Somehow it got to be Friday already! And I’m still on my Wednesday To-Do list. Ah well, first thing on my Friday To-Do list is announce the winner of this week’s Free Stuff Friday contest. (And second is to bake cupcakes and share the recipe…see below!)

Thanks to everyone for the avalanche of entries this week!! One Blog Babe’s name has been pulled from the stack…and the lucky winner of an advance copy of SUGAR RUSH is…….Melissa S!!! (Had a few Melissa’s this time…but only one Melissa S!!)) To claim your prize, simply email me at donna@donnakauffman.com with your address. Congratulations!!

And now on to the baked goodies! Last week we had eggnog cupcakes, and I mentioned that I’d run across the red velvet/eggnog frosting combination, which sounded pretty yum, too. I wanted to keep the holiday spirit going this week, and decided on mmmmmm……Gingerbread Cupcakes!!

Typically, you see them paired with Cream Cheese Frosting, but I wasn’t completely happy with the Eggnog Frosting recipe from last week — too sweet and the cream cheese richness was a little lost — so decided to tweak it a little (less confectioners sugar, more butter and eggnog!) and try again with these. However, they are awesome with just a bit of powdered sugar sifted on top. Or you can try the Cardamom Cream Cheese Frosting on the recipe site. (Click the blog link above the recipe!)

No matter what version you try…they are yummy! (And your house will smell sooooo good!)

From Gastronomyblog.com

Gingerbread Cupcakes

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon salt

Steps:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease 12 standard-size muffin cups or line them with paper cups.
2. Cream the butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy.
3.Beat in the molasses, egg, and vanilla.
4.In a small bowl, stir together the boiling water and baking soda until dissolved.
5.Stir the baking soda water into the molasses mixture.
6.Sift together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, lemon zest, and salt into a small bowl. 7.Whisk the flour mixture into the molasses mixture until the batter is combined.
8.Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Bake the cupcakes until a toothpick inserted in the center of one or two of the cupcakes comes out clean, about 20 minutes.

Remove the cupcakes from the oven and allow them to cool for 5 minutes before removing them from the pan. Place the cupcakes on a rack to cool for 30 minutes.

Eggnog Cream Cheese Frosting (my recipe):

Ingredients:
8oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons egg nog, to taste
1 tablespoon Rum, to taste (This is optional. I didn’t add to mine. If you don’t use rum, increase eggnog by 1 tablespoon.)

Steps:
1. Cream butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Add vanilla, blend.
2. Add confectioners sugar and nutmeg, then gradually add eggnog (and/or rum.) Add more sugar for consistency if needed (or cut back amount of eggnog to keep the flavor of the cream cheese from being diluted by too much sugar.)

I hope you enjoy these as much as I did. And do. And will again!

Have a great weekend everyone!! New Contest on Monday….see the blog for all the details.

Tags: Writing //