Pinkalicious Cupcakes

I was recently asked to make cupcakes for a little girls birthday party that was Pinkalicious themed. Apparently there is this whole world of children's books that I didn't know about. There is not only Pinkalicious, but there is also Purplicious, Goldlicious, Silverlicious... all equally popular. In the Pinkalicious story a little girl eats too many pink cupcakes causing her to turn pink- The only cure is to eat vegetables! Those tricky authors :-)

The plan was to match the cupcakes in the book as closely as possible. I used chocolate cupcakes since the birthday girl herself requested they be chocolate, and a classic buttercream with pink food coloring. In the book each cupcake had a cherry on top but since regular cherries run everywhere I rolled them in sugar the night before and put them in the fridge uncovered to help dry them out a little - very sweet but very cute. A dash of pink and white sprinkles and voila! Pinkalicious cupcakes. I also dipped strawberry marshmallows in pink white chocolate and sprinkles for marshmallow pops. Jill at Stamped Paper co made the adorable crown toppers to add to the theme. I hope these ideas inspire you if you are planning a Pinkalicious party...

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Red velvet with cinnamon cream cheese frosting

The party was AARP themed since the birthday girl was turning 50... she took it like a champ!

Chocolate with peanut butter buttercream and chocolate peanut butter sauce

One of my favorite co-workers commissioned me to make 50 cupcakes for another awesome co-worker of ours and of course I was super excited. After talking it over we settled on three flavors:

1. Chocolate with peanut butter buttercream and peanut butter chocolate fudge sauce
2. Classic yellow cake with dark chocolate cream cheese frosting
3. Red velvet with cinnamon cream cheese frosting and red velvet crumb topping

I had made all of the icing and cakes on their own and some together over the past few years but I had never used the cinnamon cream cheese frosting in the past and it was so good that I had to share it with you all. This is crazy simple, and really nothing fancy but it ads a whole new delicious layer to a red velvet cake. It's so subtle that you can't really pinpoint what it is but when you do it is such a surprise that it makes everyone smile. Try it on you next red velvet cupcake and I promise you wont be disappointed.

-K

Ingredients:

• 4 cups powdered sugar sifted
• 1/2 cup butter, room temp
• 8 oz cream cheese
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (you can also use nutmeg)
• 1 tbl heavy whipping cream (this is optional but I find it helps the frosting to be extra fluffy)

1. Cream the butter in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Slowly add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, and heavy cream mix until well combined.
2. Add the cream cheese and beat on high for about 5 min or until the frosting is light and fluffy. Try not to over-beat.

Raspberry Thumbprints

1 inch balls spaced 3 inches apart... they do spread during the baking process.

Wet your thumb when making thumbprints to keep your finger from sticking.

So Thanksgiving is all wrapped up, literally... I think I have enough left overs to last till Christmas. The great thing about Thanksgiving being over with is that now we have a excuse to make tons of cookies and Christmas treats for everyone we know. To get in the holiday spirit while I was in an airport the other day and picked up the current Martha Stewart's Holiday Cookies issue. 101 recipes for every holiday cookie under the sun. Issues like this are great because you can keep them forever and always refer back to them in times of need – like a cookbook only much less expensive.

My friends Steej came over yesterday to help decorate my Christmas tree. It was beautiful out and the perfect Saturday for Christmas decorating, Steej had the great idea to bake some cookies while we decorate... great idea! My first thought was to bake linzer cookies since I have been dying to try them out but I didn't have any almonds or hazelnuts so I decided to sift through the Holiday Cookie issue and landed on Raspberry Thumbprints which looked to be incredibly simple based on the recipe. The dough is very easily thrown together on the fly but it does take a little time to roll each ball and fill with the raspberry jam. With that said they were well worth it. I love raspberry jam so I always have it handy and I think the red color make them perfect for Christmas. They aren't overly sweet which makes them great for a middle of the day treat. I had one this morning with my coffee and I'm not complaining.

Original recipe from Martha Stewart's 2010 Holiday Cookie issue

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) of butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup of raspberry jam

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In the work bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy. 3-4 minutes. Add egg and beat until completely combined. Reduce speed to low, add flour and mix until incorporated.
2. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place on parchment lined baking sheets spacing at least 3 inches apart.
3. Moisten thumb with water, and gently press center of each ball to make and indentation. heat jam in a small saucepan over medium heat until melted. Spoon about 1/2 teaspoon into each indentation. Bake rotating sheet halfway through, until cookies are golden brown around the edges about 15 min - make sure not to over bake. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. Store extra's in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Watermelon Cookies

Dough ready to be made into watermelons

Ready for the oven

my decorating station

In honor of Memorial Day weekend I wanted to make something that reminded me of summer. These cookies are from my childhood, my mom used to make these for my birthday which is also in the summer so they hold happy memories for me. The recipe is from the June 1988 edition of Better Homes and Garden... yes 1988. Good news is that they still have it posted on their website, even though I prefer to use my old photocopied version from my moms magazine tear out :-)

They don't have any watermelon in them, they are meant only to look like watermelon slices. Kids love these, and so do adults since they aren't overly sweet. They are somewhere between a sugar cookie and a shortbread cookie in disguise. Great to bring to a summer party or for a kids birthday party... Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1/3 cup butter (no substitutes)

1/3 cup of shortening

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

1 tablespoon orange juice or milk

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups of all purpose flour

red food coloring

1 egg white

1 tablespoon of water

Green coarse sugar

Miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and set aside. Beat butter and shortening in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar - beat till fluffy. Beat in egg, orange juice or milk, and vanilla until combined. Add in your food coloring (takes about 8 drops to get the red) Slowly mix in the flour mixture till combined. Divide dough in half. Cover and chill dough for 3 hours or until easy to handle.

2. Stir together egg white and water. Roll each half of dough on a floured surface until 1/4 inch thick. Cut with a floured 3-inch round cookie cutter. Cut cookies in half. place on an ungreased cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Press a few chocolate pieces into each.Bake in a 375 degree F oven for 5 to 7 minutes or until bottoms begin to brown; do not allow to brown on top.

3. Transfer to wire racks and cool. In a small shallow bowl stir together egg white and water; brush the edge of each cookie. Sprinkle sugar on edges. dry on your wrack then transfer to your dish. Makes about 30 cookies.

Mixin' some love

I have been blessed with my very own Kitchen Aid Artisan Mixer! To celebrate this occasion I took about 50 photos. Beginning at the opening of the box and ending with a christening complete with a batch of chocolate chip cookies.

I have always been jealous of the fancy bakers (or even some non-bakers) who have one of these beautiful mixers. They really do make things so much easier, especially when multi-tasking comes into play. I was given a gorgeous Empire Red one which I LOVE! It is the Tilt-Head design with 10 speeds. It came with the flat beater for general mixing, a dough hook to knead dough, and a wire whip for whipped cream, meringues, and icings. There is also an awesome pouring shield which helps keep the flower in the bowl and not on me.

Surely most people have seen one of these are probably wouldn't get as excited about having one as I clearly am, but this is a big deal to me. Thank you :-)