Hot Cocoa Cupcakes for People.com!

I still haven't made any Christmas cookies, but I made these adorable cupcakes for People.com. As in People Magazine!!! Outside I'm calm and collected, inside I'm jumping up and down with glee! How exciting is that? I was asked to contribute a kid friendly holiday cupcake photo and I didn't have anything on my blog that was quite right, so I came up with these hot cocoa cupcakes that were not only cute but tasty and full of holiday flavors. 

I started off with my favorite chocolate cupcake recipe and substituted prepared hot cocoa in place of the water and added a handful of chocolate chips for extra richness and flavor. Then instead of frosting, I used an array of cocoa toppings that included fresh whipped cream, mini marshmallows, mini chocolate chips and crushed peppermints. Since these cupcakes are essentially mugs of hot cocoa, I finished them off with edible mini candy cane handles. I loved how these turned out! If you like chocolate and mint, these are sure to be a hit with your little elves. 

Hot Cocoa Cupcakes from Monica h

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For The Cupcakes:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1 cup prepared hot cocoa, cooled
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

For The Whipped Cream

• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Garnishes:

• mini marshmallows
• mini chocolate chips
• crushed peppermints
• 18 mini candy canes

For The Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line cupcake tins with 18 paper liners and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Using a wire whisk, blend the dry ingredients thoroughly.

Add the oil, prepared hot cocoa, vanilla and eggs to the dry ingredients. Whisk until well incorporated and no lumps remain. Stir in the chocolate chips. 

Evenly divide the batter between the lined cupcakes tins.

Bake the cupcakes for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes; then place them on a rack to cool completely.

For The Whipped Cream: In a medium bowl, combine heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract. With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat until thick, creamy, and slightly stiff, being careful not to overbeat. 

To Assemble The Cupcakes: Pipe or mound the sweetened whipped cream onto the cooled cupcakes. Garnish with a sprinkling of mini marshmallows, mini chocolate chips and crushed peppermints. Add a mini candy cane tucked into the side of the cupcake, to make a handle for the "mug" of hot cocoa. 

Serve immediately. Cover and refrigerate any leftovers. 

Makes 18 cupcakes. 

Hot Weather Refresher

A couple weeks ago I was searching through back issues of Everyday Food and I spotted a recipe for watermelon salad with rum and mint. But I didn't bookmark it. I just knew I'd be able to find it again when I decided to make it. Then my mom invited us over for Sunday brunch and designated "a fruit dish" to yours truly.

I thought watermelon and cantaloupe! So I went searching for the recipe and guess what? I couldn't find it! So I went to Martha's site and did a little search and found the recipe. Then I made it and didn't like it. The lime, rum and mint sauce sounded so promising, but it was too salty and the rum was overpowering. I tried adding honey and brown sugar, even more lime and it wasn't helping, so I dumped it and started over. You win some you lose some.

I had all the ingredients spread all over the counter, so I came up with my own sauce. And it was tasty and so refreshing. I didn't pour the sauce over the melon though because I wasn't sure if everyone would like it. And I'm glad because all the men in the family disliked it and called it girl food. But my mom and I loved it!

Watermelon & Cantaloupe with Lime and Mint

• 1/2 a large seedless watermelon, cubed or balled
• 1 cantaloupe, cubed or balled
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• Juice of 1 lime (about 2 Tbsp.)
• Zest of a lime, grated (about 1 tsp.)
• 1-2 tsp. mint leaves, finely sliced

Chop melon into bite size pieces or use a melon baller. Place melon in a large bowl.

Add all over ingredients into a small bowl and whisk together. Pour over melon and serve immediately.

NOTE: If not serving right away then don't toss the melon in the sauce until ready to serve.

P.S. Thanks for all your votes in the BFF challenge. No matter who wins, I'm just thankful for your support.

Easy As No-Bake Pie!

I made this creamy, dreamy pie for St. Patty's Day. This is not the recipe I made for Rach's March Challenge. Well it was going to be, but then I noticed the challenge rules state that it must be something "baked" Duh, so I made something even more decadent than this for that!

I love all the foil going on in these three next pictures. So shiny!

I set out to make this pie because others were tempting me with their chocolate mint, cookies and cream concoctions. Check out Dawn's Mint Chocolate Thumbprints, Mary's Thin Mint Strawberry Pi and Thin Mint Chocolate Cupcakes, Donna's Oreos 'n Cream Cake, and Em's Oreo Pie. If you've made something recently with a mint or chocolate cookies, let me know so I can come on over and drool :-p..

Anyway, back to this pie. It was really simple to throw together. And it's something you can make any time of year. Just change up the cookies and you'll have a whole other dessert. I chose to make 10 mini cream pies instead of one large one so I could share with my family and neighbors.

Creamy Girl Scout Thin Mint Pie

• 2 packed cups chocolate cookie crumbs
• 6 Tbsp. butter, melted
• 1-8 oz. block of cream cheese, softened
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 cup heavy cream (makes 2 cups whipped cream)
• 1 sleeve Girl Scout Thin Mints (16 cookies, divided)

Mix cookie crumbs with melted butter until well blended. Press firmly onto bottom and sides of 9-inch pie plate and refrigerate while making the filling.

Chop 11 of the Thin Mints into small pieces and set aside. Whip heavy cream til it becomes fluffy and stiff, set aside. Beat cream cheese and sugar in medium bowl with an electric mixer til well combined and creamy.

Fold the whipped cream and cream cheese mixture together. Gently fold in chopped cookies. Scoop creamy filling into prepared crust. Spread the filling out to the edges. Garnish with the remaining 5 Thin Mints, cut into halves.

Refrigerate overnight to soften the cookies. The mint flavor will permeate throughout the creamy filling.

NOTE: I made mine into 10 mini pies instead of the larger 9-inch pie. They were so cute! You can also buy a premade cookie crust and use that instead of making your own.

Also, I think the filling was missing something. Maybe a smidge of vanilla or mint extract and the tiniest pinch of salt. That would have been good.