White Cupcakes

This is a great cake/cupcake recipe that begins with a cake mix as a base but is changed quite a bit. These cupcakes are moist and delicious and definitely a recipe that I'll use a lot in the future. I bet the cake mix flavor could even be changed for other varieties.

I made a ton of these for a fundraiser event and did some experimenting with different cake mixes and even did a frosting experiment. For the frosting experiment I made two kinds, one with real butter, and one with margarine. On many recipes they say never use margarine; but I grew up using margarine and everyone always raves about the good frosting on my cakes/cupcakes/sugar cookies. So I put it to the test and had family and friends taste both frostings not knowing the difference and asked what they liked best. Most of the men didn't notice a difference that's men for ya. However, the majority liked the one made with the margarine the best until they knew it was margarine. So ha, frosting can taste great with margarine! ;)

White Cupcakes

Yield: 36 cupcakes

Prep Time: 15 min            Cook Time: 18 min

This is a doctored up cake mix recipe. These turn out delicious, moist and fluffy cupcakes. They have flat tops perfect for holding buttercream frosting.

Ingredients:

1 (18.25 ounce) box white cake mix

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup granulated white sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/3 cups water

2 Tablespoons vegetable or canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon of almond extract

1 cup sour cream

4 large egg whites

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Place cupcake liners in cupcake pans (you'll need approx. 36).

2. In a large bowl, whisk together cake mix, flour, sugar and salt. Add remaining ingredients and beat with hand mixer for 2 minutes, or until well blended.

3. Use ice cream scoop to fill prepared cupcake tins- fill about 3/4 full. Bake about 18 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Tips:

*Recommend: Duncan Hines "Moist" White Cake mix for this recipe. *Using an ice cream scoop is perfect for getting the batter into the cupcake tins without spilling. *You can also use this mix to make cake. Pour into greased and floured cake pans. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Buttercream Frosting

This is my go-to recipe for icing cupcakes and cake. It's so easy to make, and it works through a piping bag well.

*I like the flavor better made with margarine, for the butter version click here

Ingredients:

 7 ½ cups powdered sugar (whole 2lb bag)

1 cup margarine, at room temperature

3 to 4 Tablespoons whipping cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon almond extract

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, with a hand or stand mixer, cream together 2 cups of powdered sugar and margarine on low speed. Mix until well blended.

2. Gradually add in the rest of the powdered sugar with the cream.

3. Add vanilla, almond, and continue to beat on medium-high speed for 3 minutes, adding more cream if needed for desired spreading/piping consistency.

4. Taste frosting, add more almond if needed, add more powdered sugar if frostings to thin or tastes buttery, add cream if too thick.

5. Mix in desired food coloring (use paste or gel, liquid will thin out your frosting).

6. Scoop into a piping bag and pipe decoratively onto cupcakes, or spread onto cupcakes or cake as desired.

*This recipe doubles or triples well.

*You can use milk instead of cream but use less, cream is fluffier

Recipe from RecipeGirl.com

The Best Soft Sugar Cookies

My favorite cookie is a sugar cookie. However, I'll admit I'm a sugar cookie snob and I turn my nose up to most recipes. I've seen beautifully decorated sugar cookies with royal icing but they taste like cardboard, and isn't the point of a cookie to eat it? I've tasted good sugar cookies that don't keep their shape. If I'm going to do all the work of rolling them out they better keep their shape. I've also had cookies that either the cookie is good or the frosting is but not both. This recipe is Wonderful! It makes a thick, soft, sugar cookie with good flavor and keeps its shape. Paired with my favorite frosting it makes the perfect cookie. Okay, now I do sound like a snob but it really is the best recipe I've ever found and I get tons of requests for it. It's a simple recipe too with no weird requirements. I make these for all the different holidays using cute cookie cutters to match it and they are so much fun to make with the kids. Give this one a try.
*I usually double or triple this recipe and give some away or they freeze well

Soft Sugar Cookies
by Chelsey W.

3c flour
1c sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 c butter, margarine, or shortening
2 eggs
1/3 c milk
1 tsp vanilla
Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut butter into flour mixture until crumbly. In a separate bowl mix together the eggs, milk, and vanilla. Add liquids to flour and stir until moist. Knead in bowl until smooth. If dough is very sticky after kneading add a little more flour but remember the dough will get more flour after being rolled out on flour surface. Roll out the dough on a flour surface with a rolling pin. You may need to sprinkle some flour on the top of the dough and rolling pin so it doesn't stick. Cut out shapes and bake on a greased cookie sheet at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes or until cookies are very light brown on the edge. These cookies should not get very dark or they are burned. Frost after they have cooled.  Makes around 36 cookies.

Frosting
1 cup butter or margarine (room temperature)
*I use margarine, I prefer the flavor
6 cups powdered sugar (I often use the whole 2lb bag)
milk, as needed about 3-4 Tbsp
1 tsp vanilla
a couple drops Almond Extract *A MUST HAVE*
food coloring
The frosting is made by taste. I never measure any of it. Put two sticks of margarine in a large mixing bowl. On low speed mix with electric beaters margarine slowly adding in about 2 c of powdered sugar. Add a little milk when it gets too thick. Add more powdered sugar, vanilla and almond extract. Almond extract is very strong so just a few drops and taste. Continue to mix in powdered sugar until frosting reaches desired thickness and taste. Add a little food coloring and frost cookies (or cake but will only need half recipe).

Martha's Devils Food Cupcakes with Sour Cream Frosting

For my moms birthday I decided to make cupcakes instead of a cake and put them in my cupcake tower. I had recently bought Martha Stewart's Cupcake book and decided I'd give it a try. I chose to make the devils food cupcakes with the sour cream frosting because they looked so good and who can pass up chocolate? They were more work to make since they were made from scratch and had more steps than a typical cake recipe but it was worth it because they were yummy! The cake was moist with a perfect texture and the frosting was unique and not as rich as it looks. The frosting has sour cream and cream cheese in it and I thought I had to give this a try. The end result was a smooth creamy frosting that complimented the cake without overpowering it. Thanks for the recipe Martha.

Recipe:
Devils Food Cupcakes
3/4 c cocoa powder
3/4 c hot water
3 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp coarse salt
1 1/2 c unsalted butter
2 1/4 c sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 c sour cream, room temperature


1. Whisk together cocoa and hot water until smooth. In another bowl, whisk together flour, soda, baking powder, and salt. 
2. Melt butter with sugar in saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring to combine. Remove from heat and stir into a mixing bowl. With an electric mixer on low speed beat until mixture has cooled, 4 to 5 min. Add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla, then cocoa mixture and beat until combined. Add flour mixture in two batches alternating with sour cream and beating until combined.
3. Fill paper lined muffin tins 3/4 full with batter. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 20 min or until a toothpick poked in the center comes out clean. Rotate tins half way through. Let cool completely before frosting. Use frosting provided below, or your favorite chocolate frosting recipe.


Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting
1 lb (4 c) powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 c cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 c unsalted butter, room temperature
18 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted & cooled
1 1/2 c sour cream
(I used semi-sweet Bakers chocolate and only 10 oz of it and just used a little more cocoa and it turned out good and wasn't too dark)


Sift together powdered sugar, cocoa, and salt. With an electric mixer on med-high speed beat cream cheese and butter until pale and fluffy. On low speed add sugar mixture and mix until fully combined. Mix in melted and cooled chocolate and then sour cream. Beat until smooth. Use immediately or frosting can be stored in fridge for five days or frozen a month. Before using bring to room temp. and beat until smooth.

Chocolate Frosting

This is a great chocolate frosting recipe that I use for brownies, cakes, cupcakes, and other desserts. I like to use margarine instead of butter in frosting, I think it brings out a better flavor but you can use what you like. If you like a richer chocolate flavor just add more cocoa powder.

Recipe:

1/2 c margarine or butter, softened

1/3 c cocoa

3 c powdered sugar

1/4 c milk

1 tsp vanilla

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and whip until creamy.

Chocolate Caramel Cupcakes

Chocolate and caramel what a yummy mixture! I found this cupcake recipe in a Taste of Home magazine and decided to give it a try. They turned out good but I didn't care for the chocolate cake. The cake didn't have much flavor and I couldn't taste the chocolate. So I won't be posting the chocolate cake recipe, just use your own favorite. It didn't make the tried and true cut. But the frosting was rich and delicious! I will definitely make the frosting again. It was a nice change from the traditional butter frosting and full of caramel flavor.

Caramel Frosting

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 c butter

1/4 c milk

1 tsp vanilla

2 to 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar

In a heavy saucepan, combine the brown sugar, butter, and milk. Cook and stir over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to medium. Do not stir. Cook for 3-6 minutes or until bubbles form in the center of mixture and syrup turns amber. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla and transfer to a mixing bowl. Cool to room temperature. Gradually beat in powdered sugar. Spread over cooled cupcakes.