PUMPKIN DELICIOUSNESS!

Made these yummy treats for the lovely ladies in my Wednesday night MOPS group.  Happy to say that I came home with two completely empty trays--they were a hit!  Here's the recipe (from the Barefoot Contessa) just in time for the holidays.  It would make a great and easy addition to any Thanksgiving dessert menu.

Enjoy!  These are delish, and the temptation to sample the frosting (over and over!) is hard to resist.  You've been warned :)

Humor in the Kitchen

Like many of you this past weekend, we spent the Superbowl with friends, enjoying an evening away from the house in the company of people we like.  When I say "we" watched the Superbowl, I really mean my husband because I have zero to no interest in football whatsoever.  In order to make the event tolerable though, I like to spend some time in the kitchen preparing goodies that can be enjoyed during the game.  I take my role very seriously :), but this year my plans didn't go as planned.....

I picked up this Nordic Ware stadium pan a few years ago on super sale, thinking it would be perfect for a theme cake for a sporting event.  I tried baking a cake with it once before with disastrous results, but had renewed hope in myself this year, and tried once again.  The pan came with an image of what the finished cake could look like:

Very cute.  Mine looked like this:

My husband called it "post-apocalyptic", and I just laughed at the disaster that I'd created (once again).  My three month old even started giggling as I was trying to shake it loose from the pan.

With two failed attempts at this cake, the pan might be relegated to our garage sale pile for the spring, but we'll see.  Or I could ask my expert sister-in-law, who runs a successful wedding cake design business, what the perfect recipe would be for a cake that actually comes out of the pan properly.  I'm embarrassed that she even has to see this cake disaster :)  There are two bits of silver lining though.  

Spray icing in a can:

I bought this to decorate the stadium cake with.  However, when the project failed, it worked great to take a handful of broken cake, cover it with a generous spray of icing-in-a-can, and eat away my sorrows in the form of chocolate cake.  So much for the post-pregnancy diet this weekend :)

Heath Bar Trifle:

This is the best-tasting and most impressive recipe to use when your cake is ruined.  I've done it many times, in many forms with different ingredients, when anything from box cakes to angel food cakes have failed.  Here's the chocolate version:

1.  Bake a chocolate box cake and once cooled, cut into cubes (or in my case, use the pieces that are already broken).  Take a large bowl--a glass one works nicely--and layer cake on bottom.

2.  Prepare 2 boxes of chocolate pudding according to the package instructions and layer 1/3 of the mixture on the cake.

3.  Spread a layer of Cool Whip on top of the pudding and sprinkle with Heath Bits (or crushed up Skor bars in Canada :))

4.  Repeat these steps twice more, and voila, an impressive and large dessert for a crowd.  

And no one will ever know the disaster that had to happen to create this masterpiece.  Enjoy :)

Easy (and Impressive!) Last Minute Goodies

I found this recipe on this blog, and as soon as I read it had to give it a try.  Easy as can be, and makes a yummy and delicious treat to give away to friends and neighbors, or to have out as munchies for a party.

I personalized the recipe a bit, and it turned out great--here's my version:

Peppermint Cookies and Cream Popcorn (aka Reindeer Food)
2 bags microwave popcorn, popped
2 bags red & green M & M's - 1 mint flavored and 1 dark chocolate flavored
1 pack Oreo cookies, crushed
1 large (20 oz.) bag white chocolate chips
2 tsp. peppermint extract

1  Place popcorn in large bowl (I use a turkey roaster because its huge and works well); pour crushed Oreos over and stir together.

2  Melt 3/4 of the package of white chocolate, adding 1 1/2 teaspoons of the peppermint extract.  I used a double boiler method to melt the chocolate.

3  Pour chocolate over the mixture and stir.  Oreos will absorb some of the chocolate and won't be fully coated.

4  Melt remaining chocolate with 1/2 teaspoon of extract.  Pour over mixture and stir to coat.

5  Before chocolate is fully hardened, add M & M's and toss until they are incorporated and stuck to the mixture.

6  Pour onto wax paper, and once hardened break into pieces.  Enjoy!

Maybe you can tell by the mess in  my kitchen and the amount of light in the photos that I was frantically doing this late at night, the day before I needed giveaway treats for friends.  I'm happy to say that this recipe came together in a half hour, tastes great and made a ton!  I'm definitely putting this in my "must use" recipe pile for future years.

After it was all hardened I poured the mix into these cute little take out boxes.  Done and done. :)  Easy enough to make another batch if I should need some for later in the holiday season.

Hope you have a very Happy New Year's this weekend, and cheers to 2012!