Gretchen from Three Little Monkeys Studios took our original whoopie pie recipe and made it her own for Valentine’s Day by adding cherries to the mix. How beautiful do these look?!
To see her full recipe, head to Three Little Monkeys Studios. Thanks, Gretchen, for sharing! (Note: Gretchen’s son is allergic to dairy, so she substituted in margarine and rice milk and says they turned out great.)
What could be better for a Super Bowl party than delicious, messy, juicy Buffalo wings!
Here’s my husband’s favorite Buffalo wings recipe. We try to make them a little healthier by baking them (and this way you don’t have to worry about the hassle of frying), but I promise you do not sacrifice on flavor. You still get all that tangy, spicy, crunchy goodness!
The blue cheese dipping sauce (which is very blue cheesy, btw) is a perfect counterbalance to the heat from the wings. And we like to keep things pretty traditional by using Frank’s Louisiana Hot Sauce.
I promise these wings will get your guests talking, or at least saying, “Mmmmm…,” while they’re wiping their mouths.
CHICKEN WINGS
Ingredients
While the wings are baking you can prepare your sauce.
SAUCE
Ingredients
Directions
DRESSING
Ingredients
Directions
My husband and I like ours medium spicy, but if you want to add some heat, just swap in Frank’s XTRA Hot Sauce and go to town! 
If you need to put together a super quick appetizer with a lot of flavor, this pasta caprese salad is it!
It’s simple to make, and all I recommend is using super fresh ingredients (and not overcooking the pasta). I use farmer’s market cherry tomatoes, yummy virgin olive oil, fresh lemons for the lemon juice, and the best buffalo mozzarella I can find. And I have to say I get so many compliments on this. Here’s how to do it:
Ingredients
1 pound pasta (farfalle is my favorite for this, penne is a good alternative)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 garlic cloves (pressed or minced)
1 shallot (minced)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 1/2 pounds of cherry tomatoes (or cored seeded red tomatoes)
12 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese
Directions
Boil the pasta with a pinch of salt, then set aside in a large bowl to cool down.
In a medium size bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, minced garlic, minced shallot, salt, and pepper.
The dressing might seem a little salty, but once it goes on the pasta, it will balance out.
Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and add to the dressing.
Add the dressing and tomatoes to the pasta.
Dice the mozzarella into 1/4 inch cubes and add to the pasta once the pasta is cool enough not to melt the cheese.
Chop the basil and add to the pasta, tomatoes, and mozzarella.
Enjoy! Yum!
I’m a self confessed chocoholic. So when my husband mentioned a few weeks ago he and my daughter were talking about baking chocolate cookies, I was not going to let them forget it.
Baking is one of our favorite family activities, so when we don’t have a busy weekend, we like to create in the kitchen.
Here are our yummy chewy chocolate cookies that are the exact right amount of sweet, perfect for adult and child palates alike. Plus, they’re crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside. If you’re thinking of chocolate cookies, I promise you will love this recipe!
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine the dry ingredients in a medium bowl: flour, salt, baking soda, and cocoa powder. Whisk just until the ingredients look evenly distributed. Don’t worry about clumps of cocoa powder, they’ll break apart when you mix into the wet stuff.
In a larger mixing bowl, add the butter, eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar (lightly packed), and vanilla. Mix until creamy. We used salted butter – if you use unsalted you might want to add another 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
Add the dry ingredients in 3-4 batches until fully mixed. The dough will be very thick.
Scoop out ping pong ball sized scoops of dough. Roll the dough in the sanding sugar so they are about half coated. Lightly press on a cookie sheet. We used a Silpat, so we didn’t butter the sheet. These cookies will flatten out (double in diameter) so leave plenty of room between cookies.
Bake for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees. The cookies should start to show cracks on the top about a minute before they are done.
After you take them out, let them rest for about 5 minutes. They should be a little crisp on the outside, and chewy in the middle – yum! We made just under three dozen cookies in total.
We also tried a batch with some maldon sea salt sprinkled on top. They were interesting, but we didn’t like them as much as the batch with sanding sugar.
If you make them, please send photos to jillian@catchmyparty.com. How perfect would these be for Valentine’s Day. Yum!
This week it really hit me that the holidays are right around the corner. I’m hoping to get crafty with my daughter this season so I need some ideas.
I’d love to see all the inspiring holiday crafts, recipes, and free printables you’ve been creating. Please link them up and I will be showing off my favorites over the next few weeks (as well as making a few). Can’t wait to see! Please click the link below to add your project:
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Earlier this week, I posted the recipes I wanted to try over Labor Day and tonight my husband, David, and I got cooking. Here’s what we made…
Heirloom Tomato Caprese Salad with Balsamic-Basil Vinaigrette
We purchased these tomatoes at the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market so it would be hard to go wrong with this dish. Clean and fresh flavors, with a little bit of sweetness from the balsamic and the tomatoes. This was the dish I kept eating.
Grilled Corn with Basil Butter-Oil
Basil on corn is actually a flavorful combination and the butter-oil with the infused basil was delicate and not too overpowering. But next time I will chop up the basil even more so it doesn’t look like seaweed.
Grilled Chicken with a Homemade Rub
David wasn’t in the mood for steak, so instead I purchased these air-chilled chicken thighs and with a blend of homemade spices we grilled them. Because of the fat under the skin, the grill kept igniting, hence the burnt skin, but these were delicious!! David couldn’t stop eating these.
Tomorrow I’ll bring you the S’mores Bars my neighbor, Paula, volunteered to make. They’re setting in her fridge right now (my mouth is watering while I write this). I’ll post photos tomorrow.
I’d love to know what you ate this Labor Day. Hope it’s delicious!
I love trying out new recipes, especially during holiday weekends when my husband and I have a little more time to cook and… taste.:)
Here are some of the things I’m planning to make this Labor Day weekend. (Click on the photo or link to go to the recipe.) What are you thinking of making?
Heirloom Tomato Caprese Salad with Balsamic-Basil Vinaigrette
Grilled Corn with Basil Butter-Oil
Grilled Steak Salad with Grilled Vegetables
I’d love to hear what on your menu so please post, and if you have recipes or photos, even better (just email me at jillian(at)catchmyparty.com).
I have been a fan of the hamburger cupcake for some time. Once they started popping up on our main site, I was sold! So how excited was I when Jodie from Party NV said I could repost her hamburger cupcake tutorial. Thank you, Jodie!
I always thought these were hard to make, but take a look at this tutorial and you will soon discover they are actually quite easy. And talk about giving your party that cool “wow” factor…
Before you get started here’s what you’ll need:
INGREDIENTS
TOOLS
Okay let’s get started….
First you need to mix your cake batter together {ok, ok… I know you knew that, I was just testing you!}
Bake your cupcakes per the directions, one batch of each flavor {typically a box will yield 24 cupcakes} I suggest baking them right in the pan, no papers. This saves on paper waste, since you will have to remove them once they are baked anyway, and it saves on cake waste, since the cupcakes don’t seem to rise as high when baked directly in the pan!
Once the cupcakes are done, remove them from the oven and let cool for about 15 minutes or so, then remove them from the pan {if you greased your pans properly they should just pop out} and let them cool for about another 30 minutes.
Now comes the fun part!!!! For each Burger Cake you’ll need 1 Yellow cupcake and 1 Chocolate cupcake. Take the yellow cupcakes and use your serrated knife to cut them in half {removing the top from the bottom}. Set both halves aside for now.
Next, you’ll need to cut the tops off of the chocolate cupcakes, this will become the “burger”. The bottoms you can either eat, scrap, or use to make cake pops! YUMMY!
Once you have the cupcakes cut you can begin assembling them.
First, take a cupcake liner and place the bottom half of the yellow cake in it, cut side up {this will be the bottom bun of your burger cake}.
Then, squirt some green frosting all over it, allowing it to over hang the sides some, using the #103 tip {this will be the lettuce and also holds the Burger Cake together}.
Next, place a chocolate cupcake top {burger} on top of the green frosting {lettuce}, squishing is down some.
At this point you can either add cheese or not. If you want to add cheese then you will need to roll out your fondant to the desired thickness and cut with your square cookie cutter.
Then place the cheese on top of your burger….
Now all that’s left to do is squirt the red and yellow frosting all over the top like ketchup and mustard, using the #4 tip. I found using a circular motion worked great and allowed for some of the frosting to drip over the edges.
Then place the top portion of the yellow cupcake on top and brush with some orange juice…
…sprinkle with sesame seeds {they really add to the realistic look and don’t affect the flavor}. VIOLA! Cheeseburger Cakes are served!
Leave plain or top with custom cupcake toppers to enhance your occasion. Party NV can design the perfect toppers for you, for whatever the occasion!
Jodie, these are incredible! Thank you for the tutorial!
Please check out Jodie’s beautiful parties on our main site, and to learn even more about Jodie and what inspires her, please visit her blog, Party NV.
Also, stay tuned for my upcoming post on how to make hamburgers out of cookies!!
(GIVEAWAY: Win a custom party package from Grins & Giggles Designs. Great for your next birthday or shower!)
Holy cow! I made these salted brown butter Rice Krispie treats for our July 4th BBQ and they were so delicious!
If you love Rice Krispie treats but find them a little one-note and a little too sweet, this is definitely the recipe for you.
Mine had so much complexity. They were sweet, salty, gooey, crunchy and the best part… everyone LOVED them. This is going to be my new dessert to bring to every pot luck I’m invited to (be warned, invite me to a pot luck, you know what I’m bringing).
Take a look at how easy they are to make, and let’s not forget how inexpensive…
Ingredients:
Directions:
Butter a 9″ x 13″ baking dish and set aside.
In a large pot, warm butter over medium low heat. The butter will melt, then foam and bubble, then start to brown. You will notice little brown bits forming at the bottom of the pan. Stir frequently during this process and keep your attention on the pot. The butter can go from wonderfully brown to burnt in just a few moments. You will know the butter is done when it gives off a nutty aroma and turns a golden brown (check out this great resource for how to brown butter).
Turn off the heat and add the marshmallows, stirring until smooth. Add half of the cereal and stir to incorporate. Sprinkle in the flaky sea salt and remaining cereal and continue stirring until everything is fully mixed together.
Transfer mixture to the prepared baking dish. Using a silicon spatula (or piece of parchment paper), press mixture into the dish in an even layer. Sprinkle with additional flaky sea salt to taste.
Trust me, so worth trying these and it took about 15 minutes from start to finish. To jazz them up, next time I think I need to drizzle a little dark chocolate on top.
If you make some, email me and let me know what you think.
Recipe: Kitchen Konfidence.
(GIVEAWAY: Win a $50 gift certificate for printables from Bird’s Party.)
This recipe comes via Sheryl B’s blog, Lady Behind the Curtain. I saw these mini pecan pie pops on Sheryl’s Father’s Day Dessert Table and had to ask her if I could post the recipe. How amazing would these be for your July 4th barbecue!
That’s right pie ON A STICK! 
It seems that everything is going on a stick. So why not a pie? It may look intimidating but it is a lot easier then you think and your guests are going to go GAGA (not the Lady kind) over them.
PECAN PIE POP RECIPE
Pastry Dough Ingredients
Pastry Dough Directions
Beat butter and cream cheese until fluffy mix in flour if needed add enough water to make the pastry cling together. Chill for 1 hour.
Filling Ingredients
Filling Directions
Mix together egg, egg yolk, corn syrup, brown sugar, butter and vanilla.
To make tarts: Tear off a piece of dough and press into small tart pan. Spoon filling into tart pan and sprinkle with chopped nuts. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 – 25 minutes or until set. Once tarts are cooled take a tooth pick and run it around the edge to loosen.
Cut a slit in the side of the tart and slide in the 8-in. Lollipop stick until you feel the other side. DO NOT go thru. NOTE: if you don’t have tart pans then use a muffin tin and only go up the sides 1-in.
Makes approximately 8 tarts.
Thank you, Sheryl, for this great recipe. To learn more about Sheryl and discover more of her entertaining tips, please visit her blog, Lady Behind the Curtain.
And seriously, how cool would these pecan pie pops look on your next dessert table.
