Cinnamon Bun Cupcakes

A little while ago I tried a recipe that celebrates a marriage of two crowd favorites: cinnamon buns, and cupcakes. This one manages to be sweet without going overboard and the cinnamon adds just a bit of dimension to the cake. Here's what I did:

In a small bowl I created a mixture of brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger (you could use allspice aswell, but I didn't have any).

In a second small bowl I sifted together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl I used my mixer to beat unsalted butter until fluffy. I alternately added sugar and eggs then splashed in some good quality vanilla before mixing until the mixture was light and fluffy.

Then I alternately added the flour mixture and milk to the butter mixture (sorry for no pictures of this step. The mess was really flying).

Once the batter was ready, I filled the prepared cupcake liners about halfway then sprinkled the batter with a spoonful of the cinnamon mixture. I topped up the cups so they were 3/4 of the way full then inserted a butter knife  into the batter and swirled it in an "S" shape to create a cinnamon sugar swirl in the cake.

Sprinkle the remaining cinnamon mixture over the cupcakes and bake them for about 20 minutes.

While the cupcakes baked I prepared a batch of Creamy Butter Frosting. First I placed softened butter in a large bowl and beat it for 30 seconds. I then beat in vanilla and salt. When it comes to adding powdered sugar to frosting I have a rule, I start with half the amount in the recipe. Then I increase it a 1/2 cup at a time alternating with tablespoons of heavy cream until I have reached the right consistency. That's what I did here.

I wanted to play with my piping techniques which resulted in the unfortunate frosting application below. Next time I think I would go for a more rustic application that better mirrors a real cinnamon bun. 

Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes

350 Degrees

Makes 24 Cupcakes

2 1/2 cups flour

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 1/2 tsp ginger

1 tsp allspice

2/3 cup butter

2 eggs

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/4 cups milk 

1. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. In a separate bowl combine brown sugar and spices. Set both aside. 

2. In a large bowl beat butter until fluffy. Add granulated sugar 1/4 cup at a time. Beat for about 2 minutes or until light and fluffy. 

3. Add eggs one at a time. Beat after each then beat in vanilla.

4. Alternate adding flour mixture and milk, beating on low after each addition. 

5. Spoon half batter into prepared baking cups, then sprinkle with cinnamon mixture. 

6. Fill cups the rest of the way with batter then sprinkle remaining cinnamon mixture on top. 

7. Bake 18 to 20 minutes. 

Creamy Butter Frosting

1. Allow 1 cup unsalted butter to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. 

2. In a large bowl beat butter for 30 seconds.

3. Beat in 1 tsp vanilla and pinch of salt.

4. Gradually add 4 cups of powdered sugar. Beat until combined.

5. Beat in 1/4 cup whipping cream.

6. Beat in 4 cups additional powdered sugar. 

7. Beat in 2 to 3 tablespoons of whipping cream until frosting reaches correct consistency.

Makes 4 cups

5 Random Things- March

Today I am linking up with Growing Up a Thomas for 5 Random Facts March!!

1. Every year in January I think, "OH MY GOODNESS! I HAVE TO HAVE GIRL SCOUT COOKIES!" and then in March I think "Oh my goodness if I eat all these cookies I will; A. Be sick B. Be as big as a house and C. be so sad they are all gone until next year." This year I have devised a brilliant plan to solve this serious issue. I carefully counted the total number of cookies I have, 124 cookies. Then I divided them by 12 months, which comes out to 10 cookies a month with 4 cookies left over. I will then label 12 freezer baggies January through December and freeze my 12 month allotment of girl scout cookie yumminess. In this manner I may; enjoy the cookies throughout the year, avoid eating all five boxes in one sitting and make myself sick and avoiding being so Girl Scout cookie deprived that I do this to myself once again next year. That is the plan folks. We shall see how it works out for me.

2. Has this ever happened to you? You walk in after a long day at work and smell a funk then spend the next 20 minutes playing "Find That Stink"? For those of you who are more fastidious than I, this is a fun little game where one spends a crazy amount of time playing nose based hot and cold as you search for the source of a stinky smell. In my case it was a forgotten carrot lost at the bottom of the crisper.

3. I learned today that a woman I know is retiring at the end of the year due to being connected to a prostitution scandal. It always weirds me out when what I am watching live at 6 is ripped from my life. It seems to be happening with alarming frequency in the past couple of years. I wish some of these sensations were positive.

4. I'm making this amazing asian pasta dish to go with dinner tonight and hoping to snap some shots so I can share the recipe with y'all sometime in the near future so stay tuned:). Oh man I am hungry. Can you tell?

5. I am so excited for spring. Are you excited for spring? I am planning the garden and lusting after my cute sun dresses. Meanwhile, I am huddled in front of my space heater wearing fleece and fur.

Winter Getaway

In January Mr. Onion and I were having a conversation we have pretty frequently around here, it goes something like this; 

Mr. Onion: I'm tired

Me: Yeah you should be you've been up since 4, done the chores, spent 8 hours cutting wood, then did the chores again, spent time with your mother, etc, etc. 

Mr. Onion: Huh...

Me: You need a vacation! This is just crazy! (thinking) You know you took 3 days off in all of 2012?

Mr.Onion: No, it had to have been more than that. 

Me: No. (Ticking them on my fingers) Our anniversary, Ryann's wedding, Fryeburg Fair.

Mr. Onion:  Oh, I guess you're right. 

End Scene

A short while later I decided to put my foot down/ trick the Onionator into taking a little break/ sneak in a little break of my own,  by giving him a two night getaway for his birthday. Since Mr. Onion's birthday fell during my February break we scheduled our trip for then and spent 2 chilly, snowy nights and 3 chilly, glistening days in beautiful Bradford, NH. Bradford is a teeny tiny town in the Mt. Sunapee region of NH surrounded by other tiny town each with their own small cluster of restaurants and shops surrounded by rolling mountains and scenic farms. We stayed in the honeymoon suite of a place called the Rosewood Country Inn. 

It was glorious! 

We slept in. We ate breakfast. We took a nap or read. We drove around and explored until we found a good place for lunch. Then, we drove back to the inn and took another nap, got dressed and went to dinner, only to return to the inn for more lounging.

Mr. Onion remarked that some may think it sad that our idea of a fabulous vacation is lots of sleep, and food, and driving to see where this road leads. While it certainly isn't the full itinerary of the expeditions of my youth, in my opinion, sometimes a good dose of rest and relaxation is worth every penny. 

God Made a Farmer

I had this idea to honor my love for valentine's day here on my blog. I wanted to tell you all the mushy, wonderful ways in which Mr. Onion makes me glad to be his wife every day. I reflected on those qualities that make him a man I am honored to call mine and then I thought of a classic piece of oration which lately gained some serious press. When I hear this piece it brings tears to my eyes and an overwhelming pinch to my heart. It says it all so beautifully. This is my little salute to my hardworking, soft, yet strong, thoughtful and smart and smart mouthed, wonderful husband and to all those men out there who embody all that is good in this world. 

God Made a Farmer by Paul Harvey 1978

And on the eighth day, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, “I need a caretaker.” So God made a farmer.

God said, “I need somebody willing to get up before dawn, milk cows, work all day in the field, milk cows again, eat supper, then go to town and stay past midnight at a meeting of the school board.” So God made a farmer.

God said, “I need somebody willing to sit up all night with a newborn colt and watch it die, then dry his eyes and say,’Maybe next year,’ I need somebody who can shape an ax handle from an ash tree, shoe a horse with hunk of car tire, who can make a harness out hay wire, feed sacks and shoe scraps. Who, during planting time and harvest season will finish his 40-hour week by Tuesday noon and then, paining from tractor back, put in another 72 hours.” So God made a farmer.

God said, “I need somebody strong enough to clear trees and heave bales, yet gentle enough to yean lambs and wean pigs and tend the pink-comb pullets, who will stop his mower for an hour to splint the leg of a meadowlark.”So God made a farmer.

It had to be somebody who’d plow deep and straight and not cut corners. Somebody to seed, weed, feed, breed, and brake, and disk, and plow, and plant, and tie the fleece and strain the milk, . Somebody who’d bale a family together with the soft, strong bonds of sharing, who would laugh, and then sigh and then reply with smiling eyes when his son says that he wants to spend his life doing what Dad does. “So God made a farmer.”
Happy Valentine's Day

How to Remove a Spouse from Your Half

I tried to get into bed last night only to find Mr. Onion doing the running man right smack in the middle. That's right! There was one hairy, muscled thigh with attached foot and funky toe nails, a log like right arm, and one adorable snoring face, all on my side of the bed. This is a test of even the most experience wives trickery. As I preformed the maneuver I have perfected after years of defending my mattress territory, it occurred to me that my knowledge could certainly enrich another woman's lives as it has mine. Remember folks, as Toby Maguire said, "with great power comes great responsibility."

Phase 1: Leg Removal- Take one set of ice cold female toes. Press one to the back of a knee. Press the other to a tender inner thigh. Wait for that involuntary gasp then use the momentum of his own recoil to push said legs back to where they belong. You only get one shot at this so make sure those gams are good and glacial!

Phase 2: Trunk and Head Relocation- I have discovered that this particular part must be done smoothly and in tandem. Otherwise you risk waking the sleeping giant. First take both hands (If they are icy too it adds a certain "Je ne c'est quai?" but it isn't crucial) and place them on that hulking side. Shove and release. Shove and release, until you have a good rocking motion going. When he starts to stir give one final hard shove rolling him up onto his side while simultaneously sliding his pillows from the center of the bed back into his yard and under that giant chrome-us- dome-us. There. Now wait until he has settle back into deep sleep.

Phase 3: Initiate Quiet- If you are the sweet and forgiving sort you probably won't need this last step. For the rest of us who need just 5 snore free minutes to fall asleep, I have a never fail method. Take one female hand. Let it hover over that face that you love and adore and kiss. Then press it firmly over his mouth and nose and hold it there, slowly counting to 10. 1... 2... 3... you get the point. This next part is crucial, since no one wants to sleep next to a corpse. Remove your hand. Your husband will be so happy to breath he won't dare snore for at least 5 minutes.

Then drift off to dream land; pillows fluffed, silence gained, territory defended. Sweet Dreams.

Shoetoptia

So I went out looking for a pair of cute shoes to wear to my friends wedding. I am wearing a coffee colored dress, so I wanted something colorful. I am photographing the wedding so it also needed to be pretty comfortable and allow me to move about. Also, I am poor and can't abide spending tons on footwear that I will not wear very often. So cheap, colorful, comfy shoes. I went to TJ Maxx, my favorite place on earth, and hit pay dirt almost immediately. They were sooo cute and colorful and at this price, I admit it, I bought two pairs. So excited. Nothing blisses me out like coming home with awesome new shoes.

Sunflower Uh Oh

In Maine we are usually just getting rid of all that darn snow about now, but its been so nice that during our second spell of 80 degree weather I went a little crazy and planted sunflowers. Behold, two weeks later, I have foot tall sunflower babies busting out of my little seed tray.  Sigh, this seemed like a really good idea at the time!

This poor sunflower is screaming for more space!

So I spent all day yesterday repotting sunflowers.... which is when I encountered my next little flub.

What am I going to do with 20 some odd sunflower plants? I can't plant them in the ground for a few more weeks! So to more accurately inquire, what am I going to do with 20 some odd sunflower plants, IN MY HOUSE!? My cat has already snacked on the leaves of one poor baby. Presently I have them on a cart and will be putting them outside as long as its nice. I guess thats all I can do until I can put them in the ground. oi- L