Hot Cocoa Cupcakes

Who doesn't like hot cocoa on a cold, snowy day? I've lived in Minnesota my whole life; to us, a mug of hot chocolate symbolizes the end of a fun day sledding, having snowball fights, or, on some occasions, the blessed end to shoveling...again.

I used two different recipes I found online and mixed them up a bit to create these. It's actually the second time I've tried making these, and this time I managed to capture the hot cocoa flavor without it being too overpowering.

Half the fun of making these cupcakes is the fun ways you can decorate them. I saw an adorable version on Pinterest that used candy canes as little mug "handles", but I didn't like having the peppermint mixed in with the buttercream (just my opinion). They certainly added some festive flair, however -- especially cute for the holidays. I chose to stick to the classics -- marshmallows and mini chocolate chips.

Find the full recipe here: HOT COCOA CUPCAKES

Gingerbread Cupcakes

Fine. I admit it. I only made these cupcakes because I wanted to make little gingerbread people out of chocolate fondant. No regrets there. That said, these cupcakes did turn out to be pretty amazing, with or without garnish.

I realized while taking these pictures that I was so excited for the finished product that I didn't bother taking any photos of the process. I don't know. If you're like me, I usually skip those pictures on other blogs and go straight for the recipe or other fun shots of the fully decorated, cutely arranged cupcakes or cookies. I mean, those are the ones I'm going to pin to Pinterest (am I right?).

Can I just tell you that these little round sprinkles used as buttons on the gingerbread people continue to haunt me? Sure, they're adorable, but they're so small...let's just say several were dropped and every once and a while, someone in my family randomly kicks one that was missed and you can hear it rolling all across the hardwood floor, mocking me for being clumsy in the first place. Would I use them again? Heck yes -- look at how cute!

Click here for the full recipe: GINGERBREAD CUPCAKES

Thanksgiving Cupcakes

These Thanksgiving cupcakes are a simple way to create unique table settings for the holiday. There are a number of turkey-inspired cupcakes floating around Pinterest, but I think these are the cutest. And they make four-year-olds to 60-year-olds smile, so they have that going for them.

Start with basic chocolate cupcakes and chocolate buttercream (my go-to recipes are below). You'll also need the following:

Candy corn (for the feathers)
Nutter Butter cookies (for the head)
Reese's Pieces or Skittles (for the nose); orange only
Wilton Candy Eyes (for the...eyes)
Red licorice (for the snood)
White icing (to adhere the candy pieces to the cookie)

After you've frosted your cupcakes, insert six (6) pieces of candy corn around the rim. You'll want to insert them enough that the white portion of the candy corn is no longer visible.

Then it's time to work on the turkey face. Start with the eyes, then the nose, and finish with the snood. I found it was a lot easier to get the candy to adhere to the Nutter Butter (never thought that'd be a phrase I'd use) if I could avoid the seams as much as possible. I piped the icing onto the cookie, then pushed the candy into it. The nose is the hardest, simply because you have to get it to stay on it's edge. Just hold it in place for a few seconds to ensure it's adhered.

I let the cookies sit for about 30 minutes before inserting them into the cupcakes. To keep the cupcakes from tumbling over, insert the cookie just shy of halfway. This height also provides plenty of clearance for most cupcake holders (in case you need to travel with these).

I made these cupcakes using my ENHANCED CHOCOLATE CAKE MIX and FAVORITE CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM recipes.

40th Wedding Anniversary Part 2: Bourbon Chocolate Pecan Pie-filled Cupcakes

Stupid good. That's all I can say about these cupcakes. Chocolate? Good. Bourbon? Good. Pecan pie? Very, very good (it's my favorite). Topped with buttercream -- so good.

Click here for the recipe: BOURBON CHOCOLATE PECAN PIE-FILLED CUPCAKES

40th Wedding Anniversary Part 1: Dark Chocolate Coconut Marshmallow Cupcakes

My in-laws recently celebrated their 40th (!) wedding anniversary and my dear father-in-law, one of my favorite people in the world, asked me to make some "coconut cupcakes".

I've made Almond Joy-inspired cupcakes in the past, and while delicious, I wanted the focus to be on his two favorite flavors -- dark chocolate and, of course, coconut. The result was messy deliciousness.

The 40th anniversary is the ruby anniversary, so I used some more of the red fondant hearts I made for the Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie-filled cupcakes my mother-in-law asked me to make. I like the way the red hearts pop on the white coconut marshmallow frosting and coordinate with the teal blue cake liners I chose.

The cupcakes were actually a little frustrating to make -- the frosting, while delicious, was just too runny and ended up spilling over the sides of the cupcakes. As a result, I've altered the recipe and, on my second try, it worked much better.

All in all, a very moist, dense dark chocolate cake that tasted eerily similar to a Snoball.

You can find the recipe here: DARK CHOCOLATE & COCONUT MARSHMALLOW CUPCAKES.