I thought these were so adorable that I just had to share them with you.
You can find the recipe here. You can ship some to me here.
Kudos to Bakerella for this irresistible idea.
Burger Cupcakes
by Miss McBootyFestive Chocolate Bark with Cherries and Toasted Almonds
by Miss McBooty
Growing up with a diabetic mom, we rarely had candy in our house. For that reason, my palette is extremely sensitive to anything remotely sweet. I do, however, have one blissful temptation that I just cannot resist, and that is chocolate. I’ll pass on suckers, gummies, or Skittles any day… but show me some chocolate and I turn into a ravenous monster. Rawr!
The other day I was watching The Neely’s (who are possibly the cutest couple in the universe) prepare their holiday feast. They made homemade chocolates for their guests to take home with them and it inspired me to make a chocolate bark for my loved ones too.
I used bittersweet chocolate and unsweetened chocolate for this recipe. The white chocolate adds the perfect amount of sweetness to counter the bitter chocolate and tart cherries. These end up rich but not overwhelming.
PREP TIME: 25 minutes
CHILL TIME: At least an hour
YIELDS: About 24 pieces
INGREDIENTS:
- 8-ounces to 12-ounces bittersweet chocolate (60% or more cacao)
- 12-ounces unsweetened chocolate
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- 1 package dried cherries (about 1 cup)
- 1 cup slivered almonds
DIRECTIONS:
- Line one large cookie tray or two smaller cookie trays with aluminum foil. Do not grease.
- Toast the almonds.
- Stove top method: stir the almonds in a dry, heavy saucepan over medium heat until golden brown
- Oven method: spread the almonds on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally - Chop your chocolate into smaller pieces (so they will melt faster and more evenly) and place in a heat safe bowl. Create a double boiler by putting a cup of water into a pot and placing your chocolate-filled bowl on top of it. Bring to a low boil, medium heat or so. Stir your chocolate almost continuously. You want to be sure to turn the chocolate so it will melt evenly while watching the heat so your chocolate doesn’t burn and seize up.
- Once your chocolate melts, add the cherries and almonds to the bowl and stir to combine. Spread the mixture evenly onto your cookie tray(s) and try to keep the thickness to less than a quarter-inch. Your mixture will be fairly chunky so do the best that you can. Set your tray(s) in the fridge to cool for an hour or so. Peel the chocolate away from the aluminum foil and use a large butcher knife to chop it into festive, bite-sized pieces. Watch them disappear.
NOTE:
Chocolate bark will keep for weeks if properly stored. Keep in the fridge or in festive tins in a cool place.
Double Chocolate Stout Cupcakes
by Miss McBooty
Busy, busy, busy! So busy in fact, that I’ve failed to update my blog in what feels like ages. I’m sure my blog is going through withdrawals… scrawling hateful words about me in the stall of the women’s bathroom.
There’s always drama with you blog.
Shh… shh… now… now… I didn’t mean it. I brought you chocolate and beer? Does that help?
Wait a second… chocolate AND beer? Did the world just end? The combo of sweet and malty does sound a bit odd doesn’t it? But I must say that the only thing that could make a cupcake taste even better is beer. Surprisingly, the two pair really well. The results are chocolaty but not overpoweringly sweet. Once you go chocolate stout, you don’t go back — very similar to when you add sour cream to a cake batter. There is nothing quite like it.
I used Young’s Double Chocolate Stout for this recipe. The beer itself is very (VERY) milk chocolaty. That combined with the malt and hints of coffee resulted in amazingly tasty and moist cupcake. The beer creates such a frothy batter that I knew I would end up with a light and airy cake.
Recipe adapted from Big City, Little Kitchen.
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RECIPE: DOUBLE CHOCOLATE STOUT CUPCAKES
YIELDS: About 2 dozen large cupcakes
INGREDIENTS:
For the Cupcakes
- 1 cup chocolate stout
- 1 stick, plus 1 tablespoon, unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
- 2 cups dark brown sugar
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 1 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1/3 cup milk/stout or both combined
For the Chocolate Frosting
- Your favorite recipe (I’m particularly fond of the Pioneer Woman’s frosting recipe, without the pecans)
DIRECTIONS:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place cupcake liners in a muffin tin.
- Combine the stout and the butter, chopped into 1-inch chunks, in a large sauce pan and heat on low to melt the butter. Remove from heat and whisk in the cocoa and sugar. In a bowl, whisk the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla, then add to the beer mixture. Soft together the flour with the baking soda and fold into the batter. Pour into cupcake liners (about 3/4 of the way full) and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes, remove from muffin tin, and cool completely on a rack.
- Using a mixer, whip cream cheese until smooth, sift in sugar and beat. Add milk/stout and beat until smooth. Spread frosting over cool cupcakes. **Add more milk/stout if the frosting is too thick
- Frost cupcakes and decorate.
NOTE:
I am an absolutely horrible cupcake decorator. I had Mister pick out a few of his favorites:
Turd-licious.
I don’t even know anyone who is 41.
And this very special guy.
~
Here they all are, in all of their glory. Ha, practice makes perfect, right?
…don’t judge me. 
Chocolate PB Pretzel Bites
by Miss McBootyDessert and myself go together like oil and water. I was raised by a mother who believed sugar to be the evil of all evils. We had sugar-free syrups, diet sodas and sugar-free candies and cereals. Nowadays, I have a low tolerance for super-rich desserts. One or two bites in and I’m dragging myself toward the nearest cup of milk or coffee to cut the sweetness.
These pretzels are the perfect balance of sweet and salty for my picky palette. They broke my dessert defense barrier. The added crunch from the pretzel and peanuts really make these treats even more irresistible.
Trust me, if you make these you’ll see chocolaty fingertips galore.
And those fingers may or may not belong to yours truly.
Recipe adapted from Southern Living.
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RECIPE: CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER PRETZEL BITES
PREP TIME: 45 minutes
SET TIME: 1 hour
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cups fountain and fondue chocolate
- 3-ounces bittersweet chocolate chips
- 2 (8-ounce) bags of peanut butter pretzel sandwiches
- 1 cup chopped salted peanuts
- 3/4 cups peanut butter morsels
- 1 1/2 tablespoons shortening
Directions:
- Microwave both chocolate in a large bowl for 2-3 minutes or until melted, stirring at 1 minute intervals.
- Pour pretzels into bowl of melted chocolate and stir gently until coated. Lift out with a fork and allow excess chocolate to drip off. Lay in a single layer on cookie sheets lined with wax paper.
- Sprinkle chopped peanuts over chocolate covered pretzels.
- Melt peanut butter chips and shortening in microwave for 30 seconds, or until chips are soft and smooth and spoon easily into a small ziplock bag. Snip a tiny corner off of the bag and squeeze the peanut butter mixture over the pretzels.
- Place the cookie sheets in the fridge until the chocolate has hardened, about an hour. Break into pieces and serve.
