Watermelon Cupcake Cones

Fun watermelon cupcake cones to go along with your summer picnics.

 Don't they just make you smile?

Watermelon Cupcake Cones

1 box white cake mix + ingredients needed to
make cake
1 - 2 TBSP red sugar-free Jell-O (any flavor)
semi-sweet chocolate chips
24 ice cream cones
1 can vanilla frosting
red and green food coloring
cupcake baking pans

Preheat oven to 350*. Place one ice cream cone into each cupcake slot in the baking pans. I used 2 (12 cupcake) baking pans to make 12 cupcake cones and 12 regular cupcakes. Set aside.

Prepare cake mix according to directions. Stir in 1 tablespoon of Jell-O mix and mix well. If the color isn't pink enough, stir in more tablespoon of the Jell-O mix.

To fill the cones:

Spoon 1 tablespoon of cake batter in the bottom of the each cone. Sprinke in 2-3 chocolate chips for "watermelon seeds". Continue with another tablespoon of batter and 2-3 more chocolate chips. Continue filling the cones in this order until the batter is almost to the top of the cone.

Bake for 15 minutes, and then stick a skewer down into the middle of one cone to see if the cake has baked through. If the skewer comes out clean, the cupcakes are done. If not, continue checking frequently until they are done.

Remove the cones from the baking pan and set on a jelly roll pan or counter to cool.

Divide the vanilla icing into 2 bowls by placing 3/4 of the icing into 1 bowl and tinting red, and then 1/4 icing into the 2nd bowl and tinting green.

I took the easy way out and used Ziploc bags for icing bags. Fill the bags, snip one corner of the bag...and voila! you have an icing bag. Granted, nothing fancy but it quick and easy with little clean up!

Decorate your "watermelon" cupcakes by piping the center of each cupcake with red icing and the outside "rind" with green. Add 2 chocolate chips in the center for "seeds".

Here you can see the "seeds" in the "watermelon". :)

Enjoy!  These cupcake cones have become a favorite of my kids.

I haven't tried freezing them so I'm not sure if the cones would become soggy once they thawed out.
Has anyone tried freezing them?

Chai Lattes & Hearty Pumpkin Bread

I love chai tea lattes but I rarely treat myself to one when we are out because they are so expensive. Now I won't have to worry about the expense of it because I've found a delicious recipe that enables me to make them on the cheap at home. It's also a healthier recipe that cuts back on fat and calories - always a plus!

Chai Lattes
from Eat What You Love
makes 2 servings

1/2 C. lowfat evaporated milk
1 1/2 C. water
2 TBSP Splenda (3 packets)
2 individual chai tea bags (I used vanilla chai tea)
1 tsp honey

In a small pot, whisk together milk, water and Splenda. Bring to a low simmer.

Carefully add the tea bags and return to a low simmer. Continue simmering for 3 minutes.

Remove from heat and remove tea bags. Stir in honey.

Serve hot or cool down and serve over ice.

Here it is served hot

This chai latte paired wonderfully with this old-fashioned pumpkin bread

Also a lower fat, lower version of a traditional pumpkin bread.

Old Fashioned Pumpkin Bread

1/4 C. canola oil
1 C. canned solid pumpkin
1 large egg
2 large egg whites
1/2 C. low-fat buttermilk
2 TBSP molasses - I didn't have any so I subbed honey
1 C. Splenda granules
1 C. all purpose flour
3/4 C. white whole wheat flour - I used 100% stone ground
whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon - I used 2 TBSP because we like a lot of spice flavor
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp allspice (optional) - I didn't use it
1/4 tsp cloves - I didn't use it
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350*. Lightly coat a 9x5 loaf pan with cooking spray - I used a pan that holds 4 mini loaves.

Whisk together oil, pumpkin, whole egg, egg whites, buttermilk, molasses, and Splenda.

In a separate bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, spices and stir. Make a well in the center and pour in the pumpkin mixture. With a large spoon or spatula, stir just until combined. Do not over mix.

Spoon the batter in the loaf pan and smooth tops.

Bake for 40 - 45 minutes or until cracks appear dry or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean - my mini loaves baked from 34 minutes. Cool on a rack for 15 minutes and then remove the loaf from the pan. I cooled the loaves for about 5 minutes before removing them from the pan.

I sliced one loaf while it was still warm and served it with honey butter. It was delicious.

Store in a tightly sealed container. Can be frozen.

Picnic Pasta Salad

My family doesn't agree on many picnic side dishes...one doesn't like mayo, one doesn't like potatoes...on and on.

The one side dish that everyone DOES agree on is my picnic pasta salad. You can personalize this recipe to your family's likes.

  
Picnic Pasta Salad

1 lb. of rotini (corkscrew) pasta, cooked and drained well
1 C. sliced black olives
6 oz of cheese, cut into small chunks - use your family's
favorite. I used Monterey Jack cheese this time. We also like
mozzarella, cheddar and/or Muenster.
3 plum tomatoes, diced small
1/2 of an English (seedless) cucumber, diced small
Salad Supreme topping (find it in the spice isle), to taste
1 lg. bottle of a hearty Italian dressing

To assemble:

Add the rotini to a large bowl. Stir in the olives, cheese, tomatoes and cucumbers.

Sprinkle on the Salad Supreme. I usually use 1/2 of the bottle but if you're not familiar with the taste, I would suggest stirring in one tablespoon at a time until you achieve the taste that you like. 

Stir in 1/2 of the bottle of Italian dressing or more - until the salad appears to be wet but not soaking in dressing. Mix well.

Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 3 hrs or overnight. In my opinion, the longer it is refrigerated, the better it tastes.

When you are ready to serve, remove from refrigerator and stir well. Stir in more Italian dressing if needed.

June '10 Cookie Carnival - Blueberry Thumbprint Cookies

My spin on the second cookie for June's Cookie Carnival is Blueberry Thumbprint Cookies.

The original recipe is Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies from Cooking Light.

I searched and searched several stores in my area here in NC but I couldn't find almond paste anywhere. Many people who I talked to had no idea what it was. I decided to try to find a recipe for making here at home. 

Almond paste is fairly easy to make yourself - providing you have blanched almonds. The recipe that I used is from Taste of Home.

I would not recommend using sliced almonds with skins. Although the almond paste turned out ok, the cookies dried out really fast and didn't last overnight. However, the cookies were really tasty right out of the oven.

My favorite part of the cookie was the blueberry jam that I made for the cooking filling. The recipe is from a cookbook that I will be doing a giveaway for in the coming days!

Classic Blueberry Jam 
from Put 'em up!

8 C. blueberries
2 C. sugar
1/4 C. bottled lemon juice

Combine the berries with a splash of water in a med. nonreactive pan. Bring to a boil, stirring and crushing the berries to release their juice. Add the sugar and stir to dissolve. Stir in the lemon juice. Continue to cook at a steady boil, stirring frequently, until the jam reaches the desired gel.

Remove from the heat and let the jam rest for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to release air bubbles and prevent fruit float. Skim any foam from the top of the jam.

Refrigerate: Ladle into bowls or jars. Cool, cover and refrigerate for up to 3 weeks.

I waited until the jam had cooled down and then used it to fill the cookies.

Here's a link to the Kids Bake Cookie Carnival recipe: S'mores Cookie Bars.

From June thru August, there will be 2 recipes sent out for the Cookie Carnival - the first will be a kid's cookie recipe and the second will be a little more complex(but definitely nothing too complicated!).

Everyone is invited to bake one or both of the cookies! Get the kids involved!

If you haven't joined the Cookie Carnival yet...what are you waiting for? I'd love for you to join us!
Here's how!

 **New**

I've had a few people email me to ask "Can I join the Cookie Carnival without having a blog?"

YES!  You can join the Cookie Carnival if you follow these rules:

Please email me to let me know that you would like to join. I will add you to the email list so that you will start receiving the recipes each month. At this time please let me know that you will be participating via email.

1. You must email me one picture of your cookies - no bigger than 50 x 50, please.

2. Please include a sentence or two about yourself - ex: your name and where you live

3. Please include a comment about the cookies - good or bad or just a thought pertaining to the cookies.

4. Please let me know if you followed the recipe as written or if you made changes - and if you did, what changes did you make? I will post those changes, too.

I look forward to meeting and talking to everyone! If you have any questions or comments about the Cookie Carnival, please email me! yinzerfan {at} gmail {dot} com

Happy Baking!
Tami                                                                                                                                                                    

June '10 Cookie Carnival - S'mores Cookie Bars

Ooey -- Gooey -- Delicious!

Three little words to describe these cookie bars!

June's Cookie Carnival Kids' Bake cookie recipe is the S'mores Sandwich Bar Cookie from Hershey's.

My daughter and I had a lot of fun baking these cookies together.

We had even more fun eating them! These little bars are delicious right out of the oven while the chocolate and marshmallows are still runny and melted. They are also very good the next day once they've had a chance to cool down. The cookie bars are quick and simple to make & would be a great treat to take to a picnic, to make for a child's birthday party or to sell at bake sales.

The only substitution that I made to the recipe was to use semi-sweet chocolate chips in place of the chocolate bars. I also ground my own graham cracker crumbs using honey graham crackers.

S'mores Sandwich Bar Cookies

* 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
* 3/4 cup sugar
* 1 egg
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
* 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1-1/3 cups (8-oz. pkg.) HERSHEY'S
Mini Milk Chocolate Bars OR 5
HERSHEY'S Milk Chocolate
Bars (1.55 oz. each)
* 3 cups miniature marshmallows

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 8-inch square baking pan.

2. Beat butter and sugar until well blended in large bowl. Add egg and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt; add to butter mixture, beating until blended. Press half of dough in prepared pan. Bake 15 minutes.

3. Sprinkle mini chocolate bars over baked layer or arrange unwrapped chocolate bars over baked layer, breaking as needed to fit.

 4. Sprinkle with marshmallows; scatter bits of remaining dough over marshmallows, forming top layer. Bake 10 to 15 minutes or just until lightly browned. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. 16 bars.

Perfect with a cold glass of milk and a good book!

From June thru August, there will be 2 recipes sent out for the Cookie Carnival - the first will be a kid's cookie recipe and the second will be a little more complex(but definitely nothing too complicated!).

Everyone is invited to bake one or both of the cookies! Get the kids involved!

If you haven't joined the Cookie Carnival yet...what are you waiting for? I'd love for you to join us!
Here's how!

**New**

I've had a few people email me to ask "Can I join the Cookie Carnival without having a blog?"

YES!  You can join the Cookie Carnival if you follow these rules:

Please email me to let me know that you would like to join. I will add you to the email list so that you will start receiving the recipes each month. At this time please let me know that you will be participating via email.

1. You must email me one picture of your cookies - no bigger than 50 x 50, please.

2. Please include a sentence or two about yourself - ex: your name and where you live

3. Please include a comment about the cookies - good or bad or just a thought pertaining to the cookies.

4. Please let me know if you followed the recipe as written or if you made changes - and if you did, what changes did you make? I will post those changes, too.


I look forward to meeting and talking to everyone! If you have any questions or comments about the Cookie Carnival, please email me! yinzerfan {at} gmail {dot} com

Happy Baking!
Tami