How To Make Rainbow Cupcakes

This past weekend, we celebrated our girls long awaited Roller Skating Birthday party.  Decor included lots of bright neon colors from their invitations to the glow-stick necklaces their friends were greeted with when they arrived at the Roller Skating Rink. When I asked the girls what kind of cake they wanted, they both shouted that they would like rainbow cupcakes.  My first thought was to make cupcakes and have each one decorated with a different color icing to match the colors of the party.  But, I decided to go one step further.  I thought to myself how fun it would be to make the actual cupcakes in different colors.  What I ended up doing was so incredibly easy and it didn't take much more time than creating regular cupcakes.  Would you believe me if I told you that I made the cupcakes using store bought cake mix?  Everyone at the party thought they were professionally made.  Scroll down to see how I made the colorful cupcakes.

We were expecting around 35 kiddos at the party so I went ahead and mixed up two boxes of store bought cake mix.  I chose Betty Crocker SuperMoist White Cake Mix.  I separated the cake batter into four equal parts into four bowls.  To color the batter, we used McCormicks Assorted Neon! Food Colors that came in purple, green, pink and blue.  We then added a couple of drops of food color to each bowl until the desired color shade was created.  We then added the batter to the cupcake liners in the baking pans.  We added a little green batter, followed by a little purple, followed by a little pink and topped the batter with a little blue.  Then, they were ready to bake. 

For the icing, I chose to do a simple white topped with colorful sprinkles.  I always use Glorious Treats' American Buttercream Frosting recipe because it is easy to make and simply delicious. By using a white icing, it allowed the colors of the cupcakes and sprinkles to pop.  How AMAZING did the cupcakes turn out?

Neon Food Colors

Enjoy!

Delicious Coca-Cola Game Day Recipes

I am excited to have partnered with our friends at Evite and Coca-Cola to share some delicious game day recipes.  You too can put together these hassle-free snacks that your guests are sure to love. Take a look at all the great ideas below.  

Spicy Chocolate Coca-Cola Mocktail

Quench the thirst of your guests by greeting them with a Coca-Cola® Mocktail, a fun drink with a kick.

Ingredients

• 8 fluid ounces Coca-Cola®

• 1 fluid ounce Monin Spicy

• 2 tablespoons chocolate syrup

• 1 fluid ounce milk

• 1 lime wedge

• 1 mint sprig
• Fill a 16-oz glass half full of ice.  Combine all ingredients and stir. Garnish with a lime wedge and a mint sprig.

Makes 1 serving.

Coca-Cola BBQ Wings

BBQ Wings are always a crowd pleaser.  Kick up your wings by adding Coca-Cola® to the recipe.  Sounds delish right?

Ingredients

8 chicken wings

2 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons pepper

Canola oil

2 tablespoons canola oil

3 tablespoons diced jalapeño

2 tablespoons diced garlic

3 cups ketchup

1/4 cups chicken stock

1 cup orange juice

1/2 cups molasses

1/4 cups Coca-Cola®

1/2 cups brown sugar

1 tablespoon liquid smoke

1 teaspoons garlic salt

• 1 teaspoon paprika

Directions

Chicken Wings

Rinse chicken and split each wing at joint into two parts, then cut off tips. Season each side with salt and pepper.   Fry the chicken in canola oil until golden brown. Remove from pan and place on paper towel to soak up excess oil. To serve, remove wings from mixture and place on a plate.  

Coca-Cola BBQ Sauce

For the Coca-Cola® BBQ sauce, heat a sauté pan over medium high heat and add olive oil, jalapeños, garlic and shallots. Stir until brown and remove pan from heat. Add ketchup, orange juice, Coca-Cola® and molasses. Mix well and pour in brown sugar, liquid smoke, paprika and garlic salt. Stir and let cool down.

Place fried wings into barbecue sauce mixture. Mix well.  

Coca-Cola Football Cake

Last but not least, don't forget about dessert.  Check out this recipe for a cool Coca-Cola® Football Cake that is sure to WOW your guests!
 

 

Prep Time: 30 min     Cook Time: 45 min     Total Time: 1 hr 15 min    

Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 cup Coca-Cola® (for cake)

• 1 1/2 cups small marshmallows

• 1/2 cups butter or margarine

• 1/2 cups vegetable oil

• 3 tablespoons cocoa

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 cups buttermilk

• 2 eggs

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1/2 cups butter

• 3 tablespoons cocoa

• 6 tablespoons Coca-Cola® (for frosting)

• 1 box (16-ounces) confectioners’ sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 cup chopped pecans

Directions 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, sift the sugar and flour. Add marshmallows. In a saucepan, mix the butter, oil, cocoa and Coca-Cola®. Bring to a boil and pour over dry ingredients; blend well. Dissolve baking soda in buttermilk just before adding to batter along with eggs and vanilla extract, mixing well. Pour into a well-greased 9- by-13-inch pan and bake 35 to 45 minutes. Remove from oven and frost immediately.

• To make frosting, combine the 1/2 cup butter, 3 tablespoons cocoa and 6 tablespoons of Coca-Cola® in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and pour over confectioners' sugar, blending well. Add vanilla extract and pecans. Spread over hot cake. When cool, cut into squares and serve.

 Enjoy!

As always, we would love to hear your comments.

The “Home Bowl” is not associated with or authorized by the National Football League. © Mondelēz International group © 2015 The Coca-Cola Company

This is a sponsored post from Evite.com and Coca-Cola

Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies | Recipe

I have such a weakness when it come to sweets especially when it involves chocolate. With the upcoming holidays, it is so hard to resist all of the tempting desserts but the holidays just wouldn't be the same without scrumptious treats, right? Here is a dessert from Helene from Tartelette that I just had to share. They are Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and they would be perfect for Thanksgiving get togethers and Christmas parties. 

See the recipe at Tartelette

The Best Margarita - Recipe

If you were to ask me what my favorite adult beverage is, it is hands down a frozen margarita.  I love them when we have 100+ degree days outside (which we have a plethora of here in Texas) or on cool nights.  I've never had a favorite recipe until recently.  My sweet friend Kyle made margaritas for us one night and from the first sip, I was in heaven.  I think you will agree.  

The Best Margarita Recipe

Ingredients:

1 large can of frozen Limeade

Tequila ( I use Sauza Fresh Blue Agave Tequila Silver)

Triple Sec Liquer ( I use Leroux Triple Sec)

1 lime

ice

salt (optional)

Directions:

Add Limeade to your blender.  

Using the Limeade can, add 1/2 a can of Tequila.

Add 1/2 a can of Triple Sec.

Add the juice of one lime.

Add desired amount of ice.

Blend.

Garnish with a lime wedge (salt for the glass rim) and straw.

Enjoy!

Happy National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day - 6 Best-Ever Recipes

 

Today is National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day and I thought it would be fun to share not one but six Chocolate Chip Cookie recipes with you.  If you are a chocolate lover like me, you are sure to want to try these recipes.

Chocolate Chip Rolled Oats and Nuts Cookie Recipe

Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookie Recipe

Cookie Jar Double Chocolate Chip Recipe

 Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie Recipe

Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookie Recipe

Cookie Tips

Mix Chocolates:  Try combining types of chips or chunks (such as milk chocolate, semisweet or bittersweet) for contrast, such as mixing milk chocolate with bittersweet.  They all bake up the same way.

It's in the pan:  Dark-colored cookie sheets bake cookies browner than shiny ones.

Don't get stuck:  Keep cookies from sticking by baking on cookie sheets lines with parchment paper.  A parchment paper bonus = easy cleanup

Cookies on demand:  All of the above cookie dough recipes above are fine for freezing.  Shape into balls before freezing.  Place frozen balls on cookie sheet; bake a little longer than regular dough until done.

Creative serving:  Sandwich chocolate chip cookies around vanilla or chocolate ice cream.

Tips via Midwest Living

What is your favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe? 

 Leave your recipe in the comments below.

{recipe} Happy Birthday Carrot Cake with Petal Frosting

Ever since my husband and I first dated, I would make his favorite cake for his birthday.  He LOVES carrot cake with LOTS of cream cheese icing.  Before we were married and before we had all the fun kitchen appliances, I would grate the carrots by hand.  Talk about labor of love.  This cake is delicious even for an afternoon snack or breakfast.  With Easter around the corner, it would be perfect for Easter Brunch.

 Old Fashioned Carrot Cake with Maple-Cream Cheese Icing

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar

1 cup canola oil

4 large eggs

2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 - 1 1/2 cups finely grated peeled carrots

1 cup walnuts, toasted, chopped (optional)

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.

Butter and flour two 6-inch diameter cake pans with 1 1/2 inch high sides.

Using an electric mixer, beat sugar, oil and eggs in a large bowl until well blended.

Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

Beat until blended.  Stir in carrots and walnuts.

Divide batter between pans.

Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean. ( I use a toothpick).

This varies by oven.  Mine takes about 32-40 minutes.

Cool cakes in pans on rack for 15 minutes.

Run a small knife between pan sides and cakes to loosen.

Turn pans upside down and gently pat to remove.

Then place cakes onto racks; cool completely.

Maple Cream Cheese Icing Ingredients:

Two 8 ounce packages cream cheese at room temperature

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature

1 1/2 - 2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (my favorite is mexican vanilla)

Beat cream cheese and butter in a large bowl until smooth.

Add powdered sugar, syrup and vanilla.

Beat until smooth.

Place in refrigerator for about 15 minutes.  This makes the icing of the cake easier.

Icing the cake:

Place 1 cake layer, flat side up on your platter.

Spread 1 cup icing over.

Top with the second layer, flat side down.

Spread remaining icing over the top and sides of the cake.

Refrigerate cake for one hour or up to 1 day.

Serve at room temperature.

I used this easy cake frosting tutorial to create the petal frosting.

For more great cake frosting tutorials, click HERE.

Do you have a favorite cake recipe?  Leave a link to the recipe in the comments.

{tutorial} How to Frost Cakes Like a Pro!

I love to bake cakes for all different occasions but when it comes time to frosting the cake, I don't know what I am doing.  I just try to pack on the icing so every part of the cake is covered.  What I end up with is a great tasting cake but one that looks a mess!  I am sure a lot of you can relate.  So,  I thought it would be a great idea to put together amazing cake icing tutorials that I found and put them together in this post for you.

petal frosting tutorial ♥ la receta de la felicidad 

ruffle icing tutorial ♥ martha stewart

pastel swirl icing tutorial ♥ sweetapolita

  swirl frosting tutorial ♥ better homes and gardens 

rose icing tutorial ♥ i am baker

vertical ruffle icing tutorial ♥ bakers royale
 

ombre petal icing tutorial ♥ prudent baby 

simple icing tutorial ♥ whisk kid

Do you have a favorite way to frost a cake?  Would love for you share by leaving a comment. 

{Recipe} Cherry Blossom Macarons from Cannelle et Vanille

I have wanted to post this recipe for a long time but wanted to wait until now with it being Spring with the flowers in bloom.  Aran Goyoaga of Cannelle Et Vanille took inspiration from nature, specifically cherry blossoms when creating this macaron recipe for Martha Stewart Weddings.  Aran works as a freelance food stylist, photographer, and writer.  She creates delicious recipes and captures stunning photos on her award-winning blog Cannelle Et Vanille (that's "Cinnamon and Vanilla" in French). Scroll down to view Aran's Cherry Blossom Macaron recipe so you too can make these macaron beauties!

Makes about 4 dozen small macarons

Note: Make three batches of this recipe, and color each with a different shade. Use bright pink, pale pink, and copper colors.

MACARON SHELLS

180 grams almond flour
240 grams powdered sugar
140 grams egg whites
3 grams egg white powder
2 grams of finely ground sea salt
80 grams granulated sugar
Few drops of food coloring

In a large bowl, sift together the almond flour, powdered sugar, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, add the egg white and the egg white powder. Whip on medium speed until egg whites start to increase in volume.

When the egg whites are almost fully whipped and very fluffy, slowly start sprinkling in the sugar. After all the sugar is incorporated, whip the meringue on high speed until stiff peaks have formed. Then add the food coloring.

Add the dry ingredients to the meringue and, with a spatula, fold the meringue into the dry ingredients. This is called “macaroner.” It is better to fold slowly and test a couple of macarons because it is possible to over fold this mixture. You want a shiny mass. For this amount of ingredients, I would say that it will only take about 10 to 15 strokes. But again, it is better to check for consistency. You are looking for a mass that spreads a little but not too much, otherwise the macarons will be flat.

Pipe the mass onto half sheet pans lined with silpats. Let them sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes to dry. You want the tops not to stick to your finger when you touch them. This will ensure a crack-free macaron.

Have your oven preheated at 350 degrees. Bake one sheet pan at a time positioning it in a middle rack. Turn oven to 300 degrees. Bake for about 8 minutes and rotate sheet pan to ensure even baking. It should take about 14 minutes, but that depends on the oven. You want to be able to pick up the macaroon without it falling apart, but you don’t want to over bake it either. It is better to bake it slowly so no browning occurs.

Remove them from the oven and slide the silpat onto a cold surface. Let them cool on the silpat.

BUTTERCREAM FILLING

Note: Flavor the buttercream for the pink macarons with cherry blossom extract and the copper ones with cocoa powder.

100 grams of egg whites
200 grams of granulated sugar
300 grams of room temperature unsalted butter
flavoring (cherry blossom extract and sifted cocoa powder)

In the bowl of an electric mixer, lightly whisk together egg whites and sugar. Place over a water bath until sugar is dissolved and the mixture is warm to the touch, shiny, and very fluffy. Bring bowl to the electric mixer and whip, adding a tablespoon of butter at a time, until stiff peaks form. Make sure the meringue has cooled to room temperature. Then add the flavoring and mix until incorporated.

Pipe a teaspoon of the buttercream on a macaron and top with another one that is similar size.

{Recipe} Yummy Oatmeal Cranberry Chocolate Morsel Cookies

 

My little girlies asked to make cookies the other day.  Rather than making a special trip to the grocery store, I came up with a recipe using ingredients that we had on hand.  It made for a fun, rainy day afternoon activity.

The cookies we made would have made the perfect gift.....

They sure looked pretty sitting on a cute stand.....

But, we decided to enjoy every little morsel!

Want to make them?  Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

2/3 cup butter or margarine at room temperature

2/3 cup light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 to 1 1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/3 cup milk chocolate morsels

1/2 cup white chocolate morsels

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit

Using an electric mixer, beat butter or margarine and sugar together in a medium size mixing bowl until light and fluffy.

Add eggs and mix well.

Combine oats, flour, baking soda and salt in a separate mixing bowl.

Add to butter mixture in small quantities, mixing well after each addition.

Stir in dried cranberries and chocolate morsels.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until a light golden brown.

Let cool.

Enjoy!

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{Tutorial} Valentine Heart Macarons

You might remember back in December when I posted a recipe for these stunning Peppermint Macarons from Stacy Able.  Stacy was so kind to create the perfect Valentine's Day dessert recipe for our readers.  You know how much I LOVE macarons and I nearly fell off my chair when I saw what Stacy created.  Not only are they macarons but little heart shaped macarons! I can't wait to share her recipe with you....

Stacy Able Photography’s
Valentine's Day Heart Macaron Recipe

200g almond flour
200g powdered sugar
80g egg whites
80g egg whites
200g regular sugar
80 ml water
1 vanilla bean pod, seeds scraped out
 red food coloring

Heat oven to 355F
Separate egg whites ensuring there is absolutely no egg yolk. You may set the egg whites aside for 2-3 days in a refrigerator to “age”.
Measure out egg whites into two small containers with 80g in each.
Measure out almond flour and powdered sugar; add to food processor or spice grinder and pulse. Once the sugar and almond flour is a fine texture, sift 2 times; add the vanilla seed scrapings, red food coloring, and 80g of egg white, set aside. For a pale pink add a few drops of red for a super red cookie you'll need to use at least 15g of dye.
Cook sugar with water in a pot over medium heat with candy thermometer. Gently swirl the water and sugar a few times so it cooks evenly. When the temperature reaches 230F take the pot off the oven.
While sugar is cooking, Begin whipping the other 80g of egg whites with stand or hand held mixer. When eggs are in a soft peak drizzle the 230F hot sugar syrup down the bowl in a thin stream and continue beating until you get a firm, shiny meringue.
Pour half of the almond/powered sugar ingredients into meringue and stir ensuring you scrape the sides and bottom. Add the second half and stir. Note: do not over stir. You want the batter to look like a thick magma that when dropped in the bowl slowly absorbs into batter. Over stirring creates flat, pancake, cracked cookies.

Place parchment on a cookie sheet and trace 1 inch circles on the parchment then flip the parchment as you do not want pen marks on the cookie.
In a pastry bag use a plain round tip and pipe out heart shape cookies on your parchment. It may take some practice, but if you start with one circle, pipe down, then another circle down to the tip you'll create "heart shapes".

Once you have your hearts piped, firmly hold the cookie sheet and rap the sheet against a counter a couple times. This is done to help form the foot/pied bottom of the macaron.
Let the dough sit for 15-30 minutes to form a soft non sticky shell.
Place in oven for 11 minutes and put a wooden spoon or chopstick in the door to let some heat escape. Note- this will produce a slightly chewy Macaron which is traditional without browning the cookie. If you’d like them done slightly more you can cook at 300 for 20-25 minutes.
Once cookies are done, pull them out of the oven and let them cool. Do not remove from parchment until cool as they may stick. Pull up the corner and gently peel from the Macaron or use a metal spatula to gently remove shells.
To complete the cookie, make a simple butter cream and add a few drops of flavoring. Spoon icing onto macaron shell and gently press the two sides together.
Macaron shells will last 3-4 days if left on the counter. If unfilled you can freeze the cookies then thaw and fill for an instant glamorous treat.

All photos by Stacy Able Photography

A VERY special thank you to Stacy for sharing this fabulous tutorial with us.  Thank you also to Blair Lauer for assisting Stacy with this tutorial.

Wouldn't these little pretties make the perfect addition to a romantic Valentine's Day dinner for your sweetie? 

{Tutorial} Peppermint Macarons

A few days ago, I put together ideas for planning a Pretty Peppermint Party.  One of desserts I found were these fabulous Peppermint Macarons I spotted on Studio DIY.  As you know, I LOVE macarons and have been on the quest to find an easy step-by-step tutorial.  What better time than to try and create macarons for holiday parties?  I wanted to see if I could find out who the creator behind the beautiful treats was.  I came to find out the stunning photos of the macarons is also the creator of the gorgeous macarons.  Stacy Able is not only a fantastic photographer, but she has quite the passion for making macarons.  Stacy is sharing her Peppermint Macarons today and I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.  Wouldn't they make the perfect gift wrapped in pretty paper packing for the holidays?

Peppermint Vanilla Bean Macaron Recipe

Ingredients

200g almond flour
200g powdered sugar
80g egg whites
80g egg whites
200g regular sugar
80 ml water
1 vanilla bean pod, seeds scraped out
2-3 drops of peppermint extract
Red food coloring (optional)
Crushed Candy Canes (optional, for finishing)

Directions

Heat oven to 355F

Separate egg whites ensuring there is absolutely no egg yolk. You may set the egg whites aside for 2-3 days in a refrigerator to “age”.

Measure out egg whites into two small containers with 80g in each.

Measure out almond flour and powdered sugar; add to food processer or spice grinder and pulse. Once the sugar and almond flour is a fine texture, sift 2 times; add
the vanilla seed scrapings, peppermint extract, and 80g of egg white, set aside.

Cook sugar with water in a pot over medium heat with candy thermometer. Gently swirl the water and sugar a few times so it cooks evenly. When the temperature reaches 230F take the pot off the oven.

While sugar is cooking, Begin whipping the other 80g of egg whites with stand or hand held mixer. When eggs are in a soft peak drizzle the 230F hot sugar syrup down the bowl in a thin stream and continue beating until you get a firm, shiny meringue.

Pour half of the almond/powered sugar ingredients into meringue and stir ensuring you scrape the sides and bottom. Add the second half and stir. Note: do not over stir. You want the batter to look like a thick magma that when dropped in the bowl slowly absorbs into batter. Over stirring creates flat, pancake, cracked cookies.

Place parchment on a cookie sheet and trace 1 inch circles on the parchment then flip the parchment as you do not want pen marks on the cookie.

In a pastry bag use a plain round tip and pipe out circles on your parchment. You can create swirled color by adding a few drops down the side of the pastry bag or a solid color by adding a few drops of color while mixing the egg white/almond/sugar ingredients. Once you have your circles piped, firmly hold the cookie sheet and rap the sheet against a counter a couple times. This is done to help form the foot/pied bottom of the macaron.

Let the dough sit for 15-30 minutes to form a soft non sticky shell.

Place in oven for 11 minutes and put a wooden spoon or chopstick in the door to let some heat escape. Note- this will produce a slightly chewy Macaron which is traditional without browning the cookie. If you’d like them done slightly more you can cook at 300 for 20-25 minutes.

Once cookies are done, pull them out of the oven and let them cool. Do not remove from parchment until cool as they may stick. Pull up the corner and gently peel from the Macaron or use a metal spatula to gently remove shells.

To complete the cookie, make a simple butter cream and add a few drops of flavoring. For this recipe, we used a few drops of peppermint extract. Spoon icing onto macaron shell and gently press the two sides together.

Roll the cookie into crushed candy canes.

Macaron shells will last 3-4 days if left on the counter. If unfilled you can freeze the cookies then thaw and fill for an instant glamorous treat.

All Photos by Stacy Able Photography

Thanks so much Stacy for sharing your Peppermint Macaron recipe and tutorial.  I cannot wait to try the recipe and I know the macarons will be a hit at our next party!  I hope that everyone will enjoy making the French treats!