It has been way too long since my last blog!  This is a great recipe to start things back up! I have to dedicate these cupcakes to my dad, who shared with me his love of football, Fall, and most importantly apple butter! Apple butter is one of those things that I only buy when I am in a country store or local farm. That said, if I see it- I buy it.

​This summer I had an amazing vacation at Lake Winnipesaukee. While we were there, we stopped at an old country store (literally called the Old Country Store) and I grabbed a jar of apple butter. So glad I did!

A friend called me shortly after our trip and asked if I could make cupcakes for a fall themed baby shower. The first thing that came to mind was the apple butter.  I think this recipe makes great use of it. The cupcakes stay moist and delicious with a ton of flavor. All I had to do was add some cute cartoony owls to make the cupcakes baby shower ready!

When making these for our family, I toast 1 cup of walnuts for approximately 1 minute and mix in. Great flavor combination. Try these out and let me know what you think!

Originally posted 5/26/2016.

​This was quite an exciting weekend for me – as far as my baking is concerned. Thanks to an awesome friend (shoutout to you, Kate!!), I had my first baking “gig.” Kate was sweet enough to ask me to bake cupcakes for a bridal shower for one of her best friends.
Huge honor. No pressure.

Well, to bake cupcakes under one condition- that I make these specific cupcakes. Because they are amazing.

Last Friday, I spent the evening baking 40 cupcakes and drinking wine. Honestly, its a pretty fantastic way to spend an evening. (*Disclaimer* I do not condone drinking and baking. I have the scars to prove the danger, but thats a blog for another day.) When I make these cupcakes for parties (so far at least 1 birthday, a BBQ, 2 bridal showers, and a rehearsal dinner) they have been a huge hit.  Each time I baked without significant incident. But of course I can’t say that for this Friday. Thank god for Bob.

Friday night the Greater Boston area was rainy and humid. I made the mistake of leaving my kitchen windows open. The frosting  for this cupcake is an awesome cream cheese based frosting, which does not appreciate humidity. So, at 9:55 p.m. and after a failed first attempt, Bob rushed me to the grocery store to buy ingredients for my second  and hopefully final attempt. New lesson learned- have back up ingredients when working on a deadline. While we were at the grocery store, we closed the windows and turned the fans on. Next house we buy, central AC is required.

For the second attempt, I made sure to keep the cream cheese in the fridge longer. I also added more heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar to thicken it up a bit. After mixing the frosting up, I put it in the fridge for an hour. Luckily this all helped and from what Kate has told me the cupcakes were a success.
This amazing recipe was adapted from Annie’s Eats! Please check it out.
​
INGREDIENTS
For the Cupcakes

• ¾ cup plus 1 tbsp. all-purpose flour, divided
• ¾ cup cake flour
• 1 ½ tsp. baking powder
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 8 tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature
• ¾ cup plus 2 tbsp. sugar
• Zest of 1 large lemon
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 tbsp. lemon juice
• ½ cup plus 2 tbsp. milk, at room temperature
• 1 cup blueberries

For the Frosting

• 8 oz. cream cheese
• 5 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 1/2  tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Zest of 1 large lemon

DIRECTIONS
 Cupcakes 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line cupcake pans with paper liners (makes about 14 to 16 cupcakes).
3. Combine ¾ cup all-purpose flour, cake flour, baking powder and salt.
4. In a separate bowl, beat together butter, sugar, and lemon zest, until light and fluffy.
5. Beat in eggs one at a time.
6. Beat in the vanilla and lemon juice.
7. With the mixer on low, mix in a third of the dry ingredients- just until combined.
8. Blend in half of the milk, then a third of the dry ingredients-just until combined.
9. Blend in the remaining milk and then the final third of the dry ingredients- just until combined. DO NOT OVER MIX!
10. In a separate bowl, toss the blueberries with the remaining tablespoon of all-purpose flour. Gently fold the blueberries into the batter.
11. Fill the cupcakes liners about 2/3 of the way.
12. Bake approximately 20 minutes.

Frosting

1. Mix cream cheese and butter. Beat on medium-high until smooth.
2. Mix in lemon zest and lemon juice.
3. Mix in powdered sugar – one cup at a time, until totally incorporated.
4. Garnish with fresh blueberries.

AND ENJOY!!!

Originally posted 2/29/2016

​It’s Oscar night! So, while I sit here watching the Oscars and getting a bit jealous of how fantastic everyone looks… I am eating these delicious cupcakes. Wonder why I can’t fit into those gorgeous dresses?! Whatever… totally worth it. These are amazing. This is probably one of my favorite cupcake recipes that I have tried out in a while. Thank you, Cooking Classy. I did not have to vary much from the recipe on her site. She also provided some great advice. Please check it out!

If you like the look of the ice cream scoop inspired frosting (my attempt is at the top of the page) – double the frosting recipe. I had a difficult time getting this look to work and really only got three cupcakes that it worked well on. If I could go back, I would probably leave the icing in the fridge for an hour before attempting. I used an ice cream scope to get the effect, but had to clean it out completely before each scoop. The other issue with this style of frosting, is that it is a TON of frosting! Now, I love frosting (esp.  this frosting) and judge those who don’t, but the ice cream scope of frosting is lil too much. I think these cupcakes would be just as cute with a normal decorative frosting.

OK, cutting this blog a bit short. Time to veg out on my couch… and sneak one more cupcake when Bob isn’t looking! Great Sunday night with this guy at my feet…

RECIPECook Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 12 Cupcakes
Ingredients

• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 2 1/2 Tbsp vegetable or canola oil
• 3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
• 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp flour

Mint Chocolate Chip Frosting

• 3/4 cup butter, partially softened (preferably half salted and half unsalted butter)
• 1 tsp mint extract (not peppermint)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 Tbsp heavy cream
• Green food coloring (I used 6 drops of green and 3 yellow to create mint)
• 1/2 bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. In heat proof mixing bowl, whisk together cocoa powder and baking soda.
3. Carefully pour boiling water into cocoa/baking soda mix and whisk until bubbling subsides and mixture is well blended, allow to cool.
4. While the cocoa mix cools, in a separate large mixing bowl blend together melted butter, vegetable oil, granulated sugar, vanilla and salt until well combined.
5. Stir in egg and egg yolk, mixing just until combined after each addition.
6. Stir in cooled cocoa mixture then add heavy cream.
7. Slowly mix in flour and blend until combined, while scraping down sides and bottom of bowl.
8. Divide batter among 12 paper lined muffin cups and bake in preheated oven until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean about 17 to 20 minutes.
9. Remove from oven and allow to cool in muffin tin several minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool.

For the Mint Chocolate Chip Buttercream Frosting:

1. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, using the paddle attachment whip butter on medium high speed until very fluffy, about 7 – 8 minutes, frequently scrapping down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
2. Blend in mint extract and vanilla extract.
3. Add in powdered sugar- one cup at a time.
4. Add in heavy cream and mix on low speed until combined.
5. Blend in food coloring then increase speed to medium and beat until very light and fluffy, about 5 – 6 minutes, frequently scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
6. Fold in chopped chocolate just before spreading frosting over cupcakes.

Recipe Source: Cooking Classy
LET ME KNOW IF YOU TRY IT AND LIKE IT!!
Have a great week!

Originally posted 2/22/2016

​About a year ago or so, I decided to write a cookbook for kids. I was able to scrape together an outline, but found myself so overwhelmed with ideas that the book was a bit scattered. I decided to take a break for a while, put the book aside and come back with fresh eyes. During my intermission from writing, I want to bake and bake and bake some more to get ideas for the book. (This led to starting a blog). Get the creative juices flowing!
One idea that I just had- is to bake a few ice cream inspired cupcakes. As I researched around, I realized that I am not the first person to think of this. I know…shocking.

The flavors I first contemplated were mint chocolate chip, rocky road, neapolitan, chocolate and peanut butter…. a standard theme of chocolate. I tried to think of a recipe that was not chocolate… sherbet, vanilla, strawberry, (all too boring) and then settled on orange creamsicle. I found a great recipe on A Simple Pantry and got ta bakin’!

Bob’s birthday was February 9th, but his stepsister and dad were not able to celebrate his birthday until this weekend. We were invited to his stepsister’s house tonight and I thought this would be a great time to test out this recipe … annnnnd use his family as willing (hopefully) guinea pigs!
These cupcakes were a huge success! Everyone loved them! I am still playing with the flavor a bit, but overall I would definitely recommend these cupcakes.  I have made a few adjustments based on my taste and flavor preferences, but thank you, A Simple Pantry!

RECIPEIngredients
For the cupcakes

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup vanilla yogurt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 tbsp  orange juice, freshly squeezed
• 3 tbsp orange zest, freshly grated
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt

For the buttercream

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 tbsp light corn syrup
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• 5 cups powdered sugar
• 1/3 c heavy whipping cream
• 2 tbsp orange juice, freshly squeezed
• orange food coloring (gel)

Instructions
For the cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together, until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in the eggs, one at a time.
4. Add the yogurt, vanilla, orange juice, and orange zest.  Mix until combined.
5. In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients, then slowly add the dry mix to the wet mix, until combined.
6. Line a muffin tin with paper cups, then fill each cup 2/3 full with batter. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

For the Buttercream

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, light corn syrup, vanilla, and salt until light and fluffy.
2. Mix in the powdered sugar, one cup at a time.
3. Add the heavy cream to receive desired consistency.
4. Add orange food coloring.

After the cupcakes are cooled and frosted… throw a slice of orange on top for fun!
Let me know your thoughts about this recipe and let me know any ice cream flavors that you think would make great cupcakes!!

Originally posted 2/18/2016 
I have a very close friend that is gluten free. She inspired me to scour the web (mainly Pinterest) for a delicious, gluten free muffin recipe. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it), my house is filled with gluten filled goodies.  I would love to have a recipe up my sleeve in case she comes over.

I came across Running with Spoons‘ recipe for Flourless Chocolate Zucchini Muffin. I have to preface this with the fact that the original recipe calls for flaxseed. I could not find flaxseed anywhere… so I researched* it. I learned flaxseed would make the muffin a bit chewier, so I decided to proceed without it!

*I googled it. I only looked at the first thing that came up. I will concede that my research strategy could have been better.I tend to like my desserts on the under baked, gooey side. That is not how I should have approached these muffins. I made the mistake of baking at 350 degrees instead of the suggested 375 degrees. I found that my muffins caved in a bit.

Overall these muffins were not my favorite. They were yummy and very chocolatey, but had consistency more similar to a brownie than a muffin. I would like to try another crack at these down the road. I will definitely update you with any suggestions and if you have any suggestion- please let me know!!

Ingredients:

• ½ cup almond butter
• 1 ripe large banana
• 1 egg
• ¼ cup honey
• ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• 1 cup zucchini, shredded and squeezed of excess liquid
• ¼ cup dark chocolate chips

 Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line your muffin pan and set aside.
2. Add all ingredients except for zucchini and chocolate chips to a blender and blend on high until batter is smooth.
3. Stir in zucchini and chocolate chips with a spoon.
4. Pour batter into prepared muffin pan.
5. Bake for 20 minutes, until the tops of your muffins are set and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
6. Allow muffins to cool in pan for 5-10 minutes before removing.

This recipe was adapted from Running With Spoons. Love her site!

Originally posted 1/18/2016.

​So, I am obsessed with pretty much every cooking and baking show on TV right now. A few weeks ago,  I was watching a rerun of The Kitchen and Katie Lee mentioned that she crinkles up parchment paper before placing it on baking sheets. She said that this technique helps to keep the cookies from spreading and sliding. I knew had try this technique out with dirt cookies. These cookies definitely have a tendency to spread. It actually worked great! I will definitely keep on crinklin’. I am not sure why but when I wrote that … all I heard in my head was “teach me how to crinkle, teach me teach me, how to crinkle.” Teach me how to Dougie? Anyone? haha

These cookies are delicious! Major hit. Almost as big of hit as the Dougie. OK. I’ll stop. The recipe is adapted from a mix of the  Brown Eyed Baker and Bakestravaganza. Both recipes called for unsalted butter, but I think this recipe needs some salt. Without the salt,  the cookies were just too sweet for me and even border on being a bit bland. This is just a taste preference, so consider using unsalted butter in your cookies.

INGREDIENTS:
½ cup butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups flour
2/3 cup dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips (I’ve tried both and both are delicious)
2 rows of Oreo cookies, crumbled

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350¤.
2. In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and cream cheese until smooth.
3. Add the sugar and vanilla extract and mix until the ingredients are well-combined.
4. Add the flour- one cup at a time and mix on low until the flour is fully incorporated.
5. Stir in the mini chocolate chips.
6. In a food processor, crush two rows of the Oreo cookies.* Place the Oreo cookie crumbs in a small to medium sized bowl.
7. Scoop the cookies into about 1½ inch balls and then roll the dough in the Oreo crumbs. Be sure to cover the entire ball- the more, the merrier. The more Oreo, the less the cookie will spread!
8. Place the cookie balls on a baking sheet lined with (crinkled) parchment paper.
9. Bake for 14 to 17 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned and the tops are slightly puffed.
10. Cool on the baking sheet for several minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
11. Enjoy with friends!

*I prefer to process the Oreos until there is a nice mix of large and fine crumbs. My first attempt at this recipe, I made the crumbs too fine.  I think they held better and tasted better with a few larger chunks!

Originally posted 1/18/2016

It’s football season and I live in Pats nation. I was invited to a friend’s football party on Saturday and, as always, I asked to bring a dessert. I had grand plans to make amazing blackberry and goat cheese munchkins (I will update you when I finally step  up my game and make them!).  I woke up late and my energy was… a bit lacking. I quickly grabbed my go-to recipe from Sweet as a Cookie. Lemon Crinkles. Easy, delicious, and people think that you spent your day in the kitchen.

This is definitely a Bob favorite. He claims not to like lemon cookies or desserts and never orders or craves lemon when we are out. BUT  he LOVES these cookies. I hope you do too.
As I learn how to blog, I promise to get better with the pictures! The picture above does not do these cookies justice! And is primarily a result of inexperience and the Saturday morning struggle.

These cookies were a huge success at the party. The only thing I regret is leaving without grabbing a couple for later!
​
How to make…
Ingredients
1 egg
1/4 cup butter, softened
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1 lemon or 1 1/2 lemons (depending on your taste)
1 box lemon cake mix
1/4 cup powdered sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325º.
2. In a large mixing bowl cream together egg, butter, cream cheese, lemon zest, and lemon juice.
3. Once combined mix in the lemon cake mix.
4. Drop 1 1/2 inch balls into powdered sugar and roll around until well coated. The dough will be sticky.
5. Place dough balls 2 inches apart from each other on  cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
6. Bake for approximately 14 minutes.
7. Optional- drizzle or dip in chocolate.
8. Then… enjoy with friends!