Red Velvet Cupcakes

My dad got me to try red velvet cake one time, and ever since then, I was hooked. Seriously, this cannot be made without cream cheese icing, but even without it, red velvet cupcakes are beautiful and absolutely delicious.


Ingredients


Red Velvet Cupcakes
cake flour, sifted, 2 1/2 cups
baking powder, 1 teaspoon
salt, 1 teaspoon
red food coloring, 2 ounces [This was two small bottles for me.]
cocoa powder, 2 tablespoons
unsalted butter, softened, 1/2 cup [1 stick]
 sugar, 1 1/2 cups
eggs, room temperature, 2
vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon
buttermilk, room temperature, 1 cup
white vinegar, 1 teaspoon
baking soda, 1 teaspoon

Icing
cream cheese, softened, 16 ounces [two packages for me]
unsalted butter, softened,  1/2 cup [1 stick]
vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon
powdered sugar 2 1/4 cups
salt, a pinch

  Other things you might need
1 medium bowl
2 small bowls
1 large bowl
sifter
electric mixer
spatula
baking spray [I don't use cupcake papers because they take away from the cupcake and are inconvenient. Use the spray thoroughly, and you shouldn't have any trouble]
spoon for scooping
mini cupcake tray [I use this, the mini one. It makes a bunch of just-the-right-size cupcakes. I've never tried making them with a normally sized cupcake tray, but it should work just the same.] 
wire rack [not necessary, but helpful]

Directions

Cupcakes

1
Pre-heat oven to 350.


2
Cake flour, baking powder, and salt- sift together in a medium bowl and set aside.

3
Cocoa powder and red food coloring-  in a small separate bowl mix together until there are no lumps and set aside.

4
Butter and sugar- in a large separate bowl using an electric mixer, beat until light and fluffy.

5
Beat in eggs one at a time.

6
Vanilla and red food coloring paste- beat in, scraping the bowl with a spatula every now and then.

7
Add 1/3 of the flour mixture, beating well, and then 1/2 of the buttermilk, alternating until thoroughly combined, scraping with a spatula again.

8
Vinegar and baking soda- in a small separate bowl mix together. It will fizz! Add to the cake batter and stir in well with your spatula.

9
Ok, now with a relatively large spoon, scoop out some batter and pour into your very-well-greased mini cupcake pan. You do not have to be overly cautious about overfilling them. I generally do them up to the top since they are so small anyway. When they are all filled, stick in the oven and bake for 9-14 minutes approximately, or when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool before icing.

Icing

10
Speaking of icing, I make that while the cupcakes are cooking. First, take your cream cheese and unsalted butter [if they are not soft enough, microwave them for a few seconds] and blend with an electric mixer until smooth.


11
Blend in the rest of the ingredients, vanilla, powdered sugar, and salt, until very well combined.

12
Now, I have a useful trick for you if you don't have a professional icing bag. Grab a sandwich Ziplock bag and carefully turn the top of it inside out, so that it is sitting on your table open. This is to keep icing from getting all over the place and making it hard to seal or making a mess. Now fill it with icing and zip it shut. With a pair of scissors, snip a very small corner off, and you are ready to ice! :-}

13
As always, enjoy :-D

THE Coffeecake

Wow, seriously, you must make. Absolutely delicious coffeecake!

Ingredients

Streusel
1/2 cup of firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup of all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon
1/2 tablespoon of allspice.
1/3 cup of cold butter

Coffeecake
1/3 stick of butter, softened
1/3 cup of granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons of vanilla
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon of baking powder
3/4 cup of milk
2 cups of blueberries

  Other things you might need
1 medium bowl
1 large bowl
1 small bowl
butter knife
electric mixer
spatula
a tiny bit of extra butter and flour to spread on the bottom and sides of pan
11X7 inch baking pan

Directions

1
First, the streusel. In a medium bowl, combine everything except the butter- brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and allspice.

 2
With the butter knife, cut the cold butter into the streusel mixture, sort of chopping it into it to mix and combine until it resembles coarse crumbs.

3
Now, set the streusel aside for later use, and pre-heat oven to 375.
Take out your large bowl and soften your butter in the microwave if it is not yet malleable.
Beat your butter and granulated sugar together until light and fluffy.

4
Add eggs and vanilla and beat together once more until well-combined.

5
Here's where your small bowl comes in. Take it out and mix together the flour and baking powder.


6
Alternating the flour mixture and milk, add to the butter mixture, beating each time until well-combined.

7
Gently stir in blueberries. I used frozen blueberries since, at the moment, it is winter. They turned the mix a little blue, but that is ok.

8
Grease and flour your 11X7 inch baking pan and pour the blueberry mixture into it, evening it out with a spatula or spoon or fingers. :]

9
Sprinkle streusel mixture evenly on top, smoothing out with something that is not sticky from blueberry mixture.

10
Bake for about 30 minutes, or until springy to the touch and the edges are browned and just slightly pulling away from sides of pan.
Enjoy with milk or coffee or by itself! :3

Cheezy Bites

These were really cool. It isn't exactly the texture one would expect, but honestly, I hardly noticed it over the cheesy flavor. These make a great snack or gift if nicely wrapped. :]
You have to prep it the day before you want it, but it doesn't take much time at all.

Ingredients
1 cup of all-purpose flour
1/2 cup [1 stick] of salted butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash of ground red pepper [cayenne pepper]
8 ounces [two cups] of extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated

Topping
1 tablespoon of poppy seeds
1 tablespoon of sesame seeds [both of these seeds you can find on by the seasonings in little seasoning bottles at Wal-mart]
1 egg white
1 tablespoon of water

  Other things you might need
cheese grater 
mixing bowl
mixer
parchment paper
cookie sheet


Directions

1 
Combine flour, butter, salt, and ground red pepper and beat until it looks doughy.

2
Grate cheese and mix in with the flour mixture.

3
Shape into a ball and flatten slightly.

4
Refrigerate at least two hours or overnight. I refrigerated it overnight, and I had to let it thaw about an hour.


5
Heat oven to 350.


6
Roll out dough about 1/4 inch thickness on a slightly floured surface, flouring your roller every little bit. Now, personally, I had never rolled anything out before, but it really is not hard at all, just remember to flour your roller or else the dough will stick to it.

7
Cut dough with cookie cutters or a pizza cutter and place onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet.

8
Combine poppy sesame seeds and set aside.

9
Lightly beat egg white and water together in a separate bowl.


10
Brush cut-outs with egg-white mixture. By the way, if you do not have a brush, you can just use your fingers; I used my fingers.


11
Sprinkle cut-outs with the poppy seed mixture.

12
Bake for 12-15 minutes or until very slightly browned around the edges.

13
Enjoy :]

Jazzy Snacky Mix

Have you ever had Chex Mix?? We used to get it all the time, mix in some nuts, and munch on it for as long as it lasted... A couple of years ago, they made every single type- cheddar, spicy, sweet- "60% less fat!" At which time, it stopped being good, lol. I  hadn't had Chex Mix for a very long time, but yesterday, I made my own kind of mix, and not only was it good, it was easy, very easy, which is, frankly, totally awesome. :]

Ingredients
5 cups of Chex cereal, whichever type is your preference- I used wheat Chex cereal.
2 cups of oyster crackers [you can find these on the chip/cracker aisle]
2 cups pretzel sticks, broken in half
1 1/2 cups sweetened, dried cranberries [trust me, it goes really well with this.]
1 can [about 2 cups] salted cashew halves
1/2 cup [1 stick] butter, melted
1 [1.1-1.4 ounce package] of Ranch, Caesar, or Italian dry salad dressing mix [I used a .7 ounce package of Italian, and a .4 ounce package of Ranch. You can find them in little packets on the salad dressing aisle.]

  Other things you might need
large roasting pan
wooden spoon to stir

Directions

1
Heat oven to 300.

2
Combine all ingredients except the butter and dry salad dressing mix in a large roasting pan.

3
Melt butter and combine with the dry salad mix.

4
Pour the butter mixture over the Chex mixture and stir thoroughly to coat.

5
Bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.


6
Have a party and enjoy!

Chocolate Bog

I made this recipe, let's see... was it last Wednesday? I think it was. :]
It looks strange and the instructions are even stranger, but they have a purpose, and I will tell you in the end.
It's marvelous! Chocolatey, melty, and just ever-so-slightly crisp on the top.

Ingredients
1 stick (1/2 cup) of salted butter
2 3/4 cups sugar (divided into 1 1/4 cups and 1 1/2 cups)
1 3/4 tablespoons and 1/3 cup of cocoa
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups boiling water
Vanilla ice cream

  Other things you might need
mixing bowl
measuring cups/spoons
large spoon or spatula [I persist: spatulas are awesome!]
small pot
13x9 inch pan

Directions

1
Pre-heat oven to 350, put your butter in your pan, and stick it in the oven to melt.

Yes, I even took a picture of this xD

2
Mix together 1 1/4 cups of sugar, 1 3/4 tablespoons of cocoa, flour, milk, and vanilla until thoroughly combined.

So, I was in Tennessee in a house I haven't completely moved into, hence the mixing in a frying pan xD

3
Personally, I had a pot that couldn't heat over medium, so it took quite a while, but even on high it takes a bit for your water to start boiling. Therefore, I suggest putting your 2 1/4 cups of water on the stove to boil right now.

4
Take out your melted butter, and, in spoonfuls, drop your flour mixture onto the butter. The butter will seep through in places, but that is alright. In the end, it will look something like:

5
Ok, now, mix together that 1 1/2 cups of sugar and 1/3 cup of cocoa until it looks something like this:

6
Sprinkle it on top of the butter and flour mixture in the pan. You might want to smooth it out a little afterwards, but it doesn't particularly matter.

7

Now, this is the especially odd part, but it isn't as tricky as you think. Your water boiling? Good, now poor it on top, as quickly and evenly as possible. It will have bubbles all over, but don't worry, that was just because it was boiling.

8
Now put it in the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes. There isn't a particular test to see if it is done, but as long as you cook it long enough, it will be fine. I know it looks odd [personally, I thought it kind of looked like chocolate brains xD], but it tastes so much better, and it doesn't look like brains after you cut into it. :P

9
This last step isn't exactly a step, except that you have to wait at least  fifteen minutes before serving, and you should most definitely serve it with vanilla ice cream because it looks beautiful and goes amazingly with it.  :]
The fun part is cutting into it and realizing that you have your very own bog of chocolate underneath with which you can drizzle on top of your ice cream and dessert.

This time, I remembered to take a picture of the delectable cascading chocolate and slightly melting ice cream. Seriously, it tastes as good as it looks.
Enjoy! :]