Cupcakes from Walgreens? Say What?

I know what your thinking, big bakery style delicious cupcakes don't come from walgreens but let me tell you they so do. I was shopping around for makeup like i always do and well i stumbled into the snack isle cause well i was hungry and craving something. I immediately saw these little bundles of joy on the top shelf and was at a loss for words. These looked like the cupcakes i had just spent $$$ on. They were $1.99 so i was ok what the heck i'll give it a go.

OMG this was probably the most delicious moist dense cupcake i have ever had. Its a whopping 4oz and its so soft. I'm not a super sweet icing person and this was perfect. Its a cream cheese style icing. They currently come in tuxedo, strawberry, red velvet & peanut butter. I was talking to the store manager cause he always yaps at me when i come in and he said people come in and order cases of them and they are hard to keep in stock. Well all i can say is i see why.

It comes all packaged in a cute little cupcake box to keep it from getting all smush-a-did.

You gotta run don't walk to your local walgreens and check them out. I tell you what when im not in the mood to make them myself this will be my go to place. YUMMMMM

Love muffins - Pic Post

Pink & yellow batter

Baking. mmmm smell so good

my famous whipped cream cheese icing. Oh yum

Lot of love muffins

Arent they cute

Not really swirled but still good

In love with all these cute muffin pick sets

I hope you enjoyed this mouth watering post. Now i am craving some cupcakes.

Angry birds

Abby is loving the cute little characters from angry bird so of course i agreed to make her some cupcakes but she insisted on a cake instead.. I really didn't have the time to roll out fondant and make adorable little birds and pigs (im a stay at home mom all i have is time right, LMAO) so anyway i whipped this up and she was happy none the less. The hard part was cutting it cause of course she wouldn't let me cut the birds in half.

This is just a basic chocolate cake with the cans of icing with the tips. I must say i hate that icing with the passion. It is hell on your hands and its way to sweet and just over all disgusting. I definitely recommend passing on that and make your own. I'm anti-store bought icing so i don't know what i was thinking.

If you do have to use a store bought icing to decorate with get the cookie gels.

 

 

Hot chocolate cupcakes

This is really very simple. I has to make several batches of cupcakes for rob's work holiday party so i made some m&m minis and some reese's peanut butter cupcakes. I figured not everyone would like peanut butter ( i know crazy right) so for some of them i just made a light frothy milk chocolate icing and topped it with a vanilla snowman marshmallow. It dawned on me after the fact that i should have put a marshmallow in the center as well but maybe next time.

 

You can find me peanut butter cupcakes here.

Fruity pebble cupcakes adorned the dinner table last night and everyone couldn't wait to make a happy plate so they could have one. Literally it was like 3 hungry little vultures waiting for a snack. So cute though.

What i did was make a white cake mix (yup i cheated) crush up 1/2 cup of fruity pebbles, add it to the batter and bake. ( you could add more i would say 1 cup would have been better)

After they cooltop with your favorite icing. Then crush up another 1/2 of pebbles and sprinkle on and devourer. Very simple but a great fun childhood favorite taste. Enjoy.

Yummy.......

Check out my other cupcake recipes here.

And while your here you might as well enter my 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway.

Boston cream cupcakes

Boston cream cupcakes are so easy to make and taste so good you cant stop at just one. But i wont tell. :)

So you could start out with your favorite butter yellow cake recipe or just cheat like i did and get a mix. ( I was short on time)

Some people cut the cake in half after they cool and add in a layer of boston cream i find them to be really messy thus defeats the idea of having a small little perfect portable snack. I prefer to inject mine with the cream while they are still warm. Now on to the boston cream recipe.

Boston Cream Filling:

1 cup of milk
2/3 cup of heavy cream
1/2 cup granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
4 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons cornstarch
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Whisk you sugar & yolks together in a bowl, add in cornstarch and set a side. In a saucepan heat your butter, milk, salt, & heavy cream til almost a boil. Pour the milk mix in to the egg mix. Whisk then pour into saucepan again. Heat until thick. (less than a minute) Add in vanilla and remove from heat.

When the cream is a little warmer than room temp inject the cupcakes.

To make the chocolate ganache just heat up 3/4 cup of heavy cream til almost a boil, then pour over milk chocolate chips or shaving and stir till nice and smooth. (you can use semi sweet but i like milk)
Allow to thicken a bit then top your cupcakes.

Chill the cupcakes before serving and enjoy.

Birthday in the making.

I asked my son what he wanted for dinner on his birthday and he said chocolate mint cookie cupcakes. LOL Typical kid response. So although we didn't have cupcakes for dinner we did have them. And not just mint but 3 different kinds.

First we i started off by baking a basic chocolate cake mix.

Then i made my whipped icing.

I decided i really wanted snickers type of cupcake since i admit im not a big mint chocolate fan.

For the snickers cakes i injected them after baking with a thin caramel. Topped off with icing, nuts & more caramel.

Then i crushed up the new berry oreos & some mint oreos. Mixed in some icing and topped with a 1/2 cookie.

He absolutely loved them and i loved how easy it was to get 3 different flavors from 1 mix.

 

To see more delious cupcake ideas check out

Boston Cream http://abigailsboutiquedesigns.blogspot.com/2011/12/boston-cream-cupcakes.html

Peanut Butter Cuppy Cakes http://abigailsboutiquedesigns.blogspot.com/2011/11/resses-peanut-butter-cuppycakes.html

Resse's Peanut Butter CuppyCakes

Peanut butter and chocolate is timeless and much loved combination for good reason, its nummy. So putting that with my passion for cupcakes this became last nights dessert. I make things as easy as i can so when im in a rush i use a box mix and its totally fine. You can go all out and make from scratch as well if you have time both are great.

So mix up your basic chocolate cake mix until its super creamy (no lumps).

Put about 1 tablespoon of batter in a lined muffin cup

Add one of the small peanut butter cups in the center (don't push it all the way down)

Then add about another table spoon of batter on top.

Bake at 350 for about 25min

I crushed up more peanut butter cups to sprinkle on the top of my whipped icing.

Inside is your perfect little bite of happiness.

If your a cupcake junkie like myself checkout these other great posts:

http://abigailsboutiquedesigns.blogspot.com/2011/11/chocolate-vanilla-cream-cupcakes.html

http://abigailsboutiquedesigns.blogspot.com/2010/12/chocolate-banana-cream-cupcakes.html

http://abigailsboutiquedesigns.blogspot.com/2011/10/halloween-cupcake-inspiration-day-8.html

http://abigailsboutiquedesigns.blogspot.com/2010/05/japanese-themed-dinner.html

Chocolate Vanilla Cream Cupcakes

Since im a cupcake junkie i had to check out the new Betty Crocker Fun=da=Middle cupcakes. I will be honest when mixing these up i was uncertain it would be good as the batter was sorta bland and the vanilla cream was thick and marshmallowy. When they came out of the oven they even appeared sorta a different consistency almost dry on top but looks can be deceiving. I made my own whipped icing as i always do and made up some yellow sprinkles to top them off. When it was time for the taste test i was surprised. They are so good and addicting. The box only makes 12 instead of the usual 24 and the price is pretty high so i cant see me using this kind a lot but its a good treat.

The thick creme inside is delish and it does still remind me of marshmallows. lol

Halloween Cupcake Inspiration - Day 8

Yummmmm. I love cupcakes its probably my favorite desert. I'm mean there are so many flavors and topping you could have one everyday and never eat that same kind. So since i have a enormous passion for them i thought i would share a few ideas for ones i think are super cute and creative:

Cheeseburger cupcakes....Say what?

One of my besties posted this idea on their wonderful blog and i knew i had to make it with my spin on it. You can find her post over at randomosity.

I can NEVER seem to make a recipe as written and i never measure anything. If you have been following my blog you know this. lol So here is my spin on this idea. I cooked my lean ground beef in a skillet with diced onion, dry mustard, garlic, and a little Lawry's. Once done i removed from heat and stirred in some ketchup. While it cools flatten out a can of grands jr. biscuits. put it in the muffin tins, fill with meat mix top with shredded cheese and bake about 20 min or so til biscuit is done.

While they bake make some cheddar mashed potatoes, fill piping bag. Remove cupcakes from the oven and top with the mashed potato icing. My family loved them and even i really liked it and i HATE ground beef.

The best thing about them is they re-heat well and are great to pop in a lunch box.

Giveaway Going On

I got a great review over at 3G and im doing a giveaway there as well. One lucky lady (or guy i guess) will get a soy tart pack from yours truly. All you have to do is go to my review on the 3girls blog http://3girlsreviews.blogspot.com/2010/12/abigails-boutique-designs-sadies-review.html and fan my facebook page their page my blog their blog or whatever you want to do to show some love (i like cupcakes) lol and then your automatically entered to win. And if you send me cupcakes then you get a 100 extra entries hahaha no really i wish i could do that but the more ways you show some love the more entries you get and if you make a purchase from my etsy shop you will get 5 extra entries.

Now for the fine details: The soy tart melt pack will be randomly selected by me but don't worry it will be yummy non the less. I will send your melt pack via first class mail however if you would like it mailed any other way such as priority then the shipping difference is on you.

Have a great day and be sure to come back and visit me and all my yummy goodness on this blog. like cupcakes :)

  

Chocolate banana cream cupcakes

We got snow last night here is missery (Missouri) and I'm not a big fan of being out in it so i made cupcakes. i didn't have the things i needed on hand to do the yellow cake with cream filling and chocolate ganache that i had planned on so i decided to to a poke cake cupcake with a pudding. this was my first time for this so i obviously didn't work fast enough but it was still sooo moist and so good.

I baked a basic chocolate cupcake and then poked holes in them with the handle of a wooden spoon, mixed together some banana cream pudding and poured some in the holes and let the rest set up more. Since my baby girl is sick i was a little distracted so i waited to long to pour and this was the messy result. But they are so good I will be making this again with different flavors and i will remember to work much faster :)

Experimental Veggie Stuffed Chicken & more cupcakes

On the Menu: Veggie stuffed chicken, steamed squash, ??? and more cupcakes :)

There are lots of stuffed chicken recipes out there but i like to experiment on my own a lot. In tonight's dish i am stuffing the chicken with mushrooms, squash, and 3cheese garlic and herb cheese. Then coating it it a spice and bread crumb blend. The steaming the remaining squash for a side and serving with???

I was in the mood for more cupcakes who doesn't love the sweet little chunks of ecstasy. lol
So this time im doing a yummy butter recipe yellow cake with a chocolate buttercream frosting. mmmm butter and frosting. drool....

Japanese themed dinner..

Tonight im going with a japanese theme for dinner as its one of my boyfriends favorite cuisine.

On the menu: chicken katsu, japanese zucchini & onions, and gyoza

*(if you should like to have the recipes just let me know and i can send or post them)*

GyozaThese are yummy like dumplings or also known as pot stickers. they can be fried or steamed or both i choose to fry them only as they don't take as long and aren't soggy or slimy. lol

My recipe for them includes, green onion, garlic, ginger, water chestnuts, soy or shoyu, sesame seeds and ground meat (traditionally pork but i used ground turkey). These are absolutely delicious and don't last long around here. I serve them with a slightly sweet dipping sauce of stock, soy, mirin and sugar. yummy.

Japanese Zuchinni & Onions

This is a wonderful traditional side dish and has awesome flavor. its a 2:1 mix of teryaki and soy, along with the sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds it was a hit for dinner.

Chicken KatsuThis is basically a fried chicken coated in panko bread crumbs. The crumbs give this chicken a delightful crunch that you just cant skip out on. the only thing i recommend is to season your chicken a little heavy as it may be to bland after cooking.

Red Velvet Jumbo Cupcakes with Whipped Cream Cheese Icing

Need i say anything about this other than OMG pure heaven. The icing is so light and fluffy and not to sweet you would want to just eat the whole bowl. However i advise against that im sure it will go straight to your hips. Although that could help some of the hip challenged ladies out there. lol

So this sums up dinner for us and my 9 year old says it was just unspeakable. haha I just say as long as they eat its a sucess.