"Cranny Clumps" (★ ★ ★ ★ ☆)

This is going to be quick.

Because, honestly, all I can say about these cookies is that they are so ridiculously delicious that me and my best friend decided they needed an "unappealing" name to stall the world from discovering these things.

See if we got the world hooked and then some how all the white chocolate chip farms and cranberry factories, ...

...not to mention the quick cook oatmeal fields, exploded we'd have mass hysteria on our hands.

The real kicker is that my mom found the recipe on the back of a Craisins package:

Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Chunk Cookies

The rest is history.

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Chipotle Cinnamon Chocolate Cupcakes (★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆)

I'm not sure what in the world possessed me to ever make these cupcakes, but I LOVE food. I love thinking about it, eating it, trying new things...so when I come across an interesting recipe that sounds like it has even a microscopic chance of being a hit - I'll do it.

I've been working in my church cafe for about two years now. I brought these to the first team meeting I ever went to. Actually, I went to a meeting before I was ever actually scheduled...I got some confused looks when I arrived. Thankfully, I was bearing cupcakes to help ease the tension.

Recipe Inspiration.

I found this particular idea from the "Vanilla Garlic" blog. You can check it out here:

Chipotle Cinnamon Chocolate Cupcakes

Yes, I used a chocolate box mix. I've found chocolate mixes to be quite satisfactory. No need to get out an apron and measuring cups when a good pair of scissors will do the job. I went with dark chocolate this time.

Into the batter went cinnamon, chopped up chocolate chips, and chipotle powder.

Here's the interesting part...for those of you weren't "impressed" with the cinnamon-chipotle combination -- there is NO frosting. That's right, just a little dusting. Put a criss-crossed cooling rack on top to make a nice design.

The powder sugar and chipotle dusting is complete.

They were a hit! Mostly because of the interesting combination, everyone wanted to try one. But I think next time I'd go with a cinnamon or caramel icing/frosting. It was missing that little extra sweetness. And not only did the powdered sugar make the cupcake a little "drier" if you didn't eat it carefully, you got a shirt full of sugar while you're trying not to die from powder inhalation. Not an epic way to go. Not at all.

Black & White Cupcakes (★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆)

I made these for our church picnic. They were super simple...I used two box mixes AND canned frosting. Yup, I said it: Canned Frosting. Not my proudest moment but how easy is that? Well, manuvering the cupcake liners to accomidate both chocolate and vanilla cake batter without completely mixing them together was a little bit of a challenge. I found spooning the batter in while tilting the liners was the easiest way.

I mixed two whole box mixes. I used chocolate and french vanilla.

Of course, if I have plain yogurt or sour cream on hand I always add a

nice dollop for extra moistness.

I was surprised how great these turned out and how delicious they were. It was the first time I had used a French Vanilla box mix and I thought I had finally found my "go to" vanilla mix. Chocolates in general are pretty good, but I have never found a vanilla box mix that I have been happy with. I've used the French Vanilla mix by itself since I made these and I wasn't impressed. It must have been the chocolate/vanilla combination that made it so good. Some sort of "box cake mix" chemical reaction... ;)

This is where I failed. I admit it, but I was pushed for time...and I'll admit, a little bit lazy. BUT I used cream cheese and chocolate fudge...which are the best of the "canned" variety, if there is such a thing.

I frosted them so the chocolate and vanilla frostings were on opposite sides of the cupcake.

Each cupcake was topped with a little piece of Hershey's Cookies and Cream bar to tie the whole thing together.

Just a little idea for those times when you don't want to get too involved, but still want add a little creativity to your baking.

Root Beer Float Cupcakes (★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆)

So I haven't blogged in awhile. But the baking has continued. This has led to quite the back-log of needed entries. Feeling rather overwhelmed with the prospect of writing about my ever growing baking adventures, I did what every other self-respecting procrastinator does: I watched tv instead.

Lately, I've been baking more and I kind of miss tracking all of my projects. Hence, the blog is back up and running.

I made these Root Beer Float cupcakes when I had a "Sixth Sense" movie screening in my backyard during the summer. They were kind of a flop. They didn't taste like Root Beer and they were pretty ugly, although I must say the cupcake itself was pretty delicious. But as I've said on here before...presentation is almost just as important as taste to me.

Cupcake.

I got the recipe inspiration from this website: Root Beer Float Cupcakes

I put root beer both in the cake batter and in the glaze.

The ugly cupcakes. They didn't puff up and they were super

sticky...which made them very moist and delicious!

The root beer glaze. I scooped out a little section of the top to help it soak in.

Frosting.

I used the "Best Buttercream" recipe from this website: Vanilla Bean Buttercream

It was good..kinda of grainy and gloppy looking, but tasty. Definitely not the "best" though. My search continues.

They swore that vanilla "paste" is the secret to amazing frosting. So I spent $11 on this sucker and I can't really say it made all that much difference. I've used it since, in some of my other recipes, but only cause I have it. I probably wouldn't buy it again. Save yourself the cash.

As you can tell by the first picture, this frosting doesn't hold up very well. So my swirly mounds of "ice cream" turned into mushy poop. I had to stick them in the freezer till it was time to serve them so they didn't completely fall apart.

I wasn't lying. :)

Not my most successful experience. But at least I tried it. To more successful adventures...

Tiramisu Cupcakes (★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆)

The Story:

I don't know why I always feel compelled to write these sections. I mean sometimes there is a really story behind why I made a certain thing, but sometimes the story is I just wanted to bake. Or eat. Or put someone in a sugar coma. No elaborate back-story, just plain and simple.

Anyway, I made these the same day as the banana bread because it was family night and we were going to be having my family plus my new brother-in-law and his family over for dinner as well. It was just enough people to warrant a "purposed" dessert...maybe making 24 cupcakes was a little overkill...but I figured I could swing an acceptable excuse if that's what it came down to.

I'm always looking for interesting ways to dress up a cupcake. So when in the brilliant corners of my mind the idea for tiramisu cupcakes emerged--I was extremely excited.

I found several different recipes-ranging from super simple to crazy complex. So taking into consideration all that I wanted these cupcakes to be--this one seemed like the best and way to go:

Tiramisu Cupcakes


The Method:

These cupcakes are not difficult to make, but they are time consuming as there transformation process requires several different stages.

The Cupcake:

I decided to go with the white cake box mix to save time. I'm sad I did because that was the one thing I disliked about this cupcake, but I was pressed for time so it needed to be done.

If time permits, making a vanilla/white batter from scratch could really take these cupcakes up a notch.

The liquid layer:
Tiramisu is cake soaked in espresso and rum. Because I don't keep rum in my house and I'm not a big fan of the strong liquor flavor, I opted to add a little rum extract to the coffee liquid recipe. This gave it a little bit of the original flavor without being over powering. (A little FYI: make sure you have instant coffee. I accidentally bought ground coffee in a can and ended up straining the whole concoction several times to get all the grounds out)

The soak:
I also don't like soggy bread, so drenching my cupcake creations in coffee was not an appealing option. I tried poking holes in the top with toothpicks, but I could tell that pouring the coffee over it was just going to create a huge mess. Instead, I opted to cut a small cone out of the tops of each cupcake (just like I did for the Strawberry Stuffed Lime Coconut Cupcakes I had made the week earlier).

This did the trick. I was able to pour a small amount of the coffee liquid into the cupcake centers to give it an authentic "flare," if you will, without completely destroying the integrity of the cupcake structure. No soggy mess. No stress. ;)



The filling/frosting:
This recipe (and all tiramisu recipes in general) call for mascarpone cheese in the filling. But I couldn't, for the life of me, find mascarpone cheese anywhere. I tried both of our major grocery stores, but with no luck. I decided to just use cream cheese, since it was already called for in the frosting. (I have since found out that Whole Foods carries mascarpone cheese...big shocker there...as well as Trader Joes)
I ended up using the same recipe for the filling as I did for the frosting. I guess the cupcakes didn't really have a "special" filling then, but an overflow of frosting.


To frost the cupcakes, I spooned a small amount into a ziploc plastic bag, made a small cut in the corner, and piped the cheese frosting into (and onto) the cupcake.

The finishing touches:

For decoration, I dusted the finished cupcakes with cocoa powder and placed a small chocolate chip in the middle.


The Results:

I was very impressed with these cupcakes. I was pleased that the rum flavor was dialed down and that the inside of the cake was not soggy. Even the cream cheese frosting worked out very well (although I would use mascarpone next time). The only thing I would make sure to do differently...is to make the darn batter from scratch! I should have learned by now that I hate the box mix and that even when it saves me time, I always regret it. Honestly, a good "cake" recipe would have perfected this endeavor. But alas, I must make this journey again in order to taste a cupcake that meets my rigorous standards.

I must say though...they are kinda cool lookin'.