Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

Change of plan for the wedding luncheon I'm helping with!  Cupcakes instead of sheetcakes!

1 box white cake mix

1/3 cup pink lemonade concentrate

½ cup buttermilk

3 eggs

2-3 drops red food coloring

Mix together all ingredients until smooth.

Pour batter into paper liners and fill ¾ full.

Bake 15-18 minutes at 350 degrees or until cake springs back when lightly touched.

Cool completely before frosting.

Pink Lemonade Cream

8 Tbsp. (1 stick butter, room temperature

3 ¾ cups powdered sugar, sifted

3-4 Tbsp. Milk or cream

1-2 drops red food coloring

2 tsp. lemon extract

--Place butter in a large mixing bowl.  Beat until light and fluffy, about 30 seconds.  Stop the mixer before adding the sugar to avoid a large mess.

Add sugar, 3 Tbsp. milk or cream, food coloring, and lemon extract.  Beat frosting starting on slow speed and increasing your speed until frosting is nice and creamy.  Add up to 1 more Tbsp of milk or cream if frosting is too thick.

Root Beer Float Cupcakes

1 white cake mix

1 cup of you favorite root beer

1 recipe vanilla Buttercream

1 tsp. root beer flavoring

--Mix together root beer and cake mix.  Pour into paper liners and fill ¾ full.

Bake at 350 degree for 15-18 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched.  Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.

In a separate bowl, mix buttercream frosting and root beer flavoring.  Frost cooled cupcakes.

Rootbeer Buttercream

8 Tbsp. (1 stick) butter, room temperature

3 ¾ cups powdered sugar, sifted

3-4 Tbsp. milk or cream

1 tsp. vanilla flavoring

Place butter in a large mixing bowl. Beat until light and fluffy, about 30 seconds.  Stop the mixer before adding sugar to avoid a large mess.

Add sugar, 3 tbsp. milk or cream, and root beer flavoring. 

Beat frosting, starting on slow and increasing your speed until frosting is nice and creamy.  Add up to 1 more Tbsp. of milk or cream if frosting is too thick.

Cookie and Cream Dream Cupcakes

1 box chocolate cake mix

1 cup sour cream

3 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

18-24 whole chocolate sandwich cookie, crumbled

1 recipe vanilla buttercream frosting

--Mix together cake mix, sour cream, eggs,and vanilla . Place a spoonful of batter on the bottom of each paper liner.  Place a whole cookie on the bottom lying flat.  Cover with remaining batter until ¾ full.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-28 minutes.  Allow cupcakes to cool on a rack completely.

Add crumbled cookies to buttercream frosting.  Be generous and frost cupcakes nice and high.

Vanilla Buttercream

8 Tbsp. (1 stick) butter, room temperature

3 ¾ cups powdered sugar, sifted

3-4 Tbsp. milk or cream

2 tsp. vanilla

Place butter in a large mixing bowl.  Beat until light and fluffly, about 30 seconds.  Stop beating before adding sugar to avoid a large mess.

Add sugar, 3 Tbsp. milk or cream, and vanilla extract.  Beat frosting starting on slow, increasing your speed until frosting is nice and creamy.  Add up to 1 more Tbsp milk or cream if frosting is too thick.

Root Beer Float Cookies

Root Beer Float Cookies
Makes about 3 dozen large cookies or 4 dozen medium cookies (depending how big you like 'em!)


Cookie Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1 tsp. root beer extract or concentrate

4 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

Frosting Ingredients:

4 cups powdered sugar (or icing sugar)

3/4 cup butter, softened

3 Tbsp. milk

1 tsp. root beer extract or concentrate

 
Directions:

Preheat oven to 375º.

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and brown sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in buttermilk and root beer extract. 

Combine dry ingredients; gradually add to creamed mixture. 

Drop by tablespoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375º for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. 

In a mixing bowl, combine all frosting ingredients. Beat until smooth. 

Frost cooled cookies.

Chocolate Cupcakes and Peanut Butter Frosting

This is from the Daily Herald.  Jan made it for her book party. 

Chocolate Cupcake Recipe

• 1 Devil's Food Cake Mix
• 1 box (5.9 ounces) chocolate pudding
• 1 cup sour cream (I use low fat)
• 1 cup oil
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all of the above ingredients with a mixer. This batter will be quite thick, much thicker than typical cake batter. Use two paper-lined muffin tins to make 24 cupcakes.
Unwrap mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cup and push one into the center of each cupcake. Bake for 18 minutes. (I don't bake them a minute longer than that. At 18 minutes they are just barely done. I like them very soft and moist. If yours don't appear done, let them go a minute or two longer.)

Peanut Butter Frosting

• 1 cup butter, softened                                                                
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 5 teaspoons milk 

Beat above ingredients together with an electric mixer. I usually just use a Ziploc bag to pipe the frosting on because I like to be able to throw it away when I am done. Fill the bag, snip a corner off, and pipe.
I also melted some chocolate chips, threw in some butter and then drizzled a little chocolate on top. Put a mini Reese's cup on top of the cupcake for extra flair.

Banana Cake

This recipe is different from the Nana-Sour Cream Bars.  I also got this from Cliss.

1/2 cup butter
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups (3) ripe mashed bananas
1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
pinch salt

Mix first five (wet) ingredients together.  Then mix in the last few dry ingredients.  Pour into a jellyroll pan (15 x 10 x 1) and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.  Until it is brown on top.

Frosting

1/2 cup butter
1 package cream cheese
4 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp. vanilla

Mix ingredients.  Frost cake while it is still warm but not hot so it can cool smoothly on the cake.

Texas Sheet Cake

 I got this recipe from Cliss. 

In a small saucepan melt:
2 cubes margarine or butter
3 Tbsp. cocoa
1 cup water
1 tsp. vanilla

In a mixing bowl, mix:
1/2 cup buttermilk (or 1/2 milk and 1 tsp. vinegar)
1 Tbsp. vinegar
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking soda

Add saucepan mix, then add:
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. salt

Pour into greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 18 - 25 minutes.

Frosting

1 cube butter or margarine
3 Tbsp. cocoa
5 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 lb. powdered sugar (about 4 cups)

Mix and frost while cake is warm, but not hot, so the frosting cools down as a smooth glaze.