Thanksgiving Recap

Why does Thanksgiving always catch me off guard? Last year, Mr. G and I had a wedding that week, and this year it came earlier than usual. I'm never prepared. It's probably a good thing I don't have any fall decorations, because Thanksgiving always comes and goes faster than I can throw away my pumpkin and log into Pinterest for craft ideas.

The one thing I've managed to somehow prepare in time for Thanksgiving is the food. Even though I don't typically start thinking about it until the week before and cooking it the night or two before, it's miraculously worked out so far. I even (successfully) cooked my first turkey last year! We spent Thanksgiving with my in-laws this year, so everyone brought one dish. Since I love holiday cooking, I contributed a couple more. :) Here is what I made for this year's feast:

• 11-lb Turkey (for Mr. G and me)
• Apple & Goat Cheese Salad
• My Mom's Sweet Potato Casserole
• 44 Cupcakes -- 18 Pumpkin, 26 Chai :)

Turkey

For my turkey directions, check out my Thanksgiving post from last year. I only did a couple things differently this year: I cooked the turkey in an oven bag (it keeps the pan clean and browns the skin), and I used the packet provided by Jenni-O for gravy instead of my mother-in-law's recipe (we didn't keep enough drippings to make the latter, but it was still really good!). And FYI, Jenni-O turkeys have a thermometer that pops out when the turkey is cooked, so it's super easy to tell when it's done. I made this for our "round two" of Thanksgiving at home, just for Mr. G and me. We had it with mashed potatoes and leftover sweet potato casserole (starches much?).

And in case you're wondering, I'm STILL eating turkey leftovers.

Apple & Goat Cheese Salad

This was inspired by the Apple Gorgonzola Salad at Buca di Beppo. I worked there for four years, and that salad was always my favorite. I posted this recipe once before and called it the "summer apple salad." Here's the link. Try it out -- it's a light, sweet salad that pairs well with a raspberry/cranberry/walnut vinaigrette and can be enjoyed as much in the fall or winter as in the summer. :)

Mom's Sweet Potato Casserole

My mom makes the best casseroles. Maybe it was her Southern roots, but holidays at my house were always delicious and abundant. This is one of her sweet potato casserole recipes. I've made this one three years in a row now, but this year was the first time I tried the crunchy topping (usually I just do marshmallows). For the record, the crunchy topping is way better! Here is her recipe:

Ingredients:

• 2 c sweet potatoes (canned is fine)
• 3/4 c sugar
• 2 eggs
• 6 tbsp melted butter
• 1/2 c milk
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• Topping:
• 3/4 c crushed corn flakes
• 1/2 c chopped nuts (I chopped up honey glazed peanuts)
• 1/2 c brown sugar
• 6 tbsp melted butter

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Bake sweet potatoes according to directions on can. Mash when they are cooked.
3. Add eggs, melted butter and spices to mashed potatoes.
4. Slowly add milk until mixture reaches pudding consistency.
5. Pour mixture into greased 9x9 pan and bake for 20 minutes.
6. Sprinkle topping on casserole when it comes out of the oven. Return casserole to the oven to bake 10 additional minutes.

Chai Cupakes

I've been wanting to make chai cupcakes for a long time. I have a slight major obsession with chai tea. I drink it every single morning while getting ready for work, and I usually order it whenever I go out for coffee. (For those who share my obsession: my favorite chai makers are Panera, Starbucks and Uncommon Grounds in Minneapolis.) Sadly, these cupcakes turned out to be much more challenging than I expected due to several issues I encountered with this recipe. I got it from Pinterest (naturally), and the blogger who posted it neglected a few details:

1. I had no idea how many cupcakes the batter was supposed to make (I wanted 12 cupcakes and ended up with 26).
2. The ingredients were very imbalanced -- the dry/wet ratio was off due to the pot of CHAI TEA I added. Even after adding several additional cups of flour/sugar and test baking three cupcakes, I still ended up with soupy batter and sad little cupcake craters.
3. The frosting recipe (honey cinnamon swiss meringue) lacked directions entirely. Have you ever made swiss meringue? If so, you know that it requires VERY specific directions. With most frostings, if there are no special directions, you can pretty much throw all the ingredients in the KitchenAid and mix them up. Not so with swiss meringue! I eventually found these directions and was able to make a successful swiss meringue (after throwing out a batch), but Mr. G hated it. :( I liked it, but just in case I was the weird one, I made a double batch of my go-to buttercream -- Magnolia Bakery's vanilla buttercream. (Pro tip: use less butter or more confectioner's sugar if you want buttercream that doesn't melt; I've learned this the hard way. Multiple times.)

Thankfully, even though they looked pitiful, the cupcakes actually tasted amazing. I think they may be my new favorites.... In spite of how angry they made me!

Pumpkin Cupcakes

I made these cupcakes last year around Thanksgiving for the first time. Here's the link to my post with the recipe. This year, I substituted the vanilla buttercream for the cream cheese frosting and sprinkled cinnamon on top. I was going to make a salted caramel frosting, but after two (kinda) failed attempts at the swiss meringue, I just decided to make something that would work for both the chai and pumpkin cupcakes. Whatever, I was tired.

How was your Thanksgiving? Did you try any new recipes, or do you have classics that you always make? Feel free to share your recipes and your cooking/baking stories and screw-ups with me. :)

<3 Mrs. G

P.S. I may not have any Thanksgiving decorations, but Christmas I've got covered. Right now I'm working on a burlap ruffle tree skirt (Pinterest project, of course). I'll post it soon!

Raspberry-Rhubarb Cupcakes

If you know me, you know I'm always looking for an occasion to bake cupcakes. I try to avoid baking them randomly, since they will just end up in my stomach. My mother-in-law's birthday was last week, and she loves rhubarb. As it so happens, I had recently bought some rhubarb at the Minneapolis Farmers Market in July and froze it, and since Mr. G is not a rhubarb fan, I figured this would be the perfect time to use it.

As you may remember from a previous post, I made a raspberry rhubarb crisp last summer and loved it, so I decided to try raspberry-rhubarb cupcakes and use the same topping from the crisp for my frosting. It's called Devonshire cream, and it's basically a sweeter, thicker whipped cream. My mother-in-law is actually the one who introduced me to it and gave me the recipe, so it seemed fitting.

I was worried the cupcakes would be too tart, but they came out amazing; I think it was because I created a compote with the fruit before adding it to the mix, which seemed to get rid of the tanginess. Also, my Devonshire cream ended up as more of a glaze, but it still tasted great, so I was happy.

Here's the recipe:

Raspberry-Rhubarb Cupcake Recipe (adapted from Betty Crocker's strawberry-rhubarb cupcake recipe; makes 12 cupcakes)

Compote Ingredients:

• 1 cup sliced fresh raspberries
• 1 cup chopped fresh/frozen rhubarb
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp butter/margarine

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup milk
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup butter/margarine, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg

Directions:

1. Make fruit compote: Add compote ingredients to a 1-quart saucepan over medium heat. Stir frequently until mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, then remove from heat. Transfer to a small bowl, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
2. Pre-heat oven to 350 and line muffin pan with 12 cupcake liners.
3. In a small bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
4. Take out 2 tbsp of compote for frosting (I took it out to keep proportions correct but didn't use it in my frosting).
5. In another small bowl, stir remaining compote, milk and vanilla.
6. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes). Add egg and beat until blended.
7. Add half of flour mixture and half of fruit mixture, beating well after each addition. Repeat with the remaining mixtures. Batter should be thick.
8. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups and bake for 20-25 minutes depending on the strength of your oven (mine is extra hot and finished in about 17 minutes). If you insert a toothpick in the cupcake, it should come out mostly clean.
9. Remove cupcakes and let them cool before frosting.

Devonshire Cream "Glaze" Recipe

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. softened cream cheese
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 cup whipped cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Whip cream and set aside.
2. Cream sugar and cream cheese with mixer.
3. Add whipped cream and vanilla; mix well.
4. Refrigerate.

Up next is Mr. G's birthday on the 22nd, and I'm already brainstorming ideas for his dessert... His birthday is actually on a Saturday this year, so we'll be going to a football game with a bunch of friends; it should be a really fun day, and the lucky boy gets his fancy new grill soon! :) After that is my mom's birthday, and I wished she lived closer so that I could bake something for her.

As for other September events, Mr. G and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary on the 4th. It was the Tuesday after Labor Day (lame), so we stayed at home and recreated our wedding meal (quite successfully, I'll say), drank some wine, baked cookies and watched a movie. It was perfect. Then we celebrated in style the following weekend with a trip to Stillwater: we toured a vineyard (see pic above!), stayed at a charming B&B, ate a delicious dinner at a wine bar (best tenderloin I've ever had) and did some window shopping. All in all, we had an amazing anniversary week. Each year, the bar gets raised... These past 2 years will be hard to beat!

Not gonna lie: I LOVE September, but my wallet and my waistline are looking forward to October. ;)

<3 Mrs. G

Pumpkin Cupcakes

Hi everyone,

As promised, here is my pumpkin cupcake recipe that I found on Pinterest:

Pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting
Salted caramel drizzle

Even the mix looks like fall. :)

All 48 cupcakes!

On my new cake stands - one DIY, one a thrift store find!

I think this might have been my best batch yet, and at 48 it was definitely my largest... I made them because we had 16 people over to our house last week and I was in charge of dessert, plus I had to make extra to bring to work, of course. I had been wanting to make pumpkin cupcakes for quite a while anyway. Molly and I finished off the last two tonight. :) Still delicious!

Are you ready for Thanksgiving? Mr. G and I bought our turkey this week. We're actually having Thanksgiving with his family and his brother's fiance's family since their wedding is on Saturday and her whole family is in town. There will be a ton of people there, but I'm only responsible for green bean casserole. Still, we bought a turkey because Mr. G loves turkey leftovers, so after a big Thanksgiving lunch we'll have a 14 lb. turkey for dinner. Just the two of us... At least his sister and brother-in-law will be staying at our house to help us finish it off. Between Thanksgiving, bachelor/bachelorette parties, the rehearsal and the wedding, this will be a busy week for us... Wish me luck! It will be fun, though.

Happy Thanksgiving! Feel free to share any yummy recipes. :)

<3 Mrs. G

Chocolate Cupcakes & Fall Bliss

Hi everyone!

Hope you're all having a lovely week. I don't know about elsewhere in the country, but our weather here in the Twin Cities has been AMAZING this week. Fall suddenly came with a vengeance; the temperature hasn't risen above 60 the past couple of days, and I couldn't be happier about it. I'm so excited to break out my boots again. :) Fall is definitely my favorite season - I love the weather, the leaves, the clothes, the holidays, the activities and, of course, the food! In fact, I was thinking about making some fall treats this weekend... namely apple cider and either chili or corn chowder. I would also love to make some pumpkin spice and/or chai cupcakes soon. So many ideas! Let me know if you have any goodies to recommend. :)

For now, though, I have another cupcake recipe as promised! For my mother-in-law's birthday last weekend, I made classic chocolate fudge cupcakes topped with a yummy coffee buttercream. I wasn't crazy about the recipe I used for the cakes - they were a little bland and very dry. The dryness may have been my fault, though, because I stuck them in the fridge without covering them. Nevertheless, the buttercream was delicious. I decided to go with coffee because Mr. G's mom is an avid coffee drinker and it's more fun than plain buttercream. :) I got my recipes from my 200 Cupcakes book. If you have a delicious chocolate cupcake/cake recipe, please share!

Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup lightly salted butter, softened (I always use unsalted - not sure if that makes a difference)
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup self-rising flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Directions:

• Line muffin pan with paper cake liners.
• Put all ingredients in a large bowl and beat for about a minute, until light and creamy (I started with dry ingredients then added wet).
• Pour mix into pan - fill each cup about 2/3 full.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until risen and just firm to the touch. 
• Make buttercream while cupcakes are baking.
• Makes 12 cupcakes.

Coffee Buttercream

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp espresso coffee powder (I just used regular coffee)
• 2 tsp boiling water (add any more and it's too runny)
• 7 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 1 3/4 cups confectioner's sugar
• chocolate chips for garnish

Directions:

• Beat ingredients in a bowl until pale and creamy.
• Spread or pipe buttercream on cupcakes after they are cooled down.
• Makes enough for 12 cupcakes.
• Enjoy!

I have to admit that I almost messed up the buttercream, too... I wasn't thinking and put the whole stick of butter in, then I tried to fix it by adding more of the other ingredients, which was a complete fail. So I ended up throwing it out and starting over. Ha oh well, at least I got it right the second time.

Let me know your fall recipes! I'll post mine if I end up making them this weekend. 

P.S. If you're on Pinterest, you should follow me. :) If you're not, read my post from yesterday to see why you should be!

<3 Mrs. G

Engagement Cupcakes

On Friday, Mr. G and I invited his brother and soon-to-be sister-in-law over for dinner to celebrate their recent engagement. Naturally, I took advantage of the situation to bake some cupcakes. ;) I used my Easter strawberry cupcakes recipe because it was Mr. G's brother's favorite. I made 34, however, so the lucky couple got to take a bunch home with them! Haha whoops. I used my amateur decorating skills to top each little pink cupcake with a white heart and pearls... Until I got tired of making hearts and just topped the rest with a swirl. These are fun cupcakes to make, if you haven't tried the recipe. And what's even better is that they have fresh strawberries in them, which makes them divine.

I got a last-minute invite to a baby shower on Sunday, so I brought over the rest of my cupcakes since I didn't have enough time to get a present. I love when things work themselves out. This is truly turning out to be the summer of weddings and babies, but I don't mind because I enjoy a good celebration. The shower was lots of fun, and the cupcakes were a hit. The only downside is that they were pink, and the baby is a boy.... At least there was a themed cake, and it was adorable - it even had little fondant booties!

Anyone know a good cake/cupcake decorating class in the MSP area?? :)

<3 Mrs. G

(Belated) Sunday Recipe #2: Mocha Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache

Hi everyone!

Long time no see... Sorry for the delay in posts! I was in northern MN at a cabin all last week with the  family. We didn't end up crossing over into Canada after all (Mr. G was afraid I'd get stuck because of my outdated passport), but we had a nice, relaxing week that I will relay in my next post.

For this post, I'm attempting to catch up on one of the Sunday recipes I missed with my latest cupcake confection - mocha cupcakes with chocolate ganache!

Let me begin by announcing that I am no longer a mall employee... I quit my job just before going on vacation. My managers and coworkers were all really sweet, and I was treated well, but it was time to leave retail. My last week was also our biggest sale of the season, so I was scheduled for my first (and hopefully only) overnight floorset shift. It was also a potluck for us associates, so of course I seized the opportunity to try a new cupcake recipe. Here it is:

Mocha Cupcakes (from my 200 Cupcakes recipe book):

• Ingredients:
• 1 cup water
• Heaping 1 cup superfine sugar
• 1/2 cup lightly salted butter (I used unsalted)
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder, sifted
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tbsp coffee granules
• 1 3/4 cups self-rising flour
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• Directions:
• Line muffin pan with paper/foil liners and preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Put water and sugar in a saucepan and heat gently, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved. Stir in the butter, cocoa powder, baking soda, and coffee granules and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, then remove from heat and let cool. (Try a little bit - it legitimately tastes like mocha!)
• Beat flour and eggs into the cooled chocolate mixture until smooth. Pour cake mixture into muffin pan.
• Bake for 20 minutes or until risen and firm. 
• Makes 1 dozen cupcakes.

Chocolate Ganache (from my faves Katherine and Sophie at Georgetown Cupcake):

• Ingredients:
• 2 cups water
• 2 cups chocolate chips 
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• Directions:
• Put 2 cups water in a pot and bring to a boil.
• Place large heat-resistant bowl on top of boiling pot.
• Pour chocolate chips and heavy cream into bowl.
• Stir continuously until chocolate chips are melted and mixture is smooth and shiny. This process should only take 3 minutes. :)
• When ganache is ready, "dip and twist" cupcakes into mixture and add desired topping.

Here are photos of the ganache and the finished cupcakes:

FYI - these cupcakes taste even better than they look. They're perfect for both chocolate and coffee lovers alike, and they're practically necessary for all-nighters (that's how I justify it). 

Hope you enjoy! I'll report on the vacation soon. Feel free to comment with any yummy coffee recipes you recommend.

<3 Mrs. G

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

Hello everyone!

Hope you all enjoyed your weekend. I know I did! It was our first beautiful summer weekend here in the Twin Cities, so Mr. G and I took full advantage of it - we were on the lake the whole weekend! On Friday and Saturday we went on a couple boats on a nearby lake with some friends. We also got our tan on, did a little swimming (very little - the water is still freezing!), and I even tried tubing for the first time! Today we went to Lake Calhoun with some friends and brought our dog Molly along. She got to try something new today, too - swimming! I wasn't sure how she would react to the water, and as it turns out, she's not a big fan... It took a lot of tugging and pulling to get her in at all, and eventually Mr. G just had to pick her up and dump her in. Once in the water, she half-swam / half-flailed around, splashing and scratching all the way to the shore haha. After that, she was done. I'm hoping she'll do more swimming at the cabin in a couple weeks - maybe she won't be as scared with fewer people around? She's so big, though, which makes it even funnier that she's scared of everything!

Here are photos of Molly's pitiful attempts at swimming:



wet and unhappy


Also, as promised, here is the recipe I used for the chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes I made for Memorial Day. I found it through Cupcakes Take the Cake, a great cupcake blog I follow. The cupcakes turned out amazing! Possibly my best yet - it's a tie between these and the fresh strawberry ones from Easter. I got to try new things with these, too; it was my first time using filling as well as piping on frosting. Although the piping bag took some getting used to (and was extremely messy), I think the final result was pretty good! Everyone else seemed to agree... It's a good thing I saved a couple for Mr. G, because the other 22 were gone in 3 days!

My favorite part about these cupcakes was the frosting. There is SO MUCH BUTTER in this recipe, but you can especially taste it in the frosting. I love it! When it comes to baking, the more butter the better. Also, I may or may not have eaten some frosting by itself these past few days... No shame.

Here are some photos of my cupcakes as a working progress:

fresh out of the oven

frosted

sprinkled and ready to go!

These are also now featured on a baking blog called Sweet as Sugar Cookies. Check it out!

Mr. G and I have our first volleyball game on Tuesday as part of our league, so wish me luck! I haven't played in a while... I also haven't met most of my teammates, so I hope they're not too competitive, or I may be sitting most of the games out haha.

Enjoy your week!

<3 Mrs. G

P.S. As an update from my last post, our toilet is fixed!! Mr. G and his friend were able to take it apart, remove the cleaning sponge, and put it all back together. We even got a new seat, and we didn't have to call a plumber! Yay!

Cupcakes & Custard

Hi everyone!

As promised, I'm posting the recipes for my recent dessert ventures: chocolate dulce de leche cupcakes and berry custard pie. As you know from my last post, my parents came to visit over the weekend, and on Friday, we all went down to Mr. G's parents' house for dinner. I was assigned dessert, so I was excited to try a new cupcake recipe, of course. However, I also wanted to make something low-fat for my health-conscious dad, so that's how I found the berry custard pie recipe.

Chocolate Dulce de Leche Cupcakes

I randomly got the idea to add dulce de leche to my cupcakes - it's one of my favorite flavors, and it seemed fitting around Cinco de Mayo. :) At first I was going to add it as a filling to a chocolate cake, but then I found this amazing recipe for chocolate dulce de leche cupcakes! Here are the recipes I used:

Chocolate Dulce de Leche Cupcakes

Dulce de Leche (for filling and/or topping)

Unfortunately, I had a few problems with these cupcakes... They turned out pretty good still, but they were a struggle to make. FYI - dulce de leche is very challenging and very time-consuming to make. If you have the time and the patience, go for it, because it tastes delicious home-made. But if not, you can always buy it in a can. That wasn't the only problem, though... This is really embarrassing to admit, but I forgot to put in the chocolate chips!! Kind-of important for CHOCOLATE cupcakes! :( Thankfully, I had already put cocoa powder in the mix, so they still tasted like chocolate. But I'm sure they would have been much better with the chocolate chips... Oh well. Lesson learned: pay close attention to your ingredients!! Especially when there is a lot, like in this recipe. Double-check everything!

Also, my cupcakes fell in the middle instead of rising... Maybe it was due to the missing chocolate chips? Or maybe it was the temperature change. Who knows. Either way, I opted out of using dulce de leche filling since there wasn't really room for it... Instead, I just put a lot on top of the cupcakes and swirled in chocolate fudge. They ended up looking pretty cute, and they still tasted good in spite of all the problems.

Here they are, flaws and all:

Berry Custard Pie

The berry custard pie recipe went much more smoothly than the cupcakes, and it came out delicious!

As it turns out, there is actually a pie crust recipe included, but I used a different one that is actually easier and worked great.

Here are my recipes:

Graham Cracker Pie Crust

Berry Custard Pie

I didn't take a picture of the pie. :( Completely forgot. But it was a hit, and it is surprisingly healthy! I used peaches and raspberries - only because my dad doesn't like blackberries - but I think any berry combination would work. I loved the peach/raspberry mixture, though! And I think the custard actually tasted better than the cupcakes, but if they had been made right, maybe that wouldn't have been the case...

In other news, I'm hoping to get another DIY project done this week - either the book page wreath or the moss letters (see "Crafting My Nest" for more info). I'll report back!

Feel free to comment if you've had a similar ditzy baking moment, or if you have any fun cupcake recipes or low-fat dessert recipes to share!

<3 Mrs. G

Easter Cupcakes

Hey everyone!

The royal wedding may be this Friday, but this past Sunday was one of my favorite holidays - Easter! I love Easter because it involves going to church, getting together with family, and eating good food. :) In honor of my first Easter in Minnesota, I decided I was going to make cupcakes for our family gathering. I have never made cupcakes from scratch before, and I have probably only ever made them a couple times from the box, but I got inspired after watching several episodes of DC Cupcakes and the Cupcake Girls (which is what happens when you're not working and have On Demand). I like to challenge myself when I'm learning new recipes, so I went with two different recipes (a la Martha Stewart, of course) that involved fresh fruit - strawberry cupcakes with strawberry meringue buttercream frosting, and banana cupcakes with honey-cinnamon frosting. Even the icing was made from scratch! Here are links to the recipes I found on Martha's website:

Banana cupcakes

Strawberry cupcakes

And here are my finished cupcakes (still working on my icing skills...):

Even though they kinda looked like a kid made them, they actually tasted amazing. Fresh fruit really does make a difference! The family really enjoyed them as well, especially the kids. :) Cupcakes just make everyone happy.

After hearing about my cupcakes, my brother-in-law's girlfriend (who also bakes) got me a book of 200 cupcake recipes! I'm SO excited to try them - there is everything from lavender to strawberry margarita to camomile to crazy savory cupcakes that have corn, chili, and bacon in them. Who knows, maybe now I'll open up a cupcake shop here in MN haha. ;) Either way, I can't wait to bake more! Once I make my cake plate, I'll really be legit!

That's all for now - time for this girl to catch up on some crafting while Mr. G is away at a baseball game. :)

I hope you all had a lovely Easter as well. Feel free to comment with any of your Easter recipes!

<3 Mrs. G

P.S. Georgetown Cupcakes (of DC Cupcakes on TLC) has made royal wedding cupcakes! So cute. Check them out here.