Hot Buttered Rum Cookies

Leave out these hot buttered rum cookies on Christmas eve and you'll get a very jolly Santa!  These hot buttered rum cookies taste like simple spice cookies (there's cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves in the batter), but instead of using vanilla extract, their flavored is enriched with spiced rum.  The rum does not overpower (if you want a really strong rum flavor, try my rum balls!); in these cookies, the rum just adds warmth and depth.

I've topped the hot buttered rum cookies with a rum glaze.  Like the cookies themselves, the glaze just has a hint of rum.  If you prefer a more intense rum experience, it's easy to make the glaze stronger - I explain how in the recipe below.

Hot Buttered Rum Mugcakes

I originally developed these hot buttered rum mugcakes for Paula Deen back in 2010, but given that they are so fitting for a holiday menu and it's sometimes hard for me to remember what I did yesterday, I thought that the hot buttered rum mugcake recipe was worth sharing again. 

Hot buttered rum (for the uninitiated) is a drink often interchangeably described as a hot toddy.  While there are a variety of recipes out there for hot buttered rum, the most common preparation is to freeze a batter of brown sugar, spices (such as nutmeg, cinnamon, and clove), butter, and vanilla ice cream.  When you are ready to serve the hot beverage, mix some frozen batter with boiling water and rum.

This hot buttered rum mugcake recipe uses all of the same spices as the beverage - and because the alcohol is cooked off in baking, it’s kid-friendly. 

Hot Buttered Rum Mugcake Recipe

Piña Colada Cupcakes

Groom 4.0 (read the back story for more details) has selected these Piña Colada cupcakes as his pick for one of their wedding cupcake flavors (he gets one and Bride 4.0 gets one).  "Is there anything you would change about these Piña Colada cupcakes?" I asked him after he'd finished it.  "I just want there to be lots more of them," he replied with a grin.  His wish will be granted because there will be over 100 Piña Colada cupcakes at his wedding!

As my friend Andrew (of Church of Burger/Pizza fame) notes, these cupcakes aren't just moist, the inside is almost wet due to the juicy pineapple bites scattered throughout the cake.  These Piña Colada cupcakes are so close to the real deal that Andrew pointed out that the Piña Colada cupcakes would be the perfect cupcake to eat poolside in Las Vegas.  

Chocolate Coconut Rum Cupcakes and an Announcement

After Wedding 3.0, I did not plan to do another wedding.  In fact, Jonathan STRONGLY encouraged me not to.  Baking 300 cupcakes in a home kitchen is extreme - and even more of a task with a young child underfoot.  One person who definitely understands the challenges involved is this woman...

Tiramisu Cupcakes

Tiramisu cupcakes, because they are served cold, are a refreshing way to beat the end of summer heat.  Making tiramisu cupcakes is not an original idea; many cupcake bloggers have made cupcake versions of tiramisu.  The common way of making tiramisu cupcakes is to start with a basic yellow or white cupcake recipe, flavor it with some rum and coffee, and top it with mascarpone, whipped cream, and cocoa powder.  While I would never turn down tiramisu cupcakes made that way, they miss out on what is to me the key feature of tiramisu - the topping to cake ratio.

Tiramisu has very little cake (ladyfingers) and LOTS of mascarpone and whipped cream topping.  Tiramisu's ladyfingers are like circus ringmasters: they keep everything together, but no one goes home talking about them.  The rum, coffee, mascarpone, whipped cream, and chocolate are the clowns, elephants, contortionists, unicycle rider, and man flying out of a cannon.  You simply won't forget them.  Because my tiramisu cupcakes start with just a small amount of "cupcake" (ladyfingers baked into cupcake wrappers), there is a TON of room for the "big top".

Witness:

Ready to make tiramisu cupcakes?

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.