These Blue Moon cupcakes are light and fluffy topped with zesty orange cream cheese frosting. When I first came across these on Pinterest, I knew I needed to pin it for later so that I could make them for one of my friends who loves Blue Moon beer! So surprise a Blue Moon loving friend with these scrumptious cupcakes!
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners.
In a mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter for 1 minute, until pale and fluffy. Add sugar. Cream together butter and sugar for 3-4 minutes.
Add eggs, one at a time, scraping down sides of the bowl after each addition. Add vanilla and orange zest; mix until just combined.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together beer and milk. Alternatively add beer mixture and flour mixture to butter mixture until fully incorporated.
Fill cupcake liners 1/2 – 2/3 full. Bake for 15-18 minutes until slightly golden brown and cupcakes bounce back at the touch of a finger, or a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Transfer cupcakes to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.
In a stand mixture fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and cream cheese.
Add powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, until all sugar has been added, scraping down sides of bowl after each addition. Stir in orange juice until fully incorporated.
Pipe frosting onto cupcakes and top with fresh orange zest and small orange slice, if desired.
These fruit cheesecake sugar cookie cups combine the soft, chewiness of the sugar cookie, the smooth no-bake cheesecake, and the pop of freshness from the assortment of fruit! It’s summer and what is the best summertime dessert? For me it’s none other than fruit pizza! I know a few (a lot) of people that would agree with me. So to put a little twist on everyone’s favorite classic dessert the fruit pizza, I made the sugar cookie into a portable cup.
The ingredients are simple yet, the combination of it all is just so delicious! Mmm! You know the recipe is a winner when they are the most requested (and 7 batches later) your friends are still wanting more! And getting a non-fruit lover to like these is another testament as to how yummy these little treats are. My friend’s husband who doesn’t particularly like fruits was a bit skeptical to try one of these fruit cheesecake cups but, once she finally convinced him to try one he was sold!
So for your next hangout or BBQ, whip up a batch (or maybe 2 or 3) to take with you to your next get together!
Spray cupcake pan with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cream butter and sugar together for 5 minutes, until light and fluffy.
Add the egg and vanilla and beat until well combined.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until smooth. Dough will be thick.
Scoop dough balls into muffin tin with a cookie scooper. Press cookie dough into the bottom and about 1/3-1/2 way up the sides of each cupcake cup, forming a cup shape.
Bake for 8-10minutes.
Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 5 minutes, then remove to cooling rack to finish cooling. If the centers aren't cupped enough to add filling, use the end of a wooden spoon or the bottom of a tablespoon to press the center down a bit.
Once cookies have cooled, make the cheesecake filling. Blend the cream cheese, vanilla and powdered sugar together until smooth.
Fruity Pebbles cereal in a cookie…ummm YES! When my friend Taylor sent me this pin on Pinterest I was intrigued! Some of my favorite cereals are fruity pebbles and fruit loops so naturally, I had to try them! And the best part is they are pudding cookies! I may seem a bit excited about these because pudding cookies are one of my favorite types of cookies because they are so soft and chewy.
I wasn’t sure how the cereal was going to hold up in a cookie but, surprisingly it works. Even after the cookies were baked, the cereal still had a bit of a crunchy/chewy texture that bursted with fruity flavors, which was surprising. After the first bite I was sold…these were DELICIOUS! So good I could have eaten the whole batch! These Fruity Pebbles cookies encompass the fruity flavors of the fruity pebbles cereal, creaminess of the white chocolate chips, and the soft and chewiness of a pudding cookie.
A friend of mine had a birthday coming up and I asked what he wanted for his birthday treat. He wasn’t sure and wanted a surprise so, I told him it was going to be something with fruity pebbles. He was a little leery and excited at the same time. So, I gave him the cookies and the next day I saw him I started to ask him how he liked them and before I even finished asking he was gushing about how goood they were and that he loved them! He gave me the ultimate compliment any baker or chef would love to hear when someone eats their food and loves it but, to keep it PG (haha!), let’s just say that he said “it was like a party in his mouth!” He said that they were one of the best cookies he has ever had and didn’t think that cereal would be good in a cookie.
After a testament like this, does it make you want to give them a try? And don’t they look so fun?!? Once you eat one you will want another and another! If you decide to give them a try, let me know in the comments below what you thought of them!
Preheat oven to 350° F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
Whisk together baking soda and flour and set aside.
Cream together butter and sugar.
Add the pudding package(dry...don't prepare it) and beat until well blended. Add eggs and vanilla extract. Slowly add the flour and mix until just combined.
Stir in Fruity Pebbles and white chocolate chips.
Scoop 1” balls and place on cookie sheets.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until slightly golden brown around the edges. Let cool.
I recently had the chance to tack on a family vacation with my husband and daughter to San Diego since I was already going for a work conference. One thing I like to do before I travel is plan every detail. I might actually go a little overboard, but what can I say, that’s me! The number one thing I make sure to always have in my back pocket is a list of places to eat. I don’t know about you, but when I get overly hungry, I can get hangry. This is especially true when I’m in an unfamiliar place and trying to find a place to eat becomes overwhelming and time consuming.
I decided to ask my friends on Facebook if they had any suggestions. Turns out, I have a lot of friends who are familiar with San Diego. I figure it’s only fair that I share this awesome list of great places to eat!
We’ve all been to a 1950’s style diner at some point in our life, but Corvette Diner takes it to a whole new level! When we arrived, we were worried we would have a long wait since it was a Friday evening, but we were able to get seated right away. Traveling with a hungry toddler, it was a huge plus! We were guided to our table by a woman all dressed up, top to bottom in 1950’s attire, beehive wig and all. As we walked to our table, you couldn’t help but “ohh and ahh” at the fun and bright environment. (Check out the virtual tour on the website to see all the fun rooms in the diner!) When we sat down, we were showered with straws thrown at our table by dressed up waiters running around frantically having fun and acting in character. As I looked around, I noticed kids and adults with tall straws all placed in their hair, compliments of the waitresses. As we were placing our drink order, music began blasting throughout the diner and our waiter shot up, got in position and started dancing to a choreographed number with other employees. They seemed to do this about every 10 minutes!
The menu was full of home style comfort food, exactly what you expect from a diner. We started the meal with an order of fried pickles. Normally this appetizer comes as battered sliced pickles, but at Corvette Diner, you get pickle spears! It was absolutely delicious. For our meal, my husband ordered the cheese steak sandwich and I decided to go with a classic, a sloppy joe. I’ll be honest, I was a little nervous to try it, but figured it had to be good. I was right! This classic sloppy joe had the classic flavors of your Mom’s home cooked sloppy joes. The portion size was huge–spilling over with tons of meat and topped off with classic American cheese. We ordered a grilled cheese and a glass of milk for our daughter Olivia. Her milk came out with sprinkles layering the top of her lid and a marshmallow on top—she was in HEAVEN!! And we couldn’t leave without getting some kind of dessert for ourselves, so we ordered a brownie fudge sundae. It was to die for, of course!
All in all, Corvette Diner was such a fun, family friendly experience. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was perfect, making a great end to a busy day.
This rustic/industrial pub is right in the heart of the Gaslamp district in San Diego. My co-worker and I were looking for a yummy place to eat lunch in between our conference sessions and I can definitely say we hit the jackpot with this place. I could immediately tell that this place was the perfect hang out spot to meet up with a big group of friends on the weekend. Inside, it’s very spacious with three large communal tables and a huge bar, making it an inviting place to spend an evening catching up and enjoying a few beers. The decor was very trendy and hip, making it a fun vibe to relax and chill.
When we sat down and started looking at the menu, I knew this place was going to be delicious. Half of the menu was full of items that were built from a base of homemade fries smothered in cheese! You can’t go wrong with fries and cheese. You could add any type of meat or veggies including carne asade, short ribs, apple-smoked bacon and more. Even though everything on the menu looked to die for, I decided to go with the typical cheeseburger. I rarely eat red meat and I have to say this was one of the best cheeseburgers I have ever eaten. It was worth it. My co-worker opted for one of the weekly specials, a sweet and sour pork sandwich. This sandwich had braised pork shoulder mixed with a tangy sweet chili sauce, cucumber, pickled carrots and fresh jalapeno on a bao bun.
As if the food and atmosphere aren’t enough, barleymash has entertainment seven nights a week from live bands and deejays to beer tastings and food pairings.
When asking for suggestions to eat on Facebook, a lot of people suggested Old Town Mexican Cafe in Old Town San Diego. Of course, we decided we had to check it out since it was seemed to be so popular. When we arrived we knew it was going to be a long wait since we saw a line out the door. It was a Saturday night, so it was to be expected. We decided waiting to be seated was the perfect opportunity to walk around Old Town and check out the shops. We did have an hour to kill, so what else were we going to do? If you haven’t been to old town, I highly suggest it.
Immediately when you walk in, you see employees making fresh homemade tortillas. I’m pretty sure I overheard someone say you can purchase the tortillas fresh while you wait or order them to take home when you leave. When we finally got seated, the first thing we ordered were drinks, of course. (we just walked around for an hour with a toddler, we deserved it!) I had a classic margarita and my husband was overjoyed to have Pacifico on tap. Apparently that is not common. The chips and salsa were great, although the salsa was a little too spicy for my daughter to enjoy.
The menu was kind of overwhelming with a lot of options, and since we waited so long I was getting a little impatient. I decided not to look too closely at my options and went with what sounded the best in my head, fish tacos. My husband ordered the chili Colorado and we ordered a quesadilla for my daughter. I could only finish one taco before I was completely full, but both of our meals were absolutely delicious.
The atmosphere was super fun and inviting as well. A Mariachi Band toured the restaurant serenading tables and handing out roses. I would highly recommend this place to anyone looking for great Mexican food in San Diego with the caveat of coming for lunch instead of dinner so you don’t have such a long wait.
Address: 170 Sixth Ave, San Diego, CA 92101 Tin Fish Menu
When I travel to the coast, the first thing I think of is, “Where can I get some great seafood?” Let me tell you, I found THE place for seafood in downtown San Diego! The first day at my conference, I was so excited to see this little diner right across the street from the convention center.
The Tin Fish isn’t a formal dining experience but delivers on the quality of food. When you enter the restaurant you step up to a counter, place your order, and pay. It’s a little pricey but once you dig into your meal, you know why. Trust me, you won’t be mad paying the price. With tons of options on the menu it was really hard to choose what I wanted. I opted for a combination of fried shrimp and fish so I could taste a variety of what they had to offer. The batter was perfect and neither the fish nor shrimp were greasy. I ate the entire basket and wanted more!
The UNION Kitchen & Tap was a place my co-worker and I happened to stumble upon when looking for a place to eat lunch in-between conference sessions. This place, like barleymash, has a very rustic but modern feel. The menu was full of great choices, but we decided to stick to some classics. I had the blackened chicken wrap with avacado and Hayden had the cheeseburger. The food was so delicious and had great flavor. The best part about this place was the selection of beer. The UNION Kitchen and Tap would be the perfect place to hang out with a group of friends on the weekend.
These chocolate peanut butter bars are chewy, peanut buttery and chocolatey. I don’t know about you but, every time I eat one of these chocolate peanut butter bars it takes me back to elementary school when we would get them as a dessert with our school lunch…it was then that I fell in love with these chocolate peanut butter bars! I wonder, do they even serve these anymore? If not, kids these days don’t know what they are missing out on (poor kids).
These oh so delicious peanut butter bars are one of those treats that people just can’t get enough of–I think most people would agree with me when I say that you just can’t eat one. 🙂 Here’s some proof of that. I recently gave some to a friend and when I told him that I forgot to tell him to put any leftovers in the fridge, his response was “…I didn’t have any leftover, they were so good–I ate all 6 of them!”, my other friend’s husband and daughter told her she wasn’t allowed near the box of them because they wanted the rest to themselves (haha!), and the comment that made me laugh was from another friend and he said “…these are good and you know you can trust my statement coming from a guy that looks like he likes to eat (haha!)” When your friends are saying comments like these, you know they love them!
This recipe is spot on and taste as good as “the lunch ladies” peanut butter bars. This recipe is so easy to make and the best part is, it makes an entire cookie sheet! It’s a good thing because you may just want to share some and devour the rest!
1 cup peanut butter + about 1 and 1/2 cups to spread on top of crust
2 cups rolled oats
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
For the frosting
1 lb. powdered sugar
3/4 cup butter, room temp
1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
5 oz. evaporated milk
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
For the crust
Prepare and grease a standard size cookie sheet with sides and set aside. Tip: use the wrappers from the butter to grease the pan.
Cream together the butter and the sugars for 3-5 minutes until light and fluffy.
Add vanilla, eggs, and peanut butter. Mix until combined.
Add rolled oats, flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix until well combined.
Spread mixture onto the cookie sheet evenly and bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes. The crust may come out really puffed up and soft but, it will continue to bake and it will fall as it cools. Be careful to not over bake.
Once the crust is completely cooled, spread about 1 and 1/2 cups or as much as you need to cover the whole top of the crust. Pop it into the fridge while you make the frosting.
For the frosting
Combine all ingredients into a bowl and mix until well incorporated and fluffy.
Take the crust out of the fridge and spread the chocolate frosting all over.
Place back into the fridge and let it set for 15- 20 minutes or overnight and then cut and enjoy!
