recipe: brownie banana bread cupcakes with brown sugar cream cheese frosting

I made these last month and oh. my. Not only is the picture amazing but they tasted pretty good too :) I had a little trouble with the frosting setting - mine was more of a "pour on and then lick your fingers after" as opposed to "frost like a cupcake and look pretty" consistency. I got the recipe from How Sweet It Is (that's her picture too) - great food blog (as well as her other random thoughts). There are several steps involved but well worth the effort :)

Brownie Layer
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 heaping tablespoons of cocoa powder
- pinch of salt
- 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips, lightly tossed in flour

"Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until fluffy – about 3-4 minutes. Add egg and vanilla, and mix until combined, scraping down the bowl a few times. With the mixer on medium speed, add in flour, salt and cocoa powder, mixing until just combined. Line a cupcake tin with liners, then spoon about 1/2-3/4 of a tablespoon of brownie batter in each cup. Press down with the back of a spoon coated in non-stick spray."

Cupcake Layer
- 1 1/3 cups flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch of nutmeg
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 large ripe bananas, mashed
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup butter, melted

"Combine dry flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg and set aside. In a bowl, whisk egg and add brown sugar, mixing until smooth. Stir in vanilla extract. Add sour cream and melted butter and mix. Stir in dry ingredients, then add mashed bananas and mix until batter comes together. The batter will be thicker than normal cupcakes. Using an ice cream scoop or 1/4 cup measure, scoop batter in liners over top of brownie batter. Bake for 15-18 minutes, then let cool completely before frosting."

Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting- 3/4 cups of butter (1 1/2 sticks), at room temperature
- 8 ounces (1 brick) of cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 3/4 cup loosely packed brown sugar
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

"Beat butter and cream cheese in the bowl of your electric mixer until completely combined and creamy, scraping down the sides a few times. Add in brown sugar and powdered sugar, beating on low speed and gradually increasing to medium speed. Add in vanilla extract. Beat frosting for 4-5 minutes on medium-high speed until really creamy and combined. This frosting is not very thick or study, so make sure to either frost immediately before eating, or keep in the refrigerator for up until 30 minutes before serving."

saturday spotlight: glenna with "knitting to stay sane"

I've just recently started knitting. It's something I've always thought would be pretty cool to learn but never had the motivation to research what kind of yarn I would need or what size needles. But finally, finally someone gave me the push I needed and helped me get started with the basics. I'm working on my first scarf and super excited to be able to show it off once it's finished :)

I'm also looking at connecting with those who have vastly more knowledge on the subject than I do which brings me to Glenna and her blog. I haven't explored her site a whole lot yet but she's definitely got my attention with this hat she recently made:

Since I'm still working on the basics, just the idea of using two colors amazes me. Glenna has some great ideas - go have a look!

tweet of the week

"Shout out to the guy who waves a hanky during your sermon...he's just trying to get a rally going." - Matthew Barnett

book review: "to win her heart" by karen witemeyer

About the book: "Having completed his sentence for the unintentional crime that derailed his youthful plans for fame and fortune, Levi Grant looks to start over in the town of Spencer, Texas. Spencer needs a blacksmith, a trade he learned at his father's knee, and he needs a place where no one knows his past. But small towns leave little room for secrets...

Eden Spencer has sworn off men, choosing instead to devote her time to the lending library she runs. When a mountain-sized stranger walks through her door and asks to borrow a book, she steels herself against the attraction he provokes. His halting speech and hesitant manner leave her doubting his intelligence. Yet as the mysteries of the town's new blacksmith unfold, Eden discovers hidden depths in him that tempt her heart.

Levi's renewed commitment to his faith leads Eden to believe she's finally found a man of honor and integrity, a man worthy of her love. But when the truth about his prodigal past comes to light, can this tarnished hero find a way to win back the librarian's affections?"

My review: I really liked this book! It's the first I've read by Witemeyer even though I'm familiar with her other titles. The cover is what initially got my attention - I think it's super cute. The story took a few unexpected turns but had the kind of ending leaving me smiling. I enjoyed the character of Levi - I thought he was sweet and liked how Witemeyer made him seem believable. She showed his struggle to move beyond his past and start a new life. I immediately connected with Eden since she and I both share a love of books. I also smiled at when Levi said he would simply come back each day to read until he could check them out. Just watching their relationship develop was very sweet. This was a great, light read!

I received a copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers for my honest review. You can learn more about the book from Karen Witemeyer's website.

recipe: mini chocolate cheesecakes

I made these last week and while I wasn't prepared for the total time involved, I thought they turned out well. As usual, I learned from the experience of what to do differently next time but they were definite crowd pleasers for the party I took them to. I found this recipe from the Betty Crocker website. One of the things I like about the site is being able to print out just the ingredients needed (super handy when making a trip to the store). I've not made cheesecake before so I had to really keep an eye on the these so I wouldn't bake them too long. I think I ended up leaving them in for close to thirty minutes and they turned out fine. Tackling the whipped cream was another matter. I stuck the bowl in the freezer so it would firm up and ended up leaving it in too long. In my attempt to unthaw it, it became too thin. I had to buy a can of spray whip cream and then added mini chocolate chips on top instead of an Oreo. Hopefully you can take something away from my experience and have a better result :)

I'm thinking about making mini bite-size versions of this and using mini oreos with it.

Ingredients
Cheesecakes
9 creme-filled chocolate sandwich cookies or 18 vanilla wafer cookies
2 packages (8 ounces each) plus 1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 eggs

Whipped Cream3/4 cup whipping (heavy) cream
2 tablespoons granulated or powdered sugar

"Heat oven to 350ºF. Line 18 medium muffin cups, 2 1/2x1 1/4 inches, with paper baking cups. Split sandwich cookies in half. Place 1 cookie half, middle side up, in each cup. Or place 1 wafer cookie, flat side down, in each cup.

In large bowl, beat cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Gradually beat in 1 cup sugar and the cocoa until fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until well blended. Divide evenly among cups (cups will be almost full).

Bake cheesecakes 20 to 25 minutes or until centers are firm. Cool 15 minutes (cheesecake centers will sink while cooling). Refrigerate in muffin cups at least 1 hour; cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour longer before serving.

In chilled small bowl, beat all Whipped Cream ingredients with electric mixer on high speed until stiff. Spoon Whipped Cream on chilled cheesecakes. Cover and refrigerate any remaining cheesecakes."

saturday spotlight: alison sweet

"Alison Sweet, your place to find up-cycled, eco-conscious accessories. All items are made with donated and found cotton/jersey materials. Super soft and light weight. Perfect to keep you cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Designs and fabrics will change regularly. If you like it, buy it because it's not guaranteed to be here tomorrow. But, sometimes I have enough material for one more. Want to up- cycle your own t-shirt into a new favorite accessory? I love custom orders! I've turned in some of my softest tshirts into the softest scarves."

From now until December 22, you can get 15% off your entire purchase from Alison by using the code FALL15. Perfect for any Christmas shopping you might have!

This is her super cute Ivory Flower Infinity Scarf - love it!

You can learn more about Alison at her Etsy shop and her blog. You can follow her on Twitter and also find her on Facebook.

book giveaway: "the strange man" by greg mitchell

Congratulations to Jessica for winning Never Let You Go by Erin Healy!

This month I'm giving away a copy of The Strange Man by Greg Mitchell. Contest will end on Friday, December 30 at 8:00 p.m.

For bonus entries:
- tell me how you heard about my giveaway
- become a follower of my blog

*Giveaways with the above logo are books that aren't new but still in really good condition.