Apple Pie Cupcakes | How to

Hello Friends!

It is finally fall and autumnal festivities are creeping up everywhere. Recently I missed our semi-local apple festival and was completely bummed about it. They normally have such amazing apple pies at the festival and since I missed out on them, I decided to bake some cupcake style!

Below is the recipe I came up with. Personally, I think this is one of the most simple recipes on the blog because you basically only have to make the cake and cut out the leaf on top. There is no icing to make because I opted for whipped cream instead since that is what is normally on top of apple pies. Let me know what you think about it in the comments below!

Recipe:

           Ingredients for cake:

          - 1 white box cake 

          - 1 1/4 cup water

          - 1/4 cup vegetable oil

          - 4 egg whites

          - 1/4 cup sour cream

          - 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg

          - 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

          - 1 can of apple pie filling

          - 12 inch pie crust

          - can of whipped cream (keep refrigerated until use)

          - cinnamon-sugar mixture to garnish (4 teaspoons of sugar and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon combined)

         Directions

          - Mix together cake mix, eggs, vegetable oil, water, sour cream, nutmeg, and cinnamon until well blended.

          - Pour batter into lined cupcake tins until the batter covers the bottom of the tin. Add in a spoonful of apple pie filling into each cupcake tin. If the apple slices are too large, cut them in half before placing them in the cupcake tin. Then pour batter over the apple filling to cover up the apple slices in each of the cupcakes. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-28 minutes.

          - While the cupcakes are in the oven, place the pie crust on parchment paper and cut out leaf shapes. I did this with a knife and made super simple oval ones making sure to slice leaf veins in the center. Bake the leaf cutouts for about 15 minutes at 350 degrees F.

          - Once the cupcakes are cool, spray whipped cream on the top. Then sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture on top to garnish. Finally, place a leaf cut out into the cupcake.

          Additional Comments

          - Wait until time to serve before decorating the cupcakes.

          - You can cut out other shapes from the pie crust other than leaves!

My brother and I also filmed a baking tutorial. This time he was a astronaut from space, check it out:

Happy Baking,

Tilly

Root Beer Float Cupcakes | How to

Hello Friends,

One of my summer bucket list items was to have a root beer float. This may seem silly but it has been YEARS since I have had one, and thus needed to rectify the situation. Then I got to thinking, I need a cupcake version of root beer float! That train of thought led to the following recipe.

Recipe:

           Ingredients for cake:

          - 1 mix of Betty Crocker Chocolate Cake Mix

          - 1 1/4 cup water

          - 1/2 cup vegetable oil

          - 4 egg whites

          - 1/4 cup sour cream

          - 2 teaspoons of root beer concentrate

          - 1/4 cup root beer topping or actual root beer

           Ingredients for icing:

          - 1 package cream cheese (softened)

          - 1 stick of butter (softened)

          - 4 to 5 cups of powdered sugar

          - 1 teaspoon of root beer concentrate

          - cherries to garnish

         Directions

          - Mix together cake mix, eggs, vegetable oil, water, sour cream, root beer topping, and root beer concentrate until well blended.

          - Pour batter into lined cupcake tins and bake at 350 degrees F for 25-28 minutes. Mixture should produce 20 cupcakes if each one is filled 2/3 of the way full with batter.

          - To make the icing mix together the cream cheese, root beer extract, and butter. Once blended, start adding in powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time. I normally use between 4-5 cups, or half a bag. 

          - Once the cupcakes are cool you may begin icing them. I wanted the icing to look like a scoop of ice cream. To achieve this I used an ice cream scoop to scoop the icing on the cupcakes. I'm not sure if I like how it turned out, any thoughts? 

          - Finally, place a cherry on top to complete the root beer float look.

          Additional Comments

          - You may want to wait until serving to put the cherries on.

          - Since the icing has cream cheese in it, you should store in the fridge.

My brother and I also filmed a baking tutorial. This time he was a cowboy from the Wild Wild West, check it out:

Happy Baking,

Tilly

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes | How To

Hello Friends!

With all of these hot days we have been having, refreshments are a must! Since I had some pink lemonade left over from my birthday dinner, I decided to make some pink lemonade cupcakes. I mean.. Cupcakes are refreshments too, right??

Recipe:

           Ingredients for cake:

          - 1 mix of Betty Crocker White Cake Mix

          - 1 1/4 cup water

          - 1/3 cup vegetable oil

          - 1/4 cup sour cream

          - 4 egg whites

          - pink food coloring

          - 1 1/2 teaspoons of pure lemon extract

          - 3 tablespoons of pink lemonade drink mix

           Ingredients for icing:

          - 1 cup shortening

          - 1 stick of butter (softened)

          - 4 to 5 cups of powdered sugar

          - 1 tablespoon of milk

          - pink food coloring

          - 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract (optional)

          - 1-2  teaspoons of pure lemon extract

          - 2 tablespoons of pink lemonade drink mix

          - 2-3 lemons to garnish

          - 4-5 straws to decorate

         Directions

          - Mix together cake mix, eggs, sour cream, vegetable oil, water, pink lemonade, and lemon extract. When mixture is blended well, mix in food coloring until the desired color is achieved.

          - Pour batter into lined cupcake tins and bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes. Mixture should produce 16-17 cupcakes if each one is filled 2/3 of the way full with batter.

          - While cupcakes are baking, slice the lemons and cut each slice in half. When finished, place lemon slices in to the fridge to keep cool until it is time to garnish the cupcakes.

          - To make the icing, mix shortening, vanilla extract, and butter together. Once blended, add in lemon extract (I started with one teaspoon and added the second later) and pink lemonade. Then start adding in powdered sugar a little at a time. I added in 1/2 cup at a time and used 4 or 4 1/2 cups (I lost count!). When I finished mixing in the powdered sugar, the mixture was too thick so I decided to add in the milk and it made the icing a lot smoother! Lastly, you'll want to add in the food coloring and mix well.

          - Once the cupcakes are cool, decorate with icing, lemon slices, and straws.

          Additional Comments

          - If you're not serving immediately, keep the cupcakes in the fridge so the lemon slices don't sour.

My brother and I also filmed a baking tutorial. He was back at it with his shenanigans as a ninja, check it out:

Happy Baking,

Tilly

Birthday Magic | 25th Birthday Picnic

Hello Friends!

So it has been a hot minute since we have posted anything thanks to all the summer festivities that have been going on. The most recent summer festivity, my 25th birthday!! As you may remember last year I celebrated with a Lobster Bake. This year I wanted a more laid back picnic themed family dinner, and here is the result!

PICNIC VIBE

I 100% knew that I wanted to eat on the ground, but also knew I didn't want my food in my lap. We remedied this situation by boosting a large wooden pallet up with 4 concrete blocks. Since pallets have big gaps between the wood, we set another thin flat surface on top so our drinks, etc. wouldn't fall through. To cover it up we used sheets that were floral, pastel, and light. I didn't want any heavy colors weighing down the party atmosphere, so white based sheets were a must.

If a birthday picnic was a recipe, a tree would be the secret ingredient. I know this might seem silly, but a tree is integral to creating shade, hanging things on, and just all around looking cute in the background.

EXTRA PADDING NEVER HURTS

For seating we used outdoor cushions, but normal pillows would have worked fine too. We used these ones because we have outdoor furniture they go on and were easily accessible. I also added a couple throw pillows, simply for décor purposes.

BIRTHDAY ATTIRE

For my birthday outfit I wore a long dress from Rue 21 to match the vibe of the dinner. I also made a floral crown with fresh flowers (p.s. Kroger's fresh flowers are sooooo much nicer than Walmart's fresh flowers). I used green wire, green floral tape, and pink and gold ribbon from Pat Catan's to make the floral crown. I premade it and kept it in the fridge until it was time to wear it. The crown surprised me and stayed looking fresh for TWO DAYS afterwards!! How crazy was that!?

THE MOST IMPORTANT PART

For dinner I wanted my favorite food: shrimp, asparagus, pasta, and sweet potatoes (fun fact: sweet potatoes are my favorite food... like EVER!!). I also wanted pink lemonade because I feel like its cousin, yellow lemonade, gets used a lot more and I feel sorry for pink lemonade. Yes, I understand that it's irrational for me to feel sorry for something that's inanimate, but tell my feelings that.

Okay, so cake. I wanted TONS of candles. Little candles, big candles, sparklers. The photo above where Rem and I are making O's with our mouths is the moment when a sparkler caught fire literally took our breath away. It was simply stunning!

LIGHTING 

The star of the show was definitely the lighting. When the sun finally sank past the horizon, the fairy lights had their moment to create magic. Literally, it was magical. I bought 4 battery operated paper lanterns to hang from the tree. They created a soft ambient lighting that complimented the Thomas Edison fairy lights. I bought 2 strands of the Thomas Edison fairy lights from Kroger (ON SALE for $10 each #BargainShopper). We also had torches in buckets of gravel to string everything together. The torches were filled with bug repellent and were a must to keep the bugs away.

FINALE

To finish off the night, we set up the outdoor theater and watch A Royal Night Out on the side of the house. All in all the picnic dinner theater night was a huge success! I loved every minute of it and cannot wait to recreate another similar summer night!

Any questions? Comment them below!

Tilly

Easter Sunday 2016

Hello Friends!

Hope everyone is having a joyous Easter Sunday thus far! We have attended Sunday School and are patiently waiting for the Sunday feast to finish cooking. The mix of aromas drifting from the kitchen are tantalizing to say the least. What is finished is our dessert table, which we are also patiently waiting for, or should I say, practicing patience for.

 

 

 

On the table we have fresh flowers signifying the bloom of spring. We also have the traditional Easter Bunnies and eggs to complement the arrangement. But one of the most important details hangs above our table and draws the least amount of attention to itself; a thorn of crowns. It was on this day many years ago that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ rose from the grave. It is this crown that we use in our home to represent the hope and renewal He gifted to us by sacrificing His life for ours. On this day I hope you and your family also remember the reason we celebrate Easter Sunday. Oh and don't worry, we have more cupcakes hidden on reserve ;) 





 

I also put together this Easter basket cake to tie in the holiday theme further into our dessert. The cake was simply made; two 8 x 8 cakes stacked on top each other with chocolate icing, malt Easter eggs for topping, and Kit Kat bars positioned around the perimeter. SUPER easy and SUPER festive.

Hope you enjoyed our post and hope everyone's Easter Sunday is filled with hope and love.

Happy Easter,

Tilly

Easy Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies | How to

Hello Friends!

Lately I have been craving mint chocolate chip flavored things. I most likely owe my craving to the coming holiday, St. Patrick's Day. While Steak N' Shake's Mint Oreo Milkshake and Dairy Queen's Shamrock Blizzard have been supplying my need, I decided to try an at home recipe. I wanted to do something that was super kid friendly and simple. The result was 6 ingredients and only 3 steps - hope that is easy enough!

Recipe:

           Ingredients

          - 1 mix of Betty Crocker Sugar Cookies

          - 1 stick of softened butter

          - 1 cup of dark chocolate morsels (or more if you're a chocolate lover;)

          - 1 egg

          - food coloring

          - 1 teaspoon of pure peppermint extract

 

         Directions

          - Mix together all ingredients. We added a lot of green gel food coloring and a little bit of yellow gel food coloring to make the cookies a lime green rather than a forest green.

          - Form dough into spoon-sized balls spaced evenly apart (our recipe made 18 cookies).

          - Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

 

          Additional Comments

          - If you're unsure on the peppermint flavoring, start with 1/2 teaspoon.

 

My brother and I also filmed a baking tutorial. He was HILARIOUS as a French chef, check it out!

 

 

Happy Baking,

Tillly

Cherry Pie Valentines | How To

Hello Friends!

Today I am sharing a recipe for Cherry Pies. Since Valentine's Day is tomorrow, I made them heart shaped so they would look like Valentines. As far as pies go, this was pretty simple as everything was premade. However, if you like to make your own pie crust or pie filling, please feel free to change up the recipe!

 

Recipe:

           Ingredients

          - 1 can of cherry pie filling (or flavor that suits you)

          - 1 box of premade pie crusts, I picked up a 9" 2 pack

          - sugar

          - 1 egg

          - 2 tablespoons milk

          - a heart shaped cookie cutter

 

         Directions

          - Mix together milk and egg. Set aside.

          - Unroll pie crust (make sure you set the pie crust out 20 minutes prior to baking) and cut out heart shapes. Place bottom pieces on a greased baking sheet. Go around their edges with the egg-milk mixture.

          - Depending on the size of your hearts, place 1-2 spoonful sized portions of cheery pie filling in the middle of the hearts. Sprinkle a spoonful of sugar over the pie filling.

          - Take the top heart shaped crust pieces and cut out a design in the middle of them. I cut out a heart shape to go with the Valentine's Day theme. Then place the crusts on the tops of the bottom crust that has the pie filling. Take a fork and smash the outer edges together to seal the top crust to the bottom crust. Then go around the edges with the egg-milk mixture. Optional: sprinkle sugar on the top of the pie.

         - Finally, place the pie in the oven at 350 degrees for 15-25 minutes depending on the size of your pies. Mine were kind of bigger, so they were in the oven for 24 minutes.

         - Allow to cool and serve with ice cream.

 

          Additional Comments

          - I couldn't find a heart cookie cutter, so I actually used a small Valentine's Day chocolate tin. This made the pie larger than I wanted, but worked exceptionally well!

          - Because the pies were larger than expected, the recipe only made 5 pies and I had to piece together the bottom crusts with scrap pieces.

 

Here is a video tutorial as well. Check it out:)

 

 

Let me know if you recreated these!

Tilly

National Pancake Day 2016

Hello Friends!

Today is IHOP's National Pancake Day! To celebrate this awesome holiday I whipped up some heart shaped pancakes. To dress them up, I sliced some strawberries and sprinkled on some sugar. Comment below what your favorite kind of pancakes are!

 

 

Happy National Pancake Day,

Tilly

Jane Austen

Hello Friends,

Last month marked the 203rd publication anniversary of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. I have loved this book for SO long and have it in several editions (a bit obsessive I know). With the publication anniversary and the new Pride and Prejudice and Zombies movie releasing this month, I thought a Jane Austen memorabilia post was in order.

 

 

You know you may be an 'Austenite' when most of your gifts are Jane Austen themed! Here are links to the gifts in the photos:

Pillow

Pride and Prejudice Poster

Necklace

Calligraphy Pen

Thank you for stopping by! Any questions? leave them in the comments below!
Have a great day!!

Tilly

Red Velvet Cake Cheeseball | How To

Hello Friends!

Hope everyone has been doing well! With Valentine's Day approaching I thought I would share some cute Valentine's Day treats. Today's treat is a Red Velvet Cake Cheeseball. This recipe is super simple to throw together, I hope you enjoy!

 

Recipe:

           Ingredients

          - 2 tablespoons brown sugar

          - 1 package of cream cheese (room temperature)

          - 1/2 stick of butter (room temperature)

          - 3/4 cup of red velvet box cake

          - 1 package of vanilla wafers, graham crackers, etc. for dipping

          - 1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips

 

         Directions

          - Mix together butter and cream cheese until blended. Add in brown sugar until it is mixed in well. Finally add the red velvet cake mixture in. Beat until the mixture is blended into a nice red color.

          - Place the mixture on a serving platter and shape into a ball, heart, or whatever you want the cheeseball to look like. Then cover the cheeseball with the chocolate chips.

          - Finally, allow the cheeseball to cool for an hour or two in the fridge.

          - To serve, set out the cheeseball, extra chocolate chips, and something to dip into the cheeseball (vanilla wafers, chocolate graham crackers, etc.).

 

          Additional Comments

          - Should be refrigerated before and after serving.

 

I made a video tutorial as well. Check it out:)

 

 

Make sure to let me know if you create this!



Tilly