Rubyellen, this one's for you!

This special "pink" dessert is for none other than the very special Rubyellen of the Cakies blog.  She's as sweet as can be and most of all inspirational :-)  I've heard that she's expecting another bundle of joy, so I wanted to make something special for her...maybe she's having a craving for something sweet today :-) This recipe is called:

My Pinkies for Cakies

Ingredients

one bag of white or pink wilton melts
one egg yolk
3/4 cup evaporated milk
red food coloring-if you decide to use the white melts
one chocolate graham cracker crust
(an oreo crust might even work good for this too...YUM!)
4 ramekins

Directions

First, take your store bought chocolate crust and crumble it up into a bowl.  Then melt on tablespoon of butter and thoroughly mix it into it

Next, evenly divide the crumbs into five parts. Take four of those parts and press them into the bottom of four un-greased ramekins.  Wrap the fifth part up in a little plastic wrap and save for garnish later.

Beat your evaporated milk and egg yolk together.  If you're using the white melts and the red food coloring add, (specifically) four small drops of the red food coloring.  (*Trust me on this one, you don't want to go over that amount with this recipe). 

See what I mean?

Get all of the attachments in place for your food processor and add your melts to that.

Constantly stir over medium high heat, whisking to keep the egg and the milk smooth

as it thickens.  After about ten minutes, your mixture should have thickened.

Take your mix and pour it directly over your melts.

Pop the top on and blend with your metal food processor attachment and blend for about 3 minutes.  Sorry for the bad photo but this is what it should look like.

Evenly pour all of your pink mix (:-) into your four ramekins.

You should have enough that it makes fills all four ramekins, equally.

Cover with plastic wrap and let it chill overnight.  (Now, I'm telling you, don't go sneaking in that fridge to test it out before morning, or let's say eight hours is up.  I will be gooey if you do.  If you can wait, this treat is best after 24 hours).  Once you take them out, top 'em with a little whipped cream and some of your left over crumbs and there you go!

Since this recipe was made special for Rubyellen and her family.  I've made one for each of them.

I hope Benny doesn't mind sharing :-)

God Bless Cakies & Sweetest Blessings to

You! -Chemeeka

Grandma's Waffles (Made My Way:-)

This recipe came from my grandmother when I was about twelve years old.  It was one of those, "calling for another recipes".  I was calling for tips on how to make her lasagne and in the process she gave me this one.  I've re-vamped it up (not that it needed re-vamping) and have done it now a few different ways.  I'll give you her recipe for Homemade Waffles as well my own. 

Here's Grandma's Recipe:

2 cups all purpose flour

4 teaspoons of baking powder

3/4 tsp of salt

2 eggs, beaten

2-1/4 cup whole milk

1/2 cup of vegetable oil

1-1/2 tbsp granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

and here's mine:

1 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons of baking powder

3/8 tsp of salt

1 eggs, beaten

1-1/8 cup whole milk

1/4 cup of vegetable oil

1-1/2 tbsp granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

I made these first time years ago. They weren't such a hit so I stopped making them.  I've since been making these for my daughter almost everyday for the last year and a half.  I always make a half batch of the recipe, and that usually gives us about four good-sized waffles on our beligium waffle maker.  I would guess if you made a full mix, you'd probably get around 8 or 9 waffles.  You might have also noticed that I didn't "half" the amount of sugar.  That's because the first time that I made the batter when I started making them again I forgot to "half" the sugar and they turned out fabulous!  So here goes:

Directions:

First you mix all of your dry ingredients (which is your flour, baking powder, salt and sugar-that's the order I do it in.)  Then you stir that with a wisk and get everything blended well before you add your wet ingredients.

Then you add your egg, in the center of those ingredients. And your oil, then the milk.  P.S. Do not  stir your mix until after the milk has been added.

My secret ingredient in this that gives it it's yummy yellow color is this thing:

It's vanilla, butter and nut flavored extract.  It's more like the consistency of a syrup.  And you'll see that I'll use it in making my homemade little syrup for these creviced goodies.  Can you tell that I like to use this in just about....everything?!

I'm adding strawberries to my batter today...I don't always. 

*Remember: That when your pouring your batter into your waffle maker, just like anything you don't fill it to the edge.  About two thirds of the way should be good.

Here's the finished product:

My special syrup is really, really simple.  It's literally just:

1/2 tablespoon butter

1 teaspoon special vanilla, butter, and nut extract

1 tablespoon of light corn syrup

Put them all in a little ramekin like this:

And microwave for it 30 seconds.  And you're done.  Bon Appetit!

Just in case you're wondering, this is the waffle machine that we use. If you don't have one like it, you can always get one here: Waring WMK300A Pro Professional Stainless-Steel Belgian Waffle Maker.

Pinkies Treat Gone Bad!

This was with one teaspoon of red food coloring.  It looks like a can of paint.  And we don't want that!

Chocolate Cookbooks

That might also interest you:

3 Ingredient Fix for Valentine's Day

Three ingredients; one delicious treat.  I made these last night for a late night snack and quite honestly in my opinion, it couldn't been simpler.  My 3 ingredients for this delicious snack were:

* a box of Ritz crackers
* a bag of Ghiradelli milk chocolate chips
* a bag of Heath bar Toffee bits

*Note: I used one sleeve of the Ritz "fresh snacks" crackers.  And that was enough for my treat but you could use this same recipe using your standard (one) long sleeve of Ritz crackers with about half of the bag of milk chocolate chips and half of the bag for the Heath toffee bits.  In that ratio.

First, melt your milk chocolate chips (Microwave one high for about 1 minute). And stir.

Then grab your Ritz cracker and lather on a layer of your chocolate.

Dip it into your heath bits.

Put these in an air tight container and into the freezer uncovered for 30 minutes. (Now this batch didn't make the freezer step but we've since made another round and we froze them before hand and they were 10 times as delicious! You can't stop eating them.  They're an easy treat to whip up that anyone will love! 

Sweet+salty+chocolate = Ultimate perfection!

As you can see, one of these (bottom left) couldn't make it to the party.

Sorry for the bad photos...but these were too good not to share.

 Happy Valentine's Day & Happy Munchin'!

Big Heart Valentine's Day Cupcakes

Just in time for Valentine's Day.! Valentine's Day is that special time of year to give the people that we love a little something that says, "I love you, this much..."  That's why I thought it fitting to share this 'big heart' cupcake recipe that can be made by Mom or even with the help of little ones. The ingredients are simple and most can be found at your local grocery store.  You'll need:

Big Heart Valentine's Day Cupcakes

Ingredients

* one bag of red Wilton candy melts

* 1-2 deep heart-shaped candy molds**

* one box of white cake mix

* three eggs

* 1/3 cup vegetable oil

* 1 cup of water

* one container of cream cheese frosting

* your favorite red sprinkles

* 24 paper muffin liners

* one disposable decorating bag**

*  Cake decorating tip #2D**

(**-Decorating tips, bags, and candy molds can be found at your local cake & baking supplies stores, at Walmart, Michael's or at BakeItPretty.com)

Preparation

First, empty your red Wilton candy melts into a large microwave safe mixing bowl.  Microwave them on high for 1 minute.  Remove the bowl from microwave and stir.  Put them back in for an additional 30 seconds and stir again.  The melts may seem to be a little lumpy at first, but without microwaving any further, continue to stir until smooth. *Note: Over microwaving the melts can make them un-usable and hard to stir.

Next, make sure that your deep heart candy mold is not only clean, but dry.  Any little droplets of water could make for bubbles in your beautiful hearts.  And we don't want that :) 

Begin to fill the mold with a small tablespoon.  Fill the hearts about two-thirds of the way, leaving about an 1/8 of inch space from the top of the mold.

Clean off any excess candy around the heart cavities with a damp paper cloth or towel. After that's done, set the mold, uncovered and completely flat in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes.  While you wait for those to set, get started on your cupcakes.

Follow the instructions for your cake mix and 1-2 dozen cupcakes. Depending on the size you should get roughly 18 nice-sized cupcakes.  As always, fill your cupcake cavities just over two-thirds of the way.  Again, leaving about a 1/8 inch space from the top of your pan.  Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. Once they're done, let them cool completely while we check on our hearts and get our frosting bag ready.

Cut I 1-inch triangle off of the front of your decorating bag.  Enough room for your decorating tip to fit snug but not loose.  Fill the bag about half-way with your frosting (you may have to fill the bag a couple of times to decorate all of your cupcakes, or you could use a larger decorating bag.

Starting from the outside, working your way inward to the center, going around, layering a circular pattern. 

When you finally get to the center, lift your bag up and give it one last "squeeze" to make sort of a 'hill' of frosting.  (Afterall, who doesn't like a little extra frosting :)

Take your hearts out of the fridge and gently turn them over onto a clean pan or cookie-sheet.  After 20-25 minutes in the cold, these hearts should be completely set.

Set your molded heart right in the center of your cupcake on top of that little "hill" of frosting.  Sprinkle it with your favorite red sprinkles, and a special handmade note.  And there you have it.  You just made something really special for Daddy or Grandma, or that neighbor across the street.  And in the end, you spread a little love and made someone feel really special.

Happy Valentine's Day!
~Bakie