"Independence Day" Ice Cream Cupcakes (★ ★ ★ ★ ☆)

Alright, let's just get the fact that it's no longer the 4th of July out of the way.

It's still July and I celebrate birthdays all month long.  So as far as I'm concerned, Happy 7th Day of your 237th Birthday, America!

I made these for you!  Because I love you!

But also,

...Because I love me.

I mean, you can't really eat.
I don't want to be "that" girl.  You know, the one who bakes for her country, and then sits all sad at home while these ice cream cupcakes melt and go to waste because you never showed up.

I knew going into this that I'd have to eat them myself.

Rest assured, though, I made you something worthy.
I took time to stretch my non-decorating skills.
And savored every bite in your honor.

Then, in my honor, I made sure they were super simple and stinkin' good.

But I have something to confess to you.

It's kind of serious.

I broke a self-imposed baking rule for these.  

Probably the second most sacred self-imposed baking rule of all...right after:

"Rule #1: All Artificial Sweeteners Must Be Exorcised From Nat's Presence When Baking Is To Occur."

I don't even know how to tell you, so I'm just going to spit it out...

ppphaaaa ahhhhh hhhhoooo kkkaaaayyy

I'm about to suggest that you use Cool Whip.

Gasp!       Shock!       Awe!

Yes.  It's true.

For this recipe...      Just this once...

I am officially a Cool Whip promoter.

A promoter of chemically, fake, wannabe whipped cream.

I am actually suggesting you abandon the fatty, fluffy, smooth, delicious treat from God Himself, in favor of this man made garbage.

Effectively breaking, "Rule #2: Imitation Whipped Cream Shall Never Cross Thine Lips."

I know!

What is the world coming to?
What is this blog coming to?!!??

You all know I love whipped cream.

Whipped cream is my hommie.  My love.  My main baking squeeze.

But for these delicious morsels, Cool Whip is your guy.

You see, I make ice cream with whipped cream all the time.  And I know two things to be true:
1) It freezes rock solid.
2) It's extremely rich.

Two things you definitely want to avoid for these ice cream cupcakes.

1) You aren't eating these with a spoon.  They need to have "bite-worthy" texture.  I don't need anyone
    chipping a tooth.
2) Mixing ice cream with whipped cream seems like an unnecessary health burden. Heart attack, much?

I double-dog, triple pinky promise that I would never suggest this to you if I didn't think it tasted amazing.

And, oh, it does.

It's like mousse.  Ice cream mousse.
So light and creamy and refreshing from this soul crushing heat wave we've been having.

These are pretty much a summer must.

So please forgive me.
My goal is to give you the best.
And if the best involves Cool Whip, then so be it.

Ice Cream Cupcakes
recipe slightly adapted from The Domestic Rebel, and introduced to me by Aimee.  That one bite changed my life.

• 1 - 1.5 Quart Tub of Ice Cream (I used Cake Batter to get the color I wanted)
• 1 - 8oz Tub of Cool Whip (thawed)**
• 20 Oreos (or small round cookie of choice)
• 20 Cupcake Liners
• (Optional) Sprinkles

Makes 20 Ice Cream Cupcakes
Requires freezing time (2-6hrs)
**Addendum: Apparently Trader Joe's has their own non-hydrogenated oil House Whip.  Wish I knew that before I made these.**

1) Set ice cream out for about 20 minutes before starting.  Cool whip must be thawed from the freezer
    (this can be done overnight in the fridge).
2) Line two muffin tins with 20 cupcake liners.  Place cookie at the bottom of each one and set off to
    the side.
3) In a large bowl, scoop in softened ice cream.  Add tub of cool whip and fold until combined.
4) (Optional) If adding topping/decorations sprinkle a small handle into the mixture for added color and
    texture.

5) Using a kitchen spoon, scoop ice cream mixture into cupcake liners.  Keep adding until the mixture 

     just reaches the top of the liner.  Smooth with the back of the spoon to help level out the tops.

6) At this point, my mixture was very melted so I put in the freezer for about 30 minutes before I added 

    the decorations.  If your mixture is holding its texture go ahead and decorate now, otherwise, pop in 

    the in the freezer for a little bit (just to set) then decorate.  These things thaw out very, very, very 

    quickly.

7) Once decorated, freeze for at least 2 hours before eating.  6 hours to overnight is preferable, but I 

    ate one at 2 hours and it was fine, just not as firm as it could've been.  

8) A side note: these thaw within minutes so they need to be in the freezer until immediately before 

    serving.  The cool whip mixed in prevents these from getting very hard.  

Sure I missed America's Birthday and I endorsed Cool Whip, 

But I just drooled because of my own photo...  

And that's plain embarrassing. 

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S'mores Bars (★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆)

Just go with me a sec.

Now brace yourself, because I'm going to ask you to do something you may find difficult.

Imagine for a moment,

                                   

                                    ...that you actually like Katy Perry.

And there it is.

Take a deep breath.  Bear with me.  Here we go.

Imagine that you find her music catchy and her need to have cotton candy blue hair while wearing outfits that spew whipped cream nothing short of charming.

For some of you, this is the easiest thing you've been asked to do all day.  

For others...well you're still clutching the side of your chair.  

Moving on...

This next task might be a little easier to swallow.

Now imagine that you love Spiderman.  

See????  I told you. 

But I don't mean love in the "I used to watch Spiderman cartoons and I guess I have nothing better to do with my Wednesday night" kinda way.  

I'm talking love in the "you thought Toby Maguire made a darn good Spidey, that the dorky kid-next-door-being-thrust-into-heroism formula is the best, and that the shear audacity of Hollywood believing it was already time for a remake made you kinda angry but you'd still watch because well, it is Spiderman after all" kinda way.

If you can't give me Katy...at least give me this.  

Katy Perry Inspired S'mores Bars

So being that you now rock out to Katy Perry and are already designing your own Spidey costume for Halloween, I'd say it's safe to assume you are pretty excited about going to the movies this summer.

How could it possibly get any better?!

Duh, with themed snacks! That's how!

I'm a proud and strong proponent of "theming."

It takes me out of observation mode and makes me a participator.  Better experience, better memories, and infinitely better snacks.  

My brother-in-law just recently discovered this trait about me when I was adamant about everyone only bringing black and white colored snacks to a showing of The Artist. 

"Why do you always have to theme everything?"

Is this really a question? Uh, why wouldn't you theme everything?

And guess what guys?

It's easy.

Spiderman Inspired S'mores Bars

I came across this recipe that included EDIBLE brownie batter (?!?! Wha!?) on my favorite baking blog - The Domestic Rebel: Brownie Batter Pretzel Bites.  This is the only baking blog where I actually read every word - all of the time.  If you enjoy a quirky sense of humor, you should check this girl out.  

One look at the brownie batter and my mind went into overdrive.  Graham crackers... marshmallow fluff... multicolored candy melts...  Presto chango, theming made easy.

Katy Perry: Neon Pink and Blue Colored Candy Melts and Sprinkles.

Spiderman: Dark Blue and Red Candy Melts and Chocolate Jimmies.

S'mores Bars

Edible Brownie Batter:
1 box brownie mix
1 stick of butter
1/8-1/4 cup water

S'mores:
Prepared Brownie Batter
1 Box Graham Crackers
1 Jar Marshmallow Fluff
1 Bag Wilton's Candy Melts (I've been told Candiquik or Plymouth Pantry are easier to use.) 

(Optional)
Katy Perry Theme:
Cotton Candy Colored Sprinkles - Pink and Blue
Neon Food Coloring - Pink and Blue

Spiderman Theme:
Blue Candy Melts
Red Candy Melts
Black & Blue Food Color (oil based)
Chocolate Jimmies (for simple/instant "webbing")

What I finagled to ease the burden of dipping the bars.  The candy melts were too thick otherwise. 

1.  Mix together brownie box powder, melted stick of butter and 1/8 cup water.  If batter is too thick to be molded with your hands add up to an additional 1/8 cup of water.  Tip: Add slowly.  You can always add more, but you can't take back runny batter. 

2. Arrange graham crackers into quarters.  I made twenty bars (40 cracker quarters) and had enough batter and marshmallow fluff to make at least ten more.  Spoon brownie batter onto half of the graham crackers.  Spread marshmallow fluff onto remaining half.  Assemble bars using one brownie batter and one marshmallow graham cracker.  Work quickly with the fluff as it starts to deflate and melt at room temperature.  Refrigerate bars until fluff is very firm. 2-3 hours.  You can speed up this process by freezing bars instead for about an hour.

3. After bars are chilled, melt candy melts over a double boiler.  You can use the microwave, but I found the melts to be much too thick.  You can add a couple tbsps of canola oil to thin it out.  I also used a narrow cup over my double boiler to make the dipping easier on myself.  Candiquik and Plymouth Pantry have been suggested to me as better alternatives.  Once melts are ready, dip bars and place on parchment paper.  If doing two colors dip half of the bar and decorate while wet.  Let set (twenty minutes room temp or five minutes in the fridge).  Then dip the other half and decorate.  

Important Things I've Learned:

A) Candy Melts are thick. I wanted to add a little bit of color to my bars for theming purposes, not 

     because I wanted a mouthful of fake white chocolate. Not ideal. Use Candiquik or Plymouth Pantry 

     instead.  You can check their website to find out where they are sold near you.  

B) If Candy Melts are all you have, add a generous amount of canola oil one tbsp at a time.  This will 

     help thin it out.  Also, using a double boiler will keep it consistently warm preventing clumping. 

C) If you need to add coloring to Candy Melts they need to be oil based.  I added a little bit of an oil  

     based black to the blue and red melts I purchased and had no problem.  Later, I tried adding a little 

     bit of blue to offset some of the black I mixed in using a water based gel.  Bad juju.  It literally is 

     like oil and water -- clumpy, frumpy, bumpy.  

D) Sometimes the bars do not get coated completely.  Use a spoon to add some of the candy melt 

     mixture to any exposed area.  

These bars were a little more work than I had expected, but I learned some valuable lessons.

They were totally worth it and so delicious!

They're on the rich side.  One is all you need.  But that's awesome cause then you'll have these for days and days to come.

I'm telling you. Theming.  It's gonna be big!

Check out some of my other character inspired adventures:

Twilight/Vampire Cupcakes

Smallville Cupcakes

On a side note, one of my best friends just started a blog.  And her first post??  Batman Themed Cake Pops!  Are you kidding me?!  She makes legitimately delicious cake pops and has somehow figured out how to make fondant behave.  Two things that utterly terrify me.  Check her out at Aimerson.

You are now welcome to resume your formerly held stance on all things Perry and Web-ey.  I appreciate you allowing me to manipulate your brain for a moment.

Hopefully, I have convinced you that designing a dessert or snack or party around something you want to commemerate can be as easy as choosing the correct colors.

So the next time a Star Wars movie is rereleased in 3D, maybe you'll bring some gummy bears.  Ewoks always did make me hungry.

Go ahead.  Start theming your life.

Smallville Extravaganza (★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆)

It was the summer of 2011 and I had fallen in love...

...with Superman!

This is not something I'm proud of--being in love with a character of fiction.  And I've never even picked up a comic, but Smallville hooked and reeled me in like nothing had in a long time.  I picked it up on a whim because I thought the lead actor was pretty cute and I ended up watching 10 years worth of television in 3 months.  Once again...all things I should probably keep to myself.  But this obsession led me to my next baking assignment, proving that everything does happen for a reason.

To celebrate the series finale, I decided to make some Superman inspired cupcakes.  I invited my fellow  Smallville enthusiasts (It's a real thing! The number of attendees outnumbered the fingers on my hand.)  to an outdoor screening of the last episode.

Now, I knew I wanted to do something awesome, but I didn't know exactly what that entailed.  There are just so many ways you can go with a broad theme like Superman.  I mean do you include bald cupcakes for Lex Luther who is such a big part of the show?  Do you make faces with eyes crossed out to signify what you wish they actually did to Lana's character?  Or do you throw everyone for a loop and make Brainac and Lois cupcakes from Earth 2?  But I digress...

Needless to say, I needed some outside help for this one.  I enlisted the help of my friends and together we agreed that sticking to the basics was best: The Superman Emblem and Kryptonite.

It became a group baking event.

Since we were making two sets of cupcakes, I split the cake batter and frosting recipe into two bowls.

For the Kryptonite cupcakes, I dyed the batter and frosting...guess what?  Green.  Yes, green.

The Superman cupcakes were dyed blue.

Now, here is where the real creativity came in.

For the Superman emblem we needed a yellow/gold diamond for the base.  I'm no chocolate molder and fondant doesn't taste good...so what on earth were we going to use? After scouring the grocery aisles, we came across these "Golden" Oreo Cakesters.  

The color was...close enough.  And since they were little "cakes," we decided it would be easy to scoop out the cream center and cut the remaining pieces into the needed five-sided diamond.

I picked up one of those red icing "bottles," which helped immensely with the emblem outline and "S."

For the evil...er...Kryptonite cupcakes, green rock candy ended up being the perfect topping.  I bought a couple sticks and my baking helpers turned them into perfectly sized bits of Superman's worst enemy.  

So what is the distance that must be maintained between these two cupcakes?  Did a strict 6-inch rule need to be enforced?

Since Smallville was always lax on the subject...I mean Clark Kent drank Kryptonite Gatorade...drank it...as in, it went into his blood stream...I decided taking this next picture couldn't possibly be all that cruel.

Our cupcake baking was a success!  They were fun to eat too.  Although the cakester was awful (picked it off) and a huge mouthful of rock candy wasn't the most pleasant experience (eat candy first, devour remaining cupcake after), as long as you knew the system they were thoroughly enjoyable.

The finale was fantastic as well...I knew you were wondering.  Watching it outside upped my excitement level ten-fold...AND Clark Kent flew.  

How can it get better than that?

Vampires! And Werewolves! Oh, ya! (★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆)

I can't believe it's only been a little over a year since my obsession with Twilight began. I don't even like vampires. I'm a princess-loving, dress twirling kinda girl. But there was just something about the trailer that one fateful day, that spoke to me and made me feel like, "this is different. this is big. see this."

Obviously, it wasn't a huge feeling because I totally forgot all about it. I only ended up renting it because no one else was home one night and I had a spare dollar for the Redbox. Even then I wasn't really affected. It wasn't until my sister convinced me to read the books that the infection began to germinate and take hold. And I can honestly say, I've never been the same.

I work at a church and people generally like me, so I have access to a whole mess of cool stuff that normal people have to rent. Last summer I had my heart set on setting up a projector and screen in my backyard to watch movies...and once the vision is cast in my mind it's hard to stop me from trying everything I can to make it happen. I intended to use it for a week, but ended up planning all kinds of movie nights and facebook inviting everyone I knew...all summer long.

Well with this type of movie-watchege going on, it was inevitable that I would have a Twilight movie night. But it had to be different than the others. I couldn't just throw some chairs on the lawn and wait for it to get dark enough--at exactly 8:49pm--to start the movie. No. This was special. And I wanted to give it the attention it deserved.

At the suggestion of my best friend Marina (who at the time was just a girl who liked Twilight), I endeavored to find out how to make "Vampire Cupcakes." Being as I was uneducated in the workings of the "undead", let alone making treats worthy of them, I relied on Marina's emotional support alot. I guess you could say it was Twilight that first brought us together. :)

I found all kinds of different recipes: some with toy vampire teeth, some with cherry pie filling... But all these seemed too gruesome. I mean, it's a movie about so-called "vegetarian" vampires who are against violence. Plus, I generally like my cupcakes to taste good (I understand not everyone feels the same way). But I'm not really down with a cupcake that oozes gross, syrupy, fake cherry glop.

Soooooo, I decided to stick with simple chocolate cupcakes (made from a box of course) and cream cheese frosting (it's the only kind I can stand from a can...it's not super sweet). For the decoration we decided to go with the classic and eerie "bite."


After making the cupcakes, I was still a little apprehensive about how to get the bite marks to look real without destroying the cupcake with an over-zealous poke or red smear. We decided to put a drop of gel into each hole...but it was Marina's genius to have just one, spine-tingling blood-red drip falling from the bite mark.
We bought red decorating gel from the supermarket. It's pretty easy to use and doesn't run. With Marina manning the blood, I took charge of the bites. I found that the perfect sized holes came from using a meat thermometer. It was easy to handle...no, accidentally losing it in the cupcake (i.e. the curse of the toothpick). An added plus--it was just the perfect size for the red gel.

I was really impressed with how they turned out and they were delicious...I ate at least 3. This was one of my first attempts at cupcakes in general so I was a little worried, but they were super easy. It was actually these cupcakes that helped reinvigorate my love for baking. I'll take any excuse to try something different and challenging now.
Recap:

• 1 Chocolate Cake Box Mix (make according to instructions)
• 1 Container of Cream Cheese frosting
• 1 Tube of Red Decorating Gel
• 1 Meat Thermometer (or a kebab stick would've worked just as well)

P.S. I ALWAYS use cupcake liners...it saves so much time and it's less messy.
If you'd like to try the blood-filled cupcakes, here is where I got my inspiration: Vampire Cupcakes