National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian

This year for Christmas, my Grandma asked us to take her to DC to visit the American History Museum. Since graduating from UMD I've always felt that I didn't take advantage of my proximity to the national mall, especially since it's now 1500 miles away. I was pretty excited to see the exhibits this museum had to offer (I've been before when I was younger but I only remember bits and pieces). Here are a few of the things you can find in this amazing museum (please forgive the photography, I wasn't using a flash as to not damage the artifacts):
Judy Garland's Ruby Slippers from the 1939 Wizard of Oz (fun fact: they were originally meant to be silver!):


Jacqueline Kennedy's Inaugural Gown:


Congressional Medals of Honor:


An original Charlie Brown comic strip (the upper is a pencil drawn sketch and the lower is the final pen drawn comic):


Singer sewing machine from 1917:


Michelle Obama's Inaugural Gown:


Mary Lincoln's Inaugural Gown:


Another Dress from Mary Lincoln:


Lincoln's top hat from the day he was assassinated at Ford's Theatre:


Jim Hensen's (a UMD grad) Kermit the from from 1955:


The Fonz's Jacket:


The original Washington Monument:


Old Glory, the flag that inspired our National Anthem (this was an especially dark room due to the rapid deterioration of the fabric of the flag):



Everyone should make at least one trip to our nation's capitol in their lifetime and I highly recommend checking out some of the museums of the Smithsonian!

Day 12 of the 12 Days of Christmas: Molten Fudge Pudding Cakes

Merry Christmas everyone! It's the last day of the 12 days of Cupcakes. It's been fun but I'm sure my insulin/glucose levels are happy to see this little project coming to a close. Today's cupcake isn't exactly a cupcake but more of an individual mini cake. Each ramekin contains a single serving that is cupcake sized so I figured I could fudge the rules a little bit. Earlier in the year I was doing a fundraiser called the Great American Bake Sale through Share Our Strength to raise money to feed children in the USA that were starving. I offered my baking services for a $20 donation. My grandparents donated and asked me to make them something the next time I came home which wasn't until now for Christmas. The only requirement was lots of chocolate and I think this dessert delivers! It's quite simple but beyond delicious! Here are my pictures:





Recipe
Molten Fudge Pudding Cakes (adapted from Sugarcrafter)

Cake:
1c flour
2/3c sugar
1/4c cocoa
2t baking powder
1/4t salt
1/2c milk
1/3c butter, melted
1/2t vanilla

Topping:
2/3c sugar
1/2c brown sugar
1/4c cocoa
1 1/4c boiling water

Cake:
Preheat to 350F. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, mix together the milk, butter, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until well combined. Divide the batter up between 6 ramekins.

Topping:
Whisk together the sugar, brown sugar, and cocoa. Sprinkle on top of the batter in the ramekins, dividing relatively evenly amongst the 6 ramekins. Pour the hot water on top of the sugars evenly amongst the ramekins, do not mix! Bake for 25 minutes. Serve hot with a scoop of ice cream.

Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

OMG Amazing Cupcakes!

This is the Christmas edition of amazing cupcakes! I hope you've enjoyed my 12 Days of Cupcakes, now time for some I DIDN'T toil over! Merry Christmas Eve and enjoy:

The most intricate and clever Grinch Cupcakes by Sugar Swings:


And the inside even has his heart when it grows!!:


This hilarious Santa going down the chimney cupcake by Sugar Daze:


Wow, check out the detail on this one, Nutcracker Cupcake by Jeanne Benedict:


A funny melted snowman from Cherrapeno:


Very impressive Christmas tree hi-hat cupcake by Bubble and Sweet:


Merry Christmas and thanks for reading!

Day 11 of the 12 Days of Cupcakes: Chocolate Gingerbread Cupcakes

I know I already did plain gingerbread cupcakes, but I wanted to try the chocolate gingerbread ones too since I thought the chocolate pumpkins were interesting in the fall. I really liked these cupcakes when they came out of the oven, they were perfectly domed and moist and filled with chocolate chips, what's not to like? I did, however, have a bite of a leftover one last night and found it to be super dry, which surprises me because the recipe takes almost a cup of water. I think if I repeat these I will lower the flour by 1/4c, increase the water by 1/4c and add a bit of oil. Here are the pics:




Recipe
Chocolate Gingerbread Cupcakes (original from Sugar Daze):

Cupcakes:
2 1/4c flour
3/4c cocoa
1 1/2t baking soda
1t espresso
2 1/2t ginger
1t cinnamon
1/2t cloves
1/8t nutmeg
1/4t salt
1 stick of butter, softened
1/2c brown sugar
1c molasses
2 lg eggs
3/4c boiling water
1/2c chocolate chips

Frosting:
2 (8oz) pkgs cream cheese, softened
1 stick butter, softened
1t vanilla
1T milk
powdered sugar

Cupcakes:
Preheat to 325F. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda, espresso, spices, and salt. In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugar, and molasses until well mixed. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Alternate adding flour mixture and boiling water, starting and ending with flour. Stir in chocolate chips. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake for 18 minutes. Cool completely.

Frosting:
Beat together cream cheese and butter until smooth. Mix in vanilla and milk. Add powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached. Frost cooled cupcakes.

I also had a cupcake with chocolate frosting, which makes the chocolate flavor of the cupcake more dominant. The cream cheese frosting makes the gingerbread flavoring more dominant. Whichever you like better tastes equally yummy in my opinion. Enjoy!

Lunar Eclipse on the Winter Solstice!

Did you stay up for the lunar eclipse last night? I did! Here is my weak picture:


And here is what Picassa did to it when I clicked "I'm Feeling Lucky":


Fun!

Baloo Update!

Just a few pictures of Baloo's adorable face:

Day 10 of the 12 Days of Cupcakes: Red Velvet Cupcakes

Now these aren't part of my 'to-try' pile but they are a red cupcake for Christmas. i made them for a co-worker for his family for Christmas. This batch turned out rather dark because I used the fancy King Arthur Flour cocoa. I did a little taste test and they are delicious, a great Martha recipe for sure! Here are some pics:





Recipe:
Red Velvet Cupcakes (original from Martha Stewart)

Cupcakes:
2 1/2c cake flour
1t salt
1/4c cocoa
1 1/2c sugar
1 1/2c oil
2 lg eggs
red food coloring to color
1t vanilla
1 1/2t baking soda
2t white vinegar
1c buttermilk

Frosting:
2 (8oz) pkgs cream cheese, softened
1 stick butter, softened
2t vanilla
1T milk
powdered sugar

Cupcakes:
Preheat to 325F. In a medium bowl, sift together the cake flour, salt, and cocoa. In a large bowl, mix together sugar and oil. Add the eggs in one at a time, beating after each addition. Mix in food coloring and vanilla. In a small bowl, mix together the baking soda and vinegar. Alternate adding the flour mixture and the buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour. Add the vinegar/baking soda and beat for 10 seconds. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake for 18 minutes. Cool completely.

Frosting:
Beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Mix in vanilla and milk. Add powdered sugar until desired consistency is achieved. frost cooled cupcakes.

These cupcakes can also be tinted green with a switch of the food coloring for a half red, half green Christmas themed batch. Enjoy!

Cranberry Bliss Bars- Homemade Style!

One of my favorite things around the holidays are the seasonal flavors at Starbucks, hence the Peppermint Mocha Cupcakes! In addition to the delicious drinks they also pull out some yummy treats during the holidays that I love. One of those amazing goodies is the cranberry bliss bar. In college I used to buy these things by the box. My waistline does not allow for that anymore, but I did manage to find a recipe for them and decided to try my hand at homemade cranberry bliss bars for my work Christmas party. I think they came out excellently! I would substitute some of the butter for oil if I made them again to make the bars more moist, but otherwise they're perfect! Here are my pics:




Recipe:
Cranberry Bliss Bars (adapted from My Baking Addiction)

Bar:
1c butter, softened
1c brown sugar
zest of one lemon
1t vanilla
3 lg eggs
1 1/2c flour
1/4t kosher salt
2t pumpkin pie spice
1/2c chopped cranberries
1/2c white chocolate chips

Topping:
1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
1/2 stick butter, softened
1t vanilla
powdered sugar
Cranberries
White chocolate shavings

Bars:
Preheat to 325F. Line a 9"x13" pan with parchment paper. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, zest, and vanilla. mix until well combined. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined. Stir in cranberries and white chocolate. Bake for 25 minutes.

Topping:
In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add in vanilla. Add powdered sugar until smooths creamy consistency is achieved. Apply cream cheese mixture to bars. sprinkle cranberries and white chocolate shavings liberally on cream cheese. Cool in refrigerator for 30 minutes to set.

Enjoy!

Day 9 of the 12 Days of Cupcakes: Pecan Pie Cupcakes

This cupcake was a special request from my friend Ryan around thanksgiving time. He said he wanted me to figure out how to make a cupcake out of pecan pie. So, i decided to add it to my 12 days of cupcakes (assuming it was a success, and it definitely was). I have to admit that not only have I never made pecan pie, but I've also never even tasted a pecan pie in my life. And while I think these cupcakes turned out suuuper delicious, I'm hoping that my pecan pie expert friends can weigh in and let me know if they tasted pecan pie-like. The idea is to bake some pecan pie filling and then drop a spoonful of it into a cupcake liner filled with batter and then bake that cupcake. Here are my pics:




Recipe
Pecan Pie Cupcakes

Filling:
1/3c light corn syrup
1T honey
1 lg egg
3T butter, melted
1t vanilla
1/4c sugar
2T flour
1/3c chopped pecans
1/3c semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cupcakes:
2/3c flour
1/2t baking powder
1/4t salt
1/2c brown sugar
1/4c sugar
1/2 stick butter, softened
1 lg egg
1t vanilla
1/4c milk

Whipped Cream:
1c whipping cream
2T powdered sugar
1t vanilla

Filling:
Preheat oven to 350F. Mix together corn syrup, honey, egg, butter, and vanilla. Stir in flour and sugar. Fold in chopped pecans and chocolate chips. Pour into a small baking dish (I used 2 4in cake pans). Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and stir mixture to homogenize the filling. Return to oven and bake another 10 minutes. Stir again upon removal from oven. Allow to cool.

Cupcakes:
In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, beat butter, and sugars until light and fluffy. Mix in eggs and vanilla. Alternately add flour and milk, beginning and ending with flour. Mix until just combined. Fill the cupcake liners 1/2 full. Add a scoop of the filling to each liner. Bake at 325F for 18 minutes.

Whipped Cream:
For best results, place bowl and whisk in the freezer for about 5 minutes. Once chilled, add whipping cream and beat until thickened. Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat until stiff peaks form. I recommend keeping the whipped cream refrigerated until the cupcakes are ready to be eaten and then adding to cupcakes.

These are my favorite cupcakes thus far in the 12 Days of Cupcakes, so if you only make one batch, I recommend these! Enjoy!

Baby Avery is Coming!

Soon (like Monday at the latest) my friend Amy will have her first baby girl! I'm super excited for ruffles and tutus and girlie fun. As a quick Christmas gift for the girlie that has yet to arrive, I made a Itty Bitty dress from the Made By Rae (free) pattern and a pair of ruffled bloomers from a pattern I bought from Magpie Patterns, easily my favorite online pattern store. Here are the cute little numbers:






The fabric is the Tula Pink Parisville collection in Dusk/Mist, I bought it from Hawthorne Threads.

Happy Birthday (soon) to Avery and Merry Christmas!