Cheater Caramel Frappucino Cupcakes

I have a dirty little secret to share with y'all.  Don't tell anyone, but I infinitely prefer box mix cakes, cupcakes and brownies.  Oh, also store bought frosting. I'm a heathen, I know!  While I'm at it, I might as well admit that I prefer instant mashed potatoes to the lumpy, dumpy real ones.  Please don't hate me.  Maybe it comes from growing up eating only box mix cakes and instant mashed potatoes.  My mom, while she enjoys cooking does NOT like to bake at all unless it's simple and easy. I suppose I am passing this legacy on to my children.  I know all about the additives and preservatives in these quick mixes but I just can't help myself.  It's like trying to resist a bag of Laffy Taffy's in my cupboard, impossible.

I myself love to both bake and cook but sometimes I have no patience for the intricate cooking required on more complicated recipes.  In addition, I lack some of the proper equipment.  Cooking tools, like my crafting tools, are something that I have to accumulate one piece at a time.

All those excuses aside, I'm always on the lookout for recipes that I can adapt by substituting my precious box mixes instead of going the fully homemade route.  Today's recipe is one of those.  I surfed my favorite source for inspiration (Pinterest of course!) and mixed and matched ingredients in several recipes to come up with one that would work for me.  So here it is:

Cheater Caramel Frappucino Cupcakes

 Start with a box of chocolate cake mix (I prefer devil's food cake) and prepare it according to the directions on the box but substitute one cup of fresh brewed coffee for the water.  

Bake as directed and once the cupcakes cool, cut a hole in the top with a knife and fill with caramel frosting (recipe to follow).  Then pipe some of that store bought yummy frosting on top and add some chocolate shavings.  Voila!  

Caramel Frosting

1/2  cup butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

1-1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Put the butter, brown sugar and whipping cream in a sauce pan.  Bring to a boil over medium heat and then cook & stir regularly for 2 minutes or until thickened.  Remove from the heat and add vanilla.  Once the sauce has cooled to lukewarm, whip in the powdered sugar until it reaches the consistency of spreadable frosting. 

 

Family, food, fun and all that jazz

I've been slacking on keeping up with my blog lately but I will shamelessly use the chemo to excuse the absence.  Truthfully, the treatments seem to be falling into a pattern.  I take it on Friday night and am out of the running until Wednesday morning.  I spend most of my time in either bed or on the couch, dozing or full out sleeping my days away.  By Wednesday I am almost back to normal though any activity (such as grocery shopping) is bound to wipe me out and require a three hour nap afterwards.  

Beyond the treatments, the last week and a half has been full of parent/teacher conferences, cheer, a girls night out (dinner and the final Twilight movie with my bestie), lots and lots of food prep and baking for Thanksgiving, the actual holiday, putting up the Christmas tree, our annual tradition of watching The Grinch with the family, a 16th birthday party for our teenager, and a date with my hubby.  Lots of fun, good food and even better company was had.  

I made Pilgrim cupcakes

An Irish Cream cheesecake

And two pumpkin pies for the weekend.  

We always put our tree up on Thanksgiving.  The two youngest help daddy sort the branches and spread them out for ease of assembly.  After dinner, we let them have at the ornaments.  Of course...we always have to go back and do some rearranging!

Amazingly enough, everyone got along fabulously this weekend!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Blowing their minds......

That's what my 12 year old boy tells me I've been doing to him and his little sister lately.  He was referring to the way I've been channeling Martha Stewart, Betty Crocker & Pinterest.  Not working has given me a LOT more time and it's allowed me to do many things that I've only contemplated in the past.  God has indeed blessed us.

So yesterday when Aidan walked in the door from school, he smelled one of his favorite scents....something sweet baking.  I swear, that kid has the nose of a hound dog.  I had found a cute idea on Pinterest and decided it would be simple and easy to make for dessert (and lunches!) last night.

My ingredients:  chocolate cupcakes & chocolate fudge frosting along with Oreos and M&M's

After you frost the cupcakes, open up the Oreo cookies carefully and place the frosted halves on the cupcakes like so:

Then you add the M&M's as the eyes and nose and voila! It's a cute big-eyed owl.

The kids loved them though they would be way too chocolate-y for me.