Thursday, December 1, 2011

Christmas Party Cupcakes

Vanilla Frosted Vanilla Cupcake Garnished with a Mini Tree Cookie






My company's annual Christmas Party is happening this weekend, so I decided to make Christmas cupcakes (only because my traditional Christmas cookies are not baked yet and I made a bunch of pies last week for Thanksgiving).

Well, I calculated that I would need about 75 cupcakes (its going to be a big crowd this year!). I don't have the energy to make them all complicated cupcakes, so I originally decided to keep it simple. I was just going to do vanilla with vanilla buttercream.

Then I got bored after work this week ....and made little tree roll-out cookies and iced them with green colored color-flow icing. The next day, I was bored again after work and decided to whip up a batch of buttercream so I could pipe garland and ornaments onto the tiny trees. I debated also putting a little star sprinkle at the top, but I didn't have enough of them and hate going to the grocery store!

I made this recipe from allrecipes.com:
  • 3/4 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  1. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
  2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F . Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart cookie sheets. (I never leave that much space, they don't spread out hardly at all)
  3. Bake 6 to 8 minutes, mine took closer to 6 mins.
Icing - follow the instructions that come with the color-flow mix, you can get it at Michael's or here.

Finished Little Tree Cookies
I made the Cupcake Project's Vanilla Cupcake with Vanilla Buttercream Icing. The recipes are re-posted below(with my edits because I don't like using real vanilla beans). This recipe is Amazing, the best vanilla recipe ever!

Vanilla Cupcakes (from Cupcake Project)
Yield: 16 cupcakes
  • 1 cup granulated sugar 
  • 1 T vanilla bean paste 
  • 1 3/4 cake flour 
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt 
  • 1/4 unsalted butter, room temperature 
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature 
  • 1/3 cup full-fat sour cream 
  • 1/4 cup canola oil 
  • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract 
  • 2/3 cup whole milk 
1. Preheat oven to 350 F

2. In a small bowl, combine sugar and vanilla bean paste

3. Mix together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

4. Add the vanilla sugar and mix until well combined.

5. Add butter and mix on medium-low speed for three minutes.

6. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, sour cream, oil, and vanilla extract until smooth.

7. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined.

8. Slowly add milk and mix on low speed until just combined.

9. Fill cupcake liners 1/4 of the way up. Place a mini-cupcake on top, cover with additional batter.

10. Bake for 14 minutes

11. When the cupcakes are done, remove them immediately from the tins.

Vanilla Frosting (from Cupcake Project)
  • 3 cups confectioners' sugar (add more until it reaches your preferred consistency) 
  • 1cup unsalted butter, room temperature 
  • 4 teaspoons vanilla bean paste (add more to taste) 
  • 2 tablespoon milk 
1. Mix together sugar and butter until they are blended and creamy.

2. Add vanilla bean paste and milk and continue to beat for another minute.

3. If desired, add more vanilla bean paste to taste, or more confectioners' sugar to make it stiffer

All the cupcakes on display for the party!









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