Gingerbread Cupcakes

Gingerbread Cupcakes

I love Christmas and it is the only time I can give myself an excuse to get fat. I love cakes, cupcakes and cookies. I can't wait to make this gingerbread cupcake from bakedbyrachel. These moist gingerbread cupcakes with brown sugar cinnamon cream cheese frosting are the best. Can't wait to share these cupcakes with the rest of my family and friends.

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

• 1/4C unsalted butter, softened (55gm)
• 1/2C light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp all spice
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• Pinch of cloves
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4C all purpose flour
• 1/4C sour cream or yogurt
• 2Tb hot water

Frosting:

• 171 grams cream cheese, softened
• 1/4C unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4C brown sugar
• 3C powdered sugar, sifted
• Gingerbread cookies, for decoration

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a cupcake pan with 7 paper liners. 
2. In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream together butter and brown sugar. Mix in egg and vanilla, beating until smooth. Scrape bowl as needed. Add spices, salt and baking powder, mixing until just dispersed. With mixer on low, alternate additions of flour and yogurt, finishing with 2 tablespoons of hot water. Continue mixing until no streaks remain. 
3. Divide batter between prepared paper liners, using a large cookie scoop.
4. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in pan until easy to handle, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 
5. In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat together cream cheese and butter until smooth. Mix in vanilla, cinnamon and brown sugar until just combined. Add powdered sugar in small batches, mixing well between additions. Transfer frosting to a large piping bag fit with a piping tip. Pipe as desired. Alternately a gallon storage bag may be used with the corner snipped off. Decorate with a small gingerbread cookie.

Simple Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

I have been looking for a simple carrot cupcake recipe for my little Sebastian and I stumble into this recipe from pinchofyum. It is absolutely perfect, simple ingredients and easy to make.

Ingredients

For the cupcakes

• 1 cup flour
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1½ cups grated carrots (heaping)
• ⅔ cup oil
• 2 eggs, beaten

For the frosting

• 114 grams cream cheese
• 57 grams butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the grated carrots and the oil. Slowly add the flour mixture, stirring until just mixed. Add the beaten eggs and stir a few times (like 15 or less around the bowl - the fewer the better)!
2. Grease a muffin tin or use paper liners. Scoop the batter into a muffin tin, filling each muffin tin about ⅔ of the way up the side. Bake for 13 minutes, check how they're doing, and add a few minutes if necessary. I find that the baking time varies greatly with oven, so just check for the right golden brown colour and springy tops. Allow the cupcakes to cool.
3. For the frosting, blend the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until smooth. Slowly beat in the powdered sugar until smooth. Transfer to a plastic bag or similar tool for piping the frosting evenly on the cupcakes.

Woofie Christmas cookies - peanut butter dog treats recipe

I was thinking what would make my dog, #Mallowcheng, happier this Christmas. Then this great idea came to my mind. I am going to make her some Christmas cookies. I found this recipe in Pinterest and it is great. I didn't try it myself but Mallow loves it. My son, Sebastian, loves to feed Mallow so I was thinking this recipe is good and I don't mind him eating it too.

Ingredients:

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup rolled oats (optional, when you want to add extra texture to your biscuit)
1 cup milk
2 cups flour
2 tablespoon baking powder


Instructions

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit while preparing the ingredients. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl and then add the milk. Mix the peanut butter last. Mix these ingredients until you get the consistency of bread dough which you could later on flatten and create different shapes out of it.Once ready, put your dough cuts in a baking pan and let it cook in the oven for about 18 minutes or until it is golden brown.

Decorative scented ornament with coffee salt dough



I just love making these ornaments. I use it as an air freshener by adding a few drop of essential oils to the flower. It makes my home smells so good. I even put one of this ornament in my toilet. I mix lavender oil and mint oil to it. I smells so refreshing! I guess the coffee ground in the salt dough plays an important role to neutralise the bad odour in the toilet as well.


Coffee Salt dough recipe:

1 cup of used coffee grounds

1cup of salt

1cup of flour

1 cup of water (You don’t need the full cup)

 

Salt dough recipe:

1cup of salt

2 cups of flour

1 cup of water

A few drops of food colouring
(I used red and blue colouring and I mixed the blue and red to make the purple)

 

Instructions

Mix both recipes separately using different bowls. Then, slowly add the water to the dry mixture and knead the mixture into dough. If it is too sticky add more flour.

Once you are happy with your project, bake it for 1 to 2 hours at about 100’c.

Once the ornament cools down to room temperature, add about 20 drops of the lavender essential oil to the ornament. I top it with some coffee beans just for decoration.

To make the leaves, I used these cutters. 

To make the butterfly, I used these cutters. 

 

To make the flower, I used these cutters. 

 

  

Gingerbread cookies for Christmas

Christmas is always a good excuse for me to stuff a few more cookies into my mouth. I just love the smell of cinnamon, ginger and cloves that fills my home when I bake these cookies. They are so delicious and even my little Sebastian loves it!

This Gingerbread cookie recipe is adapted from my favourite chef's recipe, Donna Hay.

• 125g unsalted butter, softened
• ½ cup (90g) brown sugar
• ⅔ cup (230g) golden syrup (I use molasses)
• 2½ cups (375g) plain (all-purpose) flour, sifted
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger (I switched it with 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of ginger and 1 teaspoon of cloves)
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of (baking) soda

      

Preheat oven to 160°C (325°F). Place the butter and sugar in an electric mixer and beat for 8–10 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl, until pale and creamy. Add the golden syrup, flour, ginger and bicarbonate of soda and beat until the mixture just comes together to form a smooth dough. Roll the dough out between 2 sheets of non-stick baking paper to 4mm thick and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Using a small gingerbread man cookie cutter, cut out 32 shapes, re-rolling the dough as necessary. Place on 2 large baking trays lined with non-stick baking paper. Using the tip of a 6mm-round nozzle, cut two holes from each gingerbread man and bake for 6–8 minutes or until golden. Turn off the oven and allow to cool completely.






https://www.donnahay.com.au/recipes/gingerbread-men-garland