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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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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Coocoo for Cupcakes

You know as well as I do: cupcakes are all the rage.  To say I love them would be an understatement. Every time I see one my mouth waters.  In fear of sounding like I eat cupcakes for every meal, I will stop there (:

The great thing is that they are perfect for every event! Weddings, birthdays, anniversaries- you name it.

Enjoy some of my favorites I've found over the past few weeks. I may or may not have started an inspiration folder entitled "cupcakes".

I would like to bake them all in this pretty kitchen:

pretty homes

cupcake royale

cupcake royale

amy atlas

cupcakes couture

cupcakes couture

via

Amazing, right?

Here's some great advice that I strive to live by each day:

It's in my family room so I walk by it every day. Makes me smile (:

You know where there's going to be some yummy cupcakes?!

The blogger meet up, Flourish!  

To get more info, go here. Then sign up!

It's this Saturday, March 5th!  We're getting so excited.  Here's the guest list:

Maggie

Katie

Nikki

Mandy

Monika

Brianne

Danielle

& me!

It's going to be a fun night of shopping, drinks and good friends. Oh, and cupcakes of course!

Love and Cupcakes,

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I {Heart} Cupcakes

FRIENDS. I baked the most delicious cupcakes. I found them here (:

Cupcakes are one of my favorite things.
Give the recipe a try...they're quick and easy!

Recipe:

1. Get any type of chocolate chip cookie dough and plop them in the middle of the cupcake holders

2. Make your box mix of chocolate cake and pour the batter into the cupcake holders over the cookie dough

3. Put them in the oven and bake for as long as the cake mix tells you to.  The cookie dough will bake inside the cupcake...YUM!

4. Make your frosting:

1 box of powdered sugar
1/4 c milk
1 stick of butter at room temperature
1 tsp of vanilla

5.  After they're cooled, frost 'em and eat 'em!

Love and Cupcakes,

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