Cupcake Wars Part 1

Picture it: Labor Day weekend, 2011...it's Sunday and it's drizzling and dreary outside. Evan and I were invited to a friend's house for a beer tasting (all of these homebrew guys getting together to geek out about some very special beers...oh joy!) and I felt it necessary to bring something. After all, every well-mannered Southern girl knows it's rude to show up to a party without something in hand.

Of course, I decided to make cupcakes. But not normal cupcakes...Oh no. I really wanted to make a beer-centered cupcake but Evan wasn't prepared to part with any of his precious beers and, seeing as how we live in Georgia, we couldn't go out and buy any. So, I set aside my dreams of chocolate stout cupcakes for another day and focused on something I could make with just a quick trip to the grocery store.

I stumbled upon this delightful website: http://www.cupcakeproject.com/

It's like something out of a dream! She's done all this work and come up with some fantastically creative cupcake ideas! :)

I searched through her files and found this delicious recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes.

I altered it a little bit because I was short on time. I used a plain yellow cake mix and prepared according to the directions. While they were cooking, I sat down and followed the recipe for this yummy raw cookie dough that's safe to eat. No eggs. Delicious and safe? Count me in!!!

All you have to do is mix everything together in a big bowl. No muss, no fuss.

• 2 C all-purpose flour
• 1/2 t salt
• 3/4 C unsalted butter, melted
• 1 C packed brown sugar
• 1/2 C white sugar
• 1 T vanilla extract
• 4 T milk
  
• Mini chocolate chips (you can really use anything you want, but I chose this)

I actually doubled the recipe so that I could use some part of it to make the frosting for the cupcakes. I separated out 1 1/2 cups before I put the chocolate chips in it.

Anyway, once the cupcakes were cooled, I cut out a cone shaped portion so that I could then stuff some cookie dough balls in there.

Once that was finished, I mixed the separated portion of the cookie dough with a cup or so of heavy cream and spread it out on top of the cupcakes.

Cookie Dough Icing? Yes, please!

Finally, as they looked a tad plain, I topped them off with a tiny ball of cookie dough. They turned out so cute, didn't they?

I absolutely LOVE cookie dough, so these were superb in my mind. :) It was definitely a successful Sunday.

However...the Chocolate Stout cupcakes were still on my mind...stay tuned for Cupcake Wars Part 2 to see how that turns out.

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL?

Ok, last cake pop/ball post for a while, I promise. But how could I resist making these for the awesome superbowl party hosted by my dear friends, Ben and Phyllis?! Y'all should definitely try to make these yummy Oreo truffle footballs! SO delicious! so cute!

Bakerella inspired me once again!
Visit Bakerella.com

Now, I have to admit that it took me quite a while to get the dipping process down with these little guys. But other than that, they were so fun!

The main ingredients!
How can you go wrong with Oreos
and cream cheese?!

 So, let's talk ingredients:

• Oreo Cookies (don't get double stuft ones though)
• Cream Cheese 8oz
• Chocolate candy coating
• White Icing (we'll talk about this later)

Bakerella said for us to crush up the oreos, filling and all, and put them in a big bowl with the softened cream cheese. She suggested using a food processor. I don't have one of those, but the boyfriend had a magic bullet. man this thing is awesome! Anyway, I crushed up the oreos, filling and all and did what Bakerella said. It was already delicious!

Cream Cheese and Oreo crumbles all mixed up

Then I molded them into balls and stuck them in the freezer. Unfortunately, I left them in there too long and they were kinda frozen.

Time to shape them! I struggled with this one because I am a bit of a perfectionist and it was much more difficult than I had anticipated. Overall, I think they turned out ok, though! 

Pre-coated footballs! 

Melting the candy coating was pretty easy, but figuring out how to properly dip them was not. I tried just holding them by the points but that ended disasterously for me, the footballs and my poor boyfriend. Sorry for yelling. And for being a bitch. Oops. 

Eventually, I figured out that using a fork was the best solution because it allowed the excess to drip off quite nicely. I only discovered this about halfway through the lot of them and ergo, only half of them were up to my standards. But oh well...can't be perfect all the time. I guess. 

This is what they looked like after
all the dipping. :) 

Now we come to the part that made me so freaking mad that I cannot even explain! Apparently I used the wrong kind of icing because these little stupid lines did not stay on very well and they were a big old pain to put on there in the first place. Anyway, I don't know what kind of icing I need to use but I'm assuming it's going to be royal icing or something like that that is a little more liquid and would dry a little harder. I drew my crappy lines on my footballs, cursed a little, and hurried on my way to my good friends' house where these were a pretty big hit, I believe! 

The picture didn't really reflect how cute they were, but
they weren't perfect either. What mattered was what was
on the inside though. And that was delicious!

On an additional note, Evan debuted his new beer yesterday! He brewed a batch (or whatever you call it) for my friend, Ben, a few weeks ago. The boys both showed excellent patience and waited until Superbowl Sunday to try it for the first time! It, too, was a big hit! It was great! I think he said it was a Belgian Whit, but I'm not really sure. I know it had corriander, orange peels and half barley and half wheat. Now, don't ask me what any of that means, but I know I liked the way it tasted! And I'm fairly sure that Evan and Ben both really enjoyed the beer. And the Crown Royal. And the Captain Morgan. And the Jaager...and maybe the Tylenol this morning? :) Haha...

Happy Superbowl Sunday (and Hangover Monday for some of you!)