did somebody say "Bacon Sprinkles" ?!

so if you are a consistent follower of my blog posts you might get the impression that i am a wild child and a bit on the promiscuous side.. BUT when i am dating someone i am probably the most amazing girlfriend ever because i just bake and bake and cook and cook and next thing he knows he has gained 10 lbs [luckily i have a few bedroom excercises to burn off those calories ] any who back to me being an amazingly generous with the baked goods girlfriend ... peanut butter treats.  i am sure you probably just felt a little excitement bubble inside of you but it gets better, because as eluded to by the title of the post there are BACON SPRINKLES!

so my boo has gone on a 3 week tour de basketball and the martha stewart in me has decided i need to send him off with some goodies to keep him fed and happy during his trip.  i am racking my brain for something that will hold up well in the car and i decide on cookies.  i start raiding food network and pinterest for cookie recipe's and i come across this chocolate peanut butter cookie and it occurs to me how amazing would it be with bacon added to it! so now i start looking for recipes involving dessert bacon.  and i combine everything ive seen into one amazing rich dessert "sugar cookie cups rimmed with chocolate filled with peanut butter cream and topped with candied bacon sprinkles" -- i do not think its any surprise that these bite size treats did not make it that many hours into the roadtrip, but they definately earned me girlfriend brownie points :)

the recipe is super easy and if you take a few semi-homemade steps its really fast but it tastes like you've been slaving all day!  i am going to break it down into the cup, the filling, and the topping..

Sugar Cooke Cup
- follow sugar cookie recipe
-OR pre-made sugar cookie dough -- semi-homemade (because lets be real, we work and sometimes we just dont have the time)

roll the dough into small balls or if you are using the cut and bake kind break off the chunks.  place them in a greased cupcake tin.  i used the mini cupcake tin so its a bite size portion but feel free to make larger size also.  bake 9-10 min and the cookie balls will puff up.  take out and using the end of a wooden spoon press the center down, this is how the cookie becomes a cup.  put back in for another minute just to crisp up the cookie.  take out and cool.  (i rimmed my cups with milk chocolate by microwaving the chocolate in 30 second intervals stirring between every cycle until fully melted.  put cup face down in chocolate and coat the rim of the sugar cookie cup)

Peanut Butter Cream
cream one cup of peanut butter with half a stick of cream cheese.  on low speed start to add in confectioners sugar.  i would say about 1-1/12 cups.  you are looking for a smooth creamy consistency.  if it looks really thick add a splash of milk to thin it out.  you are looking for a middle ground between a glaze and frosting consistency.  fill peanut butter cream into piping bag (or use zip lock bag and cut off a corner) and set aside until cookie cups are fully cooled.  fill the cups so that the filling is taller than the rim of cookie.

Candied Bacon Sprinkles
generously coat your bacon with brown sugar and lay on a wire rack that will drip into a sheet pan.  you want the fat to drip off leaving the bacon crisp. bake at 350 for 15 minutes.  after 15 minutes flip the bacon and bake for an additional 15.  the brown sugar will melt and then harden into almost a candy coating.  (from here you are more than welcome to dip the cooled candied bacon into the left over melted chocolate -- dont judge me its amazing)  but to make the "sprinkles" you are going to want to  cop the bacon up super tiny and then sprinkle generously over the top of the peanut butter cream. 

this is the perfect treat for any man.  chocolate peanut butter and bacon, he is going to love you forever.  it's great for parties also because it is portable and you are eating the cup so there is no additional trash.  these sugar cookie cups are the pefect vessel for any filling -- strawberries topped with whip cream, a small scoop of ice cream, endless possibilities.  until next time i hope you try this out and eat laugh love & enjoy!

indulge a little

my job has the most amazing cook.  heis this crazy loveable Jamaican guy who was possibly put onto this earth to cook.  hemakes me dinner every night at work and  i can taste all of the love he puts into preparing it.  today is his birthday and i felt like it was time for him to indulge a little so i whipped up tart raspberry cupcakes with a smooth and creamy white chocolate frosting.  this is a twist on a classic vanilla cupcake recipe (or truth be told, i baked this after working an 11 hour day and getting stuck in 45 minutes of traffice -- USE A BOXED CAKE, you will be adding so many extra flavors and so much love no one will know)

i had originally intended on making this whole she-bang from scratch, but lets be real .. after working 2 pm - 12 am and then getting stuck in 45 minutes of traffic, i just wanted to crank out some cupcakes and somehow make it to bed by 3 am.  prior to going to work, i put about 2 cups of frozen raspberries in a bowl with some sugar (this is called mascerating them)  i added juice from 1/4 of a lemon and allowed it to sit.  the berries leached out all of their juice making this super sweet syrup like liquid. 

for the cake itself, i luckily had a boxed vanilla cake on hand so i just followed the directions, however you are going to cut back on the amount of water you use which will intensify the raspberry flavor, not allowing the water to dilute the berries.  most box cake recipes call for 1 cup of water.  if you were able to extract 1/3 cup of juice then you would only want 2/3 cup of water.  basically however much juice you get just fill the remainder of the cup with water.  blend this into the cake mix and bake according to directions.

for the frosting -- in your kitchen air or with your hand mixer combine 1/2 stick of room temp butter, 1/2 stick of room temp cream cheese and 4 oz of greek plain yogurt.  the greek yogurt adds a tang that helps cut through the sweetness of the white chocolate. when your butter and cream cheese and yogurt are combined smoothly begin to slowly add the powder sugar about 2 cups in total.  (if frosting looks to sticky just add a touch more sugar remember its easy to add not as easy to take away)  melt 5 oz of white chocolate in the microwave in 30 second intervals.  the chocolate will melt very quickly (faster than milk or dark chocolate does)  stir between each interval. when the chocolate has fully melted continue to stir it rapidly, this will cool it down but also keep it from re-hardening.  once the chocolate has cooled, add it to the frosting and mix to combine.  frost your cupcakes and garnish with white chocolate shavings. YUM