I will take any chance I can get to make cheesecake)

Does anyone else remember the Oreo cookies that were filled
with coffee cream?

They were amazing, and of course they stopped making them.
So I wanted to kind of replicate that in a cheesecake.

I give you
the Mocha Oreo Cheesecake!!!!

Oh how tasty and pretty this was...
almost too pretty to cut.

Mind you I did say almost...
once we cut into it
there was no stopping.

Yup, it is time to hit the gym again...
all these yummy treats are taking a toll 🙂
But they are so worth it.

Recipe

Mocha Oreo Cheesecake Recipe

Yield: 9 inch cheesecake

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Oreo cookies and coffee turn this cheesecake into a delicious mocha experience.

Ingredients

For the Crust

20 Oreo cookies
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For the Cheesecake

3 - 8 ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup sour cream
1 cup chocolate chips
¼ cup espresso powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1 ½ cups Oreo cookie chunks
½ cup white chocolate chips, melted
Cool Whip and extra cookies, for garnish

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan with parchment paper.
Use a food processor to pulse the cookies with cream filling into crumbs. Mix the cookie crumbs and butter together. Press into prepared pan. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth.
Melt the chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl at 50% power for 45 seconds. Stir. Heat an additional 30 seconds. Stir until melted and creamy.
Add the sour cream, melted chocolate chips, espresso powder, and vanilla until thoroughly mixed.
Whisk the eggs in a separate bowl, then mix into the batter gently until combined.
Stir in the cookie chunks in by hand. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake for 45-50 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool 5 minutes.
Run a knife around the outside edge of the cheesecake to loosen it from the pan. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Refrigerate overnight to let flavors develop.
Remove outside of pan and decorate with melted white chocolate drizzles. Serve with Cool Whip and extra Oreo crumbs and chunks.

Notes

*Feel free to leave out the espresso powder if you do not prefer the coffee flavor.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 14 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 598Total Fat: 39gSaturated Fat: 20gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 109mgSodium: 346mgCarbohydrates: 60gFiber: 2gSugar: 44gProtein: 8g

Nutrition facts are an estimate and are not guaranteed to be accurate. If you need special diet advice, please see a registered dietician.

How To Make Braided Headbands

I have been having a blast making these
fun braided flower headbands.
I usually cut all my strips
and park on the couch to catch up on
Next Food Network Star
or Cupcake Wars...
or whatever catches my attention
and just braid away.

Now I realize there are 2 types of people:
A. those who won't buy a craft project because you can make it tons cheaper
B. those who have no desire to get crafty and would rather pay someone elseIf you are a B person...you might want to skip those post. I am doing this tutorial for you A's out there.I tried making the rolled flowers that are super popular
and just wanted to change it up a bit.

I remember as a kid braiding strips of fabric and
sewing them into rugs for my sisters doll houses.
So, I thought why couldn't they be flowers for headbands?

And thus began another obsession...
I LOVE these headbands.
They look great on straight or curly hair
and look awesome when worn with an updo.

Supplies needed:
Fabric, needle & thread, glue gun & glue sticks, stretch headband, felt, beads/jewels

1. Cut out 6 strips of fabric.
3 strips - 24 inches long, slightly wider than ½" wide
3 strips - 16 inches long, slightly wider than ½" wide
Let it fray...it looks so shabby chic when done.

2. Sew the tips of 3 - 24 inch strips together and cut at an angle.
Repeat on the other 16 inch strips.

3. Braid the strips.
Sew the ends when you reach the bottom and
cut at an angle like the top.

4. Start rolling the braid up FLAT and stitch it in place.
As you continue wrapping the braid around,
keep stitching in place on the back side.

5. When you finish wrapping, you should have 2 discs
that look like this.

6. Glue a stretch headband on the back of both braided discs, overlapping the discs slightly if you wish.
Glue a round piece of felt on top
of the headband to hide it.
(sorry I forgot to take a pic of this step)
Glue on beads or jewels on the front of the braided discs for some bling.

7. Put on your new headband and
go out for an impromptu shoot
with the resident helper photographer...
aka...the 11 yr. old 🙂

See how cute these are for dressing up a pony tail????

Chocolate Coconut Brownies

My good friend Missy sent me this recipe she found on Duncan Hines for Oh Joy Bars.

Chocolate? Coconut? Ok, I am so in!

These were some of the best brownies EVER!!!! So moist and delicious...and the coconut was very subtle.

An A+++ in my dessert book!

Recipe

Chocolate Coconut Brownies

Yield: 24

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients

1 - 9x13 box brownie mix
1 - 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup of sweetened shredded coconut
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1 large egg

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray a 9x13 pan with nonstick baking spray.
Mix brownies according to directions on box. Pour ½ of the batter into the greased pan. Reserved the other half of the batter.
Mix together the coconut, the sweetened condensed milk, 1 tablespoon flour, and egg.
Spread filling over first layer of chocolate brownie.
Spread remaining chocolate brownie on top of coconut layer very carefully.
Bake brownies for 35-40 minutes until firm in center. Don't over bake. Allow to cool before cutting into squares.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 24 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 97Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 15mgSodium: 45mgCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 0gSugar: 13gProtein: 2g

Nutrition facts are an estimate and are not guaranteed to be accurate. If you need special diet advice, please see a registered dietician.

5 Min DIY project

Ok, so I have seen these fun cake plates all over the web and
I wanted to show you guys just how easy these are to make.
Really only 5 minutes to do.

First gather your supplies.
(ok that part will take longer than 5 min)
I got the candle sticks from good will and the dollar tree.
The plates from good will and walmart.

Buy some E6000 glue from walmart.
This is some amazingly strong glue and only about $2.50 at walmart.

Flip the plates over and measure to find the middle.
(I marked it with a pencil mark.)
Place a thin layer of glue on the top of the candle stick and place on the mark.

And then you have some super cute plates to show off some fun baking.

Honestly these only took 5 minutes to put together.

Thank you so much for reading my blog. If you liked this post, please leave a comment. Comments are a great way for me to see what is a blog hit or miss:-)

Where in the World is the Bru Crew?

Sorry to be MIA around here for so long.
We headed out for Spring Break and went to see family.
We were in VA for 2 days,
DC for 2 days,
and PA for 3 days.
Lots of driving and lots of pictures later...
it is good to be home.
(even though I still have lots of laundry to do)

Here are a few of my fav shots from our time in DC.
I had to do some collages
or else this post would have been forever long!!!
We had a lot of fun just
wandering around the national mall.

The architecture is amazing!!!!

BUT...we found out that we are NOT museum people.
The kids were bored and so were we.
I know this is our history and I should like it.
But I do not want to wait in line
for an hour or more
to see Michelle Obama's dress
or Judy Garlands red slippers.
Sorry!
We did wait for 1 ½ hours to see the Declaration of Independence...
sadly it is very faded
and now you can't take any pics in the National Archives.
Sad moment indeed!

The cherry blossoms were so pretty...
I had to stop numerous times to take tons of pics!!!

I LOVE this pic of me and my bestest friend EVER!!!!
He is always there for me to cry on his shoulder
when life and people hand me lemons.

I love the fact that this was his idea
to take pics of just us in this spot!!!
Yea, I got a keeper here!!!
He knows how much it means to me to have great shots!!!!

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