12 Months of Cupcakes: February

J and I celebrated a low-key Valentine’s day at home. We made breakfast for dinner (per my request) and had strawberry cupcakes for dessert. Strawberry fit the theme of the holiday perfectly – they’re delicious, pink, and the flavor we had at our wedding in August! I cheated this month and actually just used a box mix. I was low on time/motivation, but the results were just as yummy!

February’s cupcake kit was full of hearts and love:

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With Pillsbury doing the heavy lifting, this month’s cupcakes were a breeze. I love how they turned out!

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J and I certainly did NOT need to eat 24 cupcakes on our own (even though I’m sure we could have tackled that challenge with ease), so I boxed up about half the batch and brought them to the Education department at school to share the love.

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Our furry Valentine didn’t get to enjoy the goodies, but she had a fabulous day full of cuddles and love just the same…

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How did you share the love on Valentine’s Day?

12 Months of Cupcakes: January (for real)

Phew – a 12 months of cupcakes post ON TIME (now this is a first)! This past weekend I made my January batch of cupcakes, and they were AMAZING! J and I were in agreement that they were our favorite experimental recipe so far!

We had one of our couple friends over for dinner, so I made Chocolate Cream Cheese cupcakes for dessert. The January cupcake kit was “Game Night” and had adorable King and Queen toppers. We often play Canasta together, so the deck of cards theme seemed fitting for the occasion. With all the catching up we had to do, we didn’t make it to cards this weekend, but I’m sure we will again soon!

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These cupcakes were SO easy, but definitely tasted like a million bucks. I tend to fill my tins higher than most recipes call for, so I only got 15 cupcakes out of a batch that was meant for 18. I also had a fair amount of cream cheese filling left over, so I may add a bit more in the next time I make these (and yes, there will certainly be a next time).

The cupcakes turned out super moist and delicious. The chocolate chips in the filling stayed “melty” after they had cooled which I really liked. And how can you go wrong with chocolate and cream cheese?! Here’s my final product:

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What’s your “go to” cupcake recipe? Do you have any new variations you’re just dying to try? Please share! :)

12 Months of Cupcakes: Pink Champagne January / November :)

This edition of 12 Months of Cupcakes is coming to you from good ole’ Iowa. J and I spent a quiet New Year’s Eve at my parents’ home and were super happy to have my sister and her daughter join in the celebration with us. With 2 pregnant ladies and a 2 year old, the festivities were pretty tame and everyone was in bed by midnight eastern – so 11:00 our time :)

In place of a champagne toast, we opted for champagne cupcakes- a treat ALL of us could enjoy! My sister actually did the cupcake baking since J and I were finishing up “to do’s” in Omaha. I swung in to finish them up with some piped pink champagne frosting.

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They turned out beautifully (and were super tasty), but definitely didn’t have the texture we’re used to with cupcakes today. Since the box mix calls for pudding free, the cupcake was not as moist as we’re used to. It was still super soft and light, but just…. different. My parents said it reminded them of cupcakes when they were kids.

The cupcake liners I used were actually from November (whoops!) and were an adorable vintage rose theme. I thought they worked perfectly for our New Year’s “Princess Party.” Here’s our final result…

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My niece (the official taste-tester of all sweets and treats) gave these cupcakes 2 thumbs up!

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How did you celebrate New Years?  Would you ever try a pink champagne cupcake?

12 Months of Cupcakes: Peppermint Stick December

I had no problem finding an excuse to bake cupcakes during the month of December – Christmas isn’t complete without an array of sweets to share with friends and family. I had originally planned on making these cupcakes for a caroling party in my parents’ hometown, but due to snowy travel conditions, J and I didn’t make it back to Audubon in time to join in the festivities.

I settled on a simple chocolate recipe and made the cupcake portion at home in Milwaukee. My mom helped me finish up the cupcakes on Saturday morning by whipping up some delicious cream cheese frosting. We left half as traditional cream cheese but added in some peppermint to the other half of the batch – both were equally delicious, but the peppermint was perfect for a Christmas treat!

The cupcake set for this month was a white winter wonderland with gorgeous silver detailing. Take a look:

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Here’s the final result of the Peppermint Stick cupcakes. We put 3 drops of red food coloring on the side of the piping bag to create the peppermint swirl. I think it turned out adorable!

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The regular cream cheese frosting was topped with silver sprinkles to add some simple sparkle!

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Since our Christmas crew isn’t too large (and none of our waistlines needed more than a couple of cupcakes), we boxed up half the batch to deliver to friends throughout the community! I found these boxes on Pick Your Plum, and they worked perfectly for delivering our sweets!

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As for the cupcakes themselves, I think the recipe was a total hit! The chocolate was super rich and creamy. The recipe called for adding boiling water at the end of the mixture which melted down the cocoa powder to make the cupcakes moist and yummy. One downside was that the cupcakes didn’t rise with the nice peak that I generally like, but the taste made up for that minor flaw. The frosting was extremely versatile – it’s easy to add more or less peppermint extract based on your particular taste. Overall, I was very pleased with how our December project turned out – I will certainly be returning to this recipe again!

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hung for the holidays: ornament swap

I’ve never participated in a blog swap like this, but when I read about the Hung for the Holidays Ornament Exchange, I just had to put my name in! The idea is simple, everyone gets a name, finds out a little about their recipient and picks out an ornament perfectly suited for their tree :)

I completely spaced on taking photos of the ornament I bought for Kim over at Barking Mad about Running, but she’s got a post up about her experience as well, so I definitely encourage you to go check it out!

Maureen from Running on Cabernet (love that name, by the way) was my gifter and she did an AMAZING job! I told her the highlight of every holiday is baking with my mom and sister, so she picked out this adorable baking ornament. Take a look:

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It’s definitely a fitting addition to our Christmas tree! This was such a fun experience to spread some Christmas joy and find a few new blogs to follow along the way!

What ornament do you think best describes you?