baking - Around My Family Table

Empty Tomb Rolls

March 20, 2013 · by amft · 12 Comments

I’m always searching for creative ways to teach my children Bible stories. My kids learn better with hands-on activities while we are talking and then being able to visualize what we are talking about. I first heard about Empty Tomb Rolls several years ago and I know they are all over the web now, but I’ve got one trick up my sleeve that makes them pretty much fool proof.

From my research years ago, most people complained that the rolls opened during cooking allowing the marshmallow and all the goodness to flow right on pan leaving behind a sad and pathetic roll…that doesn’t help when trying to bring home the point of the story.

To teach the story of Easter read the story from the Bible found in Matthew 27-28, Mark 15-16, Luke 23-24 (my favorite version), and/or John 19-20. (If you are not familiar with the Bible the same story is recounted by these four men…the story is virtually the same but is found in these four places in the Bible.) I’ve included a little legend for how to relate the story to the Empty Tomb Rolls, just in case you couldn’t figure it out.

Jesus —marshmallow

After Jesus died on the cross he was wrapped in linen— roll in butter and cinnamon

Jesus put into tomb — crescent roll dough

3rd day Jesus has risen and no longer in tomb — open cooked roll to find no marshmallow

Empty Tomb Rolls

Teaching kids about the true meaning of Easter with Empty Tomb Rolls is easy and makes a lasting impact...and they taste good too!

1 (10 ounce) package jumbo refrigerated crescent rolls

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

8 large marshmallows

1/4 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare muffin pan (preferably jumbo muffin pan) with non-stick cooking stray.

Separate rolls into eight triangles and set aside. Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.

Dip each marshmallow into butter, then roll in cinnamon-sugar and place on a triangle dough. Pinch dough around marshmallow, sealing all edges. Make sure to seal well or all the marshmallow will escape.

Dip tops of dough into the remaining butter and then into the cinnamon-sugar. Place roll with the sugar side up into prepared muffin cups.

Bake at 375 degrees for 13 - 15 minutes. Eat warm.

Opt: Read the Easter story from the Bible found in Matthew 27-28, Mark 15-16, Luke 23-24, and/or John 19-20. If you are not familiar with the Bible the story is recounted by these four men...the story is virtually the same but is found in these four places in the Bible.

Jesus —marshmallow

After Jesus died on the cross he was wrapped in linen— roll in butter and cinnamon

Jesus put into tomb — crescent roll dough

3rd day Jesus has risen and no longer in tomb — open cooked roll to find no marshmallow

http://www.aroundmyfamilytable.com/2013/03/empty-tomb-rolls/

Filed Under: appetizers, breads, breakfasts, desserts, easter, holidays and activities, kid friendly, kids in the kitchen, other desserts, sweet · Tagged: appetizer, baking, breakfast, dessert, Easter, kids

Homemade Gluten Free Bread

March 6, 2013 · by amft · 2 Comments

I love the smell of bread rising and then baking in the oven. I love grinding my grinds and the pleasure I get something I created without any funky ingredients. That all came to a screeching halt about 3 months ago. I had to sell my wheat grinder (such a sad, sad day) and start buying $6 loaves of bread that tasted like cardboard. Making Homemade Gluten Free Bread was a top priority for me if this new phase of life was going to go well.

It’s been a hard lesson on how to work with all these new gluten free flours and cooking is so much different, but since I figured out my Master Gluten Free Mix I was able to figure out how to make bread. {Oh Happy Day!}

Not only did I have to figure out how to make gluten free bread, it had to be dairy free and egg free. That causes it’s own issues, but the results are pretty much amazing! Is it just like wheat bread? No! Would it be better with egg? Of course! But it works for me and I know there are other people out there allergic to wheat and eggs.

If you can have eggs, then feel free to add them back in. It will be great!

Homemade Gluten Free Bread

yield:3 loaves

Homemade Gluten Free Bread

Perfect gluten free bread from scratch!

8 cups GF Master Blend

1 tbls xanthan gum

2 tbls yeast

2 tbls salt

3 1/2 cups water

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup honey or agave

2 tbls egg replacer mixed with 1 1/2 cups water (or 6 eggs)

Preheat oven to 200F.

Combine flour, xanthan gum, yeast, and salt in a mixer** with cookie paddles attached. Add remaining ingredients and mix well on low speed. Batter will be very wet, like the consistency of muffin batter.

Spoon batter into pans (about 1lb 10oz per loaf). Gently shape lumpy batter into a smooth top (make it look like bread). Turn off oven and allow dough to rise in warm oven for 30 minutes.

Remove pans from oven, turn oven back on to 350F, and bake 55-60 minutes or until golden brown.

**Note: This recipe was made in a Bosch mixer. Feel free to use a different mixer, just know that you may need to halve the recipe so that you don't burn out the motor.

http://www.aroundmyfamilytable.com/2013/03/homemade-gluten-free-bread/

Recipe adapted from a recipe I got in a GF cooking class.

Filed Under: breads, dairy free, df breads, ef breads, egg free, gf breads, gluten free, how to · Tagged: baking, bread, dairy free, egg free, gluten free, vegan

Pistachio Cupcakes

February 27, 2013 · by amft · 4 Comments

Can you believe that I had never had a pistachio until a couple weeks ago?!?! I thought they looked weird. Well, I got a hankering to give them a try after taking a photography class that ended with a photo shoot in a pistachio grove. Who knew we even had one in Phoenix? I sure didn’t. So to ease myself into the pistachio world, I decided on Pistachio Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting.

Come to find out the vast majority of pistachio cupcakes aren’t even made with real pistachios! <I was shocked> They are made with pistachio pudding. I can’t add that to my cupcakes for several reasons, so I started to research the best way to impart all that flavor into a cupcake.

Enter Pistachio Nut Paste. Basically it’s just ground up pistachios with a bit of sugar. I thought about making my own nut paste in my Vita-Mix, but couldn’t find raw, shelled pistachios…so this worked out great (although it is a tad pricey, but so worth it in my opinion). I can see using this wonderful paste in all sorts of desserts, it was really good.

The day after my photography class, I took my kids back out to the pistachio grove and played around with my new new knowledge and let the kids run and play. It ended up being really fun and <I think> the pictures turned out great. I can’t wait to see what the grove looks like in the spring, summer, and fall this year. Here are a couple of my favorites from the day…

Little Miss

Okay, enough of my kids…back to cupcakes! These cupcakes are gluten free, dairy free, and egg free (which makes them vegan), but they are so moist and delicious that you’d never know.

Pistachio Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting

Moist, delicious, and tons of pistachio flavor! These cupcakes are gluten free and can easily be made dairy free and egg free too with great results!

1 1/2 cups white rice flour

3/4 cup tapioca flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

3 tsps baking powder

1 tsp xanthan gum

4 eggs (or equivelent egg replacer)

1 1/4 cups white sugar

2/3 cup mayonnaise (or egg-free mayo)

1 11oz can Pistachio Nut Paste

1 cup milk of choice (I used plain soy milk)

2 tsps vanilla extract

1/2 cup salted pistachios, shelled and lightly crushed

chocolate frosting (recipe below)

Preheat oven to 350F. Place cupcake liners in 24 cupcake tins and lightly spray with non-stick cooking spray.

Mix white rice flour, tapioca flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and xanthan gum together and set aside.

In a separate bowl combine eggs (or egg substitute), sugar, and mayonnaise until fluffy. Add the flour mixture, milk, and vanilla and mix well. Add pistachio nut paste and gently stir until combined. Scoop batter into prepared cupcake tins.

Bake at 350F for 25 minutes. Cupcakes are done when they spring back when lightly touched or when a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting.

Chocolate Frosting:

1 cup shortening

1 lb powered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup dutch-processed cocoa powder

1/8-1/4 cup water

Combine shortening, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl using a medium speed on a stand mixer. Beat in cocoa powder. Slowly add in powered sugar. Beat slowly and add a tablespoon of water as needed to allow frosting to mix well. Add in water one tablespoon at a time until the frosting is a good consistency for spreading on cupcakes.

Top with crushed pistachios.

http://www.aroundmyfamilytable.com/2013/02/pistachio-cupcakes/

Looking for more Pistachio Recipe ideas? I was, so I asked some friends to share their recipes. YUM!

Olive Oil Granola with Dried Persimmon & Pistachios
Raspberry Pistachio Thumbprints
Oatmeal Cranberry Pistachio Cookies
Watergate Cake
Pistachio Chocolate Frozen Mousse
Roasted Spaghetti Squash with Pistachio Pesto & Dried Cranberries
Strawberry Cannoli Parfaits with Pistachios
Cranberry Pistachio Energy Bites
Pistachio Shortbread
White Chocolate Cranberry Pistachio Cookies
Dukkah Spice Blend
Pistachio Cake in 30 Minutes

Filed Under: cakes/cupcakes, desserts, df desserts, dye free, ef desserts, egg free, frosting, gf desserts, gluten free · Tagged: baking, chocolate, cupcakes, dairy free, egg free, frosting, gluten free, pistachios, vegan

Mocha Latte Poke Cake

February 8, 2013 · by amft · 7 Comments

Today is Hubbyman’s Grandma’s birthday and we are celebrating with a huge family party. Somehow, I got suckered into cooking almost 30 lbs of brisket and ribs. {No that was not a typo…I’m cooking 30 pounds of meat for the party.} Luckily, I was able to get out of making the birthday cake for everyone, but I still wanted something I could eat. So I whipped up this Mocha Latte Poke Cake just for me.

Can I be honest with you? I’ve never had a traditional poke cake, so I have no idea how they are supposed to be, but I can say this one is AMAZING!

I used Silk’s new Iced Latte drink to make a pudding to pour over my gluten free cake and then topped the whole thing with frosting. I’ve had Silk Soy Milk in the past and was intrigued by the new Iced Latte drinks and that the soy milk has a label saying it has a new great taste. I liked it the way it was, but I had to give it a try and it did have an even better taste. {Love it when things get better!}

Since I can’t have dairy any more, I thought it would be fun to share some Silk soy facts with you. Silk Soy Milk is:

100% dairy and lactose free,
non-GMO (Almond and Soy varieties carry the non-GMO project verified seal),
Silk Vanilla has as much calcium as cow milk, and
it’s a complete protein.

It’s funny how life has thrown this curve ball at me. I’ve had to rethink everything. I can’t even kiss my kids (or have them kiss me) after they’ve had a glass of cow milk or a slice of pizza. I thought giving up dairy would be super hard, but it’s been remarkably easy. I think it’s because there are great products out there that make the transition to a dairy-free life so easy!

Mocha Latte Poke Cake

A gluten free, dairy free dessert filled with tons of flavor...no one will know it's gluten free and vegan!

1 box gluten free cake mix (prepared)

2 cups plus 1/8 cup Silk Mocha Iced Latte

3 tbls cornstarch

1/3 cup mini vegan chocolate chips

1 1/2- 2 cups white frosting

Prepare and bake cake according to directions (or swap out butter for nondairy butter and egg replacer for eggs). Remove from oven to cool slightly.

Meanwhile, pour Mocha Latte (reserving 1/8 cup) into medium sauce pan over medium high heat. In a small bowl, mix remaining latte with cornstarch and whisk until cornstarch is fully dissolved with no lumps remaining. Add to heating latte. Whisk continually until latte thickens into pudding. Let cool in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes and then stir in chocolate chips.

Using the back of wooden spoon, poke holes all over cake. Gently pour thickened pudding onto cake (note: you may not use all the pudding...save and eat it later). Place cake in the refrigerator for 30 minutes for pudding to continue setting up.

Mix frosting well and then gently spread evenly over cake. Store in refrigerator for up to 3 days.

http://www.aroundmyfamilytable.com/2013/02/mocha-latte-poke-cake/

Have you tried Silk recently? I just love it! Check them out on Pinterest and Twitter for recipes and inspiration. Are you following me on Google + yet? I’d love to have you head on over and check out my shopping trip and follow along.

Disclaimer: I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias® and WhiteWave #cbias #SocialFabric.

Filed Under: cakes/cupcakes, desserts, df desserts, ef desserts, gf desserts, spon · Tagged: baking, cake, dairy free, desserts, egg free, gluten free, review, vegan

Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

December 3, 2012 · by amft · 8 Comments

This year, I’ve been on a total peppermint kick. So buckle your seat belts….I have a week of wonderful peppermint recipes for your holiday baking and giving needs! First up Chocolate Peppermint Cookies!

One of my favorite flavor combinations is chocolate and peppermint. Seriously, who doesn’t? This cookie offers the perfect balance of chocolate and peppermint and cookie!

Honestly, I took a super shortcut with these cookies…I needed a quick holiday cookie for a party and I was out of butter (shocking, I know)! But I did have a package of sugar cookie dough in the fridge that was supposed to be for the kids to decorate, so I used them!

Hold on though…the secret to using the sugar cookies in the fridge case for something like this…gently rolling about 1 1/2 tbls of dough into a ball and then placing on your baking pan. It helps them bake into a perfect round cookie. If you want to make your sugar cookies from scratch for an extra special touch, try my Sugar Cookie recipe.

I always buy way too many candy canes this time of year. We hang them on our tree, attach them to gifts, give them to friends, bake with them, swirl them in my hot cocoa, and of course just plain ol’ eat them! I’m not 100% sure, but I think peppermint candies taste better when they are served in a cane shape as opposed to the little mint shapes. Don’t they?!?!

These cookies ended up going to hubbyman’s office…gotta keep up morale. And they were devoured before lunch. Hubbyman said that everyone loved them!

Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

1 tube refrigerated sugar cookie dough

1 10-12 oz bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 tbls shortening

8-10 mini candy canes, crushed

Preheat oven according to cookie package instructions and prepare a pan with non-stick cookie spray. Drop dough onto pan in about 1 1/2 tbls sized scoops. Gently roll each scoop into a loose ball, return to pan. Bake according to package. Remove from oven baking rack and let cool completely.

Line a pan with parchment paper and place crushed candy canes in a shallow dish.

In a microwave safe bowl, combine chocolate chips and shortening. Microwave on high for one minute. Stir. Return to microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until chocolate is completely melted.

Dip half of a cookie into melted chocolate, sprinkle with crushed candy canes, and place on parchment to dry. Repeat until all cookies are done. Let sit for several hours to dry.

http://www.aroundmyfamilytable.com/2012/12/chocolate-peppermint-cookies/

Filed Under: christmas, cookies, desserts, holidays and activities, kid friendly, kids in the kitchen, kitchen gadgets, review · Tagged: baking, chocolate, Christmas, cookies, peppermint

Bacon Cheddar Scones

May 21, 2012 · by amft · 21 Comments

We went on a short staycation last week and ate WAY too much! We had a blast, loved all the fun activities, and ate WAY too much. Yes, it was worth repeating! But we had some amazing food. Trust me…I will share all about our staycation in a couple weeks, but I had to recreate one dish this weekend.

On Mother’s Day, we ate at a nice restaurant at the Westin Kierland Resort in Scottsdale, AZ. I ordered the scones, one sweet and one savory…they said it was a Scottish savory scone. Um…okay. Sounded good to me! Well…I had to fight off the rest of my family for my scone…my Mother’s Day breakfast was under attack. I knew then that I had to recreate it at home.

I’ve made several scone recipes before, but they were sweet. And I had the most amazing Irish cheddar cheese sitting in my fridge dying to be used in a tasty dish. Is that wrong? I used Irish cheese in a “Scottish” scone? I might have broken some sort of UK law. Shhh…don’t tell! So, I got up early yesterday morning and started playing around with the recipe.

Okay, so at 6:45 in the morning, I’m not always functional. I couldn’t find my biscuit cutter anywhere…so I dipped a cup in a little flour and then cut my scones with it! This dough is so tender that it worked perfectly.

Bake…Smell…Wait…Drool

Awwww…FINALLY!

Bacon Cheddar Scones

2 cups AP flour (plus more for kneading)

2 tbls sugar

1 tbl baking powder

5 tbls cold butter, cut into to small cubes

3/4-1 cup half and half (whole milk or heavy cream work well too)

5 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled

4 oz cheddar cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 400. Prepare a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray or parchment. In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, and baking powder. Cut in butter with pastry blender or fork until crumbly. Stir in half and half. Gently fold in cheddar cheese and bacon.

On a lightly floured surface, knead dough 5 or 6 times. Roll dough into a 1/2-inch thick circle.** Use a biscuit cutter, or cup, dipped in flour and cut out scones. Combine scraps and cut again. Place dough circles on prepared pan. Brush tops with a little half and half.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. When scones have cooled completely, sprinkle with powdered sugar.

**Or divide dough in half and make two smaller circles. Cut into 8 triangles each. This makes a nice size for taking to a brunch potluck or if you are having a lot of other food.

http://www.aroundmyfamilytable.com/2012/05/bacon-cheddar-scones/

Seriously…If you want sneak peaks, you have to follow me on Instagram (myfamilytable)!

Thank you Kerrygold for beginning my obsession with this cheese! It’s absolutely amazing. Kerrygold USA was a Camp Blogaway Sponsor. I was not obligated to use their product! But why wouldn’t I…it’s delicious!

Filed Under: breakfasts, savory · Tagged: bacon, baking, breakfast, brunch, cheese, scone

Cadbury Egg Cupcakes

March 29, 2012 · by amft · 14 Comments

Besides Peeps, Cadbury Eggs are one of my guilty pleasures this time of year. Thank goodness, the season is fairly short because I could go into a sugar coma with these little babies! Aren’t the mini Cadbury Eggs just adorable! They are much more manageable in terms of sugar intake. LOL! Of course making Cadbury Egg Cupcakes is filled with even more suger…but I really don’t care because they are so darn delicious!

I know you are probably thinking what a boring chocolate cupcake with a little chocolate egg thrown on top….but what you can’t see is the treasure waiting for you in the middle! That’s right!!!! There is a mini Cadbury egg baked into the middle of each of these cupcakes! I KNOW! And yes they were goooood!

I did use a natural dye for the yellow and left the eggs out of a few cupcakes and off the tops of the those. Can’t have cupcakes and not let my little girl have one too. She didn’t even care about the candy that adorned ours…she was excited that mommy made cupcakes for no reason at all!

I found the mini Cadbury Eggs at the grocery store, but Amazon has them too. I also got my natural dyes from Amazon as well.

Cadbury Egg Cupcakes

24 cupcakes

Cadbury Egg Cupcakes

48 mini Cadbury Eggs, wrappers removed (24 frozen)

1 chocolate cake mix or favorite scratch cake recipe

white buttercream frosting, store bought or homemade

yellow or orange food dye

Freeze 24 of the Cadbury Eggs, this keeps them from completely disintegrating while baking.

Prepare 24 regular sized muffin tins pans with liners and a light mist of non-stick cooking spray. Preheat oven and prepare cake mix according to directions. Fill muffin tins about 2/3 of the way full with batter. Drop in one frozen Cadbury Egg into each muffin tin and make sure it is completely covered with batter. Bake muffins according to directions.

Use food dye or natural coloring to dye about 1/3 of the frosting a yellow/orange color. Using a decorator tube with a circle opening, pipe a large O on the cupcake with white frosting, leaving the center open. Fill in the opening with yellow/orange frosting. Top each cupcake with a Cadbury Egg.

Note: Don't have any decorating tools! Use a zip top baggie with one corner cut out to allow the frosting to be piped onto the cupcake.

http://www.aroundmyfamilytable.com/2012/03/cadbury-egg-cupcakes/

Filed Under: cakes/cupcakes, desserts, dye free, easter, holidays and activities · Tagged: baking, cupcakes, desserts, Easter

Hunger Games Cupcakes

March 23, 2012 · by amft · 11 Comments

One of my best friends is planning for a huge group of us to see the afternoon showing of the Hunger Games on Sunday. We decided to make shirts for ourselves and after we started the project word got out that we were doing shirts and our little half day project turned into 8 shirts, 4 trips to the store, and 3 days of crafting!

When it came time for our 3rd ~~work~~ craft session, I decided to throw together a little snack to keep us focused on the reason for our shirt adventure in the first place. And what better way than with fun cupcakes! I literally threw these together last minute, but had to share them with y’all!

Hunger Games Cupcakes

favorite cupcake recipe
favorite white frosting recipe
several copies of the mockingjay cut out
(print onto cardstock, you will need to adjust the size, and use an exact-o knife to cut)
cocoa powder

Place 4-6 cupcakes together in a grouping. Frost them together, so that it resembles a cake. Place stencil on top of frosting and use cocoa powder in a fine mesh strainer or shaker container and shake over the stencil. Gently remove stencil from frosting, taking caution to lift straight up. Finish cupcake with a frosting boarder.

Check out these easy freezer paper shirts we did using my Silhouette ! Janice has step by step instructions on Celebrating Family!

And I thought you might like the template to try your own Hunger Games project!

I can’t wait for SUNDAY! Have you seen the movie yet? What did you think????

Filed Under: cakes/cupcakes, desserts, party food · Tagged: baking, cake, cupcakes, dessert, Hunger Games

Samoa Cupcakes

February 29, 2012 · by amft · 154 Comments

If you have been alive the last month and a half then you know it’s Girl Scout cookie time! My daughter is a Brownie this year and her first cookie booth was last week. She was so excited! I usually buy way to many cookies but they freeze well, right. At least, I tell myself I will freeze them, but I usually just put them in the cabinet and we eat them in about a month.

One of family’s favorite cookies are the Samoa’s! They are chocolate caramel coconut bite of heaven in a cookie. Luckily, not too many cookies come in one box because we will eat the whole box in one sitting. So what did I do? I created a whole cupcake with the flavors of this two bite wonder! Oh it is delicious! The kids were telling everyone about the new cupcake mommy made…seriously, I think my daughter told her teacher at school about it and to watch for the recipe. What a sweetie!

The frosting to this cupcake is to-die-for. I joked that I would put it in the bath tub and bathe in it….yes it was that good. Hmmmm….maybe I shouldn’t be telling you that. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.

This is not my first attempt at recreating a Girl Scout cookie into a cupcake. Have you tried my Thin Mint Cupcake? It is super easy. The Samoa Cupcake is a bit more involved, but totally worth it!!!! I suppose you could use a boxed cake mix, but why would you want to do that…cake from scratch is so easy and tastes so much better!

What is your favorite Girl Scout cookie?

Samoa Cupcakes

24 cupcakes

Samoa Cupcakes

Cupcakes:

2 cups sugar

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsps baking powder

1 1/2 tsps baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 tsps vanilla extract

1 tsp coconut extract

1 cup hot coffee

Filling:

1/2 cup chocolate syrup

1/3 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Caramel Frosting:

2 sticks butter

2 cups packed brown sugar

1/2 cup milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 cups powdered sugar

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

1/4 cup milk chocolate chips

Cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake tins with liners and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.

Combine sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and extracts. Beat on medium speed (using a stand or handheld mixer) 2 minutes. Stir in hot coffee (the batter will be thin). Pour the batter into prepared pans.

Bake 22 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove cupcakes from pans onto wire racks. Cool completely before frosting.

Filling:

Combine chocolate syrup and coconut in a small bowl. When cupcakes are cooled,scoop out the center of each cupcake with a melon baller or the big end of a large frosting tip. Saving the removed portions. Use a small spoon to fill the holes with the chocolate coconut mixture. Replace tops.

Caramel Frosting:

Melt the butter in a heavy 2-quart saucepan. Stir in brown sugar and heat the mixture to boiling, stirring constantly. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes or until the sugar is dissolved. Add the milk and return to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove the pan from heat and cool to lukewarm (~30-40 minutes) stirring occasionally. Stir in the vanilla and then gradually stir in the powdered sugar. Adjust consistency with a more milk or powdered sugar, if necessary. Use while frosting is still a little warm, it will start to harden as it cools.

To toast the coconut, spread the coconut onto a rimmed sheet pan. Toast in a 350°F oven, stirring frequently, until the coconut is an even brown color, about 10 minutes.

When the cupcakes are completely cool, frost them then drizzle with melted chocolate chips or chocolate syrup. Sprinkle with toasted coconut.

http://www.aroundmyfamilytable.com/2012/02/samoa-cupcakes/