Recipe Review - Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes with Baileys Cream Cheese Frosting

Here I was all set to make a second batch of cupcakes (Kahlua anyone?) for my hubby's birthday, when I happened upon a post at Family Fresh Meals for something even more appealing. A last minute trip to the liqueur store and I was set to go! I have to say that I'm glad I made the switch. These cupcakes were fantastic. And the icing.. oh my.. I actually cut the ingredients in half for the cupcakes thinking I only wanted a dozen cupcakes, so I have to say the recipe halves easily and does not affect the outcome at all on the cupcakes. But, after I made the first batch, I immediately baked up the other half of the original recipe! Now I know why the recipe calls for making 24 cupcakes. You'd want to double it if it didn't anyways! They are delicious all the way around for sure! I did modify the amount of frosting I made based on the original recipe reviews and comments and am posting here what I actually made because it worked out perfectly! Enjoy!

Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes w/ Bailey's Buttercream 

Ingredients for 24 cupcakes -2 cups flour, 1/2 cup cocoa powder, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup unsalted butter (room temp), 2 tsp vanilla, 2 eggs (room temp), 1/2 cup sour cream, 12oz Guinness stout beer

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and move rack to middle bottom position. Line muffin tins with 24 paper liners.

Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda in a bowl. Set aside.

In mixer, with paddle attachment, beat butter, sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add one egg and beat to mix. Add second egg and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy. Add the sour cream and blend. Then, with the mixer running, slowly drizzle in the Guinness. Sift in the dry ingredients slowly and mix to combine, scraping down as needed, until fully incorporated.

Divide evenly between muffin cups. I was able to use a 1/4 cup scoop to get 24 cupcakes and the little extra that was left was just distributed among those that looked like they had slightly less in them. Bake for 20-25 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the middle will come out clean when your cupcakes are done. Be sure to let them cool completely before frosting. I did mine the night before and just stored them in an airtight container before frosting.

Ingredients for the frosting - 12 oz cream cheese (room temp), 6 oz unsalted butter (room temp), 3 cups powdered sugar, 6-9 Tbsp Bailey's Irish Cream (I used 6 because my hubby was taking them to work, but I think more would be appropriate to my taste!)

In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, blend cream cheese, butter, and powdered sugar until smooth and light. Drizzle in Bailey's to taste and beat to incorporate fully, scraping down as needed. Frost as desired. I used a piping bag and a 1M tip. I had just a little frosting left over. It makes a delicious adult's spread/dip for graham crackers or fruit.

These cupcakes baked up so light and fluffy, and the flavor was out of this world. I will make these again and again for sure! 

The 'D' Lunch

Who knew that finding 'd' foods would be such a pain. I really had to stretch my imagination to make this one work without giving the kiddo a lunch of doughnuts, danishes, daikon radish, and dandelion greens.

Duck shaped sandwich with deli meat, lettuce, and cheese, dill pickle, bell pepper, and cucumber (on dinosaur picks) with dill dip, 'D' vanilla cookies, and a Dove chocolate.

In this lunch...

March Bento

I wanted to try out a salad for the little one that she could mix the components up by herself. It worked great and she ate it all, so I think this will be a great way to incorporate new vegetables and get her out of her usual cucumber and bell pepper routine. Today I realized I need to get a shamrock cookie cutter pretty darn soon too.

In the bottom half is a salad of lettuce, cucumber, toasted sunflower seeds, Bacos, and ranch dressing. In the top half is Trader Joe's veggie straws, smoked turkey, mozzarella cheese, and in the container are a few M&M's.

I keep seeing these fantastic ideas at fellow bloggers sites, and recently have seen some blog hops. I think that is a fantastic idea to support each other and also make it easy to navigate when someone is looking for something in particular. So, I'm joining in this time to the St. Patrick's Day blog hop. Follow the link in the graphic below and hop around to get all sorts of wonderful ideas from some fabulous people!

In this lunch...

Something Simple

I find myself feeling very inspired by all those fantastic bloggers out there, but then there are days I just want to quickly pull a lunch together and hang out on the couch with my kiddo! Maybe tomorrow will be more exciting. What I will say is that this is the first time I've tried a sandwich thin, and for the first time I didn't have to roll or flatten bread. Bonus!

This lunch has Trader Joe's veggie straws, mozzarella cheese, applesauce, cucumbers, salami, and 1/4 soy BLT w/ mayo and mustard on a wheat bread sandwich thin.

In this lunch...
 

Recipe Review - Peanut Butter-cream Frosting

Maybe I've watched Cupcake Wars too many times or maybe I just wanted  to make something other than the ordinary, but the stars have aligned and I am making these cupcakes! This month, I'll be making not just one batch, but several as there are multiple events that seem to just call for cupcakes. Today will be the first batch. The excuse occasion is my girlfriend's birthday. I found a fabulous site called Brown Eyed Baker, and I am stalking her a bit now, especially for the buttercream. This recipe I tried out was for dark chocolate cupcakes, but it's the peanut butter frosting that has me sold!

Peanut Butter Frosting 

Ingredients - 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 cup creamy peanut butter, 5 Tbsp unsalted butter (room temp), 3/4 tsp vanilla, 1/4 tsp kosher salt, 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
Mix all the ingredients except the heavy cream on medium-low speed until creamy. Add the heavy cream and beat on high until the mixture is light and smooth. Pipe onto cupcakes and enjoy!

And the review? Well, let me just say that the peanut butter frosting is divine. I could eat that on just about anything, including a spoon! YUM! Dang near anything that has that frosting on it could become the perfect vessel!

Recipe Review - Quick Caprese Pizza

So, I went to a Pampered Chef party with a friend of mine and thanks to her, won a few great gifts, one of which was a small cookbook called Quick Vegetarian Main Dishes. I immediately gravitated towards a simple tomato, basil, garlic, oil, and mozzarella pizza. Really now, who could resist such a combination! It was so simple. More importantly, it was so delicious! I've actually made it twice in the last week and a half. My recipe is adapted a bit from the original, but no need too stray far from a no brainer like this. Yum!

Quick Caprese Pizza 

Ingredients for the crust - 1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp olive oil, 1 pressed garlic clove, 1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese, 1 - 13.8oz refrigerated pizza crust

Ingredients for the toppings - 3 medium tomatoes, 1 tsp salt, 2 Tbsp fresh (or 1 tsp dried) chopped basil, 1 Tbsp olive oil, 8 oz fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced, black pepper

Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Slice tomatoes and lay on paper towel lined cutting board or tray. Sprinkle both sides with salt and let stand 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, brush pan with 1 tsp oil. Unroll dough and cut into thirds or fourths. Mix 1 Tbsp oil with garlic and brush over all the dough. Sprinkle Parmesan over the dough. Bake the dough 10-12 minutes or until light golden brown.

Blot tomatoes with paper towels. Arrange tomato and cheese slices alternating and overlapping on the crusts. Mix basil with 1 Tbsp olive oil and brush over pizza toppings. Return to oven and bake another 4-5 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Sprinkle with black pepper and enjoy!

Lunch - Able

Nothing is easier than a 'lunchable' style lunch. Simple and fast for mom, and yummy for kiddo. Bonus!

This lunch is turkey bologna, American cheese, cucumber, watermelon, Kit Kat, and crackers w/ butter.

In this lunch...