Coconut Daiquiri Cupcakes

If you love coconut and rum, these cupcakes are your Easter celebration E-Ticket!

I've REALLY wanted to make a coconut rum cupcake for a while since starting this blog.  I think I found a great combination of flavors and textures with this cupcake.  The cake is super moist, full of flavor, and the frosting is not too sweet.  This cupcake is a buttermilk coconut lime cake as the base with luscious coconut rum cream cheese frosting.  And, this is a recipe for a coconut daiquiri if you are so inclined...Coconut and lime?  Yes!

The coconut, sprinkles and Cadbury mini eggs are supposed to be my attempt to make them look like an Easter basket.  Again, more the "homey" feel here folks.  This is why imagination is still so important in life! 

This cupcake uses two kinds of rum: Malibu Coconut Rum and Myers Dark Rum.  Malibu is new to me and I discovered it's a combination of rum and coconut liqueur.  Very yummy, clear, and makes a FABULOUS addition to any daiquiri.  Myers is becoming my "rum of choice" for baking.  I think it has a really mellow and full flavor that hold up to baking.  All is good in the land of rum at BIWB!

And, I do have to mention my addiction to Cadbury mini eggs...I buy them every year.  I don't have childrens' baskets to fill.  I buy at least 3 bags.  I don't share them.  I consume one bag during the holiday and leave the other 2 bags in the fridge.  Yes, I hoard them.  I'm a Cadbury mini egg hoarder.  No, I don't need an intervention.  Please leave me alone with my Cadbury mini eggs.  Please. 

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Limoncello Sugar Cookies

Are you ready for the Easter Bunny?

Light and lemony and a little bit of Spring!

 

The Easter Bunny hasn't been at my house in YEARS, but I still love this holiday.  And, if you really think about it, Easter is the mid-point between Halloweens.  Better than Christmas because there is no big crazy shopping frenzy.  Plus, it really is what it's all about in terms of Christianity, right?  With no rise, there would be no need for Christmas.  All the more reason to celebrate the coming of Spring and The Bunny!

In case you haven't notice, I have this fascination with almost anything Italian...Food, clothes, jewelry, landscapes, art, wine...And, Limoncello.   I first discovered baking with Limoncello when Jacqueline made these cupcakes and I made this cake.  All good.  All Limoncello.  Makes a killer lemon drop BTW...Just sayin'. 

So, with the coming of Spring and the ~still~ abundant California lemon crop, I decided to make the Italian liqueur version of my favorite sugar cookie recipe.  Same great recipe, new and refreshing lemony twist!

And, as you can see, I like the rustic-Italian look to my frosted sugar cookies...
We all know that Italians LOVE sprinkles!

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Old-Fashioned Snickerdoodles

Big, moist centers, crispy-cinnamony outside. 

Warms the heart and brings back many happy memories...

These cookies are everything you want your snickerdoodle to be, trust me.  This recipe is based on two sources: The Boozy Baker and From Amish and Mennonite Kitchens.  I tweaked both recipes to develop this one as I wanted a really BIG cookie with lots of flavor, a nice rise and a super soft interior.  Give these a try and you won't be disappointed. 

So, what's in a name...

First, the drink...The Old-Fashioned is a cocktail made by muddling dissolved sugar with bitters, then adding whiskey or bourbon and a twist of citrus rind. It is traditionally served in a short, round, tumbler glass.

Second, the cookie...The snickerdoodle is one of the oldest American cookies known.  Snickerdoodles have a cracked surface and can be crisp or soft depending on your preference. Today, the leavening agent is typically baking powder (a combination of cream of tartar and baking soda).  In the old days, the traditional leavening agents were baking soda and cream of tartar.  I use all three. 

Third, the origin...According to The Joy of Cooking (the culinary bible for most...), it states that snickerdoodles probably are German in origin, and that the name is a variant of the German word Schneckennudeln ("snail noodles"), a German pastry.

Can you see the orange zest?  Can you smell the cinnamon? 

Yeah, trust me, these cookies are THAT good!

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Pi Day Pie Blog Hop! Brandied Apple Pie with Cheddar Crumb Topping

It's Pi Day!  We are happy to be participating in an annual holiday that only math geeks may appreciate...Today is 3.14...Get it?  Pi Day!  In case you were wondering, Pi ( π or 3.14159265...) is the number that is derived when you divide the circumference of ANY circle by its diameter.  For the math geeks in the room that's:

Our local blogger buddy, Dorothy, at CrazyforCrust was the inspiration for today's posts.  She's a math geek, we are math geek...We are PROUD math geeks!  Math geek girls ROCK!! 

We are sharing posts from other  π-minded bakers today.  Go on, hop on over for some GREAT π's and tarts!!

Crazy for Crust
Apple Galettes by Kristin’s kNook
Baltimore Bomb Pie by Something Swanky
Grasshopper Thin Mint Pie by The Domestic Rebel
Banana Split Brownie Pie by BruCrew Life
Irish Banana Cream Pie by Shugary Sweets
Apple and Apricot Tart by Trilogy Edibles
Reese’s Fudge Pie by Mandy's Recipe Box

The brandy in this pie gives it a velvety sweetness...Almost silky.  Elegant, too.


I'm sharing this recipe over at Cake of the Week's 
Baking with Spirit Challenge: Dark Spirits.  

Hop on over to Cake of the Week to see even more 
booze-inspired baked goodies!  

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Shamrock Sugar Cookies with Whiskey and Baileys Frosting

Moist and soft, green-tinted, whiskey-infused sugar cookies with smooth Baileys frosting...Wearing o' the green never looked so good!

These are my favorite sugar cookies and are mildly adapted from my favorite cookie book, Cookie Mania.  It is out of print, but if you're lucky, you can find a gently-used copy on the Internet.  It is my secret recipe book for the majority of my Xmas cookies.   Shh, don't tell anyone. 

I don't make sugar cookies often, well, almost never really.  This recipe is very forgiving and makes a very moist cookie that holds up to frosting.  They are very plain on their own, so I highly recommend at least sugar on top.  I tried to tint them green, but alas I goofed.  No problem, I adapted.  They still turned out yummy and soft.

The addition of Jameson Whiskey really helped crisp them up and I think it was necessary as they can tend to get really soft once frosted.  Not this time!  Soft, yet still a nice chewiness.  The Baileys frosting was a BIG hit at the office.  Each time I opened the Tupperware container to share, the waft of Baileys helped the day go by so much better.  :) 

Easy recipe, cuz I don't make cut out cookies unless they are EASY! 

Erin-go-Bragh, ya'll! 

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Luck O' The Irish Cupcakes

GO IRISH!!

St. Patrick's Day will soon be here and these chocolate and mint cupcakes would do him proud!  Light and full of flavor.  And, okay, I admit it: there is no Irish whiskey in these, but the GREEN is amazing and so are the mints in these babies.  Andes mints are hiding in there and on top.  I brought these into work and all 12 were gone by 9am.  I had 3 of these cupcakes consumed without even leaving my cubicle by 3 VERY hungry men! 

Unabashed consumption of breakfast cupcakes--a sight to warm my heart.   

These cupcakes are based on the Grasshopper cocktail, which my parents drank when I was little, like when I was 4 and 5 years old.  I remember these, even as a very young kid.  Obviously.  :)  Probably the first cocktail I ever knew about.  They are legend in my family stories of our time at Picatinny Arsenel in New Jersey.  Yes, I'm sorta an Army brat and believe it or not, my dad was a REAL rocket scientist.  Those were back in the lazy days of playing outside all day and watching the tar bubble up in the roads on a hot summer day.  Not wearing shoes and learning the phrase, "It's either: IN or OUT!"

I used Jacqueline's famous Mint Julep Cupcake recipe as the basis for this cupcake.  I am truly amazed by this recipe.  This are the BEST recipe so far as they achieve the crumb and moisture I've been searching for since we started this blog.  Give them a try and you won't be disappointed. 

And, look, can't you just smell the mint and see how luscious these are?  No delayed gratification this time!

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