Chambord Chocolate Cupcakes

Here is a recipe for Chambord chocolate cupcakes that were baked up, packed off and eaten so quickly that all I have to show for them is but one Instagram photo.

But really, how many photos do you need for me to convince you they'll be delicious? They're Chambord chocolate cupcakes, everyone wins. 

The recipe came from Ming Makes Cupcakes, which isn't really updated anymore, but I have never had a cupcake failure with any of her recipes. I've made them my own go-to recipes, and they only yield about 10 - 12 cupcakes per batch, which I think is perfect.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Chambord Chocolate Frosting

From Ming Makes Cupcakes

For the cupcakes

1 cup flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
3 T berry jam
3 tsp Chambord liqueur

1. Preheat oven to 350 and prepare a cupcake pan with liners
2. Mix flour, cocoa, baking powder, soda, and salt. 
3. In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar on medium until light and fluffy. 
4. Reduce speed to low and add vanilla and egg. 
5. Add milk and flour mixture alternately while still mixing.  
6. Mix in jam and liqueur.  
7. Pour into lined cupcake pan and bake for 20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out almost clean.

For the frosting

1 stick butter
5 heaping T cocoa
1 lb confectioner’s sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup milk
1/8 cup Chambord

1. In a saucepan, melt butter at low temperature.  
2. In a separate bowl, mix cocoa and sugar.  
3. Add melted butter, vanilla, and milk and beat at low speed until mixed. 
4. Mix in Chambord.  
5. Frost cupcakes generously and top (or fill) with a dollop of jam.  

Christmas Things: Part 1

Truffles. Recipe here.

Putting up our tree.

Sending out our Christmas cards.

Getting ready to meringue!

Instagraming

 

 

Chocolate dipped meringue snow peaks | Chocolate syrup brownies

Gingerbread | Enormous oreo-stuff red velvet crinkle cookies

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes With Candy Acorn Decorations

As I mentioned in my Thanksgiving post, this year my mom requested pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese icing for dessert. Not long after, I came across this recipe with super adorable acorn embellishments!

And here's how they came out! I really liked the pumpkin spice cupcake. I cut the powdered sugar a bit for the frosting, since I like to taste a little tang from the cream cheese. For the acorns, I couldn't find either of the store bought cookies recommended (mini Nila wafers or Nutter Butters) so I thought, "Oh, I'll just make some." So I made some baby snickerdoodle cookies!

If you're going to make these, set aside an afternoon. There's a few steps involved but I promise it's worth it!

First, we make cupcakes! They'll cool while you make the snickerdoodles and frosting.

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

Adapted from Java Cupcakes

Yield about 30 regular sized cupcakes

2 2/3 cups flour
2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
2 cups pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
4 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350 F and line 2 regular sized cupcake pans with cupcake papers.
2. Mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugars, oil, pumpkin puree and vanilla until smooth.
4. Beat the eggs in one at a time.
5. Slowly add the flour mixture and until just combined, but don't overmix.
6. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake for 17-19 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
7. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely.

Next it's baby brown sugar snickerdoodle time!

Mini Brown Sugar Snickerdoodle Cookies

Adapted from Sunset Cookies

Yield about 60 something mini snickerdoodles

For the cookies 
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
Mini chocolate chip cookies

For rolling 
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 tablespoon dark brown sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. 
2. Combine flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt in a large bowl and set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter
4. Add the sugars and beat until creamy
5. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until combined
6. Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until combined
7. In a separate small bowl, combine the cinnamon, granulated sugar, and brown sugar.
8. Mix until combined. Use your fingers if you have to to break up the clumps of brown sugar
9. Roll the dough into balls a little under 1/2 inch wide. Then roll in the cinnamon and sugar mixture, and place on an ungreased cookie sheet at least 2 inches apart
10. Bake about 8 - 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Have the mini chocolate chips standing by for when the cookies come out of the oven.
11. Remove the cookie from the oven and immediately press a mini chocolate chip on the top of each for the stem. Tip: If you set it on the cookie, then press just a bit, the bottom will be melty enough to adhere to the cookie as they cool.
12. Let the cookies cool completely on baking sheets.

Now is a good time to unwrap your Hershey kisses.

Last is frosting, almost done!

Cream Cheese Frosting

Adapted from Java Cupcake

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
8oz cream cheese, room temperature
2 3/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract

1. In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter together.
2. Slowly add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth.
3. Mix in the vanilla and cinnamon and beat until creamy.

Assemble! Frost your cupcakes. Dab a bit of frosting on the bottom of each Hershey kiss, and stick on a snickerdoodle. Top each cupcake with two acorns.

These are the first cupcakes that traveled in my new cupcake carrier! 

Holiday Tradition: Spritz Cookies

This weekend, I went down to my parents house to help out with a few things and decided it was a good time to commence Christmas cooking baking for the season!

With grandma turning 96 this year, it's getting to be a bit much for her (and my mom) to make oodles and oodles of Christmas cookies every year. There are about seven that are regulars at Christmas time and this year I'm making them all while grandma supervises! This weekend we made round one of spritz cookies, and thumbprint cookies. This post will cover spritz cookies, I'm saving thumbprint cookies for another time.

In case you don't already know spritz cookies, you need a cookie press to make them. Here's the cookie press my mom and grandma have. The recipe is super simple.

Spritz Cookies

Yield about 6 dozen

1 cup butter

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

2 1/4 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon lemon extract

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Mix together flour, salt, and baking powder and set aside.
3. Cream the butter.
4. Slowly add sugar and cream mix well until fluffy.
5. Beat in the egg and extract.
6. Slowly add the flour mixture.
7. Separate the dough for coloring.
8. Fill your cookie press and press cookies onto an ungreased cookie sheet about 1 1/2 inches apart.
9. Decorate as desired with sprinkles and colored sugar!
10. Bake 10 - 12 minutes.
11. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes on cookie sheet, then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.

The cookies are coming!

This year, my mom and my grandma (who turned 96 on my wedding day!) are teaching me how to make all their traditional Christmas cookies! And it starts tomorrow!

Here's the recipes from mom, but don't worry, I'll post each one as they're completed! It's going to take from now until Christmas. Cookie baking is a serious past-time for us.

Halloweekend Deliciousness: Fall Baking Recipes

Whoa... I haven't posted since August 24? So sad. I actually wouldn't mind jumping back to August 24 and repeating the last month and half or so for the most part.

September was busy but wonderful. I got married! And my wedding was so much fun, then Dave and I went on our honeymoon in Hawaii for a week and a half and I never wanted to come home.

It was hard coming back to work, but it has to be done. October has been pretty busy too. And now it's Halloween weekend, and we're hunkered down awaiting the arrival of hurricane Sandy!

Since it's Halloweekend, I'm very appropriately reviving my old baking blog, and linking to some of my favorite fall recipes. Enjoy!

Mini Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes
This may be one of my favorite cupcakes I've ever made. EVER. And I've made a lot of cupcakes.



Easy Pumpkin Danish
Really stupid-easy. Whip up filling, puff pastry, bake for amazingness.



Classic Pumpkin Pie
Don't be scared of pie! It's so simple and everyone will love you! This recipe is from a book from the 1960s that belonged to my grandma called Pies Husbands Like Best. Don't hold that against them, make it anyway!



Pumpkin Angel Food Cake with Salted Caramel Glaze
I think this is my favorite angel food cake. And you can't go wrong with salted caramel.



Brown Sugar Maple Glazed Baked Mini Donuts
I don't regret purchasing my mini donut pan. Baked donuts are a lot of fun. I made these for a brunch and every time someone walked by they grabbed one.



Pumpkin Brownie Bites
Pumpkin cheesecake meets brownie. So cute.



Classic Apple Pie
We always pick way too many apples.



Pumpkin Cinnamon French Macarons
These were my first French macarons ever. And I had a stroke of beginners luck with them. Maybe you will too.

Irish Soda Bread Recipe

Last year, I decided to take on making traditional Irish soda bread. You can read it about it here on my baking blog. But this year I caved and chose a recipe closer to what most think of when they hear Irish soda bread. Good news is it turned out pretty tasty and I have a recipe to share with you!

Bake with Whiskey for St. Patrick's Day: Chocolate Irish Whiskey Ice Cream Cupcakes

Here's a little St. Patrick's day baking treat for you. Chocolate Irish whiskey cupcakes, filled with chocolate ice cream and topped with chocolate Bailey's Irish cream glaze. So good.

Secret to Making Simple Brownies Look Super Fancy

I'm thinking my "secret to..." posts that I introduced here may not always come on Sundays in the future, but I promise I'll keep them coming regularly.

This week's secret is how to make brownies look super fancy and impressive. Usually brownies cut up in squares and plunked down on a plate are enough to make people excited, but with a few tricks you can make them look like a gourmet dessert! I also have an easy go-to brownie recipe for you!

Peanut Butter Stars for Pooches

I bake for everyone else, why not my puppy dog too? I have a retired racing greyhound named Odie. He's 5 years old now, and we adopted him from Pocono Greyhound Adoption a little over a year ago. To celebrate his birthday this past January and one year anniversary in his forever home, I made him homemade doggie treats with peanut butter and safflower oil. And here I have the recipe for you to make for your best friend as well!

DIY Cookie Cutter Stencils & Green Tea Shortbread Recipe

Happy Chinese New Year's Eve and welcome to the year of the dragon! To celebrate I have a fun DIY post mixed with a baking post!

We're making green tea shortbread cookies shaped like little tea leaves. No leaf shaped cookie cutter needed! Here was my inspiration, and here are how mine came out, plus dipped in chocolate.

Bake Apple Pie on a Stick

Baked goods on a stick are super trendy right now it seems. I know that because Starbucks has cake pops now. Inspired by some finds on Etsy, I decided to try out some apple pie pops!