Sweet Treats Saturday: Strawberry Cupcakes

What better excuse than the upcoming Valentine's Day to make pink cupcakes? Actually, the truth of the matter is that I really just wanted to make strawberry cupcakes and since they happen to be pink...

Ready to go into the oven

So I stumbled across a recipe for Sprinkles' bakery's strawberry cupcakes while looking for new recipes to try out. Ok, another truth, I'm dieting and looking at desserts that I can bake but couldn't possibly eat is one of my ways of torturing myself.  Now, onto the cupcakes!

Baked for 20 minutes exactly

These were really easy to make and once again, was made up of items that I had readily available.  I keep frozen strawberries in my freezer for my morning smoothies so I just dug into that stash.  I followed the recipe for the cupcakes and frosting exactly.

The frosting. I made sure not to overbeat per the recipe.

I almost made a cream cheese frosting instead, but I'm glad I didn't as the strawberry frosting was surprisingly delicious (I do like Sprinkles cupcakes, but I'm not really a fan of their frosting... or frosting philosophy).  Instead of piping on a large dollop of frosting, I topped it off the sprinkles way with a thin layer of frosting.  I think the amount was perfect to compliment the cupcake.  My husband, always one to come up with some weird comparison for my baked goods, described it as a strawberry milkshake made into a perfect cupcake.

Sweet Treats Saturday: Candied Orange Peels

Happy day before Halloween!  The chances of consuming a lot of sweet treats are high this weekend, but these will probably not be found in any of your candy bags.

I've always wanted to make candied orange peels, but was under the impression that they were hard to make and extremely time consuming.  After searching many recipes, I found one that proved otherwise.

The orange tree in our yard is in full bloom so I was lucky to have all of the materials on hand.

I followed the recipe exactly but only used oranges.  Some things to note:

• Make sure you remove the rind to avoid the flavor from the final orange peels.  You don't have to go overboard (I did, I was super cautious and made the peels very thin).  If you make them too thin, the orange peels become capsules of sugar. Literally, it seems like you are eating sugar with a side of orange.
• A variation of the recipe could include dipping this in chocolate.  I can't wait to try this!
• The peels are sweet from being saturated with the sugar mixture, so you don't have to garnish with too much sugar.  

Straight from simmering in the sugar mixture.  Ready to dry for an hour.

The orange peels turned out delicious! I'm going to have to make them again but dip half of the batch in chocolate.

Sweet Treats Saturday: Salted Toffee Chocolate Squares

A little break from the fruit trend. Now it’s time for some serious sweets!  I was craving chocolate this week, when my daily Martha Stewart recipe popped up in my inbox.  Salted Toffee Chocolate Squares? Yes, please!  

Graham crackers covered with toffee and almonds. Before baking.

The recipe was incredibly simple.  I followed it almost exactly with the only variations being because of my pan size.  I was able to fit 14 graham crackers on my sheet pan and there was still a little space around the edge.  When I make them again (which I definitely will), I’ll use a slightly smaller sheet pan.  

Butter and sugar mixture covering the previous layer. After being in the oven for 10 minutes.

The flavor was great! My husband couldn’t stop raving about it.  The final product wasn’t the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, but taste definitely made up for that.  I think if I used the smaller sheet pan the toppings would have filled up more evenly across the surface.

Final product minus a few... test samples... mmmm...

Regardless, I highly recommend it.  You can get the recipe below, or directly from the source at Martha Stewart.

Salted Toffee Chocolate Squares

From: Martha Stewart.com

Ingredients

• 13 graham crackers

• 1 bag (8 ounces) toffee bits

• 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped toasted natural almonds

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

• 3/4 cup (4 ounces) bittersweet chocolate, chopped, or chocolate chips

• 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Place graham crackers in a single layer on sheet, edges touching. Sprinkle toffee bits and almonds over graham crackers.

2. In a small saucepan, bring sugar and butter to a boil over medium-high. Reduce heat and cook at a rapid simmer, swirling pan occasionally, until mixture is syrupy, 2 minutes. Immediately pour over graham crackers. Bake until sugar topping is bubbling, 12 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle chocolate and salt over graham crackers. With a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut into 2-inch squares. Let cool completely on sheet on a wire rack. (Store in an airtight container, up to 1 week.)

Enjoy!