Tipsy treats!

Okay everyone. Are you ready for these tasty beauties. These are my tipsy treats and they are my succulent and edible cocktails. I was stumbling with eager intoxication just brainstorming their recipes. This collection was inspired by my love for white Russians and Kahlua specifically. One day while sipping on my drink, as i prepared another, i got lost watching the Kahlua stream down like molasses and I imagined how wickedly good this Kahlua would taste in a rich chocolate buttercream. Kahlua? Buttercream? Kahlua chocolate buttercream? The white Russian cupcake! Bam! But I wasn't so creative as i thought. No biggie. Not only are there dozens of white Russian cupcakes, this cupcake is also the 'dude's' cupcake according to many blogs i came across. You know, the dude!

 So i researched and found a full bar of cocktail cupcakes and it was just so inspiring and enticing. I went to work right away and went to Costco and Bevmo immediately to begin! Researching, comparing, and trying new recipes is so much fun when you're playing with tequila and rum and vodka and more!  But alcohol when baked evaporates. Hmmm... so my buttercreams are the key for a real fun dessert time. My frosting's for all these treats are quite lush and proud. These cupcakes were quite good but next time, I'm making it a black Russian. The vanilla cupcake flavored with vodka, Kahlua, and buttermilk, wasn't bold enough for me the way I like my drinks.  My future black Russian will have this white Russian frosting but over a rich and dark chocolate cupcake instead. It will still be shamelessly spiked  with Kahlua and vodka, maybe some buttermilk, and i think i should throw in that small stream of molasses! (I adore molasses) I learned much from making these white russians and so the next two cupcakes reaped the lessons. Make em stronger!

¡Ay, chihuahua!

¡Ay, que rico!

Did someone say stronger? Time for a fiesta! Fiesta, fiesta!  These cupcakes were voted the best among the tipsy treats. Even a friend who loathes tequila applauded it. I freshly squeeze several limes in the frosting to make it nice and zesty and to subdue the sharpness from the tequila. I also use fresh lime zest to compliment the tequila in the batter. I would like to thank Annie's Eats for this recipe inspiration. Her recipe was my favorite and with a few modification to fit my taste, this cupcake was so so good! I am a big fan of buttermilk and Annie's recipe included this so i looked closer. I didn't use her frosting  because i now prefer to make my buttercreams egg-free but I don't doubt her frosting's yummyiness. For health considerations, i now omit eggs but their absence is no flavor loss at all.  My own frosting is tequila, powdered sugar, more tequila, fresh lime juice, don't forget some more tequila, some butter, more tequila, and i forgot what i did after that last shot. But whatever i did, it was dam good! It is highly recommended to suck on the lime wedge in between bites, it's better than a cherry on top, much better! ¡Dame otra!

Rumple sweetskin

Now this sweet thing tells no lies. Our next buzz comes from the chocolate coconut rum cupcake. These cupcakes were failproof for my taste buds. I am an adamant rum drinker and i prefer my rum spiced when on the rocks so i used spiced rum for my cupcakes on the racks. Get it? On the rocks, on the racks. haahhaha. It's probably a good thing this is the last for the moment in the tipsy treat collection.

This recipe is inspired by the Cupcake Project's recipe. Her ingredients of coconut milk and molasses really impressed me compared to other recipes i was scanning. I made few modifications and difference of rum is the key change. I also used  a combination of coconut juice and buttermilk instead of the coconut milk. Her recipe or mine, these cupcakes are heavenly. Soft, moist, rich in chocolate and flavored with spiced rum you can really feel inside. :) The shredded coconut inside the batter, and out, ties the whole package together like a tropical parasol dunked in your drink. Next time, i want this cupcake to have a center surprise! What's that surprise? You should come back to find out because my treats only get better than the last batch. Toppers anyone! Me! You! Everyone!

I have many more tipsy treats coming soon to this collection and here are some teaser titles to wet your appetite: apple blondie with Carmel apple schnapps frosting, strawberry dream daiquiri cupcake,  spiced rum cake and a whiskey something. :)  Hope you can swig these sweets soon. xoxo

Classic favorites

*Ooodles of doodles slip away fast like noodles

The classic bakery collection would like to introduce cinnamon sugar cookies! (aka the snickerdoodle or snipdoodle. Why are they called those two silly names? i have no idea. I've asked around too) I love cinnamon so rolling around in cinnamon-sugar is always a pleasure. hahaha. i mean rolling the dough in  cinnamon-sugar  is always a pleasure, not me. Ummm....but rolling around in cinnamon-sugar does seem fun now that i picture myself doing it. Yippie! Cinnamon everywhere! But still. Instinct tells me i couldn't get those pretty speckled spiced spirals looking like that if i did that. I'll just stick to the dough then. This buttery dough flaunts those cinnamon swirls and spirals best.

twinkle twinkle sugar star, how i wonder how sweet you are, down below in the oven so hot, it's a treat that hits the spot, twinkle twinkle sugar star, how i wonder if Solstice is far

Since I'm imagining to be folded in with sugar like my butter, it's a perfect time to share now my sugar stars! These cookies are a delight. They're sweet and tender with crisp edges and although they can be heavily decorated with royal icing, I like to brush mine with melted butter,  then  sprinkle powdered sugar on top. It does look very pretty so i will show a frosted sugar cookie with my holiday collection, but these are how this baker likes these done.

Boats full of oats

 

  I would like to now profile the oatmeal raisin.     This cookie can be enjoyed without guilt! Yay! i love no guilt.  Sometimes i  remind myself about the differences between need and want when i enjoy my fudge anything but with this cookie, I need no excuses or reminders: its mostly just oats and raisins!  These sound like very healthy things to me, right?  It's mostly brown sugar too ! And brown is "healthier" than white sugar, kinda.  Um, ....its molasses has tiny amounts of iron, magnesium, and other things of that sort and although it's in minuscule amounts, brown sugar at least has these while white does not.  These are deep thoughts of the baker justifying her sweet intake.  But as i was trying to explain, these cookies are big because i like em big!  And it helps make them irresistible, and of course they're chewy because good oatmeal raisin cookies are just that. I too slip in small spice of nutmeg to keep taste buds alert. I have one special customer at Golden Gate park that orders these with walnuts and it's even extra scrumptious. That's how he floats his oats! How do you? Here's a teaser: raw sugar and butterscotch! Hop hop to the scotch!

Your Brownie

The one and only: classic brownie! Classic vs fudge vs fancy. I  swear that at the end of my edible rainbow is a bowl of all the magical brownies i can dream of: dulce de leche, white chocolate cheesecake, caramel, espresso, cognac, German chocolate,  this list feels endless. So the question is very personal: how do you brownie? The classic brownie has no interruptions. Nothing but  soft, rich chocolate to focus on and enjoy. Enjoyment without disruption! Sounds like my life's wishful thinking but really it's my classic brownie! xoxo

giving me memories i never had

 

The chocolate chip cookie is the first  of my classical favorites collection. This wonderful  cookie seems timeless. As well as age-less and occasion-less too. It's great at bridal showers, housewarmings, quinceañera's, teen dance pre-parties, my birthday party, your birthday party , and almost everyone's un-birthday party too! (i say almost to include, as i exclude, those that don't or can't eat chocolate) It's not so timeless though because it only dates back to the 30's. And dude, cookies go all the way back to the 7th century in what is now Iran. Regardless of the gap, this cookie still feels quite O.G to me and I  give great  applause to Ruth Wakenfield, past owner of the Toll House Inn in Massachusetts. She is the baker to thank. Nestle even bought her Inn's name soon after her sweet invention, which used Nestle chocolate chips, because it was an instant and fast growing success.

It's a  little strange because the first words that pop up when i see this cookie are: home, comfort, and tradition. But this cookie was sadly and rarely in my home. And never freshly baked! My mom wasn't a baker, only a wonderful cook. My dad was the one with the sweet tooth so he would buy that pink box of awful donuts on Sundays. Or, he would bring us those pre-packaged little cinnamon roles you could wind out to get to that gooey thick center. You know what I'm talking about? My sisters and I know what I'm talking about. 

My point: what a cookie! How am I making this point:  my immediate associations of this cookie show us just how strong of an impression this cookie can make. I did not grow up with this cookie, but every time I make and gobble them, I feel like I did! It could be wishful thinking running very deep in my psyche that shakes me up a bit as i shake the brown sugar because really I'm trying to shake away those bad bear claws away from me. Roar to you bad bear claw! Or, this cookie is giving me memories  I never actually had: wow! what a cookie!