The Best Things I Cooked and Baked in 2020

In 2020 most of us found ourselves with plenty of time at home and quite possibly, on our hands. In the early days/weeks of lockdown, I obsessively checked my phone for COVID updates. But after my obsession cooled, I turned to books, baking, and cooking to alleviate the stress and pass the time. With more time to try recipes that I long had bookmarked for a rainy day, I stepped up my game in the kitchen and truly appreciated all the time I spent there.

I experimented with a lot of new recipes, but these were the ones that I made over and over again.

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Red, White, and Blue Desserts

I love the Fourth of July holiday. There's just something about it. A palpable feeling in the air that summer has officially arrived and is here to stay, at least for a little while. This year out July 4th festivities will look a little differently than they have in the past, but they will definitely be about great food, including festive desserts.

Today, I'm sharing a few of my favorite (and easy) red, white, and blue desserts to celebrate the holiday.

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Easy and Festive Oscar Party Food Ideas

This post was written in partnership with Nellie's Free Range Eggs. All opinions are my own.

The Oscars are all about Hollywood glitz and glamour, and your Oscars party should be as well. That doesn't mean you have to spend a ton of money or time pulling it together. A little bit of planning and organization (and some shopping and prepping!) is all it takes to throw a party that, like the Oscars, will be the talk of the town the next day!

The key is to serve quick, easy, and delicious cocktails, appetizers, and sweet treats for a glam Oscars (or any awards ceremony) viewing party!

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The Benefits of Cooking With Kids

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Most children will express an interest in cooking at some point in their lives. Usually, they like to get involved in baking sweet treats like cookies, donuts and cupcakes, where they delight in stirring the mix and licking the spoon. Whenever my kids expresses such an interest, I use it as an opportunity to get them into the kitchen to engage them in new learning experiences that will set them up for life.

Here are just some of the wonderful benefits gained when you take the time to cook with your kids and teach them more about food:

Try New Things

It can sometimes be difficult to get kids to try all of the wonderful foods available to us, with vegetables being a particularly difficult sell. But children who have been engaged in the cooking process, who are having fun learning new skills are much more likely to try their creations than they would be if you simply presented them with a plate of broccoli and asparagus. If you have a particularly fussy child, it’s worth trying to engage them in the kitchen if you’re looking for a new approach to change their mind and get them eating a healthier diet.

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Chocolate Turkey Cupcakes

I'm always on the lookout for Thanksgiving desserts that aren't pumpkin pie. When I saw these turkey cupcakes recently on Martha Stewart, I was thrilled to discover they aren't pumpkin-related and it's one that the kids can help make. Since the cupcakes featured on Martha Stewart's site looked a little in depth, especially when little hands are helping, I adapted it slightly. Plus, I wanted to include two of my favorite candies: Hershey's Kisses and Gimbals jelly beans!

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Chocolate Cheesecake Muffins

Who can resist chocolate or cheesecake? I know I can't! And when they are combined, the concoction is undeniably delicious. These chocolate muffins feature a big morsel of rich, creamy cheesecake on the inside, making them irresistible. Trust me, these muffins are EVERYTHING!

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Fun Activities To Enjoy With Your Kids

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For many parents, fostering creativity in their kids is important. It helps them to become more imaginative thinkers when they're older, helps them work independently, and teaches them how to follow directions and clean up after themselves. 

Finding age-appropriate creative activities is very easy. Some crafts might need a little supervision, but many, especially for older kids, are great for your children to sit down and get on with on their own. But even if they can do them alone, it doesn't mean you don't want to join in and spend some time with your kids. Try these crafts that you can enjoy with your children, whether they're three or thirteen.

Baking

Older kids can get baking on their own, when they're responsible enough to be safe in the kitchen. But even little ones as young as two or three can help you make cakes or cookies. There are plenty of tasks that small children can get involved in, from measuring ingredients to stirring batter. If you want to bake with little ones, choose some easy recipes for things they can decorate once they're baked. Cupcakes and plain cookies are fun to ice, and the simple recipes are easy to measure out and mix up, and then either pour into molds or cut out with cookie cutters.

Jewelry Making

Both boys and girls can enjoy making jewelry, with different levels of difficulty for various ages. Younger children will have no problem stringing beads or uncooked pasta onto a chord and tying it off to make a necklace, bracelet or even belt. When they're older, they can try some things that are a bit more fiddly, or get out a hot glue gun. Clasps and jewelry fittings might be a bit too small for tiny fingers, but a proper jewelry making kit is an excellent present for older children. You can also get easy to use kits for younger ones, where items can be clipped together.

Candle Making

Candle making is an easy thing to do, although you'll need to supervise young kids. As long as everyone knows to be careful with the hot wax, melting it down and adding colors and scents is like creating a special potion and your own unique scent. You can do this craft on special occasions, making Halloween or Christmas candles to give to people as gifts.

Scrapbooking

As any parent who's found one of their favorite magazines cut into pieces can tell you, kids enjoy cutting things out and sticking them down. If your children like making collages, they'll probably enjoy scrapbooking too. A pair of safety scissors, a glue stick, and a scrapbook is all they need to get started. They can stick in anything they like, from photos and artwork to birthday cards and magazine cutouts. It's a great way for both you and your kids to preserve memories from their childhood.

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Sweet and Chewy Coconut Macaroons from Immaculate Baking Company

My girls love to bake, but sometimes our schedule doesn't allow for "from-scratch" baking. With homework and busy after-school schedules, we often need a sweet treat that's easy to make, bakes quickly and tastes yummy.

Immaculate Baking Company makes pre-made cookie dough, ready-to-bake rolls, biscuits, and scones, and baking mixes that are made with organic flour and organic sugar and are free of GMOs (genetically modified organisms). All this amounts to a lot of wholesome goodness.

The Immaculate Baking Company dough was the perfect choice for today's after school sweet treat. We baked up a batch of coconut macaroons today, and they were delicious! They were soft and chewy just as a coconut macaroon should be.

As an added treat, we melted some Lily's Sweets dark chocolate baking chips, and I let Harper drizzle a few of the cookies with melted chocolate.

Lily's Sweets candies and baking items are sweetened with Stevia so they are diabetic-friendly, which is perfect for Harper. Lily's Sweets have 25% less calories but still have all the richness and flavor of traditional chocolate.

These break-and-bake cookies are ideal for little bakers. They can easily break the dough and place each cookie on a cookie sheet. If supervised, they can help stir the chocolate as it melts and drizzle it over the cookies.

Immaculate Baking Company macaroons retail for about $5 for a package of 12 cookies and can be found at grocery stores nationwide.

You can find more information about Immaculate Baking Company on the web and on Facebook. For more information about Lily's Sweets, visit the web site and Facebook page.

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Mini Champagne Cupcakes

Whether you are hosting a New Year's Eve gathering or attending one, these Champagne cupcakes are perfect for the occasion. Make a mini version for a large group, and you'll be the toast of the evening!

MINI CHAMPAGNE CUPCAKES

Ingredients

Cupcakes:
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup shortening (softened butter can be substituted)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 cup GOLDEN BLOSSOM HONEY
1/2 orange juice
3/4 cups champagne
1 teaspoon grated orange zest

Frosting:
6 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter softened
3 tablespoons champagne
6 tablespoons pulp free orange juice
3 tablespoons grated orange zest
gold colored sugar or edible glitter (found in the decorating section of the baking aisle)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°

Cupcakes:
1. In a medium bowl mix flour, baking powder and salt.

2. In a separate bowl beat butter on a medium speed, and gradually add sugar.

3. Add eggs one at a time, then add Golden Blossom Honey, orange juice and champagne.

4. Gradually add the mixed dry ingredients. Once combined, fold in orange zest.
5. Line mini-cupcake tins (found in the baking aisle) with papers and pour batter evenly into a tin. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Frosting: 
In a large bowl whip powdered sugar, butter, champagne, orange juice, and orange zest on medium speed. Spread onto cupcakes and sprinkle with gold colored sugar or edible glitter.

Yields: 72-74 mini-cupcakes or about 35 regular cupcakes.

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Favorite Holiday Baking Traditions #GetYourBettyOn {Giveaway}

One of my favorite holiday traditions is baking cookies. As a child, I remember helping my mom bake dozens upon dozens of cookies. She would fill our kitchen counter with row after row of our favorite Christmas cookies.

Today, I share that same tradition with my daughters. Although I have to admit one loves to help bake the cookies and the other loves to eat the cookies. For us it's an entire process from deciding on the types of cookies we'll bake to shopping for all the ingredients to baking them to enjoying the fruits of our labor.

This year, we downsized our baking in light of Harper's diabetes, but we certainly weren't going to let this holiday tradition pass us by no matter what! One of my favorite cookies to make is sugar cookie cutouts. I love rolling the dough, choosing the cookie cutters, and of course, decorating them.

Yesterday, Harper and I whipped up a batch of these family favorites. When baking with children, you need to give up the notion of perfection. They tend to do everything overzealously, from stirring the dough to decorating the cookies.

We spent most of the morning and early afternoon shopping. So by the time we were ready to start baking, we needed a little help from Betty Crocker. Rather than making the dough from scratch, I started with Betty Crocker's Sugar Cookie mix in a pouch. Just be sure if you are using the cookie mix that you follow the directions for cutout cookies rather than the normal sugar cookies.

Here's a plate of a few of our finished products (like I said, kids can be ambitious cookie decorators!) It's fairly obvious who decorated which cookies!

Betty Crocker shares more ideas for sugar cookie recipes.

This holiday season and beyond, you can #GetYourBettyOn by baking up some delicious goodies for yourself or for guests with baking products from Betty Crocker.

WIN IT!

Betty Crocker has created a basket filled with baking goodies for one lucky Pieces of a Mom reader. The basket (image attached) includes:

• Kitchen tablet stand
• Betty Crocker™ Mixing Spoon
• Betty Crocker™ Oven Mitt
• “Get Your Betty On” Apron
• Gingerbread Cookie Cutter
• Betty Crocker™ Sugar Cookie Mix
• Betty Crocker™ Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix
• Betty Crocker™ Whipped Vanilla Frosting
• Betty Crocker™ Holiday Recipe Booklet 2014 – feat. The Top 10 Cookie Decorating Ideas of 2014

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Friday's Fresh Picks: My Favorite Christmas Cookies

Baking has always been a huge part of the holidays for me. My mom would make dozens upon dozens of cookies every Christmas. This year, I'll be scaling back my baking efforts a bit since we need to curb the sweets for Harper, but I'm still planning to bake a few dozen of my all-time favorite Christmas cookies. And even better than baking them is eating them!

{Vanilla Bean Snickerdoodles}

{Sugar Cookie Cutouts}

{Spritz Cookies}

{Chocolate Chip Cookies}

{Sand Tarts}

{Chocolate Crinkle Cookies}

{White Chocolate Peppermint Cookies}

Friday Fresh Picks are hand-picked favorite items, reviews and highlights from the amazing women you see above.

Visit their websites to learn about other amazing picks from this week!

Sarah from Finnegan & The Hughes

Hilary from A Fancy Girl Must

Tina from Life Without Pink

To view all of my Friday Fresh Picks posts, click here.

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Simply Sweet Colorcakes Cookbook Review & Giveaway *CLOSED*

I love a good cookbook. I prefer the ones that include a picture for each recipe. Seeing perfectly styled food makes me want to prepare it.

When "Simply Sweet COLORCAKES" came across my desk, I immediately knew that I would love it. It's filled with dessert recipes for every season and every occasion. And they are fun and colorful and a treat for kids and adults alike.

There are all sorts of recipes in this book ranging from simple to a bit more tedious and time consuming. It doesn't matter which one you choose to make, you'll be sure to knock your guests socks off.

Colorcakes includes full page photos for each recipe and includes tips for altering some of the recipes for other occasions or celebrations.

Here are 3 of my favorite recipes from the book.

Spring Berry Poke Cake
This cake is perfect for a spring or summer gathering or afternoon tea.

Ingredients
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. table salt
1/4 c. butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1 c. milk
1 (3 oz. ) package strawberry-flavored gelatin
1 c. boiling water
1 (12 oz.) container whipped ready-to-spread vanilla frosting
1 tsp. lemon zest
Garnish: 4 c. mixed fresh berries, fresh mint sprigs

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease bottom and sides of a 13x9 inch pan with shortening, lightly flour.

2. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and salt. In large bowl, beat butter, sugar, and vanilla at high speed with an electric mixer for 3 minutes or until fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture alternately with milk, beating until blended after each addition and scraping the bowl occasionally. Pour batter into prepared pan.

3. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together gelatin and boiling water 2 minutes to completely dissolve gelatin. Poke warm cake every inch with tines of meat fork or table knife. Pour strawberry gelatin mixture slowly over the entire cake, allowing the mixture to fill holes in cake. Cool completely in pan on wire rack (about 1 hour).

5. In a small bowl, mix frosting and lemon zest. Front cake. Garnish with fresh berries and mint, if desired.

Birthday Blondies
This recipe is a nice departure from the typical party treat of cake or cupcakes.

Ingredients
1 (16.5 oz.) package yellow cake mix (ingredients needed to make the cake)
6 tbsp. canola oil
1 large egg
1/3 c. milk
1/4 tsp. almond extract
1/2 c. toasted slivered almonds
1/4 c. plus 2 tbsp. rainbow candy or confetti sprinkles, divided

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9-inch square pan.

2. Stir together first 5 ingredients in a large bowl (batter will be thick). Stir in almonds and 1/4 cup sprinkles or confetti candies. Spread batter into pan. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tbsp. candies.

3. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 23 to 25 minutes or until set and lightly browned. Cool completely on a wire rack (about 1 hour). Cut into 16 squares.

Swirled Candy Cane Cupcakes
Instead of baking up a batch of Christmas cookies, make these cupcakes instead.

Ingredients
Paper baking cups
1 (18.25 ox.) package white cake mix (ingredients needed to make the cake)
1 tsp. peppermint extract
1 tsp. red food color paste
2 (12 oz.) containers whipped ready-to-spread white frosting
1 cup crushed hard peppermint candies (about 30)

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place paper baking cups in 2 (12 cup) muffin pans.

2. Prepare cake mix according to package directions for cupcakes. Add peppermint extact to batter. Divide batter in half. To one portion, add food coloring; stir until well combined and uniform in color. In each muffin cup, place 2 tbsp. red batter; top red batter with 2 tbsp. white batter. Swirl white batter through red batter with a knife to create a marbled design.

3. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 18 to 20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes our clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely (about 30 minutes).

4. Frost cupcakes with frosting. Top each with crushed peppermint candies.

WIN IT!

One lucky Pieces of a Mom reader will win a copy of "Simply Sweet COLORCAKES". You'll have "wow-worthy" dessert recipes at your fingertips for your next celebration.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

* Winner must be 18 years of age or older.
* Winner must reside in continental U.S.
* Once selected via Rafflecopter, the winner will be notified via email and will have 48 hours to respond to confirm.

Can't wait to win it? Order it now!

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White Chocolate Chip Cookies

You can't improve much upon a chocolate chip cookie. They are the perfect cookie. But every once in a while, I like to mix it up a bit by using white chocolate chips rather than semi-sweet chocolate chips. White chocolate is sweeter and smoother than its milk chocolate counterpart and is a nice change when you aren't in the mood for traditional chocolate chip cookies.

WHITE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Ingredients

1-2/3 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1-1/2 sticks butter, softened
3/4 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
2 cups white chocolate morsels or white chocolate chunks


Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit

2. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl.

3. Cream butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Add egg and beat to mix.

4. Gradually add flour mixture to the wet mixture until well combined, being sure to scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl.

5. Stir in morsels or chunks, if using.

6. By rounded tablespoons, drop dough onto ungreased cookie sheets.

7. Bake for 8 to 11 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove from cookie sheets and allow to cool on wire racks.

Yields about 3 dozen cookies.

 

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Today is National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day!

I've never met a chocolate chip cookie that I didn't like. Whether it's soft or crunchy, with nuts or without, I am always game for some chocolate chip cookies.

Mrs. Fields is synonymous with chocolate chip cookies and is a family favorite. Every trip to the mall includes a stop at Mrs. Fields to pick up some bite-sized chocolate chip goodies or even a cookie cake if we are celebrating a special occasion!

This National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day, Mrs. Fields is celebrating with a special promotion and new products. Mrs. Fields has partnered with Rovio Entertainment, the developers of the incredibly popular app Angry Birds. The two brands have partnered to offer cookie boxes - perfect for an after school treat or sweet picnic dessert - and party size cookie cakes.  The goal with this kids program is to bring families together to create special moments and lasting memories.

The Angry Birds Cookie Cake, perfect for a birthday, end-of-school, or anniversary celebration.

For a quick and fun after school snack or a grab and go treat for the park or a picnic, try the Mighty Milk & Cookies box.

To make National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day even sweeter, Mrs. Fields offering a 20% discount from May 15th through the 20th when you use the code NCCCD when you shop at MrsFields.com.

Make someone's day a little sweeter with some goodies from Mrs. Fields!

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Angel Food Cupcakes

When I pinned this recipe a few months ago, it was only because I thought they looked pretty. I wasn't certain that I'd ever make them.

But when Easter rolled around, and I needed a dessert to make for dinner, these angel food cupcakes came to mind first. Due to my time constraints, I swapped out the homemade version for a box mix. The box mix produced delicious, light, and airy cupcakes. I was pleased.

The original recipe can be found here.

Angel Food Cupcakes

Ingredients
1 box angel food cake mix
1-1/4 cups water

For the whipped icing (or you could use prepackaged whipped icing):

• 1-1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 6 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• Fresh strawberries, blueberries or raspberries (optional)

Preparation
1. Prepare the cake according to package directions. Instead of pouring batter in a tube pan, pour into lined or sprayed cupcake tins, filling 2/3 full.

2. Bake according to package directions. Allow to cool completely before applying the icing.

3. Using a knife or a piping bag, apply icing to the cupcakes. I like to use a piping bag for a more elegant look. If you don't have a piping bag, place icing in a quart-size freezer bag, snip off a corner, and squeeze icing out of the bag.

4. Place fresh berries on top. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

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Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Nothing much beats the taste of warm coffee cake in the morning. I like to make this recipe on special occasions such as Christmas morning, but it's perfect any day of the year, especially on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Streusel Topping

INGREDIENTS

For the cake:
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
2/3 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup sour cream

For the topping:
1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons butter, chopped and chilled

PREPARATION
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease the bottom of an 8x8 or 9x9 inch pan.

2. To prepare the topping, place the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Mix with your hands or a fork. Add the butter and continue working with your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Divide into 2 equal parts, about 1/2 cup each.

3. In a large bowl, cream the butter with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and continue to beat until light and fluffy.

4. Add the eggs, one at a time and beat well after each is added.

5. In another large bowl, sift the dry ingredients:j flour, soda, powder.

6. Fold the dry ingredients into the butter/sugar mixture in three batches, alternating adding sour cream between each batch. Fold until the mixture is well blended.

7. Pour half of the batter into prepared baking dish. Sprinkle one half of the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture on top of the batter.

8. Drop the remaining batter by heaping spoonfuls on top of the topping and spread to the edges of the pan. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of topping over the top.

9. Bake for 60 minutes or until browned. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.

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Have Your Pie and Eat It Too on National Pie Day!

It's National Pie Day! While mathematical buffs will be celebrating with calculators in hand, I'll be celebrating with a fork in my hand!

There's something all-American about pie. Whether it's a spicy apple pie or a mile-high lemon meringue pie, a good slice of pie is good for the soul.

What's the key to a good pie? The crust, of course. Don't be daunted by making your own crust. Following a few simple rules will guarantee you a crust that's fool-proof.

Check out the perfect flaky pie crust recipe and directions here.

Once you've perfected your crust, it's time for the pie filling. What's your fancy? Pumpkin? Apple? Cherry? Pecan? Or are you more of a cream pie person? Boston Creme, perhaps?

I'm sharing a delicious recipe today compliments of A Bullseye View and Target Inner Circle.

Double Cherry Bullseye Pie

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Easy Vanilla Cupcakes

Over the weekend, Harper had a playdate. She wanted to make and decorate cupcakes, and she really wanted to use the Funfetti cake mix.

After a few minutes of arguing back and forth and hemming and hawing, I finally convinced her that we should bake the cupcakes from scratch. "They'll be so much tastier and healthier", I told her.

This is my favorite cupcake recipe. The cupcakes are light and airy and turn out perfectly smooth on the top. Once you try this recipe, you will never go back to a box mix.

Easy Vanilla Cupcakes

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 lb. butter (1 stick), softened
• 1/2 cup sugar (use 3/4 cup if you want a sweeter cupcake)*
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

For the icing:

• 2 oz. butter, softened
• 3 cups of powdered sugar
• 1-2 tbsp. milk
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1 dash of salt

* I use 1/2 cup of sugar since the icing will sweeten the cupcake.

PREPARATION

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a muffin tin with paper cups or spray the tin with non-stick cooking spray.

2. Whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl. Set aside.

3. In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time.

4. Add the pure vanilla extract to the milk.

5. In 3 batches, add the flour mixture. Beat. Add milk. Beat. Add flour. Beat. Continue until all ingredients are added and well combined.

6. Pour batter into muffin cups and fill 2/3 of the cup.

7. Bake for 16-18 minutes.

8. Remove from muffin tin and place on a wire rack to cool.

9. Prepare the icing by creaming the 2 oz. of butter in a bowl with a hand mixer. Add the remaining ingredients and mix for about 4 minutes.

10. Either spread the icing on the cupcakes or place in a bag fitted with a frosting tip and pipe the icing on to the cupcakes.

Having a few good baking tools will insure success. Here are a few of my favorites:

A fun apron is a must!

Sur La Table Muffin/Cupcake Pan - $25

KitchenAid 5-Speed Hand Mixer - $49

Cupcake Liners and Picks - $10

Collapsible Mixing Bowl - $20

Silicone Spatula - $12

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Betty Crocker Gluten Free Cake Mix

Last winter, I went gluten-free as an experiement. I was struggling with rosacea symptoms and was hoping that a gluten-free diet would help alleviate my symptoms.

For six weeks I followed a strict gluten free diet.Although I didn't see a vast improvement in the redness on my face, I did notice other significant changes to my body and my overall disposition.
I am convinced that all of us has some sort of gluten intolerance. How can that much gluten be good for our stomachs?

I have slowly been introducing gluten free foods to my family in an effort to make our diets more healthy. This weekend the girls wanted to make a cake, and so we tried Becky Crocker's gluten free cake mix as an alternative to traditional cake mix.

We prepared the cake according to the package directions. The box stated that we should use 2 teaspoons of gluten-free vanilla extract. I thought all vanilla extract was gluten-free, but I decided to Google it to be sure. Since the alcohol is vanilla extract is distilled, most vanilla extracts should be free of gluten. I know for certain that McCormick's and Nielson-Malley are gluten-free. But to be sure, read the packaging.

We frosted the cake and dug in! There was absolutely no difference in taste between the gluten-free cake and a traditional one. None at all. The Betty Crocker gluten free cake was moist and delicious!

I am so happy we tried this cake mix! We now have a mix that we can use for birthday treats since there is a child in my daughter's Girl Scout troop and school classroom with celiac disease.

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Win Tickets to 4-Day Celebrity Food Event in Red Bank, New Jersey

Don't miss this awesome giveway going on over at Jersey Bites! They are giving away tickets (and lots of them!!) to this 4-day food event in Red Bank, New Jersey. You'll have the chance to hang with celeb chef.

Appetite Brings 4 Day Food Event to Red Bank (via Jersey Bites)

Strap on your seat belts Food Fanatics, The Count Basie Theater has got an exciting  4 Day event coming in September that you don’t want to miss (And we’ve got tickets to give away, Woo Hoo!!)APPETITE: A Gastronomic Experience™ features a different…

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