Banana Butterscotch Cream Pie Cupcakes

These cupcakes are legit. The only thing that would make them better would be some homemade butterscotch pudding or custard filling.

And if making them could be a full-time, high-paying job.

I have a semi-annoyed recurring pattern with bananas. I buy them still green, intending to eat them when they start to yellow, and intending to save a few for a recipe. I end up eating zero of them, forgetting I bought them for over a week, and then magically "discover" (if just seeing them in the fruit bowl on the open counter counts as a discovery) them again and then have to figure out a recipe for them within the next day. This happens every couple of months. I've made a few fun banana things in the past:

Kahlua Caramelized Banana S'More Bread

Banana Butterscotch Cream Pie (here's where the idea came from)

Red Velvet Banana Bread

Banana Caramel Cupcakes

Marbled Chocolate Banana Bread

Chocolate Chip Banana Blondie Cake

Peanut Butter Truffle Banana Bread Muffins

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

Maybe a little more than a few...

Banana things tend to be pretty sweet, so adding the sweet banana to cupcakes makes them doubly sweet in my opinion. These cupcakes get a nice cool freshness when you have the cold butterscotch pudding inside and FRESH whipped cream on top. I added a tiny hint of vanilla to the cream, and it could actually use a little more, but I like that fresh flavor of plain whipped cream.  This was the first time I got to use my whipped cream dispenser I got last Christmas. At first, when I read the instructions for the dispenser, I got a little nervous. Almost every step has a giant caution symbol next to it since you're using an N2O charger and everything is under pressure. They tell you to never stand directly over the dispenser be careful when taking the top, charger, and decorating tip off, etc. Basically, there's a fear that this thing is going to burst and seriously injure you.

I survived it though, and it's not that scary.


Anyways, back to the recipe. The cake is a great thick banana cake that holds up well around the pudding, but isn't so dense that one bite fills you up. The pudding is just a boxed instant pudding mix. One of these days I'll try to make some homemade pudding (I've made chocolate once), or a custard. This is definitely a keeper recipe.

In case you're not sure how good these are, let me tell you a secret: I ate two of them. For anyone who knows me, I don't eat sweet. I take a bite to make sure it's good, and then give the rest to Dan. I almost never eat a whole cupcake. And I had two (two!) of these.

Banana Butterscotch Cream Pie Cupcakes
adapted from Your Cup of Cake

Banana cake:
4 ripe bananas
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 and 2/3 cups flour
1 tbsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
2/3 cup buttermilk

1 box instant butterscotch pudding mix
2 cups cold milk

Fresh whipped cream:
1/2 pint heavy cream or whipping cream
1-2 tsp. vanilla extract (to your liking)

1. Preheat oven to 350 and line 2 muffin tins with liners.
2. In a small bowl mash the bananas with the lemon juice.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter, sugar and brown sugar. Add in the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly in between. Add the vanilla and give another mix.
4. In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add half the mixture to the wet mixture and mix on low.
5. Add the buttermilk and mix on low until combined. Add the remaining flour mixture and mix until just combined.
6. Add in the banana and mix on low until just combined.
7. Fill liners 3/4 full and bake for 20-24 minutes.
8. Let cool completely.
9. For the pudding, whisk together the pudding mix and cold milk for one minute. Let sit for 5 minutes. You can refrigerate or leave at room temp until cupcakes cool.
10. Cut out the middles of the cooled cakes and fill with the pudding. I put my pudding in a piping bag and piped it in, you can spoon it in as well.
11. For the whipped cream, you can use a dispenser and follow the directions for the dispenser. If you don't have one, in the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the cream and vanilla until fluffy peaks form. (You can add some sugar if you want it sweeter as well).

If you don't have a dispenser, make the whipped cream topping right before serving, as it doesn't last or stay fresh as long.

Can't go wrong with $1 liners!

Apple Cinamon Pancake Cupcakes

So happy to be baking again! My night has consisted of baking, preparing a new salad recipe for lunch, and the Bruins, it doesn't get much better than that.

Well, other than my HUSBAND just getting home from class. I really have to get used to calling him that. And I have to get used to my new last name. My students are having quite the tough time with it, all day I got, "Mrs. C...I mean Mrs. R!", Mrs. Ricker, Mrs. Crockter, Mrs. Richer, and "What's your name now?"

I don't exactly need cupcakes in my house right now. I have 3 large Tupperware containers full of leftover mini pastries from the wedding. And to think, I almost made a pie tonight too....maybe tomorrow night...

Having Monday off for the holiday and a professional development day yesterday, which was preceded by a busy, busy wedding weekend, and a busy, busy 3 days off before that, today did not at all register to be a Wednesday to me. I certainly got spoiled from that time off. I'm excited but not prepared that the weekend is a mere two days away.

I decided to leave the bacon out of these cupcakes. I love bacon, but the whole "bacon is the most amazing thing ever and I will put bacon with everything" needs to be placed in a closet and locked up for a little while. I want the focus of these cupcakes to be the apple, not the tiny pieces of bacon that should have been sprinkled on top. It is fall for goodness sake, and what screams fall more than apple?

Pumpkin. Pumpkin screams fall more than apple. BUT, I have a million pumpkin recipes I can bust out at any time. I really liked how the apple was grated for these. Grating them was a breeze with my little grate-top containers from IKEA. Plus, the Fuji apples are nice and soft, the grating took all of 1 minutes. The meringue buttercream is always a great choice, but I do hate that it takes more time than my standard buttercream. The simmering and constant stirring kept me in the warm kitchen, in my already warm house from this weird spike in temperature we're seeing. I haven't made a meringue buttercream in forever, so I sort of forget how well they will be holding up tomorrow. I also didn't have pure maple syrup, and certainly wasn't paying $8.99 for the smallest bottle in the store. I tried it with your standard maple syrup, and I think they came out just fine and perfectly yummy. The apply butter in the middle was a great call and gives it that extra apple it needs. I also almost always use vanilla bean paste instead of extract in my recipes.

Apple Cinnamon Pancake Cupcakes
adapted from Baking a Moment

1.5 cups cake flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
2.5 tsps. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, cold, cut into small cubes
3 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
2 cups fresh apple, peeled, cored and grated (about 2 medium apples) (I used Fuji apples)

3/4 cup apple butter

3 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened, but cool

1. Preheat oven to 350 and line about 18 muffins slots.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add the butter pieces and mix until slightly crumbly. (I found using my pastry cutter got it done better than my mixer with the beater paddle).
3. Add each egg, one at a time, mixing between each. Add the buttermilk, syrup and vanilla and beat on medium speed until combined.
4. Fold in the grated apple with a spatula.
5. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake for 20 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.
6. Let cool completely.
7. Place the apple butter in a pastry bag or plastic sandwich bag and snip the corner. Cut out the centers of the cupcakes and squeeze apple butter into each.
8. For the frosting, whisk together the egg whites, sugar and syrup until just combined, in a small bowl that can used as the top of a double boiler. Place the bowl of a small saucepan with simmering water, over medium-low heat. Stir frequently for about 10 minutes, until sugar is dissolved and doesn't feel gritty when you rub it between your fingers.
9. Pour the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer, and with the whisk attachment, whisk on high speed until stiff peaks form and the meringue cools completely.
10. Add the butter, one tablespoon at a time, beating at high speed until it thickens back up and is nice and glossy. If it is too thin to frost with, place the bowl in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes. If it curdles, keep whipping it, it will come together.
11. Frost cupcakes.


I tried a smaller tip than I would have liked to use and played around with them just for fun. It's not a way I'd frost again it came out messy and just not one of my best. Didn't change how tasty it was though!

Root Beer Sloppy Joes

I haven't posted in a while, but it's all for a good reason...


I am now, officially, Mrs. Richter!!

That's right! I'm hitched! I tied the knot! I said "I Do"!

Like most people, you're probably wondering why I'm here, posting to my blog, a few days after my wedding. The honeymoon isn't until next month. Just one more fun thing to look forward to!

Now that life is back to normal, with no more planning and last minute details to take care of, I can get back to cooking and baking. OK, well there is still some planning and last minute details to take care of...my cheer team advanced to Regionals in their competition Saturday morning, so there's that to plan for now too. That also cuts into my dinner-making since practice is usually at 6, cutting into prime dinner-making time.

Tonight, I had plenty of time to make dinner, but Dan has class on Wednesdays, so I tend to cook early so he can eat before he goes. I was fine with that since it gave me time to bake later on (look for that recipe soon!) I needed something quick and easy that could be made in under 30 minutes. Sloppy Joes it was. I really liked the sweetness that the root beer gives this recipe. I've had spicier sloppy joes and some that are too tomato-y. This had a nice balance of that tomato base, with some spice and a great sweetness. We liked to eat cheese on our joes, so toasted buns and a slice of cheese completed our quick and early dinner. It was so quick that I almost forgot to take pictures. I had to take a picture of my partially devoured sandwich on its stylish paper plate. Sorry for the horrid photos. Oh, and I also added a pinch of my sweet n' smoky rub that I add to pretty much everything!

Root Beer Sloppy Joes
from My Recipes

1 lb. ground beef
1 tbsp. canola oil
1 small onion, diced
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1 tbsp. tomato paste
1/4 cup chili sauce
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. chili powder
1/4 cup root beer
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced

1. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook for 3 minutes. Add beef and crumble, cooking until mostly browned.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine. Cook for a few minutes until everything is cooked and heated through.
3. Toast some hamburger buns or bulkie rolls and enjoy!

Crab Rangoon Bites

Two weeks ago my little cousin turned 18. So...maybe not so little anymore, but I guess I'll have to deal with that. She had a family barbecue to celebrate yesterday, so I decided to make some appetizers to bring. After taking our cheerleading team pictures and running some errands, I needed something quick enough to make. I decided on these, because they were quick and easy, and I knew most of the family would eat them. I have to apologize before hand for forgetting to take more pictures. I got one at the start, but never took any of them after they had baked.

I thought these came out pretty good. They aren't as good as the filling of an actual crab Rangoon, but that's okay. I think the imitation crab stands out quite a bit, but it's far cheaper than real crab, and I put more in than called for, because in an actual Rangoon there's never enough crab. Check out the link to the original recipe if you're unsure of how to fold these. I forgot to take pictures of the process. Sorry again!

Crab Rangoon Bites
from Krista's Kitchen

2 cans seamless crescent roll dough
6 oz. cream cheese, softened (I used whipped)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
4 green onions, chopped
1.5 cups crabmeat, chopped
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Roll dough out into a neat rectangle. Cut it into 24 squares.
3. Combine all ingredients. Place a spoonful of mix onto each square. Pull two opposite corners in to meet in the middle and seal.
4. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 15-18 minutes, until dough is cooked and browned.

One Pot Chili Mac

Why is it almost 90 degrees out? It's going to be October in 3 days.

I'm behind on posting a few recipes, so I'm going to try and catch up as I make my favorite spaghetti sauce and do far too many loads of laundry. And then, wedding things.

I can't believe I'm under the two week mark. Thirteen days. Where did the last year go?

Friday I decided to make a chili mac that could feed us until today, and I knew I needed to make my sauce again, because I can't seem to go more than three weeks without having it. I may have a problem. The chili mac was good, but I wouldn't call it mac and cheese, like the original posting. When I think of mac and cheese, I think of creamy, cheesy, goodness. This was more like a chop suey type of dish. It was great, but it doesn't deserve the title of mac and cheese.

One Pot Chili Mac
adapted from Damn Delicious

1 tbsp. olive oil

2 cloves garlic

1 onion, diced

1 lb. ground beef

4 cups chicken broth

1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes

3/4 cup canned white kidney beans, drained and rinsed

3/4 cup canned kidney beans, drained and rinsed

2 tsp. chili powder

1.5 tsp. cumin

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

10 oz. pasta (any kind, I used medium shells)

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

 

1. In a dutch oven (or large deep skillet), add the oil, garlic, onions, and ground beef. Brown the beef and crumble until mostly cooked through. Drain.

2. Add the broth, tomatoes, beans, chili powder and cumin. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a simmer.

3. Stir and pasta and bring to boil. Cover and reduce heat; simmer until pasta is cooked through, about 13-15 minutes.

4. Stir in 1 cup of the shredded cheese. Top with remaining cup of cheese, cover, and let the cheese melt, about 2 minutes. Serve.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sweet and Sour Chicken

It's a well-known fact that I love me some Chinese food. It's also a well-known fact that Dan does not. So, when we get to order it, I get pretty excited. Most places have one of two kinds of sweet and sour chicken. The first is chicken fingers with a side of that super thick, get everything near it sticky, red sweet and sour sauce with the cherries and pineapple in it. The other is the pieces of chicken mixed into a sauce, usually with peppers and pineapple mixed in. Both are good, but this post isn't about Chinese takeout. It's about the sweet and sour chicken I made last Wednesday that was BEYOND better than takeout. It's a little time intensive with a decent list of ingredients, but so worth it! It's super fresh and since it uses chicken breasts, you don't have to worry about any of the weird dark funky chunks of chicken that I often find in takeout.

Do other people worry about that like I do?

I didn't post this sooner because I got busy, and I got a little lazy, and then my weekend was busy with my final meeting with the florist, a hair appointment, and my Bachelorette party last night. Hence, why this post comes in today at 8:30 at night, because I spent most of my day in recovery, carb-loading. Thankfully, my mom is awesome, and delivered me some lasagna from her lunch at Carabba's. I'm sure you're all wondering how the party was. It was great, more than great, and that's all I'll share. My girls did a great job organizing everything and fun was had by all.

I wish I still had some of this chicken left. Hangovers tend to make me a bottomless pit, and I've eaten most of what's substantial in the house (and what my mom brought me!). Dan worked all day and is at hockey, so I've had to fend for myself. I know, I know, no one should have any sympathy since my complaint is brought on from a night of partying, but come on, I don't tend to have many of these types of days. Let's just bring on the recipe so I can go back to doing a whole lot of nothing, well, except for watching Criminal Minds.

Sweet and Sour Chicken
from Carlsbad Cravings

Chicken breading:
3-4 chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized chunks
1/2 cup flour
3 eggs
1 and 1/3 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp ginger powder
1/4 tsp onion powder

Sweet and sour sauce:
1/2 cup pineapple juice from chunks can below
1 cup red wine vinegar
1.5 cups sugar
6 tbsp. ketchup
1 small onion diced
2 tbsp. soy sauce
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp red pepper flaks
1/2 tsp. ginger powder

Mix-ins:
1 green bell pepper chopped
1 red bell pepper chopped
1 (20 oz) can pineapple chunks
1 cup carrots, sliced thin (did not use)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9x13 baking dish.
2. Start by preparing the sauce. In a saucepan, combine all of the ingredients and stir. Heat to boiling, then reduce heat and let simmer while you prepare everything else. After 20 minutes, remove from heat.
3. Place the flour in a large Ziplock bag. Add the chicken chunks and shake to coat. Get rid of the excess flour.
4. Whisk the eggs together and place in a shallow dish. In a separate bowl whisk together the cornstarch, garlic powder, salt, pepper, ginger powder and onion powder.
5. Place chicken chunks into egg and coat, letting the excess drip off. Place the chicken chunks back into the Ziplock bag and add the cornstarch mix. Shake to coat chicken.
6. In a large skillet, heat any kind of oil, enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Get it nice and hot, and in batches, add chicken and brown for about 3 minutes. Place browned chicken in the baking dish.
7. Place peppers and pineapple into the sauce and stir. Pour over the chicken in the baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes, uncovered.
8. Serve over rice.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream

Yesterday was a busy day. It was Open House night at the school, so I had work, then a meeting after work, then I ran home to eat a little dinner, and went back for open house. Monday night, after practice, I made myself make time to bake. I figured it was long overdue, and since we had a work meeting and Open House, a little treat for my co-workers would be nice. With fall creeping around the corner, pumpkin was a great choice. I had debated not breaking into the pumpkin just yet, but let's get serious, pumpkin coffee came back to Dunkin Donuts in August...

August!

August is still summer. Flavors should be berries or beachy cocktails, like the drinks I had while on vacation at the beach in August when pumpkin returned. Don't get me wrong, pumpkin is my favorite coffee from Dunks, but August is just too soon. However, September isn't, especially when temps are in the 40s when I wake up.

Now that I have some open time today, I can write this post and make a home-cooked meal. Last night tomato soup (from a can) was okay, but I want a real meal tonight. For the cupcakes, I used vanilla bean paste instead of regular extract.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes wit Cinnamon Buttercream
from Macaroni and Cheesecake

For the cake:
2.5 cups flour
1.5 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. each of nutmeg, cloves and ginger
1.5 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1.5 cups sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 (15 oz). can pure pumpkin
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

For the frosting:
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
4 cups powdered sugar
1-3 tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350 and line 2 cupcake pans with liners.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the sugar, oil, buttermilk, pumpkin, eggs, and vanilla until fully incorporated. Reduce mixer speed to low and add in flour in small amounts until just incorporated. Gently stir in chocolate chips until evenly distributed.
4. Scoop evenly into cupcake liners and bake for 18-23 minutes. Let cool.
5. For the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter until fluffy.
6. Add in the powdered sugar, 2 cups at a time, mixing in between.
7. Add one tablespoon of milk and the vanilla. Beat until incorporated. Add cinnamon and beat again until evenly dispersed. If you want your frosting softer, add more milk, 1 tablespoon at a time (I ended up doing 3).
8. Frost and serve!