Farewell Summer ~ S'mores Cookie Bars

Hey friends! I know it's been a while and I'm sorry I've been MIA. I'm getting over some yucky sickness and am ready to share a delicious recipe to celebrate the ending of summer. First, I want to wish my beautiful mom a happy birthday! I am so blessed to have such an awesome mom and don't know what I'd do without her!! (Birthday cupcakes will be posted later this week...)

As it draws closer to fall, we have just a few evenings left to enjoy the warm weather and what better way to do so than with a fun dessert with elements of a summer favorite? I shared this a couple weeks ago over at One Artsy Mama and am now sharing it with all of you....

S'mores Cookie Bars...just the name makes my mouth water! You start with a buttery graham cracker crust, fill with your favorite cookie recipe, and top with toasted marshmallows. Simple, but fabulous!

A plate full of yumminess!

S'mores Cookie Bars

For the crust:

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 10 crackers)
1/3 cup sugar
6 tablespoons melted unsalted butter

Mix all ingredients together with a fork and press into the bottom of a nine inch square pan. I then added a layer of semi sweet chocolate chips and white chocolate chips...you know...cuz you can never have enough chocolate!

For the cookies, I used my new favorite gluten free chocolate chunk cookie  mix. I know that the graham crackers aren't gluten free so this can't be labeled GF but I just really love this mix! If you have a favorite mix or homemade cookie recipe, feel free to use it! The one I use is a Pamela's gluten free mix that is just fabulous!

Source

Carefully press the cookie dough over the chocolate chips and crust and bake at 350 degrees until cookies are just about finished (literally, just about finished). I pulled mine out when they were starting to brown on the edges but still soft in the center (I like my cookies soft and chewy...not crispy). Top with marshmallows and place under the broiler until toasted. Once cooled, cut and serve brownies, and be ready for the sighs of bliss.  I also added broken up graham crackers and pieces of a milk chocolate bar. Seriously, these are just delicious! Obviously, you could also make S'mores Brownies by replacing the cookie dough with your favorite brownie batter....yum!

I don't know about you all but I'm totally excited about fall being just around the corner! It's my favorite time of year, especially for baking - pumpkin, cinnamon, sweet potatoes, apples, molasses - oh man! I just can't wait!!

Until next time, happy reading and more importantly, happy cupcake-ing!

Just "Beach-y" Cupcakes

Hey friends! Today I'm sharing with you the perfect cupcakes for a beach party. I got an email a couple weeks ago from a repeat client and she asked me to make cupcakes for her son's beach/pool themed party. She sent me some ideas and I jumped online to do some research and I'm sure you're gonna love the results...

Cute, right? There are three different designs: sea turtles, sharks, and beach towels and floats on the sand. I just love the way they turned out! Now, for the flavors. She requested two of the same flavors as her last order - Marble with Chocolate Buttercream and Red Velvet with Cream Cheese Icing.

Fresh & Fruity Jello Cake

Hey friends! I'm really excited to tell you all about this cake! It's been a favorite of my family's since I was a little girl and we eat it quite often in the summertime. It's so light and refreshing and just the perfect ending to a warm evening with friends and family!

Fresh, Fruity Jello Cake

Now, growing up, my mom would make this with a boxed white cake mix and Cool Whip. However, since I am now a pastry chef and you are here for a dessert that's a little more impressive, we'll start with a light, airy sponge cake as the base.

Vanilla Sponge Cake (adapted from here)

1 cup all purpose flour
11/2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
5 whole eggs
1 cup sugar
1 t vanilla
1/3 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fill muffin pan with liners. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Separate eggs. Beat egg yolks with 3/4 cup sugar on high speed until yolks are pale yellow. Stir in milk and vanilla. Pour egg yolk mixture over the flour mixture and stir very gently until combined. Beat egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form. With the mixer on, pour in remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat until egg whites are stiff but not dry. Fold egg white mixture into the batter very gently until just combined. Pour into prepared pan and bake until lightly golden brown and tester inserted into middle comes out clean.

While the cake is cooling, make your favorite flavor of jello, leaving out the cold water. In other words, only use the boiled water it calls for and don't add the cold once it's done cooking. Next, prepare your cake for the jello. For this presentation, I cut the cake into two layers and poured jello over both.

For the whipped cream I don't really follow an exact recipe. The ingredients I use are heavy whipping cream, confectioner's sugar, and vanilla. The amount of sugar is dependent upon the type of dessert I am making (more for a less sweet cake or pie, and less for a sweeter one). The finishing, and most important, touch is the fresh fruit. You can use whatever you want for this cake. I chose raspberries and blueberries. Traditionally, my mom uses just strawberries. You're probably already thinking this, with the time of year that it is, but this dessert is a great choice for the Fourth of July. In fact, I usually make it every year, forming the American flag on top with strawberries and blueberries. This time I chose to fill the cake with the whipped cream and fruit and then topped it with the same for a more rustic, homemade look. I love how creative you can be with this cake!

Just have fun with the flavors, start your own family tradition, and most importantly....

....enjoy!

Have a wonderful, safe summer and take time to make lots of memories! Time spent with loved ones is more important than any thing you can own and even more than any cake you will eat (it's close...but, yes, even more than cake!) :) Until next time, happy reading and more importantly, happy cupcake-ing!

Coconut Cream Cupcakes - Light & Refreshing for Summer!

Hey friends! We celebrated another birthday at work last week and it was delicious! To say that the birthday girl LOVES coconut would be an understatement. She adores it. She talks about it all the time. In fact, everything she got that day had something to do with the stuff. Her husband started her day off with her favorite coconut candy. She got to work where I had coconut creamer for her coffee. Then, of course, the special cupcakes I made for her were....yep, Coconut Cream cupcakes with a pineapple and coconut cream filling. We also had vanilla ice cream and crushed pineapple to go on top.

The recipe comes from a cake we used to make at a bakery I ran in Georgia. I have never been much of a coconut fan myself. I like it fine, but it's not usually something I would pick when given a choice. However, this cake is so light and delicious that it has made a coconut lover out of me. The secret to this cake is coconut creamer from CoffeeMate and I have only ever been able to find it at Walmart - don't ask me why. No idea why other stores don't carry it. But, trust me. Save yourself the time and frustration looking for it at other places and just go straight to Walmart. Anyway, back to the cupcakes....

I wanted to do these a little differently to make them more special for the birthday party. I pulled the liners off the cooled cupcakes and cut them in half horizontally. I then put a heaping tablespoonful of the filling on the bottom layer, cut a whole out of the middle of the top layer, placed it on the filling, and then filled the hole with crushed pineapple for an extra layer of flavor. Pineapple and coconut - such a classic summer flavor combination! I piped the coconut whipped cream on top of the whole thing. The cupcakes look like mini layered cakes and everyone really loved them!


Coconut Cake:

2 sticks unsalted butter
2 cups sugar
5 eggs
3 1/2 cups AP flour
3 t baking powder
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup Coffee Mate coconut creamer
2 t vanilla extract

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy.

Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

Combine dry ingredients and add alternately with milk and creamer. Add vanilla last and stir until combined.

Bake at 350 degrees until lightly golden brown and toothpick inserted in middle of cupcakes comes out clean.