Fall's Best Scone Recipe - Scones Studded with Pumpkin Pie Spice Chips

Last week, I took a Facebook poll asking whether you preferred scones or cookies.  I thought the odds were in the cookies' favor.  Surprisingly, that wasn't the case.  More than half of you told me you wanted scones!  I aim to please (except when I'm making things like Cupcakewurst), so I present you with my new favorite scones for Fall.

Pumpkin Crème Brûlée with Maple Sugar

Pumpkin crème brûlée is dangerously easy to make.  Pumpkin crème brûlée is a one-bowl recipe that takes five minutes - tops -  to put together and requires only four main ingredients plus some spice.  The only time-consuming element in preparing pumpkin crème brûlée is waiting for the brûlée to bake and then waiting for it to chill.

The Everything Fall Cupcake - Pumpkin, Apple, Maple, Spiced Rum, Brown Sugar, Cinnamon, and Cranberry

Fall brings reds, oranges, yellows, and purples; there's no one color to represent Autumn.  Likewise, this year I thought that a single (or even two or three) Fall flavor(s) in a cupcake would not do.  I decided to combine some past single-flavor Fall cupcake favorites into one Everything Fall Cupcake recipe.  What you see above are (take a deep breath) pumpkin, spiced rum, and maple cupcakes topped with cinnamon cream cheese frosting and dried cranberries - with brown sugar frosting-topped apple cobbler cupcakes baked inside. 

I created the Everything Fall Cupcake for a very special event that you are all attending whether you knew it or not...

Macaron Recipe - Pumpkin Pie Spice Macarons with Caramel, Dark Chocolate Ganache, and Smoked Sea Salt

I'd seen plenty of macaron recipes online, but like many in the Cupcake Project Facebook community, I found macaron recipes intimidating.  I'd heard macaron recipe horror stories like, "It was raining outside so the macaron recipe didn't work at all," or "I over or under-mixed so the macaron recipe failed."  I had decided that macaron recipes weren't for me and that I should stick to cupcake recipes.

Amrita teaching St. Louis food bloggers how to make macarons.

Last week, however, things changed.  I was invited to learn the art of macaron making from fellow St. Louis food blogger and self-taught macaron expert Amrita of The Sweet Art.  Amrita made macaron recipes seem so easy - because they are.  Sure, there are a lot of steps and you've got to read the tips and tricks carefully, but if you can follow a cupcake recipe and make cupcakes, you can make macarons.  In fact, I'm going to go one step further and say that it is actually easier to make adorable macarons than cupcakes because you don't need to be an expert at making pretty swirls of frosting to make your macarons look like they were made by a professional pastry chef.

Pumpkin Lollipops (or Sweet Potato or Persimmon or Lucuma)

Lollipops don't require artificial flavors or colors or even fancy molds.  All you'll need to make these lollipops are canned pumpkin, canned sweet potato, persimmon pulp, or lucuma pulp*, plus water, sugar, and some sticks.  You'll also want to have a candy thermometer (my favorite is the Maverick because it's digital and you can set an alarm to warn you when you reach the desired temperature - but any candy thermometer will do). 

The texture of these lollipops is a bit different than a typical lollipop.  When you bite them, they have a slight crunch, like maple candy (my favorite candy on the planet).  However, sucking the pops is definitely an option.  I gave one to my gluten-free cousin (she is so happy when I make anything that she can eat), and she sucked on one pop for at least ten minutes.  She smiled the whole time, in a closed-mouth-I'm-sucking-on-a-pop kind of way.

The lollipops taste like a super sweet candy version of whatever you make them out of (pumpkin, sweet potato, persimmon, or lucuma).  If you make them out of pumpkin, they would be a such a fun treat for a Halloween party; it's mid-August - time to start thinking about one of the best holidays of the year!

Persimmon Cupcakes - How to Bake with Persimmons

Persimmons are the goths.

Persimmons don't hold to a traditional standard of beauty.  When you think that your persimmons have gone bad - when they are ugly and smooshy and make people turn away in disgust - that's the perfect time to eat them.  In fact, if you eat a persimmon when it's still "pretty", it can cause a weird numbing reaction in your mouth.

Persimmons are elusive.  You have to be in the store during the correct couple of weeks of the year (now) or be lucky enough to know someone with a persimmon tree.  Once you find persimmons, you're never quite sure what to do with them.  While there are millions of pumpkin recipes, the goth vegetable is almost exclusively used for persimmon pudding - a dark and heavy dessert.

Pumpkins are the cool kids.

Everyone wants pumpkins.  People love them so much that they keep some just for decoration and don't even eat them!  They're easy to find.  They are the vegetables that are featured in the front of the store.  They are the ones that people want to pose their children with.

I couldn't help but throw in a cute photo of our son!

News Flash

If you are looking for a unique flavor, don't look to the cool veggie on the block.  Pick up some persimmons now - while you can - and use them in place of pumpkin in any pumpkin recipe.  You can make persimmon pie, persimmon cake, persimmon cookies, persimmon ice cream, and of course persimmon cupcakes!  Don't put persimmons in a persimmon pudding corner!

Apple Cobbler Cupcakes with Pumpkin Pie Frosting

Have you caught your apple cobbler trying to snuggle up to the pumpkin pie on your holiday table?  I decided to play matchmaker and bring these two lovebirds together - and, let me tell you, it was a match made in heaven!  Take gingery lemon apple cobbler cupcakes loaded with hunks of tart apples and blanket them with a thick coat of pumpkin pie frosting to watch the sparks fly.  Is that your tummy rumbling with desire, or is it the sound of little sweet nothings whispered between the cake and frosting?  You can't be quite sure.


Upcoming Giveaway Alert

Like the cupcake wrapper and the glittery gold sprinkles?  I love them!  They were a gift from Sweet Treats Party Boutique. In the very near future, I'm going to be doing a giveaway of a set of wrappers, sprinkles, and cupcake toppers from Sweet Treats.  But, it will just be for my Facebook fans.  So, if you are not a fan yet, become one now so you won't miss out!


Apple Cobbler Cupcake Recipe

Yield: 12 cupcakes

• 1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 C unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 C brown sugar
• 1/4 C sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 C sour cream
• 1/4 tsp lemon extract
• 2 1/2 C apples, roughly chopped and loosely packed (I like having the large chunks of apple in the batter - as shown above - but you can chop the apples more finely if you like a smoother look.)

1. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and ginger.
2. Beat butter and sugars in a large bowl until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in eggs, sour cream, and lemon extract until blended.
4. Mix in flour mixture.
5. Fold in apples.
6. Divide batter evenly among 12 cupcake liners (they will be filled almost all the way to the top).
7. Bake at 350 F for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out of the cupcake clean.

Pumpkin Pie Frosting

Frost the apple cobbler cupcakes with pumpkin pie frosting.  See my post on pumpkin pie frosting for the recipe.

Apple Pecan Cinnamon Rolls - This Month's Cupcake Project Recipe for Paula Deen

 

As my regular readers know, I create monthly cupcake recipes for PaulaDeen.com.  This month, I was asked to develop something with apples or pecans.  I opted to use both! I made these apple pecan cinnamon roll cupcakes with a glaze that actually contains apple cider! 

Whether or not you make the cinnamon rolls, I'd highly recommend trying out the simple apple cider glaze. The apple cider glaze would be outstanding on my gingersnap cookies.

You'll find both the apple pecan cinnamon roll cupcake recipe and the apple cider glaze recipe on Paula Deen.

Pumpkin Graham Crackers

These homemade pumpkin graham crackers are not only pumpkin shaped, but also contain pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spices, giving them a subtle pumpkin flavor.

I made these pumpkin graham crackers in multiple sizes and added some orange sugar to the tiny ones (they were too small for me to give them good faces). Bride 3.0 said that she could "eat 100 of them!" But, she noted that they were a bit Halloweeny for a wedding. Come on - who doesn't want Jack-O-Lanterns at their Spring wedding? :)

The good news is that pumpkin graham crackers can be made in any shape you can cut out. Bride 3.0 suggested hearts.

What to Do With Your Pumpkin Graham Crackers

Aside from simply eating them all up, I have several usage ideas for these pumpkin graham crackers:

• Crumble them to use in the crust for a homemade pumpkin pie.
• Slather them with pumpkin butter or apple butter.
• Put pumpkin ice cream between two of them and freeze for a pumpkin ice cream sandwich.
• Use them to decorate your pumpkin cupcakes.
  

Pumpkin Graham Cracker Recipe

To make these pumpkin graham crackers, I modified my regular graham cracker recipe. I originally got that graham cracker recipe from Free Range Living. She got the recipe from The Fannie Farmer Baking Book.

My modified recipe is below. It makes 36 2 1/2 inch squares. You can do your own math on how many pumpkins that will get you. It obviously depends on the size of your cookie cutters.

• 2 T (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 T pumpkin puree
  
• 1 egg
• 6 T sugar
• 4 T honey (Some graham crackers use half honey and half molasses. You might consider trying that as a variation.)
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 1 t ginger
• 1 t nutmeg
• 1 t cinnamon
• 3/4 t allspice
  
• 2 t water
• 3/4 t salt
• 1 1/2 C graham flour (If you can't get ahold of graham flour, there are plenty of graham cracker recipes that use regular whole wheat flour such as this graham cracker recipe from Baking Bites. You may also be able to directly substitute whole wheat flour in this recipe, but I haven't tested it and I make no promises.)
• 3/4 C all-purpose flour

1. Combine the butter, pumpkin, egg, and sugar in a bowl and beat until smooth and creamy.
2. Stir in the honey.
3. Dissolve the baking soda in the water and add to the butter mixture.
4. Add the salt, graham flour, all-purpose flour, and spices to the mixture and blend thoroughly. The dough should hold together and be manageable. If it is too tacky, add a little more graham flour.
5. Liberally dust a surface with graham flour and roll the dough to a thickness of about 1/8 inch.
   
6. Use your cookie cutters to cut out pumpkins or any other shape.
   
7. Use the tines of a fork to make Jack O' Lantern faces on the pumpkins.
8. Using a spatula, place the pumpkin graham crackers on an ungreased cookie sheet.
9. Bake at 350 F for 15 minutes.
   
10. Remove from the oven and cool on racks. They won't be hard when you first take them out of the oven, but they will harden as they cool.

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Rum and Maple

Pumpkin cupcakes are good on their own, but this pumpkin cupcake with rum and maple kicks it up a notch. The cupcakes smell distinctly of rum, but when you bite into them, you can taste the pumpkin and just a tiny hint of the maple. They are moist and lighter than you might expect from a pumpkin dessert and they're filled with Fall spices.


The best part is that I didn't have to throw the pumpkin cupcakes in the trash. I actually made two batches of pumpkin cupcakes before this one that were so bad that I threw them out. They weren't even good enough to bring into to an office full of people who eat anything. I would have completely given up on pumpkin were it not for the fact that my cupcake class (that I am teaching this weekend) includes pumpkin cupcakes. I needed to get a recipe that I loved. Found it!


Pumpkin Cupcake Recipe

makes 12 cupcakes

• 1 1/2 C flour
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1/2 t ginger
• 1/2 t nutmeg
• 1/2 t allspice
• 1 t baking soda
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 1/2 C sugar
• 3/4 C pumpkin puree
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 C vegetable oil
• 1/4 C dark rum
• 1/4 C maple syrup

1. Whisk together flour, spices, baking soda, and salt.
2. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, pumpkin, and eggs. Beat until smooth.
3. Mix in the oil, rum, and maple syrup.
4. Slowly add the flour mixture and mix until fully incorporated.
5. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full.
   
6. Bake at 350 F for 20-25 minutes.

Pumpkin Cupcake Frosting

I frosted my pumpkin cupcakes with apple butter frosting. These cupcakes would also be good with my cinnamon cream cheese frosting.

Fall Into Winter Roundup

I am entering these cupcakes into Ivy's Fall Into Winter Roundup.

I was so excited about the roundup . Not only did I have to ask if it was OK to get my entry in late, but then I completely forgot to enter. I had to go back and add to this to the post. Sorry, Ivy! You're the best!

Cupcake Love Connection Update

I have been talking to Minko and her cupcake for Groom 2.5 will be done soon! I can't wait for the recipe! She said she should have it next week. Read the original Cupcake Love Connection post if you don't know what I am talking about.

Oatmeal Raisin Cupcakes with Maple Glaze

This oatmeal raisin cupcake was a hit across state lines. In Missouri: Oatmeal raisin cupcakes were not a flavor that Bride and Groom 2.0 originally requested, but they both said it was good enough to be a wedding contender. In New York: My pseudo-cousin, Donna, was left speechless from her first bite to her last. Everyone agreed that the oatmeal raisin cupcakes were just like oatmeal raisin cookies, but more moist and with less oatmeal texture.

What's All of the Stuff With the Oatmeal Raisin Cupcakes?

Since oatmeal and raisins are typically breakfast foods, I decided to turn the oatmeal raisin cupcakes into complete breakfast cupcakes by topping them with a maple glaze and maple bacon lollypops. Just for good measure, I threw in some chocolate covered raisins, too. Unfortunately, the raisins ended up looking a bit like little turds, but perhaps we can ignore that fact?

The Oatmeal Raisin Cupcake Recipe

Makes about 24 cupcakes

• 1/2 C butter (1 stick)
  
• 1 1/2 C sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 t vanilla extract
  
• 8 oz applesauce
• 1/2 C honey vinegar (I love the flavor of honey vinegar, but I do realize that it's not a common pantry item. If you don't have any, you could substitute apple cider vinegar.)
• 1 1/2 C oats
• 1 C flour
• 1 t baking powder
• 1 t baking soda
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1 t allspice
• 1/2 t salt
• 2 C raisins (I used half golden raisins and half dark raisins)

1. Cream butter and sugar.
2. Beat in eggs, one at a time.
3. Add vanilla extract, applesauce, and vinegar.
   
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, and salt.
5. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, a little bit at a time.
6. Fold in the raisins.
7. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full.
   
8. Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes or until cupcakes bounce back when touched lightly.

Maple Glaze Recipe

• 2 3/4 C powdered sugar
• 2 T corn syrup
• 1/2 t maple extract
• 4-6 T water

1. Mix together powdered sugar, corn syrup, and maple extract.
   
2. Add in water 2 T at a time until the glaze is sticky but spreadable.

Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy

Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy is having a blogiversary bash. She expects it to be a big party. I am submitting these cupcakes. What's a party without cupcakes?!

Spice Cupcakes with a Candy Center: Meet the Barrister

These spice cupcakes were inspired by Chris Reed (no, this cupcake is not designed to look like him). I interviewed Chris about his Reed's natural sodas and he mentioned that one of his favorite party drinks was a float with his Spiced Apple Brew and some vanilla ice cream (he's clearly a party animal).

I decided to make spiced cupcakes that contain Reed's Spiced Apple Brew and to perch some vanilla bean buttercream frosting on top (I got the word "perch" from a comment left here by [Eating Club] Vancouver - I think it sounds so cute!).

I was originally planning on using my sticky candy as a topper for the spice cupcakes. However, the cupcakes were a wee bit on the dry side and using the candy as a filling instead of a topper completely solved that problem.

The cupcake itself was not exceptional. However, everyone loved the filling. As taster Ran (my single friend who I have dubbed Groom 2.5) noted, "It was definitely a happy ending when you reached that surprise in the center."

The Spice Cupcake Recipe

Makes 12 cupcakes

• 1 C Reed’s Spiced Apple Brew (if you can’t find this product, you could use a Ginger Ale)
• 1 t apple cider vinegar
• 3/4 C sugar
• 1/3 C applesauce
• 1/2 t vanilla extract
• 1 t lemon juice
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1 t fresh ginger, chopped very finely
• 1 1/3 C flour
• 3/4 t baking soda
• 1/2 t baking powder
• 12 sticky candies (make them yourself or use a store-bought sticky caramel candy)

1. Combine the soda and the vinegar.
2. Add in the sugar and the applesauce and mix well.
3. Add the vanilla extract and lemon juice.
4. Add in the ginger, flour, baking soda, and baking powder and mix until just incorporated.
5. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full.
6. Drop a candy into each liner.
7. Bake at 350 F for about 20 minutes or until cupcakes bounce back when touched.

The Frosting

I frosted the spice cupcakes with vanilla bean buttercream frosting. This frosting tastes just like vanilla ice cream. I love it!

I frosted some spice cupcakes completely like you see above. However, I chose to frost other cupcakes (where I had used bigger pieces of sticky candy) like barristers (as you see at the very top of this post). I’m not going to explain what the barrister cupcake is sitting on. See if you can figure it out.

Where Have I Been?

I just returned from a wedding in Jackson Hole. Guess what? There were cupcakes! I didn’t make them, but I definitely ate some!

Rhubarb Cupcakes: The Perfect Autumn Cupcakes

My rhubarb cupcakes were dubbed by my cupcake taster, Ran (who has tasted so many of my cupcakes that he may as well be Groom 2.5), as "the perfect autumn cupcake." He went on to say how he felt weird even eating the rhubarb cupcakes in the summer.

What Did the Other Tasters Say About the Rhubarb Cupcakes?

• One taster said that the rhubarb cupcakes were so good that he was left "speechless." However, it should be noted he is a new taster who doesn't have much regular access to home-baked goods. As such, he wasn't as critical as my regular tasters.
• My mom took a couple of rhubarb cupcakes back to New York with her. Her friend, Peter, who has tasted quite a few Cupcake Project cupcakes, said that this one was right up there with the best.
• Bride and Groom 2.0 both thought the cupcake texture was perfect. Bride 2.0 liked the flavor, but Groom 2.0 did not.
• As for me, I enjoyed them, but I thought they were almost too simple. The flavor was not quite complex enough. The rhubarb flavor was there, but it basically blended into the overall spice cake flavor. Despite my issues with its simplicity, these rhubarb cupcakes would be perfection on a crisp autumn night sitting in front of the fire with a glass of hot cocoa.

The Rhubarb Cupcake Recipe
Because I was basing my rhubarb cupcake recipe off of a rhubarb pulled pork recipe (if you are not a regular reader, don't be alarmed by this statement - I get my inspiration in weird ways), I wanted to incorporate some of the same flavors - agave, five spice, and ginger. I decided to use a recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World (the only cupcake cookbook that I regularly refer to) as my starting point.
Here is the Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World simple vanilla and agave nectar cupcake recipe modified a whole lot to make my rhubarb cupcake recipe.
Makes about 12 cupcakes.

• 2/3 C soy milk
• 1/2 t apple cider vinegar
• 2/3 C agave nectar (if you don't have agave nectar, you can use honey)
• 1/3 C canola oil
• 1/2 t vanilla extract
• 4 drops ginger extract from Supreme Spice (if you don't have ginger extract, you can use 1/2 t powdered ginger)
• 2 t five spice powder
• 1 1/3 C flour
• 3/4 t baking powder
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 1/4 t salt
• 1 C rhubarb compote

1. Mix the soy milk and the apple cider vinegar in a large bowl and allow to sit for a few minutes to curdle.
2. Beat in vinegar, agave, oil, vanilla, and ginger.
3. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and five spice powder and mix just until smooth. Do not over-mix.
4. Stir in rhubarb compote.
5. Fill liners 2/3 full.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until the tops bounce back when touched.

The Five Spice Frosting

I frosted these cupcakes with five spice frosting. For even more fun, dunk the cupcake in some extra rhubarb compote as you are eating it.

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes: Cupcakes with a Surprise Inside

Snickerdoodle cupcakes were on my to-bake list as soon as I found out that the snickerdoodle was Bride 2.0's favorite cookie. I'm by no means the first person to make a snickerdoodle cupcake. Among many others:

• Culinary Concoctions by Peabody made snickerdoodle cupcakes (well, really muffins) that I've been told by Sara at Cupcake Muffin are absolutely amazing. They look really simple to make and seem to be very close to the cookie.
• I Heart Cuppycakes made snickerdoodle cupcakes twice - once with a cake mix and once without. They are vanilla cinnamon cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese frosting.

While those snickerdoodle cupcakes sounded great, I opted to do things my own way.

My snickerdoodle cupcakes are burnt sugar cupcakes with a snickerdoodle cookie baked into them, topped with a cinnamon penuche frosting and another snickerdoodle cookie.

Snickerdoodle Cupcake Reviews

The very first taster - The first taster of the snickerdoodle cupcake was a friend of mine with whom I was playing a game of spades. As soon as she started eating the cupcake, she lost all ability to concentrate on the game. I took this as a good sign, but I really didn't need to guess for long about her opinion of the cupcake. She "oohed and ahhed" for quite a few minutes about not only the flavor, but how amazing it was that there was a cookie baked in the middle. She was this cupcake's number one fan!

The other spades players - The other spades players also loved the snickerdoodle cupcakes. It was speculated that Bride 2.0 would pick them.

Bride and Groom 2.0 - Bride and Groom 2.0 thought that the snickerdoodle cupcakes were too dry. They both said that the cupcakes tasted exactly like the cookie, but felt that the cookie didn't really work in cake form. They did, however, both love the cinnamon penuche frosting.

Me - I thought they were delicious. However, I was a bit frustrated that the cookie blended into the cake so much. Despite my first taster's comments about the cookie being such a nice treat in the cupcake, I could hardly tell where the cookie ended and the cake started. If I looked, I could see where the cookie was - which was neat - but it tasted just like the cake. Like Bride and Groom 2.0, I adored the frosting!

The Snickerdoodle Cupcake Recipe

I made the snickerdoodle cupcake recipe by slightly modifying How Stuff Works' caramelized sugar cake. I have reprinted it with my modifications below.

Makes 24 cupcakes

• 1 1/2 C granulated sugar, divided
• 1/2 C boiling water
• 2 eggs, separated
• 2 1/4 C all-purpose flour
• 1 T baking powder
• 1 t salt
• 1/2 C (1 stick) butter, softened
• 1 t vanilla
• 1 C milk

1. Heat 1/2 C sugar in heavy 8-inch skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sugar is melted and golden brown.
2. Reduce heat to low.
3. Gradually add boiling water into sugar mixture; continue cooking until sugar is dissolved, stirring constantly. You need to stir really quickly here to keep the sugar from glomming up.
4. Beat egg whites in medium bowl at medium speed with electric mixer until soft peaks form.
5. Gradually add 1/2 C granulated sugar, beating at high speed until stiff peaks form; set aside.
6. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in medium bowl; set aside.
7. Beat butter and remaining 1/2 C sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy.
8. Beat in egg yolks and vanilla extract.
9. Gradually add sugar syrup, mixing until well blended.
10. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition.
11. Fold in egg white mixture.
12. Fill cupcake liners halfway full.
13. You could pop these into the oven at 375 F for 20 minutes right now, but if you want the cookie baked into them, read on.

The Snickerdoodle Cookie Baked in the Middle of the Snickerdoodle Cupcake

To bake a snickerdoodle cookie into the cupcake, make a tablespoon-sized ball of a your favorite snickerdoodle cookie dough recipe and roll it in a cinnamon / sugar mixture. Then, press the ball into the half full cupcake liners.

Bake at 375 F for 25 minutes or until the top bounces back when touched lightly. As you can see above, they look kind of ugly before they are frosted. However, it's also sort of fun to see the cookie popping out. I almost didn't want to frost them.

The Cinnamon Penuche Frosting

I fell in love with penuche frosting when I made my quinoa cupcakes. I used the same recipe that I used on those cupcakes, only I added cinnamon to make it more snickerdoodly.

I got the original penuche frosting recipe from Southern Food on About.com.

• 1/2 C butter
• 1 C brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 C milk
• 1 T ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 C sifted confectioners' sugar

1. In a saucepan, melt 1/2 C butter.
2. Add the brown sugar.
3. Bring to a boil and lower heat to medium low and continue to boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
4. Add the milk and cinnamon and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
5. Cool to lukewarm.
6. Gradually add sifted confectioners' sugar. (I would highly recommend sifting this confectioners' sugar. It's such a pain to sift, but it ensures that the frosting will be extra smooth.)
7. Beat until thick enough to spread. If too thick, add a little hot water.

The Snickerdoodle Cookie on the Top

I topped my snickerdoodle cupcakes with a snickerdoodle cookie from Wholly Wholesome bakery. I could have topped them with my own cookies, but I had lots of extra Wholly Wholesome cookies and they did look pretty cute!

Gluten-Free Quinoa Cupcakes: Quinoa for Breakfast Part 2

 

These gluten-free quinoa cupcakes were inspired by A Southern Grace's apple cinnamon quinoa breakfast which I wrote about in part one of quinoa for breakfast. However, I am dedicating the gluten-free cupcakes to Cathy (a gluten-free friend of mine) whose husband wrote me this email back in September:

"Okay, so I just read the blog posting about the lonely 'cupcake' from your recent trip and it made me wonder if you've given any further thought to creating a gluten-free cupcake?

You could put your creative mind to a real cupcake challenge and take your game to the next level (mixing flours in addition to mixing ingredients)! This could be your chance to shine as a gluten-free superstar, while bringing hope to the despaired. I urge you to rise up and throw off the shackles of society; tell wheat that you don't have to use it...tell it that other options exist...show the world you are not the slave to boring flower any more! Wheat-free or die (or at least sick)! Join us in the revolution... Long live tapioca!!"

What a man! Can't you just picture him as a superhero fighting glutens? You'd think he was the gluten-free one and not his wife. Admittedly, it took me 6 months to respond with gluten-free cupcakes, but these were worth the wait! They were light and fluffy and had a surprise apple cinnamon center. The quinoa gave them a nutty flavor which went perfectly with the apples.

I topped the cupcakes with a penuche frosting. I was turned onto this frosting by an anonymous commenter who insisted that I google penuche and try it. It's basically a brown sugar frosting that tastes like caramel. It's basically delicious! I will be using this frosting recipe again and again. Not only did it taste great, but it was smooth and easy to spread.

Groom 2.0 Called This Cupcake a Wedding Contender

Groom 2.0 actually called this cupcake a wedding contender. I was shocked. There was no chocolate involved. I expected this to be a cupcake that Bride 2.0 would like. However, Bride 2.0 didn't like it. She liked the frosting and the apple part, but didn't like the taste of quinoa and thought the cake on its own was too dry.

My mother-in-law said: "Liked everything about it...taste, texture, quinoa, etc. Would never have guessed the ingredients."

A friend, who is becoming such a regular taster that my loaner Tupperware practically has his name on it, reported: "One of the best combinations of flavors, I enjoyed this very autumn cupcake. The gluten-free dough was a little dry, but I enjoyed the texture. Overall moistness is a critical component to a stellar cupcake from me, and this could have been a little moister."

His co-taster disagreed with his point about the texture. "Overall moisture was satisfactory because of the surprise center."

If I made these gluten-free cupcakes again, I would try mixing the apple filling throughout rather than only putting it in the middle of the cupcake. It would ruin the surprise factor, but I think it might address any issues with moistness.

If you are gluten-free or gluten-full and are looking for a tasty and different cupcake to try, I would definitely feel comfortable recommending this one.

Gluten-Free Quinoa Cupcake Recipe

I got the recipe for these cupcakes by adapting a recipe at Lucullian Delights to cupcake format. I am reprinting the recipe below with my modifications. One modification of note is that her recipe has coconut in it. That's on the banned foods list for Bride and Groom 2.0 so I left it out.

• 2 1/2-3 cups diced apples (about 2 medium sized apples)
• 1/4 cup sugar (I used vanilla sugar)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup dark rum
• 4 large eggs
• 9 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/3 cup cooked quinoa (You cook quinoa in the same way that you would cook rice. Read part one of quinoa for breakfast if you need more detailed cooking directions. I started with 1 C of uncooked quinoa and ended up with enough for this recipe plus plenty left over to have for breakfast or any other meal. I used Red Inca quinoa, hence the dark spots in the cake.)
• 1 3/4 cups rice flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
  

1. Simmer the apple cubes with the water, sugar, cinnamon, and rum until the apple is cooked and almost all the liquid is evaporated. Try very hard not to eat it all before putting it in the cupcakes. There will be some left over. I ate it with the leftover penuche frosting. You could just make the apples and frosting and forget the cupcakes entirely and be quite happy.
2. Whisk the egg and sugar and add the melted butter. Stir well.
3. Add the quinoa, mix well, and then add the flour and baking powder. Stir well.
4. Fill 12 cupcake liners about 1/3 full with batter.
5. Add a layer of apples.
6. Top with another layer of batter so that they are all about 3/4 full.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until the tops bounce back when you touch them.

Alternative: Mix the apples in with the batter instead of doing layers. I have not tried this, but I think it might be even better than the layered method.


Penuche Frosting Recipe
I got the penuche frosting recipe from Southern Food on About.Com.

• 1/2 C butter
• 1 C brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 C milk
• 2 C sifted confectioners' sugar (I only used about a cup)
  

1. In a saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter.
2. Add the brown sugar.
3. Bring to a boil and lower heat to medium low and continue to boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
4. Add the milk and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
5. Cool to lukewarm. Gradually add sifted confectioners' sugar. (I would highly recommend sifting this confectioners' sugar. It's such a pain to sift, but it ensures that the frosting will be extra smooth.)
6. Beat until thick enough to spread. If too thick, add a little hot water.

Looking for More Gluten-Free Cupcake Ideas?

I am entering this cupcake into the blog event Go Ahead Honey, It's Gluten Free. If you are looking for more ideas for gluten-free cupcakes, check out the round-up here. Remember, any cake recipe can easily be converted to a cupcake. Your cupcakes may take less time to bake than the cake recipe. Typically they take 20 minutes at 350 degrees. I recommend making a test cupcake first to see how much it rises and how long it takes to bake before you bake the entire batch.

Mini Pumpkin Pie Recipe - Cup-Pies

Mini Pumpkin Pie Recipe

Pumpkin pie is a holiday staple. However, isn't it the best when everyone gets their own mini pumpkin pie (cup-pies)? (Note: Mini sweet potato pies are also a favorite of mine.)

Here's What the mini pumpkin pie recipe tasters had to say:

• My father was in town from NY to taste the pumpkin pie recipe. If it seems like I am always having out of town guests from somewhere, it's true. Dad said that the pumpkin pies were one of the best pastries he has ever had. This is not only because he's my dad. He also tried the Soda Fountain cupcakes (which were picked by Bride and Groom 1.0 for their wedding) and openly admitted that he didn't like them at all. He is not shy with opinions.

• My mom and aunt also tried the mini pumpkin pies. They were in town the weekend after my dad. This means that the mini pumpkin pies were already a week old (I kept them in the fridge). I didn't think they were quite as good as they were when they were fresh. However, my relatives loved them. The cup-pies, however, were not their favorite. I had frozen some Better Than Sex chocolate cupcakes for them and they both thought that nothing could compare to the chocolate.
• Bride 2.0 said "mmmmm... pumpkin."
• Groom 2.0 said that they couldn't choose them for their wedding because they weren't actually cupcakes. Bah humbug!

The Pumpkin Pie Crust Recipe
Back in January, the St. Louis food bloggers got together and took a pie class at Kitchen Conservatory. The photo on the left is from Iron Stef's write-up of the event. I'm the redhead in the front. Next to me is Karen of FamilyStyle Food and next to her is Alanna, the esteemed host of Pi Day. The class was a blast, however I definitely felt like the class klutz. I was the one who cut myself using the apple peeler/corer and ended up going home with a band-aid. Note that my mini pie doesn't feature apples. Also note that I am the only one in the picture not wearing an apron. Why wear an apron when you can get flour all over yourself? I'm such the rebel!
Our instructor, Anne, had some rules that she pounded into our heads.
1. Don't overwork the dough. (She held our hands behind our backs to keep us from touching it.)
2. Don't add too much water.
When I made my mini pumpkin pies, I broke both of these rules. Did it effect the quality of the pie crust? Maybe, but none of my tasters could tell. I even got the thumbs up from a friend who prides herself on her pie crusts.
The details on how to make this pie crust are laid out very clearly on Kitchen Parade, complete with step by step pictures. I made one intentional modification. I refuse to use Crisco so I used all butter. My other modification was not planned. I ended up using 18 T of water instead of 2-4. I couldn't get the dough to stick together at all without adding more and more water. My teacher would not be proud.
Lesson: Don't worry about getting it 100% right. No one will know the difference except you.

Here is the recipe from Kitchen Parade with my modifications:

• 18 T ice water (This was where her recipe said 2-4 T)
• 2 c flour
• 2 t sugar
• 1 t salt
• 2 sticks (1 c) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Stir together 1 cup of flour, sugar, and salt. With hand-held pastry blender, cut 1/2 of the butter into the four until butter is dime-sized. (I didn't have a pastry blender so I just used my hands.) Add the rest of the butter the same way. Lightly stir in the remaining flour. Add water one T at a time until the dough just sticks together. Wrap in plastic wrap and stick in the fridge until you are ready to use it.

Note: This is one of the few recipes that I have not made in my Kitchen Aid. I learned from Anne that butter should not be fully integrated and the Kitchen Aid would have done just that.

The Pumpkin Pie Filling Recipe

I found the pumpkin pie filling recipe on Allrecipes. It had many, many (561) fantastic reviews so I decided to give it a go. I have reprinted it with my comments below.

• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 egg whites

In a large bowl, mix together the pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, and egg yolks. Stir in 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. In a large glass or metal bowl, whip egg whites until soft peaks form. Gently fold into pumpkin mixture.

The Streusel Topping Recipe

• 2 T all-purpose flour
• 1/4 c packed brown sugar
• 1 t ground cinnamon
• 2 T butter, chilled
• 1 c chopped walnuts (I used pecans simply because I like them better.)

In a small bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Blend in the cold butter with a fork or pastry blender until the mixture is crumbly. Mix in the chopped nuts. This made almost twice as much as topping as I needed. Unless you want a ton of topping, you might consider cutting this in half.

Putting Your Mini Pies Together
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). You will not be baking at this temperature. However, you want to make your oven nice and hot. This, as I learned in my pie class, is extremely important. Line 2 cupcake tins with cupcake liners. I made about 30 cup-pies with this recipe. I baked the 24 and then the extra six. If you have 3 tins at the ready you can do it all at once. Also, I expect the number you will get to vary depending on the intricacies of dough thickness and pumpkin pie filling height.
Remove half of the dough from the fridge and roll it out on a lightly floured surface to about 1/4 inch thick. Use a 3 1/2 inch diameter circle cookie cutter to cut the dough into circles. If you don't have a cookie cutter that width, see if you have a glass you can use or you can experiment with different widths. Press the center of your circle into the bottom of a cupcake liner and work the rest into the bottom of the liner and up the sides. It should come about 3/4 of the way up the side. I experimented with different heights and found this to be the most pleasing to me, but higher or lower won't destroy anything. Repeat the same procedure with the other half of the dough.
Pour the pumpkin pie filling into the pie dough cups. Each cup should be slightly more than halfway full.
Lower the oven temp to 375. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the streusel topping over each cup-pie. Bake for another 15 minutes or until the pie is set (doesn't wiggle around when you touch it.)

The Vanilla Bean Buttercream Frosting Swirl
I topped each cup-pie with a small swirl of vanilla bean buttercream frosting. The vanilla bean buttercream frosting recipe can be found here.

Pi Day Footnote

Alanna over at Kitchen Parade is hosting pi (3.14) day. Alanna is our St. Louis food blogger social director and is a mentor to me as I build this blog. I had to participate. She's the reason why I made these mini pumpkin pies.

Pumpkin Chili with Abuelita Two Ways - Cupcake and Non-Cupcake: My First Cupcake Pairing

This month, I participated in a new blog event (well, new to me) called Taste & Create. In this event, food bloggers get partnered up. Participants pick a recipe from their partner's blog, make it, and blog about it.

I got paired with What's Cooking. What's Cooking is a blog by a man whose family owned a restaurant in Mexico for 40 years. He posts mostly - but not exclusively - Mexican recipes. He does not have any cupcakes on the blog to date.

As a cupcake only blog, what was I to do? Create my first cupcake pairing, of course.

I decided to select a recipe that appealed to me, make it, and then make a cupcake inspired by it. This would involve doing actual cooking, an activity that hasn't been done by me for 9 months or so.

There were many appealing recipes on What's Cooking, but I had to go with the Pumpkin Chili. It's chili season and the bride mentioned loving pumpkin. Also, the recipe contained an ingredient I had never used or, for that matter, even heard of. This always intrigues me. That ingredient was Abuelita.

What the Heck is Abuelita?

Abuelita is Mexican hot chocolate made by Nestle that is sold in a variety of formats. The chocolate is made of sugar, cocoa and artificial cinnamon flavoring. It is sickeningly sweet to eat straight up, but it has a really nice and subtle chocolate spice flavor. In addition to being good for hot chocolate, it works well in pumpkin chili and pumpkin chili cupcakes.

Those of you who are Spanish speakers (I am not) will know that abuelita means grandma. The grandma on the package is Sara García, a legendary Mexican actress of more than 140 films. Despite her fame, I wonder if this kind of marketing would work in the US. She's kind of scary and reminds me of Robin Williams in Mrs. Doubtfire. Then again, Mrs. Butterworth sells well, as does the Quaker Oats man, so who knows.

Where Can I find Abuelita if I'm not in Mexico?

My first concern about the chili was whether or not I would be able to find Abuelita. Thankfully, St. Louis has a number of different stores that carry Mexican products. I picked mine up at Global Foods Market in Kirkwood. If you don't have a good Mexican grocer near you, you can purchase Abuelita online.

The Pumpkin Chili

The pumpkin chili was fantastic. The combination of flavors was perfect: spicy but not too spicy with just a touch of sweet. I followed the recipe as written on What's Cooking with just a few exceptions as noted in red below.

For this recipe you will need:
2 lbs ground beef (I used local grass-fed beef from Whole Foods. It was great! It was the first time I have made something with beef that had no grease at all. Even after putting the chili in the fridge overnight, there was no nasty orange fat on the top to remove. If you like grease, don't use this.)
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
1 cup tomato juice
½ Abuelita chocolate bar
3 cloves garlic
1 chopped onion
2 cups pinto beans
olive oil

Special chili mixture:
1 tbsp black pepper
½ tbsp cinnamon
1 tbsp oregano
2 tbsp salt (I don't like salt. I only used 1 tsp. That was plenty for me.)
1 tbsp cumin
2 tbsp chili powder
2 tbsp ground paprika
2 tbsp ground chipotle pepper

Preparation:
1. In a large pot cook onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat.
2. When translucent, add ground beef and special chili mixture and cook until beef turns brown. It is important that the ground beef is thoroughly cooked.
3. Add pumpkin puree, chocolate, crushed tomatoes and tomato juice.
(At this point, I dumped everything into the crock pot and left it there for 8 hours. I added the pinto beans about halfway through. This worked perfectly for me. If you don't have a crock pot, read on.)
Stir and reduce heat to medium low and simmer for about one and a half hours.
4. Add pinto beans and simmer for about 20 more minutes.
5. Let it cool a little bit before serving.

Garnished with avocado, sour cream and fresh cilantro. (I topped mine with a Mexican cheese mix.)

The Pumpkin Chili Cupcakes

For the cupcakes, I turned to the book Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, which I finally broke down and purchased. There is a recipe for pumpkin chocolate chip cupcakes that sounded great. I decided to use that as a base, but I added the chili flavors and used Abuelita instead of chocolate chips.

When I got to the step when I was about to add the chili spices, I almost backed down. The batter tasted so good, what if the chili ruined it? "Oh well, here goes nothing," I thought as I dumped it in. I did not regret the choice.

The cake was melt-in-your-mouth moist. It was ever so slightly spicy, mildly pumpkiny, mildly chocolaty, and extremely tasty.

For the frosting, I opted for a pumpkin cream cheese frosting. I added Abuelita to half of the frosting and did something I've been wanting to try for a very long time, a two color cupcake swirl. There are swirling instructions at the bottom of this post.

The Cupcake Review

Bride and Groom 2.0 came over last night to pick up their cupcake samples. They also took two extras for friends they were going to dinner with. Lest you think them rude, my husband and I were invited to join. I just wasn't feeling well and had them bring over movies to watch in exchange for the cupcake pickup.

One friend of ours who was at the dinner has never before given me a cupcake review. He emailed me a quality review this morning and he will therefore get more cupcakes.

"I tried a bite of just the cupcake without frosting. Sigh, the density was what every cupcake should have and the cake was moist throughout. Too often a cupcake is dried on the top and too moist on the bottom thus it crumbles in hand. The pumpkin cupcake was evenly baked, kudos, and the density was respectable. Run of the mill cupcakes are too airy and not very satisfying. I like a pastry to have resistance when I bite into it."

He continues to talk about how our other friend claimed to like the soda fountain cupcakes better. He explains that choice as follows, "Last night I learned he is one year and 363 days younger than myself. So, perhaps in about two years he'll favor the mature pumpkin over root beer."

Bride 2.0 also really liked the cupcakes. She called them "wedding contenders" and said she liked the mild kick and the cupcake to frosting ratio. Despite my pride at the neat looking swirl, this was WAY too much frosting for me. I was glad that others liked that quantity though.

As I had predicted, Groom 2.0 didn't like the spice factor. He's more of a basics guy.

The Cupcake Recipe
adapted from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World

2 C canned pumpkin

2/3 C vegetable oil

2 C sugar

1/4 C soy milk

1 t vanilla extract

2 1/2 C flour

1/4 t black pepper

1/4 t oregano

1/4 t cumin

1/4 t chili powder

1/4 t ground paprika

1/4 t ground chipotle pepper

1/4 t cinnamon

1/2 t baking soda

1/2 t baking powder

1/2 bar Abuelita

In a medium bowl, stir together pumpkin, oil, sugar, soy milk, and vanilla. Sift in the flour. In a separate bowl, combine all the spices. Add spice, baking soda, and baking powder. Do not over-mix. Melt 1/2 bar of Abuelita and stir in.

Bake for 20 min at 350 F.

Makes 20 cupcakes.

The Frosting Recipe

1 pkg of cream cheese
1/4 C butter
1/4 C pumpkin
1 t vanilla extract
4 C powdered sugar
1/2 bar of Abuelita

Mix cream cheese and butter well. Add pumpkin and vanilla extract. Add powdered sugar. Split frosting in half. Add melted Abuelita to 1/2 of the frosting. Note: If you plan to heavily frost the cupcakes, you may need to double this recipe.

How to Make a Two Color Cupcake Swirl
I got some help from Clever Cupcakes (who happens to have some of the best cupcake photos on flickr) to figure out how to do a two color color cupcake swirl. The way I did it was to use 3 different disposable pastry bags. I put couplers but no tips in two pastry bags. You could also just cut a small hole and not use a coupler. I thought the coupler provided some stability and an even flow. I partly filled one bag with the pumpkin frosting without chocolate and one bag with the pumpkin frosting with chocolate. Then, I placed those two bags side by side in a bag with a star tip and started piping. Voila! A two colored swirl.

Sweet Potato Casserole Cupcakes: The New Thanksgiving Classic

 The greatest food debate in Jewish cuisine and possibly the greatest Jewish debate of all time (though that's debatable) is whether the passover matzoh balls should be sinkers or floaters. My family traditionally always served both kinds, each grandma at the table making up a batch that her mishpacha would most enjoy.

My mother-in-law who had served rock hard, you-need-a-fork-and-knife-to-eat-them, sinkers before me has now also switched to a combination of sinkers and floaters. Goodbye, conflict.

There is a less documented though equally pervasive debate surrounding the Thanksgiving sweet potato casserole. Some like their casserole topped with marshmallows, while others (myself included in this second camp) prefer a sugary nut topping. Who needs white mush when you have sweet orange mush? What you need is crunch!

My all time favorite sweet potato casserole is the one my mother-in-law makes. I like it hot or cold and with a fork, a spoon, or hands. The recipe is at the bottom of this post.

The truth is, I like sweet potatoes in all formats. I like them so much that my brother even mentioned them in his wedding toast to me.

I've been plotting to make a sweet potato cupcake for months. This month was the time. Garrett of Vanilla Garlic and Chockylit of Cupcake Bakeshop are hosting a cupcake roundup with the theme of a classic dish redefined. I decided to model my cupcake after the sweet potato casserole.

I wanted to impart some of my favorite casserole flavors into the cupcake (brown sugar and maple syrup). I opted for the sweet potato flavor in the cake, a maple mascarpone filling, and a brown sugar frosting.

The results? This cupcake was light and fluffy (I had to point this out for those who didn't like my last two super dense ones) and tasted like Fall in a cupcake wrapper. I would not hesitate to serve this to my family at Thanksgiving dinner or any other day for that matter.

The Recipes


The Cake

I got the cake recipe from a Cupcake Bakeshop recipe for pumpkin cupcakes (reposted below). She got the recipe from Martha Stewart. I simply replaced the pumpkin with mashed sweet potato. I went the lazy route and got my sweet potato from a can. However, I'm sure you could make your own.

• 2 cups flour, all-purpose
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 15 ounces sweet potato puree

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice; set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together, brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, and eggs. Add dry ingredients, and whisk until smooth. Whisk in sweet potato purée.
4. Divide batter evenly among liners, filling each about halfway. Bake until tops spring back when touched, and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating pans once if needed. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool.
5. Note: These cupcakes really do rise well. I filled some more than 1/2 way and they ended up bubbling over in the oven. I'd follow the instructions and just fill 1/2 way.

The Filling

For the filling, I simply whipped together 8 oz of mascarpone cheese with 2 T of pure maple syrup. When the cupcakes were done baking, I stuck the pastry bag right into the center of the cupcake and squirted some filling in. This, BTW, is much easier than the cone method (cutting out a cone, putting the filling in, and replacing the top) and it's more sexy, too. However, it does not work well with dense cupcakes.

The Frosting

I used another one of Chockylit's top-notch recipes for the frosting (reposted below). She used a caramel frosting on her "Peanut Butter-Banana Chocolate Cupcakes with Caramel Glaze and a Caramelized Banana Disk." I've had these cupcakes before at a friend's house minus the peanut butter, since I'm not a fan, and they were awesome! My favorite part though was the caramel frosting. This was the perfect cupcake for me to try it out on.

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons half and half
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter.
2. Add milk and brown sugar, stir to combine.
3. Boil vigorously for 1 minute.
4. Remove from heat and beat in 1/2 cup powdered sugar.
5. Cool slightly then and beat in the vanilla and remaining powdered sugar, add more half in half if necessary.
6. Quickly spoon over cupcakes before glaze sets.

I did not add the additional half and half on step 5. I think I would if I did it again. It definitely did not spoon well without it. I ended up spreading it. Regardless, it was delish and I will use it again!

What's On Top?

To please both the marshmallow and the nut camps and because I can't use nuts at the wedding, I made some cupcakes with toasted mini marshmallows (any excuse to use my culinary torch!) and some with candied walnuts.

Nancy's Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe

• 2 lb. sweet potatoes
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• ½ cup flour
• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup margarine
• ¼ tsp salt
• cinnamon

1. Peel, cut, boil sweet potatoes until soft.
2. Mix everything together and put into 9 X 12 greased pan.

Top with a mixture of:

• ½ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup chopped pecans
• ¼ cup margarine
• ¼ cup flour

Double topping for Stefani*
Bake at 350° for 30 to 40 min.
*That is actually in the recipe she sent. Isn't she sweet?

Footnotes

For those astute readers among you, you may note that Nancy's casserole does not contain any maple syrup, my cupcake filling flavor. Many sweet potato casseroles do, including this recipe from a fellow St. Louis blogger.

I'm done justifying my use of maple now. Does maple ever really need justification anyway?

Some final words on sweet potato casseroles: My Texas friend, and fellow sweet potato casserole fanatic, makes an outstanding one which uses Bourbon. A sweet potato and bourbon cupcake would also be sensational. I'm adding it to the lengthy to-bake list in my mind.

Apple Cinnamon Cupcakes with Mead Frosting and a Honey Swirl: Rosh Hashana Cupcakes for a Sweet New Year

One cupcake taster closed her eyes to savor every bite. Another chose to eat this as his first piece of cake in 3 months and did not regret the choice. I ate one fresh out of the oven and it was so good I was scared that frosting it would screw it up somehow. It didn't. It just made it even better! This may be my favorite cupcake yet.

I had to get that part out of the way. I have lots to say in this post and I didn't want anyone to not make it to the part where I expressed how much I loved these cupcakes!

This week's cupcake was inspired by the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashana). Could the holy connection have anything to do with how good they ended up being? On Rosh Hashana it is a tradition to eat apples dipped in honey praying that God will grant us a sweet new year. Apples with honey are delicious on thier own. Give it a try if you have never done so. I turned one of my non-Jewish friends onto this and it became her son's favorite snack. The bride and groom are not Jewish, but they are getting married on the secular new year. Perhaps they would like it to be sweet with an apple and honey cupcake?

The Cake

I was recently loaned a copy of the book 500 Cupcakes: The Only Cupcake Compendium You'll Ever Need. I take issue with the fact that there aren't really 500 cupcakes in this book. Lots of the "cupcakes" are muffins and some of the items they count as unique cupcakes are simply a recipe they already listed, but with ingredient substitutions. However, since I liked the recipe I tried so much, I may have to think more positively about the book.

For the cake, I modified 500 Cupcake's Applesauce Cinnamon Cupcakes. Their cupcake had apples on top and no frosting. I put the apples inside, created my own frosting, and did not include nuts or raisins.

Recipe (16 cupcakes)

*The recipe in the book was for 12 cupcakes. I doubled it and still ended up with only 16. That was my only complaint about the recipe. However, I filled my cups all the way to the top and from the picture in the book, it looked like they let theirs sit a bit lower.

Cream:

• 2 sticks butter
• 1 C + 2 T sugar
• 2 C Flour
• 4 Eggs

Stir In

• 1.5 C Applesauce (unsweetened)
• 1.5 t cinnamon
• 1 C finely chopped apples (I used Fuji)

Fill cupcake wrappers. Bake at 350 for 25 min. Eat some hot out of the oven before proceeding to frost the others. I thought they tasted just like apple pie filling.

The Frosting

I first discovered mead at The Greater St. Louis Renaissance Faire. It is technically an "alcoholic drink made from diluted honey and water, fermented by yeast." Essentially it is a honey wine and it is perhaps the 1st wine ever made. We happened to have an unopened bottle of mead sitting in our pantry and it seemed a perfect way to impart a honey flavor to the frosting without making it too sticky.

The frosting recipe was:

• 1/4 C butter
• 2+ cups powdered sugar
• 3 T soy milk (I'm sure you could use milk. I just happened to have soy milk in the house.)
• 2 T Mead

1. Beat butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy.
2. Mix in soy milk and mead.

The Honey Swirl

As I worked on creating my honey swirl, I began to feel like I was Goldilocks and had left my house to 3 bears. The bears, of course, were honey bears. When did honey start coming in bear format? Check these out! They even have bow ties.

• One bear's honey was too empty.
  
• The next bear's honey was also too empty.
  
• And the last bear's honey, well that was too empty too.

Why did Miss Goldilocks allow all her honey bears to reach such sad states? Probably, the same reason she left those 3 bowls of porridge on the table: she was in a hurry. It was too much work to get the honey out of the bottom of each bear. The problem with most of the bear shaped containers is that they can't be easily stored upside down.
Anyway, to speed up the honey removal, all 3 bears went into the microwave. The warm, more liquidy honey was poured right out of the bear to a decorating bag with a small tip and piped onto the cupcakes. Unfortunately, because the honey was still toasty, it often just melted into the frosting as opposed to making a defined swirl.
The good news was that everyone did live happily ever after because even the ones that didn't have the swirl looked neat and tasted great.
The moral of the story is to either
a) buy a new bear,
b) have more patience for the honey to come out of the bear, or
c) don't use bear honey at all.

St. Louis Bloggers

The St. Louis Bloggers are hosting a blog carnival this month with the theme of apples. I happen to love carnivals. I particularly like the really small ones where the whole community comes together and everyone either has lots of fun spending money to win cheap prizes or gets dizzy and sick from spinning rides and cotton candy.

I've never worked a blog carnival before (Wikipedia has a great description of blog carnivals for those who have no idea what I'm talking about.). I wasn't planning on participating in this one either, but I had already made an apple cupcake and was planning on writing about it. So... count this as my carny entry.