Fast Food Fun

Cupcake Buns + Brownie Burgers + Cookie Fries = One Happy Meal!

Or many…



I can hardly stand how cute these little guys are. You've probably seen them around before. I know I have. Cupcakes Take The Cake has featured cute ones. But, they are even cuter in person as I discovered this weekend. Oh my gawd… they just make me want to smile. I switched mine up a little by doing the burger out of brownies. But, you can just as easily make chocolate cupcakes and cut them in thirds to use instead. And if you want more realistic lettuce, tint some coconut (yuck) green.

I really decided to make these when I thought about making a meal out of them for Father's Day, complete with sugar cookie french fries. I wasn't sure if they would turn out, but I am so thrilled with the end result. Actually, I think the fries might be my favorite part.

Before I started baking, I made a template for a miniature paper box tray and french fry holder. You can download the 4-page pdf (636 KB) here if you want it. The pdf contains the tray template, french fry holder template (blank & with Happy Father's Day). It also includes the design for the Happy Father's Day tissue paper.



I printed the tray template on card stock (heavier weight paper), the french fry template on vellum (semi-transparent paper) and the tissue insert on tracing paper (really thin paper from Canson Art pad).

All three paper weights went through my printer fine - one sheet at a time to be safe. But, if you're unsure about running the tracing paper through your printer, then just use regular plain white tissue paper.

Cut out the shapes as shown in the picture above with scissors or a sharp blade. Then fold along all the printed lines. Use double-sided tape to secure the flaps. Cut the tissue paper in half and place in the tray print side down.

Now, for the baking. Keeping with the fast food fun theme, I went all mixes on these. That's right. I said mixes. For the cookies, brownies and the cupcakes. Don't cringe.

You know I love learning to bake new things from scratch because it's really empowering and satisfying and it usually tastes better, too. But, before a couple of years ago, I did all my baking from a box and really don't have a problem using a mix. There, I said it. I feel better now.



So, I picked up several kinds.

The brownies baked first in a 13 X 9 pan. You don't need any help there.

The cookies came next. I wanted to do rolled sugar cookies and luckily Mrs. Crocker offered some tips on how to convert the mix for better results.



Except I didn't do the whole floured surface thing. I used parchment paper underneath and on top of the dough. Then I rolled it out with a rolling pin using rubber band spacers attached to ensure an even thickness. This is a really handy trick and so not messy. I got these tips from the book, Cookie Craft. If you want to learn more about rolled sugar cookies, it's great.



See… perfectly even dough and a clean surface.

Here's where I started experimenting, but it worked out pretty well.



Cut the dough in thin strips with a sharp knife and then a long cut down the center. The varied lengths are fine because you don't want all your french fries exactly the same size. Remove the alternating strips so it won't bake into one giant blob. (Reserve dough strips and repeat) Sprinkle sugar on top of the dough. Bake for about 8 minutes at 350 degrees.

These spread more than I had hoped they would for rolled sugar cookies. I know. I know. The mix thing. But, no problem. Just take your knife and cut each "steak fry" down the center for "skinny fries." Do this right when they come out of the oven. Sprinkle more sugar on top while they are still warm, too. Lightly rub it on to make sure it sticks good.

And voila……



A big pile of fries. Yum! Try not to eat too many before you serve them. You can't eat just one. Trust me.

Next up… cupcakes. I made these the next morning to spread out the work.

Boxes, brownies, and fries on one day. Cupcakes and decorating the next.



I baked 24 cupcakes using a yellow cake mix. I also exchanged 1 cup of buttermilk instead of the water. It made them nice and yummy. To test, I greased and floured one 12-cup cupcake tray and used Pam on the second. I wanted my buns to have smooth sides, you know. Well, they came out smooth, but also brown.

You can see what's coming.

Yes. Yes. I made 24 more cupcakes. This time I used milk instead of water. No reason. Just to try it.



They were good, too. And this time I used paper liners to ensure the right color cupcake bun.



Now it's time to assemble. Cut each cooled cupcake in half or thirds depending on how tall it is. Cut out 24 circles from the completely cooled brownies and place in between the cupcake bun.
I used my ever so handy graduated circle cutters to do the trick. Size 2" for uniform burgers.

Then… and this might be the most important thing.

Take a break and dispose of the scraps……



… You'll figure something out.

Next up. Frostings.



Divide the canned frosting in three bowls. Two can have equal amounts for the mustard and ketchup. The third - a little more for the lettuce. The colors I used to tint were, Wilton Leaf Green, Wilton Golden Yellow, and Americolor Super Red.



Perty!



To make the red a little deeper, use a tiny bit of violet when you mix. Place each color in a ziploc bag and snip a small tip off one corner.



Gently squeeze out the mustard and ketchup first. Then the lettuce in more of a squiggly design. Place the top of the bun on and press gently.

Now for the finishing touch. Brush a very thin layer of water over the top of the bun or either dab a few drops of water on with your finger. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top and they'll stick.

There you have it.



Brownie Burger Cupcakes



And Sugar Cookie French Fries.



A perfectly sweet meal for Dad's day or any day.



And, if you use this template, there's a blank french fry holder in it. Use it and you can serve these for a family cookout or Fourth of July party.



People will go crazy for them, don't you think.



Man, that's one good looking burger. So thick … and…



Tasty, too! Hope you like them.

Now, I'm curious. When it comes to mixes, how do you roll?
Use them? Refuse them? Or improve them?

Cheesecake Pops!

Okay, be honest. How many of you saw this coming? After last week's cheesecake success, It was finally the perfect opportunity to give these little treats a try. The first time I remember seeing them was April, a year ago. I remember because I had not been home long after showing Martha how to make Cupcake Pops. I was looking at some of my favorite blogs and everywhere I looked, I started seeing chocolate covered balls on sticks. I mean everywhere. I was like, holy cow, Martha really has some heavy mojo. Then, I laughed at myself when I realized, Martha and I had nothing to do with it. The pops I was seeing were part of a Daring Bakers Challenge where tons of bloggers tackle a new dessert each month and that month they had coincidentally picked cheesecake pops inspired by the book Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey. Well, I finally saw this book a couple of weeks ago in the bookstore, and I had to immediately have it. Let me just tell you, it is a feast for your sugar-loving eyes. When I flipped through it again last weekend, I was reminded of all those beautiful cheesecake pops and it seemed only natural for me to finally give them a go.

And, it didn't hurt any that I had half a plain jane cheesecake sitting in the refrigerator waiting to be experimented on.



I used a small ice cream scoop and scooped up as many balls as I could, trying not to scrape the graham cracker crust into it. I didn't want it to look ugly, you know. I guess, if I was going to make these on purpose, I would bake my cheesecake in a regular 2-3" high cake pan and not use a crust at all.



I got 12 easy, from half of the cheesecake. I could have probably squeaked out a couple more, but I might have eaten a few sections of cheesecake along the way. Maybe.

I didn't really roll these, but I did kind of shape them a little to make them more round.



And, then because they were lumpier than I am used to with the cake pops, I dropped each one in a small bowl filled with graham cracker crumbs and rolled it around to coat. This helped to shape them better as well.

Then, I popped them in the freezer for a few minutes to firm up. (Maybe about 20-30 min. for these.)

While they were chilling. I heated up some chocolate candy melts in the microwave (30 sec intervals, stirring in between) and got my sticks and decorations ready.



I went with teeny tiny hearts in red, white and pink. A hearts and jimmies mix in red, white pink and brown … and also just some dark chocolate that I chopped up in a mini food processor.

Note: I'm pretty sure a few of you are going to want to know where those baking cups came from. Check out www.confectioneryhouse.com

So, after the balls became firm, I dipped one end of my lollipop stick in some of the melted candy coating and then inserted it into the cheesecake ball. I immediately dunked the pop in a deep bowl of melted candy coating and then sprinkled to decorate. Each one was then placed in a styrofoam block to completely dry. Then, they went in the refrigerator to await their fate.

Note: It will really help if you use a bowl that is deep enough to completely submerge the pop in chocolate and remove in one motion. It also helps if your chocolate is on the thinner side. (You can melt a little shortening in it to thin it out some.) Once, you remove it, carefully tap the excess off while balancing the pop on the stick. You may need to rotate your hand so that gravity keeps the pop in place long enough for the chocolate to start to set around the base. Add the decorations before it sets too much also or they won't stick to the surface. These were slightly harder to manage than the cake pops. One… they were larger and heavier because of using the scooper. Two… the cheesecake texture wasn't as sticky as the cake pop mixture.

But… I think they turned out beautifully.

Let's take a closer look…



A little closer.



Closer.



Whoops, just couldn't resist. YUM-O-RAMA!

So, you say you don't want to do a balancing act to make all these on sticks. Here's another way you can do it. And it's easier.



Take your graham cracker-coated cheesecake ball and drop it in the bowl of melted candy coating.



Don't stir it. Just spoon some chocolate over the top until it is covered. Then, scoop it out with a spoon and tap off some of the excess by tapping the spoon on the side of the bowl. Then, just let it slide right off onto some wax paper. Insert your stick and add any decorations. Told you this was easier. I didn't tap these as much as I do regular cake balls because I was going for the Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey look that Jill O'Connor shows in her book.



Messy looks good, too, don't you think?

If you want to make some Cheesecake Pops … you will need:

Cheesecake (Buy one if you want to get straight to the fun stuff. Shhh… I won't tell. You can also use this recipe.)
Mini ice cream scoop
Chocolate candy melts
Sprinkles
Lollipop sticks
Wax paper
Dark chocolate, chopped
Graham cracker crumbs
Dipping bowl
Styrofoam block

and…

Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey if you want to feast your eyes on more messy yumminess.

You can also check the Google results for the Daring Baker's Cheesecake Pop Challenge and see tons more versions to drool over.

Enjoy!