Pumpkin Bread Cupcakes {Recipe}

I'm actually not a a "sweet eater". I tend to go for the salty savory type foods. However, I still enjoy to bake because I love the smell (taste too) and I love that you can be so creative with sweet treats and desserts.

There are few sweet treats high on my list that I really enjoy and one of those is Pumpkin Bread - it is my absolute favorite cake/bread. Especially during the fall months.

The last few months been trying out a variety of cupcake and frosting recipes getting ready to teach some decorating classes at a local community center. Yesterday, I decided make my favorite pumpkin bread recipe (I've been craving it for weeks). The recipe I use makes a lot of batter so I decided to try out some cupcake size pumpkin breads just for fun. So I don't know if you can actually call these cupcakes since it's a bread recipe. I have to say, they came out great and I adore having my own little individual pumpkin bread cup. Even my teenage son walked up the steps to tell me how delicious they were (you know they have to taste good when that happens).

Now I personally I like the pumpkin bread cupcakes plain or sprinkled with a little powedered sugar. However, for those that have a big sweet tooth in my family, I added some Cream Cheese frosting to a few cupcakes. They looked a little "plain" and non-festive for fall so a thought came to mind .. a little drizzle of Marzetti's Sweet and Salt Caramel (new product that's out and was sitting on my kitchen counter) and a sprinkle of brown-sugared candied walnuts would just make these pop! Oh, and that tad of salty would make me happy.

I used my favorite Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread Recipe from Allrecipes.com but changed it a tad by modifying the sugar. I replaced the 3 cups of white sugar asked for, to 2 3/4 cups of white sugar and 1/4 cup lightly packed light brown sugar. I did this because I did not have enough white sugar on hand.

Pumpkin Bread Cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup water
3 cups white sugar (I used 2 3/4 white sugar, and 1/4 cup lightly packed light brown sugar)
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 7x3 inch loaf pans. *
2. In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.
3. Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.**

* This recipe makes a lot of batter so I made one large pumpkin bread and 10 cupcakes.

** For the cupcakes, bake 18-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

You can serve the cupcakes (or bread) plain. Or pipe cream cheese frosting, using a Wilton 1M tip, top with Marzetti's Sweet & Salt Caramel Dip (heat up in microwave to make drizzling easier) and Brown-Sugared Candied Walnuts. Recipes follow:

Cream Cheese Frosting:

I used How to Make Perfect Cream Cheese Frosting recipe
from How To Eat A Cupcake:

Yields: About 2 cups

Ingredients:
8 ounces cream cheese
5 tablespoons unsalted butter (optional)
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 to 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
Grated lemon or orange zest, ground cinnamon, or liqueur of choice

Electric Mixer Method:
Have the cream cheese cold and the butter at room temperature. In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until blended. Add sugar one-third at a time and beat just until smooth and the desired consistency. If frosting is too stiff, beat for few seconds longer. Do not overbeat. If desired, stir in additional flavoring to taste. This keeps, refrigerated, for about 1 week. Or freeze for up to 3 months. Soften and stir until smooth before using.

Brown-Sugar Candied Walnuts:

I just made up a quick recipe to do this.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
3 to 4 heaping tablespoons brown sugar
sprinkle of cinnamon
1/2 tsp water

Directions:
In a small heavy skillet, combine sugar, sprinkle of cinnamon, and water. Add walnuts and cook over medium heat until nuts are toasted, about 4-6 minutes.

Acorn Candy Cookie Toppers {Tutorial}

I've been doing some fall cupcake baking week and trying out different cupcake toppers that would be good for fall. I found several ways to make acorn toppers using Mini Nilla Wafers and Hershey Kisses. Here is a quick tutorial on how to make some for yourself. These are easy to make (easy enough for kids to make too) and they taste good.

Nilla Wafer Acorns - Tutorial

You will need: Mini Nilla Wafers, Hershey Kisses and Chocolate Frosting:

Steps:

1. Put a small amount of frosting on the bottom of the Mini Nilla Wafer

2. Place the bottom of the Hershey kiss onto the frosted cookie

3. Add a dab of frosting to the top of the Mini Nilla wafer cookie (for the stem)

All done, here's your Acorn Cookie Candy topper:

The Acorn Candy Cookies make great cupcake toppers or just eat them up!





~Enjoy

Back To School

Today was Back To School day for my kids. My son started his first day of high school. And yes, I am in disbelief that he is already 14. I swear just a blink ago I was putting him on the school bus for his first day of Kindergarten. Today, I kind of had that some deep in the gut feeling, as I did 9 years ago .. how will he make it through his first day, will he eat his lunch, will he find his way, will he miss me (yeah, right?!?). Well, just like his first day of Kindergarten, all went perfect and he had an awesome day! As for my daughter, today was old hat for her. She started her second year of middle school today. There's still some anxieties with unknowing, forgetting your locker number, who's in your class, etc. But overall it was smooth transition. She is my organized child (not that my son isn't. But she is SUPER organized). She has her folders, binders, notebooks all color coordinated, schedule memorized and printed and stashed in all various places (just in case), pencils sharpened, chap stick, hair brush, mirror .. all locker necessities in order.

So where does one stash all the necessities in one's locker? There are SOoooo many locker organizational gadgets for lockers. Shelves, ladders, magnetic hooks, mirrors, pencil boxes, they even have Magnetic Motion Sensor Locker Chandeliers (really!). But my daughter wanted something unique in her locker...what, no chandelier??? Nope, no chandelier (I'm thinking she doesn't about the chandelier) ... instead she asked her mom to make her something...yep, that's right. So she picked out some cool fabric I purchased from Ikea this summer and I made her this fabric school supplies organizer (not quite a magnetic motion sensor chandelier): But it's cute, fits perfect and she loves it:

I modified my fabric Bloom Pouch pattern to make the organizer. I will be adding these to my Etsy shop in the next couple of weeks. They make great storage for many things (desk supplies, books, magazines, DVDs, keys, cell phones, small toys, socks, and more).

Happy Back to School!

Ice Cream Sundae {Cupcakes}

Rumor is today is National Cupcake Day .. How about celebrating with an Ice Cream Sundae Cupcake?. I made these back in June for a party and have to admit they were one of the tastiest cupcakes I've made.

They are just boxed cake cupcakes but the combination of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry was a delightful mix of flavors topped with buttercream frosting, chocolate syrup, maraschino cherries, and banana (dried banana chips).







Chocolate, Vanilla, Strawberry Cupcakes:

Ingredients:

• Vanilla Cake mix (Such as an 18-1/4-ounce box)
• Chocolate Cake Mix
• Strawberry Cake Mix
• Baking cups
• Buttercream Frosting (recipe below)
• Chocolate Syrup
• Sprinkles
• Maraschino Cherries
• Dried Banana Chips
• Disposable or Featherweight Decorating Bag
• Decorating Tip #1M
  

Instructions:

Prepare all three cake mixes according to the directions on the boxes.

Line 36 muffin pan wells with baking cups. Evenly distribute the vanilla batter among the cups, then the strawberry, then the chocolate (approximately 3 tablespoons of each flavor of cake).

Bake the cupcakes according to your recipe directions. Let cool.

To Decorate:

Pipe buttercream frosting onto each cupcake using a decorting tip #1M. Top with chocolate syrup, sprinkles, a marsichino cherry and a banana chip.

Buttercream Frosting:

Ingredients:

• 3-4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifed
• 1 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Up to 4 tablespoons whipping cream

Directions:

In a mixer, mix together sugar and butter. Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes.

Add vanilla and cream and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute, adding more cream if needed to piping consistency.

~Enjoy!

Bunco Night - Picnic Style {Recipes}

This month it was my turn to host our bunco night. I went with a picnic them (not that you need a theme) for food and prizes. I made Chicken Salad Sliders, Mini Hotdogs in Puff Pastry, Artichoke Squares, Fruit Salsa & Cinnamon Chips, and Bunco Cupcakes. The recipes for all of these are at the bottom of this post, following the photos. Had a great time having everyone over. We looked out and had a great weather so we were able to play bunco outside on the deck as well is inside in the air conditioned house.

Bunco Cupcakes ...

I've been into cupcake decorating lately. You will see more posts soon since I've been asked to teach a class or two in the fall at a local community center. I will be testing out techniques and recipes later in the summer (after we get back from our vacation in Florida).


Chicken Salad Slider Sandwiches ...

I made these using Paula Deen's recipe... what's not to like when it comes to Paula's recipes. These were absolutely delicious served on potato rolls from a local bakery.



Fruit Salsa & Cinnamon Chips ...

Always a favorite item to make in the summer when the fruit is so fresh and tasty.

Pigs in A Blanket ...
These are super easy to make and everyone enjoys.

Recipes from Bunco Night
Picnic Style ...

Bunco Cupcakes

1 Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix
Buttercream frosting, colored with pink gel food coloring

Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:

1/2 cup shortening, softened
3/4 cup butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted (may need more depending on the consistency you want)
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp - 2 tsp of light corn syrup (I add this to make a smoother texture)

Directions
In a large bowl, cream together the butter, shortening, and vanilla. Blend in the sugar, one cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the milk, and continue mixing until light and fluffy. Beat in 1 to 2 teaspoons of corn syrup until desired consitency. Keep icing covered until ready to decorate.

Chicken Salad Sliders
Recipe from Paula Deen

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 3 1/2 cups finely diced cooked chicken
• 1 cup finely diced celery
• 1/3 cup slivered almonds
• 12 mini slider rolls

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice, mayonnaise and salt. Toss with the chicken, celery, and almonds in a medium bowl. Serve on mini slider rolls.(I served on potato rolls from a local bakery. Yum!)
   

Note: For the chicken, I poached chicken breasts in water, bay leaf, celery, onion, salt & pepper.


Fruit Salsa & Cinnamon Chips
Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

• 2 kiwis, peeled and diced
• 2 Golden Delicious apples - peeled, cored and diced
• 3 peaches
• 1 pint of blueberries
• 8 ounces raspberries
• 1 pound strawberries
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 3 tablespoon brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons fruit preserves, any flavor
• 
  
• 10 (10 inch) flour tortillas
• butter flavored cooking spray
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon sugar

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, thoroughly mix kiwis, Golden Delicious apples, raspberries, strawberries, white sugar, brown sugar and fruit preserves. Cover and chill in the refrigerator at least 15 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. Coat one side of each flour tortilla with butter flavored cooking spray. Cut into wedges and arrange in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle wedges with desired amount of cinnamon sugar. Spray again with cooking spray.
4. Bake in the preheated oven 8 to 10 minutes. Repeat with any remaining tortilla wedges. Allow to cool approximately 15 minutes. Serve with chilled fruit mixture.

Pigs in a Blanket
I found this recipe over at Make and Bake. This is actually a Martha Stewart recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs (about 60) mini hots dogs (I used two packs of Hebrew National cocktail wieners)
• Cheddar cheese, cut into small pieces, optional
• 1 large egg
• Flour, for working with pastry dough
• 1 box of puff pastry, or two sheets of homemade puff pastry (2/3 of the recipe here), thawed
• poppy seeds or sesame seeds, optional

Directions:

1. Slice all hot dogs about 3/4 of the way length-wise and put a small piece of cheese inside the hot dog. If you're not using the cheese, just poke the hot dogs a couple time with a fork.

2. On a lightly floured surface, roll one sheet of puff pastry at a time into a 11x14 inch rectangle. Cut lengthwise into 7 1 1/2 strips, then cut each strip into 4 rectangles, each about 3 inches long.

3. In a small bowl, beat together the egg with 1 tablespoon of water. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or baking mat (I am out of parchment so I just sprayed my sheets with some baking spray). Wrap each hot dog with a piece of the puff pastry. Using a pastry brush, brush the top with the egg wash and then sprinkle with poppy or sesame seeds. Chill the baking sheet of hot dogs in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

4. Preheat oven to 450ºF. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until puffed and golden.

Artichoke Squares
Photo coming soon...

Ingredients:

• 2 small jars marinated artichoke hearts (or 1 large jar),
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
• 4 eggs well beaten
• 1/4 c dry bread crumbs
• 1/2 tsp salt
• a couple of grinds of black pepper
• 1/4 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp. dried basil
• 2-3 drops hot sauce to taste
• 2 cups grated mozzarella cheese (or cheddar, gruyere, swiss, etc.)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray the inside of a small lasagne sized pan (8x 11) with with non-stick spray. Drain marinated artichokes, reserving 1/4 cup of the liquid. Chop artichokes into small pieces. Add reserved artichoke liquid to a heated skillet. Add onions (and garlic if using) and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs well, stir in onion/garlic mix, breadcrumbs, salt, oregano, hot sauce and pepper. Add in half of cheese and all the chopped artichokes. Pour mix into pan and spread out evenly. Top with remaining cheese. Bake in oven for 30-35 minutes. Cool slightly and cut into squares. Serve either hot or at room temperature. Makes 24 squares.

Bloom Pouch

I am always looking for a way to sew something for my garden..yep, really... I like to sew things for my garden, such as, cushions for chairs, throw pillows, etc. This year I decided to make some "Bloom Pouches". I was inspired to do so after reading a variety articles on growing flowers, fruits and vegetables in portable bags. Such as this article /review on portable garden bags by Gardener to Farmer.
I decided to start small with some pouches for herbs and small flowering plants. I have made a few larger ones but have not photographed them yet (I will soon). They add a nice little touch to any garden. You can directly plant your plants in the pouch or place a plastic or clay planter in the pouch itself. These pouches are holding peat pots with herbs...this works too. The pouches are made out of decorative outdoor canvas and lined with a layer of nylon to prevent leakage...

I directly planted these impatiens right in the the pouch...dirt and all. This pouch is made from outdoor canvas but it is not lined purposely so that the water can drain from the pouch and allows oxygen to flow. I also adde a chalk cloth tag to label the plant...


I've been thinking about adding these to Punkie Pie's Boutique Etsy shop. Leave a comment and let me know if this is this something you buy or use in your garden. Thanks!

Cupcake Wars & {Giveaway}

My son will be moving up from middle school and into the high school next year. Next week is their Moving Up Ceremony. During the celebration they can participate in a cupcake wars game. We all know cupcakes are hot, hot, hot right now and there's so many great ideas that people come up with. To be honest I haven't come up with any ideas on my own but I couldn't resist in participating in the cupcake making. I LOVE to make cupcakes! Why is that? I have no idea!

A few months ago I made these Rainbow Cupcakes for my Taste Tempters Cooking Club and have been thinking I may make these in addition to two other types (still deciding on the other two). The recipe for these rainbow cupcakes can found at Our Best Bites. They are delicious!

I don't know if it's coincidental or what, but I keep running into cupcake ideas on the internet, FB, cook books, friends, etc. Today in my FB, this Marvelous Monday GIVEAWAY from A to Zebra Celebrations came up. So be sure to check out her awesome Giveaway of a $75 gift certificate to the Cupcake Stand shop. If I don't win, then I hope you do! :) :)