Cupcake Misfortune

So today has been a great day. Well except for the cupcake misfortune, I'll get to that in a few. First though, the weather is beautiful. The windows are open. I got a new necklace. I've had a cupcake or 2 or...10. Well only little bites of them! So I call it 1 cupcake! And I got to spend a few hours with one of my most favorite people on the planet. My Mom.

 
 Mom & I decided that we needed a girls day out. Lunch, a bit of shopping (okay we didn't get that part done), and cupcakes! There's a new cupcake store that I've wanted to check out for a while so today was the day. After a fantastic stir-fry lunch(bd Mongolian Grill is awesome) it was off to the cupcake store (that shall remain nameless).

Now here's a little bit about my mom. Everything I know about baking and cooking I learned from her. I remember that somehow, every single day, after coming home from 8 long hours in a factory, she would have dinner ready and on the table for my dad, my brother and I. And it always tasted great. I can't honestly remember very many nights that mom didn't cook (who can say that for today's households).

And she's always loved baking. In fact each and every year, right around December 1st she recieves a demand request for a box of her most beloved cookies and candies from my family that lives on the other side of the country. And every year, the box is filled with love and shipped off. My mom is the greatest. She is always there for me, no matter what. Even when she's on a diet and I need someone to try cupcakes with me :o)

Cupcake Tin Necklace

So back to the cupcakes. I had decided I was going to purchase 4 different flavors to try. Besides that's about all I could afford before having to stop at the bank for a loan. They were a bit pricy. Mom, being the mom she is, decided she'd go for 6 different ones so that we could try all 10 of them. We picked out our flavors and they wrapped them in their nice little personalized boxes. We had decided on Coconut Cream, Raspberries & Cream, Hot Fudge Sundae, Wedding Cake, Birthday Surprise, Hot Chocolate Mama, a Pecan Pie-esq one, Banana, Amaretto, and Maple Walnut. Now this cupcake shop is about 40 minutes from our house. The clerks suggestion as we walked out the door, "place the cupcakes flat on the floor board of your car for the trip home and you should have no problem!" Was she crazy, apparently she doesn't know us too well, and didn't notice the new necklace I had hanging around my neck. There was no way that these cupcakes were going to make it home, heck I don't even think they will make it 1 mile from the store.

We graciously said "thank you", with two forks in hand, out the door we went. It was about 1/2 mile from the store when mom said, "so what flavor are we going to try first?" I was trying not to seem too anxious to try these little gems, so I told her to decide. 30 minutes later we had eaten our way through 10 cupcakes. Critiquing each and every one of them. It was a great time! I loved every single minute of it. Not because I was eating cupcakes, but because I was eating cupcakes with my Mom.

Here's where the misfortune comes in. I was planning on bringing home what we had left, doing nice pictures of the products, sharing what I had gotten, and giving a verdict on these cupcakes. Here's what I came home with.

You see there was a slight malfunction with the cupcake box handles and Mom accidentally dropped the boxes of cupcakes when we got home. But from what I can tell, dropping them didn't affect the taste.

So what's the verdict on this round of sampling. It was an adorable little store. Everything that I keep imagining for my store some day. And although a couple of the cakes tasted pretty good, overall, they had too much frosting and were slightly overpriced. I guess I'll stick to my homemade, simple, tasty cupcakes (and I hope all of you will too).

80 miles worth of gas...$19.00
Lunch...$30.00
10 Cupcakes...$32.50
A day spent with Mom...PRICELESS!  Thanks Mom!

Samoas, Thin Mints and...Pinewood Derby?

I always wanted to be a Girl Scout. I was fascinated by the green uniforms. Not so much the entire uniform as much as the Girl Scout Sashes adorned with badges notifying the entire world of your accomplishments. I don't know, maybe it's an acceptance thing for me, or something that I wanted to be able to show the world just how amazing of a Girl Scout I was. Yeah, well, that lasted through about 2 years of Brownies. I never did get that amazing green dress, still to this day when I see a Girl Scout covered in all her radiant merit badge glory, I am inspired to do good deeds.

I try to support the Girl Scouts, and you know what that means! This time of year is Cookie Time! I started to think, what could I possibly do food wise to use up the 4+ boxes of cookies I ordered (as if straight up from the box with a ice cold glass of milk wouldn't work). I just so happen to follow Something Swanky and she has devloped what I would like to now call The 35 Pound  Series, simply because I'm sure after seeing all of her great recipes I'm bound to gain at least 35 pounds. She's done some amazing Girl Scout inspired recipes this week, this is just one of them!

Samoas Dip

She also does this Linky Party on Thursdays, Sweet Treats Thursdays. And this is where I found Crumbs and Chaos and this recipe.

Thin Mint Popcorn

Now I have to warn you, both of these recipes are simply delicious and addicting! I've made both of them in the last two days, and can't stay away from either one of them. Again it's a good thing that I work with 6 other equally hormonal women that I can share these with or I may just have to rename it The 85 Pound Series. Seriously, if you want or need something tasty to take to a party or just to get you through the 4 hour Daytona 500, these would be perfect! Both recipes are down at the bottom, just scroll down, or better yet, keep reading and eventually you'll make your way down there!

These days I'm getting a slight glimpse of the scouting lifestyle again, except from a different aspect. The world of Cub Scouts. Dear Son decided he wanted to be a Tiger Cub, so off to Cub Scouts we went. Well, Dear Son and Dear Hubby went. Mom stayed home :(  After a few months of scouting we've had a few different events that haven't really reminded me too much of my scouting days, although that was oh, let's just say, a few years ago.
Today we dove again into Cub Scout world with what is apparently the mecca of all scouting events. The Pinewood Derby. Now like some of you, I've heard of this event, but was truely unaware of what Pinewood Derby meant to Dad's and scouts. After two long weeks of preperation, today was the day. The day that all little boys dream of. The day they perch themselves atop a long, skillfully crafted race track, waiting for the flag to drop and for their car to go racing down the speedway into the winners circle. I never want to get my hopes up too much, for fear of being let down. But you know when you have that feeling that you just want them to win so bad, that was me. Round 1, he won. Round 2, he won. And so on and so on. Undefeated through 10 rounds of Pinewood Derby. First Place! His first time around he won First Place! Can you sense the excitement exuding from me. I still can't believe that on his first run of Pinewood Derby he did so well. I am a very pround Scouting Mama!

So anyways, enough about scouting, let's get to cooking! First we'll start with the Samoas Dip. This is the recipe from Something Swanky as she has it written I did go ahead and add more coconut, and trust me, it wasn't too much!

I served this with Mini Nilla Wafers and Graham Crackers and it was fabulous!

Next, Thin Mint Popcorn. This too is the recipe as is on Crumbs and Chaos.

Now, don't say I didn't warn you. Both of these recipes yield high consumption! Enjoy!!

A day at the office

It's Friday. It's February, and it's cold outside. Where am I sitting? At a black formica countertop, surrounded by techologically-overachieving computer parts, behind a sliding glass window, staring blankly out a mini-blind covered window (hey at least there's a window). This is a view into my daily life.

Well, kind of. You see, I work in a medical office, this beautiful office space here is our satellite office, usually I'm perched upon my billing department chair, surrounded by four walls and a door, calculating away.

As I sat here this morning I was reflecting at my life and my career. I've been working for this office for about 13 years now. I have seen people come, and people go. Marriages, new babies, amazing friendships move to different states (although she did come back to the great state of Ohio), and each and every one of us change in ways we never even knew we could.  I love this office. I love the people I work with. I love how we are such a close group of people that we're almost like a set of Septuplets that have been raised by two Dads. We finish each other's sentences. We know what the others are thinking. We have our spats, we apologize and we go on. We've learned so much together. We've had our good days and bad. We've had our fights over bathrooms and cell phone time, and we still enjoy seeing each other every day. Over the past year we've struggled and we're slowly getting through and back to a state of organization.

As much as I love this place and the people in it, something for me has changed. I have decided to become a baker and a blogger. I feel like it has taken over my life. I feel like there are so many things that I want to do and see and blog about. I have a problem. I'm an addict. A blogging addict. (Quietly in my head I'm hearing, "Hi Kim" in a soft, 12 step program voice).

I would love to bake and blog full-time, but I just can't do that right now. So for this chapter of my life, I get up, go to my day job, come home, bake and blog. There have been many late nights and early weekend mornings, but to me, it's worth it. As I mentioned at the very beginning of this adventure, I feel like God is telling me to follow my heart. Listen to Him. Do what He is telling me to do. Some days I wish His voice was loud enough to hear over the screams and cries of my 6 year and 20 month old, but I know that He is still there. How do I know this? I talk to Him. Alot. Each and every day sitting by myself surrounded by my 4 office walls or my mini-van doors, we talk. About everything. And He talks back. It may not be at the exact time that I think it should be, but at the exact time He feels I need to hear it. God has blessed me with such amazing grace in the last 33 years of life and He continues to amaze me every single day.

I'm on this journey because He has shown me that it will all work out in the end. That He has a plan for me and my life. That I'm not just here to sit in a corner. I'm here to help others, to spread His word, and to be a child of God just as He created me to be.

Wow! Is all I have to say. I'm truely amazed at how things have changed in my life over the past 10 years and I wouldn't want it any other way. I love my everyday life. The craziness of motherhood, wife-hood, full-time working outside of the home-hood, and baking and blogging-hood! I love it all and feel so blessed and grateful for every single thing God has lead me to, and through.

I continue on this journey one day at a time. I have so many things I want to do and say. A dear friend once told me, "Don't worry about saying the right thing, just ask God for guidance and He will give you the right words". I've never been one to have the quick come back line, or be able to quote the verse from the Bible, but I say it how I feel it needs to be said and just pray that the words from my mouth will be a reflection of Him and His wisdom.

This blog has become such a creative outlet for me. I know that some will ask why I do it and why I digress on different topics, but to me, it's my release. It's my chance to show everyone that I don't have a perfect life. That my life is full of messes, both in my house and in my mind, and that I work through them as much as I can. It's a daily struggle to get through this life, but for some unknown reason, God keeps bringing me through it.

I know this post has turned totally away from recipes or cupcakes, but this is how my day has been today so far. Tonight, bring on the cupcakes and the Thin Mint Popcorn (I'll post about that later). So until then, I bid you all a very happy, blessed day!

Oh, and by the way, I did type this whole blog today on my lunch hour, I wasn't actually sitting staring out the window with a blank stare :o) 

Red Hot Strawberry Cupcakes

Adult disclaimer...the cupcakes, although enticing to people of all ages, they do contain alcohol, and my version, 100 proof alchol at that. I'd strongly suggest replacing the alcohol if you are making these for children.

Now onto the good stuff!  I got the inspiration for these cupcakes after seeing this technique on Cupcakes Take the Cake. I've always wanted to use a torch in the kitchen, and not because I don't like the way it's decorated! I have always felt a sense of excitement from the chared top of a Creme Brulee' and although most of the time S'mores aren't done over a flame in the kitchen I have been known to do it that way!  Stop back by on March 3 to see about that!

The cupcakes mentioned on the Cupcakes Take The Cake post lead me to here. Although these cupcakes were chocolate, I felt I had to incorporate the strawberry into the cupcakes after seeing them as the tops.

I decided to try doing a strawberry shortcake cupcake, and trust me I wasn't sure what I was even going to frost them with until after they came out of the oven. I decided to go with a simple homemade strawberry whipped cream frosting. Perfect!

The cupcakes not only contain fresh chopped strawberries, but I had to go with 100 proof Absolute Vodka for good measure. When I was reading about the flaming strawberries the blogger mentioned to use an alcohol with a proof of 90 or higher to get a good blue flame. To the alcohol cabinet I went! After inspecting a few bottles, I remembered that I had some Absolute put away for special occassions. That has to be higher than Pama! (wanna see those cupcakes? Go here.)

Here's the recipe I used for these cupcakes. We'll get to the flaming technique shortly!

Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes

Cupcake Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup cake flour
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vodka
• 2 cups fresh, chopped strawberries

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together flours, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. In a measuring cup, combine the milk and vodka. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and add vanilla extract.
5. Begin adding in the flour mixture, alternating with the milk/vodka mixture. Beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Scrape down the bowl as needed. Mix just until all ingredients are combined.
6. Stir in strawberries by hand.
7. Using and ice cream scooper, divide the batter evenly into the prepared muffin pans.
8. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
9. Cool cupcakes on a wire rack before frosting.

Strawberry Whipped Cream Frosting

Ingredients

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup Strawberry daquiri mix

Instructions

1. Pour heavy cream into a medium mixing bowl.
2. Using whisk attachment beat cream on high speed until it begins to stiffen.
3. Slowly drizzle daquiri mix down the side of the mixing bowl. Be sure not to pour it in too fast or it will break down the heavy cream.
4. Continue mixing on high until stiff peaks form.
5. Frost cupcakes.

Now, for the flaming part!! And yet another disclaimer... please do not attempt to eat the flaming strawberries. I know, that has to be put on there because someone obviously has or would try that!

Flaming Strawberries

Ingredients

• Fresh Strawberries.
• 90 proof or higher alcohol of your liking. I used 100 proof Absolute vodka.

Instructions

1. Trim tops off of strawberries and core them (be careful not to cut through the sides of the strawberry)
2. Set strawberries cut side up on top of cupcakes.
3. Pour about a teaspoon of alcohol into each strawberry "cup".
4. Now comes the tricky part, alcohol evaporates quickly so if you're going to display your cupcakes with flames a'glowin do it just before the presentation. The flame doesn't last long!
5. Light the top of the cupcakes with either a lighter, a torch, or even a lit birthday candle.

WATCH 'EM BURN!!

I love these cupcakes! After I got over the initial amazement of the flame I ate the strawberry (left over vodka and all) and then bit into the cupcakes. It was the perfect balance of strawberries with a vanilla pound cake-esk cake. I think I have just found my new favorite cupcake (it doesn't hurt that it involves flame either)!

If you do want to make these without the liquor you could just replace it with more milk. You would definitly get the same texture of cake, but you'd miss out on the party on top!!

Salted Caramel Brownies

Y'all I gotta share a pretty funny story, well, not really a story, just a situation I guess. As some of you know from my days on Facebook, my laptop took a fatal fall about a month ago and since that fateful day has never fully recovered. In fact, I think it's to the point now where I need to call time of death. I've been trying to get this blog post out there for about a week now, and have now resorted to this...

You see, for Christmas, Santa brought my dear son a new computer. Yes, this is a make-shift office. Complete with Hot Wheels track pieces, remote control cars, and Spiderman sheets. You may have a hard time making out the black computer in that pile of junk, but believe me it's there. And after looking at this picture, dear son will definitly be spending now until he turns 31 cleaning this area he refers to as his bedroom. I know this isn't the most inviting work space in the world, I wouldn't want to have to sit on this 12" wooden chair for 8 hours straight, but right now, it's all I got! And I wouldn't want to let anyone down with not getting this post out there. Okay, so enough about the workspace, let's get on to the business at hand, Salted Caramel Brownies!


A few months ago a friend of mine (I won't name any names, Wes) mentioned on Facebook that he needed an intervention to help him overcome his addiction to salted caramel. Well now I know just what he was referring to. Since that day, I have been thinking non-stop about salted caramel. I've done everything from Chocolate Salted Caramel cupcakes (I'll post about them later) to Salted Caramels straight from the pan, and now today, Salted Caramel Brownies.


It's time for me to admit something. I've never ever made brownies from scratch. *Gasp*! I know! Boxed brownie mix, what was I thinking!! Today I decided was the day to do it from scratch. Partly because I didn't have a brownie mix on hand and wanted to make these today, and partly because this recipe seemed pretty simple. These brownies were a little bit involved, they took some planning, cooling off of different parts, but overall they turned out pretty good. They are very fudgy and ooey, gooey. Just how I like them!


This all started when I was searching for different ways to use a new ingredient I bought last week and I happened to see a recipe for Sea Salt Caramel Brownies here at She's Becoming Doughmesstic. I pretty much followed this recipe as is, but I used a different size baking pan. I was afraid if I used the 8 x 8 pan she suggests that they would be too thick, but now, after using a 13 x 9 pan I wish I would have used an 8x8 (I guess I was being greedy and thought the bigger the better and the more brownies for me to consume). Never dawned on me that you still use the same amount of batter. Hey, I never claimed to be a math or chemistry or whatever science that invloves wiz! Anywho, they turned out to be this rich, fudgy, decadent brownie. After trying one fresh from the pan I decided they needed just a little more caramel. So I topped the brownies with the left over caramel that I didn't use in the brownies and I think that added just enough to send me over the edge. You definitly need to make sure you have a nice tall glass of ice cold milk to go along with these.


Although these brownies were divine, I honestly think the next time I make them I will be using a box mix. For the simple fact that it takes alot less time preparing a box mix than it does making them from scratch. And secretly, I think I like Duncan Hines version of fudge brownies better. Hey what can I say, I'm a Semi-Homemade girl at heart on some things, fudge brownies and Kraft Mac & Cheese just to name a couple. So with that being said, I don't want this to deter anyone from making these brownies from scratch, just know, that once you make them, you may decide never to go back to the box mixes again!

Sea Salt Caramel Brownies…

Sea Salt Caramel

• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 1/4 cup sour cream

In a small saucepan, combine the cream and the salt.  Simmer over very low heat until the salt is dissolved. set aside.
In a medium saucepan combine the sugar and corn syrup carefully. They will not combine well until the sugar begins to melt. Cook over high heat until an instant-read thermometer reads 350 degrees, 6 to 8 minutes.  Add the cream mixture and the vanilla to the sugar mixture. 
Whisk in the sour cream. 
Let the caramel cool to room temp, then follow the brownie instructions. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate any leftover caramel. it makes a great ice cream topping or tastes great straight out of the jar.


Brownies

• 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• pinch salt
• 3 Tbsp Chocolate Syrup
• half of the above caramel recipe

Preheat oven to 325F.
Melt Chocolate and butter in small saucepan over low heat until smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
In a bowl, mix together sugar, eggs, and vanilla, and mix until well combined
Add flour, salt, chocolate syrup and chocolate mixture and blend well.
In a greased 8×8 pan, pour a little over half of the brownie batter and bake for 18 minutes.  Remove from oven and pour in the caramel.  On top of the caramel, add the rest of your brownie batter. If it doesn’t pour smoothly, just plop it in a swirl it around a little bit.  Return to oven and bake for another 18-22 minutes.  Brownies will still appear a little shaky, due to the caramel, but they will firm up once cooled. Do not overbake.

 Again, once I removed them from the oven, I drizzled the remaining sea salt caramel over the top of the brownies. You certainly don't have to do this, but it gives it just a little something extra!

Cupcake Heels!

OMG! I'm sorry I had to do another post today! I'm just so happy with the way these turned out. I saw these first about two weeks ago on Pintrest and then again last week when a friend posted them to my facebook wall. I actually have an order for these for this week so I decided I better do a test run to see just how much time and work I was going to have to put into them. They turned out so cute don't you think!! If you'd like to order some of these please let me know. I can do them in a variety of colors!!

I think these are the cutest cupcakes I've done to date. I can just see them sitting in a very large, walk-in closet. You know, picture the dream closet of Carrie's on Sex in the City. I always love shoe shopping I never have trouble finding my size. I think these will fit just fine!!

Homemade Strawberry Oreos...Or Something Like That.

It's almost Valentine's Day. I know I've said it a few times, but I'm not really a Valentine's Day type of girl. Don't get me wrong, any excuse to receive flowers or chocolates I'll take, but I just don't obsess about the Hallmark holiday too much.

As I was doing some research this week for the blog, I came across this post  on ThirtyHandmadeDays for Strawberry Heart Oreo Cookies. What! Strawberry Oreos! Anything that has the word O-R-E-O in it I like! (With the exception of Double Stuff-I know, kind of weird huh?!)
So anyways, I looked past the title and the picture and noticed how simple the recipe was. I knew I had everything in my pantry to make them so to the kitchen I went!
Here's the recipe I used.

Ingredients

• 1 package of strawberry cake mix
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup of shortening
• Frosting:
• 8 oz. cream cheese
• 1/2 stick of butter, softened
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 4 c. powdered sugar

Instructions

Mix cake mix, shortening, and eggs together in a medium mixing bowl.

The dough will be pretty stiff-it's supposed to be that way.

Roll into balls. (Use about 1 tsp of mix per ball)

Place two balls next to each other and pinch the bottom to create a heart.



Please excuse the nail polish, I'm in serious need of a manicure!

 Place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper or Silpat.

Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes.

Immediately transfer to a cooling rack.

Allow to cool completely.

Mix frosting ingredients together. Spread onto cool cookies. Sandwich together.

Now when I started this recipe, I had already been standing in my kitchen for about 8 hours doing cupcake orders, so I'm not sure if that's where I went wrong, or what the problem was. The cookies taste great, but as you can see from the picture, they don't look like hearts at all, they basically were pink, strawberry circles. You have to be really careful not to make the balls too big when you're shaping them, and make sure you leave enough space between them, they do spread out a little and you don't want the edges sticking together. My first pan I ended up with a few very large pink cookies!

Now, just a warning...these taste nothing like Oreos. Although they taste amazing and I'd make them again and again, they are soft, chewy cookies with basically a cream cheese buttercream center. Dear hubby liked these cookies plain, with no frosting in the center. I would have to agree. Although they were pretty good with a hot cup of joe for breakfast! Once I iced and sandwiched them, they were very sweet, almost too sweet for my taste. I know for some of you there's no such thing as too sweet, so enjoy them however you'd like.

Onto another item of business. As you can see, my blog has a new look! I want to thank Ashton at http://www.somethingswanky.com/ for fixing up my blog for me. It is still a work in progress, and I hope in the near future to add a few new items to the page to make it more user friendly. I hope that all of you will continue to check back for new creations as well as my old favorites...The Cupcakes! See y'all soon!!

Touchdown!! Buffalo Chicken Wing Cucpakes!

So maybe a few of you saw it on the national or even the local news over the last couple of days. Everyone is gearing up for some big game that's going on in Indy this weekend. One of the big news stories to go along with Super Bowl XLVI is the food. This cupcake has made the news more in the last week than probably any cupcake in world history.

A few weeks ago I was sitting down thinking, what kind of different cupcake could I make for the Super Bowl? What kind of foods can I incorporate into a cupcake? With many ideas swirling in this little brain of mine, I sat down at the computer and began researching. Apparently so was every other cupcake baker on the planet. I happened to see a post on Facebook from Stef at Cupcake Project. It was a teaser post letting all of her loyal followers know that she'd be posting a Super Bowl inspired cupcake in a couple of days and to keep an eye out for it. I politely responded back, "I hope you're not using buffalo chicken & ranch!"

A few days later, there it was. The cupcake to beat all other cupcakes! Stef had created a Buffalo Chicken and Blue Cheese Cupcake! Personally I couldn't wait to try it. This is exactly what I had been looking for.

A few days ago I strategically made my way through my local grocery store, making sure I had everything to make these for Super Bowl weekend. Little did I know when I pulled in the parking lot, everybody and their brother thought they needed to shop at the same grocery store I was. I'm on a time crunch here people, can't you see that. I couldn't believe the number of people that had chips and dips and other items to quench their super sized thirsts. I quickly made my way through there in record time! Okay! I've got everything I need.

So today was the day, time to start baking. As I mixed them up, at 6 am, I was instantly transported to our local wings & things restaurant. I could taste the hot, buttery wing sauce dripping off of a crispy, breaded part of the buffalo I've never seen. This is going to be amazing! I popped them in the oven and 15 short minutes later they were a beautiful, orange, hot saucy cupcake.

It was all I could do to wait long enough so that I wouldn't saute my tongue on the hot goodness. When I tasted one, I was amazed.

These cupcakes are not the pretty little cheerleaders of the cupcake world (we'll save that for Strawberry or Red Velvet).  These are the line backers, the full backs, heck, maybe even the quarter backs of The Cupcake Bowl. These are the tied in the 4th quarter, with only 5 seconds on the clock, punting a 55 yard field goal cupcake! They mean business!!

The flavor was amazing, it is a mix of brown sugar, butter, blue cheese, and hot sauce. And hot they were! They're definitely not a sweet cupcake, but I was about to change that.

Stef's original recipe calls for a blue cheese butter cream frosting. I'm not a big fan of blue cheese, however I did use it in the cupcakes, and I figured I better at least try using it in a butter cream. I also had vanilla butter cream already made up that I didn't want to waste, so instead of making a whole new batch of blue cheese butter cream, I decided just to mix the creamed blue cheese into my own butter cream frosting.

I iced up some cupcakes and strategically placed a boneless buffalo wing atop the pile of frosting. Aaahhh. Beautiful! Or I guess handsome would be a better term ( I don't think any of the NFL linebackers would want to be referred to as beautiful!)

Now I was standing there admiring the concoction when I was thinking again how much I really dislike blue cheese, and I thought, well why not try ranch dressing instead (more to my taste). The top picture is just that!

Now taking the field for the [insert most popular NFL team name here], Buffalo Chicken Wing with Ranch Cupcake!!!

So with all props to Stef from Cupcake Project for being the mind and create-all behind my thoughts, yet again ,I am amazed and I hope you will be too!!

Here's Cupcake Projects original recipe with a few changes I added in.

Buffalo Chicken Blue Cheese Cupcakes

For the cake:

• 1/2 cup hot sauce (I recommend a hot sauce that is typically used for Buffalo chicken.  Frank's is the classic choice)
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 1 egg
• 1 cup flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

For the blue cheese buttercream frosting:

• 2 ounces crumbled blue cheese
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups powdered sugar

Or for the buttercream with ranch

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 2-4 tablespoons of cream, whole milk, or half & half
• 1 tablespoon of ranch dressing, thinned with milk to drizzling consistency

Instructions

To make the cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. In a medium-sized saucepan on medium-high heat, heat hot sauce and butter until butter is melted.
3. Add the blue cheese and mix periodically until blue cheese is melted.
4. Remove from heat and mix in the sugar.
5. In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream and egg. 
6. Once the hot sauce mixture is cool enough to touch, mix the sour cream mixture into the hot sauce mixture.
7. In another small bowl, mix together the flour and baking soda.
8. Fold the flour mixture into the hot sauce mixture.
9. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full.
10. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

To make the blue cheese buttercream frosting:

1. Mix blue cheese on high speed until smooth.
2. Add the unsalted butter and mix on high speed until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes).
3. Slowly mix in the powdered sugar until fully combined.
4. Pipe or spread onto cooled cupcakes.

Or for the vanilla buttercream frosting:

1. Mix the butter and shortening on high speed until smooth.
2. Add in the vanilla
3. Slowly mix in the powdered sugar until fully combined.
4. Thin out with cream, milk or half & half to spreading or piping consistency.

On the cupcakes with the blue cheese buttercream I simply placed a boneless buffalo wing on top after frosting the cupcakes. For the ones with ranch, I topped those with the vanilla buttercream frosting, placed a boneless wing on top and then drizzled the ranch dressing over the top of the cupcake.