Nutella-Filled Cream Cheese Cupcakes

Tomorrow is a dear friend’s birthday, and such an occasion calls for cupcakes.

Seeing as how this particular friends loves Nutella (but then again, who doesn’t?), I thought this would be the perfect excuse to try my hand at Nutella-filled cupcakes.

For the cake part, I used my go-to recipe for vanilla cake, which is actually a recipe for cream cheese cupcakes, adapted from this one.

Cream cheese cupcakes, in theory, may sound a tad strange, but in actuality they are simply vanilla cupcakes that are just extra rich and dense.

Cream Cheese Cupcakes (makes 2 dozen)

8 oz. cream cheese

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

3 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 1/3 cups milk

2 1/2 cups flour

Preheat oven to 350 °F.

Cream together the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Mix in sugar until creamy. Mix in eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla. Combine baking powder, salt, baking soda, and flour in a separate, small bowl. Alternate between mixing in flour mixture and milk.

Place about two tablespoons of batter in each cupcake tin. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until they appear slightly golden-brown. Allow to cool in tins.

To fill them, I placed Nutella in a pastry bag and used a long tip that is specifically for filling cupcakes. You can also use a knife or corer to hollow out a small space in the center of the cupcake, and then pipe in your Nutella.

Due to a few time constraints this morning (go figure!), I opted for regular buttercream frosting (1 stick of butter, confectioner’s sugar, vanilla, bit of milk), and by “I opted”, I mean that my mom (The Queen of Buttercream) talked some sense into me, and even made it for me. Aren’t moms wonderful?

Unlike with these cupcakes:

Made with Alex!

I kept the decorating simple, going for a smooth, heaping tablespoon of frosting and some sprinkles.

Easy as pie. Or cake.

Scones: Recipe and Gettin' Creative in the Kitchen

I love to make scones mainly because there are so many different kinds you can make, and it’s always really fun (like kid-in-a-sandbox-fun) to experiment with my recipe and try different flavor combinations.

I don’t think I ever use the exact same recipe twice. Sometimes I’ll use brown sugar rather than granulated sugar. Sometimes cream, sometimes milk, or buttermilk, or even yogurt. A splash of vanilla extract may make an occasional appearance. If the psycho-eater-runner-brother is at home, I’ll use whole-wheat flour rather than all-purpose flour (only to be told he didn’t like the whole-wheat ones as well as the regular ones). And I am a firm believer in adding as much flour as you want to get your desired consistency. Recipes are not law.

But, the REALLY fun part is deciding the flavor of scone! To date, I have made:

• Lemon and Blueberry (which is how my scone-sickness began)
• Lemon and Raspberry
• Raspberry and White Chocolate
• Pumpkin
• Cinnamon
• Maple with a Honey Glaze
• Lemon and Mini-Chocolate Chips (this one was spur of the moment when I started to make Lemon Raspberry but then realized all my raspberries were bad, but they turned out surprisingly very delicious)
• Cinnamon and White Chocolate
• Apple Cinnamon

I would probably have tried other different ones if my mom wasn’t so set on cinnamon and lemon-blueberry scones.

But anyways, you get the picture…have fun trying different things and experimenting!

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour (plus more if desired)
• ¼ cup sugar (granulated or light brown)
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 4 Tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 cup of fruit/(white) chocolate or cinnamon chips, etc. *Note: if you are using pumpkin puree, maple syrup, or other flavor component that is a wet ingredient, wait to add with cream and egg
• 1 Tbsp. grated lemon zest (only if using lemon)
• 1 egg
• ¾ cup light cream/milk/buttermilk/plain yogurt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
3. Place pieces of butter in flour mixture and use your fingers to combine butter and flour mixture until it has the consistency of coarse meal.
4. If using fruit, chips, or lemon, add to mixture and gently fold in (berries may break easily).
5. In separate bowl, add cream and egg (and pumpkin, etc. if being used), and whisk together.
6. Slowly add wet ingredients to dry mixture, and gently mix together until it forms a dough.
7. Add more flour for desired consistency if necessary.
8. Gently knead dough 10 times.
9. Bake in scone pan, or on a baking sheet, forming dough into circles or triangles at desired size. Lightly brush tops with a little bit of milk or egg wash.
10. Bake until golden brown (15-20 min.)
11. Let cool (hardest part in our house) and enjoy!

These also freeze very nicely, so you can stock up and enjoy them throughout the week!

Fall Recipes: Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes

About a year ago I discovered the website Bake It in a Cake. It is a cupcake-lover’s dream come true.

My favorite recipe from the site is a cream cheese cupcake with a mini pumpkin pie in the middle and cinnamon cream cheese frosting.

BakeItinaCake.com...mine do not look this fancy

It may as well be called “Mandy’s Dream Dessert”

It is also perfect for this time of year. And they are so gosh darn cute.

Behold my terrible frosting abilities

I can’t lie though, these little guys are time-consuming. But it’s all worth it when someone says “These are the best cupcakes in the world!”

Here is the recipe, and be sure to check out Bake It in a Cake for more fun cupcake creations.

For the pumpkin pies you’ll need:

1 batch of your favorite pie crust dough (Don’t have a favorite? Use pre-made refrigerated dough, it will work well too.)

1 15 oz. can pumpkin pie filling, prepared according to the can’s
directions (or you can make your pie filling from scratch, you
overachiever, you—either way, you’ll need enough for one pie).

For the cupcakes you’ll need:

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

1 1/2 c. granulated sugar

3 eggs

2 t. vanilla

2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1 1/3 c. whole milk

2 1/2 c. flour

For the buttercream you’ll need:

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

8 oz cream cheese, room temperature

2 c. powdered sugar

1 c. Hershey’s cinnamon chips (or any cinnamon chips you like)

splash of whole milk

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees (F).

First, prepare the pumpkin pies. Mix up the pumpkin pie mix according
to the can’s directions (or make your own-fancy!). Roll out the pie
crust dough and cut it into small circles that are large enough to cover
the bottom and sides of mini cupcake tins (I used the opening of a
small juice glass as a cutter).

Press the dough into the lightly greased mini cupcake tins, and then
fill them with the pumpkin pie mix. (Don’t go all the way to the top,
the filling will expand a little while baking.)

Bake the pies for about 7 minutes at 425 degrees (F), and then turn the
oven down to 350 degrees (F) and bake them for another 10 minutes or
so, until the crust is brown and the filling is completely set.

After taking them out of the oven, cool them on a wire rack for about
10 minutes, then take them out of the pan and allow them to cool
further while you mix up the batter.

For the cupcake batter, combine the butter and the cream cheese
together on medium speed for about 90 seconds—you want the ingredients
to be well incorporated. Then mix in the sugar until the mixture is
fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and then the vanilla, baking soda,
baking powder, and salt. Then mix in the milk and the flour,
alternating between the two ingredients. Scrape down the sides and
bottom of the bowl, to make sure everything is getting well-mixed—beat
again on med-high speed for about a minute. It should be smooth and
creamy.

Spoon a heaping tablespoon of batter into regular-sized, paper-lined
cupcake tins. Plop a cooled pumpkin pie into the center, and press
gently into the batter. GENTLY. You don’t want it to touch to the bottom
of the pan.

Cover the pies with another heaping tablespoon of batter, so the top and sides are completely covered.

Bake at 350 degrees (F) for about 25 minutes, until the cake is set and
the edges and tops of the cupcakes have turned golden brown.

Allow them to cool in the cupcake tray for atleast 10 minutes before
moving to a wire rack—they’ll be a little fragile at first.

Once the cakes are cool, frost ‘em!

To make the buttercream, melt down the cinnamon chips with a splash of
whole milk. Pop ‘em in the microwave for about 45 seconds on high. Stir
until all the chips are melted, and allow it to cool a bit while you
whip up the rest of the frosting (you can put the bowl in the fridge,
it’ll cool faster that way, and the milk will keep it from
solidifying).

Cream together the butter and cream cheese until they’re well
incorporated. Then whip in the powdered sugar, a cup at a time, until
the mixture is smooth and creamy. With the mixer on low, drizzle in the
cooled cinnamon chip “ganache” (if it’s too hot it’ll melt the
buttercream and ruin it—you don’t want that). Put in about half, then
stop to taste it and decide if you’d like to add more. Some like it
strong, others like it milder.

If you have any pie crust left over, roll it out and cut smaller discs
and sprinkle them with a little bit of cinnamon and sugar. Bake ‘em
for about 10 minutes at 350 and look at that, a cute and tasty cupcake
topper!

You can also try candied pecans or a drizzle of caramel on top. Tasty!

Fall Recipes (Part 2- PUMPKIN SQUARES!)

I couldn't let the first, official fall weekend go by without posting the recipe for the holy grail of all fall recipes: Pumpkin Squares.


Seriously, these bundles of pumpkin-y goodness are legendary. And super easy to make.


You will never go back after making these. Your family, friends, coworkers, etc. won't let you.


Pumpkin Squares Recipe


Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 1 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 cup oil
• 1 lb. can purée pumpkin
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. cinnamon

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Beat first 4 ingredients in mixer until light and fluffy (about 2 min).
3. Combine dry ingredients together and add to pumpkin mixture. Mix together.
4. Bake in ungreased jelly pan for 20-30 min.
5. Let cool completely before icing.

Cream Cheese Icing Recipe


Ingredients

• 3 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

1. Cream together cream cheese and margarine/butter.
2. Stir in vanilla.
3. Add sugar a little at a time while mixing together.

Enjoy!

Fall Recipes (Part 1 of Many)

Fall is hands down my favorite season.


The cooler weather, the colors, the leaves, the clothes (scarfs and sweaters and jackets, oh my!), the food, baking, and drinks (pumpkin, apples, cinnamon, maple...these are a few of my favorite things). I love it all. To the point where it may be a problem.


So to celebrate the first weekend that really feels like fall to me, I made a breakfast worthy of the season I love oh-so-very-much.

Apple Cake


I love (I really need to come up with an adjective for "love") apples. Hot apple cider, apple pie (make it with some apple spice wine and you will never look at your grandma's homemade apple pie the same), apple crisp, the list goes on and on, but this is one of my favorites, courtesy of my granny's recipe box. Also, note, once again, the trend of turning a dessert into a breakfast, that reigns supreme in my house.

Recipe


Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour rectangular cake pan.



Add to large mixing bowl and beat:
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 sticks butter2 eggs
Peel six medium apples, dice into small pieces, and add to bowl. 

Mix together:
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon

Add dry ingredients to apple mixture and mix well. Can add chopped walnuts if desired.

Bake 30 to 40 mins at 350.


Pumpkin Spice Latte


If I love apples, then I am obsessed with pumpkin. I also have an addiction to coffee, which means I am one of those really annoying people that counts down the days until the first Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season. But as all of my fellow Pumpkin Latte Anonymous members know...this is not always very easy on my wallet. I would therefore like to present my homemade version of this fall staple.


Recipe (for 1 serving)


Brew 1-2 cups of expresso (I will be able to do this one day I hope) or strong coffee.


In saucepan, combine:
1 cup milk
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 Tbsp sugar


Heat, constantly stirring, until mixture begins to steam.


Add to milk mixture:
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
Dash of nutmeg


Bring mixture to a boil. Remove from heat. Whisk mixture thoroughly, add to expresso/coffee in your mug o' choice. Top with whipped cream and cinnamon sugar if desired.


Warm apple cake and a pumpkin spice latte on a beautiful, cool Sunday morning? You'll never look back at summer.

Recipes: Summer Fruit Crisps

For the past few weekends, my mom and I have been doing some skill-swapping: she makes me my favorite summer fruit crisp, and I make her hers. Translation: we both get to eat two dishes we love while giving off the appearance of being very considerate and generous. Also, I should probably mention that, for my mom and me, “fruit crisp” is actually code for “Yes, I know this is technically a dessert but it has fruit in it so let’s just pretend it is actually a breakfast food”.

I wanted to share these recipes here since they are both pretty terrific, and I thought it may encourage someone to bake for a family member or friend. It will be the most selfless thing you do all week.

My Favorite: Nectarine Blueberry Crisp

This crisp is a perfect blend of sweetness and tartness, and verges on turning into brown sugar and fruit soup, which is probably why I love it so much.

Topping:

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter

Fruit Filling:

• 1 1/2 pounds nectarines
• 1 pint blueberries
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons flour

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
2. To prepare topping: Mix the flour, sugars, salt, and cinnamon together in a medium mixing bowl. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. 
3. To prepare fruit filling: Pit the nectarines and cut into 1/3 - 1/2 inch-thick slices. Toss the nectarines n a bowl with the blueberries, sugar, and flour. Pour the fruit into a 9 or 10-inch square baking dish. 
4. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the fruit.
5. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the top is browned and the juices are bubbling. Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.

My Mom's Favorite: Fresh Peach Pinwheels

This recipe is actually more of a combination of peach crisp and peach cobbler. You get the best of both worlds with a cinnamony-biscuit topping over crisped peaches. It was my mom’s favorite recipe when she was a kid, so her mom would make it for her all the time. And now I make it for her. I’m still trying to figure out exactly how she managed to go from having her mom make this for her, directly to having her daughter make this for her, without any kind of progression in between, but I’ve been working on a Jedi mind-control theory for awhile now.

Peach Mixture:

• 3 1/2 cups sliced peaches
• 3 tablespoons minute tapioca
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon almond, or vanilla, extract

Pinwheel Mixture:

• 1 cup biscuit mix
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup light cream
• 2 tablespoons softened butter

Pinwheel Filling:

• 2 tablespoons softened butter
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Combine peach mixture ingredients and pour into greased 9x13" baking pan, or ungreased casserole dish. 
3. In a small bowl, combine together pinwheel mixture ingredients. Stir with fork to make a soft dough. 
4. Turn dough onto floured board and knead 10 times. Roll into 6x9" inch rectangle. 
5. Spread dough with 2 tablespoons soft butter, sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. 
6. Roll dough, as for jelly roll. Cut roll into ten slices. Lay pinwheel slices on top of peach mixture and bake in oven for 25-30 minutes or until pinwheels are golden brown. 

Get out there and make one (or both) of these for dessert breakfast for someone else…and yourself.