Some More Cupcake Pops! (and Poops! Ack, can I say poop in a title?)

I decided to make these cute cupcake pops for myself and Dear Sis, and I just happened to find the cutest pastel confetti candy melts for the tops! Aren't they so much fun?

This particular batch of cake pops started as a devious idea in my head for these - cake poops! 

My DH is going through a rough patch, and my grandmother recently passed away... so it kinda went from just a tongue in cheek joke, to a "I may have to laugh at these or I may cry..." kind of moment... 

At least they're cute, or funny - depending on your sense of humor...

S'mores at Home!

My husband was coming home from a long business trip on Friday, so I thought I'd whip up something quick and tasty we could enjoy, both as desserts and snacks! We both love s'mores, but we don't camp very often anymore, so I thought I'd try these at home, and see how they came out.

First, line a sheet pan with aluminum foil, and layer the bottom with graham crackers (approximately 18,) just like my sister's Peanut Butter Chocolate Bark. Then, melt 8oz of milk chocolate and spread over the graham crackers, taking care to cover them as evenly as possible.

Next, cut a whole bag's worth of marshmallows in half, either length or width-wise. (This is just so there's not super too much marshmallow in each bite, your tastes may vary!) Place the marshmallows evenly across the top of the chocolate, covering the whole surface. (You may need an extra bag, just sayin'!)

Broil the whole pan in the oven, on high for about 3 minutes. Alternatively, you could use a butane torch to toast the 'mallows. Place top halves of graham crackers on top, and break the bottoms as evenly as possible. Go ahead and try and stop yourself from eating one during the process. I dare you. Grin.

That's it! I didn't even think I needed pics to show the whole process, but if you'd like - I can go back and make another batch to add them! :)

Cupcake Pops to match...

... my brand new stand mixer!!!

My mom was kind enough to send this to my husband and me, for our 4th wedding anniversary. Well... sort of. Hehe. Okay, so the story goes she sent the boysenberry color, and I had DH lug the huge heavy thing back to our local JC Penney; then we ordered the right color off the internet, (and hoped it'd end up the right color, not a single store in my area carries these colors in stock, so I could see it first! How lame!)

Anyhoo, I've wanted one for years, just hadn't decided if I wanted the Cuisinart version (it has a timed shut off, the KA doesn't.) Apparently the balloon whisk is awesome, but because of a surprise trip to Las Vegas, I haven't gotten the chance to use it yet.

I did get a chance to dip some cupcake pops to match my new mixer, though - how cute?!?!?!

Did I mention I'm headed to Las Vegas this week?!?! Any crafty tips? I'll have a little bit of crafty time, but I'm planning on staying on/near the strip. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!

Craft Disaster!

Normally, I don't post my crafts gone wrong. They tend to bring my spirits down, and I like to keep that separate from my candy-sweet-coated blog world. So, that being said; I just had to share this one. It went so spectacularly bad, that I just can't keep it to myself! I found the link on Craft:'s blog, and they looked so tasty. I just wish mine had come out so lovely looking!

I followed the recipe as best I could (I thought,) and even still - ended up with Rocky Candy, in a glass. Only the smallest crystals formed on my pretty sticks. (I even glued wood beads to the ends of a few to make them that much more Old fashioned!) Oh well...

Oh yeah, and the sticks still in the glass? Rock-candy cemented in there. At least all I have to do to clean them up is soak a while!

Peanut Butter Gelato

When I was in Spain on my honeymoon a few years ago, I had this amazing mint chocolate chip gelato on the pier in Puerto Banus. Amazing almost doesn't describe it properly, it was velvety and sweet, but not super sweet. The chocolate bits were actually shaved chunks, and they blended perfectly with the mint. Plus, it was green! I can't stand it when mint chocolate is white, don't ask me why!

So began my quest for an ice cream maker to replicate gelato at home, since you can't find it anywhere around where I live. For those asking "what's the difference between gelato and ice cream?" Ice cream contains quite a bit of air, churned in to increase the volume - sometimes 100% overrun, which means it has as much air by volume as ingredients. Gelato on the other hand, contains much less air, and is significantly denser. There's quite a debate as to whether some gelato recipes are authentic or not, some call for egg yokes and some don't… but I won't go into that here. Eat what you love, and make it however you want - that's my philosophy!

It took me a while to settle on which machine I wanted, and which recipe book to go along with it; but I ended up getting a Cuisinart ICE-30BC and Bruce Weinstein's, The Ultimate Frozen Dessert Book. It contains a ton of gelato recipes, which is exactly what I was looking for. It also has sections for sherbet, semifreddo and other frozen delights; my concern was mostly for the gelato flavors, and there's no shortage of them here! Plus there's add-ins to every recipe, suggestions to make it more interesting like chocolate chips, fresh fruit or ribbons of caramel sauce.

Here's where it got interesting… I was flipping through pages, trying to decide which flavor gelato to make next (I had tried strawberry first, it was ok.) I was specifically looking for one that called for ingredients I had on hand, so I didn't have to run to the store. I landed on peanut butter gelato, and said it out loud. My husband's head perked up, so I figured it was worth a shot. Grin. If only you knew what smooth, creamy goodness this stuff is! Actually better than real peanut butter if you ask me, I keep wondering if I should make a dessert pb&j with gelato and french-bread toast. I know, I know… it sounds weird, but if you had a taste of this stuff you'd want to put it on everything, too!

It's made with an egg custard base, which sounds intimidating; but once you get it right, the gelato just melts on your tongue, velvet-ey and perfect. You can't taste the eggs in the final product, just peanut-ey buttery sweetness (not too sweet though, I sort of hate that.) I've also picked up a few tips for making it even better, too! Working with ingredients at room temperature produces a much smoother balance of flavors, but you'll need to refridgerate the base custard overnight before you churn it in your machine. I know, it seems counter productive, but if you try and make gelato out of just-cooked egg custard, it probably won't turn out well. And while you're at it, transfer the custard base from the fridge to the freezer just before churning, and let sit for no more than 10 minutes. This blast of chill helps prevent air from churning in, and ice crystals from forming. (Ice crystals in gelato are not cool. They really interrupt the flavor on the tongue. And they give me brain freeze somethin' fierce!) The end result is creamy smooth, and oh-so tasty!