How to Keep Cake Crumbs out of Your Icing

Having problems keeping your cake crumbs out of your icing? I always wondered how the pros did it. One day I stumbled on the "dirty ice" method by accident. Actually, I didn't even know it was called that until watching an episode of Cake Boss. Basically, in order to keep cake crumbs from showing through your icing, you need to ice the cake with a thin layer of icing to "catch" all the crumbs. 

Before putting on any icing, lightly brush any loose crumbs from the cake. Then take a small amount of your regular icing and thin it out a bit with a little extra water. Thin icing spreads easily. Thicker icing will drag across the surface of your cake and create more crumbs than necessary.

As demonstrated in this picture, you'll still see cake crumbs in the frosting, but this is only your first layer.

Next, let the "dirty" layer set. Depending on the humidity in your home, this may take an hour or two. The icing should "crust" a little so that the crumbs remain caught in it. Once it's set, you can smooth a second layer of icing on the cake.

See? Much smoother and you don't see all those chocolate cake crumbs. :)

If you want to see how this cake looked in the end, check out this post.

Cherry Honey Cupcakes

The end of this school has been particularly hectic, so this blog post is late. I made these a couple weeks ago for an event at school. They were pretty good, but I'm not sure if I'd make them again. The truth is, I'm not that huge of a fan of honey, but I thought I'd try something a little different.

Cherry Honey Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups oats

1 cup flour

1/3 cup brown sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 egg

2/3 cup milk

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup honey

15 maraschino cherries, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place paper baking cups in 16 muffin cups.

In a large bowl, combine oats, flour, brown sugar, and baking powder. In a small bowl, mix together egg, milk, oil, and honey. Stir into dry ingredients. Fold in chopped maraschino cherries.

Use large cookie scooper (or ice cream scooper) to drop into muffin cups. Bake for 15-17 minutes.

For the icing, I used my regular buttercream recipe, but decreased the water a little and added 1-2 tablespoons of maraschino cherry juice instead. The icing was the best part of this recipe. :)

Lemon Drop Cookies

I found this recipe on a bottle of Crisco Vegetable Oil and made only a few slight changes. You can find the original recipe online here.

The cookies are very light in flavor and texture. One of the changes I made was to use lemon juice instead of lemon extract. Perhaps the extract would have given it a stronger flavor. Either way, these cookies will melt in your mouth.

Lemon Drop Cookies

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 cup solid vegetable shortening (i.e. Crisco)
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Frosting:
2 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup solid vegetable shortening
1/4 cup warm milk
1-1/2 teaspoons lemon juice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray cookie sheets with baking spray.

In a large mixer bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and baking powder. Beat in shortening on low speed until completed mixed. Add egg, milk, and lemon juice and mix until blended.

Using small cookie scooper, scoop dough onto prepared baking sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes. Cookies should be lightly browned. Cool completely on cookie sheet on wire rack.

To make the frosting, beat the above ingredients. Add more milk if a thinner consistency is desired. Spread on top of cooled cookies.

Yields: about 2-1/2 dozen cookies

Frozen Buttercream Transfer

This cake was my first attempt at doing a frozen buttercream transfer. Usually, this method is used to create a character image that is later transferred onto a cake. I was making a birthday cake for a friend, and I wanted it to have a three-dimensional "picture frame" feel to it. Since buttercream transfers are rather thick and naturally stand out from the cake, I decided to use this method for the frame part of my decoration.

I'll give a brief description of what I did, but the best explanation I found for how to do a frozen buttercream transfer is on the Wilton website.

Frozen Buttercream Transfer

Supplies:
Buttercream Icing (recipe here)
Waxed paper
Desired design outlined on paper
Cookie sheet or flat board
Decorating bags and tips

To start, you'll need your design outlined on a piece of paper. For this cake, I measured the width and length of the picture frame I wanted. If you're doing a character for your cake, you'll want the reverse image (just flip over what you've drawn and trace it).

Tape the waxed paper down over your drawing. I taped both the drawing and the waxed paper to a cookie sheet so that I could easily move it all to the freezer later.

Take a decorating bag filled with your outline color and trace your design. Since I simply wanted the picture frame to be brown, I outlined with chocolate buttercream icing.
Then fill in your design using a tip like #4 or #5. Be sure to really fill in every corner since you want your transfer to be solid. You can smooth it with a spatula.

Once you've completely filled in your design, fill another decorating bag with icing the same color as the background of your cake. My cake was going to have a white background, so I used white icing. Outline and fill the entire design with your background color.
Place your sheet in the freezer for at least ninety minutes or overnight.

After icing your cake, pull the transfer out of the freezer. Quickly, flip it onto your cake and peel of the waxed paper. Finish decorating your cake with borders, lettering, or whatever else you desire.

How to Stripe Your Icing

Ever wonder how bakeries get more than one color in their icing decorations? The trick is called "striping," and it's actually pretty easy to do. All you need are decorating bags, clean paintbrushes, icing, and gel icing colors.

These cupcakes were for a birthday party for two of my nephews. The theme of the party was Cars. I couldn't find any good Cars muffin cups or cupcake decorations, so I just used these generic car and truck muffin cups I found at JoAnn's and then striped the icing. The older boys said they looked cool. :)

How to Stripe Your Icing

What You'll Need:
1) decorating bag(s)
2) gel icing colors
3) icing
4) clean paintbrushes (ones that you've never actually used with paint!)

There are two ways you can do this. If you've got good quality gel icing colors, dip your paintbrush in the color you want to strip your icing. Run your paintbrush up the inside of your decorating bag. You can repeat this process on the opposite side of the bag with the same color or a different color. Then fill the bag with white icing. As you push the icing through the bag, the color you striped along the inside of the bag will transfer to your icing.

If you have the liquid kind of food coloring instead of gel colors, you can still create the same effect with a slightly different procedure. In small bowls, mix some icing with the color you want. Then use a small spatula or knife to spread some of the icing along the inside edge of the decorating bag. Repeat again on the opposite side. Fill the rest of the bag with white icing.

For the above cupcakes, I didn't have the right kind of gel icing color, so I used this last method with small amounts of blue and green icing.

How to Make an Easy Ice Cream Cake

I got this idea from a co-worker and turned it into a treat for a friend who was expecting a baby (hence, the baby-themed candles on top).

This ice cream cake is easy to make and super sweet so be sure to share with friends. :)

Ice Cream Cake

Ingredients:
9 ice cream sandwiches
hot fudge sauce
Cool Whip, thawed
Peanut Butter Frosting (2 cups powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons peanut butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 2-3 tablespoons milk)

On a large sheet of aluminum foil lay down two ice cream sandwiches side-by-side. Take a third sandwich and cut it in half. Place the two halves down so that the first layer is the length and width of a loaf pan.


Make the peanut butter frosting (originally posted in the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcake post. (Basically, you mix the ingredients listed above.) Spread a layer of the frosting over the ice cream sandwiches.


Then spread a thin layer of hot fudge sauce over the peanut butter frosting.
Repeat those three layers (sandwiches, peanut butter, fudge sauce). Finish with one last layer of ice cream sandwiches.

Wrap the cake with the aluminum foil and freeze for a couple hours. When you're reading to serve, frost with Cool Whip.

The cake has some pretty cool layers when you cut into it.

Serves about 10.

Fourth of July Dessert: Berry Brownie Shortcake

I know I'm posting this recipe too late for this year's Fourth of July, but you can keep it in mind for next year. :) Or you can do the Fourth of July Shortcake I made last year. That photo is still one of my favorites. I swear the blueberry in the lower left corner is smiling at me.

This recipe is yet another adaptation of a Kraft Food recipe. The original version was called Easy Brownie Shortcake Dessert. It called for strawberries and kiwis on the top. I switched the fruit to strawberries and blueberries to give it a Fourth of July flair. After tasting the frosting, I also added more powdered sugar because I was tasting too much of the sour cream and not the Cool Whip.

Berry Brownie Shortcake

Ingredients:
1 package brownie mix (plus the ingredients listed on the box)
8 oz. sour cream, divided
1 cup Cool Whip, thawed
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
about twenty-five strawberry slices and at least fifteen blueberries

Preheat oven to 350.

Make brownie batter according to the package direction, but add in 1/2 cup of the sour cream. Pour batter into greased and floured 9-inch pan. Bake for 40-45 min. Cool 10 minutes before removing to wire rack. Allow cake to cool completely before frosting.

For frosting, mix remaining sour cream with Cool Whip, powdered sugar, and vanilla.

Cut brownie horizontally in half. Put one layer on cake plate and spread with some of frosting. Gently top with the other layer. Frost again and then decorate with the strawberries and blueberries.

To go with the patriotic theme of the holiday, I arranged the strawberry slices into five-pointed stars and then placed the blueberries in the middle.

Serves about 12.

Cookies and Cream Brownies

I made these for work before the school year ended. Now, several weeks later, I'm finally posting this super easy way to dress up some plain brownies.

Cookies and Cream Brownies

Ingredients:
1 batch of brownies for a 9 x 13 pan
1 can of cream cheese frosting
10-15 Oreos
about 1/2 cup of Wilton chocolate candy melts or semisweet chocolate chips

Make the batch of brownies. When they cool, frost them with the cream cheese icing. Place the Oreos in a sealed plastic bag and crush them with a few passes with a rolling pin. Sprinkle the crushed cookies on the brownies.

In a disposable decorating bag, melt the chocolate candy melts or chocolate chips in the microwave. Drizzle the melted chocolate over the brownies. Keep refrigerated.

Another Character Cake

If you missed the first character cake I did on this blog, check this entry.


This time I did a Thomas the Train cake for a friend's son.

I used the same technique of tracing and copying using piping gel as I did for the Elmo cake. Below is the pattern I followed for the Thomas drawing. Luckily, I had saved it from one of my nephew's cakes years ago. I think I sketched it off a Thomas toy I had bought for a gift.


Other character cakes I've done in the past:

• Angelina Ballerina
• Dora the Explorer
• Big Bird
• Bob the Builder
• the Cars movie logo
• Blues Clues
  

Chocolate Mint Brownies

This dessert is all butter and sugar. Prepare yourself for something extra sweet. I recommend cutting it into tiny bite-size pieces and sharing with many people.

In other words, I recommend not cutting into large pieces like you see below. I think I gave a sugar-high to the round of guinea pigs who tried the slices in the photo. :)

Chocolate Mint Brownies

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) plus 6 tablespoons butter or margarine, divided
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs
3/4 cup cocoa
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 2/3 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon mint extract
green food coloring
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 13 x 9 inch pan. Microwave 2 sticks of butter (1 cup) in large bowl until melted (about 2 minutes). Stir in sugar and vanilla. Add eggs and beat well. Stir in cocoa, flour, and baking powder. When well blended, pour into greased pan.

Bake 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely on wire rack.

Once bottom layer has cooled, you can make the mint layer. Combine powdered sugar, 1 stick butter, water, and mint extract. Beat until smooth. Add about 4 drops of green food coloring and blend. Spread over top of brownies. Cover and refrigerate for an hour or two.

To make chocolate glaze, microwave 6 tablespoons butter and chocolate chips in small bowl for one minute. Stir until mixture is smooth. Allow to cool slightly. Then pour over mint layer. cover and return to refrigerate. Chill at least 1 hour before serving.

Kiss the Blarney Stone Cookies

I know many people are holding St. Patrick Day parties this weekend, so my post may be a smidge late for them. However, if you're celebrating on the real St. Patrick's Day, here's a fun, chocolaty cookie I found at allrecipes.com. It comes from the Hershey's people.

Kiss the Blarney Stone Cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 baking cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
about 36 Hershey's Kisses

Ingredients for glaze:
3/4 cup powdered sugar
3 1/2 teaspoons milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
3 drops of green food coloring

Beat together the butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Gradually add the dry mixture to the butter mixture, beating until thoroughly blended.

Divide dough in half. Place each half on a piece of waxed paper and shape into a log with square sides. You can make the log any size you want. The original recipe suggested 7 inches long and 2 1/4 inches wide. Wrap the logs in the wax paper and refrigerate until firm, at least 8 hours.

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Cut logs into 3/8 inch slices and place onto ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 15 minutes. Cool for 1-2 minutes and then remove to wire rack to cool completely.

Stir together powdered sugar, milk, 3/4 teaspoon vanilla, and green food coloring. Using a small round tip (like #3), drizzle the glaze over the top of the cookies. Place an unwrapped Hershey's kiss on top.

Yields: about 3 dozen cookies, depending on size

Perfect Icing for Piping

Last weekend, I was looking for a new kind of icing to do the lettering on the Chocolate Layer Loaf Cake. I was hoping to find a knock-off recipe for the icing used on Mrs. Field's giant cookies online. However, no one seemed to have one. The closest I came was an icing that was used for sugar cookies.

So I decided to come up with my own idea. Instead of adding milk, cream, or water to the icing, I used a dollop of Cool Whip. The result was just what I wanted! A yummy icing that pipes letters and borders beautifully and dries to a semi-hard finish--strong enough to hold its shape, but not as rock hard as royal icing. You can see the result on the finished Chocolate Layer Loaf Cake below.

Perfect Icing for Piping

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons butter
2 heaping tablespoons Cool Whip
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter. Then add the Cool Whip and stir until combined. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla. Add food coloring, if desired.

As with other icing recipes, feel free to add more powdered sugar if the icing seems too thin. If it's too thick, add more Cool Whip.

Icing will start to harden fairly quickly (faster than normal Wilton icing recipe but not as fast as royal icing). If it hardens on you, stir until it softens again. You might try a few seconds in the microwave, too.

Chocolate Layer Loaf Cake

The inspiration for this came from the Kraft foods website. The original recipe was for a cake roll. However, when I attempted it, I ended up with a mess that fell apart in my hands.

Now if you’ve followed my blog since last October, you know I’ve made one cake roll before (the Pumpkin Cake Roll), and that one turned out great. So when I had difficulty with this one, I went to the online reviews for the Kraft Chocolate Cake Roll. Although a lot of people said it tasted great, they also had problems rolling it.

So for attempt #2, I decided to forget rolling the cake. Instead, I layered it into a very yummy, chocolatey, loaf cake.

Chocolate Layer Loaf Cake

Ingredients:
6 squares semi-sweet chocolate
6 tablespoons butter
1 cup white sugar
4 eggs
1 cup flour, divided
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2/3 cup water
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup powdered sugar, divided
3 cups of Cool Whip, thawed (You'll need to buy two tubs.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a jelly roll pan (10 x 15) with cooking spray. Line the pan with waxed paper, and then spray it again.

Microwave three of the chocolate squares and the 6 tablespoons of butter in a medium bowl for 1½ minutes. Butter should be melted. Stir until chocolate is also melted and well blended. Add white sugar and mix until no lumps remain.

In large bowl, beat the four eggs about 3-4 minutes on high speed until thickened. (I recommend really making sure you have the eggs thickened before proceeding.) Beat in the chocolate mixture.

Add the baking soda and ¼ cup of the flour. Stir until thoroughly mixed. Then alternate adding in some of the water with the rest of the flour. Beat well after each addition. Spread evenly into prepared jelly roll pan.

Bake for 15-17 minutes or until cake springs back when touched lightly.

As soon as you’ve removed it from the oven, sprinkle it with ¼ cup of the powdered sugar. Place a piece of nonstick aluminum foil over the pan and immediately invert onto a cooling rack. Remove the pan and slowly peel off the wax paper. Allow cake to cool completely.

When the cake is cooled, cut into three equal pieces (about 10 x 5 inches).

In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese and the remaining ½ cup of powdered sugar. Gently fold in 1½ cups Cool Whip.

Place one slice of cake onto your cake plate. Spread one half of cream cheese mixture evenly onto cake. Place second slice on top. Spread remaining filling on this layer. Set final cake piece on top.

In medium bowl, microwave remaining three chocolate squares about 1½ minutes on high. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Fold in 1½ cups Cool Whip until thoroughly blended. Frost top and sides of cake evenly.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Some friends helped me test these this past weekend. The cake part received mediocre reviews--good but not great--however, a couple friends wanted the recipe for the frosting so they could eat it by the bowl! :) (See below for frosting recipe.)

I have to say the peanut butter frosting reminded me of the peanut butter balls my mom used to make for Christmas. Yummy!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Ingredients:
½ cup milk
1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice
2 cups flour
2/3 cup cocoa
1 ¾ teaspoons baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup peanut butter chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, mix the milk and the lemon juice. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until fluffy. Then add in the eggs and vanilla.

Alternately fold in the flour mixture and milk mixture. Stir in peanut butter chips.

Spoon into muffin cups lined with baking cups and bake for 20-22 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Yields: 16-18 cupcakes

Peanut Butter Frosting

Stir together 2 cups powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons peanut butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add 2-3 tablespoons of milk until desired consistency is achieved.

King Cake

I made this for a New Year's Eve party, but many people make it for Three Kings' Day or Mardi Gras. From the research I did online, most people hide a plastic baby in the cake. Whoever finds the baby receives good luck, becomes king or queen for the day, and/or has to throw the next party.

I found the plastic baby in the baby shower department of a craft store. They come six in a pack, so I guess I can still make plenty of King Cakes.

King Cake

Ingredients for cake:
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter
1 package active dry yeast
1/3 cup warm water (110-115 degrees)
1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar
4 tablespoons white sugar (these two amounts are used separately)
1 egg
3/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 3/4 cups flour

Ingredients for filling:
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup raisins
1/3 cup pecan chips (or chopped pecans)
2 tablespoons melted butter

Ingredients for icing:
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons softened butter or margarine
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2-3 tablespoons milk

Heat the milk over medium-high heat until small bubbles form around the edge. Do not let it get to a full boiling. Remove from heat and stir in the 2 tablespoons of butter. Set the mixture aside to cool to room temperature.

Warm 1/3 cup water to 110-115 degrees. If you get it too hot, just give it a minute to cool. Pour the water in a large bowl and dissolve the yeast with 1-1/2 teaspoons of white sugar. Let stand about ten minutes.

When the ten minutes are up, the yeast mixture should look dreamy and a little bubbly. Add the cooled milk mixture. Whisk in the egg. Stir in the 4 tablespoons of sugar, the salt, and the nutmeg.

Transfer this to a large mixer bowl and beat in the flour one cup at a time. When the dough is all combined, turn in out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead it for 8-10 minutes. The dough should be smooth and elastic.

Place the dough in a lightly oiled large bowl. Turn the dough over once so that is it coated in the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place for two hours. The dough should double in size.

After the two hours is over, punch the dough down. Then roll it out to a large rectangle, about 10 x 16 inches.

In a small bowl, combine the ingredients for the filling. Mixture should be rather crumbly. Sprinkle the filling over the rolled-out dough. Then roll like a jelly roll, starting at the wide side. Bring the ends together to form an oval shape.

Place the ring on a cookie sheet that has been greased or lined with parchment paper. Let is rise for 45 minutes.

Bake in 375 degree oven for 20 minutes. While the cake is baking, make the frosting by combining the ingredients listed above. After you take the cake out of the oven, push the doll into the bottom of the cake. Frost while warm. Sprinkle with green, purple, and yellow sugar crystals for that Mardi Gras look.

Cucidati (Italian Christmas Cookies)

I learned how to make these cookies by taking an Italian Christmas Cookies class. The instructor was named Dora, and her website can be found by clicking here. She was born in Italy and now teaches many different Italian cooking classes in my area.

Dora explained that the filling is different in each region of Italy, so I decided to play around with the filling recipe she gave us to come up with my own. I actually left out the figs, which are generally the main ingredient in the filling. Below is what I came up with for the filling, but I also tried using the fruit varieties of Solo Baking and Pastry Filling, and those worked out as well. I guess the moral of the story is: Try whatever filling you'd like.

Still more Christmas Cookie recipes to come this week. Tomorrow I'll post a quick way to "dress up" your Rice Krispie Treats for the holidays. Then on Wednesday or Thursday I'll post my mom's rum ball recipe. Finally, I've got a recipe for Eggnog Cups, a delicious little cream-filled cookie if you like the drink. I'll post those next Sunday, in plenty of time for New Year's Eve.

Cucidati
(Italian Christmas Cookies)

Ingredients for dough:
2 cups flour
¾ tablespoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
¼ cup sugar
½ vegetable shortening
2 large eggs
½ tablespoon vanilla extract
¼ milk (add more if needed)

Ingredients for filling (my version):
12 ½ oz. can of dates with walnuts (Solo brand)
¾ cup raisins
1 tablespoon orange juice
2 tablespoons rum

Ingredients for icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk

For the dough, add all ingredients to a mixer and mix for three full minutes. Dough will be soft.

Remove dough from mixer and knead by hand for five minutes. (I had to flour my hands several times during this process to keep the dough from sticking to me.)

Divide the dough into two equal pieces. Wrap each with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes. Dough can be made ahead of time and stored for up to five days.

For the filling, stir all ingredients in a bowl. This can also be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge.

When you are ready to make the cookies, flour your working surface and roll out one section of the dough at a time until it is 1/8 inch thick. Spread a long row of filling about an inch for the edge of the dough. The picture below is with the raspberry Solo Baking & Pastry Filling.

Roll the edge of the dough over the filling. Cut the rest of the dough off. Then cut your “log” into slices and place on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper.

Repeat this process until you have used up all of your dough and/or filling.

Bake for 12-15 minutes (mine seemed to take closer to 20) or until cookies are golden.

Remove from oven and transfer to wire rack to cool. Be sure they have completely cooled before icing.

For the icing, mix together all ingredients, add or subtracting milk to achieve the right consistency. Spread the icing on top of the cookies and decorate with sprinkles. Let icing set completely before storing in an airtight container.

Peppermint Drops

Here's a fun Christmas cookie that will help you use up a few of those old candy canes you have lying around!

I developed this recipe by messing around with the Ricotta Cookies recipe and then changing the glaze on top. Enjoy!

Peppermint Drops

Ingredients for cookie:
2 ¼ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
½ cup butter, softened (1 stick)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 cup ricotta cheese
¾ teaspoon peppermint extract

Ingredients for glaze:
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons butter, softened
¼ teaspoon peppermint extract
2 tablespoons milk
2-3 drops red food color
about 10-12 mini candy canes, crushed (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray cookie sheets with nonstick cooking spray.

In medium-sized bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.

In a mixer, beat butter and sugar until blended. Add egg, ricotta cheese, and peppermint extract, beating until combined. On low speed, add flour mixture slowly.

Use a small cookie scooper to drop the dough onto cookie sheets.

Bake at 350 degrees for 12-14 minutes. Watch cookies carefully. They won’t brown on the top, but they should be lightly browned around the edges. After three minutes, remove to cooling racks. (Warning: bottoms can brown quickly without seeing much browning around the edges.)

Let cookies cool for fifteen minutes before making glaze. While you are waiting, crush the candy canes with a rolling pin and put them in a small bowl.

Stir powdered sugar, butter, peppermint extract, milk, and red food color in a small bowl. Dip top of cookies into glaze and then crushed candy canes. Allow glaze to harden before storing.

Yields: about 60 cookies if you use a small cookie scooper.

Orange Dream Cupcake

I almost made these for Cattapalooza, but the chocolate cupcakes won out. :) This recipe was adapted from a full cake recipe. The frosting was the best part. With some dark chocolate decorations, these cupcakes could be really fun for Halloween.

Orange Dream Cupcakes

Cake Ingredients:
1 yellow cake mix
1 (3 ounce) package vanilla instant pudding
¾ cup orange juice
½ cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons orange zest

Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners.

In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients for the cake. Beat on medium speed for two minutes. Scoop into muffin pan. Bake for 16-20 for full-size cupcakes. Bake for 10-13 minutes for mini cupcakes.

Icing Ingredients:
1 cup cold milk
1 small package vanilla instant pudding
2 teaspoons grated orange zest
2 cups Cool Whip

Whisk milk, pudding, and orange zest for two minutes. Fold in the Cool Whip.

Chocolate Cool Whip Icing

This is the second recipe from "Cattapalooza." This icing made a really nice topping for the cupcakes. I put it in a decorating bag with a star tip and just made a rosette on top of each mini cupcake.

Chocolate Cool Whip Icing

Ingredients:
1 small (3.9-ounce) package of chocolate instant pudding
3/4 cup milk
1 8-ounce container of Cool Whip, thawed

Mix the milk and pudding together. I ended up using the wire whisk on my mixer. Then fold in the Cool Whip. (I had a little problem with the pudding not blending well with the Cool Whip because the smaller amount of milk made the pudding thicker than typical, so I used the mixer with the wire whisk to really smooth out the icing.)

The chocolate cross decorations were made with Wilton Candy Melts. I simply melted about 10 of the chocolate candy pieces in a decorating bag in the microwave. Then I snipped off the end and piped the crosses onto a sheet of parchment paper. An hour in the fridge was enough to harden them.

Chocolate Buttercream Icing

I was originally going to use this post to talk about how to stack a cake, but I was so nervous about getting this cake done in time for the party that I forgot to take pictures as I went along!

Some of you have already heard of my "cake disaster" ☺ with this one. I accidentally picked up an older cake mix at the store. When I took the cake out of the pan, it started to fall apart. It wasn’t until after it was in pieces that I looked at the “Best by” date and realized this cake was past its prime by several months.

After a quick dash across the street to my local Target, I bought another cake mix and tried again. This one was definitely fresher than the last. I still had a few problems with some of the cake falling apart when I went to torte it, but I managed to salvage the cake in the end. I think I may have been trying to torte the cake a bit too soon because I was running so short on time.

Anyway, here’s the recipe for Chocolate Buttercream Icing.

Chocolate Buttercream Icing

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons water
1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening (e.g. Crisco)
1/2 cup butter
4 cups powdered sugar
2/3 cup cocoa powder
brown icing color (optional)

In a mixer, cream vanilla extract, shortening, butter, and water. Gradually add powdered sugar. Mix on medium speed until all ingredients have been thoroughly blended. Add cocoa powder a bit at a time. Keep mixing until smooth and creamy.

If you want the icing to look darker, add some brown icing color. I used an entire container of Wilton brown icing color to get the shade of brown in the photo to the right! The cocoa powder doesn’t make the icing very dark at all. It’s a very soft brown, and I wanted something that looked like chocolate!