Sugarcoated

i heart cuppycakes.

2013-02-20T21:13:00.003-05:00

wanted to share some more fun things i have been doing over the last few months! it's amazing how quickly time flies by!

WWE Wrestling Theme Cupcakes!

fondant stars, wrestling belts and suits, and a mini wrestling ring! happy birthday james!

"diamond" bridal shower theme!

vanilla and lemon cupcakes with diamond heart topper accents. the royal sugar cookies were in the shape of engagement rings, wedding dresses and white hearts. congrats Jaimie!

mini carrot cake cupcakes!

i just love mini desserts, especially when it involved cream cheese frosting! happy birthday Ryan!

a hippie 60's birthday party theme.

fondant peace signs and "60" toppers. sugar mold flowers. groovy!

that's all for now! my next post will be totally random and not related to baking AT ALL. i have some super awesome photos to share about my newest obsession, DIY home design. you've been WARNED.

love.love.love & happy baking!

A Cupcake Frenzy

2012-12-18T14:43:00.003-05:00

before twenty. twelve. comes to a close, i wanted to pull together a collection of the most recent stuff i've been doing. i'm sorry to say my posts have fallen to the wayside at times. i started this blog over a year ago as a place to journal all of my baking adventures. in the course of that year i have not only found a sincere passion for baking, but an overwhelming amount of support that has motivated me beyond belief.

the last few months have been busy baking for bridal & baby showers, birthday parties and weddings. the people who have allowed me to be a part of these special moments, even in a small way has made this that much more worthwhile. i bake to make people happy. and in the end, i have found happiness myself.

thank you all for the continued support you have given me to fulfill my dreams. it means more than you know.

a thomas the train themed birthday party!

a tiffany blue bridal shower!

pittsburgh sports team groom's cakes!

a halloween themed birthday party!

a halloween work party treat!

a "team safari" baby shower!

a sunflower country wedding theme!

festive christmas cookie cups!

i truly cannot wait to see what 2013 brings.

love.love.love & happy baking!

Forget Me Not Cupcakes

2012-10-28T13:25:00.000-04:00

Alpha Phi Fraternity celebrated 140 years of sisterhood last week. That's a pretty awesome thing. My college experience wouldn't have been the same without the women in my chapter.

I am sure you can identify with the close relationships you form within your college years even if you aren't greek. Some of the best women I know joined Alpha Phi. They were present at my wedding, congratulating me when I purchased my first home, and supporting me in all my baking aspirations.

Without becoming too much of a sap, I wanted to thank the organization that has given so much to me. In honor of 140 years of awesomeness, I made these Forget Me Not cupcakes. These flowers are one of the symbols of my fraternity and have such a special meaning behind them. We won't ever forget our sisters, near or far.

Happy Founder's Day Alpha Phi. Here's to 140 more years!
love.love.love & happy baking!

Red Velvet White Chocolate Chip Cookies

2012-10-23T18:29:00.000-04:00

holy blog post batman. i've done it again. neglected to post in a timely fashion. i promise one day i will get the hang of juggling everything on my to do list.

please accept these red velvet white chocolate chip cookies as my apology.

i made these a few months back for a lovely young lady named kelli. she, like my mother, loves some red velvet. and i have to say, i'm pretty obsessed with this cookie now too. they're super easy, super chewy and will be super gone in 15 minutes. i have proven this theory already.

Red Velvet White Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon red food coloring
1/2 cup white chocolate chips (i may or may not have added more than this. meaning, i did!)

The How To:

Preheat oven to 375.

Cream butter and sugars together until fluffy in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add egg and vanilla and combine until smooth.
Beat in red food coloring.
Stir in cocoa, flour, baking soda and salt until just combined, scraping down the sides when needed. Fold in chocolate chips.
Using an ice cream scoop, scoop out 1-2 tablespoons of dough and set on baking sheet.
Bake for 10-12 minutes.

These would probably be good as cookie sandwiches. Slap something icing between them? The wheels are turning....

love.love.love & happy baking!

Pupcakes! A Cupcake for Your Canine.

2012-09-29T12:10:00.001-04:00

hugo had a birthday.

and dogs need cupcakes too.

i can't tell you how many times i have wanted to make a pupcake, something delicious and safe for a canine to enjoy.

but it's not always an easy task. you really have to be mindful of what you're putting in the batter. get rid of that all-purpose flour, throw chocolate out the door, and start thinking organic and healthy.

should i be embarrassed that i tried these forgetting they might not taste so good to me?

they weren't so bad, but one bite was enough. i will leave these to the pups.

the cake was made with some whole wheat flour, peanut butter, shredded carrots and honey. I topped with a whole wheat cream cheese frosting and an adorable little milkbone treat.

no worries, i didn't leave the humans out! i made some delicious chocolate/vanilla cupcakes similar to the dog bone cupcakes i did a few weeks back.

and then some lovely red velvet cupcakes too. these were just too pretty to me!

i hope they made hugo and the humans happy!

have any awesome puppy baked goods you've made lately? i'd love to hear about them.

love.love.love & happy baking!

Cake Batter Blondies

2012-09-18T20:43:00.000-04:00

how is summer already over?! i am completely disappointed in the amount of times i made it to the beach considering i live 10 blocks from it.

wait a minutteee, i take that back! i don't live 10 blocks from it any longer, because we bought a HOUSE! yes, my hubs and I took the plunge and signed on the dotted line about 3 weeks ago. it's been amazing! what hasn't been amazing is my lack of blogging. but i have an excuse right?

had a few people asking about this recipe for awhile, so i'm hitting you all with it now. i am obsessed with cake batter anything. heck, i will even risk the raw egg to stick my finger in a bowl for that sweet goodness. if you make these, you will probably make them again two nights later. i seriously could not stop eating these suckers. i wish you the best, i can't control what happens to your waistline.

Cake Batter Blondies

1 box yellow cake mix
1/4 cup canola oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup sprinkles (i used rainbow! weeeee!)
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

The How To:

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Spray 11×7 baking pan with nonstick spray.
Combine first four ingredients in a large bowl.
Add the milk slowly. You want to cake batter to be as dense & thick as possible.
Mix in the sprinkles and white chocolate chips.
Pour into prepared baking pan, sprinkle a few more sprinkles on top, and bake for 25-30 minutes until edges are just turning brown.
Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes so the center sets, before cutting into squares.

The blondies will look they aren't totally done. Kind of gooey in the center, you want them this way! Bring on the ooey gooeyness! :)

Who else likes cake batter as much as I do? Speak to me people. I'm awful lonely.

love.love.love & happy baking!

Dog Bone Cupcakes

2012-09-02T21:34:00.000-04:00

Everyone knows the saying, "dogs are people too". And it's true. They become a full fledged member of your family the day they pee on your carpet. So I didn't find it odd in the least when one of my girlfriends asked me to make some cupcakes for her pup's 7th birthday. (hey! he's 21 in dog years!)

Mind you, these cupcakes were for the humans, not the dog, but the idea of throwing a birthday party to celebrate your dog's life is a pretty amazing concept to me. When I have a canine of my own, you can bet your booty we will throwdown for him too!

Happy Birthday Hearty America! These patriotic doggie bone cupcakes were for you!

Hearty is patriotic pup so I tinted the icing red and blue and made little white bones out of sugar sheets. I used a stencil to trace the dog bone shape.

super cute liners, right? i am a huge fan of purchasing foil liners instead of paper. the color doesn't fade after you bake them. it's fabulous.

and here's the birthday boy! he doesn't look a day over 16! :)

love.love.love & happy baking!

Funfetti Cupcakes for Two!

2012-08-25T18:42:00.000-04:00

Back in the day when I still used boxed cake mix to impress my friends with my baking skills, funfetti would have to be one of my top flavors of choice.

Oh how those days are gone. And sometimes I miss them. Those little colorful balls in the batter, the creamy colorful beads in the icing.

So let's bring them back. In a recipe for two. You can brighten anyone's day when they see these on your counter...

Funfetti Cupcakes for Two

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon milk
1 egg white
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon sprinkles (i used non pareils for the batter)

The How To:

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Line a cupcake pan with two liners (in the middle for even baking).
In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, milk, egg white, vanilla extract, and sugar until thoroughly combined.
Add in the flour and baking powder and whisk gently until the dry ingredients are incorporated. Add in the sprinkles and using a rubber spatula, gently fold them in. Don’t over stir. If you stir too much the dye from the sprinkles will bleed and you’ll have tie dye cupcakes instead of funfetti.
Pour batter into your prepared cupcake pan.
Bake for 10-13 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Let them cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

Vanilla Frosting

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium bowl and an electric mixer, beat the butter, powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract until a frosting forms. If you like a thinner frosting, add a bit more milk until you reach your desired consistency. Frost your cooled cupcakes, and toss on some more sprinkles!

yay for funfetti cupcakes!

love.love.love & happy baking!

XL Sugar Cookie Cake

2012-08-22T19:36:00.000-04:00

Anyone remember those giant cookie cakes they sold at the bakery kiosks in the mall? I used to beg my dad to get me one anytime we were there. He always said no. What 9 year old needs an entire cake to themselves? It never stopped me from asking though.

Well I'm not nine years old anymore. I'm nine PLUS twenty. So I can have a frickin' cookie cake anytime feel like it. So I made one. And it was delicious. Soft, chewy and filled with yummy little rainbow sprinkles. And then I made another. For a sweet little girl named Kira.

Oh, and did I mention the cute little fondant monkey face? Kira just loves monkeys so I felt it only appropriate.

XL Sugar Cookie Cake

2 sticks butter, at room temp

2 1/4 cup sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoon almond extract
4 1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup rainbow sprinkles

The How To:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In your mixing bowl first cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs one at a time while beating on low.

Next add the almond extract and beat for 1 minute.

Place all dry ingredients into the mixer mixing well until blended. Mix in rainbow sprinkles into the dough. Spread mixture into a lightly greased round cookie/pizza pan (yes. press it and spread it with your hands).

Bake for 18-22 minutes or until center is cooked through and edges are golden brown. Let cool completely before frosting.

I tinted some vanilla buttercream pink and went to town on this cookie cake. Please excuse my warped and slanted handwriting, it was my first attempt at it. I need clearly need practice.

Next time I may just try a chocolate chip cookie cake.

Can you think of any others?

love.love.love & happy baking!

Bride and Groom Cupcakes

2012-08-19T19:04:00.000-04:00

In a little over a month, one of my very best friends will be tying the knot. I'm probably almost as excited as she is. I have been stocking up on Kleenex since the day she got engaged.

Her lovely bridal party and myself (as well as her kick ass mom) threw a shower for her last weekend. We all know I immediately signed up to bake for the occasion. (About 4 months before we even set the date.)

I wanted to do something besides what I would typically make so I did some "bride" and "groom" inspired cupcakes. I had alot of help from the ladies making these and we all pretty much sat around and chuckled after we were done because they were so stinkin' adorbs.

Take a peek, they could get a giggle out of you too! :)

** All photos courtesy of Shawna Bielat Photograpy. Check her out and book her! **

The groom cupcakes were carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. The bow ties were made out of black sugar sheets. The top hats were made of jumbo marshmallows dipped in black candy melts with a sugar sheet base.

The bride cupcakes were vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting and a raspberry filling. The veils were made with white chocolate melts and some tulle fabric.

I also made some oreo cake pops tossed in lime greeen to go with the shower color scheme.

And let's not forget the DIY favor bags we made! A super simple craft that turned out so cute.

We used paper lunch bags, made a cute template with Adobe and attached with hole punches and some ribbon. The bags were filled with all of Stacy's favorite candies.

I couldn't end this post without showing you a lovely photo of the bride to be.

And how perfect is it that she's holding a cupcake carrier? Jealous.

It was a pretty wonderful day! Congrats Stace! You're going to be a beautiful bride.

love.love.love.

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

2012-08-15T19:25:00.000-04:00

i believe there are two types of carrot cake people.

the "i like to stuff alot of stuff in my carrot cake" people and the "less is more" carrot cake people. i would fall into category b.

i'm not such a fan of raisins, walnuts, pineapple or coconut stuffed into my carrot cake. i like simple. nothing but moist carrots and a generous helping of cinnamon.

this recipe is tried and true. moist and delicious. and for all of you who like to stuff your cakes with that extra stuff, you could surely add it to this batter. you just won't catch me eating it :)

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups finely grated carrots (about 3 carrots)
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

The How To:

Preheat oven to 350. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper or foil liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In a large bowl, whisk together the grated carrots, sugar, oil, eggs, buttermilk and vanilla to combine. Gently fold the flour mixture into the carrot mixture until completely combined.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared muffin cups, filling each about 2/3 full. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean--20 to 25 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Transfer the cupcakes to a wire cooling rack and cool completely.

Addicting Cream Cheese Frosting

12 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 - 2 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar

Beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until light and fluffy. Gradually add in the powdered sugar and beat until well blended. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes. Or eat it from the bowl.

So how about you? What kind of carrot cake do you like? Am I cray cray for skipping out on all the other possibilities?

love.love.love & happy baking!

Sunflower Cupcakes

2012-07-30T18:39:00.000-04:00

pretttyyy cute, right?

i sure think so!

these sunflower cupcakes were made for a bridal shower this past weekend. jaimie, the host of the shower, wanted to go with a western theme for her little sister randi's special day. i literally died when i saw the cute cowboy boots and sunflowers she was decking out the room with. we wanted the cupcakes to match that country chic theme she was going for.

we chose two cupcake flavors, vanilla and carrot cake (the bride's fave) and i topped each cupcake with a buttercream sunflower made from tinted frosting. i have to say i was sqealing with delight when i saw these come together. almost too cute to eat!

another successful baking endeavor! i truly hope randi had an amazing bridal shower! congrats!

have a special event coming up and want a snazzy cupcake for it? you know where to find me!

love.love.love. & happy baking!

Cheeseburger Cupcakes & The Bachelorette

2012-07-23T19:12:00.000-04:00

I have a confession.

I am completely and utterly obsessed with The Bachelorette. It's my guilty pleasure. You don't even have to ask what I was doing yesterday evening. I was glued to the television set for three solid hours making googly eyes at Jef & Emily wishing I could be their next door neighbor or maybe a distant third cousin.

I know I am not the only who gets swallowed alive by this show, right? I wanted to slick my hands through Jef's wicked poof and steal his skateboard (it's probably still in the bushes!) And now, it's over. I have nothing to look forward to after a Monday workday and immediately fall into a state of depression. Okay, it's not that serious but still. I will miss you Jef and Emily and the melodramatic sap fest that I love to hate.

There's no perfect segway into my cheeseburger "cupcakes" now, unless you compare my love for The Bachelorette to the love I have for this recipe. We'll go with that...

Another simple dinner recipe you can construct in no time and there's always plenty for leftovers the next day. That's my kind of meal. My hubs (who will never admit he likes watching The Bach, but I'm telling you, he does!) scarfed these down in minutes. Luckily I made extra so I could have some.

Cheeseburger "Cupcakes"
(recipe adapted from Emily Bites)

¼ c onion, finely chopped
1 lb 95% lean ground turkey meat
2 tablespoons McCormick Hamburger Seasoning
8oz mushrooms, chopped
8 Laughing Cow Queso Fresco & Chipotle wedges, chopped
6 Tablespoon ketchup
2 Tablespoon mustard
1 tsp garlic powder
1 package of wonton wrappers (typically found in the produce section)
1 c tomatoes, chopped
8 oz (1 cup) reduced fat 2% shredded cheddar cheese

The How To:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 375. Lightly mist 16 cups in a muffin tin with cooking spray and set aside.
2. Mist a large skillet with cooking spray and bring to medium heat. Add chopped onions and sauté until cooked. Add ground beef and Hamburger seasoning and cook until meat is browned. Add mushrooms and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for a few minutes until mushrooms are browned as well.
3. In a microwavable bowl, combine meat/mushroom mixture, cheese wedges, ketchup and mustard and stir. Microwave for one minute on high. Stir to combine until meat mixture is fully coated.
4. Push a wonton wrapper into the bottom of each of the eight sprayed cups in the muffin tin. Using about half of the meat mixture, spoon evenly into the wonton wrappers. Follow by sprinkling some of the chopped tomatoes into each cup (using about half the total tomatoes). Sprinkle about half the cheddar cheese evenly over the top of each cup. Press another wonton wrapper on top and repeat the layering steps with the remaining ingredients.
5. Bake for 18-20 minutes until golden brown. Let cool 5 minutes before removing from muffin tin.

Seems like alot of steps, but it's really worth it. These would make a great game day snack or even a "Bachelorette" viewing bite.

Anyone else jump on the Bach Nation bandwagon? What did you think of last night's finale? Are you Team Jef? Spppeakkk.

Sweetheart Cupcakes

2012-07-18T19:01:00.000-04:00

These are probably the sweetest looking cupcakes I have made to date. Shawn, an old friend from high school reached out to me a few weeks ago and asked me to make a special cupcake for his upcoming wedding to his lovely fiance Robin. Needless to say I was beyond flattered and happy to oblige!

Weddings are all about love. I wanted them to feeeelll the love on this cupcake. I think they did. The couple was fond of red velvet and cream cheese, so I went with those flavors, although you could go with any flavor of your choosing. I really loved how the red batter with the heart cutouts just seemed to go perfectly with one another. Sooo cute.

I am officially calling this red velvet recipe the BEST one that has come out of my oven. I especially loved how rich and moist the cake turned out. I'd tell you the recipe, but then I'd have to kill you. Hah. No really.

All you really need to accomplish this look is a sturdy cupcake and heart shaped cookie cutter (small enough to fit inside the crown of the cupcake. Simply slice the top part of the cake off (right where the cake meets the liner) and press the heart shaped cutter into the top. Push it out, and voila! Ice the cake with any frosting you love (but do it with the tops still off!) and then place the heart shaped tops back on! Dust with some powdered sugar and BOOM! The perfect cupcake for your sweetheart.

Let's not forget the delicious Oreo cake pops I made as well. Shawn saw them in an earlier post and was just dying to get some for their reception dinner.

I really hope this lovely couple loved them as much I did making them. Congrats to Shawn and Robin!

love.love.love.

Tie Dye Vanilla Fudge

2012-07-16T16:32:00.000-04:00

it seems i can't find a minute lately to blog. my to do lists have been longer than usual lately and typing up a post seems to end up last on that list. sorry people.

today was an early day at the office, so i decided to make this post a priority. wanted to share a fun fudge recipe. while the flavor is just your classic vanilla, the color is what makes these fab. you could whip these up in any color to fit the holiday you're celebrating. i made this batch for the 4th of july (yeah, the color is a little more pink than red, oops!) but you could switch it up and do black/orange for halloween, green/gold for patty's day.... you get the idea.

without any further ado... tie dye vanilla fudge!

2 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup butter

5 oz evaporated milk

2 cups marshmallow creme

8 oz white chocolate chips

red and blue food coloring (or colors for the holiday that you're celebrating!)

The How To:

(For thinner fudge, use an 8x8-inch baking dish. For a thicker fudge, use an 8x5-inch baking dish.)

Line a baking dish with foil. Spray the foil with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

In a large pot, combine the sugar, butter and evaporated milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently. When it comes to a boil, stir constantly for 5 minutes. Add in the marshmallow creme and the white chocolate chips. Stir until smooth.

Divide the mixture into 3 bowls. Tint one red, one blue, and keep the third white. Pour the red fudge into the prepared baking dish, followed by the white fudge, then the blue fudge. Use a knife to drag through the mixture, combining to form the marbled effect. Let cool completely before cutting.

That's all for now. Promise not to disappear again!

Have any fancy fudge recipes I should know about? Leave me some comment love. Pleasse? Me thanks you.

love.love.love & happy baking!

Graduation Goodies

2012-07-02T18:27:00.000-04:00

It's been a busy summer. Between bridal showers, weddings, buying a house, and traveling, I just looked over at my calendar and can't believe it's already July.

Being so busy hasn't left much time for baking or new recipes, but I didn't want to leave you hanging. I thought I would share some of the stuff I made for two recent graduation parties.

A huge congratulations to Jason, Austin and Jacob!

These "grad cap" cupcakes were made for Landstown High School. I used a Reese' mini PB cup and attached it to a chocolate covered graham cracker. I used M&Ms and airheads for the tassles. The cake is chocolate with a vanilla buttercream.

I got a copy of the HS logo and printed them out and attached to small cupcake tags made by yours truly. The mini "diplomas" were rolled out of plain printer paper and tied up with some silver ribbon. If you wanted to do a edible version, you could use white sugar sheets or rolled fondant. The cake is chocolate with a chocolate marshmallow buttercream.

Not too shabby, eh?

These were the cupcakes I did for a joint grad party for two Great Bridge HS grads. Their colors were green and gold. This is a chocolate cake with a PB frosting. The stars are handmade out of colored fondant.

For this party I also made some Oreo Cake pops. The ball is made out of an oreo and creamcheese cake base, dipped in white chocolate and drizzled in colored chocolate to match the HS colors.

I am pleased to announce my grads were very happy with the finished product! So was I!

Anyone have some cool graduation goodies they made for a recent grad in their life? I need ideas for next "season"!

love.love.love & happy baking!

Creme Brulee Cheesecake Bars

2012-06-19T18:51:00.001-04:00

I've been pretty lazy. Lazy on posts and lazy at life in general. I baked this entire weekend and ended up sleeping in a cupcake battered tee shirt just because I didn't feel like changing. Yep, I looked like a critter and I owned it. I'm sure you've all been there. Where nothing in the world will stand in the way of you and your bed, not even a change of clothes.

I've been meaning to share this doozie with you for a few weeks now. Creme Brulee Cheesecake Bars. If I could get stuck with one dessert for the rest of my life, it'd probably be creme brulee. Mix up a little cheesecake with this beloved custard and you'll really make dreams come true. The recipe makes over two dozen bars and the combo of the cream cheese and the sweet crunchy toffee is just delightfully good. And they're low fat! {not really...but the best things aren't!}

(recipe from Betty Crocker)

1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix

1 box (4-serving size) French vanilla instant pudding and pie filling mix

2 tablespoons packed brown sugar

1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted

2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

2 eggs plus 3 egg yolks

2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup sugar

2/3 cup toffee bits, finely crushed

The How To:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray bottom and sides of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray. In large bowl, stir cookie mix, pudding mix, brown sugar, melted butter, 1 teaspoon of the vanilla and 1 whole egg until soft dough forms. Press dough in bottom and 1/2 inch up sides of pan.

2. In small bowl, beat cream cheese, sour cream and sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add remaining whole egg, 3 egg yolks and remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla; beat until smooth. Spread over crust in pan.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until set in center. Immediately sprinkle top with crushed toffee bits. Cool 30 minutes. Refrigerate about 3 hours or until chilled. For bars, cut into 9 rows by 4 rows. Store covered in refrigerator.

Voila! Have any favorite bars you like to make? I'd love to hear about them!

love.love.love & happy baking!

Bridal Shower Bakes!

2012-06-07T20:37:00.002-04:00

It's wedding seasssoonnnn! :)

I had the pleasure of helping out with my dear friend Tracy's bridal shower this past weekend. When she exchanges vows with her future groom in July, I will have the honor of standing at the altar beside her. It isn't very often you're able to share in special moments like that.

To add to the excitement, I was responsible for creating the shower cupcakes. You all know how stoked I was about this. After tossing around idea after idea, I decided to go with two different flavors/designs. And I'd have to say they turned out great!

Take a peek, will ya? :)

The first ones were my Strawberry Champagne Cupcakes I made earlier in the year. I tinted the icing pink, added some sugar pearls and wrapped with some white lace wrappers. I custom made the cupcake flags by using some lace doily paper and some wedding sticker embellishments I found at Michael's. How cute riiighht?!

The second cupcake I did was a chocolate cupcake topped with vanilla buttercream. I added some "I Do" cupcake flags and glued some royal blue rhinestones to them. (Tracy's wedding color!) I dusted with some black sanding sugar to match the black damask cupcake liner. looooveee these.

All the ladies at the shower gave me "oooh's" and "aaah's" and I have to tell you I was tickled pink. More importantly, the bride loved them! I seriously cannot wait to bake for my next event!

Even though the cupcakes were what I was most pleased with, I wanted to share with you the other "task" I was given. I was recruited to hand paint the wine glasses for the mothers and the bridal party. Let's be real people. I can't draw for crap. If the world depended on my artistic ability, we'd be completely screwed. I had no idea where to start. But, alas! I found this awesome tutorial that gave me some inspiration and I ran with it.

Not too shabby for my first go round, right? :)

I used one of Tracy's wedding colors, royal blue to paint the bases and added the wedding date to the bottom of the glasses.

The bride had her own special glass!

the bride to be digging into my baked goodies!

trace and her bow bouquet. what a trooper!

All in all, I'd say it was a successful day! I hope the bride loved it as much as I loved doing it!

The bridal party: Myself (looking fierce in yellow!), Aireka (I want to steal your dress.), Tracy (the beautiful bride to be!), Amanda (her sister and maid or honor), and Andrea (her future sister in law).

What do you guys think? Did I do alright for my first cupcake bridal shower?

love.love.love & happy baking!

French Dip "Cupcakes"

2012-06-03T14:18:00.001-04:00

So far my Sunday has consisted of coffee in bed and a Breaking Bad marathon.

What is Breaking Bad you say? Where do I even begin?!! Do you have a couple hours? I would need to sit you down and explain how this completely whacked out television show has me so engulfed that I may need rehab. For real people, do yourself a fave and jump on the Breaking Bad bandwagon. I can't even tell you what you're missing. There's just no time! We need to move on...

Dinner cupcakes are starting to become the regular on our kitchen table. I spawned an obsession when I made these spag and meatball ones and then it became really ridiculous when I made those Buff Chicken ones. Then I came across some French Dip ones. Roast beef is probably my favorite deli meat. So I was game to try these out. And I have to say they're probably my favorite ones to date. These are the simplest things to whip up when you're short on time and they still seem to impress my hubs every time I make them. (I've done them three times already!)

The gooey Swiss cheese, the robust roast beef, and the melted mozzarella on top of those wonton beauties make them as flawless as a unicorn's tear. Try them... You'll like them...

French Dip Cupcakes
(recipe adapted from Emily Bites)

24 oz deli roast beef, thinly sliced and chopped into pieces (I used my store brand’s 96% fat free kind)
8 Laughing Cow Light Swiss wedges, chopped
2/3 c Au Jus gravy (I used Heinz)
32 wonton wrappers (typically found in the produce section)
8oz (2 cups) shredded mozzarella cheese

The How To:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 375. Lightly mist 12 cups in a muffin tin with cooking spray and set aside.

2. In a microwavable bowl, combine the roast beef, cheese wedges and Au Jus sauce. Microwave for 2 minutes on high. Stir to combine until cheese wedges are melted and roast beef mixture is fully coated with cheese and Au Jus sauce.
3. Push a wonton wrapper into the bottom of each of the twelves sprayed cups in the muffin tin. Spoon about half of the roast beef mixture evenly amongst the wonton wrappers. Sprinkle about half the mozzarella cheese evenly over the top of each cup. Press another wonton wrapper on top and repeat the layering steps with the remaining ingredients.

4. Bake for 18-20 minutes until golden brown. Let cool 5 minutes before removing from muffin tin. Makes 12 cupcakes. (I suggested boxing half of these up for lunch tomorrow. They are super delish re-heated.)

Voila! Dinner in 20 and you really didn't have to do all that much!

Back to this Breaking Bad thing though, anyone else out there watching it? What do you think of it so far? I'm itching to get my hands on Season 4. Speakkk to me!

love.love.love & happy baking!

Tie Dye Cupcakes

2012-05-28T17:44:00.001-04:00

I am extremely sunburned as I type this. My bra straps feel like they are going to melt through my shoulders. My face feels like leather. Have I painted an attractive enough picture for you yet? I'm not sure there's anything more uncomfortable than being this red-faced. Next time, I'll use more sunscreen.

I'm hoping your Memorial Day weekend was a little less painful than mine. {i kid, i had a ball this weekend!}

One of my favorite "hippie" pals had a birthday on Sunday and I wanted the cupcake to reflect his free and fun spirit. I decided to play with my batter and give it a tie dye look. Everyone needs a little color in their life. I swear, if my friend Michael was a cupcake, he may have looked just like this.

rainbow!! weeee!!!

I went with a basic vanilla cupcake and topped it with a vanilla buttercream, although you could really use any flavor you like. The process is pretty simple, just a tad time consuming, but the end result is pretty rad.

Preettttyyyy grooooovy if you ask me!

The How To:

1. Start by whipping up your favorite vanilla cupcake batter. I used this one. If you're short on time, you can always use a boxed cake mix, although I guarantee you they will taste better from scratch!

2. Have 1 packet of assorted food colorings or gels on hand. I used purple, green, red, blue and yellow for my batter colors.

3. Once your batter is mixed up, separate the batters into bowls so you can mix each color you'd like to use. For mine, I ended up with 5 bowls/colors.

4. Tint each bowl with a few drops of food coloring or gel. I used anywhere from 5 to 8 drops of food coloring to get my batter the right shade. Don't over mix your batter in this step, because you’ll develop the gluten in the flour and be left with a very tough, bread-like cupcake.Try and mix with minimal stirs.

5. Layer spoonfuls of each colored batter into the cupcake liners until they are 3/4 full. When all the liners are filled, use a toothpick to swirl the batter a few times.

5. Bake your cupcakes according to the recipe you're using.

6. Cool cupcakes completely before frosting.

I used this vanilla buttercream recipe and tinted my frosting orange with food gel. I iced the cupcakes and then garnished with rainbow sprinkles and peace signs.

The whole gang really loved the way they turned out. I'm sure these would dazzle at any kid's birthday party as well.

Have any fun, bright recipes I should know about? Hit me!

love.love.love & happy baking!

Buffalo Chicken "Cupcakes"

2012-05-20T17:42:00.000-04:00

cupcakes dinners seem to be a regular thing in our house lately. i just can't resist. they're so stinkin' cute and the options for ingredients are endless. if you're really eager to try some yourself, i highly recommend checking out Emily Bites for some genius recipes! this chick has the most creative dinners mashed into cupcake form. just awesome. i am officially obsessed.

anyone who knows me is fully aware of how much i adore spicy things. if we're being completely honest, i actually tote around a bottle of Texas Pete in my lunch bag when i head to work. guys, you never know when you may need to toss some of that heavenly sauce on top of something. i load it on chips... on eggs... on spaghetti... the list goes on and on.

this spicy buffalo chicken "cupcake" is superb. it's gooey with layers of cheese. it's got that zing from the buffalo sauce. plus the crispiness from the wonton wrappers. if you haven't gotten familiar with a wonton wrapper, i strongly suggest keeping a package in your fridge at ALL times. you won't be sorry.

these would be great at your next football party, cookout, book club meeting.. you name it. just be careful and don't go too hot with the buffalo sauce. i had a moron moment and bought the "red hot" buffalo sauce and had my husband in tears after he ate the first one of these. oops.

(recipe adapted from Emily Bites)

2 cups cooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, chopped up into small pieces (to make it even easier, you could buy a rotisserie chicken!)
4 Laughing Cow Blue Cheese wedges, chopped into small bits
3 T Buffalo wing sauce (I use Frank's Red Hot Buffalo sauce in "Classic Buffalo")
16 wonton wrappers (typically found in the produce section)
1/2 shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 pepper jack cheese

The How To:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 375. Lightly mist 8 cups in a muffin tin with cooking spray and set aside.

2. In a microwavable bowl, combine the chicken, cheese wedges and wing sauce. Microwave for 1 1/2 minutes on high. Stir to combine until chicken mixture is fully coated with cheese and wing sauce.

3. Push a wonton wrapper into the bottom of each of the eight sprayed cups in the muffin tin. Using about half of the chicken mixture, spoon evenly into the wonton wrappers. Sprinkle about half the cheddar and jack cheese evenly over the top of each cup. Press another wonton wrapper on top and repeat the layering steps with the remaining ingredients.

4. Bake for 18-20 minutes until golden brown. Let cool 5 minutes before removing from muffin tin

There's a few more dinner cupcakes on the horizon. One for the next post and who knows when else. Maybe one I can add Texas Pete to?!?

Anybody have some awesome Buffalo Chicken recipes I should try? Love to hear from ya!

love.love.love & happy baking!

Chocolate Almond Cupcakes For Two

2012-05-14T18:45:00.000-04:00

Whenever I want to try and make a new flavored batter, I always like to try the "two cupcake" route before I go all out and do a full recipe. I figure if the batter ends up tasting like chalk, then I only ended up wasting two cupcakes for it. Sometimes it's hit or miss. This one was a hit.

Mother's Day was this past weekend and I wanted to make something special for my giver of life. My mother is the reason I turned out to be such a functional human being (although that's debatable at times). She is also one of those gems that has an extreme addiction for chocolate. When I asked her what she'd like me to make for her, that was the first word to come out of her mouth. She'll kill me for telling you this, but she's a true champion of chocolate. She can demolish a family size bag of Raisinets in ONE sitting.

Sorry Mom.

But hey, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

In honor of my fabulous mother, I present to you chocolate almond cupcakes for two. I ended up making more for her later on, but if you're short on time, these are the perfect treat and don't take much of your day. It's a double chocolate cake with a chocolate almond buttercream. My hubs thought they had sort of a cherry taste to them. It's amazing how much almond, especially when it's extracted, can remind you of a cherry. I promise that you can't go wrong with these. Get to it!

3 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda (just eyeball half of a quarter-teaspoon and it will be fine)
a pinch of salt

2 tablespoons cold water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/16 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons semi sweet chocolate morsels (i used mini!)

The How To:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Whisk all the dry ingredients together in a small bowl. In a second small bowl or spouted measuring cup, combine the wet ingredients and the chocolate morsels. Add the dry to the wet and stir til combined, whisking well. Divide batter between two cupcake liners. Bake for 18 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Allow to cool before frosting.

Chocolate Almond Buttercream

1 1/3 cups powdered sugar

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 tablespoon milk

1/2 tablespoon of Duncan Hines "Chocolate Almond" cupcake flavoring (you can find this in the boxed cake mix section of your grocery store. it's the best evverrr.)

Beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add milk and frosting flavoring and mix until smooth. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes.

Did any of you guys make some delicious for the amazing mother in your life?

love.love.love & happy baking!

Spaghetti and Meatball "Cupcakes"

2012-05-08T19:08:00.000-04:00

Savory stuff doesn't make it here too often. But there's just something about dinner in cupcake form that gets me all warm and fuzzy inside. This post was no exception. I wanted to hug these "cupcakes".

But that would have been messy.

Spaghetti and meatballs is a classic. It's comfort food. And what could be better than being able to pick up your dinner by HAND and eating it?!? Come on, people. There is nothing better than that.

I will just cut right to the chase. These are yummy. They aren't so bad for you either. I used whole wheat pasta and ground turkey for the meatballs. You won't feel guilty eating 3. or 27. Although the recipe doesn't make that many. I promise if you don't gorge, there will be some to bring to work the next day. It will be like opening a Christmas present in your cubicle.

Spaghetti and Meatball "Cupcakes"

(Thank you Emily Bites for this awesome recipe!)

1 lb 95% lean ground beef (I used turkey meat.)
¼ cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 large egg
1 T skim milk (I used 2 percent. It was fine!)
8 oz whole wheat spaghetti, broken into 2-3” pieces
3 egg whites
2 oz Parmesan cheese, freshly shredded

¼ cup 2% shredded Mozzarella cheese
1 ½ cups + 3 T marinara sauce, divided
Parsley or chopped fresh basil (optional garnish)

The How To:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil then lightly mist it with cooking spray and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, combine the bread crumbs, egg and skim milk and stir until mixed. Add the ground beef and stir in until thoroughly combined. Split the meat mixture into 12 equal pieces and roll them into balls. Set the balls on the prepared baking sheet and put them in the over to bake for 25 minutes at 350.

3. While the meatballs bake, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the broken spaghetti pieces according to package directions. Drain the spaghetti and set it aside to cool (I actually stuck mine in the fridge for a few minutes. It doesn’t need to be cold, but you don’t want it to be too hot to handle when you press it into the cups).

4. When the meatballs are done, remove them from the oven and place them in a saucepot with 1 ½ cups of marinara sauce. Bring the meatballs and sauce over low heat on the stovetop, just to keep it all warm. Stir occasionally. Turn the heat on the oven up to 400 degrees.

5. When the pasta is cooled enough to handle, whisk the egg whites together in a large bowl and then add the pasta. Stir to combine and then add the Parmesan, Mozzarella, and 3 tablespoons of the marinara sauce. Mix together until thoroughly combined.

6. Lightly mist a 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray. Place about 1/3 cup of the spaghetti mixture into each cup in the muffin tin. Using your fingers, press down on the center and up the sides of the spaghetti, forming cups. Slide the tin into the pre-heated oven and bake for 15 minutes at 400.

7. When the spaghetti cups are done, remove them from the oven and let them cool for a moment before removing them from the tin. When ready to serve, pour a tablespoon of marinara sauce from the pot into the center of a spaghetti cup, top it with a meatball, and follow it with another tablespoon of marinara.

If you make these, I'd love to know how they turned out. Does anyone have other "dinner cupcakes" they have tried out?

love.love.love & happy baking!

Margarita Cupcakes

2012-05-04T18:55:00.001-04:00

Tomorrow is the 5th of May. You should drink a margarita. Or you could eat one.

I ate two.

These cupcakes take me to place I'd much rather be... Like the beaches of Mexico or a speedboat in Aruba. I need to win the lottery. Yesterday.

Do yourself a favor and add these boozy buddies to your Cinco De Mayo festivities. I can't tell you how much they taste like an actual marg. It's retarded.

My neighbor, who is blessed with having the majority of my baked goods end up on her doorstep described these cupcakes as "stupid good". She added, "I'd like to go back in time and eat it again." I don't think I've received a better compliment. Me thanks you neighbor friend :)

It's true though. They are ridiculously, stupidly good. The sharpness of the tequila comes pouring out the minute you bite into this cake. And the tequila lime frosting? Oh please, this stuff is boss. It's sweet and tangy and positively tantalizing.

Start your weekend right with a dozen of these. Please and thank you.

(recipe from Brown Eyed Baker)

1½ cups all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
Zest and juice of 1½ limes (I used a little more. Maybe about two limes. One large, one small.)
2 tablespoons tequila
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup buttermilk

1 to 2 tablespoons tequila (to brush on the cupcakes)

The How To:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners; set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

3. In an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the butter and sugar together until pale, light, and fluffy (about 5 minutes).

4. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and add the eggs one at at time, mixing thoroughly after each addition.

5. Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the lime zest, lime juice, vanilla extract and tequila. Mix until combined. (The mixture may start to look curdled at this point, but don’t worry, it will all come back together.)

6. Reduce the mixer speed low. Add the dry ingredients in three batches, alternating with the buttermilk in two batches. Mix only until just incorporated, using a rubber spatula to give it one last mix by hand.

7. Divide the batter between the muffin cups. Bake for approximately 23-25 minutes or until just slightly golden and a skewer shows only moist crumbs attached, rotating the pan at the halfway point. Mine were in the oven for 23.5! ;)

8. Allow cupcakes to cool for 5 to 10 minutes, and then remove to a cooling rack. Brush the tops of the cupcakes with the 1 to 2 tablespoons of tequila. Set the cupcakes aside to cool completely before frosting them.

Tequila Lime Frosting

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2¾ cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon lime juice
2 tablespoons tequila
Pinch of coarse salt

Whip the butter on medium-high speed of an electric mixer using the whisk attachment for 5 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium-low, and gradually add the powdered sugar, mixing and scraping the sides of the bowl until all is incorporated. Give it a mix on medium speed for about 30 seconds. Add the lime juice, tequila and salt mix on medium-high speed until incorporated and fluffy. If the frosting appears a bit too soft, add some additional sugar, one spoonful at a time until desired consistency is reached.

Frost cupcakes and garnish, if desired, with lime zest, an additional sprinkling of salt and a lime wedge.

What special things are you making for this feisty fiesta of a holiday? Arriba! :)

love.love.love & happy baking!

White Chocolate Lemon Truffles

2012-05-01T17:35:00.000-04:00

Ever have that "go to" recipe you always turn to when you need to make something on the fly?

I haven't. Until two weeks ago.

Sure, I love to bake cupcakes and cookies. I especially like eating them. But sometimes they can be so time consuming. Just the thought of having to attempt one of those recipes on short notice makes me lazy. Besides, whenever I rush a recipe, I end up completely tanking. (example: pouring 2 tablespoons of salt into a batter when it CLEARLY says teaspoon and not finding out until after i bit into it.)

So every now and then I like to switch things up. Make something sweet that requires no baking and very little of my attention span. Truffles are the best way to go! My mother in law's oreo truffles spawned the obsession. I also dabbled in some strawberry cheesecake truffles a few weeks back.

I stumbled upon these white chocolate lemon beauties on Pinterest (I don't know what I would without this website sometimes) and knew I had to make them. It was love after first bite. Corny, but true. The list of ingredients is minimal and the final product will dazzle you. The texture of these truffles are silky smooth. Hints of lemon ooze out of this velvety white chocolate. The best part is they are so easy to make. Melt all the ingredients together and cool for about two hours and you have yourself a delectable dessert that will impress everyone. (I have made these 3 times already!)

(recipe from Kitchen Simplicity)

1 cup white chocolate

5 Tbsp. unsalted butter

3 Tbsp. heavy cream

pinch salt

1 tsp. lemon extract

icing sugar, for dusting

Melt chocolate, butter and cream over a double boiler or in a microwave. Stir until smooth.

Stir in salt and extract. Allow to cool slightly before covering with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm enough to handle.

With a melon baller or small spoon scoop out mixture and form into 1 inch balls. Toss with icing sugar to coat.

Store covered in the fridge for up to one week. Freeze for longer storage.

**Baker's Note** --- I had several taste testers for this recipe, all of which loved them. But some came up with a few flavors you could add to this recipe if you wanted... Like cherry, orange or raspberry. Yumm. Not gonna lie, I will be trying one of these soon!

What's your go to recipe for a quick and easy dessert? I'd love to know!

love.love.love. & happy baking!