Martha Stewart's Meyer Lemon Cupcakes

I just finished making these DELICIOUS Meyer lemon cupcakes from the book Martha Stewart's Cupcakes today. To be honest I think these are one of the best cupcakes I have ever had! This recipe is definitely recommended!!  OK here's the recipe!! :)


Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
2 tablespoons finely grated Meyer lemon zest, plus 2 tablespoons fresh Meyer lemon juice (about 1 to 2 Meyer lemons)
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. coarse salt
3 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter, room temperature
3 cups granulated sugar
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
7 large eggs, room temperature
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
confectioners sugar for dusting cupcakes (optional)


Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Line standard muffin tins with paper liners.  mix together flour, lemon zest, baking powder, and salt.
With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream the butter and granulated sugar until pale and fluffy.  Beat in the cream cheese.  Reduce the speed to low.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.  Beat in the lemon juice and vanilla.  Add the flour mixture in three batches, beating until just combined after each.
Divide batter evenly among the lined cups, filling each three-quarters full.  Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean.  Bake for about 28 minutes.  Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing the cupcakes.  The cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen for up to 2 months in airtight containers.
To finish, dust the cupcakes with confectioners sugar.  Fill a pastry bag with the lemon curd (Don't worry I'll give you the ingredients and directions for the lemon curd in just a second) then insert the tip into the top of each cupcake.  Filled cupcakes can be kept at room temperature for up to 1 hour (or refrigerated a few hours more) before serving.


LEMON CURD!
Ingredients:
2 whole eggs plus 8 egg yolks (I know a LOT of eggs!)
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, room temperature


Directions:
Combine whole eggs and yolks, sugar and lemon juice in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water.  Cook, whisking constantly, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.  Remove from heat.  Add the butter, a few pieces at a time, whisking until smooth after each addition.  Strain through a fine sieve into another bowl, and cover with parchment paper or plastic wrap, pressing it directly on surface to prevent the skin from forming.  Refrigerate until chilled and firm, at least 2 hours (or up to 2 days!)  Enjoy! :)




Thanks
Alyssa :)

Amazing Blueberry Banana Bread!

Lately I've been really in the mood for some banana bread, so I was searching through some cookbooks and I found the PERFECT recipe!  I got this recipe from the book Jackson Hole Cooks.  Here are the ingredients!
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup blueberries
1 1/2 cups flour, divided
2/3 cup sugar
1 3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup uncooked oats
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup oil
1 cup bananas, mashed, (about 3)


Directions:

Not a GREAT picture but this tastes amazing!!

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease one loaf pan and set aside.
In a small bowl, sprinkle blueberries with 2 tsp. of flour, stirring gently to mix.  Set aside.
In a large bowl, sift together the remaining flour, sugar, salt and baking powder.  Stir in oats.
In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, oil and mashed bananas until well blended.  Add the banana mixture to dry ingredients, stirring until just combined.  Gently fold in the blueberries.
Pour mixture into the prepared load pan and bake for 1 hour, or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Remove from the oven and let it cool completely on a wire rack before removing the bread from the loaf pan.  Bread is best if wrapped and stored in the refrigerator 24 hours before slicing (I didn't put it in the fridge, right as it was cool I had to try it!!)  It can also be frozen.  Enjoy!! :)


Thanks
Alyssa :)

Vanilla Iced Coffee

I got this amazing vanilla iced coffee drink from a cookbook called Jackson Hole Cooks. This recipe is super quick and really good! Here's the recipe!

Ingredients:
I cup fresh brewed coffee
1 cup 2% skim milk (I didn't actually use skim milk)
3/4 tsp vanilla extract (I used 1 whole teaspoon)
1 tbsp. granulated sugar
ice cubes
ground cinnamon


Directions:
Mix the coffee, milk, vanilla and sugar together in a pitcher.  Stir well to combine.


Place the ice cubes into two ice tea or other tall, 12-oz. glasses.  Pour the coffee mixture into the glasses.  If desired, lightly sprinkle with ground cinnamon.  Enjoy! :)


P.S. At the bottom of my blog, I have 3 boxes that you can check off.  One of the boxes say Amazing, the other one says OK and then the last one says Not good.  So if you try these recipes please mark off the boxes so I know which ones you enjoy or are not a big fan of.  Thank you!


Thanks
Alyssa :)

Heads Up!

Everyone just a quick heads up, when I first started this blog I said I was only going to be putting on desserts, and well any sweet baking item.  But I've changed my mind now and have decided that I will also be putting on appetizers and main courses and things that are not sweet.  So I'll be posting both on here!


Thanks
Alyssa :)

Irresistible Peanut Butter Cookies!

I got this recipe from  http://www.foodnetwork.com/.  This recipe is so good and the cookies are really soft and chewy!  OK, here's the recipe!

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 cup Jif Creamy peanut butter

1/2 stick all vegetable shortening (I used butter, it's so much more healthy!)

1 1/4 firmly packed brown sugar

3 tablespoons milk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 large egg

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Combine peanut butter, butter, brown sugar, milk and vanilla in a large bowl.  Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until well blended.  Add the egg. Beat until just blended.

Combine the flour, baking soda and salt.  Add to the creamed mixture at low speed.  Mix until just blended.  Drop by rounded tablespoonful 2 inched apart onto a greased baking sheet.  Flatten in a crisscrossed pattern with a fork.

Bake the cookies for 7 to 8 minutes, or until set and just beginning to brown.  Cool for 2 minutes on a baking sheet.  Remove the cookies to a cooling rack so they can be cooled completely.

These cookies go great with a glass of milk!!  Enjoy!

Thanks

Alyssa :)

Pumpkin Cookies with Cinnamon Icing

I found this great recipe on a cooking blog called http://livlifetoo.blogspot.com/, I love her blog I check it almost every day and get new ideas and awesome recipes!  These Pumpkin cookies are really soft, chewy and moist! Anyway here's the recipe! :)

1/2 cup of whole wheat flour
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (if you don't have pumpkin pie spice, just mix together some cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg it's the same thing!)
1/2 cup of butter, softened
1 1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a bowl.  Mix well.
In another bowl beat the pumpkin pie spice, butter, and sugar together with a mixer until creamy.  Add the pumpkin puree, egg, and vanilla extract and mix until well combined.  Slowly add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture until just combined.
Drop by the spoonful onto the baking sheet.  Place into the oven and bake for 15 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack.
Cinnamon Icing:
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar (I put 1 in, I don't like glazes or frosting's too sweet!)
3-4 tbsp milk
1 tbsp melted butter


Combine all of the ingredients together in a bowl and mix thoroughly.  Place the cookies on the wire rack over waxed paper.  Spoon the icing over the top of each cookie and spread around until covered.  Goes great with an ice cold glass of milk!  Enjoy!


Thanks
Alyssa :)