Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Red is the color of Valentine's Day, the color of love, and the color of cupcakes!  Red Velvet cupcakes are a hit with almost everyone and make a wonderful sweet treat for Valentine's Day, which is just around the corner.  For another Valentine's Day recipe, check out my Chocolate Sugar Cookies.

I've created a recipe using a combination of Vanilla Garlic's recipe on Simply Recipes and from Martha Stewart.  This recipe yields about 24 cupcakes, so feel free to half it for a small batch of 12.

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

• 1/2 Cup Butter (1 stick)
• 1 1/2 Cups White Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 2 1/2 Cups Cake Flour (can substitute 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour + 1/3 Cup Cornstarch)
• 2 Tbsp. Cocoa Powder
• 1 tsp. Baking Soda
• 1 tsp. Baking Powder
• 1 tsp. Salt
• 1 Cup Buttermilk (Note: You can make your own buttermilk by combining 1 Cup Milk + 1 Tbsp. Vinegar and letting sit for 10 minutes)
• 1/2 tsp. Red Food Coloring (use gel) (or use beet juice if you want to avoid food coloring)
• 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
• 1 tsp. Distilled White Vinegar

Frosting:

• 1/2 Cup Butter (1 stick)
• 8 oz Neufchatel or Light Cream Cheese
• 2-3 Cups Powdered Sugar
• 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

Directions:

Cupcakes:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Place 24 muffin liners in 2 muffin pans.
2.  In a large bowl, combine the cake flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
3.  Using a mixer, whisk together the butter and sugar until fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.  Add in the eggs, one at a time (scraping sides of bowl as needed).  On low, whisk in the food coloring, vanilla, and vinegar.
4.  Add flour mixture and buttermilk in alternating batches (just easier for consistency--so it's not too difficult to mix and so it doesn't splash everywhere).  Mix on medium until well-combined.
5.  Pour batter into muffin liners about 3/4 of the way full.  Bake for 14-18 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool completely.

Frosting:
1. Using an electric mixer, cream together butter and cream cheese until fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.  Reduce speed to low and add powdered sugar and vanilla, mixing until smooth.

Decorating:

1. Using a pastry bag and your preferred tip, pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes.  I used a pastry bag with a Wilton #1 tip.  You can also cut a hole in a plastic/ziploc bag or even spread it on with a spoon or butter knife.  Top with red sprinkles, chocolate shavings, a piece of Valentine's Day candy, or whatever other creative topping you can come up with!

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Muffins

More pumpkin recipes!  These muffins are a healthy mid-day snack or morning breakfast.  I hope you like them!


Ingredients:
2 Eggs
1 Can Canned Pumpkin
1/2 Cup Skim Milk
2 Tbsp. Cooking Oil
1/4 Cup Orange Juice
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

1 1/3 Cups All-Purpose Flour
3/4 Cup Whole-Wheat Flour
1/3 Cup Sugar
1/4 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 1/2 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
1 tsp. Ground Nutmeg

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In mixing bowl (or your Kitchenaid mixer), mix together first six ingredients (eggs, milk, cooking oil, orange juice, and vanilla).
2. In a second bowl, combine the flours, sugars, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
3. Add flour mixture to egg mixture and  stir until moistened and combined.
4. Spoon batter into muffin cups (should make about 16 muffins).  Bake at 400 degrees for 12-18 minutes, or until the muffin tops are lightly browned and spring back when you touch them.

Enjoy warm, with a little butter or dunked in your favorite fall coffee or latte.  I'm loving mine dunked in my vanilla Soymilk.  Yuuum.

Oatmeal Chocolate-Chip Raisin Cookies

I am in love with these cookies.  This will be my 2nd batch in less than a month.  By using organic ingredients (if you can--I did on everything but the sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and vanilla) and using part wheat flour with fiber-rich oatmeal and raisins and memory-boosting cinnamon, these cookies are a pretty healthy dessert also!  Great treat on a cool fall night!  Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 Cup Butter, Softened
1 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup White Sugar
2 Eggs
3 Tsp. Vanilla Extract
1/2 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
3/4 Cup All-Purpose Flour
1/2 Tsp. Baking Soda
1 Tsp. Salt
2 Tsp. Cinnamon
2 1/2 Cups Quick-Cooking Oats
1 Cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 Cup Raisins

Directions:
1. Preheat Oven to 325 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl (or your Kitchenaid mixer if you have one), cream together the butter and brown and white sugars until smooth and creamy.  Beat the eggs in, one at a time, then add in the vanilla.
3.  In a separate bowl, combine the whole-wheat and all-purpose flours with the baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.  A half-cup at a time, slowly beat in to the mixture.
4. Stir in by hand the oats, chocolate chips, and raisins.
5.  Drop by the heaping spoonful onto baking sheets about 2 inches apart.
6.  Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until lightly browned.  Transfer to wire cooling rack and enjoy!

Makes between 3 and 4 dozen cookies (depending on how heaping your spoonfuls are)

"Indulgent" Banana Bread

I think I may have finally perfected my Banana Bread recipe to a point where it tastes completely indulgent, but is really pretty healthy and good for you.  There is minimal sugar, only 1 egg, and made with whole grains, fruit, and cinnamon (did you know cinnamon can reduce your blood sugar and cholesterol, improve cognitive performance, fight infections, and ease body pains?).  You could experiment with substitutes for the brown sugar (honey, juice, applesauce) if you wanted it healthier yet.  I've tried egg substitutes, or egg whites, but just wasn't quite happy enough with, so have settled on 1 whole egg.  Let me know if you like it!

Ingredients:

5 Dry Ingredients:
1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 cup Bread Flour (combo of Whole Wheat & Barley Flour)
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Baking Soda

Other Ingredients:
1 Egg
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1 1/2 cups Mashed Ripe Bananas (4-5 Bananas)
1 tsp. Skim Milk
1 tsp. Cinnamon
2 tsp. Vanilla Extract

Optional Add-in Ingredient:
6-10 oz Chocolate Chips or Chopped Walnuts

Directions:
1. Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine the dry ingredients in separate bowl.
3. In Kitchenaid mixer (or regular bowl with hand-mixer), combine "other ingredients" (egg, brown sugar, bananas, milk, cinnamon, and vanilla) on medium speed until well-combined.
4. Reduce mixer speed to medium-low.
Slowly add in dry/flour mixture, just until combined (don't overmix).
5. Optional: Fold in chocolate chips or walnuts
(I added chocolate chips).
6. Pour batter into greased and flour-dusted bread pan.
7. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
8. Transfer to wire rack and let cool.

PS--My Camera is BACK! Fixed for "only" $211 (sigh).