Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Lemon Cutout Cupcakes

So this recipe was inspired by our friend, Sandy who said he likes Lemon & tart things. I went to one of my favorite sites for ideas and found this one.... Pink Lemon Cupcakes and changed it up to work for me. 


Ingredients:
2 sticks butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 Tablespoons lemon zest
2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- You will need confectioner’s sugar for dusting, later in the assembly


Preheat to 325.


In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking soda and salt.


In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar til light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one by one, beating after each one. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, alternating with the milk. Now mix in the lemon juice and lemon zest.



Fill the cupcake liners TO THE TOP.  I think I may have even overflowed mine a bit too much. The recipe said it would make 20 and  got 16. 



Bake for 20 minutes, test with a toothpick, and cool on a wire rack.

Now with the cupcakes cooled, take a serrated knife and gently cut off the fluffy tops, right at the paper. Using a small heart, or any tiny shaped cookie cutter, cut out the center of the tops.  Dust the tops with confectioner’s sugar. I used a few kinds  of cutters to see what worked for me, some came out good, some not so much. If i hadn't overflowed the cups I think they would have been a bit flatter and easier to cookie cutter....live and learn. 

See how tall they are? 



I did purple because I have a collection growing of gel food colors. There was a lot of leftover pieces that KC, husband and taste tester extraordinaire, happily wanted to sample. I decided to be silly and cut him some pac-mans...he is a geek at heart after all.

So all in all these were very tasty, very moist cupcakes. I would make them again for sure, the rela lemon juice and zest really made them. Try 'em if you like lemon!!! 


Friday, July 9, 2010

Still Alive.....Cue Portal Song Here.

Sorry that song has been in my head lately, ever since I added it to a random playlist on my ipod shuffle. Anyway, thats neither here nor there!

I have been busy as of late with some early summer cleaning and reconnecting with friends since we have much more time on our hands these days (Hubby only works 3 days a week and I am currently "between jobs"). So that basically means not much creative cooking or baking going on.

I do have some ideas in the works tho...some lemony ideas. More on that in the near future, I hope.

I also got some business cards and postcards printed up!!!! So I am looking fwd to spreading the word about my yummies.

So stick around, there's sure to be something tasty in the mix soon.