-Vanilla Cupcakes-
yields: 18 cupcakes
Ingredients:
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup 2% milk
- 3 large eggs
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup 2% milk
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcakes pans with paper liners or use aluminum cupcake pans and pat each cupcake mold with vegetable oil.
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, oil, milk, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Mix at low speed for 2 minutes or manually until smooth.
3. Add beaten eggs and mix at high speed until fluffy and smooth, approximately 2 minutes.
4. Fill liners 1/2 to 2/3 full of batter. DO NOT OVERFILL.
5. Bake 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
6. Cool 10 minutes in pans then remove from pan and place on wire racks to cool completely.
7. Frost and decorate your vanilla cupcakes as desired. I garnished with chocolate frosting with strawberries and crushed almonds!
**To add some fun, fold in some colorful sprinkles into the batter to give the cupcake a confetti look!
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yields: 30 tarts
Ingredients:
- 3 egg yolks
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 tbs flour
- 2 tbs cornstarch
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cup whole milk
- Athen's mini tart shells (2 boxes)
Directions:
1. Whisk yolks with sugar, flour and cornstarch.
2. Meanwhile, bring milk and vanilla to a boil. Add milk slowly to egg mixture to temper. Once tempered, add egg mixture back into saucepan over low heat until thickened like vanilla pudding.
3. Cool, then refrigerate until time to stuff pastry shells, then top with fruit garnish.
4. To glaze, melt about 2 tbs apricot preserves with a tbs of water on the stove top and gently brush onto fruit.
Forget traditional cocktail sauce. These are full of tangy mango, delicate shrimp, and hold a tangy, spicy surprise.
yield: 6 servings
Ingredients:
- 1/2 pound shrimp
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 large salad mangos (ripe)
- 1 medium tomato
- 1/4 head Iceberg lettuce
- 4 ounces of Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce (Maggi is a good brand)
- 2 medium limes
Directions:
1. Prepare the shrimp. Mince one garlic clove into a hot pan with EVOO. Add the other garlic clove just in the pan. Devein and peel the shrimp. Marinate in italian seasoning, salt, pepper, cilantro, rosemary and crushed red peppers. Cook the shrimp till pink and refrigerate.
2. Peel the skin from the mangos, and cut it into cubes.
3. Cut up and seed the tomato.
4. Shred the lettuce.
5. In a bowl start building the salad. First, the lettuce, mangos, tomatoes, then the shrimp.
6. Mix the chilli sauce and the limes into a bowl and drizzle on top the salad.
-Brownie Christmas Trees-
Ingredients:
- 1 brownie box
- 1 box of mini candy canes
- Green frosting can
- Red M&Ms
- Sprinkles (colored)
Directions:
1. Prepare brownies according to directions on the box.
2. Cut cooled brownies into small triangles.
3. Break off a straight piece of candy cane and insert into bottom of triangle for a tree trunk.
4. Decorate trees with green icing, zig-zagging down the length of the tree.
5. Put red M&Ms randomly along the green zig-zag
6. Sprinkle trees
yield: 4 servings
Ingredients:
- 2 oranges
- 2 cups vanilla ice cream, softened slightly
- 4 tablespoons caramel sauce
- 1 cup of chopped roasted almonds (or granola)
Directions:
1. Cut each orange in half. Using a grapefruit spoon, scoop out the pulp from the oranges, leaving the rinds intact to form shells.
2. Set the shells (4 halves) on a platter or cake stand, spoon softened vanilla ice cream into the orange shells.
3. Microwave the caramel jar for 10 seconds and drizzle on top the ice cream.
4. Add crunch garnish--roasted chopped almonds or granola.
Note: Once stuffed, you may refrigerate oranges until ready to serve. Top with caramel sauce just before serving.
-Twilight Fever Sugar Cookies-
What's the baker's version of the blank canvas? The delicious sugar cookie! You can dress them up on the inside with flavors or on the outside, with tasty frostings and decorations. I chose to make Twilight themed cookies for a friend's twilight fever party! So which one do you chose, team edward or team jacob?
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions:
1. In a bowl, with mixer on medium, beat butter and sugar until fluffy; beat in egg and vanilla extract. On low, beat in flour and salt.
2. Divide dough in half; shape each half into a 1/2-inch-thick disk. Wrap in plastic wrap; chill until firm.
3. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
4. On floured surface, roll dough 1/8-inch thick; cut into circle shapes. Transfer to ungreased baking sheet(s).
5. Bake until lightly golden around the edges, 10 minutes.
6. Let cool 5 minutes; transfer to racks to cool. Decorate as desired; store in an airtight container up to 2 weeks, or freeze, undecorated, up to 3 months.
