My Fourth of July Cupcakes!!

Click here and below to see"My All American Cupcakes: Red, White and Blue!" Cupcakes that I've created.

Red, White and Blue: 4th of July Cupcakes

On flickr: here.



On flickr: here.



Or, to try these to try these "burgers," click here!

Have a great 4th!

CQ

Martha Stewart's Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting and Jelly

Layla is very interested in these peanut butter cupakes...but no, she got a doggie treat instead!



Just bought Martha Stewart's book called Cupcakes....and was inspired to make her Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting and Jelly for my brother, Jim,...symbolically really, because he is in the hospital right now in Spokane, WA, with bacterial pneumonia.



This is how they looked when they came out of the oven....pretty gorgeous, huh? They smelled great, too.



It was fun frosting them and putting the strawberry jelly on top...so far everyone's loved them!



I found these cool plastic containers online and I love them. I ordered both the 1/2-doz and dozen containers. They work great!

This is how they looked on the way out the door!

This is the recipe:

Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Ingredients

Makes 18
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
6 ounces (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup natural, creamy peanut butter
3 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Peanut Butter Frosting
Strawberry jam, for topping

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners.

Whisk dry ingredients in a large bowl. Cream butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add peanut butter. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition. Mix sour cream and vanilla.

Add dry ingredients to mixture. Scrape sides of bowl.

Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full.

Bake cupcakes until testers inserted into centers come out clean, about 20 minutes. Let cool in tins on wire racks.

Once cupcakes are cool, frost tops with peanut butter frosting. Place a dollop of jam in center of frosting. Decorated cupcakes will keep, covered and refrigerated, for up to 2 days.

Peanut Butter Frosting and Jelly

Ingredients

Makes about 3 cups
6 ounces cream cheese
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup creamy peanut butter (not natural)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions

Beat cream cheese and confectioners' sugar with a mixer on medium speed. Add salt, then peanut butter, then vanilla. Whisk cream until soft peaks form, and then fold into peanut butter mixture. Use immediately, or cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. (Bring to room temperature, and beat on low speed until smooth before using.)

Hope you like them and...have a great week!

CQ

Martha Stewart Gingerbread Cupcakes Topped with Caravella Limoncello Creamcheese Frosting and Ginger Boy Snaps

Gingerbread cookies, gingerbread cupcakes...too much fun for the Cupcake Queen! And, the Limoncello Cream Cheese Frosting...WOW!

We were even dipping the little gingerbread boys into the frosting! So, first I made the ginger snap cookies! I found the cookies cutters at Michaels!(recipe below)

Then I made the Martha Stewart gingerbread cupcakes! (see recipe below)

Then I made the frosting...with Layla's help, of course! Isn't she adorable!

RECIPES

Ginger Snaps:
3 cups (420 grams) all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated white sugar
1 large egg
2/3 cup (160 ml) unsulphured molasses

In a large bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, and spices. Set aside.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and molasses and beat until well combined. Gradually add the flour mixture beating until incorporated.

Divide the dough in half, and wrap each half in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside while you roll out the dough.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of about 1/4 inch. Use a cookie cutters to cut out the cookies. With an offset spatula lift the cut out cookies onto the baking sheet, placing the cookies about 1 inch (2.54 cm) apart. If you are hanging the cookies or using as gift tags, make a hole at the top of the cookies with a straw or end of a wooden skewer.

Bake for about 6-8 minutes depending on the size of the cookies. Small ones will take about 6 minutes, larger cookies will take about 8 minutes. They are done when they are firm and the edges are just beginning to brown.

Remove the cookies from the oven and cool on the baking sheet for about 1 minutes. When they are firm enough to move, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Martha Stewart Gingerbread Cupcakes:
Makes 12
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1 cup unsulphered molasses
2 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
1 recipe Butter Glaze

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 12 muffin tins with paper baking cups, and set aside. In a small saucepan, bring 1 cup water to a boil. In a bowl, combine boiling water and baking soda; set aside. In a large bowl, sift together flour, ground spices, salt, and baking powder; set aside.
In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until light. Beat in the brown sugar until fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Beat in the molasses, baking-soda mixture, and flour mixture. Beat in the eggs.
Fill the cupcake papers three-quarters full, making sure that the batter is divided evenly. Bake cupcakes until a toothpick inserted in the center of them comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let cupcakes cool a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.

Caravella Limoncello Creamcheese Frosting

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 stick unsalted butter
4 cups confectioners' sugar
Zest of 1 lemon, grated
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoon Caravella Limoncello

With an electric mixer on medium, beat the cream cheese and butter until softened. Slowly add the sugar, zest, juice and Limoncello and beat until creamy, about 3 minutes.

Hope you have a great week!

Rock on, CQ!