Coconut Cupcakes

Oh Goodness! Where has the summer gone!? I had such plans with my kiddos and better start packing it in over the next month!! I am having some friends over Sunday for dinner and am excited for the desserts I am making. Hope they are good enough to post and share with you. Here is a hint....one is chocolate and peanut butter and the other is fruity and light. They should balance each other perfectly! Also this weekend I am making some women's shoes sugar cookies...should be cute. Til then, here is the cupcake recipe to go with the key lime cupcakes I posted last week. The frosting recipe will come tomorrow along with a teaser list of recipes to come.

Coconut Cupcakes
Source: changed slightly from Restless Chipotle

3 sticks butter, room temp.
2 cups sugar
5 large eggs
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. coconut extract
1 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
I stirred in an additional 3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line cupcake pans. Cream butter and sugar til light and fluffy. Switch to low speed and add eggs. Separately in a small bowl, mix together dry powder ingredients. Using a blender, blend coconut and 1 1/2 cups sw. shredded coconut. Stir flavorings into buttermilk/coconut mixture. Into your butter/sugar, add 1/3 of the dry ingredients from separate bowl, and 1/2 of the buttermilk. Repeat adding the flour in 3 parts and the buttermilk in 2 parts. This is where I added the additional 3/4 cup coconut. I just wanted mine a little more coconutty. Fill each liner 3/4 full. Bake for 20 minutes.

Key Lime Coconut Cupcakes

The night before I left for Mexico I made about 100 of these babies for a customer. She requested key lime cupcakes because the party colors were green and pink. (we also did strawberry for her). I had never made key lime cupcakes before and all the blogs I truly trust didn't have a recipe for these. So...I found four recipes on line and made her samples the week before. Out of the four recipes, these are a combination of two and won the taste contest. Tried and true deliciousness from The Bakery Box. Any filled cupcake takes a little extra time. The curd can be made the day before to save a little time on baking day. I should do a post on how I fill a cupcake, shouldn't I? Hold on to your seats folks...that will be coming...!! These cupcakes introduce three new recipes for you. They are coconut cupcakes filled with lime curd. The frosting is Swiss Meringue Buttercream with lime curd folded in. Wow!!! Today I will share with you the recipe for the lime curd and then the recipes for the cupcakes and frosting will follow later in the week.

Key Lime Curd
Source: The Restless Chipotle

1 cup sugar
5 large egg yolks (save the whites...you will need them for the frosting recipe!)
1 cup key lime juice (I used regular lime juice)
1/2 cup butter, chilled

Mix the sugar and egg yolks in a large microwave safe bowl. (The first time I did this, I used a four cup glass measuring cup. It wasn't big enough and the curd kept bubbling over. It was sooo annoying. The second time I made this, I doubled the curd recipe and used a big plastic bowl. It didn't bubble over once. WAY easier!) Whisk in the lime juice. Microwave for about two minutes. Stop, and stir the lime curd well. Microwave for about 6-10 more minutes. BUT... stop and stir every 30 -60 seconds as you see it bubbling. You know the curd is done when the mixture is thick like gravy and sticks to the back of the spoon you are stirring with. Remove from the microwave and stir in the cold butter cut in cubes. Refrigerate until set. Should be the consistency of pudding.

Lego Cupcakes

I am not just saying this because I have three boys....but boy toys are SOOOO much cooler than girl toys. Any of you who have a little guy knows what I am talking about. It starts with the train stage. Nothing cuter than a boy and his train set. Then they start playing with "guys." Enter the world of super heroes...Star Wars, Superman, Batman, Spiderman, etc. We are now in the lego phase at our home. Sure they are all over the house and every time I sweep the floor I am yelling for one of the boys to rescue the legos in the pile before I throw them away, but REALLY! They are so fun. We went to the Lego store with Grandma and Grandpa over the weekend. Poor Ben. I obviously don't buy him a lot of toys because he was so confused that they wanted to buy him something. He kept saying what he wanted for Christmas. He walked out of there with eyes as big as saucers holding his bag of lego treasures. He plays with them all day. Who needs sunshine, right?!

Anyways, I threw him a last minute lego themed party before we left for Mexico. I made these cupcakes in about 20 minutes. (the toppers that is). I used a kit kat mold since the lego candy molds were only available online. I didn't have time for that since I threw the party together in an afternoon. This worked though! I used red, yellow, and green Wilton candy melts. Then, after they were set, I piped matching color dots on with royal icing. So simple and quick. And I didn't have to buy anything. Wa-la! Instant Legos!

Mouthwatering Strawberry Cake

Greetings from Mexico!!! Okay, well really, we have been back a week. Can I go back?!!! It was a week of fun in the sun! I seriously barely got out of my beach chair the whole week. Paul would beg me to get in the water or take a walk and it would take everything in my power to lift my round butt off the chair and follow him! What a great resort. We stayed in the Riveria Maya at a resort called Now Sapphire. Great place with great food. Service was a little slow, but that is prob the speedy American in me talkin'. We actually saw the actor who plays Deacon on King of Queens there. Oh yeah! Staying with celebrities baby! Here are some picts from the trip...wish you could have joined us!!! My parents were a blast to vacation with!

the guys on the catamaran us girls and Carlos the catamaran guy



Nothing like a Diet Coke in the Ocean baby! I was screaming and acting like I was a little drunk. We attracted a little group of people who came over thinking we were lots of fun. They quickly realized that we were not drunk or fun and went back to their spot in the water.





My favorite person on the trip. I had a blast with my hubby! It was great to be with each other and no kids!

Anyways, last week was so hard to get back into the swing of things!! What do you mean? I have to sweep the floor! And who are these little boys calling me "mom?" Hard to get back. But...here I am. Busy baking and blogging again. Oh and babysitting and teaching and church and making dinners, and ..... making strawberry cupcakes!

Man! I sure am lucky to have a pro photographer as one of my BFF's. LOVE this photo! I am going to start adding some picts from my blog to Pinterest. Heard of it? I just discovered it today. Still learning the ropes. But, check it out. These strawberry cupcakes have a pound of real strawberries blended into the batter. They are fresh and light and DELISH!
Strawberry Cupcakes

Source: Our Best Bites

2 3/4 c. all purpose flour

1/2 c. cake flour

1 Tab. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

2 sticks of butter, softened

2 1/4 c. sugar

3 large eggs

1 c. buttermilk

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 lb. strawberries, pureed

a few drops of red or pink food coloring

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line metal muffin pan with paper liners. Whisk flour, cake flour, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl. Cream butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy...about 3 minutes. Add eggs and egg white, one at a time, beating after every addition.

Reduce speed to low. Combine buttermilk and vanilla together and set aside. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the milk mixture; end with the dry ingredients. if desired, add a few drops of food coloring until reaches the desired shade. Scrape the sides of the bowl to ensure everything is all mixed in. Divide batter among muffin cups (about 30), filling them almost all the way to the top.

Bake cupcakes until a knife inserted into the centers comes out clean, about 22-25 minutes. Allow to cool in muffin tins. Top with a swirl of frosting. Cream cheese or a nice whipped frosting. I will share a great new recipe with you tomorrow!

Easy Princess Cupcake Toppers

I have three boys. Sigh! No princess movies, dresses, etc. here. My friends sometimes take pity on me and invite me with them to activities like Princesses on Ice, or on mommy daughter dates to broadway shows. Sigh again. Maybe someday...not soon though. This mom is at her limits currently. Anyways, a friend of mine asked me to make princess cupcakes for her daughter's birthday. I was thrilled! Any excuse for girlyness!! These were super easy and fast. Here is how I did it...

1. Buy some of this or this. I used a half and half mixture of the two (fondant and gum paste)
It was delish and dried super fast.

2. Color it desired shade with paste food coloring.

3. Roll it out as thick as a nickel.

4. Use a small princess cookie cutter and cut desired quantity out.

5. Wrap princess crowns around spice shakers to curve as they dry.

6. Once dry attach silver nonperils with royal icing.

7. Gently press onto frosted cupcakes.

Birthday "Party" Post #2

I thought I would share some more picts of Wyatt's party...mostly to share this other cupcake topper idea with you. As you can see, the dried pineapple flower- topped cupcakes were for adults. I put little toy Star Wars guys on the top of the kids' cupcakes. It was a hit!! They were all fighting over who got what cupcake. Then I had to break the news to the kids that they didn't get to keep the toy...didn't think through this before-hand...they seemed a little bummed. Maybe if you say it before they all start calling dibs that would help? My original idea was to make fondant light sabers to top each cupcake...that would be simple easy and cute. But I ran out of time and this worked with the theme. I soaked the toys in bleach diluted water first, rinsed them, and let them dry completely. No body wants kid slobber in their frosting now do they?!

Pina Colada Cupcakes

The Countdown to Mexico Continues!!! We have had a week of gorgeous sunshine and then ...snow yesterday. No worries weather gods, I only had an outdoor BBQ/ birthday party planned for my little Jedi Wyatt. That's ok...who doesn't love about thirty people crammed in my little house?! Actually, went pretty well. I can't believe he is 3. Crazy! We enjoyed eating these thinking of the beach while the snow was coming down. If you like pina coladas...(in song...) then you will LOVE these! Check out here for instructions on the dried pineapple flowers.

Pina Colada Cupcakes

Source: 101 Gourmet Cupcakes in 10 Minutes by Wendy Paul

Throw the following ingredients into your cart...

1 box yellow cake mix

3 eggs

1 tsp. coconut extract

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 small can crushed pineapple

(I added about 1/3 cup sweetened shredded coconut also)

For the frosting (found on Annie's Eats)

2/3 cup canned crushed pineapple

8 oz. cream cheese

1 1/2 sticks butter, room temperature

1 3/4 cups powdered sugar

(I also added a handful of shredded coconut here)

(I also added about 2 tsp. meringue powder because the frosting was too soft and runny...)

Put your apron on and...mix together cake ingredients. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes until done. Cool completely and frost with the above frosting.

Tow Mater Cupcakes

I feel like everyone I talk to and everywhere I look lately is mentioning Bakerella. If you have never visited her site...do now. She is creative and pretty much is the idea behind the cake pop sensation.

She is sick right now, in the need of a kidney transplant. I know everyone is pulling for her and everyones thoughts are with her. I was grateful for her creative genius a few weeks ago when I made these Tow Mater cupcakes for a friend's sons birthday. They were so fun! And they didn't require fancy knowledge or equipment. Just cake, frosting and candy. Anybody could do it. Check out her instructions for these here. My pictures and personal tips are below.

Tip #1. To keep these affordable...be willing to veer from the candy Bakerella suggests. I bought small generic chocolate cookies instead of the 100 cal packs she used. Mine were cheaper and look the same. Also, a package of white M & Ms were $4. Ouch. I got Peppermint Patty hard candy coated candies for $1.50. Just browse your candy Aisle and see what you can find.

I used my homemade chocolate cake recipe and tried a new frosting recipe. Best chocolate frosting yet folks and I will share it with you tomorrow.

Dinosaur Topped Cupcakes

My oldest son Ben and I had a blast at a friend's birthday party last weekend! Nicest people in the world, great food, great company, and cute dinos everywhere. The birthday boy is one of my daycare kids that I LOVE dearly. Seriously, I have contemplated kidnapping him. Don't call the authorities...I won't. I have more kids than I can handle as it is!!!! ANYWAYS.... they hired me to do all the cupcakes and I had so much fun. I will tell you what I did... First I asked the mom of the birthday boy for a napkin/plate/something from the decorations to match colors and dino shapes. I bought dinosaur cookie cutters. They seemed a little too big for the cupcakes so I ended up using an Xacto knife to cut the shapes. I bought Wilton ready to roll fondant in neon and primary colors. 1 week before party day I rolled the fondant out and started cutting. I used wax paper to trace the dino shapes from the napkin and made one shape a little big and one a little smaller, till I felt like they were perfect size. Then I cut the wax paper template out, placed it on the fondant, and traced with an edible marker. Last, I carved each shape out with an Xacto knife. I made 24 shapes start to finish in 2.5 hours...time consuming!! I would recommend finding the right size and shape cookie cutter on line and ordering it. They are cheap and just plan ahead!!! I would make the dinos at least three days ahead so that they are plenty dry and stiff for party day.

The night before I used royal icing and tinted it a shade lighter than the dinos to outline and add spots and eyes. The black speck in the eye is a food writer marker. The dinos dried over night. And I baked chocolate chip cupcakes and oreo cupcakes. In the morning I piped on grass with a multi-opening grass tip. #233 Wilton tip. I used cream cheese frosting tinted green. Don't put your dinos in the grass til party time. Mine had delicate little legs that snapped sitting in the frosting. (Luckily, I tested this out with only one...that would have been a disaster!) I added a rock candy that I wanted to look like a rock. My candies were a little large and looked like dino eggs...but it worked!! Such a fun, inexpensive, easy project...with little stress because the dinos can be made so far ahead of time.

These dino fondant toppers were easy. No creative molding needed. Try them for a little guy you love!!! Or use the concept for another shape/theme!!!

Mint Chocolate Cupcakes ...

Are you lucky enough to get one for St. Patrick's Day?!

I know, I just posted a cupcake recipe yesterday, but I HAD to share these with you for the holiday on Thursday. I know I say this about everything...but these were so YUMMY!

I loved the filling recipe. It was so light and fluffy...not to rich. I will be trying this combo of ingredients with different cookies or fruits...I will let you know what works. The Grasshopper cookies worked! The recipe called for this to just be a filling and frost with buttercream. I cored the center of the cupcake and piped in the filling and just let it overflow on the top. Glad I did. I think the buttercream would make it richer but I LOVED the lightness of these. Your call though. I used this recipe, for the cakes, my fav....but boxed cake mix would be just dandy.

Mint Chocolate Cupcakes

Source: I found these on a blog, googled it and can't refind it...sorry source...but I love your recipe

24 chocolate cupcakes (if you are just filling them) or 12 choc. cupcakes if you are filling and frosting like my photo above

Filling:

8 oz. cool whip

8 oz. cream cheese, room temp.

1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

20 Keebler Grasshopper Mint Cookies, crushed

Green food coloring

Cream Cream cheese and condensed milk together. Stir in cookie crumbs slowly then fold in cool whip. Add green food coloring as you fold in the cool whip. Let filling set up in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Or put in freezer for about five. You are ready to fill and frost. I use a decorating tip to core my cupcakes out. I also sometime use a baby spoon. Any way you want works! I topped mine with cookie halves.

Pot of Gold at the end of the Rainbow Cupcake

I made these last year for St. Patrick's Day. My boys talked all year about the rainbow cupcakes. St. Patty's is here again...and here are the rainbow cuppy cakes. Think it will be a tradition like the green leprechaun pee they found in the toilet last year and eating Lucky Charms for breakfast! These do take a little bit of effort, patience, and love. Give yourself time to smooth the colored layers out or you will end up with a tie dye effect instead of a striped effect. (Which works). You can do these any colors you want. Or choose two colors and stripe them...whatever works. Me? I used red, orange, yellow, green and blue. Practice filling up one cup first and figure out what works. 1 tsp. , 2 tsp...of each color...etc. Then move on to factory style to finish faster. Fill up all the blue, then green, etc. You can use a cake mix or homemade batter. I doctored up a cake mix. I also rolled out store-bought Wilton ready to roll fondant (bought mine at Walmart for $8 in the cake craft area. I have enough to do quite a few more projects...) and cut out little hearts with a cookie cutter. I did this a few days in advance so they had plenty of time to harden up. Took a little pre-planning and ten extra minutes....but made a big impact on the top of the cupcakes. See the cake recipe and instructions below from Christy who got it first here. Rainbow Cupcakes

Throw the following ingredients into your cart...

1 white cake mix (I used lemon cake mix...came out delish!)

2 eggs

1 C sour cream

1/2 C milk

1/3 C vegetable oil

Combine all ingredients until mixed thoroughly. Divide batter according to how many colors you are using. I used 5 colors and it worked out to a little over 1 cup for each color. Use food coloring to color batter to desired intensity. Gel colors have the brightest colors and won't thin your batter. They can be found at Walmart or Michaels. Never buy liquid food coloring again. Swear to me!!!

To get a layered stripe like above, you'll want to put a spoonful of each color in the cupcake one at a time. The batter is thick, so it won't spread on it's own. A great tip is to set out a little bowl of water where you're working. Dip your finger in the water and then gently spread the batter out. The water will make it so the batter doesn't stick to your fingers. Another tip is to use a measuring spoon and some water to measure out how many teaspoons/tablespoons are going to fit in your cupcake. Then divide that by how many colors you have so you know how much of each color to use for each cupcake. For my 5 colors, it worked out perfectly with 2 t of each color in each cupcake. So I put in 2 t of blue in the bottom of each cupcake and spread it out with my finger. Then I put in 2 t of green on top of that, then yellow, etc. (I did use yellow food coloring to brighten up the already yellow cake batter)

Bake them according to the package directions, until a toothpick comes out dry. Makes around 15 cupcakes. Frost with your favorite frosting. I used my cream cheese frosting recipe.

Star Candy Cupcake Toppers

I am skipping Clean Eating Thursday this week...maybe tomorrow I can whip up some Clean Eating Friday something or other... we will see. Tonight I will share the simple, easy star cupcake toppers I posted yesterday...LOVE these!! Don't you love things that make people go, "WOW!" and require very little effort?! I know I do. I recently discovered the magazine Semi-Homemade. It is totally this philosophy...hmmm...that would be a great give-away... Anyways, what was I saying? I love to wow people on very little effort. Hey! Who doesn't, right? No one likes to say, yeah... I spent 10 hours doing this. I don't- people will think I have no life??!!

Here is what you need...

Wilton star candy mold

Wilton candy melts (I used red, blue, green, and yellow)

Here is what you do...

Melt candy melts one color at a time in a microwave safe bowl for about 1 minute, stirring at 30 seconds. Fill each mold with a 2 spoon method. Scooping with one spoon, scraping with the other. After you fill about 4 molds, spread out each mold so it is even and scrape with a small bench scraper, paper towel, or tidy up mold with your finger. Continue filling all the molds. If you wait to spread and tidy up each mold at the end...the ones you started with will already be setting. Does that make sense? Lightly tap the mold on the counter a few times to settle the candy into the small crevice of the mold. Put in freezer for 3-5 minutes. The underside (tops of the molded stars) should like foggy if they are set. Turn upside down and they should slide right out. I like to run my fingers along the edges of the candy molds to clean them up and even up the edges. Stick on the top of a cupcake. These candy stars can be stored in the fridge or at room temperature for quite a while...read candy melts package for specifics.

The Box's Fav. Chocolate Cake Recipe

A talented gal pal of mine just started a cake blog called Catastrophic Cakes. I was thinking of her on Friday when I was putting the finishing touches on a week long project-my first fondant cake. It truly was catastrophic. I felt like anything wrong that could have happened happened. My headboard broke (see pict. The bed, blocks and words are fondant. The toys are toys.) and I had to use the footboard instead. The text "Happy" broke and I had to piece it together like a puzzle for the presentation. Okay it really wasn't that bad in the grand scheme of things...especially since it was the first time I have literally EVER touched fondant. The part that was catastrophic was the cake part. I had no clue how to level, fill, etc. (Soon to be resolved...taking a great class in a few weeks and I will share what I learn.) My frosting recipe I chose turned out pretty crusty after spreading it out and you can see little cracks across the whole top. Oh Well! I gave it to them for cost and lesson learned! I should not be overly confident in my capabilities until I take some more classes!

Also, this last weekend, I did some bridal gown cookies that were to die for and these cupcakes. Aren't they cute? I will teach you how to make the stars later this week.

But for both projects...I used this recipe. My fav. chocolate cake recipe by far...and I have tried alot! This recipe stays moist for DAYS! We love it!

The Box's Favorite Chocolate Cake Recipe...so far

Source: My Kitchen Cafe

Makes two 8-inch or 9-inch cake layers , 1 9X13-inch pan

Makes about 2.5 dozen cupcakes

Put the following ingredients into your cart...

1 ¼ cups unsweetened cocoa powder

2 ½ cups all purpose flour

2 ½ cups sugar

2 ½ teaspoons baking soda

1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder

1 ¼ teaspoons salt

2 large eggs plus 1 large egg yolk

1 ¼ cups warm water

1 ¼ cups buttermilk

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Put your apron on and get busy...

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, making sure the baking rack is in the middle of the oven.

Prepare your cake pans by cutting out a piece of parchment or wax paper to line the bottom of the pan. Grease the pans, place the parchment or wax paper in the bottom of the pan and lightly grease again. Dust the pans with flour (or cocoa powder if you don’t want the white dusting on the finished cakes). Set the pans aside.

Using a fine mesh strainer, sift together the cocoa, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Add the eggs, yolk, warm water, buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Mix on low speed (with a handheld mixer or in the bowl of an electric stand mixer) until smooth, about 3 minutes.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake the cakes for about 32-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean or with moist crumbs. Do not overbake! Remove the pans from the oven and set the pans on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes. Gently run a thin knife around the edges of the pans and unmold the cakes, removing the parchment paper liners from the bottom of the cakes. Let them cool completely, top sides ups, on a wire rack.

Trim the tops of the cake layers with a long serrated knife to make them level.

Lemon Cupcakes To Die For

What did you do today? Me? I ran away. For 3 hours. It was wonderful. I try to get away every Saturday afternoon for a few hours. Sigh! It was sooo.... quiet. No whining, fighting, shooting (my boys are pretend shooting everything these days). I really needed the break. I have been super busy with orders! Still spending more than I am making. But soon I will have all the supplies right? Over the last few days I have done an order of 3 dozen cupcakes, 30 bridal gown royal icing cookies, and my first ever fondant cake (now that will be a story to tell)! Can't wait to show you pictures of everything. The weather was gorgeous out and made me even more anxious for Spring. Is it too early to put out the Easter decorations? I think I will do that tomorrow. Speaking of Easter, try these cupcakes because they would be perfect to leave out for the Easter Bunny. These cupcakes are so light and fluffy they remind me of angel food cake.
Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream
Source: Our Best Bites
1 1/2 c. (3 sticks) of REAL butter
3 c. cake flour (no substitutions here--you really need the lightness of cake flour)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 c. sugar
5 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
4 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
Zest of 2 lemons (just zest the other lemons before you squeeze them)
1 c. buttermilk

Put your apron on and get busy...
Preheat oven to 325. Line 2 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake liners. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 4-5 minutes. Don't go skimping here--you want the mixture to be almost white and super fluffy. This is absolutely essential to the outcome of the cake.

While butter and sugar are mixing, sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl. Set aside. After butter and sugar have mixed sufficiently, With the mixer running, add eggs, one at a time, beating to incorporate after each addition. Beat in vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon zest.With mixer on low speed, alternate adding flour mixture and buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and beating until fully incorporated.

Using a standard cookie scoop, place about 2 scoops of batter into each muffin cup. Fill these almost to the top--due to the final texture (again, think super-moist and light pound cake), these cupcakes won't have a nice, curvy crown, but that's okay--no one will ever know or care.Bake about 20-25 minutes or just until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cupcakes comes out clean. You don't want to overbake these even a bit, or they'll start to lose their delicious moisture. Remove from oven and cool completely.

Frost with lemon buttercream and garnish with strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, or fresh mint leaves.

Lemon Buttercream
1 1/4 c. butter (2 1/2 sticks)
2 tsp. grated lemon rind
3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
3 c. powdered sugar
Beat butter, lemon rind, and lemon juice in an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating to spreading consistency.

A Give-away winner and Oreo Cupcakes!

Drum roll please....duuuuummmmmm....and the winner is......dummmmmm....Meggin!!! Thank you for your support and for participating everyone. After a high tech raffle (drawing names from a hat in front of 3 witnesses ) , the recipe organizer is yours Meggin. Congrats!! Please email me your info at mendenhall.lindsey@gmail.com. I will ship it asap. For the rest of you...eat some cupcakes!

I can pretty much down sugar like it is water. Hey, it's a gift! It is very seldom that I taste something and say, "Wow, this is sweet." But, these oreo cupcakes were just that...rich and sweet. They were delicious! My tip would be to not do the fancy swirls and mounds of frosting. Do your normal little swipe of frosting with a butter knife. That is all you will need. The actual cake recipe is amazing. I will be adding it to my flavor options for customers. Something different from the norm. Kids... and the kid in you... will love these!!

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes
Yield: 24 cupcakes

Put the following ingredients in your cart:

For the cupcakes:
24 Oreo halves, with cream filling attached
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 2/3 cup sugar
3 large egg whites, at room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup milk
20 Oreo cookies, coarsely chopped (I quarter them)

For the frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
2 tbsp. heavy cream

For garnish:
Oreo cookie crumbs
24 Oreo cookie halves

Put your apron on and get busy...

Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line the wells of two cupcake pans with 24 paper liners. Place an Oreo halve in the bottom of each liner, cream side up. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt; stir together with a fork to blend and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar and beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Blend in the egg whites one at a time, beating well after each addition. Blend in the vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed, beat in half of the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Add the milk and beat just until combined, then mix in the remaining dry ingredients. Gently fold in the chopped Oreos with a rubber spatula until evenly incorporated, being careful not to over-mix.Evenly divide the batter between the prepared cupcake liners. Bake for 18-20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pans 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on medium-high speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Blend in the vanilla extract. Beat in the confectioners' sugar until incorporated and smooth, 1-2 minutes. Add the heavy cream to the bowl and beat on medium-low speed just until incorporated, then increase the speed to medium-high and whip for 4 minutes until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Frost the cooled cupcakes as desired. Sprinkle with Oreo crumbs and garnish with Oreo halves.