December Cupkins Link Party - Christmas!

It's the first Monday of the month (Happy December!) and it's time for December's edition of Cupkins. 

Happy Holidays to you!

I know that I've been absent for the past month or so - and I promise you two things...

1)  that I explain my absence, and get you updated on everything that's been going on in my life,

and,

2)  that I'll be back on a more consistent basis soon enough!

This month's theme is Christmas of course!  Now - since I've been away from blogging I've also been away (mostly) from baking and crafting.

SO - I'm going to share with you a couple of different Christmas-y, cupcake-y type of things.  Is that okay?  And after you've checked these out, please please please head over to visit Meg, my better Cupkins-half,

over at MegaCrafty to see her delicious creation!

1)  Quick & Easy Candy Cane Cupcakes

hese were last year's Cupkins creation for December.  I love the tinted frosting and putting those cute little mini candy canes to good use!

2)  Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes

These were a creation I whipped up for a Holiday Crafts piece I wrote for Babble.com!  Simply sweet!

What kinds of cupcakes and sweet treats have you been dreaming up?  Be sure to link up your ideas over at Meg's place. 

And thanks for stopping by you guys, and for hanging in there with me while I've been gone.  If you are still out there - feel free to leave me a comment and let me know so.  I'd love to "hear" from you!

Happy Baking!

November Cupkins Link Party!

As Cupkins drew nearer and nearer this month I became more and more anxious and overwhelmed.  While I LOVE Cupkins, and cupcakes and muffins in general - you all know how busy and crazy my life is right now, I was panicked about WHAT to bake, and WHEN to bake it!  I had no time to plan or test bake, and I was stressing out about the whole thing!

That's when I realized that has the holidays get closer - we all feel these same frantic feelings at one point or another - so for my sake, and yours, I took a deep breath - and decided to keep it simple.  And you know what?  Sometimes simple IS better - because these mini cupcakes are divine... and so easy!  They're small, so you can squeeze one or two in even if you're full from Turkey Day dinner, and they are simple and quick to make - so you can spend the rest of Thanksgiving worrying about the turkey and the sweet potatoes!

Oh, and forgive the dark photos... we had to make a run to take some food to friends in the hospital and I lost my light.  C'est la vie.

Spiced Pumpkin Mini Cupcakes

I was inspired by these darling little mini cupcake wrappers by Wilton.  So much pumpkin-y cuteness!

Combine a box of yellow cake mix, 1/3 cup of vegetable oil, 1 cup of canned pumpkin, 4 eggs, and 1/2 tsp each of cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon in a standing mixer.  Fill baking cups 2/3 full with cupcake mixture and bake at 350 for about 10 minutes (keep a close eye on them - mini cupcakes especially burn on the bottoms very easily if they are left in too long!)

Remove from oven and allow to cool...

While the cupcakes are cooling, whip up some cream cheese frosting.  Mix 1 stick of butter and 1 block of cream cheese until combined, then add 4 cups of powdered sugar one cup at a time.  Add in 2 tbsp of vanilla extract and mix well.  Then pipe or spread onto cupcakes...

After piping, I added just a sprinkle of orange sugar to decorate...

Yum!  Delicious!  Enjoy!

Now head over to Meg's place to check out her yummy looking Apple Pie Muffins... mmmm................

Now it's time for you to share YOUR Thanksgiving cupcake and muffin ideas!  Leave a link to your recipes, decorating tips, and more!  We'd love to salivate over your creations, too!  The link party will stay open until 11:59PM on Tuesday - so link up and tell your friends!

Cupkins Link Party TOMORROW!

Good news, friends!  I may be busy - but Cupkins lives on!  Tomorrow (Monday) is our November Cupkins link party right here at Ready, Set, Craft!  So get your bake on today and stop back by tomorrow to link up your cupcakes or muffins with a Thanksgiving theme!  Can't wait to see what you come up with!

Get Ready for November Cupkins!

Can you believe how fast the month of October is flying by?  It's incredible!  It's time already to start thinking about and planning for November Cupkins... and Meg and I want YOU to join our Cupkins linkup party! 

Our November edition of Cupkins and the link party will take place on Monday November 8th and our theme is, of course, Thanksgiving!  We want to see your cupcake and/or muffin recipes, decorating ideas, and tips!

November's link party will be hosted right here on Ready, Set, Craft!  So get your ideas together, get baking, and link up here on Monday November 8th!

To see previous Cupkins post click HERE, and to view last month's link party head HERE.

Happy Baking! 

October Cupkins: Candy Corn Cupcakes!

It's the first Monday of the month (how did it get to be October already?!) and it's time for October's edition of Cupkins, and our first-ever Cupkins link party!  Woohoo!  I can't wait to see all of your creations!  This month's theme is Halloween, and Meg and I have each created some spooky cupcakes to share with you!  Check out my Candy Corn Cupcakes below, then head over to MegaCrafty to see Meg's Cauldron Cupcakes, and link up YOUR Halloween themed cupcake and muffin recipes, decorating ideas, etc.  Enjoy!





To make Candy Corn Cupcakes, bake a batch of your favorite flavor of cupcake.  I chose chocolate for mine, and used an abridged box mix (combine dry contents of box mix + 1 cup water + 3 eggs + 1 stick of melted butter) for consistency.  Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake at 350 degrees for approx. 15 minutes.  (You can't see very clearly, but even my cupcake liners have candy corn on them!)

Whip up some vanilla frosting (recipe here) and use a 2D tip on a large piping bag to frost.  Starting on the outside edge, pipe two swirls of frosting, one directly on top of the other, leaving a hole in the center.  Fill hole with as much candy corn as you can!

 Add orange and yellow sprinkles for the perfect finish, and enjoy!

    

Happy Halloween!

Giveaway Winner, September Cupkins + October Link Party Info!

For September's edition of Cupkins, Meg and I chose Football as our theme!  I don't know about you - but September 1 hit and my husband has been firmly planted on the couch with a football game on ever since!  Okay, I exaggerate, but we all know that football is a big deal at this time of year - and even though I'm not a huge fan of the sport myself, I do love having people over for the games and enjoying some tasty football grub!

Here's what we came up with... my "Game Day Cupcakes" and Meg's "Chili Cheese Cornbread Mini Muffins"

Game Day Cupcakes How-To:

I love these cupcakes because they're so festive - and you can customize the colors for whatever team(s) are playing!  My husband is a big Michigan State University fan, so I went with green and white for this batch!

Combine one box of vanilla cake mix with three eggs, one stick of butter (melted) and 1 cup of water in a stand mixer.  Divide the batter in half and color as desired.

Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full, including some of each batter.  Using a knife or toothpick, swirl the two colors of batter around in the liner to gently combine.

Bake cupcakes for about 15 minutes at 350 degrees - one tray at a time.  Keep a close eye on them - you want them to bake all the way through but not brown - it ruins the color.  And be sure to use white cupcake liners so you can see the swirls of color going through the cupcakes!

For the frosting, combine one large jar of marshmallow fluff (in the ice cream topping aisle) and three sticks of softened butter in a stand mixer.  Once combined, add 2 tsp of vanilla extract.  With stand mixer on low, gradually add poweder sugar until desired texture is reached (generally about 1 - 2 cups, but I always eyeball it)  Seperate into two bowls and color with food coloring.

One your cupcakes are cooled completely (look how pretty!) you're ready to frost...

Pipe one and a half circles of one color frosting using a 2D or 1M large tip.  Switch colors (goes without saying, but you'll need two piping bags and two matching tips for this - since you'll be alternating between) and complete the swirl.  I'm a big frosting girl - so I piled it high, but you can use less frosting and keep your swirls closer to the cupcake if you like!

Top with sprinkles in corresponding colors.  Even if that means donning gloves and picking through the Christmas red, white and green sprinkles to get out the green and white ones...  : ) 

If you wanted to get fancier still, you could create little flags on the end of toothpicks with your teams logos or name on them.  The possibilites are endless!

Let me know if you try these - I'd love to see photos of different team cupcakes!

Next month is the first month in our Cupkins link party, it will be held on Monday October 4 - and the theme is Halloween!  We'd LOVE to have you play along!  All you have to do is share a photo, tutorial, recipe, or decorating tip for a Halloween inspired cupcake or muffin on your blog, then head over to Meg's blog to link it up to our Cupkins party.  I can't wait to see what you come up with!

And finally, it's time to reveal the winner of Monday's Cupkins Anniversary Giveaway!  The Random Number Generator chose...

ERIN RUSSELL!

Drop me a note at readysetcraft@yahoo.com Erin, so you can claim your cupcake stamp set and ink pad! 

And don't forget to head over to Meg's place to check out her savory mini muffins perfect for a game day snack, and to find out the winner of HER contest!

Cupkins Year-In-Review, and Anniversary Giveaway!

It's crazy to me to think that this month, Meg at MegaCrafty and I are celebrating the first anniversary of our Cupkins collaboration.  In case you've been under a rock for the past year (or at the very least, are new to this blog!), Meg and I join forces on the first Monday of the month for Cupkins.  We pick a theme or ingredient and share a both a cupcake and a muffin recipe with you.

We've had a great time over the past year, sharing our recipes and ideas with you.  Thank you all for your lovely comments, and for the Cupkins features on other blogs.  Let's take a look back on the past year in Cupkins - in case you missed anything!

(top to bottom, left to right)

1.  Apple Cider Muffins

2.  Caramel Apple Cupcakes

3.  Jack O'Lantern Muffins

4.  Spooky Eyeball Cupcakes

5.  Corn Muffin Stuffin

6.  Chocolate Turkey Cupcakes

7.  Cranberry Orange Muffins

8.  Sweet Potato Cupcakes

9.  Egg Nog Muffins

10.  Candy Cane Cupcakes

11.  Pineapple Orange Sunrise Muffins

12.  Light Lemon Cupcakes

13.  Strawberry & Chocolate Champagne Muffins

14.  Chocolate Strawberry Cupcakes

13.  Guinness Spiced Muffins

14.  Double Chocolate Irish Creme Cupcakes

15.  Daffodil Lemon Muffins

16.  Spring Swirl Cupcakes

17.  Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins

18.  Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

19.  Chocolate Stout Muffins

20.  Chocolate Banana "Dad" Cupcakes

21.  4th of July Red, White & Blueberry Muffins

22.  Red, White & Blue Cupcakes

23.  Toasted Coconut & Dark Chocolate Chunk Muffins

24.  Pina Colada Cupcakes 

25.  Trail Mix Muffins

26.  S'Mores Cupcakes

When thinking about the year ahead, we knew we wanted to continue with our collaboration - but make it even bigger and better!  Here's where you come in!

We're going to turn Cupkins into a link party!  Meg and I will now announce the Cupkins theme a month ahead of time and decide on a post date(usually the first Monday of each month, unless there is a holiday).  We'll take turns hosting the link party each month.

We'd really love for anyone who's been following Cupkins, or is new to Cupkins to join in the fun! Share your creativity, link up with a picture, a recipe, a how-to for a cupcake or a muffin that fits the theme.  Stay tuned for more details - we'll announce the October link party details on Wednesday!

And finally, in celebration of Cupkins' Anniversary, both Meg and I are hosting giveaways!  To enter mine, all you have to do is leave me a comment with an idea for a theme/ingredient for us to feature during the next year of Cupkins!  I'm giving away this sweet stamp set from Stampin' Up! and a super cute pink ink pad.  Once you've left a comment here, jump on over to Meg's place to enter HER giveaway!  Two chances to win!

For extra entries, let me know that you are (or become a) follower, and/or link to this contest via Twitter.  I'll announce the winner on Wednesday, via random number generator!  Entries will be accepted through midnight EST on Tuesday the 21st.T

hanks for reading - and following along on our Cupkins journey!  Good luck!

August Cupkins - Camping!

Wait - August already?!  Where does the time go?!

Cupkins is a monthly collaboration between a collaboration between Meg over at Mega•Crafty and I.  Each month I share a cupcake recipe and Meg shares a muffin recipe - with the same theme or ingredient.  This month our theme is "Camping"

Joanne's S'Mores Cupcakes and Meg's Trail Mix Muffins!

S'Mores Cupcakes

Ingredients:  1 box of chocolate cake mix, 1 cup of water, 1/2 cup of butter, 3 eggs, mini marshmallows

Frosting:  1 stick of butter, 2oz semi sweet chocolate, 16oz powdered sugar, 1/2 cup cocoa powder, 1/3 cup of milk

Decoration:  Mini Hershey bars, mini marshmallows, graham crackers

How To:  Combine all of the cupcake ingredients in a mixer on low speed and mix until combined.  Line each cupcake wrapper with a small amount of batter, a layer of mini marshmallows, and more batter.  Don't fill more than about 3/4 full.

Bake at 350 for about 14 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.  Allow to cool completely BEFORE taking out of the pan.  These aren't your average cupcakes - they are smooshy and gooey and melty - you may need a knife to help you get them out of the pan once cooled.

While cupcakes are cooling, combine cut-up butter and semisweet chocolate in a pan over low heat until smooth (stir constantly) - then add the cocoa powder.  Transfer to a mixing bowl and add the powdered sugar and milk alternately, beating with a mixer until fluffy.

Using a palette knife, frost cupcakes.  Again - doesn't need to be pretty - we're going for the messy "smooshed" s'more look here!

Garnish with graham cracker crumbles, a piece of chocolate, and some s'more (ha ha!) marshmallows.  Enjoy!  Have your napkins handy!

Now what are you waiting for?  Head over to Meg's place to check out her delicious muffins!

July Cupkins (Pina Colada Cupcakes): Better late than never!

Has this summer been a busy one for you?  I can't believe that we're already inching towards the end of July and that it will be fall before we know where we are.

With all of the traveling, family "stuff," showers and babies, busy work and school schedules and more - it's been a challenge to keep up with blogging to say the least!  Meg has been equally busy - and although we're a little late on Cupkins this month (VERY late - on my part!) we've made it!  These pictures of my Pina Colada cupcakes may not be the most creative you've ever seen, but trust me - they are delicious!  The photos just don't do them justice!

So take a few minutes, relax, and enjoy today's edition of Cupcakes - a collaboration between Meg over at Mega•Crafty and I.  This month our theme is "Tropical" and I don't know about you, but I sure wish I was on a beach someplace tropical right now!  : )

Joanne's Pina Colada Cupcakes

 

For the cupcakes... combine one box of white cake mix with three egg whites and 1 loaded cup of crushed pineapple in juice (don't drain!)  Mix on low in a stand mixer and scrape edges of bowl as needed until combined.  Don't over-mix!  Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake for 16 minutes (or until a cake tester comes out clean) at 350 degrees.

For the frosting... In a stand mixer, combine 1 stick of butter with 8oz of cream cheese until creamed and combined.  Add a glug (yup, that's a technical term!) of clear vanilla extract, and 2 glugs (yup, pretty scientific!) of milk - then gradually add 1lb of powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached.

Spread onto tops of cooled cupcakes with a spatula or palette knife... be generous!
 

Sprinkle coconut on top of the cupcakes, and devour!  : )

I hope everyone's week is off to a great start!  Now head over to Meg's place to check out her delicious looking Toasted Coconut and Dark Chocolate Chunk Muffins!  YUM!

June Cupkins Double Whammy: Part 2

Welcome back to CUPKINS, a collaboration between Meg at Mega•Crafty and I.  Each month, Meg shares a muffin recipe and I share a cupcake recipe with the same theme.  This month, we're giving you a double whammy of Cupkins!  We shared some Father's Day ideas with you at the beginning of the month, and today we've got some July 4th goodies to share with you!

Red, White & Blue Cupcakes!

First off, color and roll out some fondant in both blue and red.  You can get pre-made fondant by Wilton at Michael's, JoAnn's, etc.  Using a star fondant or cookie cutter, cut out stars in both colors in a variety of sizes... (make sure to use lots of powdered sugar when rolling and cutting to prevent sticking)

To remove excess powdered sugar once cut out, lightly spritz fondant with butter flavored cooking spray, and wipe gently.  This will give your fondant and nice, clean, sheen.

Then, using edible glitter (again, from JoAnn's etc - made by Wilton) give your stars a little glitz!  Use a small brush dipped in water to wet the stars, then sprinkle with the glitter and set aside to dry.
  Look at that sparkle!

Meanwhile, mix up a batch of vanilla cupcake batter and separate into three bowls.  Leave one bowl white, then tint the other two red and blue.

Using an ice cream scoop with a lever, layer each color into cupcake liners until about three quarters full.

Back and cool.  Look at those colors!

Pipe a swirl of white frosting and decorate with your sparkly stars.  Garnish with red, white and blue sprinkles or sugars, and ENJOY!

So simple - but sure to get a "Wow!" at any July 4th get-together!  Happy cupcaking, folks!

Now hop on over to Meg's place (click on the Cupkins logo below!) to check out her July 4th muffins!