S'mores Cupcakes

I've been on a new cupcake flavor kick lately and decided to try one of my kids favorite things as a recipe.
S'mores!!!

This is fun because just like a s'more the cupcake has 3 layers. Graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallow.

The graham cracker bottom was cooked for a few minutes before the batter was added so it was nice and crispy. Yum. 

TT Tip: Once the cupcakes are finished, you can garnish with a graham cracker or take a hand torch and torch the top a little, just like a real toasted marshmallow. 

The icing isn't really marshmallow because that would melt down and become a mushy mess, however, this home made icing tastes just as good as marshmallow and holds up much better. 

Chocolate Cookie Dough Cupcakes

I mentioned the other day that I have been wanting to try new recipes and I finally did.

I decided to go with a chocolate cookie dough cupcake recipe that I got from Annie's Eats. This is a great site with lots of fun recipes and I thought this would be a good one to try.

Most of the ingredients I had on hand but I did need to go out and get a few things like chocolate chips and extra brown sugar.

I used my big mixer with the paddle attachment to mix the batter in the beginning. This is great for creaming together butter and sugar.

Once the batter was all mixed together It was time to put it in the pan and get it into the oven. I made a batch without cupcake wrappers just to see how they would come out. As these are for testing anyway I figured it couldn't hurt.

They batter was heavy and thick, so baking time ran close to 20 minutes. I was so impressed by how nice they looked when they came out. They actually looked like chocolate cookies!

I knew from the beginning that I would need to make a filling. The filling was going to have to be chilled for an hour in the fridge as well so I started this right when the cupcakes went in. This way, by the time both batches had cooled it was time for the filling to come out. The cupcakes are to be filled so the center needed to be removed after cooling. The filling was made without eggs so it is like cookie dough without worrying about ingesting raw eggs :)

TT Tip: I recommend using a paring knife and cutting an upside down "cone" shape in the cupcake. Using a knife gives you more control and keeps the hole from becoming too big.

I also went ahead and made the icing while I waited. The icing ingredients were similar to the batter itself minus the rising agents and eggs. It also called for brown sugar AND confectioners sugar. This left the icing a tad gritty for me. I will have to look into ways to keep that from happening in the future.

Once the cupcakes were filed, I iced them using a Wilton tip and garnished them with mini chocolate chips.

The cupcakes were a great hit for everyone that tried them and I am really glad I took the time to try out the recipe. I will definitely be trying more soon and posting my tips and experiences here. Please feel free to share any questions you have. Thanks

Cupcake Fun

Sometimes it's just nice to make cupcakes for fun. Although I usually stick to making cupcakes and cakes for special events,this was a spur of the moment deal.

I made these very simply with a 5 year old helper. They were vanilla but for fun we tinted them purple with Wilton's gel color and added some very big sugar colors to the top.

The cupcakes were moist and very very yummy.

TT Tip: If you are making something for yourself or close family, consider going the semi home made way and but your frosting or use a box cake mix to save time. 

New Cupcake Flavors

I have recently come across some new flavors for cakes and cupcakes. If I am to be honest with myself (which I always try to be) I would like to try and make ALL of them today, right now!

This always happens when I come across something new. The problem is that I can't realistically make 2 or 3 dozen cupcakes to try out a new recipe. I don't want to eat all of the cupcakes ( and I will) and I also don't  have the time. With 3 kids and a house to keep in order, a new recipe takes time. It also takes tweaking.

Sometimes a recipe that works for one person, doesn't always work for the other.

It would be nice if I could get a babysitter for a few hours just so I could stay home and try out multiple recipes. I could then give the cupcakes and cakes away. Or heck, sell them at a bake sale of some sort. I wonder how legal it is to hold a bake sale out of your home if you are donating the money??
This will be something I will need to look into.

On that note, I would like to give myself a really good reason to try new recipes as well as bake to keep in practice and try new things. So if anyone in blog work would like to see something new, or wants to try a recipe but is worried about how it will come out, please let me know and I will make it first and post about it on my blog. Thanks!