Bakerella Cake Balls -

In my quest to find the perfect dessert to make for my dinner party last Saturday night, I stumbled upon the ingenious website of Angie Dudley (aka Bakerella). I remembered seeing her awhile back on Martha Stewart and thought to myself how adorable her mini cupcake bites were.


Were the mini cupcake bites so flipping cute? Yes.
Was it a realistic feat for me to attempt to make these myself? Probably not, but it’s always worth a shot.

So here I go – off to to buy all the necessary gear. My favorite part about Bakerella’s site is she not only gives you pictures each and every step of the way, but she writes out a list you can print out and take to the store with you. Watch out Michaels, I’m armed and ready to shop.

As someone who traditionally doesn’t shop at DIY places like Michaels, I was a bit intimidated at first but quickly got into a groove. I could not find the peanut butter cup molds Angie mentions, so I opted to forgo the cupcake bites in lieu of cake balls (remembering them from her website). I purchased the chocolate melts in white and blue (for the upcoming Hanukah Wine Tasting Party hubby and I are hosting) and then headed over to Whole Foods. I bought the organic chocolate cake mix by Arrowhead Mills then and went to Publix (my last destination for the day) for cream cheese frosting (too unhealthy for Whole Foods to carry).

All the ingredients are on the counter and I feel like I need a nap. No time – company will be here in four hours. The actual “baking of the cake” was the easy part. After the cake cooled, I enlisted the help of my wonderful husband to help me crumble it. We then mixed it with the frosting and shaped them into balls (hubby has now retreated to ESPN on the couch). I continue on.

After the balls have hardened in the fridge for about 20 minutes, I melt the chocolate (hubby is back to eat the chocolate melts) and begin rolling the balls. I decorated them with heart shaped sprinkles I found at Michaels and also took the liberty of packaging up some for our guests – in fun little Chinese takeout boxes from Michaels ($1 each).

All in all, they were DELICIOUS. They tasted like munchkins dipped in chocolate yummyness. Will I be making these again? So sorry Hanukkah party, but these puppies are far too much work – I need at least six months to recuperate!

The Final Product

Thank you Martha Stewart!!

I made the most delicious cookies last night from Martha Stewart Cookies Cookbook – a perfect combonation of the classic flavors of banana bread and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.

Usually i'll try to modify recipes to make them more waist-line friendly, but here I played by the rules. It was oh-so-worth it.

Banana-Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Makes about 3 dozen
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup mashed ripe banana (about 1 large)
• 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped into 1/4-inch chunks
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (about 2 ounces), toasted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk together flours, salt, and baking soda in a small bowl; set aside. Put butter and sugars into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Add egg and vanilla; mix until combined. Mix in banana. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in oats, chocolate chunks, and walnuts.

2. Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing about 2 inches apart. Bake cookies until golden brown and just set, 12 to 13 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks; let cool completely. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers up to 2 days.