Gluten Free Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes Recipe

March 1 is Peanut Butter Lovers' Day, and I thought it would be fun to do a peanut butter filled cupcake inspired by one of my favorite treats - Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.


Here's what we'll be baking today:

And here is the recipe:
1 box Betty Crocker Gluten Free Devils Food Cake Mix (you can use regular as well)
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup mayonnaise
2 eggs, beaten
2 t. vanilla
2 cans Betty Crocker Rich & Creamy Vanilla Frosting, divided
1 cup peanut butter + 3 tablespoons, divided
2 tablespoons butter
pinch of salt (omit if your peanut butter is already salty)
1/2 cup Pamela's baking mix (or 1/2 cup Bisquick-type baking mix of your choice)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Put cupcake papers in 2 muffin tins

Add cake mix to mixing bowl.  Beat in buttermilk, mayonnaise, eggs and vanilla until smooth.  In a separate mixing bowl, beat 1 cup peanut butter, butter and salt into 1 can of frosting.  Add baking mix, and be sure to combine well.

Now the fun part!  Measure 1/8 cup (2 tablespoons) cake batter into each of the muffin papers.  Using a cookie scooper, gently place 1 scoop of the peanut butter frosting mixture into the cake batter.  This is a great project for a little sous chef.  Add another 1/8 cup of batter to each paper.

Bake for about 25 minutes.  A skewer inserted into the center should come out clean (you may have melted peanut butter).  I tested mine in the center, and also at an angle just to be safe.  Allow to cool completely before frosting.

While the cupcakes are baking and cooling, make up some peanut butter frosting.  In a mixing bowl, beat the 3 tablespoons peanut butter and remaining can of frosting together until smooth and creamy.  Spread or pipe as desired onto the cooled cupcakes.

Eat and enjoy!

Gluten Free Sweet Dip Recipes

So I've seen several of these around, and wanted to share them with you...


It starts with an 8-oz. block of cream cheese and a can of Betty Crocker Rich and Creamy frosting.  Choose whichever flavor you desire.

So let's start with just a basic sweet dip.  Add the softened cream cheese to your frosting, beat til smooth and serve.  It's great with apples and pears, and also pretzels and plain cookies.  Of course, because it's nothing more than cream cheese frosting!  This is a great way to use up that extra frosting, too, by the way.

Want it fluffier?  Add in some non-diary whipped topping.  You can switch up amounts of cream cheese and frosting here, to change out sweetness and thickness of your dip.

From your basic cream cheese frosting, you can make any number of dips.

Red Velvet Cake:  Add a tablespoon or 2 of cocoa and red food coloring to desired shade of red.

Brownie/Chocolate Cake Batter Dip:  Use chocolate frosting with your cream cheese OR add a few tablespoons of cocoa powder (to taste) to existing cream cheese frosting.  Want to turn this into Thin Mint Dip?  Add mint extract - just a quarter teaspoon (mint is really strong).

Funfetti Cake:  Add sprinkles and a teaspoon or 2 of vanilla extract

Try adding half of a  3-oz. package of Jell-o for a fruity flavor.

What to dip with?  Pretzels (Glutino), graham crackers (S'Moreables brand), plain sugar cookies (think homemade for gluten free) or chocolate wafers (again, think homemade or Glutino for gluten free).  Apples and pears are excellent in the plain and Jell-o dips.  You can try other fruits, cookies and crackers, too.

You do need to keep this dip cool because it contains a dairy product, but because of that same dairy product, it still needs to be softened or it's like concrete.

But definitely more delicious...

Enjoy!



 http://verygoodrecipes.com/chocolate

Gluten Free Carrot Cupcakes Recipe

Today is National Carrot Day - and what better way to celebrate than with carrot cake!

SPH Gluten Free Carrot Cupcakes
1 Betty Crocker Gluten Free Yellow Cake mix
cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice to taste (I used about 1 1/2 tablespoons because I like mine spicy)
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup buttermilk
1-2 t. vanilla (to taste)
2 c. shredded carrots
8 oz. can crushed pineapple WITH JUICE, undrained
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup raisins (I used yellow raisins because that's what I grabbed first out of the cabinet)
1/2 cup shredded coconut

Frosting
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 can Betty Crocker Rich & Creamy Vanilla frosting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Fill two muffin tins with cupcake liners.

In a large bowl, combine cake mix, spices and brown sugar.  Mix to combine well.  In a separate bowl, beat egg, oil, buttermilk and vanilla together.  Pour into dry ingredients, and beat until well combined and smooth. Stir in remaining ingredients, making sure to combine well.  No one wants clumps of carrots in their cupcakes!  Add batter to muffin tins, filling each one about 2/3 full.  Bake for about 20 minutes, or til skewer inserted in center comes out clean.  Allow to cool.

Make the frosting by beating the cream cheese into the frosting.  Spread or pipe as desired on top of cooled cupcakes.  Eat and enjoy!

Princess and I thought these would also be amazing if you had some sugared pecans broken into bits and sprinkled on the frosting.  Just a thought...

Happy Carrot Day!

Super Easy Gluten Free Chocolate Covered Cherry Fudge Recipe

This recipe miraculously appeared in my inbox when I needed a little something extra to take to a bake sale.

Beautiful pink sweet strawberry fudge.  Can you believe it - only 2 ingredients!

I knew I so totally had to make it - it would be quick, simple, and look beautiful on a plate.  A few pieces per plate would fetch a nice profit at the bake sale.  And I had most of the ingredients in my house.  That sounds so funny, doesn't it, since there are only 2 ingredients...

So here's how I compensated...

SPH Super Easy Gluten Free Strawberry Fudge Recipe
1 T. (from a 3 oz. package) strawberry Jell-o
1 container Betty Crocker Rich and Creamy Vanilla Frosting
2 T. butter (omit if using the white chocolate chips)
1 12-oz. package Wilton white candy melts (I also had red on hand, and debated about using those instead)
  *OR* 1 12-oz. package white chocolate chips

Combine Jell-o and frosting.  Melt butter into candy melts, and combine with frosting.  Line a 9x9 baking pan with foil, and butter it well.  Pour frosting mixture into pan, and allow to set in fridge for about 30 minutes.

Now if you're a purist, and you want either plain white or regular chocolate fudge, this recipe works for those as well.  Simply use the plain white frosting with the butter and candy melts or chocolate chips, or chocolate frosting with chocolate candy melts/butter or chocolate chips.

I began playing with other flavor profiles in my mind, too - like adding some orange extract to either the white or chocolate fudge.  Maybe some coffee liquer?  Or melting up some red-hot candies with the red candy melts?  Lots of ideas!  So I came up with this one - kind of a St. Valentine's Day type flavor.  This is the fudge in the photo above...

SPH Super Easy Gluten Free Chocolate Covered Cherry Fudge Recipe
1 container Betty Crocker Rich & Creamy Cherry Frosting
1 12-oz. package Wilton white candy melts + 3 T. butter **OR**
1 12-oz. package white chocolate chips
@ 3 T. Betty Crocker Rich & Creamy Chocolate Frosting
@2-3 T. cream or milk

Make cherry fudge as above.  Pour mixture into well-buttered, foiled pan, and allow to chill for about 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, melt chocolate frosting and cream together (think ganache), and pour over fudge about 10 minutes before it's done setting. This chocolate glaze does not set entirely, but it sure tastes good!  Cut into squares and enjoy.


So make a quick batch of super easy fudge, and take a plate to that Super Bowl party!

Gluten Free Maple Bacon Cupcake Recipe

You've heard of breakfast for dinner - this is breakfast for dessert!

So I found this recipe at Pressed Down, Shaken Together on a blog hop, and it just sounded so intriguing.  Maple.  Bacon.  Cupcakes?!  I decided I had to give it a go, and here it is, gluten free.

SPH Gluten Free Maple Bacon Cupcakes
1 box Betty Crocker Gluten Free Yellow Cake mix (you could use regular cake mix, too)
1 3-oz. box Jell-o Vanilla Instant Pudding
3 eggs
1/2 cup oil or melted butter
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 container Betty Crocker Rich & Creamy Vanilla Frosting
2 T. maple syrup
8 slices of bacon, snipped, crisped and drained

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line muffin tins with cupcake papers.

In mixer bowl, combine cake mix and instant pudding.  In a small bowl, beat eggs.  Add oil and maple syrup.  Add to cake mix in mixer, and beat until smooth.  Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with cake batter and bake about 20-23 minutes.  Allow to cool.

Meanwhile, whip together maple syrup and frosting.  Spread over cooled cupcakes.  It's a little runny, so be mindful of that.  Sprinkle with crisped bacon bits.

After feeding this recipe to "the critics", it was decided that the cupcakes were better without the bacon.  Maybe it was the bacon I used?  We all agreed that the maple cupcakes were fantastic, so these would definitely be good "alone".

Try them for yourself, and see what you decide. Enjoy!