Giveaway WINNER!

Congratulations to JOHN LOCONTE!
He is the winner of the dozen cupcake giveaway!

Thanks to everyone who participated in the giveaway and to everyone who has supported The Frosting Addict thus far!

The winner was generated using random picker if you would like to verify the results you may click on the icon below....

Cherry Vanilla Cupcakes

Rainy, drizzly, damp days make me want to bake!
I have been dying to make these cupcakes which were inspired by Cherry Vanilla Ice cream from Cabots in Newton, so while my brother sat on the couch and annoyed me I whipped up these heavenly treats!

I started with a basic Vanilla Cupcake.



As soon as they came out of the oven I brushed them with cherry juice. Talk about super moist AND it helps to infuse the cherry flavor with the vanilla cupcake!


While these babies were cooling I whipped up some pillowy soft frosting.
I made a basic Buttercream and instead of using milk or water as the liquid I used cherry juice again.
I wanted the frosting to be very light and airy so I whipped this frosting more then I would for a normal buttercream... the result was exactly what I was looking for!



I piped on the frosting using my wilton 1M tip and topped each cupcake with a cherry!

Don't these look like a little piece of heaven?!?!





Enjoy!!!

Sugar Cookies

My mom and I are spending some quality time with my nieces this week over school vacation. I decided I would love to bake with my nieces and sugar cookies seemed like a fun thing!

We are hanging at my mother's house today and I have to say I don't like baking anywhere but my own kitchen anymore! My mom only has a hand mixer and it has made me appreciate my Kitchen-aid so much! HA!

Now... on to the cookies!
We gathered the ingredients...



If you know anything about 7 year olds you would obviously know that they want to do everything themselves. This could have gotten out of control but luckily my nieces listen very well.



We mixed everything together and then popped it in the fridge to chill the dough for an hour.
Next step was to roll out the dough and cut shapes. I know it is past valentines day but the only cookie cutters my mom had were heart shaped.

So we cut all different sized hearts....






These cookies baked up pretty quickly and once they were cooled me moved onto decorating!
The icing is made of confectionery sugar and milk. I colored one batch red and one batch pink.

If I was decorating these at home I would use piping bags to decorate and also have a different consistency icings.. but for some plain old fun in the kitchen medium consistency icing and a couple of spoons worked just fine!








The girls had a blast decorating and the cookies came out very cute! I also must say they tasted really great! I love sugar cookies and this was one of the better recipes I have come across.

Enjoy!


Recipe

* 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
* 2 cups white sugar
* 4 eggs
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 5 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

3. Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.

GIVEAWAY!!!!!!!

I am giving away a dozen yummy cupcakes to one of my readers! I will hand deliver the flavor of your choice to anyone living within 2 hours of Dedham, MA!




The winner will be chosen using random.org and here is HOW TO ENTER:

For one entry- Become a follower of The Frosting Addict (click "follow" over on the right sidebar) or let me know you already are.
For a second entry- "Like" The Frosting Addict on Facebook, then come back and leave a comment here that you "like" me =)
For a third entry- Spread the word about this blog by posting on your blog or facebook -OR- Add The Frosting Addict to the blog list on your blog (then leave a comment here telling me you shared or added The Frosting Addict to your blog list).

**Current facebook fans can still enter by leaving a comment here telling us they are a fan!

**Each thing you do will earn you another entry in the contest (up to 3 entries per person)

**Winner will be chosen on Friday February 25, 2011 and the winner will be contacted through facebook or email if you leave your email on your comment!

SO SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT YOUR FROSTING ADDICTION AND WIN SOME CUPCAKES!!!!!!!!!

More Mini Donuts

Since I wasn't completely satisfied with the donuts the first time I made them, I decided to try it again and make some adjustments to improve the moisture and flavor.

I loved the decorations for valentines day but this time I was taking these little donuts to New Hampshire to share with some of my favorite people!
I tossed half the batch in powdered sugar and half in cinnamon sugar and they came out much better! Sweeter, more moist and the perfect bite sized treats!











Mini Baked Donuts
*the bold items are what I added to the original recipe

Yield | 24 mini donuts

Ingredients
½ cup granulated sugar
1¼ cups cake flour, sifted
1¼ tsp. baking powder
¾ tsp. salt
½ cup buttermilk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1½ tbsp. butter, melted
½ teaspoon of vanilla

2 tsp of cinnamon, nutmeg, clove mixture
2 tbsp sour cream

Instructions
Prepare pan with baking spray.
1. Heat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, sift together cake flour, baking powder,sugar, and salt.
3. Add buttermilk, egg, butter, and vanilla and stir until just combined.
4. Add batter to a piping bag and fill each donut cup approximately one-half full.
5. Bake 4–6 minutes or until the top of the donuts spring back when touched.
6. Let cool in pan for 4–5 minutes before removing. Finish the donuts with glaze, sprinkles, or cinnamon sugar.

Mini PB&J Cupcakes

What could be better then a Peanut butter and Jelly sandwich? How about Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcakes!?!?!?!

I decided to make mini cupcakes since I just bought a mini muffin pan and since I am bringing these to New Hampshire this weekend to share with 13 other people mini cupcakes were the way to go!

I started with a basic vanilla cupcake. I struggled a little bit with getting these cupcakes uniform size. I used my cookie scoop and tried to fill the scoop half way for each cupcake but I wasn't always spot on.. either way it worked out they just aren't all the exact same size.






Since they were miniature sized they baked up really quickly and cooled quickly as well.

Once they were cooled using a piping bag and my cupcake filling tip I filled each cupcake with grape jelly.



I had some peanut butter buttercream left over from when I made peanut butter cup cupcakes so that is the frosting I used for these adorable treats.
I think I should have used a star tip to frost these to make them look for "professional" but the most important thing is taste and I think they taste very yummy!!!





I hope all my friends enjoy these!!!

Mini Valentines Day Donuts!!!!!!

When I stumbled across these adorable Valentines day treats on My Baking Addiction I knew I wanted to make them.

I loved the idea of these cute bite size donuts and thought they were the perfect treat to share with people I love this Valentines day!

My first task was to find the Wilton mini donut pans. They were easy enough to find online, but I wouldn't have them in time for v-day. I checked out A.C. Moore, Target, Walmart and William Sonoma only to turn up empty handed. Finally I found them at Crate and Barrel! I was very excited.

The pans come with a recipe so that is the one I used. My husband is picky about certain flavors so I opted to leave out the nutmeg and just add a little more Vanilla.
These were super easy to make and only took about 20 minutes total to make the batter and cook them.

I prepared the batter and using a piping bag piped it into the pans. The recipe says it yields 24 but I was able to make about 40 donuts from the batter.




While the donuts were cooling I melted some light pink and red candy melts to decorate with.








After they were all decorated it was time to taste test. These aren't your normal fried donuts, they are much more cake like. I thought they were good but definitely left something to be desired in the flavor department.

I think I will play around with the recipe and make them again for St. Patrick's day! Until then I hope those who I share with enjoy these sweet little treats!





Happy Valentines day!!!!



Mini Baked Donuts

Yield | 24 mini donuts

Ingredients
½ cup granulated sugar
1¼ cups cake flour, sifted
1¼ tsp. baking powder
¾ tsp. salt
½ cup buttermilk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1½ tbsp. butter, melted
½ teaspoon of vanilla

Instructions
Prepare pan with baking spray.
1. Heat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, sift together cake flour, baking powder,sugar, and salt.
3. Add buttermilk, egg, butter, and vanilla and stir until just combined.
4. Add batter to a piping bag and fill each donut cup approximately one-half full.
5. Bake 4–6 minutes or until the top of the donuts spring back when touched.
6. Let cool in pan for 4–5 minutes before removing. Finish the donuts with glaze, sprinkles, or cinnamon sugar.

Note
To decorate the mini donuts, I dipped them in candy melts and adorned them with cute Valentine’s Day sprinkles. Simply melt according to package directions, invert the top of the donuts into the melted candy melts and immediately top with sprinkles.

adapted from Wilton

Slider Cupcakes

If there is anything my husband is obsessed with I would have to say it is cheeseburger sliders. They are probably one of his favorite foods. We even had them served at our wedding!

Needless to say when I stumbled across these cupcakes on Bakerella's Blog I knew I had to make them for my hubby and with his Birthday being tomorrow I thought this would be the perfect ocassion!

So first things first I used mixes and store bought frosting for these. They are much more of a novelty so making them from scratch was not a priority for me.

To start I baked up some yellow cupcakes and then baked some brownies in a 13x9 pan.
Once the cupcakes were cooled I sliced them in half to use as the "bun" and then I cut out circles (about the same size as the base of the cupcake) from the brownies to use as the "burger"

Next I split the container of frosting into 3 small bowls and colored them to act as "ketchup", "mustard", and "lettuce". Once the colors were mixed I put them in disposable piping bags.



Now that everything was set-up I could start the assembly process.

I started with the bottom "bun" and piped some yellow frosting around the edge....



Next I put the Brownie on and piped red frosting and green frosting around the edge of that...



Lastly I put the top of the "bun" on, brushed it with some orange juice and sprinkled on sesame seeds. I stuck a toothpick through and ta-da! A mini cupcake slider!!!





For my first time making these I think they came out pretty darn cute!!! I know my husband loved them!
Next time I think I will use coconut as the lettuce (colored green). I think it will give it a more realistic look.

These could be the perfect treat for many occasions such a child's birthday party or any summer cookout!

I have plenty left if anyone wants to swing by and sample one! haha

Happy Baking!!!!

Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes

These cupcakes are along the same line as the cookie dough ones.
They are a pretty basic recipe but pack a big punch!

First start with your favorite basic vanilla cupcake recipe (you could also use a box mix if you want to take the easier way out)
Once the cake batter is done distribute it throughout your lined cupcake pans. (I find a 1/4 cup measure is the perfect amount for each cupcake.)

Once your pans are all filled simply drop a frozen Reese's Peanut Butter cup in the center of each cupcake.



Bake these babies in a 350 degree oven for about 18-19 minutes.

While the cupcakes are baking I like to whip up the frosting.
For these cupcakes I wanted to make a peanut butter buttercream. I used my basic buttercream recipe and just added about 1/4 cup of peanut butter (you can add more of less depending on how strong you want the peanut butter flavor to be)

I love how frosting looks when it comes all together! YUM!



Once the cupcakes are cooled it's time to get frosting!!!!! I topped them off with some Reese's Peanut Butter cups that I had chopped up. They look delectable!



and when you bite into them you get the nice added treat of a peanut butter cup!




I am sure my husband's co-workers will enjoy these tomorrow!





Peanut Butter Buttercream Frosting

1 Cup shortening
2 sticks of salted butter
2 tsp. Vanilla
6-8 tbsp Water or Milk
2 lbs confectionery sugar
1/4 cup peanutbutter

Directions:
Cream shortening, butter, peanut butter, vanilla and water together until smooth.
Add in confectionery sugar and beat on low until sugar is incorporated and then beat on medium for 2 mins until smooth. Scrape down bowl and beat for 15 more seconds (add more water/milk if frosting seems to thick)

Cookie Dough Cupcakes

I am the type of baker who doesn't enjoy eating the final product but definitely likes to "snack" on the batters as I go.
When I stumbled upon this recipe it was like a dream come true... cookie dough batter inside a moist fluffy cupcake! I know.. sounds unreal right?!?! I had to try this out!

Now this is the first time I was making this sinfully delicious treat and I have to admit I took some shortcuts because I was short on time that day but next time I will definitely work from scratch.

I gathered up my ingredients which consisted of, Yellow cake mix (from the box),pre-made toll house cookie dough and all the other essential ingredients like eggs, water and oil.

First things first I scooped the cookie dough using my cookie scoop and popped them in the freezer for about an hour.
While those were getting nice and firm I mixed up my cake batter and lined my cupcake pans.

Next step was to fill each liner 2/3 the way full with batter and then place a cookie dough ball right on top! Could not have been easier!

Here is what they looked like before going into the oven...



The cupcakes baked in a 350 degree oven for about 18 minutes. To check doneness I inserted a toothpick into the cupcake and when it came out clean I knew they were set to go.



Ta-Da!!!! can't even see the cookie dough!!! It will be a yummy surprise!

Once the cupcakes were cooled I frosted them with an incredible brown sugar buttercream and topped them off with some mini morsels and ended up with this finished product...





Needless to say these were a huge hit!!!

Frosting Recipe:

3 sticks softened butter
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp. milk or water
1 tsp. vanilla extract


To make the frosting, combine the butter and brown sugar in a mixing bowl and cream on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the powdered sugar until smooth. Beat in the milk (or water), and vanilla extract until smooth and combined