Bonbon Jovi Truffles: A Sweet Treat for Serious Eats

Bonbon Jovi Truffles: they may be slippery when wet, but they don't give love a bad name.

Starting with a can't-go-wrong combination of smooth peanut butter and chocolate, these truffles get a snappy "pop" from Rice Krispies. Simple and delicious, these truffles are as addictive of a guilty pleasure as a hit single. They'll make your mouth as happy as singing Living on a Prayer at the top of your lungs with the windows down.

Note: I made my toppers using a 1-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter to mimic a Bon Jovi band logo, which is an ornate bleeding heart. If you break some hearts while removing them, don't sweat it—just use some confectioners' sugar and water like "glue" to put them back together. Decorate with writing markers or gel icing with the titles of your favorite Bon Jovi hits.

For the full tutorial and post, visit Serious Eats!

Stuff It: Cupcake-Stuffed Cupcakes for Serious Eats

I hold this truth to be self-evident: Cupcakes are better when filled. This, of course, is a lesson learned from Bake It In A Cake, which proves that there's no lack of material with which to fill them, ranging from cookie dough to dollhouse-sized pies to baklava.

But the ultimate cupcake-stuffer? Cupcakes themselves. By embedding miniature cupcakes—frosting and all—inside batter-filled standard-sized cups, you get a surprisingly delightful treat: The baby-cakes, sealed by the moisture of the cake batter, don't dry out, whereas the baked bit of frosting lightly spreads, browns, and adds a rich crunch, making for an overall taste and visual contrast which can't be beat.

Note: If you don't cover the mini cupcakes batter, the frosting will spread a bit and you might want to keep a cookie sheet under the muffin tin in case of drippage. Alternately, save a little batter and cover them completely before baking.

For the full entry and recipe, visit Serious Eats!

Are You Ready for this Jelly? Peanut Butter and Jelly Tart Recipe for Serious Eats

The problem with the Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich? Like most childhood treats, it's rarely as delicious as you remember. However, there's a way to update this classic in a totally sweet way: turn it into a tart. Anchored by a substantial buttery shortbread crust, this peanut butter and jelly pie is sophisticated enough to satisfy adult palates—after all, it's an adaptation of the Rosemary-Scented Date-Nut Bars from The Perfect Finish by Bill Yosses and Melissa Clark—but simple and tasty enough to please eaters of all ages.

For the full entry and recipe, visit Serious Eats!

Hot Dog! Chilly Willy Ice Cream Sandwiches on Hot Dog Buns Recipe for Serious Eats

CakeSpy Note: I created these for a Labor Day entry on Serious Eats. Even though Labor Day is over, they're a great way to use leftover hot dog buns!

When it comes to Labor Day food, the general rule is "it's more fun on a bun." Happily, dessert can be part of the party when you combine ice cream and hot dog buns to make Chilly Dogs.

I was delighted when I first came across this confection at Snacks!, a bodega in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood. Unlikely as it may seem, the combination of toasted hot dog bun lined with peanut butter and jelly, then topped with ice cream is actually quite delicious—the light sweetness of the bun works nicely with the ice cream, with just enough sponginess to absorb the flavor of the ice cream, but sturdy enough that it will keep it contained for a sweet hand-held treat. Of course, it might get a bit messy toward the end, but isn't that part of the fun of outdoor eating?

For the full post and recipe, check out Serious Eats!

Joyeux Anniversaire: Birthday Cake French Toast Recipe for Serious Eats

Say hello to your new best friend, Birthday Cake French Toast. This recipe breathes new life into birthday cake that is past its prime, making use of the dry texture to absorb a rich, eggy mixture, which is then pan-fried (frosting and all) to yield a new breed of French toast that's beyond decadent. In the tradition of over-the-top morning foods such as Cadbury Creme Eggs Benedict, this makes for a sugar bomb of a plate, tasting far better than it has any right to, in a so-bad-it's-good sort of way.

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Being Green: Zucchini Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe for Serious Eats

It's not easy being green.

It is, however, exceedingly easy to eat green, especially when we're talking about zucchini cake. Now, you probably already knew that the abundant late summer fruit (yes, it's a fruit) yields a moist, dense, and delicious quick bread. But please, don't let the story end there—because when you take it into cake territory by adding a thick slathering of chocolate cream cheese frosting, you'll have a far sweeter finish.

The frosting prettily contrasts the color of the cake, and the triple-threat of complementary flavors—tangy cream cheese, rich chocolate, earthy zucchini—makes for a final product that leaves zucchini bread absolutely green with envy.

For the full entry and recipe, check out Serious Eats!

Sweet Pop: Pat Benatart for Serious Eats

As any 1980s music lover knows, running with the shadows of the night burns a ton of calories. You're going to need a slice or six of Pat Benatart to maintain your energy.

Inspired by pop-rock princess Pat Benatar, this tart starts with a cookie crust (erring more toward crumbly than "real tough cookie with a long history"), a lemon-lime cream cheese filling (sweet and rich with a pleasing tartness, these flavors say that "We Belong" together), and is topped with whipped cream for a sweet finish. The crowning glory? A totally cheesy free-form portrait of Pat, accented with Pixie Stix powder, one of the star's favorite treats.

It's an ideal mix of awful and awesome—basically, before you put another notch in your lipstick case, you'd better make sure you give it a taste.

For the full entry and recipe, check out Serious Eats!

National Brownies at Brunch Month: Mimosa Brownies for Serious Eats

Hold the phone. Hold everything. Did you know that August is National Brownies at Brunch Month?

Don't waste time asking follow-up questions like why this month-long holiday exists—instead, bake up a batch of brunch-friendly Mimosa Brownies. Starting with the Oprah-approved brownie recipe from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking, this version gets champagne-and-orange juice makeover for a treat which truly embraces the decadent spirit of both brownies and brunch, all in one delectable unit.

Note: You may notice that the actual amount of champagne (or sparkling wine) is actually quite small, leaving you plenty of bubbly to make actual mimosas to accompany your brownies. As for the use of orange juice concentrate versus orange juice, I found that it offered a bright flavor and better consistency than orange juice.

For the full entry and recipe, visit Serious Eats!

Role Reversal: Reverse Whoopie Pies for Serious Eats

What's a Reverse Whoopie Pie?

Basically, if you can imagine a Milano cookie going through a Hulk-like transformation into a supersized sweet treat, you've got the right idea.

That's right: these cakey whoopie pies pack all the flavor of the classic chocolate-filled buttery cookie sandwich, but without making any pretense of daintiness. This is treat of such proportion that it requires two hands to hold and all of your stomach to handle. Of course, if you want an even Hulkier variation, add peppermint extract instead of vanilla (and maybe a dash of green food coloring for good measure) for a chocolate-mint variation.

For the full entry and recipe, visit Serious Eats!

Pie Meets Cookie: Pookie, a Cookie-Coated Pie

Discovering the Pake (a pie baked into a gigantic cake) was something of an epiphany: talk about a way to make pie even awesomer. But it also prompted a question: what else could be applied to pie for an added dimension of delicious?

The answer was clear, of course: a cookie dough coating.

This behemoth starts with an entire 8-inch pie, ideally erring on the slightly under-baked side, which is then covered on all sides in butterscotch chip cookie dough and baked to golden, crispy perfection. Of course, it should go without saying that this buttery, crust-on-crust magic is best served à la mode.

For the full entry and recipe, visit Serious Eats!