Lemonade Cupcakes

IMG_2318.JPG

We used this yummy cupcake recipe for a church Young Women’s Tea Party Activity making the mini cupcakes and topped them with a fresh raspberry. Lemonade Cupcakes would be fun for any Party!

Lemonade Cupcakes

Makes 9 regular cupcakes or 31 mini cupcakes

*1 cup All-purpose Flour
*1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
*1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
*pinch Salt
*1/2 cup granulated Sugar
*1/4 cup Extra Light Olive Oil
*2 Egg Whites
*1 cup Lemonade or Pink Lemonade
*1/8 teaspoon fresh Lemon Zest
*1/4 cup Buttermilk
*Pink Gel Food Coloring, we used 3 drops

Pre-heat oven to 350* F.

Cream together in a stand mixer: Egg whites, sugar, oil, lemonade and lemon rind.

Whisk together dry ingredients in a bowl: Flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Slowly add, alternating flour mixture and buttermilk to the creamed mixture and mix until combined and smooth.

Scoop batter (or use pastry bag) into cupcake cups and bake regular cupcake size 20-25 minutes, for the mini cupcakes about 17 minutes.

Tip: Use an elastic/rubber band at the wide end of batter filled pastry bag to kept batter from squeezing out. Twist the wide end filled pastry bag and add elastic/rubber band and squeeze the bag at the wide end of bag as you fill each cupcake cup.

Lemonade Buttercream Frosting

*3 cups-plus 3 tablespoons Confectioners’ Sugar
*1/2 cup Butter, room temperature
*1/8 teaspoon Sea Salt
*2 tablespoon Lemonade
*Lemon Gel Food Coloring, we used 3 drops

Mix together the above ingredients in a stand mixer until creamed and desired texture.

Pipe or frost the lemonade cupcakes. (We used #18 star tip on a pastry bag for the mini cupcakes.)

Recipe adapted from Sweet Cheeks in the Kitchen

IMG_2324.JPG

IMG_2325.JPG

IMG_2326.JPG

IMG_2327.JPG

IMG_2328.JPG

IMG_2329.JPG

IMG_2330.JPG

IMG_2331.JPG

IMG_2318.JPG

Enjoy!

Lindy

Soft Honey Sugar Cookies

IMG_2146.JPG

Soft Honey Sugar Cookies

*3/4 cup Butter or Shortening
*1 1/2 cups Granulated Sugar
*3 tablespoons Honey
*1 cup Whipping Cream or Canned Milk or (1/2 cup Sour Cream and 1/2 Cup Milk)
*1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract
*1 teaspoon Salt
*4 cups All-purpose Flour
*4 teaspoons Baking Powder

Pre-heat oven to 350*F.

Cream together in stand mixer: Butter, sugar, honey, cream, vanilla and salt

Whisk together in bowl: Flour and baking powder

Combine in stand mixer and mix well and (scrapping down the sides of the bowl occasionally) forms a soft dough ball.

Hint: Refrigeration of the dough will always make the cookies roll, cut and cook a little better; also using a cooled baking sheet with each batch of cookies helps too!

Roll out cookie dough using half the dough at a time, so not to over work the dough and cut cookies with a round cookie cutter or cookie cutter of your choice.

Place cookies on a Silpat covered half baking sheet or cookie sheet of your choice sprayed with cooking spray or covered with parchment paper.

Bake for 8-10 minutes or when edges barely start to turn brown. Also depends on the size of cookie.

Hint: I’ve always usually mixed my cookies by hand but my daughter is a pastry chef and mixes everything in stand mixer but either way works great!

Glac’e Icing or Royal type Icing

1 pound of Powdered Sugar (3 3/4 cup)
6 tablespoons Whipping Cream or Whole Milk plus 1 tablespoon of water (You can use other milk but you will have to add more powdered sugar)

Whisk together the milk and powdered sugar until smooth no lumps.

Now stir in the light corn syrup and extract.

6 tablespoon Light Corn Syrup (1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons)

1 teaspoon Vanilla extract, use clear Vanilla extract if you need white frosting and if you want an Almond extract use in the cookie dough too.

Use this recipe for glazing cookies and the piping of the outside of cookies. The piping the edge helps contain the frosting when you will be filling in the center of the cookie.

Use a pastry bag for each color of frosting you want to use. The small round tip for piping around edge and then I used a plastic bottle to fill in the center of the cookies which had a larger opening .

This Glac’e Icing recipe is adapted from Toba Garret you can find her at Our Best Bites

See Sweetopia for spiderweb instructions

IMG_2145.JPG

IMG_2148.JPG

IMG_2147.JPG

IMG_2149.JPG

IMG_2146-0.JPG

Enjoy!

Jessica and Lindy