Caramel Apple Cupcakes

These have been on my Baking Bucket list and on my mind for a long time. Apparently I'm not the only one! My friend Tera had Caramel Apple cupcakes as one of her flavors at her wedding a year and a half ago, ever since her mother has been thinking about them and wanting them again. So I got a special request for them, along with 3 other flavors for Tera's sister's graduation celebration.  

Caramel Apple and Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

I, of course made extra to test out for my husband and I. Dave gets to be my guinea pig a lot, lucky him! He got to be the first to try the Caramel Apple Cupcakes out. He was such a fan that after his first bite he actually cussed! I won't repeat what he said but it was his way of saying "These are awesome!" ;)

They are made with a fresh apple cake that is so moist and flavorful then topped with a caramel buttercream (made with homemade caramel sauce) and garnished with an apple slice dipped in caramel sauce.

I think these are one of my new favorites!!

Baked Cauliflower Poppers

I recently found this recipe at delightedmomma.com for a great snack or appetizer substitute for chips or french fries. I'm not a huge fan of cauliflower but eat it because it's a vegetable, usually covered in ranch dressing so it might defeat the purpose of it being a healthy snack. However, I never knew cauliflower could be so good with just olive oil and roasted golden brown. The browner the better! I thought it was a great alternative to french fries and delicious dipped in a bit of ketchup.

Baked Cauliflower Poppers

Source: delightedmomma.com

Ingredients

• 2 heads of cauliflower
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash and clean the cauliflower, cut off and discard the stem, then cut the cauliflower up into small pieces.  In a large bowl, combine the olive oil, salt and pepper. Add the cauliflower pieces and thoroughly coat each piece. Place cauliflower pieces onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for one hour and turn 3 times during cooking until each piece has a nice brown coloring. The browner they are the better.