Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes with Fresh Strawberry Buttercream! Just in time for Valentine's Day!

Recipe coming tomorrow!!!

Soft Pumpkin Cookies!!

HOLY WOW!!! you guys!! you HAVE to make this cookie for your thanksgiving spread!

this is the ultimate come back from my baking hiatus! i finally figured out how to use my damn gas oven, and i'm pumped! these cookies are soft little pillows from heaven, and i swear by that. i didnt bother with icing - and the cookies were still ah-mazzzinggg!

i randomly got stressed out that i had unused pumpkin in my pantry, and immediately googled "easy pumpkin cookie recipe" - i kid you not, this was the first recipe that i saw that was on a blog and clicked on it. turns out, the recipe was super easy, super quick, and super delicious (and i had all the ingredients in the house already - hi, my name is madeleine and i am a food hoarder!). google for the win!!

Old fashioned Soft Pumpkin Cookies

{via *Very Best Baking}

"Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
• 1 cup Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease baking sheets.
Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in medium bowl. Beat sugar and butter in large mixer bowl until well blended. Beat in pumpkin, egg and vanilla extract until smooth. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto prepared baking sheets.
Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until edges are firm. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely to 18 minutes or until edges are firm. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely"

how easy is that?? i highly suggest getting a cookie scoop thinger for this, i had to use an actual teaspoon and it sucked because its a fairly sticky batter!

Enjoy!

Golden Oreo Cheesecake

golden oreo individual cheesecakes. oh so so so good! nothing more to say, here is the recipe:

Oreo Cheesecake Recipe
{slightly adapted from Pink Parsley}

Cookies and Cream Cheesecakes
Martha Stewart's Cupcakes
makes 30 cupcakes

• 42 Golden Oreos - 30 left whole, and 15 food processed (just pulsed, not liquified...)
• 2 lbs cream cheese, room temperature (I use 16oz of reduced fat, and 16oz of fat free - this REALLY increased cooking time)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees.  Line muffin tins with paper liners, and place 1 Oreo in the bottom of each cup.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the cream cheese until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.  Gradually add the sugar, and beat until smooth.  Beat in the vanilla, then drizzle in the eggs.  When well combined, mix in the greek yogurt and salt.  Stir in the chopped cookies by hand.

Divide the batter evenly among the muffin tins, filling each one almost to the top.  Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until the filling is just set, about 22 minutes (Mine was more like 45 mins by the time they were freaking done. I highly recommend using full fat cream cheese for this recipe...mine were still DELICIOUS)

Transfer the tins to wire racks to cool completely, then refrigerate (in tins) at least 4 hours.  Remove from tins just before serving.


such creamcheesy goodness should be shared with everyone! i brought mine to work and passed them out around 3pm when people start usually start to fall asleep at their desks :)

Enjoy!

Funfetti Cupcakes - from scratch!

soooo - this is usually how our nights go at our house (lots of girls living together):

roomie 1: mads, make cupcakes!
roomie 2: yea, yea ,yea! do it!
me: no guys, make them yourselves. we dont even have the ingredients.
roomie 3: whatever mads, just go to the store, get the ingredients, and then make them and serve us.
roomie 1 and 2: good idea
me: **expletive** i hate you all. no.
roomie 1: COME ONNNN!!!
me: whatever, we have heavy whipping cream and no milk, and old eggs. you guys enjoy the outcome.
roomie 1, 2, 3: YESSSSSS!!! sounds amazing.
me: you are all retarded.

and thats how cupcakes usually get made at our house....or any food, for that matter. old ingredients and sprinkles make anyone happy, right?

anyway, the point here is that we all wanted funfetti cupcakes, and we didn't want to go to the store to get the box. sooo - i made home made ones - the ones that Mrs. How Sweet posted yesterday! how convenient!


all i can say is - damn i'm glad i made them with heavy whipping cream mixed with water (disgustingly awesome) - because they turned out amazing and i didnt even ice them because 1: toooooo effing lazy. and 2: didn't need icing. and 3: my greedy ass roomies couldn't wait another minute. (but i love them.)



Homemade Funfetti Cupcakes 
{*via How Sweet Eats, only slightly adapted}
makes 12 cupcakes
1/2 cup butter (light butter in our case)
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs (old eggs. whatever)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup milk (umm...mostly heavy whipping cream with a little bit of milk)
1/3 cup assorted brightly colored sprinkles + more for top of frosting...*or just to eat out of the palm of your hand

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cream butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until combined.
Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Add half of the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. Add the milk. Once mixed, add remaining dry ingredients. Fold in assorted sprinkles.

Pour into cupcake tins and fill 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Let cool, then frost.

puppy is helping me bake!

make them. do it. 

Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes!

Strawberries were buy one get one at Safeway the other day, soooo i knew that i had to buy them. i then realized that i never really eat strawberries. so here i am with two entire containers, and nothing to do with them. ding!ding! strawberry + cupcakes = heaven? 

...and here you have it. deliciously moist cake with chunks of strawberry, with a cream cheese frosting that makes the cupcake taste like a milkshake. im not even joking, peeps, its like a milkshake in cake form. it's not even fair. sooooo outta this world good.

Strawberry Cupcakes

{*via Annie's Eats}

Yield: 34 cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:

2¼ cups all-purpose flour

½ cup cake flour

1 tbsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2¼ cups sugar

1½ tsp. vanilla extract

3 large eggs plus 1 large egg white

1 cup milk

2½ cups finely chopped fresh strawberries*

For the frosting:

½ c. strawberries
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature (i used fat free. prob not the best idea. prettyyyy goopy)
1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 ¾ cups powdered sugar, sifted
½ tsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. vanilla

For garnish:

Additional fresh strawberries*

Directions:

To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Line cupcake pans with paper liners.  In a medium bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, cake flour, baking powder and salt; whisk to blend.  

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter, sugar and vanilla.  Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Beat in the eggs and egg white one at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.  With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in two additions alternating with the milk, mixing each addition just until incorporated.  Gently fold in the chopped strawberries with a spatula.  

Divide the batter between the paper liners, filling each about ¾-full.  Bake until light golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25-28 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking.  Allow to cool in the pans a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the frosting, puree strawberries in food processor.  Strain through a mesh sieve to remove seeds, and set aside.  Beat the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer until smooth and fluffy, about 5 minutes.  Add powdered sugar and mix until smooth.  Add lemon juice, vanilla and strawberry puree.  Adjust the amount of puree to achieve your desired consistency.  Frost cupcakes when completely cool.

 ENJOY!!!

CUPCAKES

neeeeeed to do this with my millions of cupcake liners!

The Cupcake Blog!

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

Lavender Cupcakes with Citrus Cream Cheese Frosting

today, i was featured on The Cupcake Blog!! it's an adorable blog that reposts cupcake recipes and pictures from around the blogosphere!  i am thrilled to see that my lavender cupcakes and my irish car bomb cupcakes made the cut! to any new visitors sent from The Cupcake Blog - welcome! i hope you enjoy my blog - i post lots of cupcakes and lots of other recipes as well! the navigation bar on the right will help you find anything specific you might be looking for!
(also - i'll love you forever if you follow me. because i'm needy like that)

Michelle was featured on The Cupcake Blog too! Here is a link to her Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes on their bloggy.
it'd prob be a good idea if you went ahead and followed her too. she is my bestie and has a great blog!

the anatomy of a cupcake

{seen on *black eiffel}

Hot Chocolate Cupcakes!

Hot Chocolate Cupcakes With Caramel Kissed Centers
Adapted from it's the little things *via Picky Palate

1 Devils Food Cake Mix
4 eggs
1/2 Cup vegetable oil
1 small box instant chocolate pudding mix
1 Cup fat free sour cream
3/4 Cup warm milk mixed with 1 packet hot chocolate mix
24 milk chocolate Hershey kisses with caramel centers
3-4 Cups mini marshmallows

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place cake mix, eggs, oil, pudding mix, sour cream and mixed hot chocolate into a stand mixer on medium speed. Mix until well combined, about 1 1/2 minutes. Scoop into 24 paper lined muffin tins about 3/4 full. Place a caramel kiss into center of each cupcake pressing to bottom.

 

Bake for 18 minutes, remove and top with marshmallow. Return back to oven and bake for an additional 5 minutes or until marshmallows are puffed and just starting to brown. Remove and let cool. You can place a cut straw into each cupcake if desired to decorate.

24 cupcakes

these are super easy and fun to make! they were a huge hit in the office :) 

try them with different hershey kiss flavors as the seasons go by! cherry cordial, mint, pumpkin! yum!

 

S'mores Cupcakes!

S'mores Cupcakes

(slightly adapted from here *via here)

Cupcakes:

1 package Classic Butter (or French Vanilla) cake mix

2 tablespoons graham cracker crumbs

1 1/2 cups water

3 egg whites

24 milk chocolate candy kisses

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.
2. In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, 2 tablespoons graham cracker crumbs, water and egg whites. Beat for 2 minutes at high speed of an electric mixer.
3. Divide batter evenly among paper lined cups, filling about 2/3 full. Place a chocolate kiss in each cupcake, pressing in lightly. (I pushed mine all the way to the bottom and they stuck to the paper wrapping, so keep them in the middle?) Spoon 1 teaspoon graham cracker crumbs onto each cupcake. 

 

Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 18 to 25 minutes

Frosting:

2 sticks of butter, room temperatur

2 cups confectioner's sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

16 oz. tub of marshmallow fluff

Cream the butter on high until it's light and fluffy. Add the confectioner's sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, and beat until fluffy each time. Beat in the vanilla until incorporated. Then dump in the fluff and mix it up until its all creamy. Transfer to pastry bag and pipe onto cupcake! sprinkle extra graham cracker on top.Top with a Hershey kiss or piece of Hershey's chocolate for added prettiness :)

please forgive the terrible picture, but you can see the cute little hershey kiss inside if you look hard enough!

i highly suggest these! :) enjoy!

Gingerbread Cupcakes !

I found this recipe from marthastewart.com, and like usual, it did not disappoint! it has all the great taste of a gingersnap cookie with the fluffiness of a cupcake! ......and the butter glaze...ohhhh man. amazing. it had the consistency/taste of krispy kreme glaze...defining using this glaze again very soon! Enjoy!!

i apologize for the heinous picture/lighting!! i made about a million batches of sweets that night and was in no mood to take pretty pictures...next time :)

Gingerbread Cupcakes

Ingredients

Makes 10

• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2/3 cup packed dark-brown sugar
• 1 cup unsulphered molasses
• 2 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten 

 
Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 10 jumbo muffin tins with paper baking cups, and set aside. In a small saucepan, bring 1 cup water to a boil. In a bowl, combine boiling water and baking soda; set aside. In a large bowl, sift together flour, ground spices, salt, and baking powder; set aside.
2. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until light. Beat in the brown sugar until fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Beat in the molasses, baking-soda mixture, and flour mixture. Beat in the eggs.
3. Fill the cupcake papers three-quarters full, making sure that the batter is divided evenly. Bake cupcakes until a toothpick inserted in the center of them comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let cupcakes cool a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Gingerbread Cupcakes - Martha Stewart Recipes

 

Ingredients

Makes 1 1/2 cups, or enough for 10 large cupcakes

• 2 1/2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons milk

Directions

1. Place 1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Remove the pan from heat; immediately pour the melted butter into the bowl with the sugar. Add 4 teaspoons milk; whisk until mixture is smooth. Working quickly, dip the top of each cupcake into the glaze, and place cupcake right-side up on a wire rack.
2. Repeat step 1; glaze remaining cupcakes. Allow glaze to set, about 20 minutes, before decorating.

Yummy Butter Glaze up close! with gold sugar sprinkles of course :)

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Butter Glaze - Martha Stewart Recipes

 

Caramel Apple Cupcakes

Caramel Apple Cupcakes
(slightly adapted from *Noble Pig)
makes 12.

1-1/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 Granny Smith or Rome apples (about 1 pound), peeled and shredded
1-1/2 cups chewy caramel candies
1 Tablespoon milk

Preheat oven to 350^o F. Line a cupcake pan with baking liners. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Grate your apples to ensure you'll get apple with every bite of caramel (I just got a brand new kitchenaid food processor and it minced my apples in about 4 pulses...obsesseddddd!!!) In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, brown sugar and granulated sugars until smooth. Whisk in the oil and vanilla. Stir into the flour mixture until just combined; stir in the apples.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan until almost full. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

In a small, microwavable bowl, combine the caramels and milk. Microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring between each one until caramel is melted and smooth. Dip cupcakes upside down into caramel and let cool.

ENJOY!! these taste like fall and are so delicious! once the caramel icing settles, it gives the cupcake a texture of bread pudding. so moist and wonderful! :)

Candy Cookies!

*precious
(*via)

Happy 25th Birthday to ME!

i'm old. i have a lot of candles to blow out!

thanks for all the birthday love and wishes :) you are all fabulous! i have the best friends in the whole wide world!

Happy 1st Birthday Lily!!

this little cupcake got her very own (VERY large) cupcake for her birthday! she dove riiiiiight in!

Georgetown Cupcake

on my way up the hill in Rosslyn to enjoy a cupcake with my friend, Bobbie! she is such a doll for ordering these for us :)

did i mention that she has an AMAZING voice and is absolutely gorgeous!!? check her out:

http://bobbieallenmusic.com/
http://www.facebook.com/BobbieAllenMusic
http://www.myspace.com/bobbieallenmusic
http://www.youtube.com/user/BobbieAllenMusic
http://blip.fm/Bobbie_Allen
http://twitter.com/Bobbie_Allen

yep - she has lots of places you can track her down :)

Golden Oreo Cupcakes for Arron's last day

one of my best friends at work, if not my best, is leaving us for another company. thank god it's right down the hill and he lives so close! otherwise, i'd be slightly traumatized.

nothing a few cupcakes can't fix! i made 36 cupcakes for my coworkers today - i better be the office favorite.

michelle and i made them them recently, so i just had to make them again because they were so delish! i made a slight variation, but same ingredients! i just used golden oreos with chocolate for the bottom of the cupcake and for the garnish :) you can find the recipe here at Annie's Eats.

check out that spreadddddd...so many!!

loooove the gold sprinkles!

enjoy!! :)

**note: i used fat free cream cheese for the frosting. use full fat if you don't want it to be runny like mine....

Oreo Cupcakes!!!

Me and Michelle had a dinner for our friends the other night! We made my Peruvian chicken and had Oreo Cupcakes as dessert!

Pop over to Michelle's bloggy for the recipe and more pictures of these extremely delicious treats!

Cupcake in a Jar

This idea is adorable and great for people on-the-go with their cupcakes :)

(via *cakies)

Margarita Cupcakes for Cinco de Mayo!!!

OLE!

Margarita Cupcakes hardly need an intro! :)
makes about 52 minis - seriously - bite size drops of heaven that are work-safe margarita goodness!

CAKE:
9 ounces liquid Margarita mix (a little over a cup)
3 ounces tequila (a little less than 1/3 cup)
¾ ounce Grand Marnier (instead i used a little more tequila and marg mix - too lazy to buy this! woopsies)
1 box white cake mix
3 large egg whites
2 Tbs vegetable oil
1 Tbs lime zest

ICING:
zest of 3 limes
juice of 3 limes
abt 1 cup of butter
pinch of sea salt
tbsp of tequila!!! (if you use more tequila, use more sugar)
4-6 cups of powdered sugar depending on what consistency you want! (Honestly, my frosting is not at a thick enough consistency for my liking, but i got lazy and left it as is)
a few drops of green food coloring - optional

Prepare cupcakes: Whisk together margarita mix, tequila and Grand Marnier in a small bowl. Measure out 1¼ cups for the recipe; pour the rest on some ice and drink it while making the cupcakes.

In a large bowl, blend cake mix, egg whites, vegetable oil, lime zest and 1¼ cups of the margarita mix from step 1. Blend on low for about 30 seconds and then increase speed to medium and blend for two additional minutes. Batter will be slightly lumpy.

Spoon the batter into mini cupcake liners (about ¾ full). Bake for 15 min, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cupcakes cool for about 10 minutes in the pans, then remove them to a rack to cool completely. (if using regular size cupcakes - bake for 20-25 mins!)

Prepare Icing: whip butter til smooth consistency. add all ingredients besides sugar and combine well. gradually add powdered sugar until desired consistency!

ENJOY!!! Happy Cinco de Mayo!!!!!!!!!!!!

thank my office for the great lighting on the pictures...argh.