It's Shower Season!

No, no I don't mean rain shower season but for those of you in the northeast or Florida you probably thought that is what I meant.  I really mean wedding shower season - I know a wedding shower can be any time of the year but let's face it the majority of weddings take place in the summer/fall time so to me it is shower season.  A few weeks back a coworker of mine headed down the aisle however before you she did we had a little get together at the office.  For the get together I decided to make 'wedding' cupcakes.  What are wedding cupcakes?  Well I decided 'wedding' cupcakes were white cupcakes with white frosting but other than that I had no idea.  I decided to google it to see if there was someone else out there that thought the same thing as myself, and you know what there was!

I found an excellent recipe online with almond frosting.  I was a little skeptical at first because I had never made almond frosting but it was phenomenal.  I decided to go with a pink and white theme as those were the colors she was using and happened to have the perfect cupcake liners.

I had used these liners before and wasn't very happy with how the batter over took the colors in the liner.  I used them for a carrot cake cupcakes so the darker batter did not look very well with the liners but these were perfect.  Once I made two dozens cupcakes I was ready to frost them.  I dyed half the frosting in light pink and left the other half white.

For some of the cupcakes I frosted from the outside to the inside which makes the peaks.  I also frosted some from the center to the outside which makes a rose like pattern.  The back, left pink cupcake has the rose pattern which is flatter for those who may not enjoy frosting quite as much as the others.  One they were all frosted I was ready to load up my cupcake carrier.

Once I got to work and we were ready to celebrate I put a fake engagement ring on each cupcake for the final touch.  I am disappointed I didn't get a picture but I hope you can all use your imagination and pretend for me!

Below is the recipe I used for the cupcakes and frosting:

Ingredients for Cupcakes:1 box of Betty Crocker white cake
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/3 cups water
2 Tbsp canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup light sour cream
4 large egg whites

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
In large bowl or mixer add all ingredients and mix until everything is well blended
Place in cupcake liners almost 2/3 full
Bake for 18-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean
Cool completely before frosting

Buttercream frosting: adapted from Recipe Girl's
3 cups powdered sugar
1 cup butter, slightly melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract

Preparation:
In large mixing bowl add all ingredients
Mix on medium speed with hand mixer for 5 minutes
Spread on cupcakes or put in piping bag
Decorates up to 24 cupcakes with piping bag

They were so good that a coworker asked me to make them again this week - we will see hopefully I will find an event better recipe.

Until next time...Stay Creative!!

What can I bring?

As we enter the season of cookouts, well at least in the Northeast, with each cookout you ask what you can bring.  I would say from personal experience 9 out of 10 times the host with say nothing or whatever you would like.  What to bring?  Well I have a pretty good cookie recipe that is easy and will really intrigue the other party goers.  As much as I would like to take credit for being the first one to try this recipe I will have to give the credit to my mom.  When I was last home she had made these cookies for a party and they were a hit so I figured I would give them a try.

I made them over the weekend and brought them to work to test on my coworkers.  I wasn't sure how they would be received but I told everyone to just try them before giving me the 'what' are these look.  Well they were a hit so here I am sharing with you the recipe.  You start by making chocolate chip cookie dough and add potato chips - yes potato chips.  I bought the cheap store brand plain potato chips and put handfuls of whole chips in a plastic bag, crumbled the cookies and added more.

Before I knew it I had 2 1/4 cups crumbled and ready to add to the dough.

I stirred in the potato chips after I added the chocolate chips to the dough and I had potato chocolate chip dough! 

I found the recipe online but I put a little 'Mom' twist on the cookies.  I made balls of dough and rolled the dough in the extra potato chips before I baked them.   My mom informed me she made hers like this to add a little extra crunch and salt.

After rolling each ball I placed the cookies on the baking sheet.  Be cautious when placing the cookies on the baking sheet as they do not stick to the tray and will slide around.  I learned this with the first tray as they all slid to one side.  I baked them following the directions and they were perfect.

Like I said before everyone questioned these but with one bite my coworkers were impressed.  They really liked the sweet and salty concoction.  This is the recipe I used:

Ingredients

1 cup butter

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 1/4 cups crushed potato chips (I used Lays Classic Potato Chips)

1 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs. Combine the flour and baking soda and slowly add to the creamed sugar mixture. Mix well. Stir in the crushed potato chips and chocolate chips.

Drop by small spoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. If you are making large cookies you may want to keep them in the oven for about 14 minutes. Cool for 1 minute before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Remember roll the cookie dough in the chips before you bake them - adds a great twist!  Stay tuned for a white cake cupcake with almond frosting.  Perfect for those upcoming bridal showers!

Until next time...Stay Creative!!