Red Velvet Cupcakes

Red Velvet

I love Red Velvet cupcakes! I'm not sure it's because the color says there're special or because they just taste delicious, either way they are one of my favorites. These are moist and are full of flavor. This recipe makes roughly 27 cupcakes.

I made these today for a high school graduation along with 2012 cupcakes toppers (directions below) 

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

1 cup buttermilk, room temperature

2 large eggs, room temperature

2 tablespoons red food coloring

1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Frosting:

12 ounces cream cheese

1 cup butter

8 cup sifted powder sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 teaspoons cream (depending on the consistency you're looking for)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder. In a large bowl beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.

Divide the batter evenly amount the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled. Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turing the pans once, half way through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting. 

ENJOY!!!

I made the 2012 circles out of small cupcake papers by cutting around the bottom. I then spray - glued them to white card stock then paper punched them. I used a bigger punch for the green circle then hot glued a wooden tooth pick between the green and gold paper. I then tied a small gold ribbon around the toothpick. Time consuming but simple to do. 

Strawberry Cupcakes

 Cupcakes

For Chelsea's 

Birthday

Chelsea turned 23 on the 8th and I wanted to make her pink cupcakes with something "girlie" on top, hence the pink rose. I filled them with fresh whipped cream and frosted them with cream cheese frosting. I was going for a "Strawberry Shortcake" taste and feel, but they didn't really turn out that way, but they were good just the same...

So, I used a boxed cake and altered it by adding fresh pureed strawberries, pudding & sour cream but it still had somewhat of an artificial flavor. Cake boxes are good in a pinch if you are short on time and they are moist and keep until the next day but for some reason the strawberry kind was not my favorite. Next time I will do them from scratch but do a vanilla base and add the pureed strawberries in the batter. 

Birthday Girl

INGREDIENTS

• 1 box strawberry cake mix
• 1 pkg. instant vanilla pudding
• 4 eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup fresh pureed strawberries

FILLING

• 1 pint heavy whipping cream
• 3-4 tablespoons powder sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

FROSTING

• 12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup butter (2 cubes) room temperature
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 8 cups sifted powder sugar

DIRECTIONS

BATTER: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pan with paper cupcake liners. In a mixer, combine cake mix and pudding and mix well. Add eggs, oil, sour cream, strawberries and combine completely for 3 minutes. Scraping down the sides of the bowl.

FILLING: Get your bowl and beaters cold by putting in the freezer while you are making the batter. Beat whipping cream until it starts to thicken then add the sugar and vanilla. Beat until soft peaks form. Set aside until cupcakes are baked and fully cooled.

FROSTING: Beat together butter and cream cheese until completely combined. Add powder sugar in stages so it doesn't get all over you. Add the milk a little at a time so you can achieve the consistency you are looking for. 

FILLING CUPCAKES: Using a pastry bag with #865 star tip, fill the bag with whip cream. Insert into the center of cooled cupcake and fill approximately 1 teaspoon full. If you fill too much it will split the cupcake. If you don't have a pastry bag then cut a hole out in the center of the cupcake, fill with whipped cream with a plastic zip lock bag with the corner cut off and place the top of the cupcake that you cut off over the hole. Frost as normal.

Ceci's Banana Cupcakes

Ceci's Banana Cupcakes 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup flour ( I like to use King Arthur Flour)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 large eggs
• 2 large bananas
• 1/2 cup walnuts ( optional )

Molasses Frosting:

• 4 ounces cream cheese
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons whole milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 2 to 3 cups powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS

Batter:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pan with paper liners.

In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, add the butter and sugar. Beat with until combined. Add sour cream and the vanilla. Slowly beat in the eggs, one at a time. Incorporate the dry mixture and wet mixtures together until thoroughly combined. Add the bananas and walnuts, being careful not to over mix. Using an ice-cream scoop, fill each cupcake liner 3/4 way full. Bake in the oven until the tops turn golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven to wire rack and let cool before frosting.

Frosting:

In a large bowl, add the butter and cream cheese. Beat together until incorporated. Add the molasses and mix well. Stir in the vanilla, milk and powder sugar.

Cranberry-Orange Scones With Orange Icing

Delicious

This scone recipe is an adaptation of King Arthur Flour and Tyler Florence. I was on the quest of finding a tender, moist scone and I think I found it. You can go to  how2heroes.com for a step by step video that is really helpful.

1 3/4 cups flour (I used King Arthur Unbleached white all purpose)

3 tablespoons sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons butter, chilled, cut into pieces

1/2 cup frozen cranberries, chopped into pieces (can use dried as well)

1/3 cup buttermilk

1 tablespoon orange juice

1 large egg, room temperature  

2 tablespoon orange zest (2 medium oranges)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line or grease baking sheet.

In medium mixing bowl, sift together the dry ingredients, then add cold butter pieces. You can do this with a pastry blender or a food processor. Add cranberries.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, orange juice, egg and orange 1 tablespoon orange zest. Add this mixture to the flour mixture and stir till the sought just comes together. Don't over work!

Transfer the dough to floured surface and knead a couple of times. Shape into a 1/2 round, about 8" across.

Cut the round in 8 to 10 wedges.

Place onto a baking sheet and brush with milk (if you aren't icing them then sprinkle with coarse white sugar).

Bake scones for about 12 to 15 minutes or until they're golden brown.

ICING

In a sauce pan combine:

2 -3 tablespoons butter

Juice from 1 - 2 oranges (start with one. After adding powder sugar, you can more juice if needed).

Remaining 1 tablespoon orange zest

2 cups powder sugar (you may have to add more, depending on the consistency

Whisk to incorporate and set aside.

When scones have cooled just a bit, dip or brush them with icing.

Saltine Toffee Bars

I know what you're thinking... Saltines?  In a dessert? Surprisingly enough yes, and delicious too! This recipe is so easy to put together and it makes more than enough to give away as gifts. These two pans yielded 8 medium cellophane bags and I was able to hand them out all weekend with some left over for us... Yay!

                                     

After refrigeration, break them up into desired size pieces. You can plate them or wrap them up individually. I used medium cellophane bags and tied a ribbon on each one. 

Ingredients:

1-1/2 sleeves of saltine crackers per cookie sheet

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 cups chocolate chips

2 cups chopped nuts (optional)

* I made one more batch of the toffee (1 stick butter / 1 cup brown sugar) and split it between the two cookie sheets. I felt they needed more.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with a nonstick cooking spray. Arrange crackers in a single layer on the sheet so that there are no empty spaces between them.

Melt butter in heavy sauce pan over medium heat. Add brown sugar and bring to a rolling boil. Once boiling, carefully pour the sugar-butter mixture over the crackers in an even layer, trying to cover most of the crackers. If you miss some spots, don't worry as the toffee will spread in the oven. Bake for five minutes, until the toffee is bubbling all over. Carefully remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool for one minute.

Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top of the hot toffee and allow them to sit for one minute to soften and melt. Once softened, use an offset spatula or knife to spread the melted chocolate over the entire surface of the toffee in an even layer. While the chocolate is still sticky, sprinkle the top with the reserved chopped nuts. Refrigerate the pan to set the toffee and chocolate for about 30 minutes or more. Once set, break into small uneven pieces by hand. Store uneaten saltine toffee in an airtight container for up to one week.

Monterey Pumpkin Bread

Soft Ginger Cookies

This recipe is from The Taste Of Home Baking Classics and I have to tell you they are going down as one of my favorite cookies. They are crunchy on the outside and unbelievably chewy on the inside. I would however adjust the ginger amount depending how much you like the flavor. I prefer a stronger ginger taste so I increased the amount by 1/2 teaspoon.




Ingredients


3/4     cup butter, softened
1        cup sugar
1        egg
1/4     cup molasses
2-1/4  cups all-purpose flour
2        teaspoon baking soda
3/4     teaspoon cinnamon
1/2     teaspoon ground cloves
1/4     teaspoon salt
Additional sugar for rolling

Directions


In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and molasses. Combine the flour. ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well.

Roll into 1-1/2-in. balls, then roll in sugar. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bale at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until puffy and lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. Yield aprox. 2 dozen.

Shaping Cookies


Cookies bake more evenly if all the cookies on the baking sheet are the same size. I used a medium ice cream scoop which made them about 1 tablespoon of dough per cookie.