Baking for the Freezer: Magic Wands and Mini Cupcakes

It's school week, which means I'm baking up a storm getting ready to pack some completely home-made, nutrient-rich lunchbox goodies for my girls. Yesterday, I made fairy princess bread. Today, I made magic wands and some magical cupcakes. The magic in the cupcakes is that they're full of green apples and orange carrots. They are still dessert -- I don't mistake them for anything else -- but if I'm going to serve dessert, I might as well get some green and orange in the girls' bellies, right?

Both of these goodies were taste-tested today by my girls and their friends, and both passed with high marks. The kids kept asking for more. Good thing the cupcake recipe turned out a whole bunch! I'm sticking these in the freezer. By freezing them on a cookie sheet until solid, then transferring to containers, I can preserve the shape of the cupcakes. A frozen cupcake packs wonderfully, thawing just in time for lunch at school when placed in an insulated lunchbox.

Magic Wands

What You Need:

• 1 packet of active dry yeast
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 3 cups all-purpose flour (or substitute whole wheat for half)
• colorful jimmies
• almond bark or white chocolate (1/4 lb was all I needed)
• colored sugar

How it's Done:

1. Combine yeast, sugar, and water in a mixing bowl. Stir and let this sit for ten minutes until doubled in volume and bubbly.
2. Mix in oil, salt, and flour. Knead 5 to 7 minutes, until smooth and elastic.
3. Cover and let dough rest at least 15 minutes. It's forgiving: If you need to let it rest an hour or two, just punch it down when you're ready to move on.
4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide in half.
5. Roll each half into a roughly 9x11" rectangle. Sprinkle colorful jimmies over dough and run the rolling pin over it to press them into the dough.
6. Cut the dough into strips, less than 1" wide.
7. Twist the ends of the dough until a tight spiral shape is achieved.
8. Place each spiral straight on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake at 425 degrees for 14 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp. Let cool completely.
9. Melt almond bark. Dip the end of each wand into the melted candy, then sprinkle with colored sugar for a magical tip.
10. Let the candy harden. Store tightly covered.

Mini Apple-Carrot Cupcakes with Honey-Butter Frosting
makes about 56 mini cupcakes

I love honey-butter frosting. I first made it with maple cupcakes and everyone gobbled them up. This time I paired the frosting with a denser cupcake and it didn't disappoint. The batter is very thick and full of fruit and vegetables. If your eaters are fussy about this, I suggest you puree them instead of grating them.

What You Need:

for the cupcakes:

• 1/2 cup safflower or other light oil
• 1/2 cup softened butter
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 6 carrots (peeled or not -- I peeled mine)
• 3 small apples (peeled or not -- I did not peel these, and I used Granny Smith)

for the frosting:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup honey
• 5 to 6 cups confectioner's sugar

How it's Done:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line mini cupcake tin with papers or spray lightly with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Grate the carrots and apples and set them aside.
3. Beat butter, oil, and sugar until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between additions. Add vanilla extract.
4. Slowly stir in flour, cinnamon, and baking soda. Once all are incorporated, beat on medium-high 2 minutes.
5. Fold in apples and carrots.
6. Fill cupcake tins all the way to the top. Bake 15 to 18 minutes, or until top springs back when pressed gently. Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting.
7. For the frosting, beat together the butter and honey. Slowly add the confectioner's sugar until the desired consistency is met. If you want to color the frosting, do so before adding the confectioner's sugar. Frost as desired.

How are you preparing for back to school? Have you ever cooked ahead and frozen portions for lunchboxes?

No-Bake Peanut Butter & Jelly Snacks

It's the middle of summer. Temperatures are in the upper 90s and lower 100s. There's no breeze. You could pour yourself a nice warm cup of air and drink it.

But the kids want a snack.

Here's one that will give them some protein to keep them going in the pool, sprinkler, or slip n slide.

No-Bake Peanut Butter & Jelly Balls
Makes about 20 snacks

What You Need:

• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs (or other cookie crumbs)
• 1 cup peanut butter (I used freshly ground, just peanuts, so it's very thick)
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup jam/jelly/preserves
• 2 Tbsp maple syrup or honey

How it's Done:

1. Combine all ingredients in food processor (or mix by hand for chunkier snacks) and process until the dough forms a ball.
2. Shape into 1" balls. Roll in confectioner's sugar, coconut, or unsweetened cocoa powder.
3. Chill for at least an hour before serving. Unless your kids are like mine. Incidentally, I find that these freeze well and make good lunchbox snacks.

***WHILE YOU'RE HERE, ENTER TO WIN A SODASTREAM PACKAGE!

It Feels Like Forever Since We Last Chatted!

Day 58!

Yesterday, I was going to post a delicious pork ribs recipe. After I tidied the house (because my mother and sister were coming today), and after I went grocery shopping, and after I did a bunch of things.

But instead, I felt a jolt of electricity (not real electricity, just felt like a shock) whip through my lower back, then my legs gave out and I hit the floor.

Hard.

And I couldn't get up for, like, 10 minutes. I thought about those little devices that are advertised for the elderly. Help! I've fallen and I can't...

Wait. Yes I can.

So I spent a few minutes wiggling around on the floor and got myself to a chair. I hoisted myself up onto my feet. I was in a lot of pain. I was CRYING.

But I got up. And I shuffled my way, leaning on every available surface, to my bed. I choked down some Advil and layed on my heating pad.

Because as scary as that was, it's happened to me before and I know what to do. I did it all right. And it's getting better. I am almost back to normal.

Today, my family drove to Atlanta to help my sister move out of her apartment. She's moving to Orlando to attend a new college. Thankfully, college kids don't generally own much stuff, and it only took a little while to get her loaded up and head back to my house.

We went thrift shopping (I bought a really cool triangle, which I intend to use to call my darling children to dinner), went and bought College Kid groceries to get her through her first few weeks at her new home, and ate at Carraba's (a side of minestrone and a full-size dessert qualify as dinner, right?).

Then I came home and made this. It's so easy. It's a "pantry snack," meaning that if you keep the ingredients on hand (warning! they're highly processed ingredients!), you can quickly throw together a snack for the teenagers congregating in your kitchen, or the football fans on your sofa, or your girlfriends gabbing around the table.

This is not my recipe. I think it belongs to Velveeta. But a high school friend taught it to me when we were both newlyweds and I was highly impressed. It's still very yummy.

Velveeta-Rotel Dip

Ingredients:

• 2 lb Velveeta
• 1 can Rotel diced tomatoes & green chilis
• 1 Tbsp butter or margarine

How it's Done:

1. Cut up the Velveeta and dump it in a microwaveable bowl. Dump the UNDRAINED Rotel and butter on top.
2. Microwave, uncovered, for 1 minute at a time. Stir at the end of each minute. Continue until cheese is melted.
3. Serve with tortilla chips.

Super Bowl Sunday

Day 38.

It's Super Bowl Sunday. It's a day of football. And a day of food. Super Bowl food should be portable, scoopable, and not require a utensil. But what rule says it needs to be spicy, cheesy, or even cooked?

Stuffed Strawberries

Ingredients:

• strawberries


• cream cheese frosting

How it's done:

Cut the stem off of the strawberries. Make a flat cut so it will sit straight on a platter. At the pointy end, make a cut 3/4 the way through the berry. If desired, you can make an X in this fashion like I did.

Now, pipe cream cheese frosting into the space until the strawberry is overflowing with it.

Serve chilled.