Happy Halloween treats and eats!

 Fall is upon us! Cupcakes, caramel apples and pumpkin cakes abound.   These ghost cupcakes were pretty simple to make. I just used a marshmallow style icing or 7 minute frosting as it’s commonly known and piped out some icing …

Frozen themed party fun!

  I’ve had tons of fun making all sorts of Frozen themed goodies for parties these last few months. Here are a few of my favorites for those seeking inspiration. Elsa and Anna paper doll links below for some DIY …

Recipe-Sea salt brownies from scratch

  

sea salt brownies!

Okay, so since the oven was already on from another order of Disney Frozen cupcakes, I figured what the heck. I really wanted something chocolatey and salty so I set out to bake some brownies from scratch. I have never made these before and I was feeling adventurous so I went for it. This is a modified recipe found on allrecipes.com. I figured adding the sea salt would satisfy my cravings and give the brownies an extra kick. They turned out pretty yummy. I hope you enjoy them and it’s really so easy! I doubt I’ll ever buy a box of brownie mix again.

Brownie ingredients

Original recipe makes 16 brownies-

1/2 cup butter

1 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

sprinkling of coarse sea salt to top

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour an 8-inch square pan.
2. In a large saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter. Remove from heat, and stir in sugar, eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat in 1/3 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup flour, salt, and baking powder. Spread batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes.
4. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt to top

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Blueberry muffins with cinnamon crunchies!

Yes, I said cinnamon “crunchies”, which is probably not a word but it’s the best description for them! It’s cold in NY, like cold – cold and no, I don’t always feel like bundling up myself and my ever demanding 2 year old to go to the grocery store. This was an easy fix for a morning without oatmeal or cheerios. I even made the buttermilk myself by just adding a tablespoon of lemon juice to a cup of milk and letting it stand about 5-10 mins. See, who needs to go outside?!   

 

 

Ingredients 

• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup white sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ⅓ cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• ⅓ cup buttermilk
• 1 cup blueberries (fresh)

Cinnamon topping ingredients

• ½ cup white sugar or brown sugar
• ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup cold butter, cut into small cubes
• 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

 

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
3. Combine 1½ cups flour, ¾ cup sugar, salt and baking powder.
4. Next add the vegetable oil, egg and buttermilk.
5. Fold in blueberries.
6. Fill muffin cups ¾ of the way, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.

To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together ½ cup sugar, ⅓ cup flour, ¼ cup butter, and 1½ teaspoons cinnamon. Hand mixing worked the best for me. I just dove in and crumbled it up with my fingers. Next sprinkle over muffins before baking.

1. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes
2. Makes 12 crunch-a-licious muffins                                                                                                                                                                              (Re-worked recipe from All recipes.com)

Cherry almond cupcakes

Chocolate Almond Cherry Cupcakes!

Delicious little devils, with vanilla cherry icing. The vanilla icing recipe is super easy. I was searching for a recipe that did not use as much butter as all of my other ones. This one fit the bill perfectly and it was really yummy.

Easy Vanilla Icing

2 Tbs of unsalted butter (softened)

2 cups of powdered sugar

2 Tbs of milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream the butter with mixer until fluffy about 30 seconds. Add powdered sugar, then milk and vanilla. Mix until well blended about 1 to 2 mins. Cut a maraschino cherry in half to top the cupcakes. I even spooned a little of the cherry juice on top. Just a few drops!

Happy Holidays!! Vegan Christmas tree cakes!

Vegan Christmas tree cupcakes

Sugar Cherry Jewel Cookies

 

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/3 cup light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• Additional sugar
• 1 jar (10 ounces) maraschino cherries, drained and halved

Directions

1. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the corn syrup, egg yolks and vanilla. Gradually add the flour and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle.
2. Roll into 1-in. balls; roll each ball in additional sugar. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Using the end of a wooden spoon handle, make an indentation in the center of each. Press a cherry half in the center.
3. Bake at 325° for 14-16 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. Yield: about 5 dozen.
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Choo Choo Milo’s Two!

My son loves trains, I mean walking around all day going “trains and cars are good” kinda love. So of course I ran with it for this little train party. We did a cookie decorating station so the kids didn’t …

Winnie the Pooh 2nd Birthday Party

Oh how fun, it’s a Pooh themed 2nd birthday party! This was a super cute party for an adorable 2 year old girl. Mom went all out with the crepe paper and hired an amazing face painter as well. The kids had tons of fun singing and dancing the day away.

I was excited to have a vegan cupcake order for this event. I tried out a new vegan buttercream icing which was pretty divine. The non-vegan chocolate chip cupcakes seemed to be a hit as well. Smiles all around!

The Pooh paper crafts were so enjoyable to make. There were a lot of classic Pooh graphics around the web for free use. The party hat was my favorite as I love bedazzling anything I can find.

Hope you find some inspiration here for your next event! You’ll find the vegan butercream icing recipe below. Thanks for reading!

Icing Recipe

• 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
• 1/4 cup vegan butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoon almond milk

Directions:

1. Using an electric mixer beat together vegetable shortening and vegan butter in a large bowl.
2. When smooth, gradually mix in powdered sugar one cup at a time.
3. Mix in vanilla extract, then almond milk one tablespoon at a time until it reaches the consistency you desire. I needed mine pretty firm to shape the beehives so I added about 1/4 cup extra powdered sugar.
4. Beat on high for 2 additional minutes until it’s fluffy and light.
5. Try not to eat them all at once!