So…I’m writing the third book in the Cupcake Club Series, titled BABYCAKES…and I’m coming in to the final stretch. Book is due next week, which means…oh yeah: I’m. On. Deadline. And we all know what that means.

Yes. Chocolate. And lot’s of it.

So, today, in the Cupcake Kitchen, I went full tilt. Chocolate Fudge Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip cupcakes. Seriously. I don’t mess around when it’s deadline hell time. And these? SO worth it!!

I started with a recipe from the Original Martha…yes, I’m talking about Betty Crocker. And while I liked the cream cheese chocolate chip filling, the cupcake batter called for cocoa. And cocoa on deadline? Yeah, just won’t do. I need the real stuff. The kind you have to chop up and melt. The kind where I wield sharp things and melt stuff and risk having to call that cute EMT over again when something catches on fire or I (inevitably) nick a finger while in a chocolate chopping frenzy. (How do chefs chop so fast? I make a chop like, once every ten seconds, and I still end up with bandages.)

So, I went searching and dug up this chocolate fudge cupcake recipe in my “family” folder. Not sure which family member this came from, or where they got it, but they are my new, Most Favorite Family Member, that’s for sure!

It’s an easy recipe, as there is no frosting. Because, a sugar rush is one thing, a sugar coma…well, just make sure Cute EMT Guy is there before you collapse. But with this one, it’s sort of like the frosting is on the inside.

Here we go!

Preheat oven to 350. Line 24 muffin cups with cupcake papers. (You may want to double line these as there is a lot of melting chocolate going on!)

Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Filling:

1/2 cup sugar
6 ounces cream cheese (two 3oz packs)
1 egg
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Steps:
1. Beat sugar and cream cheese until smooth
2. Beat in egg
3. Stir in chocolate chips. Set aside.

Fudge Cupcakes:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups milk
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate melted

Steps:
1. Chop chocolate and melt in double boiler, let cool.
2. Whisk togethe flour, baking powder, soda and salt.
3. In separate bowl, use mixer set on med high to cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. 4. Add eggs, one at a time, scraping sides as needed.
5. Stir in vanilla
6. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. 7. Add melted chocolate and mix thoroughly.

Filling cups:
Fill each cupcake liner approximately half full, reserving at least 1 1/2 cups batter for later. Then drop a tablespoon size dollop of cream cheese/chocolate chip filling onto the top of each cup. Finally, add a teaspoon size drop of cupcake batter on top.

Bake for 19-22 minutes, or until the toothpick test says you’re done. Let cool on rack for 10 minutes, then remove and cool the rest of the way on a rack.

Then pour yourself a big ol’ glass of very cold milk and enjoy! SO good, am I right?? And you don’t even have to be on deadline, to enjoy them!

Okay, okay, before you race out to buy cream cheese and chocolate chips…don’t forget to enter this week’s Free Stuff Friday Contest! (And don’t forget to come back and check on Friday to see if you’re a winner! Yes, I’m talking about you, Last Week’s Winning Blog Babes!)

This week, up for grabs is an advance copy of Cupcake Club Book #2, SWEET STUFF, which your friends and neighbors can’t get their hands on all the way until January 31. So, be the envy of your block and be the first one to snag a copy! To enter, just send me an email to donna@donnakauffman.com with “Cupcake Coma isn’t enough! I need SWEET STUFF, too!” in the subject line. I will pick TWO lucky happening blog babe winners and announce them here Friday. Don’t forget! You gotta check in to see if you win!

And don’t forget to Like my Fab New Facebook Fan Page & follow me on Twitter for all the latest daily goings on. Today we took the What Cupcake Flavor Are You quiz. I’m Key Lime. Come join the fun…and find out what flavor you are!

And yes, yes, I know I promised you all the MAC you could stand, but this week’s first Morning After Commentary will have to wait until tomorrow. I was too devastated when my beaten up Steelers couldn’t stop the Tebow Train, so I only got as far as the season premiere for Downton Abbey. (And if you are not watching this, head right on over to www.pbs.org and watch the first season for free. LOVE this series!)

I will have all the dish on that, Once Upon a Time and Good Wife AND Castle when I finish my TV Junkie Marathon in the wee hours after coming out of Deadline Cave.

Because nothing, and I mean, nothing ends a Monday better than Chocolate Fudge Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip cupcakes with Nathan Fillion on top. Seriously.

Bon apetit!

Tags: Writing // 6 Comments »

So, last night on Project Runway, they launched their “All Star” season. Yeah, I use those like air quotes. Sigh. I have to question any show that claims some of those folks were stars. (I won’t name names, you know who you are!) However, there were some highlights (Hello, Austin! Hello Mondo! Hello Rami’s Big Broad Shoulders!) that had me tuning in. (Yes, with little umbrella drink in hand…sitting in the shallow end of the pool. Join me, won’t you?

The bad news? No Tim Gunn. Yes, complete Runway Sacrilege. However, instead we get Marie Claire editor, Joanna Coles in his place…and I liked her. A lot, actually. Who I didn’t like? The Heidi Klum wanna-be Other Model hostess. I can’t even remember her name. She wasn’t bad so much as she Just Wasn’t Heidi.

Over in the judge arena, we got the owner/CEO of the Marchesa design house, and I liked her, too. But…we also got Isaac Mizrahi, who…not so much. Now, I used to be a big Isaac fan…but, I’ve kind of gotten over that. He’s not the nicest guy. Just sayin. (Though I heard he got married today! Congrats on that! Maybe marital bliss will soften him up a little. Or..you know..not.) However, all that said, in a change up from Michael Kors and Nina, this is actually a change I can live with. For now. I reserve the right to say I told you so! about my Isaac reservations at any point, and possible many times over. Fair warning.

I liked the first challenge, the favorite “Make Something From Weird Stuff” one, where, in this case, they had to work with dollar store items. Nothing came close to Austin’s innaugural season lettuce dress, but they did an interesting, worthy job. I completely agreed with the top two (Mondo and Rami) though I wanted Mondo for the win, they both deserved it.

Even more heartening? The bottom three were actually the worst of the bunch. Seems obvious, I know, but it doesn’t always work out that way. And, if it had to come down to Sweet Pea and Elisa of the Moon Children…well, I was happy moonchild got the boot. Truly not from this planet, that one, though I’m happy she’s so happily blissed out on her bliss. (Though I wouldn’t pay her to spit on me. People pay her for that. No, really. Well, according to the spitter.) Mostly I’m just happy that she’s no longer going to be spitting on things on my tv. Although, I will miss Anthony’s comments about her. That? Was comedy. Please, PR-AS, keep Anthony on the show regardless of his madd skillz set or lack their of. Love him.

All in all, a winning return to my reality guilty pleasure! And tonight? New Tom Selleck. I know, right? Deep, appreciative Magnum sigh.

Now, I know I usually blog a new cupcake recipe on Fridays, but I’m still recovering from the disappointment of finding out far too late to do anything about it, that yesterday? Was National Whipped Cream Day. Who forgot to send me the memo?? But I promise an amazingly decadent little cake recipe come Monday’s blog. Santa gifted with with a new collection of cupcake recipes, so I’ll have the weekend to decide which one to use next! Be warned, I’m in the mood for chocolate. (And clearly, given my rant above, I need some. I heard that!)

Which means we can go straight to the Big Announcement! We have TWO winners of this weeks’ Free Stuff Friday contest. TWO lucky blog babes will win their very own advance copy of SWEET STUFF, the second book in the Cupcake Club series. And the lucky winners are? Rhonda J and Katye J! Woo hoo! Rhonda, I already have your address, so will pop your prize in the mail to you. Katye, just email me your addy to donna@donnakauffman.com and I’ll get yours out, too.

And…don’t be sad if you didn’t win. I’m doing it all over again next week! And, if you haven’t made up your mind about the Cupcake Club series, click on over to my Author Spotlight at RT Book Reviews for a SUGAR RUSH excerpt and a little extra blog by moi!

So, tune in Monday for some Morning After Commentary (the MAC is back!) on Once Upon A Time and maybe some Good Wife thrown in, a new cupcake recipe..and all the contest entry details.

But, right now? DISH like it’s 2012! Did you watch Project Runway? Have a favorite? Do you want a nice, big hug from Ravi like I do? Tell me all about it!

Tags: Writing // 1 Comment »

So…I’ve been trying to get excited about the current season of Top Chef, a show I normally love…but this season’s batch of cheftestants is leaving me feeling a bit meh. The Texas setting isn’t really firing me up, either…although I’d get in my car right now and drive all the way to Austin to get some of that BBQ they were showing last night. (Note to self: never watch cooking shows at 1am when the fridge and pantry are barren…)

About the best thing this season has to offer is the new Last Chance Kitchen twist, where the latest chef to pack of their knives and go are then surprised with one last chance to get back in the kitchen, and in the running for the prize. Sudden death duels are always so much fun. Of course, I should mention, the LCK is only available to watch online. I know. So…an uneven season at best. Maybe I was just spoiled by the Next Iron Chef competition, which was insane. Of course, they were all All Stars, and, of course, my least favorite chef won, but it was a great competition.

So…I’m holding out hope that the All Stars can rescue me again from the hinterlands of No Reality TV on my DVR tonight with the premiere of the new season of Project Runway. Yes, blog babes, it’s an All Stars season. And though I could do without them bringing back so many of the villains, I’m excited to see Austin Scarlett compete again, and Mondo-Who-Was-Robbed! And, there is always the hope that when you put all of the biggest beyotch contestants in one workroom, at least one of them will get stabbed to death with a pair of pinking shears. Just sayin. It could happen.

I know I’ll be tuning in!!

Don’t forget, today is your last day to enter this week’s sweeeeeet Free Stuff Friday contest! See Monday’s blog post for entry details. You can win an advance copy of Cupcake Club Book #2, SWEET STUFF (on sale, January 31.) What is that? You haven’t read Book #1 yet? Well, click here and we can get your SUGAR RUSH sent right to you! (I know, I’m so helpful like that!)

Good luck, and tune in tomorrow for the contest winner and all the (hopefully) delicious Project Runway dish you can stand!

Tags: Writing // 4 Comments »

Hey Happening Blog Babes!

Today I’m In the Spotlight, over on RT Book Reviews with my own little blog, and an excerpt from SUGAR RUSH! Check it out…and pass the cupcakes!

And, in other fantastic news, SUGAR RUSH is presently sitting at #3 on the Barnes & Noble Romance Trade Bestseller list! Thanks to everyone who made the possible!! But then, we all know…Blog Babes rock!!

Cupcake Club #2, SWEET STUFF, is coming soon! Check out yesterday’s blog to find out how you can win your very own advance copy. Good luck!

Last night, it was the Return of the Hawaii 5-0 Hunks, and tonight, we get NCIS back. Yes, my Mark Harmon fix is only a few short hours away. Yes, it is lovely here at the shallow end of the pool. Join me, won’t you? Pass the umbrella drinks and sink into those blue eyes….

Tags: Writing // 2 Comments »

Well, Happening Blog Babes, can you believe it…today marks my 6th year with this blog! My how time flies in the shallow end of the pool! So, grab your fancy umbrella drinks and join me, won’t you?

We’re still in the Death Valley Days of television programming, so no MAC today (Morning After Commentary, for you new Happening Blog Babes…) but that will resume shortly, because we can Man Candy Hawaii 5-0 back tonight and everything else will follow in the next week. Project Runway All Stars begins Thursday and you can be I’ll be on board! Then, be still my heart, Masterpiece Theater’s second season of Downton Abbey begins this weekend. Hello, 2012!

But, while we’re waiting, let’s talk Free Stuff Friday, shall we?

I want to thank everyone who made the December 27th launch of SUGAR RUSH such a great success! And if you haven’t rushed right out to get a copy….well, HURRY! Book 2 in the Cupcake Club series will be out in just a few short weeks and you don’t want to be behind, do you? Come meet all my pals on Sugarberry Island, Georgia, won’t you? Then set a spell, put your feet up, and have a cupcake. Or two. (Or…you know…ten.)

So, with SWEET STUFF’s release right around the corner, and SUGAR RUSH being inhaled right and left…I figured, why not give away an advance copy…or TWO? Yeah…let’s make it two, why don’t we?

And…here we go! If you’d like to be in the running to win your very own copy of SWEET STUFF, just send an email to donna@donnakauffman.com with “Need…more…cupcakes!” in the subject line. I will draw two names from the entry stack and announce the winners here on Friday. AND! I’ll be doing this every week for the month of January!!! (Different entry details each week, so be sure to check in every Monday for how to enter!)

I know!! How SWEET is that? And look for a Very Special Giveaway the week of SWEET STUFF’s launch! It hits the shelves January 31!

Ready…set…..ENTER!

Tags: Writing // 1 Comment »

Wow, has it been another year already? We’ve been having so much fun here in the shallow end of the pool, what with our fancy umbrella drinks and Man Candy….time just flew!

I wanted to take a moment from all the fun and frivolity to thank each and every one of you fabulous Blog Babes here for your support, your laughter, and your sisterhood. It’s been a year of commentary, contests, and cupcakes….lots and lots of cupcakes! From Man Candy Mondays to Free Stuff Fridays, it’s been a blast hanging out with you all and I can’t want to start it all over again in the New Year!

Please enjoy your weekend, celebrating the last, waning hours of this year…then join me come Monday to help kick off the new year with a bang! I’m talking contest, of course, and it’s going to be a fun one!

SUGAR RUSH is finally on sale out and your support has been so incredible!! Now we’re just a few short weeks away from SWEET STUFF, the second in the Cupcake Club series, showing up in your bookstores…so, naturally, we have to do something to celebrate!

Tune in Monday for all the fun details! And, in the meantime, be merry and safe this weekend and just know…Blog Babes ROCK! (And Rule! )

Happy New Year, to you all!!

Tags: Writing // Add Comment »

It’s here, it’s finally here! After a year of cupcake blogging, SUGAR RUSH, the first book in The Cupcake Club Romance series is finally here! Woo hoo! Or…better yet…Whoopie!

Yep, to celebrate Big Release Day, we’re making Whoopie Pie Cupcakes! Thanks to CakeSpy for the great recipe (and photo!)

Ingredients:: For the cupcakes and cookie tops:
2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup butter
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup milk

Steps:
1: Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare two baking sheets: one muffin tin and one cookie tray. Line the muffin tin with cupcake liners, and the cookie tray with a sheet of parchment.
2: Sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt into a medium-sized mixing bowl. Set aside.
3: With an electric mixer, cream the butter, eggs, and vanilla together in a large mixing bowl until light and lemon-hued. Add the dry ingredients bit by bit, alternating with the milk until your batter is smooth.
4: Using either a cookie scoop or by heaping teaspoons, drop 12 rounds of cookie dough on the cookie sheet, leaving about an inch and a half around each mound of dough. Try to size them so that they are slightly smaller than the circumference of the cupcake cups you are using.
5: With the remaining cookie dough, fill the cupcake cups. This should be enough batter to fill each cupcake cup about 2/3 full.
6: Bake until lightly browned around the edges (these are a lighter cocoa color than some whoopie pies so you will see light browning). For the cookie tops, this will be 8-10 minutes; for the cupcakes, this will be about 15-20 minutes (a toothpick inserted in the cake should come out clean). I baked both at the same time, simply taking out the tops sooner and leaving the cupcakes to bake a bit longer.
7: Let the cupcakes and cookie tops cool completely.

Ingredients: For the filling:
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/2 cups marshmallow fluff
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Steps:
1: Beat butter and marshmallow fluff together until smooth
2: Stir in vanilla until well blended.
3: Scoop filling on top of cooled cupcakes, then top with the cookie tops.

Inhale.

A big, hearty thank you to all the bakers and readers out there who have followed my adventures in the kitchen this past year. I look forward to sharing many more cupcake recipes with you in 2012!

Tags: Writing // 1 Comment »

So, Santa dropped in a little early here. My interview with USA Today is up today! Check it out here!

Thank you to Joyce Lamb for having me as a guest to her Happy Ever After column, and to the celebrated Pamela Clare for making this interview so much fun!

So, it’s 2 Days to Santa….and 4 Days to Cupcakes! SUGAR RUSH is out next Tuesday, 12/27. Don’t forget, you can still enter to win the $50 certificate to Crumbs Cupcakes (SO good!!) Click on the image above for the entry details!

I will see you all back here next week. Have a wonderful, festive, and joyous holiday weekend with family and friends.

Ho Ho Ho!!

Tags: Writing // Add Comment »

No, my calendar isn’t screwed up. I’m talking about what happens, oh, a few days after Santa makes his rounds. Next Tuesday, one week from this very day...SUGAR RUSH finally hits the stands!! Wahoo!!

In the meantime…my fab publisher Kensington has a few stocking stuffer ideas…. (click on the image to see the covers up close!)

A nice Christmas quote came in from the Parkersburg News & Sentinel. In their Christmas Books For Adults roundup, they had this to say about UNWRAPPED: “This is a great collection of quick romance tales that will heat up your Christmas!” Thank you, Parkersburg!

A few fun things going on this week, too. USA Today is doing an interview with moi! More details to come!! And I promised a contest….and here you go! Want a chance to win a copy of THE LEGEND MACKINNON?

My first paranormal that just made its way to digital (and is still in print as well..) is the talk over at Romance @ Random. Drop by this week, leave a comment here, and you could be a winner!

Tags: Writing // Add Comment »

So…I’ve been in the kitchen baking cupcakes all morning. I realize this comes as a shock to absolutely no one.

I am baking for friends & family (and editors, agents…) and decided I needed something that was both super yummy and delicious….and would hold up well via various forms of transport and delivery. So, I went with my younger son’s favorite cupcake from this whole past year of cupcake blogging…

Martha’s Streusel Cupcakes!

Below is the original entry from my Cakes By the Cup Blog for this recipe, written way back on February 9. I’ve learned so much since then….

Enjoy! (And yes, the winner of the first ever Fan Page Contest is announced below, after the goodies!)

“The one where I wished I’d kept my grandmother’s pastry blender…..” February 9, 2011

Hello intrepid cupcake lovers!

I’m back with the latest in my journey to research all things cupcake! But first, Book Update!

As you may or may not know (but surely care….and care deeply) this blog is a result of all the hands on research I’ve been doing for my new Cakes by the Cup series, a trilogy of romantic comedies that will start appearing on the shelves the end of this year.

Book 1, SUGAR RUSH, is already in the hands of my publisher, in pre-production, and now, after a short break to finish up the Hot Scots trilogy with a novella that will appear in this fall’s UNWRAPPED Christmas anthology (yes, Shay’s story for all who have been asking!)…I am officially BACK in the kitchen, baking away!

I’ve started work on Book 2, SWEET STUFF, and we all know what that means. Cupcakes, cupcakes, and well…more cupcakes!

This week’s adventure comes from a bit earlier on in my research trials and tribulations. I’m titling it… “the one where I really wish I’d kept my grandma’s pastry blender” but could have also been called “the one where I should have read ALL of the instructions first.” Or, you know…both.

The good news is, despite any initial issues I had in perfecting this recipe (okay, okay, in just following the instructions which required no perfecting, just madd reading skillz and patience, one of which I lack. Sorely.) this cupcake has gone on to become a fast family and friends favorite and is one of the two I’ve made most often since.

Today, my friends, behold the Streusel Cupcake. Yes, the perfect combination of coffee cake and cake in a cup, full of rich, buttery, brown sugary crumbly topping goodness, all in a little paper cup. Or two. Or….okay, three. But three was my limit! (For breakfast.)

For this recipe, we dive back into my now favorite cookbook, Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes.

You’ll recall, not a huge Martha Fan here, but the woman knows her cupcakes. And what did I learn the last and first time I cooked a Martha Recipe? Right: READ THE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST. Did this lesson stick with me? Apparently not. I mean, it’s coffee cake in a cup. How complicated can that be?

Not very. If you, you know, READ THE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST.

Streusel Cupcakes:

2 ½ cups all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 ¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon coarse (Kosher) salt
½ cup plus 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, room temp (which equals 1 ¼ sticks. Because nothing is easy with la Martha)
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs (she doesn’t say room temp, but you totally know she means it.)
1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 ¼ cups sour cream

So…those are the ingredients. At the end of that list, she just adds:
Streusel Topping (recipe follows)
Milk Glaze (recipe follows)

So….naturally, I think it’s safe to just go ahead and make the cupcake batter, THEN skip on down to the streusel instructions. WRONG, young padewan.

But, that’s what I do. The first time I made this, anyway. And, you’d think, given that I screwed up the READ ALL THE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST when dealing with Martha Rule the first time I used this cookbook, I’d be all over that. Sadly, no.

And, the Instructions for the cupcake batter are:
1. Preheat Oven to 350. Line muffin tins with 24 paper cups
2. Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. (I am a big fan of whisking. It’s much easier on the forearm than squeezing that sifter lever a million times. Not to mention positioning said sifter exactly over the mixing bowl and somehow still managing to get powder everywhere BUT in the bowl. Whisking? That I can manage.)
3. With electric mixer on medium-high, cream butter, sugar until pale and fluffy. (And, what did we learn? 2-3 minutes min, 4 min max. Set a timer.)
4. Add eggs, one at a time, until they are each assimilated, like the Borg. Scrape sides of the bowl as you wish. Make it so.
5. Stir in vanilla by hand. (Apparently it’s too gentle a flavor to withstand the electric beaters. I don’t know. But I can do this.)
6. Add flour mixture and sour cream. Stir until just combined. Again, use non-electric man power.
7. Do the math and divide this big honkin’ bowl o’ batter evenly into 24 cups. Good luck with that.

Now….now she tells you, blithely, to just “sprinkle half the topping over the cupcakes, gently pressing it into the batter, then sprinkle evenly with the rest of the topping. Meaning, I guess, that you’ve already MADE the topping. Except she SAID the recipe was to follow. And it does follow…it follows the above instructions. As in, printed below them. Not in the regular ingredient column. Which I took to mean, “Make after.”

Yeah. I would have been wrong. Why? Well, apparently, all this time you were making the batter? The streusel topping was supposed to be already made and being chilled in the refrigerator! I know!

So, now I have 24 cups full of marginally evenly divided batter (oh, who am I kidding? It’s not even close to even.) and I haven’t made the streusel, much less chilled it in the fridge!

I figure what the heck, just make it, sprinkle and press it, and be done with it. Which, I do.

Streusel Topping:
2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
¾ cup packed dark brown sugar
2 ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¾ teaspoon coarse (Kosher) salt
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temp

Instructions:
1. Whisk together flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt. (Brown sugar doesn’t immediately whisk all that well, but keep at it. Or break it up with a fork first.)
2. Cut in the butter and use a pastry blender, your fingertips, or two table knives, until combined but still crumbly.

Is she kidding me with that? Me, use two knives? Simultaneously? I don’t care if they’re dull butter knives. That’s crazy talk. I can hurt myself with a potato peeler. So, since I didn’t bring home my grandmothers pastry blender (why? Why?) I am forced to do the fingertip method. Yeah. That was fun.

THEN! Martha just happens to mention that you’re supposed to pop this bowl of crumbly perfection in the fridge. For THIRTY MINUTES.

What, and leave the unevenly distributed cake batter to just soak through my muffin cups? I think not. So I sprinkle and press and re-sprinkle, and while it will all work out okay, it’s a lot harder to sprinkle soft streusel. And when you press it, it just kind of gloms into the batter.

Did it make the cupcakes inedible or anything? Not at all. In fact, they were heavenly. It was more a clean up situation. A lot of the topping did melt all over the muffin pan and ooze down between the paper lining and the pan and made for not-so-fun clean up. So, when I made this recipe the second time, I READ THE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST, and refrigerated the topping while making the cupcake batter and it did go much, much more smoothly, they looked better, and the clean up was a cinch.

So, now you’ve topped your batter, pressed, and sprinkled. Next?
1. Bake, rotating the tins halfway through, until golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. (By “tester” I assume she means “toothpick.) Approx 20 minutes. Mine cooked closer to 18.
2. Transfer tins to wire rack. Cool completely before removing cupcakes.

Milk Glaze:
1 ½ cups confectioners sugar. Sifted. (I know, because god forbid I have clean counters)
3 tablespoons milk

Whisk together ingredients and drizzle over cupcakes. Use immediately.

And do you know what else you’ll do? Eat them immediately. These are yummy with a capital Y. One of my favorites.

Don’t they look yummmmm to you?

I hope you enjoy making these as much as I do and they become family favorites in your house.

Now….the moment you’ve all been waiting for!! Thank you everyone for you enthusiasm for my brand spankin’ new Facebook Fan Page and for entering my first ever Fan Page Contest! Winner gets copies of both SUGAR RUSH & SWEET STUFF! (Now that’s a sweeeet prize!) !!

Lots of entries and comments this past week…but only one winner! Was it you? Well, head on over to My Fan Page and find out already!!

Hope everyone has a festive and frolicking weekend! See you back here next week with news, updates…and yes, a new contest!

Tags: Writing // 1 Comment »