take a bite: SHARK WEEK cupcakes!

Here's the thing-

I was pretty scared of sharks for a solid amount of my life.

Actually.

Wait.

Yeah, no, I'm definitely STILL fully afraid of sharks. I wish I could be one of those people who's like "Sharks are our friends! Beautiful powerful beings" - but I just...can't.

All I think of is TEETH! Big. Huge. Teeth.

So that leads me to talking about Shark Week. I used to be unable to watch it- in college I would stay in my room to avoid it when roommates would watch it. YES I'M THAT LAME. GET OVER IT.

I'm finally at the stage where I think it's not completely horrifying to see seals get annihilated by some great white...and thus, I've learned to love Shark Week (Which starts Aug 10th!).

So clearly that calls for cupcakes, right?

Of course it does.

The recipe itself isn't anything fancy- just a basic white cupcake recipe, and a jar of vanilla frosting...along with some blue food coloring + gummy sharks!

Here's how to make it happen:

Step 1: Dye batter blue & bake away!

Step 2: While cupcakes are cooling completely, add blue food coloring to your frosting, but don't fully mix. 

Step 3: Add a few more drops of food coloring to the frosting so there are dark blue lines running through it- this'll make the waves look even better :)

Step 4: To create your waves, frost your cupcake & using a knife-press down and lift up, creating little curly waves.

Step 5: Add a shark gummy, and you're good to go!

 Alright- tell me friends- what are YOU going to do to celebrate Shark Week?

Anyone else going to make some cupcakes??

xo, lp

oh, and for those of you that REALLY love it, here ya go!:

SWEETS FOR YOUR SWEETIE

Maybe you're not into Valentine's Day- but I bet you'll be into these desserts!

Tell 'em you love them with some sweet Sugar Cookie Conversation Hearts!

Love Oreos? Love PB? Then you'll love these Oreo Peanut Butter Chocolate Pops!

Need a sweet breakfast treat? Try these Raspberry Cream Cheese pie tarts!

What sweets will you be making for your sweetie?

If you have a must-try recipe, send it my way or leave it in the comments!

xo, lp

SIX FANTASTIC FOURTH CUPCAKES (easy designs that take minutes!)

Let's talk straight for a sec:

I love baking from scratch and all, but sometimes it's a pain in the ass. When you just want something last second it can be a bummer when you don't have all the ingredients at hand. So, at times like this, I bake from a box. AH! GASP! BLASPHEMY! The girl that bakes uses box mixes sometimes?!? 

I know, your vision of my is shattered. Sorry. To help you cope, go eat a box of cupcakes. 

These are 6 super fast, fun 4th of July cupcake decorating ideas. All you need is a box of cupcake mix, some frosting, and the topping of your choice. Have fun!

Don't they look great together? Some fun, some whimsical, some classy. Make a bunch of each to please any crowd!

 Cupcake #1: Swirly Cupcake

This one is super easy, take some white frosting and dye some blue and some red. Swirl plain white along with the two colored frostings and BAM. Pretty swirls.

Cupcake #2: Washi Flag Cupcakes

All you need for this one is a few toothpicks and some washi tape. Just fold over, cut into triangles and you're good to go!

Cupcake #3 The Easiest Candy Cupcake

There are plenty of red & blue candies out there to fulfill this cupcake task. My current favorite is the 4th of July Twizzlers that you can buy at Walgreens. Lemonade/BlueRaspberry flavored. Nom.

Cupcake #4: Layered Swirl Cupcake

This one is the only cupcake that requires a little effort. Open a ziplock and hold it up by one corner. Drip red food coloring down one edge of the bag, and blue down the other- so they come together to a point. Cut the tip off the bag to let excess run out, and then load with white frosting. Squeeze to create ad swirled look!

Cupcake #5: Fruity 4th Cupcake

Just slice up some strawberries (or raspberries or cherries) and add some blueberries. Done!

Cupcake #6: Sprinkle Cupcake

If you don't have blue and red sprinkles, either use M&Ms or color white sugar with food coloring! 

Perfect!

Which one of these decorations would you try?

Let me know!

xo, lp

Looking for more 4th of July fun? Try my Patriotic Frozen Punch or 4 Washi Tape decorations for the 4th.

(award winning) SALTED CARAMEL CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

No, I'm not lying, they really are award winning!

I mean, sure, it's not some fancy culinary award, but still. I work at a super great place- and for it's 50th anniversary as a company they held a version of Cupcake Wars. I entered this recipe and won one of the three awards. Boom. 

These cupcakes are insanely rich and sweet- with just the perfect amount of salt. The sour cream makes them extra-dense, and the salted caramel filling keeps them from drying out. Gahh. So good.

What you'll need to make it happen:

Cupcake:

This recipe is one I've made a ton of times, and it's a version of Martha Stewart's basic chocolate cupcakes (click for recipe). The only things I change is add an extra teaspoon of vanilla extract & a little extra sour cream!

Salted Caramel Sauce:

Oh, you missed the recipe? I just shared it on the blog recently!

You can find the recipe HERE

Caramel Frosting:

2 cups powdered sugar

1 stick unsalted butter

1/2 cup salted caramel sauce

1. Cube room temperature butter and beat in mixer for 3 minutes, or until light and fluffy.

2. Add in your sugar, mixing lightly to keep contained. Once well mixed, add in caramel sauce and beat for another 4 minutes or so until light and fluffy!

3. Refrigerate your frosting until you're ready to use it. Just leave out to get to room temp and you'll be good to go!

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Tips for the cupcakes, now that you have the recipes:

1. Unless you have a fancy frosting set, all you need is a glass, a ziplock bag, and a scissors! Insert the bag into your glass, folding the edges over & filling the bag. 

2. An easy way to hollow out the center of cupcakes for filling is to take a sharp paring knife, and cut out a square in the center of the cake. Fill with caramel sauce and top with frosting!

3. This caramel sauce is too good just to fill the cupcakes with, drizzle it on top too, and cover with sprinkles!

 The finished product:

 And of course, the best part of the cupcake is when you cut it open and all the salted caramel ooooozes out:

So what are you waiting for? I mean, they're award winning people! Get to it!

What cupcake would be your award winner?

Share away so I can try them for myself!

xo, lp

Love cupcakes? Try out my chocolate peanut butter cupcakes or my rainbow cupcakes!

For instagram fabulousness, go here!

SALTED CARAMEL SAUCE. (it's as good as it sounds)

 If you're reading this as work- this is one of those recipes that is going to make you HATE ME.

Especially if you're on a summer diet/ doing whole30 / aren't able to immediately go home an make 10 batches of this.

This salted caramel sauce is good on anything. Ice cream, cupcakes, pie, apple slices, or hell- just all by itself. It's pretty easy to make and fairly difficult to mess up, so make some, keep it in your fridge at all times, and thank me later.

What you'll need to make it happen:

1 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup water- room temperature

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1 stick unsalted OR salted butter

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

either:

two pinches kosher or sea salt

OR  1/4 teaspoon iodized salt.

How to make it happen:

- as i've mentioned before- when working with caramel you do have to pay attention. so set aside your phone/computer/iPad/mirror for 15 minutes and make this correctly the first time, ya dig?-

1. Combine your water and sugar in a heavy bottom sauce pan and stir to combine. It'll seem too thick- it's not!

2. Place the pan over medium heat so the sugar begins to slowly dissolve. This will take about 5 minutes. Resist your urge to stir it constantly and only give the pan a swirl every minute or so. 

3. Slowly raise the heat a notch at a time to medium high, lightly swirling the pan every minute or so for 7 minutes. Keep a close eye on it after the 5th minute or so- you'll want to get your butter ready to put in once the mixture is a LIGHT amber color. Too dark and it'll burn! 

4. Cube your room temp butter and add it to the sugar mixture- it'll sizzle a bit because well.. you're adding something cooler to a really hot liquid. Don't worry! It should happen that way! Stir the mixture VERY carefully, partially incorporating the butter. Be super careful not to whip the mixture up on the sides of the pan, or the sugar will crystalize, get back in your mixture, and ruin the whole batch. Sadness.

5. Once melted, take your pan off the heat and add your vanilla and heavy cream. Using a whisk, LIGHTLY stir it until it is a cohesive, very liquid caramel. Pour quickly into a clean pan or bowl to avoid any of the uncooked sugar. 

6. In the new bowl, whisk in your salt, taste- add more if you'd like! Put it aside to cool for a bit. (yes, you're allowed to go back on instagram at this point in the process. snap a pic and tag me, @lpodlich so I can see your sweet caramel!)

7. After this, keep it refrigerated .. or eat it all in one sitting. It'll yield about 1 1/2 cups- so plenty for you and your favorite friends.

 SO good while still warm on ice cream!

 It's messy- but worth it!

 This will totally be my new go-to little gift to bring to dinner parties, or other get togethers!

Throw it in a cute mason jar with twine and a sweet tag and you'll be everyone's favorite for sure :)

What would you slather this caramel on?

I highly recommend chocolate ice cream. Just sayin'

xo, lp

THE MOST REFRESHING GRAPEFRUIT GRANITA

So right around this time last year I introduced to all of you to the joy that is granita. Back then I shared a recipe for a lime basil granita...and today I'm back with a new flavor for you!

I know grapefruit is kind of a polarizing fruit- some love it, some hate it- but this granita will bring both sides together. It's refreshing and tangy- but toned down from the usual overly tart flavor!

What you'll need to make it happen:

1 1/2 cups freshly squeezed ruby red grapefruit juice (about 2 large grapefruit)

1/3 cup pulp from the grapefruit

3 cups water

3/4 cup granulated sugar

9x13 pan- glass or metal

red food coloring (optional)

mint to garnish

How to make it happen:

Step 1: Squeeze those grapefruit, discarding of any seeds along the way. Leave in as much of the pulp in as you want- but I used about 1/3 cup. Set aside.

Step 2: Mix your sugar and water in a saucepan, stirring occasionally as you bring it to a boil. Let simmer for a minute and take off the heat to cool.

Step 3: After your sugar mixture cools, stir in your grapefruit juice and pulp- and if you're looking for a brighter pink, add 3 drops of red food coloring as well.

Step 4: Set in the freezer to cool in your 9x13 pan. After the top has started freezing, scrape with a fork. Continue this every half hour until the mixture is fully frozen. 

Step 5: You know you've done it right when you have perfect, icy crystals!

Scrape away! 

 Add a bit of mint!

 There you have it- easy, delicious- and so dang refreshing you won't even believe it. I know this summer I'll be making this stuff in just about every flavor! Oh - and if you like to have a little more fun- add some tequila and you have yourself one delicious grapefruit margarita slushy :)

Are you a grapefruit lover or hater?

Either way, you might need to try this recipe..it could change your mind! 

xo, lp

**Oh, and you're gonna need to go and get these Anthropologie gold dot fabric napkins. They're on sale online right now for $5 a set, and come in a bunch of colors! Get a few sets before they're sold out! **

Love granita? Check out the lime basil version here. Love grapefruit? Then you'll have to make my grapefruit margaritas found here!

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER OREO POPS

Last week I shared with you some sweet Conversation Heart Cookies...but you didn't think that was the only V-day treat I had up my sleeve, did you? 

This is one that is super easy to make, but looks like you put a lot of time into it. Plus, just change up the color of sprinkles and you're good to go for any holiday!

I present to you:

Chocolate Peanut Butter Oreo Pops

What you'll need to make it happen:

Double Stuff Oreos

Creamy Peanut Butter

Lollipop Sticks (available at Michael's and Target)

Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Shortening (Crisco works well)

Red Candy Melts (available at Michael's and Target)

Sprinkles

Ribbon

How to make it happen:

Step 1: Carefully put your lollipop sticks in your oreo and push them about halfway through without cracking the cookies

Step 2: Apply a thick layer of peanut butter to the tops of the cookies, and stick 'em in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Step 3: Set up a double boiler and melt your chocolate chips and shortening. Pull out your oreos from the freezer and quickly coat them with chocolate. Do this using a spatula quickly- or else the peanut butter will melt all over!

Step 4: Add any sprinkles you want directly on the chocolate right away! Put them back in the freezer for another 15 minutes to harden everything up again.

Step 5: Melt your candy melts in the microwave and drizzle/dip your remaining cookies.

Step 6: After the chocolate is fully hard, tie little bows around the sticks and you're good to go!

Cute, right!?

The best part is you can make them ahead of time and keep them in the freezer so they'll still be great for Valentine's day! 

I really dare you to find someone who doesn't love these. Make them and tell me if you do!

What's your favorite easy-to-make treat?

Share a link from another blog/Pinterest in the comments!

xo,lp

Pssssssssssst: If you'd like to give a whole bunch to one person, try this:

Take a small cardboard box and poke small holes it it using a pen tip. Push your cookie pops into the holes and surround with colorful tissue paper!  You'll have the sweetest bouquet possible! 

OOEY GOOEY LEMON BARS

I don't even know how to preface this post.

These lemon bars are amazing.

There. That's it. 

The top is extra sweet with a layer of powdered sugar, and cracks slightly when you bite down into it's ooey gooey citrusy center. Just solid enough to eat without a fork, but totally melt in your mouth when you take a bite. 

Enjoy, my friends.

What you'll need:

2/3 cup fresh squeeze lemon juice (about 2 large lemons)
zest of said lemons

2 1/4 cup all purpose flour

2 cups granulated sugar

4 large eggs

2 sticks unsalted butter (softened)

Powdered sugar

Pinch of salt

Parchment paper

9x13 pan (I prefer glass)

How to make it happen: 

Step 1: Mix together your butter, 2 cups of flour, and 1/2 cup of granulated sugar into a soft dough. 

Step 2: Spread dough evenly into parchment lined baking dish and bake for 20-25 minutes in a 350 degree oven. You'll know it's good to go when it's very lightly browned and bubbling!

Step 3: Mix together your lemon juice and 1 1/2 cups of sugar until dissolved. Add in your eggs, 1/4 cup flour, pinch of salt, and  1 lemon worth of lemon zest.Whisk together until well mixed and frothy!

Step 4: Pour your lemon mixture over your hot crust, being sure to spread it evenly over the whole pan. Throw it back into the 350 degree oven and bake for another 20.

Step 5: Set bars aside and let COOL. Not, really, let them cool people. Don't try and cut them or they will mush everywhere. This will take a while and they will smell awesome, but just let them hang out until the baking dish is cool.
Step 6: About 15 minutes into the cooling process smooth a thin layer of powdered sugar on the bars, which will serve as a protective layer for the final sprinkling of sugar.
Step 7: When cool, cover the bars with a good layer of powdered sugar and sprinkle with lemon zest.
Step 8: Cut into squares and enjoy with a nice cool glass of milk! Keep them in the fridge - they're best cold!

So there you have it folks- hands down the most delicious (and easy) lemon bar recipe there is.
Pin it to your hearts content.
Print it out and save it for later.
Make it for every dang occasion you can.

Looking for some variations? Use orange juice instead- just cut back on the sugar a bit- or use half lemon juice and half lime!

Okay, who is going home to make these tonight?
Bonus points if you take a picture and share it with me!

xo, lp


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PSSSST: Make these bars and want to show them off?
Tag me on Twitter or Instagram (@lpodlich) or on Facebook (Beauty and the Beard) with the picture so I can see how they turned out!!