#COOKING WITH CLORIS--AUTHOR LOIS WINSTON AND HER GRANDSONS BAKE APPLESAUCE CUPCAKES

Baking is a fun activity to do with little kids when cooped up in the house. And considering we’ve all been cooped up for nearly a year, we need all the ideas we can get to keep from going bonkers. My grandsons and I highly recommend these yummy cupcakes. We had fun making them, they had a blast decorating them, and of course, we all enjoyed eating them!

Applesauce Cupcakes

Yield: 12 cupcakes

 

Ingredients:

1-1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup canola or other vegetable oil

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/4 cup raisins

1/2 cup chopped dried apricots

Best Ever Buttercream Frosting 

choice of toppings for decorating

 

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners.

 

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

 

In a separate bowl, whisk oil, sugars, and vanilla. Whisk in eggs.

 

Gently stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients until batter is smooth. Stir in the applesauce, apricots, and raisins.

 

Divide the batter evenly into lined muffin pan, filling nearly to the top. Bake 20-25 minutes, until the tops of the cupcakes are springy when touched and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

 

Cool cupcakes in the pan 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting with Best Ever Buttercream Frosting, then let the kids have fun decorating.

#COOKING WITH CLORIS--CELEBRATING NATIONAL CHOCOLATE MINT DAY

Today is National Chocolate Mint Day, a holiday dedicated to all those lovers of chocolate mint. And what better time to celebrate a day that extols chocolate mint than right in the middle of the Girl Scout Cookie season?

Who doesn’t love those Thin Mint cookies?

Did you know that Thin Mints have been around since 1953 and are still the most popular of all the Girl Scout cookies? Bet you can’t eat just one!

However, if you can exercise a bit of self-control and not gobble up that entire box in one sitting, there are quite a few ways to use Thin Mints in baking. Here’s one of them:

Super Moist Thin Mint Cupcakes

Yield: 12-14 cupcakes

Ingredients:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder

3/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

2 lg. eggs

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 cup buttermilk

8 Thin Mints, crushed

Note: eggs and buttermilk should be at room temperature before adding.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin pans with cupcake liners and set aside.

In a large bowl whisk together first five ingredients and set aside.

Beat eggs, sugars, oil and vanilla until smooth. Alternating dry ingredients and buttermilk, gently stir into sugar/egg mixture. Don’t overmix. Fold in crushed Thin Mints.

Spoon batter evenly into cupcake liners, filling only halfway. Bake 18-21 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center of cupcakes comes out clean.

Allow cupcakes to cool completely before icing with your favorite chocolate icing.

FAVORITES, FAILURES & FRUSTRATIONS--GUEST AUTHOR KIM/KIMBRA KASCH

Kim/Kimbra Kasch returns today to talk about one of her failures in the kitchen. Learn more about Kim and her books at her website.

Baking...Burning...and Blah...

The Failures of Making Your Own Recipes

Love, life and reading are a lot like baking . . . a cupcake. Sometimes you get a little cup filled with sweet deliciousness.

Sometimes you don’t.

And events can make life flip and even flop, just like when you’re baking. If you let things get too “hot” you can have a real meltdown. The truth is, things just don’t always turn out sweet and yummy but then again, sometimes they do—like with this sweet treat:

Organic Lavender and Locally Farmed Honey Cupcake with a Vanilla Bean Frosting

Cupcake Ingredients:

1 vanilla bean

1/2 cup milk

1-1/3 cups flour

1-1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup of butter

1 teaspoon sugar

3 tablespoons of Honey

1 tablespoon of Lavender

2 eggs

Vanilla Bean Frosting

1 cup salted butter

1 vanilla bean

3 cups confectioner’s sugar

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Strip the seeds from the vanilla bean and set aside to use in the frosting.

Grind the lavender into small bits, add milk and blend together.

Whisk cake flour, baking powder and salt together.

Whip butter and sugar until pale fluffy, blend in honey, eggs and vanilla. Combine the dry ingredients until well combined.

Fill cupcake papers 2/3 full and bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out nearly clean (do not overbake).

While cupcakes are cooling, mix together butter and vanilla bean seeds until light and fluffy.

Combine powdered sugar, vanilla extract and milk until well blended – or about 8-10 minutes.

When cupcakes are cooled, frost and top with a berry of your choice or a tiny sprig of lavender.

The Cats of Cullaby Creek

Savannah meets Kyle and quickly starts to fall for him. And why wouldn't she? He's per-fect, as far as she knows. But when she starts finding dead animals in her yard and hears something scratching at her window, after the sun goes down, she starts to worry. Maybe Kyle isn't everything she thought he was - maybe he's something more.

It's a complete mystery until she discovers something about the water in Cullaby Creek, which is being bottled and sold as Mistical Water. And there’s definitely something mystical about that water, everyone who drinks it begins to change. They are “morphing” or mutating into animals. The secret to the animal they morph into is in the water.

Buy Link 

COOKING WITH CLORIS--CUPCAKES WITH AUTHOR GINA GORDON

When her dream of becoming a mafia princess didn’t pan out, Gina Gordon went after her second dream of becoming a writer. And she hasn’t looked back. Gina, a self-proclaimed happily ever after junkie and cupcake connoisseuse, loves spinning contemporary tales of knee bending first kisses, unconditional love and super-hot sex. Learn more about her and her books at her website.—AP

There’s nothing a cupcake can’t fix.

At least that’s what my heroine, Liv Crawford, believes in my contemporary single title, A Taste of Trouble. It just so happens, I completely agree.

My borderline obsession with cupcakes began when they exploded onto the culinary scene a few years back. Yes, I was a bandwagon jumper. But can you blame me? They are so cute and delicious and versatile. They are perfect little treats to celebrate happy news but more importantly, they are the perfect pick-me-up when you’re feeling down.  I’ve cried many a tear into my cupcake icing.

In A Taste of Trouble, Liv has spent years testing out different recipes.  As the new owner of a cupcake bakery, she spends her days crafting delicious and visually stunning works of art. It’s her passion. Her purpose. I can relate to that because that’s how I feel about being a writer. But when it comes to cupcakes, the only thing I’m passionate about is eating them.

Early on in the book, Liv describes a Guinness Chocolate Cupcake. Now, I’m not going to pretend that I can bake or even come up with a recipe that’s all my own. Instead, I direct you to the My Baking Addiction blog for the recipe that was the inspiration for the cupcakes in the book.

So if you like cupcakes and things that are sugary sweet, try A Taste of Trouble. Oh, and there may even be a mention of French Macaroons.

A Taste of Trouble

When Liv Crawford decided to pursue her dream of owning her own bakery, it was no surprise that she forgot to add “maintaining a serious relationship” to her business plan. Not when she believes a cupcake can fix anything, even loneliness.

Jake Miller isn’t concerned about being lonely. He’s cast aside his playboy lifestyle to pursue something more meaningful, his passion for photography. So, when his boss asks him to pursue a beautiful woman and coerce her to his office for a disguised meeting—no matter what it takes—in exchange for the opportunity to turn his hobby into a career, he jumps at the chance. At first sight, Liv awakens his long-buried desire for commitment, but his secret mission could ruin his hopes of keeping her.

Despite Liv’s commitment to swear off relationships to run her bakery, Jake quickly becomes her number one distraction. Yet, even her misgivings can’t tame the heat as they straddle the line between love and ambition.

Buy link