I’m pretty sure a lot of you have seen the chocolate chip cookies that have been floating around Pinterest and the internet that require 36 hours of chilling before baking.  I had often wondered myself what all this chilling really does for a cookie… I have never really tried it with a cookie other than my Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, but reading all these blogs talk about how amazing their cookies were after a prolonged chill… I got to wondering if this would work with other cookie dough recipes?

Peanut butter cookies are similar in ingredients to the chocolate chip cookie, brown sugar, butter, egg, flour, etc etc so I thought it might work.  Plus, everything I’d read about this long chill, the cookies turn out crisp on the edges and chewy in the centers… which is exactly what I wanted for these peanut butter cookies.

So, I’m patient… but I’m not THAT patient.  I didn’t chill these cookies for 36 hours, I made it about 19 hours.  But… I’m thinking that it’s a perfect amount of time because the cookies turned out perfect!! Chewy in the middle, a bit crisp on the edges, golden brown and so good!

I recently bought a couple containers of the KRAFT Jet-Puffed Mallow Bits.  If you aren’t familiar with these, they are super mini marshmallows, the kind you’d find in your packets of hot chocolate.  And ya know what? They are PERFECT for cookies!  (PS: They’re perfect for topping cupcakes with too!)  I made S’mores cookies a few days ago and today I’m making a Mocha Mallow cookie with these mini bits of heaven!

I started with a recipe that I’ve seen on several blogs from Annie’s Eats to My Baking Addiction and then put my personal spin on them.  I added the mallow bits, reduced the chocolate chips, added espresso powder and vanilla.   Adding the Mallow Bits was my hubby’s idea.  I think he’s a genius.  The original recipes for this cookie also wanted me to make them giant cookies… but I needed to feed a bunch of people, so I decided to make them a bit smaller so the batter would go further.

They turned out pretty darn yummy.

PS… For the I also made M&M Cookie Bars (which you should make too… cause UHM YUMMMM!)

I’ve made Scones, Cupcakes, Muffins and now Cookies!  Oh, and don’t forget the Fudge!

I’ve gotten into a little routine with Matty in the morning.  We stay in bed until about 8am,  then get up, have breakfast and then he goes down for a nap.  While he’s napping, I get to baking!

Last week, my husband wanted me to make something to take into the office to share with the guys.  So, I searched Pinterest for some ideas and I came across a delicious recipe for S’mores Cookies by Sugar Crafter!

They turned out pretty darn YUMMY!  And the mini’s in them were perfect for these mini cookies!

Four friends, four babies, four weeks.

Needless to say, it’s been a crazy few months for all of us.  So now that our babies are all 2 months old, we decided it was time to get together so they could play and we could drink coffee and chat.

This morning, two of my friends and their babies came over to play!

Of course, I needed to bake something delicious for us to enjoy during our Coffee & Babies Play Date… so I whipped up these muffins.

I’ve already eaten three of them… cause yeah, they’re that good.

A few days ago, my friend Erica (she’s an Army Wife too & our husbands worked together at JBLM in Tacoma, WA.) said she was making peanut butter fudge and my ears perked up like a dog who heard a fire truck and wanted to run after it!  Immediately, I asked for the recipe and Erica responded with 5 simple ingredients.  Seriously, could fudge be that easy?  This recipe comes from her Grandma Dillow… which means it’s sure to be a winner if it comes from Grandma!

So today, I tried it.  Erica’s recipe didn’t call for the use of a candy thermometer, but I had a brand new one I wanted to try out, so I used mine.  I can’t say I’ve ever really been a successful fudge maker, but after making this recipe… I think I am!

Grandma Dillow didn’t top her fudge with chocolate, but I LOVE chocolate and peanut butter so, I added a thin layer of chocolate to the top of the fudge.  YUM!

Thanks Grandma Dillow and thanks to Erica for sharing this yummy family recipe!

If you’re like me and are new to making fudge, read this helpful post: Tips for Making the Perfect Fudge!

Hmmm… So yeah.  I made cupcakes today.  And, I didn’t start back into baking cupcakes slowly.  No, I didn’t ease into things.  I went BIG!

Chocolate cupcake + Cookie Dough = HOLY GOODNESS!!!

Baked inside this cupcake is a chocolate chip cookie dough ball.  Yah, you read me right.  Cookie Dough.  The best thing that God ever created inside this cupcake.

And to make things even better…. the frosting.  Cookie Dough.   Both my hubby and my neighbor told me I needed to just make this frosting.  A big giant bowl of it so they could take a spoon and scoop it out and shove it in their mouth.  It’s that good.

Personally, I found the bottom of the cupcake to be the best.   But hey, everyone has their preferences.

Strawberry

Lemonade

Scones

Yah… I said it.  Two of the most perfect fruits paired together to make a sweet and tart delicious breakfast treat!

I actually wanted to make these over the weekend for my family, but when I went to the store to buy the berries…. they were all out!!  How rude of them to be out of berries when I needed them.

I was inspired to make these scones by Munchkin Munchies.  She made a strawberry lemonade scone and it looked so yummy!  But, I’m lazy and didn’t want to make lemon curd to top it with… so I came up with my own recipe to incorporate the lemon more into the dough to create a stronger lemon taste.

I’m thinking they turned out pretty darn amazing!

Enjoy!

My last morning before baby arrived I decided I needed to do some baking.  Usually, I wake up in the morning and eat a bowl of cereal topped with raspberries and other fruit… but I’m always in need of a mid-morning snack.  So this breakfast cake will be perfect for that!

I saw the recipe for Cinnabon Cinnamon Roll Breakfast Cake on Six Sisters Stuff… one of my new favorite blogs to read!  There are so many blogs out there that it’s hard to keep up with them some times.  I was featured on their blog a couple of weeks ago, so I

bookmarked them, follow them on Facebook and keep coming back to their recipes!

This cake is good room temperature, but we sliced it right out of the oven after I drizzled the glaze on top and it was so OOOEY AND GOOEY and yummy!  Swirls and chunks of the cinnamon/sugar all through it with the sweet glaze on top.  It’s pretty much a perfect Sunday morning treat for the family!

Definitely a WINNER!

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from: Six Sister’s Stuff

I’ve often wondered though… what exactly goes into a Cowboy Cookie?   I did a little digging online and couldn’t really find a solid history of the cookie.  I’ve seen them made with everything from nuts and coconut to oats and raisins and of course… chocolate! I kinda always thought of these cookies as a “whatever you’ve got left in your kitchen” type of cookie.  So, that’s what I’m going with today.

These cookies have butterscotch, white chocolate, and semi-sweet chocolate chips, M&M’s and pretzel chunks.  Oh… and a special little ingredient for some added kick: espresso powder! (Everything but the kitchen sink!) I’ve made a cookie before with pretzels in them and everyone who ate them were surprised at how tasty they were… but pretzels in cookies?  Ya just gotta try it! YUM!

I made a double batch of these so I could take them into my husband’s office… made a few jumbo cookies and a few regular size too.  I’m pretty sure the soldiers will love them!

Recipe inspired by: For the Love of Cooking

Usually when I bookmark a recipe, it stays there for a few days until I muster up the energy to make them.  But… not these brownies.  Two bowls, no mixer and only 18 minutes in the oven.  Seriously, it only took 45 minutes before I was putting one in my mouth.

The original recipe called for mini M&M’s on top… but I didn’t have any.  So I used rainbow sprinkle jimmies.  I also tweaked the ganache recipe a bit too.

So uhm yeah… make these.

Since I needed to color the batter, I needed a basic white base to start with.  So, I whipped up a simple vanilla buttermilk cupcake.  But… you know me, nothing I do is ever basic.  These cupcakes have my favorite Madagascar vanilla beans, buttermilk and some added sour cream for flavor.  There is nothing basic about the flavor of these bad boys!

I topped them with a cinnamon cream cheese frosting and them embellished them with some fun sprinkles and mini cupcakes made with pb cups.  Topsy Turvy Cupcakes!

These cupcakes will be READY TO PARTY tomorrow morning!  I hope the radio station is ready for the sugar rush!

I came across a few recipes for pie crusts made with Nilla Wafers, lemon meringue pies, and some tarts… I decided to combine a few of the ideas together to make one delicious dessert.  This creation is a cross between a pie and a tart… mainly because I didn’t have a tart pan and I didn’t really want to go all out and make a lemon meringue pie.

It starts with a pre-baked Nilla Wafer pie crust then I fill it with a sweet lemon filling… bake it and let it cool.  Then I top it all off with my favorite raspberry preserve and a drizzle of white chocolate and put it in the fridge to set.  Now, if I wanted to get really fancy… I’d dollop each slice with some heavy cream and top with a few fresh raspberries.  But, let’s not get too carried away with ourselves!

Recipe inspired by Just Jenn &  Gourmande in the Kitchen

Today… it’s Red Velvet, Cream Cheese & Chocolate Brownies.  Now, you may have noticed that I don’t make many red velvet things… I’m not really a huge fan.  I don’t always have red food dye on hand and I’m not a huge fan of cream cheese.  Call it pregnancy hormones and cravings… but for the first time in my life, I’ve been wanting to use cream cheese in every dessert I make.

The recipe is pretty simple… there are a few steps, but it really didn’t take much time at all to put together!

I made these especially for the #ChocolateLove BlogHop that I’m apart of!  So make sure you visit the BlogHop Co-Hosts listed at the bottom of this post and add your favorite CHOCOLATE recipe to the list!

ENJOY!

Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies
Makes 12-16 brownies

Brownie Batter:
9 tbsp unsalted butter
7oz 70% dark chocolate

3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp red food coloring gel/dye

3/4 cup + 2 tbsp flour
1/4 tsp salt

Cheesecake Batter:
12oz cream cheese, room temperature
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.  Line 9×13 glass pan with parchment paper and spray lightly with cooking spray (or grease/flour pan – I prefer parchment paper, makes the brownies easier to pull out at the end).
2. In a double boiler, melt the butter and chocolate together.  Stir often.  Set aside to cool slightly when melted.
3. While that’s melting, in a small bowl, whisk together the flour and salt and set aside.
4. In an even smaller bowl, with a fork, stir together the cocoa powder and food coloring until it becomes a paste and set aside.
5. While the chocolate/butter is cooling, in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the eggs, sugar and vanilla until smooth.
6. SLOWLY pour in the slightly cooled chocolate.  Start with a little bit at a time, you don’t want to add it all too much, too hot and cook the eggs.
7. Add the cocoa powder/food coloring.  Scrape the sides of the bowl and beat until your batter turns a dark red color.  If you want, you can add more red coloring at this time.  Make sure the food color is very well incorporated before you move on.
8. Slowly add the flour and mix until smooth.  Don’t beat too much… just enough until all the clumps are out and the batter is smooth.
9. Remove 1/2 cup of batter and set aside.
10. In a clean bowl for the stand mixer, mix together the cream cheese, egg yolks, sugar and vanilla on high speed until whipped and smooth.
11. 
    Spread brownie batter in the bottom of the pan, making sure to get it into the edges and corners.
12. 
    Dollop the cream cheese mixture on top of the brownie mixture.  Using an offset spatula, gently spread to cover the brownie mixture.
13. 
    Drizzle remaining brownie mixture on top of the cream cheese.  Using your offset spatula, swirl the three layers together.  NOTE:  Don’t swirl too much!  You want a lot of the white cream cheese to show through!
14. Bake for 20 minutes, rotate pan, and cover with foil.  Bake another 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with crumbs, not wet batter.
15. Allow to cool completely in pan before removing to cut into squares.

Recipe adapted from An American Cupcake in London

ChocolateLove BlogHop CoHosted by:

A Little Bit of Everything ~ Roxana ~ @RoxanaGreenGirl * ASTIG Vegan ~ Richgail ~  @astigvegan * Badger Girl Learns to Cook ~ Kimberly ~ @BdgrGrl * Baker Street ~ Anuradha ~ @bakerstreet29 * Baking and Cooking, A Tale of Two Loves ~ Becky Higgins * Baking Extravaganza ~ Samantha * BigFatBaker ~ Erin ~ @BigFatBaker * Bon a croquer ~ Valerie ~ @Valouth * CafeTerraBlog ~ Terra ~ @CafeTerraBlog * Cake Duchess ~ Lora ~ @cakeduchess * Cakeballs, Cookies and More ~ Sue * Cooking with Books ~ Marnely ~ @nella22 * Creative Cooking Corner ~ Karriann ~ @KarriannGraf * Easily Good Eats ~ Three Cookies * Elephant Eats ~ Amy * Georgiecakes ~ Georgie ~ @georgiecakes * Hobby And More ~ Richa ~ @betit19 * Java Cupcake ~ Betsy ~ @JavaCupcake * Kitchen Belleicious ~ Jessica * Mike’s Baking ~ Mike ~ @mikesbaking * Mis Pensamientos ~ Junia ~ @juniakk * No One Likes Crumbley Cookies ~ TR ~ @TRCrumbley * Oh Cake ~ Jessica ~ @jesshose * Preheat the Oven ~ Jason ~ @officialchefjae * Rico sin Azucar ~ Helena ~ @ricosinazucar * Savoring Every Bite ~ Linda ~ @Spicegirlfla * Simply Reem ~ Reem ~ @simplyreem * Smart Food and Fit ~ Lisa ~ @LisaNutrition * Soni’s Food for Thought ~ Soni ~ @sonisfood * Sprint 2 the Table ~ Laura ~ @Sprint2theTable * Teaspoon of Spice ~ Deanna ~ @tspbasil  * That Skinny Chick Can Bake ~ Liz ~ @Thatskinnychick * The Dusty Baker ~ Jacqueline ~ @dustybakergal * The More Than Occasional Baker ~ Ros ~ @bakingaddict * The Spicy RD ~ EA ~ @thespicyrd * The Wimpy Vegetarian ~ Susan ~ @wimpyvegetarian * Vegan Yack Attack! ~ Jackie ~ @veganyackattack * Vegetarian Mamma  ~ Cindy ~ @VegetarianMamma * You Made That? ~  Suzanne ~ @YouMadeThatblog

These beans are so fresh, so moist, and so full of great vanilla flavor…  I really can’t wait to use them in EVERYTHING for the next few months.  I just hope that 1/2lb was enough!

First thing I made took me no time at all.  Vanilla Sugar.  Seriously, get some vanilla beans and make some of this yourself.  It takes 2 minutes and your sugar will thank you!!

Vanilla Sugar
airtight container
5lb bag of sugar
2 Madagascar vanilla beans, split length wise

1. Empty the bag of sugar into the airtight container.
2. Add the two vanilla beans to the sugar.  Put the lid on and shake until the beans are covered in sugar.
3. Let the beans hangout over night in the sugar.
4. Take the lid off, smell, taste, enjoy!  You now have vanilla sugar!

NOTE:  You can just keep adding sugar to the container as you go through it as well as any other used vanilla bean husks as you bake.  Just take the old ones out when they’re all dried up.  You can used the dried up beans in milk/cream to make vanilla cream! Nom nom nom.

And then I made Vanilla Cream.  You can use this cream in place of any recipe that calls for milk or heavy cream.  It will add such a rich, delicious vanilla flavor to whatever it is you’re baking.

You could also use it as coffee creamer.  Nom nom nom

Vanilla Cream
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 Madagascar vanilla bean

1. Split the vanilla beans open length wise using a sharp knife.  Scrape out the vanilla bean paste from inside the pod.
2. In a small heavy bottomed pot, whisk together the heavy cream, vanilla bean pod and paste.
3. Cook on LOW for about 10 minutes, whisking often.
4. Increase heat to medium until the milk just begins to simmer and bubble.  NOTE:  You don’t not want it to reach a full boil or burn.  Just a nice, slow simmer.
5. As soon as the milk begins to bubble up, remove it from the heat and whisk.
6. Allow to cool to room temperature.
7. A film may form on the top of the cream, just whisk it until it’s smooth again.
8. Remove the vanilla bean pod if you’re going to use all the cream immediately.  If you plan to store the cream for later use, leave the bean in the cream until you’re ready to use it.

I’ve been dreaming of doing a special post for New Year’s… but wasn’t sure if I’d make it in time.  Today… well, with nothing really on the agenda today, I decided to spend a few hours in the kitchen and make some cupcakes!

And… what better way to celebrate the New Year than with a big bottle of BUBBLY!  These cupcakes have a very strong champagne flavor but paired with the homemade raspberry filling they sure are a sweet treat!

Of course, these little cupcakes had to be all dressed up to celebrate 2012!  I melted white chocolate and created the cutest toppers for these cupcakes… perfect to ring in the New Year!

Since this will be my final post of 2011… I want to take this time to wish you all a very Happy 2012!  I hope all your dreams and wishes come true in this year year!

Love you all!

Raspberry Champagne Cupcakes
Makes 18-20 cupcakes

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sour cream

1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup of your favorite champagne – I used Cook’s Extra Dry for this recipe

pink food gel coloring

Preheat your oven to 350 F degrees.  Line cupcake pan with liners.

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter, sugar and eggs until fluffy and smooth… at least 4-5 minutes.
2. Mix in the vanilla and sour cream.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
4. Add the flour and champagne, alternating, as well as beginning and ending with the flour.   Mix only until combined.
5. At this point you can either add the pink food gel coloring or you can leave them white.  I did half white and half pink.  Mix the food gel only until combined… you don’t want to overwork the batter.
6. Scoop into liners 2/3 full and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
7. Cool in pan for 2 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely.
8. Once cool, using an apple corer, remove the center of each cupcake and fill with raspberry filling.

Raspberry Filling
Makes enough to fill 2+ dozen cupcakes

1 bag of frozen raspberries
1/3 cup sugar
3-4 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp corn starch

1. In a large pan on the stove, melt the butter.
2. Add the raspberries, sugar and vanilla and cook for about 5 minutes on med-high heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.
3. Once the sugar melts and the raspberries begin to bubble, in a 1 cup measuring cup, mix together with a fork 4-5 tbsp of the raspberry mixture and the corn starch.  Add this mixture back to the pan with the remaining raspberries and stir until combined.
4. Bring mixture to a bubble/gentle boil then remove from the heat.  Stir every few minutes as it cools.
5. Cool completely before filling cupcakes.
6. To fill cupcakes:  place raspberry mixture into a piping bag and squeeze just enough filling into each cupcake.

Champagne Buttercream
Makes enough to frost 18 cupcakes

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup butter flavored shortening (you could use all butter if you wanted too)
1 1/2 lbs powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1/4-1/2 cup Champagne (I used the same as what I put in the cupcakes)

1.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and shortening.
2. One cup at a time, add the powdered sugar and mix on high until smooth.
3. Add the vanilla and salt and mix until combined.
4. Add 1/4 cup of champagne and mix on high until smooth.  Add remaining champagne until you get the consistency you desire.
5. Mix frosting on high for 1-2 minutes until fluffy and the color brightens.
6. Pipe frosting onto your cupcakes and decorate!

And here they are all dressed up for a client to enjoy!  Happy 2012!

It was a blondie of sorts.  A cookie bar.  Inside it had chocolate and marshmallow… and it got me to thinking, why haven’t I made more blondies before?

Since I had these two beautiful  jars of homemade peanut butter that I had just whipped up… I knew this was a perfect opportunity to make some peanut butter blondies!

The grocery store had a huge sale on it’s holiday bags of chocolate… so I picked up a couple bags of Hershey’s Chocolate Chunks for only $1 each today… so I knew I had to include some chocolate with the peanut butter!

This recipe makes a ton of peanut butter chocolate chunk blondies…. so be prepared to share!

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chunk Blondies
Makes 12 large squares… more if you cut them smaller

1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 cups light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup homemade peanut butter (see my recipe!)

2 eggs
1tsp vanilla

1/4 cup milk

2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1 cup + 1/4 cup chocolate chunks

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F degrees.  Great a 9×13 metal pan with shortening or butter.
2. In a medium sauce pan, melt together the butter and brown sugar on medium heat… whisking often.
3. Once melted, remove from heat and whisk in the peanut butter.  Whisk until all the peanut butter has melted.  Set aside to cool as you prepare the flour.
4. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
5. Whisk the eggs and vanilla into the butter/sugar mixture.
6. Make a well in the middle of the flour and pur the butter/sugar mixture in.  Using a spatula, fold the butter/sugar into the flour about 6-7 strokes.
7. Add the milk and fold 4-5 more strokes.   You just want to barely combine the ingredients, making sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl.
8. Dump in the chocolate chips and fold until combined.
9. Pour the thick batter into your prepared pan and spread to the edges.  Top with the remaining 1/4 cup of chocolate chunks.
10. Bake 25-30 minutes or until the top and edges have turned a golden brown.  Allow to cool in the pan before cutting into squares.
11. Drizzle with extra peanut butter, serve with a big glass of milk and enjoy!

This morning, the Cake Duchess posted a recipe for scones that featured these beautiful little berries and I knew I just had to whip up a batch with the rest of my cranberries!

The scones turned out SO GOOD.  Seriously.  Warm, fresh from the oven with a little butter on them.  Almost too good to eat! They are tart, yet sweet… full of beautiful color and flavor with a crispy sugar crust.

I will definitely be making these again!

Clementine Cranberry Scones
makes 6 large scones

Supplies:
2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
zest of 3 Clementine oranges, about 2-3 tsp

1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cubed

1 cup chopped fresh cranberries

1 tsp vanilla extract
8-10 tbsp milk, divided

1 tbsp sugar (use turbinado if you have it)

cookie sheet
parchment paper
cooking spray

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, lightly spray with cooking spray and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, ginger, orange zest, and salt
3. Add cubed butter to flour mixture.  Using a fork, press butter into the flour mixture against the side of the bowl.  The goal here is to create a very dry dough where the butter is in small pieces, not chunks… coarse like.
4. Add the cranberries and stir with a wooden spoon to combine.
5. In a small measuring cup, mix together 5 tbsp of the milk and the vanilla together.   Add milk to the flour mixture and combine.
6. Add 3-5 more tbsp of milk at a time until the mixture forms a dough and no dry ingredients remain.
7. Move the dough to your cookie sheet and flatten into a round circle about 1 1/2 inches thick.  Cut it into 6 equal triangles with a sharp knife, and space evenly across sheet.
8. Brush the scones with a tablespoon of milk and sprinkle generously with sugar.
9. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until tops of scones brown.  Watch carefully you don’t want them to burn!
10. Remove to a wire rack to cool… or you could smear them with butter and eat warm! YUM!

Recipe adapted from: Cake Duchess 

Last weekend my daughter and I attended a “Ugly Christmas Sweater Party” where I dressed up, well… more cure than ugly.

(PS… isn’t this photo great! You can’t even tell I’m 7 months pregnant! hehe)

And then this week, I created some of the most festive cupcakes I’ve ever made for Christmas! With the holiday spirit in mind… here is a round up of some of my favorite holiday recipes from my blog! Enjoy!

4 Holiday Cupcakes - Coconut cake w/ Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting

Grinch Cookies

White Chocolate Candy Cane Blossoms

Holiday Chex Mix

Gingerbread Latte Cupcakes

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

White Chocolate Gingerbread Blossoms

Mandarin Orange & Cranberry Cookies

Chocolate Cherry Blossoms

Chocolate Crinkles

Gingerbread Men

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Candy Cane Cupcakes

Cinnamon Eggnog & Bourbon Cupcakes

Hot Cross Buns

From my family to yours… I’d like to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

All they way from Germany, I’m totally feeling the holiday season!  I’ve been dreaming up all kinds of fantastic ideas for super special Christmas cupcakes… so many actually that I couldn’t choose just one!

I wanted a very white cupcake to use as a base for these cupcakes, so I went with a coconut cupcake and topped it with a coconut cream cheese frosting.  (NOTE: If I were to make these again, I would probably not use cream cheese in my frosting and stick with a straight buttercream recipe.  Cream cheese frosting tends to get really soft and the trees and snowmen will hold up better with a stiffer frosting.)

Make sure to check out the photo slideshow at the bottom with ALL the pictures of these fabulous cupcakes!

Coconut Cupcakes
Makes 18 cupcakes

Supplies:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar
3 egg whites
1 tsp coconut extract

3/4 cup AP flour
3/4 cup cake flour
1/2 TBSP baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup coconut milk

1/8 cup hot water
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.  Line cupcake pans with liners.  (I tried to use a variety of liners to match the themes of the cupcakes I was making.)
2. Cream together the butter and sugar.
3. Add the egg whites and extract and mix on high for 4-5 minutes.  The batter will look like it’s turning into whipped cream, really light and fluffy.
4. Whisk together the cake flour, AP flour, salt and baking powder.
5. Add half the flour mixture to the butter/sugar and mix on low until just combined,  about 10 seconds.
6. Add all the coconut milk and mix on low until just combined, about 10 seconds.
7. Add the remaining flour and mix on low until just combined, about 10 seconds.  Note: You don’t want to over mix the flour into the batter.  Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix the last bit of flour by hand.
8. Add the coconut and hot water and fold in by hand until combined.  Remember, do not over mix!
9. Fill each cupcake liner 2/3 full of batter.
10. Bake 17-19 minutes or until cupcakes begin to turn golden and a toothpick comes out clean.
11. Let cool in pan for 2-3 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.

Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting
(This makes enough frosting to decorate all the cupcakes I made today… it’s typically enough to normally frost 2-3 dozen cupcakes)

Supplies:
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
2 1/2 lbs powdered sugar
1 tsp coconut extract
1/4 cup (or less) coconut milk
1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Cream together the butter and cream cheese.
2. Add 1/3 of the powdered sugar and beat on high until smooth.
3. Add the extract and mix until combined.
4. Add 1/3 of the powdered sugar and beat until smooth.
5. A few tbsp at a time, add the coconut milk… do not add it all here.
6. Add the remaining 1/3 of the sugar and salt and beat in until combined.
7. Add more coconut milk until you get your desired consistency.  Remember, this is cream cheese frosting and it gets very SOFT so you won’t need a lot of milk.
8. Mix on high for 1 minute or until smooth.

The North Pole

Supplies:
Cupcake
White frosting
Coconut flakes
Candy cane stick
Red hot candies
North pole flags (I made these and taped them to a toothpick)
Offset small spatula/spreader

Directions:

1. Using your offset spatula, spread a mound of white frosting on top of your cupcake.
2. Using the palm of your hand, pat the frosting with coconut flakes, shaping it into a ball.
3. Place a small dollop of frosting on the tip of a candy cane stick and place a red hot on top.
4. Press candy cane stick 1/3 way into the cupcake.
5. Place North Pole flag next to the candy cane stick.

Christmas Tree

Supplies:
Cupcake
White frosting
Shredded coconut
Green frosting
White chocolate & yellow sprinkles
Various sprinkles (to decorate tree)
Wilton 1M piping tip
2 piping/pastry bags
Offset spatula/spreader

Directions:

1. For the star on top, I melted white chocolate, put it in a piping bag, and piped the shape of a star onto parchment paper on a cookie sheet.  I then immediately covered it in yellow sprinkles.  I put the stars in the freezer for 20 minutes to set up before place them on top of the piped tree.  Make a few extra in case they break and for variety. You could also do this to create ornament shapes (dots with colored sprinkles).
2. Using your offset spatula, spread a small amount of white frosting on top of the cupcake, completely covering it.
3. Using the palm of your hand, pat the frosting with coconut flakes, making a flat surface.
4. Using the green frosting in a piping bag with the Wilton 1M tip, pipe green frosting in the shape of a tree onto the cupcake.  I used this VIDEO TUTORIAL I found on YouTube to help guide me in this.
5. Use any kind of sprinkles to decorate your tree.  I found that the larger round dots made better ornament shapes.  Really, just use your imagination… the decorating is the fun part!

Snowman

Cupcake
White frosting
Pink/Red Frosting (Or any color you want for the scarf and hat)
White & Dark chocolate
Orange sprinkles
Coupler & 4 piping/pastry bags
Offset spatula

Wreath Cupcakes

Supplies:
Cupcake
White frosting
Green frosting
Red frosting (or any color you want for the bow)
Sprinkles
Frosting/piping/pastry bag
Leaf tip

Directions:
I used the tutorial Jennifer Shea of Trophy Cupcakes in Seattle put together for the Williams-Sonoma blog.  Instead of re-writing it all, you can find that tutorial HERE to create your own Holiday Wreath cupcakes!

But what?  Oh… duh, COOKIES!  haha  It’s that time of year and I’ve been doing nothing but baking cookies lately.  So, why not mandarin orange cookies?  But hmmm…. what goes with orange in cookies… hmmmmm??? CRANBERRIES!  Oh and WHITE CHOCOLATE!

I took a basic brown sugar cookie cookie dough recipe and transformed it into a super amazing Mandarin Orange & Cranberry White Chocolate Cookie!

Now, I used fresh cranberries and fresh oranges, but I’m sure if all you had was canned or jarred that would be okay too.  I just love the idea of big chunks of fresh fruit in these cookies!

I’ve seen some with a glaze on top, but I didn’t want to hide the chunks of fruit inside of them, so I just topped them dough with sugar before baking.  I think they’re pretty much PERFECT!

Mandarin Orange & Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies
Makes about 4 dozen cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp orange extract
3 tbsp orange juice
Zest of one Mandarin orange

2 1/2 cups AP flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1 cup halved fresh Mandarin orange slices (about 4 Mandarin oranges)
1 cup chopped fresh cranberries
1 cup white chocolate chips or chunks (I used a mix of both cause that’s what I had on hand)

1/4 cup sugar, for dusting

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F degrees.  Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugars.
3. Add the egg, extract, zest and orange juice.  Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix on high for 3-4 minutes or until the dough is light and fluffy.
4. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.
5. Add the flour to the butter/sugar and mix on low until just combined.
6. Fold in the halved orange slices, chopped cranberries and white chocolate.
7. Drop 1 tbsp of dough onto the cookie sheet, 1-2 inches apart.  Do not place more than 12 on a sheet, the cookies spread and need room!
8. Dust each mound of dough with sugar.
9. Bake 12-14 minutes or until edges begin to brown.  Do not overbake!
10. Remove and let cook on sheet for about 1 minute.  Remove to a wire rack to cool complete.

This time… it’s a cookie bar with a huge surprise in the middle.  Baked in these cookie bars are two kinds of chips and a Reese’s peanut butter cup! Seriously, I wish I had extra for myself, cause they are SO YUM!

Run to your kitchen and whip up a batch of these for your kids…. they’ll thank you for it.

(PS… I didn’t feel like breaking out the big camera to take pictures…. so, you get camera phone pics!)

Double Chip Surprise Cookie Bars
Makes 12 bars

8×8 glass pan
parchment paper
non-stick cooking spray

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp milk
10oz bag + 1/4 cup chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
12 mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.  Lightly spray bottom of an 8x8x2 glass pan with cooking spray.  Line bottom of pan with a square piece of parchment paper.  Generously spray top of paper and sides of pan with cooking spray.  Set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugars.
3. Add the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla.  Scrape the sides of the bowl and beat on high for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
4. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.  In two parts, with the mixer on low, add the flour and mix until barely combined.
5. Add the milk and mix until just incorporated.
6. By hand, fold in the chocolate and butterscotch chips.
7. Press half the dough into the pan.  Arrange 12 peanut butter cups evenly onto of this layer, pressing them gently into the dough.
8. Spread evenly the remaining dough on top of the pb cups, making sure to spread into the corners.  Again, press dough gently into bottom layer.
9. Bake in the center of your oven for 40-50 minutes or until baked through.  Do not over bake!
10. Allow to cool completely before cutting into 12 squares.  Be patient, you want them to set up before you cut them… they will keep their shape better if cooled when cutting.

I asked my BFF baker friend, Carrie Fields of Fields of Cake, what recipe I should use to make such brownie and she led me to the most amazing brownie I have ever tasted. Seriously, this brownie is AH-MAH-ZING!

It’s thick, moist, chewy and so chocolately that you neeeeeeed the whipped cream and peanut butter sauce to balance out the awesomeness of the chocolate.

And let me tell you about this peanut butter sauce. OH MY GAWG. I just want to eat spoonfuls of it. And really, can’t wait to buy some ice cream to top it with. You can use this sauce on ANYTHING. SO GOOD.

So, thanks to Steffen for wanting brownies and thanks to Carrie for the recipes! I changed things up just slightly, but for the most post… the recipes are all Carries!

Enjoy!

Dark Chocolate Brownies
Adapted from Fields of Cake

1 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp cocoa powder
14 ounces quality dark chocolate (85%), chopped coarsely
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 tsp instant espresso powder
1 ½ cups sugar
½ cup light brown sugar, packed
5 large eggs, room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Butter the sides and bottom of a glass or light colored metal pan 9×13 pan.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, the salt, and cocoa powder and set aside.
3. Using a large double boiler, melt together the chopped dark chocolate, cubed butter and instant espresso powder.  Stirring occasional until melted and completely combined.  Turn the heat off, but leave on the burner and keep the bowl on the double boiler.
4. Add the sugars and whisk until combined.  Remove from heat and cool for 10 minutes or until it comes to room temperature.
5. Add three eggs, whisk just until combined.  Add the remaining two eggs and whisk only until combined.
6. Gently stir in the vanilla.  Do not overmix the batter or the brownies will turn out cakey.
7. Fold the flour mixture to the wet mixture just until all the flour has become wet and just combined.  Again, DO NOT OVERMIX.
8. Pour the mixture into your buttered baking dish.  Using a tapered spatula, gently spread the batter into the corners of the pan, smoothing out the top.
9. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with just a few moist crumbs.  Rotate pan half way through baking. Do not over bake.
10. Allow to cool in pan completely before cutting and serving.
11. Serve with unsweetened fresh whipped cream and peanut butter sauce drizzled over the top.

Peanut Butter Sauce
Adapted from Fields of Cake

1 cup sugar
½ cup honey
½ cup water
1 tsp salt
4 tbsp unsalted butter
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 tsp salt

1. In a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat, combine the sugar, honey, water and salt with a whisk until all the sugar is dissolved.
2. Allow to come to a boil and cook, without stirring, until the sugar turns a dark amber color.  This process can happen quickly, so watch the sugar closely so you don’t burn it.  It will start to smell like caramel when it’s done.
3. Once it turns dark amber in color, remove immediately from the heat and whisk in the butter.
4. Add the cream and whisk to combine.
5. Stir in the peanut butter and whisk until combined.
6. Taste the sauce, if it’s too sweet, add 1 tsp more of salt to cut the sweetness.
7. Allow to come to room temperature to thicken before drizzling over brownies with fresh whipped cream.

1 cup heavy whipping cream, very cold
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Place the metal bowl and whisk of your electric mixer in the freezer for 20 minutes.
2. After they bowl and whisk are very chilled and cold, attach them to the stand mixer.
3. Pour in the heavy whipping cream and whisk on high for 3-4 minutes.
4. Pour in the vanilla extract.
5. Continue to whisk on high until it becomes thick.  Do not over mix or it will deflate.

Peanut butter blossom cookies are traditionally made with a peanut butter cookie and a Hershey Kiss… but I thought, what about a white chocolate cookie and a Candy Cane Kiss?  PERFECT!

Now, I know that white chocolate liqueur might not be easy to find… so you could make these with vanilla extract and some milk instead of the liqueur.  But, if you can find the white chocolate… use it.  It’s subtle but SO YUMMO.

White Chocolate Candy Cane Blossoms
Makes 2 dozen (and a few extra) cookies

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg
3 tbsp white chocolate liqueur
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Green and red sugar crystals
1 bag of Hershey’s Candy Cane Kisses

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.  Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking soda.
3. Cream together, with an electric mixer, the butter and sugar.
4. Add the egg and beat on high for 2 minutes or until smooth and fluffy.  Scrape the sides and beat again for 1 minute.
5. Mix in the white chocolate liqueur.
6. Add the flour and mix on medium speed just until combined.  Scrape the sides of the bowl to ensure all the flour is incorporated.  Do not over mix.
7. Roll 12 1-inch balls of dough in the red sugar crystals and place on cookie sheet.
8. Roll 12 1-inch balls of dough in the green sugar crystals and place a cookie sheet.
9. Bake one cookie sheet at a time for 8-10 minutes.
10. Cool on pan for 1 minute then place an unwrapped Candy Cane Kiss in the center of each cookie.
11. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

WRONG!

Monday rolls around and I’m back in the kitchen baking. This time, one of my favorite combos: Peanut Butter and Chocolate.

I made these soft and chewy peanut buttery chocolate kiss cookies cause ya know, they’re my favorite and I made them HUGE because well, you know… everything is better when it’s HUGE!

Ultimate Peanut Butter Chocolate Kiss Cookies
Makes 2-3 dozen JUMBO cookies

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup peanut butter, extra crunchy
2 cups brown sugar, packed
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp vanilla extract
5 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 10oz bags HERSHEY’S mini chocolate Kisses

1. Preheat oven to 375 F degrees.  Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. Cream together the butter and peanut butter.
3. Add the sugars and beat on high until combined.
4. Add the eggs, one at a time and mix on high for 2-3 minutes until smooth and fluffy.
5. Beat in the corn syrup, water and vanilla extract.
6. Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl.
7. Add the flour mixture in two parts to the cookie dough, mixing only until just combined.
8. Fold in the mini kisses.
9. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop 8 mounds of cookie dough onto your pan.
10. Bake for 9-10 minutes.  DO NOT OVER BAKE!  You want them to begin to turn golden on top but still be soft in the middle.
11. Remove to a wire rack immediately to cool.

Are you wondering how my errors screwed up my cupcakes?  Well, to begin with they sunk in the middle.  They also overflowed the edges AND their texture was too light and crumbly for my taste.  Not a good combo for a cupcake.

So this morning I decided to have a second try at them and fixed my errors.  I omitted the baking soda and added more baking powder (this helps combat the acidity of the citrus) and I also added the coloring BEFORE I mixed in the flour.  This allowed me to fold in the flour just until combined, making the perfect cupcake consistency!

These cupcakes are “Blood Orange” Candy Corn cupcakes because I’m using flavored candy corns.  My best friend sent them to me…. Blood Orange Candy Corns.  Unfortunately, my store didnt’ have any blood oranges, so I used a naval orange.  :)   I’d suggest using an actual blood orange if you can!

Blood Orange Cupcakes
Makes 18 cupcakes

zest of 1/2 a large Blood orange (I used a Naval orange – read above)
1 cup sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 eggs
1 tsp orange extract
juice of 1/2 a large Blood orange (I used a Naval orange – read above)

2 cups cake flour
(to make cake flour, measure AP flour, remove 4 tbsp and add 4tbsp corn starch. sift together 2-3 times)
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk

Yellow Gel food coloring

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.  Line your cupcake pan with liners.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the orange zest and sugar.  Press the back of a spatula into the sugar and zest, releasing the oils from the zest into the sugar.  Keep doing this until sugar becomes fluffy and fragrant.
3. Sift together the cake flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.  Set aside.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and orange sugar.
5. Add the eggs one at a time, scrape the sides of the bowl and beat on high for 2 minutes.
6. Mix in the sour cream, orange extract and orange juice.
7. Add the food coloring and mix until there are no streaks of white batter left.
8. Fold in the flour in three parts, alternating with the milk.  Mix ONLY UNTIL JUST COMBINED.  Do not overmix!
9. Bake for 17-19 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

I decided to make an Oreo cupcake and decorate it like a graveyard as well as an orange flavored candy corn cupcake! I know that candy corn typically isn’t orange in flavor, but my friend Sarah sent me a package of blood orange candy corns… so this works out perfectly!

For the Graveyard cupcakes I made this oreo cupcake… it’s a favorite recipe of mine that works out perfectly every time I make it!   Instead of a cream cheese frosting like the recipe calls for… I used a standard buttercream and added oreos.  I made 1.5x the amount I’d normally make for a dozen cupcakes, just to make sure I had enough frosting.  Here’s that recipe:

Oreo Buttercream
12 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
1 lb powdered sugar, sifted
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla
10 Oreos, chopped
1/4 tsp salt

1. Beat the butter until smooth.
2. Slowly add the powdered sugar, alternating with a small amount of cream at a time, and beat until smooth and creamy.
3. Mix in the vanilla.
4. Add the chopped Oreos and mix on high for 2 minutes or until all the big chunks of Oreo are gone.
5. Add more cream until you get your desired consistency.  You may not need all the cream.
6. Mix in the salt until well combined.

So for my first bundt cake… I decided on a chocolate and pumpkin combo. I figured it would be best to be safe and instead of doing two batters and making it marbled, I would make one batter with chocolate and pumpkin together.

For the glaze, I spent all morning pondering it… Do I make a vanilla & cinnamon glaze for a more dramatic effect or a thick chocolate ganache for flavor and texture? I’m leaning toward the chocolate because really, you can’t go wrong with chocolate. I guess we’ll know which one I decided on by the end of this blog! HA!

The cake batter is a little unorthodox in it’s ingredients, but trust me the cake will be AMAZINGLY delicious!  It’s super dense, moist and the pumpkin flavor is just enough to add some spice to the cake.  It leaves you wondering… mmmm, what is that?

Pumpkin & Chocolate Cake
1 3/4 cup minus 1 tbsp flour
1 tbsp corn starch

1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp espresso powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground gloves
1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk
1 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 large egg, room temperature
1 large egg white, room temperature

1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 tbsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 f degrees.  Grease the inside of your large, deep bundt pan.
2. Sift together the flour and corn starch in a large bowl.
3. Add the granulated sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, espresso powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt.  Whisk until well combined.
4. In another large bowl, mix together with an electric mixer the buttermilk, pumpkin puree, and brown sugar.
5. Mix in the eggs one at a time.
6. Add the canola oil, corn syrup and vanilla and mix until combined.
7. Gradually add the flour to the wet mixture.  Fold in the flour mixture until just combined.  Do not over mix.
8. Pour batter into bundt pan.  Pound pan on the counter 2-3 times to help the batter settle and to get any air bubbles out.
9. Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a long skewer/stick comes out with no wet batter or just a few crumbs.   You may want to rotate your pan after at least 40 minutes cooking to ensure even baking.
10. Allow to cool in pan for 20 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely, about 2 hours.
11. Drizzle glaze over the top allowing it to drip down the sides.
12. Top with mini chocolate chips.
13. Cut into slices and enjoy!

1. In a small bowl, mix together the powdered sugar, buttermilk and cinnamon.
2. In another small bowl, mix together the powdered sugar and buttermilk.
3. Drizzle the cinnamon glaze over the bundt cake, allowing it to drip down the sides.
4. Drizzle the sugar glaze over the cinnamon glaze, making sure it drizzles between the cinnamon glaze drizzles…. creating a contrast in colors.
5. Top with mini chocolate chips.
6. Allow the glaze to set before cutting &  serving.
7. Enjoy!

Enjoy!

Caramel Apple Cupcakes w/ decorating tutorial

Cupcakes

• Apple Cinnamon Cupcakes
• Tree Hugger Apple Cupcakes
• Caramel Apple Cupcakes w/ decorating tutorial
• Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Frosting
• Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Caramel Frosting
• Mini Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes
• Black Velvet Pumpkin Cupcakes
• Caramel Apple Cupcakes - #2
• Spiced Mocha Cupcakes
• How to make Fall trees to top your cupcakes
• Pumpkin Cake Balls/Pop
• Caramel Creme Latte Cupcakes
• Appledoodle Cupcakes

Black Velvet Pumpkin Cupcakes w/ Tutorial

• Pumpkin Donut Holes
• Apple Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread
• Emme’s Banana Bread
• Pumpkin Spice Bread
• Honey Cornbread Muffins

Apple Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread

Syrup

• Pumpkin Spice Syrup

Cookies/Bars

• Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake Bars
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake Bars

Now, I wanted to make these really strong in banana flavor, so I used banana extract and did not add the typical spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, etc).  If you wanted to turn these into a muffin, I’d suggest adding a few spices, using a bit of brown sugar instead of white and creating a crumble for the top.  But, since I’m topping these with a peanut butter frosting, I really wanted a strong banana flavor not to be overwhelmed by the frosting.

Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
Makes 18 cupcakes

1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
4 ripe medium bananas, smashed
2 large eggs
1/2 tbsp banana extract
1/4 cup sour cream
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.  Line cupcake pan with liners.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. Make a well in the middle of the flour and add in the melted butter, bananas,  eggs, banana extract and sour cream.  Mix together with a whisk about 10 strokes.
4. Add the chocolate chips. Switch to a spatula, scrape the sides of the bowl and mix another 10 strokes.
5. Fill liners 2/3-3/4 full with batter.
6. Bake 22-24 minutes or until tops of cupcakes are golden brown.
7. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

12 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup peanut butter, heaping
2 1/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/3 cup milk or heavy cream
pinch of salt (optional)

melted chocolate
banana slices

Everyone told me I should make an apple pie with the apples, but I really wasn’t in the mood for pie.  So, I surfed the internet for inspiration and saw a pull apart bread baked with diced apples and tons of cinnamon and brown sugar.  I’ve always wanted to try a pull apart bread so I thought this would be the perfect time to start.

The recipe I got my inspiration from came from Flour Me With Love.  It’s got a great photo tutorial that I followed to put together the dough and bread.  I changed up the ingredients just slightly and of course added my own flair to it. I liked this recipe a lot because I didn’t have to wait for the bread to rise. I just made the dough, rolled and cut it and into the oven it went!

Apple Filling:
6 apples, peeled & diced (I used my apple peeler, corer, slicer then cut into pieces. This worked great!)
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3-4 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tbsp nutmeg
pinch of ginger
1 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp warm water

1. Peel, core and dice your apples.  Squeeze the juice of half a lemon over them.
2. In a large pan, combine the butter, apples, sugar, vanilla and spices.
3. Mix the corn starch and water together then add to the mixture.
4. Bring to a light boil and cook for 3-4 minutes,
5. Reduce heat and simmer for an additional 2-3 minutes,  continually stirring.
6. Set aside to cool and thicken.

Dough:
3 cups flour (plus more for work surface and kneading)
1 package yeast
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup water
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup unsalted butter

2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.  Grease and flour a 9×5 loaf pan.
2. In a small sauce pan, bring the milk to a simmer… just until bubbling.  Remove from heat and add the butter, stirring until melted.  Set aside.
3. In the bowl of your stand mixer with the hook attachment, whisk together the flour, yeast, salt and brown sugar.
4. Add in the water, egg and milk/butter mixture.
5. Turn on your mixer to medium speed and mix until a ball forms.  My dough wasn’t coming together, so I added another 1/4 cup of flour to help it come together.
6. Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a well floured surface.
7. Knead for 5 minutes adding more flour to keep the dough from getting sticky or sticking to your hands or counter.
8. Roll out into a large rectangle (or the best you can do), about 1/4 inch thick.
9. Spread 2 tbsp butter over the dough then spread the apple mixture over it evenly.  Reserve about 1/4 cup of apple mixture.
10. Using a pizza cutter.  Cut about 4×5 inch pieces of dough.  Stack them into piles of three pieces.  Don’t worry if sizes aren’t exactly the same, just do your best to stack like sizes together.  If you have odd sizes, just add them to the tops of your piles of three.
11. Hold your baking pan on it’s end.  Stack your pieces into the pan.  Set the pan down and spread the pieces out so they fill the entire pan.
12. Use the reserved 1/4 cup apples to spread on top.
13. Bake for 55-60 minutes or until golden brown.  If the apples on top start to brown or burn, cover the loaf with foil.
14. Let cool in pan for about about 30 minutes, there may still be some raw dough in the middle, but don’t worry!
15.  Run a butter knife along the edges of the pan to help it come out.
16. Glaze and enjoy!

Glaze:
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
3 tsp milk

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the powered sugar and cinnamon.
2. Add the vanilla, butter and milk and mix until you get a smooth consistency.
3. Pour over slightly cooled bread.  Allow to set up before cutting into the bread.

Mini Cupcakes

Tools: 
Apple corer
Piping bag

3 Steps:

-Press the apple corer into the center of the mini cupcake.  Twist gently and pull out the center piece of cake.
-Fill a piping bag with your mixture, cut off the tip so you have about a 1cm opening.
-Pipe the mixture into the cupcake just until it reaches the top.

Tools: 
Sharp knife
Mini ice cream scoop

3 Steps:
-Using a sharp knife, cut a cone out of the center of each cupcake.  Make sure the knife goes almost to the bottom of the cupcake when cutting the cone.  Trim off the bottom of the cone so what you have left is a flat top.
-Using the mini ice cream scoop, scoop a dollop of filling into each cupcake until it’s full.
-Replace the flat top of cake back on top of the filling and press down until it’s flat.

Seriously, tell me these aren’t the cutest things you’ve ever seen!? They totally look like a shirley temple.  And honestly, who doesn’t love a shirley temple!? They’re so fun and cute and oh yeah. Did I say fun?  They remind me of being a little girl and being able to order something “fancy” at a restaurant.

Just a few notes…

• Don’t be afraid of the marischino cherry juice and/or the red food coloring… I used a few drops and the bottom layer still turned out a little bit lighter than I was anticipating.
•  I cut down the almond extract in the buttercream to 1/8 teaspoon, because while it was still delicious, the almond flavor was a little bit more intense than I wanted it to be.  (oddly enough, the almond flavor sort of tastes like cherries)
• I drained my cherries on a paper towel and very *gently* squeezed out some of the excess juice so that they didn’t mess up the pretty frosting.
•  Please don’t skip out on the Cherry 7-Up, I think it adds great flavor and it’s just sort of fun!
• I made these the night before I needed them and they kept well a sealed container in the refrigerator.  Bring to room temperature before serving.

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• Pinch salt
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1-2 tablespoons maraschino cherry juice
• 12-24 maraschino cherries with stem, for garnish

1. In a standing bowl mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until light and fluffy at least 2-3 minutes.
2. With the mixer on low, add the pinch of salt, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, almond extract and lemon juice and mix until combined.
3. Whip the buttercream until smooth and add the maraschino cherry juice to the buttercream and mix until combined.  The maraschino cherry juice gives it a nice subtle flavor and the prettiest light pink color.
4. Pipe with a star tip and garnish each cupcake with a cherry.

I decided to make a few that were all pink batter, just for funsies… I didn’t like them as much as the 2 toned cupcakes, but they still tasted great If you’re short on time, or you don’t have red food coloring in your kitchen, you can skip that step all together (but, it was my favorite part of this recipe).

So, when I saw what Joy the Baker posted yesterday and the urge to get back in my kitchen and bake came over me I just KNEW that it was going to be this pie.

See last week, I made over 150 cupcakes in 4 days.  That may not seem like a lot of cupcakes for an established bakery, but for a stay-at-home mom who only has two good cupcake pans and and can only bake one pan at a time…. 150 cupcakes is no small feat.  I burnt out after those four days of baking and vowed I was going to take this week off.  I said THE ENTIRE WEEK I WILL NOT BAKE.

Well, it’s Tuesday and I baked a pie.  But really, can we call that really baking?  It was more like slicing and mixing and rolling.  I guess the pie baked, but I didn’t really make anything.  lol I even used a premade pie crust.  I totally cheated.  :D

But, let me tell you… there is NOTHING BETTER than a slice of WARM peach and blueberry pie with a dollop of vanilla bean ice cream.  I took a piece that was waaay too big for me and I ATE ALL OF IT.  Ok, not ALL, my daughter helped me with half but I WANTED to eat all of it!!

I used Joy’s recipe for the pie filling, changed things just a bit to accommodate for what I had in my kitchen and I used a pre-made pie crust… but seriously friends, this pie was one of the best I’ve ever made!

Peach Blueberry Pie
Adapted from Joy the Baker

Pillsbury Premade Pie Crust

about 3 pounds ripe peaches (I used 8 small peaches)

1 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup (heaping) sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
scant 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp all spice
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
juice from one lemon

1 egg, beaten, for egg wash

2 tbsp sugar and 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, for topping crust before baking

1. Preheat oven to 400 F degrees. Lightly spray 9-in pie dish with cooking spray. Place the rack in the center of the oven.
2. To make the filling, wash and slice peaches. In a medium bowl, combine peach slices and blueberries. In a small bowl, whisk together sugar, spices, flour, and cornstarch. Pour the sugar mixture over the fruit, and gently toss together with a wooden spoon. Stir in the lemon juice. Place bowl of fruit in the fridge to rest while you roll the crust out.
3. On a lightly floured surface, roll one piece of the Pillsbury pie dough out into about a 13-inch round. Fold the dough in half and gently lift onto pie dish and unfold. Gently press into the base of the pan, being careful not to tear or stretch the dough.
4. Add the pie filling to the pan making sure it’s spread evenly.
5. Roll out the top crust just as you did the bottom crust. Use a cookie cutter to cut out a few small shapes in the top dough. Set cut outs aside. Fold the dough in half and gently place it on top of the pie filling.
6. With a small knife, trim the crust, leaving about 3/4-inch overhang. With your fingers press the top and bottom crusts together and fold under. Use a fork or your fingers to crimp the edges of the dough.
7. Brush lightly with beaten egg and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture.
8. Arrange the reserved dough cut outs on top. Use a little egg wash on the backs to “glue” them to the pie.
9. Place pie, on a cookie sheet, in the oven and bake at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven heat to 350 and bake for 35-45 more minutes. Remove from the oven when crust is browned and golden, and the juices are bubbling. You may want to check it after 20-25 minutes to see if the crust is browning too much on the edges. If they are, cover with a pie crust round/protector or foil.
10. Remove from the oven, place on a wire rack and allow to cool for 2 hours before serving.
11. Serve warm with ice cream!
12. Enjoy!

The recipe from Annie’s Eats was a pretty basic recipe, but I wanted to kick things up a bit and really bring out the lime flavor.  In the original recipe, they noted that most of the lime flavor came from the lime syrup that was drizzed on top, but I really wanted a punch of lime to come through in the cake itself.  I zested two limes and pressed that into the sugar, bringing out the natural oils and flavors creating a lime sugar.  I also added the juice of the two limes into the batter.   I also added a bit more lime juice concentrate than the original recipe called for too.  :)  And a few other tricks.

I’m really happy with the intense lime flavor of these cupcakes.  Paired with the sweet cherry frosting, it’s a perfect summer treat!

Enjoy!

Cherry Limeade Cupcakes
Makes 4 dozen cupcakes

Cake
5 1/4 cups flour*
3/4 cup corn starch*
1 tsp salt
2 tsps baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
2 limes, zested and juiced

10 oz can of limeade concentrate or lime margarita concentrate, thawed and at room temperature

6 eggs

1 cup milk
1/3 cup hot water

*NOTE: This combo of corn starch and flour is to make cake flour.  If you have cake flour on hand, use 6 cups of it.

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.  Line cupcake pan with liners.
2. In a medium bowl, prepare the sugar by working the lime zest into sugar by pressing the back of a spatula down into sugar, thus releasing the oils from the zest into the sugar. This process should take about five minutes, and the sugar will become very fragrant. Set aside.
3. In another large bowl, sift together the flour, corn starch, salt, baking powder and soda three times.  You really want to make sure the corn starch is very incorporated into the flour.  Set aside.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth.  Add the lime sugar and mix on high until light and fluffy.
5. Add the entire can of limeade concentrate and lime juice.  Mix until combined.  Don’t worry if it appears curdled… it’s normal at this point!
6. Add the eggs one at a time and mix until incorporated.
7. In three parts, add the flour mixture.  Between each addition of flour, add half the milk.  Mix only until the flour is just combined.
8. Add the hot water and mix by hand until incorporated.  DO NOT OVER MIX!
9. Fill liners 2/3 full, or use an ice cream scoop to distribute one full scoop into each liner.
10. Bake for 17-19 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
11. Cool in pans for 5-10 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely.

Since these are mini’s I won’t be drenching them in the Amaretto like I did the regular size cupcakes, but you definitely should poke some holes in your cupcakes and drench them with more of this delicious liquor if you decide to make regular size cupcakes with this recipe. I’m pretty sure that’d be just a little too much Amaretto for such a small cupcake, since there is Amaretto in the cake, ganache and the buttercream!

I’m bringing these to an FRG meeting tomorrow. (For those of you who don’t know… FRG = Family Readiness Group in the Army. I’m the FRG Leader of my husband’s company in the Army and it’s my first meeting after taking the job. I want to make a good impression!) I’m pretty sure these will be a hit with not only the other FRG Leaders but the soldiers who will be there!

Chocolate Amaretto Cupcakes
Makes 24 mini cupcakes and about 6 regular size cupcakes

1 cup coconut milk
1/3 cup canola oil
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup amaretto liqueur
1 egg

1 cup all-purpose flour1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees and line your cupcake pan with mini nut cups or mini cupcake liners.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, oil, sugar egg, and amaretto.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
4. In two parts, gently whisk the flour into the wet mixture.  Mix until all the clumps are out.  Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is incorporated.
5. For minis: Scoop batter into liners about 1/2-2/3 full.  Bake for 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
6. For regular size: Scoop batter into liners about 2/3 full.  Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
7. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes until removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Amaretto Ganache
This made enough to dip all the cupcakes with 1/2 left over

4 oz semi-sweet bakers chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup whipping cream (I actually ran out of whipping cream, so I used 1/4 cup milk and 1/4 cup coconut milk)
3 tbsp Amaretto liquor, separated
1 tbsp butter

1.  Chop the chocolate and place it in a glass bowl.
2. In a double boiler, bring the cream and 2 tbsp Amaretto to a boil.
3. Pour over the chocolate and let sit for 30 seconds.
4. Stir until smooth.
5. Add the butter and 1 tbsp Amaretto and stir until incorporated.
6. Dip the tops of cooled cupcakes in the ganache.  Set aside before to firm up frosting.

Chocolate Amaretto Buttercream
Makes enough to frost all the cupcakes in the above recipe

1/2 cup (1 stick)unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 lb powdered sugar, sifted
2 tbsp amaretto liqueur
2-3 tbsp whipping cream

Amaretti biscuit cookies

1. Sift together the powdered sugar and the cocoa powder.
2. Cream the butter until smooth.
3. 1 cup at a time, add the sugar/cocoa.   Mix until smooth.
4. Add the amaretto and mix until incorporated.
5. Add the whipping cream until you get the consistency and texture you desire.
6. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix for 30 seconds on high.
7. Pipe a dollop of buttercream onto each cupcake.  Top with an Amaretti biscuit cookie.

I picked up a trio of Mozart Chocolate Liquors which included a white chocolate liqueur… which meant that I had to make a White Chocolate cupcake!

What I came up with was this delicious little piece of white chocolate heaven…

White chocolate cake drenched with Mozart White Chocolate Liqueur topped with a white chocolate & Mozart Liqueur buttercream. I call these White Chocolate Mozart cupcakes!

These would be amazing filled with strawberries too… I’m just sayin’… white chocolate + strawberries = yum!

Mozart White Chocolate Cupcakes
Makes about 12 cupcakes, maybe a couple more

1 ½ cups cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
6 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
¾ cup sugar
2 egg whites
1 tsp clear vanilla extract
3 oz white bakers chocolate, melted
¼ cup milk
¼ cup sour cream
¼ cup hot water

¼ cup white chocolate Mozart liquor

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.  Line cupcake pan with liners.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. In a measuring cup that pours, mix together the milk and sour cream.
4. Using a double boiler on medium-high heat.  Melt the chocolate.  Set aside to cool.
5. In the meantime, using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar.
6. Add the egg whites one at a time and mix until incorporated.  Scrape the sides of the bowl.
7. Mix in the vanilla.
8. On medium, slowly pour the chocolate into the egg/sugar/butter mixture.  Scrape the sides and mix until completely combined.
9. Add the flour and milk/sour cream alternating, beginning and ending with flour.  Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix only until combined.
10. Add the hot water and mix just until incorporated.
11. Fill cupcake liners ¾ full with batter.
12. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
13. Cool in pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
14. After the cupcakes have completely cooled, poke 10-15 holes with a toothpick in each cupcake.  Brush the liquor over the top, making sure it soaks into the cupcake.

Mozart White Chocolate Frosting

1oz bakers white chocolate, melted
½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tsp Mozart white chocolate liqueur
¼ cup milk or cream
1lb sifted powdered sugar

1. Cream the butter.
2. While that is creaming, melt the white chocolate using a double boiler.  Cool slightly after melted.
3. Mix in the liquor and vanilla to the butter.
4. Slowly drizzle the melted chocolate into the butter mixture until completely incorporated, scraping the sides.
5. One cup at a time, add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth.  Scrape the sides of the bowl.
6. Add the milk until you get the consistency you desire.
7. Mix on high for 3 minutes.

This cupcake is a really moist cupcake filled with my favorite raspberry jam.  The frosting is a twist on a classic peanut butter frosting because it has a bit of cocoa powder in it too.   I made them for a 4th of July party and they were a HUGE it!

Peanut butter Cupcakes
Makes about 2 dozen cupcakes

1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
¼ tsp baking soda
¾ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt

½ cup butter, room temperature
1 1/3 cups sugar
½ cup creamy peanut butter
2 eggs
½ tsp vanilla extract

½ cup sour cream
½ cup milk

1/3 cup hot water

½ cup raspberry jam

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.  Line cupcake pan with liners.
2. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.
3. Cream together the butter, peanut butter and sugar.
4. Add the vanilla and mix until incorporated.
5. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix on high 2 minutes until light and fluffy.
6. Mix together the sour cream and milk.
7. Add the flour and sour cream/milk, alternating, beginning and ending with the flour.  Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix only until incorporated.
8. Add the hot water and stir until combined.
9. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake for 18-20 minute or until a toothpic comes out clean.
10. Cool in pan for 5 minutes and then remove to wire wrack to cool completely.
11. Core the center of the cupcakes and fill with raspberry jam.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Frosting
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup peanut butter
¼ cup cocoa powder
1 lb (3-4 cups) powdered sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla
¼ cup whipping cream

1. Cream together the peanut butter and butter.
2. Sift together the powdered sugar and cocoa powder.
3. One cup at a time, add the sugar mixture and mix until creamy.
4. Add the vanilla and just enough cream until you reach you desired consistency.
5. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix on high for 30 seconds.

I made these as mini and regular cupcakes… I preferred the mini cupcakes just because I’m not a huuuuuge mint/chocolate chip fan… I know, I know… it’s craziness!  BUT, everyone seemed to love them and I heard that they had a great mint/chocolate ratio.  Mission accomplished!

The actual chocolate cake doesn’t include any mint flavor, so to punch up the flavor a bit, I melted a few Andes mints in the microwave and then dipped each cupcake in the glaze.  It smelled amazing and made them look extra pretty.

Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes (Recipe Source: Bakers Royale)

• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups flour
• ½ cup Dutch process  cocoa powder
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs, plus 2 egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 F and line 2 muffins pans with cupcake liners.
2.  In a bowl mix sour cream and baking soda together; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, sift flour and cocoa powder together and set aside.
4. In a standing bowl mixer cream butter and both sugars until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add in salt and beat until combined.
5. Add eggs one at a time and beat until combined. Add in egg yolks and vanilla and beat until combined.
6. Turn off the mixer and use a sturdy spatula or wooden spoon and alternate adding sour cream mixture and flour mixture, beginning with the sour cream and ending with the flour mixture.  Mix just until combined.
7. Fold in mini chocolate chips.  Do not overmix.
8. Fill each liner with a full ice cream scoop of batter.  Bake for 20-25 minutes.  Remove from oven and set on a cooling rack.  Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Mint Chocolate Buttercream

• 1 cup of crushed Andes (melted in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds)
• 1 cup butter
• 4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 tablespoons whipping cream
• 1/3  cup of crushed Andes
• 3-4 drops of green food coloring (to get a pretty mint color)

1. Dip each cupcake in the melted Andes glaze.  Allow chocolate to set on each cupcake before frosting.
2. Cream butter and sugar in a standing bowl mixer on medium for 2-3 minutes, until light and fluffy.
3. Add powered sugar to the mixer on low and mix until combined.
4. Add vanilla and whipping cream and mix for 2-3 minutes.
5. Mix in crushed Andes with a rubber spatula.  Add 3-4 drops of food coloring and mix until combined.
6. Garnish with Andes mints.

Personally, I loved the way this cupcake turned out with the crushed Andes in the buttercream, but if you want a smooth buttercream substitute the crushed Andes for 1 1/2 teaspoons of crème de menthe.  Also, this chocolate cake has sort of become my go-to recipe for chocolate cupcakes.  It’s rich but still light and fluffy.

Happy baking!

xo-Jenn

They were super simple to decorate. I had most of the things on hand already and luckily, I had recently won a kit from Cupcake Crafts specifically for the 4th of July!

This weekend, I’ll be out of town, so I want to wish all of you a very safe and fun Independence Day!!

Happy 4th of July!