It's like I always say....

When life gives you a birthday.... make the biggest, most insane cake ever.

Yes, it's true, yesterday was my birthday and I did turn twenty years old. I am no longer a teenager! Weird. I feel like since I am entering a new decade, it is time for reflection... What am I going to do different in my next twenty years? I should probably eat less sweets than I do right now and definitely work out more. Maybe I'll go to bed earlier and quit procrastinating so much. Hmmm... maybe!

Let's quit reflecting and start talking about cake! When trying to decide what kind of cake or baked good that I wanted for my birthday, I was experiencing major difficulties. As you may recall, I have a very difficult time making decisions. So, instead of choosing one type of baked good... I chose four! That's right, FOUR! I decided to combine my four favorite baked goods into one and call it my Extreme-Very -Dangerously-Delicious Birthday Cake.

Layer #1: The Rice Krispy Treat Layer
Layer #2: The Brownie Layer
Layer #3: The Chocolate Chip Cookie Layer
Layer #4: The Devil's Food Chocolate Cake Layer



In between each layer runs a river of incredibly sweet butterscotch ganache, and the entire cake is covered in a rich, semisweet chocolate ganache. I drizzled my leftover butterscotch ganache over top of the chocolate ganache, and called it a masterpiece. It was truly decadent!





Such. A. Dream. However, If I want to make it to 40, I better not eat this again for 20 years. I hear my metabolism is going to slow down, my hair will get even more gray(yes, I do have a few gray hairs), I'll be super busy, and will never get enough sleep. Joy.

From the words of my sister...

Welcome to the twenties!

Meet Annie... and have a cookie!

Hello everyone! I would like to introduce you to somebody. Her name is Annie Lou Hogg and she is my roommate! She's super great. Everybody say hi Annie!



I really don't know what I would do without this gal. She keeps all of us laughing pretty hard at Apt. #6. She is the most non-judgmental person that I know. She accepts you for who you are and loves you for being that person! She does a lot for all of us and keeps us laughing! Here are a few of my favorite things that Annie Lou has said:

-I don't understand.

-Temple Tips! (This came out of her mouth as we drove out of Logan Canyon and the temple emerged as we headed up the Hill)

-Sarah Orme: Annie, both your parents went to BYU, how come you didn't go there? Annie: The cougars are a little too "caged" for me.

-Move it Grandma Cadillac!

-I'm so unstable!

-kaaaayy.... (Generally the beginning of EVERY sentence that comes out of her mouth.)

Annie is quite hilarious! Spend a day at our apartment and you'll laugh your face right off. Anyways, we made cookies one night and she wanted to be in one of my cookie pictures so I decided to make her the star of this post! The cookies we made were Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix Cookies! The recipe was on the back of the cake mix box and it was so easy to whip up! The cookies were so fudgy, chocolatey and yummy! This is a great recipe to make if you need a quick chocolate fix. I loved them! I was kind of surprised at how much I enjoyed these bad boys. We sprinkled a little powdered sugar on top of them, but feel free to mix in some chocolate chips, caramel chunks, pb cups, or anything else you can think of. Quick, easy, and delicious! How can you go wrong?



Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix Cookies

1 Chocolate Cake Mix
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup water
1 egg
1 1/2 to 2 cups chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, etc. (optional)

Mix all ingredients in bowl with spoon. Drop by spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet, or form into balls and roll in sugar. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 12-14 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar, if desired.

101 Gourmet Cupcakes Calendar: March

Hello everyone! Now, I understand that it has been some time since I have shared a new recipe with you, and I truly apologize for that! I was accepted into the Education Program last summer and have been doing my level 2 this semester. I have classes all day everyday. I am on campus for my classes on Monday and Friday, then I go to a first grade classroom Tuesday-Thursday from 8:00-4:00. After spending all day with 6-7 year olds, I head back to campus for class from 4:30-6:30 or 7. Anyways, between that, homework, and ambassador responsibilities, my life is pretty crazy. But, that is no excuse for failing to update my blog! I'm hoping after I tell you about this delicious cupcake, you will make it, taste it, and forgive me :)

This is the cupcake for the Month of March in my cupcake calendar. I understand that it is now April, but it is only the first day of April, so it doesn't matter! This yummy key lime pie cupcake was super fun to make! I have never been a huge fan of lime flavored goods other than Yoplait's wicked key lime pie yogurt, so I wasn't sure how I'd feel about this one. I'll admit, I did enjoy this cupcake very much! I actually put away two of these bad boys, don't judge. The sweetened condensed milk gave them an interesting texture that was more chewy instead of fluffy, but I think it really worked for these cupcakes. Anyways, try them! Let me know what you think. I topped them with fresh, whipped cream frosting, which I absolutely LOVE. That might have been what made them so yummy! What do you think? They also look really pretty too! I made these for Amy's baby shower. Fun treat!

Key Lime Pie Cupcakes
(101 Gourmet Cupcakes in 10 Minutes)

1 box white cake mix
3 eggs
1 cup half and half
6 Tbsp. key lime juice
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 recipe whipped cream frosting (see below)
4 tbsp. grated lime peel for garnish (it says to use about 3 limes, but I only used one)

Mix together cake mix, eggs, half and half, and 3 Tablespoons key lime juice. Pour 1-2 tablespoons batter into each paper liner. In a separate bowl, mix sweetened condensed milk and the rest of the lime juice. Evenly divide lime milk into batter-filled cups. Top with remaining batter until 3/4 full.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until cake springs back when touched lightly. Remove from oven and cool completely on a wire rack.

Frost with whipped cream frosting and garnish with grated lime peel.

Whipped Cream Frosting

2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/4-1/2 cup powdered sugar (depending on preference- I used 1/2 cup:))

Pour cream into large mixing bowl and start mixing at low speed. Gradually increase speed until cream thickens and soft peaks form.

Turn off mixer and add sugar. Start slowly again and beat until stiff peaks form.

The stiffer the cream, the easier it is to frost the cupcakes. Keep refrigerated.

Celebrating 100!

Hi everyone! Today I am celebrating the number 100! Why you ask? There are exactly 100 days until this guy comes home-



Let me introduce you to my dear friend K.C. John. K.C. is serving a mission in Brazil right now, and he is doing great! He is such an example to me of someone who works hard and doesn't give up. Any trial he faces only makes him that much stronger. I am so thankful to have him as a friend! K.C. is also an incredible soccer player! It is so fun to him play watch! This is a picture of us at his last game before his mission. K.C. is one of my very, very best friends and I'm excited for him to come home!



So that's why I am celebrating 100 today! Will you celebrate with me? How about you celebrate 100 too and make these cookies-



YUM. Are you drooling yet? If so, take a minute to grab a napkin and wipe off your keyboard and then listen up! These are S'mores stuffed chocolate chip cookies and they are heaven! I don't know about you guys but I am totally ready for summer! You know- campfires, camping trips, swimming, vacations, s'mores, etc. Well, here's a little taste of summer right here. I did a little cookie experiment a couple of weeks ago and these were one of the recipes that I tried. You can find the recipe over at Picky Palate! I am always so impressed with all of the creations that she comes up with. They are always so cute and so delicious!

Anyways, give them a shot! These cookies are MASSIVE. Seriously you could probably share one with someone. My mom and I split one and we were both content with our portion sizes- which is rare. :)

Have a wonderful 100 day celebration everyone!

Spring Break & Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cookie Bars

Hi everyone! This past week I spent my time here-



doing this-



and this-



and this-



and this-



looking in this-



drooling over this-







and eating this-



Let's just say it was the best spring break ever. It was so nice to get away to somewhere warm and relax with my friends. I think I was born to live in California because hanging out at the beach all day felt all too natural to me. The only thing I would have to work on would be my driving. California drivers are straight up crazy!

Speaking of crazy, let me tell you about a bar cookie that is crazy good. I found the recipe for these on the blog Baking and Boys. She adapted the recipe from Kraft Foods, and I adapted it a little bit more. Here is what they look like-



Drooling yet? If you love peanut butter this is definitely a treat for you to try! The recipe calls for a chocolate cake mix, but I didn't have one so I used a yellow cake mix instead and it turned out great. I have made these once before using a chocolate cake mix and they were absolutely divine, so I guess it just depends on your taste buds and what kind of treat you're after. I omitted the peanuts because we didn't have any on hand, but my family (Josh) doesn't really like nutty treats anyway. I didn't have very many chocolate chips, so I chopped up a couple of mini Mr. Goodbars (I guess there were actually a couple of peanuts in there after all)and Hersheys bars that Josh got from his friend to make up for it. Anyways, I love these bars! They are addicting so be careful! Don't leave yourself alone with a pan of these- that's dangerous.



Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cookie Bars
From Kraft Foods, Adapted by Karina from Baking and Boys

1 chocolate cake mix (or yellow)

1 package (3.9 oz.) Jell-O Chocolate Instant Pudding (I used vanilla since I used a yellow cake mix)

1/2 unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup cold milk

6 ounces semi sweet chocolate, chopped (I used chocolate chips and chopped up mini chocolate bars)

1 cup Planters' Peanuts, divided (I omitted)

1 3/4 cups creamy peanut butter (Kraft recipe only uses 1 cup, Katrina thought it needed more, I agree)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9x13 inch pan with foil. Spray lightly with cooking spray.

Mix the first 4 ingredients until blended. (The dough will be thick.) Press half the cake mix mixture into the prepared pan. Bake this for 10 minutes.

Sprinkle half the chocolate and half the peanuts over the hot crust. Top this with peanut butter. For easier spreading, let it sit a few minutes to warm and thin out. (Again, original recipe only calls for 1 cup of peanut butter, but I thought it spread better when I added more AND it's good!) Sprinkle the remaining cake mix mixture over the peanut butter and then the rest of the chopped chocolate and peanuts. Press down gently with a spatula. Bake 15 minutes. Cool on wire rack for 1 hour. Refrigerate 4 hours before cutting into bars. (Don't skip this and try to cut them too early. It REALLY helps them set up.)

ENJOY!!

Oreo Fudge Bars

Hello everyone! I'm starting to think I should rename myself and my blog the "Weekend Baker" because I just don't have much time for it during the week. I have a list of recipes piled up that I need to share with you! I'm going to try and remember to post a least one of those during the week since I usually don't get around to baking until the weekend.

Anyways, let's talk about Oreo Fudge Bars! I found this recipe over at Baking Blonde's blog. I love these bars! They are pure heaven! They are super rich so if rich, chocolaty desserts bother you- go a little easy. Along with being super delicious, these bars are so simple to make! Only 4 ingredients! Quick, easy, and very yummy!

Go here to find the recipe!

Chocolate PB Cup Cupcakes

Hi everyone! Craving something with peanut butter and chocolate? Make these! They are so simple and so yummy. Pick up a Devil's Food Cake mix and a bag of mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups next time you're at the store and you'll be ready to whip these up! The recipe said to frost these with Peanut Butter frosting, which I did... at first. After I took one my bite my taste buds were telling me that the frosting needed to have some chocolate in it, so I added some cocoa. :) To be honest, I'm not sure how much cocoa I even added. I just kept shaking some in, mixing it up, and then tasting it until I was pleased with the flavor. Anyways, it's totally up to you! You can do what I did and frost one cupcake with the peanut butter frosting, try it, and then add cocoa if you want to! Either way you will NOT be disappointed. There's a peanut butter cup in the middle for heaven's sake! You can't go wrong with that, right?! I made these for an ambassador party and they were a hit! Enjoy!!



Chocolate PB Cup Cupcakes with Peanut Butter or Peanut Butter/Chocolate Frosting :)

(Makes 24 cupcakes or 12 jumbo cupcakes)
Ingredients:
-1 box Devil’s Food cake mix
-1-1/4 cup water
-1/2 cup applesauce (or oil)
-3 eggs (*I used 1 egg + 1/2 cup egg substitute)
-1 small bag Reese’s peanut butter cups, unwrapped
-Peanut Butter Frosting (see recipe below)
Directions:
Mix cake mix, water, applesauce (or oil) and eggs according to directions on box (2 minutes on medium speed with electric mixer).
Fill muffin pan with liners, and fill liners 2/3 full with batter. Bake according to directions on package (350 degrees for 18-20 minutes). Allow cupcakes to cool for about 10 minutes, then gently press one peanut butter cup into each cupcake. Don’t worry about what they look like, since you’ll be frosting them anyways.
It’s important to put the PB cups in while the cupcakes are still somewhat warm; that way, they’ll get slightly soft and melted.
Once cupcakes are cooled completely, it’s time to frost them!

Peanut Butter Frosting
(Enough to frost 24 cupcakes or 12 jumbo cupcakes)

-1/3 cup smooth natural peanut butter (I used regular)
-3 cups powdered sugar
-1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
-1/4 cup milk (plus more to achieve desired consistency)

Directions:
Blend peanut butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar until combined. Add milk and mix on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Continue to add milk until you get the desired consistency.
After frosting the cupcakes, top each cupcake with some extra peanut butter cups chunks & a dusting of cocoa powder, if desired.

Recipe from Sweet Tooth Sweet Life