We're Back! With a Funfetti Pizookie

First things first: We're sorry! After Elizabeth's and my first break from the blog back in December, I promised myself and you that we would continue our blog and not stop...until last March, when our blog came to a mysterious halt. I can imagine some of the thoughts running through your head at the time: What has happened to Sarah and Elizabeth? Maybe they have been abducted and can no longer continue blogging about their cooking adventures? Or possibly all of their kitchen appliances stopped working? Well I am writing to ease your minds and answer all your questions about our disappearance; WE GOT LAZY. That's right. I'm not going to make any excuses. Of course both of us enjoy cooking and sharing all of our failures and successes in the kitchen with you, but ever since I stopped blogging back in March, I have begun to question myself. "Maybe I'm not cut out for this whole blogging gig" and "Could the pressures of keeping up with a cooking blog be too much for me?" But after reassuring myself that anyone can blog, I want to continue to bring delicious recipes to the blog and to you. So please, alert the media, tell everyone you know that Apron Afternoons is back and join us for some good ole' blogging! I can't promise a consistent posting of recipes every day, but I can tell you that the posts that we do have will include some of the greatest treats, sweets, and meals you might ever have.


So to begin our comeback, I wanted to share a recipe with you that was inspired by one of the most delicious treats I have had. It's name is a Pizookie. I am still trying to figure out whether that word is a combination of pizza+cookie or pie+zookie? I will never know. But recently My dad and I went to Palo Alto for a swim meet. (Sometimes swimming does pay.) I always love to try local restaurants when I am traveling, so dad, Reese(A friend of ours who swims for Alabama with my brother, Jake. Oh,and he makes delicious ice cream..yeah)and I found a restaurant called BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse. When we were handed our menu, my eyes, of course, went straight to the dessert page. I was struck with curiosity when I saw "Pizookie" on the dessert  menu and knew that I must get one. I quickly cleared my plate of the hamburger I ordered in anticipation for dessert. And then it came: A large, round and warm chocolate chip cookie that was about an inch thick with vanilla ice cream dolloped on top. Every bite was like heaven, and that is when i fell in love with the dessert and concept of a Pizookie. As soon as I arrived home from Palo Alto, I made my way to Auburn to see my sister and to recreate the Pizookie. We decided though, to make our Pizookie with funfetti cake mix. And boy did it turn out great! I speak for myself when I say that I believe Elizabeth's and my Pizookie is equally if not better than the original. (Ours did turn out a lot deeper though, so we cut ours in slices.) And guess what? I've got the recipe for you right here!


Ingredients:
- 1 Box of Funfetti Cake Mix
- 1  Egg
- 1/3-1/2 Cup Milk
- 1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil
- 1/4 Cup Rainbow Sprinkles 
- 1/2 Cup White Chocolate Chips
- Sprinkles for Top
- Ice Cream of your choice (We used vanilla)
Directions:
1. Combine the cake mix, oil, and egg in a large bowl. 

2. Add the milk slowly because you want the batter to remain as dense as possible. Then mix in the rainbow sprinkles and white chocolate chips. 

3. Then add the batter to a round 10 to 12 inch pan. For a thick cookie like ours, add the entire batter to the pan. For a thinner cookie, add about half the batter to the pan.

4. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees. If you made your cookie thick, it should be slightly gooey in the middle.
5. Top with ice cream.

  

                           -Sarah-

My Aunt Sent Me A Present

When it comes to Aunts,I have the best of both worlds. I have one Aunt who owns a subway store and another Aunt who owns a cake business. I really enjoy going to visit them because I get free subs and cake, and I love them a lot too. The Aunt who owns the cake business is a fun,hip mom and is also a great gift giver! My Aunt,always being thoughtful, sent me an awesome birthday present. It was a package with a new cupcake cookbook (http://www.cakemixdoctor.com/books/cupcakes-from-the-cake-mix-doctor/) and all of the ingredients to make some cupcakes! They were Strawberry and White Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Malted Milk Ball Frosting. Lets just say that I enjoyed my present a little...okay, maybe a lot!

Strawberry Malted Milk Ball Cupcakes

Ingredients for Cupcakes:

- 24 Paper Liners
- 1 Package of Strawberry Cake Mix
- 1 Box of Vanilla Instant Pudding Mix
- 1 Cup of Sour Cream
- 1/3 Cup of Vegetable Oil
- 1/4 Cup of Water
- 1/4 Cup of Sugar
- 4 Eggs
- 1 Tsp. Vanilla
- 1 Cup of White Chocolate Chips


Directions for Cupcakes:


1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners. Set pan aside. 

2. Place cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, oil, water, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl.(It looks kind of like brains, but still delicious) Blend with electric mixer on low speed until the ingredients are well mixed. Scrap down the sides of the bowl and increase mixer speed to medium. When finished, the batter should look smooth and thickened.  

      
3. Mix in chips until they are well distributed in the batter. 
4. Scoop the batter into the liners to fill the liner 3/4 of the way. Put pans in the oven.

5. Bake cupcakes for about 18 to 20 minutes. Remove pans from oven and let the cupcakes cool for 5 minutes. 
6. Take the cupcakes out of the pan, and place them on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes before frosting.

Ingredients for frosting:


- 8 Tbsp. (1 stick)of butter, at Room Temperature
- 3  1/2 Cups of Confectioners Sugar
- 1/4 Cup of Milk
- 1 Tsp. Vanilla
- 40 Strawberry Malted Milk Balls


Directions for Frosting:


1. Place butter in large mixing bowl. Blend with and electric mixer on low speed until fluffy. 
2. Put milk balls in a plastic bag and crush into finely grounded pieces. 

3. Stop mixer, and add confectioners' sugar, crushed malted milk balls, milk, and vanilla. Blend in mixer until sugar is incorporated. Increase speed and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy. 
4. Place a dollop of frosting on each cupcake, and eat up!

So much flavor packed into one little cupcake!