I gotta feeling...

These are my confessions:
-I think I'm more creative than I actually am
-I'm a bit of a perfectionist

You may remember about a year and half ago when my friend Abby and I took cake decorating class.

 
It was a lot of fun...but as the classes progressed (I took 1&2), it became a constant struggle with my inner perfectionist. I couldn't get the icing to the exact consistency I wanted or the tip of my rose to be absolutely perfect. But I see things and think, I can do that....(insert "not as creative/crafty as I think", won't settle unless it looks perfect- and I want it perfect on the first try, and maybe a slight competitive spirit)

So this weekend was the Super Bowl....and of course, a Super Bowl party. My husband and I both love a good party- and began to think about what we would take to the Super Bowl party. I suggested that one of our contributions should be cake pops. Now I know that cake pops are so 3008 and I'm so 2000 and late- but better to try late than never, right? I've seen so many cute ones and it seems like everyone knows how to make them, so they can't be that hard....(ha)...

After a little searching online, I thought we should make football cake pops and then just some that are team/logo color coordinated. We decided on devils food/chocolate football pops and then the team ones as funfetti/white icing. Sorry to disappoint that we don't have step by step instructions or pictures, but if you want to see the queen of cake pops, you can check out Bakerella's website. (Which I just checked...and she made the exact same cake pops...and they look "similar" to ours)

So here we are in the mixing process....and then our balls are chilling...








Sunday afternoon, we began melting our chocolate...then dipped our sticks, inserted them into the cake balls, and then dipped the cake balls. Here is where something went wrong. I struggled to get perfectly covered balls and then struggled to keep them on the sticks. I just don't know how to make them look sleek and clean. Eric made the footballs- and was having some success. I just ended up ditching the sticks and made cake balls for the team ones....
They weren't a complete failure- they tasted great and looked decent (for the first attempt), plus I had the time of my life making it. My wonderful husband told me before we started this adventure that I would have to be okay with the fact that they might not look perfect on our first try.

the colors might be hard to see....but the white ones have the Steelers logo and then there are green ones with yellow drizzle for the Packers.

So here is our finished project and I'm not just going to give up- I will try again...and hope to maybe master the cake ball/cake pop.

P.S.- Yes, there are random lines from the stars of the halftime show in this post. I enjoyed the BEP.

One of our new favorite treats!

Remember the time I said I would tell you my goals for 2011. Oops. I still have 11 months to share them (and succeed in them), right?


Well today, I want to share with you a new recipe that my hubby and I absolutely love! Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins! Who doesn't love a great combo of peanut butter, banana, and chocolate? We thought it would be fun to take pictures and post (for all 2 of you that read this) to try out too!




We've gathered all of our ingredients together!

Measure out 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour











And sift, sift, sift the flour into a large mixing bowl

Then add 1/2 cup sugar to the flour

And if that isn't enough sugar, now add 1/2 cup packed brown sugar

Next, add 1 Tablespoon baking powder to the mixture

 
Add 3/4 teaspoon salt

Add 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Now mix together all the dry ingredients and grab 2 more bowls- a small one and a large one

Mash 2-3 ripe bananas with a fork in the small bowl and then put them into your larger new bowl (I guess you could just mash them in the large bowl- and save some dishwashing)

(yummy mashed banana goodness being poured into the new bowl)

Now add 1 cup of milk to the bananas

Add 3/4 cup smooth peanut butter (We are Skippy Natural fans...but any creamy PB will do the job)









Next add 3 Tablespoons of canola or vegetable oil

You only need to crack in one egg!

Add 1 teaspoon vanilla and mix, mix, mix

Now you're ready to pour your wet ingredients into your dry ingredients











 More mixing....

 Stir in 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I always need to give them a test!)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray your muffin pan with non-stick baking spray






And we're ready to fill with batter!  Fill them 2/3-3/4 full (I'm just getting started in the picture...I came through with round two to fill the cups)

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. This batch came out a little darker than I like, but they still tasted great! I even made some mini ones because I had some leftover batter. I could have filled my tins even more full.



These muffins are SO tasty! Here is the full recipe for you to try. Let me know if you make them and what you think!

Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip MuffinsAdapted from Cooking Light Bulletin Boards
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed, golden brown sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2-3 large, ripe bananas, mashed-enough for 1-1/4 cups banana
1 cup milk
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
3 Tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

In a large bowl, sift together (make sure to sift), flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, salt and the cinnamon; combine.

In another mixing vessel combine mashed bananas, milk, peanut butter, egg, oil, and vanilla; mix well.  Add this to the dry mixture previously prepared; mix just enough to combine.  Stir in chocolate chips.

Spray muffin tins with cooking spray, if you are using liners, spray those too, and fill tins 3/4 full.  This will make 18 nicely sized muffins.  You can double the recipe if you need more.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Pretty simple, eh?

And I know you're loving the picture of my apron that you can see a glimpse of in the picture of banana mashing. It is the Vera Bradley Barcelona apron that my husband got me for Christmas!
I was not looking like Rachael Ray or Paula Deen in these pictures- so sorry- no full shots!