Monthly Mix-Ins

1.  We went to our friend Bob's lake house a few weekends ago and we were bummed because it poured all night and we couldn't have a bonfire. All was redeemed the next morning when we woke up and it was gloriously sun-shiny and beautiful! Check out that InstaNature.

2.  I went back to one of my old high school's football games for the first time in a few years and was immediately depressed at how much younger everyone looked than me.  It wasn't that long ago.... right?  It totally was.

3.  These Caramel Apple Bars from Inside BruCrew Life look amazing, and much easier to eat than  actual caramel apples.  Win.

4.  Anybody catch the Blacklist premiere on NBC?  James Spader is born to play super creepy bad guys and I love it.  I think we'll be hooked in a few episodes as it gets going.

5.  I try not to overdo it for the people that get pumpkin'd out (although I never could) but if you are ready to dive right into the pumpkin baking season, then go check out Brown Eyed Baker's 20 Pumpkin Recipe list.  They all look amazing.

6.  Gahhhh.... these cookies.  Rainbow sprinkles + glaze + sugar cookies = sugar overload AND I LOVE IT.  Try being sad when holding something covered in sprinkles... try.

7. Annnnd in honor of my beloved Eagles losing yet another game this past Sunday, I bring you 13 Pointless Observations Every Football Fan Makes About Their Team When It's Losing.  Except the Eagles should be listed under more than just #12.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

I am going to Jamaica over my one-year anniversary weekend (side note: how has it been one year?!?!) in just a few short weeks.  My boss brought in his wife's world-famous-ridiculously-amazing-drool-inducing German chocolate cake last Tuesday.  On Friday, I walk in and find two different kinds of pumpkin donuts sitting on my desk.  I brought in my usual plain Greek yogurt with blueberries for breakfast... but guess what prevailed?  Pumpkin donuts; no contest.

I swear the entire world knows when I'm trying to eat a bit healthier and kick my workouts up a notch and it just starts magically throwing baked goods in my face. Sigh. 

But I digress... what I really wanted to talk about was the fact that I made some cupcakes for an adorable coral and teal themed baby shower last weekend.  How awesome is that color scheme?  I think her nursery is modeled after these same colors, which I love.  Here were the invitations (I did some digging for you and found the same design on Etsy):

I made classic vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream and some devil's food cupcakes with a rich chocolate buttercream.  I had a picture of the invitation beforehand, so I searched online and found adorable wrappers that matched the chevron and coral dots perfectly!  God bless the Internet.  I decided to pipe a little girly coral ruffle on the vanilla cupcakes to add some color and tie in the scheme.  Finally, I made cute little chevron toppers for the chocolate cupcakes with "Baby M" since they are still deciding on a name for their new little lady.  I had so much fun doing these!  I decided this would be the perfect opportunity to share my go-to chocolate buttercream.  Try using Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa with heavy cream in this recipe - it's to die for!

Chocolate Buttercream:
Makes enough to frost about 24 cupcakes

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened 

1 pound bag powdered sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder (you can use Special Dark cocoa powder as well!)

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla

4 tablespoons whole milk or heavy cream

Cream the butter for a few minutes in a mixer bowl on medium speed until light in color and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and cocoa to the mixing bowl.  Turn your mixer on the lowest speed until the sugar and cocoa are completely absorbed by the butter.

Add the vanilla, salt and milk/cream and beat on medium speed for about three minutes.  If your frosting needs a more stiff consistency for piping, add a little more powdered sugar. 

Glacé Icing

I am a firm believe that all baked goods should look and taste great (hint: they do not need to be mutually exclusive). 

Nobody really cares how pretty your cupcakes look if they have a flat (but pretty!) piece of fondant on top with no icing or, you know, flavor.  The same goes for cookies with icing that dries pretty but will break your teeth or ruins the flavor of the cookie itself.  Royal icing is notorious for looking gorgeous but tasting like.... nothing.  Hard, crusty, nothing.  I used to prefer icing my sugar cookies with buttercream to avoid this, but it's not as precise and much harder to stack if you need to transport them.  One day, I discovered glacé icing - a sweet glaze-like frosting that dries hard, can be used for detailed designs and actually tastes amazing! 

Our friends have a little guy named Kieran who had his first birthday a few weeks ago, so I took the opportunity to create some star-shaped and sports themed cookies that matched the tablecloth his mom picked out. The great thing about this icing is that one batch can make an unlimited amount of colors.  You just have to separate into smaller bowls and use gel food coloring and mix with a spoon - it's as easy as that!  If you are piping a border or plan to pipe on top of your background icing (like the football/baseball laces or the "K"'s and "1"'s) it's best to let them dry overnight in between steps so the icing doesn't run or smudge.  This recipe is pretty forgiving once you get the hang of it.  If you need more help or want some step-by-step pictures, Our Best Bites has the best tutorial ever for this technique!

Glacé Icing

1 pound bag of powdered sugar
6 tablespoons whole milk
6 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 teaspoon almond extract (or vanilla, if you prefer)

Combine the milk and sugar with a whisk attachment in the bowl of your stand mixer until no lumps remain.  Stir in corn syrup and almond extract.  Use this to glaze (for your background colors).  This is most easily done spreading the icing onto the cookie using the back of a spoon.  For piping letters or accents, I generally add another 1/2 cup to 1 cup of powdered sugar and stir until combined.  This increases the thickness of the icing and makes it easier to pipe. Remember to let the glaze dry before piping on top of it!  Use a pastry bag with a small circle tip to make this even easier.

*Remember to let them dry completely overnight before stacking!*

Monthly Mix-Ins

August's Monthly Mix-Ins are a few days late.  No excuses, it was just a holiday weekend and I was feeling a bit lazy.  Do I get points for honesty?

1.  Since Greg and I are in our mid/late twenties and everyone around us is having babies, we will be surrounded by great advice when the time comes for us.  However, this article tops any advice we've heard so far: 24 People Who Are Really Nailing This Parenting Thing.  Number 7 and number 24 just about made me pee my pants.  Does BuzzFeed ever get tiring? No. No, it doesn't.

2.  This Strawberry and Whipped Cream Cake.  I made it for my Mom's birthday earlier this month and YUM.  Plus, it's purrrrty.

3.  Not even going to touch Miley's VMA performance because 1) too easy and 2) I don't like to acknowledge it was actually a thing.  What happened to Hannah Montana?

4.  How amazing do these Milky Way Double Fudge Brownies from Aimee at Shugary Sweets look?  Somebody make these for me soon so that I can die happy.

5.  Hubs and my Dad installed my new farmhouse sink in our kitchen last month.  I had a super shallow sink that would allow me to wash, oh I don't know, exactly one cereal bowl at a time and now I have this glorious masterpiece.  Heaven!  You know you're getting old when you're this excited about a sink.  Sorry I'm not sorry.

6.  Football is here!! Which makes me happy for two reasons:  1) I genuinely love watching football and 2) FOOD. Hello!? Food! Game day food is the best. And Jessica put some of the best football recipes ever all in one place for you. She's the bestest.

7.  It's supposed to drop to 49 degrees overnight this week.  I need a smoother transition from summer, please.

8.  I know I'm about 2 years late to this party, but how amazing is the beauty blog MaskCara?! I need her to come renovate my beauty "routine", considering I am a total hair and make-up tragedy. Unless boring straight hair and chapstick are involved.  Cara: fix me, pleaseeee.

9.  Last food item I've been craving lately:  Pizza Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Chicken.  Not even fair.