Vanilla Cupcakes w/ Fudge Frosting (Reposting the recipe)

Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

From: Cooking on the side

yields: 1 dozen cupcakes

Cupcake:

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 sifted cake flour

1/4 tsp salt

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp almond extract

Frosting:

3 3/4 cup confectioners sugar

1 stick butter, softened

4 tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate,melted and cooled

Cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line muffin pan with liners.

2. Cream butter and slowly add in sugar until fluffy in a medium bowl. Add in eggs one at a time until incorporated. 

3. In another bowl, sift flour, baking powder and salt. 

4. Mix the milk and extracts in a small bowl.

5. Add flour mixture alternately with milk mixture to the butter mix, beating after each addition until smooth.

6. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full. Bake for about 17-20 minutes of until a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean. 7. Cool in pans for 10 minutes and then remove from pans and cool completely on cooling racks.

Frosting:
1. In a large bowl, combine sugar, butter, milk, and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until creamy. Add in the chocolate  and beat until blended.
- If necessary add more milk 1 tbsp at a time until to get desired spreading consistency. Using either a piping bag, a spoon, or an offset spatula to frost the cupcakes.

Notes:
- I only got 1 dozen regular cupcakes out of the batter
- My cupcakes were done at 17 minutes instead of the original 20.

Chocolate Berry Protein Shake {Vegan}

Death. 

It's a factor in life.

 You know it will happen to everyone and everything eventually, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you are prepared for it. We've been at the ranch for almost nine years now and in that time I have been able to see the miracle of life many times, but also come to know the heartbreak of death. Earlier Saturday afternoon, my mom and I went to the vet to put Hedgie to sleep. A few months after I got Hedgie, he got cataracts which took his sight and I noticed that he seemed to be having what appeared to be seizures. The last 2 weeks though, I knew something was wrong because he stopped eating, was shaking, and seemed really lethargic. The vet looked him over and said by the state his teeth he was much older than we were aware of. Since the vet and most of the other staff had never seen or treated a hedgehog, he became quite popular even in his sickly state.

He's 4lbs heavier than her yet he likes using her as a pillow.

Gus Gus also has a vet appointment since he hasn't seen a vet in his little life and he also has a little wheezing problem that I first noticed a few months ago. It almost sounds like asthma except he doesn't wheeze all of the time and acts like a normal spoiled kitten, but just to be safe him and Charlie will be going to visit to vet tomorrow afternoon. I doubt they will appreciate it, though.

My mom's birthday is tomorrow so she is treating herself to a 2 hour massage. She isn't the biggest dessert fan besides cookies and sometimes apple pie so she just asked for some cream cheese filled strawberries that I'll dip in chocolate. I'll probably post a pic on instagram.

It's Snowing Again + Chocolate Cream Cheese Cupcakes

I passed my Wintermester class with a B!

 I decided to work most of the days this week before my Spring classes start next Tuesday. I got a message from my mom saying that if I decided to bake something and bring it to work that her coworkers would happily dispose of them. 

hint taken.

 The only rule was whatever I made could not contain nuts of any kind since a few people were allergic. Plus the dessert had to travel well and didn't need refrigeration since the fridge at work is always packed full.

Toffee Blondies {Desserts in Jars}

  Today I started my first college class! My other classes are for the Spring, but my computer class somehow got switched to be a wintermester class {which is only  4 weeks long instead of average 12-16 weeks} so I'm going to be busy studying for the next month.

I also set up a tumblr blog {curiouscountrycook.tumblr } this weekend. My tumblr blog is just another place where I can share my food posts, recipes from other blogs, and food styling tips. It's basically the tumblr version of my pinterest food boards. 

I used regular chocolate chips since we didn't have any mini's.

I'm actually not a fan of toffee, but these blondies were really good. My dad hates toffee, but he ate 4 pieces without realizing that he was also eating the crunchy candy. The good thing about this recipe is that you could just make the batter and use whatever type of add-in's you {or the person you might give a jar to} prefer instead of the toffee and nuts. Or if you are a huge toffee fan {like my mom}, you can skip the nuts and double the amount of candy. .

Instagram, Raw Brownies, & A Future Giveaway

I'm letting you know now that this post involves several different topics and may be lengthy.

  This past Saturday my mom and I along with our assistant pastor, his wife, three of his girls, his sister (our past youth leader), his niece, and nephew went shopping at the Grapevine outlet mall as a day of fun. We all met up at cracker barrel for a late breakfast before spending 7 hours roaming the very crowded mall.  My mom was told by some friends that we had to eat at the Rainforest Cafe because it is a unique experience so we made reservations to have a late lunch/early dinner. When it's was time to be seated, we were lead into a dark room that is heavily decorated to look like a rain forest with mist machines at the bar, mechanic animals that move every few minutes with sound effects, and the staff was dressed like safari guides.

Vegan Chocolate Chip Oat Pancakes

   This past weekend I discovered a new tasty treat at Central Market: Banyan Vegan Tofu Fried Rice that is also wheat and gluten free. I've tried my fair share of healthy {gluten free, dairy free, and vegan} products that tasted plain to down right disgusting, but this was delicious! One package is enough for 2 meals, one of which I cheated and added leftover chicken, but it was tasty both ways. One really good thing about these is that the packages can be frozen to be enjoyed without having to wait until the next trip to C.M.

 Random Note:I think this sweater from Urban Outfitters is really cute!

                                                         - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Banana Oat Chocolate Chip Cookies {Healthy}

   I made spaghetti squash for the first time Friday night and it was a hit! It's so easy because all you have to do is pop it in the oven for 1 hour before shredding it into "pasta" so we will be eating it more often. We participated in Bountiful Baskets this past weekend and ended up getting some squash (acorn and carnival) so I'm thinking about making a soup or even try making squash risotto which might help me use some my overflowing plants of rosemary that I actually have kept alive for a few weeks!{I kill plants & fish. I can hand raise kittens that are 48 hours old, but I've killed every plant and fish I have ever had, well actually my last few goldfish fish turned into cannibals. Oops}.

   Late Saturday night, I made another batch of my Sunday Morning Muffins for my mom's class at church for Sunday. I've made these muffins several times, but this was the only time every muffin came out looking like the the one below without the cream cheese oozing out. Instead of making the streusel topping, I just divided a small packet (the little restaurant size packets) between the 12 muffins for a little crunch. 

  I can across this cookie recipe a while back on foodgawker when I had a few ripe bananas, but I didn't want to make another banana bread recipe {seeing as I have 5 quick bread/muffins recipes using bananas} and I have made this recipe twice since. These cookies have no flour, no sugar, no oil if you use applesauce like I did, and vegan (depending on what type of chocolate you use). And unlike most cookie recipes where you end up with a few dozen cookies in your kitchen this only makes 18 small, 2-bite cookies. 

Healthy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookie Dough! {No Bake}

  Lately I have been posting mostly sweet recipes and it kind of bugs me since I don't want y'all to think I only eat chocolate-covered treats throughout the week, especially since most of the recipes I've been sharing I actually made as far back as a few weeks ago but waited to post about it. After stopping by Central Market the other night and buying a few pounds of chicken breasts, a pound of large fresh scallops, and a lot of green veggies like baby bok choy (one of my favorites) I have several savory recipes in mind to share soon. I've also been thinking up a few new recipes for soup since according to my mom the changing weather will be "soup weather" soon.

But right now we are still talking about sweet treats. 

  Have you ever stopped by Katie's blog: Chocolate-Covered Katie? Her blog is full of amazing small portioned desserts that are healthy so you don't have to feel guilty about having nutella fudge, chocolate pumpkin brownies ,and I especially want to try the cookie dough dip. This recipe was kind of inspired by her cookie batter recipes.

Healthy Zucchini Brownies (Paleo)

  The "usual" brownie recipe contains butter, cups of sugar, oil, eggs, cocoa powder, and flour. This brownie recipe doesn't contain any of the above except 1 egg.  Some might argue that this dessert isn't a "brownie"  because the batter doesn't contain cocoa powder or melted chocolate, just chocolate chips that melt when baking. Some might categorize this as a healthy blondie, chocolate chip zucchini bread,  or a snack cake which is okay.

   I found this recipe about a week ago when searching from a healthy chocolate recipe. The more I searched for chocolate recipes that contained zucchini, the more I discovered that a lot of people have made this recipe and blogged about it. I noticed that in some pictures, the brownies were more of a golden brown color instead of the rich, chocolate brown in the original picture. For a second I thought about adding some cocoa into the batter thinking it may not be chocolaty enough, but decided against it to try how I liked the original recipe as is first and I'm glad I did. I did add 2 tablespoons of mini chocolate chip on the top of the brownies since it was all that was leftover from another recipe. 

Nutella & Sea Salt Fudge

 My mom and I finally went to Costco's this past weekend after having it been open in the next town for about 3 years. We used to shop at Sam's, but there isn't one anywhere close to us so we went into Costco's. We only got a few things which included a 1.5lb box of Macedonia nuts which was way cheaper than at Whole Foods, Dried fruit for baking, packages of both salmon and turkey burgers, some granola cereal, and a fuzzy throw blanket for me. I thought it was okay, except for the fact that my mom and I don't eat much processed foods which is almost everything they sale at those stores in bulk to eat. So I decided that someone should have a bulk store except with gluten free, vegan, dairy free, organic, and other "healthy" things (like a bulk Whole Foods) because I know that we'd be customers for life.

Peanut Butter Cake Bars

Need a quick, last minute dessert for the family or potluck? 

We were having family out for our usual Sunday Supper and I had no idea what to make for the dessert so searched around Pinterest and found this easy recipe.

Turning 18 & Chocolate Coconut Pudding

    I'm officially 18. It's weird, it seems like yesterday when the biggest decision I had to make in middle school was who to sit by at lunch, dealing with the challenges of high school life, and complaining about living in a small town with all of the other kids and planning our escape plans as soon as we could. It's crazy how when all of that stuff was actually happening, time seemed to move at the pace of a sloth, but now looking back it went by really fast. I guess that quote about how nothing seems to change from day to day, but when you look back everything has changed. I can testify that this past year has be hectic to say the least with my health issues, new family situations, discovering new passions, and trying to figure out where I fit in this big world.

Almond Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins (Paleo)

   I have another paleo recipe to share with ya'll. I actually made these Tuesday night since we had a big bunch of bananas that were ripe and it would be the last time I wouldn't be able to eat the rest for about 1 week. Wednesday I has another dentist appointment to fill some cavities that were caused by the amount of medications I take and I ended up being there for 3 hour since my dentist is also the only "main" dentist in the office so she goes between patients. Last time I got work done, I couldn't eat solid food for about a week and now that I have a temporary crown I may go longer since I don't want to mess anything up.

The Baked Brownies & Giveaway Winners

 This actually wasn't the recipe that I was going to make for the family dinner this weekend, but since my aunt, Angie (the one who recently moved back) has a birthday soon and she likes brownies I decided to make a batch.

  Angie is a very, very picky eater. She doesn't like fruits, only eats a few vegetables,and she only likes simple flavors. She didn't even like this and it was a huge hit at Thanksgiving, but she likes plain (nut-free) brownies. I knew that I couldn't add any special ingredients like roasted cherries, bourbon vanilla, or anything like that in the dessert or she wouldn't touch it so I looked up for a basic brownie recipe. The recipe also had to make enough to serve a big crowd since there were going to be 15 adults, a 4 1/2 year old, an almost 1 year old, and a 2 month old at this Sunday's dinner. 

Roasted Cherry Dark Chocolate Brownies

   I'm warning ya'll now that this is the 2nd cherry recipe that I've shared so far and I have at least 2 more to share this summer. One is a recipe for a cherry fruit drink that I made up and the other is a cherry sauce/jam which you can have on yogurt, biscuits, or in drinks.I'll try to space out the recipes so I won't be overloading ya'll with 3 cherry recipes back to back; sometimes, I get a little hung up on a certain ingredient or dish and right now it's cherries.

   I found this recipe through Foodgawker and I knew I had to make it since it involved three of my favorite things: cherries, dark chocolate, and brownies! I told my dad about the recipe to see if he had every tried anything like it before and he said that he had, but those brownies were about 80% cherries & 20% brownie. I thought this recipe would be a winner since it only has 1 cup of cherries so they won't over load the dish and that everyone in our family  house are brownie-fanatics so it would be good. 

Marbled Cheesecake Bars

Sunday was Father's day.

And I made my dad one of his favorite desserts...cheesecake!

  I only bake a cheesecake a few times a year even though it is a family favorite, but since my dad has been hinting that he wanted a cheesecake for a while I decided to make one. I got this recipe from the inside of a Ghirardelli chocolate bar wrapper and I made a few slight changes. This cheesecake recipe is actually easier than my go-to cheesecake recipe.

Double Chocolate Cakies & Finishing Senior Year.

   I have been wanting to make this and this recipe for a while now, but it always got put off until today. The recipe is for double chocolate cakies by multiply delicious which is a blog that I have bookmarked several recipes since finding out about the paleo diet. This recipe is...gluten free, dairy free, refined sugar free, paleo, and it satisfies your chocolate craving (without the guilt). A cakie is like a cookie-sized cake without the icing.

   I had to make a little adjustment to the recipe, but they came out great. The recipe made 10 cakies, but the last one was bigger since it had enough batter for 1 1/4 cakies which I added a few more chocolate chips and some shredded coconut.

Peanut Butter Coconut Cups

  This weekend I was looking for more gluten-free recipes. After looking through several recipe that I had saved via foodgawker, pinterest, and some magazines, I decided to make a new recipe. I wanted to do something with coconut, but I didn't want to crack open to 2 fresh coconuts that we have sitting on our counter so I went with shredded coconut (i'm lazy today).
  I thought about making this recipe or this one, but I made my own recipe based off the peanut butter cups recipe I made a while back.

Peggy's Famous Coconut Chocolate Chip Banana Bread (GF)

 Somehow we ended up with 2 bunches of bananas, one of which was getting a heavy collection of black spots. I decided that I would bake something. I thought about baking these, or this, but I went with a recipe that I pinned a little while ago that is gluten free from Pinterest.

 When I read off the title of  this bread, my dad replied by saying he didn't think he would like it, but after having a few bites, he said it was good while he reached for another piece. My uncle and grandpa were over helping my dad cut up some dead trees and after they had came in and grabbed their pieces there was only  about 1/3 a loaf left which I wrapped up and hid so there would be some left for later.

No-Bake Energy Bites & 2 Orange Kittens

  Meet the 2 newest occupants of the Ranch, Charlie & Mel Gus Gus.

 Mel Gus Gus saying it was feeding time.

  A Family friend found these little babies at his work and decided to take them home to care for them. After seeing pictures on Facebook, I told them that I could take care of them if they wanted since they are still really young. So Friday night my mom and I went over to pick up the kittens. These babies brings my total for kittens that I've hand raised to 13 16. They are quite older than the others that I have received seeing as they are about 3 weeks old. We named them after the couple that we got them from and it turns out that Mel is a little boy and Charlie is a little girl. I had to give them a bath since they were found in an engine and were covered in dirt and they both hated it, but they will need a few more to get completely clean.

  Mel Gus Gus, who I really want to rename Elvis since he is so vocal, is the darker & fuzzier of the 2, is an expert milk sucker, timid around dogs,but not cats, and is a huge cuddle bug! If I'm sitting down, he will curl up either on my arm or sleep under my neck.

  Charlie the little girl is a contradiction and I say that for this reason..she is the little explorer & isn't afraid of the dogs, but will hiss and hide from certain noises or movements.  She is a lighter orange than her brother and has bigger eyes, she reminds me of  a golden tiger. She is more advanced than her brother in the way they she bites on the bottle instead of sucking it, likes canned kittens food better than her milk, and was the first to try the little box.