"Hint of Cream Cheese" Frosting

Yum, new favorite. As my 5 year old said today, "this isn't good mom... it's Super Good!"

"Hint of Cream Cheese" Frosting

Ingredients:
4 oz cream cheese
1/2 c (one stick) butter, room temperature (softened)
2 c powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
Cream together cream cheese and butter. Add vanilla. Slowly add powdered sugar.

Store in the refrigerator in airtight container, best within 3-5 days, Freeze up to a month.

I have left frosted cupcakes out on the counter all day and still ate them with no ill side effects!

Ices approximately 12 cupcakes or muffins when piped high, or 24 with a knife.

Georgetown Cupcake's Red Velvet Cupcakes

Anyone besides me love DC Cupcake?  I love to watch it when I catch it on TV, my husband thinks I'm insane and just walks away :) We made the Georgetown Red Velvet cupcakes, and they were fabulous! Texture and moisture was spot on. I would have liked a little more "chocolate" flavor, so next time I intend to add extra cocoa powder!

Georgetown Cupcake Red Velvet Cupcakes
Source: food folks and fun, adapted for 12 cupcakes - fabulous consistency, moistness, but next time I will try buttermilk and/or more cocoa

Ingredients:

1 5/8 C all-purpose flour
1/2 t salt
6 T unsalted butter, at room temperature (preferably European style)
7/8 C sugar
1 large eggs, at room temperature
2 T red food coloring (no-taste liquid food color, such as McCormick)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (Nielsen-Massey pure Madagascar Bourbon recommended)
1 1/4T cocoa powder, sifted
3/4 C whole milk, at room temperature
3/4 t baking soda
3/4 t apple cider vinegar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a standard cupcake pan with baking liners.

Sift together the flour and salt, set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a bowl with a handheld electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together at medium speed for about 3 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing slowly after each addition.

Using a whisk, whisk together the red food coloring, vanilla, and cocoa powder. Slowly add this to the mixer bowl, mixing slowly until well incorporated.

Add one third of the flour, followed by one third of the milk and mix until combined. Repeat. Stop to scrape down the bowl as needed. Add the last third of the flour, followed by the last third of the milk and mix until incorporated.

In a small bowl, add the baking soda to the apple cider vinegar. You’ll see the baking soda and vinegar fizz up. Mix thoroughly and add this reaction to the batter. Mix until just incorporated.

Scoop the batter into the prepared cupcake pan, about 2/3 full. Bake for 16-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

Serves: 12

Nutrition: 186 calories, without frosting

For the Vanilla Cream-Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:
4 T unsalted butter, at room temperature (preferably European style)
4 C (or 1 pounds) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1/4 t pure vanilla extract (Nielsen-Massey pure Madagascar Bourbon recommended) 
6ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

Place the butter and cream cheese in a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and cream for about 2 minutes on medium speed.

Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and beat until well combined. Be sure to beat on high speed at the very end for about 2 minutes to ensure that the frosting is light and fluffy.

others to try: http://glorioustreats.blogspot.com/2012/02/red-velvet-cupcakes-with-roses-recipe.html

http://baking911.com/cakes/red-velvet/red-velvet-layer-cake-traditional-cream-cheese-frosting

Marshmallow Butter Cream Frosting

This was delicious. Maybe one of the best frostings I've had. It was sweet, but not too sweet. So smooth! The one downside would be that it doesn't keep it's shape very well, so not great for Swirling!

that was my swirling attempt :)  Beautiful, but slowly fell!

It worked better just frosted the old fashioned way with a knife

Marshmallow Buttercream Frosting
Source: adapted from Hoosier Homemade

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

3-4 cups powdered sugar

1 cup marshmallow fluff

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 Tbsp Milk to thin if needed

Directions:

Beat butter until smooth. Gradually add powdered sugar. Add marshmallow fluff and vanilla. Add milk if the frosting is too thick

Serves: will frost 24 cupcakes

Nutrition: 140 calories per serving (when serving 24)

Caramel Cake Cupcakes

For my mom's birthday last week I wanted to try a new fabulous cupcake, and this was the one I found. It tasted just as divine as I imagined :)

BUT, do not make this when you are in a rush for time...the caramel icing takes time and patience!!

Caramel Cake Cupcakes

Source: The Cupcake Project

Ingredients:

1/2 C unsalted butter, room temperature

1 C flour

1 C sugar

2 eggs

1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk (The Cupcake Project states you can substitute 2% milk instead of sweetened condensed milk.  The cupcakes will just be a lot denser. I felt they were plenty dense as is)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

caramel icing (see below)

Directions:

Cream Butter and sugar, beat in eggs. Add flour and sweetened condensed milk, alternating between the two. Add the vanilla.

Fill the cupcake liner 3/4 full

Bake at 350F for 20-24 minutes, or until cupcakes bounce back when touched lightly. They will be slightly browned on top.

Serves: 10-12 cupcakes

Nutrition: 209 - unfrosted
 315 with caramel icing.

Caramel Icing
Source: adapted from The Cupcake Project

Ingredients:

2 C sugar

1/2 C unsalted butter

3/4 C evaporated milk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
In a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat, mix butter, evaporated milk and two cups of sugar. Heat and stir until sugar dissolves. Do not allow to come to a boil. Once sugar dissolves, reduce heat to low.

Stir regularly until the liquid reaches the soft ball stage. It's easiest to check for the soft ball stage with a candy thermometer (the caramel should be about 235 F).

If you don't have a candy thermometer, you can test by dropping a small amount of caramel into water to see if it forms a soft ball.

It may take up to thirty minutes to reach the soft ball stage.  Do NOT turn up the heat because the caramel can easily burn.

Mix in Vanilla. Let Cool - but keep an eye on it.

This is the 2nd spot where I swayed from the original recipe. After it cools about 30 minutes, stire for 10 minutes to get it nice and thick like an icing, so that it is creamy and ready to spread

Serves: 24cupcakes

Nutrition: 109 (for 24 servings)

Brownies

Have you been in search of that brownie that just melts in your mouth? These are them. Delicious. I'd rather have a vanilla cupcake, but my middle child had a half birthday (pretty big deal when you're a preschooler!) and her favorite is brownies. She requested brownies to take to school (with a summer birthday they celebrate half  birthdays instead...) And so I found this recipe, fabulous. Melts in your mouth perfection. After eating one of these you will never buy a box mix again (except for those lazy days, ha!)

Best Basic Brownie
Source: Tasty Kitchen

Ingredients:

1 cup Butter

2 cups White Sugar

4 whole Eggs

2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

⅔ cups Cocoa Powder

1 cup Flour

½ teaspoons Salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×13 pan.

Melt butter. Add ingredients in the order listed, mix just until mixed.

Bake for 25-30 minutes. Do not overbake.

Serves: 24

Nutrition: 168 calories, unfrosted
233 calories each when lightly frosted (half batch of my Chocolate Buttercream Frosting)

While they are delicious plain, to add to the chocolatey dreaminess of the basic brownie, add chocolate frosting :) For my daughters class I used a half batch of my Chocolate Buttercream Frosting so that the preschoolers wouldn't be on too big of a sugar high!

You could even dazzle them up with sprinkles :)

Delicious!

Chocolate Buttercream

If you remember my Vanilla Buttercream, this is just a derivitive of that. I am not typically a full on chocolate person, but this frosting I ate by the spoonful :)

Chocolate Buttercream
Ingredients:

1 c butter, room temperature

3 c powdered sugar

1/2 c cocoa powder

2 tsp pure vanilla extract ( or 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste (add more to taste)

2 Tbsp milk (use more if it isn't getting as fluffy as you'd like, adding slowly 1 Tbsp at a time)

Directions:

1. Mix together sugar and butter until they are blended and creamy. Add Cocoa Powder.
2. Add vanilla extract and milk and continue to beat for another minute.
3. If desired, add more milk if the frosting isn't as fluffly as you'd like

Additional Notes:
**If you want a stiffer frosting that will hold its shape a little better when warm, substitue 1/4 c of the butter with 1/4 c of trans fat-free vegetable shortening.

Serves: about 2 cups, will frost 12 cupcakes or a 9x13 pan of brownies.

Freezer: store in the fridge 2-3 weeks or freezer up to 3 months. To use, bring to room temperature and re-whip prior to applying to cake or cupcake

Nutrition: 263 calories per serving (when divided into 12 servings)

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

A staple for any baked good, from here so many other flavors are possible. Simple and delicious!

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:

• 1 c butter, room temperature
• 3-4 c powdered sugar
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract ( or 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste (add more to taste)
• 5 Tbsp milk (if doubling, you can use 1/3 cup milk)

Directions:

1. Mix together sugar and butter until they are blended and creamy. 
2. Add vanilla extract and milk and continue to beat for another minute. 
3. If desired, add more vanilla to taste, or more confectioners' sugar to make it stiffer.

Additional Notes:
**If you want a stiffer frosting that will hold its shape a little better when warm, substitue 1/4 c of the butter with 1/4 c of trans fat-free vegetable shortening.

Serves: Will frost 12 cupcakes

Freezer: store in the fridge 2-3 weeks or freezer up to 3 months. To use, bring to room temperature and re-whip prior to applying to cake or cupcake

Calories: 258 calories per serving

Thick Cut Out Sugar Cookies

These are fabulous, but beware...dough gets thick and it blew the motor in my inexpensive stand mixer! Oh, Well, Merry Christmas to me as I got a new KitchenAid Mixer out of the deal!!

** I am not a professional decorator :)  My kids LOVE to help!

Thick Cut-Out Sugar Cookies
Source: The Peppermint Plum

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
3 tsp vanilla
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
5 1/2 cups flour

Directions:

Cream butter and sugar, add eggs and vanilla. After mixed add sour cream. Mix together salt, baking soda, and flour. Slowly add to Mixture.

On a floured surface roll out cookies to 1/4 to 1/3 inch thick. I had a hard time letting myself roll them thick, so most were right at 1/4 inch! 

Bake at 375 for 7-8 minutes. If they start to brown on the edge, they were baked TOO LONG. Let them sit on the tray a few minutes before carefully transferring them to a baking rack to finish cooling.

Frost with Vanilla Buttercream
2 cups butter, softened
1 bag powdered sugar (approximately 8 cups or 2 pounds)
1/3 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla

Mix well, color if desired, frost cookies.

Serves: 7 dozen cookies (3.5" size cutters)

Calories: 75 calories (without frosting)
If you were to use all of the frosting on the cookies, it would add 64 calories each, I only used about half (I frost lightly), so that makes my frosted cookies: 107 calories

A few of my "designs" this year

Cream Cheese Frosting

There are many recipes out there for Cream Cheese Frosting, but this combination has been my favorite blend!

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:
4 oz cream cheese
4 T butter, room temperature (softened)
1.5 c powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
Cream together cream cheese and butter. Add vanilla. Slowly add powdered sugar.

Store in the refridgerator in airtight container, best within 3-5 days, Freeze up to a month.

I have left frosted cupcakes out on the counter all day and still ate them with no ill side effects!

Ices approximately 12 cupcakes or muffins.

Cream Cheese Cookie Bars

Yum, Yum

I found this recipe at Amanda's Cookin' and it is fabulous!

Cream Cheese Cookie Bars
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, softened (I use fat free)
1 egg
1/2 t almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Beat the butter, cream cheese, sugar, and egg until nice and frothy, about 4 minutes. Add the vanilla and almond extract and beat for 1 minute more.
In a small bowl combine the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat for 2 minutes. Press the dough into a large jelly roll (cookie sheet) pan. (Mine was 10.5x15.5) Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Let the pan cool completely.

Frosting:
1/2 cup butter softened
4 oz cream cheese, softened
3 1/2 - 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3-5 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
food coloring or icing paste

To make the frosting, in a medium sized bowl (or your stand mixer) combine the butter and cream cheese. Beat for 2 minutes. Add the powdered sugar, milk, vanilla and food coloring. Mix for 1-2 minutes or until smooth. Frost your pan of cookies.

Cut the cookies into bars and serve.

Don't forget to lick the frosting bowl clean.

Add sprinkles if desired, like we did for this Valentine's treat.

Enjoy!

** You may want to ignore this part of the post. I did a little math and calculated that if you cut the pan into 54 bars like I did, there are 148 calories per serving, using fat-free cream cheese. Sadly, it is easy to eat 2 or even 3 bars without blinking, oops!

Freezing
I did freeze half my bars (so I'd stop eating them!!) and when I took them out a week later they were still fabulous as if they were freshly baked that day!