Classic Vanilla Cupcakes

You can never go wrong with a classic, and everyone should have a vanilla cupcake recipe to fall back on. Our ballerina cupcake post was so popular, we thought we'd share our Classic Vanilla Cupcake recipe with you.

Classic Vanilla Cupcakes

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter                               2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 cups sugar                           1/2 tsp salt
3 stiff-beaten egg whites                2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla                                   1 cup milk

Directions:
1. Cream shortening and sugar
2. Add in vanilla extract; beat until fluffy
3. Add sifted dry ingredients alternately with milk; mix thoroughly after each addition
4. Fold in egg whites
5. Bake for 20-25 min at 350*

Enjoy,
Marcie & Katelyn

Gluten-Free Fridays: Old Fashioned Chocolate Chip Cookies

Everyone loves a chocolate chip cookie once in a while so here's a new spin on an old classic.

Old Fashioned Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar                                                  1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup brown sugar                                       1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter                                                  2 cups blended oats*
1 egg                                                              1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 tsp vanilla                                                  1 cup bitter sweet chocolate chips

*Blending the oats is most easily done in a food processor, but if you don't have one a blender works nicely too.

Instructions:
Mix together ingredients, drop onto a cookie sheet, and bake at 350* for 10 min.

Catch you on the sweet side,

Marcie and Katelyn

To line, or not to line...we found out.

Marcie and I like to wonder about things, we also like to rebel. So one day we found ourselves pondering why we had to use a cupcake liner when baking cupcakes. We figured they would come out basically the same, maybe a little yummier. But in reality, they baked almost completely differently.

For starters, we noticed that when we baked a cupcake without a liner, the form of the cupcake was different in two ways. It created a crusty edge on the top of the cupcake and there were visible air bubbles. The shape of the cupcake was also different, when you bake in a liner the cupcake comes out perfectly placed. It will fill out the liner. Without a liner though, and you're taking your chances on the shape. Some of ours came out close to similar in shape while others couldn't stand up straight.
 
So our next experiment? We want to try baking our cupcakes in some bright colored parchment paper kind of like these cuites here --------------->

We found these cupcakes at Natalie Blake's blog. (click here to check it out). 


Happy Baking!
Marcie and Katelyn

We got an award! :)

Marcie and I just love meeting new bloggers, whether they be bakers like us or simply interesting people. Don't you love how the web can bring people closer together?! Well, Ryan from Ryan Bakes was sweet enough to nominate us for this wonderful award and we just had to thank her for it! 

Ryan, you are too awesome. :)

The only rule for this award is that we pass on the love and notify the winning blogs!

So our blog choices are:

 Kristan from Confessions of a Cookbook Queen (love her!)

The mystery woman from Cookies and Cups (seriously, we don't know her name but she rocks)

And.....

Daow from Happy Food. 

Congrats fellow bloggers! :)

-Marcie and Katelyn

How to stay thin at a bakery...

Even wonder how anyone could stay thin while making sweets for a living? I found this video from one of my favorite bakery's you tube channel and thought it was so hilarious I just had to share!




Be sure to check out Retro Bakery's website for more info on their wonderful bakery. And for their blog, follow this link and enjoy!

Catch you on the sweet side,
Marcie and Katelyn

Chocolate Cinnamon Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Marshmallow Frosting

For this delicious cupcake, we use a simple, fluffy chocolate cinnamon cupcake, a super yummy peanut butter marshmallow frosting, and top it all off with a Snickers. :)

BAKEs Chocolate Cinnamon Cupcakes (adapted from The Farm Chicks chocolate cupcake recipe):
Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp cinnamon
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup boiling water

Directions:
Mix together all the dry ingredients.
Add in the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla: beat until smooth
Add the water and mix
The batter will be watery so you will have to ladle the batter into your liners. Be sure to have something like a paper towel ready because it will drip everywhere.

Bake at 350* for 20-25 min. Cool in the pan 5 min, then remove and cool completely. Then frost to your hearts delight! For our Peanut butter marshmallow frosting, click here.


This recipe is one of our favorites so far. In fact a friend of ours is having a birthday on Wednesday and for his present, we're going to make him these cupcakes topped with a snickers piped with frosting so that they look like little presents. Should be cute!

Enjoy!
Marcie and Katelyn

Peanut Butter Marshmallow Frosting

We are in love with this frosting! So yummy and light. 

BAKEs Peanut Butter Marshmallow Frosting
Ingredients:
4 sticks unsalted butter (room temperature)
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
20 oz marshmallow cream
1 cup peanut butter


Directions:
Beat butter until creamy
Add sugar 1/2 cup at a time, beat until fluffy
Beat in the vanilla
Stir in marshmallow and peanut butter

This recipe makes a lot of frosting, probably enough for 3 dozen cupcakes. Also this frosting can melt, so be sure to refrigerate after frosting if you are trying to hold its shape.

Hope you all love it too!
Marcie and Katelyn