Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

These are a little lighter than normal cupcakes, more like muffins really. Not too sweet, and the frosting is just sweet enough to make it a dessert!

The Batter

• 1.5 Cup All Purpose Flour
• 1.5 Teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1/2 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
• 1 Tablespoon coffee (optional, I love the flavor though. DON'T add coffee grains! Only add brewed liquid coffee)
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
• 1/4 Cup Melted butter
• 1/4 Cup White Sugar
• 1/4 Cup Milk

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Combine dry ingredients into a bowl 
3. Combine coffee with wet ingredients and sugar and use a mixer until everything is mixed well. 
4. Slowly add dry ingredients to met while mixing until evenly mixed. 
5. Bake in muffin or mini muffin tins, make sure if you use paper liners you spray them with cooking spray because the cupcakes are lighter (not too much oil) and they tend to stick to the paper cups

Peanut Butter Frosting

• 1 container pre-made vanilla frosting (trust me, it turns out okay the way I used it!) if you feel strongly about making your own, a simple vanilla butter-cream will be fine
• 2 Tablespoons melted peanut butter
• 1/2 Cup Powdered Sugar (might not use all of it!)

1. Using a mixer, beat the peanut butter and the pre-made frosting until well mixed. Since the peanut butter is melted and wet, it might deflate the frosting so add a little bit of powdered sugar as needed and keep whipping the frosting until it easily holds peaks. This will make it easier to frost later!
2. Use a piping bag or just frost the cupcakes by hand when they're completely cooled

Delicious Chocolate Chip Scones

So, what is a scone?

Dessert? Snack? Breakfast? I can't decide. But whatever it is, it's delicious. I've tried pumpkin, banana, all different types! However, in my opinion, chocolate chip is the best scone by far.

Scones

• 1/2 Cup COLD butter, unsalted (I used light butter!)
• 1 Cup All Purpose Flour
• 1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
• 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
• Pinch of Salt 
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
• 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar (You can use white sugar instead, but I love the flavor of brown)
• 1/4 Cup Milk (use whatever fat content you want, less fat is healthier but more is more flavor!)
• 1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 375 (350 on dark or nonstick pan, or if your oven runs a little hot)
2. Whisk dry ingredients together (NOT the sugar!)
3. Cut the cold butter into cubes. Use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour until it resembles a coarse meal. You could use a food processor and pulse it about ten times or even a Ninja Blender (that's what I do!) and pulse it a few times. There should be visible bits of butter throughout, but none bigger than pea size.
4. In a separate bowl, combine the vanilla, milk, sugar, and cinnamon and whisk until combined well together. Slowly add this mixture to the dry and work it JUST until the batter is combined enough to stick together
5. Note, depending on your flour, your mix might be a little too wet or dry. When you are combining the wet and dry, adjust accordingly. 
6. Pat the mix out on to a floured surface (it should stick a little but not too much) and cut into shapes you like. I made large, round cookie shapes and they came out perfect! 
7. Bake about 10-12 minutes depending on your oven and your scone shape. While they're cooking, you can brush an egg white with a pastry brush on top and sprinkle white sugar. It gives it a lovely caramel color. They're done when they spring back a little when pushed. 

Small Gingerbread House from Scratch

Yeah, it's made from scratch. No big deal.

Actually, let's be real. It's a huge deal and it took me forever. But it was perfect as a Christmas gift and I absolutely loved making it. 

Ingredients

• 2.5 cups all purpose flour (plus 1/2 Cup for dusting)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, allspice, and nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 Stick butter, softened
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
• 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1 Tablespoon of water (may or may not be necessary) 

My Method

1. Preheat oven to 350*
2. In a large bowl, combine the soft butter and brown sugar and beat for a couple minutes until the mixture is fluffy
3. Add the egg, vanilla, and molasses and mix well. 
4. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, spices, and salt until evenly distributed. Slowly add the dry mix into the wet. (I used my hands! It was sticky, but I think that's the only way to get everything mixed in well)
5. Toss the dough out onto a floured surface and work it a little, dusting it with flour as needed to prevent sticking. If the dough is to wet, add a little flour. If the dough is too dry, add a little water. Work it only as long as it needs to stick together.
6. Place the dough in parchment paper or plastic wrap (well floured) and put it in the fridge for at least an hour or until it's firm enough to be easily rolled. 
7. Place the chilled dough on a well floured surface and roll it out to 1/8-1/4 inch thickness. Make sure all of your dough is the same width.
8. Pick a template online (make sure it's pretty small!) and use it to cut out the pieces of the gingerbread walls, roof, etc. 
9. With the scraps (you can re-roll dough as many times as you need to), I cut out shapes (little gingerbread men, Christmas trees, etc) with mini cookie cutters to use for decoration later. 
10. Bake at 350* about 12 minutes or until edges are darker brown. 

Royal Icing

• 1 Cup Confectioners Sugar
• 1 teaspoon meringue powder
• 1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1-2 Tablespoons water (do NOT pour in all at once)

1. Place half the cup of confectioners sugar in a medium to large bowl and mix in meringue powder. 
2. Add the vanilla and 1/2 tablespoon water
3. Mix until combined, then add a little more confectioners sugar and a little more water. Keep alternately adding until all of the confectioners sugar is used and the mixture is about the consistency of toothpaste. It needs to hold its shape when you push it with a spoon. 
4. Put the icing in a piping bag with a medium sized tip opening (nothing too small!)

Assembly

1. Make sure everything is COMPLETELY COOLED. This is very very important! Your royal icing will slip and melt if you use hot pieces of gingerbread.
2. Start with the front of your house. Take a piece of very sturdy cardboard and put a line of royal icing down the length of the front piece and paste it onto the board. 
3. Make sure as you are placing the side walls and back, you are putting icing down on the board before you place to prevent slipping!
4. Put one of the side walls on by piping royal icing along the length of the side of the house and pasting it to the front wall. Repeat with other wall. 
5. Put the back of the  house on by piping icing along the two sides.
6. Hold the walls in place (I just watched mine, I didn't need to touch them) for about a minute so icing has a chance to set just a little. 
7. LEAVE the house! give the icing time to set!
8. After an hour, pipe icing along the tip walls and paste the roof on. Wait another hour, then decorate!

*Feel free to use any kind of support system when drying your house.

Choose your favorite candies and frostings, and get creative! Have fun decorating!