Ah-mazing Rice Krispy Treats

Christmas isn't over just yet. At least not in this household. I say this only because I haven't been able to bring myself to take down the Christmas tree or empty out my stocking. After all, we just received a few really amazing ornaments as gifts in the last few days, and I'd hate to miss displaying them for at least a week or so.

Besides, if you'd like to get technical, we're in the midst of the 12 Day of Christmas right now. So, I really shouldn't be contemplating the removal of our Christmas tree until Epiphany on January 6. How do I know this? Christmas Eve Trivia with the Bogdajewicz side of the family. I'm really not brilliant enough to come to my own defense when it comes to Christmas decoration removal.

Even if you're done with Christmas, I think you'll appreciate this tasty little recipe. If you're hosting an appetizer night for NYE like my friends, or just planning to take some treats with you to a get together, you can't go wrong with decadent Rice Krispy Treats like these.

AH-mazing Rice Krispy Treats
Makes approximately 30 - 40 treats depending on size

8 cups Rice Krispies
2 cups creamy peanut butter
24 oz. vanilla bark
10 oz miniature marshmallows

Combine cereal and marshmallows in a large bowl. Set aside.

Lightly coat a large jelly roll pan or cookie sheets with edges with non-stick spray. Set aside.

Place vanilla bark and peanut butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Melt on regular power for 45 seconds. Stir. Continue to melt the peanut butter mixture in increments of 30 seconds, stirring between each. When the mixture is completely melted and smooth, pour over cereal and marshmallows.

Stir the cereal and peanut butter mixture until completely coated. Transfer to the prepared jelly roll pan. Using a spatula, evenly spread the mixture across the pan. Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting into squares.

Operation Cupcake: Red Velvet

"Naked" red velvet cupcakes.

My coworkers at the full-time "grown up" job were well aware that I was undertaking the making of massive numbers of cupcakes for my good friends' wedding on December 11. I mean, I took a personal day so that I could spend it in the kitchen baking. To say that they were in on the gig is doing little more than telling the truth.

Everyone knew. EVERYONE.

Of course, the first thing I was asked when I returned to the office was, "How did it go?"

The second thing I was asked was, "Where are our cupcakes?"

See, I had promised cupcakes with the good intention of bringing into the office the cupcakes I had left over from scrap batches on Friday. The problem? I didn't have any left to bring into the office. So I had two options: I could ignore the pleas for cupcakes and pretend I had no idea that I had promised to bring them in, or I could man up and make another special batch for the people that spend the most time with me outside of my husband and dog.

I chose the latter, obviously. I have learned one thing during my short time on this planet, if nothing else, and that is that one does not fail to provide cupcakes when they have been promised.

I like to wear PJs when I bake. Comfort is key, dang it!

 Thankfully, I have been lucky enough to produce cupcakes en mass in the last few weeks. This means that I am becoming ridiculously adept at working my way through batter preparation, baking, and decorating in a short amount of time. Total time to make these cupcakes? 1 hour 30 minutes. I was a cupcake goddess for all of one evening. It was glorious.

I am happy to say that I brought zero cupcakes home. I made 30, gave one to Shannon for his patience and will power in not eating the buttercream straight out of the mixing bowl, and took the other 29 to work. All gone by 5pm that day. It was a moment to be savored.

I'm sharing this recipe so that you'll make and savor your own cupcakes. While you're doing that, I'm going to make some cookies and assorted sweets with my good friend Steph today. Look for those recipes and photos throughout the week. What better way to countdown to Christmas than with cookies? Or cupcakes...

Red Velvet Cupcakes
adapted to cupcake form from the Food Network
makes 30 cupcakes

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons red food coloring (1 ounce)
• 1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the vegetable oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar and vanilla extract. Beat on low setting until combined.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture in batches, waiting until the first batch is just incorporated before adding the second. Keep the mixer on low while you add the dry ingredients or you'll take a powder bath. Kick the mixer up to medium speed and stir until the batter is thick and combined.

Line cupcake tins with paper liners. Fill each liner 1/2 full with batter. Bake for 20 - 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Allow to cool on a wire rack.

Yummy Cream Cheese Buttercream
makes approximately 4 cups

1/2 cup shortening
1 cup butter, softened
1 pound cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
4 - 4 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together shortening, butter, and cream cheese until smooth. Be sure to scrape the sides with a spatula often. Add the vanilla extract and stir to combine.

Add the confectioner's sugar to the cream mixture 1/2 cup at a time. Make sure the mixer is on low and that you scrape the sides of the bowl often. Once one batch of the confectioner's sugar is incorporated, add another 1/2 cup. Continue adding sugar until the buttercream is thick and smooth.

If for any reason you have difficulty with the consistency of your buttercream, you can add a bit more sugar to thicken it up or milk to thin it. Add either one tablespoon at a time until you reach your desired consistency.*

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Buttercream

You can pipe or spread the buttercream onto your cupcakes. I chose to pipe them to give them a sassy look before sprinkling red, green, and silver sugar crystals on the tops. Very holiday festive!

 *Be careful when you're thinning this mixture as you don't want a soupy frosting for your (cup)cakes. Usually 2 - 3 tablespoons will do the trick!

Mustaches!

You know that mustache mold that I was talking about a few weeks ago? You know, this post here. Well, that mold finally showed up at my house last week.

Last night, I got together with some of my very wonderful girlfriends for what I'm sure will be one in a series of many holiday dinners. We all shared little goodies with one another.

My friend Steph bestowed upon each of us the following:

Yes. Photos. Photos of her flipping us the double bird. Fantastic.

Of course, this upped the ante a little bit, and I was starting to get pretty worried about the success of my mustache plan. I mean, I was giving my gifts right after her! How was I going to top double birded awesome with candy?

Though she might have stolen my thunder initially, I'm pretty sure the mustaches were a hit. Or so the photo would imply.

Radvent: A Journaling Project

The fabulous Ms. Young over at Finely Young forwarded me a link today that she thought I would particularly enjoy. As she's had excellent taste in bloggy goodness so far, I wasn't surprised that I adored Princess Lasertron right away.

I was also hooked on an idea.

I was inspired by her Radvent blogging project for a number of reasons. Of the many, I was most drawn to the idea because it's so fitting to reflect and find thanks in the year that's passed before entering into the new. Since we're so very close to the holidays - I keep watching the countdown and gnawing my fingernails as I know that we're not near done shopping - I thought it might be appropriate to start expressing my sincere thanks for all the wonderful things that happened in the last year. What better way than to hop on the Radvent train and participate in my own way.

_____________________________________________________________________

WE ALL GET AS MANY BEGINNINGS AS WE NEED.

WE CAN START OVER. GIVE UP.

START OVER. GIVE UP. START OVER. GIVE UP. START OVER. GIVE UP.

_____________________________________________________________________

When I think of a new beginning, I think of Shannon.

When I think of Shannon, I think of starting over.

When I think of starting over, I think of a blustery February evening in 2009. I think of my girlfriends and I taking advantage of the men our lives via their universal single weakness (beer) and offering to buy them at least one round if they agreed to accompany us out of the house. We all had cabin fever and a desperate need to share space with numerous strangers, the sounds of bad karaoke and the stale ordor cigarette smoke. It was the midst of winter. We were antsy.

It was here that I bought my future husband a Pabst Blue Ribbon (you read that correctly) and sat cramped next to him on a bar stool mocking a poor sap across the bar who looked like a retirement-aged member of the Jersey Shore cast. Monochromatic outfit. Slicked back hair. A bit of gold bling surrounding his groomed chest hair. I'm pretty sure Shannon had a man-crush on him. I might have had one, too.

But he's not what I remember, really.

What I remember is the rush of excitement I felt that night. Possibility existed. It stretched in front of me for what seemed like miles. For the first time in a long, long time I felt like there might be more in store than wasted time or a broken promise.

I remember the flush in my cheeks. I remember the way my perfume failed to overpower the smoke that hung thick like fog in the air. I remember being certain that he could hear my heart pounding a thousand miles an hour over the shrillness of the local karaoke patrons.

I remember taking the first steps into starting over that evening. I gave up on my old life, and I started a new one. Give up. Start over. Give up. Give in. Start over. Start fresh.

I remember Shannon. I remember our beginning.

Beautiful You

I may be a bit late to the rodeo when it comes to this blog, but I wanted to share it nonetheless.

As a gal who works diligently to redefine her view of herself, I feel there's a valuable message to all women on Operation Beautiful's website. With that in mind, I might need to start spreading some love via Post-It note myself.

Check it out: http://operationbeautiful.com/

Happy Monday.

When Lunch Looks Like Dessert...

...you know it's going to be a good day.

Sunday was a great day. We got up fairly early and made our way to a local cafe for breakfast. We hit the local farmers market (closed on Sunday, oops!). We found the Bittersweet Bakery for a lunch of ridiculously decadent desserts. And all before we made our way to the local art museum for an exhibit on mourning.

Did I mention that we rounded out the day with a picnic lunch on the living room floor while we watched Kick Ass? No? Well, we did.

Although the whole day was wonderful, the focal point was really the dessert lunch we had at Bittersweet. Let me tell you, this place was phenomenal. The selection of cookies (Lavender Shortbread, anyone?) and biscotti (Double Chocolate Chip) was unbelievable. And the bread pudding? Absolutely sinful in every way.

Just look at it!



I was also a huge fan of Shannon's Black Walnut Brownie ice cream cone. Can you blame me?



Between the two of us, we ingested enough sugar to put a diabetic into shock. It was so, so worth it, though. So worth it. It was so worth it that I didn't mind not eating much of anything for the remainder of the day. Who needed to after having half of that bread pudding? Surely not me!