Sweet Treats by Amanda

Black Bean Cupcakes

2014-02-27T08:34:00.002-08:00

So, I just wanted to get on here real quick and just say I've come across a new recipe that I've just been introduced to. I'm sure it's a healthier pick than most of the other cupcakes/cakes I've ever made. They're called Black Bean Cupcakes! To some of you the name may turn you away from it,but just hear me out! It's just so good! There's really nothing else to say! It does indeed have real black beans (the ones you use on tacos or other Mexican dishes) in it but you don't really taste them. They taste like regular chocolate cupcakes. The next best part about this recipe is there is NO flour, so it's GLUTEN FREE friendly! I'm definitely going to try and make this recipe this weekend! I found this recipe in work but the ingredient measurements are insanely large because of how many residents we have to serve. I'll have to cut this recipe down a few times! Wish me luck and I'll post as soon as I bake them!

Christmas is finally here!

2013-12-24T13:46:00.000-08:00

Christmas is finally here and only a day away! I'm so happy I'm done all of my baking for tomorrow! I've been baking so many batches of cookies for the past three days!

The cookies I made for this year were Peanut Butter Blossoms, Hooty Creeks and Cream Cheese cookies which was a recipe from my great grandmother. I loved baking all these cookies but now I think I'm all baked out! Lol. You can never go wrong with baking for the holidays. Merry Christmas everyone!

Peppermint Raspberry Chocolate Oreo Truffles

2013-12-22T14:02:00.003-08:00

Well I did what I said I would! I made the Peppermint Raspberry Chocolate Oreo Truffles and they're amazing! I found these truffles on Pinterest.com and knew I had to try them. I got the recipe from Recipe Chart. Since the recipe is already on the website, I'll just post the direction down below. They' re seriously the most simple truffle I've ever seen to make! Even though the recipe calls for Raspberry candy melts, I just used melba sauce/spreadable raspberry jam (smooth, no seeds or chunky fruit pieces) and it worked really well! As I was melting the chocolate chips with heavy cream on a double boiler, I just added a few spoonfuls into it and BAM! Raspberry flavored chocolate!

I will admit I was a little nervous about the peppermint part because I personally, don't really like peppermint candy canes but the crushed pieces are hardly comparable. They're just a taste of crunchy peppermint and I think they're absolutely perfect for these truffles! You should definitely give these a try!!

Directions

1. Finely chop/crush the Oreo cookies

2. Blend the softened cream cheese with the cookie pieces until almost smooth (Because I crushed my cookies by hand in a zip lock baggie with a meat tenderizer, there were some big pieces, but this is OK!)

3. As soon as the cookies and cream cheese are blended, roll into 1-inch balls. (you can chill first if desired. Mine were soft and gooey because I skipped chilling them).

4. After balls are done being rolled, chill for 20 minutes while you melt your chocolate.

5. On a double boiler, melt chocolate and heavy cream together. Add the Raspberry jam/ Melba Sauce/Candy melts. Mix all together until melted and smooth.

6. Coat the truffles and place on wax paper on a cookie sheet tray. Sprinkle the crushed candy canes on the tops after you coat them. Then chill in refrigerator until the chocolate is firm.

7. ENJOY!

Ribbon Christmas Tree Ornaments

2013-12-19T12:03:00.000-08:00

I love this time of year! I love thinking of creative gifts to give to family and friends. Last Christmas I made cookie mix in a mason jar. Everyone LOVED them. They thought it was such a clever idea and that's pretty much why I did them! They were different and it was a great gift to give away, plus it was homemade! I wish I would've gotten good pictures of them to post on here but unfortunately I didn't.

This year I did something a little different but still homemade. For this Christmas, I'm actually baking all the cookies and giving them away in tins with a ribbon Christmas tree ornament that I made. I didn't come up with this idea but whoever did is a genius! I was on my Aunt's blog, Under the Big Oak Tree and found the ornaments she made last year and I knew I really wanted to give them a try myself. Thanks to Annette at Sunshine Yellow, I got step-by-step on how to make these beautiful tree ornaments. After the first few, it came so easy. After a while of doing a few with green ribbon I already had in my craft drawers, I went to AC Moore's and bought different colored ribbons and beads and mix matched them. Before I knew it, I had about 20 of these! So I decided to give them away as part of my gifts this year! They're great to give away for Christmas gifts to family and friends. I'm even giving them to my co-workers! I know everyone will love them! They're so cute!

Christmas Is Near!! Happy Holidays!

2013-12-17T07:51:00.001-08:00

Hey everyone! If you're strolling along across my blog, you'll see I haven't been on in a while. To be honest, I really haven't had an interest in blogging since my last post...that pretty much explains why I haven't blogged in a while! Lol. Well anyways, the holidays are coming and if any of you are reading this, I would love ideas for a Christmas dessert. I'm thinking Cheesecake, but Cheesecake is really that one thing I can't seem to find a good recipe that taste like original cheesecake. It's tricky to me and it has to be just right for me to love it. I made one a few years ago and it was awful, I hated it. My family ate it all and told me it was pretty good though, so at least someone liked it! Then, my mom made one from a recipe I got offline. (She had three packages of cream cheese in the fridge and didn't want them to go to waste!) It was a mocha cheesecake but the mocha was hardly there! It was definitely very close to the original taste of Cheesecake but still not quite! Haha...I'm alittle picky, I guess!

Or I'm thinking about trying this recipe I saw on Pinterest....I love Pinterest. They're called...Peppermint Raspberry Chocolate Oreo cookie balls! There we go...that's a mouth full, but they look incredibly delicious! I want them right now. Haha...Here's the link to the website if anyone wants to try them and tell me how it tastes! But I'm pretty sure I already know they're going to be amazing! Lol. http://www.recipechart.com/recipes/dessert-recipes/peppermint-raspberry-chocolate-oreo-cookie-balls They look super duper easy too...like really easy.

Well, I have a few desserts I'll post and blog about over the next few days or so! So keep checking back and follow my blog please!! Happy holidays to everyone and stay safe! :)

Cake Pops by Bakerella

2013-05-19T09:55:00.001-07:00

Cake pops!

2013-05-19T09:51:00.000-07:00

This was my first time making and eating cake pops! They were absolutely fun and delicious! My friend and I kept seeing them everywhere so we decided to try and make them ourselves. I found a lot of ideas on how to decorate them from pinterest.com and YouTube. It's super fun and easy, you should try them! Instead of posting step-by-step instructions, I'll post a video from "Bakerella" which is where I found out how to do these! Enjoy everyone!

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

2012-06-29T10:04:00.000-07:00

Last night was my grandfather's retirement dinner. It was a small get together for the family and a lot of people from his work that came out to celebrate his many years of serving the United States. My grandfather worked as a police officer and an emergency help for the military I believe. He did so many great things for this country and served for all of its citizens. I'm very lucky to have him as my grandfather. For his retirement dinner, I wanted to do something for him, and so I made Lemon Meringue cupcakes. A few people approached me during the dinner and told me they were very delicious. I was very happy with them :-)

To make these cupcakes, you will need:

1. 1 box of lemon cake mix

2. A jar of Lemon curd (I used 1 and 1/2 jar, but it depends how much you fill the center) The lemon curd can be found in pretty much any supermarket near the jellies.

3. 4 Egg Whites

4. 6 Tablespoons of sugar

The steps:

1. Follow the cake mix ingredients and procedures to make the lemon cake. Spoon the batter into cupcake papers and bake as directed on the box.

2. While the cupcakes are baking, get a piping bag together with a piping tip so you can fill the center with the lemon curd. After the cupcake come out of the oven, let them cool. After they cool get either a spoon or a knife (I used a knife) to carve out a hole in the center of the cupcake. The first photo shows how big the cupcake hole should be. While making a hole in the center, don't go too deep in the cupcake where your knife or spoon goes through the bottom, leave the bottom have some space.

3. After you make the holes for the lemon curd filling, pipe the curd into the hole that you made before. I come to learn that if you don't have a piping bag/decorating bag, just use a zip-lock bag and cut a little bit off one of the corners at the bottom, it works just the same!

4. After piping in the lemon curd, it's time to make the meringue. Whip the 4 egg whites together on high speed with a hand blender or a mixer. After the egg whites show a soft peak, start adding the sugar in a little bit at a time while its still mixing. You'll see that it gets very fluffy and sticky. I would taste check and add more sugar if you need too. I ended up adding a little bit more than what it called for.

5. Pipe the meringue onto the tops of the cupcakes. Once you pipe all of them, put the cupcakes on a sheet tray and place them back into the oven on 350 degrees for approximately 5-7 minutes so they can get a little stiff on top and brownish, not too brownish but where it looks like a toasted marshmallow. Then take them out and let them cool.

**And then there you have your Lemon Meringue cupcakes! Enjoy!**

Old Books in my Grandmom's Old Nik Naks- Photography

2012-06-24T10:24:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Dash Facebook Giveaways!

2012-06-19T09:32:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! I was recently on FACEBOOK and saw my Aunt posted about MRS. DASH GIVEAWAYS! I signed up to receive a free sample because my parents LOVE to cook. If you have a Facebook account, go to Mrs. Dash's Facebook page and fill out the info. You can sign up to receive a free sample giveaway! Sign up quick!

Grandmom's Birthday ~ Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes!

2012-06-18T10:34:00.004-07:00

Cannoli Cups!

2012-06-16T11:49:00.001-07:00

After I learned how to make Cream Horns at my tech school, I really wanted to make cannolis which the cream horns reminded me of. I didn't have any tube molds to make cannolis so I made them into cups instead. I used the Pilsburry Pie dough to make the actualy cup. I cut them into circles and then put them into cupcake pans. In the cupcake pans, they still looked like cups because they were domed inward. Then I made the cheese filling with Ricotta Cheese and sugar and topped the top with Chocolate Chips. I made them a second time for my cousin's birthday party and found that using the really tiny mini chocolate chips worked so much better! This was a popular dessert at the party. You should try them! http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/mini-cannoli-cream-pastry-cups/1af25fee-41ee-4299-a0f0-db82e3eb707d

Chocolate Cherry Coke Cupcakes!

2012-06-15T21:07:00.002-07:00

Strawberry Milkshake Cupcakes!

2012-06-15T21:06:00.001-07:00

Mother's Day Cake Roses!

2012-06-15T20:59:00.001-07:00

I had to make a lot of roses for this cake!

Easter Egg Cake!

2012-06-15T20:56:00.000-07:00

It's a few months late, but here's an Easter Cake that I made in my tech school! I love decorating!

Fall Cake

2012-06-14T20:31:00.003-07:00

Happy 50th Anniversary!

2012-06-14T20:22:00.001-07:00

Strawberry Milkshake Cupcakes

2012-06-14T20:21:00.001-07:00

Senior Project! Another one of my senior project cupcakes was the Strawberry Milkshake Cupcake. These were pretty popular at the Expo as well! I was very pleased. It's basically a vanilla cupcake with strawberry yogurt in the center, topped whipped topping and a halved strawberry. Very light for summer too! Check them out!...http://serendipitymommy.com/cooking/strawberry-milkshake-whoppers-cupcakes/

Chocolate Cherry Coke Cupcakes

2012-06-14T20:18:00.001-07:00

Senior Project! Chocolate Cherry Coke Cupcakes! Although these cupcakes were popular at my senior expo (which is when parents and teachers walk around the school to everyone's projects) they weren't what I expected. The coke soda flavor didn't really appear in the cupcake which was sort of a disappointment because that's what I was really waiting for. Overall, I was please with them and they were yummy! I got the recipe from...http://annies-eats.com/2009/08/19/cherry-coke-cupcakes/

2012-01-21T12:33:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to Eric, who will be 19 this upcoming Sunday, January 22nd! :) I've really come a long way with my "decorating skillz!" and still learning more all the time! I'm really proud of how much I've approved!

Photography...Editing my pictures. Opinions?

2011-12-03T13:29:00.001-08:00

Grandma's Birthday!

2011-12-03T13:05:00.000-08:00

Alittle late...but these are my Grandmom's birthday cupcakes! Vanilla cake, Hershey kisses and cream cheese frosting colored green. :) Mmm

Drawing in my free time

2011-12-03T12:51:00.002-08:00

Queen of Hearts Drawing

2011-12-03T12:51:00.000-08:00

Does it look like her??