A Sweet Party/Gift Tip

If you are in charge of making a sweet for a party or event or simply want to give a gift to someone, I have a great way to dress it up. If you are anything like me, sometimes your treats will come out looking a little sloppy. For cupcakes, cookies, truffles, candies, or anything of the sort, it is all about the presentation. If you have messed up your treat a bit and it doesnt look perfect, first I just want to say, THAT IS OKAY. Nothing is absolutely perfect unless you are trying to enter in a contest. So, go to your local craft store and find a pretty basket or container. For the picture I posted, I found this super cute wooden box in the basket aisle of Michaels. I then bought a styrofoam block in a few aisles down (just because I was doing truffle pops on a stick) and then I found cute paper pink confetti and filled the box with that. To make it even better, a few more aisles down you will find cute clear platic wrappers of all sizes. If you made rice crispy treats or cookies, these are perfect for those. Even for candies. And then I go down to the ribbon aisle. They have such an amazing assortment of ribbons. These will be used to tie the wrappers. Once your treats are nicely wrapped, place them on the pink confetti in the box and you are ready to go. For truffles, there is another aisle where they have mini cupcake wrappers/holders. They come in so many cute decorations and colors. Place the truffle in the holder and then place them on the pink confetti in the box. At this point, the presentation is so beautiful that nobody will notice the imperfections. This is such a cute, fun, and easy idea that will really wow the crowd.

Oreo Cream Filled Cupcakes

1 box of any chocolate cake mix ingredients according to cake mix package 1 package of oreos 1 package of cream cheese 1 container white frosting 1 zip lock bag Bake cupcakes according to cake mix package. Be sure to bake them at 325 degrees for 18-20 minutes. Cover them with foil and allow to cool for 15-20 minutes. Ground oreos in a food processor or in a bag with a mallot until oreos are finely ground. In a large bowl mix oreo and cream cheese until well blended. Once blended add in frosting and fold in to create a pretty white oreo frosting. Stamp a hole half way down the middle of each cupcake. Use the zip lock bag as a piping bag. Spoon frosting into the zip lock and squeeze frosting down and tie off the top of the bag making sure all of the air is out. With kitchen sizzors, cut the corner of the ziplock bag. Squeezing the bag, start piping the frosting down the hole in the cupcake and working your way up and around to frost each cupcake. Enjoy! Note: cupcakes will be dangerously good!!

Peanut Butter Nutella Cookies!

1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup nutella
2 eggs (I use egg substitute because its healthier and makes a great cookie)
3/4 cups brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 sticks room temperature butter (I like to use Challenge butter or similar)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 package peanut butter chips

In a large mixer add peanut butter, nutella, butter, vanilla, and both sugars and mix on medium speed for 1 minute and then mix on medium high until very creamy and whipped looking. Reduce speed to low and add eggs one at a time. Once eggs are well mixed, turn speed ti medium high to allow it to reach the creamy and fluffy texture again. In a large bowl mix flour, salt, and baking soda. Mix well. Reduce speed to low again on mixer and slowly add the flour mixture one cup at a time. Once it is all well mixed in, add the peanut butter chips until well incorporated. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Place a heaping tablespoon of dough about an inch apart on a baking sheet and bake for 6-7 minutes. They may look soft still but if you like a soft cookie, take the cookies out after that 6-7 minutes and allow to sit for 10 minutes and they will develop the perfect texture and stay soft. If you like a crunchier cookie, bake them for 8-9 minutes. Enjoy!
This recipe makes about 36-48 cookies.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcakes

This is a MUST try recipe!!

1 box of french vanilla or yellow cake mix
ingredients according to cake mix package
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 cup peanut butter chips
1/4 cup strawberry syrup (found in pancake section of store)
1 cup seedless strawberry jam
1 container of white frosting

Follow instructions on cake mix package and add peanut butter to the mixture. Once well mixed into the batter, fill cupcake tin 2/3 of the way full in each one. Take about a teaspoon of the strawberry syrup for each cupcake and pour in to each one. Then take a toothpick and kind of swirl the syrup around the batter to create a unique design. Bake at 325 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Take out of oven and cover with tin foil to allow to cool. By covering it, it allows the moisture to stay in and keep a really moist cake. In a medium bowl combine strawberry jam and frosting. Mix together well. Place a good heaping spoon of frosting on each cupcake then top with a sprinkle of the peanut butter chips. Enjoy!

Cadbury Cupcakes

1 box devils food chocolate cake mix
Ingredients according to package directions
2 packages of 12 mini cadbury cream eggs

Follow directions on cake mix box. Fill up cupcake pan with cupcake liners and fill 2/3 with cake batter. You can either place each mini egg into the center of each unbaked cupcake. Bake according to package directions. I usually do 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. You may frost them but I find that it really doesnt need frosting. Please be sure to cover the cupcakes with foil once they come out of the oven for about 15 minutes. Doing this will ensure that you are going to have a moist cupcake. Note: the center where the egg was will be gooey at first but after a while it will harden a bit. I find this to be really good because the chocolate from the egg will have melted throughout the cupcake creating a really creamy chocolate flavor. If you decide you do want to frost them, any chocolate frosting will work but I am currently constructing a really good homeade frosting so stay tuned for that recipe! Oh I love those cadbury eggs!

Cadbury Eggs

I do not YET have my own recipe for these but they still remain one of my favorite treats. I love how creamy and rich the chocolate shell is and how sweet and smooth the inside cream is. No matter how much I am trying to eat well, I can't ever say no to one of these! Stay tuned for a cadbury egg recipe and be sure to "like" my facebook page, Julie's Sweet Bites: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Julies-Sweet-Bites/151449918295822

Oreo Trick For You Calorie Counters

A double stuft oreo has about 160 calories in 2-3 Oreos. If you love the flavor but can't afford the calories, scrape out the cream filling and dunk them wafers in milk. This slashes the calories dramatically and you get your oreo fix. There are 30 calories in 2 cream-less Oreos. So scrape, dunk, and enjoy!