Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from maddie cakes!

peppermint frosting!

pretty snowflakes sit on top of creamy peppermint frosting.  My oldest daughter gave these out as gifts to all her teachers.  I used my favorite cream cheese frosting and just replaced the vanilla extract with peppermint extract.  

first time snickerdoodles!

I can't believe I waited this long to try these! They were so easy to make and so GOOD to eat! I kept going back to sample more as they were coming out of the oven! Give them a try, you will not be disappointed!

recipe from Joy of baking

Santa's chocolate chip cookies!

Turn your chocolate chip cookies into a delicious and fun holiday treat just by adding a 1/4 cup of holiday sprinkles to your favorite cookie batter! I made 4 dozen of these today to give as gifts to my kids dance and school teachers! ho ho ho! 

Minion Birthday treats!

Check out these adorable minion cookies I made for my sons birthday yesterday! He took them to school to share with his teacher and classmates.  So happy to hear that they were a huge hit! As he was at school I spent the entire day baking him a mini minion birthday cake. I used my favorite chocolate  cake recipe and filled it with his favorite Oreo cookie buttercream! Happy Birthday, David!  

sugar cookies with chocolate royal icing!

vanilla bean sugar cookies for the kids dessert table on Thanksgiving.  

pumpkin cranberry bread

My favorite week of the year! I've been looking forward to baking pumpkin bread, apple pie and my famous pecan squares! Today I started with my favorite pumpkin cranberry bread. I baked 6 small loaves to bring to my family on Thanksgiving Day. A plus side to baking these a couple days early is that they freeze really well. Just wrap them up tight and put them in the freezer. Take them out before you leave and they will defrost during your road trip. 

Pumpkin Cranberry Bread

yields 6 mini loaves

3 cups all purpose flour

1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice

2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

2 1/2 cups sugar
15 oz. pumpkin puree
4 eggs
1/2 cup veg oil
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup orange juice
1 cup fresh cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.
Combine sugar, pumpkin, eggs, oil, applesauce and orange juice in a large mixer bowl. Beat well until combined.
Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and mix just until moistened.  Fold in the cranberries.
Bake 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Enjoy and share some with your family & friends!


slightly adapted from: www.verybestbaking.com

tis the season!

sweet vanilla bean sugar cookie cupcakes! cupcakes that taste like a sugar cookie.. yes, it's true. These were so much fun to bake, especially using pretty blue and pink fondant snowflakes. I'm ready for the holidays. Christmas is just 6 weeks away and I want to enjoy every second of it! So, to kick off the holiday season I recommend baking up a batch of these adorable cupcakes!

sugar cookie cupcakes

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 c buttermilk
6 tbsp butter
1/2 tbsp vanilla
1/2 tbsp vanilla bena paste

preheat oven to 350 degrees. line a 12 cup cupcake tin with paper liners.

whisk together, flour, baking powder and salt, set aside.

beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
add eggs one at a time until smooth
stir in vanilla and vanilla bean paste
add flour and buttermilk alternately until combined.

fill about 3/4 full and bake for about 20 minutes.

recipe slightly adapted from Martha Stewart.

my favorite chocolate cupcakes!

In my opinion... nothing beats simple chocolate cupcakes with creamy vanilla frosting! This recipe comes from the back of the Hershey's cocoa container. I've tried it with different brands of cocoa powder but in the end I still prefer the Hershey's. You can't go wrong with these cupcakes! 

chocolate cupcakes
makes 24

1 3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
2 cups sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup veg oil
2 tsp vanilla extract

preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 muffin trays with paper liners.

combine the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl; add the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla extract and mix on medium speed until combined and smooth about 2 minutes. Slowly add the boiling water and mix on low until thoroughly combined.

bake 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.

simple yellow cupcakes

I finally picked up a copy of Baking Illustrated at Crate and Barrel last week. The first recipe I wanted to try was the yellow cupcakes with chocolate frosting. I've been searching for a long time for that perfect classic yellow cake. I was really hoping my search would end with this recipe. Honestly, my youngest daughter LOVED it, my son loved the chocolate frosting only and my oldest daughter liked it but wished it wasn't so crumbly and I thought the crumb was a little too course. I suspect the all purpose flour had something to do with it! The flavor was great though.. I love the richness that the sour cream adds to the cake. I will make these again but next time I might try sifting the flour a couple times first or try it with cake flour.

simple yellow cupcakes

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1 egg plus 2 egg yolks
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, beat to combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. 

Add the butter, egg, egg yolks, vanilla, and sour cream. Beat the wet and dry ingredients together at medium speed until the batter is smooth and satiny, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. 

Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter and bake for about 20 minutes or until pale gold and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. 

recipe from: Baking Illustrated

happy fall!

hay rides, pumpkin & apple picking and cranberries are just a few of the things I love about Fall! not to mention all the yummy treats you can bake with apples and pumpkin! to start off the season my daughter and I made these adorable fondant pumpkins sitting on top of a light pumpkin scented buttercream frosting. we added just a tiny touch of pumpkin spice to the frosting.. didn't want to scare the kids away from the vanilla cupcakes.   

birthday cake!

I had so much fun making this cake for my nephew's 4th birthday party.  Vanilla and chocolate cake decorated with his current favorite movie Planes character Dusty!

my birthday cupcakes!

My kids are always so eager to help me in the kitchen.. so when my birthday comes around they start planning on what to bake me several weeks in advance! my absolute favorite is chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream! pure and simple.. that's me! how cute are these adorable baking cups? I'm hooked and have ordered every pattern and color! check them out at paper eskimo.

banana split cupcakes!

I've always wanted to try these!! so glad I finally did. banana cupcakes filled with strawberry puree and topped with vanilla frosting and a dollop of chocolate ganache! oh and don't forget the maraschino cherry and sprinkles! I can't wait to make these again!

recipe inspired by: here

last day of school mini funfetti cupcakes!

so here we are the end of the school year once again.. it sure goes by fast! all 3 of my kids had pool parties to go to so I baked up 3 dozen of these mini funfetti cupcakes for each of them to bring to share with their buddies. I was so happy to see how well received these were by all the kids. topped with a sweet buttercream frosting, these are certainly hard to resist and look how cute they are!

mini funfetti cupcakes
makes about 36 mini cupcakes

1 1/2 cups plus 2 tbsp cake flour
1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
4 tbsp butter
2 tbsp veg oil
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
3 egg whites
1 1/4 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup sprinkles

preheat oven to 350 degress

whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a med bowl and set aside
cream together sugar and butter until light and fluffly, 3-5 min
slowly add the egg whites and beat until smooth
add the veg oil and vanilla and mix on low until incorporated
add the flour mixture in 3 additions alternating with the milk in 2 additions just until combined.
fold in the sprinkles

bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center of cupcake comes out clean.

s'more chocolate chip cookies

my 2 favorite treats combined into one! graham crackers and mini marshmallows are mixed into my best chocolate chip cookie recipe. we made these for the kids to bring in to their teachers today. my goodness... they were soooo good!

2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 c butter

1/4 c sugar

3/4 c light brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 c crushed graham crackers

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 c mini marshmallows

1 cup mini chocolate chips

preheat oven to 350 degrees.

combine all dry ingredients in a bowl, set aside.
beat together butter and sugar.
add eggs and vanilla beat until well combined.
add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat until well incorporated and a dough starts to come together.
stir in the marshmallows and chocolate chips.
drop by rounded tablespoons onto cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes.

father's day chocolate chip cookie cake

Just in time for Father's Day!  Who doesn't love chocolate chip cookies?! I know they are my husbands favorite!! I had to test out my new oven so I baked some jumbo chocolate chip cookies and decided to stack them into a little cake. Layered it with vanilla frosting and topped it with a little mound of chocolate chips. The best part is you can make as many layers as you want. This was the perfect size for us!

jumbo chocolate chip cookies
makes 12 jumbo cookies

ingredients:

2 cups plus 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cups unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tablespoon vanilla
1 cup milk chocolate chunks or chocolate chips

directions:

Heat oven to 375°F. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside. Combine butter, sugar and brown sugar in a large bowl. Beat at medium speed until creamy. Add egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Beat, gradually adding flour mixture, until well mixed. Stir in chocolate chunks. Drop dough by 1/4 cupfuls, 2 inches apart, onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10 to 14 minutes or until light golden brown.

easy chocolate buttercream frosting

It's hard to imagine this is only my 3rd time making chocolate buttercream! The last time I made it, I used butter and cream cheese as my base for the frosting. This time I made it with all butter and I must say it was the best tasting chocolate buttercream ever! My kids and my husband loved it, and trust me they are a hard bunch to please!!

easy chocolate buttercream frosting

makes enough to frost 12 cupcakes

2 3/4 cups confectioners sugar

6 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

6 tbsp unsalted butter

5 tbsp whole milk

1 tsp vanilla

pinch of salt

sift together the confectioners sugar, cocoa and salt

beat butter until smooth, gradually add in the sugar mixture

add vanilla & milk and beat on high speed for 2-3 minutes

patriotic ice cream cone cupcakes!

Seriously? How cute are these!? When I saw these cute ceramic ice cream cones in the store, I had to have them and of course I had to bake something with them immediately! I was afraid to bake inside the cup, so I just baked some chocolate cupcakes and put them into the cones. A sweet treat to share this Fourth of July!

lemon cream cake

A special cake for a special man.. My Dad! For his birthday this year he requested a simple vanilla lemon cake. That's just what I did! I used my favorite vanilla cake recipe and added some fresh lemon zest and a tiny bit of lemon extract. Filled it with a lemon-y cream cheese mousse filling. It was a HUGE hit with my Dad and everyone else who ate it! I'm sure I'll be making it again next year for his birthday!

oreo cookie fudge filled birthday cake!

When my daughter asked me to bake her an Oreo cookie cake for her birthday.. I was over the moon with excitement! I used mega stuffed oreos and chopped them up into quarters and added them to my favorite yellow cake recipe. They baked up perfectly in the cake! (I strongly recommend using double stuffed Oreos or even better MEGA stuffed Oreos!) I baked 3- 6 inch cakes and used milk chocolate ganache as a filling. Covered it with pink cream cheese frosting. It was by far the best mini cake I've ever baked and it was a huge hit with my kids and family!

chicks and bunnies!

adorable baby chicks and cute pink bunnies sit on top of creamy vanilla frosting on a light and fluffy yellow cake!

i love sprinkles!

tender white cake baked with colorful sprinkles and topped with vanilla buttercream and more sprinkles!

so fun & bursting with color!

happy pi day!

It's Pi Day! I've been wanting to bake a chocolate cream pie for the longest time! When my daughter came home from school and told me she was going to have a pi day celebration during math class.... I immediately started searching for chocolate cream pie recipes. Well, to make a long story short.. after a failed attempt at my first chocolate cream pie, we decided on making little boston cream pi(e) bites!

These were so fun to make! Use your favorite yellow cake recipe, whip up some pasty cream, make the ganache for the topping and garnish with a swirl of vanilla bean frosting (taste just like vanilla ice cream). I made these in mini muffin tins, perfect for my daughters math class celebration!

celebrate st. patrick's day!

vanilla cake with fluffy vanilla buttercream topped with a fondant shamrock!

red velvet cupcakes

always a favorite! red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting