Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cupcakes

There are some things that immediately take me back to feeling like an irresponsible adult who doesn't pay bills, worry about going to work, or how much to contribute to my 401K. In other words, a kid. Nothing forms a stronger sensory memory than the taste of certain foods, and for me, when I was a young drag queen in training, cinnamon toast crunch was the epitome of childhood indulgence. 

You know what else makes me feel the irresponsibility of childhood? Alcohol, in semi-mass quantities with a gaggle of girlfriends, on the beach, celebrating one of their last days as a bachelorette. 

So in honor of all things debauchery, irresponsibility, and bachelorette, I made Cinnamon Toast Crunch cupcakes.

To really drive home the "I don't give a WHAT" effect, we ate the cupcakes in our bikinis, because children don't care about that shit. They care about food, friends, fun, and...

FIST PUMPING!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So yeah, that happened.

And yes, that is my lipgloss residue on my cupcake. I was too busy not giving a rat's ass to do anything about it.

Oh, and in answer to your question, they were delicious.

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cupcakes

Makes about 18 cupcakes

For the cupcakes

• 1 stick butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2 cups AP flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tsp grated orange zest
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the frosting

• 1 stick butter, room temperature
• 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 6 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup finely ground Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal (pulse it in a food processor)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• whole pieces of cereal, for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line two cupcake pans.

2. In a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

3. Add eggs, one at a time until incorporated.

4. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients.

5. In a medium bowl, combine milk, orange zest, and vanilla extract.

6. Working in alternating batches, add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter/egg mixture until just incorporated. Add 1/2 of the milk mixture, mix. Add 1/3 of the flour, mix, and so on, until everything is evenly incorporated, ending with the flour mixture.

7. Using an ice cream scoop, fill cupcake liners about 3/4 full. Bake for about 18-22 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Allow to cool.

8. While cupcakes cool, make the frosting. Cream butter and cream cheese together.

9. Add powdered sugar, one cup at a time until desired sweetness is reached.

10. Add vanilla extract, ground cereal, and cinnamon and whip on high for a minute to get really light and fluffy.

11. Frost cooled cupcakes and garnish with pieces of cereal.

Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes

I had an epiphany this weekend: I hadn't made cupcakes in, like, months. I might as well be saying I hadn't breathed in months, it's that serious. 

For me, baking, particularly baking cupcakes, is akin to living. Since I just wrapped up a 30-day paleo challenge, I felt like the Easter weekend was an opportune time to try out my new Springtime cupcake falvor, Lemon Raspberry.

Generally, I don't waver in my opinion of my abilities, but I'll be honest...I wasn't sure I still knew how to bake. I mean, I cook all the time, but was it possible I could have fallen out of practice in the last few months? Might I not be able to get the right pouf in the cake? Would the frosting be too runny? Oh god. What if they were just--ugly?!?!

You'll be glad to know my fears were completely unfounded. I'd like to be able to say "hey you guys, it's just like riding a bike!" but those of you that know me personally know I never learned how to ride a bike, so I can't substantiate that comparison.

So yeah, these were incredible and quite popular among the friends I shared them with Saturday night. The lemon cake is fluffy, and when filled with lemon curd, the perfect amount of tart, which is paired perfectly with the sweet raspberry buttercream on top.

I'm pretty sure if there's fruit in them, cupcakes have no calories.

I'm pretty sure.

Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes
Makes about 2 dozen


For the cake

• 2 1/4 cups cake flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
• 4 large egg whites
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• lemon zest from two lemons
• 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• juice of half a lemon
• 1 jar good quality lemon curd (or you can make your own)

For the buttercream

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
• 1 pint of raspberries
• 4-6 cups powdered sugar
• 2 Tbsp. milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two cupcake pans with cupcake liners.

2. Combine cake flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.

3. Whisk buttermilk and egg whites in another bowl to combine.

4. In a stand mixer, combine sugar and lemon zest on low speed until the sugar is fragrant and moist. Add butter and beat at full speed until the butter and sugar are light and fluffy, at least 3 minutes.

5. Add vanilla and lemon juice to the butter mixture. Then add 1/3 of the dry ingredients on medium speed until incorporated. Then add half of the milk mixture until just incorporated. Continue to add the flour and then the milk, ending with the flour mixture until all the ingredients are combined. Finally, beat the batter another minute or two to ensure everything is combined and aerated.

6. Using an ice scream scoop, divide the batter into cupcake liners about 3/4 full. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Allow to cool.

7. While cupcakes are cooling, make the buttercream. Whip the butter in a stand mixer on high until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar in 1 cup increments until you get it to the sweetness you desire.

8. In a food processor, puree raspberries. Add the puree to the buttercream and continue to whip until the puree is well incorporated. Add milk if needed to get a thinner consistency.

9. Refrigerate for a few minutes while cupcakes continue to cool. 

10. Using a pairing knife or an apple corer, remove the center of the cupcake about halfway down. Fill the hole with a dollop of lemon curd. Top with buttercream and a fresh raspberry before serving.

Gingerbread Cupcakes, CupcakesOMG! Style

Do you ever feel cheated when you visit my blog and realize I rarely post about cupcakes anymore? Yeah, well you can suck it, because this is MY blog and I do what I want! 

However, today you're in luck! I made these sweet and spicy gingerbread cupcakes topped with white chocolate buttercream for my friend Leslie and my joint-Christmas party this weekend.

They tasted like Christmas and the 4th of July, sweet and cool and spicy and hot all rolled into one.

Are you dying to try them yet?

I realize these look a little more "home ec" than my usual cupcake offerings, but the truth of the matter is the white chocolate buttercream is incredibly sweet, which pairs really well against the spicy cupcakes, but even still, a glob of piped buttercream would just have been too much. And you know I'm basically like Buddy the Elf when it comes to sugar...

So instead, I swiped it on with an offset spatula and sprinkled on a few gingerbread shaped sprinkles. I'm pretty sure there's some unspoken rule that you need to put a garnish of something that's in a dish on top of it so people know what they're about to get themselves into. That's my reasoning.

Gingerbread Cupcakes with White Chocolate Buttercream

Makes about 22 cupcakes

Cupcakes

• 1 1/2 cups AP flour
• 2 Tbsp. ground ginger
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
• 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 Tbsp. unsulfured molasses
• 4 eggs, room temp
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cupcake tin with liners. Mix together flour and spices.
2. In an electric mixture, beat butter and sugar on high until pale and fluffy (about 5 minutes). Add the molasses, beat until combined. Add eggs, one at a time and beat until each one is incorporated. Don't forget to scrape down the side of the bowl as needed. Add vanilla. 
3. Reduce speed to low. Slowly add flour mixture, beating until just combined.
4. Using an ice scream scoop, fill liners 3/4 full with batter. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. While cupcakes cool, make buttercream.

White Chocolate Buttercream

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
• 12 oz. white chocolate (don't use chips, they have a waxy coating that will give the frosting a weird texture...look for a baking chocolate bar instead)
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp. milk

1. In a glass bowl, melt the white chocolate (I'm not gonna explain how to do this...you're an adult, you should know how by know). Let cool.
2. In an electric mixer, beat butter until pale and fluffy. Add cooled melted white chocolate. Mix to combine. 
3. Add powdered sugar to taste. It will be very sweet, so add in 1/2 cup increments to taste. Add vanilla and milk if it seems to thick.
4. Frost cupcakes and decorate with sprinkles.

Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies = Freedom

So, how 'bout that Rapture, huh? I guess Heaven is harder to get into than we all realized since we're ALL STILL HERE. It's cool; I'm glad judgement day has been put off a bit longer, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to make these amazing Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies.

{Cookies and a nice cold glass of Coconut Milk}

I've seen all kinds of Paleo-friendly recipes online, but aside from actual meals, I haven't done much experimenting with Paleo versions of non-paleo foods, partly because I feel like they're not REALLY paleo (honey and agave nectar may be natural, but they're still versions of sugar) and partly because I'm lazy. More the latter than anything else. But ya know what?? Sometimes, a girl gets a sugar craving dammit!!! And also, like the honey badger, I do what I want!!

Regardless, I've found myself with a Charlie Sheen-esque addiction to a new blog, The Paleo Project. Blogger Jenna is an avid Crossfitter and Paleo practitioner  Among many delicious paleo recipes, including Cinnamon Toasted Roast Chicken and Bacon Wrapped Scallops, she has a variety of sweet treats that are all wheat, dairy, and refined sugar-free. (And also, she's a pretty funny writer. Snaps!) 

I saw her recipe for chocolate chip cookies and decided they'd be the perfect place to start. It's quite likely you won't have coconut flour, almond butter, and coconut milk on hand, but it's worth a trip to the grocery store to give these puppies a try. They're also INCREDIBLY easy to make. Forget the whole creaming process (which basically goes against everything I believe in baking...but it's just not necessary with these ingredients); you can dump everything in one bowl and be done!

{The batter is seriously nom-able}

{Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Refined sugar-free. Amazingly, NOT taste-free}

{Unlike regular cookies, these don't spread when they bake, so give them a press with the back of a spoon before popping them in the oven}

So, how do they taste Melissa??? Okay, I'm not gonna lie to you like I normally do. These don't taste exactly like cookies made with flour and brown sugar. BUT. They are very good. They have a soft, chewy texture, which I like in a cookie, and they more than satiate my sugar craving. Plus, since they're made with coconut flour, dates, and almond butter (i.e., not low-cal), they're very filling, so one is plenty. 

P.S. I generally don't believe in using vegan versions of things because of the soy content (the recipe calls for vegan chocolate chips), but after comparing the ingredient list to non-vegan chocolate chips, Kyle and I realized the only difference was the type of sweetener used. The vegan chips used cane sugar juice as opposed to the refined sugar in the other brands. So vegan chip away, my friends!

P.P.S. You could totally omit the chocolate chips altogether and substitute dried fruit or nuts if you wanted to keep things really Paleo. The coconut flour gives these cookies a kind of oatmeal texture, so raisins, walnuts, or anything else you can imagine would be very tasty as well.

Re-posted from The Paleo Project

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup gluten free coconut flour
• 1/2 cup almond butter in natural oils
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk (beverage)
• 1 egg
• 1 cup vegan chocolate chips, or enjoy life chocolate chips
• 1/2 tsp gluten free baking soda
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tbs cinnamon
• 1/2 tbs honey
• 5 medjool dates, pitted

Directions:

1. Preheat to 350 degrees F.
2. In food processor, combine flour, almond butter, coconut milk, egg, baking soda, cinnamon, honey, vanilla and dates.
3. Process until a semi-thick, semi-cream batter forms.
4. Add more flour, if desired, but the batter is not meant to be as thick as regular cookie dough.
5. Remove blades and stir in chocolate chips.
6. With a spoon, scoop cookie dough onto a baking sheet. I made 12.
7. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown. (I only baked them for 15)

Woodchuck Cider Pumpkin Cupcakes

This weekend, my boyfriend Kyle attended Manksgiving. If you're not familiar with Manksgiving, it's basically an excuse for a group of dudes who played rugby together in college to get silly drunk. Oh, and also to air "the grievances". Yes, they literally did that.

They also each had to contribute to the bounty of Manksgiving; a small nod to the men who have given "manks" before them... Yeah, I heard these puns alllllllllllllllllllll weekend. Kyle decided to make his mom's ragu alla bolognese, which I knew would be a huge hit, so I decided to contribute some booze-soaked cupcakes to the noble cause of intoxication.

Despite the fact that Kyle accidentally put the butter I was trying to bring to room temperature overnight back in the refrigerator (editor's note: it goes without saying, this discovery was followed by a thorough explanation of why ingredients like butter must be room temperature for baking), these cupcakes turned out light, spicy, and deliciously autumnal. 

I was very happy with the results and would encourage you to add them to your own giving of thanks/manks/and/or grievances.

After discovering my butter had been placed in the fridge, I had to
expedite the process of bringing it to room temperature by submerging
the butter in a bowl of warm water. It didn't work out quite as well as planned.

I found these eggs whose proceeds go to the Susan G. Komen foundation.
I bought them 'cus they were pink.

The batter looks like baby food, but it's not 'cus of the booze,
so, uh, you may want to hide ya' kids.

How all good things start: with two sticks of butter and a brick of cream cheese

See what I mean?? Good things = cream cheese frosting

I abandoned the idea of filling the cupcakes 

with caramel in favor of drizzling caramel on top...

...so I did it in the shape of the Georgetown Cupcake flower

And it was better than Georgetown Cupcake, not only because it was,
but because there were no lines and it has booze in it. Happy Thanksgiving!!

Woodchuck Cider Pumpkin Cupcakes

Yields about 2 dozen cupcakes (I got 19 'cus I like a big cupcake)

2 cup of all purpose flour
1 3/4 teaspoon of baking powder
3/4 teaspoon of baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger
1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
3 room temperature eggs

1 room temperature egg white
1 15 oz. can of pureed pumpkin (not the pie filling)
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup Woodchuck cider (or any hard cider you like)

Woodchuck Cream Cheese frosting 

This will likely make much more than you need--either half the recipe or freeze the leftover

1  brick of cream cheese
2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice
1/4 cup Woodchuck cider
4-6 cups powdered sugar, depending on how sweet you like it

Caramel sauce for drizzling

1. Line two cupcake tins; pre-heat oven to 400--we'll drop this to 350 once you pop the cupcakes in.

2. Combine flour, baking powder, soda, and spices in a bowl. Set aside.

3. Using a stand or hand mixer, combine eggs, pumpkin, sugars, oil, and cider until it resembles a boozy baby food.

4. In small batches, add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Mix until just incorporated.

5. Using an ice cream scoop, fill cupcake liners about 3/4 full (or, if you're me, 5/6)

6. Pop these bad boys into the oven, and immediately drop the temp from 400 to 350 for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. This helps you achieve the beautiful dome effect.

7. While the cupcakes cool, make the frosting. Start by whipping the butter and cream cheese together until light and fluffy. Then add the spices and cider.Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time.

8. Once cupcakes are completely cooled, pipe frosting onto cupcakes. Adorn with drizzles of caramel. 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes

A few weeks ago, I finally broke in my new KitchenAid mixer by baking Kyle some peanut-butter cup-filled chocolate cupcakes topped with peanut butter buttercream.

I also tried my hand at macarons and homemade pop tarts for the first time. Though tasty, they were far less successful than the cupcakes. Read on for a step-by-step guide to make the most amazing chocolate peanut butter cupcakes you've ever had!

Step 1: Snag yourself a kick-ass boyfriend to buy you a pink (or color of your choice) KitchenAid stand mixer. Take a picture during the creaming process.

Step 2: Scrape down the sides of the bowl and gently incorporate outlying batter. Did some of it "accidentally" get on your finger? That's okay, just lick it off--no one will know. Unless you blog about it, of course.

Step 3: Top the batter with a miniature peanut butter cup. You'll have some left over, which is good because you'll probably want to do a taste test, ya know, to make sure they're up to snuff. Throw these suckers in the oven.

Step 4: After they cool and have been topped with your peanut butter buttercream, get RILL silly and dunk 'em in chocolate. Stare in amazement at the masterpiece you've created.

Step 5: I mean, it should be obvious what comes next, really.

Are these, or are these not, amazeballs 2012?! Sensing your overwhelming urge to make some, here's the chocolate cupcake recipe I used. 

Peanut Butter Buttercream

2 sticks of butter, room temperature

1 box of confectioner's sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup creamy peanut butter (feel free to add more or less to taste)

Cream the butter with a cup of sugar at a time. Once the sugar is fully incorporated, add vanilla and peanut butter. Top cupcakes with buttercream. If dunking in chocolate, refrigerate for at least 15 minutes (don't rush this--the frosting must be chilled for the chocolate coating to harden).

Homemade Chocolate Shell

1 16 oz. bag of milk chocolate chips

1 Tablespoon of vegetable oil

Melt chocolate chips. Add vegetable oil and stir. Allow to cool for a few minutes before dunking chilled cupcakes.