Apple Cider Spiced Maple Cupcakes

Ingredients

For the Cupcakes:
• 1 spice cake mix
• 3 eggs
• 1-2/3 cups apple cider
For the Frosting:
• 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 4 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon maple extract
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 4 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions 

For the Cupcakes:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line a cupcake tin with 24 cupcake wrappers.
3. In a mixing bowl mix together the cake mix, eggs and apple cider.
4. Mix until smooth.
5. Fill cupcake wells two-thirds full and bake 19 to 24 minutes or when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
6. Cool on a wire cooling rack.


 For the Frosting:
7. Cream together the cream cheese and butter until fluffy.
8. Add the syrup, extract, pumpkin spice and sugar.
9. Mix on low for a minute and then on high until creamy.
10. Pipe or spread onto cupcakes.
11. NOTE: If your frosting is too thick you may add water but only a teaspoon at a time. (I didn't have to but it was thick)
12. DOUBLE FROSTING: THIS FROSTING RECIPE IS ONLY FOR 12 CUPCAKES. (I didn't and it was plenty)

I got this recipe from: http://www.ladybehindthecurtain.com/apple-cider-maple-spice-cupcakes/ 

Kirsten

Women's Conference

For those who don't know, for the last two weeks  I have been busily making some sweet treats for the ladies at my church. In July one of our Women Ministry leaders came up to me to ask if I would be interested in such a project, and of course I took her up on the offer. After meeting up again in September to discuss the logistics of what they were looking for and what I could help with, I started planning out what I was going to make and the cost for the ingredients. I told them that I would charge them for my time as a gift to them and the church. So this is the list of what I made (recipes are sure to pop up on Wednesday Recipes):

Homemade Caramel Popcorn

Caramel Apple Puppy Chow

Turtle Pie

Apple and Pear Crisp

Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes with Almond Whipped Frosting (gluten free)

Spiced Apple Cider Cupcakes with Maple Frosting

English Toffee

Pomegranate Mousse 

Scones

Pumpkin Muffins

Tea Cookies

For time management purposes, I baked something every day, then I either freezed it or locked it an air tight container. This was my first job/ big project! It was so exciting and nerve racking, but all in all a great experience. Everyone kept on telling me how great everything tasted. It was such a blessing but also a humbling experience. 

I hope you enjoy all the pictures and I am egger to share my next big project once it comes my way.

Kirsten

Single Serving Apple Crisp

Ingredients:

• 1 small apple
• 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons of oats
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of flour
• 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon of butter
  

Directions:

1. Slice the apples and place in a mixing bowl. 
2. Add 1 tablespoon of brown sugar, 1/2 tablespoon of flour, and 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon.
3. Coat the apples with the dry ingredients and place in a baking dish.
4. Mix together the rest of the dry ingredients and the butter. Put on top of the apples.
5. Microwave for 60 to 90 seconds. (I baked mine for 20 minutes at 350 degrees). 

Took this recipe from http://lacreativitedelafille.blogspot.com/2012/05/single-serving-apple-crisp.html

Kirsten

Friday: A Day of Baking

This Friday I baked three different items. One was with my two year olds at work and the other two were for my church's women Bunco Night. 

This week's letter to teach at school was the letter "M". For two year olds, we are trying to teach them recognizing real world object compared to a picture. One of my favorite children's book is If You Give a Moose a Muffin. I thought what better than to act like moose and make muffin?

During the process of making the mini-muffins we added too much milk! So in the last minute I added some more flour and sugar to help the batter. Luckily, the muffins came out tasting like muffins, and my two year olds ate about 5 of them. 

The second item I made was a prize two special ladies could win in playing Bunco. I made single apple crisp in a jar. The recipe will be showing up on Wednesday Recipes. I made it with locally grown apples and it came out looking cute!

The last creation of Friday was Strawberry Blueberry cupcakes with a gummy bear on top. One of my friends gave me the challenge to use something "gummy" in my next creation, and I stayed true to that. One of my good friends said that the gummy bear just pulled everything together. I did use a box mix for the strawberry cake, even though I have made a strawberry cake with my mom using my grandma's recipe. The frosting, however, I did make from scratch, and it came out looking a purplish pink. I would have liked it to be more purple, but it turned out that the cupcakes matched the decorations perfectly. 

Kirsten