Chocolate Cupcakes

My son has been singing "Its the best day ever." He has been singing this song since Christmas morning. I have a strong feeling he was happy with all of his gifts.

 Since Christmas, we have a lot of family and friends with birthdays. I decided to make a chocolate cupcake. Since this cupcake is not the Boozy Bourbon Chocolate Cupcakes, these cupcakes are perfect for everyone.  I did put a little instant chocolate pudding in the middle instead of the previous filling. Also, the difference between the previous frosting and this one is I replaced the liqueur with melted unsweetened chocolate.

Moist Chocolate Cupcakes


2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup unsalted butter, soft
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cup milk
4 large eggs

Directions:

1. Line 18 cupcake tin with liners.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cocoa, and sugar.
4. In a separate bowl, beat the butter at low speed for 1 minute.
5. Add the oil to the butter and continue beating until texture of sand.
6. Add the milk with the vanilla to the butter. 
7. Mix for about 2 minutes while scraping down every minute.
8. Add the eggs one at a time. Beat well. The batter should be thin.
9. Fill the cupcake liners about 3/4 full. 
10. Bake the cupcakes for about 20 minutes or a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
11. Allow the cupcakes to cool before frosting.

Recipe adapted from the Moist Chocolate Cake recipe on the back of the King Arthur Flour unbleached cake flour blend.

Did you already know............
-Medieval pudding was made out of meats.
-In the 1930s, instant puddings were available. 
-The first instant pudding Jello introduced was chocolate.

Cinnamon Rolls

My Dad would make cinnamon rolls once a year. He would make so many rolls we would be eating them for weeks (at least it seemed that way). He would also give a lot of the cinnamon rolls away to friends.

Since my children love cinnamon rolls, I figured it would be a nice treat to make for the holidays. I have made this recipe before. The recipe makes a lot of rolls so I recommend following in my Dad's example and sharing. The recipe does freeze well just in case you do not want to share. I made 7 pie pan of these cinnamon rolls so be prepared to make new friends. I used skim milk in the recipe since that is what we had in the house.

Cinnamon Rolls
Rolls:
4 cups of milk 
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
2 packages (4 1/2 tsp) active dry yeast
9 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt

Filling:
2 cups butter, melted plus more to coat the pans
1/2 cup ground cinnamon
2 cups sugar
7 disposable foal cake/pie pans

Icing:
2 lbs. powder sugar, sifted
1/2 cups milk
6 Tbsp butter, melted
1/4 cup brewed coffee, decaffinated
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp maple syrup

Directions:

1. Heat the milk, vegetable oil, and sugar in a large saucepan just to below a boil over medium heat.
2. Let the milk mixture cool to warm (around 110 degrees).
3. Sprinkle the yeast on top of the milk mixture and let it sit for 1 minute.
4. Add 8 cups of flour and stir to combine. 
5. Cover the mixture with a clean kitchen towel and set aside in a warm place for 1 hour.
6. After the hour, add the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and the remaining 1 cup of flour to the mixture. Stir to combine. (Store in the refrigerator up to 3 days or prepare rolls immediately after chilling for one hour first.)
7. Punch down the dough after chilling. 
8. Remove half the dough from the pan.
9. Flour a clean baking surface and roll out the dough thinly to 30x10 inches. 
10. Pour 3/4 cups of melted butter over the surface of the dough. Spread the butter evenly over the dough. 
11. Generously sprinkle 1/4 cup ground cinnamon and 1 cup of sugar evenly over the butter.
12. Working slowly, roll the dough tightly towards the other end of the dough forming a log. 
13. After rolling to the other end, pinch the dough seams together. Flip the roll so the seam is facing the surface.
14. Cut the dough into 1/2 inch slices.
15. Coat the disposal pans with melted butter.
16. Place about 7 to 9 cinnamon rolls into the pan without overcrowding.
17. Repeat the process with the other half of the dough. Let the dough rest on the counter for at least 20 minutes before baking.
18. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 
19. Bake the cinnamon rolls for 15 to 18 minutes.
20. While the rolls are baking, prepare the icing.
21. In a large bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, butter, coffee, and salt.
22. Add the maple syrup and whisk until very smooth. Taste and adjust the icing to taste. 
23. Drizzle the icing over the cinnamon rolls immediately after the cinnamon rolls are removed from the oven. 
24. Allow the cinnamon rolls to cool and enjoy/share. 

Recipe adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks cookbook.

Did you already know............
-Cinnamon Rolls are called "kanelbulle' in Sweden.
-On Oct. 4th, it is known as National Kanelbulle Bun day in Sweden.
-In Europe, cinnamon rolls are commonly topped with nib/pearl sugar.
-In America, the cinnamon roll is commonly topped with a glaze/icing.

Penguin Cupcakes

Today is my Mom's birthday. She was born in the parking lot during a blizzard. By the time the doctor arrived on scene, Christmas was over so he put her birthday as December 26. Would you prefer a Christmas birthday or a day right around it? 

To honor my Mom, I had to post a cupcake recipe. My sister has the book Hello, Cupcake! book. It is pretty amazing. My sister makes the creations from the book often. Since she is such a generous sister, she lets me borrow it from time to time. We would prefer the already completed cupcakes (hint, hint). As my sister warned me, these cupcakes take awhile to make. I did leave the wings off of the recipe.

Let's be friends!

March of the Penguins Cupcakes
12 cupcakes, baked and cooled in cupcake liners
12 cake pops (recipe found here)
1 (16 oz) can of vanilla frosting
2 (16 oz) can of dark chocolate frosting
4 marshmallows
7 yellow/orange Starbursts
24 mini chocolate chips
black food coloring gel.
7 thin chocolate cookies (if you prefer your birds with wings)

Directions:

1. Take about 1 tsp of vanilla frosting and dab it on a doughnut hole.
2. Place the doughnut hole onto the cupcake so the frosting glues the hole in place. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes.
3. Place the cupcakes in a freezer/refrigerator to harden.
4. Cut about 1/8th of the end of the marshmallows. Then cut off about 1/3 of the marshmallow piece to create the white belly part.
5. Cut the Starbursts diagonal. (I cut each diagonal in half vertically so the beak would not have so much weight.)
6. Remove the foil seal completely off one of the chocolate frosting container. Inspect the frosting container for any metal. If so, remove the metal before microwaving or add the frosting to a microwave safe bowl.
7. Add some of the black food gel to the chocolate frosting to make the frosting black.
8. Microwave the chocolate frosting for 30 seconds and stir. Microwave for about 20 seconds longer if needed for the frosting to be very runny.
9. Dip the cold cupcake into the runny frosting. Place the cupcake aside.
10. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes.
11. Place the cut marshmallow piece on to the chocolate covered cupcake just above the liner. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes.
12. Add the cut Starbursts to the bottom half of the chocolate covered doughnut hole. A little chocolate frosting may help adhere the pieces if needed. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes.
13. Place the cupcakes in the freezer/refrigerator to harden. 
14. After 30 minutes or longer, pipe two dots of white frosting above the Starbursts beak to form two eyes.
15. Place two mini chocolate chips with pointed side into the frosting for the pupis. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes.
16. If wings are desired (or if you have time), secure the cookie in place with some of the chocolate frosting.
17. Allow the cupcakes to rest for several hours before serving so the frosting can set. 
18. If the frosting on the cupcake is rough, take a dab of water on your finger and smooth out the rough areas.

Recipe adapted from Hello, Cupcake! cookbook.

I'm first in line.

Did you already know...............
-Penguins spend 75% of their time in the water.
-Penguins have a special gland in their body so they can drink salt water.
-A group of penguins are called rookery or colonies.
-A penguin born with brown and not black plumage are called Isabelline penguins. The odds of an Isabelline penguin is 1 out of 50,000.
-There are albino penguins but they are extremely rare.

Snowman Sugar Cookies

We make sugar cookies every year for Santa. The kids love it. They can roll the dough and cut out any shape they want. Plus they get to decorate their cookies with the sprinkles, frosting, and especially the colored sugars. These are the cookies we are leaving for Santa.

When I was a kid, I loved watching all of the holiday specials. Rudolph and Frosty were always playing. My favorite show was The Year Without Santa Claus. I loved the Heat Miser and Mr. Freeze fighting.

 Sugar Cookies
3 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup sugar
2 sticks salted butter, cold
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp pure almond extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a food processor, add the flour with the baking powder and sugar. Pulse about 5 times.
3. Add the butter and pulse for about 15 times or until it looks like a course crumble.
4. Add the egg with the extract and pulse until well incorporated. 
5. Scoop the mixture onto a floured surface and knead together to form a ball.
6. Roll out the dough and cut into desired shapes.
7. Place the cookie dough onto a parchment lined cookie sheet and place in the freezer for 5 minutes.
8. Remove from freezer and place in the oven. Bake for 10-12 minutes. 
9. Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack.

Recipe adapted from Bake at 350. Frosting recipe is found on Bake at 350.

When I first encountered her blog, I thought she was amazing. There was no way I could make cookies that look like hers. Her blog shows step by step and I have now made several cookies which I am amazed. Check out her site.

Did you already know...............
-The Year Without Santa Claus came out in 1974.
-In 1956, the Pultizer prize winner Phyllis McGinley wrote The Year Without Santa Claus.
-The story is how Santa has a cold and believes no one cares about Christmas. Santa's two elves show Santa prove him wrong.

My initial plan

-There is a remake of Mr. Freeze Crank Dat.

Merry Christmas!

Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies

Christmas is almost here and I realized I had not made any gingerbread of any kind! Christmas isn't complete without gingerbread. Growing up, my Dad would make gingerbread houses. He has even won contest with his creations.

I recently won the Martha Stewart's Cookies and the cover features a chocolate gingerbread cookie. I figured I would try it. If you like gingerbread, you will like this cookie. It is soft and gooey.The original recipe calls for fresh ginger. I purchased fresh ginger and I could not find it any where. Sometimes I will put some fresh ginger in the freezer but I had none there either. Why anyone would use fresh ginger in my house is a mystery? I guess it was meant for me to use additional ground ginger.

 Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp ground ginger + additional 1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
8 Tbsp (1 stick) of unsalted butter
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp boiling water
7 oz. mini chocolate chips
1/4 cup sugar

Directions:

1. In a bowl, sift together the flour, 1 1/4 tsp ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and cocoa. 
2. In the mixer bowl, beat the butter and 1 tsp ground ginger for a few minutes.
3. Add the brown sugar to the butter and beat until fluffy.
4. Add the molasses and beat until incorporated.
5. In a cup, dissolve the baking soda with the boiling water.
6. In the butter mixing bowl, add half of the flour mixture then the baking soda water. 
7. Add the remaining flour and mix well. 
8. Stop the mixture and fold in the chips.
9. Place the batter onto plastic wrap and pat into 1 inch thickness. 
10. Wrap the batter tight and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or over night.
11. Remove dough from the refrigerator and roll the dough into 1 1/2 inch balls. 
12. Place the dough back into the refrigerator for an additional 20 minutes.
13. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 325 degrees.
14. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
15. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll the dough in the sugar to coat. 
16. Place onto the lined baking sheet about 3 inches apart.
17. Bake the cookies for 5 minutes and then rotate the baking sheet.
18. Bake the cookies another 5-7 minutes. The top of the cookies should just begin to crack.
19. Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
20. Allow the cookies to cool completely.

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart's Cookies Cookbook.

When I was in Germany, there were booths set up that sold just gingerbread heart cookies. The cookies were hung on strings and had sayings in the middle of them. I purchased three and brought them home for my children. Here is a photo of one of the cookie booths I saw.

Did you already know...............
-Sussigkeiten means sweets.
-The gingerbread heart cookies are also called Lebkuchen Hearts.
-The Lebkuchen Hearts are given as gifts to tell someone how you feel about them like "Ich liebe Dich" which means I love you.
-The Merriam-Webster definition listed Pfefferkuchen as gingerbread.