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Magnolia Cupcakes

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I made these cupcakes this weekend for the birthday of the guy I am dating ;). The recipe is from the famous Magnolia Bakery in NYC, and it is one of my favorite recipes for cupcakes. It is a little more labor intensive than the other recipe, but you won’t be disappointed. Also just in case you think this recipe is healthy because I try to cook healthy, this recipe is the complete opposite, but a great splurge.

Magnolia Vanilla Cupcakes

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

  • 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 4 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Icing:

  • Vanilla Buttercream, recipe follows

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line 2 (1/2 cup-12 capacity) muffin tins with cupcake papers.

In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not over beat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about 3/4 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.

Cool the cupcakes in tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.

Vanilla Buttercream:

The vanilla buttercream we use at the bakery is technically not a buttercream but actually an old-fashioned confectioners’ sugar and butter frosting. Be sure to beat the icing for the amount of time called for in the recipe to achieve the desired creamy texture.

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

6 to 8 cups confectioners’ sugar

1/2 cup milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar. If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly. (Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled.) Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Source: From Magnolia’s Vanilla Cupcake Recipe

Enjoy!

-K

Cupcakes!

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I was a busy girl tonight and also made cupcakes for one of my friend’s birthday tomorrow.   I don’t like to make boxed cupcakes because I don’t think they taste as good.  Depending on how much time I have I either make them from scratch and or make what I like to called the “souped-up version of boxed batter”  My mom found this cookbook a couple of a years ago called The Cupcake Doctor by Anne Byrn.  The recipe I use repetitively from this cookbook is call “Birthday Cupcakes” and it makes the best yellow cupcakes.  I frost them with either a butter cream frosting or chocolate.  The frosting recipe I like to use is the butter cream frosting recipe from the side of Domino Confectionary Sugar package (yeah I know how obvious is that.)

Birthday Cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 box of golden or yellow cake mix
½ cup of sugar
4 eggs
1 8oz package of low fat cream cheese
½ cup of water
½ cup of vegetable oil
1 tbsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Combine and stir all ingredients together until well mixed.  (This is easiest to do when cream cheese is room temperature)

Line 24 cupcake pan (or two 12 cup) with baking paper and pour in about ¼ cup of batter into each cup.

Cook in the oven for 24-27 minutes.  To check if done, stick a toothpick in one and if it comes out clean, plus the center bounces back when you touch it, they are done.  Let cool on wire rack before frosting.

Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:
1 – (1 lb.) pkg. Domino® Confectioners Sugar (approx. 3 3/4 cups)
1/2 cup – butter or margarine, softened
3 to 4 tablespoons – milk
1 teaspoon – vanilla

Instructions

Combine in large bowl, with mixer at low speed, confectioners’ sugar, butter, milk and vanilla.

Beat at medium speed 1-2 minutes until creamy. If desired, add more milk until frosting is spreading consistency.

Makes enough to fill and frost 2-layer cake, 13x9x2-inch sheet cake, or 24 cupcakes.

*Note- If you are an awful froster like me I highly recommend the Wilton’s 12-Piece Cupcake Decorating Set (from Bed Bath and Beyond or Michaels). I used the Star Tip 1M, and it doesn’t say this on the package but you need to put the larger coupler to use the larger tips.

Enjoy! ( I sure did)

-K

Peanut Brittle

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After being stuck on a bus all yesterday trying to get back to my apartment, cooking was the last thing on my mind when I walked in at 10:30 pm.  Since I was home for five days, my fridge was also empty.   All my Christmas cookies that once filled up my freezer were gone (no, I wasn’t robbed…I just gave them all out).  I searched my hiding spots to see if I could find just one piece of peanut brittle, but there was nothing.  So here is the recipe for the world’s best peanut brittle- remember to save some for yourself after the holidays!

Peanut Brittle

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 cup light Karo syrup
2 cups raw blanched peanuts (not a lot of grocery stores carry these,  Wegmans and Whole Foods do,  but they are also available online)
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
Prepare a cookie sheet by spraying with cooking spray and set aside (also spray a heat resistant rubber spatula or regular spatula with spray; it will come in handy when spreading the sticky mixture.)  In a sauce pan over medium-high heat, stir together sugar and Karo syrup.  Once melted together, add in peanuts.  Stir constantly for 12-15 minutes, until peanuts start to turn brown (often the signal that it’s ready is a puff of smoke, but I am yet to see this puff.)  Stir in vanilla extract and baking soda (quickly because there is a chemical reaction that makes it turn hard.)  Once all the ingredients are completely stirred together, pour mixture onto greased baking sheet, using greased spatula to spread it out.   Spread candy out as far as you can without making holes in the middle (I aim for just having a single layer of peanuts).  After this is spread, leave for about 1 or 2 hours until completely hardened then break into small pieces.  Store in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

-K

Scandinavian Almond Bars

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Since I am still on vacation at my parents home for the holidays I haven’t been cooking.  However I did enough baking this holiday season to post about that.   For the last two holiday seasons I have baked myself sick making cookies for all my friends, family, and co-workers.   Last year I ended up making 12 different types, which was exhausting and too much.  This year I settled on making 7 types.   I planned a last minute Christmas party at my apartment and had a week to make all 7 kinds (plus a hand-made gingerbread house).  My favorite cookie, out of the seven I made, was the Scandinavian Almond Bars which I took from my family’s cookbook.  I will eventually get all my cookies I made on the site but for now here are the Almond Bars (and you already have the buckeyes from my last post.)

Scandinavian Almond Bars

Ingredients for cookies:
1 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup  butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp almond extract
milk
1/2 cup sliced almonds coarsely chopped

Ingredients for glaze:
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
1/4 tsp almond extract
3 to 4 tsp milk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F.

Stir together flour, baking powder, and  salt.  In a large mixing bowl beat butter until softened.  Add sugar and beat until fluffy.  Add egg and almond extract and beat well.  Add flour mixture in gradually and stir until well mixed.

Divide the dough into fourths.  Form each portion into a 12 inch roll.  Place 2 rolls 4-5 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Flatten each roll until it is 3 inches wide.  Repeat with remaining rolls.  Brush each flattened roll with a little milk and sprinkle with about 2 tablespoons of chopped almonds.  Bake in oven for 12-14 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned.

While still warm cut crosswise at a diagonal into 1 inch strips.  Cool completely on a wire rack.

To make glaze:  Stir together powdered sugar, 1/4 teaspoon almond extract and enough milk to make a drizzling consistency.  Drizzle over the cooled bars.  Easy Clean-up Tip-  Place bars on already used baking sheets when drizzling the glaze over them.

Also when serving cookie platters with other types on cookies,  cut bars in half since they are larger then most cookies.

Enjoy

-K

Buckeyes

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M, my mom, and I are constantly being asked for this recipe. No matter what cookies we make in addition to these, the buckeyes are always the most popular.  We all find them a pain to make, but keep making them for all our fans.  Please share this recipe with all your friends and stop asking us to make them for you (kidding, sort of!)

Ingredients:
1 lb box confectionary sugar, sifted
1 1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup butter softened
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
12 oz package of semisweet chocolate chips
1 ounce of paraffin wax

Directions:
Combine first five ingredients in a large bowl with hands. It may be a little dry but make it into small balls (aim for 3/4 inch ball or a little larger then an acorn, don’t make them too big!)  Place the formed balls on a wax paper covered baking sheet and stick in the freezer or fridge.

While the peanut butter balls are chilling,  melt 12 oz. of chocolate chips and paraffin in a double boiler.  Take peanut butter balls out of freezer once chilled.  Using toothpicks dip each ball 3/4 way into chocolate.  Bring out and place back on wax paper on baking sheet.  They should resemble horse-chestnuts. Slightly tap on hole left by toothpick with your fingers to close hole.  Place buckeyes back in freezer/fridge to harden.

-K

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