Sesame Street Cupcakes

I made these cupcakes for a first birthday party last spring.  I couldn't believe how fun and easy these were to whip up.

If you have been reading along for a while, you will know that I already prefer to buy my frosting from the bakery at King Soopers (Kroger stores).  The frosting is less expensive to make than buttercream, is perfectly white, doesn't need refrigeration, has a great consistency, and has a great flavor.  The time saved is also a bonus.

The morning I was making these, I was really running late on time, and I found out that the bakery will sell the colored frosting as well as white.  The colored frosting is more expensive, but the amount of food coloring required to get these rich colors probably about equals the extra cost (I haven't actually done the math, but this past year I have been more short on time than money, so I am willing to go with my estimate).

Here's what you'll need:

• cupcakes (I used my basic recipe)
• red frosting for Elmo
• blue frosting for Cookie Monster
• white frosting for eyes
• black frosting for eyes and mouth (I used the stuff from the shelf that comes in a can with attachable tips) ***I would probably use black fondant cut into shapes in the future***
• 3 piping bags (one for red, one for blue, one for white)
• star piping tip
• large circle piping tip
• orange jelly beans (M&M's might work as well)
• mini chocolate chip cookies

For Cookie Monster:

1. Start with a plain cupcake.
2. Cut your mini cookies in half.  They don't need to be exact.
3. Use the star tip in a piping bag to frost the cupcakes.  You should pipe in a back and forth motion from the center to the outside, moving around the cupcake, to create the furry look.  This is not an exact science; in fact, the more random you make it, the better it looks.
4. Use the circle tip in a piping bag to make large dots of white frosting for the base of the eyes.
5. Use the circle tip of the black frosting to make smaller dots on the eyes.  Cookie Monster's eyes should both be looking different directions (often each looking out).  ***I would use small black fondant circles next time***
6. Stick a cookie half in for the mouth.  It's ok if there are crumbs around the mouth; Cookie Monster is a messy eater.

For Elmo:

1. Start with a plain cupcake (this isn't its own step because it wouldn't have looked as good in the collage-ha ha). Use the star tip in a piping bag to frost the cupcakes.  You should pipe in a back and forth motion from the center to the outside, moving around the cupcake, to create the furry look.   This is not an exact science; in fact, the more random you make it, the better it looks.
2. Use the circle tip in a piping bag to make large dots of white frosting for the base of the eyes.
3. Use the circle tip of the black frosting to make smaller dots on the eyes and the curve of the mouth.  ***I would use small black fondant circles and black fondant crescents next time***
4. Stick a jelly bean in for the nose.  I poked the long side in to create a circle nose instead of an oval--the oval looked more like Gonzo's nose.

Mini Cupcake Variation - I made these cute mini cupcakes with the extra batter and supplies; you know I am a sucker for mini cupcakes.  The basic technique is the same, but you use a smaller chunk of cookie for Cookie Monster's mouth, and cut the jelly bean in half for Elmo's nose.

Experiments - A Variation on No-Bakes

Do you often experiment with recipes?  I have tried two in the last few days.  The first one, I burned, and we aren't going to talk about.  The second was an experiment with my no-bake cookies.  I was thinking they would be delicious with some marshmallows mixed in, or some chocolate chips.  I had white chocolate chips on hand, and since the missionaries were coming over in a couple hours, I thought that there would definitely be someone to eat them.

I made the cookies like I normally do, but after I mixed the oats and the chocolate mixture, I added the chocolate chips.  What I didn't count on, was the fact that the chocolate chips would melt so quickly.  I'm not really sure the experiment was a success, but not exactly a failure either.  They taste pretty good, but the texture is a little different.  I am looking forward to trying it with mini marshmallows.

Dark Chocolate No-Bake Cookies

Are you ready for more "healthy" cookies?  The whole-grain oats, omega-3-packed peanut butter, and anti-oxidant cocoa make these worth the calories--not to mention they are delicious!

Ingredients

• 1 stick butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 2/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 3 cups oats

Supplies

• medium pot
• large bowl
• cookie scoop (or two spoons)
• parchment paper
• wooden spoon

Directions

1. Measure oats into large bowl.
2. Rip off a piece of parchment paper about 2 feet long.  Place out on counter.
3. Combine butter, sugar, cocoa, milk, and salt in pot.
4. Stirring constantly, heat over medium until mixture begins to boil.
5. Boil for 4 minutes.
6. Turn off stove, and add peanut butter.  Stir until completely combined.
7. Add vanilla, and stir again.
8. Pour over oats, and stir until oats and chocolate mixture combined.
9. Spoon out onto parchment paper.  Let cool completely (if you can wait that long).

I will be linking to these link parties.

Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies

My mom makes the best chocolate chip cookies.  I love toffee, and so do most of my co-workers, so I thought I would take her recipe and add toffee chips.  As I was mixing my dough, I realized I didn’t have enough white flour, but I did have some wheat flour, so I substituted in a cup of wheat flour, and it was delicious!  One of the wonderful things about this recipe is that substitutes are allowed and even encouraged.  I would love to hear your variations on this recipe.
Ingredients

• 2 sticks butter (softened)
• 3/4 Cup white sugar
• 1 Cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tablespoons vanilla
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 Cups white flour
• 1 Cup wheat flour
• 1 bag Heath toffee bits for baking
• 1/2 bag milk chocolate chips

Supplies

• Mixer & Bowl
• Medium cookie scoop
• Spatula (for scraping)
• Parchment paper
• Cookie sheet(s)
• Spatula (for lifting off sheet)
• Cooling Racks

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Cream together butter, white sugar, and brown sugar

3. Scrape down bowl
4. Add eggs and mix well
5. While mixing, add vanilla

6. Add flour, salt, and baking soda to mixture, and mix just until combined
7. Add toffee bits and chocolate chips to dough, mix together

8. Cut parchment paper to fit cookie sheet (no cleaning pans—my favorite!)
9. Use cookie scoop to place 12 balls of dough on the sheet

10. Bake for 13 minutes
11. Allow to cool on racks

12. Yum, Yum, Yum

Tips

• Differences in altitude, and humidity require differing amounts of flour (dough should be stiff, not sticky, but moist)
• You should be able to touch the dough without dough coming off on your finger, but your finger should feel slick
• If the cookies come out too flat, add more flour to the dough
• You can substitute butter flavored crisco for butter
• You can use more wheat flour, or more white flour if you have a preference
• Try different additions to satiate your cravings
• Make a double-batch and freeze half of them for later: scoop the balls onto a cookie sheet, stick in freezer, place frozen dough balls in a zipper plastic bag.  When you are ready to use them, take them out of freezer and thaw on cookie sheet before baking like normal.
• Have fun!