Cheerio Bars

Pretty much my standard breakfast is cereal and milk. For a little bit in college I went with Apple Jacks. And for about a year I became a fan of Kix. And I've toyed with Post Raisin Bran (for the fiber). But for the most part, I am a Cheerios girl. I'm not even talking about all those fancy Cheerioses that are out on the market now. I'm talking about good old fashioned regular cheerios. And no, I don't put fruit or sugar on my cereal. I don't mix anything in. I pretty consistently just eat my regular cheerios with some skim milk and call it breakfast and I'm perfectly happy. (I do sometimes shout CHEEERRIIIOOOOOOOOEEEOOOOOOSSSS! but that only happens when I'm alone and it freaks out the furry sous chef.)

This information about me loving Cheerios becomes important to know because my grandmother recently passed down her cookbook of clippings and little handwritten recipes to me. She's 91 and lives in a retirement community and doesn't really cook that much anymore. In the middle of the binder, was a love note from my grandpa which was short and very sweet. There also was a handwritten recipe with no title. This recipe contained Cheerios, marshmallows, and peanut butter. I think that may be considered the trifecta of yummy.

I'm always looking for a reasonably healthy snack that will keep me filled up as I run around rural Ohio keeping my life together. These most definitely fit the bill. Yes, there are marshmallows and butter in them so they cannot be considered "health food". But really, Cheerios are good for you. People feed them to babies so they can't be horrible. The Brain said he didn't care either way about them, but then chipped away at the pan and ate almost half of them in the first night. I think he likes them too.

I'm also submitting this to Laura over at The Spiced Life. She's having a blog event about recipes handed down from our grandmothers.

Cheerio Bars

from Grandma Shazamer

3 Tbsp butter

1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter (I used Jiff)

one 10.5 ounce bag of mini marshmallows

6 cups Cheerios

Melt the butter and peanut butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the marshmallows until everything is a gooey and consistent mass. Remove from heat. Stir in the Cheerios and make sure the peanut butter marshmallow mass evenly coats the cereal. Press into a greased 13"x9" pan. Chill to set.

Study Break Cupcakes

When you're in class for 4 hours a night for 4 nights a week you get a pretty clear idea of things that would make these classes go by a little easier. Cheetos come to mind. But really other than Cheetos, coffee, booze, and sugar are probably in the top 5. So imagine my happiness when this month's Cupcake Hero was Baker's Choice. Baker's choice meant that we get to pick at least two of the previous Cupcake Hero challenges and combine them into our entry for this month. Conveniently booze, and coffee were two past challenges. Sugar is pretty much a standard cupcake addition, but if I'm going for truly comforting sugar, I'm going for marshmallow fluff. Nicely, marshmallow is yet another past challenge. And being that my cupcake is made from coffee we had in the house and the Brain took all the regular coffee to the office, I was left with Pumpkin Spice coffee. So I made it a coffee spice cake. And of course with a spice cake, cloves then enters the cupcake, yet another past challenge.

I didn't go hog wild though. I left out the jalapeno.

And the Cheetos.

Study Break Cupcakes

an original Shazamer recipe

Cupcake:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp allspice

1/8 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp cloves

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature and cut into small pieces

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 Tbsp Kahlua

2 large eggs

1/2 cup Pumpkin Spice flavored coffee at room temperature

Preheat oven to 350F. Place paper liners in 12 cupcake wells.

Whisk flour, baking powder, allspice, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt together in a small bowl to aerate and combine. Set aside.

Beat butter and sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer for 3 minutes or until light and fluffy, scraping the down the bowl occasionally. Beat in vanilla extract. Add eggs one at a time and scraping the bowl between eggs. Mix in one half the flour mixture. Then beat in the cooled coffee. Add the rest of the flour mixture and beat briefly until well combined.

Divide the batter evenly among the 12 cupcake wells and bake for 18 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Cool completely on a rack.

Marshmallow Frosting:

1 cup marshmallow fluff
4 Tbsp softened unsalted butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp milk
pinch of salt

Mix together fluff, butter, extract, sugar, and salt. Add milk to create the right consistency frosting. You may need more or less depending on how thick you prefer your frosting.

Cocoa Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting

It's that time. Yes, I am trying again to win that T-shirt. No, my beautiful wormy cupcakes didn't get picked for the April Cupcake Hero. Although thanks to that post I did learn a whole lot about how Nalgene bottles can kill you, Brita filters are not recyclable in the US (sign the petition here), and about saving the earth in general, so it wasn't a total waste. Well and my nephew thinks I'm awesome. As you can see by the round up the better cupcake won. So because I'm nothing if not tenacious, I'm trying again. For those of you who may be somehow unaware of what Cupcake Hero is, it's a monthly contest where several bloggers, including Steph of A Whisk and A Spoon, who's always turning in fantastic cupcakes, (in fact if you found someone who's taking bets, she'd be the one to put your money on) turn in a cupcake recipe based on the theme of the month. Cupcake Hero is the brainchild of Laurie at Quirky Cupcakes. She's been joined by the Cupcake Hero staff which includes the always lovely Tempered Woman, the talented Joy the Baker, and the fabulous Leigh of Lemon Tartlet. These beautiful women bake up a select few cupcakes and pick the winner. They're really great ladies and please check out their blogs. (note, I'm not above sending multiple links their way in hopes of swaying their judgment. I figure it's better than jumping up and down shouting "pick me! pick me! They wouldn't be able to see that.)

May's Cupcake Hero theme is cocoa powder. I'm not saying in my post which kind I used, but Laurie at Quirky Cupcake highly suggests Askinosie cocoa powder. Askinosie chocolate is a cool chocolate company started by a guy who was formerly a criminal defense attorney. If you go to his website here, you can check out all about the company and how they give back to the community (which is way cool). I would have liked to have ordered his cocoa powder, but my budget was stretched a little bit tight this month. We got the hospital bill for my surgery and saw just exactly how not fantastic our insurance is. Ouch.

I found cocoa powder to be a difficult ingredient this month. Because I usually try to capture the essence, if you will, of the Cupcake Hero theme of the month, cocoa powder had me stumped. How do you bring out the chocolaty-ness of cocoa powder without having it somehow make you think of some other form of chocolate. Really I have no idea. So I started thinking of things traditionally made with cocoa powder and the best I could come up with was hot cocoa. Hmmmmm with marshmallows.

So that's what I did. But then I started thinking that just a plain chocolate cupcake, albeit one made with cocoa powder, might be considered just a bit boring. And one thing of learned from the judging styles of Laurie, Tempered Woman, Joy, and Lemon Tartlet is that they don't really appreciate boring. So I made mine have a subtle little zing. I added ginger and black pepper. Blame it on a care package that arrived while I was stuck on the couch that had a multitude of chocolate bars in it, but I was feeling frisky with chocolate flavorings. Then I baked one in one of my coffee mugs (to make sure the cup was oven safe). I would have baked all of them in coffee mugs except then this recipe would only make about 3 cupcakes and it was almost too much to eat the one cup of cocoa cake with marshmallow frosting. Almost. So I baked the rest in the cool party cups that Clara sent me from I heart Cuppycakes because of these cupcakes and this contest. See I have won other cupcake contests. Clara has some fantastic looking cupcakes on her blog. Go check them out too.

I thought they were totally delicious. Yeah, they're all gone. And the marshmallow frosting is the first frosting in a long time that I licked the bowl. I was downright sticky when they were done. Now if I could only remember where I put my brace (that I'm supposed to wear all the time) so that I can go to the gym. It's not lost. I just don't remember where I put it. I'll find it. Or I'm really in trouble.

Cocoa Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting

original recipe by me

makes regular cupcakes

Cupcakes:

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder (preferably Askinosie cocoa powder)

3/8 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp ground ginger

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

large egg

1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, ginger and black pepper in a small bowl and set aside.

Cream butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar and continue beating for about 3 minutes. Add vanilla and egg and continue beating until smooth and incorporated. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture and beat until incorporated. Then add half the milk beating until smooth. Scrape down sides of the bowl. Add another 1/3 of the flour mixture followed by the remainder of the milk. Again scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the remaining flour mixture and beat for 30 seconds. Distribute the batter between 8 prepared cupcake cups. Bake for 22 minutes.

Frosting:

1 cup marshmallow fluff

4 Tbsp softened unsalted butter

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup powdered sugar

1 Tbsp milk

pinch of salt

Mix together fluff, butter, extract, sugar, and salt. Add milk to create the right consistency frosting. You may need more or less depending on how thick you prefer your frosting. Do not leave out the salt in the frosting. I think it really makes the frosting go from good to great!

To Assemble:

Once cupcakes are cooled, pipe marshmallow frosting on top of cupcakes. Remember a little goes a long way with this particular frosting. Then dust lightly with cocoa powder (preferably Askinosie brand.)

Marshmallow Here and There and Oh Yeah Over There Too...

Sometimes, when I'm all by myself, playing in the kitchen, I like to imagine that I'm one of those women that are all together. My kitchen is clean and my dishes are piling up as I use them in the sink. There are times when I even have all the rest of the dishes done by the time whatever it is comes out of the oven. I just don't like messiness terribly much when I'm cooking. I even have trouble kneading bread because I have to keep washing my hands because of all the goo stuck to them.

Normally I at least feel like a Martha in training. An almost, but not quite. Good, better best, never let it rest. Till your good is better and your better is the best! For better or worse that little sing song-y phrase is implanted in my head. It has been since childhood. So I drive myself a little nutty trying to be the best I can be.

These cupcakes were an episode in humility. What started as an attempt to fill my cupcakes with homemade marshmallow and bitter caramel, swiftly turned into minimizing the stickiness of my kitchen. I had marshmallow in my hair, maybe a little caramel too. There was marshmallow all over the counters. Caramel all over the stove. Marshmallow on my toes. Sprinkles on the floor. Marshmallow underneath my sweatshirt. By the time I finished these cupcakes I was in desperate need of a shower, the floor needed mopping, and the counters needed scrubbing. AND I had to do laundry. Actually it was pretty impressive.

I also have to let you in on a little secret. This was my second attempt at this month's marshmallow cupcake hero. Yes, Laurie, and TW picked the super challenging MARSHMALLOW as the secret ingredient. Totally off topic, my sister M's first word was marshmallow. The first try at this month's cupcake hero, I tried to infuse a yellow cupcake with the subtle flavors of lavender and honey. But the cream cheese frosting completely overpowered the entire marshmallow experience. We ate them, but they didn't seem right.

But these cupcakes, (once I blacked out the memory of my sticky sticky kitchen) were delicious. They were marshmallow yet grownup. The bitter caramel balanced the sweetness of the marshmallow. And the hint of orange elevated it to a new level. The marshmallow heart on top, which were formed after I gave up on trying to make peeps (that could be how I got marshmallow in my ears) turned nice and crispy. I could have just eaten a bunch of those hearts with the spot of caramel. Except after two tries at marshmallow cupcakes, I'm really done with marshmallows for a while.

Bitter Caramel and Marshmallow Cupcakes

by me

Cupcakes:

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

grated zest from one orange

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter (3 sticks), at room temperature cut into small pieces

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 tsp orange extract

6 large eggs

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line 18 cupcake cups with paper liners

Whisk flour, baking powder, salt and zest together and set aside.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed beat butter until creamy, about 4 minutes. Add sugar gradually until fluffy, another 4 minutes. Beat in orange extract. Then add eggs one at a time, scraping the bowl before adding another egg. Add the flour in 4 additions, beating just until smooth on low medium speed after each addition.

Divide batter evenly among the cupcake wells. Bake for about 22 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center shows a few moist crumbs.

Cool cupcakes in pans for about 1 minute. Then remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Marshmallow:

2 Tbsp gelatin

1/4 cup cold water

3/4 cup boiling water

2 cups sugar

1/8 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

colored sugar

Soak the gelatin in the cold water until it has taken up all the water. Boil the sugar and water to the soft-ball stage (238°F). Add the vanilla and salt to the gelatin. Pour the syrup slowly over the gelatin, beating constantly with an electric mixer. Continue to beat until marshmallow has cooled and is thick and white. Put half of the marshmallow in a oiled gallon sized Ziploc bag. Spread the other half of the marshmallow thinly on a well buttered cookie sheet that has been generously coated with colored sugar. Don't worry if the marshmallow doesn't go all the way to the edges of the pan. Just try to get a smooth, fairly thin sheet of marshmallow. Generously coat the top of the marshmallow with more colored sugar.

Bitter Caramel Sauce:

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

2 Tbsp Triple Sec (or Grand Marnier)

1/4 cup light corn syrup

3/4 cup whipping cream

juice of one orange

Combine sugar, 1/2 cup water, triple sec, and corn syrup in heavy medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil without stirring until mixture turns a deep amber, almost brown color, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat and carefully add cream. Stir sauce over low heat until any caramel bits dissolve and sauce is smooth. Add juice and stir again until smooth.

Bitter Caramel Buttercream

2 large egg whites

1/2 cup sugar

pinch of salt

12 Tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) room temperature butter cut into small pieces

3 Tbsp bitter caramel sauce at room temperature

Place egg white, salt and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer over a simmer pot of water and whisk gently until sugar is dissolved and mixture reaches a temperature of 140°, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and whip by machine until thick and cooled. Beat in the butter a little bit at a time, continuing to beat until creamy and smooth. Beat in the caramel sauce until combined.

Assembly:

Using a small paring knife cut a cone out of the top of each cupcake being careful to set the tops aside in an order such that you can put the top to each cupcake back on it's original bottom. Fill each cupcake hole with a scant 1 tsp caramel sauce. Have a partially filled glass of water nearby and snip a corner of the Ziploc of marshmallow with kitchen shears. Allow excess oil to drain out. Then using like a piping bag, fill each cupcake hole with approximately 1 1/2 tsp marshmallow. Use the kitchen shears wetting them in between cupcakes to snip the marshmallow so that you don't get strings of marshmallow going from cupcake to cupcake. Once all the cupcakes are filled replace the tops on the cupcakes. It may be necessary to cut the bottom of the cone off so that the top lies flat. Spread with buttercream to cover. The buttercream will cover any marshmallow strings or uneven tops. If you are going to pipe the buttercream on top of the cupcakes you will need to make a double batch of the buttercream. About now you will really feel the urge to have a drink or scrub yourself, but resist the urge because you aren't done yet.

Take a small heart shaped cookie cutter to the thinly spread colored sugar covered marshmallow and cut enough marshmallow hearts to have a 1:1 ratio of hearts to cupcakes. Place one heart on each cupcake and add a drop of the bitter caramel sauce to the center of each heart.

Now go clean the kitchen and take a shower.