Everything But the Kitchen Sink...

I don't really post much about cookies.  In fact, I think there might only be one cookie recipe here.  That is not to say that I don't bake cookies, because I LOVE to bake cookies, but they are usually just your everyday chocolate chip variety.  Maybe a peanut butter or an oatmeal here and there.  I did bake some, can I just say it, ridiculously good peppermint bark shortbread cookies over the holidays, and although my intentions were to get them onto the blog, well....you know how it goes.  Maybe next Christmas.  Or maybe a Christmas in July post...hmmm...that sounds like a good plan...

ANYWAY....THESE cookies...happened by chance.  I was cleaning out my pantry a couple of weeks ago, and was going through my baking supplies left over from the holidays.  I had a handful of white chocolate chips in one bag, some dark chocolate in another, as well as a few wrapped caramels.  Oh, and also some toffee baking bits.  A real hodge podge....not enough, individually, for any one recipe.  But what if I put them ALL into ONE batch of cookies?

           So, that's what I did.  I threw all those leftovers into a bowl...mixed 'em all up....

                                                Put them into a very simple cookie recipe....

                                                      And....this is what I ended up with!

                                                     

                                                          Yes, please....with milk!!
                                                       

Everything But the Kitchen Sink Cookies

Ingredients:
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar (I used dark)
1 cup softened butter (you could use margarine, but, no offense...yuck. lol)
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2-2 cups of whatever baking chips you want!  Go crazy!
*Btw...the cut the caramels into fourths

Directions:  Cream the butter and the sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer (or however you normally make your cookies).  Beat the egg and vanilla lightly in a small bowl and then add to the butter and sugar.  Combine well.  Whisk the flour and baking soda together in another bowl, then add to the mixer. Combine.  Add your baking chips and mix with a wooden spoon.

Now, here is where you need some self-control and patience.  I have found that cookies turn out so much better if you refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours, even better if it's overnight.  I almost never go overnight....my patience and self-control has it's limits.

So, now after your dough is refrigerated, and you are going crazy to get your cookies made, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  Drop the cookies onto parchment paper lined cookie sheets (I like to use a cookie scoop) and bake for about 10-11 minutes.  Let cool for a minute or two on the cookie sheets and then remove to a wire rack.

Peppermint Mocha Cupcakes and Christmas Cheer...

I have really been having a difficult time getting into the Christmas mood this year.  I don't know if it's because it seems like it came up sooo fast, or because I have been really busy and getting my house all Christmasy is seeming like another chore I need to complete, or possibly because it is STILL SO STINKIN' WARM HERE!!  I'm thinking it's a combination of these things.  At any rate, I needed to get myself into the mood and quick.  So I made some Peppermint Mocha Cupcakes!   Peppermint mocha lattes from Starbucks just scream Christmas to me, so why not a cupcake version?  Besides, food always makes things better anyway, right?

I have had the idea for these cupcakes on my mind since last Christmas, but never got around to putting it together.  If you love mint and chocolate together, then this is the cupcake for you.  The cake is so chocolatey and minty,with a hint of coffee, topped with vanilla butter cream frosting, chocolate ganache, and crushed candy canes.  You could even put a bit of peppermint extract into the frosting, if you so desired, but I thought it was perfect without.  And I noticed that after a day or two, the crushed candy canes kind of became melty and the mint flavor seeped into the frosting, which didn't look as pretty anymore, but sure did taste good!

And guess what?  After treating myself to one bite (ok, a little more than that) along with a mug of hot cocoa (ok, it was a glass of wine)....I was in the Christmas spirit!  I finished decorating my house, we put the Christmas lights up, and I can't wait to get on with the rest of the season.  Now, I'm not guaranteeing you will have this result, but if you are having some trouble getting into the holiday mood, bake these!  It's worth a shot, right?

P.S.  I did not get around to taking some nice pictures of these cupcakes, so you will have to settle for the one I took with my phone...sorry.  :)

Peppermint Mocha Cupcakes

Cupcake
Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup + 2Tbsp sugar
1/3 cup + 2 Tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 t salt
1/2 cup butter, melted and warm
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 Tbsp instant coffee crystals (I used Starbucks Via)
1/2 cup brewed coffee
1/2 cup Andes Creme de Menthe baking chips

Instructions:
Combine the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla in a mixing bowl and beat for a minute or so on medium speed. In another bowl, combine the flour, coffee crystals, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, and salt.  Add the dry ingredients to the butter and egg mixture, combine and beat for about 20-30 seconds.  Scrape the sides of the bowl, add the hot coffee, and beat for another 20-30 seconds until the batter is smooth.  Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full and bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes.  Watch them carefully, and check them around the 16 minute mark.  I have found this recipe to be one that has a very fine line between done and overdone!  Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes in the pan.  Cool completely on a wire rack.

Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
2 sticks unsalted butter,  at room temperature
4-5 cups powdered sugar
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
3-4 Tbsp whipping cream or milk

Instructions:
Beat the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer until creamy.  Add 4 cups of powdered sugar, about 1/2 cup at a time, and beat well.  Add the vanilla and incorporate.  Add the whipping cream, one tablespoon at a time, until reaching your desired consistency.  Frost cupcakes your favorite way and decorate as desired.  I drizzled them with chocolate ganache and crushed candy canes.

Chocolate Brownie Cupcakes with Mocha Cappuccino Hazelnut Frosting....

Wow!  Just the name alone is a mouthful!  I suppose I could have come up with something that told the story in fewer words, but I just couldn't think of anything that accurately described all of the flavors in this cupcake.  So, Chocolate Brownie Cupcake with Mocha Cappuccino Hazelnut Frosting is what it is to me.  You can call it whatever you want.  lol

Let's start with the whole mocha cappuccino hazelnut part.  I learned about this crazy stuff made by Jif from a blog I love called Love From The Oven.  She always knows about the most amazing products!  So, when I actually came face to face with this sin-in-a-jar at Target last week, my mind was swirling with ideas of ways to use it.  The most obvious way, for me, anyway, was frosting.

Who comes up with these ideas??  Geniuses.  That's who.

And, what better flavor of cupcake to put this frosting on than chocolate.  A chocolate cupcake with actual coffee in the batter.  Oh, and brownies.  IN the cupcake. (This is another fun trick I learned over at Love From The Oven.  You really should go check her out.  She's awesome.  And in Phoenix.  Which makes her even more awesome.  Only truly hard core bakers turn their ovens on in Phoenix in the summer!)

I put all of these fun things together and ended up with this....

I just love the color of the frosting.  So pretty.  And I finished them off with chocolate mocha beans and chocolate cigars.  I just love little touches like that, don't you?  Of course, now that it is all said and done, and all of the cupcakes are eaten, I realize that I didn't take a picture of the brownie bottom.  :(   You will just have to use your imagination.  And you will want to run, not walk, yourself over to Target and buy some Jif Mocha Cappuccino Hazelnut Spread so you can make these cupcakes!

Do you think Jif would use me for a commercial?  ;)

Chocolate Brownie Cupcakes with Mocha Cappuccino Hazelnut Buttercream Frosting

You will need:
1 box of your favorite brownie mix, prepared as directed.*
1 batch of your favorite chocolate cupcakes.  I used this one.**

Preheat your oven.  Line your cupcake tins with paper liners.  Prepare your brownie batter and your cupcake batter.  Put a dollop of brownie batter (I used about a tablespoon or so) in the bottom of each paper liner.  Fill liners with cupcake batter and bake as directed.  Allow the cupcakes to completely cool before frosting.

Mocha Cappuccino Hazelnut Buttercream Frosting

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 cups powdered sugar
3-4 T Jif Mocha Cappuccino Hazelnut Spread (depending on your taste)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
milk or heavy whipping cream

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter until light and creamy (about 4 or 5 minutes).  Add the powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, and beat until incorporated, scraping down the sides as you go.  Add the vanilla and the hazelnut spread.  I recommend adding the spread a tablespoon at a time until you achieve a flavor you like.  I thought it was pretty strong tasting.  Then add the milk or whipping cream, one tablespoon at a time, until you reach your desired consistency.  Frost the cupcakes however you like!


* I put the left over brownie batter in a pan and baked it so none would go to waste.  Can't let that happen!  AND I used some left over peanut butter frosting on the top of those brownies, which was a stroke of genius in and of itself.  But that's another story for another day.  :)
**  I halved the chocolate cake recipe so I only had a dozen cupcakes.

Perfectly Chocolate Cupcakes

Finally.  I am finally posting a recipe for a totally chocolate cupcake.  And seriously...they are good.  If you are one of those people who frequently finds themselves thinking a dessert is too rich, or too sweet, or too much anything, this cupcake is so not for you.  You might as well just stop reading right now!  But, if you are like me, and adore anything rich and full of all kinds of chocolate goodness, I think you are going to love these cupcakes.

I have experimented with quite a few chocolate cake recipes and have liked many of them.  But for some reason, I just couldn't find one that tasted exactly like I wanted it to.  These cupcakes are rich and moist, and I see no reason to look any further.  These are my "go to" chocolate forever and ever.  I'm sure you are wondering, "Where, oh, where did she get this amazing recipe?!"  Well, I'm going to tell you.  It is right on the Hershey's Cocoa can.  Under my nose.  All along.  Go figure.

I followed the recipe pretty much exactly as shown on the can (or on Hershey's Kitchen) with just a couple of alterations.  I used hot coffee in place of the boiling water (I have tried it both ways and prefer the coffee) and (now, this will just be our secret) I used Ghiradelli cocoa powder.  I frosted them with a yummy chocolate buttercream (oh, yes, also from the Hershey's can), drizzled them with chocolate ganache, and topped them with dark chocolate curls.  Chocolate heaven.  I hope you love them as much as I do.

Perfectly Chocolate Cupcakes
   {makes about 30}

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup hot coffee

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line cupcake pans with paper liners.  Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Mix on low speed until combined.

In another bowl, combine the milk, oil, eggs, and vanilla.

With the mixer on low speed , slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry.  Add the coffee and stir to combine, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

Fill the paper liners about 2/3 full and bake for 17-20 minutes.  Cool in pans for about 5 minutes and then remove cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.

Perfectly Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients:
1 stick of unsalted butter
2/3 cup cocoa powder
4 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Melt the butter in a small bowl.  Add the cocoa and mix until combined.  Pour into the bowl of a mixer.  Alternate the powdered sugar and milk, beating well.  Add the vanilla and mix well.

{P.S.  I made two batches of the frosting to cover all 30 cupcakes.}

Chocolate Ganache Drizzle

3.5 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate squares
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Chop the chocolate finely and place in a heat proof bowl.  Heat the whipping cream in a heavy sauce pan on medium heat until it just starts to boil.  Pour cream over the chocolate and allow to sit for one minute.  Using a rubber spatula, mix the cream and chocolate until smooth.  Let the ganache sit and cool until it reaches a drizzling consistency.  You can put it in the refrigerator to speed  this process, but watch it carefully because it will get hard before you know it!  Place the cooled ganache in a pastry bag fitted with a small round tip and drizzle onto the tops of the cupcakes.

Garnish the cupcakes with chocolate curls, if you would like!

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

This is a cupcake that I have been wanting to try for a while now.  I searched through numerous recipes online to find the perfect one.  They were many to choose from!  Some were chocolate cake, some white.  Some had bits of crumbled Oreos in the cake, some a whole Oreo, and some just half an Oreo.  There were also various frosting options.  In the end, I chose to use my "go to" chocolate cupcake recipe with half an Oreo in the bottom,  and my favorite vanilla buttercream frosting with crushed Oreo tops.  Then I topped them all with a mini Oreo.

I love me some Oreos, so I think these cupcakes are spectacular.  The cake is really moist and the Oreo on the bottom is a great extra touch.  The vanilla buttercream frosting is yummy and the crushed Oreos give it a nice texture.  I recommend waiting until just before serving to add the mini Oreo to the top.  The moisture in the frosting causes the cookie to get soft if it sits in there too long.

Now I'm wondering what other cookies I could put into a cupcake.  Hmmm....

Chocolate Cupcakes
{makes 24 cupcakes}

What you need:
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon hot water
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 sticks plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 2/3 cups sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup sour cream

What to do:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line your pans with paper liners.  Place half an Oreo (bottom and cream filling) into the bottom of each liner.  Reserve the tops of the Oreos for the frosting.

In a small bowl, combine the hot water and cocoa and whisk until smooth.  In another medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and whisk to blend.

Cook the butter and sugar in a medium saucepan set over medium heat until the mixture is smooth and the butter is completely melted, stirring occasionally.  Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on medium low speed until the mixture is cool, about 5 minutes or so.  Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Scrape the sides of bowl as necessary.  Mix in the vanilla and cocoa mixture until smooth.  Reduce speed to low and add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the sour cream, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.  Mix each addition just until incorporated.

Fill the prepared liners about 2/3 full with batter and bake until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes. *   Let the cupcakes cool in the pans for about 10 minutes and then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

*Note:  I usually start checking my cupcakes about 5 minutes before the shortest suggested baking time.  Everyone's oven is different, so it may take more or less time.

{Chocolate Cupcake recipe from Annie's Eats}

Oreo Buttercream Frosting

3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
Crushed Oreos
4 cups of powdered sugar
6 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

What to do:
Beat the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer for about 5 minutes, scraping sides as necessary. Blend in the vanilla extract.  Add in the powdered sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, and beat until smooth.  Gradually beat in the whipping cream until reaching your desired consistency.  Fold in the crushed Oreos.  Fill a pastry bag fitted with a decorative tip with the frosting and pipe onto cupcakes.  I used the large, round tip from Bake it Pretty.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting...

Have I ever mentioned my love/hate relationship with peanut butter?  I LOVE peanut butter.  In almost any form.  But once I start eating it, I have a very hard time stopping...this is the part I hate!  However, I'm always on the look out for yummy looking recipes that contain peanut butter.  And what could be yummier than a chocolate cupcake topped with a creamy peanut butter frosting?!

The inspiration for these cupcakes originally came from those adorable mini cupcakes they sell at Starbucks.  The first time I made them was last spring.  I hadn't made the leap to baking my cakes from scratch back then, so I used a box mix and concocted (is that right? lol) my own pb frosting recipe.  They were really good.  But this time I used my new favorite chocolate cupcake recipe from Annie's Eats, and if it's possible, they were even better than the first time!

The cupcake itself is very moist and chocolatey, while the frosting is really creamy and peanut buttery.  And, of course, topping it off with a mini Reese's cup, well...doesn't the picture just speak for itself?

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

Chocolate Cupcakes
{makes about 24}

What you need:
1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp cocoa powder *
1/2 cup plus 1Tbsp hot water
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 sticks plus 1 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 2/3 cups sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup sour cream

What you do:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line your cupcake pans with cupcake liners.  Combine the hot water and cocoa powder in a small bowl and whisk until smooth.  Set aside.  In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; whisk to blend.

Combine the butter and sugar in a medium saucepan set over medium heat.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until the butter is completely melted and the mixture is smooth.  Transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on medium -low speed until the mixture is cool, about 5 minutes or so.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Scrape down the sides of bowl as needed.  Blend in the vanilla and then the cocoa mixture until smooth.  With the mixer on low speed, add the flour in three additions, alternating with the sour cream, beginning and ending with the flour.  Mix each addition until just incorporated. 

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared liners.  Bake about 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center of the cupcake comes out clean.  Let cool in the pans about 10 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Peanut Butter Frosting

What you need:
2/3 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
6 Tbsp heavy whipping cream or milk

What to do:
Beat the butter and peanut butter in the bowl of an electric mixer until creamy.  Blend in the vanilla.  Add in the powdered sugar, about 1/2 cup at a time, beating until well incorporated.  Add in the milk or whipping cream, 1 Tbsp at a time, until reaching your desired consistancy.  Frost the cupcakes as desired ( I piped the frosting on using a large star tip) and top with a mini Reese's cup.

* The original recipe from Annie's Eats called for Dutch process cocoa.  I didn't have any so I just used regular Hershey's cocoa powder without any problem. :)

Irish Pubcakes...

Cupcake cocktail, anyone?  I read about these cupcakes on a couple of different blogs and knew that I had to come up with an excuse to make them.  What better excuse than dessert for a dinner party?  So, we invited several dear friends (the ones I knew would appreciate these cupcakes the most, LOL!)  grilled up some homemade pizza, had an enjoyable meal in the backyard on a lovely Arizona October evening, and ate these babies for dessert.  A good time was most definitely had by all.  And I'm finally getting around to tellling you about it!

These cupcakes were originally named after a cocktail called an "Irish Car Bomb".  I saw them on Smitten Kitchen and Brown Eyed Baker, and wow did those girls take some heat for the name!  Lots of controversy about the political correctness.  Smitten Kitchen changed the name of the recipe on her blog, but Brown Eyed Baker didn't.  I decided to call them something else all together, and took an idea from one of my Facebook friends to call them "Irish Pubcakes"....so that's what they are here!

Basically, it's a chocolate cupcake made with Guinness beer, Irish whiskey chocolate ganache filling, and Bailey's Irish Cream buttercream frosting.  Probably not appealing to everyone, but there are those of you who will think they died and went to heaven.  You know who you are.  :)

Irish Pubcakes
{Source: Smitten Kitchen}

Cupcakes:

What you need:
1 cup Guinness or other stout beer
1 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup cocoa powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream

What to do:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners,  Bring beer and butter to simmer in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat.  Add cocoa powder and whisk until smooth.  Cool slightly.

Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.  Beat eggs and sour cream in bowl of an electric mixer.  Add chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine.  Add flour and beat briefly on low speed.  Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined.  Fill liners.  Bake about 17 minutes, rotating 1/2 way through baking time.  Cool completely on racks.

Ganache filling:
What you need:
8 oz dark chocolate
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 T butter, room temp
1-2 tsp Irish whiskey

What to do:
Place chocolate in heatproof bowl.  Heat heavy cream in saucepan over medium heat until simmering.  Pour over chocolate.  Allow to sit for a minute or two, and then stir until smooth.  Add butter and whiskey, stir until combined.  Let cool until thick.

Using the big end of a large pastry tip, cut a hole in the top of the cupcakes.  Fill a pastry bag fitted with a wide tip with ganache.  Pipe into cupcakes.

The ganache filling

Bailey's Buttercream Frosting
What you need:

3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temp
4-4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
6 T Bailey's

What to do:
Beat the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer on medium-high speed for about 5 minutes, scraping sides occasionally.  Slowly add in powdered sugar, about 1/4 cup at a time.  Beat until smooth.  Add Bailey's and continue to beat until the frosting is smooth and shiny.  Fill a pastry bag fitted with your favorite tip and pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes.



Not a great picture, but this is what the inside looks like



Here is the finished product again.  Just in case you missed it the first time.  ;)





Coffee Cupcakes, anyone??

As many of you already know, Ryan has started a new business.  It's called Regenerate Neuropathy and Vascular Treatment Centers (yes, this is a shameless plug:  you can find us here:  Regenerate Treatment Center).   Right now we are mostly focused on treating patients with neuropathies of various types, primarily diabetic.  Ok, advertisement over. lol! 

Yesterday was their first official day in the office that they are sharing with an internal medicine practice.  Ryan brought in lunch and did a demo of the treatment he will be using, and I supplied the dessert....cupcakes!!

My original plan was to make 3 different flavors and bring a few of each, but in the end I narrowed it down to 2 flavors, Lemon-Limoncello (I shared the recipe for these last week) and Mochaccino.  Ryan said they were very popular with the staff and there were just a few left over!  Of course, this made me feel very warm and fuzzy on the inside. :-) 

Aren't these cute cupcake boxes?!

I posted photos of the lemon cupcakes last week, and since the ones I made this week were exactly the same, I will just post a picture of the Mochaccino Cupcakes.  They were heavenly, in my opinion, but I am a self-confessed coffee addict.  Even if you don't love coffee, I think you should try these cupcakes sometime...yes, they are that good!

Mochaccino Cupcakes

This is another cupcake that I found in my Better Homes and Gardens magazine.  You can find the recipe here: Mochaccino Cupcakes.   The only change I made to the cake recipe was to use buttermilk instead of regular milk.  Why?  I don't know.  Mostly because all I had besides buttermilk was skim milk, and I don't like to use skim for cake.  And also because I have a couple of other chocolate cake recipes that call for buttermilk.  I also used my favorite buttercream frosting recipe instead of the one Better Homes and Gardens used.

Coffee Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup shortening
4ish cups of powdered sugar
tsp vanilla
heavy whipping cream
4 tbsp strong brewed coffee, cooled

Instructions:
In a stand mixer, with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and shortening until smooth...about 2-3 minutes. Add the cooled coffee and vanilla and beat for an additional minute.  Gradually beat in the powdered sugar, about 1/4 cup at a time, until smooth.  Add whipping cream a tbsp at a time and continue to beat until reaching your desired consistency.

Just FYI...
I used more coffee than the original recipe called for, simply because I like coffee.  If you want less coffee flavor, I would start out with 2 tablespoons and then go from there.  I also piped the frosting onto the cupcakes with a Wilton 4B star tip, and topped them all with a dark chocolate piece (I wanted to use a chocolate covered espresso bean, but sadly, I thought of it too late).

I hope you enjoy these cupcakes.  Let me know...and send pictures!

Two Hits and a Miss...

Believe it or not... I tried out not one, not two, but THREE new cupcakes recipes over the last few days! (Yes, it's possible I might be just a bit obsessed lately!)  Two of them were big hits...and the third?  Colossal miss...more about that one later.

For awhile now, I have been wanting to try out a recipe for Snickers cupcakes that I found on one of my favorite baking blogs.  Fortunately, our church was having a potluck on Sunday....always a perfect excuse to bake something yummy.  And a way to make other people eat what I have baked so I won't. lol!  I'm always nervous to bake something new for an event, or for a dinner party...there is always that chance it will flop, but I did it anyway.  All the cupcakes disappeared pretty quickly (I even had to hide some in the pantry so that the kids would be sure to get one!) so I think they were a hit.  Also, my niece, Olivia, told me they were "soooo gooood!" and I always take her word for it when it comes to anything dessert related. 

Snickers Cupcake

These cupcakes actually have a mini Snickers bar baked inside!  I followed the recipe just as  it was posted here: My Baking Addiction.  They were really fun and pretty simple to make.  Try it!!

One more hit (Lemon-Limoncello Cupcakes) and a miss (Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes) to follow later...Have a great day!