Make It Monday! Blast from the Past!

So if you've been here for a while you may have noticed that I have a love of cupcakes as seen here, here and here... and also a love of Peanut butter seen here, here and here...

So when put together how can one go wrong....

It's a trick question, you can't! Hehehe

So when I picked up some books at this years Annual Canadian University women's used book sale and I saw this blast from the past (lets just be clear that this is well beyond my past) I had to pick it up knowing that it would have some fun recipes that Delaney and I could try together, and who are we kidding I can't walk past a cookbook and not look at it let alone buy it and try out a recipe or two!

I was leafing through last week and stumbled upon this gem and couldn't put it down until I baked up a batch and gave them a try!

Peanut Butter Cupcakes!

Crumble ingredients;
1/4 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup Flour
2 Tbsp Peanut Butter
1 Tbsp Butter Melted
1/2 Tsp cinnamon

1/3 Cup Shortening (I used butter)
1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
1 Tsp Vanilla
1 Egg
1 1/4 Cup Flour
1 1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
1/4 Tsp Salt
1/2 Cup Milk

Mix your crumble ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy, add the egg and vanilla, beat well. Add flour, baking powder and salt to the creamed mix and incorporate completely. Fill 12 muffin cups 1/2 way and top with the crumble mix. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes!

These are AWESOME and are as you can see super easy! Everyone who tasted these said they were great, and I agree but if I make them again.... who are we kidding I'm making more right now... I will add some peanut butter to the cake batter as well it needs just a little more of that rich peanut butter flavor...

Are you a fan of old recipes? How about old cook books? Share an old recipe with me in the comments and you never know it may just end up on a future Make It Monday!

Make it Monday!

Flower Garden Cupcakes!

First thing first... I cheated, yup it's true this isn't a real from scratch recipe... but I modified it.... so I think it kinda counts... Maybe....

These are my Flower Garden Easter Cupcakes!

(Please excuse the cooling rack in the background)

To make these "cheat" cupcakes I wanted to make confetti cups cupcakes but when I picked up my cake mix they were all out.... Thats what happens when cake mix goes on sale for a dollar.... so to fix my cake mix issue I took a White cake mix and some sprinkles...

Now normally I would just go ahead and make my cake mix as the directions recommend however the last time I made them I made some changes... and I'm sticking to them because my cupcakes have never tasted so moist and yummy as when I fist made these changes... 

So here we go....

This mix called for                                  I put in.....

1 and 1/4 cup of water                          1 cup of water  

3 egg whites                                          2 egg whites

1/3 cup of oil                                         1/3 cup of oil

                                                             1/4 cup of milk!

Heres why...

I find that adding 3 egg whites is too much it makes the cupcakes to spongy and a but hard on the top... (if it calls for 3 whole eggs I do the same but put in the 2 whole eggs...) I add a bit of milk as it makes the cupcake a bit more dense but at the same time moist, I like to add about 1/4 cup and just take that off of the water recommendation, then I follow the oil recommendation as the box says...

To make these cupcakes confetti cups I just added sprinkles before I added the wet ingredients, mixed them through and proceeded as I explained above...  

 When they bake up they will look just like confetti cups would, you can see the sprinkles in the middle there... kinda... 

Then I made my Butter Cream Icing which you can find here.... and died it green to look like grass, I iced the cupcakes with a star icing tip and just dotted it on to look like grass as I don't have a grass icing tip. 

They are great just like this but to turn them into Flower Garden Cupcakes, I melted a 1/2 cup of chocolate chips (or if you wanted color you could melt down some candy melts, you can find them in the cake section at Micheal's) then I put plastic wrap over a book or magazine and spread the melted chocolate over the plastic, then place cookie cutters in the shape of flowers of Easter shapes like bunnies and chicks in the chocolate.

(It will look like this)

Then let your chocolate harden at room temp. (don't try to speed it up by putting it in the fridge, your chocolate will crack) gently remove the cookie cutters and peel the chocolate off of the plastic and place them in your icing.... and there you have it! 

Flower Garden Confetti Cup Cupcakes!