Holiday Delight

Since school is out for a while, I finally have enough time to get back to doing what I enjoy the most: BAKING! And naturally I wanted to kick things off by using an ingredient that I had only read about but never used...sweet potato! Who knew that a yam would actually taste good when baked as a cupcake? I didn't, but my grandma thought otherwise. Truly, she is the only reason why I decided to try making these. Thanks grandma!

Additionally, this recipe comes from Better Homes and Gardens. Talk about the big leagues. For me, this is the first time that I've ever tried a recipe from them, but considering their lengthy run as a magazine, I made the safe assumption that the recipe would work out ok.

Chocolate-Filled Sweet Potato Cupcakes

Prep Time: 25 min. Bake Time: 19 min.

Makes about 24

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

3 large eggs

1 lb. sweet potatoes, peeled, roasted, and mashed

1/4 cup milk

1 tsp. vanilla

24 milk or dark chocolate kisses -I used dark chocolate

Frosting: I didn't make this so don't expect any comments or anecdotes about it!

8 oz. milk chocolate, chopped

4 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped

 1 cup minus (???) 2 Tbsp, unsalted butter, softened

1.2 cup powdered sugar

 

 While the oven is preheating at 350 F, peel, wash, roast, and mash the sweet potatoes. True, this can be done up to 3 days in advance, so says the magazine, I just did it about ten to fifteen minutes before prepping the other ingredients. It really wasn't that hard. Also. check out my peeling! Not bad for someone who has never peeled a potato before huh?

To be honest, I didn't roast them, my mom and I boiled them (at least that's what I think we did ??) I'll get confirmation from her. Mash them up when they are soft enough and put aside.

While the sweet potatoes were cooking in the pot, combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. After that, break out the electric mixer. For me, this was big moment. I have been waiting forever to use my mom's Kitchen Aid thing. Seriously, this thing is underused at home. Just looking at it, you'd never guess that we've had it for at least five years now. Oh well, it means more fun for me!

In a large bowl, beat butter on medium for 30 seconds (or whenever it looks good). Add granulated sugar; beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. On low, beat in eggs one at time, stopping to scrape down the edges of the bowl between additions.

Add the mashed sweet potato, milk, and vanilla. Beat on low until combined. Add four mixture to sugar-egg mixture; beat on low, just until combined.

I just want to take a moment to show off one of my holiday presents that my sister got me.
 Isn't it cute! She tried to keep it a secret from me, but when I pressured her for a hint, she said it was something that I didn't have but definitely could use. At first, I thought she meant that she had bought me another pair of jeans (I can always use more jeans) but considering the many pairs of jeans I already had, that was probably not what it was. Also, I went online to see just what the store where she bought it sold. When I saw the prices, I become a bit concerned, some of the merchandize was really expensive. Then, the next morning, I woke up with the idea that it was an apron. Why not? Considering all the baking that I do, you could say that needed one, and I didn't own one. Dana was quite mad that figured it out. I for one think that it's a great present and really love it. I look forward to all the baking I will do while wearing it!

Filled your prepared muffin cups about 2/3 full batter. While the recipe said the recipe would make 24 cupcakes, I ran out of the normal sized baking cups and had to use jumbo sized ones. This threw off some things, I ended up with only 22 cupcakes. Bake them for 5 minutes.

After 5 minutes, remove from the oven and gently press one kiss into the center of each cupcake -tips pointing up. Return to the oven and bake for 14 minutes or until they pass the toothpick test and the tops spring back when touched. Coll in pan for 10 minutes, remove and let coll completely on wire rack. Just a bit about the chocolate kisses. The recipe places special emphasis on the fact that they should be unwrapped. You wanna know my initial response when I read that? Duh! Why would anyone put an wrapped piece of chocolate into a baked good? Are there people out there that would actually do that unless told otherwise? Apparently there are enough out there that it warranted a warning from BH&G

Ta-daa!  Not only did they look good, but they tasted delicious as well. My family has repeatably told me that these were best cupcakes that I have ever made :) Give the recipe a try; its really easy! Personally, I don't think they needed the frosting since that would have made them way too rich for my liking.


But if you're curious about the frosting...

1. In medium saucepan over low heat, bring an inch of water to simmering. Place chopped milk and semisweet chocolate in medium bowl and place over saucepan. With rubber spatula stir until the chocolate is melted. Remove from heat and coll for 15 minutes. With an electric mixture on low, beat chocolate for 30 seconds. Beat in butter 1 to 2 table spoons at a time. Add sugar, beat until smooth. Spread over tops.

Total Overhaul

I think I have made it a tradition to post something than disappear into the background for a few weeks. Well, lets be honest here: being a college student with many responsibilities and what-not makes blogging a pretty hard hobby to stick too. Don't get me wrong, I want to stick with it. Its just difficult to do so. :(

Now, I  have come a long way since I began my blog this past summer. I can not honestly say that I can bake nearly anything without having to worry about setting something on fire; I have been told numerous times by co-workers at my job to not tell my boyfriend I bake until after we're married, which I think is a compliment. And lastly, I have really grown to appreciate all the wonderful cooks and bakers out here on the internet. To have the time to sit down and type, let alone the time in the kitchen is something that I seriously understated. I wish I could be like the bloggers that I follow, to be able to spend time once, or even multiple times per week to share my thoughts and my baking adventures. I however must confess to my inability to do so. Though I'm sure the people who have been where I have been understand, being a college student is pretty time consuming. And yet, I am still determined to stick with my blog!

This brings me to the meaning behind the title; total overhaul. Indeed, I am putting into affect a change (once again) to the format of my blog. I still bake at school, in fact, I just mastered the art of making a gingerbread cake! I also want to talk about the food at my school, and my experiences using the cookbooks that I have purchased ('cause there has been many). Fortunately, I am on break right now so I can bake and cook to my heart's delight. In fact, I just made latkas on Tuesday night for the first time. And coming up soon, sweet patato cupcakes with chocolate filling -yum! So for the few out there who still read my blog, be prepared for some changes. There will still be cupcakes; but there is also going to be other things. I have decided that I really want to learn to cook so I am taking the time that I have to do so. In fact, I just purchased myself a copy of America's Test Kitchen's cookbook (the red one), and cannot wait for it to arrive. I have ready fantastic reviews about it and can truly say that its a great beginner cookbook for those just starting out. Many reviewers cite it as an awesome reference book.

Well, I think this is enough for now. Let it all sink in. Stay tuned for more!

Until next time,
Jill

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope everyone had a good one; I know I did. For me, Thanksgiving is one of the few days that I can eat stuffing. A staple at any Thanksgiving feast, stuffing is something that I do not get to eat often so when I do, I go all out.

Now, I need to acknowledge the fact that sometimes, my blog posts are not posted as frequent as they once were. Well, I have a lot to do now that I am in the final weeks of my first semester. With papers, projects, and exams, it's actually a lot harder than I thought it would be to post once a week. True, I should have done it earlier than today (I will post the real post later this evening) but I had a lot of stuff to do. I will say that I have become a really big fan of that vegan cupcake book that I have been using recently and have decided that I will probably be using the recipes from that book for a while. What can I say, they always come out soo good. Speaking of which, stay tuned for my post tonight; I'll be talking about my adventures baking orange cupcakes with orange pudding filling  (oh yea, fancy) and topped with chocolate ganache.

Until later,
Jill

Red Velvet recipe

 Crimson Velveteen Cupcakes with Vegan Butter-cream Frosting
Recipe by Isa Chandra Moskowtiz and Terry Hope Romero

• 1 c (237 ml) soy milk
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 1/4 c (156 g) flour
• 1 c (198 g) sugar
• 2 Tbls cocoa
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 c (78 ml) canola oil
• 2 Tbls red food coloring (liquid)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp almond extract

Heat oven to 350F (175C) and line a cupcake tin.
In a medium-sized bowl, combine the soy milk and vinegar and set aside to curdle (this is to imitate buttermilk. It is an important step because the vinegar gives the baking soda something with which it can react!)
In another bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
Add the oil, food coloring and extracts to the curdled soy milk and whisk well to combine. Sift the dry ingredients into the wet and fold to combine, mixing just until large lumps disappear.
Pour into liners and bake 18-20 minutes.

• 1/2 cup nonhydrogenated shortening
• 1/2 cup nonhydrogenated margarine
• 3 1/2 cups of confectioner's sugar, shifted
• 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup plain soy milk

Beat the shortening and margarine together until well combined and fluffy. Add the sugar and beat for about 3 more minutes. Add the vanilla and soy milk, beat for another 5 to 7 minutes until fluffy.

A Velvety Surprise

I really need to stop making it a habit of falling behind in my blog posts. But then again, being a junior in college certainly complicates things. But before I get going on today's post, here are a few updates.

1. I had to write five papers for one class. Something that nearly cost me my sanity
2. I baked last week however the cupcakes didn't turn out that great. I really don't want to count them as a recipe since I think I can do far better. As of now, the count stands at 882, counting the ones from a few weeks ago, and the ones I made yesterday
3.  I am going back home this weekend to see a Goo-Goo Dolls concert with my older sister. This is something that I have been looking forward to for a while
4. Thanksgiving is coming up soon which means I can stuff myself silly with stuffing. The best dish ever created! My mother has asked me to come up with some recipes for thanksgiving to try. I am sure that you can guess how excited I am about this
5. I am taking part in NANOWRIMO National Novel Writing Month. Which means yes,. I have started typing a new story. Its in its early stages and I'll be really impressed to see if I actually finish this one. Cross your fingers for me

And yea, that's basically what's been going on these past few weeks. I should mention now that my favorite pastry recipe is red velvet. Naturally, when I decided at the beginning of this week to try my hand at making vegan red velvet cupcakes I instantly got excited. I will say now that I am one of those people that believe that red velvet cupcakes/cakes should be made with beets rather than red chemical dye. Sadly, the recipe called for the use of dye and I really didn't trust my ability to try modifying the recipe to use beet juice. On the positive end of things, these cupcakes came out tasting amazing. Without, if I may note, the taste of red chemicals. The book I used, in case you're wondering, was Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. I have used this book before and totally love it. I have also used their cookie book and that too, is awesome! Speical thanks to Therese for modeling the book for me. Way to work it girl!

I doubt that I have ever mentioned this before, but, I really hate sifters. I think they are silly, since the stuff kinda falls through the mesh bottom before actually getting combined. On top of that, how am I supposed to hold the sifter, turn it, while pouring the dry ingredients? I am sure that there is a method to it. Have I found it yet? No. Instead, I have come up with my own solution to my sifter woes. I call it the colander method. Basically, have your mixing bowl, than put the colander inside. Next, place your sifter in the colander. This way, what doesn't get sifted in the sifter can still be sifted in the colander. Pour the ingredients in and sift away! No mess or hassle; just a perfectly sifted mixture!

Returning to what I said before about the red food dye, I will admit now that I have never actually used food coloring before. I guess my expectations where raised rather high. I'm not sure exactly what I thought it was going to be like but I never thought that the stuff would smell so... chemcially. The smell alone made me not want to use it, thinking that the cupcakes would smell like that too. Thankfully, they didn't. Instead, they came out looking and smelling delicious!

Soooooooo Pretty!

And red velvet would not be complete without frosting! Now I know that red velvet cupcakes should be made with cooked frosting or cream cheese. However, I lacked the time and ingredients to make either. So, I took the unconventional route and tried making them with vegan butter cream. I will say now that shortening tastes awful but this frosting tastes amazing! I swear that I feel in love after the first taste. If that's not enough of a reason to try them, the fact that they are easy to make should be more than enough of a reason!

Ok, so this would be the part where I post the recipe, but since  I am without the book at the moment, I will add it later. For this coming week, I'm thinking of something fruity. How does that sound?

Until next time,

Jill

Hello!

Just wanted everyone to know that there is a post coming, however, I have five papers due on Tuesday for my sociolgy class and need to focus my time on that. Will post soon though!

Until then,
Jill

I'm Back!

Yes it's true, I am officially back in action! *insert fireworks and marching band*

After two hard weeks, I finally am beginning to feel like my old self again. Probably the fact that I am baking again also has a hand in that. I will say that since taking a break,  I have realized just how much I love my blog, baking, and in general, being around delicious baked goods. Not baking these past two weeks felt almost unnatural to me; my cupcake adventure has slowly made a home for itself within my life. I also want to say thank you to every one who supported me these two weeks. I'm not that I would be back to my zippy old self if it weren't for all of you. You know who you are, please pat yourselves on the back.


So now down to business. As I sit here in my dorm room, my suite mates are all grumbling about the predicted snow storm that may hit Worcester tomorrow night. I love snow, so I'm jumping up and down at the idea that it might snow. I mean, come on, how often does it snow in October? Had I known about the snow, I would have baked something this week with a winter theme in mind. Instead, I decided to bake a tribute to fall using that old fall favorite, pumpkin. And what better way to make pumpkin cupcakes then by taking a recipe from a classic, "Vegan Cupcake Take Over the World" by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. Not only is this a suite favorite, we actually have TWO copies of the book sitting side by side on our cookbook shelf. Yes, we have a cookbook shelf; deal with it. In addition to the delicious recipes that can be found in this cookbook, I had the perfect can of pumpkin to use with it.

Starting last fall, my mom handed my a recipe for pumpkin pie that used organic pumpkin rather than the alternative. The results were beyond amazing. So when I decided to make pumpkin cupcakes, I didn't even have to think about the can of pumpkin I would use. Did I mention that there was chocolate chips involved with this recipe? Well, there are! Ironically, one would think that I would have a stash of left over chocolate chips lying around somewhere in my room from past baking endeavors. I don't. I kinda eat them all. Fortunately for me, there is a wonderful brand of products called Value Time that sells all sorts of things at reduced prices. Two bags of chocolate flavored chips= $2.00. What a bargain!

Originally I was going to try and make apple pumpkin cupcakes since I had gone apple picking for the first time this past Sunday. Well, I didn't want to waste any of the apples in case I screwed up so I decided to leave the apples out of it. I did, however, make an improved cookie recipe. Sure, they ended up tasting like muffin tops (how did I manage that?) but they were sooo good. Going back to cupcakes, I was fortunate enough to have been given an adorable packet of fall themed cupcake liners. I think they are the cutest thing ever! They also came with cute little flags with owls and cats on them. I didn't use them this time around, but will definitely next time.


 The recipe itself was really simple, which means that I still found a way to mess it up. Instead of only using 8 ounces of the pumpkin, I poured in all 15 ounces! Talk about a mistake. I tried to correct the mistake, but in the end, I just poured it all back into the bowl. What did I have to lose? At least I didn't pour too much cinnamon in. Now that would have been bad. I do not have a photo of it, but I also made cinnamon icing. Yea, I had to remelt the margarine in my Pyrex measuring cup after everything was combined, but I don't think it messed anything up.


Don't they look scrumptious! Ok, never using that word again. But you can't deny that they look good. This was a really easy recipe and in fact, this is the third recipe that I have baked from this cookbook. In past I have made their chocolate and vanilla cupcakes. I also discovered that tofu chocolate mousse is perhaps the best thing ever! Just ignore that there is tofu in it and you'll think that this was the real deal!

I'm getting ready for a Halloween dance at the moment so I'll post more later. But here's a fun little photo from apple picking that I think fits really well with todays post.


Until next time,

Jill

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes from "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World" by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero

Ingredients

1 cup canned pumpkin

1/3 cup oil

1 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup soy milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line the muffin pan with cupcake liners

2. In a medium bowl, stir together pumpkin, oil, sugar, soy milk, and vanilla. Stir flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Stir together with a for -don't use a hand-held mixer, as it will make the batter gummy. Once well combined, fold in the chocolate chips

3. Fill liners two-thirds full. Bake for 22-24 minutes, Transfer ti a wire rack and let fully cool before icing

Cinnamon Icing

1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons margarine, melted

1 tablespoon soy milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Place sugar and cinnamon a small bowl. Add the margarine, soy milk, and vanilla and stir with a fork until smooth. Keep at room temperature until ready to use. The mixture should look opaque and honey brown. It it's glistening a lot or looks too liquid, add a little extra confectioners' sugar.

Its Been a While

Sorry for not having posted in while, however, I have been having a pretty stressful time. One week ago, my grandmother on my mother's side health took a turn for the worse. 

 

Yesterday, she passed away. Though I could not be there when she passed, I was able to spend time with my sister in which we reminisced about our grandma and all the good memories that we had of her. I will truly miss her and would like to dedicate this post to her. While initally I was in shock, a friend of mine went for a long walk yesterday and ended up in a cemetery. While this might seem like a strange place to go on such a sad day, it was actually calming for me to be there. I felt at peace with my grandmother's passing and was reminded that life goes on but people will always remember their loved ones.

This is quite a blow for me, and at the this time I am seeking comfort from friends here at school, and family members. Originally, when I started this post a few days ago, I was going to talk about a cake I had baked and the vegan cupcakes I made two weeks ago. This means that my recipe count is actually 483. Right now, I am taking another break from baking but I will return to it next week.

I will post again later this week with photos that I took while I was with my sister; some of the photos, I think, are quite beautiful.

Until then,
Jill 

Another Important Post

These past few months with my blog have been a blast. I have come so far from when I started and everyone who knows me, can tell that I am at my happiest when I am typing a new post. However, reality can be a little demon and at this time, I have to face it.

Oh, wait.

Are all thinking what I think you're thinking? That I am announcing the end of my blog? Wouldn't that be a silly thing to do! Of course I'm not shutting down my blog; I still have so much more to do, so many different recipes to try, and yes, I still have to set off the smoke alarm. However, there is a matter at hand that I definitely need to discuss. If you haven't already guessed it, what I am referring to is $$$; those little green pieces of paper/fabric that hold so much significance in today's society. As I have mentioned countless times before, I am a college student who has to manage my baking along with academics, clubs, and my attempts to not go insane. But lets face it, how am I supposed to continuing baking if each trip to the supermarket includes at $50+ bill? Its not viable and to be honest, its starting to affect my bank account. With that said, lets face another truth: I will not be able to bake 500 different recipes over the course of 500 days. If I want to keep my dreams of spending my spring break hiking in Utah and studying abroad for the summer, I need to take a step back and asses what I need to do. But here is the good news: I am not one to readily throw in the towel. I will continue baking and blogging, that is certainly not going to change. I will still bake one recipe, maybe two a week, but those days of four recipes in one go are over. My poor bank account cannot withstand something like that again. Considering all the support I have at school and at home, I think it would be silly of me to just walk away. True, I wasn't very competitive when I ran cross country in high school, but now I am determined to not admit defeat. Besides, clearly yesterday when I asked my mom what the difference was between slicing and dicing is enough of a justification to prove that I still have a lot to learn. 

With that said, I have decided to ask you, my dear readers, what recipes you would like to see me take on next. With the exception of vegan mint chocolate cupcakes (I am saving that one for a very special occasion), I am pretty much up to trying anything. However, please keep in mind the costs of the ingredients. Other then that, I look forward to seeing that you all suggest; even if only one person actually posts a suggestion :P

Sorry I don't have pictures for this post, but I have been pretty busy.

Until next time,

Jill

A Sticky Day and Weekend in the Freezing Whites

"The time has come," the Walrus said, "to talk of many things: of sticky caramel sweets and tarty green apple dreams." 

What do you guys think? Do I possibly have a career as a poet awaiting me somewhere down the road? Anyway, let me say now that is good go be back. This might sound strange, but last week I just felt so empty without having to write a blog post. Originally I was going to write something, most likely about a hiking trip that I had taken with the Outing Club. Sadly :( I was all caught up getting ready for another Outing Club adventure, this time, to the White Mountains. More on that later. Despite the emptiness that I felt inside, I won't deny that it felt good to not have to worry about doing any intense baking last week. I can assure you that my wallet felt relived as well. However, without having to worry about baking any cupcakes I had plenty of time to contemplate my next baking endeavor, Caramel Apple Cupcakes. I want to give a special thanks to everyone who took my little survey seriously and took part in it. One specific co-worker of mine has been waiting two weeks for this recipe. Well, tonight he finally got them and from the feedback that I have gotten, these little beauties were worth the wait.

So what exactly about this recipe was I most excited for? Why the apples of course! I love apples, especially green apple. Basically, any recipe that includes apples is fine by me. Additionally, I really wanted to try another cupcake recipe that incorporated fruit so this one came at the right time. Another big plus to this recipe was that I got to test out my newest kitchen toy, my food processor! Sure, she's a bit load, but she sliced and diced those apples like a dream. What better way to commemorate my food processor's maiden voyage than by testing out its grating capabilities. Another fun fact about this recipe was that I got to try my hand at toasting pecans. Which, by the way, cost me nearly $9.00! Even the store clerk at Big Y felt bad for me; he kept going on about the things food stores -including the one he works for- get away with these days.

As for my roasting skills, well, lets just say if you need a person to roast chestnuts for the winter holidays I am not the person to ask. I guess you could say that I forgot to pull the pecans out at the correct time, hence their darkish, blackish color. Some might call it burned, however, I think the darkness of the pecans adds a nice rustic undertone to the flavor. And once they were sprinkled on top of the caramel frosting/drizzle, you really couldn't tell that they were slightly over-cooked.

What else can I say about this recipe? Hmmm. Well, some might call it cheating however, for this recipe I ended up using cake miz. Please, before you break out the torches and pitchforks hear me out. When I found this recipe, I just decided to take it on face value, not really doing the smart thing, aka, researching to see what other recipes were out there. Today, however, my delayed mental light blub finally went on and I briefly did a google search. Well, as it turns out, making spice cake mix isn't so hard; just your standard batter ingredients with a few extra surprises. Now, technically I should have just made the batter the old fashion way, but  I had already bough the darn cake mix and I intended to use it! And, in my own opinion, the cupcakes came out really good.

 

Yea, they were a bit moist, but that was to be expected with all the apples that I had put into them. For the final touch, I needed to melt the caramels I purchases in a thing of boiling milk. After unwrapping all fifty individually wrapped caramels, I realized that I had left my measuring spoons up stairs. Can you guess what I did then? If you guessed just assess what you think 3 tablespoons look like then you are correct! Unless you have a pretty good eye for these sort of things I don't suggest trying this anytime soon. Despite this minor blunder, one my roommates had the brilliant idea of adding corn starch to the mixture. Well, that definitely did the trick and just like that, I was back on track. Once the caramel had cooled down enough (putting it in the freezer was a great idea ;))I carefully poured it on top of the cupcakes, sprinkled them with the pecans and stepped back. Personally, I think they looked pretty frick'n good, like something you would see at a school bake sale. 

On a totally different note, I went to the White Mountains last weekend. How was it? Cold. Cold and wet. Cold, wet, and slippery. Tag on really pretty and that basically covers the trip. When we got there it was raining, when we woke up it was slightly raining. When we got to the base of Mount. Madison it wasn't raining but little did we know :P

At first, everything was going great. Yea it was a bit foggy but that just made the whole adventure even more cool. As for the temperature, it wasn't that bad at all. considering how much we were moving around, at one point I was down to just one layer. You can't see it that well, but the riv er running under the bridge had the potential of being a really great white water rafting course (if only the water was deeper). In actuality, things didn't start taking a turn for the worse until after we began a descent. Let me say now, I can run a seven minute mile, but that's if the terrain is flat. It took us nearly two and half hours to hike two miles. Trust me, the runner in me was crying loudly. However, when the tail looks like that -----> you can see why it might have taken us so long.Of course, our joy of finally getting past the tree line was incredibly short lived since that was when Mr. Rain Cloud decided to turn on the pressure. Factor in the fact that we were about 2000 feet above sea level  you can understand what I mean when I say that our hiking party was screwed.

The photo above was taken moments after we broke through the tree line

This was taken right before everything went sour. You can tell because I am still wearing just a lightweight windbreaker and a soaking wet bandanna. Perhaps thirty minutes later we would be shivering at 3000 feet in wind, rain and, yes, hail. By that point I was way too cold to take any good photos of the peaks. Yes I peaks because before you reach the top of Mount. Madison, you have to cross twelve mini peaks first. I think our party got past three or four before turning tail and making a run for it. Getting to the top would have been cool , but not worth getting hypothermia over. Though to be honest, by the time we reached the final mile of the trail, I was so cold and wet that I think I suffered from a very slight case of hypothermia. I was soo cold, just like every body else. When we finally reached the bottom of the mountain, everyone agreed that we couldn't stand another minute of New Hampshire and raced back to camp. Literally tossing everything into the van, Therese, our driver, hit the gas pedal and sped out of there. Even with the heater roaring on high, the cold refused to leave my bones; my hair remained wet for hours! And do you want to hear the worst part? So the whole drive back to Worcester, all five hours, we were stuck in rain. We reach the outskirts of Worcester and suddenly, no more rain. It was like the storm decided to just turn around and go back to New Hampshire.

In the long run, I will go back someday to the White Mountains to complete the hike. But for now, my body had developed a natural aversion to rain. As for my cupcakes tomorrow I am going to attempt to make vegan chocolate cupcakes with vegan chocolate mousse. I know my sweet tooth can't wait for that. And in case you haven't been keeping track: 15 done, 485 to go.

Until next time,

Jill

Carmel Apple Cupcakes, recipe taken from Tasteofhome.com

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Caramel-Apple-Cupcakes?ZSHINEL2

Ingredients

• 1 package (18-1/4 ounces) spice cake mix or 1 package (18 ounces) carrot cake mix
• 2 cups chopped peeled tart apples
• 20 caramels
• 3 tablespoons 2% milk
• 1 cup finely chopped pecans, toasted
• 12 Popsicle sticks

Directions

• Prepare cake batter according to package directions; fold in apples.
• Fill 12 greased or paper-lined jumbo muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.
• In a small saucepan, cook the caramels and milk over low heat until smooth. Spread over cupcakes. Sprinkle with pecans. Insert a wooden stick into the center of each cupcake. Yield: 1 dozen.

*I used normal sized cupcake pans instead and the recipe made about 22-23 cupcakes. My only advice is to buy at least 45 caramels (depending on how big they are).

A Brief Message

Hey everyone

I just wanted to let everyone know that I will be back in the swing of baking next week. As an additional bonus, I'll be doing two recipes next week. Talk about coming back with a bang!


So until then,

Jill

Ps. Keep voting people! Its really great to see that people actually participated in this one this time around.

"Just Keep Beating Them!"

Before I start anything, I want to call attention the left side of the page. Do you see it? That little survey chilling out in the corner? Well, if you do, good for you! If not, shame on you :P. Well, now that you know about it, why not do me a favor and fill it out for me? It will only take a second, that is, unless you cannot read. If that's the case, well....this awkward. But here, let me help direct your attention.
<-------------------------------------------------------
Now no one can complain that they couldn't find it. 

The theme of yesterday's baking was s'mores and I must say, that this was the most challenging recipe to date. This one recipe, one 
recipe that produced 24 cupcakes, took me three plus hours to make. Yes you read that right; three plus hours. I burned through three different CDs on my laptop trying to bake these delectable morsels. In addition to that bombshell, check out how many ingredients were needed to pull of this recipe.

Yea, that's a lot of stuff (and there was more stuff on the table). Not only did I have to make the batter, but this recipe called for a graham cracker bottom and a homemade marshmallow frosting (oh I have a such a rant prepared for this). The graham cracker bottom was the easy part, just toss some graham crackers into a Ziploc bag and crush them into crumbs. While most people would have just used the blunt end of an object or just used their hands, I decided that it would be more efficient (and fun) to smash them with my shoes. So, I performed a bit of River Dance on top of the cookie filled Ziploc bag until it was crushed to perfection. Then I just tossed in some butter and mixed it together and ta-da! Graham cracker bottom!  Once I had lined the bottom of the cupcake pans, I added some semi-sweet dark chocolate chips and popped the pans into the oven for five minutes and let them melt. This actually made everything really convenient for me. Usually I wait to turn the oven on when I am almost ready to throw the pans into bake. However, the oven's at school take forever to heat up, probably because they are electric.

Unfortunately, the graham cracker bit was easy pickings compared to what came next. Oh dear, I wonder where I should start? I think I will start with the batter. In case you haven't read any of my previous posts, I have had issues with the moistness of my cupcake batter. So of course when I saw that I was going to add a cup of boiling water I was certain that this would be the answer to my dry batter problems. Naturally, this observation turned into a nightmare when, after adding the water, the batter turned into a giant chocolate puddle; no joke. Just the idea of pouring the batter into the cupcake pan filled me with dread.

Sadly I stopped taking pictures believing that this was going to turn out to be my first ever baking disaster. Ok. Second. 

Of course, pouring the better did indeed produce a mess, covering the pans with chocolate goop. Looking back on it now, I can say that this is when I made my first mistake. I should have headed the advice of the blogger who posted this recipe and listened when she said fill them up 3/4s full. You can guess that I didn't. Irony came and bit me in the butt with full force when I eagerly peered into the oven to see how the cupcakes were coming along. The things had expanded so much, that I could hardly see any of the metal on the pans; everything was coated in chocolate cupcake batter. To make matters worse, they looked far from done. The required time passed and I did the toothpick test and obviously they came out covered in chocolate batter. Add another three minutes. Still not done. Two more additional minutes and I was getting nervous. They looked unfinished, but I could tell they were beginning to burn. With no choice left, I took them out and let them cool. At the time I thought that that was going to be the worse part. Boy was I wrong.


Have you ever tried to make your own marshmallow frosting? Well, here's a fun fact that I didn't know until after the fact: Egg whites will stiffen eventually if you just keep beating them. However, and this is a big however, if you get so much as a little bit of yolk in the egg whites, noting is going to happen. Nada, zip. Nothing. As I have previously stated, I didn't know this while I was actually trying to make it. Reflecting on it now, I think that perhaps that the egg white/yolk thing wasn't the only thing that led to my oncoming down fall. I needed to heat the egg whites with sugar and cream of tartar in a double boiler until it reached 160 degrees F. Sadly, I don't have a thermometer to check that. Now can you see where things might have started to go wrong?


Well, after mixing it for a good forty-five minutes, I called a co-worker who is almost like a baking confidant of mine, and asked her for her opinion. Insert lesson about egg whites here.

Thinking that I was on the verge of utter defeat, I put a bit of the marshmallow glaze on a few cupcakes and called down Therese to give them a try. She said they were good; though the glazed ones were a bit sweet for her. So here, for your viewing pleasure, my little cupcakes. Yea, that homemade look that they're rocking is optional. If you prefer conventional looking cupcakes, try not to make the same mistakes that I did.


Considering the length of this post, I will post the recipe late today. However, I just want to announce that I am taking a break next week. I will blog about something so don't forget to check in. And here, in case you weren't counting: 14 done, 486 to go.


Until next time,
Jill

Good News!

As of Wednesday, I passed the 10 recipe checkpoint! Not only is this a reason to celebrate, but it is a solid sign of my determination to complete this challenge! I'll admit, I really never thought I'd get this far; I expected the daunting task of buying ingredients nearly every week would scare me off. But I'm still here so lets all cross our fingers and hope that I don't come to my senses any time soon. I can already say that there will be a bunch of disappointed people here at school if I were to abandon my cupcake endeavor. Never mind that my roommates won't have any free sweets to snack on anymore, but all of my co-workers would be extremely upset if didn't continue with my Wednesday cupcake drop-off. And besides,I really enjoy all this baking stuff ;)

I'll admit now that I haven't always been a big fan of caramel. Probably influenced by my 7 years of wearing braces, but caramel has always been that one candy that I could do without. I never found it all that tasty, and usually had to spend half an hour trying to pick the stuff out between my braces. Melted caramel, all warm and gooey, is something that I have only recently discovered to be one of those hidden little delicacies out there. While the recipe called for 'soft' caramel, I could not find any at the local grocery store that fit the bill. So, I decided that the ones pictured above would become soft once I added some heat to the these little beauties. 

And while I'm going on about things that I have never had a fondness for, lets take a moment to talk about coffee. Believe it or not, I am one of the few college students out there who dislikes coffee. Coffee ice cream, no problem, but serious hard-core coffee, I think I'll pass. Perhaps one of the reasons why I have thoroughly enjoyed all the baking I have done is because I get to try new ingredients that I would not normally think of using. Coffee granules, more specifically, espresso granules are seriously underrated. And what a flavor they added! While the cupcakes themselves only have brown sugar in them to act as a sweetener, the coffee granules really provided a nice earthy-undertone. However, coffee granules were not the only interesting ingredient that I used. This time around, I experiments with candied ginger! Though I have never tried ginger before, it combined well with the caramel. I slightly wish now that I had taken a photo of it, but oh well :P

I did on the other hand take a photo of the cupcake liners that I used. I thought the dark brownish red color would go well with the lighter brown color of the cupcakes. Naturally my decision proved to be a good one and the overall presentation of the cupcakes looked awesome!

On  a totally different note, I am aware that this post is coming you, my dear readers, a little later then usual. But fear not, for I have a good reason. This past week I have been putting together a trip to a place called Purgatory Chasm in Sutton MA. With my mind focused on making sure that everyone who asked got a place on the bus, I really didn't have the time to sit down and finish this post. So, to make up for my tardiness, I have decided to post some of the pictures that I took yesterday.

 The classic king-of-the-rock photo. The year before the group I was with all took photos standing right on this crack formation. Actually, a lot of the people in the group that I was in this year followed that tradition and copied me. It was really cool. Overall, Purgatory Chasm is one my favorite Outing Club trips, so it was really cool that I got to be one to plan it this semester!

And the here's the group shot! Isn't this cool! I unfortunately am the one taking the photo but who cares, it still looks awesome!

As always, below is the recipe that I used for the cupcakes. So what does that leave me with? Hmmm. 13 recipes down, 487 left to go. Sweet! And technically I baled cupcakes using brownie mix, but I am not really gonna count that; it seems too much like cheating. Anyway, next week is all about chocolate and I really can't wait!

Until next time,

Jill

Little Caramel Cupcakes adapted from 500 Cupcakes by Fergal Connolly.

1/2 cup (1 stick) sweet butter, softened

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 lightly beaten eggs

2 tbsp. instant coffee granules (I used instant espresso)

1 tbsp. boiling water

2 2/3 cups self-rising flour

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup soft caramels

Preheat the oven to 350. Place 12 paper baking cups in muffin pan.

In a medium bowl, beat the butter and sugar until pale and creamy. Add the eggs slowly. In a small bow, dissolve the coffee in the water. Beat the coffee into the butter mixture. Add the flour and milk, and beat until well combined.

Spoon the mixture into the cups. Push a couple of the caramels into the center of each cupcakes and place them in the oven.

Bake for 20 minutes or whenever they pass the toothpick test. Cool for 5 and then, enjoy!

*Prepare basic recipe, mixing in 4 tablespoons semisweet chocolate chips into the batter after the milk has been added

*Prepare the basic recipe, mixing 3 tablespoons chopped candied ginger into the batter after the milk has been added

*Prepare the basic recipe, substituting 6 1/2 mini Baby Ruth bars for the caramel.

Its coming

Just wait a few a more hours and I promise, my newest post will be up. I have had a very long weekend and have not really had any time to sit down and focus on finishing it up. But I promise, today it will be completed!

C is for Cookie and that is Definetly fine by me!

For those who were anxiously waiting for those photos of my pineapple upside down cupcakes, here are just a few a pictures I took throughout the whole baking process.

If you recall correctly, I mentioned yesterday just how vivid the color of the pineapple and the contrasting cherry color were compared to the gray mini-cupcake pan. As you can clearly see, I was completely spot on about the color. At the same time, the smell of the pineapple combined with butter and brown sugar was absolutely delicious. Not surprising that the taste didn't fail to deliver either :P

As for the final product, look how cute they are! Though I usually turn my nose up at mini cupcakes (come one, there is no way that something that tiny could satisfy one person's sweet tooth) I couldn't deny how tempting they appeared. Of course things got even better when I flipped them over. Now I am not going to lie, this was the part of the recipe that I thought would fail; that the topping would either have burned or the cupcake itself would fall apart if I tried to remove them from the pan. Yet somehow, perfection!


Overall I think I'm going to write this off as another baking success.

But anyway, I'd like to walk away from cupcakes for a few minutes and turn everyone's focus to cookies. Yes cookies, those crumbly little things that always seem to have a place at any kind of function. Why cookies? Well, originally I was supposed to go with a few others on a trek to the Mount Washington. Jumping the gun as I tend to do, I promised my group leader, and friend, Therese, that I would bake cookies. Of course, the next day I realized that I couldn't walk away from my academic responsibilities for another weekend. And yet, I made a promise and I needed to follow through it.

Cue the epic searching music!
I journey to the mythical place that is the internet and sought out a recipe that sounded delicious, interesting, and most importantly, didn't call for a lot of ingredients that I didn't already own. At first I was going to try something a bit more complicated, chocolate hazelnut cookies, but decided that perhaps I should save the wow factor for another time. So I selected something called Monster Cookies! Ever hear of them? Well, I had never heard of them either so don't fret about it.

A combination of oats, chunky peanut butter, peanut M&M, regular M&M, and chocolate chips, these cookies really live up to their name. It didn't help that I accidentally scooped out too much cookie dough for each cookie, meaning that when they reached the oven, the expanded into large sizes, ultimately forming into one giant, misshapen cookie. In total, I made three cookie sheets worth of cookies, twenty-five and all. Of course, the last five cookies came out perfectly shaped. What a surprise.

Does anyone want to hear a fun fact? This was my first time baking cookies by myself! And from the general consensus of everyone who's tasted them, they are the definition of delicious. Ironically,  I thought that I had messed them up when I went to pull them from the oven. Rather then being a solid form, they were mushy, having the consistency of oatmeal. They were brown like the recipe said they'd be, but I had reservations about pulling them from the heat. So, I put them back in for another three minutes. After I pulled them out and let them cool, I cautiously cut them up, half expecting to see that I had burned the bottoms. I hadn't! I had totally just baked the my first solo batch of cookies and they had come out perfectly! Talk about a shock to my system.

Considering my cookie success, I plan on baking some more at another point in time. But for now, let's get back to why we are all here: Cupcakes! As for my next baking endeavor, I am gonna try and bake four different recipes all based off caramel cupcakes with a caramel center. Sound good? Well, I hope so 'cause that's what's I'm baking.

Until next time,
Jill

Monster Cookies

Yield: 26 large cookies

Prep Time: 45 minutes | Bake Time: 10-12 minutes per baking sheet

3 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon corn syrup*
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup (4 ounces, or 1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1½ cups chunky peanut butter
4½ cups rolled oats
½ cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup chocolate chips
¾ cup Reese’s Pieces
¾ cup M&M’s

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. (If you don’t  have three baking sheets, just be sure to cool the ones coming out of the oven before placing more cookie dough on them. If I’m short on sheets I will run them under cold water to cool them down.)
2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the eggs, both sugars, vanilla extract, corn syrup, baking soda and salt. Then stir in the melted butter and peanut butter, followed by the oats and flour. Lastly, stir in the chocolate chips, Reese’s pieces and M&M’s. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
3. Drop the dough by ¼ cupfuls onto baking sheets (if weighing, each ball of dough was approximately 2.7 oz or 77g). Use your fingers to flatten the dough slightly. Baking for 10-12 minutes, or until the cookies are a light golden brown. Cool on a rack and then store in an airtight container at room temperature.


*I accidentally bought corn starch so I just used 1 teaspoon of molasses
*I put them in the fridge to cool over-night so they wouldn't be too gooey. It worked out fine for me, but it's not necessary

Pineapple Sunshine Fun!

Before I begin today's post, I just want to give everyone a warning: There are no photos of the actual baking processes included in today's post. They will be included in my post tomorrow. Yes, I know, how totally unprofessional of me. However, I left my camera behind at my dorm and cannot go back and get. Alas, my librarian might be extremely lax in responsibility, however, even I cannot abandon my post to fetch my camera. On the plus side, I do have some photos on hand to post instead; see, problem solved. So lets get on with this thing!

Though it might be hard to believe, last week, the weather was totally perfect; warm, sunny, low to no wind. Just the absolute definition of perfection. At the same time, last Friday, Saturday, and Sunday was my beloved Outing Club's kick-off series. We started Friday afternoon by bringing a rock wall to Clark's annual activities fair.

While many eager students awaited a chance to climb the wall, I ventured down the fair itself. The place was crazy with activity and student life. All the clubs were out, having a nonsensical blast as tunes that summoned nostalgia floated through the air. Somewhere out there exists a video of me and few other Clarkies dancing to the Cotton Eye Joe. Besides this is my friend Rachel posing with her fellow mustachioed friend. (Here's a hint, she's the one with the black stash).

 And here I am; posing besides the Outing Club's photo display. Doesn't it look awesome!

For part two of Outing Club's crazy weekend, my friend Therese performed an Outing Club first; she took me and bunch of other eager clubbers to the beach! And oh what a perfect day it was! We arrived just at the peak of low tide and over the next few hours, we all watched the tide come in.

It was a great day, especially for me who only went to beach one other time this past summer. The only draw back was that I received a brutal sun burn. Yea, I'll admit now that I can be a bit cocky when it comes to sunscreen. Usually I don't I wear any. Clearly, one can see how that life choice might come back to haunt to me. Lets just say that nearly a week later, I am now sporting a nice tan on my back and torso.

To bring the weekend to a close, the Outing Club took off on our first official hike of the year to Worcester's Boynton/Cascades. Though the cascades weren't cascading, the trip itself was awesome! It felt great to be surrounded in nature once again.

 A great feature of the Boynton/Cascades hike is that its an easy enough hike for even the most beginners of hikers, but at the same, an throw a few surprising curve balls. At the start of the trail, there is this sharp incline that follows alongside where the cascades should be. Interestingly enough, just a week before hand, the waterfall was gushing water. However, just there wasn't a cascade, didn't mean there wasn't any water.

 

Now I am sure you are wondering, just what do all of these pictures have in common with pineapple cupcakes? Well, last Wednesday, I stopped by the school's library just to see if there was chance there was any cookbooks hidden among the shelves. Naturally, the answer was no :( However, one librarian took an interest in my search and offered me her massive collection of cookbooks to search through whenever I need them. It was this kind librarian who produced the perfect recipe; Pineapple Upside-Down Cupcakes. And of course, the day I decided I bake these sweet little treats just so happened to be the day that the rain clouds decided to move in over Worcester. With cold rain pelting the city and washing away the remaining remnants of summer, it was nice to see the brightness of the pineapple and maraschino cherries that were included in the recipe.

In addition to being my first fruit based recipe, I decided to go ahead and break out my newly purchased mini muffin pan. At first I was concerned that the topping and batter would be too much for the small little pan, yet I somehow managed to avoid having an spillovers. Bright and full of deliciousness, these little treats brightened up the otherwise cold and rainy day. Talk about absolute perfection!

Special thanks to Debbie for finding this little gem for me!

Pineapple Upside-Down Cupcakes, by Norma Jean and 

Carol

 Topping:

4 tablespoons butter

7 tablespoons dark brown suar

1/2 crushed pineapple

6 maraschino cherries cut into slices

Cake Batter

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg, separated

1 cup, sifted cake flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup pineapple juice

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Melt butter in a saucepan and add brown sugar, Cook over low flames until well blended, then stir in crushed pineapple, reserving juices. Pour about a teaspoon of this topping into the bottom of each greased miniature muffin cup and add a sliver of a red cherry. To prepare batter: Cream the butter, add the sugar, and bear until fluffy. Beat the egg yolk and add. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together; add alternatively with the pineapple juice. Add vanilla. Beat the egg white until stiff and fold into batter. Pour this batter over the topping and bake in a preheated 350 oven for 25 minutes, cool, then turn cupcakes carefully onto a cake plate. the pineapple side up.

Yeilds: 2 dozen miniature or 1 dozen regular cupcakes

So this makes 9 recipes, which means, 491 recipes to go! Oh yea, pushing the ten recipe landmark! Whoever thought I'd get this far?

As for what I plan on baking next time, stay tuned for tomorrows post, its gonna be a fun one!

So until next time,

Jill