Vanilla Peppermint Cupcakes

Today I'm so excited to be sharing a fun holiday recipe and linking it up with Schue Love, as our 5th day in the Christmas Cheer link parties! I'm usually so busy at school that I can barely make a delicious meal, let alone photograph it and share here on the blog, so Christmas Break is great for baking! I'll be honest and say while I love both cooking and baking, I'm definitely more of a baker.  However, after the mess I created in the kitchen while baking these cupcakes...I think my mom will I'll need a while to recover before baking again (;

I found the recipe for my Vanilla-Peppermint Cupcakes over at Oprah's website. I ended up adapting the recipe to make it much easier, but here are the ingredients:

• Cupcakes:
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour , sifted
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. coarse salt
• 1/2 cup whole milk , room temperature
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. peppermint extract
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter , room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg , room temperature
• 2 large egg whites , room temperature

• Frosting:
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter , firm but not cold
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar , sifted
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
• 1/2 tsp. milk

{Go here for full directions}


This is actually the recipe for Sprinkles Cupcakes, my favorite cupcake shop! I happened to have a mix in the cupboard for the cupcakes, so I ended up being able to skip making the batter! {Great time saver} Instead, I just whipped up the box mix and made the frosting by scratch. {You can by the mix at William Sonoma or the Sprinkles store}

I put my own spin on things by doing this:


After making the batter, I separated it into 2 bowls. I colored one of the bowls with red food coloring and left the other white:

I poured half of each batter into the cupcake holders, so it would bake together and look like a candy cane:

Then I made the delicious frosting by scratch and crushed these candy canes to sprinkle on top:

Scrumptious, if I do say so myself! 

I love it because when you bite into the cute dessert, there's the added surprise of the red and white cake.  We all love cupcakes...so just put your own holiday twist on your favorite recipe (:

I'm linking up with Natasha over at Schue Love!

Head over and link up your holiday recipe to share with the rest of us.

Don't forget Thursday is the Holiday Decor link party over here at my blog! Link up any last holiday decorations you've been working on for our last link party...anything goes! I'm excited to share a few last corners in our living room.


Happy Baking!
Love,

PS. Winner of the Ravenna Girls Giveaway is Erin from Northern Moon! Congrats (: Email me to claim your prize!

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It's beginning to look a lot like fall...

I do not like cold weather. I'd pick 90 degrees and humid over 30 degrees any day. However, I LOVE autumn. Hands down the best season for fashion, a number of outdoor activities, and the return of the sense of coziness.

via Artessen via The City Sage

2 above via Habitually Chic

3 above via Artessen via Automatism

I love to bake....well, I love to eat baked goods..and autumn is the season for warm breads and muffins
via Pinterest

lovely

via Artessen via Saipua

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Cookie Break

Sara Foster's

Oatmeal Cookies

One of my favorite cooking authors is Sara Foster.

She once worked with Martha Stewart on her Living magazine. Sara branched out to her home state of North Carolina to open a restaurant Store - Foster's Market.

She has written a number of books - 

one of which is 

The Foster's Market Cookbook

I have tried several of her recipes with great success.

My husbaand's favorite cookie is the Oatmeal Cookie.

I love to load it down with raisens and pecans for him.

Time for a cookie break!

And of course - with milk!

Classic Oatmeal Cookies

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

4 cups rolled oats

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 /2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups raisins

******

1.  preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. lightly grease baking sheets -

 or use parchment or silpat mat

3. cream together butter, brown sugar 

and granulated sugar

4. add eggs one at a time

beating well after each addition

5. combine dry ingredients - 

flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon, 

nutmeg and salt.

6. add dry mixture to wet mixture 

stirring just until blended.

7. scoop dough with 1/4 cup (2-oz.)

ice cream scoop or by heaping tablespoons

and drop onto prepared pan.

8. bake 12 to 14 minutes for soft-chewy cookies

15 to 18 for crunchy cookies.

Variations:

substitute dried cherries or dried cranberries

for raisins; add 1 cup chocolate chips or 

coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans.

***

Sometimes I add all the above - I call

them the Kitchen Sink Cookies 

I am sharing this post with 

Designs by Gollum's 

Foodie Friday

Wishing you a very Delightsome day,

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Rainy Day Activities

Baking

Rounding out a day feathering my nest by

cleaning and redecorating and

finally a walk through my garden...

I baked a cake.

My daughter and I watched an episode of

Paula Deen's cooking show.

She was making recipes from her mother 

and grandmothers.

My husband wanted something sweet

so I baked Paula Deen's Grandmother's 

Pound Cake

I topped the cake with sauteed apples and homemade 

whipped cream...
*Special note:
I didn't have the 1 cup of sour cream required
in the recipe so I added 1/2 cup of plain greek yogurt
to the 1/2 cup of sour cream. It worked nicely.
This cake has a lovely texture and taste
reminds me of a good wedding cake.
Also, on the show Paula emphasized to
place the cake in a cold oven then set it to
325 for 1 hour; then adjust the temperature
to 350 for 30 minutes - no peeking!*

I am sharing this post with

Designs by Gollum

Foodie Friday

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Cinnamon Sugar Puff Cupcakes

I know I said I'd share this recipe over the weekend, but I've been buried in books, as finals are looming over me! 

Last week I made a delicious treat for my Bible study.  By scratch.  I know, I got all fancy (: {By the way, thanks Mama for letting be steal borrow your Kitchen-aid. It's awesome.}

My sweet {real life} best friend Alyssa, sent me this ADORABLE cupcake recipe book for my birthday. There are some great recipes in it.

Here's what you'll need:

1 1/2 cups unbleached flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

6 tablespoons (3/4 sticks) unsalted butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/2 cup milk (any fat content works)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees!

First, mix all the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl, withholding the sugar. 

 Then, whip the butter and sugar together in a mixer.  Next, add the dry ingredients in the mixer in 3 additions, adding the milk between each addition. 

Batter should be mixed on medium speed until smooth. It will be a tad bit sticky!

Fill your cupcake liners 1/2 way. 

Pop 'em in the oven and bake for 18 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix together your outer coating {aka Heaven in your mouth}

6 tablespoons butter (3/4 stick)

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Once your cupcakes are done baking, let them cool for only 5 minutes. Then melt your butter and mix your cinnamon and sugar together:

Peel back your cupcake liner a tad and pour a little butter over the top:

Sprinkle a lot some sugar over the buttered cupcake!

Dump off the excess.

And viola!

They keep well for 3-4 days. Just pop them in the microwave for 10 seconds and do the butter-sugar-cinnamon-amazingness coating (: 

ENJOY.  Excuse me, I'm going to go bake another batch now (:

And then study for finals.

Happy Monday!

ps. thank you so much for your sweet comments on yesterday's post about my beautiful friend, Jess.

Love and Cupcakes,

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Sunday bliss...

I just love sundays, it's really a day of rest in my house and it's just bliss...  

This morning I was very pleasantly surprised to find fresh orange juice and Pain Au Chocolat on my door step that a friend had delivered to us for breakfast...just perfect with a steaming coffee ♡

Well after a nice sweet breakfast I'm in the mood for some baking, so here is some baking inspiration to maybe get you in the mood too!

Happy Sunday lovely people...

Photo 1, 5 & 7: Taverne Agency, Photo 2, 3 & 4: Chris Court, Photo 6: Sweet Paul

♥

L O V E N O R D I C 

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Cookies Anyone??

This past weekend my mom and I decided to bake an assortment of cookies for the upcoming week.  We're bringing some to my Aunt's house for Christmas Eve dinner for all of our family to enjoy.  One of my all-time favorite recipes is this Peanut Butter Kiss cookie (:  We made those, along with yummy snickerdoodles.  {Except I fell asleep on the couch while my mom made those.  Sorry mom!}

Something about peanut butter and chocolate combined makes my mouth water.  Is yours watering yet?!  If so, here's an easy-peasy recipe!

Here are your ingredients:

We looked up the recipe on my mom's new iPad (:

Super easy recipe! Just mix the peanut butter and sugar into one bowl, then once that's mixed thoroughly, add the egg and vanilla.  

Now's the fun part!  Roll the batter into small balls and place on the cookie sheet.  Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

Once they're out of the oven, place a Hershey's kiss in the middle of each cookie.

Let them cool, then you're done! Pure deliciousness! 

Finished Snickerdoodles and Peanut Butter Kiss cookies. Yum!

PS. Shasta got to lick the Peanut Butter tub when we were through.  Needless to say, it made her day:

What are your favorite cookies for this time of year? Do tell!  We may bake more tomorrow!


I'm also guest posting at:

today! Carly is simply adorable, so if you haven't been to her blog yet- hurry on over!  I'm sharing how I transformed my terribly outdated (and wallpapered...eek!) bathroom into a modern space.  I just adore the name of Carly's blog, too. Makes me wish I was more creative with mine, ha!  So, head on over to Honey and the Moon (:

Love and Cookie Monsters,

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