December Wedding Cupcakes

In December, I had the chance to make more wedding cupcakes! The bride and groom requested: strawberry, chocolate, red velvet, and cookies and cream!


You can use any of your favorite cake recipes for the basic flavors - strawberry, chocolate, and red velvet. I'll post the recipes for the cookies and cream, though. They were really good!

For the red velvet, I used cream cheese icing, which you can find here.

prior to the icing

For all the other flavors, at the request of the bride, I made a marshmallow icing.

Marshmallow Icing

8 large egg whites, room temperature
2 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
2 tsp. clear vanilla extract

Set a saucepan on a large burner of the stove and bring the water to a boil. Once it boils, reduce heat to a simmer. Place egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in a metal bowl. Place the bowl over the saucepan and whisk the ingredients continually until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is warm to the touch. It should take about 4 minutes. Just keep whisking!

Pour the contents into the bowl of your electric mixer, with the whisk attachment and whisk on low speed, increasing to high until the icing stiffens and soft peaks start forming. Add the vanilla and mix until combined.

You will want to ice the cupcakes right away. I did them the day before and noticed, probably because of the cold, that the icing "fell" some from when I first did them. They still looked good, but if you're going for a big top, you'll want them fresh. Also, I know there is no marshmallow in it, but it really does taste like marshmallow! heh.

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

1 1/2 c flour
1/2 c unsweetened cocoa
1 1/4 c sugar
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 c vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 c milk
3/4 c hot water
1 package of Oreos

I forgot where I got this recipe and I don't have anything "doodled" on it, so I must not have made any changes, or if I did, they were minimal.

Preheat the oven to 350. Line 24 cupcake tins. Place one whole oreo in the bottom of each liner.

Mis the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl with a wire whisk. Add the eggs, oil, vanilla, and milk. Mix well. Add the hot water and mix until it's all well combined.

The batter will be very loose, but don't worry about it - that's how it should be! Using a large cookie scoop or ice cream scoop, add the batter to the lined tins about 3/4 of the way.

Bake for 16-18 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle.

Cookies and Cream Icing

1 c shortening
1 lb powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3-6 Tbs milk

At the wedding

Oreo cookie crumbs (optional)

Beat the shortening in a mixer until smooth. Add vanilla and mix well. Add the powdered sugar in small batches, scraping down the side as you go. Add the milk, 1 Tbs at a time, until you get the consistency you want. At this point, you can add the cookie crumbs, I skipped this part because the bride and groom wanted winter-white cupcakes.

For all the cupcakes, I used sugar sprinkles and beads to decorate the tops of the cupcakes. You can even add an oreo or crushed oreos if you'd like.

Have fun!!

November wedding cupcakes

At the end of last year, I was honored to make cupcakes for two weddings! It was so nice to be able to contribute in a way that is so meaningful for me. My heart is food. That's how I love!

Prior to the November wedding, we had a bridal shower, which we used as a time to taste and test the cupcakes being made. I wanted to make sure the bride was happy with the flavors I chose for them. We ended up with carrot cupcakes with cream cheese icing. Snickerdoodle cupcakes with cinnamon icing. And Guinness cupcakes with vanilla bean buttercream icing. I don't have the carrot cupcake recipe on hand - it's my friends recipe - but they were super yummie! The rest of the recipes are below. 

Cream Cheese Icing

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla
6 cups powdered sugar

If you have a sifter, feel free to sift the sugar into a large bowl. I don't use a sifter typically. I just put it in a bowl and whisk it really good to break up the lumps and puff it up. 

Add the cream cheese and butter into a standing mixer and beat on high until creamy. Add vanilla. Turn the mixer to low and add the sugar in small batches - no more than 1/2 c. at a time. You will need to scrape down the sides as you go. Once all the sugar is in, beat it until desired consistency and viola - you're done! 

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes (adapted from Martha Stewart's recipe)

• 1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

• 1 1/2 c. cake flour (not self- rising), sifted

• 1 Tbs baking powder

• 1 Tbs ground cinnamon

• 1 cup salted butter, room temperature

• 1 3/4 c. sugar

• 4 large eggs, room temperature

• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract

• 1 1/4 c. milk
• 2 Tbs sour cream
• Splash of half & half

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with paper liners. Mix together both flours, baking powder, salt, and 1 tablespoon cinnamon in a large bowl. Set aside. 

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in small batches, alternating with two additions of milk, and beating until combined after each. Add in the sour cream and half & half. Mix until combined. 

Using a large cookie scoop or ice cream scoop, divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake about 20 minutes. Cool in pan for about 5 minutes, then remove cupcakes to wire rack to finish cooling completely. 

Cinnamon Icing

1 1/2 c. unsalted butter, room temperature
4 c. powdered sugar, sifted (or whisked)
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 tsp. cinnamon

In an electric mixer, cream the butter until it's pale in color and creamy. This should only take a couple of minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add the sugar in small batches, about 1/2 cup at a time. Every two times you add sugar, raise the speed on the mixer to add some air into the icing. Reduce speed and continue adding the sugar, following this same process. 

Add the vanilla and cinnamon and beat until desired consistency. This icing works well when it's nice and light. Don't be scared that you'll overbeat it. You can keep it in the fridge for a couple of days, but it will take several hours to reach room temperature, which you need in order to use it. Trust me. I know this from experience. =]~

Guinness Cupcakes (recipe from My Baking Addiction)

1 (12-ounce) bottle Guinness Stout
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs
3/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the Guinness, milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Mix in the sour cream.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cocoa, sugar, flour, and baking soda. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet Guinness mixture.

Butter 24 muffin tins and divide the batter among the muffin tins.

Bake 25 minutes, until risen and set in the middle but still soft and tender. Cool before turning out of the tins.

Vanilla Bean Buttercream Icing

1 stick salted butter, room temperature
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup shortening
1 tablespoon Clear Vanilla extract
1 1/2 pounds powdered sugar
4 tablespoons very cold milk

Cream the butter and shortening in the bowl of an electric or stand mixer. Add the clear vanilla extract and combine well. Begin adding in the sugar and mixing thoroughly after each addition. After all of the sugar has been added and mixed thoroughly, begin adding the very cold milk one tablespoon at a time, combining very well after each addition (mixer on medium-high to high speed) until you reach the desired consistency.

Baby shower food!

The food table

So, my sweet pretend daughter (see her awesome profile right there? I sure love that girl!), had two requests - she's so easy to please! 

She said to her mom - You have to make your strawberry pretzel stuff. That's what's in the oval shaped dish on the back of the table. I have no idea how to make it, I just know I can't eat it. As a matter of fact, there was only one thing on this table I could eat... pshaw - the things we do for the people we love... I digress...The other request was for me and it was banana pudding. Easy!

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I also made a fruit pizza bar sort of thingy. Here's what you need for that:
Sugar cookies (make them a little big so there's good surface area)
Fruit (I used blueberries, peaches, and strawberries)
Icing (1 regular sized jar of fluff and 8oz room temp cream cheese, mix. Easy peasy, right??) 

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Then there was the Mozzarella Cheese Ball. I've never actually eaten this, but I've made it several times and always get rave reviews. I first saw it on Plain Chicken and I didn't change a thing!

• 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 package (4 1/2 tsp) dry ranch dressing mix
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• finely chopped pecans

Combine first 4 ingredients in a bowl.  Mix well.  Form mixture into a ball and roll in chopped pecans.  I made two of them, so I just doubled the recipe. I served it with good, hearty crackers. 

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Finally, I made Pepperoni Pizza Puffs. I found this recipe a while back on Lick The Bowl Good. She pulled it from a couple places and made her own adaptations. I made them pretty much the way she did except I didn't measure most of it! haha. 

• 3/4 cup flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• pinch of salt
• pinch of red pepper flakes 
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup cubed pepperoni

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 24-cup mini-muffin pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, Italian seasoning, salt and red pepper flakes; whisk in the milk and egg. Stir in the mozzarella, Parmesan and pepperoni; let stand for 10 minutes.

Stir the batter and divide among the mini-muffin cups. Bake until puffed and golden, 20 minutes.Serve with pizza sauce. Really, do it. They may seem like they're missing something if you don't have the sauce! Next time I make them, I may try adding the sauce IN the muffins. Trial and error, baby! 

Today's dinner

Today I got to do two things I love. Purge the pantry and make something new!

Since I'll soon be home sharing with someone who has a pantry the same size as mine, I know it's time to do some purging... I love to do that! While over the last couple years, I've seriously minimized my use of canned foods (unless I can them myself), there are still a few things I keep around for those last minute throw together meals. 

Beef and Beans in the Crockpot
1 1/2 - 2 lbs ground beef
chopped onion, to taste
Worcheshire sauce
28 oz can baked beans - do not drain
15 oz can black eyed peas - lightly drain
15 oz can great northern beans - lightly drain
20 oz can pineapple chunks, drained
about 3/4 c BBQ sauce
a little cayenne pepper

Brown the ground beef, along with the onions and worcheshire sauce in a skillet. While that's cookin up, add the other ingredients into your crockpot. Drain the meat once it's cooked through and add it to the crockpot and mix well. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours. Done!

The new thing I got to do was homemade biscuits! Here's the thing. I don't do unhomemade biscuits either - I love biscuits, therefore I never have them. Makes sense, right?! It does to me!

I didn't realize that I'd ever made homemade biscuits before until I was cutting them and memories came to me about doing that when I was a little girl with my momma. It was a sweet moment for me. I totally followed someone elses recipe since I'd never done them before and they turned out great! One thing I did learn, though, is that I NEED a rolling pin! heh.

So, to make the dinner complete, I threw a biscuit in the bottom of a bowl, broke it up, and put the beef and beans over top! Simple, delish, and filling!

Pig Pickin Cake

This recipe came from Allrecipes, but I did make a couple alterations. And a few people asked for the recipe, so here it is!

1 package yellow cake mix
1 (11 oz) can Mandarin oranges, with juice
4 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil (I used olive oil, it's all I had on hand)
16 oz whipped topping
1 (15 oz) can crushed pineapple (super, duper, well drained)
1 (3.5 oz) instant vanilla pudding mix

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the cake, oranges (with the juice!), eggs and oil. Pour into two greased and floured (or sprayed with Pam) 8 inch round pans. Then bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool cakes completely on wire racks. I let mine cool and then covered them overnight. Just before serving, mix together pudding mix and pineapple, then fold in the whipped topping. Top one layer with the "frosting", be generous, it's okay, there's plenty. Then, add the second layer and top that and "frost" all around the cake. This can be quite messy. I'll be honest, I plopped it on there as best I could and used my fingers to put it where I wanted it. It will not be smooth, it isn't supposed to be. You want it a little pokey piggy lookin'! =]

Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies

I found this recipe while I was looking for new cookies to make for Christmas this year. It was listed on Allrecipes.com - I would make a few tweaks the next time I make them because I found them to be a little too sweet.

Ingredients:
1 box red velvet cake mix
2 eggs lightly beaten
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1 Tbs. bourbon (I didn't use this)

Icing:
1 (8oz) pkg. softened cream cheese
1/4 c. softened butter
2 tsp. evaporated milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. flaked coconut (I didn't use this either)
4 c. powdered sugar (I would use much less, taste as you go)
1/2 c. well chopped pecans

Directions:
Mix together the cake mix, eggs, and oil (and bourbon if you're using it) in a large bowl. Cover the bowl and let it sit in the fridge for about an hour. You want it to be firm for the next step!

Now, preheat your oven to 375. Roll the cake mix dough into balls, about the size of walnuts, and place about 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake until the tops begin to crack, about 8 minutes. Let the cookies cool for about 10 minutes before you remove them to cool completely on a wire rack.

In a large bowl, mix cream cheese, butter, evap. milk, vanilla and coconut if you're using it. Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, taste it after two cups to see if it is sweet enough and continue to add until you're happy with the flavor. If it becomes too stiff, add more evap. milk.

Finally, take your chopped pecans and chop them more! =] You want these to be very small pieces, add them to a bowl. Spread a good amount of icing on the bottom of a cooled cookie, sandwich it with another cookie, pressing firmly so the icing comes all the way to the edge. Roll the edge of the cookies in the chopped pecans. Tada! It sounds like a lot of work, but it isn't so bad! Enjoy.