Oreo Cream Cheese Brownies

Before I get to the ridiculousness of both Oreos and cream cheese in a brownie...

I have several dancer friends who I get together with to watch old dancing movies. I'm not talking Center Stage here. I'm talking Singin' in the Rain, Guys and Dolls and White Christmas. We get together and eat, drink and enjoy the oldies!

For our latest get-together, I made these Oreo Cream Cheese Brownies. And, boy-oh-boy, were they a hit! Now, whoever doesn't like Oreos, cream cheese and brownies needs their head examined. And together, this makes for one outrageous brownie! I was able to schlep off several brownies to each of my friends so I only had a few to return home with =)



Oreo Cream Cheese Brownies
From Annie's Eats

8 tbsp. unsalted butter
¾ cup sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder
½ tsp. salt
2 large eggs
¼ cup milk
1½ cups coarsely chopped Oreo cookies
6 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
½ cup confectioners’ sugar
1½ tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Line an 8×8″ baking pan with aluminum foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter and sugar.  Bring to a boil, whisking frequently.  Boil for 1 minute, then remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder and salt; whisk together to combine.  Add the eggs to the pan with the butter-sugar mixture and whisk until well blended.  Whisk in the milk.  Transfer the wet ingredients to the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated.  Fold in the Oreo cookie pieces.  Spread the batter into the prepared pan.

To make the cream cheese mixture, combine the cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar and vanilla extract in the bowl of an electric mixer.  Beat on medium-high speed until well-blended and smooth.   Drop the cream cheese mixture over the brownie batter in dollops.  Use the blade of a knife to gently swirl the cream cheese mixture together with the brownie batter, creating a marble effect.

Bake for about 22-24 minutes.  Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely before slicing and serving.

Churros

In honor of my day of food, meeting Paula Deen and not being able to stop thinking about churros, I made some myself. Churros, that is.

These were so good! I was shocked at how easy they were, as well! Just make the dough and fry it! The only drawback to these was that they are SO much better right after frying. I made these when I had the apartment to myself one morning, tried one, got really excited, and left the rest so my roommates could taste how awesome they were. By the time I got home, though, they weren't crispy any longer and were just mushy in your mouth. I ended up throwing most of them out and I was the only one who even got to eat them. So sad. Moral of the story: make sure you make these with lots of people around so they can praise you!

Churros
Paula Deen

Vegetable oil, for frying
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 stick butter
1 cup water
2 teaspoons sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 orange, zested
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 eggs

Fill a deep-fryer or large Dutch oven halfway with vegetable oil and heat to 350 degrees F.

Mix the sugar and cinnamon together in a large shallow bowl, set aside.

Combine the butter, water and sugar in a large saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Once it has come to a boil, lower to a medium heat and add the flour, orange zest and nutmeg, stirring constantly until it comes away from the pan and it forms a ball. Transfer dough to a bowl and use an electric mixer to help cool it off. At this point you can whisk in the eggs, 1 at a time, until it becomes a smooth batter. Transfer the mixture into a large piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Working in batches, carefully pipe 4-inch long ribbons directly into the hot oil to fry. Fry until golden, turning if necessary, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove with tongs and drain on paper towels. Transfer the churros into the sugar/cinnamon mixture and toss to coat. Serve immediately while still warm.

Chocolate Cake Cupcakes with Pink Frosting

I killed two birds with one stone with these cupcakes. On one hand, I needed to get rid of the leftover frosting from Uncle Seth's Pink Cookies, and I FINALLY got to make Pioneer Woman's Chocolate Sheet Cake (in cupcake form, of course)!

These guys were dangerously delicious. I brought some to work in a tupperware and when I set them out in the kitchen, they'd kind of mushed together from the journey on the train. By the time I went to the bathroom and came back, however, they were all gone, so apparently they were still super good!

The chocolate cake is. um. well. to die for. It is very similar to a devil's food cake, with the same chocolate flavor. This is definitely not a dark chocolate kind of cake. But, boy! Could I just eat the whole thing or what?! And of course the frosting complimented the chocolate perfectly. Although I think ANYTHING would complement this cake. Sheesh!

I omitted the pecans, but still made the chocolate frosting. THEN I topped with my leftover pink frosting and a few pink sprinkles.



PW's Chocolate Sheet Cake Cupcakes
From the Pioneer Woman (if you don't already have her cookbook, you should immediately buy it. It's been my favorite reading material since March)

2 cups Flour

2 cups Sugar

¼ teaspoons Salt

4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa

2 sticks Butter

1 cup Boiling Water

½ cups Buttermilk

2 whole Beaten Eggs

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

1 teaspoon Vanilla

1-¾ stick Butter

4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa

6 Tablespoons Milk

1 teaspoon Vanilla

1 pound (minus 1/2 Cup) Powdered Sugar

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt.

In a saucepan, melt butter. Add cocoa. Stir together.
Add boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Pour over flour mixture, and stir lightly to cool.

In a measuring cup, pour the buttermilk and add beaten eggs, baking soda, and vanilla. Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture. Pour into a muffin pan and bake at 350-degrees for 18-20 minutes.

While cake is baking, make the icing. Melt butter in a saucepan. Add cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat. Add the milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Stir together. Pour over the warm cake.

Uncle Seth's Pink Cookies

The Pink Cookie. If you are not from the Seattle area, you are going, "huh, what's with the pink cookie? And who's Uncle Seth?"

I am here to enlighten you about a delicious little cookie that you will find everywhere in Seattle called Uncle Seth's Pink Cookie. They are a soft shortbread-like cookie base with a very sweet and airy pink frosting, made extra large, about 4 inches across. I remember eating these after school when I was little, when I went to the mall and at the gym where I swam growing up.

I saw a post from LadyJayPee at Eating, etc. about her version of the Pink Cookie and got a huuuuge hankering to try my hand at it! Although I haven't had one of these cookies in a long time, I thought I could remember well enough to do a bangarang immitation. I found a lovely post at Cakespy about the cookies and went ahead and tried a shortbread with powdered sugar and a light buttercream frosting, both from allrecipes.

I thought this was a pretty close copycat. I thought the frosting was just about spot-on, very light and extremely sweet! The cookie was pretty close, but still no dice. The shortbread wasn't quite soft enough compared to Uncle Seth's and when I sent them across the country to my parents, they reportedly fell apart. Next time I may try it with a sugar cookie recipe.

Please enlighten me with suggestions if you have them!



Uncle Seth's Pink Cookies, an attempt

Shortbread
Adapted from allrecipes

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 375 degreees F.

Whip butter with an electric mixer until fluffy. Stir in the confectioners' sugar, constartch and flour. Beat on low for one minute, then on high for 3 to 4 minutes. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface and cut with a round, 4-inch cookie cutter. Place several inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 10-13 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

Buttercream Frosting
Adapted from allrecipes

1 cup butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup cream cheese, at room temperature
8 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup heavy whipping cream

In a mixing bowl, cream shortening, butter and cream cheese until fluffy. Add sugar and continue creaming until well blended.

Add salt, vanilla and 6 ounces whipping cream. Blend on low speed until moistened. Add additional 2 ounces whipping cream if necessary. Beat at high speed until frosting is fluffy.

Birthday Sugar Cookies

A super Happy Birthday today to my favorite Stepmom and yours!

To The Loverly: LADY JAY PEE!

I shipped off some cookies to her last week, and tucked them in for a nice trip across the country. I'm highly doubting they made it there in one piece, but LJP didn't seem to care as I got a phone call immediately after their arrival with a cookie already in the mouth =)

I used a birthday cake and a sunflower cookie cutter for these, along with royal blue and orange Americolor gel pastes. To make the dots on the birthday cake (I stole this from Bake at 350), you basically just need to make sure the base color icing is very runny and quickly after filling in, use the other color to make the dots. Bridget gives a MUCH better explanation here.

I got the idea for the sunflowers from Meaghan's book, Cookie Sensations.

You can find the sugar cookie and royal icing recipe I use here.

So, a VERY happy Birthday to you, LJP! Thank you for being such a wonderful part of my life =) Lots of Love!

The Great American Food and Music Festival

On Sunday, I ate the following:

• A Fried Scallop PoBoy


• BBQ Nachos with Pork


• An Ice Cream Sunday with caramel sauce, gummy bears and chocolate chips (the only thing I didn't get a picture of)


• Duck, Goat Cheese and Onion Jam Grilled Cheese


• An assortment of Chocolate, Caramel, Peanut Butter and Lavendar Turtles


• A Cheesesteak with Peppers


• A Pork Boudin


• An assortment of Double Chocolate, Red Velvet, Coconut and Carrot Cake Cupcakes


• Cinnamon and Sugar Churros

I should get a prize for stamena! Where all did I eat this delicious extravagant feast?

THE GREAT AMERICAN FOOD AND MUSIC FESTIVAL!

Spice, our friend Kali, and I embarked on a journey this past Sunday to Secaucus, New Jersey for this great day full of food! We were championship eaters, stuffing food in our faces immediately after arriving and leaving with  churros and cupcakes in our hands about 9 hours later! This was the first annual Food and Music Fest and we can't wait for next year!

We started our day heading to Jersey on the train. The Secaucus stop was about a 10 minute train ride, so we were there in no time! From there we hoped on a (free) shuttle bus to The Meadowlands Stadium (where The Superbowl will be in 2014).



Immediately upon arriving, Spice high-tailed it to the Scallop Puboy booth and within seconds was staring at a masterpeice. This was by far my favorite thing at the Festival! On a long loaf of crusty french bed nestled a family of fried scallops over tomatoes and topped with a mango, sweet corn rumelade. Whew! We wolfed that down in .03 seconds! They had several other sandwiches that we didn't get a chance to try but I'm sure were almost as good.

As we made our way to the end of the food tents, surveying the options for the day while eating our PuBoy, we came across BBQ Pork Nachos. We quickly stuffed the rest of the scallops in our mouths and got in line for Nachos!



The Nachos were at "The Neely's" tent, who we also got to see later on stage. The nachos were smothered with BBQ sauce and cheese with a generous mound of BBQ pork peeking out between chips. I commented that the only thing that could make them better was real cheese, but Spice and Kali concurred that there is something about that processed stadium liquid-cheese that can't be beat!

From there we made our way to the main stage on the field where they were getting ready for a talk about finding great local food. Sign us up! Handily, right next to the stage was a HUGE ice cream sundae stand. We shoved people aside, stepped on their toes and made our way to the front of the line, where we each got our own flavor ice cream, sauce and toppings. I was too busy shoving my face in my sundae to take a picture. Somehow I managed to take pictures of everything else before devouring, but the number one priority for the sundae was apparently to get in my belly. We took our treats into the stands to watch The Neely's from Food Network make Catfish and Hush Puppies.



Unfortunately, it began raining after The Neely's demonstation, so everyone went undercover to wait it out. But not without food! We managed to brave the beginning of the storm for a few hot wings! Which were so full of spice I just about died (from enjoyment, obviously)! Good thing we had water!

Luckily, after a little waiting, we were given panchos! Spice and Kali rocked the pancho look (duh) and we braved the elements for more food (suprise surprise!).

As soon as Kali spotted the Turtles booth, she squeeled with delight and said that her family made them every year for Christmas! Of course, we HAD to try some! We ended up with a Lavendar and Fleur de Sel Turtle, a Peanut Butter and Cayenne Turtle, and Milk and Dark Chocolate Turtles. I think my favorite was the Lavendar and Fleur de Sel! So many great flavors in one bite!



Next up was the most extravagant grilled cheese I have ever seen! It was a Duck, Goat Cheese and Onion Jam Grilled Cheese. I thought my tastebuds had died and gone to heaven! I have to say that now I like duck, I guess! I thought the combo of flavors and textures were perfect and this was my second favorite at the Festival! Kali and Spice disagreed, but I'll get to their second pick in a second.

One of the great things about the Festival was the debit cards they used. You could buy a card for $10, $20, $40 or $100 to be used at all the food stands that acts, more or less, like a debit card. It was nice not to have to get cash out for each purchase.



I already told you about The Neely's being at the Festival, but there were SO many more Food Network stars there!

• Tom Colicchio, from Top Chef, made mussels and a pork roast.


• Duff Goldman, from Ace of Cakes, decorated a burger cake with his team.


• and Paula Deen!!!!, who basically talked to the crowd and answered questions while a chef behind her made pork chops and stuffed zucchini. Love her!

Paula Deen was our last stop of the day, and of course, we couldn't watch her without snacks. We ended up with probably the best Cheesesteak I have ever had. The meat was so tender it was almost ground and it had the perfect blend of spices in it. I've even had Cheesesteaks in Philly and this surpassed those! This was Spice and Kali's second favorite instead of the grilled cheese.

We also ate a Pork Boudin. I had never heard of this, but Kali had eaten them before at home in Texas. They are basically a sausage with meat and rice and quite a kick to it. We all enjoyed our Pork Boudin and I'm so glad I know what one is now!



After Paula Deen, we just had to try the cupcakes! We got one of each: Chocolate, Red Velvet, Carrot Cake and Coconut. Delicious! Although our stomach's were overflowing, we still had a few dollars left on one of our cards. With our bartering faces on, we negotiated  a plate of Churros for $3! Because heaven forbid we leave without trying them! =)

Spice, Kali and I had such a great day and can't wait for next summer to come back for a day of eating!

Nutella and Orange Bundt Cake

I am always trying to find a way to add Nutella into things. I put it on my toast, in my cookies and more often than not, just eat it off a spoon. It's like peanut butter for those with a sweet tooth! =D

So, in the name of Nutella love, I made an orange spiced bundt cake with a Nutella swirl. Whew! It was nuts! Orange and Nutella are such a great flavor combination! And on a bundt it's even more perfect because there is almost a non-existent expectation for it to be frosted!

The cake is a Martha Stewart Vanilla cake that I added orange zest to. I combined a cup of Nutella with an egg to help break it up (Food Librarian's idea! Genius!), and swirled that into the vanilla cake batter. I, of course, had to raise the baking time and think I could have taken the bundt out a few minutes earlier, which I reflected below.

I loved this cake. The flavor combo is perfect and it is so soft and moist!



Nutella and Orange Bundt Cake
Adapted from Martha Stewart and Food Librarian

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs plus 3 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup lowfat buttermilk
Zest from 1 large orange

1 cup Nutella
1 egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour the bundt pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Set aside.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. With mixer on low, beat in eggs and yolks, one at a time. Beat in vanilla. Alternately beat in flour mixture and buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in the orange zest.

In a small bowl, combine the Nutella and the egg until the Nutella has broken up a bit.

Place about half of the vanilla cake batter into the bundt pan. Layer the Nutella and egg mixture on top and finish with the rest of the cake batter. Using a knife, gently mix the Nutella and cake batter together.

Bake for 45-50 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes before inverting cake to cool completely.

Candied Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies

My favorite foods right now: chocolate and bacon. In that order.

Now, what might happen if you combine the two? In a cookie?

Woah!

Now, some of you may be thinking "Ewwwww! Bacon in a cookie?", as certain people did when I told them what I was going to make. Be brave. Try something new. Put some bacon in your cookies. And better yet, candy the bacon first!

These cookies were good. I wasn't as mind-blown as I thought I was going to be about them. Spice suggested next time to make the candied bacon bits a little bigger, because then you will just get chunks of bacon in the cookies. As these were, though, you get more of a bacon-punch when you bite into it. Very good!

I decided to really get crazy and make these into ice cream sandwiches by scooping soft vanilla ice cream in the middle, and rolling in colored sprinkles. Taking a bite is like a 5-flavor explosion in your mouth!



Candied Bacon
From Sticky Gooey Creamy Chewy via David Lebovitz

8 strips bacon
1/2 cup light brown sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Lay the strips of bacon on a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or aluminum foil, shiny side down.

Sprinkle half of the brown sugar evenly over each strip of bacon.

Bake for 7 minutes. Remove from oven and flip bacon over, making sure to drag through the brown sugar syrup. Add remaining brown sugar over the top. Return to the oven and bake about 5 more minutes, until a deep mahogany color.

Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack. When cool, chop into peices.

Candied Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies
From Sticky Gooey Creamy Chewy

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup semisweet chocolate chunks

1 cup Candied Bacon Bits 

Preheat oven to 325F. Grease several baking sheets.

Beat the sugars and butter together until smooth. Mix in the egg, vanilla, and baking soda.  Whisk together the flour and salt, then sift them into the batter.  Stir in the chocolate chunks and bacon bits.

Using a small cookie scoop or a teaspoon, scoop the cookie dough into small balls, about 1-inch in diameter, and place them 2 inches apart on each of the baking sheets.

Bake for 14-16 minutes, or until pale golden brown.  Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

Cheesecake Factory Balsamic Dressing

Several years ago, nevermind how long exactly, I went to The Cheesecake Factory every week. Saying I was addicted is puting it mildly. Good thing I was pretty active at this stage in my life!

Among other things, I was completely enamored with their Balsamic Salad Dressing. I used it throughout my meal, no matter what it was. I dipped bread into it, artichokes and even my finger. Some things haven't changed =D

So my wonderful Stepmom, LadyJayPee, decided it might be more economical if she tried to recreate the dressing at home. And what other way to do that than to add more sugar to her already standing balsamic dressing recipe? Doy!

This stuff is great, though. And tastes just like Cheesecake Factory's dressing. I dare you to make it and put it on everything you eat.



Cheesecake Factory Balsamic Dressing
From Eating, Etc.

1 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons sugar
3 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
optional herbs

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until emulsified.

Rhubarb Pâte de Fruit

So, a few weeks ago I noticed the abundance of rhubarb in my grocery store.

"Woo HOO! Rhubarb time!"

I immediately got a large bundle and brought it home to bake with. While in the checkout line, the woman behind me kindly asked what the large reddish stalks were in my basket. I told her it was rhubarb and she gave me a funny look and asked how I used it. I gave her a laundry list of things you could do, getting more and more excited with each baked good. As I paid and left, I heard her comment to the checkout clerk that I must be a chef or something.

HA! I wish!



Anyways, when I came upon this recipe, I really didn't know what Pâte de Fruit was. All I knew was that I had some rhubarb and wanted to make something new with it! Of course, I got my heart set on this Pâte de Fruit before I realized our grocery store didn't have liquid pectin. Outrageous, I know. So, by the time I got some, my rhubarb had got bad. By this time, I was pretty fed up with trying to make this stuff, but with the savenger hunt I went on, I knew I had to try!

The Pâte de Fruit was very easy to make, the only tough part was making sure to keep checking the candy thermometer! The result was rhubarb-sweet and tangy gummy candies that melt in your mouth! How does it get any better on a hot day?!



Rhubarb Pâte de Fruit
From Sugarcrafter

3/4 cup rhubarb juice
2 cups granulated sugar
1 3-oz envelope liquid pectin
2 teasoons lemon juice

Line an 8 by 8 inch baking dish with parchment paper. Chop the rhubarb and throw it into a food processor. Process until pureed. Strain the juices through a mesh seive into a saucepan.

Heat the rhubarb and lemon juices and 1 cup sugar over medium heat until the mixture reaches 113 degrees F. Add in the remaining sugar. When the mixture reaches 238 degrees, pour in the pectin. Continue to boil and stir for 1-2 minutes.



Remove from the heat and pour into the pan lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle lightly with granulated sugar and let set for 2 hours.



When set, lift out of the pan. Cut into 1 inch squares and roll in granulated sugar to coat. Store in an airtight container.

Lettuce Wraps

There's a world called P.F. Chang's where everyone is happy and food is always delicious. It is one of my favorite restaurants and my favorite thing on the menu is the lettuce wraps. I can never get enough of them! I'm not sure if its the texture of the meat and vegetables together, or the fact that you wrap it in a lettuce leaf, or the sweet and slightly spicy sauce, but I go nuts over these.

Thank goodness Steamy Kitchen recreated them, or I would be up the creek without a paddle because no P.F. Chang's are in the city! Gulp!

It has been awhile since my last run in with my favorite restaurant, but these lettuce wraps certainly got the craving out of my system! I loved the muted asian sauce and especially the green apple that was in these!

Instead of appetizer portions, I served a heaping pile of the meat/vegetable mixture on a large lettuce leaf and called it a night.



Lettuce Wraps
From Steamy Kitchen

The Sauce:
1-1/2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon Sriracha hot sauce

Filling:
1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
2 stalks, scallions
1 pound ground turkey or chicken
2 cups mixed vegetables (frozen pea/carrots, finely diced bell peppers, etc.)
1/2 green apple, finely diced

Toppings/Wrap:
1 head boston bibb lettuce, leaves washed and separated
2 medium carrots, Use vegetable peeler to peel cut carrot into paper thin strips.  Use knife to further cut into super duper thin strands.

Combine the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.

Heat a wok or large frying pan on high heat with cooking oil. Add the scallions, ginger and garlic and fry for a few seconds. Add the turkey or chicken (I used ground turkey) and fry until cooked almost through. Add the vegetables and cook for 1-2 more minutes. Add the sauce ingredients and stir. Let simmer for 1 minute to thicken slightly. Add the apples at the last second and toss to coat. Remove from heat.

Serve over the lettuce cups, with carrot shavings.

Cupcake "Burgers"

Happy day after Memorial Day! I had a great weekend! Filled with lots of sun and food! What could be better?

Spice and I travelled upstate to celebrate this weekend at a BBQ. We had lots of fun relaxing and just enjoying the sunshine! We even got to enjoy some stars!

I just had to bring dessert for the BBQ and after a little prowling, I found these adorable cupcake burgers at Bakerella! When I saw the burgers, I just knew I had to make them!

 These aren't as time consuming and you may think. Although, I'm sure if you did the "fries" and the baskets, it would take up most of an afternoon.

To make the burgers, all you have to do is make some yellow cupcakes. Gulp, I ran out of time and used a mix. Never again. I promise. Although they still tasted good!



Next, make a batch of brownies. Yum! Fudge brownies will work best on these. If you get them too cake-like, your burger is going to fall apart. After the brownies have cooled completely, use a 2-inch cookies cutter to make as many rounds as you can. Out of a 9 by 13 inch pan, I was able to get 23 rounds. Bakerella said she got 24. She wins.



Now, I am going to recommend using store-bought icing for these. WHAT!? No, I'm serious. I think it will hold up better than the homemade frosting I used. Anywhoo, get some frosting, and dye it green, red and yellow. Lettuce, ketchup and mustard, please!

Place each frosting in a ziploc bag with the just the very tip cut off.

To assemble these puppies, cut the cupcakes in half and place a brownie on the bottom half of each one. I started with the ketchup and piped a bunch on the top/outside of each brownie, followed by the mustard and lettuce. Place the top half atop the condiments.

To seal the deal, I brushed a little water on the top of each cupcake and sprinkled some sesame seeds on.



Then, if you want to feel REEEEAAAALLLYYY good about yourself, bring them to a BBQ full of boys and watch them be slightly confused, as Compton is here:



Which will quickly turn to delight and eternal love for the cupcake maker: