Cookie Dough Cupcakes

For Thanksgiving, my mom makes way too many pies.  Unfortunately, my sister is not a fan of pie.  She thinks that real desserts do not involve fruit, but chocolate instead. So every year there's some chocolate dessert for her. This year, Mr. Foodwhore and I were brainstorming delicious dessert combinations and came up with Cookie Dough Cupcakes.  I wasn't sure exactly how to execute this plan, but they were a success!

Ingredients

Your favorite chocolate cupcake recipe, prepared and baked

Your favorite chocolate chip cookie dough recipe, prepared

whipped vanilla icing

whipped chocolate icing

melon baller

Directions

1. Bake your favorite chocolate cupcakes and allow to cool. For simplicity, I used a box mix.  I found the cupcakes easier to handle/scoop after chilling in the fridge over night.

2. With a melon baller, scoop out the middle of the cupcake.  Then scoop out another bit below the original hole.  Don't scoop all the way to the bottom though.

3. You'll have a ball-shaped piece of cake and a bit of scraps.  Feel free to munch on the scraps, but hang on to the ball shape that you scooped out first.  You'll need that soon.

4. Once you're done scooping all of the cupcakes, use the melon baller to scoop the chilled cookie dough.  Using your hands, roll the scoops of dough into smooth balls. 

5. Drop the ball of dough into the cupcake and push it down with your thumb to flatten the top a bit.

6. Place the "cap" of cake back on the cupcake.

7. I wanted a light chocolate icing.  I mixed a chocolate and vanilla icing together. 

8. Ice your cupcakes. I used an icing bag to pipe it on instead of spreading it on.  I was worried that spreading would rip the "cap" back out of the cupcake. 

9. For optional topping, sprinkle with Oreo cookie crumbs.

Bon Appetit!

The Foodwhore

R2D2 Cake

My mom and I have a tradition of making the birthday cakes for the daughters of some friends of ours. This year, B wanted an R2D2 cake.  Don't ask me why . . . I didn't think 8 year old girls were into that kind of stuff, but thankfully we were up to the challenge.  A quick google search revealed way more cakes than I could imagine. These links were most helpful to us, as far as step-by-step directions, tips, and inspiration:

Link #1
Link #2
Link #3
Link #4

In the end, we went with the instructions in Link #2 for the basic design of the actual cake.  B wanted a cookie cake, so we used sugar cookie. Here's some pictures of our progress.

We used plain white icing along with a tube of black and blue icing for the lines and writing.  The silver was an edible silver dust/flakes that we found at a kitchen supply store locally. 

Mexican Flatbread Pizza

I've already made one kind of Mexican pizza, but we decided to give it another try last week.  This time we went more pizza and less Mexican.  But it was equally delicious.

Ingredients
Ready-made pizza dough
1 lb ground turkey (or beef)
taco seasoning
1-2 tomatoes, diced
1/2 white onion, diced
3 cups shredded cheese (I use a Mexican blend)

Directions
1. Preheat grill to 325.

2.  Roll out pizza dough and place on greased foil.  (I place the foil on a large cutting board, which makes it easy to transfer the pie on to the grill.)

3. Cook the ground meat and add the taco saeasoning.  Once it's done, spread evenly on the dough.

Note: You might want to add enchilada sauce if you like a "wetter" pizza.  There's no real sauce on this recipe, and we'd probably try that next time.



4. Top pizza with tomatoes, onion and cheese.


5. Cook on the grill for about 10-12 minutes.  Pizza is done when crust is light golden brown color and cheese is bubbly.


Bon Appetit!
The Foodwhore

Faux Chicken Alfredo

This is a delicious healthy version of alfredo. It's not going to take the place of real alfredo,  but it was quite tasty. Kudos to Ashlee at A Year in the Kitchen for coming up with this.  Note: This dish was not as good warmed up the next day (in my opinion), so next time I won't make enough for leftovers. But it was great the first night.

Ingredients
whole wheat rotini
1/2 head of cauliflower florets
2 c. vegetable stock
1/3 cup skim milk
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Crushed red pepper flake

Directions
1. Boil pasta, drain and set aside.

2. In a medium sized pot, bring vegetable stock to a boil. 

3. Add cauliflower and simmer covered for about 10 minutes.

4. In a  blender, combine the cauliflower, the parmesan cheese, and the milk.  If needed, add more stock to loosen.  Season with salt and pepper.  Garlic powder is also optional here.

5. Stir in sauce with the pasta.  Note: I added sun-dried tomatoes and grilled asparagus and chicken at this point, but you could add any of your favorite veggies/meat.

6. Top with parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes.

Bon Appetit!

The FoodWhore

Jerk Chicken Burgers

Ingredients

1 lb ground chicken

1 tbsp Worchestshire sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup chopped red onion

1 tbsp jerk seasoning (all-spice)

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 tbsp brown sugar

salt and pepper to taste

sliced pinapple

Directions

1. Mix chicken, garlic, onion, jerk season, nutmeg and salt and pepper in a medium bowl and blend well.

2. In a shallow pan, combine the liquid ingredients.

3. Form the meat mix into 4 even patties and set in the liquid to marinade for 1-2 hours.

4. Preheat the grill to 350 and add the patties. Patties will need about 15 minutes to cook, flipping once. 

5. When patties are almost done, add the pineapple to the grill, and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side.

Note: this is great served with sweet potato fries/chips and grilled onions.

 

Bon Appetit!
The FoodWhore

*this recipe is adapted from Good Things Catered.