Baking Frenzy Weekend

My hands hurt. Seriously, I made meringue by hand and beat down bread dough and zested lemons and now my hands are killing me! Only a crazy baller weekend of test driving 4 new recipes could lead to such awesome injuries. On Saturday my friend Ali had a ladies night wine tasting and sleepover (I went home so Baloo wouldn't be lonely but the other ladies stayed the night). For the evening munchies I made white chocolate champagne cupcakes to go with the wine tasting theme. I forgot to take pictures of these though, whoopsies. And for the ladies in the morning I made pumpkin cinnamon buns because I'm on a pumpkin/fall kick. I think I bought the wrong kind of champagne for this recipe. Is said to buy a sweet variety, but I just grabbed one with a pretty label (my usual wine purchasing method). The cupcakes turned out a little more bitter than I would have liked but the white chocolate chips in the cupcake paired with the super sweet icing worked out well. The pumpkin cinnamon buns were really good right out of the oven and after having been reheated in the microwave the next day. Some of the edges were a little dry, so I guess I need to work on my bread making technique! Here is the pumpkin dough being cut before the last rising:



And the finished product:


For my own dinner Saturday night I made healthified stuffed shells from a recipe off of the eat better America website. These were delicious, probably could use more cheese, but I am a cheese fiend so maybe that's just me. Here is my dinner from Saturday night:


On Sunday I made Apple Pie Cupcakes, a twist on the all American favorite to go with another all American favorite: Sunday football! I brought these babies over to Kristine and Loi's house for some football watching munchies. Too bad the Giants lost horribly and I forgot to enter my pick for Survival Fantasy Football this week so I'm already out in week 2. At least the cupcakes were fun to make and yummy! Here are the cupcakes on their way into the oven:


And after baking:


Finished product:


Recipes!

Champagne White Chocolate Cupcakes (recipe altered from Gimme Some Oven):

2 3/4c flour
3t baking powder
1t salt
2/3c butter
1 1/2c sugar
3/4c champagne (sweeter the better)
6 egg whites
1c chopped white chocolate chips

Icing:

Powdered sugar
1c + 1T butter softened
1/2t vanilla
3T champagne
1c melted white chocolate

Preheat to 350F. In a large bowl beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. In a medium bowl sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Alternate adding flour and champagne until all ingredients have been added and the mixture is smooth. In another bowl beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold about 1/3 of the egg whites into the batter. Then fold in the remaining egg whites. Stir in white chocolate. fill the cupcake liners to about 2/3 full. Bake for about 20 minutes.

For the icing, beat 2/3c butter until smooth. Melt white chocolate with 1T butter. Add melted white chocolate to the butter and beat until smooth. Mix in champagne and vanilla. Add powdered sugar until the icing reaches desired consistency.


Pumpkin Cinnamon Buns (recipe from Back to the Cutting Board):

Dough:
1 pkg dry yeast
1/4c warm water (~100F)
3c + 1c flour
3/4c canned pumpkin puree
1/2c milk
1/4c butter, melted
1T sugar
1 1/4t salt
1/4t nutmeg

Filling:
5T sugar
5T brown sugar
3T flour
2 1/2t cinnamon
3T chilled butter, cut in small pieces

Glaze:
3/4c powdered sugar
1T milk
1/4t vanilla

Dissolve yeast in warm water, let stand for 5 minutes. Add 3c flour, pumpkin, milk, butter, sugar, salt and nutmeg. Beat until smooth. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead for about 10 minutes for until the dough is smooth and elastic,adding the 1c of remaining flour as you go. (Next time I'm using my dough hook attachment to my mixer and just adding the 1c of flour while it kneads for me.) Place the dough inside a large bowl that was sprayed with cooking spray and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Set the bowl in a warm (85F) place for about 45 minutes or until doubled in size. Punch the dough down and let rest for 5 minutes. In a medium bowl combine the filling ingredients until nice and mealy. On a floured surface, roll the dough into a 12x10 inch rectangle. Sprinkle the filling evenly over the dough. Starting at the long edge, roll up tightly avoiding air pockets. Pinch the ends to seal. Cut the roll into 1 inch slices. Place the slices in a 9in baking pan coated with cooking spray. cover and let rise for 25 minutes or until doubled in size. Preheat oven to 375F and then bake for about 20 minutes. Cool in pan for 15 minutes. In a small bowl stir powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla until smooth. Drizzle glaze over buns. Serve warm.


Healtified Stuffed Shells (recipe from Eat Better America):

16 jumbo pasta shells
1 lb lean ground turkey
Italian seasoning
1/2t fennel seed
1/4t salt
1/4t pepper
1 med onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1c fat-free cottage cheese
1/4c fat-free egg product
2c pasta sauce
1/4c Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350F. Cook and drain pasta according to package (cook extra shells in case of breakage). Meanwhile, in a skillet, cook turkey with Italian seasoning, fennel, salt, and pepper over medium heat for 8-10 minutes stirring continuously until turkey is browned through. In same skillet, cook onion and garlic over medium heat for 6-8 minutes stirring occasionally until onions are tender. Stir turkey, cottage cheese and egg product into the onions. Spray 13x9 inch glass baking dish with cooking spray. Spoon about 1T of mixture into each shell to fill. Place in baking dish. Spoon pasta sauce over shells. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and bake 20-25 minutes or until hot.


Apple Pie Cupcakes (recipe adaped from Alpineberry):

2 1/4c flour
2 1/4t baking powder
1t cinnamon
1/4t salt
18T unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2c sugar
4 lg eggs
1/2t vanilla
1/2t lemon zest
1c whole milk

Apples:
3T butter
1/3c sugar
3 granny smith apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced

Icing:
1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
1 stick of butter, softened
1/2t cinnamon
1t vanilla
powdered sugar

To cook the apples, place butter and sugar in a a large fry pan over low-med heat. Stir to dissolve sugar. Add apple slices and cook for 8-10 minutes or until apples are slightly caramelized. Remove from heat and let cool.

Preheat to 325F. Sift flour, baking powder, and slat into a medium bowl. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides and beat in vanilla and lemon zest. On low speed, add the flour mixture until barely incorporated. Add the milk and mix until just smooth.

Add the batter to the cupcake liners, filling to about 2/3 full. Top with the apples. Bake for about 15-20 minutes.

For icing, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add in vanilla and cinnamon. Add powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached. Ice cooled cupcakes.


Phew, sorry for the huuuuge post, hope you enjoy the recipes!