The Cupcake Life

Cupcakes have become my favorite thing to bake, they are pretty quick to whip up and are fun to decorate for special occasions. The above chocolate cupcakes are frosted with my homemade cream cheese frosting (recipe can be found here) and valentine heart sprinkles.

I think the smallest touches can make this biggest difference. For example, I found these football key chains at a party store, took off the key rings (of course properly cleaned the footballs) and used them as toppers for a super bowel party. Making boring cupcakes into party cupcakes. ;)

Sorry for the lack of recipes lately, I am in the midst of putting together a handful of recipes for a few baking contests coming up.

Chocolate Chunk Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

2 eggs

1 cup canned or fresh pumpkin

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup oil

6 squares Semi-Sweet Chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used Baker's)

Directions:
1. Preheat to 350°F. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices until well blended; set aside. Beat eggs, pumpkin, sugars, milk and oil in large bowl until well blended. Add dry ingredients; stir just until moistened. Stir in chopped chocolate.

2. Pour into greased 9x5-inch loaf pan.

3. Bake for 55 minutes to 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely on wire rack. Cut into 18 (1/2-inch thick) slices to serve.

Pecan Squares

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
2/3 cup butter
3 tbsp whipping cream
3 1/2 cups chopped pecans

Directions:
1. Sift together 2 cups flour and 2/3 cup powdered sugar. Cut in 3/4 cup softened butter using a pastry blender or fork just until mixture resembles coarse meal. Pat mixture on bottom and 1 1/2 inches up sides of a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish.

2. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool.

3. Bring brown sugar, honey, 2/3 cup butter, and whipping cream to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in pecans, and pour hot filling into prepared crust.

4. Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Cool completely before cutting into 2-inch squares.

Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake

Ingredients:

25 Ginger Snaps, finely crushed (about 1-1/2 cups)

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted

4 pkg. (8 oz. each) Cream Cheese, softened

1 cup sugar, divided

1 tsp. vanilla

4 eggs

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

Pinch ground cloves

Directions:
1.Heat oven to 325°F. A silver 9-inch springform pan is best to use. Mix ginger snap crumbs, pecans and butter; press onto bottom and 1 inch up side of pan for the crust

2. Beat softened cream cheese, 3/4 cup of the sugar and the vanilla with electric mixer until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition just until blended. Remove 1-1/2 cups of the batter; place in small bowl.

3. Stir remaining 1/4 cup sugar, the pumpkin and spices into remaining cream cheese batter. Spoon half of this pumpkin batter into crust; top with spoonfuls of half of the reserved plain batter. Repeat layers.

4.Cut through batters with knife several times for marble effect.

5. Bake for 5 min. to 1 hour 5 min. or until center is almost set. (Test by gently shaking the pan. If the cheesecake is done, it will be set except for an approximately 2-1/2-inch area in the center that will be soft and jiggly.)

6. Cool for a least an hour. Run knife or metal spatula around rim of pan to loosen cake. Refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving. Store leftovers in refrigerator

Soft M&M Cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup butter (softened)
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups M&M's

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, mix sugar, eggs, butter , and vanilla thoroughly. Add flour, salt, and baking soda to creamed mixture. Blend well. Add 3/4 cup of M&M candies.
2. Drop dough by tablespoons onto cookie sheet. Slightly push a few candies on top of each dough ball with remaining candies.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F for 8-10 min

Peanut Butter Heavens

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
2 cups peanut butter
2 cups confectioners sugar
2 cups chopped walnuts or pecans
2 1/2 cups graham crackers crumbs

1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons shortening

Directions:
1. Cream together the butter, vanilla, salt and peanut butter. Stir in 2 cups of the confectioners' sugar, nuts and all but 1/2 cup of the graham cracker crumbs. Add the last 1/2 cup of graham cracker crumbs only if needed; otherwise it may be difficult to mold the balls.
2.Form the mixture by hand into 1 inch balls. Roll each ball in the remaining cup of confectioners' sugar. Set the balls in a single layer on a cookie sheet and refrigerate until firm (about an hour).
3.To Dip Balls In Chocolate: In the top half of a double boiler; melt the chocolate chips and shortening just until the chips are melted. Remove from heat but leave over hot water. Insert a toothpick into the chilled balls or use 2 straws in a chopstick fashion and dip into the melted chocolate until coated. Set on waxed paper until hardened.

Mississippi Mud Cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup milk chocolate morsels
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. miniature marshmallows

Directions:
1. Microwave semisweet chocolate morsels in a small microwave-safe glass bowl at HIGH 1 minute or until smooth, stirring every 30 seconds.

2. Beat butter and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition. Beat in vanilla and melted chocolate.

3. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; gradually add to chocolate mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in chopped pecans and 1/2 cup milk chocolate morsels.

4. Drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Press 3 marshmallows into each portion of dough.

5. Bake at 350° for 10 to 12 minutes or until set. Remove to wire racks