Sweet Vanilla's

The Most "Blueberriest" Blueberry Muffins!

2010-08-29T19:51:00.000-07:00

I don't know if "blueberriest" is really a word, but if there was, then this would be the time to use it. These muffins are known around my work, and they are requested, even though I have made them almost a year ago. Since blueberries were on sale this week, I decided to make another go round with these, and I know that they will be so happy. The secret to these are, that there are not only fresh blueberries folded in the batter, there are also blueberries that are cooked, reduced, and stirred in the tops of the muffins. With every bite, you are guaranteed the best blueberry flavor. I think this is something that could work with other muffin flavors as well, so I can't wait to try others very soon. See, I told you I can bake other things besides cookies and cupcakes!

Finally.....Chocolate!

2010-08-29T09:39:00.000-07:00

Now everyone knows that my favorite flavor is vanilla, not chocolate, but most requests are for chocolate, so i finally had to give it a try. The first is chocolate cake with mint icing, which turned out great. In fact, I couldn't keep my sister out of it! I also just got a new tip, and as it didn't turn out as expected, it is a fun new way to decorate. These were sprinkled with green sugar, and it would look great if I added some Andes mints to the top of them, and will have to do that next time. These would also be perfect for St. Patrick's Day celebrations.

The next ones, I would call Triple Chocolate, because I put chocolate chips in the batter, the icing has lots of chocolate flavor in it, and for decoration, chocolate shavings adorn the top of these "oh so yummy" cupcakes. With this frosting, I couldn't keep my mom out of it!! Those girls are just alike!

Pink Champagne Cupcakes!

2010-08-07T14:49:00.000-07:00

Now I think everything is better in pink, especially cupcakes! These cupcakes smell wonderful coming out of the oven, and taste just heavenly! The cake and frosting has pink champagne, and food coloring to help bring out the pink color. I think this is a fun adult cake, possibly for a birthday, bachelorette party, and even a couples or bridal shower. Don't leave out the guys!You could even use regular champagne and not add food coloring for a white cake to be more versatile, but I love the novelty of the pink!

My first box of mini cupcakes!

Another batch of them, all dressed up. If only the camera could capture the edible glitter on top.

Homeade Vanilla Sandwich Cookies

2010-08-05T21:26:00.000-07:00

This week, after receiving inspiration from Natasha's Mulberry & Mott, I wanted to experiment with making Vanilla Sandwich cookies. So far I have tried two different versions, and have come really close to what I am trying to achieve, but still may try again. The first attempt, was not quite a cooking disaster, but they definately did not turn out as I wanted them to. The dough was hard to make, and even harder to roll, and it was such a pain taking the dough in and out of the freezer. The cookie, was more like a pie crust, flaky, and bubbly. I filled these with vanilla buttercream frosting for the filling. Now, don't get me wrong, they were still good to the taste, but just not what I was looking for.

The next attempt turned out alot better. The cookie is a soft shortbread cookie, and I made orange buttercream icing for the filling. The cookie was easy to roll out, soft after baked, and I think looks physically more appealing. I think next time I may decorate one side with sprinkles or colored sugar before baking, to give them a more polished look. I also made these cookies bigger, for a more bakery style look.

Natasha's Mulberry & Mott

2010-07-31T20:18:00.000-07:00

Today, we stumbled upon the cutest little French bakery in Mission Farms, in Leawood, KS. This small upscale shopping center is home to cute boutiques, trendy restaurants, and several specialty shops. This French-inspired bakery fits right in, offering ice cream, pastries, and espresso, with seating to sit among the rose bushes and enjoy the atmosphere. The reason we stopped in here, was because recently in the Kansas City newspaper, the newest trend in baking shops, the Macaron was featured, and we were intrigued over the buzz. These look like colorful little soft oreos, and as you can see come in all sorts of colors and flavors. Unfortunately, because of the article, they sold out of these by early morning, and we were only able to see the samples. They even had a sign stating because of the demand, there was a limit of 4 per person. Obviously, they cannot keep these under the display case for very long. They also are supplying them to the local Dean & Deluca in Overland Park, KS, and we even stopped by, but they were sold out there as well! We did try homeade Vanilla Oreos and they were very delicious! As everyone knows, my favorite is anything vanilla, so I was sold! I love this bakery, because it is unlike anything I have ever seen. It has its own French charm, and its own unique menu of items I have never seen anywhere else in Kansas City. I can't wait to go back early morning next week for a Macaron!

Orange-Vanilla Cupcakes

2010-07-21T19:49:00.000-07:00

My sister and I have come up with the next best thing.....Orange-Vanilla Cupcakes. These soft white cakes, have just a hint of orange flavoring that makes a great summer cupcake. The taste is refreshing and light, and makes you just want another one. The buttercream frosting is also flavored with a bit of orange flavoring. To get the swirled white and orange colors, I colored half of the icing orange, and kept the other half white. I put each color on opposite sides of the piping bag, and when piping on to the cupcakes, it comes out swirled.

Inspiration from the past...reliving old fashioned recipes

2010-07-15T20:22:00.000-07:00

I was at my parents house this weekend, and we are doing what we usually do on occasion. Me, my sister, and mom are digging through my moms recipes, as well as my grandmothers. All of us have always had a niche for cooking, so it was always fun to go through the old recipes to see what we could find. Halfway through we just have a mess of papers all over the kitchen table. My mom then brings out this book which was my great grandmothers. This tattered book, worn from age, and plenty of use was always so much fun to look through. It had anything from Depression Cake and Spice Cookies, to Stick Candy and homeade Salt Water Taffy. It was just like looking through a history book, and imagining what life was like. The book is dated 1931 from Severence, KS in an old roster book. The only mystery with this, is that most of the recipes, only listed the ingredients. There are no instructions, oven temperatures or even guidelines to know what to do or even where to start. That is also what gives this book character. I could just imagine the girls in the kitchen whipping up these recipes, and just knowing exactly what to do. Now it is only a matter of time, and experimenting in the kitchen to reveal these classic old fashioned recipes. I hope to post soon a recipe from this book, on my new adventure of reliving history, and revealing recipes from the past.

Oreo and Reese's Chocolate Cupcakes

2010-07-06T18:50:00.000-07:00

These cupcakes were just amazingly good! I don't know what else to say about them. You will for sure get your chocolate fix with these! If these do not look amazing to you, then something is wrong with you. I am truly not a chocolate fan. I will do chocolate in moderation. But I can tell you that even I loved these cupcakes. And they may not look simple, but really they are. The secret to keeping simplicity, is using the chocolate cake recipe below. Yes, it is okay, to start with a boxed mix! What is even better, is I bought mine when they were only .88 cents! Believe me, this cake recipe is WAY better than any homeade cake, and definately much simpler.

I made these for two people that had the same birthday! So to please both of them, I made one cake, with two variations of the icing, to make twice the fun, and the chance to experiment with two recipes at once. I use the large cupcake liners, in a regular cupcake tin. This gives you a larger bakery size cupcake.

For these Oreo cupcakes, I made vanilla buttercream icing and stirred in crushed Oreos, and pipe onto cooled cupcakes. Top with more crushed oreos for decoration.

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For these Reese's cupcakes, I made vanilla buttercream icing, and mixed in some peanut butter right into the icing. Pipe onto cooled chocolate cupcakes, and top with chopped peanut butter cups for decoration.