Monday, August 11, 2014

It's Time To Move!!

I have a new site called Chocolates and Crockpots! Way more fitting with all the great recipes I'm serving up! Come on over and check it out! http://chocolatesandcrockpots.blogspot.com/

See you there!

Peanut Butter Brownie Pizza

Hey Y'all and happy Monday to ya! Hope you had an amazing weekend! There's been some big changes around here! First, I changed the name of my blog!!! I was super nervous to do it, but seeing as my blog started off as a way to show people how to organize and is now solely devoted to all things food, I figured the change was necessary. So I am formally known as Organizer By Day, but now go by Chocolate and Crockpots. And I changed my layout. Feel like it's a little cleaner looking than before. I like it!

Well around here we've been having a wonderful summer and even though I'm sad to see it go I'm totally looking forward to Fall. Growing up I was obsessed with summer, but at my current age my new favorite is this coming time of year. That time when it's still warm enough outside at night where you only need a light jacket and comfy jeans and can get away with just a t shirt during the day. The leaves are about to turn their beautiful colors and I swear the air smells like bonfires and cinnamon. It's awesome. 

But until then, I will keep enjoying my warm days and long nights. A couple nights ago we went to the Indiana State Fair and had a blast. They had a donut burger! Yes, you heard right. A donut burger. Picture a burger but instead of a bun...there's two donuts! I didn't try it, but one of the people we were with did. He didn't have too many great things to say :) 
(the proof...yuck)
I played some kind of BB gun shooting game, too. I'm not the biggest fan of fire arms, but this game was pretty harmless. To win you had to shoot out the entire red star. I almost won...almost! There was barely any of the star left, but that's how they get ya :)
At a game night recently I wanted to make something new...even though I made it with chocolate and peanut butter. If you know me, you know I've had this crazy obsession of making all things with chocolate and peanut butter lately. I thought there's no way I have more combination possibilities, but oh was I wrong!

I pulled out some pans and got inspired looking at my 9inch round. I decided I would make a pizza-like brownie, and immediately followed that with wanting to put peanut butter on it. So I combined my brownie bites with my peanut butter frosting and voila!! Peanut Butter Brownie Pizza!
Caution: This pie is rich! I honestly didn't mean to make it as sweet as it was, but I really didn't mind. I'd say if you aren't the biggest fan of super sweet stuff, half the peanut butter frosting recipe. 
Or make it all and just knock off what you don't want! This may be pretty far off from your ordinary pizza, but it is absolutely delicious! Sometimes it pays off to think outside the box...or in this case brownie pan. :)
Ingredients (this recipe cut in half):
1/2+1/3 Cup sugar
6 Tbsp butter, melted (3/4 stick)
1 Tbsp water
1 egg, room temperature
1 Tbsp vanilla
1/2 cup+2 Tbsp flour
1/4+1/8 Cup baking cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Frosting:
1/4 Cup butter, softened
1/2 Cup peanut butter
1 Cup powdered sugar
1-2 Tbsp milk

Chocolate chips for topping

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 inch round pan. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the sugar and butter. Stir in the water, then the egg until fully mixed together. Add the vanilla.

In a medium bowl combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Stir this into the wet ingredients until there are hardly any clumps left.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 16-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool a little on a cooling rack.

For the Frosting:
Beat together the butter and peanut butter in a mixer. Add in the sugar until completely mixed together.

Add in a tablespoon of milk one at a time until the frosting is nice and thick. You might not need all the milk, so make sure to stop as soon as it's all combined and easy to work with.

Crank the mixer up to high and beat for about three minutes. Spread the peanut butter mix on top of the slightly cooled brownies. Top with melted chocolate and chocolate chips.

Don't have a mixer? Amazon is a great place to find one!

Kitchenaid 5 quart mixer

Need a 9 inch round? Here's some great ones!
OvenStuff Non-Stick 9 Inch Round Cake Pan Two Piece Set
9 inch round pan

So do you have any advice on things I need to do that I might not know to do when changing the name of a blog? Do you like the new name?!

What's your favorite time of year? Do you fall in love with fall every year like me? Or are you more of a spring/summertime person? Hope you have had an amazing summer full of wonderful memories. I'll be doing a post soon to show you all the happenings around here from the past few months. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Monday, July 21, 2014

Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes

Hey All and Happy Monday to you! Hope the beginning of your week started off great. Coming up this weekend I have a huge family vacation planned in Kentucky! I am so so excited to be able to spend time with my whole family in the great outdoors. I'm sure I'll have plenty of crazy stories when I get back, too. Nothing is ordinary when we all are together, and that's how I like it!

So recently my bestie had a birthday and all she wanted was for me to make her some kind of lemon cake. She loves lemon. And she loves blueberries. So I thought "Why not put them together?"! 

I haven't tried to master making a layered cake with pretty icing all over it just yet. It's on my list of things to try soon. But, I have mastered the heck out of making cupcakes! So I decided to take a lemon blueberry cake and turn it into cupcakes. That's why I made these Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes!
They are so moist and so delicious! The tartness of the lemon mixed with the sweetness of the blueberries made for an amazing flavor. 
Then to add the cream cheese frosting on top was literally the icing on the cake ;) See what I did there? I'm hilarious!
(makes 12-15)
Ingredients:
1/2 Cup butter, softened
1/2+1/8 Cup sugar
1/4 Cup light brown sugar
2 Large eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla
1 1/2 Cups flour
1/2 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 Cup buttermilk*
Lemon zest and lemon juice from 2 lemons
1 Cup blueberries
1 Tbsp flour

Frosting:
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 Cup butter, softened
1 3/4 Cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pan with liners. Set aside.

In a mixer beat together the butter and sugars on medium high until creamy, about 3 minutes. 

Add in the eggs and vanilla. Beat everything until combined. Scrape down the bowl as needed.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet on a slow speed.

Add the milk, lemon zest and juice and stir with a spoon by hand until just mixed in.

In a small bowl, stir together the blueberries and flour. This will help the berries not sink down to the bottom of all the cupcakes and prevent them from breaking open. Fold the berries into the batter.

Spoon the batter into the cupcake holders and bake for 22-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely.

For Frosting:
In your mixer beat the cream cheese and butter until creamy and no lumps remain.

Add powdered sugar, milk and vanilla. Stir on low for about one minute, then up the speed for a few minutes until fully combined. Scrape down the bowl as you go if needed.

Scoop frosting into a piping bag and decorate the cupcakes. Place cupcakes in the fridge for about an hour before serving. Eat and enjoy! Delicious!

*If you don't have buttermilk, you can combine 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice (or 1/2 Tbsp of white vinegar) and about 1/2 a cup of milk (1% or higher). Pour the 1/2 Tbsp of lemon juice into a measuring cup. Add the milk until it reaches 1/2 a cup. Let it sit for at least 5 minutes before using.

Thanks for stopping by!

Recipe adapted from here.

Monday, July 7, 2014

Vanilla Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

Hey All!! Happy Monday! Throughout the summer my posts will be less often due to the fact that I am outside loving life and soaking up as much sunshine as I possibly can before the dreaded Indiana winter comes again. Please stay away as long as possible snow! I don't want any.

Recently my little sister turned 25. Yay!! The last birthday you have that's actually exciting until you hit 30...or so I've heard. For me, all my mid and late 20's have not been something I've looked forward to. But my sister graciously walked into 25 with her head held high and her face stuffed with these amazing Vanilla Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting I made her for her birthday!
It just so happened her birthday was on game night (Wednesdays) and she got to decide the menu. This has always been a tradition in our big family that we've done our whole lives. She wanted hamburgers, hot dogs, pasta salad, and any kind of dessert that had chocolate and peanut butter.
Since Reese cups are her favorite I knew I had to fill these sweet little cakes with them. I decided to do big and mini ones. So for the big ones I made they had a whole cup and for the minis they had half a cup. Perfect!

She absolutely loved them!! They're super moist and packed with tons of flavor!

Ingredients:
Cupcakes
1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
1 1/2 Cups sugar
2 eggs
3 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 Cups flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 Cup milk
12 mini Reese cups
Chocolate chips

Frosting
1/2 Cup butter, softened
1 Cup peanut butter
2 Cup powdered sugar
3 Tbsp milk

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a cupcake pan with cake liners.

Whip the butter on medium speed until almost smooth.

Pour in the sugar and beat well.

Add in the eggs and vanilla and stir until fully combined.

In a medium bowl mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. 

Alternately stir in the milk and dry ingredients until everything is mixed. So stir in a little milk, then a little of the dry stuff, then milk, then dry, so on and so on until it's all mixed in.

Pour the batter into the cupcake liners until about 1/3 full. Place a Reese cup on the batter and top with more batter until completely covered.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. A toothpick inserted in the middle should come out clean.

Let them cool on a baking sheet before you frost them.

For the frosting:
Beat together the butter and peanut butter. Add in the sugar until completely mixed together.

Add in a tablespoon of milk one at a time until the frosting is nice and thick. You might not need all the milk, so make sure to stop as soon as it's all combined and easy to work with.

Shove the frosting in a piping bag and swirl on top of the cooled cupcakes. Toss on some chocolate chips and serve!

So what have you been up to this summer?! I'd love to hear your fun ideas.

Thanks for stopping by!