Chocolate Stout Mini Cakes with Irish Cream Frosting

It was a harsh reality dragging myself out of bed this morning...in the dark! Ah daylight savings! How are you handling it today? I absolutely loved the fact that it didn't get totally dark out last night until after 7pm. Shaun and I went for a long walk in the sunshine around 4pm yesterday and it was great. The streets were bustling, the sun was shining, the weather was perfection. I'm looking forward to leaving work tonight in the daylight!

I think we ALL need a treat this morning...you know, in order to properly adjust. I made you one.

So this coming Saturday is St. Patrick's Day. I'm not Irish. But I don't care, I'm still down to wear green things and eat copious amounts of corned beef and cabbage and Irish cream laden desserts. Everyone's Irish on St. Patrick's Day, don't you think?

 

This weekend, I made a little snack to share with you. I didn't dye anything green, but I did use some nice Irish alcohol in my dessert. I had made these Irish car bomb cupcakes a few years back and they were such a hit that I thought it would be fun to test out another dessert with chocolate, Irish stout and Irish cream. Enter these cute little mini cakes, loaded with buttercream.

 

 Shaun proclaimed this one of my top 3 desserts of all time. I'm not sure what the other two are on that list, but I have to agree with him.

Oh!

And the super duper fantastic supercalifragilisticexpialidocious part? They are just 4 Points+ per cake (I didn't tell him this until after he ate one) AND they are incredibly easy. Yeahhh buddy!

Chocolate Stout Mini Cakes with Irish Cream Frosting
Makes 30 cakes; 4 WW Points+ per cake

for the chocolate stout mini cakes:
1 box Supermoist chocolate cake mix
1 box chocolate sugar-free fat-free instant Jell-o pudding mix
3/4 C Guinness draught
1/2 C applesauce
3 eggs

for the Irish cream frosting
1/2 C butter, softened (1 stick)
2 C confectioners sugar
2-3 Tbsp Bailey's Irish Cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
splash (or two) of milk

To make the cake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the cake mix, pudding mix, Guinness, applesauce and eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer ready. Beat on low for 30 seconds, then on medium-high for 2 minutes until all ingredients are completely combined and fluffy.

Using a tablespoon-sized mellon baller/ice cream scooper, drop heaping tablespoons onto a greased baking sheet, into a greased whoopie pie pan. I used both methods and the ones from the whoopie pie pan came out a little cuter and nicely shaped, however, if you don't have one it's no thang. A baking sheet works totally fine.

Bake for about 12 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool slightly on pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, beat the butter until totally soft and fluffy. Add the sugar, one cup at a time, thinning out with the Bailey's and vanilla as it beats. Add milk if you'd like to make it thinner. This frosting is very strong Bailey's flavor, and so if you don't like that so much, use less Bailey's and more milk. Frost cooled cakes and top with sprinkles of choice.

 

Eat many, immediately.

 

Give some to friends. Give some to your building concierge. I did. They liked them.

You will too. I promise.

Questions of the Day:

Do you prefer it to be dark in the morning and light at night? Or vice versa? I think I prefer it this way!

Do you look forward to any Irish-themed eats for St. Patrick's Day?

For more St. Pat's recipes, please see:

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

Irish Oat Cake + Irish Cream Frosting

Irish Soda Bread (my favorite one ever!)

Beer Braised Corned Beef & Cabbage

 

Peppermint Chocolate Fudge Oreo Trifle for One

Happy Monday all! I hope you had a fabulous weekend. We spent most of it trading out our Fall decor for Christmas, shopping for our Christmas tree, getting some serious cooking and baking done and spending a lot of time on the couch. Shaun was a bit under the weather and so it was nice to just hibernate for a while before all of the holiday craziness sets in!

 

So with all of this wonderful holidayness approaching, I do have one concern...my jeans size. I typically gain a few pounds around the holidays and to be honest, I'm not really at a 'happy weight' right now as it is. Throw in a number of parties (not to mention cookie baking) over the coming weeks and it's not really looking like I'll be fitting into my pants for much longer.

So in theory, I should just like...not eat all of those things that are bad for me.

Right?

But!

The problem is that I wait all year for December and all of its goodies, so...I don't want to not eat delicious, seasonal eats. And that's why I had to find a not-terrible-for-me alternative that's just as decadent and holidayish, but without 10 pounds of butter and sugar. I'll save those for the real deal on the 24th and 25th.

This trifle was super duper easy and can be made in a snap. All it takes are a couple of Oreos, some chocolate pudding and a little whipped cream. Oh and a candy cane. Very important. It makes a large trifle for one, so you will definitely not be left hungry. I promise.

Peppermint Chocolate Fudge Oreo Trifle for One
2 Oreo cookies, crushed (I used reduced fat)
1/2 C sugar free/fat free instant chocolate fudge pudding, prepared with 1/4 tsp peppermint extract added in
whipped cream
1/2 candy cane or 1 peppermint candy, crushed

Take a small glass. Layer in one crushed Oreo, followed by 1/4 C of the pudding and a bit of whipped cream. Repeat the layers. Garnish with crushed candy canes.

Dig in. And don't forget a spoon!

So there you have it. A completely easy, low calorie dessert that you'd never ever know was off-the-charts unhealthy. And if you want to make it even more festive, I hear sprinkles make everything better :)

Questions of the Day:

How are you staying on track with eating before the holiday season?

Do you have any favorite lightened up desserts?

Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

I'm writing to you in daylight this morning! I am so happy that it's quite a bit lighter when I woke up this morning. I was finding it soooooooo difficult to get my booty out of bed when it was still pitch black out over the last few weeks. I have to admit...I don't hate Daylight Savings like a lot of people do. I actually don't mind that after the clocks go back, it's dark out at 4:30PM. In fact, I kind of enjoy it for a couple of months. It reminds me of Thanksgiving and Christmas, snuggling under a blanket in flannel pajamas, eating hearty soup and drinking hot chai tea lattes, swirled with a cinnamon stick.

I might feel differently come February. But for now? I'm happy with dark, cozy evenings, and cool, bright, sunny mornings.

Last week I made pumpkin bars for the Halloween party in our building. I had made these bars years ago for Thanksgiving and have been looking for another occasion to make them for a while now. They are so easy, so pumpkiny and so moist. Topped with lucious cream cheese frosting, these pumpkin bars are definitely in my permanent recipe collection.

Though I made these for Halloween (as you can tell by my Halloween napkin tray :)), I think these are perfect for any autumn occasion, including Thanksgiving. You can even use the same orange, yellow and black imperials that I used here. They are also gorgeous with plain old white sprinkles...or no sprinkles at all! (Though in my opinion, everything is better with sprinkles).

Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
*from Paula Deen, adapted slightly
for the bars:
4 eggs
1 2/3 C granulated sugar
1 C vegetable oil
1 15 oz. can pumpkin puree
2 C all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
for the frosting:
1 8 oz. pkg cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
2 C confectioners' sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
colored sprinkles or imperials, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

To make the bars:

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin together until light and fluffy.

In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix until completely combined.

Pour batter into a greased 13 x 9" baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely and remove from pan.

To make the frosting:

Beat the cream cheese and butter in a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer until smooth and fluffy. Add the sugar, 1 cup at a time, and mix until combined. Add the vanilla and mix to combine. Spread on cooled pumpkin cake, top with sprinkles and cut into bars.

Try to eat just one. I dare you.

I seriously love these bars. They are even better if you cool them in the refrigerator. Devour with a fork. Or your hands. Either way.

So there you have it. Easy, delicious bars that are just about perfect for the season! I hope you all have a fantastic week!!

Questions of the Day:

What do you think about Daylight Savings? Love it or hate it? I kind of love it!

What's your favorite Thanksgiving-type dessert? I love pumpkin & apple anything!

psst...I'm writing all about my favorite beauty products on The Peach & The Pit today! Check it out!