Ok, the crafty girl in me couldn’t resist giving the new push-up pops phenomenon a try.

And surprise surprise — they are so much fun!!!!!

For a “Spring Into Summer” party with friends this week, I decided to try a “Coke Floats” theme — Coca-Cola chocolate cake, layered with homemade whipped cream, and of course, a cherry on top.  They were a hit!!!  Granted, the Coca-Cola cake recipe ended up being a surprising amount of work (not difficult, just a little time-consuming), but the cake was super delicious and made for some adorable little push-up pops!

To assemble them, I was a little perfectionistic and decided to go the route of baking up two shallow sheet cakes, and then using the push-pop dispenser to punch out the little circles to perfectly fill the containers.  But in the future, I think I may just use the little mini-cupcakes instead.  A little less work, and still just as cute.

I definitely see more push-up pops in my future this summer…

Coke Float Push-Up Pops Recipe
(Makes 12 push-up pops)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Coca-cola (do not use diet!)
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup firmly-packed dark brown sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• homemade whipped cream
• maraschino cherries (with stems)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Generously spray the inside of two 9×13-inch baking dishes or a 24-mini-baking-cup pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In a small saucepan, heat the Coca-cola, cocoa powder, and butter over medium heat until the butter is melted. Add the sugars and whisk until dissolved. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together.

In a small bowl, whisk the eggs until just beaten, then whisk them into the cooled cocoa mixture until combined. Gently fold the flour mixture into the cocoa mixture. The batter will be slightly lumpy–do not overbeat, as it could cause the cake to be tough.

If using cupcake tins, pour the batter into the tins until they are each about 2/3 full, and bake for about 10-12 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the cupcakes comes out clean. Transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.

If using the 9×13-inch baking dishes, pour 3 cups of batter into each dish and gently shake so that the batter is even.  Cook for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cakes comes out clean.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  Then once the cake has cooled, use an empty push-up pop as a cookie cutter to punch out 24 cake circles.  Set them aside on a piece of waxed paper for assembly.

To assemble the push-up pops, gently press a mini-cupcake or a cake circle into the bottom of a push-up pop.  Then add in a swirl of whipped cream and a de-stemmed maraschino cherry.  Then add another layer of cake, whipped cream, and then top with a (stemmed) maraschino cherry.  Serve immediately or refrigerate.

Ali’s Tip:

If you don’t own the official push-up pop acrylic stand, you can use a piece of foam as a display holder for the push-up pops.  (You can find that in craft aisles, or also in the faux floral aisles!)

Also, I purchased my push-up pop containers at Shop Sweet Lulu.

Source:

Coca-Cola Cake recipe very slightly adapted from A Cozy Kitchen.

Today’s post goes out to my beautiful mom for Mother’s Day!

She is pretty much a rockstar.  In addition to being an incredible artist (remember when newspaper fashion ads used to be hand-sketched —  yep, that was her!), she is also a super savvy businesswoman and has built an amazing company designing cross-stitch patterns for about 15 years.  (Fun fact – it’s named Lizzie*Kate after my sister, Sarah Elizabeth, and me, Alison Kate.)  But then she also lives this amazing life outside of work, being a serious road-biker with my dad, volunteering weekly to run a really cool group for young Latino moms, traveling to really cool places, and of course…whipping up all sorts of deliciousness in the kitchen.  Even with a busy schedule, she made it a point when we were growing up to make mealtimes a meaningful priority, and taught my sister and I the value of healthy, homecooked meals.  And…the joy of desserts.  :)

More than anything, she has been an amazing mother, and a great wife to my dad for 34 years and counting.  She is a total inspiration to me, and grateful for everything I have learned from her.  And forever changed by her love.  She’s the best!

And as a fun shout out, thought I would share a toffee ice cream pie that we used to make together back in the day.  It celebrates one of our favorite indulgences — the oh-so-delicious Heath Bar!  And it also features a yummy Oreo crust, and lots of hot fudge and caramel drizzle.  Super-easy and super-yummy.  You’ll love it.

Hope you all have a wonderful Mother’s Day.  I love you, Mom!!

Heath Bar Ice Cream Pie Recipe

Ingredients:

• 25 Oreo cookies
• 6 Tbsp. butter, melted
• 1.5 quarts Heath Bar or toffee ice cream, softened (**see tip for homemade toffee ice cream**)
• 1 (12 oz.) bag miniature Heath Bars, crumbled into small pieces
• hot fudge sauce, for topping
• hot caramel sauce, for topping

Method:

Finely ground the Oreos in a food processor.  (You can also do this by hand by placing the Oreos in a thick plastic bag, and then use a rolling pin to crush them.)  Stir the melted butter in with the Oreo until it is evenly mixed.  Transfer to a 9-inch pie crust, and press the mixture into the sides to make an even crust.

Spoon the softened ice cream into the crust, and then use a spoon or spatula to even out the top.  Sprinkle with the crumbled Heath bars, and then freeze for 2-4 hours or until ice cream is solid.

Serve drizzled with caramel and hot fudge sauce.

Ali’s Tip:

If you cannot find toffee ice cream, you can buy vanilla ice cream and mix additional toffee bars and caramel sauce into the ice cream when softened.

This recipe would also be terrific with Twix or Snickers bars!

What does one bring to a rockin’ Cinco de Awesome fiesta thrown by a bunch of foodie friends?

But of course, a super-awesome strawberry cheesecake…

…kicked up a notch.

Si, amigos.  This strawberry margarita cheesecake is filled with all of the fresh strawberry and lime goodness of your favorite drinks, a salty pretzel crust, plus the tequila and Grand Marnier to make it a par-tay.  And then I had a little too much fun playing with my food to make it extra pretty.  (Which was actually super-easy — you should try it!)

Most importantly, I think the cheesecake lived up to the party name, as person after person gave it the “awesome” seal of approval.  Would definitely recommend giving it a try next Cinco de Mayo.  Or Diez de Julio.  Or Treinta de Febrero.  Or….whenever in the world margarita cheesecake craving strikes.

As my Costa Rican host family’s parrot would say (of course, in between his renditions of Madonna songs and hurling expletives at the family beagle), this one is definitely “muy rrrrrrrrico”.  Agreed.

Strawberry Margarita Cheesecake Recipe

Ingredients:

Crust Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cup ground pretzels or graham cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, melted

Cheesecake Ingredients:

Lime Topping Ingredients:

• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 2 tsp. grated lime zest

Method:

To Make Crust:

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F.   Spray 9-inch springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides with cooking spray. Whisk together pretzel (or graham cracker) crumbs, sugar and butter in a medium bowl until blended. Press crumbs evenly into the bottom of prepared springform pan. Bake for 6 minutes, then remove.

To Make Cheesecake:

To Make Topping:

Ali’s Tip:

Blueberries, blackberries, cherries or mangoes would also be great in place of (or in addition to) strawberries with this.  Or the cheesecake also stands well berry-free on its own!

Source:

Cheesecake recipe adapted from Liv Life.

Ok, I have a new favorite ingredient in the candy aisle: Kraft’s Caramel Bits.

I’ve been a caramel lover for years and years, but only recently discovered this adorable, tiny little caramel bits hidden next to their normal, individually-packaged predecessors.  These little guys are about the size of chocolate chips and perfect for baking!!!

So I decided to try and replicate a salted caramel chocolate cookie recipe I had the other night at a work party. Basically just took my favorite double chocolate chip cookie recipe, added in the bag of caramel bits, and then sprinkled each cookie with a pinch of sea salt.  And oh my heavens.  Perfection.

I may have already made two batches in one week.  :)

Salted Caramel Chocolate Cookies Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (or dark chocolate cocoa powder)
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 (11 oz.) bag Kraft caramel bits
• 1 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
• coarse sea salt

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In large bowl, beat butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; stir into the butter mixture until well blended. Mix in the caramel bits and chocolate chips. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets.  Press each cookie down slightly to flatten, then sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or just until set. Cool slightly on the cookie sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Ali’s Tip:

If you cannot find the caramel bits, you could also cut normal caramels into 1/4″ cubes for this recipe.

Eeks.  I’m super behind on posting this week.  But so excited to share these adorable little cherry cupcakes with you!

Now while I adore fresh cherries, I have to admit that these little cupcakes feature one of my secretly favorite ingredients: maraschino cherries! I know, I know.  They’re soaked in sugar, not in the fresh produce section, yada yada yada….but I admit I still get a pretty excited when they pop up in a drink or some fun dessert.  Hey, all things in moderation, right?  :)

The other fun thing about treating yourself to baking with maraschino cherries is that they’re of course available year-round.  So if I’m craving cherry cupcakes in March???  Voila.  And this cupcake recipe is doubly delicious.  The cake is sweet and light, but the cherry almond frosting is lick-your-lips cherrylicious.  I took these to my small group for some “taste-testing”, and they happily devoured them.  Definitely a winner of a recipe.

So grab a jar of this sweet little indulgence, and enjoy!!!

Cherry Vanilla Cupcakes Recipe

Ingredients:

Cupcake Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 4 egg whites
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/3 cup maraschino cherry juice
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• maraschino cherries with stems (optional garnish)

Method:

To Make The Cupcakes:

Allow butter and egg whites to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, line twenty-four baking cups with paper bake cups (or coat with cooking spray). In a medium bowl stir together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. In a separate bowl, whisk together buttermilk and cherry juice until combined; set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, vanilla, and almond extract; beat until combined. Add egg whites, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk mixture to beaten mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined.

Spoon (or use a cookie scoop to transfer) batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each about two-thirds full.  Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until tops spring back when lightly touched. Cool cupcakes in baking cups on wire racks until completely cooled.

Frost the cupcakes using a piping bag (with a star tip), or spread the frosting on with a knife.  If desired, top with cherries.

Makes 24 (2-1/2-inch) cupcakes.

To Make The Frosting:

In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Gradually add 2 cups of the powdered sugar, beating well. Beat in maraschino cherry juice and almond extract. Gradually beat in additional powdered sugar. If necessary, beat in additional juice or milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, until frosting reaches a spreading consistency. Makes 4 cups frosting.

Ali’s Tip:

If you are not using a pastry bag to pipe on the frosting as pictured above, feel free to halve the frosting recipe since you may not use as much.

Source:

Slightly adapted from Better Homes & Gardens.

For my third and final Bailey’s dessert recipe, we turn to….(drumroll please)….COOKIES!

Most of my friends will tell you that I’m slightly addicted to making cookies.  And it’s true.  I love them!  So for St. Patrick’s Day, it only seemed appropriate to pull out the Bailey’s to make a batch.  Of course, they also called for chocolate.  Lots of chocolate.

I will go ahead and warn you right now that you’d better go light on the corned beef and cabbage and save room for these guys.  Because they are crazy delicious and perfectly chewy.  (And I have to admit for those of you brave raw-egg-cookie-dough-eaters, the dough is also a total treat on its own!)

Definitely an amazing recipe that your friends and family will love you for.  So make a batch today and share the love!

Bailey’s Chocolate Cookies Recipe
Makes 30-40 cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2  2/3 cups flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. instant coffee powder (optional)
• 8 Tbsp. Irish Cream (I prefer Bailey’s)
• 1 cup white chocolate chips

Method:

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, instant coffee, baking soda and salt until combined.

Using an electric mixer, use the paddle attachment to cream together butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla until fluffy. Add in the Irish cream one tablespoon at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl if needed to be sure that everything is well combined.. Add the dry ingredient mixture, and continue mixing until combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Refrigerate dough for at least 2 hours.

Roll or scoop into balls and set on a greased baking sheet.  Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.  Remove and carefully transfer cookies to a cooling rack to cool.  Keep remaining dough refrigerated until use.

Ali’s Tip:

FYI, the reason to refrigerate cookie dough before baking is so that the butter (inside of the dough) can chill and harden again.  Thus, making the cookies a little bit fluffier when they bake instead of flat and pancake-y!  :)

Source: 

Slightly adapted from How Sweet Eats.

Ok, I may have gotten a little carried away this week with Bailey’s desserts…

After making these delicious brownies, I decided to use the leftover Irish cream to whip up a batch of truffles!  I admit I haven’t made many truffles after giving away literally hundreds of them a few years ago for Christmas gifts.  (There may be such a thing as too much chocolate!)  But these were so simple and delicious that I already want to make more!  They were rich and chocolate-y, the Bailey’s was delicious and subtle, and the texture was just right.  Perfect to go with your St. Patrick’s Day meal, or anytime you have a Bailey’s craving.  :)

(And if you tune back in tomorrow, there may or may not be one more Bailey’s recipe to follow…)

Bailey’s Chocolate Truffles Recipe
(Makes 10-15 truffles, depending on size) 

Ingredients:

• 12 oz. dark or semisweet chocolate chips
• 4 Tbsp. Irish cream (I prefer Bailey’s)
• 2 Tbsp. heavy cream
• 1 tsp. instant coffee powder (optional)
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting

Method:

Stir together the cream, Irish cream, and vanilla in a heat-proof bowl, and set the bowl over a pan of simmering water. Cook until nearly boiling. Using a wire whisk, slowly stir the chocolate chips into the warm cream until completely melted. Remove bowl from heat, cover and chill for 1 hour or until the mixture is pliable but firm enough to scoop.

Use a small cookie scoop (or a spoon) to scoop out the chocolate, and roll into truffles of your desired size.  Dust with cocoa powder, then set aside.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Ali’s Tip:

These are also great dipped in melted chocolate, or with a coffee bean rolled inside.

I love Bailey’s.  And I love brownies.

So why on earth it took me this long to try combining the two is crazy!!!

But this week I finally gave this new recipe a try to serve as the dessert for my early St. Patty’s Day feast.  I decided to make these brownies plain (sans nuts or an extra chocolate ganache), but honestly, they didn’t need any extra fixings.  This recipe is ridiculously delicious!!!  The brownies were dense and moist, and I loved extra kick of the dark chocolate I used.  But the best part was the subtle (but definitely present!) Irish cream in every bite.  Definitely a perfect combination!

So if you love Bailey’s and brownies, do yourself a favor and give these a try pronto!  :)

Bailey’s Irish Cream Brownies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. instant coffee powder (optional)
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• heaping 1/3 cup bittersweet or dark chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup Baileys Irish Cream
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Method:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8×8-inch pan with aluminum foil and lightly spritz with cooking spray; set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, instant coffee powder, baking soda, and salt until combined. Set aside.

Place chocolate and butter in a large microwave-proof bowl and melt in 30 second spurts, stirring in between each interval until completely melted. Set aside to cool a bit. (Alternatively, melt chocolate and butter in a saucepan set over low heat, stirring frequently until melted. Set aside to cool.)

Once the chocolate mixture is warm (not hot!), add eggs one at a time, whisking constantly to incorporate. Whisk vigorously for about 10 seconds to incorporate fully. Add sugar, vanilla, and Bailey’s and whisk until combined.  Add the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture, folding until just combined.

Pour batter into the prepared pan, using a spatula to smooth out the top. Bake at for about 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs attached.  Let cool, and dust with powdered sugar if desired.

Ali’s Tip:

To cut brownies with clean lines, lightly spray your (sharp) knife with cooking spray.

Source:

Slightly adapted from The Whimsical Cupcake.

Nutella + Milk.

I can’t believe I didn’t think of this before.  But it is quite possibly the most heavenly hot chocolate I have ever made, and will be making again soon.

You should too.  :)

Nutella Hot Chocolate Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp. Nutella
• 1 cup your favorite kind of milk
• optional toppings: whipped cream, marshmallows, chocolate syrup, chocolate shavings

Method:

Warm milk in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until steaming, stirring occasionally.  Add in the Nutella, and whisk until dissolved.  Serve immediately, either plain or with your desired toppings.

Ali’s Tip:

Add in a pinch of espresso powder for an extra coffee-ish taste!

This weekend I moved into a new home with a beautiful kitchen.  And had book club.  And had Valentine’s Day recipes on the brain.  And had a craving for Nutella.

Seemed like the perfect time to make a cheesecake.  So I did.  :)

And it was absolutely, positively, fabulously Nutella-licious.

But then en route to being photographed, pretty sure I…..tripped.  And since I had jumped the gun and was trying to photograph the cheesecake in the daylight before it had completely cooled, my beautiful crack-free cheesecake of course split into about three pieces.  It didn’t fall on the floor, but still…argh!!!  I of course pieced it back together and snapped a photograph of the one side that still looked mostly crack-free, but if you really look closely, you can see evidence of my latest little clumsy cooking catastrophe.  One of many!

Thankfully, though, it still tasted divine.  My fellow KC Bookies gave it the seal of approval!  So if you love Nutella and cheesecake and indulgent deliciousness, I highly recommend you give this one a try.

Nutella Cheesecake Recipe

Ingredients:

Crust Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups finely-ground chocolate cookies or chocolate graham crackers
• 3 Tbsp. granulated sugar
• 6 Tbsp. butter, melted

Filling Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 pounds (3 1/2 eight-ounce packages) cream cheese, room temperature
• 3/4 cup Nutella
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 9 ounces gianduja or semi-sweet chocolate, melted (**see tip below for melting instructions**)
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 2 egg yolks, at room temperature

Method:

To Make The Crust:

Preheat oven to 375ºF and grease the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan

Mix together the cookie crumbs, sugar and melted butter.  Press into the bottom of a springform pan, going up the side of the pan no more than 1/4 inch.  Bake 8-10 minutes.  Remove and let cool.  Decrease oven temperature to 325ºF

To Make The Filling:

Meanwhile, in a stand mixer, cream the cream cheese and Nutella on medium speed until smooth.  Add the sugar and continue mixing until there are no lumps.  Add the vanilla extract and heavy cream and stir until combined.  Add the melted chocolate and mix together.  Add the eggs and yolks one at a time; mix each in before adding the next.

Wrap two layers of aluminum foil around the sides of the springform pan so that it is completely sealed.  Pour the cheesecake filling into the pan on top of the cooled crust.  Bake in a water bath for 60-75 minutes.  The outer edges should be set and the center will still jiggle slightly when you move it.  (The cake continues cooking after it’s removed from the oven.)  Cool for 30 minutes, then remove the springform rim.  Cool completely, then place into the refrigerator for at least 8 hours, overnight is best.

To Make The Nutella Ganache:

Heat over low heat or a double boiler the Nutella and cream until the mixture has become one.  Cool for about 15 minutes (it should be easy to  spread but not runny) and spread onto the cooled cheesecake, or use a pastry bag or fork to drizzle the ganache on top.

Ali’s Tip:

The easiest way to melt chocolate is in a double boiler.  But if you are in a hurry, the microwave also works great.  Just place the chocolate in a microwave-proof bowl, and lower the power to 50%.  Then microwave for one minute, then remove and stir.  Continue microwaving in 20-30 second intervals, stirring between, until the chocolate is all melted.  (Chocolate always goes from melted to burnt quite quickly, so don’t overcook!)

Source:

Slightly adapted from Food Lover’s Odyssey.