Baking Monday – Candy Corn Cupcakes

We went to two pumpkin carving parties this weekend, so fall treats were in order! I used the Rainbow Cake recipe to make some candy corn themed cupcakes.



I hadn't used this recipe for cupcakes before, so I wasn't sure how full to make the cups. These pictures are of batch #2 … the first cups were filled too full, and they exploded out of the top of the pan. (Happily, they ended up getting mixed with vanilla pudding and turned into candy corn trifle!)

Lesson learned: fill the cups only halfway! I used two mini scoops of batter for the orange bottoms then two more for the yellow. The recipe makes about twenty very yummy vanilla cupcakes.

Each was frosted with vanilla buttercream (one stick butter, four cups confectioner's sugar, one-half teaspoon of vanilla and gradually add milk to piping consistency) and decorated with a candy corn. Theo is very happy because he's been requesting that our decorative fall dish be filled with candy corn for two weeks now. I'm happy because cupcakes! 

Both parties were so much fun. We are very lucky to have found such a great group of friends in our town. Neither of the boys were super into carving pumpkins … because it was a beautiful day, they were much more interested in running around outside with friends. So, Dora and I did the carving work this year, and opted to go traditional – a cat and a ghost. Looking forward to one more week of fall fun leading up to Halloween! 

Baby Shower Cookies – Pink Hearts!

We celebrated a triple baby shower in our family last month, for two cousins and my sister. All three mamas are expecting girls, so my aunts who planned the event wanted everything pink, pink, pink!



These cookies were my contribution. I wish I had taken more pics of the decorations. The party was held on the outdoor deck at my aunt's home in Maryland and everything looked beautiful. My favorite part? All the guests were asked to wear pink, and it was such a great idea. It was like another layer of decoration that tied everything together - plus all the photos turned out fabulous!

My aunt served each of the guest of honor's favorite desserts - red velvet cupcakes, gluten-free peanut butter cakes and a chocolate cake/cheesecake/ganache treat that was amazing. Looking forward to welcoming three new arrivals to our family! 

Baking Monday – Buckeye Brownie Cookies

Hello! I'm back! We really enjoyed a relaxing summer vacation and it always amazes me how quickly life moves once everyone goes back to school. I have not even yet begun to tackle my long to-do list, because the days have been full of more immediate tasks. And all the responsibilities that I've volunteered for at school all take place in the fall! Come October 25th, I'll have a little more breathing room. Unfortunately, blogging is one of the activities that has gotten pushed to the side, and the longer I stay away, the harder it is to get back into it. 

But I absolutely have been baking! These treats were for the first night of the new pool season, which happily I was able to go to, thanks to a visit from Grandma (who also helped me make these yummy cookies!)



Mom made peanut butter balls using the mini scoop, and I flattened them into pats before placing on top of each warmed cookie. The tops got a drizzle of melted chocolate chips. These cookies received great reviews. They are very rich and were a big hit! More to come … happy to be back!