Santa Cupcakes

I always like to try my hand at new things.  I'm not even average at decorating cakes or cupcakes with frosting but I do love to eat them so I keep trying.  Rylee wanted to bring Santa cupcakes to school so I did a quick pinterest search.  Found a picture of a santa cupcake with a dead recipe link and used that as inspiration.  I think these turned out really cute and anyone can do them!  Each one will be different and have it's own little personality.  I am happy to report they were a huge hit with preschoolers and teachers alike.

Ingredients

2 dozen cooled cupcakes

8 oz block cream cheese softened

2 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp lemon juice

dash of salt

5 1/2 cups powdered sugar

red sugar crystals

red cinnamon gems

confetti tiny sugar candies (or something eye colored and round)

rainbow sprinkles (or something mouth shaped)

Instructions

1. Bake your favorite cupcakes.  I used a vanilla cupcake, but any kind will work.  Let these cool completely before decoration.  You will have enough frosting to decorate two dozen cupcakes.
2. Mix cream cheese, vanilla, lemon juice and salt until creamy and completely incorporated.
3. Mix in the powdered sugar on low a little at a time, until it's all added.  Then mix on medium for a few minutes until the frosting get a bit fluffy.  You may need to scrape down the sides of the bowls a few times.
4. Each cupcake needs a thin layer of skin colored frosting.  Put 1/2 - 3/4 cup in a bowl.  Then to the frosting in the small bowl, add 4 drops of yellow, 3 drops red and 1 drop green food coloring.  Mix completely so there are no streaks.  The frosting will be a peachy skin tone.  Top each cupcake with a thin layer of the peachy frosting,
5. Now put your red sugar crystals in a bowl and dip each cupcake in the crystals in a crescent moon shape.  Pretty thin, this will be his hat.  You can try to make it a bit longer on one side to add the ball at the end of his hat,
6. Place your white frosting in a bag with a small star tip or in a ziploc bag with a small snip in the corner.  Make small dots along the edge of the red crystals and a bigger one where you want his hat to have a ball.  Then continue the dots all the way around the cupcake.  Make another layer at the bottom for his beard.  Add two dots where his mustache and mouth will be.  Look at the picture as a guide.
7. Place a cinnamon gem for his red little nose.  Two eye colored confetti's for his eyes.  And a pink or red rainbow sprinkle for his mouth,
8. You're done!  You can immediately sample as my children did.  And I did pop them in the fridge for a few hours before transporting to school.  Some say this may dry them out but it does save the frosting if they tip over in transport, which mine almost always do!

Pinterest Inspiration Photo

This link was dead when I clicked, or maybe because I'm in USA and don't have proper fonts.

http://thebestcupcakerecipes.com/christmas-santa-cupcakes/

Almond Flour Banana Muffins

 

Looking for some tasty snacks that don't pack a huge sugar rush?  My good friend recommended that we try almond meal. These muffins were yummy, just sweet enough with a little salt taste and filling.  The girls could eat them in the evening and we didn't have to worry about a huge running frenzy afterward!  They also made a great breakfast along with some fruit.  You can taste the butter used in the batter so there is no need to add any.  I may even try to half or omit the butter next time.  Enjoy!

Ingredients
3 cups blanched almond flour or almond meal
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
3  eggs or pasteurized egg product
2 large or 3 medium very ripe bananas, mashed
1/3 cup honey or maple syrup, use less if the bananas are very ripe and sweet
1/4 c up melted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 c up or so chopped pecans

Recipe

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or line a cupcake pan with wrappers.
2. In large bowl whisk almond flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder and cinnamon together
3. In medium bowl mix eggs, bananas, honey, butter and vanilla together until combined.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix just until combined.  Do not overmix.
5. Fill muffin cups and top with chopped nuts.  Bake 20 minutes for muffins and 12-15 minutes for mini muffins.  Or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
6. Cool for one minute in the pan then remove to wire rack to finish cooling.

Recipe inspired by 

This recipe inspired by justapinch.com

Click Here for Recipe

This recipe inspired by nuts.com

Click Here for Recipe

Raspberry Frosted Vanilla Mini Cupcakes

 

I picked up a subscription to Food and Wine magazine recently for my daughter's school fundraiser. I have already found several great recipes.  This cupcake just looked pretty and I knew it would have to be yummy too.  I tweaked the recipe from strawberry to raspberry and eliminated the milk products.  Instead of regular cupcakes we made mini ones.  I would guess you could use any type of berry jam.  Be careful to not add too much the frosting will get soft.  These were the perfect sweet treat to bring our dinner club and so pretty.

Recipe Modifications

• used fleischmann's unsalted margarine
• used vanilla rice milk
• you can use your favorite white or cream cheese frosting recipe and just add jam to taste.  I added raspberry jam and topped with fresh raspberries instead of strawberry
• made mini cupcakes instead of regular ones
• frosting was a bit soft so popped in the fridge before traveling with them

Cupcake Ingredients

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk, at room temperature

Recipe

This recipe comes from Food and Wine

Click Here for Recipe

Crisp Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

Browsing recipes for cookies we found this one and had to try it.  I love crispy chewy cookies.  Could the recipe really be true, is it possible to have a perfectly balanced, super yummy crispy on the outside and chewy in the middle cookie?  The first thing we noticed is the dough is absolutely my favorite dough that we have ever made.  It's outstanding.  And when we got to the baking, well all the hype is true!  These cookies are amazing.  I only wanted a few for each of us.  So I scooped the extra dough on a cookie sheet and froze for about two hours.  Then I transferred to a freezer bag.  Now the cookies are ready for me to bake another day or pop on out for some raw cookie dough goodness.

Recipe Modifications

• I used pasteurized eggs so I can safely eat the dough and the kids too!
• I am eating milk free so I used fleishmann's unsalted margarine and milk free chocolate chips.   Think these may be even better with fresh real butter, cannot wait to try it
• It took longer to bake then suggested in the recipe.  I've never baked at 325 and it took some extra time.  But be careful not to over bake or you will look the chewy!

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Recipe

This recipe comes from Smitten Kitchen a super yummy and fun food blog 

Click Here for Recipe

Just Like Hostess Cupcake

I saw a picture of a cupcake that looked like those hostess ones that used to be packed in school lunches, you know in the old school metal lunch boxes right by the fruit punch pouch and p&j sandwich.  It was intriguing and as I'm soy, milk and nut free right now I decided to make it all from scratch.  The end result was yummy yummy yummy!  I didn't even like these growing up, but I like this adult version.  t think it will be even better when I can make it using real butter, there is no real substitute for the taste of real butter in my opinion.  I learned a few things.  The glaze is amazing an my new favorite for donuts and cupcakes.  And be careful if you put too much filling in a cupcake it will explode!  And yes, there are allot of steps but they are worth the end result just be patient.  We decided to decorate with loopy W's for our last name, Cadence is learning letters right now. 

Recipe Modifications

• I made these milk protein, soy protein and nut free.  So I always used fleishmann's unsalted dairy-free margarine and rice milk

White Icing Ingredients

1 cups confectioner sugar

1 tablespoons butter (softened) or fleishmann's unsalted dairy-free margarine

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon water

1-2 teaspoons milk or rice/almond milk

Chocolate Glaze Ingredients

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) butter or or fleishmann's unsalted dairy-free margarine

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Vanilla Cupcake Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all purpose four

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 fine sea salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened or fleishmann's unsalted dairy-free margarine

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2/3 cup whole milk, room temperature or rice/almond milk

Marshmallow Filling Ingredients

1 1/2 cups marshmallow cream

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, at room temperature or fleishmann's unsalted dairy-free margarine

Cupcake Construction

1. Make and bake the vanilla cupcakes.  You can use a box mix or the recipe for vanilla cupcakes below is good.  You don't want too sweet of a cupcake or the end cupcake will be too sweet.
2. Make the Marshmallow filling from the home made simple link and put into fridge.
3. After the cupcakes have cooled.  Fill a pastry bag with a large round tip.  Press the tip into the center of each cupcake and carefully fill it.  Be careful if you fill it too much it will crack!
4. Make the Chocolate Glaze from the home made simple link.  Dip each cupcake into the glaze.
5. Place all glazed cupcakes into the fridge and allow to cool for 20 minutes or more.
6. Place the icing in a bag with a tip or plastic bag and cut a corner.  Then it's time to decorate.  We decided on loopy W's to go with our last name

Recipe Links

This recipe was inspired by a home made simple recipe for cream-filled cupcakes

Click Here for Recipe

The vanilla cupcake recipe is from squidoo

Click Here for Recipe

Recipe for White Icing

1. Mix all ingredients except milk.  I use a hand mixer for this.
2. Add milk a little at a time until a thick glaze is formed.

Maple Walnut Apple Crisp

Today was my oldest daughter's first parent accompanied field trip.  We went to Erie Apple Orchard and got to pick apples, pick out a pumpkin, go for a hay ride, see how apple cider is made and of course eat cider and donuts.  The sun was trying to peak out after days of rain and the air was crisp as it should be in fall.  It was a great start to the many field trips to come and made us all want a nice warm yummy fresh apple crisp.  Here is our family's favorite recipe.  After trying Maple syrup I don't think I'd go back to sugar on the apples, it's so good!  And it's even good enough you don't have to top with ice-cream, although we often do

Recipe Modifications

• This recipe is from Cooking Light so it's still yummy but light.  Well I take away a bit of the light because I love the topping so I use 1 1/2 the amount the recipe calls for
• I am eating milk free so I substituted Fleishman's unsalted margarine for butter
• I never measure the apples I just fill up my pie plate all the way to the top.  I also eye the maple syrup and let the girls sprinkle the cinnamon.  You don't need allot of syrup and we always use real Maple Syrup
• Make sure you really work the crumple until all the ingredients combine into a nice true crumble.  There shouldn't be allot of loose sugar and flour.  For some reason it took me years to learn this!  And buying a cheap pastry blender is so much easier than using the double knife method
• You can use many types of apples for this.  Most fruit markets will suggest of have signs for apples that are good for baking

Ingredients

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup regular oats

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup chilled butter or stick margarine, cut into small pieces

3 tablespoons chopped walnuts

7 cups sliced peeled Rome apple (about 3 pounds)

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Recipe

This recipe comes from my favorite source Cooking Light. Not diet food, but food that is conscious of health without losing any flavor. Food for life! 

Click Here for Recipe

Apple Cider Donuts

The weather outside is dreary and I have two little girls that want to bake so we made up a new donut recipe!  These are apple donuts with a cider glaze or sugar and cider topping.  They were a huge hit today and will be added to our must-make-for-fall list.  Next weekend I'm thinking pumpkin, I absolutely love pumpkin baked goods.  One benefit of eating milk and soy free right now is that it's forcing me to create my own recipes.  Almond milk bakes very well but does impart a bit of almond flavor.  Rice Milk doesn't bake as well but doesn't add a flavor.  Good thing we love almonds ;-)

Ingredients for 6 donuts

1 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 heaping teaspoon baking powder

dash or two  ground nutmeg (optional)

dash or two ground cinnamon (optional)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup almond milk (we use almond breeze original, they come in milk box size)

* can substitute buttermilk or make your own with skim/1% and vinegar) 

1 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon margarine melted (smart balance light in the tub is dairy and soy free)  or butter melted

1/2 cup applesauce

1 1/2 teaspoons real maple syrup (costco has a good deal on the real stuff!)

Sugar Coating 

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon margarine melted (smart balance light in the tub is dairy and soy free)  or butter melted

1/4 to 1/2 cup apple cider

Glaze

1/8 cup apple cider

1 cup powdered sugar

pinch of salt 

Donut Recipe

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray a doughnut pan with non-stick spray.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt with a whisk. 
3. Stir in milk, eggs, vanilla, apple sauce, maple syrup and melted butter. Beat together until well blended.
4. Pour dough into a ziplock bag.  You can place bag in a large mug to make purring easier.
5. Snip of one corner of ziplock bag and fill each doughnut cup almost but not quit full.  These are more dense donuts and will not rise as high as some recipes. 
6. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until doughnuts spring back when touched. They will not be brown, should appear still pale.  Allow to cool for two minutes before removing from pan.  These took two minutes longer in my oven then less dense donuts.
7. Cool completely before adding toppings.

Sugar Coating

1. Combine white sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon in shallow bowl.
2. Pour enough cider into small bowl to cover bottom.
3. Dunk donuts on both sides in cider quickly, shake off excess, and then roll to cover completely in sugar.

Apple Cider Glaze

1. Microwave cider in small bowl for 40 seconds.
2. Add powdered sugar and salt to bowl and whisk until smooth.  
3. Dunk top of donuts in mixture.  Let cool and glaze will harden.

Homemade Baked Donuts

I love playing outdoors with my girls. Hiking, walking, going to parks, farmers markets, festivals, farms, dairies, laying on the grass and looking at clouds...the list is endless. We enjoy all seasons, but there is something so magically about fall. It's simply beautiful with fall leaves, and the change to homey rich foods from summers lighter fare. So you can imagine that I absolutely love cider mills with hot apple cider and fresh donuts. We try to eat healthy but believe treats are good too as long as you're eating mostly healthy and staying active. So I was intrigued when my friend Stephanie posted on her Facebook about baking donuts. I finally got around to buying a pan and came up with the following recipe after taking bits from several I saw online. These are so good, just as good as fried cake donuts, and better than many I've tried. I will make them again and again. As an added bonus they are soy and milk free!

Ingredients for 12 donuts
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar, add 1/4 more if you like them really sweet
2 teaspoons baking powder
dash ground nutmeg (optional)
dash or two ground cinnamon (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup almond milk (we use almond breeze original, they come in milk box size)
2 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoon margarine melted (smart balance light in the tub is dairy and soy free)  or butter melted

Ingredients for 6 donuts

1 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup white sugar, add 1/8 more if you like them really sweet

1 teaspoons baking powder

dash ground nutmeg (optional)

dash or two ground cinnamon (optional)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup and 1/8 cup almond milk (we use almond breeze original, they come in milk box size)

1 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon margarine melted (smart balance light in the tub is dairy and soy free)  or butter melted

Sugar Coating

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon margarine melted (smart balance light in the tub is dairy and soy free)  or butter melted

Chocolate Glaze (1/2 recipe for 6 donuts)

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips plus a few more

2 tablespoon margarine melted (smart balance light in the tub is dairy and soy free)  or butter melted

1 1/2 tablespoons corn syrup

1 teaspoons hot water, add more if too thick

Donut Recipe

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray a doughnut pan with non-stick spray.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt with a whisk. 
3. Stir in milk, eggs, vanilla and melted butter. Beat together until well blended.
4. Pour dough into a ziplock bag.  You can place bag in a large mug to make purring easier.
5. Snip of one corner of ziplock bag and fill each doughnut cup approximately 3/4 full. 
6. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until doughnuts spring back when touched. They will not be brown, should appear still pale.  Allow to cool for two minutes before removing from pan.
7. Cool completely before adding toppings.

Sugar Coating

1. Combine white sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon in shallow bowl.
2. Melt butter in a shallow bowl.
3. Dunk donuts on both sides in butter then roll to cover completely in sugar.

Chocolate and Sprinkle

1. Combine chips, syrup and margarine.  Melt in microwave for 1 minute at 50% power stirring ever 20 seconds.
2. Add hot water until mixture is thick but not too thick to dunk.  
3. Dunk top of donuts in mixture.
4. Top with sprinkles if desired

Banana Muffins with Streusel Topping

You may notice allot of banana recipes on this blog.  We eat these regularly and sometimes don't eat those bananas fast enough so they become very ripe, especially with the heat wave we have been having!  Now since the girls and I enjoy baking and trying out new recipes this is rarely a problem.  A quick search and a few minutes later we are off creating some new treat.  My friend Stephanie posted a really cute picture of her girls streuseling muffins and that was the inspiration.  These are so good!  They have enough spice to make the muffin part flavorful, but the topping is really what makes you grab that second muffin.  Toasting the walnuts and eating warm out of the oven are must do steps.  You could even serve these as dessert with a scoop of ice-cream and drizzle of carmel.

Recipe Modifications

• Used pasteurized egg product
• Used salted butter, I was out of unsalted
• Used skim milk, recipe still turned out amazing
• Used 2 and a half bananas 
• Cooked recommended 25 minutes but may try 22 minutes next time.  New pan cooks fast!

Ingredients

Streusel

1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts, toasted

1/4 cup old fashioned oats

1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

2 tbsp. flour

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/8 tsp. salt

2 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into tiny pieces

Muffin

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp.baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp.freshly grated nutmeg

2 medium mashed ripe bananas

1 large egg

1/2 cup half-n-half or whole milk

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Recipe

This recipe comes Genesis of a Cook blog.  The first I have tried but after this one I'll be trying more! 

Click Here for Recipe

Banana Oatmeal Bugs and Muffins

It is a great experience having young imaginative children.  Cadence has such a delightful sense of humor and makes us laugh all the time.  So when we ran across a bug pan at Costco and she thought it was so funny to have buggy food I had to get it.  I feel like a child again when she draws me into her little world.  These buggy cakes and muffins were both delish and a fun adventure.  Try the recipe it's healthy and super yummy and if you want some adventure make it buggy ;-)

Recipe Modifications

• Used 1/2 cup brown sugar instead of white sugar
• Added 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup white sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

3/4 cup milk

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup mashed bananas

Recipe

This recipe comes allrecipes

Click Here for Recipe

Mini Sour Cream Pound Cake Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting

I was looking for something not too heavy but still decadent to have after our Easter feast and decided to try out my new mini-cupcake pan.  I also got to try out my new cake decorating tips.  Birthdays can be a good thing ;-)  Adding a single colorful jellybean to the mini cupcakes gave them a spring feel and an extra treat for the little ones to enjoy.  These got rave reviews from everyone who tried them and I will for sure make these again.  They are the perfect little sweet ending to any meal.  And the ideal size for little tots that you don't want to go into sugar overload!

Recipe Modifications

• Halfed the cupcake recipe, as an added bonus the half stick of butter and half cream cheese was just the size I needed for the frosting
• Didn't have 16 oz package of powdered sugar so measured it out with measuring cup and added a tablespoon at a time until I got the consistency I wanted
• Added jellybeans for a touch of spring

Ingredients Cupcakes

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 (8-oz.) container sour cream

Ingredients Frosting

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 (3-oz.) package cream cheese, softened

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 (16-oz.) package powdered sugar

3 to 4 Tbsp. milk

Recipe

These recipes come from Southern Living.  They have amazing desserts and baked goods!

Click Here for Cupcake Recipe

Click Here for Frosting Recipe

Banana Nutella Muffins

I had left over bananas and a wanted some nutella and thought wouldn't a banana nutella muffin be so good.  A quick search later and I had multiple recipes at my fingertips.  Less than an hour after that I had hot out of the oven muffins.  Don't you just love how that works!  The girls absolutely loved these and gobbled them up.  Michael is gunning for a nutella pie so he won't admit to loving anything until we make that pie ;-)  I'm now inspired to create my own banana nutella muffin that's a bit healthier so we can enjoy these all the time.  And as an added bonus I got to use my new sifter for the first time.  Prior to this I just sifted with a mesh screen used to drain fat or prevent splatters

Recipe Modifications

• Only used 1/2 teaspoon instead of 1 teaspoon nutella for center and top of muffin.
• Only used 1 cup of sugar.  In future would try to substitute 1/2 cup brown and 1/4 cup white, I love the taste of brown sugar with banana

Ingredients

2 ripe, mashed bananas

2 cups flour

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup sour cream

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup Nutella

Recipe

This recipe comes from Lets Dish Recipes a food blog I just discovered.   

Click Here for Recipe

Homemade Graham Crackers

A few months ago our friend Stephanie posted on facebook that she made homemade graham crackers.  I of course was intrigued and asked for the recipe.  Who doesn't like graham crackers!  And Stephanie is an awesome baker so I knew the recipe would be good.  This weekend was the perfect time to make these.  We had good friends in for the day and two almost 2 year olds, one almost 4 year old and one just five year old to help bake and taste test them.  These are fun and surprising with few ingredients but all these great flavors come out.  And they are much healthier than the store bought varieties.  I didn't feel guilty at all giving them to the girls after breakfast today to dunk in milk ;-)

Recipe Modifications
I was unsure on this recipe so I followed it without modifications the first time through.  I made these in the food processor with a chopping blade instead of the dough blade, oops!  Next time I'll use the right blade.  If you don't have a food processor use a normal mixer and just cut in the chilled butter.  You can use a pastry cutter or two knives to cut the butter in.  I'll also roll them thinner and bake for 12 versus 15 minutes.  If you make them thicker they still taste awesome but puff up a bit more than traditional graham crackers.

Ingredients
1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour
1/2 Cup Dark Brown Sugar, packed
1/2 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Cinnamon
1 Tsp Baking Soda
1/2 Cup Butter, chilled & cubed
1/4 Cup Honey
1/4 Cup Water

Recipe
I really enjoy the easy, natural and healthy approach www.weelicious.com takes to cooking and baking. It's hard to imagine anyone browsing through and not finding something they want to make!
Click Here for Recipe

Cupcake Wars - Raspberry Cupcakes with Champagne Buttercream Frosting

We have caught a few episodes of Cupcake Wars and Cake Boss and they have really made me want to perfect super yummy and pretty cupcakes.  This is my first attempt at pretty cupcakes and I have to say I loved the recipe.  The cupcake was denser than a normal cupcake and very moist.  Don't be afraid of the raspberry puree, they are such soft berries you can mash them with your fork into a puree.  The frosting was buttery with just a hint of the champagne.  I didn't have a pastry bag or tips so I used a ziplock bag to make the frosting a bit fancier than my usual smear it on method.

Modifications

• All the stores I went to were out of the raspberry extract so I bought a raspberry gel flavoring for cupcakes.  I just squirted a bit in and it gave the perfect hint of raspberry and a slight lavender color
• Added 2.5 tablespoons of pureed raspberry instead of 2.  May add more next time
• Halved the frosting recipe but added 2.5 tablespoons of champagne instead of 2
• My oven usually bakes fast.  These took 30 minutes instead of the suggested 20 minutes

Ingredients
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon fine salt
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 teaspoon raspberry extract
2 tablespoons pureed fresh raspberries
frosting -
1 pound unsalted butter, room temperature
6 cups powdered sugar
4 tablespoons Champagne, or 1 tablespoon Champagne flavoring

Recipe

This was the first Cupcake Wars recipe I've used and I will try them again.  I have my eye on a tiramisu cupcake, yumm!

Click Here for Recipe

Brown Sugar-Banana Muffins

Almost everyone who eats bananas has experienced too ripe to eat bananas.  And when this happens it's time to bake!  I took advantage of my 21 month old waking up at 5:30am this Saturday morning and made these delicious light and cakey banana muffins.  I even made a mistake missing the egg addition, which I added at the last addition of the banana mixture and these turned out so well.  If you like a less sweet muffin you could adjust the amount of brown sugar based on how ripe your bananas are.  As they ripen they become sweeter.  We will be making this recipe again and again.

Recipe Modifications

• Used 1/4 cup of milk and 3/4 teaspoon lemon juice instead of buttermilk
• Used pasteurized eggs instead of eggs

Ingredients
1/2  cup  butter, softened
1  cup  firmly packed brown sugar
2  large eggs
1  cup  mashed ripe bananas (about 2 large)
1/4  cup  buttermilk
1  teaspoon  vanilla extract
2 1/4  cups  all-purpose flour
3/4  teaspoon  baking soda
1/2  teaspoon  baking powder
1/2  teaspoon  salt
1/2  cup  toasted chopped pecans

Recipe
For this recipe I used a southern living recipe.  They do look very southern with the toasted pecans on the top!

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Oatmeal, Chocolate Chip and Pecan Cookies

We made these on Sunday afternoon.  The girls are getting cabin fever from the cold Ohio winter this year.  So Cadence asked daddy what would you like me to bake you?  He wanted chocolate chip cookies.  A quick search and these sounded so good!  They are absolutely a keeper and we will be making again.  They aren't even that bad for you as far as a cookie goes.  The next time I make them I might even reduce the sugar more so I can steal a few more cookies ;-)

Recipe Modifications

• Added 1/4 cup white sugar instead of 3/4 cup
• Added 3/4 cup brown sugar instead of 1/2 cup, will try 1/2 next bake
• Used pasteurized real egg product instead of egg, 1/4 + 1/8 cup
• Used regular chocolate chips instead of the mini chips
• Made cookies 2 tbsp, making 18 instead of 3 dozen

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (about 5 1/2 ounces)
1 cup regular oats
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate minichips

Recipe

This recipe comes from my favorite source Cooking Light. Not diet food, but food that is conscious of health without losing any flavor. Food for life! 

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