Lingering Halloween Celebrations

I hope everyone had a good Halloween!

After dressing up twice over the weekend, I had no motivation to come up with anything for the office yesterday.

Plus, as I said before, we had a pretty awesome costume-filled weekend. Which is still a relatively new concept for me. Halloween was on my mom’s shit list for a long time.

With both of my parents being notorious teachers in our high school, turns out we were a major target for the good ol’ “let’s to toilet paper a house!” prank.

However, to be fair, maybe we were also asking for it. Growing in our front yard was a 20-year-old tree (or something like that). It surely SCREAMED “decorate me with common household items! Throw food staples at me!”

I still don’t know how people got a trash can up in it one year when we were out of town.

Hats off to you crazy tricksters on that one.

Anyway…

I didn’t really need to celebrate the holiday yesterday in order to throw myself into massive sugar coma.

We had birthday celebrations to take care of around here.

And cupcakes are way better than candy corn. Don’t even try to argue.

Especially when I now know they can be made just two at a time. Mind blown.

Someone give me a reason to make another pair of cupcakes today. Please…

Cake Pops

My friend D’s bridal shower and bachelorette was this weekend. We celebrated her happiness and how exciting it is for her to be getting married next month.

I first met D through my friend Mon a couple of years back. We had both heard a lot about one another, and hit it off right away. I think it’s our love of the color pink, cupcakes and sugar.

It’s definitely not our love of cake pops.

I love making them. They’re cute. Fun. And easy to get your friends to help out with.

Her opinion? Well. It’s not so favorable.

She may or may not have attempted making them once. 4 trips to the grocery store and $100 later, not to mention an irritated boyfriend who suggested she just go buy some at a bakery after the first few trips? I believe they were a success. But at that point, it was more the principle of just conquering the Paula Deen recipe.

I believe it was a “melting of the chocolate” issue.

She now hates cake pops. And Paula Deen. And me every time I give her a hard time or feature them on the blog (hey girl, heeeeeeyyyy!).

So I couldn’t help but laugh when I walked into the private room of a restaurant where her shower was being held.

Copious amounts of cake pops!

It couldn’t have been any more ironic.

Other things there were copious amounts of?

Tiramisu. Cupcakes. Candied almonds. Sheet cake. Hershey’s kisses.

Alright, so the cake had strawberries in the middle. But that doesn’t mean I won’t eat some of the buttercream icing off the top… I mean… when you’re handed cake, you should never turn it down…

The bachelorette may have been a low-key dinner out, followed up by drinks at a chill bar afterwards. But I still had a heck of a hangover the next day.

From sugar. Nothing else.

For a girl with an extremely high sugar tolerance, this is saying something.

But wanna know why I love D so much?

The first thing she did when getting up yesterday morning was go to the mini refrigerator in the hotel and exclaim, “cake pops for breakfast!”.

It’s like we were meant to be.

And it sounds like her hatred towards cake pops has subsided a bit.

Every Sunday morning should start with cake pops in bed.

And, in turn, this means every Monday should be full of salad, salad, salad, and maybe more salad.

It’s all about the balance, kids. Am I right?

Just a Number?

My friend Annie’s birthday is this week. We kicked off the week of celebrating by joining her at the F.A.B. (Fighting Against Breast cancer) 5k on Sunday.

She was a perfect hostess and threw a ladies brunch that will surely show up on pinterest one day.

Finishing up last minute details before the race.

Since I crashed at her place the night before, I did what I often have others do for me while baking- sit and kept her entertained as she cooked away.We talked about this, that, and the other, until the topic of her birthday came up. She’s older than me by just over a month. And this is the year we turn 27.

A cookie bar recipe that includes whoppers? And not just some- I doubled the recipe and used the WHOLE carton. You’re welcome.

She said she had always wanted to have get-togethers and throw parties like this when she grew up and was just waiting to do it. Then, she realized recently, that uh…. well… somewhere in the past few years, we did grow up.

When mixing all the dry ingredients, I’ve learned to always hold back, at the very least, a half cup of flour. It only took one incident where there was WAY too much flour listed (I think it was an accident) for me to start doing this. You can always add more- it’s much harder to take away…

When? I’m not quite certain. Adulthood is a sneaky bastard, and I assume it snuck into my head as my preferences turned from Keystone Light to Goose Island.

Or when I made the decision on my own as to where I would live after college?

Or when I started drinking coffee instead of Diet Coke to wake myself up in the morning?

Or when I looked in the mirror and said to myself, “there is no way you’re leaving the house with a skirt this short. Has it always been this short? I look like a prostitute. Did it shrink in the wash?!?!”

Or when I started not being able to sleep in past 8:00 (or 9:00 at the very latest) on the weekends because I felt the need to “be productive”.

Maybe when I rolled my eyes in exasperation and said “oh crap… Mom was right.” (Yes, mom, I have said that. And no, I will not tell you specific times it happened.)

Sometimes a rolling pin just won’t do the trick. That’s when you know it’s time to break out the hammer. And I did. With pleasure. Muahahahaa….

Whenever it was, it happened. And after Annie confessed her realization, we just looked at each other.

Sure, we have two very different lives. She has a husband and owns a house. I’m perpetually single and rent. She’s excited about the idea of children and I can’t wait to say I’ve officially kept a house plant alive for 3 years (this summerrrrr!!!!).

I used the same ratio of whoppers stated in the recipe, however, I skipped the marshmallows and cut back on the amount of chocolate chips used. Unlike the original, I planned to frost the cookie cake and didn’t want it to be overkill.

But we’re both adults, nonetheless. We pay bills and taxes. We grocery shop for ourselves. We clean. We watch the news and discuss the weather. We talk about 401k’s and health insurance options. And, as we now officially enter our late 20′s, the evidence is not only in how we act, it’s on legal documents, too.

A new trick I learned! If you pop the cookie sheet into the freezer for about 10ish minutes before throwing it in the oven, the sides will start to cool down. Because the edges are cooler when put into the oven, they’ll bake slower than usual (and theoretically at the same pace as the middle). This leaves you with a cookie cake that isn’t raw in the middle and baked relatively evenly across the whole pan. Brilliant!

But why don’t I feel different?

I still feel like I shouldn’t be allowed to do some of the things I do without thinking, “oh man… mom and dad are going to be so mad…”. Shouldn’t be allowed to buy certain things on my own. Go where I want without permission.

Ahhhh the pink icing. It not only fits Annie’s personality, it went extremely well with the breast cancer awareness theme of the race!

So, my question is, when does that part change? That part that automatically knows what to do and reminds me “you can do this because you’re an adult and that’s what adults do”.

Or will it? I’m nervous it won’t.

Sometimes the best birthday cakes are simple and fun. Done and done.

Maybe that’s ok. Because I can’t imagine my life without a few nights out of the month where I stay up much too late for my own good. Drink an extra glass or two of wine more than I should. Eat cookies for dinner. Giggle at the word “balls”.

So yes, we have come a long way. And yes, from the looks of this post, I’m still very much confused about my age.

But oh how much longer we have yet to go. 27 doesn’t seem as scary as it used to be.

Talk to me in another year…The recipe used for the cookie cake was Picky Palate’s loaded malted chocolate chip cookie bars. I doubled the recipe so it would give me enough for a 9×13 pan and, as mentioned earlier, cut out the marshmallows and cut back on the chocolate chips. The frosting made up for this. Promise.

Another promise? There is surely not a better recipe for a cookie cake. My favorite thing about it was how the malted milk powder/crushed whoppers baked. They created a texture as if toffee had been added. VERY chewy.  And VERY addicting.

I’ll just hold on to that childish notion of eating cookies for dinner for maybe one more day…

I Want S’More Please…

I’ve mentioned it before, but I think birthdays are SUPER important.

Especially when it’s a birthday of a family member. A friend. Or the guy in the cube down from you that you don’t care about, but there’s still cake in the break room because of it.

See? Always important.

So when it’s your friend and roommate?

Time to break out the big guns.

Err… mixing spoons.

I decided to switch it up a little with a layer of white cake inbetween two layers of chocolate. Yeah. It’s like a surprise when you cut into the cake…

My roommate Bailey had her special day yesterday. But we’re celebrating tonight. It was a planning and logistics issue.

Since we delayed the start of her birthday shenanigans, that just means we have to be that much more crazy.

Uh oh… is that marshmallow creme I see? Find a good marshmallow buttercream recipe that suits you- there are a million different variations. Or, you could just do what I do. And sub in a jar of this stuff for some of the powdered sugar you would have used…

And I’m not just talking about the dancing we’re doing tonight.

I’m also talking about the birthday cake.

Make the layers even. You don’t want a lopsided mess.

Obviously.

You know I heart quality time in the kitchen. Especially when Bailey says “go crazy with it”.

Chocolate ganache made simply out of whipping cream and chocolate chips. Because what’s a cake without a rich filling?

The beautiful thing is, cakes aren’t really too difficult to make. It’s the assembly part that makes it look hard. But it’s not. 

Just a thin layer of marshmallow buttercream and a few spoonfuls of chocolate ganache on the top of each layer.

Sure, it’s time consuming, but easy.

And your cake is built! I suggest throwing a wooden rod or two in there to keep the layers from falling. And then use your extra icing to fill in the sides to make them smooth and even.

Cake:
1 recipe of your favorite chocolate cake
1/2 recipe of your favorite white/yellow cake

Then use your favorite (or easiest) chocolate ganache and marshmallow buttercream recipes. I usually end up just getting an idea of how to start and do my own thing according to taste.

Finished “dirty icing” the cake. Throw it in the refrigerator so the buttercream hardens a little and you can then go over it with another thin layer of icing to make it all pretty and smooth.

Topping is just marshmallows and graham crackers drizzled with chocolate ganache. Easy Peasy.

Ta da! Sure, it’s not perfect. But I was working under a time crunch, people!

A S’more Cake!

This will be the richest thing you eat all year, so cut small slices. A big one will only leave you with an aching tummy and heart palpitations. Of that I know. Between the perfect chocolate cake, a layer of dense white cake, the chocolate ganache, and the marshmallow buttercream… there are just no words.

Beautiful.

And again, I must stress small pieces. No one wants to receive diabetes as a birthday present.

And in the refrigerator it goes until party time. I’m always weird about leaving buttercream out, so just to be safe, I keep it cool.

Now please excuse me. I have a sink full of dishes to tend to and a run to go on so I can still fit into a sassy lil’ number for tonight’s festivities. Balance. Can’t preach it enough.

Happy Birthday, Bailey! Thanks for being a wonderful friend, roommate, and partner in crime!

Keepin’ it real, yo.

Cheers!

Excitable

Is it just me or has it been a slow work week? Let’s blame the rainy weather. Because, let’s face it, we can blame everything on the weather somehow or another. Think about it.

At least there are a few things I’ve got going on that keep me slightly upbeat. Which isn’t hard. I’m excitable over the littlest things:

1. The schedule of the rain. It’s been conveniently starting after my commute home and ending before my early morning walk to the gym. That means I’ve only noticed how much it’s helped me sleep through the night. I never have this kind of luck.

2. Our boss took staff (three of us) out for lunch this week as a form of Staff Appreciation Day from last week. Which means free lunch that doesn’t consist of salad or deli. As a girl of serious deli/salad routine during the work week, that’s a welcome change.

3. My plate at lunch being so big that I stuffed myself and still had plenty leftover for dinner.

Oh hellooooo blurry pic of semi-free food!

I did add a few more roasted veggies to the side of my salmon that were laying around for extra bulk. Then gave myself a pat on the back for being healthy and well-rounded. What? Do you not have roasted brussels sprouts just hanging around in the refrigerator at any given time?

That’s weird.

4. My morning workout motivation has not failed me yet. To be truthful, Tuesday was a little iffy (damn Tuesdays), but since my roommate swore up and down she would get up that day, I had no choice but to go. And didn’t regret it once I got there. Every other day? Jumping up with the alarm.

5. Colored skinny jeans. Considering how apprehensive I was about skinny jeans when they first came out, it’s hilarious I can’t stop buying them in every shade under the sun.

Ok fine, “every shade” is actually just two pair. On sale. At Target. Mint green and sky blue. They’re so bright and fun and give me the urge to do cartwheels.

Oh… that’s just me again? Crap.

6. God Bless “Candy Wednesday”.Because if there is anything from this list that will get me through the slow-moving week, that would be it.

Refer to #3 to discuss the importance of a “well-rounded” diet.

7. After being sad about not being able to track down the 50 Shades trilogy, a friend helped me out and let me borrow all three! With the help of my rest weekend, I’ve been able to almost finish all three of the poorly written yet addicting trashy romance novels. And my opinion is just that. Poorly written. But an addicting storyline. 

There’s a good chance this may be one of those rare cases where the movie that is supposedly in the works may actually be better than the book…

Anyhoo, that’s all I’ve got for you this Thursday morning. Let’s get to it!

Cupcakes For Any Occasion

I found myself on an emotional roller coaster this last weekend.

Ok, that’s a little dramatic.

Ok fine, that’s ridiculously overdramatizing things. Thanks for calling me out.

I found myself feeling moments of cheer and moments of sadness.

There. That’s more accurate.

The peanut butter filling. It's mostly peanut butter and powdered sugar. And really does taste like the inside of a reese's. I should know. After rolling an entire pan of balls out (balls!) and throwing them into the freezer to harden, I kept sneaking them. Which means we ended up with two cupcakes without the peanut butter center. Whoops.

On Saturday I attended a house party. I love house parties. Because usually I know quite a few of the people. I save money. And inevitably, the roommate and I will get control of the music and make poor song choices the rest of the night.

Party rockin’ in the hoooouuuusssseee tonight…

I poured in the batter (it was super thin) and my roommate plopped the peanut butter middle in. Go team!

But this wasn’t the most cheerful reason to have a party. It was a going-away party for one of my favorites. A college friend. A close confidant. A running buddy. A champagne brunch kid. A shoulder to cry on when I’m sad and one to punch when he pisses me off (don’t worry- I’m much too weak to do any harm).

His decision to move back to the area where he grew up was not a popular one in our group of friends. We all used the words “stupid” and “big mistake”. But that was mostly out of selfishness and we know he wants to end up there and we’ll have to support that decision if we like it or not.

Perfection! I suggest, if you do the toothpick trick to test for doneness, poke the side. Otherwise, you just get peanut butter all over your toothpick. Not that I would have done that, or anything.

Whatever. He’ll be back.

And then there’s the flip side.

Another guy friend, also a college friend and champagne brunch participant, was celebrating his birthday over the weekend and at the same party.

Buttttteeerrrrrrrr! When making buttercream from scratch, it's very important to whip the butter before adding anything else. Makes it a little lighter. Also, I cut mine with a little bit of milk (skim, because that's what I have around). Makes it a wee bit healthier (possibly a stretch of my imagination) and easier to work with.

And I love me some birthday celebrations.

Birthdays are your one special day. Or your one special week. Or, in my case, my one special month… 

And they should be reason enough for a big celebration. And what’s a celebration without cake? I don’t let that happen. Because I want you to know, as my friend, how important you are to me. And for some reason or another, I tend to think the only way to convey this message is through buttercream or chocolate. Or both if you’re lucky.

Never skimp on the icing. NEVER. Also, invest in some decent food coloring. Wilton makes the BEST dye for bold and bright colors.

So I was browsing the interwebz one day, I ran across these from Love in the Oven. My instant reaction was a double take and “say what now?!?!”

Chocolate. Peanut butter. Buttercream.

My roommate felt the same way. We rolled up our sleeves and got to work.

I switched out the chocolate cake recipe for one from the Hershey’s website I had used before. This was done because it’s good cake and I also didn’t have the sour cream needed for the original recipe. It’s all about working with what you’ve got, ya know?

Also, we went with plain vanilla buttercream. Just in case other people weren’t as nuts about peanut butter confections as we are. So considerate, right?

Done and done and done.

Cut the tip off of a ziploc bag. Throw in a big scoop of your two colors. Pipe on like you normally would.
Word to the wise- pipe colors that would look ok if they mix a little. It's going to happen as you're squeezing the bag.

Sure, cupcakes may be an odd thing to tote along to a keg party. And birthday candles are a weird thing to have handy in your purse.

But when have you ever known me to be completely normal?

I am so sorry for really sucking at not cutting through it very well. But you get the point. Chocolate cupcake. Peanut butter filling. Plenty of icing. Perfection.