Mickey Mouse Oreo Cupcakes!

My son loves Mickey Mouse and I love cupcakes. When the two worlds collide, you get these! I had so much fun making these red velvet mickey mouse cupcakes with my little guy. Delicious and fun!

He had a blast putting on the Oreos. And when I say "putting on" I mean "eating". They were a hit at the birthday party we took them to. 

Here's the easy frosting recipe I used:

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

4 ounces unsalted butter, softened

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups powdered sugar

Directions

In a large bowl, beat together the butter, cream and vanilla extract with an electric mixer on low speed. Slowly add powdered sugar until smooth and creamy.

Black-Bottom Banana Cream Pie

Tonight I tried a new (and surprisingly easy!) dessert recipe. Looking through my cupboard I found some instant pudding and vanilla wafers. After a quick google search I found a great recipe and it was a hit! 

Black-Bottom Banana Cream Pie

INGREDIENTS:

6 tablespoons butter or margarine, divided 25 NILLA Wafers, finely crushed 2 tablespoons sugar 4 (1 ounce) squares BAKER'S Semi -Sweet Baking Chocolate

2 large bananas, sliced 1 pkg. (4 serving size) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling 1 3/4 cups cold milk 1 cup thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Melt 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp.) of the butter; place in medium bowl. Add wafer crumbs and sugar; mix well. Remove 2 Tbsp. of the crumb mixture; set aside for later use. Press remaining crumb mixture firmly onto bottom and up side of 9-inch pie plate; set aside.
2.	Microwave chocolate and remaining 2 Tbsp. butter in microwaveable bowl on HIGH 1 min. or until butter is melted; stir until chocolate is completely melted. Drizzle evenly onto bottom of crust; top with bananas. Set aside.
3.	Prepare dry pudding mix with 1-3/4 cups cold milk as directed on package for pie; pour evenly over bananas. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours. Top with whipped topping just before serving; sprinkle with reserved 2 Tbsp. crumb mixture. Store leftover pie in refrigerator.

Apple Pie!

It's apple season! AND pie season! My favorite season. :) Today I am going to share with you my award winning apple pie. That's right - AWARD WINNING! Okay, so it wasn't a very prestigious award, but it did beat out 30 other apple pies.

Caramel Apple Pie

Crust:
1 Recipe Pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie (I won't judge you if you use store bought.)

Filling:
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 1/2 cups tart apples (like Granny Smith) - about 3 apples
2 1/2 cups sweet apples (like Fuji) - about 3 apples
2/3 cups white sugar
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon lemon juice
20 caramel squares
2 tablespoons milk

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

2. Make the "taffy" - In a small bowl combine brown sugar, melted butter and 1/3 cup flour. Mix well and set aside.

3. Make apple filling - Peel, core and slice apples THINLY. Place apples in a large bowl. (I usually put in the lemon juice to keep apples from browning while I cut up their siblings.) Add white sugar, flour, cinnamon, and lemon juice (if you haven't already). Toss until all ingredients are mixed well and apples are thoroughly coated.

4. Cut caramels into small bits (Cut in half and then half again.)

5. Spoon half of the apple filling into pastry lined deep-dish pan. Top with half of the caramels and half of the taffy mixture - I usually make sure I cover the entire area with these items. Repeat process with remaining apple filling, caramels and taffy. Place top pastry over filling and seal well. Cut steam vents and brush top crust with milk.

6. Cover pie with foil and place on a baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 20 to 25 minutes, until crust is golden.