MSC: Candied Sweet Potato

So last month, I accidentally made the wrong cupcakes for our Martha Stewart Cupcakes challenge. But alas, I am redeeming myself this month. While my fellow cupcake bakers are making the Gingerbread cupcakes that I made last month, I made the Candied Sweet Potato cupcakes.

I found these cupcakes to be fairly simply to make, although I must admit that I was a little bit intimidated by the toasted marshmallows and the candied pecans. Before this recipe, I had never even cooked a sweet potato before. It was fairly simply, I cooked it the night before so that it would be ready to go the next day when I was ready to bake.

The cupcakes were easy to mix and slide in the oven. The cake was moist and tasty, with a nice hint of cinnamon and nutmeg. I successfully toasted the marshmallows and candied the pecans, and I was so thrilled that I pulled it off.



I was glad that this recipe was chosen, it challenged me to try new techniques. And, I probably wouldn't have tried this recipe had it not been for our challenge.

I presented the cupcakes to my co-workers, and some of them hesitated, probably because of the sweet potato. But, one of my co-workers, Jenny, claimed it was the best cupcake she had ever had! Yay! It really made my day.

And special thanks to my husband Alex for photoshopping the picture of my cupcakes in poor lighting!

MSC Challenge Bonus: Applesauce Spice Cupcakes

Every month, my Martha Stewart Cupcake Challenge Group selects a bonus challenge. This month's challenge was the Applesauce Spice Cupcakes. It worked out perfectly because I made these cupcakes while visiting my brother, sister-in-law, and two nephews a couple of weeks ago. Except this time while baking, I had a little helper!

Meet Ryan, my wonderful nephew.

He was the best helper an Aunt could ask for!

Here is the end result. I thought they were incredibly easy to make, and so tasty, too. I think these would be just fine without the frosting. I made the brown sugar frosting, but forgot that I had halved the recipe, so it had too much brown sugar in it! Despite my error, they still tasted great. I would definitely make these again, but probably as muffins! Forgive the lack of pretty decorating! I was out of town and away from my normal arsenal of equipment. :)

MSC: Oops, I made the wrong cupcakes!

Oops, I accidentally made the gingerbread cupcakes instead of the sweet potato! I went out of town on Tuesday, and didn't get back until this afternoon. So I had made the gingerbread last Monday, in anticipation of not wanting to bake after a day of travelling. I thought these turned out amazing and will definitely make them again. They would be perfect without the frosting, too. Sorry for the un-detailed post!

Pumpkin Patch Cupcakes for my Scrapbooking Friends

Last Friday night was my monthly get together with my scrapbooking buddies. After the huge success of this month's MSC: Challenge...Pumpkin Patch cupcakes with Cream Cheese frosting...I decided that the cupcakes would be perfect for the occasion. I was right, all my friends loved the cupcakes.



(I am so proud of these pictures. When given the right light, I think my picture taking abilities have gotten better than they used to be!)

We had a few newbies to our group this month, four of them to be exact! One of the girls, Denise, was BRAND new to scrapbooking. She was starting with some paper, a few embellishments, and photos of her daughters. One of the layouts she was working on was of her two daughters eating cupcakes! I had just made a cupcake diecut using my Cricut machine, so I offered it up to her to use on her layout. I think she was so excited that I gave her the diecut! She did a great job on her first layout, and hopefully she will be back next month.

Chewy Pumpkin Cookies

Last week I read this incredible cookie recipe on Design Mom. Design Mom is one of the blogs that I read regularly via Google Reader. And although I'm not a Mom (yet!), I still enjoy her beautiful blog everytime I see a new post. So when I saw this recipe, I absolutely had to make it. And, lucky for me, I had everything on hand in my pantry.





Alex enjoyed them, and I he isn't a real big fan of pumpkin. Although, if I keep making my Pumpkin Patch cupcakes, I may be able to make him a fan! I took these to work the next day, and my crew seemed to really enjoy them. It makes me feel so good when my co-workers say that they enjoy my baking. :)

For the recipe and instruction, visit Design Mom's blog post here. If you make them, let me know how they turn out!

MSC Challenge: Pumpkin Patch Cupcakes

October's Martha Stewart Cupcake Challenge, headed up by Betty at Eat My Cupcake, was the Pumpkin Patch cupcakes. This month's cupcake was selected by Kim at What The Whisk. Please pardon the crummy pictures...I took them at night in some bad kitchen lighting.

Okay, I've made plenty of cupcakes in my day. I've had this blog for about two years now. These cupcakes just might be best that I have ever made. The response by my co-workers was amazing. Well, except for the co-worker who is allergic to pumpkin.....good thing I told him what kind of cupcakes they were right when he was about to eat one!



I didn't have cake flour on hand, and I never have. Does that make me a bad baker? Anywho, I found the conversion on line and added corn starch to all purpose flour to make it the equivalent of cake flour. I thought these were fairly easy to make, and smelled fabulous while they were baking. I topped them off with the cream cheese recipe from the book, which is a great recipe, too.



I packed up the cupcakes in my favorite new accessory, my cupcake courier. I also packed a few extras in another box to take to my hair stylist (I had an appointment that day) and her staff. They loved them so much that I got an order to make them for the salon in November!


I will DEFINITELY be making these cupcakes again. For the order next month, of course. I'm also thinking about making them for Thanksgiving this year. Maybe I'll even make them into those adorable Turkey cupcakes on the following page of this recipe!

Carrot cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting for Alison's Birthday

My dear friend Alison had her birthday last week, and we all celebrated by going to Luna De Noche in downtown Dallas. I had never been there before, and I thought it was pretty good, but totally overpriced!! But that's is beside the point....

This year, Alison presented me with a few suggestions for cupcakes that she would enjoy. Last year I made here these Chocolate cupcakes with Cream Cheese frosting, so this year I went with Carrot cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting. What can I say, Alison loves Cream Cheese frosting!!



I used the recipe from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes book, and then the Cream Cheese Frosting from Crazy About Cupcakes. The cupcakes were incredibly moist, and were falling apart from their wrappers. But they were still really good. I enjoyed one the next day as a breakfast muffin (without the frosting, of course!).


Oh, and there is THIS! My new Cupcake Courier! And it is everything I had hoped for! It held all my cupcakes in place beautifully. Once it was loaded down with 2 dozen cupcakes, it was pretty heavy. It can hold up to 3 dozen cupcakes, so I imagine it could be even heavier!


Thanks Mom for supporting my cupcake habit!!!

Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the birthday girl with her cupcakes, but I know she enjoyed them. And, unfortunately for me, Alison lives in Austin now, so I don't get to see her very often. But, I do get to visit her in Austin every now and then!

Happy Birthday Alison....love ya!!!