Hostess cupcakes (complete with the squiggle!)

Hostess cupcakes with marshmallow fluff filling, chocolate frosting and a squiggle!

These dear friends are hostess cupcakes, complete with the fluff filling and magical squiggle. I made these using a chocolate cake mix, but I fancied it up a bit, using an instant pudding mix, fat free Greek yogurt, along with water, oil and eggs. If you don’t have Greek yogurt, you can always use sour cream. My squiggle isn’t so much a squiggle, but a blob of a line. ☺. You can use whatever cake flavor you want, but just use a corresponding flavor pudding mix. I used jumbo cupcake liners here too! a reminder to preheat your oven to 350 degrees before baking.

  • Cupcake ingredients
  • 1 cake mix
  • 3.4 oz instant pudding mix
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 3/4 cup oil
  • 1 cup Greek yogurt
  • 1 cup chocolate chips

Cupcake Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Line a jumbo cupcake pan with jumbo cupcake liners. In a bowl combine cake mix, pudding mix, oil, eggs and water. Blend in Greek yogurt, then chocolate chips. Scoop put 1/2 cups of batter into each cupcake liner. Bake 13 to 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely

  • Filling ingredients
  • 1/4 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup marshmallow fluff
  • 2-3 cups powdered sugar
  • Milk

Filling Directions – combine butter, fluff and powdered sugar. Add milk, a tsp at a time, if you want to thin it out a bit.

  • Frosting ingredients
  • 1 stick butter, melted
  • 2/3 cup baking cocoa
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 tbs milk

Frosting Directions – combine all ingredients

  • Squiggle ingredients
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2-3 tsp milk

Squiggle Directions – blend well. Put in a small Ziploc baggie and cut off a small corner

Cut out a cone from the cup of each cupcake.

Set cone aside.

Fill the hole with fluff filling.

Replace cone, gently pushing in.

Frost.

Top with squiggle.

Store in covered container.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Happy Valentine’s day!

Happy Valentine’s day! This is a heart shaped fudgy brownie topped with milk chocolate ganache. I know, my decorating skills are not good, but I tried. 😁

This recipe is super simple. You can add cut up candy in the batter or in top,of the ganache or frostinf if you want as well. If ganache (which honestly, is just a fancy word for melted chocolate with heavy cream), is not your thing, you can leave the brownies plain, sprinkle with powdered sugar or use whatever frosting you want. I used one my two heart shaped cake pans, but you can them in an 8 or 9 inch Square cake pan. Remember to spoon your flour from your flour container into your measuring cup to get the correct amount. Also preheat your oven for 20 minutes before baking, to get your oven to the right temperature.

  • Ingredients
  • 3/4 cup butter, melted
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 2/3 cup baking cocoa
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 tsp chocolate or vanilla extract
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Line a baking pan with tin foil and spray with baking spray. Combine butter and sugar. Add cocoa. Blend in eggs, beating one at a time. Mix in extract. Fold in flour and salt. Blend in chips. Spread into pan. Mixture will be thick. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted,in center comes out with a few crumbs. Cool completley.

  • Ganache ingedients
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate)

Directions – heat cream in a microwave safe bowl for 45 seconds. Pour over chips. Let sit 5 minutes. Stir smooth. Pour over brownies. let ganache set. Store in covered container.

❤❤❤❤

Victory Monday brownies (because I needed something to put the extra ganache on)

Go Bills!

Bonus victory Monday treat for my Buffalo Bills. I had extra ganache left over from the sugar cookie cups, so I quickly whipped up some brownies to remedy use up the rest. (I have many brownie recipes, though not as many as for chocolate chip cookies) And why not extra chocolate this Christmas week? You absolutely do not have to put anything on top of these, but the powdered sugar is recommended, by Rob!

  • Ingredients
  • 10 tbs butter, melted
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tbs vanilla
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 yolk
  • 1 tbs corn syrup (or honey)
  • 1 tbs cornstarch
  • 3/4 cup baking cocoa
  • 2/3 cup flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup chocolate chips
Brownies!

Directions -preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8×8 pan with tinfoil and spray with baking spray. Combine butter, sugar and brown sugar. Add eggs,yolk,and vanilla. Blend in dry ingredients. Fold in chips. Bake for 20 minutes (a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs). Immediately sprinkle powdered sugar on top. Cool completely. Top with melted chocolate or frosting. Store in covered container.

Chocolate chocolate chocolate!