Decorating Basics

I recommend this kit! It is really fun just to experiment with it, and you can turn any old cake into one that you would see in a bakery window! Have a nice President's day!

<3 from Puerto Rico,

~Cupcake Girl~

Happy Birthday~The Closing~

It's a long way off now...

Love,

~Cupcake Girl~

Apology & Peanut Butter Cookies

     I am so sorry I have not posted for over a month. Life has swallowed me up! (Like a cupcake!) In two weeks I will be leaving for Puerto Rico, and I'm afraid not much baking will go on there either. Horay! I will post pictures though! Currently there is a blizzard coming.... so of course I'm making cookies! You have got to be ready for anything, right?Here is the recipe I am using right now. I better publish this post-the timer just went off, and it smells just right!

Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe:

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1 egg
• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

METHOD

1 Beat the butter until creamy, 2 minutes. Add the sugar, beat for 2 more minutes. Mix in the peanut butter and egg. Mix together the dry ingredients - flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir the dry ingredients into the sugar butter mixture.

 

2 Preheat oven to 375°F. Shape dough into 1 1/4 inch balls. Place about 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten in crisscross pattern with a fork. Bake until light brown, 9 to 10 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for a minute; transfer to rack to cool completely.

For chewier cookies, bake at 300°F for 15 minutes.

Lots of Love,

~Cupcake Girl~

Happy Birthday ~The Middle~

I made lemon pomegranate mini-cupcakes for my class on my birthday!

It's 2013 best wishes,

~Cupcake Girl~

The Things I've Baked...

Happy New Year! Best wishes for a wonderful 2013! Here are just a few things I baked this year that I never had tried before. This coming year I am looking forward to trying new recipes, and coming up with crazy creations!

Many new and improved recipes and ideas for the coming year,
~Cupcake Girl~

Happy Birthday ~The Beginning~

This is the second cake that I helped make for my birthday! It is a sponge cake, full of eggs.

Happy almost New Year,

~Cupcake Girl~

Christmas Cookies

~'Twas The Cookies before Christmas~

'Twas the weeks before Christmas, when all through the house, not a cookie was unfrosted, not even a gingerbread house. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that Santa would soon eat his share. The children were nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of sugar and sweets danced through their heads. -Based on 'Twas the Night before Christmas :)

Many, many cookies and sprinkles later...

With love,

~Cupcake Girl~

Happy Birthday ~The Opening~

This is the first cake that I had on my birthday! It is a lemon cake, with raspberry and strawberry icing, sprinkled with pomegranates!

Happy Holidays,

~Cupcake Girl~

News from the Cupcake Philosopher #13

Will the world end this Friday? :) I hope not, there are plenty of cakes still to be baked...

Tootles,

~Cupcake Girl~

Holiday Cookie Pictures and Recipes

 It's that crazy time of year again! This batch of cookies was only one of the many holiday cookie batches to come. I decided to use the easiest and most basic sugar cookie, so I could focus on decorating. The recipes I used for dough are right here:
http://www.marthastewart.com/344249/basic-vanilla-cookie-dough
http://www.marthastewart.com/346411/chocolate-cookie-dough
Have a very happy holidays everyone!

Love always,
~Cupcake Girl~

Holiday Cookies

Hi Everyone-
       I am so sorry I haven't posted in so long, I have been very busy lately. Today I am going to make sixty holiday cookies, and you can look forward to pictures, recipes, and probably some crazy baking disaster story that awaits me. I will soon post picture of my birthday cakes and cupcakes. (Yes cakeS there were multiple!)

Happy early holidays,
~Cupcake Girl~

A Little out of the Ordinary Cupcake Poll

Question: What kind of cupcake should I make now?
Answers: Blackberry Applesauce French Mint Lavender Result: Applesauce cupcakes won!  Okay, a very interesting choice! I will find and make a good recipe as soon as possible. Note: Be sure to check out the What is your favorite kind of Cupcake poll  You can now translate this blog to fit your needs, ~Cupcake Girl~

Cupcake Mints

   

Yum! Yum! Yum!

 I have these on my desk, and they are actually pretty good.

(Although, they taste nothing like cupcakes.)

Anyway, I just wanted to say...

Happy Thanksgiving,

~Cupcake Girl~

~The Preparation~

Hello Everyone!
        Today as my feet shuffled down the cool tile of the bright supermarket I started to gravitate towards my favorite isle. The best isle. The shelves are lined with little jars of sugar and sprinkles died to pieces with every food coloring there is, icing hangs in little crinkly plastic bags, birthday candles line the walls (Why? It's the baking section after all), silver cupcake and cake pans hang off their hooks, and the hundred different patterns of cupcake wrappers are all stacked up like russian dolls. I saw the wax candles and immediately thought that in ten, yes ten days is my birthday. I decided a long time ago that I would make mini-cupcakes for my class of thirty-six. I am probably going to use my favorite recipe ever (See here: http://sunnyrubyart.blogspot.com/2012/07/you-are-looking-for-really-delicious.html ) because it is the cupcake girl's tried and true. Back to the story, I was standing in the isle and I spotted these absolutely adorable mini-cupcake wrappers. They have these little pictures of stylized cupcakes wrapped around there edges and on the bottom is a big cupcake that underneath says Cupcakes! Okay, a little bit to stylized but very cute! I got them and am very excited for this is the preparation for my birthday! Preparation is sometimes my favorite part, for example I like making cupcakes more than chewing them. The process and seeing happy people eat them is the best part!
I was very disappointed with this particular store though (I won't mention any names) ahhhemmm- there was no, zip, zero, goose egg, zula, no fondant! I'll post picture of the final cupcakes.

It's me again,
~Cupcake Girl~

Cool Looking Book #2

Buddy Valastro has been a great inspiration to me. If you don't already know he has a bakery in New Jersey called Carlo's Bakery. You can check his website out right here: http://www.carlosbakery.com/ 

Buddy has three cooking shows, his most famous one is Cake Boss. Someday, I want to actually go to his bakery and taste all of the wonderful thing you always can see him baking. This is one of his books he wrote with, "100 of Buddy's Best Recipes and Decorating Secrets." 

You might want to check it out,

~Cupcake Girl~