S'mores Cupcakes

One of my favorite {if not, my most favorite}, summer night activities is bonfires and s'mores. I love the smell of the fire that gets on my clothes and in my hair, and the sparks that fly up when the fire gets stoked, but the best part of the entire experience is obviously the s'mores! These cupcakes are the direct inspiration from a summer night bonfire, and will no doubt leave you craving one yourself.

S'mores Cupcakes

Yields 24+ {about 30}


Cupcakes and crust:

{1 cup graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup melted butter substitute}

1 cup butter substitute

1/2 cup dairy free, soy free chocolate chips

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

4 eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup almond milk


Frosting:


6 eggs whites

1 1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla


For the crust:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and melted butter substitute until the crumbs are moist.

Spread the crumbs evenly in the cupcake cups, and press in evenly to make a crust.

Bake the crust for 10 minutes {just to give it a bit of a crunch}. Remove the trays from the oven, and let cool while you make the cupcake batter. Leave the oven on 350 though.


For the cupcakes:

Melt the butter substitute and chocolate together in the microwave.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder, flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and baking powder.

In a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat the eggs, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla together until smooth.

Add the cooled butter substitute/chocolate and beat until smooth.

While still beating, add half of the flour mixture, then half of the almond milk.

Repeat until everything is added. Stir until just combined

Bake on 350 for 20-25 minutes

 While the cupcakes are cooling, start making the frosting. This frosting is definitely one of the easiest and tastiest frostings that I've ever made, and it goes perfectly with these cupcakes! You couldn't have a s'more without a marshmallow could you?

For the frosting:

Put the egg whites and sugar in a {heatproof!!!} glass bowl, and put the bowl over barely boiling water.

Over the course of 3 to 5 minutes, gently whisk the egg whites together with the sugar until all of the sugar is dissolved. You aren't trying to make meringue here, so there is no need to whisk fast. You are just dissolving the sugar, so don't try to rush it :)

Once all of the sugar is dissolved, remove the bowl from over the water. Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites and sugar on a high speed for 4 to 7 minutes until stiff, glossy peaks are formed. 

Add vanilla and continue beating until the vanilla is combined.

Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes without a tip, just use the circular hole of the piping bag.

Admittedly, I am a bit of a pyro. This is a judgment-free zone, so none of you are allowed to judge me. That being said, my absolute most favorite {optional} part of these cupcakes was lightly torching the marshmallow frosting with my kitchen torch :)

 Like I said, this is optional, but how cute do they look?! I will also admit that I accidentally burned a lot of cupcake wrappers while doing this, but once I got the hang of it, it wasn't so bad :)

Top with graham cracker crumbs for a little extra crunch, and enjoy! These cupcakes are perfect for summer parties {hint hint: Fourth of July!!!} They will definitely be a hit wherever you bring them. How do you like your s'mores? Comment and let me know! I for one now like them in cupcake form :)

Strawberry Frosted Chocolate Cupcakes

I love strawberries and chocolate together! The strawberries are tangy and the chocolate is smooth and sweet...it's the best of both worlds! Using Strawberry jam in the frosting instead of frozen or fresh strawberries not only keeps the frosting smooth, but also adds a little extra sweet tartness that makes this combination just right.

Chocolate Coconut Cream Cupcakes

Yields 24+ {about 30}

Cupcakes:

1 cup butter substitute

4 ounces semi-sweet dairy, soy, nut-free baking chocolate chips

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flower

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

4 eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup almond milk

Frosting:

1 cup coconut oil

3 cup shortening

4 cups confectioner's sugar

3/4 cup strawberry jam

4 tbsp almond milk

20 drops red food coloring *optional*

Directions:

Melt the butter substitute and chocolate together in the microwave.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder, flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and baking powder.

In a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat the eggs, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla together until smooth.

Add the cooled butter substitute/chocolate and beat until smooth.

While still beating, add half of the flour mixture, then half of the almond milk.

Repeat until everything is added. Stir until just combined

Bake on 350 for 20-25 minutes

For the frosting, in a medium large bowl with an electric mixer, cream together the shortening and the coconut oil. Add the vanilla and the strawberry jam, and beat again until they are combined evenly in the frosting. 

If the consistency of the frosting is too thick, add a tablespoon of almond milk at a time until you reach your desired consistency.

As an optional ingredient, I added around 20 drops of red food coloring to give the frosting a more pink-ish color. You can choose to add more food coloring, less, or none at all if you would rather :)

Pipe the frosting with a closed star tip.

Top with mini chocolate chips or drizzled strawberry jam...or both!!!

Chocolate Coconut Cream Cupcakes

It seems like it's been forever since I posted a recipe!! School has unfortunately been keeping me very busy. Anyway, I'm happy to be sharing recipes again :). The frosting I made for these cupcakes was my experimental attempt at a dairy-free "buttercream" using coconut oil instead of butter. Using margarine in place of butter for a buttercream frosting ends badly, so I'm really glad this worked so well! 

Chocolate Coconut Cream Cupcakes

Yields 24+ {about 30}

Cupcakes:

1 cup butter substitute

4 ounces semi-sweet dairy, soy, nut-free baking chocolate chips

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flower

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

4 eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup almond milk

Frosting:

1 cup coconut oil

1 cup shortening

1/2 cup cocoa powder

2 tbsp vanilla extract

4 cups confectioner's sugar

2 tbsp almond milk

Directions:

Melt the butter substitute and chocolate together in the microwave.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder, flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and baking powder.

In a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat the eggs, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla together until smooth.

Add the cooled butter substitute/chocolate and beat until smooth.

While still beating, add half of the flour mixture, then half of the almond milk.

Repeat until everything is added. Stir until just combined

Bake on 350 for 20-25 minutes

For the frosting:

In a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat together the coconut oil and shortening until creamy and smooth. Add the cocoa powder and vanilla extract, and mix until combined.

Slowly add the confectioner's sugar 1 cup at a time; beating well after each addition, and make sure the sugar is evenly combined. 

Once all of the sugar has been beat in, add 1 tablespoon of milk at a time and mix. Continue to add and mix until desired consistency is achieved.

Pipe the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes with a star tip.

Top with coconut flakes and serve.

The experiment of using the coconut oil for a "coconutcream" frosting was a definite success!!! The frosting was so light and creamy, with just the right amount of sweetness. I will definitely be using coconut oil in frostings that I make in the future!

Almond Meringue Tea Cookies

One of the things that I admire most about my parent's marriage is how they always seem to find time for each other. Even though both of their schedules are insanely busy, they still manage to always get time to connect one on one - usually over a cup of tea. These cookies are so perfect for tea! They are crunchy on the outside, but delicious and chewy on the inside...they are also the recipe I use when I make my mom's favorite almond cheesecake (of which the recipe I will never ever share...it's just to sacred). 

Almond Meringue Tea Cookies

Yields 24+

1 ¾ cups slivered peeled almonds

1 cup sugar

2 egg whites

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

Grind the almonds in a food processor until they are a semi-fine meal. Put half of the sugar in the food processor with the ground almonds, and blend until completely combined.

In a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until they are soft peaks.

Add in the other half of the sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks are formed.

Gently fold in the almond/sugar mixture and both of the extracts. Make sure you evenly combine everything and there aren’t large patches of meringue or almond.

Use a spoon to scoop small amounts of the batter onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Let the unbaked cookies sit out for 1 to 2 hours, and then bake at 325 for 15 to 20 minutes.

The great thing about these cookies is that they can store for a really long time...not that they do though. In fact, they never do because they are so good! Regardless, the harder outside of the cookie will make it difficult for the cookie's chewy center to also become hard. I definitely recommend brewing a pot of English Breakfast Tea while these cookies are in the oven or cooling down; their subtle sweetness perfectly compliments the richness of the tea.

Strawberry Almond Cupcakes

I'm finally back!!!! I took about a 2-week break for finals, but I am happy to say that I am officially done with my first year of college!!! I know you might be thinking that these cupcakes look like they were meant for Valentine's day, and that is kind of true, but not quite. They look so lovey-dovey because it was my Valentine's birthday this past week, so of course the cupcakes needed to be sweet and romantic (and pink!!).

Strawberry Almond Cupcakes

Yields about 24

Cupcakes:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 1/2 cup almond milk

4 egg whites
1 1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter substitute

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 tsp almond extract

Frosting:

1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

2 tsp vanilla

1 to 2 tbsp almond milk

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and cornstarch; set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the almond milk and egg whites; set aside.

Beat the sugar and butter substitute with an electric mixer until all of the sugar is combined, then add the vanilla and almond extract.

While still beating, alternate adding half of the flour mixture, then half of the egg white/almond milk mixture until they are both completely combined. 

Fill cupcake cups halfway, and bake on 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Sooooo these cupcakes may have fallen a little...ok, they fell a lot. BUT they were even better this way, like seriously they were so moist and light...absolutely amazing! Like these were some of my favorite (non-chocolate, because everything chocolate is my favorite :)) cupcakes ever.

For the frosting, sift the confectioner's sugar over the shortening, and beat until they are combined. 

Add the vanilla, {any desired food coloring}, and the almond milk to reach your desired consistency.

Pipe with a star tip onto the cooled cupcakes.

I love piping cupcakes with a star tip, it always comes out so pretty!!! Top the cupcakes with whatever you like; I chose to cut and top with cute strawberry hearts :). 

I am so lucky to have found someone who gets me, and loves me no matter what. The love of my life is also my best friend, and I count myself blessed beyond measure for that. I have the sweetest, most loving and absolutely hilarious boyfriend in the whole world, and I am so grateful to have him in my life.

Happy Birthday, My Love! I love you with all of my heart <3.

Molasses Brown Sugar Chocolate Cupcakes

Happy late Easter!! Chocolate and Easter are two things that tend to go hand in hand, so how could I not make chocolate cupcakes for my family's Easter gathering? The dark richness of these cupcakes are complimented quite well by the very light meringue/marshmallow-y frosting, and I will say that I ate more than three :)

Molasses Brown Sugar Chocolate Cupcakes

Yields about 30

Cupcakes:

1 cup butter substitute

4 ounces semi-sweet dairy, soy, nut-free baking chocolate chips

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flower

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

4 eggs

1 1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 overflowing tablespoon molasses

1 cup almond milk

Frosting:

{1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons water}

1 cup brown sugar

4 egg whites

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Melt the butter substitute and chocolate together in the microwave.

In a medium bowl, mix the cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, and baking powder.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, and molasses together until smooth.

Add the cooled butter substitute/chocolate and whisk until smooth.

While still whisking, add half of the flour mixture, then half of the almond milk.

Repeat until everything is added. Stir until just combined

Bake on 350 for 18-22 minutes

Now for the frosting. This recipe for frosting was highly experimental, but why not, right? It can be hard to do a dairy-free frosting, so I'm always trying new things to see if I can make it better. This recipe is kind of a twist on a meringue, and it definitely sounds more complicated than it is, but give it a try!

In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, whisk together the granulated sugar and water. Try to combine them as much as you can {whisk for about 3 minutes}.

Once they are fully combined, add the brown sugar to the pan and whisk it into the sugar water.  

Keep the sugar water at a medium heat {it will boil, and that's ok}, whisking occasionally for 8 to 10 minutes.

In the mean time in a large bowl with the electric mixer, beat the egg white until soft peaks are formed.  

Once the sugar water is done boiling {while still beating the egg whites}, slowly pour it into the meringue. 

*When the hot sugar hits the meringue, beat it in right away. If you don't, it will harden, and there will be sharp pieces of sugar in your frosting.*

Once all of the sugar is poured in, keep beating it for about a minute just to make sure you didn't miss any sugar.

Scoop the frosting into a piping bag, and pipe with a star tip.

I would love to pretend that the cocoa powder in the picture was a creative expression, but it's not. I was just being lazy. 

I left one cupcake un-frosted, crumbled it, and used it as a topping.

The frosting will feel like it got hard, but that is just the outside. Inside, the frosting will be light, fluffy, and wonderful, I promise. :)

Happy Easter everybody!!

Don't forget the real reason for Easter.

Chocolate Avocado Cookies

...what?" (you may have just asked yourself), "avocado and chocolate and cookies? all together??? It's true, and they were actually quite delicious.

I've noticed this new thing where everyone tries to make everything as healthy as physically possible, so I thought I would jump on that bandwagon and give something different a try. Avocados are a really excellent substitute for things such as butter or any other paste (e.g. peanut butter, almond paste, etc.) because not only are they healthy, but they hardly have any taste. They also kept these cookies very chewy for as long as they stayed un-eaten, which was a huge bonus! 

Chocolate Avocado Cookies 

Yields 20+

2  avocados

½ cup dairy, soy free chocolate

1 tbsp coconut oil

¼ cup cocoa powder

3 tbsp flour

¼ cup sugar

¼ cup honey

3 eggs

In a medium bowl with an electric mixer, beat the avocados until smooth and whipped.

In a small bowl in the microwave, melt together the chocolate and coconut oil.

In another small bowl, sift together the cocoa powder and flour; make sure there aren’t any lumps!

Beat the chocolate mixture into the avocado. Once they are completely combined, add half of the cocoa powder and flour and beat in, then add one egg and beat it in. Add the other half and mix in, and then add another egg. 

Beat in the sugar, honey, and finally the last egg.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let chill in the refrigerator for about an hour.

Scoop onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes

Honestly, these didn't spread half as much as I was expecting them to. The batter (dough? I don't even know), was very airy and not very solid, so I left a lot of space for them to spread out, but I was pleasantly surprised when they didn't. I guess that is just another beauty of baking with avocado.

Keep the cookies on the parchment paper but take them off of the baking sheet. Let the cookies cool completely on the parchment paper.

Remove the cookies from the parchment paper with a metal spatula and put them on a cooking rack. The cookies will be a little sticky, so it would be best to not stack them on top of each other...like I did in this picture here...

Haha I really didn't realize that this was my next picture when I wrote that you shouldn't stack the cookies. But when you stack them they stick together. Just so y'all know. 

These were definitely an experiment, but they were so good! I will definitely be making them again. I think next time I'll put dairy free chocolate chunks or chips in them too. 

Raspberry Lemon Cupcakes

I think spring has officially sprung! It has here, anyway. It seemed for a while we would have one absolutely gorgeous day, and then the next morning out of no where we would get hit with a blizzard...silly New England weather! I made this recipe as a step of faith, praying that with these light, refreshing cupcakes would also come the warm days of spring. I'm pretty sure it worked {finger's crossed}, and I hope these cupcakes bring a little bit of spring into your kitchen, whatever season you happen to be in.

Raspberry Lemon Cupcakes

Yields 24+

Cupcakes:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 1/4 cup almond milk

4 egg whites

lemon zest from 2 lemons
1 1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter substitute

1 tsp vanilla

lemon juice from half of a lemon

Frosting:

3 cups confectioner's sugar

1 cup vegetable shortening

1 tbsp vanilla

zest from half of a lemon

5 raspberries

2 tbsp almond milk

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, and baking powder; set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the almond milk and egg whites; set aside.

In a large bowl, use your {clean!!!} fingers to mix together the sugar and lemon zest. Mix until the sugar seems slightly damp and tinted a very very light yellow. 

Add the butter substitute and beat with an electric mixer until all of the sugar is combined, then add the vanilla and lemon juice.

While still beating, alternate adding half of the flour mixture, then half of the egg white/almond milk mixture until they are both completely combined. 

Fill cupcake cups halfway, and bake on 350 for 20-25 minutes.

For the frosting, sift the confectioner's sugar over the shortening a cup at a time, and beat until each cup is combined. 

Add the vanilla, lemon zest, and raspberries, and beat until the raspberries are split apart and evenly combined in the frosting. Add the almond milk to reach your desired consistency.

Pipe with a circle tip onto the cooled cupcakes.

The raspberries and lemon zest in the frosting give these cupcakes a really fun, interesting texture. Also, it makes them taste really good!!

Top with a raspberry, and enjoy your cupcakes!