Mint Brownie Cupcakes & Birthday Time

Today is Kelly's birthday, so I went in search of a Kelly-worthy cupcake. I decided on Martha Stewarts Mint Brownie Cupcakes. I was really excited as I mixed them up. So much chocolate goodness!

What is it about Martha that makes you want to pre-measure into pretty bowls?

Yep, that's a York Peppermint Patty getting buried in the batter.

All done and so pretty. I used the Buttercream Frosting I've used for three weeks. I love it!

We lit 47 candles.

By the time we were done, most of the candles had melted into the frosting, but it was fun. We scraped the waxy off and re frosted. So delicious!!! A definite re-do.

Halloween Sunday & Pumpkin Patch Cupcakes

We didn't go Trick-or-Treating on this Halloween Sunday. The girls were kind of excited to stay home and answer the door. Their Jack-o-Lanterns looked marvelous on the porch.

During the evening we watched Young Frankenstein and had quite a few laughs over our favorite lines.

I decided to try a new cupcake recipe tonight and found a winner. Pumpkin Patch Cupcakes from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes book turned out to be pumpkin spice heaven! I used the Buttercream Frosting from Celebrating Cupcakes and Muffins and a sugary pumpkin for garnish. Now to get them delivered before I eat them all!

Devil's Food Cupcakes

Not too devilish, but good. Although we can't know for sure because I goofed and put in double the butter. The cupcakes have a dense consistency, but are still yummy. They will be delivered to a few (hopefully) willing tasters tomorrow. I'm thinking a little extra butter might not be a bad idea. They are definitely not dry. Same yummy frosting from last time too. I need to try the chocolate buttercream next week.

Golden Vanilla Cupcakes

We actually did break out the cupcake recipes on Sunday. Heather whipped up the Golden Vanilla Cupcakes. They were looking good...

until we tasted them. The consistency was biscuit-like and tasted more of egg than sugar. Heather and I decided right then and there that we are THROUGH with our Cupcake Deck. I keep pushing another week here and another week there, but I haven't had a scrumptious cupcake from that book in WEEKS. Enough!

This little yummy was waiting patiently on my shelf. I bought it a few weeks ago at Sam's. I cracked it open today and went right to the vanilla cupcakes. Heather wanted vanilla, so vanilla it was! I whipped them up while she was at school.


As you can see, they are a bit fluffier than the duds from Sunday. Quite yummy too. I made a batch of frosting, also from the Celebrating Cupcakes. Tomorrow I will take a bite with the frosting, and deliver a few. I feel much better now. I cannot bear to give away anymore less than worthy delectables! Oooo, and isn't that cake stand marvelous??? Thank you LeAnn!!!

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

There was so much potential with these. They sounded yummy, and Jenna was excited to whip up her pick for the week.





Don't they look just dreamy? There were a few snags.

#1 The recipe, out of the blue, said to add the milk to the flour mixture. What milk? Good thing I had some.

#2 They tasted like a biscuit instead of a cupcake.

On the good news side, I did buy a new cupcake recipe book. We're going to be switching over soon.

Brownie Cupcakes

As I printed the tags for this week's cupcake, I saw the line that reads, "50 Cupcakes in 2010". With a little calculation I figure we can catch up from our hiatus if we make 8 recipes per week for the next 4 months. Well, that will most likely not be happening. But we will be baking!

This week I asked Heather if she would like to pick the cupcakes. She is so easygoing that anything chocolate sounded good, so we made what we had ingredients for--Brownie Cupcakes from the Cupcake Deck.

We are crazy for chocolate!

One of my goals as we get back into the project was to let the girls have more control. This recipe called for melting chocolate and butter and then adding eggs, a little more complicated than the average baking recipe. I helped for a minute and while demonstrating, told Heather how I learned how to do this from Grandma Carol. It was nice to remember my mom while we were baking. Heather did guess what would happen to the eggs if we put them in the warm chocolate. She's such a smart cookie.

As soon as the eggs were successfully mixed into the chocolate, Heather took over and mixed everything together.

Look at these yummies!

They are not exactly like a brownie, nor are they like a cupcake. They are a blend of the two--very brownie like in texture, but the flavor is not as strong as it is with a true brownie. They were actually a little chewy/sticky which I attribute to the nearly 2 cups of sugar that went in the batter. We may make them again...unless we find something better. We'll keep you posted.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

The Cupcake Project has been on hold since our Carrot Cake Cupcakes in May. I'm not sure exactly the order, but there were a few events leading up to the break including the project becoming more of a "to-do" on my Sunday roster, and the girls losing interest. I didn't blame them. Some of the cupcakes were a bit sophisticated for their taste or they just plain ole' didn't like the flavor. We took a break and I've been giving it some thought.

What I decided was that I needed to let the girls pick the recipes whether they were in the Cupcake Deck or not. We still have a few yummy sounding ones to choose from, but we've found some others that look scrumptious. The one thing I hadn't decided was when to start, however, this weekend, while up in Northern CA, Beth handed me a box of The Barefoot Contessa's Red Velvet Cupcake mix and declared herself "not much of a baker" (she is a phenomenal cook). I was happy to mix them up. When I realize that I was making cupcakes on a Sunday with willing taste testers, I decided that this was as good a time as any to get back into the project. So...we're officially back on.

They were pretty darn tasty. The frosting was really cream cheesy, so I would go heavier on the powdered sugar next time for the kids.

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

This week cupcake is dedicated to my friend, Gavin M., who requested carrot cake cupcakes. This was not difficult as there was actually a carrot cake cupcake recipe in my deck. It was Mother's Day, but I was at my leisure and decided to give it a go.

What was strange: Chocolate chips in the recipe--they sunk to the bottom, but were yummy.

What was surprising: They were not like chewy, chunky carrot cake

What was good: They were yummy! The cinnamon, nutmeg and orange juice added a nice touch.

The hub liked them too. We'll do these again.

Oatmeal Banana Cupcakes

The girls and I had a little meeting. We dismantled the cupcake deck and have decided to take out the recipes that have been less than stellar along with those that do not look appealing. Mayonnaise cupcakes and Tomato Soup cupcakes got the boot as did some others with questionable ingredients. After the 3 cups of shortening blunder, I decided that I had enough knowledge to peruse the recipes and look for fishy ingredients or directions, for example, the Carmel Cupcakes that have no "carmel" in them. We have whittled down the deck, but still have plenty to make.

Part of the decision had to do with the fact that the project was becoming a "chore" for the girls. Who wants to make something that they don't have any interest in? We've decided to fill in the missing recipes with some from The Cookie Bible that the girls have been wanting to make for years (I just said years, hence the need for a project to get my rear in gear).

Heather was a willing Sous Chef to help with our first batch of cupcakes. We were repeating the Chocolate Cupcake recipe from last week so that our friend, Sean M., could have some. Heather had already tasted last week's batch, and she was highly motivated. We went for size large which yielded only 6 cupcakes--that was 2 for Sean M. and 2 for each of the Peterson girls.

After the chocolate cakes were done, I moved on to the new recipe for the week, Oatmeal Banana Cupcakes. Ripe banana, 3/4 Cup of Honey and oats. Mmmmmmmm.

I'm sure I filled these too full, but I like my cupcakes large!

My house smelled sooooooo good too!

My friend, Kathy B., brought me a darling Martha Stewart cupcake punch from the scrapbook store. It makes the cutest little cupcake cutouts for tags! This recipe is a keeper.

Chocolate Cupcakes & The Number 36

Today is the 36th anniversary of my father's 36th birthday. This is his story, and he's sticking to it. He came to spend the weekend with us and celebrate is birthday (I mean, anniversary). Dad loves chocolate cake, and fortunately, this week's scheduled cupcake item was Chocolate Cupcakes. See, there is a reason I waited an extra week to get back to baking.

Due to the week in which the first Sunday was Easter Sunday, and the next Sunday was the last of our Spring Break week, the Cupcake Project was put on hold. Last week, I was simply too darn tired to bake, so the lovely circumstance of Dad's favorite cake flavor and his birthday coincided beautifully.

Jenna was on hand for the Sous Chef position. She wanted to do everything herself.

Here they are in the oven. I have not perfected the filling of the papers without the mess.

While we waited for cupcakes, and I prepared Dad's favorite homemade taco dinner, the girls and Kelly got Grandpa involved in a game of Harry Potter Uno.

The most lovely cupcakes just out of the oven.

If you were wondering who the lucky recipient of the cupcakes were this week (since I didn't show up unannounced on any door steps--hee, hee), Dad was the winner of the whole batch! There were only 12 cupcakes, and we planned to consume them all.

Birthday dessert: warm chocolate cupcake with vanilla ice cream and caramel topping.

Dad making his wish...

and opening his presents.

Happy Birthday Dad! We are so blessed to have you in our lives!

Love you!

Oh, and the cupcakes were divine.