Coffee Cake Muffins for Two

I made these muffins when I didn't feel like making our usual Saturday breakfast. I was too tired to make anything complicated, just something easy. I had these muffins bookmarked for awhile, now I finally had the opportunity to make them. I think next time I would sprinkle some walnuts on top or add them into the batter.

These were so good, Mr.Surly was sad to discover I only made 4. So the next time I made this I tripled the recipe, put it in a loaf pan and made coffee cake bread--so freaking delicious.

Toasted Coconut Cupcakes with Coffee Buttercream Frosting

I have been a horrible food blogger. I barely cook anymore; too much energy is required. I made these cupcakes recently. I knew Mr.Surly wouldn't touch them because they have coconut in them. They were a great accompaniment to my morning coffee.

My frosting didn't turn out well, it was kinda runny. I needed to add more powdered sugar (I added less than what the recipe calls for), but I didn't because I didn't want an instant cavity from too sweet frosting. Luckily, these were rolled in toasted coconut so you can't even see the no-so-pretty icing.

Coconut Lime Cupcakes

I can't believe St.Patrick's Day is this Saturday! This week I'm slowly easing into to the Irish theme. I have been suffering from a horrible ear infection that is just wiping out my already low energy level. I feel like all have been posting is cupcakes and cocktails. I just don't have any energy to make dinner right now. So for the time being, maybe I should rename my blog "cocktails and cupcakes."

I have wanted to make these cupcakes for a long time, but Mr.Surly doesn't like coconut, so I knew I'd be stuck eating them. I decided to make them for this week since limes are green, even though they aren't Irish.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

I have really been slacking in the kitchen lately. Poor Mr.Surly, I'm barely able to scrape together enough food to feed him; I just don't have the energy. I'm going through a "rough patch" medically, waiting for it to pass so I can get back in the kitchen. I have a long list of recipes bookmarked I need to get started on.

I forced myself to make these cupcakes because I have been craving chocolate and peanut butter. Maybe because Target is in Easter mode and I saw my favorite treat; Reese peanut butter eggs. But since my stomach can't handle them right now, I thought I'd try to incorporate these flavors in cupcake, not candy, form.

The result was phenomenal. The cupcakes are moist and spongy, and the frosting tastes just like bakery icing--extremely sugary sweet, which complemented the cupcake perfectly. I even left out some of the sugar the recipe called for in the icing. I'm glad I did that, otherwise, to me, the frosting would have been too sweet and sugary.

Chocolate Stout Cupcakes

I have been trying to make some kind of new dessert this week. Monday, I tried to make a pie, but the filling didn’t set so it was really runny. I just chalked it up to being crazy on meds and forgetting to add some important ingredient. Besides, I’ve never been successful in making a fruit pie, despite numerous attempts. Tuesday, I decided to stick to what I know and make some biscotti.

This is how it turned out:



Disastrous, but delicious.

Still undeterred, I decided on Wednesday to make cupcakes. Finally, success! Third time must be the charm.

And the best thing about making eggless cupcakes; licking the bowl and not worrying about salmonella.

Lemon Macadamia Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream

All right, I’ve finally put aside the post-wedding things, for the time being, and got back in the kitchen to make something. It has been really crazy taking care of all the paperwork, combining things, etc. I’m keeping my last name, so at least that gets me out of more forms. 

These cupcakes are not low oxalate-friendly because they contain macadamia nuts. But I felt like cheating because the recipe sounded so delicious. I never thought I would find a cupcake refreshing, but that’s exactly what I told Mr. Surly as I tried my cupcake. Very lemony. And I love the chunks of crunch macadamia nuts to contrast with the soft texture of the cupcake. 

I found the buttercream a bit too sweet, so I'm glad i didn't ice my cupcakes too thick. I left the zest out of both the cupcakes and icing, since on my low oxalate diet, lemon juice is allowed, but not lemon zest. But feel free to add ½ Tbl lemon zest to the cupcake batter and 1 tsp lemon zest to the frosting. I’m sure they would taste even better that way. 

On a side note, I can’t believe tomorrow is the Kentucky Derby! I have a friend who lives in Louisville and I have had an authentic Mint Julep at Churchill Downs. I ended up winning $8 at the race that day, so I was happy. So that is my mission before the derby tomorrow. To make the perfect Mint Julep. I have 3 versions, and I’ll share them with you next week.

Chocolate Mint Cupcakes

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I meant to post these earlier, but have just been feeling really run down and lethargic lately. I have some pictures I need to edit and posts I need to write. I woke up this morning and didn’t realize until I went to the grocery store that it was St. Patrick’s Day. Ooops. So I hurried to get this recipe posted today.

I originally wanted to make chocolate stout cupcakes for St. Patrick’s Day, but I didn’t have all the ingredients. So, instead, I decided to make these mint cupcakes. I figured the green icing would be Irish enough.

I knew I would not be allowed to eat these, since chocolate is on my “foods to avoid” list. Let me tell you, it’s really hard to give up chocolate and cocoa. But, if it makes me feel better, it may be worth it. I’m still trying to figure out the whole low oxalate thing, so I decided to cheat and eat one of these cupcakes. I mean, how could I post a dessert I hadn’t even tried? Yum, it was delicious. I love the combination of chocolate and mint.

You must add the ganache to these cupcakes, trust me. Mr. Surly, being eager to eat this tasty treat, grabbed one of the iced cupcakes before I had added the ganache. He said it was just ok. Once I gave him the ganached topped cupcake to try, he declared them perfect; the ganache just tied all the flavors together. He really liked theses cupcakes a lot, he asked me if I had done anything different when making these. I told him I just followed the recipe. He just seemed to like these better than the previous cupcakes I’ve made. I think it’s just how all the flavors come together, complimenting each other.

Peanut Butter Cupcakes

I’ve been craving peanut butter lately, and was really excited to make these cupcakes. I’m pleased to say they did not disappoint. They are peanut buttery and very light. Still, I felt they were missing something. Instead of drizzling chocolate on top, I would like to try adding chocolate and/or peanut butter chips to the cupcakes. Also, some chopped peanuts would be good to add a bit of crunch; I love crunchy foods. I might even consider adding a bit of cinnamon. And I think buttermilk could be used instead of the curdled milk and vinegar. I will definitely make these again trying out these various variations.

Chai Latte Cupcakes

I am finally settling in back home into my usual routine. I got the Christmas decorations packed away until next year, went to the hospital for some tests, and ran some errands. Now I feel I can relax and resume my daily activities stress-free.

Lately I’ve been on a chai latte kick. It started over my Christmas vacation. I got used to having a cup of chai tea almost everyday. Since I've been home, I have missed that daily dose of chai. I noticed these cupcakes in a cupcake book my sister gave me. They turned out great, not too sweet, with a nice, warm flavor from the spices. I debated on whether I should make frosting for them but decided against it since we still have sugary Christmas treats to eat up. My chai craving has been satiated.

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting

The following story is an illustration of how crazy all the medications I’m on are making me. The other day, while browsing the internet for food options and ideas, I came across a fall soup served in mini pumpkins. I just skimmed over the recipe (I will later regret this) thinking I would make it sometime soon. I went to the grocery store a day or two later and saw they had pumpkin pie pumpkins on sale. “Awesome,” I thought to myself, “I can get a couple of these pumpkins and make that soup this week.” Oh, how wrong I was.

A couple days after buying the pumpkins I pulled up the recipe to make the soup. Well, when I went back to the bookmarked recipe I discovered the soup was served in individual acorn squash “bowls”, not mini pumpkins. I could have sworn the first time I looked at the recipe they were in pumpkins. Also, there wasn't really a recipe, just a description of the soup. How in the world did I think that I had "skimmed" a recipe? I wanted to kick myself for relying on my (not-so-accurate) memory instead of verifying the ingredients before I went to the grocery store. I wish I could say this is the first time something like this has happened to me, but sadly it is not. You would think I’d have learned by now not to rely on my heavily medicated brain. But I guess I’m in denial about how mixed up the meds actually make me.

I then found myself stuck with two pumpkins and no idea what to do with them. So I let them sit around a bit longer to think. After mulling about it for a few days I decided to make some kind of pumpkin dessert with them. I roasted the pumpkins, scooped out the flesh, and made my own pumpkin puree. My two little pumpkins yielded about 1 ½ cups of puree. I decided to make these cupcakes because they looked yummy and were highly rated.

The cupcakes are moist and full of pumpkin flavor, but I was not a fan of the icing; I’m glad I only made half the icing recipe. I found it too sugary and I wish I had left some cupcakes un-iced. Oh well. Mr. Surly loved these, after trying one he uttered a “Holy shit, these are really good,” and went on to pop about 3 more mini cupcakes in his mouth. I bet you can guess who ate most of the batch.

Also, I apologize about the crappy job I did of icing the cupcakes; I’ve never been a good ice-er. The recipe yielded 24 mini cupcakes and 6 regular sized cupcakes. I had some bourbon and decided to add some to my cupcakes and icing for a little something extra.