Today is a VERY special day. It's my hubby's birthday!

He is such a wonderful guy and I am so incredibly blessed and proud to call him mine. He is one of the most positive people I know. Aside from also being smart, sweet, and a little shy, he's secretly hilarious, but only those super close to him would ever know that. He never has a bad word to say about anyone, his outlook on life is something to be admired, and he's just gorgeous in every way. There aren't enough pretty words to say about him. He's simply an amazing person.

Today is also our 4th Annual World Vision Charity Soccer Tournament. World Vision is a charity that is very close to our hearts. What other person would plan, organize, and execute a tournament on the day of his birth? God love his beautiful soul.

A fabulous guy like him deserves a spectacular man treat - and what screams 'man' more than bacon? Plus, it's totally maple syrup season, so this cupcake was meant to be.

Oh, and just for the record, REAL men eat cupcakes. 

Happy Birthday lover. You are my hero, my confider, my very best friend, and so much more. You are loved more than you will EVER know.

MAPLE BACON CUPCAKES WITH MAPLE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

Recipe adapted and slightly modified from Life is Better With Cake

2½ cups flour

2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ cup unsalted butter, softened

½ cup brown sugar - I used ¼ cup dark brown and ¼ light for a richer flavor

2 large eggs

1½ cups REAL maple syrup - NOT pancake syrup

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

½ cup buttermilk

2 teaspoons vanilla

Fry bacon in a pan until crispy - the crispier, the better. Drain fat and rest on paper towels. Finely chop bacon; set aside. 

Preheat oven 350º. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake liners. (Cupcake batter yields about 18 cupcakes, so you won't actually need all 24 cups) In a bowl, add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; set aside.

Beat butter and sugar in another bowl until fluffy. Add in eggs, syrup, and vanilla. Mix until blended.

Mix in flour mixture, alternating with the buttermilk in one-third increments. The batter will be fluffy.

Fill cups about ¾ of the way. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Mine were good to go at 18 minutes. Remove cakes from tin and cool completely.

To make frosting:

We're back home after a much needed and well deserved holiday to Florida. How I pine for you right now Florida sunshine. PINE. Currently, it's 28º, but feels about minus 113º with the wind chill. It's just cruel.

When we stepped off the plane at 8pm last Sunday evening, we were smacked in the face with 75º weather. I embraced it. Hard. Unfortunately, when we arrived at our home for the next 7 days, we found the air conditioner dead as a cockroach in a seedy Miami hotel.

Super.

So, lover and I did what anyone respectable adult would do. We put the kids to bed, opened all the windows, pulled out some lawn furniture, filled up the kiddie pool, poured ourselves a drink, tore our clothes off, and soaked our travelled out tootsies. It was fabulous.

I went to the shop the next morning to grab some essentials for the week and saw these amazing bars, staring up at me, with big, doughy eyes. 

Raspberry Lemonade Bars. Are you kidding me?  

After a few tweaks in the kitchen, I created athese are so much better that the shop version. 

I've made a request that the sunshine be shipped overnight delivery for a 7am arrival to enjoy these bars and recreate the full effect of our holiday.

It'll be 58º tomorrow.

Ask and you shall receive. 

RASPBERRY LEMONADE CRUMB SQUARES

Recipe adapted and modified from King Arthur Flour

Crust:
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
¾ cup confectioners' sugar
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons lemon zest
1 cup butter, softened to room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Filling:
5 large eggs
¾ cups lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1 tablespoon lemon zest

3 cups raspberries, pureed and strained to make about ¾ to 1 cup seedless puree - recipe calls for frozen, but I used fresh. Amazing. For a rich pink color, use the full cup.
2 cups sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cornstarch

Once upon a time, a girl made these bars. One bite and she was immediately cast under its spell. Her eyes rolled back into her head, she started to drool and she swore she heard a Disney theme song play every time she walked. She couldn't stop at one and almost ate the entire dish. The more she ate, the more bliss overcame her.

When all was said and done, she didn't develop superpowers, but she did gain 5 pounds.

All in her boobs.

The End.

CARAMEL APPLE CHEESECAKE BARS

Recipe adapted and slightly modified from Paula Deen - God love her.

CRUST:

2 cups flour

½ cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

CHEESECAKE FILLING:

2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

¾ cup sugar

3 large eggs

1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

APPLES:

3 apples, peeled, cored, and finely chopped - ANY apple works here. Use YOUR favorite!

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

1½ teaspoon cinnamon

2 Tablespoons sugar

STREUSEL TOPPING:

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

½ cup quick oats

½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened

CARAMEL:

I used dulce de leche. From a jar. Bought in a store. Done.

Preheat oven to 350ºF. In a medium bowl, combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly.

Press evenly into a 9x13 baking pan lined with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with sugar in an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth. Then add eggs, one at a time, and vanilla. Stir to combine. Pour over warm crust.

In a small bowl, stir together chopped apples, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Spoon evenly over cream cheese mixture.

Sprinkle evenly with streusel topping.

Bake 40-45 minutes, or until filling is set. Drizzle with caramel topping and let cool.

Yields: About 24 bars

Happy Baking!

Today is Saturday...and my birthday! Happy Birthday Me! I remember being a kid and thinking how awesome it was when my birthday fell on the weekend. Ya know what? That frame of mind never went away for me. In fact, I think it's even better the older you get. No work. All play.

I'm probably one of the few women that enjoy receiving gifts with cords. I don't get too upset about things like that. I'm a pretty practical person. I don't care for jewelry, shellfish is my kryptonite, I don't drink alcohol, and I'm housebroken. I'm a cheap date overall. As long as I get a spectacular cake I don't have to make and spend the day with those I love most, I'm super happy.

Saturdays are known in our house as Pancake Saturdays. (Although, sometimes it's french toast Saturday, depending on the mood, but for the most part, pancakes take precedence). Birthdays don't alter that fact, so I was looking for a special pancake to make and found these. God bless the internet. 

They are intense. This is one of those ideas that I wish I would have thought of, but thankfully, didn't need to and can make anytime I want despite the fact. 

I think I have a new favorite birthday breakfast.

As well as every Saturday morning. 

CAKE BATTER PANCAKES

Recipe adapted and modified from How Sweet It Is

1½ cups all purpose flour

1 cup yellow cake mix - I used Betty Crocker

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

⅛ teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons ground flax seed- this is totally optional, but I put it in everything!

1 egg

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

2 cups milk

assorted sprinkles* - I tried a few different varieties of sprinkles and found that nonpareils are the best. Jimmies made a mess and didn't look very pretty due to size and sugary sprinkles (not sanding sugar, but the sort that are the same taste and texture of candy cigarettes - if that makes ANY sense) did nothing but add crunch.

Combine flour, cake mix, baking powder, sugar, ground flax seed, if using, and salt in a bowl.


Add egg, vanilla and start with 1 cup of milk when mixing and gradually add more until 2 cups, if needed. I used the 2 full cups once I revised the recipe. You want the batter to look like regular pancake batter; uniform in consistency.

According to How Sweet...'s post, this will depend on the brand of cake mix you use. Do a quick taste test to see if the pancakes are flavored enough for your liking. I did and found my version was high-fiving my taste buds. I figure, if I'm going to do it, I might as well go big.

This photo was using 1 cup milk. It's still pretty thick.


Preheat a frying pan - or electric griddle, (which I need, HINT HINT lover) - on medium heat. Original recipe calls for the sprinkles to be folded in. I did so and started with only a small amount, but they dissolved into the batter, changing the color, and defeated the purpose, so I opted to add them after batter was poured in the frying pan. Done and done.

Pour batter in ¼ cup measurements onto frying pan/griddle and let cook until bubbles form on top, about 2-3 minutes. Flip and cook for an additional minute more.


Serve with vanilla glaze below if desired. Again, I went for the gold and wasn't disappointed.

Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

½ Tablespoon milk

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

assorted sprinkles

Mix milk, extract and powdered sugar until glaze forms. You may need to add a little more sugar or milk to reach desired consistency. Mix into glaze and drizzle on pancakes.

Yields: About festive 20-25 pancakes

Happy Baking!

CHOCOLATE FANTASY BARS

Recipe adapted and slightly modified from Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 box chocolate cake mix

¼ cup vegetable oil

1 egg

1 cup chopped nuts

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

14 ounces (1 can) sweetened condensed milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 dash salt 
OPTIONAL: ¼ cup of tub frosting 

There are four seasons in our home - Baseball, Football, Hockey, and Soccer.

Being married to the biggest sports fan alive, you have to have a lot of patience - and support. Luckily, I have some experience. I come from a family of diehard football and racing fans. I know all too well how it can go down.

You see, when you support a team, you become part of the team. Teams will disappoint. Teams will surpass expectations. Teams will make you cry tears of joy or break your heart from utter disappointment. I have seen all sides of it. Drew Barrymore's character in Fever Pitch has NOTHING on me. After Super Bowl XLII, I watched as my husband sat in silence and complete darkness for 3 hours. The New England Patriots lost to the New York Giants. I felt so helpless.

This year, I'm attending my first Big Game party since dating my husband. I know, right? My husband feels that parties interfere with the game. People stopped inviting us after a few years because we always decline. I miss out on all the greasy and fatty foods, but not this time. While lucky ducky is attending the Super Bowl and crossing that wish off his bucket list - I KNOW, RIGHT? - me and the kiddies will be partying it up with friends, juice boxes, and processed meat platters.

I'm taking along my chocolate chip cannoli cookies. These are SUPER simple to make and always a crowd pleaser.

You know, maybe separate vacations aren't such a bad idea.

Just kidding babe. Go Patriots!

24 ounces (3 cups) full fat ricotta cheese, COMPLETELY drained

1 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon almond extract

¼ teaspoon orange zest

24-36 vanilla flavored pizzelle cookies

*These cookies should be made and eaten almost immediately or as soon as possible. They will go soft, just like proper cannoli, within a few hours.  

If you're not sure what pizzelle containers look like, here you go. This is usually how they are sold.

Drain ricotta cheese using a cheesecloth or layered paper towels. Try to extract as much liquid as possible.

Add chocolate chips.

One word. Delicious.

Two more words. Really Simple.

Three words. I like eggs.

Yeah, I just thought I'd throw out a random fact about me.

If you're a fan of Skor or Heath bars (and even if you're not), you will thoroughly enjoy these. They are so much better than the actual candy and have something for everyone whether it's a salty, sweet, peanut butter, chocolate, crunch or chewy factor. 

Four Words. She shoots, she skors! 

Pun totally intended.

Recipe adapted and slightly modified from my Aunt Ronnie's recipe box

1 package SALTED saltine crackers

1 cup dark brown sugar
½ cup butter

2 cups chocolate chips

1 cup peanut butter chips

Toppings if desired: Sprinkles, chopped nuts, chopped candy bars, etc.

Line a jelly roll pan with foil. Apply a thick coating of butter or cooking spray. This will help the toffee from sticking. Turst me, you do not want to skip this step.

Place saltines on tray in a single file, side by side; do not overlap crackers. Set tray aside.

Place butter and sugar in a saucepan on stove on high heat. Once mixture hits a rapid boil, allow it to do so for a full 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Remove from heat and immediately pour over crackers, covering completely.

Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top of toffee, and allow them to sit for a few minutes to soften and melt. You can also put the tray in the oven for a minute or so to help the melting process along. 

Once softened, use an offset spatula or knife to spread the melted chocolate over the entire surface of the toffee in an even layer.

Melt peanut butter chips in microwave, using a heat-safe container. Drizzle over top of chocolate. I used a skewer to make pretty designs.

Sprinkle with your choice of toppings if desired. My daughter opted for some Valentine colored sprinkles.

Allow tray to cool completely. I threw mine in the fridge for about 30 minutes to harden. Once solidified, remove foil lining from tray and let set for a couple minutes. You can break apart, using your hands for a rustic look, but I prefer to use a pizza cutter for nice, uniform lines.

Keep refrigerated for best results.

Yields: About 36 servings.

Happy Baking!