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Each holiday I post a compilation of my favorite (or the best) cupcake or dessert items that are pertinent to said holiday; I also throw in links to other things like snacks or cookies or even meals that relate as well. I started doing it last Halloween (2010). Afterwards, I’d gotten good feedback from people who said it helps them come up with ideas without having to search too much, so I kept it up. The rest is history, as they say.

So here you are. A convenient little list of pretty cakes (& other things listed at the bottom) that are perfect for spring/Easter/Passover/whatever you celebrate. I celebrate chocolate bunnies, myself. Anyway, click on each image & you’ll be brought to the recipe. Enjoy!
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And there’s more than this that I haven’t pictured here, both for the sake of time & space. If you’re interested in them, I’m listing them below. I hope this helps you guys out with some ideas! And don’t forget- there’s plenty more to come in the next week or two.

Chocolate fudge Easter egg cake pops

Chocolate hi-hat cupcakes with banana-flavored Italian meringue

Sweet noodle kugel

Shortbread cookies dipped in chocolate (shape ‘em like bunnies!)

Thumbprint cookies
…………………………………….(shape ‘em like eggs & use all different colored springy jams & jellies to fill them)

Cherry filled low-sugar cupcakes
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Carrot cupcakes with lavender-colored cream cheese frosting

Coconut macaroons & chocolate-covered coconut macaroons

Alfajores with dulce de leche filling

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‘Tis the season of hearts. It seems as if everywhere I’ve gone since shortly after New Years’ Day, I saw hearts & chocolate hearts & heart-shaped lights & heart-shaped boxes… it’s a good thing I love Valentine’s Day (& the color pink) or else I’d get homicidal. But I do love it all. See, people have this idea about me that because of appearances or my general likes/dislikes that I’m going to be this angry person who hates this terrible “Hallmark holiday.” In reality, that’s far from the truth. I love any & all excuses to cook & bake & decorate with all my vintage stuff, not to mention the fact that the color scheme for this one is kinda delicious. Anyway, it’s February 1st, and that means there are just 2 weeks until Valentine’s Day. Yup, just 2 measly weeks to fit in all the hearts, lace, red & pink that you can stand, then shove it down your throats until February 15th, and then I’ll stop.

So until the 15th of February… suck it up. Even the biggest anti-Valentine’s Day person (if that’s you, you’ll want to make these cupcakes then) can enjoy a double-layer cherry-on-top cupcake, or cookie, or whoopie pie, or cake pop, or some risotto made with red wine. Last year I did a round-up of my favorite cupcakes, too, but of course there are more to include now. So here’s the start of my Valentine’s Day Fairy Tale… just a few ideas to get you in the mood, so to speak. Click each picture & you’ll be magically transported to the recipe!

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If you’re going to go the Fairy Tale route this Valentine’s, Black Forest cupcakes are especially perfect, because Snow White originated in & was said to be written about the Black Forest in Germany. All that fairy tale stuff is what Valentine’s Day is made of, isn’t it? All you need is some pretty pink cupcakes with a cherry on top, a fancy dress & some birds tying ribbons in your hair & you’re ready. Some of us may be attracted to the Maleficent’s instead of the princesses, but that doesn’t mean we can’t like the color pink, or Valentine’s Day, or cupcakes. Sometimes the harder you try to portray yourself, the more anti-everything you say you are (even if it’s genuine), the more people think “yeah right”, & laugh at you. There’s no harm in liking things. So fucking lighten up a bit. And I hate everything, so take it from me.

On that note, I’ll end this post. But first you should also check out some of these recipes; while not all were specifically made for/are Valentine’s Day related, they can be adapted quite well:

Heart-shaped shortbread cookies dipped in chocolate

Chocolate whoopie pies with mint filling & a chocolate ganache

Double-layer chocolate & vanilla cupcakes

Red velvet cupcakes (always good for Valentine’s Day)

Anti-Valentine’s Day cupcakes of darkness (my cupcaking skills were immature back then)

Thumbprint cookies (use a red-colored jam or jelly)

Double chocolate pudding

Peppermint bark (includes ideas for making it “Valentine-y”)…

The best cocoa brownies (ever!)
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I’d say, “The End” but I’m afraid this is just the beginning of the Valentine’s-themed fun. Me & Lola are excited to get in as many rouge-colored desserts & condiments as we can for you guys, so stay tuned!

And of course, my grandma’s little vintage elves had to get in on the act. Are you prepared for the cuteness overload?

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Super duper über cute. Those elves (or pixies?) are the coolest. I also have ones that are “candle huggers.” I think they were made by a company called Gilner in the 1940′s & 1950′s (and I think even some go back to the 30′s). These are from the ’40′s, when my grandparents were first married. Apparently they’re very collectible.

I kept the rest of the cupcake true to the original I’d seen, of course my own spin on it since I didn’t have their recipe. Peppermint twist “North Pole” cupcakes (topped with Andes Peppermint Crunch chips)! I bought this bag of Andes chips before Halloween… because I’m crazy. Well that & also because I knew I had to use them to bake with this year. I didn’t know at the time what I would make, but I knew it’d include those. Then I saw that little booklet of baking ideas with its adorable red & white striped cupcake on the cover. Brilliant. I could incorporate the Andes baking chips with red/white peppermint cupcakes- without having to use the tired old candy cane method! ‘Cause yeah, that’s cute & all, but let’s face it- it’s been done to death.

So I did what that little baking booklet did!

Or rather, my version of it.

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‘NORTH POLE’ PEPPERMINT TWIST CUPCAKES

Ingredients:

• 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour, sifted
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 ¼ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon peppermint extract
• ½ cup + 2 tablespoons whole milk
• 1 large egg
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• a pinch of salt
• red food coloring (please remember to use a good quality NO-TASTE red food coloring!)
• Andes Peppermint Crunch baking chips (or crushed candy canes)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350° degrees F.
2. Line a cupcake pan with baking cups; depending on how big your cupcake tins are, you can make between 8 and 12 (I got 12 but I could’ve easily filled mine more). Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
3. Place the unsalted butter in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the sugar; beat on medium speed until well incorporated. Add the egg, mix it in slowly. Combine the vanilla extract and milk in a large liquid measuring cup.
4. Reduce the mixer speed to low, and add ⅓ of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, then gradually add ⅓ of the milk mixture, beating until well incorporated. Add another third of the flour mixture, followed by a third of the milk mixture. Stop to scrape down the bowl as needed. Add the remaining flour mixture, followed by the remaining milk mixture, and beat just until combined.
5. Scoop about ¼ – ½ of the batter into a separate bowl. Mix in the peppermint extract well, then mix in the red food coloring, drop by drop, until red color (not pink) is achieved.
6. Spoon plain vanilla batter into baking cups, filling each about halfway. Add 2-4 teaspoons of the red batter to it & using a knife or toothpick, swirl & swish it around until there’s a swirled pattern. DO NOT THOROUGHLY MIX IT- you’ll end up with pink cupcakes, not red swirl. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.
7. After frosting, sprinkle baking chips or crushed candy canes on top.

Elf not included.

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The frosting tip is this one, and the frosting is a plain ol’ vanilla confectioner’s sugar buttercream (an Italian meringue or Swiss meringue would be nice too). For cupcakes like this, I prefer to use a plain white liner so that you can see the swirl through it, but do whatever works for you. And like I said, I seriously stress the no-taste red color. If you don’t use it, you might taste an unpleasant bitter or chemical-y flavor that will overpower the peppermint & vanilla. Some good choices are Wilton’s No-Taste Red gel food coloring and Americolor Super Red gel paste food coloring. Same goes for making red velvet cupcakes, although with the cocoa powder I find it isn’t as noticeable.

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I told you I was all vintage inspired this season. So on the kitchen table, in addition to these lil’ pixie people, I used my grandma’s vintage Christmas tablecloth & some of my mom & grandma’s vintage Santa’s. My mother has a Santa collection that would make Martha Stewart cry; you need a certain kind of Kris Kringle? Ask her. She has a bunch that belonged to my great-grandmothers, my grandma, and ones that were hers from when she was a child. Not to mention the tons of them she’s gotten as gifts or bought herself over the years. She has every single type of St. Nick you could ever want- Victorian, Colonial, 1950′s, 1920′s, plastic, metal, plaster, hollow, solid, papier mache, German Santa’s, Irish Santa’s, folk Santa’s, traditional Santa’s, modern Santa’s, American Santa’s, Santa’s in cars, Santa’s on sleds, cat Santa’s, happy Santa’s, sad Santa’s, angry-looking Santa’s, tall Santa’s, tiny Santa’s, etc. I’m not joking. Any type of Santa you can imagine, she’s got. But I just chose to borrow some of the 40′s/50′s/60′s ones for my little retro display. It seemed they’d be more fitting with the tablecloth.

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Even though my grandma isn’t here physically this Christmas, her things are all around & in that, she is here. Here are a few close ups of the tablecloth. It’s so cute. I’m going to try & look through some old pictures & see if I can find any of either my grandparents’ apartment or their house at Christmas with this on the table. I mean how amazing is this? So stylized. It’s right out of Christmas in Connecticut.

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Basically, this all boils down to the fact that I love all things peppermint & candy cane-like, I love all things vintage and I love baking with them & using them as inspiration. Luckily, my family saved a lot of their fantastic vintage stuff for me to swoon over. I’ll never understand people who don’t like vintage items! What is WRONG with you people?! This stuff is phenomenal. They just don’t make things like this anymore. Not to mention, a quick look on eBay or Etsy & you’ll see, this stuff goes for quite a bit of money. So if you’re lucky enough to have it, you’re sitting on a goldmine. Especially the Gurley candles (which I have a TON of, for every holiday), some of them go for a fortune!

Not that I’d ever sell. But anyway, I do love seeing/hearing about other people’s Christmas goodies that have been in their family for ages (or at least a few years), so if you feel like sharing, please do! You can add links to pictures or stories or whatever you like in the comments. I’m a nosy bitch so humor me……

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This year for Halloween, when it came to edibles, I was 100% inspired by Martha’s Halloween issue. Literally, 100%. I found the perfect cupcakes for Halloween, not to mention other treats & ideas that I just had to make (see picture on the right). Some of them you’ve already seen (like the pumpkin cupcakes, or the candy apples with witches’ attached!), but these are the pièce de résistance, if you will. Gorgeous green pistachio eye-of-newt & toe-of-frog cupcakes, complete with chocolate frogs! As soon as I saw them I just knew they’d be absolutely amazing, not to mention they’d look perfect on my table for Halloween. I told you I was completely inspired *ahem* by Queen Martha’s Halloween issue this year, didn’t I? I know I must have. Like I said, I haven’t had an original cupcaking thought in my pretty head all season, sadly. I’ve also been nursing a wicked painful back lately, which is actually most inopportune for a lot of reasons- but such is life when you get old like me you’ve got a chronic back problem, and on top of that I’ve been fighting (and losing) a battle with a hardcore cold. Bottom line is I needed some ideas. These cupcakes jumped out at me; regardless of what plans I had for Halloween these babies were going to be on the menu. Ghastly, ghostly, sickly green cupcakes accompanied by my lovely skull (with his friend The Rat & Mr. Tarantula), not to mention some extra (kinda cute) edible ‘croaking’ friends. I usually make cupcakes frosted high with tufts of perfectly piped buttercream… but not this time.

This time I wasn’t going to be frosting the little green-ish cakes, but glazing them in two different shades of green goo. Sounds yummy, right? Haha. At Halloween, anything is acceptable! And honestly, how could I possibly name them anything other than ‘Eye of Newt & Toe of Frog‘ cupcakes? I could not. I would be doing a disservice to my literary education as well as underestimating (or rather under-using) my quick wit.

So like any good witch would do, I took a break from drinking Egyptian Licorice tea, blowing my nose & rubbing Tylenol Precise on my back (sexy, I know), took out my magical mixer, Lola, and started to create some evil, er, delicious cupcakes. Lola may be pink, but she’s pretty diabolical. Together we whipped up some rather eerie yet delicious green-tinted pistachio cakes with green glaze & little frogs. The chocolate frogs are made from frog-shaped candy molds. I used chocolate Candy Melts (and Spooky Green colored melts to make the dots on them) and then brushed them with green pearl dust when they were cooled.

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The irony is, my dad’s birthday is the 29th of October, so every year I try to make a big batch of cupcakes & use half for his birthday, half for Halloween. Some years it doesn’t quite work out, and I end up making two batches anyway. But it just so happens that this year he requested pistachio cupcakes weeks before Halloween, and I never mentioned the fact I had planned on making these. So killing two birds with one stone made everyone a happy camper this year. And who wouldn’t love chocolate frogs!? Even Harry Potter likes chocolate frogs! They’re clearly magical.

What an amazing looking set of cupcakes these turned out to be! And moist. And tasty. Who doesn’t love pistachio? I admittedly amped up the ‘nut’ flavor with some almond extract myself (which I included in the recipe below), but if you’re a purist you can just use a full 2 teaspoons vanilla.

EYE OF NEWT & TOE OF FROG CUPCAKES (adapted very slightly from Martha Stewart’s Halloween magazine ‘pistachio cupcakes’, 2011)

Makes 36

Ingredients:

• 14 ounces unsalted shelled pistachios (about 1 ¾ cups)
• 1 ¼ cups (2 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 3 cups sugar
• 6 large eggs, room temperature
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 ½ teaspoons pure almond extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon coarse salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°. Line 36 cups of standard muffin tins with paper liners. Coarsely chop ¾ cup pistachios, and reserve. In a food processor, grind remaining pistachios to a paste.
2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter, cream cheese, and pistachio paste until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Gradually add sugar; beat until smooth, scraping sides of bowl as needed. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until each is incorporated, and scraping sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla & almond extracts. Reduce speed to low. Add flour & salt, beating until just combined. Fold in chopped pistachios by hand.
3. Divide batter among lined cups, filling each almost ¾ full. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely. (Cupcakes can be stored up to 1 day at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.)
4. Place on wire racks that are over rimmed cookie sheets. Drizzle lighter glaze (see below) over each, let set until no longer tacky, 30 to 60 minutes. Drizzle with darker glaze, allowing the lighter to show around the edges, let set before decorating with chocolate frogs. Serve & enjoy.

GHASTLY GREEN GLAZE

Ingredients:

• 6 cups confectioners’ sugar
• ⅔ cup milk
• Gel-paste food coloring in Moss Green, Brown, Juniper Green and Royal Blue (all Wilton)

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together confectioners’ sugar and milk until smooth & combined. Transfer half to another bowl.
2. For lighter green glaze (base color), add 4 drops Moss Green & 2 drops Brown food coloring to one bowl; stir to combine, adding more of each color until desired shade is reached.
3. For the darker glaze (top color), add 4 drops Juniper Green, 2 drops Royal Blue and 1 drop Brown to the second bowl; stir to combine. Adjust by adding more until desired shade is reached. Use immediately (above).

I bought my pistachios at Trader Joe’s because they’re the only place that sells unshelled pistachios (other than perhaps Whole Foods, but Trader Joe’s is closer to me). The frogs Martha uses are from Black Dinah Chocolatiers. I, however, made my own. Like I said above, I bought a frog candy mold (slightly bigger than the Black Dinah “froglets”) and used Candy Melts to create the frogs. Do as you wish in that department. I also used slightly different colors of Wilton gel-paste food coloring (just the greens) for the glazes. I couldn’t find Juniper Green & didn’t want to order it online, so I used two other Wilton greens I already had. It worked just fine.

And also I carved my jack-o-lantern! I screwed up a bit, it’s supposed to be Jack Skellington but I broke two carving saws doing it & so he’s not the best. I had further plans for it, but like I said, I broke the tools & it was around midnight, so here it is. Not perfect. I’m a perfectionist, though, so it’s disappointing. Boo (pun intended). But it came out pretty decent, either way, better than a lot I’ve seen. And I roasted the seeds with Kosher salt & olive oil. Mmm. That makes up for any mistakes, right?

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In case you aren’t aware, the phrase “eye of newt & toe of frog” is Shakespearean. It comes from the same text as “double, double, toil & trouble” and “something wicked this way comes”, also very popular terminology in modern vernacular… all of which just so happens to be from William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. I’m 100% certain most people who use these terms haven’t a clue what their origins are. However I do, and it’s one of my absolute favorite literary classics. Anyway, the line about newts & frogs is from the part where the Three Witches (or “Weird Sisters”) are concocting a spell in the final scene. For those of you who slept through high school English class, here’s the full excerpt:

1 WITCH. Thrice the brinded cat hath mew’d.
2 WITCH. Thrice and once, the hedge-pig whin’d.
3 WITCH. Harpier cries:—’tis time! ’tis time!
1 WITCH. Round about the caldron go;
In the poison’d entrails throw.—
Toad, that under cold stone,
Days and nights has thirty-one;
Swelter’d venom sleeping got,
Boil thou first i’ the charmed pot!
ALL. Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.
2 WITCH. Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the caldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder’s fork, and blind-worm’s sting,
Lizard’s leg, and owlet’s wing,—
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.

ALL. Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.
3 WITCH. Scale of dragon; tooth of wolf;
Witches’ mummy; maw and gulf
Of the ravin’d salt-sea shark;
Root of hemlock digg’d i the dark;
Liver of blaspheming Jew;
Gall of goat, and slips of yew
Sliver’d in the moon’s eclipse;
Nose of Turk, and Tartar’s lips;
Finger of birth-strangled babe
Ditch-deliver’d by a drab,—
Make the gruel thick and slab:
Add thereto a tiger’s chaudron,
For the ingrediants of our caldron.
ALL. Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.
2 WITCH. Cool it with a baboon’s blood,
Then the charm is firm and good.

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Those of you familiar with Shakespeare will align the image of the skull with another of his works, Hamlet. I guess these cupcakes are just totally Shakespearean! And now you know the origin of “double, double, toil and trouble.” Go impress your friends.

that ends our Halloween fare for the year (almost- bwahahahaha). I can’t believe in just 4 short days it’ll be Halloween- where the hell did the time go!? Insane. There might just be one more trick… or treat… before this month ends..

And of course, having a blog helps. Thanks to this blog, my amazing readers & my friend Yoyo, we’ve managed to get them over $400.00 in donations in just two months alone last year! And that’s in donations that I’m aware of; people who bought from Yoyo’s shop just for this cause. I’m sure there were quite a few who’ve donated directly to them & for that I’m super grateful. They do amazing work, and they deserve all the help they can get.

Which is why I make them cupcakes!

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Yes, all these hardworking women need fuel, and I am here to provide it in the form of sugar. Two years ago, I made them chocolate cupcakes with pink striped frosting & pink ribbon toppers. Last year, I made them cupcakes with vanilla frosting dipped in a pink glaze & rolled in pink ribbon sprinkles. This year I wasn’t totally sure what I’d do, but I did know I was going to box them up in my large bakery box from Bake-A-Box. Remember last month when I wrote about them? This box was the perfect way to house & deliver my pink ribbon Adelphi Breast Cancer Hotline & Support Program cupcakes. This year I went really simple: vanilla cakes, vanilla buttercream & I alternated Candy Melt-piped pink ribbons with pink sanding sugar. The ribbons were easy, I just filled a disposable bag with pink melts, popped ‘em in the microwave until they were melted, then snipped off the tip of the bag & piped lots of pink ribbons onto some parchment paper. I let them set overnight, then when the cupcakes were frosted I picked a few of the best ones to use & ate the rest. Hah. The tip I used to frost them was this one.

And what better eggs to use but Eggland’s Best eggs with pink ribbons?

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And on a lighter (& much sweeter) note than breast cancer, one of the social workers whose been with my mom from the start of her breast cancer journey, Angela, is having twins in April! So of course I had to make her a duo of cupcakes; a cupcake for each little one she’s expecting, doused in pastel sprinkles. Since we don’t know the genders, I went with all colors instead of just pink & blue. The toppers are just little plastic baby shower favors. Cuteness times 1,000.

Adorbs!

All boxed up!

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So sweet, right? Also, last Tuesday, October 18th just so happened to be the Adelphi Breast Cancer Program’s Celebration of Survivorship. The guest speakers each year are incredibly inspiring, my mother was one back in 2008. This year NBC’s Pat Battle was among the speakers, last year Lisa Lisa was one, and previous years’ speakers have included Betty Rollin, Dara Richardson-Heron, and Meredith Norton, to name just a few. I had a fun evening celebrating all the amazing survivors, including my mom!

Oh and before I forget… this year Lowe’s was (is?) selling huge pots of pink mums in a pink ribbon pot, and a portion of the price went to Susan G. Komen. So of course I bought one for my mom. If they’re still available in a Lowe’s near you, buy one. Do you really need an excuse for buying beautiful fall flowers, even if it is for breast cancer research?

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So get out there & spread the word! My website is always “in the pink” anyway but this month I want everyone to be pink; even just metaphorically. There are those (if you can believe it) who are against pink ribbons; they say it “sexualizes” breast cancer, or trivializes it, or it’s “selling out.” I disagree. First of all, I was over that whole “selling out” thing back when I was 16 & it was cool to say a punk band sold out if they made some money & didn’t live in a car. My take? Anything that raises money so that women who can’t afford it can get mammograms is a good thing. Anything that raises money for cancer research is a good thing. Anything that reminds a woman (or a man) when they see it to check for any unusual things going on is a good thing, and if that’s a pink ribbon then that’s what it is. I’m a baker & I cook a lot; let’s face it, I’m going to buy eggs anyway, why not buy the ones that donate $50,000 to a good cause that I happen to hold near & dear? Breast cancer ain’t the only cancer out there, and it does get a lot of attention, but 1 in 7 women are diagnosed with it so why the hell wouldn’t it!? Pink ribbons, purple ribbons, green ribbons, brown ribbons- I don’t care. Wear ‘em & wear ‘em proudly. Gain attention to whatever cause is close to your heart, get the word out. We’re all only here for a short time, why waste it fighting over a colored ribbon when we can use our big mouths to help? Not only that, but quibbling over a looped pink ribbon or the fact that there are organizations that brand items with a pink ribbon to raise money seems really childish to me, no matter how lofty or erudite you make it seem. There are women still dying of this disease, and you’re angry because you don’t like the color pink? Get over yourself. My mother had a mastectomy, 6 months of hardcore chemotherapy & 6 weeks of radiation, and all that helped save her life & improve her chances of living cancer-free. About 15-20 years ago I lost both my great aunt & a 35-year old second cousin to breast cancer. In the few short years between now & then the advancements are far beyond what you can imagine, trust me. If things had pink ribbons on them in 1990 or if people took it as seriously, maybe my great aunt would still be alive, and if Susan G. Komen was raising the money then that they are now perhaps my cousin would be alive too, & would have seen her three children grow up. I don’t think they’d have been against seeing a pink ribbon on a box of cookies if it would’ve maybe helped them live a little longer, do you?

Well too bad, anyway. I like pink, always have, and this is just another reason for me to use the color. Take care of yourselves, you’re valuable. Ladies, feel your boobs. Get checked (men too!) & don’t let suspicious lumps or bumps go unnoticed or freak you out: there is help! You aren’t alone & you shouldn’t be afraid: your worst fears are often never as bad as you expect them to be.

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Resources or places on the web to donate or get educated:

Adelphi NY Statewide Breast Cancer Hotline & Support Program

Look Good, Feel Better

Army of Women

American Cancer Society

Young Survival Coalition

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I was also clearly beyond inspired by the Martha Stewart Halloween magazine this year, as evidenced by my post at the beginning of October, and this is another something I took directly from it. Caramel apples with witches & “broomsticks”! They made me think of both that movie & also the Wicked Witch of the West. How cool are they?!

First Martha’s…

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And then mine.

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I know. Crazy easy & very adorable. But more importantly- easy. It’s just a little more than a few days before Halloween and I know that there are still some people thinking about last minute ideas. Here’s one.

The other day, I told you about my sort of failed but happy accident caramel apple syrup that I messed up making (but ended up with something awesome anyway). That was a more complex recipe, though, by far. This time I promise- there is no way you could EVER mess this up. First of all, caramel apples are so easy a trained monkey could make them. Second, by just adding a little witch cut out from cardstock & a skewer, you make them into a snack worthy of being a centerpiece, instead of just a sticky, boring little old-fashioned treat. Perfect for kids at a Halloween party.

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WICKED CANDY APPLES

Ingredients:

• 6 small apples, stems removed
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup sugar
• ¼ cup dark corn syrup
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions:

1. Thoroughly wash & rinse all apples. Dry and insert sturdy wooden craft stick or skewer in each. Prepare an ice water bath in a fairly large bowl, and line a baking sheet with waxed paper or parchment.
2. Boil cream, sugar, corn syrup, and butter to a boil in a medium saucepan. Clip candy thermometer to the side of pan and continue to cook until mixture reaches 245 degrees, about 10 to 12 minutes. Immediately place pan in ice water bath to stop the cooking.
3. Dip the bottom of each apple in the caramel rotating it and using a spoon to coat apple halfway to three-quarters of the way up the sides. Transfer to baking sheet, and refrigerate until set, about 15 minutes (or overnight) before serving.
4. Print witches out on cardstock. Cut-out, and using a small hole punch, punch holes on either sides of hands. Slide sticks in and poke them into the top of apples, replacing skewers.

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The apples I used were little ones called Ginger Gold. I thought they were the perfect size, and I got a ½ peck of them for about 5 bucks. I only made 6 of them into caramel apples, the rest were baked & eaten up in other ways. When pecks or ½ pecks are on sale, if you can’t go & pick your own, take advantage of it. Apples are crazy versatile & you’ll definitely use them up. Ginger Gold’s in particular are excellent for just about any use: snacking (they’re very slow to brown when cut), pie making (they hold their shape when cooked/baked), etc. However they don’t store well… so refrigerate ‘em & use ‘em ASAP.

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Other apples that are good for this are Lady apples, or any small-sized apple, really.

I used wooden shish kebob sticks/skewers for mine. You can use whatever you like. Fancy twigs, etc. As far as the caramel goes, I’d personally stick with just caramel, or maybe with a swirl of chocolate. If you want to roll it in chopped walnuts or something that’s up to you- I’d just advise you not to go too crazy. Maybe it’s just me but those candy apples with 5 different kinds of chocolate/caramel/nuts never look appealing to me, just messy. But again, it’s a personal thing. And like I said last time I used a Martha idea, I can’t give you the actual witch template, like I said before it’s only available in the magazine & I don’t want to violate her copyrights. I mean, Martha’s been to prison; I don’t wanna fuck with her. But if you don’t want to buy the magazine, with a little creativity & internet saavy, you can do-it-yourself. The internet is chock full of awesome vintage Halloween clip-art.

So put on Hocus Pocus or Bedknobs & Broomsticks, maybe even watch Once Upon A Time this Sunday night & cast a spell of your own to make some witchy caramel apples.

Have you ever heard the Irish legend of “Carman”, the Celtic witch?

Carman is the Celtic goddess of evil magic. She is a destructive witch who roamed ireland with her three evil sons: Dub (“darkness” in Irish), Dother (“evil”) and Dain (“violence”), destroying anything or anyone in their path. Carman put a blight on Ireland’s crops and terrorized the Irish until the Tuatha De Danann, the “peoples of the goddess Danu,” used their magic to fight and defeat her, and drove her sons across the sea. Just another Irish folklore to worry about while “Trick or Treating” this Halloween.

-source: The Irish Jewelry Company

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Part of the charm & intrigue of Halloween is the fright factor. That things-that-go-bump-in-the-night-”what-was-that-sound” factor that gives you the chills- but you love it. The reason why people go on scary roller coasters or watch horror movies. That same feeling, that’s the best part of Halloween. I try to make that a part of everything I make around this time of year, not to mention I try to include the fall flavors that everyone loves. Of course, I’m biased. Like I said, this is my favorite holiday. I think some of my favorite things about it, in addition to the “scary” aspect, are all the traditions & symbols. It has such strong Celtic roots, I find the origins of the things we do today to be really interesting. Some of which I’ll be sharing with you over the next few weeks in detail… for now:

Development of artifacts and symbols associated with Halloween formed over time. For instance, the carving of jack-o’-lanterns springs from the souling custom of carving turnips into lanterns as a way of remembering the souls held in purgatory.^[5] The turnip has traditionally been used in Ireland and Scotland at Halloween,^[6][7] but immigrants to North America used the native pumpkin, which are both readily available and much larger – making them easier to carve than turnips.^[6] The American tradition of carving pumpkins is recorded in 1837^[8] and was originally associated with harvest time in general, not becoming specifically associated with Halloween until the mid-to-late 19th century.^[9]

The imagery of Halloween is derived from many sources, including national customs, works of Gothic and horror literature (such as the novels Frankenstein and Dracula), and classic horror films (such as Frankenstein and The Mummy).^[10] Among the earliest works on the subject of Halloween is from Scottish poet John Mayne in 1780, who made note of pranks at Halloween; “What fearfu’ pranks ensue!”, as well as the supernatural associated with the night, “Bogies” (ghosts), influencing Robert Burns‘ Halloween 1785.^[11] Elements of the autumn season, such as pumpkins, corn husks, and scarecrows, are also prevalent. Homes are often decorated with these types of symbols around Halloween.

Halloween imagery includes themes of death, evil, the occult, or mythical monsters.^[12] Black and orange are the holiday’s traditional colors.

I’m aware not everyone enjoys this day as much as I do, and I guess my personal opinion that they’re a bunch of boring, humorless stick-in-the-mud’s is irrelevant, but either way I think it’s fun & harmless. What could be more fun than dressing up as something you aren’t & getting free candy? I don’t know. It sounds pretty friggin’ amazing to me. So being it’s my favorite holiday, I have lots of treats for you to choose from for your spooky fall baking needs. I’ve done compilation posts before, as a matter of fact this past year, 2010-2011, I did one for every holiday, Halloween being the first. But being I did it early on each season, I excluded all the new ideas I had & implemented afterward. So this year it’s a truer compilation: all (or most) of my muffins, cupcakes & other treats; all with a Halloween or fall theme. Some are slightly more complex than others, but all of them are pretty simple when you get down to it & they really don’t take a lot of time or effort (or money, or experience really) to execute.

If you have any questions about where I bought supplies, etc, or just about the cupcakes/treats in general, feel free to comment or e-mail me.

CHOCOLATE STOUT CUPCAKES WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE BONES TRUE BLOOD ORANGE CUPCAKES WITH CANDIED BLOOD ORANGES

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DEVIL’S FOOD CUPCAKES WITH CINNAMON RED-HOTS FROSTING DOUBLE CHOCOLATE PUMPKIN CUPCAKES

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CHOCOLATE MALT CUPCAKES WITH FUDGE FILLING EERIE MONSTER CUPCAKES WITH SWEETMELT EYES

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TRUE BLOOD VELVET CUPCAKES & CREAM CHEESE FROSTING BLACK LICORICE CUPCAKES & ORANGE MARSHMALLOW FROSTING

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JACK-O-LANTERN PUMPKIN MUFFINS PUMPKIN STREUSEL MUFFINS WITH CREAM CHEESE ICING

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MARSHMALLOW BONES APPLE MUFFINS

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CINNAMON VANILLA CUPCAKES & MEXICAN HOT CHOCOLATE FROSTING TRES LECHES COCONUT CUPCAKES

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S’MORES CUPCAKES WITH MARSHMALLOW BUTTERCREAM SPICE CUPCAKES WITH BROWN SUGAR FROSTING

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And of course, if you’re looking for something in particular, you can always go through the archives, specifically the seasonal ones, like the pumpkin or apple categories. Another particular favorite of mine not pictured are the infamous apple cider donuts, they’re perfect for Halloween shenanigans. You could go bobbing for apple cider donuts! And if you’re into pumpkin seeds, I have two recipes, both plain & brown sugar/spice versions. And the two recipes second to last on the list, the cinnamon/vanilla & tres leches coconut, would both be perfect for Dia de los Muertos as well (which is what I used the latter for myself).

Almost any cupcake recipe or cookie recipe can be altered or decorated to fit in with Halloween. Use your imagination… you never know what you may come up with. If worse comes to worse, and you’re stuck for ideas, ask a kid! Kids have the best imaginations and come up with the best stuff, especially for Halloween. A kid’s brain works on a totally different level, they’re practically un-offended by everything, which is perfect.

And stay tuned this month for many more creepy (& not so creepy) fall-appropriate recipes & ideas.

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That photo is from Eleanor & Frank’s wedding in the late 1940′s. As you can see, my grandfather & Mike’s grandmother were siblings, and my grandmother & Mike’s grandfather were also siblings. So Eleanor & Frank are the grandparents of my aforementioned cousin Mike, and in turn are the parents of my mother’s cousin Tom. Agnes & Butch are my grandparents, a.k.a. the parents of my mother. Make sense now? I hope so, because I really don’t want to break out the pie charts & graphs. Either way, our family tree only has one branch on this particular side, haha.

Anyway, Mike & Heather sent a care package to me & my mom a few weeks back from a (seemingly) awesome store down there called Roux Royale. We each got a mug, a pair of adorable salt & pepper shakers and this awesome cake plate!

Can you tell I’m a bit in love with the photography apps on my iPhone?

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Because I’m inspired by everything, this beautiful cake plate gave me the urge to bake something fantastic to put on it. Although I kept looking at it and rethinking what I was going to do. I’ve made King’s Cake cupcakes before, so I didn’t want to do that. Even though that’s where the natural progression of thoughts went, it’s taboo to bake it before Jan. 6th or after Mardi Gras. I’ve also made beignets, and as good as they are, I recently had a gigantic serving of them from the Grand Lux Cafe which satisfied my craving, plus I wasn’t sure they were really appropriate for display on this cake plate.

Mmm… Grand Lux beignets… *sigh* …. anyway back to reality…

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And I could’ve done a Cherries Jubilee-type cupcake, especially since the plate mentions cherries, but I’ve done enough cherry stuff lately. So I kept on thinkin’…

Then I remembered that famous New Orleans dessert, Bananas Foster. Ahh, the lovely Bananas Foster. It originated down there in NOLA at a famous place called Brennan’s, so what better dessert to display on that New Orleans cake plate!?

Bananas Foster is a dessert made from bananas and vanilla ice cream, with the sauce made from butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, dark rum, and banana liqueur. The butter, sugar and bananas are cooked, and then the alcohol is added and ignited. The bananas and sauce are then served over the ice cream. Preparation of the dish is often made into a tableside performance as a flambé.

The dish was created in 1951 by Paul Blangé at Brennan’s Restaurant in New Orleans, Louisiana.^[2] It was named for Richard Foster, a friend of Owen Brennan‘s who was then New Orleans Crime Commission chairman. It is still served at a number of fine restaurants in New Orleans as well as in many restaurants around the world.

-Wikipedia

Brennan’s is really, really famous. It’s in the French Quarter. The head chef, Lazone Randolph, has been featured on more TV shows than Rachael Ray. Well not quite, but almost. Along with Cafe Du Monde, it’s seemingly one of those tourist places that screams New Orleans.

So yeah, I figured Bananas Foster was a perfect idea. Besides, my family is a bit bananas, so it’s even more appropriate! I love them, don’t get me wrong. I love them & they’re pretty much wonderful, but they’re mostly insane. Which helps to make them wonderful. If everyone was sane, wouldn’t the world be a boring place? I’m sure this concept has been done to death, but this is my version of Bananas Foster cupcakes. Easy, not a lot of drama, and no tableside fire action… but the end result does look & taste far more complicated. And it doesn’t melt, unlike the ice cream in the traditional, original version. I even had some cupcake liners left over from last year that were very similar to the cake plate’s design. How do you like them apples bananas?

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To avoid the dense, heavy cupcakes that using real bananas cause, I used banana extract. I don’t care if Florian Bellanger would disapprove. They came out amazing, so he can suck an egg. I mean that in the most respectful way, of course. They’re moist, fluffy, but not dense & thick. I’m including a recipe for a gorgeous, thick, creamy caramel made from condensed milk as well. If you’d like to use that (I didn’t) you could spoon it over the frosting, over the caramelized bananas or even on the cupcakes before you frost them. I thought the flavor of the bananas themselves was enough… but if you want a really decadent over the top cupcake… go for it.

BANANAS FOSTER CUPCAKES

Ingredients:

• Caramelized bananas (recipe below), cooled
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk caramel (optional, see here for recipe)
• 1 cup cake flour, sifted
• 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons milk
• ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon pure banana extract
• ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 egg, room temperature
• few drops yellow food coloring (if desired)

Directions:

1. Set oven to 375° F to preheat. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners.
2. Sift together, into a deep mixing bowl, the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add butter, ¼ cup of the milk and flavorings. Beat on low until blended, then beat on high for another minute or two.
3. Scrape the sides of the bowl, add the remaining ¼ cup milk, egg, and food coloring (if using) and beat ½ minute longer on high. Scoop into muffin tins to fill them about ¼ or ½ way because they rise a lot. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until toothpick/cake tester comes out almost totally clean. Cool completely.
4. Frost with evaporated milk buttercream frosting (recipe below), then drizzle condensed milk caramel on top with the tines of a fork or a small teaspoon. Top each cupcake with one or two caramelized bananas, and if desired, a bit more caramel.

Confession time. Okay, my confession here is this: as you can see below, I did not use pure banana extract like I recommended. I used Watkins‘ imitation banana extract. However, unless you use Watkins, I’d go with pure. The Watkins flavor is really good & not overly fake or sweet, I know sometimes supermarket extracts can be a bit strong at times, in a bad way.

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EVAPORATED MILK FROSTING

Ingredients:

• ½ cup butter, softened
• 4 ¼ cups powdered sugar
• 2 ½ ounces evaporated milk
• 1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Cream together the butter, vanilla and 2 cups of the powdered sugar.
2. Once well incorporated, add evaporated milk alternating with a cup of sugar at a time until all ingredients have been added. Beat on high for 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Spread or pipe on completely cooled cupcakes.

Gotta have some cafe au lait with them, of course…

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CARAMELIZED BANANAS

Ingredients:

• 2 bananas, sliced
• 6 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Spray a non-stick frying pan and a ceramic plate with cooking spray (or waxed paper or parchment on the plate instead), and heat the pan up over medium heat.
2. Mix sugar & cinnamon together in a shallow dish. Dip each banana slice in the sugar/cinnamon mixture. Make sure they’re completely coated.
3. Using a fork or small tongs, place bananas in pan as they’re ready. Cook until golden-brown, then flip. The first side will take a few minutes, the second side a bit less. Do not let them burn! If you see them getting too dark, sticking to the pan or smell a burning smell- flip them immediately! Keep an eye on them.
4. When finished, place on coated plate (bananas will be sticky). Let cool before topping cupcakes.

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If you choose to use it, you may need to soften the condensed milk caramel a bit before drizzling it, depending how warm your kitchen is, etc. In that case, place the can, open side up (obviously) in a small saucepan of simmering water (only about one inch- don’t get the caramel wet!) for a few minutes, stirring fairly constantly, until it softens enough.  I didn’t feel as if I needed it, but it would make a lovely addition. You could even fill them with it- that would be divine.

Proper “Nu Awlins” cupcakes for a proper “Nu Awlins” cake platter. Thanks again, Mike & Heather, for my newest additions! They’ll be well used around here, as there’s always some kind of baked goods out for display.

I decided to make a few different things for him, this being a pretty big birthday. And since he loves anything involving chocolate & peanut butter, I made this awesomely easy chocolate peanut butter fudge from the Food Network magazine. He isn’t a fudge fan by any means, but I knew I couldn’t go wrong with a PB/chocolate combo. I also made him some cupcakes (of course). I asked him about 4 times what kind he wanted, and each time I got a different answer. He said chocolate stout cupcakes, then he said chocolate cheesecake cupcakes, then he said a Guinness/chocolate stout cupcake again, and the fourth time he got overwhelmed and said he didn’t know. Pfft. In all fairness, I did ask about a month in advance. Well I asked a fifth time and this time I got an answer: Maple Irish Whiskey-frosted white velvet butter cupcakes, topped with crumbled bacon. Oh yes.

These aren’t a new concept for me. I’ve actually made them two other times in the past 2 months; both for St. Patrick’s Day & then later on that month for our friend Melanie’s 30th birthday. However neither of those times were they topped with bacon, and I didn’t use a white velvet cupcake recipe for ‘em, just plain vanilla. But in all honesty, this frosting is so amazing that it’s worth repeating & making over & over again. Add bacon it just takes it over the top. Jameson & bacon, together with maple in a cupcake? Insanity. And very manly, now that I think about it. Jameson & bacon could practically be a men’s cologne. And Jay loves his Jameson. Jack too, but really, Jameson is way better.

The funny thing is, that in past years I’ve ordered supplies, namely toppers, with plenty of time to spare & yet still didn’t get them in time. So I had these toppers waiting here for almost 2 years, begging to be used. I thought it’d be funny to get some camouflage liners and combine ‘em with the fish toppers for his cupcakes. Jay loves fishing, and there’s a sort of ongoing joke about his camo BDU’s he used to wear a lot, so the two things together make almost a perfect “Jay cupcake.” If you add some mini-death metal CD’s & mini-handcuffs, it’d be really perfect. I cannot for the life of me remember where I bought the toppers, but I will say that the Etsy shop littlemonsterhugs (which is awesome!) saved my ass by being the only shop to have the camo liners in stock as of a week & a half ago, and then on top of that, getting them to me in plenty of time when I ordered them late! Thank cupcakes for littlemonsterhugs! I’ll definitely be a returning customer. And the best part is they didn’t lose their color after baking- they stayed just as bright. LOVE THEM.

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Alright, so those are pretty fucking awesome. I smelled like bacon & whiskey for a half hour after making them, I finally just had to shower again, haha. The recipes for the cupcakes and frosting are linked to up there in that paragraph. And here are some photos of the delicious fudge. That recipe to follow.

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CHOCOLATE-PEANUT BUTTER FUDGE

Ingredients:

• Unsalted butter, softened, for brushing
• 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• 2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips
• 2 pinches salt
• 2 cups peanut butter chips

Directions:

1. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil, pressing it into the corners and up the sides; leave an overhang on 2 sides. Brush the foil with butter.
2. Combine 3/4 cup condensed milk, the chocolate chips, and a pinch of salt in a medium saucepan. Combine the remaining condensed milk, the peanut butter chips, and the last pinch salt in a separate saucepan. Put both pans over low heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the chips are melted & smooth.
3. Spoon the chocolate mixture into the prepared pan, leaving spaces in between the spoonfuls. Spoon the peanut mixture in between the gaps. Brush an 8-inch square parchment paper with butter and lay it directly on top of the fudge; press to flatten evenly & fill-in the gaps. Refrigerate until firm, about 45 minutes. Lift the foil to remove the fudge from the pan and cut into 1-inch squares. Store up to 1-week in an airtight container.

You may notice that my fudge isn’t necessarily “two-tone.” That’s because the supermarket I went to didn’t have peanut butter chips (*gasp* I know!), they only had these two mixes from Nestle.

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So I figured, it’s technically the same thing. It made it easier because I just made it all in one saucepan as opposed to two. But it didn’t have a two-tone or swirled effect. *shrugs* It was to die for, and tasted like chocolate-peanut butter, so there! Basically, in all honesty, it was the same. It comes out fantastic this way, so if you don’t have peanut butter chips on hand either, these will work.

So my best friend turned 30. I really can’t believe it; I remember his silly ass at 19 calling me ‘whitehead’ because of my white bandanna & how I wanted to kick his ass. But he turned out to be the best thing to ever cross my path. We’ve been through a lot, both together & separately, over these past 11 years, and most especially during the almost 8 that we’ve been “a couple.” When I say he’s my best friend, I’m not exaggerating by any means. In him I have a confidante, a fellow “foodie” (that is a terrible word), someone who can help me fix almost anything- computers, plumbing, construction, ANYTHING… and most importantly someone whose personality fits so perfectly with mine it’s like we were made for one another. I love you, Jay, happy birthday. Now finish eating the cupcakes & fudge so we can go back to Angelo’s for dinner & Chip Shop for dessert.

And send one they did! They sent the cutest little collar for Arwyn, and it came a few days ago.

It came all wrapped up so nice, and with a magnet too!

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Super adorable little cupcakes…

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So I opened up the package, and put the magnet on my fridge, and put the collar on. It looks so cute. Of course, here are some requisite photos. Arwyn is a wonderful model, isn’t she? And so gorgeous!

This last one doesn’t show the collar, but it’s just here to emphasize her beauty

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This particular collar style comes in a few other different patterns/colors as well. So a big big BIG thank you to Dog Collar Boutique! If you have pets, you should take a peek at their website. They have tons, and I mean tons, of beautiful collars, and they come in a large variety of sizes. If you have a small dog or a cat, the extra small or small sizes would be perfect, depending on their weight and size. They also have leashes, harnesses, carriers, doggie coats, and more! They also have cat collars and a gorgeous line of sterling silver dog tags.

Of course, my favorites are the ones with cupcakes…

This Easter had a sad spin on it, given the events of last week. But I tried my hardest to make it as nice & happy as possible, complete with pretty little cupcakes & desserts. The cake pops I made for Valentine’s Day were such a big hit I decided I needed to make some for Easter. I went with the easiest concept- eggs. Although I was going to attempt chicks, stylized chicks in a kind of “Peeps” look I didn’t get around to it. I ended up making tons of cake pops (and a few little egg-shaped cake balls) instead. Adorable! This time, instead of using white cake mix & frosting, I used chocolate fudge.

I’m sure you all know how to make these by now, but in case you don’t, I’ll leave it to the queen to explain; Bakerella‘s tutorial on cake pops can be found here. You can also make them without the lollipop sticks (look for the ‘cake balls’ tutorial on Bakerella.com). Just a word to the wise: chocolate cake mix is moister than vanilla or white, so use a bit less frosting when making the pops, or else they won’t firm up properly and they’ll collapse on ya. Is ‘moister’ even a word?

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I’m still no expert at cake pops, but the more you make them the easier they get. I’m starting to get a little technique down. I’m sorry I don’t have pictures of the “chocolate egg” cake balls, but they were just the chocolate fudge egg-shaped cake balls dipped in light cocoa and blue candy melts, then I just used the opposite color to do drizzles on top. I wrapped those up in the little baggies with bunny ribbons too. I know it’s juvenile, but I have to stop writing ‘cake balls.’ It’s making me laugh too much. Cake balls. Bwahaha!

I also made cupcakes, and I topped them with a green buttercream “grass” and some pink and purple sugar flower posies (courtesy of Wilton). You could certainly make your own icing flowers, though, if you’re a bit more ambitious than I was. I had a shit week, you’ll have to forgive me. I made a cupcake recipe I made a few Easter’s ago which is one of my favorites for spring. I like to call them “Lemony Snicket’s” cupcakes because they’re a very light lemony-vanilla flavored cake (& frosting). The tulip cupcake liners are just the cutest thing ever, and I’ve been saving them for a while now. I knew I’d use ‘em for either Easter or Mother’s Day! You can get them at Cupcake Social or get them at sweet estelle’s baking supply, or even at Bake It Pretty. Look at that- choices galore. God Bless America!

I used my super jumbo star tip for these… it’s my new favorite tip, sorry Wilton!

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LEMONY SNICKET’S CUPCAKES

Ingredients:

• ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2/3 cup granulated white sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Zest of 1 large lemon (organic)
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup  milk

LEMONY SNICKET’S BUTTERCREAM

Ingredients:

• 2 cups confectioners sugar (or icing or powdered sugar), sifted
• ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• Zest of 1 large lemon (again, preferably organic since you’re using the zest)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons milk or light cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350° degrees F and line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

For the Cupcakes:

1. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon zest.
2. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to the butter and egg mixture, along with the milk, and beat until combined.
3. Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter and bake for about 18-20 minutes or until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, frost with icing.

For the Frosting:

1. In an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, cream the butter until smooth and well blended. Add the vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed, gradually beat in the sugar.
2. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
3. Add the milk and beat on high speed until frosting is light and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes). Add a little more milk or sugar, if needed.
4. Tint the frosting with desired food color (I use the Wilton icing colors in the little tubs, this color is ‘Leaf Green’).

If you have the tip that makes the frosting look like actual grass (Wilton tip #233), then that would be super cute too. I like to pipe my frosting a little on the high side (in case you haven’t noticed), so I always make a little bit more frosting than the recipe calls for. Oh, and obviously, I baked the cakes in plain white liners, then just stuck them in the tulip ones. It seemed as though the tulip liners were a bit short, so I used them as an accent. I think they’re really pretty though, don’t you?

In this one you can really see how cute the liners are…

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I should also probably mention I always get 14 cupcakes out of this recipe. It’s supposed to make 12, but I never get less than 14.

Well, Happy Easter! If you’re still stumped for ideas for tomorrow, check out my Easter category & this little compilation of my favorite Easter-y cupcake ideas. On that note, I’ll leave you with pictures of my Easter eggs this year. I did a few different kinds, my favorite one being the pink one in the second picture with the gold sequins. Guess why.

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Look at her, all ready to beat someone with her whisk! Or make cupcakes, whatever!

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If you want cuteness like that, and by cuteness I mean the bib not the baby- I don’t think John is willing to share her… then you can go to my Cupcake Rehab webstore and buy stuff. I have an assload of things for sale from hoodies to bibs (duh) to coffee mugs to dog bowls! Seriously. Buy some stuff, take pictures, and send me the pics. I’ll add ‘em to the C.R.my page & you’ll be (quasi-) famous. But I can’t promise it’ll make you as cute as Angelina.

Back to the eats. What’s fair is fair, and while it’s Easter time for Christians, it’s Passover for the Jewish people. Each holiday & religion hold to their own traditional foods & desserts, as do the specific ethnicities and races within each religion, just as they hold to the traditions of the religions themselves. I myself am neither Christian nor Jew, but I certainly don’t discriminate against delicious food items. I embrace them all!

Hamentashen is more traditional around this time of year, but honestly, since when have I been traditional? Actually that’s not true, I’m very old-fashioned. At any rate, I don’t happen to like hamentashen at all, so rugelach it is!

Rugelach is one of my absolute favorite “cookies.” I like the chocolate ones, and I like the filling to have a touch of cinnamon. I also like the cinnamon sugar. I’m not into the fruit filled version. I used to love the ones from the 2nd Avenue Deli… Jay used to work right near it, but that was before the two of us got together (unfortunately). And back when my dad was still working, he’d randomly pick up a bunch in a 2nd Avenue Deli tin and I’d eat all the chocolate. Once he got them as a gift for someone, and I finagled it open, ate two chocolate ones and resealed it. Shh, don’t tell.

Rugelach aren’t difficult to make. It’s similar to rolling a croissant, or a chocolate croissant. This particular dough is made with cream cheese, although there are many different varieties.

Rugelach (Yiddish: רוגעלך) (other spellings: rugelakh, rugulach, rugalach, ruggalach, rogelach (all plural), rugalah, rugala (singular)) is a Jewish pastry of Ashkenazic origin.

Traditional rugelach are made in the form of a crescent by rolling a triangle of dough around a filling.^[1][2] Some sources state that the rugelach and the French croissant share a common Viennese ancestor, crescent-shaped pastries commemorating the lifting of the Turkish siege in 1793^[3] (this could be a reference to the Battle of Vienna in 1683). This appears to be an urban legend however, as both the rugelach and its supposed ancestor (the Kipfel or Kipferl) pre-date the Early Modern era, and the croissant in its modern form did not originate earlier than the 19th century (see viennoiserie).

An alternative form is constructed much like a strudel or nut roll, but unlike those, the rolled dough and filling is cut into slices before baking.^[4]

The name is Yiddish, the Jewish language of eastern Europe. The ach ending (ך) indicates plural, while the el (ל) can be a diminutive, as, for example, shtetlekh (שטעטלעך, villages) is the plural of shtetl (שטעטל, village), the diminutive of shtot (שטאָט, town). In this case, the root means something like “twist” so the translation would be “little twists,” a reference to the shape of this cookie.^[3] In this context, note that rog (ראָג) means corner in Yiddish,^[5] so it is possible that a more accurate translation would be “little corners.”

Alternatively, some assert that the root is rugel, meaning royal, possibly a reference to the taste.^[6] This explanation is in conflict with Yiddish usage, where the word keniglich (קעניגליךּ) is the dominant word meaning royal.^[7]

Finally, in modern Hebrew, they are known as roglìt (רוֹגְלִית), a postbiblical Hebrew word meaning “trailing vines”.^[8] The Yiddish word ruglach probably came first. The modern Hebrew is probably a neologism, chosen for its similarity to the Yiddish and its descriptive meaning.

Rugelach can be made with sour cream or cream cheese^[1][2][3] doughs, but there are also pareve variants with no dairy ingredients,^[9] so that it can be eaten with or after a meat meal and still be kosher. Cream cheese doughs are the most recent, probably American innovations, while yeast leavened^[9][10] and sour cream doughs^[11][12] are much older.

The different fillings can include raisins, walnuts, cinnamon, chocolate, marzipan, poppy seed, or fruit preserves which are rolled up inside.

I’ve been wanting to make rugelach for a long time. I sort of combined 4 or 5 recipes I found to make one of my own. I think it turned out fantastic! Except one word of advice: if you don’t have a stand mixer, this dough is not going to happen for you. It’s so thick that it slowed Lola down and she made all kinds of “Rrrrrr” noises. But she can handle it. And there’s no way you can mix it by hand, you need to cream the butter and cream cheese together and even using a hand mixer isn’t gonna work out well for that. You know how cream cheese is… many a mixer has broken under it’s wrath.

Chocolate rugelach

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CHOCOLATE RUGELACH

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
• 2 sticks (½ pound) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ tsp. salt
• ½ vanilla extract
• ¼ cup and 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• ½ cup melted bittersweet chocolate, cooled but still “liquidy”
• 1 egg, beaten

Directions:

1. Beat softened butter and cream cheese in large bowl on medium speed of mixer until blended and smooth. Gradually add flour and ¼ cup sugar and vanilla, beating on low speed until well blended. Divide dough into 3 equal parts; wrap individually in plastic wrap. Refrigerate anywhere from 1 to 4 hours or until firm enough to roll.
2. Heat oven to 375°F. On lightly floured surface, roll one piece of dough into 9-inch circle (keep remaining dough in refrigerator). Cut circle into 12 wedges. Place about 1 teaspoon melted chocolate at wide end of each wedge; spread about three-fourths of the way up wedge. Stir together 2 tablespoons sugar, cinnamon and cocoa powder; sprinkle over melted chocolate, sprinkle over melted chocolate. Starting at wide end, roll toward the point. Place cookies, point sides down, about 1 inch apart on a sheet of parchment paper covering an ungreased cookie sheet. Brush with beaten egg.
3. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. Repeat procedure with remaining dough and filling.

Cinnamon sugar rugelach

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The dough I made is a sweet dough, if you’d like a not-sweet version just remove the sugar and vanilla. If you’d like to add a little something extra, sprinkle with some sugar after brushing the dough with the beaten egg. Other options for fillings are apricot (1 cup apricot preserves plus ¾ cup chopped walnuts), cinnamon sugar (4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, ½ cup sugar, 2 teaspoons cinnamon) or raspberry-raisin (1 cup of raspberry jam and ½ cup raisins).  Or you can be totally rebellious and come up with your own filling!

(Psst… wanna know a sweet shortcut to the chocolate filling? Bosco chocolate syrup plus a sprinkling of cinnamon. Trust me, it works and it’s delicious. Just don’t use too much syrup, you’ll end up with a gooey mess.)

To me, they’re perfectly sweet, not too sweet, plus the cream cheese adds a little something special. I devoured way more  in one sitting than I should’ve. A little basket of these is a perfect hostess gift.

The egg is widely used as a symbol of the start of new life, just as new life emerges from an egg when the chick hatches out.

The ancient Zoroastrians painted eggs for Nowrooz, their New Year celebration, which falls on the Spring equinox. The Nawrooz tradition has existed for at least 2,500 years. The sculptures on the walls of Persepolis show people carrying eggs for Nowrooz to the king.^{[citation needed]}

At the Jewish Passover Seder, hard-boiled eggs called Beitzah dipped in salt water symbolizes the Qorban Chagigah or Hashlamim, the festival peace-offerings sacrificed at the Temple in Jerusalem to be eaten on Erev Pesach.

There are good grounds for the association between hares (later termed Easter bunnies) and eggs, through folklore confusion between hares’ forms (where they raise their young) and plovers‘ nests.^[3] Furthermore, the hare has been commonly associated with springtime seasonal celebrations since antiquity by northern European pagans.

So around this time of year, you start to see eggs everywhere. My favorite Easter egg-themed item happens to be the Cadbury Creme Egg which I would quite possibly kill someone for. All year, really, but I forget exactly how sickeningly sweet & deliriously delicious they are every year from May/June when they’re gone from stores to February when they pop out again, sitting temptingly in massive quantities in large bins in the store… or in delightful 4-packs (which I inhale three of on the drive home from the store- what? Don’t judge me). I know they tried selling them around Christmas as “ornament eggs” but I don’t think anyone but me bought into that. And boy did I buy into it. Seriously- you want me to love you (or at least like you a lot)? Buy me some creme eggs.

Another of my favorites is the Cadbury mini-egg (which I used on Easter cupcakes a long time ago) and Brach’s Fiesta malted milk eggs. The cute little speckles and bright colors suck me in like a child. So I bought a bag of malted milk eggs and decided to use them on cupcakes. To go with the theme, I made vanilla malted cupcakes and used an evaporated milk buttercream (that I originally used here) that is absolutely to die for. See how cute? And my jadeite bunny sugar bowl is pretty sweet too. In the sunlight, it’s the prettiest pale green, sort of translucent “jade” color (hence the name). Not as blue as it looks here.

That frosting looks lopsided, but it’s not… the bottom of the sugar bowl is rounded so the cupcake didn’t sit right. Boo.

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I called these ‘malt shop egg roll’ cakes because of the malted milk, but also because it looked to me like the eggs were ready to just roll right off the frosting! What I did recipe-wise was I just made vanilla cupcakes and added a bit of Carnation Original Malt malted milk mix to the batter. Just enough so it tasted like a vanilla malted, try a quarter cup and then go from there. If you use chocolate malt or Ovaltine, you’ll get a chocolate flavor and deeper color (I actually have a recipe for chocolate Ovaltine cupcakes over here… ignore the Halloween theme). Also be sure to adjust your flour amounts to make room for the powdered mix! Otherwise you’ll get dry cupcakes!

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If I wrote up a recipe it would be the strangest sounding thing, since I didn’t measure things exactly. However I think a little adventure is a good thing, so go ahead and give it a shot making ‘em up on your own! Just take your favorite vanilla cupcake recipe and tweak it. That’s the best part of life- experimenting with new things. What’s the worst that can happen, it doesn’t turn out perfect? Pfft. WHO CARES!? Try it! If you do, I’d love to see and hear all about ‘em. Oh and here’s that recipe for the to-die-for frosting (oh by the way, the addition of vanilla bean to this would be DIVINE).

EVAPORATED MILK FROSTING

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 8 ½ cups powdered sugar
• 5 ounces evaporated milk
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Cream together the butter, vanilla and 3 cups of the powdered sugar.
2. Once well incorporated, add evaporated milk alternating with a cup of sugar at a time until all ingredients have been added. Beat on high for 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Spread or pipe on completely cooled cupcakes.

The Easter sprinkles are from Target‘s Dollar Spot! I got about 5 or 6 different colored pastel sprinkles & colored sugar in a package for $2.50. Not bad if you ask me. The liners are brown, and they’re from Cupcake Social.

I received the cutest little gift from Ornament Shop last week. A personalized chef ornament! It totally made me smile when I was feeling really sick and had so much to do I felt like my two days in bed made me a waste of life. Tell me, is this not the cutest thing EVER?

Uh, the answer to the above question is YES, by the way.

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Funny thing is, it’s an incredible likeness, because I really do wield large knives & grin like that. True story. Just ask Jay. In all seriousness, though, if you know a chef or baker this is a super cute gift idea. They have TONS of themed ornaments (for everything from sports to music to pets to cars and more) and the personalization is a great idea. I’m sorry I didn’t get this in December so it could’ve gone on my tree. Oh well. It’ll have its inaugural hanging in a little over 8 months (not that I’m rushing Christmas, trust me, I can’t wait for summer & I’m awfully pissed it’s fucking SNOWING here today).

Speaking of chefs… and cooking/baking… who wants to eat a healthy muffin? Not me. Well, not all the time, anyway. There’s a time & a place for that, of course, like apple muffins.  However the majority of the times I want a muffin, I want it with chocolate. Whatever else is in it, I don’t care. But I want some chocolate chips or chocolate in there, somehow. I’m not against a bran muffin, or banana nit muffin; but chocolate makes everything better.

I whipped these up at the last minute when I needed a chocolate fix. Best part of muffins: that you don’t even need a mixer- just a wooden spoon and the urge to bake.

Don’t you love my vintage jadeite bowl? And my liners that match?

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CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS

First you have to get:

• ¾ packed cup brown sugar
• ½ cup melted unsalted butter
• 1 cup vanilla flavored or plain yogurt (I used whole milk, but I think you could also use low-fat)
• 1 egg
• 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 ¾ cup all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 – 1 ¼ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips or chocolate chunks

Then you do this:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with paper muffin cups.
2. Stir brown sugar and butter together in a medium size bowl. Add yogurt, egg and vanilla and stir until thoroughly blended.
3. Combine flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder in a large mixing bowl. Add yogurt mixture to flour mixture, stirring only until blended. Fold in chocolate chips. Spoon batter into muffin tins until almost to the top and bake for 22-25 minutes.

Of course, the amount of chocolate chips is up to you. If you like a lot (I do) then put the full amount. If not, then put less. I usually like using the mini-chips because they disperse better, but I used the regular ones in these. I also used regular cocoa powder, not the dark, as you can tell. These are dense, but not hard. I ate four of them in one sitting and I didn’t feel as though they weighed me down at all. And yes, I have the appetite of a truck driver as well as the mouth of one.

The jadeite bowl was my grandmothers, I had three in different sizes but two broke because I was dumb enough to use them for baking & they slipped out of my hands/off the counter. I also have four little tiny dishes that went with tea cups, of which I have only one. Sad, but better than nothing I suppose. I also have a jadeite sugar bowl that has a top shaped like a bunny which is very cute. I think you can see it in my Easter post from last year. I’ve seen new jadeite for fairly inexpensive prices, but I prefer the vintage. And those technicolor liners are actually from a multi-pack by Wilton. Not greaseproof, obviously, but still decent. They’d probably be awesome with a light-colored cupcake or muffin, though.

If you know me well, you know I love all holidays. I love Valentine’s Day because, well, it involves hearts, pink & red & of course lace in the theme. I firmly believe in the power of surrounding oneself with beautiful things, and I use any and every holiday as an excuse to do so. This one is no different. The ‘love’ part is pretty nifty too, you know, but I firmly believe that you should tell your loved ones you care about them all the time. Give your girlfriend or wife roses & flowers all year ’round, not just on the 14th of February! But still, it’s a cute idea & it could be worse; it could be a day where you go around punching people in the nose. But I actually wouldn’t mind that. Violence Day. Maybe it should be February 15th, so anyone without a date on the 14th can take out their aggression the next day. Hah. I never had such an issue, when I was single on Valentine’s Day, I still loved it. It’s about all love, not just romantic love. So get off your throne of misery & celebrate! I have TONS of stuff to show you today.

In addition to cupcakes, this year I made the infamous Bakerella cake pops; white cake inside, white and pink Wilton candy melt coating with sprinkles outside. They’re really fun to make- & a great excuse to destroy a cake made from a boxed mix! I’ll leave it to Bakerella to tell you how to make those. But I will tell you they were so much fun to make, and were simple considering they utilize a cake mix/pre-made frosting/candy melts. I had a table covered with silpats, waxed paper, bowls of melted candy melts & with bowls full of different sprinkles, etc, and played around like a kid. I made some in heart shapes and others just round. Tell me these aren’t adorable! And not bad for my first try, right?

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They didn’t last long before being painfully mutilated.

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I loved making these. Tons of fun. Messy, but fun! Also, time consuming. But worth it. I had to restrain myself from eating them as I made them. I went a little large with these, making them about 1.5″ x 2″, or around that. That meant they were heavier when coated, so I really had to watch them to make sure they didn’t collapse. I only had one mishap, and it was easily fixed by me just popping it in my mouth. What? She who bakes has the right to do such things. The balls were all varying sizes, some larger than others. I used a candy bag filled with white candy melts to drizzle over the tops of some of the pops when the first coat dried.  Then, when they were all dried and set, I packed them all up in lollipop bags and tied them with ribbons to give as little Valentine gifts (whatever ones Jay didn’t eat, I mean). So cute.

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I plan on making more of these delicious little things in the future, seeing as how I thought they were remarkably easy & fun to create. I also decided to make pink cupcakes this year for Valentine’s Day, because I hadn’t done it in awhile (well, not since 2008). So I made a pink cake (“white” cake tinted pink) with fat swirly pillows of  strawberry Kool-Aid buttercream with little marshmallow sprinkle hearts (I made ‘em by cutting large marshmallows into thirds, then cutting each slice in half, then making heart shapes with my hands & the scissors). I dipped the sticky sides in pink iridescent sugar and topped some of them, then for the rest used the pink sugar mixed with white sugar & heart toppers.

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For the white cake, theoretically you can use any of these recipes: Martha’s, a vintage Sunbeam recipe or Rose Levy Berenbaum’s, or even this white chocolate cupcake recipe. Then just add either a little red food coloring, or some pink until it’s the desired color. My cupcakes look a little orange/yellowish because I used a reddish orange food coloring since I couldn’t find my pink. Bleh. I found it later. Oh well.

So that’s about it for my V-Day confections. But in closing, here are some pictures of my mom’s Valentine tree. It’s her winter tree just done up with hearts, cupids, etc.