Whole Wheat Pumpkin Cupcakes with Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting

Happy Sunday, friends! How have your weekends gone thus far? Besides watching my March Madness bracket get torn to shreds, our weekend has been pretty relaxing and blissful.

I'm gearing up for a pretty crazy week, which I'll fill you in about later. So before things get busy, let's finish the weekend up with cupcakes, shall we? Most of the time I avoid doing any serious baking unless I know that I'll have a place to bring the baked goods I make. I mean, do two people really need an entire cake sitting around, begging to be eaten? I would argue no.

Thankfully Christina over at Dessert For Two has those of us baking for two covered. Christina has made a wonderful blog based on scaled-back desserts that taste just as delicious as their larger counterparts, so when a craving for cupcakes hit a while back, I knew where to go. Of course, I couldn't help but tweak the recipe to make it a little healthier - swapping out whole wheat flour for all-purpose and cutting back a bit on the sugar. Since I made the 'cream cheese' frosting vegan, I also included an option to make the cupcakes vegan as well. Though in my version (pictured above) real eggs were used.

And while I know that pumpkin desserts don't exactly go hand in hand with the month of March, I'm guessing a few of you out there have some leftover canned pumpkin that could stand to be used before summer hits. Not that I'm saying you need a reason to eat canned pumpkin. Personally, I could eat it all year round.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Cupcakes
Adapted slightly from Dessert for Two
*7 tablespoons whole wheat flour
*1/2 teaspoon baking powder
*1/8 teaspoon baking soda
*1/4 teaspoon salt
*1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
*1/4 teaspoon ginger
*1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
*1 large egg (make this recipe vegan by substituting a flax egg: 1 Tbsp. ground flax and 3 Tbsp. water mixed together)
*1/2 cup pumpkin puree
*2 tablespoons brown sugar
*2 packets stevia
*3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Instructions
*Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a muffin tin with four paper liners. Spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
*In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.
*In a second bowl, combined the egg, brown sugar, stevia and oil. Stir to combine.
*Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Spoon batter into prepared muffin tins. Bake for 24 to 26 minutes, until toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost completely clean (small crumbs are okay). Cool completely. Frost with Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting. Makes 4 servings

Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting
*2 tablespoons vegan cream cheese (I use Trader Joe's Non-Dairy Spread)
*1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
*2/3 to 3/4 cup powdered sugar

*In a small bowl, combine all the above ingredients. Stir until well combined and smooth. Add additional powdered sugar if necessary to reach desired consistency (if you aren't using vegan cream cheese, you may need to add a splash or two of milk). Spread atop cupcakes.

Happy Baking!
Madison

Happy Birthday, Nutmeg!

This weekend we celebrated the fifth birthday of our little princess, Nutmeg. She pretty much rules the roost around here and is most definitely our baby, so we had to celebrate in style. She is now sporting a new collar and has a belly full of birthday treats.

This morning before church I whipped up a batch of 'Pumpkin Pupcakes' based off this recipe for pumpkin bars. I halved the recipe and scaled back the sugar to 2/3 cup, but aside from that I kept the recipe pretty close to the original. And to top things off I mixed up a batch of peanut butter frosting using a cup of whipped heavy cream, 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter and 1/3 cup powdered sugar.

Joey and I were both pretty blown away at how delicious the pupcakes were (yes, we ate one, too). So if you are in the market for a sweet treat that will please dogs and people alike, I would highly suggest giving this recipe a go.


Happy Birthday, Nutmeg! We love you so much little lady!


Madison

Vanilla Cupcakes with Swiss Meringue Buttercream

 

Now that we've discussed food politics and the passions surrounding the meat industry, let's talk about something a little less controversial. It's like those times in college when you took a really hard test and then celebrated by reading fashion magazines and watching mindless television.

You know you've been there.

For years, I've been baking and decorating cakes for weddings and special occasions. But it wasn't until yesterday that I realized I've been doing it all wrong. Sorry, anyone I've made a cake for. I should have been using this buttercream. It's everything it should be: smooth, creamy, lighter-than-air.

It's slightly more time-intensive than butter and powdered sugar-based icings, but the extra ten minutes is worth it. Instead of causing you to struggle for that smooth, satiny finish atop a cake or cupcake, the process with this buttercream seems almost effortless.

And after your're done photographing your cupcakes, you can spill them all over your computer, table and floor. Oh wait, that's just me?

Since my mission was to experiment with the Swiss Meringue Buttercream, I stuck with a trusted favorite for the cupcake base. I love this recipe for its ease and adaptability. And when decorating larger cakes, I have found it holds up well when stacking and transporting.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Recipe and tutorial courtesy of Whisk Kid 

Ingredients
*5 egg whites
*1 cup granulated sugar
*2 sticks butter
*1 tsp. vanilla extract
*Blue food coloring (optional)

Instructions

*While I could easily give you the recipe, since I didn't do anything to change the original that Whisk Kid posted, I would feel wrong not simply directing you to her website. Her tutorial is fantastic, with step by step instructions that walk you through the more dicey parts of making Swiss Meringue Buttercream. You can find the tutorial HERE. 

Additionally, this summer I made a very similar buttercream recipe to fill my first attempt at macarons. You can find that recipe HERE.

Happy Baking!

Madison

Happy New Year!

Hundreds of cupcakes baked. Red velvet, chocolate and vanilla. I'm thinking that the last eight hours of baking have made up for the lack of cooking I've done over the past week. Unless you count pouring milk into a cereal bowl or spreading peanut butter on toast.

I feel like this last week, and the entirety of 2010, has gone by way too fast. In some ways, I'm not sure I want it to end. It seems impossible that 2011 could hold things more wonderful than the year before, but then again, maybe it can.

Oh, and since I'm sure you're wondering, the recipes I used for the cupcakes are below!

Red Velvet: Ina Garten's Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting (From her new "How Easy is That?" cookbook)
Vanilla Cupcakes: Ina Garten's Coconut Cupcakes (minus the coconut)
Chocolate Cupcakes: Ina Garten's Chocolate Cupcakes

Happy New Year, all!

Madison

Candy Corn Cupcakes

Every year around this time, I realize I'm not a Halloween person. Candy, scary movies, haunted houses - no thanks. And don't get me started about what Halloween means when you're a college student. Not my cup of tea. But for fear of being seen as the Grinch of October, I've made an attempt at Halloween-themed baking.

Maybe it's a bit of a stretch. In fact, one of my co-workers told me the concept was lost on him, but the cupcake tasted delicious. I believe his exact words were "lose the concept, keep the cupcake". But since this is likely to be my only attempt at something themed for Halloween, I decided to keep the theme and the cupcake.

If I could do it again, I would have made the orange layer a little more neon orange with the addition of more food coloring. And instead of trying to imitate the chocolate-bottomed candy corn, the read might have been stronger if I had gone with the white, orange and yellow color combination. Either way, these cupcakes are a fun, low-commitment way to celebrate (or not) Halloween.

P.S. - I finally rounded up some photos from a couple weeks back. J and I were part of an awesome cheering section at the Chicago Marathon. It couldn't have been a more beautiful day, and Jake and Amber (J's sister and brother-in-law) did great! Maybe we'll be running it next year?

Candy Corn Cupcakes
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients
Cupcakes
*1 box white cake mix
*2 eggs
*1 1/4 cups water
*2 Tbsp. oil
*2 Tbsp. cocoa powder
*1 tsp. orange extract
Yellow Food Coloring
Red Food Coloring

Almond Buttercream
*2 sticks butter, softened
*3 cups powdered sugar
*2 Tbsp. milk
*1 tsp. almond extract
Yellow Food Coloring

Instructions
*Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 18 muffin cups with paper liners. Set aside.
*In a mixing bowl, combined the cake mix, eggs, water and oil. Whisk together until smooth. Transfer half of the batter to a clean bowl.
*In one half of the batter, stir in the cocoa powder until combined. In the second bowl, stir in the orange extract, 2 drops red food coloring and 3 drops yellow food coloring. Stir until well combined.
*Spoon a heaping tablespoon of chocolate batter into the bottom of each prepared liner, followed by some of the orange batter.
*Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool completely.

*Meanwhile, prepare buttercream. With an electric mixer, beat butter until creamy. Add in the powdered sugar, a cup at a time, and beat until fluffy. Add in the milk and almond extract, followed by four drops of yellow food coloring.
*Pipe buttercream atop cooled cupcakes (I used a large star tip).

Happy Baking!

Madison

Peanut Butter Spice Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Buttercream

One of these Mondays I'm going to be able to post about my relaxing, leisurely weekend where I got lots of sleep, painted my toenails, caught up on laundry and read all my untouched magazines cover-to-cover. But that day is not today. I'll spare you the details only to say it was a crazy, whirlwind of a weekend and I'm still scratching my head wondering where Saturday went.

In addition to traveling eight hours in the car on Saturday to see J's little brother play football, it was a weekend spent celebrating J's 23rd birthday! He might not have seen the reason to cause a fuss, but I most certainly did. I'm a big believer in the concept of 'birthday weekends' and was intent on making the entire three days a celebration of the man I love.

There were birthday cupcakes on Friday night when he arrived and a birthday dinner in Minneapolis with family on Saturday night after the game; there was also a man making balloon animals at the restaurant who catered to my request that he make J an birthday balloon hat to wear during dinner. And when his actual birthday arrived on Sunday, I put candles in both his chocolate chip pancakes and his sandwich at lunch. Like I said, birthdays are a big deal around here. 

Since J isn't a huge fan of overly-sweet desserts, I passed on most of my original ideas and decided to go with a simple spiced cupcake topped with a small dollop of peanut butter buttercream. Had this been my own birthday celebration there would have been a whole lot more buttercream involved. Thankfully, the birthday boy is generous and let me steal the buttercream off another cupcake to make up the difference.

Happy birthday, J!

Peanut Butter Spice Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Buttercream
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients
Cake
*1 stick butter, softened
*1 cup sugar
*1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
*1 tsp. ground cinnamon
*1/4 tsp. salt
*1 tsp. vanilla extract
*2 large eggs
*3/4 cup self-rising flour
*1/2 cup buttermilk 
*2/3 cup all-purpose flour

Buttercream
*1 stick butter, softened
*1/2 cup peanut butter
*1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
*1-3 Tbsp. milk (start with 1 and add more if you want a thinner consistency)

Instructions
*Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper cupcake liners and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
*With an electric mixer, beat butter on medium speed until creamy. Add in the sugar and peanut butter and beat until creamy, about 1 to 2 minutes. Beat in the cinnamon, salt, and vanilla extract until combined.
*Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until just combined. Reduce speed to low and beat in the self-rising flour until just combined, followed by the milk, then the all-purpose flour, being sure not to over beat and only mixing until ingredients are just combined.
*Spoon batter into prepared cupcake liners, filling 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool completely.
*Meanwhile, prepare the buttercream. With an electric mixer, beat the butter and peanut butter together until creamy. Add in the powdered sugar, a 1/2 cup at a time, followed by the milk, beating until smooth and creamy.
*Pipe or spread buttercream atop the cupcakes. Candles optional. :)

Happy Baking!

madison

Strongbow Hard Cider Cupcakes

Let's get one thing straight: I am not a passionate beer drinker. In fact, I'm not much for alcohol in general, and when J. and I sit down to have a drink, a half glass of anything is enough to satisfy my tastes.

What I am is a Strongbow drinker.

Strongbow, as in the English hard cider, my favorite alcoholic beverage, and pretty much the only drink I ever really have a craving for. It's crisp, and bubbly, and slightly sweet. Just sweet enough, I reasoned, to put it into a cupcake. Playing up the apple notes of this cider, I peppered these cupcakes with a bit of ground cinnamon and apple jelly.

And in case you weren't temped already, I gave you chocolate, too. Apples and chocolate? Heck, why not? I'm already made a cupcake based on something from a beer bottle for goodness sake. The time to be risky, if there ever was one, is now.

I know that questions will come in about how that little flower was made. It's an edible marzipan flower and it's super easy to make. So easy, that I think a tutorial is in order. More details to come! Until then, bake some cupcakes and bide your time.

Strongbow Hard Cider Cupcakes 

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients

*1 stick butter

*1 cup granulated sugar

*2 large eggs

*1/4 cup apple jelly 

*1 tsp. vanilla extract 

*1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

*2/3 cup all-purpose flour

*1/2 cup hard cider (such as Strongbow)

*3/4 cup self-rising flour 

*2 sticks butter

*2 cups powdered sugar

*1 tsp. vanilla extract 

*1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

*1/4 cup cocoa powder

*1 Tbsp. milk, if needed 

*Shaved coconut (optional)

Instructions

*Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 12 muffin cups with cupcake liners. Set aside. 

*With an electric mixer, beat butter until creamy. Add in sugar, then eggs one at a time, and beat until well combined. Add in apple jelly, vanilla, and cinnamon and beat until just combined. 

*Beat in all-purpose flour until just combined. Beat in the hard cider, followed by the self-rising flour. Spoon batter into muffin cups, about half full. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until just golden brown and toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool completely on wire rack.

*Meanwhile, prepare frosting. Beat butter with an electric mixer until creamy. Add in the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and cocoa powder. Beat until fluffy, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add in the extra tablespoon of milk, if needed.
*Top cupcakes with icing and shaved coconut, if desired.
*I also topped my cupcakes with homemade sugar flowers. Tutorial to come! :)

Happy Baking!

Madison 

Peach Anniversary Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting and a Giveaway

This week marks the one year anniversary of Espresso and Cream! And while it pains me to look back at some of my earliest posts, I am so excited about how far my little blog has come and how it will change in the year ahead. I could not have anticipated the kind words, e-mails, and interactions I've had with those of you who read Espresso and Cream. Some interactions are with people I know personally and others I know only through the power of the internet. However I may know you, a big thank you is in order. Thank you for reading, e-mailing, commenting, and, most importantly, cooking and baking.

To celebrate the occasion I'm having another long-overdue giveaway! I briefly though about keeping these coffee cup inspired measuring cups for myself instead of giving them away, but then thought better of it. Just know that I'm very jealous of whoever wins this giveaway. To enter, post a comment below telling me what your favorite dessert is any time between Thursday, August 12 and Sunday, August 15. The winner will be selected at random and will be announced Monday, August 16. If you win I'll send you an e-mail asking for your address and ship these little beauties (from Anthropologie) your way!

Trendy or not, cupcakes never cease to make me smile. They're creative, fun, loaded with frosting, and can be made in almost any flavor imaginable with minimal fuss. Plus, for people with a massive sweet tooth like me, cupcakes are imposed portion control. Leave me with a cake and I've been known to cut 'just one more sliver' a few too many times.

It goes without saying that August and peaches go hand-in-hand, and I would be a food blogger disgraced if I went without posting at least one peachy recipe. One bite of these cupcakes and I think it's safe to say that peaches and cupcakes go quite nicely together, too.

Peach Anniversary Cupcakes with Peach Cream Cheese Frosting
Adapted from Joy the Baker
(Printable Recipe)

Peach Cake
Ingredients
*1 (18.5-oz.) box white cake mix
*1 (3-oz.) package peach jello
*3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
*4 tsp. granulated sugar
*3/4 cup vegetable oil
*4 large eggs
*1/4 cup water
*1/3 cup peach preserves, such as Smucker's Simply Fruit

Peach Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
*1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened
*1 stick unsalted butter, softened
*1 tsp. vanilla extract
*1/2 cup peach preserves, such as Smucker's Simply Fruit
*1 (32-oz.) bag powdered sugar
Sliced peaches (optional)

Instructions
*Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 24 muffin cups with liners and set aside.
*In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the cake mix, jello, flour, and sugar. Stir to combine. Add in the oil, eggs, water, and peach preserves and beat until all ingredients are just combined.
*Spoon the batter into the 24 muffin cups (about 1/2 full for each) and bake for 16 to 18 minutes, until cakes are golden brown around the edges and the centers are just slightly soft. (centers may fall just slightly, but don't be alarmed)
*Cool completely on wire racks.

*Meanwhile, prepare frosting. Beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Add in the vanilla extract and peach preserves and beat another 1 to 2 minutes.
*Add in the powdered sugar, a cup at a time, beating until well combined and creamy.
*Spoon frosting into a zip-top bag and snip one of the corners of the bag off. Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes and garnish with sliced peaches, if desired.

Happy Baking!

Madison

Magnolia Bakery's Vanilla Cupcakes

The first time I tasted a Magnolia Bakery cupcake was in the fall of 2008 while I was in New York for The Rachael Ray Show. For those not familiar with Magnolia Bakery, it gained wide-spread recognition outside of NYC when Carrie Bradshaw, aka Sarah Jessica Parker, on Sex and the City declared the bakery her favorite place for a mini-cake fix. Being a devoted SATC fan, I was determined to play Carrie Bradshaw for the day (er...5 minutes) despite the cold, wind, and rain.

There are multiple Magnolia locations, but only the original on Bleeker Street would do for me. The shop was little, and unassuming with standing room only and a line outside the door that seemed to shout, "delicious cupcakes inside!" Delicious cupcakes indeed. I can still vividly remember my fist bite while walking and window shopping. The light, fluffy, perfectly balanced vanilla cake with a seriously sweet buttercream had me swooning. And while New Yorkers seem to have very strong opinions on what cupcakes are the best in the city, my outsider's vote goes to Magnolia.

Soon after returning home from New York I Googled the recipe for Magnolia's Vanilla Cupcakes and was shocked and delighted that it was both available online and unblieveably easy. I've been making these cupcakes ever since, to the delight of many. And this week at work I was gifted with something from one of my co-workers: The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook. Reason enough to make a couple dozen cupcakes, even if I have already been making the cupcakes for over a year.

Ingredients:

*1 1/2 cups self-rising flour

*1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

*1 cup (2 sticks) butter

*2 cups sugar

*4 large eggs

*1 cup milk (I like to use buttermilk)

*1 tsp. vanilla extract

Buttercream Icing:

*1 cup (2 sticks) butter

*7 cups powdered sugar

*1/4 cup milk, cream, or half and half

*2 tsp. vanilla extract (or extract of your choice)

Instructions:

*Preheat oven to 350*F. In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.

*In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

*Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about two-thirds full. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean.

*Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.

For Buttercream:

*Beat butter until creamy, about 1 minute.

*Add in 4 cups of the powdered sugar and the 1/4 cup milk. Beat on medium high speed for 3-5 minutes until creamy. Add in the remaining powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Beat until all the ingredients are well-combined and buttercream is fluffy and creamy.

*Pipe or spread the buttercream on top of the cupcakes when cupcakes are completely cool. Top with decorator's sugar or sprinkles, if desired.

Happy Baking!

Madison

Coconut Cupcakes with Raspberry Filling and Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting

I'm not saying Martha Stewart should hand over her perfectly polished crown to me for good, but these cupcakes might make her reconsider lending it to me for the day, or maybe the week. Heck, these cupcakes are so darn good they may warrant the whole month. It's a bit of a shame cupcakes have become so trendy and popular that they've become a cliché. Because no matter how many cupcakes I taste or see, they never cease to stop me in my tracks. Something about them makes me feel like I'm 5 years old and I absolutely have to have one. 

I'm not sure there is such a thing as a bad cupcake. Like pizza, there are just amazing cupcakes, less amazing, and good. Unless you make Martha Stewart's Carrot Cake Cupcakes. Then there is such a thing as a bad cupcake. Learn from my mistake and just make these instead. 

Being the responsible blogger that I am, I decided to try a cupcake myself to be sure they fell in the 'amazing' category before I shared them with you all. Now I can safely say that these cupcakes don't just turn out, they have the most amazing texture and flavor. Biting into one is how I would imagine it feels to bite into a cloud, with pillowly, sweet cream cheese frosting and a cakey base that is sturdy enough to support the frosting without being overly dense. I could go on and wax poetic a few more paragraphs, but I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. 

This (above) is coconut cream. Below the cream is the coconut milk. 

Ingredients:

Cupcakes

*1 1/2 cups self-rising flour

*1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

*1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

*2 cups granulated sugar

*4 large eggs

*1/2 cup coconut milk

*1/2 cup milk 

*2 tsp. coconut extract 

*1 cup shaved coconut 

Filling

*3/4 cup raspberry preserves 

Frosting

*4 oz. cream cheese 

*1/2 stick butter, softened

*1/4 cup coconut cream from top of coconut milk (see photo above) 

*4 1/2 cups powdered sugar

*2 tsp. coconut extract 

Additional coconut for garnishing (optional)

Instructions:

*Preheat oven to 350*F. Line 24 muffin cups with cupcake liners. 

*In a bowl, combine flours; set aside. With an electric mixer, cream butter. Add sugar and beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add in eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in coconut milk, followed by half of the flour mixture. Repeat with milk and remaining flour mixture, beating just until combined. Beat in coconut extract and shaved coconut. 

*Spoon batter into cupcake lines, 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool completely on wire racks. 

*Once cooled, with a paring knife, make a well in the center of each cupcake. Spoon a teaspoon of the raspberry preserves into each well. Cover with part of the removed cupcake.

*For the frosting, cream together the cream cheese, butter, and coconut cream. Add the powdered sugar in three additions. Beat in coconut extract. 

*Top each cupcake with frosting and garnish with shredded coconut. 

Happy Baking!

Madison 

New Take On: Scotcheroos

If you're from the Midwest, or have spent any prolonged amount of time in the area, you may want to stop reading right now. I mean it, this post may offend you, but if you ignore my warning and keep reading, please don't say I didn't warn you. Because I'm about to take issue with one of the most beloved desserts that exist in the Midwest. Heck, Scotcheroos may have cult status in other areas of the country, too, though I have yet to eat a Scotcheroo in the South.

It's not that I have anything against Scotcheroos. In fact, they play right into my weakness for all things peanut butter and chocolate, and the gooey-meets-crunchy texture is spot on. My real issue is that they aren't reaching their full potential. If you want to make something great in the kitchen, the best place to start is with great ingredients, so you can see why I might have a problem with the base of Scotcheroos being Rice Krispies. Yes, Rice Krispies - also known as the most borning and flavorless cereal known to man. Sure, they have great texture and were a cereal revelation in 1928 when they were invented, but today there are so many delicious, crunchy, flavorful cereals to choose from that I am at a loss as to why anyone would choose to use Rice Krispies when making one of the most beloved desserts on earth, or at least on of our favorites out here on the prairie.


Ranting against Rice Krispies aside, you could still make these scotcheroos with Rice Krispies, but starting with something a little more exciting can only make them better. Except if you use Fruity Pebbles..... don't use Fruity Pebbles.

These scotcheroo 'cupcakes' will be my contribution to the Superbowl party I'm going to. A bar pan would work too, but the colors of these cupcake liners were just too darn appropriate to pass up, and makes for one less pan that needs to be washed afterwards.

Ingredients:
Base
*1 1/2 cups light corn syrup
*1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
*1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
*6 cups Honey Bunches of Oats cereal (or any other cereal of choice)
Topping
*6 oz. milk chocolate chips
*6 oz. buterscotch chips
*1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

Instructions:
*In saucepan, bring corn syrup and sugar to boil, stirring constantly, and remove form heat. Add peanut butter and stir until smooth. Stir in cereal until well combined. Scoop heaping tablespoons into cupcake liners. Set aside.
*In saucepan, melt chocolate chips and butterscotch chips over low heat, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter. Spoon mixture on top of each scotcheroo 'cupcake.'

Happy Baking!

Madison

Birthday Cupcakes

At Better Homes and Gardens, we like to celebrate birthdays. And it's shouldn't come as much of a surprise that we do it with food! Our amazing editorial assistant in Food and Entertaining, Renee, is celebrating a birthday so tomorrow we are all bringing treats.

My contribution? Cupcakes of course! I think I am going to name these cupcakes "Maria." They are spice cupcakes filled with raspberry preserves and topped with vanilla frosting. I also added handmade gum paste flowers for a special touch.

Hopefully they go over well tomorrow. I am in love with trying out new cupcakes, and "Maria" will make her first debut tomorrow.


Madison