the thrifty crafter

I love to entertain.  Over time, I’ve found the more gatherings you host, the better you get in terms of time management.  Like the best known entertainers will tell you, you host events to spend time with your guests…and how much time are you spending with them if you are constantly in the kitchen?

St. Patrick’s Day gatherings at our house have become a yearly thing.  Luckily, the food is so easy to prepare, and so naturally flavorful and good that getting an algorithm down for preparation isn’t half bad.  It is a meal that is a good place to start if you are just getting into entertaining.

My usual menu goes a little something like this:

Appetizers

• Cheese plate with crackers/fruit
• Pretzels with a fun mustard
• Crudites with some type of dip

*I always try to stick with a theme when entertaining.  For St. Patrick’s Day, I’ll typically pick up an Irish Cheddar, a stout infused cheese and something like an English Cotswold or an Apricot Stilton or some other fun variety.  For veggies and fruit, I choose what I serve using yellow, green and white as my color palette.

Main meal

• Corned beef and cabbage (and carrots and red potatoes)
• Irish Soda Bread
• Salad of mache, crisp green beans and tomatoes with a white wine-whole grain mustard dressing

*I find that the traditional corned beef in a bag that you get from your grocer is sufficiently delicious for this meal. It is so easy to not have to worry about brining and seasoning…it always comes out great!  So, to amp up the foodie factor, I spend time making my own bread and a nice salad.

Dessert

• Rich chocolate stout cake with a ganache drizzle and french vanilla ice cream
• Coffee and Bailey’s

* This meal is so rustic and simple, it almost demands a decadent dessert for a strong finish! A great way to round out a fabulous meal.

The key to a smooth evening is prep earlier in the week.  Cut your veggies (cabbage into quarters, red potatoes halved or quartered , depending on size and carrots peeled and chunked for your CB&C and slice your crudites for appetizers) 1-2 days ahead of time and put them in easy to grab ziploc bags or reusable containers.

I love to add blanched green beans to a simple mache and heirloom tomato salad with mustard dressing – blanch your green beans ahead of time, slice your tomatoes and make your salad dressing early.

One thing I love to do, since a cheese plate is always a staple, is cut the label from a cheese wrapper and affix it with scotch tape to a simple toothpick.  Trader Joe’s has a great cheese selection and particularly cute labels, so it is identification and cute decoration, all-in-one!  Place unwrapped cheeses in a reusable container, ready to plate!

If making Irish soda bread the day of (which should definitely be eaten right out of the oven!), get your wet/dry ingredients portioned out in mixing bowls and cover in plastic wrap so they are ready to go. I typically pop my unbaked loaf into the oven just after guests arrive as it takes a little over an hour to bake.  Nothing better than the smell of fresh baking bread! And don’t forget to take some butter out of the fridge the morning of to allow to soften for serving.

Clear out one shelf in your fridge and stick everything for that day there, so you don’t have to search for things.

Plan out what servingware you’ll use, pre-wash them, and set them out how you want them arranged the night before.

Iron your fabric napkins and polish your silverware and glassware with a clean cloth.

And most importantly, have a great time and enjoy your guests the day of!  Happy Entertaining!

When you think of Valentine’s Day, what comes to mind? Love, romance, Cupid…<snore>, let’s get a little more tangible, people.  How about roses? Chocolate covered strawberries? Champagne, maybe? What if you were to combine all of those elements into one perfect edible little package…in the form of a mini cupcake? A delicate champagne cake, topped with a rich, rose-scented buttercream, garnished with a white chocolate drizzled strawberry slice. One, maybe two bites if you’re being polite, the interplay between these subtle, yet distinct flavors delivers one lovely treat.

As always, I’m a scourer of recipes, so this is a combination/adaptation.  Many thanks to Gimme Some Oven (how great is that name?) for the cake recipe and the peeps at epicurious for the fabulously pipeable buttercream frosting base. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

For the Champagne Cupcakes:

• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1.5 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/3 cup butter
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup champagne
• 3 egg whites

For the Buttercream Frosting:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3.5 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1 teaspoon rose water (found at specialty food stores and your local middle eastern market)
• 1 drop red food coloring (optional, though festive)

Directions:

To Make The Cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Prepare a mini cupcake pan with liners.
2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until very light and fluffy. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together, and then blend into creamed mixture alternately with champagne.

   

3. In another large clean bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. You should be able to hold the bowl above your head and nothing should move.

   

4. Fold 1/3 of the whites into batter to lighten it, then fold in remaining egg whites.  Fill the cupcake liners about 2/3 full.

   

5. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

   

To make the frosting:

1. In a large bowl, mix the butter, sifted powdered sugar, salt, milk, and rose water until smooth. Mix in food coloring if using.

   

For your strawberries:

1. Wash, hull, and slice your berries into ~4-5 slices per berry.  If making minicupcakes, smaller strawberries seem to make a more proportionate garnish.

   

2. Lightly dry berries by using paper towel to remove excess moisture and place berry slices on a sheet of parchment paper.

   

3. Temper your melting chocolate and use a spoon to drizzle melted chocolate over berries (obviously, there is some room for improvement in my drizzling technique!).  Allow to dry.  Garnish your cupcakes and share the love!

   

When I first saw little cake balls on a stick at Starbucks, I honestly wasn’t very interested.  The idea of frosting and cake covered in more candy/chocolate sounded overly sweet for my preferably savory tastebuds. Then, along came Pinterest and all it’s pretty pictures…all of a sudden, just like that, I HAD to make them.

Thank goodness for Bakerella and her lovely YouTube video!  If you’re a first timer, be sure to check it out for helpful tips – you really can’t go wrong.

As Valentine’s is coming up, what better combo for a cake pop than my favorite, dreamy red velvet with cinnamon cream cheese frosting, doused in a white chocolate shell and adorned with some festive red sprinkles?  Simply, sinfully, scrumdeliumptious.

If you have a recipe for 12 cupcakes, it’ll make enough cake for about 48 cake pops.  I didn’t have enough frosting for that many, so I cut the baked cake in half.  I <gasp!> do not own a cake pan, so poured my prepared cupcake batter into a loaf pan and baked for ~45 minutes at 325, until a toothpick came out clean.

I cut the loaf in half and crumbled it up,

Added about 1/4 – 1/3 c of Cinnamon Cream Cheese frosting (I made a batch of 24 mini cupcakes the same day and frosted them – this was the amount that was leftover)

Mix the cake and frosting together and, using a cookie scoop, roll them into uniform little balls that hold together.  Stick the balls in the freezer for 15 minutes to firm them up, then switch them to the fridge – you do not want frozen balls!

Meanwhile, get your chocolate ready.  I used the narrowest and deepest microwavable vessel I had on hand, which turned out to be my trusty Pyrex liquid measurer. I filled up my Pyrex cup with my melting chocolate, put it in the microwave for two, 30 second intervals and used a spatula to stir from the inside out (just like you would if using a double boiler to melt your chocolate) to make sure everything is melted, incorporated and smooth. DO NOT OVERHEAT or your chocolate will not set properly.

Take a lollipop stick and dip 1/2 inch or so of the tip in melted chocolate.

Insert tip into firm cake ball, about halfway through (not all the way through!)

Using a straight, vertical motion, submerge your cake ball in chocolate.

Use the turn of your hand to make sure all cake is covered (do not twist the stick!)

Lift cake pop straight out of vessel, pausing to let excess drip off in a vertical fashion, THEN, turn cake pop 90 degrees and slowly spin stick in your hand.  Use your opposite hand to gently tap your palm to allow all excess to drip off as you spin (watch the video – it is easier than it sounds!)

Before chocolate has fully set, sprinkle your cake pop with your favorite adornment. Place finished cake pops in a thick styrofoam base to allow them to set and dry.

To serve, I set mine in mini cupcake papers – helps contain the sprinkles!

That’s what these ginger-carrot-oatmeal cookies are made of!

What can I say?  I hadn’t baked in about a month and was starting to get that NEED.TO.USE.THE.KITCHENAID itch.  Armed with ingredients already on hand, I began to scour recipes for carrot/oatmeal cookies and came across two that were inspiring, Martha’s Carrot Cake Cookies and Dorie Greenspan’s Gingered Carrot Cookies. I didn’t have pecans or walnuts or coconut and don’t particularly love raisins, so I used the base of Martha’s recipe and the gingery idea of Dorie’s, adding candied ginger to increase the ginger flavor and replicate the chew of the raisins.  The result was a pretty delicious hybrid!

I might mention that this itch might of had to do with coming straight from the gym, where my treadmill faced a TV that was playing Food Network episodes.  Hmmmmm.  To make myself feel better, I subbed half the flour for almond meal, which since I was omitting walnuts, gave them a great nutty base.  The cookies spread out quite a bit, probably in part due to the fact that almond meal doesn’t bind as well as flour, so this is definitely more of a thin, crispy cookie, as opposed to a chunky one. Crumbled, it would be great over vanilla bean ice cream, or if you live in a foodie friendly place, over some stracciatella gelato.  Next time, in order to get them to hold together a little better, I think I will decrease the baking temp to 350 and chill the dough for at least an hour prior to baking. Still, pretty darn delicious.

Gingered Carrot Oatmeal Cookies

adapted from Martha Stewart.  Makes 24.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup almond meal
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 cup candied ginger, chopped
• 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 3/4 cup finely grated carrots (about 3 small-medium carrots)

I.LOVE.PERSIMMONS. What’s not to love about the crisp, vibrantly orange, lightly spicy-sweet fruit? It wasn’t so long ago that I didn’t understand why you would choose a strange piece of fruit after Thanksgiving dinner over traditional desserts like pumpkin pie and ambrosia (alright, alright, I probably don’t ‘choose’ so much as make room for both or all).  My uncle always has a plate of fresh Fuys out and, one year, they just looked so perfectly plump and pretty that I had to try one…and I’m so glad I did!

Now, I always look for them in the fall and buy them in numbers. Usually, I’m the only one in my household eating them and this year I actually let a few get <gasp!> overripe.  What’s a girl to do with overripe fuyus?  Same thing you do with bananas – bake ‘em up! Perusing the web, I came across this lovely photographic blog and a persimmon cookie recipe that sounded pretty tasty and decided to give it a whirl (literally!). The original recipe  (and most persimmon baking recipes) calls for Hachiyas but the Fuyus worked out great; whichever variety you choose, just make sure the persimmon is so ripe that the skin is almost translucent and bursting at the seams. The flavor and texture of the finished cookie reminds me of fall with flavors very similar to pumpkin spice.  Tasty little guys either on their own or with ice cream…butter pecan, anyone? 

Persimmon Cookies

• 1 cup persimmon puree (about 3 persimmons)
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon grated orange rind
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves
• 1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

For the persimmon puree, remove the stems from the persimmons and cut the fruit into chunks. Puree the chunks in a food processor until the mixture is smooth. Use a sieve to strain pulp  and remove skins.

Cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Mix in the the orange rind, egg, vanilla, and persimmon pulp.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.  Add flour mixture to wet ingredients in 2-3 batches, mixing until just incorporated. Stir in the walnuts and cranberries.

Drop the dough, using a small ice cream scoop onto the prepared cookie sheets.

Bake cookies for 20 minutes, depending on the size, rotating pan halfway though.  Allow to cool and enjoy!

thethriftycrafter has moved to New York! While my new schedule doesn’t allow for a whole lot of crafting time, my hubs and I have tried to make the most of the time we do have by venturing out to explore our new surroundings.  Among our most recent trips, we did a little apple picking in New York’s Hudson Valley region at Wrights Farm. We spent the day taking in (and taking pictures of!) all of the fall colors and finished up with a brisk hike in the apple orchards.  Such a fun outing to enjoy the fall season!

Coming home with 2 whole pecks of apples, I was in search for a few good recipes. I turned to my trusty Moosewood Desserts cookbook for inspiration and found a great recipe for Old Fashioned Apple Cake.  I made it as directed and it was delicious, though next time to mix it up, I would add some chopped walnuts and a cream cheese glaze.  Try it as a morning bread in a loaf pan, or increase the recipe and make it in a bundt pan for a festive fall party cake.  A sweet reminder of the glorious beauty of fall.

Old-Fashioned Fresh Apple Cake

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups peeled, chopped apples (recipe suggested Mutsu and Rome, both of which were varieties we picked!)
2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated lemon peel

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Oil or butter a loaf pan.

2. Combine the melted butter and brown sugar, beating well by hand or using an electric mixer. Add the vanilla, then beat in the eggs one at a time.

3. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder. Fold the flour mixture into the butter mixture – batter will be stiff. Fold in chopped apples, lemon juice and lemon peel.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 – 50 minutes or until the cake is golden and a knife comes out clean.  Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or let cool and garnish with a cream cheese glaze.



When I think of springtime treats, lemon desserts and carrot cake are the first things that come to mind. So why not combine the two to give you the best of both worlds?  Since I prefer the individuality of cupcakes, especially when I am making treats for different groups of people, I used this delicious-looking and rave-reviewed recipe for carrot cake and adjusted the time down for cupcakes.  To top them off, I used the lemon cream cheese frosting recipe from my archives, adapting it so that is presentable and sufficiently stiff (cold cream cheese is the key!). The results were scrumptious!  The cake is incredibly moist and delicious and the lemon zest really ties it all together.  Just don’t make yourself sick licking the frosting off the beater!

Carrot Cake Cupcakes (makes 24):

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups grated carrots
• 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
• 1 cup shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup canola oil
• 4 eggs

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line muffin pans with your favorite springtime liners.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice and salt.

   

3. In another bowl, stir together the carrots (use a food processor for fast shredding!), chopped nuts, coconut and raisins.

   

4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the sugar and oil together on medium speed until smooth. Add the eggs one by one, and continue to beat until the batter is even smoother. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture, mixing only until the dry ingredients disappear.

   

5. Gently mix in the chunky ingredients. Use ice cream scoop to portion into cupcake liners, filling until about 2/3 full (any more full and they will spill over!).
6. Bake for 20-24 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes, then gently run a knife around the sides of the cupcakes to transfer them to cooling racks.

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting (makes enough for 24 cupcakes):

• 16 ounces cream cheese, cold
• 10 TB unsalted butter, room temperature
• 4.5 c powdered sugar, sifted
• zest of 2 lemons, grated
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1. Have the cream cheese cold and the butter at room temperature. In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, lemon juice and zest until blended. Add sugar one-third at a time and beat just until smooth and the desired consistency. If frosting is too stiff, beat for few seconds longer. Do not overbeat.
2. To finish, use a piping bag to frost cupcakes. If you want a garnish, a toasted walnut half would be cute.

I never really understood the whole hype with Red Velvet cupcakes until I started baking a few years ago.  I always thought it was weird to eat something with such a strong artificial color to it, and was a bit averse to making them.  After some perusing, I found another baker with the same thought process, and discovered this recipe on Joy the Baker (a fabulous blog, if you haven’t yet stumbled upon it).  These Red Velvets have the delicious, lightly chocolate cake the type is known for, but are a subtle shade of rouge that won’t make you feel like you’ll be peeing red.

À la Martha, I tend to prefer Dutch processed cocoa for its milder flavor and use gel pastes for my food coloring, so those changes are reflected in the recipe below.  I finish it off with my trusty, pipeable Cream Cheese Frosting, adding a bit of cinnamon for a surprise and finally top it off with a cinnamon candy heart in honor of the holiday.  Enjoy and remember to share the love!

Red Velvet Cupcakes

adapted from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook

makes 12 cupcakes

• 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 3 Tablespoons dutch-processed unsweetened cocoa powder (like Pernigotti)
• 1/4 tsp red gel paste food coloring
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 5/8 teaspoons distilled white vinegar

1. Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about three minutes.  Turn mixer to high and add  the egg.  Scrape down the bowl and beat until well incorporated.
3. Add in cocoa, vanilla and red food coloring, mixing thoroughly until completely combined.  You may need to stop the mixer to scrape the bottom of the bowl, making sure that all the batter gets color.

   

4. Turn mixer to low and slowly add half of the buttermilk.  Add half of the flour and all of the salt and mix until combined.  Scrape the bowl and repeat the process with the remaining milk and flour.  Beat on high until smooth.
5. Turn mixer to low and add baking soda and white vinegar.  Turn to high and beat until well incorporated.
6. Scoop batter into a paper lined cupcake baking pan and bake at 325 F for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center cupcake comes out clean.

   

7. Let rest in the pan for 10 minutes, then place them of a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

(makes 2 cups, more than enough for 12 cupcakes, maybe closer to 16)

• 8 ounces cream cheese, cold
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted (measure, then sift into bowl)
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon

1. Have the cream cheese cold and the butter at room temperature. In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until blended. Add sugar one-third at a time and beat just until smooth and the desired consistency. If frosting is too stiff, beat for few seconds longer. Do not overbeat. Stir in cinnamon to taste.

   

2. To finish, use a piping bag to frost cupcakes. Garnish each with a cinnamon heart.

I was incredibly lucky to marry into a family who really celebrates tradition at Christmas.  Of our traditions, these delectable little bites of heaven are lovingly placed in our stockings by a Mrs. Claus who is so busy baking and wrapping gifts throughout the day, she often does not sleep on Christmas Eve. While the flavor and the crunch of these pretzels is divine, its the love that goes into making them that you can taste the most.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Ingredients:

• 1 c butter
• 2 c brown sugar
• 1/2 c corn syrup
• 1/2 tsp maple flavoring
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 24 oz mini pretzels

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.  Divide pretzels between two foil-lined rectangular pans.
2. Heat butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and maple flavoring in saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until bubbly around the edges.  Cook for ~5 minutes, then remove from heat.  Stir in baking soda.

   

3. Pour maple mixture over pretzels.  Mix until well coated.
4. Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
5. Allow to cool, then package as you wish and spread the love!

For years, my mom has made a sugar cookie with peppermint frosting as the holiday treat that is made for family functions or boxed and given away as gifts.  Nothing compares to the gently spiced sugar cookie topped with a refreshingly minty, yet rich, buttercream frosting.   So, since I love to make cupcakes, I decided I’d try to recreate the cookie in cupcake form just for fun.  The results were equally delicious! I used Billy’s Vanilla Vanilla Cupcakes recipe (as seen in my March ’09 post) as a rough base and did some tweaking to get the right flavor.

Brown Sugar Cupcakes:

makes 24 cupcakes

• 1 3/4 cups cake flour, not self-rising
• 1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 cups light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 325°. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside. In a medium bowl, combine flours, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg; set aside.  In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine brown sugar and butter, mixing until pale and fluffy.

2. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla.

3. Add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, alternating with the milk. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not over beat.

4. Divide batter evenly among liners, filling about two-thirds full.

5. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 18 to 22 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cupcakes have cooled, pipe tops with peppermint frosting.

Peppermint Frosting:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• scant 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 16 peppermint candy canes, pulverized to a powder in a food processor

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter with the sifted powdered sugar.
2. Mix in vanilla, then add milk until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency (you often won’t use the entire amount).  Beat until smooth and creamy.
3. Stir in crushed candy canes until well mixed, adding more milk if frosting becomes too stiff.  Pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes and enjoy with a tall glass of milk!

Thrifty Tip: The bright and shiny cupcake liners were found at Crate and Barrel in the after-Christmas clearance section last year.

Last Halloween, my husband and I hosted a themed dinner party, with a menu full of rich foods like aged french mimolette cheese, lemon-mascarpone stuffed dates wrapped in prociutto, and lacquered short ribs.  For dessert, I wanted to finish with something a bit lighter and more refreshing, and opted for gingerbread cookie ice cream sandwiches, filled with smooth and delectable Dreyer’s Pumpkin Ice Cream. This year, since the pumpkin-gingerbread combo was so delightful, I’ve scoured my cookbooks and favorite websites to put together this gingerbread cupcake with pumpkin cream cheese frosting.

This recipe is not for the faint of heart – the flavors in this cupcake are strong and decadent.  If you prefer something a bit more mild in terms of molasses, or maybe you’re a busy mom and want something a little easier, try Trader Joe’s boxed Gingerbread Mix and top with the same pumpkin cream cheese frosting.  Most of these ingredients were purchased at Trader Joe’s, which makes for nice, one-stop shopping! Enjoy!

Chocolate Gingerbread Cupcakes (a combination recipe adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Book of Desserts and Martha Stewart’s Cookies):

makes 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 1/4 c pumpkin puree
• 1/2 c sugar
• 1/2 c unsulphured molasses
• 1 large egg
• 1 TB freshly grated ginger
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 1/4 c unbleached flour
• 1 TB unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 c boiling water
• about 6 oz dark chocolate, cut into 1/4 inch chunks

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Line muffin pan with paper liners.
2. In a bowl, combine flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and cocoa powder.

   

3. In an electric mixer, beat pumpkin puree, sugar and fresh ginger until well incorporated.  Add molasses and egg and beat until smooth.
4. In a separate cup, dissolve the baking soda in the boiling water.
5. Add half of flour mixture to mixer, mixing just until combined. Beat in baking soda mixture, then finish with the other half of the flour mixture. Stir in chocolate pieces.

   

6. Use scoop to portion batter into cupcake liners.  Bake for about 20 minutes, rotating once, until the cupcakes are slightly springy to the touch.  Cool for 3 minutes in the muffin pan, then transfer cupcakes to a cooling rack.

Note: the original Moosewood recipe calls for 1/4 c of butter, which I completely omitted and substituted canned pumpkin for in an attempt at a slightly healthier version.  You don’t miss the butter at all, and the canned pumpkin really keeps things moist.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting:

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces cream cheese, cold
• 5 TB Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Butter
• 1 TB softened butter
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted (measure, then sift into bowl)

Directions:

1. Have the cream cheese cold. In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese, pumpkin butter, and regular butter until blended. Add sugar 1/2 cup at a time and beat just until smooth and the desired consistency. If frosting is too stiff, beat for few seconds longer. Do not overbeat.

   

2. To finish, use a piping bag to frost cupcakes.

My recent book club read, Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende, inspired me to host a themed book club last month.  Set in the mid 19th century, it is the story of a young Chilean girl, Eliza Sommers, who is raised by a well-to-do British family in Valparaiso, Chile.  At 16, Eliza finds her first love in Joaquin Andieta, a young man who, like many Chileans at the time, takes off to California to seek his fortune in the gold rush.  Months later, Eliza follows him, and in an elusive search for her lover, embarks upon a journey of self-discovery.

This novel is full of inspiration when it comes to hosting a themed book club evening.  There are many images and elements from the story to draw upon: Chile itself, the Victorian clothing of the period which incorporated lace, gold to symbolize the Gold Rush, luxuries to Chileans at the time, including chocolate, and the fact that our heroine is an incredible chef and baker and resourcefully makes empanadas while in California as a means to a living.

For our meeting, I served Chilean wine, empanadas, and an olive and spanish cheese plate with marcona almonds and black grapes.  We finished the evening with Martha’s devil’s food chocolate cupcakes with a velvety smooth dark chocolate ganache frosting. While the idea of topping my cupcakes with a sprinkle of edible gold leaf was divine, the $28 price tag from Sur la Table didn’t make it thriftycrafter friendly, so I had to omit it!

Gold chargers, crisp white plates and black lace adornments decorated the table and super easy to make hand-fashioned wine charms (this is, after all, a wine, er, book club!), marked our glasses. Finally, I made a simple garland out of leftover gold Christmas ribbon and white paper doilies from the Dollar Tree.  Thanks to apartmenttherapy.com for the inspiration!

First, the crafts!

Wine Charms

Here’s what you need:

• cardstock
• eyelet stickers (alternatively, you could use a stamp or these great rub-ons from Paper Source)
• compass with pencil
• scissors
• hammer, nail and wooden block
• jewelry ear wires
• gel pen or other marker for writing

Here’s what you do:

1. Use your compass to create circles on cardstock.  I made mine with a radius of 5/8 of an inch.

   

2. Cut out circles and adhere lace stickers to cover just more than half of the circle.

   

3. Cut excess edge of sticker and write your characters’ names below the arc.

   

4. Use hammer, nail and wooden block to pierce tag where you want your ring to go.

   

5. Use wire bending tool to bend end portion of your hoop up to create lock and feed through hole in tag.

   

Cost: less than $5!

Doily Garland

Here’s what you need:

• paper doily pack
• stitch witchery
• iron and ironing board
• 1/2 inch width ribbon or thicker
• scissors or Fiskars paper trimmer

Here’s what you do:

1. Use scissors or paper trimmer to cut doilies in half.

   

2. Rip stitch witchery in pieces that measure the diameter of your doily, place between the ribbon and doily, and use iron on low setting to adhere.

   

3. Repeat until desired length of garland is achieved!

Cost: less than $3!

Adorned Cake Plate

Here’s what you need:

• cake plate
• strip of lace, in the measured circumference of your cake platter
• Zots

Here’s what you do:

1. Adhere Zots to cake plate rim every 1.5-2 inches.

   

2. Starting with one end of your strip of lace, press lace against zots, keeping correct amount of slack, until lace band encircles your platter.

Cost: less than $5!

Now, onto the food!

I used an empanada dough recipe found on Epicurious.com for my mini empanaditas, a beef filling recipe from Susan Feniger (of Border Grill and Ciudad fame) and a pork filling recipe from Food & Wine Magazine.

Empanada Dough:

Doubling the recipe made just under 4 dozen 3.5 inch empanaditas

Beef Filling:

Makes enough for 4 dozen mini empanadas (I halved the recipe to make two dozen)

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/3 cup toasted almonds coarsely chopped
• 1/3 cup dark raisins
• 8 Italian Roma tomatoes
• 3 serrano chilies
• Juice of 2 limes
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• Sea salt, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. In a large heavy skillet, over a medium high heat, saute the ground beef until the meat is browned, about 6 to 8 minutes. Drain off the excess fat.
2. Add the onion and saute 2 minutes. Then add the garlic, almonds, and raisins, and saute 1 minute.
3. Place the tomatoes, chilies, lime juice, salt, and pepper in a blender and puree until smooth.
4. Add the puree, cumin, cloves, cinnamon and salt and pepper to the skillet and cook for about 5 minutes to get rid of any excess liquid. Cool.
5. Place a spoonful of filling in the center of each circle of pastry. Fold over the pastry and seal the edges. Let the empanadas rest in the refrigerator 1/2 hour or freeze immediately. (Bake the frozen empanadas without defrosting.)
6. Empanadas may be glazed (1 egg and 2 tablespoons milk, well beaten) and baked until golden in a 400 degree oven, for about 15 minutes.

Pork Filling:

Makes enough for 4 dozen mini empanadas (I halved the recipe to make two dozen)

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large white onion, very finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 1/4 pounds pork tenderloin, finely chopped
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 cup amber beer
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon Chinese chile-garlic paste or sambal oelek
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 jalapeño, seeded and very finely chopped
• 3 hard-cooked eggs, coarsely chopped
• 6 pitted kalamata olives, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon golden raisins

1. In a medium skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Add the onion and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened and starting to brown, about 10 minutes. Stir in the sugar and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is browned, about 8 minutes longer.
2. Meanwhile in a large skillet, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the chopped pork, season with salt and pepper and cook over high heat until the pork is golden brown on the bottom, about 4 minutes. Stir and cook until no pink remains, about 3 minutes longer. Stir in the browned onions, beer, soy sauce, paprika, chile paste, cumin and jalapeño and cook for 1 minute. Transfer the filling to a large bowl. Stir in the hard-cooked eggs, olives and raisins and season with salt and pepper.
3. Preheat the oven to 350°.
4. Brush the empanadas with the egg wash. Bake them for about 20 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through, until the empanadas are golden brown, then serve.

My husband and I recently discovered Trader Joe’s Almond Meal as a great alternative to breadcrumbs or flour when our dinner recipes call for our protein to have a breading or coating.  What is almond meal, exactly?   Almond meal is just ground up almonds, usually with the skin still on. It has the same nutritional profile as whole almonds: high in protein, as well as healthy monounsaturated fats. Why not add some good fats, protein and nutty flavor to your baked goods, while cutting some carbs at the same time?

While I try not to bake too much for the two of us anymore, I do enjoy the process of it and recently made a coffee cake for my inlaws as a thank you (or a bribe!) for dogsitting for us while we were out of town.  Since I had the almond meal, I thought it would be a perfect way to 1.) try out a new use for it and 2.) get at least some nutrition into my thank you gift.

Adapted from the Moosewood Restaurant Book of Desserts, this sour cream coffeecake uses almond meal to replace a third of the flour in the original recipe, giving it a moist, nutty texture.  You generally should only replace up to half of the flour in a baking recipe with almond meal if you want your product to hold together.  The inside did slightly crumble when cut into, so you could tweak the recipe and only replace a fourth of the flour with almond meal and see if it holds together better.  It was still pretty delicious, though.  Next time, I may also try whole wheat flour, just for the extra fiber and nutritional benefit.

Ingredients:

• 1 c butter, room temperature
• 1.5 c  sugar, plus one TB
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 c light sour cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp baking power
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/3 c all purpose flour
• 2/3 c almond meal
• 1 c pecans, toasted
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350.  Butter and flour the bundt pan.
2. Cream the butter with 1 1/2 c of sugar.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until thoroughly blended.  Stir in the vanilla and beat in the sour cream.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, almond meal, baking power, baking soda and salt. Add flour mixture to wet ingredients in 3 equal portions, making sure each addition is fully incorporated before adding the next.

   

4. Toast your pecans until fragrant, let cool.  Coarsely chop and toss with 1 TB sugar and the cinnamon.
5. Spoon half of the batter into your prepared bundt pan.  Sprinkle all of the nut mixture evenly over the batter in the pan.

   

6. Spoon the rest of the batter into the pan and bake the coffeecake until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes.  Cool the pan on a wire rack and turn it out onto a plate after 10 minutes.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and 2 sugars on high speed until light and fluffy, approximately 5 minutes. Lower the speed to medium, add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, light sour cream, and coffee. In another bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. On low speed, add the buttermilk mixture and the flour mixture alternately in thirds to the mixer bowl, beginning with the buttermilk mixture and ending with the flour mixture. Mix only until blended. Fold the batter with a rubber spatula to be sure it’s completely blended.

Divide the batter among the cupcake pans (1 rounded standard ice cream scoop per cup is the right amount). Bake in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, remove from the pans, and allow to cool completely before frosting.

For the icing, beat butter in an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until fluffy.  Sift 1/2 cup of powdered sugar at a time into bowl and mix completely before next additions. Add the milk 1 tbsp at a time to achieved desired thickness. Mix in vanilla and cinnamon until well combined.  Pipe onto your cooled cupcakes and garnish with chocolate curls (use a vegetable peeler to shave chocolate bar).

Since my Lime-Pistachio Tart last year was such an ordeal, I decided I wanted to make a different dessert for St. Patty’s Day dinner this year.  I still wanted the same decadence since the main meal is so simple and decided to go the chocolate route.  Bon Appetit Magazine published a recipe for a Chocolate Stout Cake in 2002 that has gotten rave reader reviews on epicurious.com (one of my go-to websites for culinary inspiration), so this one was a no-brainer.  I adapted the recipe to use a bundt pan, and instead of their icing, I used Martha Stewart’s recipe for Chocolate Ganache Glaze.  Serve each slice with a dollop of  french vanilla ice cream and some Bailey’s infused coffee and you’ve got a fabulous ending to a great meal!

Ingredients:

Cake

• 1 cup stout (such as Guinness)
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoons salt
• 2 large eggs
• 2/3 cup sour cream

Glaze

• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup

Directions:

Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a bundt pan.
2. Bring stout and butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.
3. Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in large bowl to blend.
4. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend.
5. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine.
6. Add flour mixture in 3 parts and beat on slow speed until just incorporated after each addition.
7. Pour batter into prepared bundt pan. Bake until tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Transfer cake to rack; cool 10 minutes. Turn cake out onto rack and cool completely.

Glaze

1. Place chocolate in a medium-size heatproof bowl. Bring cream and corn syrup just to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium-high heat; pour mixture over chocolate. Let stand, without stirring, until chocolate begins to melt.
2. Using a flexible spatula, gently stir chocolate and cream until totally combined; begin near the center of the bowl and gradually work your way toward the edge, pulling in as much chocolate as possible, until the mixture is smooth and glossy. (If any chocolate pieces remain, strain mixture through a fine sieve and discard solids.) If not using immediately, glaze can be refrigerated up to 5 days in an airtight container. Reheat gently before using.
3. Pour glaze into a container with a spout (like a Pyrex liquid measuring cup) and generously drizzle over cake.

This recipe creates a moist and dense cake with an incredibly rich and chocolatey glaze.  It will be my go-to recipe for chocolate cakes in the future, St. Patty’s Day or not!

I always make some kind of treat for my staff members around the various holidays of the year. This St. Patty’s Day, I was inspired by the Sprinkles Irish Chocolate seasonal cupcake and decided to try to create something similar at home.  I found a recipe for delectable, rich dark chocolate cupcakes from Cooks Illustrated and topped the cupcake with a basic cream cheese frosting, infused with Bailey’s Irish Cream.

I’ve had difficulty in the past with getting my cream cheese frostings to be stiff enough to be pretty for cupcakes – while they always taste delicious, they never look fabulous by the time they get to their recipients!  So, I did some research for tips on how to keep my frosting nice and presentable – and boy was I happy with what I found!

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

(makes 12 cupcakes; per the original recipe, do not double…make two separate batches if you need more)

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
• 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used Lindt 70% cacao)
• 1/2 cup (1 1/2 oz) Dutch-processed cocoa
• 3/4 cup (3 3/4 oz) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup (5 1/4 oz) sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 1/2 cup (4 oz) sour cream

Frosting:

(makes 2 cups)

• 8 ounces cream cheese, cold
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted (measure, then sift into bowl)
• 2.5 tsp Bailey’s Irish Cream, to taste

Directions:

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard-sized muffin pan (1/2 cup capacity) with baking-cup liners.
2. Combine butter, chocolate and cocoa in medium heatproof bowl. Set bowl over saucepan containing barely simmering water; heat mixture until butter and chocolate are melted and whisk until smooth and fully combined. Set aside to cool until just warm to touch.
3. Whisk flour, baking soda and baking powder in small bowl to combine
4. Whisk eggs in second medium bowl to combine; add sugar, vanilla and salt and whisk until fully incorporated. Add cooled chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Sift about one-third of flour mixture over chocolate mixture and whisk until combined; whisk in sour cream until combined; then sift in remaining flour mixture and whisk batter until it is homogenous and thick.
5. Divide batter evenly among muffin pan cups. Bake until toothpick inserted into center of cupcakes comes out clean, 18-20 minutes.
6. Cool cupcakes in muffin pan on wire rack until cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes. Carefully lift each cupcake from muffin pan and set on wire rack. Cool to room temperature before icing, about 30 minutes.
7. Have the cream cheese cold and the butter at room temperature. In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until blended. Add sugar one-third at a time and beat just until smooth and the desired consistency. If frosting is too stiff, beat for few seconds longer. Do not overbeat. If desired, stir in additional flavoring to taste.
8. To finish, use a piping bag to frost cupcakes. Garnish each with a candy shamrock.

Tips: While the simple green fondant shamrocks of Sprinkles are super cute (below), I couldn’t find any and certainly didn’t want to make my own on a weeknight.  So, I picked up Wilton Candy Shamrocks at Michael’s (on a 40% off sale, of course!) for just over $1.

St. Patrick’s Day is one of the easiest and least expensive holidays to entertain for.  You could pull a Martha and brine your own corned beef, or you can take advantage of the grocery store sales and make your life a lot easier, but equally delicious! Here is a past menu we’ve served for our guests:

corned beef with cabbage, potatoes and carrots

• package of corned beef from you local grocer
• 1.5 heads of cabbage, each head cut into 6 wedges
• large package of baby carrots (for ease!)
• 1 lb red potatoes, scrubbed and halved

Cook corned beef according to package instructions, adding vegetables toward the end of braising, cooking until tender.

homemade irish soda bread

A bit of effort, but this bread really makes the meal! (for a detailed tutorial, please click here):

• 1 1/3 cups whole milk
• 1/3 cup apple-cider vinegar
• 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for surface and dusting
• 2 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 ounces (4 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 cup unprocessed wheat bran
• 1/4 cup caraway seeds
• 1 cup (5 ounces) raisins
• Salted butter, preferably Irish, for serving

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Mix milk and vinegar in a small bowl, and let stand until thickened, about 5 minutes.
2. Whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl. Cut in unsalted butter with a pastry cutter or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add bran, caraway seeds, and raisins; stir to distribute.
3. Pour milk mixture into flour mixture; stir until dough just holds together but is still sticky. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Pat and press the dough gently into a round, dome-shaped loaf, about 7 inches in diameter. Transfer to prepared sheet.
4. Lightly dust top of loaf with flour. With a sharp knife, cut an X into the top, 3/4 inch deep. Bake, rotating halfway through, until loaf is golden brown and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour, 10 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack. Soda bread is best eaten the day it is made; serve with salted butter.

tossed butter lettuce and watercress salad with mustard viniagrette

(adapted from Martha Stewart):

• 8 oz fresh green beans, trimmed and blanched
• pint of cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 bunch (6 ounces) watercress
• 2 packages of butter lettuce
• 3 tablespoons white-wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons whole-grain mustard
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot
• 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Freshly ground pepper

Whisk together vinegar, mustard, shallot, salt, and sugar in a bowl. Add oil, whisking until emulsified. Season with pepper.  Toss with salad and serve.

green beer and black and tans

Easiest party drinks ever!  Use your favorite American brew (I think we used Bud Light) and add food coloring for the green beer.  For the Black and Tans,  fill a glass halfway with Bass Ale, then add Guinness by pouring it slowly over an upside-down tablespoon placed over the glass, being careful not to mix the layers.

Lime-Pistachio Tart

While this is a gorgeous dessert, I am not posting the recipe because it was a true pain in the arse to make.  For starters, you have to start making the components 2-3 days prior to serving it and heaven help you if you’ve never made homemade lime curd!  Do yourself a favor, if you want to try this recipe, don’t make the curd yourself.  Stop by your nearest Harry and David store and purchase a couple of their premade jars.  You a.) won’t smell like egg yolk after 3 days in the kitchen and b.) will feel a lot better about eating your creation not knowing what goes into making curd!  That said, this is a quite delicious and decadent dessert and a fabulous ending to a simple meal.

Necco’s tiny pastel hearts with sayings of love on them serve as the perfect inspiration for a  holiday baking craft.  Last year, Martha’s team created these cute, techy cookie versions and more recently, I saw these in the winter Williams-Sonoma catalog, in a chocolate form.   What a festive, thoughtful and creative way to express your thanks and love to those around you this Valentine’s Day!  For the cookies below, I prefer to use a super easy lemon shortbread cookie with a basic, yet modified, royal icing recipe.  Letters are then piped on with store-bought red fondant icing to keep things simple.  These are definitely a labor of love, especially if you are mixing different colors of icing, but well worth the effort!

Shopping list:

• flour
• butter
• sugar
• salt
• 2-3 lemons
• powdered sugar
• parchment paper
• meringue powder
• red fondant icing pen
• food coloring (gel paste is best, but the liquid version works, too, and is cheaper)
• heart-shaped cookie cutter

* The last 4 items on your list can be purchased from Michael’s, or other craft stores, with a baking section.

For the shortbread cookie (adapted from Sunset Magazine):

Makes ~ 2 dozen 3″ cookies

Ingredients:

1. Preheat oven to 325°. Put flour, butter, granulated sugar, salt and lemon zest in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on low speed until blended, then increase to medium and mix until dough is no longer crumbly and just comes together.

2. Form dough into a disk; chill 30 minutes.

3. On a lightly floured work surface, roll dough 1/4 in. thick. Cut dough into hearts with a heart-shaped cookie cutter. Arrange cookies on baking sheets and chill 15 minutes.

4. Bake until light golden brown, 15 minutes.  Allow to cool completely before icing.

For the icing (adapted from Martha Stewart):

Makes 2 1/3 cups

• 1 box confectioners’ sugar (1 pound)
• 5 tablespoons meringue powder
• scant 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine sugar and meringue powder.

2. Mixing on low speed, mix in lemon juice until desired thickness is achieved. For a thinner consistency, usually used for flooding, add some water. A thicker consistency is generally used for outlining and adding details. Mix until icing holds a ribbonlike trail on the surface of the mixture for 5 seconds when you raise the paddle.

3. First outline, then flood your cookies.  Allow to dry completely prior to using your fondant pen for writing.

Bring them to your office on a tray for all to enjoy or wrap them in pairs in cellophane bags and tie off with red ribbon for a more personal touch.

No Easter brunch would be complete without a luscious, lemon dessert.  There is something about the tart citrus fruit that calls to your taste buds and leaves you yearning.  Here, I’ve scoured the internet and made some adaptations to a couple of recipes for lemon lovers and made crisp and absolutely delicious Lavender and Lemon Shortbread Cookies and light and creamy Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting, topped with candied ginger.  Two recipes that will, without a doubt, satisfy that lemon craving.  Enjoy!

Lavender and Lemon Shortbread Cookies

for the Shortbread

• 1 c butter
• 1/2 c confectioner’s sugar
• Lemon zest grated from 2 lemons
• 2 c flour
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/4 t baking powder

Cream the butter and sugar together. Stir in the lemon zest and the dry ingredients. Mold dough into 2 flat discs with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.  Roll out dough on lightly floured surface and use cookie cutter to shape cookies.  Bake cookies at 350 for 20 to 25 minutes – in my oven, I found 20 minutes was plenty of time.   Allow to cool completely before icing.

for the Icing

• 1 c confectioner’s sugar
• 3 tsp chopped fresh lavender (Original recipe used dried culinary lavender, I used fresh because I love the organic look of the purple flowers)
• 2 tsp lemon zest
• 1-2 TB lemon juice

Whisk all ingredients together, starting with one tablespoon of lemon juice and adding more as needed to create a smooth, pourable icing.   Pipe outline on cookies with white royal icing and allow to dry, about 5 minutes.  (I only made a fourth of the royal icing recipe for these cookies – you don’t need much) Flood the cooled shortbread cookies with lavender icing and allow to dry.

Lemon Buttermilk Cupcakes

Makes 12 cupcakes

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick), soft
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp lemon extract
• 2 tsp lemon zest (Original recipe did not include this – I added for extra lemon flavor)

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Beat in egg. Add vanilla, lemon zest and lemon extracts into the buttermilk and pour half into the sugar mixture. Mix in half of the flour mixture, followed by the remaining buttermilk and the rest of the flour. Stir only until just combined. Divide evenly into the prepared cups.

Bake at 350F for 18-23 minutes, or until a toothpick tester comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.