I have no excuse. I'm just lazy.

It's been weeks since I've blogged. I promise I've kept up with the baking of cupcakes...but I'm certainly behind on my blogging. However, now that I've caught up I would like to present a few examples of things I might have been doing instead of blogging these past three weeks.


Mom and I went to Conway, Arkansas to visit one of our foreign exchange girls. In Little Rock, we went to Orange Leaf FroYo... I am obsessed. I had four kinds of froyou with amaaazing toppings. My favorites were gummi bears and fruity pebbles!


The boy had his birthday and I made his rainbow cake which he asked for. It was wonky at first, but once we cut into it, we loved it. Beautiful and delicious.


Playing with this sweet guy. I miss Duke when I'm in Cape, so I like to play with him lots when I'm at home.


Going vintage shopping. A lot. I have many new dresses and these lovely pink glasses!


I dyed my hair pink!! I'm in love with it. Totally depressed I only get to have it for two weeks! Who says I can't audition with pink hair?


Made these dough-knots...yuuuuuummm. I tried to make them again in Cape, but didn't watch them and ended up burning them. Wa waaaaa. Oh well, they're easy enough to make again.


Introduced the boy to bison jerky from Nature Girls health food store. Now, before I was a vegetarian, I used to walk to this little cafe from my Dad's store and get bison jerky. Like, every day. I miss it, sorta. It smelled and looked exactly the same- but worry not, I did not taste it again.

Week 31. Self-frosting Nutella Cupcakes

I've had my eye on a few nutella cupcake recipes lately...so I thought while I was home I would utilize my parent's resources (let them buy the ingredients... thanks, Mom!) This recipe looked easy and yummy, so I went for it. Nutella is yummsters.



Self-frosting Nutella Cupcakes

10 tbsp butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
3 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cups sifted all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup Nutella

Preheat the oven to 325°. Lined muffin pans with muffin/cupcake paper liners.
Using a mixer, cream butter and sugar together.

Do this until light and creamy. About 2 minutes or so.

Add one egg at a time.

Beat the mixture after each egg.

Add vanilla, then the flour, baking powder and salt. Continue to mix everything together until well incorporated.

The mixture would be sort of lumpy like it would be hard to pour. Don’t worry, that’s how it should be. As long as it’s not hard as rocks of course.

Use an ice cream scooper to fill up the cups with the batter. About 3/4 full.

Top each batter with 1/2 tsp of nutella.

Use a toothpick or a satay skewer to swirl the nutella in with the batter.

Make sure a little bit of the batter comes on top. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

Serve cool or a slightly warm.

**Hannah's Hints**

* It is fun to lick the nutella off of whatever you use to scoop it.

* If I made these again, I'd made sure the nutella gets swirled in through the whole cupcake, mostly because I looooved the tops of the cupcakes. But the bottoms didn't thrill me. SO...be a better swirler than me and you will get great satisfaction from your nutella cupcakes.

* Eat the rest of the nutella...I repeat, DO NOT WASTE GOOD NUTELLA. Eat it on toast. Eat it with fruit. Eat it with vegetables. Eat it with a fox. Eat it in a box. Seriously...don't let it just sit there. Nutella must be eaten.

Week 30. Best Ever Vegan Cupcakes aka Crazy Cake

This week, I wanted to make a cupcake that my cousins Adam and Joe could enjoy. It had been a long time since I've seen them...and I wanted them to think I was cool. Joe is allergic to everything, so I know he is denied a lot of yummy treats. And SO vegan cupcakes with carob chips made in a no nut factory! (See pictures below if you want to see the most adorable, most smartest little boys EVER!)



Vegan Cupcakes aka Crazy Cake
Recipe from Barbara Johnson

1 ½ cup flour
3 TB cocoa
½ tsp salt
¾ cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
4 TB oil
1 tsp vanilla
2 TB vinegar
1 cup water

Combine dry ingredients. Pour wet ingredients over and beat well. Sprinkle on chocolate chips or mix them into the batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes in a greased and floured 8 x 8 pan, or in 12 lined cupcake tins.

**Hannah's Hints**

* First of all, I know "most smartest" is not correct grammar. I was quoting Drop Dead Gorgeous which is a hilarious movie. See it if you have not. You will thank me. As I thanked Chris White who introduced it to me.

* In AP US History my junior year of high school, my teacher constantly made fun of me for being a vegetarian. Like, every day. So the last week of school, I brought these cupcakes for the class. After they tasted it, I revealed that it was vegan and he immediately apologized for making fun of me!

* I did one batch of these with chocolate/carob chips on top, and another with them mixed in. I would suggest mixed in because then you get yummy chips in each bite!

* These are so ridiculously easy...please, try to bake these. If you're like, "I can't bake, cupcakes are hard! All of these recipes are too involved!" MAKE THESE...you take the dry stuff and mix it with the wet stuff. Amazingly un-involved.

* When we served the first cupcakes, I forgot to take a picture. So, I suggested a posed picture. Naturally, Joe took this as an invitation for another cupcake. Adam is older and declined because he was full. But Joe was too excited about these cupcakes I made just for him. Who can blame him?

Week 29. "Rise and Shine" Orange Glazed Strawberry Cupcakes

I wanted something healthy this week...and to use up all the yummy fruit I bought, as well as the orange juice I had! These looked super great. And guess what? Pretty healthy too!



Orange Glazed Strawberry Cupcakes

Ingredients
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg plus 1 large egg white
8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) orange juice
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh strawberries
1 cup confectioners' sugar

Preparation
Make cupcakes: Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. In a bowl, stir together flour, baking powder and salt.

Cream butter and sugar with a mixer on high speed until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and egg white until well combined. With mixer on low, beat in half of flour mixture. Beat in 6 Tbsp. orange juice, then add remaining flour mixture and beat until combined, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Gently fold in chopped strawberries.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each until almost full. Bake until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 20 to 22 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack for at least 5 minutes.

Make glaze: In a small bowl, stir together confectioners' sugar and remaining 2 Tbsp. orange juice until smooth. If glaze is too thick, stir in additional juice, making sure to add only 1 tsp. at a time, until you reach desired consistency. Glaze should be loose enough to spread easily on cupcakes, but not so thin that it drips.

Remove cupcakes from pan and top evenly with glaze. Let cool completely on rack, about 1 hour. Garnish each cupcake with a strawberry half, if desired.

**Hannah's Hints**

* My first attempt at a glaze was a large failure...as you can tell from the picture, it didn't work. At all. It just was really soupy and got everywhere. Rude.

* Maybe next time I would put the orange juice and confectioners sugar in alternately so that I could figure out a better texture for the glaze.

* These had a more dense texture than most cupcakes, but they were still good. Not terribly sweet, which I like...and which was made up by the incredibly sweety-sweet glaze since I was desperately attempting to make it thicker by adding large amounts of confectioners sugar. Ha.

* Refigerate definitely because there are strawberries. And they are actually better just a little chilled, though you'll need them to thaw a bit or else they'll be really dense.

* Yummy for a healthy muffin-like snack...but not the best cupcake you'll ever make.

Week 28. "Delicously Classic" Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

Snickerdoodles are some of my mom's favorite cookies...she taught me to love them when I once thought I was a "just chocolate" girl. And these cupcakes sounded delightful...how can you lose with a classic favorite?



Snickerdoodle Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing

3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cups cake flour (not self-rising), sifted
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablesppon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp.
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs, room temp.
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cups milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Sift together both flours, baking powder, salt, and 1/2 tablesppon cinnamon. Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping sides of bowl if needed. Beat in vanilla.
Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of milk, and beating until combined after each. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each about 3/4 full.
Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until done, about 20 mins. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing. Cupcakes can be stored up to 2 days at room temp, or frozen up to 2 months in airtight containers.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
3-4 cups powdered sugar (I used about 2 1/2 cups)

In a medium bowl, combine butter and cream cheese. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Add the cinnamon, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar (1 cup at a time). Beat until smooth and creamy.
Frost the cupcakes, then use a mixture of 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 2 tablespoons sugar to dust the top.

**Hannah's Hints**

* These are probably my very favorite cupcakes I've ever made. They taste like snickerdoodle cookies, except in cupcake form. Just delicious and moist and wondiferous!

* These cupcakes are best eaten the day they are frosted, keep at room temp until ready to serve.

* The icing is what really makes it the best, so be generous with it! I'll definitely be using it again! (As I stated above, I only used 2 1/2 cups of powdered sugar because I don't like so much sugary sweetness...but it's still sweet enough!)

* These are so ridiculously easy that I think everyone should make them! Go...do it!

Superfun Bonus Update

Here's what I've been up to lately!

Chamomile Cookie log!


Chamomile cookies...light and sweet, good for tea time! Although I felt like a drug dealer cutting open chamomile teabags haha!


Cinnamon Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies!!


No Bake Cookies! My very favorite cookies ever because they're delicous and soooo easy! And with the help of my new favorite scooper (which I stole from my parent's house) everything is so much easier now!


LET ME KNOW IF ANYONE WOULD LIKE ME TO POST THESE RECIPES!

I've been spending the summer dying my hair! This was step 2 in the process of becoming blonde, and the next picture is step 3!


My heart was broken...when my heart measuring cup snapped in three!! Boooo...


The wonderful boy and I have been together for 5 months, so he got me these gorgeous flowers. Oh, how I smile :-D


I love using my old vanilla bottles for itty bitty flowers... tres vintage!


Yeah, it's been a pretty fun summer!

Week 27. "Because they're in season" Peach Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Frosting

I keep hearing about everyone getting their fresh peaches and I wanted in on the action! I just love fruit when it's in season and I think fruit in dessert is the smartest thing ever!



Peach Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Frosting

For the cake:

1 1/2 cups cake flour

3/4 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

pinch of nutmeg

6 tbsn. unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 + 1/8 cup sugar

1/4 + 1/8 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

3/4 cups buttermilk, sour cream or full-fat yogurt

2 medium peaches, peeled, cored, and chopped small-sh



For the frosting:

3/4 cups light brown sugar

1/8 cup cornstarch

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 8 oz. packages of cream cheese, room temperature

1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 tsp. vanilla



Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a cupcake pan with liners and set aside. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg, set aside. Cream the butter and sugar together, beating until fluffy. Add the eggs, scraping down the sides and bottom after added. Then add the vanilla, and gently mix in the buttermilk/ sour cream/ yogurt. Stir in the dry ingredients and fold in the peach chunks. Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tin, about 2/3 full. Bake for 18 - 22 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in the tin then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.

To make the frosting, in a small bowl whisk together the brown sugar, cornstarch and powdered sugar. In a large bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese until fluffy. Add the sugar-cornstarch mixture and vanilla, beat until frosting is smooth and light. Chill the bowl in the refrigerator until it thickens up a bit, about 30 minutes, then spread or dollop onto the cooled cupcakes.

**Hannah's Hints**

* These are pretty darn good, the chunks of peaches make a good surprise!

* Speaking of surprises...you should store these in the fridge...because you will get an unpleasant surprise if you let them sit out a couple days...ew...

* I accidentally forgot to put the vanilla in the frosting, but it was still delicious! So, don't worry about it...but let me know if it's like way amazing if it has the vanilla in it.

* Also, I used buttermilk when the option is given...it calls for exactly one of those little mini cartons. Yay for convenience!