Category Archives: Sweet Tooth

Pink Champs, Darling.

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Today’s the day people – it’s officially our birthday! And what better way to celebrate than with champagne? Pink champagne cupcakes that is! If you happen to know us a little, Sonia and I aren’t really the “pink and girly” types, but when you put it with champs and sweets, sign us up! And no need to wait for your girlfriends’ next birthday, these baby cakes are a sure fire hit for any celebration. To get you in the mood, here’s a little montage from the “champs” queen herself, Heather Dubrow from the Real Housewives.

Cupcakes

  • 1 box Betty Crocker white cake mix (yeah, yeah, we take the easy route sometimes. Don’t judge us.)
  • 1 1/4 cups champagne
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 3 egg whites
  • 4 drops red food coloring

Frosting

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/4 cup champagne
  • 1 tsp of vanilla
  • 4 drops red food coloring (I chose to leave this out of mine because I decorated it with silver spray.)

Preheat the oven to 350 and load up your cupcake tray with paper baking cups. Mix together all of the cupcake ingredients until well blended. Fill each cup about 2/3 full with the batter. Bake according to the instructions on the box (typically about 20 minutes, or until you can poke it with a toothpick and it comes out clean). Let the cupcakes completely cool before icing them (trust me, the frosting will melt right off if you don’t.  I hate waiting, I have no patience, but I’ve learned a valuable lesson in waiting for my baked goods to cool down.)

While the cupcakes are baking, you can get started on the frosting. Do the same thing you did with the cupcakes – mix together all of the frosting ingredients. It should be light and fluffy when you’re done. If you want to add some sparkle like I did (every girl deserves some bling on her birthday…) you can buy edible spray and glitter and go to town!

pink champs cupcakes

Happy Eating, XO.

Cake Cake Cake

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Ok I am not literally going to sing Rihanna’s birthday cake song, well at least not till NEXT WEEK!! That’s right kids…THE BIG DAY is arriving shortly…

Jess & Sonia’s BIRTHDAY!!!
Funny thing is, I don’t even need to say it should be a national holiday, because it is!! I mean sure, its because its also Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, but a holiday nonetheless. Plus I mean Drew Brees, QB of the Saints, also has that birthday amongst many others. Bottom line, January 15th equals best day of the year. Birthday or not, you should eat cake on the best day of the year. So here is a cake for all foodies, no funfetti here my pets. This is some grown up ish that is just as easy to whip up! ha that’s funny because the “frosting” is actually whipped cream 🙂
nom nom nom here we go:

  • 1 package of store bought yellow cake mix (I mean if you are like Jess and got a new FANCY Kitchen aid stand mixer for Christmas, feel free to cheat on the short cut and do the whole whipping of butter, sugar, eggs, flour, baking soda gig. However, if you are like the rest of us peasants, just go the “easy” way out).
  • 1 can of cherry pie filling (15 oz.)
  • 1.5 tsp. Almond extract
  • 1 tsp. Vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup of sliced toasted almonds (listen I did a 1/2 cup like the recipe says, but it was WAY too nutty (even for a nutjob like me). It got in the way of the cake part, but whatever to each his own).
  • 2  eggs
  • a tub of light cool whip

No oil needed, just mix the above & pour. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 min (also base the time on what you are baking in. i.e. size of dish, you goobers-check back of cake box to confirm). Let it cool and slather with some whipped cream and maraschino cherries to make it look all gorgina, just like your pretty faces.

Happy Eating, Happy Birthday, XO.

Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Cookies

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Sorry guys, but I have to throw you a curve ball on this one. I know we’re trying  to do the whole “clean eating in the new year!” thing, but I love baking (and eating) sweets too much to give them up. And I just couldn’t keep this recipe a secret: The chocolate chip cream cheese cookies – try saying that five times fast!

I don’t know about you, but I never seem to be able to use the whole bar of cream cheese when I buy it. I use half, and then find it in the back of my fridge way later than its expiration date. (Yikes!) So, this time I decided to attempt to use what I had left over in a classic chocolate chip cookie recipe. It really brought out the best in the cookie – chewy middle and crunchy edges. Mind you, I made them small so I didn’t feel completely guilty for popping one after eating a wholesome salad or smoothie!

  • 2 cups brown sugar
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup unsalted, melted butter
  • 4 oz cream cheese (you can use less if you don’t have the 4 oz)
  • Dash of vanilla extract
  • 2 dashes of salt and baking powder
  • 2 cups of flour
  • 1 cup chocolate chip cookies

Heat your oven to 325. Begin mixing the sugars, butter, cream cheese and vanilla until combined. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, salt and baking soda, then slowly add to the sugary mix. When it starts to look like dough, mix in the chocolate chip cookies. Lightly grease your cookie sheets and move on to the fun part – playing with the dough!

Scoop about a tablespoon full of dough, roll it, and lightly flatten on the cookie sheet. Bake for about 18-20 minutes. Mine were pretty thick so I left them in a little longer. And don’t forget, you should definitely “taste test” them while they’re hot!

chocolate chip cream cheese cookie

Happy Eating, XO

“I’ve got one hand in my pocket, and the other is in a popcorn bowl.”

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I don’t know about you but with holiday break so close, I’m getting ready to curl up on the couch under a big blanket, with one hand on the TV remote and one hand in a popcorn bowl. And I don’t mean any plain ol’ popcorn either. We’re talking my absolute favorite – truffle popcorn! (If you need to know anything about me, it’s that I’m obsessed with anything truffle.)

Warning: If you have a roommate or significant other around, you may want to make two batches so you don’t have to share!

That being said, I give you the deliciousness that is truffle popcorn for your eating pleasure.

  • 1 cup popcorn kernels (or 1 bag of plain microwavable popcorn)
  • 3 tablespoons oil (vegetable oil works just fine)
  • 3 tablespoons sea salt
  • 3 tablespoons truffle oil
  • 2 tablespoons melted butter

You can make the popcorn the old fashioned way in a large covered pot/popcorn maker, or just do what I did and buy it in the microwavable bag. If you’re doing it the old fashioned way, pour in kernels and vegetable oil and wait for the popping. It should be done in about 6-ish minutes. Otherwise, microwave the bag according to its instructions. When finished, transfer it all to your popcorn bowl and thoroughly mix in the salt, truffle oil and butter.

*If you also happen to be a bacon fanatic, you can cook and finely chop some bacon and sprinkle it in for added flavor. Don’t worry, you still have two weeks before that diet begins…

truffle popcorn

You can also check out our latest delicious recipe – truffle pasta!

Happy Eating, XO.

The Ugly Sugar Cookie

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With Christmas quickly approaching, we of course want to give you the traditional sugar cookie recipe! However, I want to warn you: I recently discovered that I’m not cut out for cutting out cookies. Therefore, I’ve dubbed these cookies the ugly sugar cookies. They’re delicious, I just can’t make them look quite like they should. You may have better luck than me, but either way they’re really fun to make!

  • 2/3 cup softened butter
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tbsp milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 cups flour

Whip butter for 30 seconds, then add sugar, baking powder, and salt. Once combined, add in egg, milk and vanilla. Slowly add in flour. Chill dough for 30 minutes (it can be hard to handle if it’s too warm and soft.) 

On a floured surface, roll the dough to 1/8 inch thick (ie. thin), and start having some fun with the cookie cutters! (I got my cutters from Williams Sonoma – it comes with three cookie cutters and letters which makes for some interesting DIY messages.) Bake at 375 degrees for about 9-10 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Move to a wire rack and let cool.

Ugly Sugar Cookie

Happy Eating, XO.