Hello, hello! It's been a while. :o(

Oh my gosh, I am SUCH a bag blogger! In my defense - I went on a quick trip, I've had friends in town, I've been sick, then my husband got sick and worst of all, my Kitchen Aid died. YES, it died! Can you believe it?? KA's are not supposed to break or die, especially not after only 2 quick years. I must have gotten a defective machine. At least I still have my back-up KA although I have to say that after using the KA Pro, my poor back-up machine seems doll sized.

Here are some of the projects I have tried out since you saw me last:

Simple Halloween cupcake guaranteed to make the recipient smile. (How could you not? Just look at that face!)

My first attempt at playing with my KopyKake. In my typical fashion, I of course had to have something difficult in there. It isn't as clean as I would like, even after using a 0 and a 00 tip but it still turned out fun. If you don't happen to agree just nod your head. I won't be able to hear you and will assume we are on the same page.

Bacon Pecan Caramel Corn. 'Nuff said. Yum!

Bacon Caramel - yes, I was definitely on a bacon kick. Bacon goes with everything. Whoever says different needs a piece of this candy, STAT.

Caramel Pillows - marshmallows with caramel dipped in whatever yumminess you have on hand. These are toffee, coconut, and pecan. Now, I'm not a huge fan of coconut but these smelled so good! They also travel well. I sent some of these guys to Colorado and some to the East Coast and they all made it okay. Of course, everyone is snowed in on the mainland so that could have helped them stay fresh too.

That's what I've been up to the past few months. Hopefully I will have a new mixer that isn't doll-like. I have some fun (I think so anyway,) ideas in my head and I would like to play with them. Also, I'd like to try my hand at cakes again.

Here's hoping for a great new year! If not, Chinese New Year is on February 3 so maybe I'll just ask for a do over...

Cupcake Cupcake Toppers

I'd like to introduce you to someone. His name is Teeny. Full name: Teeny Weeny Cupcake. Isn't he adorable with his swirl of buttercream, colorful beads and his little M&M cap? Teeny has a friend whose name is Standard Size Cupcake AKA Stan. See - here they are just chillin'.


The other day these two were hanging out in my kitchen and Teeny was griping about how sick and tired he was about being so small so Stan, being the nice cuppie that he is, said to Teeny "Why don't you hop on up. It will give you a new perspective." You know, kinda like that van commercial where the guy has his daughter move up from the back of the van to the front where her brothers sit and she's all amazed. You know the one I'm talking about. Anyway, Teeny hops up and a whole new cupcake is born!



The nice thing about this new cupcake? Teeny is actually a Reese's miniature peanut butter cup! To make this super simple cupcake with the cupcake topper, just unwrap the mini cup, pipe on a swirl of buttercream or whichever kind of frosting you are using and plop him onto your standard size frosted cupcake and decorate with sprinkles and you are done! (In case you're wondering, I used M&M Mini's on the top of the pb cup.)

A word of advice: if you are leaving the papers on the pb cup, just make sure your tasters know. For some reason two of my tasters decided to pop the mini cuppie in their mouths as is. Don't worry, they figured it out when they tried to chew paper. Unless you think they need more fiber in their diet. Completely up to you.

Now, I'm off to play with my new toy. Hopefully my cookies turn out the way I want them too. If it does, you know I'll share it!

Oh, and that new perspective? It gave Teeny enough confidence to find himself a girlfriend. She's a sweetheart of a girl - all yellow cake with a sweet strawberry middle. They make a cute couple, don't they?

How crazy it this - I let life grab a hold of me (followed of course by the standard issue holiday cold) and I've neglected this poor little blog only to come back and find that the Cookbook Queen herself has somehow seen this post! Find her original Cupcake Cupcake Toppers post here!

As for what I'll do next...well d'uh!

**Waves frantically** Hello Cookbook Queen from Hawai'i! I'm sorry it's taken me so long to respond!

Seashells, seashells, by the sea shore

You got me, that's not how the tongue twister goes. But, I've got something better than a tongue twister. I've got cupcakes! Not just any old cupcakes. I have sea shore cupcakes! These little cuppies were very simple to make. All you need are cupcakes, buttercream, a chocolate mold, and some chocolate wafers.

Melt your wafers using your preferred method - microwave, melting pot, or double boiler - and pour the chocolate into your mold. Pop the mold into the freezer for the chocolate to set. For me it took about 20 minutes because I was impatient. Then you pop those suckers out and lay it onto your swirl of frosting.

Now, you'll notice my shells aren't monotone. Personally, I'm not a fan of pure white shells. Why, you ask? Have you been to the beach? Did you ever find a snow white shell? In case you're wondering, I really do mean on the beach, and not something found in a store that was probably bleached.I thought not. Most shells aren't pure white. They have some color to them - so why should mine be any different?

Regardless of how you like your shells, these cupcakes are a great way to say goodbye to summer and ready yourself for fall...unless of course you live in Hawai'i and it's summer all year round!

What's new, Cupcake?

Crazy as it may seem, the vast majority of my emails come from baking sites - either blogs or online stores. I know, shocking, right? Just before Easter I got an email from a store that featured the new book, "What's new, Cupcake?" The email featured a photo of the cutest flower cupcakes I had ever seen and I just had to make them. They were a bit time consuming but as far as the skill factor? As long as you could use a scissors and arrange things in a circle, you were good to go!

You don't even need a recipe to make these cuties. All you need are cupcakes, frosting, mini marshmallows, colored sugar, and either chocolate coated sunflower seeds or mini chocolate chips. Frost your cupcakes and set them aside. If you need to, feel free to do a taste test. You know, just for quality control.

Pour your colored sugar into some bowls or saucers - 1 color each, and snip some marshmallows diagonally over the bowl and let them fall into the sugar. The cut side will be coated with the sugar and just arrange them, sugar side up, onto the cupcake in circles. Once you get to the middle, you can either use the sunflower seeds or the chocolate chips for the flowers center. Or just stick another marshmallow in and you're done.

Cute and easy!