Sparkly Red Velvet Brownie Bites

Seeing as how my sister and I both  love red velvet, when I came across this recipe,  I knew it would be the perfect addition to our Christmas desserts.

Not only are these brownies beautiful, with the contrast of the rich red velvet and the snowy white cream cheese frosting, they are absolutely divine.

The brownies are dense and rich, although not overpoweringly sweet. The perfect companion for a nice thick layer of cream cheese frosting (my favorite) and a delicate sprinkling of  sparkly white edible glitter.

Not only does their miniature size make them adorable, they're  perfect for holiday platter or parties when you want to sample a little of everything but not go home on sugar overload !

I have a feeling these babies could be making a repeat appearance right around Feb. 14th!!


*Because I was traveling, and like everyone else around the holidays was super busy and making a gazillion other things, I decided to go for it and make these ahead of time and freeze them. I baked them as directed, let them cool completely and then wrapped them in layers of plastic wrap, aluminum foil and a couple of freezer bags. (Can you tell I was a little worried?) The day of I let them defrost and then finished them off with the frosting and glitter. *


Sparkly Red Velvet Brownie Bites
Picture and Recipe from A Farm Girl's Dabbles

INGREDIENTS

for the red velvet brownies:
nonstick vegetable oil spray
1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, diced
3 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1-1/2 c. sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
1 oz. liquid red food coloring
1 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder

for the sparkly cream cheese frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
4 T. butter, at room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla
1-1/2 c. sifted powdered sugar
white sparkles edible glitter, optional


PREPARATION

Preheat oven to 325°. Fold a 16″ long piece of foil to a 9″x16″ strip and place in 9″x9″ metal baking pan, leaving overhang on 2 sides. Repeat with another sheet of foil the same size in the opposite direction, lining pan completely. Spray foil with nonstick spray.

Stir butter and chocolate in heavy large saucepan over very low heat until chocolate is melted. Remove from heat. Whisk in sugar, then eggs, 1 at a time. Stir in vanilla, salt, and food coloring. Sift flour and baking powder over mixture and stir to blend well. Transfer batter to prepared pan.

Bake brownies until puffed and dry-looking and tester inserted into center comes out with some moist batter attached, about 30 to 35 minutes. Cool completely in pan on rack.

Prepare the frosting by first beating together the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and mix a bit to incorporate. Then add the sifted powdered sugar and beat to combine.

Using the foil as an aid, lift brownies from pan and place on cutting board. Peel foil down away from the sides of brownies. Spread cream cheese frosting evenly over brownies. Sprinkle with edible glitter, if desired. Cut into bites 1-1/4″ x 1-1/4″. To achieve clean cuts, wipe the knife after each slice.

Yield: 50 brownie bites

Posted by: Sallie

Cupcakes, Cupcakes, Everywhere

I love cupcakes. Here are a few I've tried recently and loved.

Thin Mint Cupcakes

From Real Mom Kitchen & Food Librarian

I saw these cute cupcakes on Real Mom kitchen and made them for St. Patrick's Day. They were so moist and had the perfect amount of mint in my opinion. They are made from scratch but it can all be made in one bowl and were pretty simple.

Ingredients
Makes 18 to 24
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup warm water
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons safflower oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 pkg. keebler grasshopper cookies or 1 sleeve girl scout thin mint cookies, crushed

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners; set aside. Sift together cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Add eggs, warm water, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla, and mix until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add crushed cookies. Scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl to assure batter is well mixed.
Divide batter evenly among muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full. Bake until tops spring back when touched, about 20 minutes, rotating pan once if needed. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 (3-oz.) package cream cheese
1 (16-oz.) package powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation
1. Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating at low speed until blended. Increase speed to medium, and slowly add milk and vanilla, beating until smooth. Add food coloring if desired and top with 1/4 cookie.

If you want over the top chocolate try this instead.

Chocolate Buttercream

Prepare Vanilla Buttercream as directed. Microwave 1 cup (6 oz.) dark chocolate morsels in a microwave-safe bowl at MEDIUM 1 1/2 to 2 minutes or until melted and smooth, stirring at 30-second intervals. Gradually add melted chocolate to Vanilla Buttercream; beat until blended and smooth. Note: For testing purposes only, we used Nestlé Chocolatier Dark Chocolate Morsels.

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes with Chunky Oreo Frosting

recipe and picture from Picky Palate

I made these cupcakes a couple of months ago and they were great. A big hit with the kids. I used the white cake mix but they would be great with the yellow also.

Cupcake batter

1 Butter or yellow cake mix
4 eggs
1 small package vanilla pudding mix
½ Cup sour cream
½ Cup water
½ Cup vegetable oil
16 oreos, crumbled up
1 Cup chocolate chips

Chunky Oreo Frosting
8 oz softened cream cheese
1 stick softened butter
3 Cups powdered sugar
6 oreo cookies, crumbled

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a stand or electric mixer, beat until all ingredients are well combined, close to 2 minutes. Pour batter into paper lined cupcake cups, about ¾ way full. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean from center. Let cool.
2. Place cream cheese and butter into mixer and beat until smooth and fluffy. Slowly add in powdered sugar until desired consistency. Stir in oreo cookie crumbles and spread over cupcakes.

Red Velvet Cupcakes with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

From good eats.com and Paula Deen

Anne made these for book club on Thursday and I demanded the recipe immeadiately. They are so yummy. The frosting is the best! I am drooling and wishing I had the ingredients right now. You need to make these.

red velvet cupcakes:

makes approx 2 1/2 dozen

3/4 cup butter, softened2 cups sugar, divided3 large eggs, separated3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour1/2 cup dutch processed cocoa2 tsp salt1 2/3 cup whole buttermilk3 tbsp red food coloring1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract-preheat oven to 350. line 30 cups of 3 (12 cup) muffin tins with paper liners-in a large bowl, beat butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. beat in egg yolks until combined-in a medium bowl combine flour, cocoa and salt-in a small bowl, combine buttermilk, food coloring and vanilla-gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk mixture. beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating well after each addition.-in a medium bowl, beat egg whites at medium high speed with an electric mixer until foamy. gradually add 1/2 cup sugar, beating until stiff peaks form. gently fold beaten egg whites into butter mixture. spoon batter evenly into prepared pans. bake at 18 to 20 minutes, or until wooden toothpick comes out clean. remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks. spread or pipe evenly with desired frosting.

white chocolate cream cheese frosting (the yummiest frosting EVER!)

makes approx 4 1/2 cups frosting

1 1/2 cups butter, softened (that's paula for ya, 3 sticks of butter!)

1 8oz cream cheese, softened

2 1oz squares white chocolate, melted and cooled

1 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice

4 1/2-5 cups powdered sugar in a large bowl,

Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Beat in white chocolate and lemon juice until combined. gradually beat in confectioner's sugar until smooth.

Lasagna Soup

Picture and recipe from a Farm girls dabbles

From the girl who introduced me to  these amazing red velvet brownie bites, this yummy corn salad, and these lucious lemon bars, comes another amazing recipe, Lasagna soup.

After a disappointing version of lasagna soup, I was hesitant to try another, but when I saw this mouthwatering picture on Pinterest, I just had to give it another try especially when I saw it was from Farm girl. All of her recipes have been fantastic and this lasagna soup was as well.

Just as the name implies, it was like lasagna in a bowl. Fire roasted tomatoes simmered with garlic, Italian sausage, onions and spices. Next comes the noodles and last but not least, the cheese. A divine and simple mixture of ricotta, Parmesan, and a dash of salt and pepper just makes the dish. Top it off with a healthy dose of mozzarella and you have one of my new favorite soups.

Because the recipe uses Italian sausage, fire roasted tomatoes and a pinch of red pepper, it's packed with flavor and oh so delicious. I served mine with a big green salad and some yummy bread sticks that I'll be posting soon.

Lasagna Soup

for the soup:
2 tsp. olive oil
1-1/2 lbs. Italian sausage
3 c. chopped onions
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2 T. tomato paste
1 28-oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
6 c. chicken stock
8 oz. mafalda or fusilli pasta
1/2 c. finely chopped fresh basil leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

for the cheesy yum:
8 oz. ricotta
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. salt
pinch of freshly ground pepper

2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add sausage, breaking up into bite sized pieces, and brown for about 5 minutes. Add onions and cook until softened, about 6 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Cook for 1 minute. Add tomato paste and stir well to incorporate. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the tomato paste turns a rusty brown color.

Add diced tomatoes, bay leaves, and chicken stock. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add uncooked pasta and cook until al dente. Do not over cook or let soup simmer for a long period of time at this point, as the pasta will get mushy and absorb all the soup broth. You may even want to consider cooking the noodles separately, and then adding some to individual bowls before ladling the soup over them. This would be an especially smart move if you are anticipating any leftovers. Right before serving, stir in the basil and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

While the pasta is cooking, prepare the cheesy yum. In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, Parmesan, salt, and pepper.

To serve, place a dollop of the cheesy yum in each soup bowl, sprinkle some of the mozzarella on top and ladle the hot soup over the cheese.

Servings:  8

posted by: Sallie

St. Patrick's Day Cake Balls

Okay, so I confess, this isn't actually my picture but I did make these around Christmas time and they are so easy and really yummy. It's fun to experiment with different cakes and frosting. Red Velvet cake mix and white chocolate are really pretty for Christmas. A fun idea for St. Patrick's Day.

Cake Balls from Allrecipes.com
1 18.25 oz. pkg. chocolate cake mix (or any flavor you like)
1 16 oz. pkg. prepared chocolate frosting
1 3oz. bar of chocolate flavored confectioners coating

Prepare cake mix and bake according to package directions. While cake is still warm crumble into a large bowl and mix with frosting until well blended.

In separate bowl melt chocolate in microwave or over boiling water, melting until smooth.

Use a melon baller or small scoop to form balls from the cake/frosting mixure. Dip the balls in chocolate with toothpick or fork and put on waxed paper to cool. You can also dip in sprinkles or drizzle with other flavors of chocolate for a nice presentation.

Notes- I always refrigerate or freeze the cake balls after forming them until they are really firm. That way they are much easier to dip and work with.

Christmas Meals

I know this is a little late for this year but I just couldn't resist posting some of the delicious food we had for Christmas.

Lets start with breakfast. After all the trying and testing, my husband said, let's just have the usual. As soon as I tasted it Christmas morning I decided right then and there, this is my tried and true, go to, never changing Christmas Breakfast. It was so delicious! I did try Paula Deen's recipe for the French Toast Casserole (I usually do this) and it was fabulous. Pretty much the same as I what I usually make. Without comparing them side by side I couldn't choose a favorite. The hashbrown omlet is always so yummy, my favorite part has got to be the cheese! We had a few new additions this year, both from Leigh Anne. A delicious fruit salad and some super easy, super delicious hot cocoa!

Christmas Breakfast

French Toast Casserole

Hashbrown Omlet

Honey Fruit Salad

Hot Chocolate

Onto the main meal. My sister hosted Christmas at her house this year.The meal was delicious. This is what we ate.

Cornish Game Hens

Mushroom and Sausage Stuffing

Aunt Jane's Mashed Potatoes

Brussells Sprout Gratin

Sweet Potato Bake

Decadent Peanut Butter Pie

Red Velvet Bread Pudding (My sister and I both agreed this would be even better with some mini chocolate chips mixed in)

Hot Chocolate Bar

Christmas Eve was nice. I had my husbands family over and since I had to prepare food for Christmas Dinner the next day to take to my sister's I wanted something simple. I was able to make most of the dishes,the day before. The stew was prepared in the morning, that way when dinner time rolled around I had the oven free for a few delicious appetizers and had time to make the salad.

Eggnog Punch

Beef Stew

Lion House Rolls

Winter Spinach Salad

Christmas Jello

Glazed Chocolate Cream Roll

Pomegranate Cheesecake

Posted by: Sallie