Peanut Butter & Jelly Cupcakes

I have been thinking about making these cupcakes for probably a year. I finally decided to quit dreaming about them and make them a reality.

• 1 box yellow cake mix and ingredients to prepare
• 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup (one stick) butter, softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 cup of jelly of your choice

Mix cake mix according to the directions on the back of the box. Pour batter into prepared muffin cups, filling two-thirds full. Bake 19-23 minutes until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool cupcakes on wire racks until completely cool.

Fill a pastry bag fitted with a small decorator tip with your favorite jelly, I used apricot. Insert tip into the top of the cupcake and squeeze the pastry bag gently to fill the center of the cupcake. Stop squeezing when your feel resistance or jelly comes out of the top of the cupcake. Repeat with each cupcake, refilling the pastry bag as needed.

For the frosting, beat peanut butter and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer as medium speed until smooth. Add sugar and vanilla, beat at low speed until crumbly. Slowly add the milk, beating at a low speed until creamy. Pipe or spread peanut butter frosting over cupcakes.

Talk about yum! I recommend enjoying one of these bad boys with a tall glass of milk. 

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Chocolate-Covered Cherries

Matthew and I like to make these chocolate covered cherries every year to give away around Valentines Day. We actually didn't get to make them last year because we were busy with wedding stuff. So this year we may have gone overboard...

Start with a jar of stemmed cherries. We just happened to get ours from Sams.

Set cherries out on paper towels so they can dry.

Leave out for a few hours if necessary. You really don't want them to have any residual cherry juice on them.

Combine light corn syrup, butter and powder sugar until smooth. Chill if mix is too difficult to work with.

Wrap a small ball around a cherry and chill in the refrigerator for about an hour. 

Melt your chocolate. mmm chocolate.

Dip cherries in chocolate and set on wax paper or silicon sheets.

Sometimes when pulling them off the chocolate gets messed up.

Easy to fix though.

Store in an air tight container in the fridge for 1 to 2 weeks. Letting them sit for a week or two makes the powder sugar mix all ooey and gooey and super delicious.

Chocolate Covered Cherries

60 Maraschino Cherries, with stems
3 Tablespoons Butter, softened
3 Tablespoons Light-Colored Corn Syrup
2 Cups sifted Powder Sugar
1 Pound Chocolate Candy Coating

1) Drain cherries and set on paper towels for several hours to ensure they are dry.
2) In a small mixing bowl combine butter and corn syrup until smooth. Mix in powder sugar and knead until smooth. Chill mixture if it is too soft to handle. Shape about a 1/2 teaspoon amount around a dry cherry and place stem sides up on a baking sheet lined with waxed paper. Chill wrapped cherries for about an hour.
3) Melt candy coating according to directions. Line a baking sheet with wax paper. Then, holding the cherries by the stems, dip one at a time in the candy coating let excess chocolate drip off and set on wax paper.
4) Once the coating has hardened place in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 weeks. This allows the sugar mix to get all gooey and yummy.

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Cherry Icebox Cookies

I LOVE cherry icebox cookies. Specifically those that come from Collin Street Bakery. Since it's a bit of drive to get to one, which is probably good thing, I'm resorting to making them at home. I have been looking for a recipe for them for sometime now. This one came from Taste of Home cookbook. These have been major hit with the husband.

Cherry Icebox Cookies

Yields about 6 dozen

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup maraschino cherry juice
4 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cream of tarter
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup chopped maraschino cherries

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, cherry and lemon juices and vanilla.

Combine flour, backing soda, cinnamon and cream of tartar

Gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. 

Stir in nuts and cherries. I omitted the nuts, and may have added more like 3/4 to 1 cup of chopped cherries.

 I like cherries, and after all, they are cherry icebox cookies.

Shape into four 12-inch rolls; wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 4 hour or until firm

Unwrap and cut into 1/4-in. slices. Place 2in apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes or until the edges begin to brown.

Remove to wire racks to cool.

Ever so hopeful Milton.

And enjoy!

Milton likes to sit or lie here on the memory foam kitchen mat when I'm in the kitchen while he hopes for me to drop something. 

He's actually looking up at the cooking island where the cookies are.

Keep on dreaming dog, these cookies are almost too good to share. I had to put half of them in the freezer so I would not eat them all. Believe me, I want to eat them all but I do not the side effect of that. I'm going to take them to book club this weekend. 

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