Eggnog Cupcakes and Ugly Christmas Sweater Invites

{photo via Annie's Eats}

Friday's show was quite interesting...

Not only did I make these (well, not those exact cupcakes up there, but some that look remarkably close to those since I managed to forget my camera at home) yummy cupcakes for my cupcake segment on ciLiving, I also somehow agreed to start the show with no make-up and no hair done in order to get a holiday make-over from one of our guests.  Not sure I'd agree to do that again... no make up was a scary look with those lights shining down on me!  YiKeS!

But, I found this recipe on pinterest and thought they sounded pretty holiday'ish and yummy.  I'm not an eggnog fan, but my dad and brother look forward to eggnog being in the stores every season and can guzzle that stuff down (the non-alcoholic stuff) so I made these with them in mind.  They turned out great, the batter is pretty thin and runny, but don't let that scare you... they were good, and the frosting is just as de-lish!  We don't drink at our house, but I did use the rum called for in the recipe in these cupcakes and thought they turned out great.  Thanks to Annie's Eats for the amazing recipe, which I'll share at the end of this post.

Now, where would the perfect place be to serve eggnog and eggnog cupcakes?  Why, at an Ugly Christmas Sweater party... where else?  So, here I am on the show with a big ol' hair-do and a face full of holiday party make-up... and I bust out my ugly Christmas sweater!  Very funny.  Just had to pre-face that in case you choose to watch the clip of my segment on the show which you can view HERE.

I found the PERFECT ugly sweater invites on pinterest from j&paper.  Jessica has such cute invites and she graciously made me one for the show...

 

You should totally go and like her on facebook HERE 

and check out her etsy site HERE.  Super cute stuff!

Thank you so much, Jessica! 

So, anyone hosting any fun parties coming up? 

Eggnog Cupcakes:

Recipe via Annie's Eats

Yield: about 18-20 cupcakes

For the cupcakes:

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

¼ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. freshly ground nutmeg

¼ cup dark rum or bourbon (optional)

1 cup eggnog

¼ cup vegetable or canola oil

1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup sugar

For the frosting:

20 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature

2½ cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

Pinch of salt

Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

2½ tbsp. eggnog

1 tbsp. dark rum (0ptional)

For garnish:

Ground cinnamon or grated nutmeg

Cinnamon sticks

Directions:

To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Line cupcake pans with paper liners.  In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and nutmeg; whisk to combine.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the rum, eggnog, vegetable oil, vinegar, and sugar.  Beat on medium-low speed until well blended.  Add in the dry ingredients and mix on low speed just until incorporated.  

Divide the batter between the prepared cupcake liners, filling the cups 2/3 full.  Bake 22-24 minutes (mine only needed to bake for 16-17 minutes), or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow to cool in the pan 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, place the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.  Beat on medium-high speed until smooth, 20-30 seconds.  Add in the powdered sugar, salt and nutmeg, and mix on medium-high speed until incorporated and smooth, about 1 minute.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Add in the eggnog and  whip on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 4 minutes.  With the mixer on medium-low speed, blend in the rum.  

Fill a pastry bag with the frosting and decorate the cooled cupcakes as desired.  Sprinkle with ground cinnamon or grated nutmeg, and garnish with cinnamon sticks if desired. 

Nutella Hot Chocolate, Cupcakes, & Hot Chocolate Stirrers

What do you know???  

I finally remembered to take some pictures of one of my cooking segments at ciLiving!

Fridays in December I'll be featuring holiday goodies, so for my first segment I went with some Nutella Hot Chocolate and then made some cupcakes that look like sweet little mugs of hot chocolate and some hot chocolate stirrers.  Again, found these ideas off pinterest and again, didn't make the nutella hot chocolate until live on tv!  I knew you really couldn't go wrong though with anything containing nutella, so I felt pretty confident!  :)

 

 The cupcakes were super easy, especially since I ran out of time and had to buy store made cupcakes (gasp!) but I say when you are in a pinch and are just flat out of time (can someone please send me extra hours in the day as a Christmas present?  I'd love you forever!) there's nothing wrong with buying pre-made cupcakes, even if you are known as The Cupcake Lady.  But I jazzed these chocolate cupcakes up with a small candy cane for the mug's handle and topped them with mini marshmallows and chocolate chips.  Easy Peasy.

Then I found the idea for these marshmallow stirrers on Icing Designs blog.  Unfortunately I couldn't find those peppermint sticks, so I just used a candy cane, broke off the hook, and stuck them in marshmallows, dipped them in almond bark and rolled them in coarse sanding sugar.  Could not have been easier!  Other great ideas for hot chocolate stirrers could be candy canes, cinnamon sticks, or even dipping a plastic spoon in the almond bark!  So many different options out there, just get creative!

Then I made the Nutella Hot Chocolate... 

which has probably been the easiest thing I've whipped up thus far on the show.  

(photo via Real Mom Kitchen blog)

I found the idea on Real Mom Kitchen's blog and she has lots of other hot chocolate variations you should check out, but I thought this one sounded easy and yummy!  And it was!  Here's the recipe:

Nutella Hot Chocolate

• 4 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup Nutella
• mini marshmallows or whipped cream

In a medium sauce pan over medium-low heat, whisk together milk and Nutella until the Nutella is melted and milk gets nice and warm. Serve in mugs and top with marshmallows or whipped cream. Makes 4 servings.
This can be made ahead of time, cooled, and stored in the fridge.  Reheated on the stove or microwave in individual mugs.  If microwaving, reheat each cup for about 1 minute.

To see the clip of me and Drew making these treats, you can check it out HERE!

Coming up next week....

I'm thinking EGGNOG CUPCAKES...

What do you think???

Do you have any ideas of what else I could feature this month or something you'd like to see?

Kelsey's Wedding Cupcakes

This summer our sweet friend from church, Kelsey, got engaged.  She only had a matter of weeks to get things planned and organized before making a move down to Florida, but she knew she wanted me to help with making cupcakes.  200 cupcakes (red velvet, white, and chocolate) to be exact, and to make Grandma happy, a BIG cupcake that could be something to cut.  (Gotta keep that cake cutting tradition, ya know.)  So, this was all before I began working, so I thought, hmmmm.... 200 cupcakes... that is something I've never done before.  I'm pretty sure I could handle that.....

Oh my good golly, that is a.lot.of.cupcakes!

Then add that monster of a cupcake.

That thing made me nervous.

Like a nervous wreck to be exact!

But while I was at work, my mom was over watching the kids and did a little research for me and learned we could make the base out of white almond bark.  Not sure how she did it... but it turned out great.  Then after a disaster of a first attempt using red velvet cake, I made a white cake, kept it in the freezer all day while I was at work, came home, shaved off the top with a serrated knife, popped it out of the mold, and that seemed to be the trick.  I stuck the bottom part in the almond bark mold, trimmed off the top, and then put a layer of buttercream on it before applying the top part of the cupcake.  I think it turned out better than I had pictured... and Kelsey loved it, so that made spending hours in a kitchen that looked like a cupcake exploded everywhere all worth it! 

Congrats Kelsey & Jordan!

May God bless your new life together! 

Cupcake Monday - Pina Colada Cupcakes

 

While wasting a lot of time on facebook one day, I ran across a cupcake shop featuring their pina colada cupcakes.  They looked soooo good, so I figured, I best try making some myself since I don't live anywhere close to this cupcake shop.  I asked on facebook for some recipe recommendations and got a few good ideas.  I still have one more recipe I want to try, which is from scratch, but I went with this one which is a box mix jazzed up a bit.  They turned out really good and moist!  I think next time I'll be adding a little more rum, since I went with the real stuff and not the extract.  I topped them with a coconut rum buttercream and it was de-lish!  These were definitely a hit and you should give them a try!!!

Pina Colada Cupcakes

Recipe via Betty Crocker - with some alterations

 Makes 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:

1

  box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® yellow cake mix - I used a Pillsbury white cake mix

1/3 

cup vegetable oil

1/4 

cup water - I used 2 C. coconut milk at room temperature

1

  teaspoon rum extract- I used 1 T. coconut rum

1 

can (8 oz) crushed pineapple in juice, undrained

3

  eggs - I used 3 room temperature egg whites

1 

teaspoon coconut extract 

Then I added a box of coconut instant pudding

Frosting:

1/2 C Butter - I used unsalted

4 C powdered sugar

3 T. coconut rum - I wish I had used more, but I ran out!

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all of the wet ingredients and then add the cake mix and pudding, beat just until combined.  Scrape down sides as needed.  Fill muffin cups and bake for 16 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool completely before frosting.

Frosting Directions:

Beat butter and rum until creamy, gradually add in powdered sugar 1/2 C at a time until you get the right consistency.  Top with shredded coconut and garnish with a cherry. 

Cupcake Monday - Banana Cupcakes

 

Do you ever buy bananas with the full intention of eating every single one, or at least making your kids eat a couple, then to just let them sit on your counter getting super ripe and becoming a lovely home for some annoying fruit flies?  I do it more than I'd like to admit...  Yet I still buy them every time I go to the store.  

So, when I was ready to evict the fruit flies, I asked on Facebook what everyone would do with 4 ripe bananas and I got LOTS of great ideas!  I was really wanting to make some cupcakes with them, go figure, and The Party Animal suggested a very yummy banana cake.  She raved about it so I was anxious to try it out... and they did NOT disappoint!!!  To add another little twist, I had some leftover coconut cream cheese filling to get rid of, so in it went to the cupcakes!  They were a HUGE hit on our last night of VBS, very rich, very moist, and very YUMMY!

 

Banana Cupcakes

Recipe via The Party Animal with some alterations

Ingredients: 

Cupcakes
3 Medium or 2 Large Bananas (Ripe) --> I used 4 medium ones.
4 large eggs (room temp)
4 Tbsp melted butter
1 Pkg Yellow Cake mix --> I used Pillsbury
1 C milk (room temp)
1 small box of Coconut pudding

Coconut Cream Cheese filling:
(Courtesy Cook Like a Champion)
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line cupcake pans with liners.  
Mash up bananas in your stand mixer, add eggs and beat.  Then add butter, yellow cake mix, coconut pudding, and milk and beat until just combined.  Do not over mix!  Fill cupcake liners 2/3rds full.
Bake for 15-17 minutes until centers spring back when touched or a toothpick comes out clean.
Then I stick mine immediately in the fridge/freezer for about 15 minutes to stop the baking process.
Remove the centers of the cupcakes, saving the tops and you are ready for the filling... To see how I remove the centers click HERE.


Filling:
-Beat the cream cheese and butter in a mixer bowl until light and fluffy.
-Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar, one cup at a time, alternating with heavy cream.
-Beat in the salt, coconut flavoring, and vanilla extract.
-Continue beating until mixture is smooth and spreadable.
-Add additional confectioners’ sugar if necessary to thicken the frosting, or more cream to thin.
-Fold in the shredded coconut.
Then add the filling to a plastic baggie, snip the end with some scissors, and squeeze the filling into the hollowed out cupcakes.  Pop the cupcake tops back on.  These are very moist cupcakes, so be prepared to wipe your hands off after replacing each top!  :)

Frosting:

Ingredients

• 12 ounces (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 pound confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Beat butter with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and creamy, about 2 minutes.
   
2. Reduce speed to medium. Add sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, beating after each addition, about 5 minutes. (After every 2 additions, increase speed to high, and beat for 10 seconds, then reduce speed to medium-high). Add vanilla, and beat until buttercream is smooth. Use immediately, or cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days. (Bring to room temperature, and beat on low speed until smooth before using.)

Keep them in an air tight container in the fridge until ready to serve so that the cream cheese will set up and not spoil.

I must say, I have an amazing little kitchen helper...

As I was trying to take some professional photos of the cupcakes to share with y'all, I notice something in one of my shots...

 

Hmmm... What the dickens is THAT?

Oh, it's just Jillian and her nail clippers.  

The little stink!

 Then she was in rare form for the camera...

Sorry, couldn't resist....

Now go rescue those poor innocent bananas from those pesky fruit flies and make something banana-y!

Cupcake Monday - Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

 How cute are these little guys???

Awhile back I made these for an order and now I'm totally kicking myself for not sharing them with y'all sooner!

The only other time I'd made ice cream cone cupcakes was for Jillian's 1st Birthday that you can see here...

Oh my goodness, memories...

So, I figured what the hey, I've made them before, no prob-lame-O.

Well, turns out... it had been too long...

It was totally trial and error on how high to fill the cones with your batter so my first batch I didn't fill up enough so those were worthless.  Then, for some reason, these little suckers need to bake LONGER than a normal cupcake, so there went batch #2.

I thought for sure by batch #3, I'd have it down pat... and thankfully I DID!  

So, here's the trick...

Then bake them for at least 20 minutes.

Maybe a different cake batter would be different, but I used my chocolate cake recipe and it seemed to take F.O.R.E.V.E.R.

Then top them with some buttercream and sprinkles and you have sweet, little, kid friendly ice cream cones cupcakes.

And it's soooo nice to have handy husband's and mama's who will cut little circles in a box for you to help in the transportation of these little suckers.  :)

Cupcake Monday - Almond Joy Cupcakes Take #2

This past weekend I had an order for my Almond Joy cupcakes, but I really wanted to jazz them up a little bit from my original idea.  Luckily the lady wanting them was super flexible and let me do whatever I wanted... nice.

So...

 I made my yummy white cupcakes...

 And scooped out the centers with my little do-hickey cupcake scooper-outer, that I can't remember it's real name that I got at Bed, Bath & Beyond...

 Then I piped in a coconut cream cheese filling... YUM.

 And popped the top back on... just make sure you trim the topper off a little because you can't squeeze it all back in with filling in there.  You can try, but just trust me on this one...  :)

Then after stuffing them and putting the topper back on, I dipped them twice in Chocolate Ganache and garnished them with an almond.

Then pop them in the container and forget to take individual cute shots of your hard work...

Almond Joy Cupcakes #2

Ingredients:

CAKE-

One white cake mix - I used Pillsbury

2 C. milk (room temp)

2 egg whites (room temp)

1/4 C. oil 

1 small box vanilla pudding

Directions:

Mix together all wet ingredients.  Add cake mix and pudding and mix until combined.  Do not over mix!  Bake at 350 for 16 minutes or until they spring back when touched.  As soon as you take them out, pop them into the freezer for 15 minutes.  

For coconut cream cheese filling:
(Courtesy Cook Like a Champion)
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Directions:
-Beat the cream cheese and butter in a mixer bowl until light and fluffy.
-Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar, one cup at a time, alternating with heavy cream.
-Beat in the salt, coconut flavoring, and vanilla extract.
-Continue beating until mixture is smooth and spreadable.
-Add additional confectioners’ sugar if necessary to thicken the frosting, or more cream to thin.
-Fold in the shredded coconut.


For the ganache frosting:
(Courtesy Georgetown Cupcakes)
Ingredients:
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup Callebaut semisweet chocolate chips (6.4 ounces; or other good-quality semisweet chocolate chips)

Lay a large piece of wax paper on the work surface.
Combine the heavy cream and chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Fill a medium saucepan with an inch or two of water and place over medium-low heat. Place the bowl over the saucepan and let the mixture melt, stirring until it is shiny and smooth.
Remove the bowl of chocolate ganache from the saucepan; let it cool slightly, for 2 to 3 minutes. Working with 1 cupcake at a time, carefully dip each cupcake top in the warm ganache, twisting your wrist as needed to make sure the cupcake top gets completely coated. To prevent drips, quickly turn the cupcake right side up and place on the wax paper. Allow the ganache to set for 5 minutes before serving.
(If the cupcakes are dipped once, you'll have about 1/2 cup of ganache left over.)

Cupcake Monday - Almond Joy Cupcakes

 

Last weekend my mom wanted me to make some cupcakes for a sweet lady at her church who was celebrating her 80th birthday.  So, I wanted to try something new... but just wasn't sure what.  Then I ran across a candy display set up in Wal-Mart with some Almond Joy candy bars.  Hmmm....

I took my go-to white cake recipe (because it's super EASY), used coconut pudding instead of vanilla, and then added a cup of shredded coconut to the mix.  Looking back, I should have added some chopped up almond joys to the batter, but I had planned on putting them on top.  Except once chopped up, they looked not so pretty.  Luckily I had also bought these little gems...

crushed them up and rolled them on top of the buttercream frosting.

I think they turned out pretty yummy...

*note to self... Not all ovens cook the same.  

Just sayin'.  

I'm sure you already knew that though.  :)

Kinley Turns ONE!!!

 

My stinkin' cute niece, Kinley, turned ONE this weekend!

She's a little Easter baby!

I had the pleasure of helping out some with her party. 

Mainly these little pretties...

I made white and chocolate cupcakes and topped them with pink buttercream frosting.

These cupcakes were YUMMY, if I do say so myself.  Super moist and fluffy!

Stay tuned to the end of this post for the super simple recipe!

My sister-in-law, Kindi, you may remember her from the Thirty-One giveaway awhile back.  She did some bartering with Thirty-One products to get Kinley's smash cake.  BARTERING is key, people!  If you can trade services to help cut costs on your parties, DO IT.

 

 {Seriously... So.Stinkin'.Cute}

Great job on the party, Kindi!  Everything was so cute!  

You and your mama are a GREAT team!

Super Moist White Cupcakes

Courtesy- Sara Banze

Ingredients:

One white cake mix - I used Pillsbury

2 C. milk (room temp)

2 egg whites (room temp)

1/4 C. oil 

1 small box vanilla pudding

Directions:

Mix together all wet ingredients.  Add cake mix and pudding and mix until combined.  Do not over mix!  Bake at 350 for 16 minutes or until they spring back when touched.  As soon as you take them out, pop them into the freezer for 15 minutes.  Top with your favorite frosting.  

YUM. 

Connye's Coconut Cupcakes

My sweet friend from church, Connye, is amazing. 

Definitely a gal after my own heart with her Texas style, love for Hershey's chocolate coffee creamer, and awesome baking skills.

After an evening of Bunco at her house, where I must add, I went home a Loser, she shared this de-lish Coconut Cupcake recipe with me.  If you LOVE coconut, these are a must try.  Very good, very moist, and very coco-nutty.

Thanks Connye!  Definitely a keeper!

Connye's Coconut Cupcakes
Ingredients:
3/4 lb (3 sticks) unsalted butter (room temp)
2 c. sugar
5 extra large eggs (room temp) - I just used large since that's what I had in the fridge.
1 1/2 t. vanilla extract
1 1/2 t. almond extract
3 c. flour
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 c. buttermilk
14 oz. sweetened shredded coconut
Directions:
Cream butter and sugar till light with mixer on low, add eggs one at a time, add vanilla and almond and mix well. Add together flour, powder, soda and salt. In 3 parts, add dry mixture, alternately with buttermilk to the batter, beginning and ending with dry. Mix just until combined. Fold in half of coconut. bake 25 to 35 minutes. (I baked mine at 350 for 15 minutes, then popped them right in the freezer for 10 minutes.)
Icing:
Ingredients-
1 lb cream cheese room temp
3/4 lb unsalted butter
1 t. vanilla
1/2 t. almond extract
1 1/2 lb. powdered sugar.
Directions:
Blend cream cheese, butter and extracts, add in sugar.
Ice cupcakes and sprinkle with remaining coconut.