Cupcakes, Bunnies and Eggs

This is the first update in so long! I've been really busy-between working full time and school, I feel like I hardly have time to breathe! I get really overwhelmed if I think of everything I have to do. One day at a time!
Ashley (sister) is visiting me and we've been having a lot of fun. Last night was game night and I made lemon cupcakes with lemon buttercream frosting. Ashley made icing and piped Easter decorations on them. I also made oatmeal cookie-Nutella fudge bars and then took samples of those and the cupcakes to the owner of my favorite bakery (George, of Martha's Country Bakery on Ditmars and 37th St in Astoria). He gave rave reviews ("best lemon cupcakes I've ever had") and I'm going to use the bakery kitchen to make some recipes in quantity and sell the treats to him! It was amazing to get such great feedback from someone who runs the kind of bakery that I aspire to have. When Ashley and I left, George gave us 6 delicious little fruit tarts which you can see in the pictures.
I also made cornbread with jalapeno peppers and cheddar cheese mixed in. I didn't take any pictures but it was goooood!

Update

You may have noticed (eh, probably not) that the previous few posts seem to be dated incorrectly. That is because today I transferred my old blog posts over to this new name so everything was just re-done. I'm also going to use this opportunity to post pictures and brief description on a bit of what was missed over the holidays.


Pumpkin Cupcakes (Amanda's recipe) with Cinnamon-Nutmeg Cream Cheese Frosting (my original recipe) and Pecans.





















Blueberry Pie (my favorite!) I made for Andrea's parents when I was in Indiana for Christmas. See the little holiday shapes on top?





















Here are some of my Christmas creations...I made sugar cookies with buttercream frosting, topped with colored sugars or mint chips. I took a chance and allowed my very, very intoxicated roommate (it's true, she took 5 minutes to get her key in the door that night-I stood in the kitchen and laughed! Heyyyy Marie!) to dip them in the sugars.
I also made one of my all-time favorite holiday treats: Candy Cane cookies (yes, they are peppermint flavored). Aren't they fun?

I am thankful for the Game Night crew

Tonight was Thanksgiving game night, with a full turkey meal (thanks Chris!). I made pumpkin pie and whipped cream (I added cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg to the whipped cream-so good!). I also used a little gingerbread man cookie cutter on the dough, to decorate the pie a bit!

Wait, I can get paid for this?

Not much to say about this one-it's just a simple cake that I was hired to make for a co-worker's birthday. The purple stripe was made w/ edible spray...I don't really like the spray, it's kind of messy. I think an airbrush machine would come in handy here! *hint hint* Amanda!

The cutest turkeys you ever did see

I've always loved baking with my mommy. One of my favorite treats to make were these adorable turkey cookies. They were an essential part of our Thanksgiving season!
They're really simple-you can use a sugar cookies recipe (even store bought dough if you so desire!). Make sure you have candy corn, mini Reese's cups, chocolate chips, red licorice rope (the kind you pull off in strands), and chocolate frosting (this is a rare time I use store bought frosting-it's not worth making a whole batch because you use such a small amount). As soon as each sheet of cookies comes out of the oven, press 5 candy corns around one half as you see here. Don't burn your fingers! Umm, I did.
Once the cookies are cool, put a little chocolate frosting on the smaller side of a Reese's cup and stick it to the middle of the cookies. Use a smaller dab of frosting to stick a chocolate chip to the Reese's cup (in the position you see below)and a small piece of licorice rope below that.
Finally, enjoy all the compliments on how cute your cookies are!

Gingers! (but not the evil, group-think ones from South Park!)

Sugar and spice and everything nice...
Ginger is probably my favorite spice-it's just cozy and delicious, right? So,I really like gingersnaps. But I'm generally not a fan of crunchy cookies, so I've definitely wished for a good chewy ginger cookie recipe. I found it and these are a hit!!! I get requests for them all the time!
Now I'm thinking of this lemon ginger creme brulee I've been meaning to make...

As American as...

Well, this! And Stars & Stripes, nation building and the Super Bowl (go Giants!) . I baked an apple pie for a friend of mine. It looks and smells delicious-I hope it tastes great too! Too bad I don't get to try it...