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In the past month I've made two kinds of cupcakes -- both to rave reviews. I made chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting for the concession stand at a theater production. My daughter had a small role in "The King & I." I packed them in adorable cupcake boxes made from scrapbook paper. To see that technique, visit my scrapbooking blog . They sold for $2.25! I made them again for a scrapbooking crop and I had four requests for the frosting recipe. Recently, I needed a snack for a Girl Scout meeting. I had a lot of quickly ripening bananas and a yellow cake mix. I remembered a recipe for banana cupcakes with a caramel frosting. I made them and most of the Girl Scouts liked them. I took leftovers to the scrapbooking crop the next day and they went fast. The frosting reminds me of a candy I've blogged about before: January Thaw . They are similar in ingredients and cooking method. This is a perfect cupcake to make this time of year. "The Cak...

If I haven't found the recipe for a creamy, smooth, perfectly-peanutty homemade Easter egg, I'm closer. This recipe is from my sister-in-law, Gloria. I modified it slightly. 6 tablespoons butter, softened 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter 1/4 cup marshmallow cream 1 3/4 cups powdered sugar (See Note) 6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips 2 tablespoons shortening Note: I needed only 1 1/4 cups of sugar. I think the amount you need depends on the room temperature and humidity when you make them. If the batter is too soft and won't hold together, add more sugar. If it's a good consistency after just a cup, leave it alone. More sugar means more sweetness overriding the peanut butter flavor. Mix the butter, peanut butter and marshmallow cream together. Stir in 1 cup of powdered sugar. Add the rest of the sugar 1/4 cup at a time, mixing after each addition, until you reach a consistency you can mold into egg shapes. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the freezer for 10 ...

You'll feel naughty eating these decadent brownies. A plain brownie is pretty scrumptious but I prefer dressing them up with toppings. I've done a coconut frosting, raspberry jam swirled with white chocolate chips and a turtle variation. For the past year I have made a lot of the rocky road brownies from a recipe I got from a former co-worker. This spring I started thinking about recreating a Hershey's Take 5 candy bar by topping the chocolate brownie base with pretzels, caramel and peanut butter. I didn't add Hershey's fifth ingredient, chopped peanuts, so my creation is more of a "Take 4." Good -- they won't get me for trademark infringement. I also had the urge to make a Fluffernutter topping for a brownie, but instead of pairing peanut butter with marshmallow fluff, I used marshmallow ice cream sundae topping. The result was yummy. Brownies are the perfect portable thing to tote to a potluck, picnic or reunion. They hold up well for transport, they...

A parenting rite of passage has been stripped from me the same year my only child starts kindergarten. We met my daughter's teacher at an open house and received some of the paperwork we need to fill out. Among the documents was the school handbook, in which I read this little gem: Under "Unauthorized Articles" "FOOD: New state [that'd be West Virginia] policy prohibits homemade or unpackaged food items to be brought to school. Snack or party treats must meet nutrition guidelines and come in unopened." A literal reading of the first sentence would lead you to believe that you can't send chocolate-chip cookies in a lunchbag. I wouldn't be surprised since some schools have banned peanut butter because of allergies. But I think the second sentence gets at the meat of the message. Don't send homebaked goodies for your child to share with others. So I can't send cupcakes decorated like groundhogs on Feb. 2 or snack mix in plastic food service glov...