As some of you know, my
boyfriend and I are regular volunteers with New York Cares and are
especially fond of a program called Urban Adventures. Urban
Adventures is a monthly program where we take public school
elementary students on difference adventures around New York
City. I definitely need to post some updates on what we have
been up to the last six months but before I do that I HAVE to share
with you a dessert I made for our Urban Adventures students this
past weekend! Our last Urban Adventure actually was held at their
public school in East Harlem where a Magician the kids had seen
perform last June in Central Park agreed to visit and put on a
private 
show for the kids.
Volunteer wise this was a pretty low key activity however the group
leader did request we all bring a dessert for a little party for
the kids after the magic show. I was trying to think of
something fun and creative to make for the students when I saw a
posting on Facebook about a fun kids dessert to make, Cupcake
Cones. This recipe was not only SUPER easy and incredibly fun
to make the kids absolutely went bananas for them which of course
was the most rewarding part of all!! This sweet treat is VERY easy
and cute to BOOT! Cupcake Cones: Step 1- Preheat your oven to 350
degrees Step 2- make (or buy) your preferred cupcake batter to fill
your cones. Because I had to make three dozen cupcake cones I
decided to make both chocolate and vanilla from recipes I found
online. You can access the recipes I used here: The Perfect Vanilla Cupcakes Recipe
and The Best Homemade Chocolate Cupcake Recipe
Ever, both came out deliciously!! Step 3- Fill each flat
bottomed ice cream cone 2/3 full with batter (being sure to use
flat bottomed cones is very important because it makes them
MUCH easier to bake, especially if you are like me and don’t
already have cupcake or muffin tins in your cupboard) Step 4-Stand
the cupcake cones next to each other in a baking dish or on a
baking sheet, I used a baking dish because it was easier to fit all
the cones together in the dish with some resting against the sides,
preventing them from toppling over while they are baking! Step 5-
Bake the cones for about 25-35 minutes (or until you can insert a
toothpick in the center of the cupcake cones and it comes out
clean.) Step 6- let cupcake cones cool for about 30-45 minutes Step
7- Frost the top of each cupcake cone, add some sprinkles if you
would like, and enjoy!! ** For the frosting I used the new Duncan Hines Frosting Creations which
allowed me to easily make several different flavors of frosting
making the cupcake cones that much cuter with all the different
colors and flavor choices!! 
The Lucky Penny
Find a penny, pick it up, and all the day you'll have good luck. Give a penny to a friend and your luck will never end.
Category Archives: food
Single Serving Pies
It was right after Thanksgiving that I found myself skimming the internet for another treat to bake for the holiday season. After the success of my Pumpkin Loaf that I made and took with me to a few Thanksgiving celebrations, I was hungry for another recipe to try out. I came across the blog ourbestbites.com and began making my way through numerous and tempting recipes until I came across one that pretty much changed my world, a recipe for single serving pies. They were adorable, each baked in their own little half pint canning jar, with tiny holiday shapes cut out of their crusts on the top for venting. I fell in love and immediately began experimenting with different crusts and fillings, making the tiny pies and then popping their canning lids back on and placing them in my freezer.
Of course I had to bake a few “test pies” as I went and well, I must admit, they were amazing, so amazing in fact that I decided to make a dozen of them to take and bake at a holiday party (pictured above). At the party people could not stop talking 
about them, they were a huge success and so I did what most people would do, went home and made two dozen more, and then another two dozen. Soon I was a pie making machine, experimenting with different fillings and pretty much turned my kitchen into a little pie making assembly line. Evening after evening my boyfriend John and I made pie after pie and then at Christmas, we packed all the frozen pies up in baskets, stuck mini Christmas bows on the top of each one with Christmas cards that included instructions for the recipient on how to bake their single serving frozen pies. We handed them out by the dozen as gifts for friends and family members and they just loved them!
The beauty of this recipe is you have a ton of room for creativity, of all the fillings I tried my favorites by far were Rich Chocolate Pecan Pie, Buttery Cranberry Pie and a very simple Apple Pie. I used the crust from the recipe for the Strawberry Rhubarb pie I made back in September which seemed to really balance out the sweetness of the pie fillings I made. Happy Baking!!!
Paula Deen’s Pumpkin Bars Recipe
One of the best things about Thanksgiving is the leftovers as there are few late night snacks as irresistible as cold turkey and stuffing. However I often find myself with some leftovers I could do without in the form of excess ingredients bought during the frenzy of grocery shopping in the days before turkey day. One of the ingredients I almost always have in surplus after the Thanksgiving holiday is cans of pumpkin puree. I always tend to over buy the affordable cans of pumpkin goodness so cleverly stacked by the check out counter thinking that I will inevitably use them in some recipe before the holiday season is over. Yet, each spring when I commence my semi-annual cupboard reorganization there they sit, cans upon cans of unopened pumpkin puree, pushed all the way in the back, taking up much needed room in my tiny NYC size kitchen.
This year I came across a dessert recipe that was so amazing and well received I made it not once, but three times to take to different Thanksgiving celebrations last week. The recipe is for Pumpkin Bars with cream cheese icing by the incomparable Paula Deen of the Food Network. Her recipe makes on of the most moist, perfectly spiced pumpkin bars I have ever tasted and also is a great way to use any pumpkin puree that may be lingering around your house. You can find the complete recipe here and I listed the ingredients below, happy baking!!
