Project 365: Day 139 Caramel Apple Cookies

What do you know... another Pinterest score! I found this recipe for Caramel Apple Cookies a while back and have been dying to try it out. I made them last night and I have decided these are the best cookies in the world. 

I took them to work today and they were eaten up! Luckily, I saved a plateful of cookies for me and the girls at home. 

I got the recipe from here: http://sixsistersstuff.blogspot.com/2011/11/apple-cider-caramel-cookies-recipe.html and just tweaked it a little. I can't wait to check out their blog a little bit more!

What you'll need:

1 cup unsalted butter, nearly melted

1 cup granulated sugar


1/2 teaspoon salt


1 (7.4 ounce) box Alpine Spiced Apple Cider Instant Original Drink Mix *Not sugar free*


2 eggs


1 teaspoon vanilla extract


1 teaspoon baking soda


1/2 teaspoon baking powder


3 cups all-purpose flour


1 bag Kraft Premium Unwrapped Caramel bits

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a stand mixer, cream together butter, sugar, salt, and all 10 packets of apple cider mix until smooth and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla extract, then mix in the baking soda and baking powder. Add the flour and mix until just combined. Add the caramel bits. (I didn't use an exact measurment. It was most of the bag, I just added until there were caramel bits throughout.)

3. With a cookie scoop, scoop the dough scrapping off the excess as you go up the bowl and  place the cookies two inches apart on the sheets.

4. Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. After baking, carefully slide the parchment with the cookies onto the counter. Let cool until they are no longer soft but still slightly warm. Twist gently to remove, and cool the rest of the way upside down on the parchment or on a cooling rack.

The original blogger said if you have an issue removing cookies from the paper place the cookie sheet in the freezer for a few minutes and then you can twist them off. (worked like a charm!)

Crockpot Bufflao Chicken

This is another recipe that I found on Pinterest and have been DYING TO try. I don't know how I managed to NOT take a picture but luckily the original blogger has a bunch of pictures.

What you'll need:
2-3 pieces of frozen Chicken Breast
1 bottle of Frank's Wings Buffalo Sauce
1 pkg. of Ranch dip


Put chicken breast in the crockpot. Pour entire bottle of buffalo sauce on top and then pour in the package of Ranch Dip.

Cook on low for 6-7 hours.

Remove chicken from crockpot, shred and return to crockpot. Add two tablespoons of butter. Cook for another hour on low so that the chicken can soak up the juices.

We used this for buffalo chicken sandwiches with mozzarella cheese and ranch dressing. (I think Blue Cheese would have been awesome also.) YUM!

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Whipped Cream Frosting

I have been finding so many amazing recipes one Pinterest here lately. Mostly, I am finding a ton of sweets. The problem is, we don't eat a lot of sweets in this house. More often then not, sweets are thrown away before we can eat them all. Luckily, I have hungry coworkers.

I made these Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes for a birthday last Sunday. They were AMAZING.

I got the original reciepe here for Pumpkin Spice Latte cupcakes, but since I couldn't come up with espresso powder, so we did without.  I also used pumpkin spice instead of nutmeg and cloves. No one complained.

What you'll need:

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. pumpkin spice
1 tsp. salt

1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin puree

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup canola or vegetable oil

4 large eggs

For the topping:

2¼ cups heavy cream, chilled

¼ cup confectioners' sugar
Ground cinnamon

Caramel sauce

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, espresso powder, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, pumpkin spice and salt. Stir together and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, blend together the pumpkin, granulated sugar, brown sugar and oil. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. With the mixture on low speed, add the flour mixture in two additions, mixing just until incorporated.

Fill the cupcake liners about three-quarters full. Bake until the cupcakes are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 18-20 minutes. Transfer the pans to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes, then remove the cupcakes from the pans. Let cool completely.
To make the frosting, place the heavy cream in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip on medium-low speed at first, gradually increasing to high speed. Blend in the confectioners’ sugar gradually. Whip until stiff peaks form, being careful not to over-beat. Use a pastry bag fitted with a decorative tip to frost the cooled cupcakes. Sprinkle with ground cinnamon and drizzle with caramel sauce. Store in an airtight container and refrigerate.


Go try them now!



Etsy Anniversary gift. Personalized print.

I ordered this print from an Etsy seller for my husbands first anniversary gift. I'm so happy with it!

I ordered the print on Thanksgiving and it was in my inbox the next morning! (She makes it and sends it via email.) For $10!!!

It doesn't get any better than that.

I was able to easily print it, frame it and wrap it to put in the husbands Christmas box. <3

Go check her out!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/KarenArtCreations

Project 365: Day 103~ choco-zuchinni cupcakes

We have a birthday at work tomorrow so I threw together some cupcakes today to take with me.

I found this recipe for Choco-Zucchini Cupcakes and I hope she will love them! 

Instead of the peanut butter frosting listed on the BHG website I went for my old standby... cream cheese frosting. It's so fun to get to cook some of these pinterest finds! My frosting did not come out as thick as it did last time, but the cupcake I taste tested was great. I hope the birthday girl thinks so too!

 

Anthro inspired "flowers" and toothbrush holder

Thanks to my mom supplying me with styrofoam balls and Pinterest for supplying me with too many things I want to make....

Really, thanks.

This weekend when I couldn't sleep I cut up a bunch of q-tips and made these anthro inspired q-tip flowers.

I just cut q-tips in half, glued hot glue to secure them in place and used a dowel as a "stem".

The idea originally (I believe) came from awesome blogger.

http://www.homemadeginger.com/2011/03/anthropologie-inspired-blooms.html

I'm still undecided if I will paint my ends or not. I kind of like the plain white, but we shall see what happens!

Also, while I was at it, I threw all of my leftover glass rocks into a vase and created a new toothbrush holder. I still need to pick up some new rocks, but I am loving the way this looks!

Project 365: Day 82: Broccoli Cheese Soup

Well, you know that I am pretty much in love with my crockpot. It's slowly becoming my Sunday night dinner tradition in fact. Today was no different.

It's getting really cold, really fast here so this was a great dinner tonight!

Ingredients:

3 cups milk

2 Tbsp. Butter

2 cans cream of chicken soup (undiluted)

1 lb velveeta, cut into cubes

1 bag Steam Fresh Broccoli

Cook broccoli according to package instructions. While broccoli is cooking,

combine milk, butter, velveeta and soup into the crockpot. Chop

up the steamed broccoli and add to the crockpot. Stir together.

Cook on high for 3 hours.

It was delicious served with hot ham and cheese sandwiches!