mmmmm

The good news is that bikini season is over. The bad? I still probably shouldn’t eat these anyway. But taking a quick gander at beautiful sweets can’t hurt. Go ahead, get a pseudo sugar lift and peruse these picks.  They’re just so pretty…

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Summer is winding down, school is starting up, alumni are still doing the same-sh*t-different-day dance. In summary, the end of August kind of blows. Which is why this week’s Intro to Cooking is throwing nutrition to the wind (sort of), because it’s time for something indulgent!

The Ingredient: Dark Chocolate

In truth, dark chocolate IS good for you. In small servings, it can lower blood pressure, due to its richness in antioxidants. Why the dark stuff, over its milk- and white-chocolate sisters? Researchers think that the milk found in the latter two varieties may temper with the body’s absorption of the healthful nutrients found in pure chocolate.

Easy recipes (do you really need an excuse?)

* Pair a few pieces with a glass of red wine (more antioxidants!) for a refined evening snack.
* Mix 2 tablespoons agave nectar with 1 tablespoon dark cocoa powder for a healthier alternative to chocolate dip, and serve over pieces of apples, raspberries, and bananas.
* Toss some dark chocolate pieces in a baggie with almonds, goji berries, walnuts, and peanuts for an upscale, super-tasty trail mix for those really hectic days.

The Recipe: Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes
Whoever discovered the combination of chocolate and peanut butter should be given the Nobel Prize, for their contribution to countless moments of decadent dessert bliss. So if you want a cupcake that is truly a religious experience (seriously, just look at that photo), pull out this recipe from Food & Wine, and you’ll be praying to the chocolate gods in no time.

Ingredients
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
1/2 cup boiling water
1 cup buttermilk
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks plus 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 cup heavy cream
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350° and position 2 racks in the lower and middle third of the oven. Line 24 muffin cups with paper or foil liners.

2. Put the cocoa powder in a medium heatproof bowl. Add the boiling water and whisk until a smooth paste forms. Whisk in the buttermilk until combined. In a medium bowl, sift the flour with the baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, beat 1 1/2 sticks of the butter with the granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

3. Beat in the eggs and vanilla, then beat in the dry ingredients in 2 batches, alternating with the cocoa mixture. Carefully spoon the cupcake batter into the lined muffin cups, filling them about two-thirds full. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, or until the cupcakes are springy. Let the cupcakes cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then transfer them to wire racks to cool completely.

4. In a medium bowl, beat the peanut butter with the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter until creamy. Sift the confectioners’ sugar into the bowl and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Spoon all but 3 tablespoons of the peanut butter filling into a pastry bag (or a plastic baggie with a small hole cut in the corner). Holding a cupcake in your hand, plunge the tip into the top of the cake, pushing it about 3/4 inch deep. Gently squeeze the pastry bag to fill the cupcake, withdrawing it slowly as you squeeze; you will feel the cupcake expand slightly as you fill it. Scrape any filling from the top of the cupcake and repeat until all of the cupcakes are filled.

5. In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a simmer. Off the heat, add the semisweet chocolate to the cream and let stand for 5 minutes, then whisk the melted chocolate into the cream until smooth. Let the chocolate icing stand until slightly cooled and thickened, about 15 minutes. Dip the tops of the cupcakes into the icing, letting the excess drip back into the pan. Transfer the cupcakes to racks and let stand for 5 minutes. Dip the tops of the cupcakes again and transfer them to racks.

Got something awesome everyone needs to know about? A really rad singer? A wicked new book? Delectable and healthy snacks?? Email your “The Know” ideas to Jill@collegecandy.com or tweet me and I’ll pass them along to everyone right here, every week. Make your kindergarten teacher proud and share!

Fact: Fro-yo in the summer is amazeballs.
Fact: Fro-yo stores are often overpriced.
Fact: Every time I finish my serving of overpriced fro-yo I’m sad its over and I want more, but don’t want to be fat. Or broke.

You feel me?

Well, what if I had a recipe for a yummy fro-yo dessert that was both lo-cal and low price?! I bet you’d say, “Sign me up for that biatch.” And sign you up for that I will, thanks to my friend Sam who made a kick-ass version for my birthday last year.

Here’s what you need:
One pie crust – I recommend Oreo crust.  If pie crust isn’t your thing or you wanna make some individual treats, cupcake paper holders and a cupcake pan will work just fine.
1 container of Cool Whip
1 single serving container of breakfast yogurt of your choice (think Dannon Light and Fit strawberry, Greek Fage, coffee flavored yogurt – whatever strikes your fancy)
Toppings of your choice: chopped fruit, chocolate chips, almond slivers, granola, shredded coconut… the options are endless!

And here’s how you make your dreams come true:

1. Combine the yogurt and the container of cool whip in a bowl, spread evenly into the pie crust (or into the cupcake tins).

2. If you want, before you spread that ish into the bowl, mix the toppings in. Or just sprinkle them on top. Or do both. Or, if you went pie-crust free, put some toppings (like granola) at the bottom of the cupcake tins to make a “crust.” So many varieties!

3. Throw in the freezer and – badda boom – any time you have a sweet craving, grab a piece of pie or fro-yo cup.

Also a great treat to bring to summer BBQs, birthdays, hell, it’s good for everything. Cheap, lo-cal (depending on the toppings you use) and downright delish. And now you know how to make it happen.

(Editor’s Note: We realize we’ve featured these before, but they are so freaking good and perfect for V-day that we just had to bring them back.)

OK, so we’ve only got 5 days until Valentine’s Day. And that means 5 days until you are inundated with cards, candies and treats…. and you still have nothing to give anyone else.

Have no fear! I’ve got the perfect little treat that is cheap, super easy to make, and is so totally delicious you will make hearts melt across campus.

Behold: the Oreo Truffle.

You don’t even need a real kitchen to whip up these little nuggets of goodness, making them the perfect Valentine’s Day gift (for your lover/friend/self) for the college girl. And you can customize them any way you’d like: add chopped nuts, colored sprinkles, graham cracker crumbles…. the options are endless.

What you need:

1 package of Oreo cookies
8 oz. packages of cream cheese, softened (just leave it out of the fridge for a bit)
16 oz. of chocolate chips
Sprinkles or crushed candy (candy canes, Valentine’s hearts, anything!)
Wax or parchment paper
A Blender

Stop. Truffle Time:

1. Make sure blender is completely dry (unless you wanna make play-dough).

2. Dump Oreos into blender and mix on high until the cookies become fine crumbs.

3. Mix together the 3 cups of cookie crumbs and the softened cream cheese until well-blended. Shape into 42 (1-inch) balls.

4. Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm.

5. Melt chocolate chips in microwave on high for 2 minutes, stopping every 30 seconds to stir.

6. Dip balls into melted chocolate and place on wax or parchment paper.

7. Decorate! Sprinkle on some candy bits, drizzle with white chocolate, eat a few, or roll them in sprinkles.

8. Serve cold for best taste. Store leftovers in refrigerator. Enjoy (with your honey, or your BFFs, or your Sunday TV marathon)!

These little bundles of joy make Valentine’s totally worth enduring.

Read on, my friend.

This recipe for pumpkin peanut butter mousse (adapted from The Peanut Butter Boy‘s formula) is about as close to Food Pyramid-certified as you’re going to get. The only fat in this dessert is in the peanut butter (which is loaded with “good” monounsaturated fats, as well as protein), and hey, pumpkin is a fruit!  Best of all, this recipe is multi-functional (see below) and takes less than five minutes to make.

If there were ever a sign that god exists, it is here. And it is tasty.

Ingredients
1 can pumpkin
1 15oz container fat-free Ricotta cheese
4 tablespoons natural peanut butter
1 tablespoon natural almond butter (optional)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons maple syrup
pinch brown sugar
pinch cinnamon
pinch nutmeg
1 pre-made graham-cracker pie crust (optional; may contain fat)

Directions
1. In a large bowl, mix pumpkin, ricotta cheese, vanilla, maple syrup, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

2. Put the peanut butter and almond butter in a small microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high for 25 seconds, or until melted. Add to the mixture in the large bowl, stirring until well-mixed.  Garnish with cinnamon.

3. Taste with your finger. OK, take another taste. Stop. No more! Save some for later. Take your fingers away from the bowl, missy, and pour that stuff into the pie crust! (That is, if you choose to use one. If not, at least use a spoon!).

This stuff is really delicious on its own – as you will quickly notice – but it’s also really good as a fruit dip or poured into oatmeal! And the best part – you don’t even have to feel guilty for indulging.

Enjoy!

Mmmm beer cake.

I love drinking alcohol, but weekend after weekend of beer pong and vodka shots can get old. So I got to thinking…how can I spice up my weekly binge drinking sesh?

I hit the web in search of some “unique,” “fun” alcohol ideas, and out of these keywords came the most glorious idea I have ever heard.

Cake-tails.

It seemed so simple. Why had I never thought of this before? Why drink my calories when I can kill two birds with one stone? Gobble down baked goods from the snack table while still getting my drink on?

Within minutes I had an entire list of cocktail inspired recipes and alcohol based desserts that I knew my friends would be all over. (No seriously, if they tackled my kitchen table I wouldn’t be surprised).

So here are some of my favorites. Try them out for your next girls’ night or bring it to the house party on Saturday. (If you’re feeling particularly adventurous, make 20 mini bunt cakes for a delicious Beer Pong game.) You will most definitely be everyone’s favorite guest. Let’s be real, who is going to say no to alcohol-and-dessert-in-one? That’s right, absolutely no one.

Plus, our favorite girly cocktails can continue to live on despite the fact that the cutest thing we can drink in a beer-soaked-frat-house is a jello shot – and even that’s a luxury.

Oh and forget the milk. If you still haven’t reached your desired blood alcohol level, nothing goes better with these desserts than an ice cold glass of vodka.

I have a confession to make: I’m a little bit of a cupcake ho. How can you resist those cute, mini cakes? A portable slice of heaven? The perfect frosting to cake ratio? Recipes that make a dozen so you don’t have to stop after one?

How could you not fall truly, madly, deeply in love?

Unfortunately, being that I’ve been around the cupcake block a few times, I’ve become a bit of a cupcake snob and find myself snubbing the dry and uncreative store-bought variety.

Lucky for me (and you!), I found a simple and yummy cupcake recipe via Appoggiatura.

Ingredients:
For the cupcakes
3/4 C butter (1 1/2 sticks)
1 1/2 C sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 C flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 C milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp lemon extract

For the frosting
1/2 C butter (1 stick)
8 oz cream cheese (1 block)
3 C confectioner’s sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º.

2. Bring the butter and the eggs to room temperature before mixing.

3. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together using a hand mixer. Mix in the eggs one at a time. Then, stir in all of the dry ingredients until just combined. Slowly pour in the milk and the extracts while beating constantly. (Editor’s Note: this sounds a little naughty, no?)

4. Line two muffin tins with cupcake papers. Fill 2/3 of each space with batter.

5. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until the cupcakes are lightly golden on top and a toothpick inserted in the center of one comes out clean. Remove the cupcakes from the tins to racks to cool. Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

6. While the cupcakes cool, make the frosting. Using a hand mixer, cream together the sugar, the cream cheese, the confectioner’s sugar, and the vanilla extract. Add sugar to bring frosting to the appropriate consistency. If the frosting is too stiff, a splash of milk can be mixed in to thin it. (For best results, keep sticking your finger in there and tasting it. You want it to be perfect, right?)

7. To apply the frosting, use a decorator’s bag to pipe on the frosting. You can also just use a plastic baggy with the corner cut off, because you’re a college girl and don’t even have a spatula, let alone a decorator’s bag. Or, you could just mush that stuff on top with a knife. It will all taste the same.

Since these cupcakes use cream cheese frosting, keep them refrigerated until you serve them, then bring them up to room temperature before eating. Enjoy!

Who doesn’t love a little Southern cooking? Fried, greasy goodness? I wouldn’t trust someone who didn’t dream about it once in awhile.  And better yet, who doesn’t love a little Southern dessert? There is nothing. better. on earth. (I love you, Paula Dean!)

This recipe comes from my best friend’s mother, Mrs. D, a Southern mom who doesn’t have time to bake like all those other mommas.  These Oreo Balls are easy, quick and delicious, which is perfect for the college girl with a sweet tooth. You’ll need zero to no cooking experience or talent, so don’t fret if you’re not Betty Crocker. Hell, you don’t even need a full kitchen; you can make these balls of heaven right in your dorm room.

There are a lot of different recipes for Oreo Balls out there, but, again, I’m sticking with Mrs. D on this one. That woman totally knows her shiz.

Ingredients:

- 1  Package Oreo cookies, crushed
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 bag chocolate chips, melted or 2 packages dipping chocolate  (white, dark, milk – whichever you prefer!)

Directions:

1. Mix the crushed Oreo cookies and cream cheese together in a bowl. Use food processor or blender to speed up this process.
2. With your hands, roll Oreo and cream cheese mixture into small balls.  Place on baking sheet lined with wax paper.
3. Chill in freezer for 30 minutes.
4. Melt chocolate chips or dipping chocolate in the microwave until melted.
5. Using a toothpick, dip the Oreo balls into the melted chocolate.  Cover well.
6. Let Oreo balls harden on a wax-paper lined cookie sheet in fridge or freezer. Takes about 15 minutes.
7. Keep in fridge! Serve cold and enjoy!

Makes about 25 – 40 Oreo Balls, depending on how you make them.

*To make a healthier version of these Oreo balls, try using low-fat cream cheese! But, really, what difference does that make?

If I’m going to get fatter, I better damn well enjoy it, am I right?

I’m sick of plugging my nose while throwing back a shot and rummaging through my kitchen for an open can of Diet Coke to chase it. I want to enjoy my drink from beginning (taste) to end (drunkity drunk drunk). So I sifted through the internet to find drinks that taste less like gasoline and more like my favorite thing: dessert. I’ve tested these recipes again and again (and again…) and they do the trick.

Potent? Check.
Lip smacking good? Mmmmmcheck!

Here are my faves:

Chocolate Valentine
1 part vanilla flavored vodka
1 part dark crème de cacao
1 part cherry juice
splash of cream and a splash of club soda
Shake with ice and strain into a shot glass.

Coconut Sweet Tart
1 part vodka
1 part coconut rum
1 part cherry juice
splash of lemonade
Shake with ice and strain into a shot glass

Cinnamon Toast Crunch
1 part Butterscotch Schnapps
1 part Irish Cream
Splash of Goldschlager
Layer in a shot glass

Girl Scout Cookie
½ ounce Baileys Irish Cream
½ ounce Kahlua
½ ounce Peppermint Schnapps
Shake with ice and strain into a shot class

Raspberry Brownie
1 part coffee liquor
1 part raspberry liquor
Splash of cream
Layer in a shot glass

And a Shooter for Good Measure: Apple Pie Shooter
Apple juice
Vodka
Whipped cream
Dash of cinnamon
Have a friend pour it all into your mouth, swish it all around, swallow and enjoy!

Dessert for dinner? Do it!

This is totally not P.C., but we kinda laughed anyway.

We’re obsessed with the maxi dress!

Will Chase Crawford do Kevin Bacon justice?

Um. Bacon lube exists.