A recipe I can't wait to try - cake ball cookies!!!!

"COOKIES!!! UMM-NUM-NUM-NUM-NUM!!!"
-Cookie Monster

get ready for a fabulous recipe!

I've got to admit when I stumbled across this recipe I completely agreed with cookie monster.  As you may have figured out from two previous posts (here and here) I am a fan of cake balls and cake pops.  If you aren't sure what they are make sure to read this post because you are missing out!!!  A while back I was looking up different food blogs to try to find a new recipe for dinner and I got a little sidetracked, thanks to a whole blog dedicated to chocolate!  During my sidetracked adventure I found a few blogs dealing with desserts only and stumbled across an amazing one called SugarDerby.  She has come up with what I believe to be one of my favorite creative desserts ever!  The cake ball cookie!  Yep you heard right.  Imagine a fabulously gooey chocolate chip cookie stuffed with an extremely moist cake ball.  Oh, I can't wait to make this.  I just need to find something to make them for otherwise I'll eat them all myself!  So I just absolutely have to share!  I'd love to hear your thoughts or see pictures of how they turn out for you.  I promise I'll post pics when I make them as I can't wait to see what they look like!

Cake Balls for the guys...

"My husband and I share work in the kitchen 50-50. I cook and he eats"

in box ready for the office

A few days ago I made cake balls for my husbands office.  They loved them and when my husband asked for the recipe I directed him to my blog.  Apparently, the recipe I have down is "too confusing for the guys to understand" as he puts it.  He said that he wanted it listed as "2 tablespoons of whatever".  So the post of this title is exactly what this specific blog post is about.  A cake ball recipe so easy the husbands could make it.  For you girls out there I suggest printing it out and leaving it laying around the house, oh so subtly, until you arrive home to wonderful cake balls ;-) but even if your husband won't make them it still is a great simple recipe to share.

Cake balls for the guys
Ingredients:
1 box of Betty Crocker yellow cake mix
1 1/4 cup of water
1/3 cup of vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 container of Duncan Hines Cream Cheese frosting
2 bags of chocolate chips (1 white, 1 semi sweet)

Heat oven to 350 degrees
Prepare cake mix, water, oil and eggs as directed on the back of the mix box
Cook until done
Remove from oven and allow to sit out uncovered for several hours (or even overnight)
*it is important to not cover it because you want the cake to dry out

One cake has dried out some break up the cake and place into a mixer
Turn the mixer on and mix until cake is all crumbs
Add 2/3 container of icing
Mix until combined well (it will have the consistency of cookie dough)
Scoop out small amounts and role into balls
Place the cake balls into the freezer for a few hours or overnight
When the cake balls are frozen and ready to be dipped melt one of the packages of chocolate
Dip half the cake balls in the chocolate
(the method I like to use is place the cake ball on a fork and spoon the chocolate over the cake ball, then tap the fork until the excess chocolate falls off)
Place cake balls on a greased cookie sheet
Place cake balls in refridgerator
Once half have been dipped set aside the remaining chocolate
In a different bowl (or double boiler) melt the other type of chocolate
Dip remaining cake balls in the other type of chocolate
Once all cake balls have been dipped in the appropriate chocolate drizzle the opposite chocolate cover on top just for appearance sake

You're finished, see guys it wasn't that difficult!

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The evolution of the cake pop!

"Life is unsure, always eat your dessert first" 

I love experimenting with new recipes and decorations.  So when my mother in law mentioned having a birthday party for my husband and his grandfather (they celebrated their birthdays within a week of each other) I knew I wanted to try something new.  I told the MIL I would make the dessert and began to try to come up with something creative that they would both like.  I knew they were both Chicago Cubs fans so I wanted to try to incorporate that somehow.  The Cubs theme combined with my husbands love for cake balls slowly evolved into the Cubs cake pops.  There was definitely some trial and error along the way (I threw out 3 lbs of chocolate!) but the end result was perfect!  The cake pops were delicious and such a difference from your typical cake or cupcakes for the birthday.  This post will be a little different as it will have pictures along the waybut I wanted you to be able to understand what they looked like.  If you are new to the cake ball/cake pop world you are probably wondering what I am talking about.  Imagine a moist cake rolled up and dipped in chocolate and made just the perfect size so that you can eat quite a few without feeling like you've ate a lot - almost sinful right?!?!?  They are definitely an addicting little addition to your baking collection. 

Last Day of The Oatmeal Challenge

“Don't wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.”

It has been a while since I have blogged a new recipe.  The past few days have been very busy and I just haven't gotten around to it yet.  I love the quote above.  I remember when I first started the oatmeal challenge I thought it was definitely the wrong time to be taking up such a challenge.  As mentioned in one post my husband even said "why did you have to choose breakfast, it's my favorite meal".  Often the husband and I go to breakfast together and I get my favorite egg white omlette while he savors his country fried steak (so jealous that guys can eat like that and not gain a pound) so I knew it would be a sacrifice becauseI would have to make sure wherever we went had oatmeal.

Oatmeal Challenge Days 16 - 28

"Your heart understood mine" - Little Women

Thursday, Day 16: Boring Oatmeal
Today I was NOT feeling ambitious, I literally put oatmeal on the stove and tossed in a box of raisins and brown sugar.  It was still good but SO not creative!


Friday, Day 17: Bob Evan's Oatmeal
A few mornings a week I go to breakfast with one of the girls I mentor. This was one of those mornings and she suggested Bob Evans.  I had never tried Bob Evans and decided we'd try it out.  How have I never been there before????  The oatmeal was fabulous and came with brown sugar, raisins, dried cranberries, and pecans! What a creation!!!

Christmas Goodies and Coffee Creations!

Christmas, my child, is love in action. Every time we love, every time we give, it's Christmas.

Dale Evans Rogers

Don't you love this turquoise wreath?

I cannot believe Christmas is this weekend!!!  Last week I got the stomach flu and was sick for a whole week!  This made for absolutely no cooking during the week.  (I think the husband was a little tired of canned chicken noodle soup for me and "fend for yourself" for him)  However, my best friend is leaving to go to NYC and I had her Christmas party at my house on Friday night which meant I had to cook. I had decided to do "Caitlin's Favorite Things" for the menu and they turned out really well so I wanted to share... enjoy!

Chocolate Dipped PB Sandwiches and other Christmas goodies

Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas.

Peg Bracken

ShopEnSky Cupcake Liners

I have an admission to make.  I don't like peanut butter.  Honestly!  I can manage to eat the reduced fat kind but the regular kind just tastes awful to me.  Which really is a disappointment when you think of how many food items are made with peanut butter, especially at Christmas time!  However, I have a husband who LOVES peanut butter, he will basically eat anything with peanut butter in it.  However, I was making another recipe this weekend and decided to throw together a few ingredients that I had left over to make these peanut butter wonders.  My second admission is... I didn't try them after I made them, like I said I don't like peanut butter so I wasn't about to use my hoarded calories for sweets on these.  However, everyone who tried them loved them and they were so easy so I had to share... ENJOY!

Almond, Coconut, Chocolate Protein Bars

Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon. 

Doug Larson

Target Colander

I'm not even going to try to guess how many people won't end up making these simply because they are protein bars :) Trust me I know I was one of those.  However, I started running a while back and realized that in order to keep your legs from hurting the next day you really need some protein.  However, I'm not a big fan of meat and you can only eat sooo many eggs before you never want to see another one.  For a while I switched to making protein shakes but had to put so much stuff in them to mask the chalky taste and I didn't really enjoy drinking my food.  I like the act of eating food, why would I want to miss out on that by drinking it?  Didn't make much sense to me.  Well I'm running in a long race soon and wanted to try out some new foods that I could make at home (to save some money) but also taste good.  I looked at a TON of protein bar recipes before I found one that actually looked good.  I made them and they were good.  The texture is a little different (think cross between a power bar and a brownie).  But the taste is great!  Plus they're high in protein and not so high in calories so they're a great take a long snack food that will keep you full!