Mini Snickerdoodle Cupcakes w/ Boiled Brown Sugar Cinnamon Frosting

After my Thanksgiving success I really wanted to bake cupcakes for Christmas. I had also planned on making the Snickerdoodle Blondies I had baked last year. Unfortunately I was running low on cupcake inspiration and I didn't want to repeat myself with the blondies. When fate intervened and I read "Snickerdoodle Cupcakes" I knew that it was a sign. Surely this is how Arthur must have felt.

Mini Pumpkin Cupcakes w/ Boiled Brown Sugar Frosting

My mother was actually the one who gave me the idea for these. I was desperately trying to figure out what else to bake for Thanksgiving when she made the suggestion of pumpkin cupcakes. I liked the idea but had always avoided making cupcakes for special occasions because it seemed like there was so much more that could go wrong. But the idea stuck and despite having a full week before Thanksgiving to prepare I still didn't have the recipe finalized until the morning I started baking.

Very Vanilla Cupcakes

Let me start by saying thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes and for the positive comments about the site's new look :). Still amazed that anyone reads this stuff :). This recipe is actually a few weeks old, but somewhere between being extremely lazy and being extremely busy, I never got a chance to post it (this is actually true of several things I have yet to write). These cupcakes have been on my mind since I was first handed my cherished bottle of Mexican vanilla, but they ended up being the second recipe to feature it (I tricked you by posting the vanilla ice cream first, I'm a jerk that way :)). The reason for this delay in baking was that I couldn't find a recipe that I felt properly showcased the vanilla.

Banana Cupcakes w/ Cooked Peanut Butter Icing

I went into the weekend with a plan. It's my “other” Grandmother's birthday this week and I wanted to make something special for her. (I say “other” because I have yet to mention her). I've discovered over the years that my Grandmother loves banana bread (which is great, since I love it too). However, I've made her plenty of banana bread in the past and wanted to do something different, but I knew that bananas would be involved. The other essential ingredient was peanut butter. My Grandmother is another peanut butter spoon eater, and further proof that my ongoing obsession is genetic :). With these flavours as my base I determined that the best outlet would be in cupcake form.

Less than Red Velvet Cupcakes

This is my first attempt making a red velvet anything, and only the second time I have ever tasted it. But for bakers February is Red Velvet month, you can't visit a baking site anywhere on the internet without seeing at least one red velvet recipe. I'm not complaining, especially after my experience with these cupcakes. Although I suppose I should address the “less than” red velvet thing. It's actually quite simple, I didn't have red food colouring and wasn't going to buy it since it doesn't affect the flavour.

Angel Food Cupcakes

Last week I felt like Angel Food Cake, which is odd since normally I just feel like Adam (yes, I went there :)).  Angel food cake is not something I ever crave and that’s probably why I've never made one, well that and I don't have a good tube pan. The one that my mother has is older than I am and looks like it's been in a war. This means that if I wanted to satisfy my sudden desire for angel food cake I would get to buy a new tube pan :). Sounds like a plan to me.

Light, No Frosting, Chocolate Cupcake

Like my wrappers? I do.

The last few weeks have yielded a lot of pumpkin recipes, tis the season after all, but I think everyone, including myself, was ready for something different and I had a hankering for chocolate.