Chocolate Covered Caramel Macaroons

Coconut macaroons!  The perfect spring cookies.  Except you know, I live in California and it's halfway into May which pretty much means it's summer.  Oops?

I wanted to make and post these in February.  I had really cute Valentines Day ideas for them.  And then Spring happened.  Which meant February, March and April was spent going on lovely hikes with the puppies,  baseball games(go giants!) and enjoying the pretty view the outdoors had to offer.  And then it was May, which meant more baseball, rodeos, and trying to steal red pandas from the zoo.

So yes, I definitely made them too late to be springy.  No problem.  Let's cover them in chocolate and caramel and they are perfect for any time of the year!!!

Chocolate Covered Caramel Macaroons
Makes 30, bake at 325* for aprox 14 minutes

4 egg whites
Dash cream of tartar
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla
20 oz (1.5 large bags)  sweetened, shredded coconut

1/2 c. dark chocolate, melted for decorating

Caramel Filling
1/2 lb (8 oz) caramel candies
2 tbs. heavy cream

Directions for Caramel Filling
1. Place unwrapped caramels and heavy cream in a microwave safe bowl.
2. Microwave on high for 1 minute and stir.  Continue to microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring each time.  Do not let caramels scorch.

Directions for Cookies:
1. In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar on high until stiff peaks form.
2. Add in salt and vanilla while mixer is still on, after peaks have formed and then immediately turn off.  Don't over beat your eggs.
3. Fold in coconut flakes into egg whites.
4. Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop dough and place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
5. Using your thumb, make an indentation in each cookie ball.
6. Bake for about 14 minutes, or until the edges start to darken and the coconut no longer appears wet.
7. Remove from oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.
8. When completely cooled, fill indentation with 1/2 a tablespoon of caramel.
9. Drizzle melted chocolate (with a spoon or using a piping bag) over entire cookie.
10. Let chocolate and caramel dry a room temp for 1-3 hours and enjoy!

Now, I know I went a little crazy with covering these sweet coconut confections with more sweet things...  But you don't have to be as enthusiastic about sugar as I am.  You don't have to put caramel in them.  You are free to eat them plain.  Or covered in a lot of chocolate.  Or a little chocolate.  Make them your own. They taste delicious any way you make them.

But I suggest you make just a few with the caramel. Just because you want to take a bite of them now, don't you?

I will mostly likely be quiet the next few weeks.  Well, I HOPEFULLY will.   Mostly because I need to somehow find a way to get Shakira's abs in exactly 4 weeks. (Does anyone know how to do that, by the way?)  I am going to Colombia with the boyfriend in June (omg, so excited!!!) and i'm pretty sure positive that my baking is not even a little conducive to that goal...

Good thing you can make other sweet things in the oven.  Like oven-roasted plantains.  And I may try granola soon?  We'll see.   I won't stray too far though, and i'll be back soon enough.  Just wait 'till you see what I am cooking up for Pammy's bachelorette party favor!


xo,
Anna

Rabbit Food: Carrot Cupcakes In A Jar

I am having rabbit issues this week.  During Christmas, if you follow me in Instagram, you will remember that I was OBSESSED with gingerbread men.  And then with foxes on my clothes.  This season it's bunnies.   It started when I found these little Easter rabbit figurines (jax!) at Walmart.  I had been wanting to make cupcakes in a jar for months and thought they'd work well for some special Easter treats.  DIY, cute packaging, spray paint?  Right up my alley.

I spray painted the seals white and the rims baby blue and glued the bunnies on top.  I used smaller mason jars, the half pint glass ones.  It took a few days to let the paint dry but it was a fun project! Purple or green would have been cute too.

What kind of cupcakes did I bake?  Well my new motto is "eat like an Easter rabbit"!  So I did. They're carrot cake cupcakes of course. Rabbits may eat carrots, but Easter Rabbits eat sugar, for sure.  I used the same recipe last year, and still can't be happier with the taste and texture. Love the pineapple and the walnuts in the batter.  You can go here to see the recipe.

The frosting I changed up slightly, it's still pineapple cream cheese frosting but I used  2 tablespoons of pineapple-apricot preserves instead of pineapple juice.  Either will work, but I liked the stronger flavor that came through by using the preserves.

Jar Assembly

1. Bake as directed, let cool completely & cut in half, horizontally.
*If you don't wait for them to cool they will fog up your little mason jars.  Be patient.
2. Layer them into the jars: Cake, frosting, cake, frosting, cake frosting.
*You can either fit one or one and half cupcakes inside one half pint jar, depending on how generously you frost.
* I used a 1M tip and moved the jar as I squeezed.  My tip to you is NOT to frost against the glass, but about 1/2 an inch away from it to keep it clean and pretty.  When you put the cake on top, press down slightly and it will move the frosting to the edge.
3. Before you place a cap over them, add additional garnish to the top of the jars.

I tied them off with white and gold baker's twine and included those little wooden ice cream spoons.

  What child, or adult would not love getting one of these?  Best part it that you can keep the jar once the cupcake has been eaten, and save it to store something else.  That's a gift that keeps on giving right there.

This bunny is just TOO cute.  I can't get enough of him.  Or his little wooden spoon.

Happy almost Easter guys!  You will get one more Bunny post out of me this week, so stay tuned!

xoxo,
Anna

Butterfly Cupcakes

Trying to play catch up and posting any of the worthwhile cupcakes on here. :) This one is a direct steal from Martha. I made it for Easter in April. I did not use licorice for the antenna as suggested though. Because black licorice is disgusting. Who eats that? I cut up (real) fruit roll ups instead. The head was a blue jelly bean. Used the same teal Wilton food coloring for the frosting base and the dots, just in different concentrations.

Oh and tip? The pretzels are the SMALL ones. If you buy the big ones they fall over... and you might have to run out in the rain to Safeway in search of smaller ones.

I am baking again this weekend! Tonight actually, for a friend's Graduation Party. I had an exact plan in mind... but so far not so good. Trail and error right? We will see what i come up with. Expect another post up in a day or two!

xo,

anna