Milky Way Cupcakes

That's right, you read that title correctly -- Milky Way Cupcakes. Chocolate cupcakes with a caramel frosting and a whipped chocolate filling. So delicious. Or "decadent", as Adam called them.

It's pretty obvious where the inspiration for these came from, although I'm not sure why. I don't typically crave candy bars, but once I thought of the concept, I knew I had to made them. Definitely a wise decision.

Milky Way Cupcakes
From: Original Concept

For the Cupcakes:
Use your favorite chocolate cupcake recipe. Mine is found here.

Once baked (usually 18-22 min) and cooled, use an apple corer (or knife or any other apparatus that works) to remove the center of each cupcake, being careful not go through the bottom.

For the Filling: (adapted from about.com)
12 ounces milk chocolate chips
3 tbsp water
1 1/2 cups marshmallow fluff

Place the chocolate chips in a large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave until the chips are melted, stirring after every 45 seconds to prevent overheating. Once the chips are melted, add the marshmallow cream and the water and stir until the mixture is smooth. Pipe the filling into the cupcakes.

For the Frosting:
1 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 pound powdered sugar
1/2 cup caramel topping
Pinch of salt

In a large bowl, beat the butter until smooth and creamy. Add in the vanilla and continue to mix. Slowly add in the sugar, about 1 cup at a time. Once sugar is completely mixed in and buttercream is smooth, add in the caramel and salt. Mix until smooth. Buttercream is a little softer than your typical buttercream.

Makes: 36 cupcakes

Note: Do NOT refrigerate these cupcakes as the centers will get very firm, making these difficult to eat. (Adam likes them the most after they've been sitting in a hot car and are almost melting -- nice and gooey.) If you must put these in the fridge, make sure to remove them several hours prior to eating.

Now go. Make these. And be in awesome chocolate-caramel-marshmallow-fluffy heaven.

Nutrition Facts
Amount per serving
Calories 334	Calories from fat 129
% Daily Value
Total Fat 14.4g	22%
Saturated Fat 8.3g	41%
Cholesterol 52mg	17%
Sodium 286mg	12%
Total Carbs 50.3g	17%
Dietary Fiber 1.2g	5%
Sugars 28.6g
Protein 3g
Vitamin A 8%	Vitamin C 0%
Calcium 3%	Iron 7%

Manchego Cheese and Garlic Dogs

No, I did not hit 200 posts and decide to run away. I have just been traveling everywhere this past month as well as taking an online course, thus my posting -- not to mention cooking, has fallen by the wayside.

And such as shame too, as these hot dogs are absolutely perfect for summer. I am usually not a huge hot dog fan; I rarely ever eat them (unless I am at a barbecue and it's either that or hamburgers), and I almost never crave them. I ran across this recipe in a Bon Appetit from 2009. Yes, it really took me that long to make these. One day I finally decided to buck up and try them, it is summer after all, and hot dogs are definitely a staple summer food. We had these once way back in May and then again for the 4th of July -- we wanted a little bit of a different spin on the ol' traditional Independence Day meal. And that's exactly what this is; still your same old hot dog, but with a tasty unique relish that sets it apart from your plane jane ketchup and mustand dogs.

Manchego Cheese and Garlic Dogs
From: Bon Appetit, July 2009

Relish:
2 large heads of garlic, top 1/2 inch cut off
5 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1/2 cup diced drained roasted red peppers from jar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Coarse kosher salt

Hot dogs:
6 grilled hot dog buns
6 grilled (or boiled) all-beef hot dogs
2 ounces Manchego cheese,* grated
Sherry wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar

For relish:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Place each head of garlic, cut side up, in center of square of foil; drizzle each with 1 teaspoon oil. Enclose garlic in foil. Place packets on oven rack; roast until garlic is tender, about 45 minutes. Open packets; cool 15 minutes.
Squeeze garlic cloves into small bowl. Mash enough roasted garlic to measure 1/4 cup (reserve remaining garlic for another use). Transfer 1/4 cup mashed garlic to bowl. Mix in 3 teaspoons oil, red peppers, and parsley. Season with coarse salt and pepper.

For hot dogs:
Arrange buns on plates. Top each with grilled hot dog, then cheese, garlic relish, and drizzle of vinegar.

Serves: 6

*Manchego cheese is a sheep's cheese found in the specialty cheese area in your grocery. If you are unable to find it (as we were at my parents') substitute with Monterey Jack cheese.

For hot dogs, these were quite tasty, and I really liked how the garlic mellowed out with roasting. It's actually quite easy to throw the relish together, the only real time involved with these is roasting the garlic. The recipe calls for grilled hot dogs, but we've tried them both ways, and I think either works fine -- whatever is your preference.

Adam's vote was they were better without the balsamic vinegar, but I liked them with it. Once again, personal preference thing (although they are better with it). And the nice thing about this meal is that if someone there isn't a fan of the relish... there's always ketchup and mustard.

Nutrition Facts
Amount per serving
Calories 410	Calories from fat 229
% Daily Value
Total Fat 25.4g	39%
Saturated Fat 9.5g	47%
Trans Fat 0.0g
Cholesterol 39mg	13%
Sodium 1138mg	47%
Total Carbs 31.0g	10%
Dietary Fiber 1.5g	6%
Sugars 5.5g
Protein 14.2g
Vitamin A 12%	Vitamin C 55%
Calcium 18%	Iron 16%