#13: Sweet (Sweet Potato) Cupcakes

(photo credit to fred chang)

if the sweet potato intimidates you, or turns you off...think of these as pumpkin cupcakes! i made these for a thanksgiving potluck at work and they were an absolute hit! i found this recipe in my Martha Stewart cupcake book. Really, the only modification I made to the recipe was adding a dollop of cream cheese frosting. These mini cupcakes contain freshly roasted, caramelized sweet potatoes, with nutmeg and all your other standard cupcake ingredients. They were topped with cream cheese frosting, mini marshmallows, and candied pecans (also home made). My helper (Fred) also had some fun with a butane torch, lightly toasting the tops of the cupcakes (Karen, Madi, and Sarah - I finally used the torch from the creme brulee set!). I think the cream cheese was a good call to act as more of a binder - without it, I think there would have been something missing from the cupcake. What a tasty treat for Thanksgiving!

#12: Breakfast Crostini

i was getting hungry in the AM and started to cook an egg. my creative juices started flowing and i went a little crazy. i cut a few slices of a french roll, brushed some olive oil on it, and put them in the toaster oven. i then finished my egg omelet seasoned with salt and pepper, cooked some white button mushrooms, and crisped up some green onion strips. one little crostini for each person in my family. what a way to start out a day, with a tiny bite of breakfast!

#11: Mac 'n Cheese Made Over with Brussel Sprouts

the weather has been a little more dreary, so it seemed fitting to break out the cold weather, comfort food recipes. i had some brussel sprouts to cook and needed to come up with something to eat with them. i knew i wanted to make some type of pasta, so when i looked in the fridge and the pantry, i decided on macaroni and cheese. i remembered a recipe i saw in the October edition of the Food Network Magazine for a "lightened up" version of Mac 'n Cheese. The unique part of this recipe was the pureed cauliflower used to thicken up the creamy cheesy sauce. I also added small pieces of Hickoy Farms turkey lil' smokies. Instead of broiling the mac 'n cheese in the oven, I decided to pan fry it on the stove. The noodles came out crispy, browned, and delicious!

As for the brussel sprouts: I browned them in a pan and cooked them down in chicken broth...a great accompaniment to the mac 'n cheese!

#10: Cupcake Mania

This week was filled with cupcakes upon cupcakes. For my birthday, my sister gave me a Martha Stewart cupcake book. i tested out the red velvet and cream cheese recipes a couple weeks ago as a practice round - and then made the cupcakes for real this week.


after sharing my baked goods and cupcake camp news with my manager at work, he asked me to make cupcakes for our colleague's baby shower. he requested they be pink and blue (because she is having twins - a boy and girl). i decided to take the colors to the extreme. i made pink and blue - mini red velvet cupcakes with pink and blue cream cheese frosting. i then topped the cupcakes with some white sprinkles and a plastic toy pacifier (probably should've written out a warning that the pacifiers were not edible). i made 40 cupcakes for the shower and they were a hit! i also got to practice with my new pastry bags/tips.


The friday before halloween, my office had a Halloween dessert contest. I figured I would try out my Pumpkin Spice cupcakes that I entered at Cupcake Camp. However, this time I used a mini bundt cake tin rather than a regular cupcake tin. The cakes turned out a little different. i think the cupcakes were better than these bundt cakes (the cupcakes had a higher frosting/sprinkles to cake ratio). As it turns out - my bundt cakes did not win the competition this time around....so maybe next time i should stick with the cupcake tin.



i made these monster cupcakes for a halloween/birthday party for a friend. these were also red velvet cupcakes with green cream cheese frosting. i used my martha stewart cupcake book again as inspiration for the decorations: marshmallows (with milk chocolate pupils), twizzlers, gum drops, and airheads.