Wait... there are peppermint hershey's kisses???

Oh Hell's yes!!!  Now- what can I do with these?

The obvious answer was to eat the entire bag.  For those of you that are thinking , "well yeah".  This is never a good idea because it leads to

1) Regret- "Aggghhh I can't believe I ate the whole bag.  What a fatty I am"
2) Saddness- "Ohhh I wish I didn't eat the whole bag... I wish I had more"
3) Guilt- "Mommy I need a candy... pleeease?"  This is my least favorite one because now I have to explain to a 2 1/2 yr old why I ate an entire bag of candy and didn't save him any...Trust me when I say they just don't get it when you say that mommy has had a bad day and NEEDED it.

My solution?  I bake!  When in doubt bake (I think this was my grandmother's motto). 

I like to make cakes from scratch it's extremely fullfilling - but I appreciate the already measured ingredients in a cake mix every now and again.  This is especially true when there's a little monkey pulling on my shirt asking if the cupcakes are done yet... Hello Duncan Hines!

Chocolate Peppermint Cannoli Cupcakes--- way too easy

1bx Chocolate Cake Mix- make sure it's a super moist one
1bg Candy Cane Hershey's Kisses
1 container Marscapone Cheese
1/4 c powdered sugar
1tsp orange zest
1tbs vanilla
mini chocolate chips for decoration


Cupcakes

So you mix up your cake and pre-heat oven exactly as it says - who am I to question Mr Hines on how his cake should be baked?  After you've put your cake mix into the cute little paper cupcake pants (yeah I'm sure they're called something else, but for the life of me I can't figure it out right now)--- Here comes the BIG SECRET  add 2 kisses to each full sized cupcake fighting the urge to eat every other kiss you unwrap.

Bake cupcakes to the specification on the box and allow to cool

Frosting
Using the beater attachment of your mixer at a low speed to start
(I do not recommend the paddle at high speed -bad things happen... like large globs of cheese come flying at you at the speed of light, completely destroying your clean kitchen and the clothes you're wearing)- Consider yourself warned.

Mix cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla slow to start and increasing the speed until it starts to become fluffier.  Approx 3-4minutes. At the very end add your orange zest and choc chips. Frost to your hearts content!

These cupcakes were a big hit in our house, and super easy.  The next recipe won't be so easy...

Why Food?

I'm a simple girl, perhaps my husband would disagree with that statement.  Ok, scratch that... I know what I like, especially when it comes to food.  I love watching other people cook and coming up with ideas of how I can change their creation to suite my own palate.  Call me the Dr. Frankenstein of the kitchen if you would.

Many times I find myself watching the Food Network or looking through various foodie magazines and thinking to myself, "That looks good, but if I did this it could be better..." .  This is often how my madness begins. 

Todd (the afore mentioned husband) will tell you that my need to experiment is quickly leading to the demise of his waist line.  My son is growing up with an extremely healthy palate because I enjoy creating.  Food doesn't talk back or yell at you. (With the exception of the occassional boil over or indegestion)  Food lets you mold it into whatever you want.  Food satisfies a basic need.  For me that need isn't only sustenance, it's my sanity.

This blog will be my sharing of experiments with you-  Most of the time they will be successful experiments... but as with any experiment you're always going to have a dudd or two.  I'll post those so that you can learn with me- or suggest ways to improve.

I hope you enjoy as much as I do!