Inspiration

HA!
Believe it or not
I heard from the Rachael Ray Show!
I kid you NOT!

Whether I was captivating enough
to warrant a visit to the show
remains to be seen.
However,

It did jump start me to
experiment a tiny bit.
I made more cupcakes.
They didn't go quite as I planned.

I started here.
Chocolate and peanut butter.
I started with a recipe off of 52cupcakes.
I used the Reese's hearts at the bottom of the liners.

I think they were a bit too small.

I would use mini cupcakes next time or

WHOLE regular peanut butter cups.

This is what I ended up with.

I ordered a bag of BABY peanut butter cups 

from Country Kitchen Sweet Art.

I also did a peanut butter buttercream.

The cake was awesome.

The hearts were too small and thus overdone.

The frosting was to die for!

Probably my most inventive to date.
And my least successful...

Yep those are Froot Loops you see in that batter!

My kids said, "WHY would you put Loops in a cupcake?"

I said, "Why not? The box was sitting there."

I started with this:

Now before you get your dander up.
I have MANY recipes that are not mix based.
However, when I see interesting flavors I buy them.
Mixes are good for gooey butter cakes and some cookies.

I doctored things up a bit,
Threw in 2 handfuls of Froot Loops,
Used orange juice...

I added orange buttercream.

I added crushed Froot Loops.

The cake was one of the best I've had.

The Froot Loops shrunk up and became tough and gummy.

I would NOT add Froot Loops to the batter again.

I think I can figure out how to make it work though.

The frosting was orange too.

Orange buttercream is dreamy.

I WILL make this again just the same way!

So Rachael whether you call me back or not

I'm gonna keep on experimenting.

There is so many interesting things you can throw

in a cake.

Thanks for thinking of me Rachael and pushing me

to keep baking. (Even though you're not a baker.)

Rubi has told everyone she's going to the Rachael Ray Show.

I love that girl...

And Rachael if you are listening...

I would LOVE to have a bright yellow KitchenAid Stand mixer...

WHOOPIE!

What are these you ask?

A little piece of heaven, I say.

Chocolate chip whoopie pies with a bittersweet chocolate ganache.

Oh my GANACHE!

I thought I'd take a "fancy" picture of these.


They are not a diabetics best friend. They are not the friend of someone on a diet. They are, however, friendly to those who LOVE chocolate. Those who like little disks that hover somewhere between cake and cookie will enjoy these.

I was informed there wasn't enough middle to them. I'll have to fix that problem next time around. (It would be easier if I had a Kitchen Aid stand mixer.)

These were enough to make you wanna say WHOOPIE!

Here's the link if you're interested - http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/reverse-whoopie-pies-recipe. Or you can just call me and I'll make a batch for you!

I'm not sure how long I'll love the Pioneer Woman

I love cookbooks. There was one this summer that caught my eye.

I have made LOTS of things from this book. Our favorite is:

This has got to be the BEST chocolate cake ever. Madame R & I ate it right out of the pan in our JAMMIES.

PW has not led me astray. I've made her chicken pot pie, her mexican chicken, and so many pies I can't even count them all.

Shall I tell you that when I got married 17 1/2 years ago that I couldn't even make mashed potatoes?

PW has been the answer to some of my prayers. And I love her. I dream about her ranch. I read her site SEVERAL times a day.

Am I a stalker you ask? Maybe. She's my dream woman. Don't tell my husband. I may pack up one day and head to the ranch.

I've been trying in vain to win a Kitchen Aid mixer. She gives them away regularly on the Tasty Kitchen website. In case you are unawares:

Isn't it beautiful? If I had my druthers I'd have yellow. She gives away a lot of red ones. Red is nice.

My friends think I'm nuts. They don't understand what would be so lovely about a stand mixer.

I think I'll keep loving the Pioneer Woman. For now. I think it depends how many contests I'm denied.

If you don't know who I'm talking about - her she is. Be careful though. She's addicting.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/