Gingerbread Cupcakes

I have been in the kitchen since last week, making some Star of David cakes for the other December holiday. And somehow I managed to not get a single picture. I will see if I can find some from last year. But with Christmas just around the corner, I went into a baking superdrive last night, and whipped up 2 batches for my husbands work. The Snickerdoodle was on request for an encore presentation, and then I added in some Gingerbread because, well it just felt right. I'm not a huge fan of gingerbread cookies myself, but it smells good, so I went for it. This was by far the stickiest, thickest cupcake batter I have ever seen, but they turned out cute in the end :)

First up- the ingredients... well almost all of them anyways....

Somehow this one missed the call for pictures. But of course we need Ginger!

Combine the flour with all the spices

Next up, butter and sugar. We're going to cream until they are nice and fluffy

Like this!

Now here's where it gets sticky... 3 tablespoons of Grandma's Molasses

See what I mean about sticky?

The eggs softened it up a little bit, but maybe some vanilla will help

Now for the flour mix. I like to fold it in a little so I don't inhale it all when I turn on the mixer

All blended into one happy batter

See what I mean about thick?!

In the oven and finally starting to look like a regular batter after a couple of minutes

And here they are! Now we just need them to cool so we can add some pretty finishing touches

Like these guys! What's a Gingerbread Cupcake with a Gingerbread Man?

Merry Christmas!

Now, this receipe is from the Martha Stewart Cupcakes book, and she has lovely gingerbread cookie cutouts on top of her cupcakes. But she makes hers by hand. Who has time for that?! I had these little packaged cookies around the house, and they worked lovely. So did Betty's Fluffy White Frosting :) Shhhh... I won't tell anyone!

Gingerbread Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 tablespoons ground ginger

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) of butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 tablespoons unsulfured molasses

4 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350

Sift together flour and all the spices. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the molasses and beat until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until each is combined. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low and slowly add in flour mixture, beating until just combined.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until tester comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting on wire racks.

To decorate, add vanilla or white frosting, and gingerbread men.

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

Brown Butter Pumpkin Cupcakes

I know this is a little late, but maybe you're sick of all the pie and need another outlet for your pumpkin cravings. If so, I have the recipe for you. I'm not a huge fan of pumpkin myself, but they tasted good, and my taste testers we're approving, so it must be good. They were fairly simple to make, and although I really wanted to try the brown butter frosting the recipe suggested, the transportation logistics called for Betty again. Hopefully this recipe isn't too late for you to enjoy!

The usual suspects- flour, butter, eggs, sugar, brown sugar and pumpkin of course

Making the butter into a lovely golden brown

Next up, mix all the dry ingredients into a lovely white and brown combo

Checking in on the butter. It's getting closer

Next up, the eggs and sugars

And the ingredient of the day- pumpkin. I will admit that right about now, this smelled like baby food...

Mix it all together. This might have been the first recipe that didn't call for the mixer

Letting the butter cool slightly

Now mixing it all together

Starting to look like delicious batter

We're using the silicone baking cups this time so we can pop out these jr cakes nice and easy

Fill them and up and get into the oven!

This batter was on the thick side, so don't be worried

And they even frost themselves! Just kidding. But they look great

Ready for their close up

If it's not too late, here is the recipe:

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground gloves
1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees, and either grease muffin tins with butter and flour, or you can use silicone cups.

Over medium-low heat, melt butter in a saucepan. Swirl occasionally and cook until the butter is a golden brown. Remove from heat and pour into a bowl to stop the cooking.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. In another bowl, whisk together both sugars, eggs, pumpkin and brown butter. This might not want to mix nicely, but just keep whisking. Add the flour mix and whisk until just combined.

Fill the tins. Bake for 20 minutes, rotating after 10 minutes. Makes 18. Frost with Brown Butter frosting if serving immediately, otherwise, Betty Crocker Vanilla works just as good.

This week is about a little more than just delicious treats. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, something that is very near and dear to my heart. Breast cancer strikes far too many, old and young, rich and poor, mothers, sisters, aunts, grandmas, daughters. Awareness is empowerment, so I'm taking attention any way I can get it. With a pink theme in mind, this week's flavor is Strawberry. I hope you enjoy, but more important, I hope you are moved to act. There are countless organizations that help women facing a diagnosis, so if you ever feel like making a difference, do it! (One of my favorites: http://walk.avonfoundation.org/site/PageServer?pagename=walk_homepage)

And a special occasion calls for a special apron

First, we start with strawberries

And make them like this:

Let's take a look at all the ingredients for the day (the salt was ready for the occasion)

 

Next up, mixing the dry ingredients

 

Then it's time to mix the butter, sugar, and vanilla

Next up, one egg at a time

Then it's time to add the dry stuff

Add a little milk and you got a good thing going

Mix mix mix

Now it's time for the good stuff!

Stir it up

I saw these cupcake liners and thought they would go nicely with the pink theme

And now we're ready for the oven!

25 minutes later...

Looking delicious!

All dressed up for a good cause!

Strawberry Cucpakes- Cupcakes for a Cause

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup cake flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter at room temp (2 sticks)

2 1/4 cups sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 large eggs, plus one egg white

1 cup whole milk

2 cups finely chopped strawberries ( I would maybe blend to make the strawberries more infused in the batter)

Vanilla Frosting

3/4 cups unsalted butter room temp

2 cups confectioners sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. Mix both flours, salt and baking powder. On a medium speed, cream butter, sugar and vanilla until fluffy. Add whole eggs and egg white, one at a time. Beat until each is incorporated. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in two parts, adding milk after each addition. Beat until well combined. Stir in strawberries. Bake 25-30 minutes.

For the frosting, beat butter on medium-high speed until pale and creamy. Reduce speed to medium and add the confectioner's sugar a 1/2 cup at a time. Beat on high for 10 seconds, then go back to medium. Add vanilla and beat until the frosting is smooth.

 

Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

Since I seem to be on a bit of a cookie trend, let's continue with Chocolate Chip. Who doesn't love chocolate chip cookies?! Warm. Right out of the oven. Maybe a little scoop of ice cream on top. I'm getting hungry... This week's recipe is cake version of of the classic cookie, and it is delicious. The recipe calls for semi-sweet chocolate chips, which worked, but I think next time I would use milk chocolate. I think it would provide a little more of that melt-in-your-mouth goodness, but I'll leave it to you to decide. Now, this recipe is not for those who have issues with directions. There are a few cups + tablespoon measurements and save this for late kind of thing. So, read read read before you start.

First up- the cast:

Note the special cast member- October is breast cancer awareness month after all. More on this next week.

The flour. And um... I didn't exactly read the directions... so note the extra tablespoon there on top. It was supposed to come in later, but oops :)

What happens when you mix milk and vanilla?

This!

 Another reason this recipe was a pain... what I am supposed to do with this leftover butter?

Butter and sugar

Ahh light and fluffy. This part always looks so delicious to me. Call me weird,  but it does!

Now let's add the dry stuff

And a little milk. Whip it up. And this is what you get.

If you are like me and love to eat a little chocolate chip cookie dough, but maybe aren't a fan of the whole raw eggs part, I have found a cure! Make the batter up until this part- we haven't added any eggs yet- and just add the chocolate chips. Stir. Eat! Yum!

Okay back to the cupcakes.

Now for some egg whites. I wish I had something to use the egg yolks for, but I didn't.

Just mix up the egg whites until they have nice stiff peaks.

 Like this!

Now fold in 1/3 of them

And gently fold in until nice and mixed. Add the rest and keep folding.

Until it looks like this :)

Now for the good part. Calling all chocolate chips! Get in my batter!

All mixed and ready for the oven.

20 minutes later, you get this.

Oh hey cupcake! You're looking good!

Cupcakes cupcakes every where

Now, tonight, and this week for that matter, is a little crazy. So for this week's cupcake, I let Betty take care of the frosting.

Shhhh- don't tell Martha.

A glass of milk is definitely required.

Oh look at that chocolately goodness!

Okay, like I said, tonight and the week are crazy, so look back for the recipe tomorrow :)