We will be trying our hand at CUPCAKERY

Many things inspire us on a daily basis, sometimes its a piece of broken colorful Mexican tile, sometimes its a letter, sometimes its reading a strangers blog. For me sometimes its cooking and baking. 


We plan on diving deep into the cupcake world; discovering variations of the classics and trying new uncharted territories. 


Our first attempt was a success and devoured by co-workers at Chris' job today. 

Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

These moist pumpkin cupcakes can be tailored to your family's preferences. For a more grown-up version, substitute chopped crystallized ginger and dried cranberries for the walnuts and raisins.

Unfrosted cupcakes will stay fresh in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Once frosted, cupcakes are best eaten within 1 day.

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:

• 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2/3 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 can (15 oz.) solid-packed pumpkin (about
    1 3/4 cups)
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 1 cup canola oil
• 4 eggs

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 350°F. Line three 12-cup muffin tins with decorative cupcake papers.

To make the cupcakes, in a bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt. Toss the walnuts and raisins with the flour mixture. (This will help prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the muffin tins.)

In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, granulated sugar, brown sugar and oil. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking after each addition.

Add the flour mixture in three additions, stirring with a large wooden spoon until just combined.

Fill the muffin tins about three-fourths full. Bake until the cupcakes are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer the tins to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes, then remove the cupcakes from the tins and let cool completely. 

For the Frosting:

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of butter (1 stick), room temperature
• 8 oz of Philly cream cheese (1 package), room temperature
• 2 - 3 cups of powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Directions:

1 Cream the butter and cream cheese together, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure even mixing.

2 Add the vanilla extract to the mix.

3 Add the powdered sugar, continually taste to get to desired sweetness. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes.

Tell us what kind of cupcakes your family loves? Any special recipes? We are on the look out for tried and true recipes.

September and Smokers

The weather in Central Florida has been quite tolerable lately. Although I prefer the actual seasons, I must deal with what we have here now. So the other day Chris texted me telling me he found a super cool smoker and a great deal for it on craigslist ($25) and asked if he could get it (what a good hubby to be!). Of course I said yes!

We scrounged around in the freezer for something to "smoke" and we came up with: 

Chicken leg quarters with Bobby Flays 16 Spice Dry Rub

They sell it already pre-made, but the link has the spices so you can make it from scratch.

Here's some action shots!

Not quite done yet......

Strawberry Ice Cream Time

Julian and Mommy finally got to make some ice cream! Daddy was at work, but we saved his some. 

It was our first time making ice cream and it turned out good and was very simple to make. 

Making ice cream was fun and super easy.
Here is the recipe we used:

2 cups of half and half

1 cup of heavy cream

1/2 cup of sugar

1 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients and shake until sugar is dissolved.

Makes 24 ounces

(We put the strawberries in once the vanilla ice cream had started to harden in the mixer.)

Waiting for ice cream to finish mixing.

All that hard work. Julian finally gets to enjoy his ice cream!

Have you made ice cream? What recipe did you make that turned out good?

Flower Cookie Art

Last week, Chris and I were walking around a store and we came across a cookbook that is just about making fun desserts out of cupcakes. This is my attempt at Cookie Art. I have a step by step guide of how I did it. (I didn't have cupcakes on hand, nor was I going to bake any!)

                                      

Difficulty scale: 1 out of 5

It turned out just as I wanted it to without being complicated or frustrating. 

Try it with your kids. 

I would love to hear feedback! 

Food Find: Ice Cream Maker

Although the summer is almost over, its still well into the 90's in Florida and sometimes the only relief you can find is a summer rain and some ice cream. 

Yesterday, we went on shopping to a local thrift store and found this Hamilton Beach half pint ice cream maker. From what I recall, I can't remember ever making ice cream and I certainly have never made it with our son. It seems like a fun challenge and a new way to incorporate our "Kids in the Kitchen". So for $8 we took home an ice cream maker. This blue color reminds me of something vintage so I had to give you guys a sneak peek at whats to come. 

This week we will be sharing with you our results of ice cream making. Who knows, we may have some gelato in our future. 

Apple CrissCross Muffins

Our first blog post was appropriate as we started the NEW blog. It is a NEW recipe for us and it is something we loved as a family and we will be adopting into a our family regulars.


If you love MUFFINS, apples and sweets, this is for you. All of the ingredients are things we keep on hand all the time, so its simple and easy to whip these up quickly. 


Apple CrissCross Muffins
Makes 6 servings

1 1/3 cups of chopped peeled tart apples
1/3 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1/3 cup raisins
1/2 cup sugar, divided
2 Tbsp. all purpose flour
2 tsp. ground cinnamon, divided
dash of salt
1 pkg. large refrigerated flaky biscuits
1 tsp. butter, melted


In a microwave safe bowl combine apples, nuts, raisins, 3 Tbsp. sugar, flour, 3/4 tsp. cinnamon and salt.  Microwave 2-3 minutes or until apples are almost tender. 


Flatten each biscuit into a 5 inch circle. Combine remaining sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle 1 tsp of sugar mixture over each biscuit. Top each with 1/4 cup of apple mixture. Bring edges to enclose mixture; pinch edges to seal. 


Place biscuit seam side down in a muffin tin (greased). Brush tops with melted butter and sprinkle remaining sugar mixture on top. With a sharp knife cut an "X" or crisscross onto the top of the muffin. 


Bake at 350* for 15-18 min or until golden brown. 


Enjoy with a cup of coffee or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.