The best Blueberry Muffins

Blueberry muffins are a classic. Practically everyone has had at least one in their lifetime. Well, I have seen (and now tasted) the best blueberry muffins....ever.

Blueberry Muffins with Pecans

Delicious. Trust me. The best blueberry muffins....ever.

First, I don't think I've ever had a blueberry muffin with pecans in them. Another thing, these babies have another addition - a brown sugar surprise....baked in. Yummy.

The recipe I found didn't say how many muffins would be made, but I was able to get 12 regular size muffins and this cute little ring, too.

The ring would serve another 4 - 5 people, I'd say. Though, if you wanted to stick to all muffins, you could easily get 15 - 17 muffins out of the batter.

The inside is so wonderful! Baked to perfection, honestly. There is a nice blend of cinnamon with blueberry and pecan. Wanna see the inside? Here, I tore a piece of the ring just for you:

See that pecan? See the yummy blueberries. Delightful.

Wanna try them at your house? Here you go baby:

Blueberry Pecan Muffins with Brown Sugar

2 C flour
1 C sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 C chopped pecans
1 C buttermilk
1/2 C oil
1 Xtra lg egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 C blueberries

Preheat oven to 375 F

Combine flour, sugar, soda, cinnamon, salt, and pecans in large bowl

Whisk buttermilk, oil, egg, and vanilla in small bowl. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Stir just until combined. Gently fold in blueberries. Refrigerate batter for 10 minutes before scooping into the muffin liners.

Mix 1/2 C packed dark brown sugar, 1 Tbsp flour, and 1 Tbsp softened butter with fork until crumbly. Sprinkle about 1 tsp over each muffin. Top with additional pecans (if desired).

Bake muffins for about 20 minutes or until toothpick test is clean. Cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or cold.

*The brown sugar mixture will sink into the muffins and create little pockets of deliciousness. You could easily skip that step if you don't want the pockets.*

Enjoy!
-Erica

PS) Don't forget to enter to win Junior's Cheesecake Cookbook here.

Our first CUPPIE SOCIAL!

I was so very excited to include a "Cuppie Social" in our last FFNOW event! We had bakers contribute their favorite recipe and bake a dozen (or in some cases more) to share!

I ended up baking FIVE dozen cuppies to share at the event! It was fun, but a bit overwhelming, honestly. I pulled out a book that I have never consulted before, 125 best Cupcake recipes. I was pleasantly surprised. There are a lot of great recipes in there....125 to be exact. :)

Okay, so I baked the French Toast cuppies, Chocolate Mint cuppies, Chocolate Chip Cookie cuppies, Banana Nutmeg cuppies, and the Chocolate Peanut Butter cuppies. All of which were good....but the French Toast cuppies were FAB-U-LOUS! Really. If you like french toast or maple in general, those are for you!

Unfortunately, I was in such a hurry that I didn't get to take pictures of all the cuppies, which makes me sad. But I was able to get a picture of the Chocolate Mint cuppies before we went....and I had a couple left over that made it home with me, so you get pictures of those too!


Chocolate Mint with Chocolate Mint buttercream and a junior mint on top!


Chocolate Chip Cookie cuppie with Chocolate buttercream dollop in the center!


Banana Nutmeg cuppie with powdered sugar sprinkled on top - delightful!


French Toast cuppie - we split it open and doused it with some more maple syrup and sprinkled it with powdered sugar - just awesome!

Some of the other cuppies that were there:
Pineapple Upside Down cuppies
Pina Colada cuppies (which won the grand prize)
Jones soda cuppies
Strawberry Ice Cream Cone cuppies

I'll get the recipes up here for you all lovely people soon.

Enjoy!
-Erica

IronCupcake: Earth (Savory #1)

Ok, so I didn't win April's challenge....but that is fine by me. Thanks to everyone who voted - it was a lot of fun!

May's IronCupcake: Earth challenge is SAVORY! I thought I'd have a little trouble with this one, since I focus mostly on sweets....but I wanted to give it a nice effort.

I give you......Meatloaf Cuppies!


I know, I know.....it just sounds weird, doesn't it?

I created little cuppies of meatloaf first, yes, in my cuppie pan.


Then I whipped up a nice creamy batch of my Garlic & Herb Mashed Potatoes for the "icing". Diced up some green onions for "sprinkles"......

VOILA! Meatloaf Cuppies

If you'd like to know, they were fantastic! I always make meatloaf with mashed potatoes.....almost like it is a sin to eat meatloaf without mashed potatoes. Honestly, I don't know why I feel compelled to have the two together. Anyone else out there have something weird like this they want to share? Do you always eat your meatloaf with mashed potatoes? Would you feel normal not eating meatloaf with mashed potatoes....or is it just me?

Well, anyway, they were tasty. Confused Syndel (Ceryse didn't care, she'll eat [literally] anything) to all-get-out, but delicious.

Want a nibble? Here ya go:


Our May ETSY PRIZE-PACK is from artists:
A sweet cupcake ID bracelet by INSANEJELLYFISH
something sweet and dangly from CHERRYCREEKCHARMS
a sweet surprise from Sweet Cuppin' Cakes Cupcakery

PLUS, IronCupcake:Earth can not forget our good friend, CAKESPY, who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice - sweet!Last and certainly not least, don’t forget our corporate prize providers: HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS, HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, JESSIE STEELE APRONS,TASTE OF HOME books, a t-shirt from UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM.
Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers.

Oh, yeah! By the way - don't forget to enter my giveaway going on NOW through May 12th!

Enjoy!
-Erica

Exciting News!

I am so very excited to share with you my very exciting news! Monday I was opening mail and came across this title, "An Invitation".....I was curious, so I opened it. Boy am I ever glad I did! It was an invitation (thus the title) to be a guest blogger on Key Ingredient's blog, The Back Burner for this week's Tips & Tricks segment.

Needless to say, I was (and still am) totally flattered that they invited little 'ol me! They wanted a segment on making "The Ultimate Cuppie"....so I set off to work. I asked some of my buddies what information they would like to see in such an article. Well, let me tell you, they delivered!

The article will be featured on their blog tomorrow....but here is a sneak peek at the finished "Ultimate Cuppie".



Enjoy!
-Erica

Black Cherry Cuppies

Yup, you guessed it! That same trip to the store warranted another great find....Faygo - Black Cherry.

Here they are:


The inside of these guys are:

Kinda purple-y....pretty.

Now, these were more my speed. The Black Cherry soda wasn't very strong in these cuppies. You could tell they weren't just "regular yellow" cuppies, but if I didn't tell you they were black cherry, you probably wouldn't have guessed that.

Still yummy, though!

Again, you can find the recipe here.

Enjoy!
-Erica

Watermelon Cuppies

Ok, so I was walking through the store the other day and found Jolly Rancher soda. Have you ever even heard of such a thing? Granted, I don't drink pop, never have. So I guess I'm out of the loop on this one.

Anyhoo.....I seen Watermelon Jolly Rancher soda and thought, "Why couldn't I find that last month?" IronCupcake: Earth had the soda challenge last month! Well, I just couldn't pass it up!

I give you Watermelon Cuppies:


Delish! The vanilla buttercream is infused with Watermelon soda, too! Then those little sprinkles just top it off....perfect.

These tasted interesting to me. I'm not a huge fan of Watermelon flavoring. I like it, just don't LOVE it. The cuppies tasted of a great deal of Watermelon....so my daughter LOVED them! My hubby will, too. He ate one before I even got the icing and sprinkles on. *smile*

The inside is pink:


I used the same recipe from here.

Enjoy!
-Erica

Berry Lemonade Cupcakes

Alright, so here is the other cuppie that I created with that Jones Soda.



I used the same recipes for the cuppie, icing, and filling...but omited the glaze on top. The flavor of this one was so good, I didn't think it needed the glaze.



Wanna see what is inside? Here ya go:


Now, for the filling on this cuppie, I added a splash of the soda pop, so it isn't as thick and firm as the other filling, but I loved it!

Thanks again to Play at Home Mama, Gonna Go Walk the Dogs, and Put a Cupcake In It for the recipes I used to create these delights.

Check out IronCupcake for more cool cupcake stuff.
Our April ETSY PRIZE-PACK is from artists:
A creation by FRUITFLYPIE, a pair of cupcake earrings from LOTS OF SPRINKLES, a sweet surprise from Sweet Cuppin' Cakes Cupcakery,
PLUS, IronCupcake:Earth can not forget our good friend, CAKESPY, who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice - sweet!

Last and certainly not least, don’t forget our corporate prize providers: HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS, HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, JESSIE STEELE APRONS ; TASTE OF HOME books, a t-shirt from UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM. Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers.

Enjoy!
-Erica

Blue Bubblegum Cupcakes

This is exciting. My daughters and I walked up to this little corner store today to get some fresh air. When we got there, my 4-year-old asked for some juice....and what was next to the juice? JONES SODA! I thought to myself, "Hmmmm. IronCupcake's challenge this month IS soda. Why not!?" So, I picked up two unusual flavors of soda and headed home.



Now, I was in search of a new recipe to use with my awesome soda finds. I came across this blogger through IronCupcake: Earth, and thought this recipe was perfect:

1/2 C sugar
1/4 C butter
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 C all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 C soda pop

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Beat in the egg, stir in the vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder, add to the sugar mixture and mix well. Stir in the soda. Pour or spoon batter into cups.
3. Bake 20 to 25 minutes.

How perfect is that? Minimal ingredients. Three steps. Perfection!


Un-iced. I baked them in the Prep Bowls from Pampered Chef - they make for GIANT cuppies! *smile*

Then, I filled them with yummy goodness:


Piled on the vanilla buttercream next:


Lastly, drizzled this dreamy blue bubblegum glaze over the top:


Here, you can see the filling inside:

*Yeah, I know, the cross-section picture is not great. I should have frozen the cupcake before even attempting this cut, but oh well. That just forced me to eat it right then*

Would you like to have a little nibble? Here ya go:


The icing recipe I used was from Gonna Go Walk the Dogs, thanks!

Vanilla Butter Cream
3/4 C margarine/butter
1 C powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla

Beat all ingredients until fluffy - ice or pipe onto cuppies.

For the filling, I just winged it. This is basically what I did:

handful of white chocolate chips and a splash of buttermilk into a small saucepan, melt over medium heat. Let cool completely and beat in powdered sugar to desired consistency. Fill a ziplock bag and clip the corner. Pipe into (or onto) cuppies.

The glaze recipe I got from Put a Cupcake In It, thanks!

GLAZE
4 1/2 Tsp unsalted butter
1/4 C milk
2 C powdered sugar
food coloring
*I also added a splash of the Blue Bubblegum Soda*

Put sugar in medium-size bowl, melt butter over medium heat. Remoce from heat and whisk in milk. Add to sugar and whisk together. Add food coloring (and pop) at this point. The longer you let it sit, the more hardened it becomes, so you wanna dip (or drizzle) your cuppies right away.

Check out IronCupcake for more cool cupcake stuff.
Our April ETSY PRIZE-PACK is from artists:
A creation by FRUITFLYPIE, a pair of cupcake earrings from LOTS OF SPRINKLES, a sweet surprise from Sweet Cuppin' Cakes Cupcakery,
PLUS, IronCupcake:Earth can not forget our good friend, CAKESPY, who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice - sweet!

Last and certainly not least, don’t forget our corporate prize providers: HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS, HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, JESSIE STEELE APRONS ; TASTE OF HOME books, a t-shirt from UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM. Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers.

Enjoy!
-Erica

Orange Dreamsicle Cupcakes

Creamy vanilla.......sweet and tangy orange......mixed together, what could be better?

Do you remember these delicious ice cream treats? They were my favorite when I was a kid. Now, I have recreated them....in cupcake fashion!



These little drops of bliss were created for the IronCupcake: Earth challenge for April, also. I actually have a little something else up my sleeve, too. So be on the lookout for another yummy cupcake post.

Okay, so I used the same recipe from Hello, Cupcake for these babies, too. You can find the recipe here. I substituted orange extract for the vanilla in this case.

Once I had the batter mixed together, I took some out and dyed it orange (with red and yellow food coloring) so that they would look pretty. And did they ever?



From the top:


For the icing, I kept it simple (again). I like yummy but simple. *smile*


I added some food coloring to the icing as well.


Can you just taste them now? Here, take a little nibble:


I topped them with a little scoop of the Orange & Vanilla Ice Cream from UDF and then drizzled the icing over top it all. Messy, but totally delicious!


Check out IronCupcake for more cool cupcake stuff.
Our April ETSY PRIZE-PACK is from artists:
A creation by FRUITFLYPIE, a pair of cupcake earrings from LOTS OF SPRINKLES, a sweet surprise from Sweet Cuppin' Cakes Cupcakery,
PLUS, IronCupcake:Earth can not forget our good friend, CAKESPY, who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice - sweet!

Last and certainly not least, don’t forget our corporate prize providers: HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS, HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, JESSIE STEELE APRONS ; TASTE OF HOME books, a t-shirt from UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM. Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers.

Enjoy!
-Erica

Root Beer Float?

Ok - so I came across this site today

IronCupcake: Earth

What a GREAT site that is - you have to check it out!

Anyway, so I found myself intrigued by this month's challenge.

To make cupcakes with SODA POP - somehow, someway

The first thing that popped in my head......

ROOT BEER FLOAT CUPCAKES!

Voila!



Aren't they dreamy? *smile*

So, how I decided I was going to do this was take a regular vanilla cupcake recipe and alter it. I used the vanilla cupcake recipe from Hello, Cupcake!

The alteration I made to the recipe was to use root beer concentrate instead of vanilla (mixed with veggie oil and milk).


Creepy looking, huh?

Alright, so then I mixed everything together


The tip about spooning the batter into a ziplock baggie and clipping a corner is an awesome one! Next time you make cupcakes - do it! Absolutely no drips on the pan and it is much easier to get all the cups even. I was happy!



Since I was making mini cupcakes, I only baked them for 13 minutes. Here they are naked:


For the icing, I kept is simple....very simple


Just some cream cheese with root beer concentrate and some powdered sugar for sweetness. Beautiful.

I really enjoyed thinking outside the box on this challenge and will most likely make these again. They tasted wonderful, though, I would probably start with a different "basic" recipe, as I found this one a little too dry for my tastes. :)

In case you're interested, though:

2 1/2 c all-purpose flour
2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/2 c milk
1/2 c veggie oil
1 t vanilla extract
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 c sugar
3 large eggs

1 - Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.

2 - Whisk together the flour, powder, soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Combine the milk, oil, and vanilla in a 2-cup measuring cup or a small bowl.

3 - In another medium bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

4 - Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture alternately with the milk mixture in batches, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and beating just until blended.

5 - Spoon half of the batter into a ziplock bag. Snip 1/4-inch corner from the bag and fill the liners two-thirds full. Repeat with the remaining batter. Bake until golden and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the baking pan, place on a wire rack, and allow to cool completely.


Check out IronCupcake for more cool cupcake stuff.
Our April ETSY PRIZE-PACK is from artists:
A creation by FRUITFLYPIE, a pair of cupcake earrings from LOTS OF SPRINKLES, a sweet surprise from Sweet Cuppin' Cakes Cupcakery,
PLUS, IronCupcake:Earth can not forget our good friend, CAKESPY, who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice - sweet!

Last and certainly not least, don’t forget our corporate prize providers: HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS, HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, JESSIE STEELE APRONS ; TASTE OF HOME books, a t-shirt from UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM. Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers.

Enjoy!
-Erica