Winstead Wandering

Prone to Wander

Oreo Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

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With an Oreo baked inside the moist chocolate cake and a topping of rich cream cheese frosting, these Oreo cupcakes are decadent, sweet, and mouthwatering.

oreo cupcakes cream cheese frosting4

I first made these cupcakes- or a variation- for G’s first birthday. We let him have one, but he wasn’t sure what to think. I think his dad ended up eating it.

I made them again a few weeks ago for a baby shower at school. It was a “sprinkle,” really, and it was for us and for another teacher who is also expecting a sweet baby girl (really, by the time this is published, little Wiley Jo might already be here!). I volunteered to make the cupcakes because I have a hard time passing up an opportunity to bake something.

I’d considered going with soft colors, specifically pink, but this recipe was in my brain, nagging me and begging to be made. I make it a habit to listen to that voice, so I bought a package of double stuf Oreos and got to work.

Just like with my strawberry limeade cupcakes, I went with a boxed cake mix to save time and mess. If you’re careful not to over-bake your cake, you can still get moist, light cupcakes from a box. These devil’s food cupcakes were begging to be matched by an equally rich, smooth topping; cream cheese frosting was the obvious choice.

 

As a whole, these Oreo cupcakes are delectable and full of flavor. The Oreo at the bottom is an unexpected treat that’s matched by the decadent frosting. It doesn’t really matter what occasion you’re celebrating, these little guys will make it memorable.

With an Oreo baked inside the moist chocolate cake and a topping of rich cream cheese frosting, these Oreo cupcakes are decadent, sweet, and mouthwatering.

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No-Churn Strawberry Ice Cream

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No ice cream maker necessary! You already have all the tools you need to make this sweet and creamy no-churn strawberry ice cream.

No ice cream maker necessary! You already have all the tools you need to make this sweet and creamy no-churn strawberry ice cream.

It’s the time of year I spend months looking forward to: strawberry season. I’ve enjoyed preparing them in a lot of different ways, but I hadn’t made ice cream until recently. I knew it was possible to make ice cream without an ice cream maker, but I assumed the process was difficult and required multiple steps. In actuality, making homemade ice cream without an ice cream maker couldn’t be easier.

The key is to finely dice your berries and let them hang out with the sugar and vodka. The berries will start to break down and create that sweet syrup that will flavor the ice cream. After they get cozy for about an hour, all you have to do is mash or blend them until they’re mostly liquid, mix them with the citrus juice and heavy cream, and let the whole thing freeze.

The result is a sweet and creamy ice cream that’s overflowing with the flavor of ripe summer strawberries. It’s a delicious treat on its own, but it’s also divine served with chocolate syrup.

No ice cream maker necessary! You already have all the tools you need to make this sweet and creamy no-churn strawberry ice cream.

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Strawberry Limeade Cupcakes

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The perfect balance of tart and sweet, these strawberry limeade cupcakes are a refreshing treat for just about any occasion.

The perfect balance of tart and sweet, these strawberry limeade cupcakes are a refreshing treat for just about any occasion.

I made these cupcakes for a baby shower I attended recently. Actually, it was more like a baby sprinkle, and it was partly mine. We had a small faculty and staff gathering to celebrate the sweet baby girls another teacher and I will be welcoming soon. Because I never turn down an opportunity to bake, I volunteered to make cupcakes.

I knew right away I wanted to make a cupcake with strawberry frosting. I made some last year for B’s birthday and it was to die for. The recipe never made it to the blog, though, so I decided to recreate it. It wasn’t until the last minute I decided to step the whole thing up a level and make strawberry limeade cupcakes.

I did cheat and use a box mix. Sometimes I make cakes from scratch, but when I’m pressed for time, I’ll opt for homemade frosting over homemade cake every day of the week. To me, there’s just no comparison. I went with a regular yellow cake mix, because that’s what I had and because I’m really not a fan of the flavored cake mixes, like key lime or strawberry. I prefer to use a basic mix and add the flavors myself. It makes the final result taste much more fresh and homemade.

As it turns out, the shower wasn’t actually for four more days. So I just brought these beauties to school and left them in the office, where my coworkers were kind of enough to polish them off for me. Can you say pregnancy brain?

The perfect balance of tart and sweet, these strawberry limeade cupcakes are a refreshing treat for just about any occasion.

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Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Dessert Quesadillas

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Warm and gooey chocolate chip cream cheese dessert quesadillas are the perfect rich, indulgent way to end your day! Bonus: they require only four ingredients and they couldn’t be easier to make!

Warm and gooey chocolate chip cream cheese dessert quesadillas are the perfect rich, indulgent way to end your day.

I can’t lie to you. These dessert quesadillas are dangerous. The biggest threat is that you probably always have the ingredients on hand to make them. We don’t buy any packaged desserts at my house, and we rarely have ice cream in the freezer. But chocolate chips, cream cheese, and tortillas? Yeah, we have those.

That’s why J whips these guys up for us at least once a week. They only take minutes to prepare, but the way the chocolate and cream cheese melt together inside the crunchy tortilla will make you want to savor every.single.bite.

Not only is J the primary dessert quesadilla-maker in our house, he’s also the genius behind this recipe. I don’t remember how they first came to be, and I don’t remember exactly when he made them for the first time, but I know they’ve been a staple in our lives since the early years of our marriage.

Did I mention how crazy easy these chocolate chip cream cheese dessert quesadillas are to make?

Warm and gooey chocolate chip cream cheese dessert quesadillas are the perfect rich, indulgent way to end your day.

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Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bake Bars

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Chocolate peanut butter no-bake bars combine the mouthwatering richness of the classic cookies with the ease of making bars.

Who doesn’t remember these cookies from childhood?

Chocolate peanut butter no-bake bars combine the mouthwatering richness of the classic cookies with the ease of making bars.

My mom never made them much, but I have distinct memories of my Dad’s Mom, Granny, making treats like these cookies in the kitchen of her home in Mississippi. I remember my brothers and my cousins and I waiting impatiently for the cookies to set up, watching for that tell-tale change from wet to shiny that would signal they were ready to be devoured.

It’s entirely possible that we didn’t always wait for them to set up. In fact, way before the days of cake batter-flavored anything, my brothers and I pestered Granny so often for tastes of the cake batter she was preparing that she finally handed us the yellow Tupperware bowl full of batter, along with three spoons, and shooed us into the living room with strict instructions to not return until we’d emptied the bowl.

You may very well find yourself in the same situation Granny did when you make these chocolate peanut butter no-bake bars. The chocolate sauce is rich and thick; I doubt you’ll be able to resist dipping your finger- or a fresh strawberry, hint hint- in a couple times. After you’ve added the oatmeal and transferred the whole thing to a dish, feel free to sneak into a corner with a spoon and the saucepan to enjoy the remnants in peace.

Chocolate peanut butter no-bake bars combine the mouthwatering richness of the classic cookies with the ease of making bars.

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Tips for Making Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

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You don’t have to be a professional baker to make fluffy, chewy, perfect chocolate chip cookies. Follow these tips and your cookies will come out flawless every time.

Chocolate chips cookies are a universally-loved dessert, right? If you’re out of baking ideas- or if you just don’t like to be in the kitchen- you can never go wrong with chocolate chip cookies.

Then why are they so hard to make? They must be because people continue to be satisfied with store-bought logs of dough or place-and-bake imitations. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve enjoyed both of those varieties on more than one occasion. I’m not known to turn down a chocolate chip cookie, no matter its origins.

You don't have to be a professional baker to make fluffy, chewy, perfect chocolate chip cookies. Follow these tips and your cookies will come out flawless every time.

But the thing is, people think those cookies are as good. Like as-good-as-homemade good, even though they’re far from it. And I’m convinced that cookie lovers everywhere would reject those pre-made impostors and make their cookies from scratch if only they realized how easy it is.

It is. Easy, that is. So easy. Can I tell you a secret? My homemade chocolate chip cookies are ah-mazing, but I don’t have a special recipe. I just follow the instructions on the bag of chocolate chips- whichever brand I happen to be using- and make a few special adjustments. The result is perfect chocolate chip cookies. Every time.

You don't have to be a professional baker to make fluffy, chewy, perfect chocolate chip cookies. Follow these tips and your cookies will come out flawless every time.

Tips for Making Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

Use room temperature butter

It’s a rare thing for me to plan to make cookies in advance, which means I usually don’t have to set butter out to soften. Instead, I microwave sticks- straight from the fridge and still in the wrapper- for eight seconds at a time, turning them in between, until they’re soft. No more starting with melted butter.

Cream the butter and sugar

I know it’s in the instructions, bu I used to dump all the ingredients in the bowl and mix. My cookies tasted great, but the texture wasn’t as soft as it could be. One day, on a whim, I decided to cream the sugars with butter. The resulting cookies were fluffy and chewy without the slightest bit of graininess.

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Maple-Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars

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Forget the hassle of refrigerating and rolling out dough; make these maple-frosted sugar cookie bars instead. The bars are a thick layer of soft and sweet sugar cookie, topped with a rich and unique maple frosting.

Forget the hassle of refrigerating and rolling out dough; make these maple-frosted sugar cookie bars instead. The bars are a thick layer of soft and sweet sugar cookie, topped with a rich and unique maple frosting.

Sugar cookies are one of favorite treats to eat make. They’re a hit just about anywhere I take them and, to be honest, they’re one of my absolute favorite desserts. It just doesn’t get much better than a perfectly-baked sugar cookie- crunchy outer edges, soft interior- spread with homemade frosting.

But, if I’m still being honest, sometimes I’m just not in the mood to make them. They really aren’t that complicated, but the flouring and rolling and cutting involved just seemed too overwhelming to me this past holiday season. The first trimester of this pregnancy is wiping me out, so I was all about shortcuts when it came to Christmas baking. The fact that a shortcut turned into a much raved about treat was an unexpected bonus.

The sugar cookie portion of these bars is great, but the maple frosting stole the show. It’s such a rich, unexpected twist, and it makes these bars smell so good. I brought these to a family gathering, made a batch for my students, and shared them with my coworkers. Each time, the reactions were the same: “Is that maple?” “These are really good!” “This frosting is amazing!”

Don’t be shy about buying a bottle of maple extract. I can think of several ways to use it up, but two of my favorites are these scones and this stove-top potpourri.

Forget the hassle of refrigerating and rolling out dough; make these maple-frosted sugar cookie bars instead. The bars are a thick layer of soft and sweet sugar cookie, topped with a rich and unique maple frosting.

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Dark Chocolate-Dipped Clementines

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Looking for the perfect healthy snack for yourself, or a fun treat alternative to sugary goodies? Look no further than dark chocolate-dipped clementines.

Looking for the perfect healthy snack for yourself, or a fun treat alternative to sugary goodies? Look no further than dark chocolate-dipped clementines.

I’ve been having quite the love affair with Cuties lately. You know, the seedless, easy to peel clementines that are so popular this time of year?

I’m craving them like nobody’s business, eating at least four or five a day. Don’t get me wrong, I have zero complaints about craving something healthy and loaded with vitamin C. With previous pregnancies, I craved things like Burger King Whoppers and endless amounts of Juanita’s brand tortilla chips with my Granny’s homemade salsa.

That’s not to say I’m not craving anything unhealthy this time. I’ve got an unfilled hankering for some really good French fries, and I’ve been jonesing for some dark chocolate, which is where these guys come in.

It took just a few minutes for me to melt the chocolate, dip the little slices on, and sit back and admire my work. I sprinkled a few with sea salt and I added red or green sugar crystals to some others, because Christmas.

Looking for the perfect healthy snack for yourself, or a fun treat alternative to sugary goodies? Look no further than dark chocolate-dipped clementines.

Clementines are so bright and juicy; adding the swirl of dark chocolate gives you a perfect bite of flavor. These would be so great to whip up as a healthy treat for yourself, or to package and give away as a fun alternative- or addition- to traditional Christmas goodies.

If you’re not up for dipping (you should be; it’s totally easy) you could always drizzle the melted chocolate over the clementines. It would speed up an already quick process, and you could even use both white and brown chocolates. You wouldn’t get as much chocolate per bite, but they’d be healthier, your chocolate would stretch further, and they’d set up and be ready to serve or package quicker.

Looking for the perfect healthy snack for yourself, or a fun treat alternative to sugary goodies? Look no further than dark chocolate-dipped clementines.

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Easy Holiday Dessert Recipes

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This year, don’t waste time trying to impress everyone by replicating your grandmother’s famous recipe; knock their socks off with something new, like one of these easy holiday dessert recipes.

This year, don't waste time trying to impress everyone by replicating your grandmother's famous recipe; knock their socks off with something new, like one of these easy holiday dessert recipes.

Do you have a signature holiday dessert? If so, by all means, stick with that this year. You wouldn’t want to disappoint the people who’ve spent 364 days looking forward to it.

But maybe you don’t have a go-to holiday dessert recipe? Maybe you’re the one who always volunteers to bring paper products to the gathering. Or maybe your idea of “homemade” is arranging store-bought cookies on a platter. Maybe you’re banned from the kitchen ever since the fire incident of ‘o9.

Whatever your reason for foregoing holiday baking, it’s time that changed. The easy holiday dessert recipes compiled here are all easy and mouthwatering. Some of them don’t even require you to use the oven. Be careful, though; you just might find a new signature holiday dish.

Easy Holiday Dessert Recipes

Brown Sugar Pound Cake with Caramel Icing

Brown sugar pound cake with caramel icing is a rich, moist cake, flecked with toffee bits and smothered in an easy, decadent caramel sauce.

This pound cake is a decadent alternative to even the most indulgent pie. The cake itself is moist, buttery, and flecked with melty toffee bits. The whole thing is smothered with the kind of rich, gooey caramel icing that you haunts your dreams in all the best ways.

Peanut Butter Cup Bars

This year, don't waste time trying to impress everyone by replicating your grandmother's famous recipe; knock their socks off with something new, like one of these easy holiday dessert recipes.

If you don’t think it was possible for a four-ingredient dessert steal the show at a holiday gathering, give these bars a try. They’re ridiculously easy to put together- no baking!- but your friends and family will go crazy.

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Frosted Cranberry White Chocolate Cookie Bars

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A hearty oat cookie bar base, packed with cranberries and white chocolate chips, spread with a thick layer of white chocolate cream cheese frosting, and topped off with more cranberries and a white chocolate drizzle.

A hearty oat cookie bar base, packed with cranberries and white chocolate chips, spread with a thick layer of white chocolate cream cheese frosting, and topped off with more cranberries and a white chocolate drizzle.

Frosted cranberry white chocolate cookie bars taste like home. My mom, whose cookie prowess I’ve mentioned before, makes a cranberry white chocolate oatmeal cookie that’s to die for. Like, good enough to convert cranberry and white chocolate hating people like J. Seriously, her cookies have powers.

So I texted her a couple weeks ago and asked if I could blog that recipe. She didn’t hesitate to send it to me, but the wheels in my head were already turning. My mother-in-law, a darn good cook, too, had mentioned her affection for Starbucks’ cranberry bliss bars. I checked them out and the basic idea reminded me of my mom’s cookies.

So I decided to combine the two. To make my mom’s cookies a little more holiday-friendly, I added cinnamon, nutmeg, and orange zest. I baked them in bar form, as much to save time as to mimic the coffeehouse kind. And then I smothered the whole thing in a decadent white chocolate frosting.

I’ve got to confess that I’ve never had a cranberry bliss bar, but these bars are the definition of bliss (perfect happiness; great joy). Happiness is devouring a generous square of these frosted cranberry white chocolate cookie bars.

A hearty oat cookie bar base, packed with cranberries and white chocolate chips, spread with a thick layer of white chocolate cream cheese frosting, and topped off with more cranberries and a white chocolate drizzle.

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