Gingerbread Cupcakes

Gingerbread cupcake with a Spiced Gingerbread Buttercream

Adorned with edible pearls

Cookie Dough Truffles

Anytime I make chocolate chip cookies I can't help but eating some of the raw cookie dough. However, I know you're not suppose to since it has raw eggs in it. This is a great way to still get that cookie dough taste without worrying about any raw and uncooked products. No eggs even included. And no cooking! They have mini chocolate chips inside and are covered in semi-sweet chocolate and drizzled with milk chocolate. It's a triple chocolate trifecta. Yum! 

Cookie Dough Truffles www.jamiecooksitup.blogspot.com Yield: 48 truffles Time: about 40 min hands on time + 2 hours to freeze before dipping 1/2 C butter, softened 3/4 C brown sugar, packed 2 1/4 C flour 1 -14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk 1 t vanilla 1/2 C mini chocolate chips 2 -12 oz bags semi sweet chocolate chips 1/4 C milk chocolate chips 1 T shortening, divided 1. Cream your butter and brown sugar together until light and fluffy. 2. Add the flour, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla and mix well. 3. Stir in the mini chocolate chips. 4. Shape into 1 inch balls and place on a sprayed cookie sheet. Cover with saran wrap and freeze for 1-2 hours. You want them to be firm here folks. It makes the dipping a lot easier. 5. In a liquid measuring cup (I used the cup that will hold 16 oz, or 2 cups) melt your semi sweet chocolate in the microwave. Only heat it for 30 seconds at a time, stirring after each heating interval. Add about 2 t of shortening to the chocolate and stir to incorporate. 6. Dip each frozen cookie dough ball into the chocolate and then place on wax paper. 7. Melt the milk chocolate in the microwave and add 1 t shortening. Stir it well and then drizzle it over the tops of the truffles. 7. Put the truffles back in the fridge to set for about 15 minutes. Enjoy! Comments _displayNameOrEmail_ - _time_ - Remove _text_

X-mas Sweaters Take 2

Another order of Ugly Christmas Sweater Cupcakes.

Sweaters & Hot Cocoa Cupcakes

Ugly Christmas Sweater Party's have become all the rage the last few years. I think the last three or so years we've been invited to one. This past Saturday our friends Sean and Annette had their first Ugly Sweater party, so in keeping with the theme I decided to make cupcakes that fit the occasion. I tried Googling them for other people's ideas but only came up with one!!  So I can actually say these are a "My Buns Are Done Original"!!

I was told that some of them aren't even ugly, they're cute and they would actually wear them. So let's just call them Christmas Sweater Cupcakes :)  I do love how they turned out thouugh!!

I wanted to made these Ugly Christmas Sweater Cupcakes with a festive cupcake, I choose a hot chocolate cupcake with mint buttercream frosting. I found this recipe, although it calls for peppermint bark to add as the garnish so I included it for you in case you don't want to make your own marshmallow fondant Christmas Sweaters.

Hot Chocolate Cupcakes with Peppermint Buttercream
(makes 24 cupcakes)

For the cake:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 eggs
1 packet Hot Chocolate mixed with 1 cup warm milk
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin pans with cupcake liners.
2. In bowl of stand mixer combine dry ingredients: flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients: eggs, hot chocolate/milk mixture, vegetable oil and vanilla.
4. Beat on medium speed until well combined, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
5. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full with batter.
6. Bake for 16 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
7. Let cupcakes cool in pans for 5 minutes, then remove to wire racks to finish cooling.
8. Once cupcakes are completely cool frost with Peppermint Buttercream and garnish with Peppermint Bark.

For the icing:
3 sticks unsalted butter, softened
6 cups confectioner’s sugar
1/4 – 1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp peppermint extract

1. In bowl of stand mixer beat butter until creamy.
2. Gradually add in confectioner’s sugar one cup at a time, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary.
3. Add milk until you reach desired consistency.
4. Add peppermint extract and mix well.
5. Place icing in piping bag fitted with a large round tip and frost cupcakes.
6. Garnish cupcakes with Peppermint Bark and white nonpareils (optional).

Peppermint Bark:
12 oz Chocolate Bark
12 oz Vanilla Bark
20 mini candy canes, crushed
1/2 tsp peppermint extract

1. Line a baking sheet with wax paper.
2. Melt chocolate bark in microwave safe bowl for 1 minute. Continue to microwave at 15 second intervals until melted. Pour melted chocolate onto prepared baking sheet and spread evenly with a spatula. Let chocolate harden for about 30 minutes.
3. Melt vanilla bark in microwave safe bowl for 1 minute. Continue to microwave at 15 second intervals until melted.
4. Add peppermint extract to melted vanilla and stir. Pour melted vanilla overtop of hardened chocolate and spread evenly with a spatula.
5. Sprinkle crushed candy canes ontop of candy bark.
6. Allow bark to harden for about 30 minutes before breaking into pieces. Garnish cupcakes.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas To All!

Wishing Everyone a Very Merry Christmas, Safe Travels During This Holiday Season and Many Sweet Treats!

From My Family To Yours

Sugar Cookies

Christmas is never complete until the sugar cookies have been made. Nothing says Christmas like cut-out Christmas cookies! This is one tradition I love and will always remember doing every year with my mom. The week before Christmas my mom would make the dough and keep in the refrigerator, I would always sneak a taste of the dough. Then we would spend an afternoon cutting out the dough with Christmas cookies cutters and decorating them with an assortment of sprinkles, colored sugars and frosting's. So much fun!!

The recipes I used for the sugar cookies is one of the best tasting sugar cookies I've had. They bake up nice and even and in no time. The cookies came out soft, sweet and chewy. The glaze didn't turn out exactly how I would have liked, it was a little thin and of course I ran out of powdered sugar so I couldn't make it any thicker (I would recommend added a bit more powdered sugar to the glaze), but it still was really good and went well with the sugar cookies. And of course all my good photos for these cookies got erased as well.

Best Rolled Sugar Cookies

Source: allrecipes.com

• 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
• 2 cups white sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt

Directions:

1. In a large bowl cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, mix in vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder and salt. Cover and chill for at least one hour or overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll out dough on floured surface, 1/2 to 1/4 inch thick. Cut into shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungrease cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 6-8 minutes. Cool completely and frost with favorite icing.

Sugar Cookie Glaze

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 Tbsp light corn syrup
• 2 Tbsp water
• food coloring
  

Stir powdered sugar, corn syrup and water together. Stir in desired food coloring. This glaze must be stirred each time you use it, if it is not stirred before each use it will begin to dry with a mottles look instead of a solid color.

*This glaze will dry to a hard shiny finish. Dries quickly.