Tag Archives: Cupcakes

Cupcakes taste better in NYC!

Posted in 2016 Travel Adventures, Halloween/Fall by

These little cupcakes went all over New York with me and my sisters.  I carried them in my purse, in a souvenir bag, asked my sister to hold and even dropped some a few times, all for the sake of an iconic photo op.

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PUMPKIN with CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
The Food Hall in The Plaza

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COCONUT and VANILLA CUPCAKE
from Citarella Gourmet Market in West Village
(fire escape at 39 Christopher St)
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HAZELNUT with VANILLA BUTTERCREAM
from One-Girl Cookie Bakery
(DUMBO-love the Manhattan Bridge)
if you look close you can see Empire State Building in between

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PURE VANILLA CUPCAKE
from Sweet Revenge in West Village
(one of my faves…and I dropped it right before I took this pic)
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LEMON CUPCAKE with LEMON ICING
Citarella Gourmet Market in West Village
(Washington Square Park)
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PISTACHIO CUPCAKE
Sweet Revenge in West Village
(lovely open window view)img_56691

These are just a few of my favorite cupcakes and bakeries!

When in New York, give one a try.

Just a walk in the park…

Posted in 2016 Travel Adventures by

 

 I could spend every day in this wonderful place called Central Park.  img_62981

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If I can ever get up the courage, I would like to spend one or two days alone in New York.  I would love to go the park each day and read, eat a cupcake, sit and listen to that young girl playing her cello or the old man playing his guitar to “Imagine” and just enjoy my surroundings.

This year I had to wait for my sisters for a few hours, so I did at least get to walk around, img_61611find a great bench and read for a little while alone.  Not to adventurous, but one step at a time!  Not a bad view at all! img_61581

I did find a few cupcakes along the way each day.  I love trying new bakeries as well as returning to my tried and true favorites!

APPLE SPICE CUPCAKE
from The Food Hall in the Plaza

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A look back at October

Posted in Adventures in the Kitchen, Halloween/Fall by

I love the fall.  It is a time for baking, sweaters, fires and cooler weather.  Even though I don’t get to experience  the cooler weather here in Texas, I still put on a big comfy sweater as soon as October arrives.

October, 2016

img_54031I love these molasses cookies. The perfect hint of spices that remind me of fall. Click here for recipe for Molasses Cookies.   It would not be Fall without a pumpkin muffin!  These are my favorite!  Click here for recipe for pumpkin muffins.

I love when my sister brings me special Halloween treats she knows I will love.  How cute are these cupcake toppers?

….My friend also brought over Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Butter!  I feel loved!

One Cupcake goes a long way

Posted in Adventures in the Kitchen by

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One Cupcake can say a lot of things:
I am thinking of you
You are sweet
We are friends
You are worth it
I care about you
and last but not least…Happy Birthday!

One of my most precious friends has a birthday in April. She is so kind and always willing to taste my sweet creations and give me her honest opinion…too dense, too sweet, not sweet enough, etc. I love her feedback and trust her palate!! I asked her what type of cupcake she would like for her special day and she requested Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes.

I had made these previously and really liked them, so I was happy when she chose this flavor cupcake.  My husband was too!

This little cupcake says so much more than Happy Birthday.  It says “you are special” and “I am glad we are friends”.

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One last thing…does anyone else out there have a kitchen that looks like this while you are baking or is it just me???

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You Say Goodbye, I Say Hello

Posted in Adventures in the Kitchen by

…goodbye to cupcakes anyway, and hello healthy cookbooks!
Well, not until I make cupcakes for work first!
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Okay…I am good on sweets now.  At least until February, when of course I have to bake plate after plate of Valentine treats!  But for now my family and I are all making healthy choices!

I pulled out The Skinnytaste Cookbook again.  I used this many times in 2015 but put away as October came around and I was in the baking/sweets/candy mode.

January always brings about a desire to make changes for the better.  So instead of eating at my favorite Mexican restaurant (for the millionth time in last 2 months) I stayed home and made the Buttermilk Oven “Fried” Chicken.  I made this a few times last year and my family really liked it.  This time I followed the recipe in full (I usually take short cuts) and the chicken was so moist and was just enough with my sweet potato. Give this a try if you want great flavor, fewer calories, and don’t want to feel as if you are giving up on taste.

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Recipe for Chicken is here on my blog as well as cupcakes.  Here are links to both.

http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2014/09/20/white-wedding-cupcakes/print/
http://www.skinnytaste.com/p/cookbook.html

(My husband took this pic…teasing me that this is his new beer/food blog!  He thinks he is so funny!)     Not bad for a first try!! 🙂IMG_1753[1]

Final Days of Summer

Posted in Adventures in the Kitchen by

My youngest daughter’s last few weeks at home were a crazy mix of excitement and sadness.  Before she headed off to college we tried to spend some quality time with friends and family.  And of course tried to get a few more recipes in before she left!  For our beach trip we made Lemon Crinkle Cookies.  This recipe is a keeper!  See our other August recipes.  You many want to give one a try!

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Peach Cobbler.

These pics do not do justice to this delicious cobbler, but hopefully you are tempted to make this anyway. We did drop 2 bottles of Vanilla in the process!

yum
cutting peaches
sugar and peaches
we broke 2 bottles of Vanilla
left in oven a little too long

Apple Crumble Pie.  I want us to make this again!

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Baked Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken.  Again, tasted better than the pic looks!  That will be my next adventure…learning to use the camera!

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Even our dog was sad to see her go. IMG_0180[1]

Final Cake..(and a few cupcakes)…Funfetti cake.  The cake was good but the frosting was not a favorite.  IMG_0265[1]

Hey Cupcake!

Posted in Adventures in the Kitchen by

I love cupcakes. Evidently so does my dog, Nellie.

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I bake at all holidays, special celebrations and when I am in the mood.  Today I was in the mood.  I was craving a great vanilla cupcake. I do like the ones at Magnolia Bakery so I started by looking in that cookbook. One of my favorites is their Vanilla Cupcake with Butter Cream Frosting. I do have to admit mine did not quite taste the same as I remember at their bakery.  Maybe it was just the ambiance of a bakery in New York City versus my kitchen in Cedar Park, Texas!  Maybe it was something else…but my cupcakes, for some reason, seemed a little bland.  And when my husband innocently asked if I had left out an ingredient, I knew they were not my best! 😦

 IMG_6213[1]Since that did not satisfy my craving, my daughter and I found a tasty looking Strawberry Cupcake recipe on a website called “Cooking Classy”. While the process was longer than we anticipated, the cupcake was worth the wait.   Claire was diligent in the kitchen cutting and pureeing strawberries, mixing and measuring the other ingredients, only asking once if we were done yet. She found them delicious and I was very pleased in how they turned out.   My husband didn’t even ask if I left anything out!  He commented, (with a mouth full of cupcake), “now these are really good”!

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I decided to give the Lemon Cupcake recipe a try as well. I was on a roll! I found it on the same website as above and it looked so good, I couldn’t resist.  The cupcake itself turned out a little dry.  I have to take credit for that as I mixed the batter a little longer than the recipe called for.  What can I say, I was trying to do the laundry as well!   But the frosting was full of flavor!  Delicious!  I will be making this cupcake again.

 

I have added these recipes at the top menu under Something Sweet.  Click on it and give the strawberry one a try!  All the recipes are worth trying, but the Strawberry Cupcake with Butter Cream Frosting takes the cake!