California Cupcakes

One of my favorite things about traveling is getting the opportunity to try the destination's best bakeries and sweet spots. I am especially always looking to find the best cupcake. This past summer, my boyfriend and I took a trip to southern California. We started our trip off in Los Angeles and then made our way down to San Diego. Throughout our trip, we had our fair share of cupcakes and I thought it would be fun to share some of the highlights. 

I had tried Sprinkles Cupcakes once before and had been dying to get back there again. We didn't waste any time as this was our very first meal in California. There is nothing wrong with cupcakes for breakfast, right? We loved the banana and cinnamon sugar cupcakes- the perfect breakfast treats! 

Sprinkles now has a cupcake ATM at their Beverly Hills location too. How cool is that? Sprinkles 24/7- I need one of these to open in Boston. I don't know how many times I have had a late night cupcake craving when all of the stores were already closed. This is perfect!

Say hello to my favorite cupcake! This is the black and white cupcake at Sprinkles. A moist chocolate cake with creamy vanilla frosting. You need to try this one!

Another place I really wanted to check out was Casey's Cupcakes. Does anyone else remember Casey from Laguna Beach? I found out she opened a cupcake store after she won an episode of Cupcake Wars on the FOOD Network.

The entire store was pink and girly. The cupcakes themselves were delicious and I can see why she was a winner on Cupcake Wars.

Isn't this storefront cute? This was Frosted Robin Cupcakes in San Diego. They offered a ton of fun cupcake flavors such as bubblegum and cinnamon bun. 

These cupcakes were good, but not my favorite.  I did enjoy looking around this cute shop and the entire Seaport District though.

We also tried Cupcakes Squared during our stay in San Diego. Like their name suggests, all of the cupcakes are square shaped. Cute, right? I definitely enjoyed my chocolate walnut cupcake.

We might have gone back to Sprinkles Cupcakes a few more times during the trip too. I had to enjoy as much as I could before heading back to Boston. This was the dark chocolate cupcake with marshmallow creme I got at the La Jolla location. So good!

What are your favorite cupcake spots in southern California? Did I miss anything good? I also wanted to try Kara's Cupcakes, but those are only located in northern California. I guess that means I need to go back for more taste testing soon!

Pumpkin Cornbread

Everything is better with pumpkin it in, right? This recipe takes your typical cornbread and kicks it up a notch with the addition of pumpkin puree, warm spices and a bit of molasses. Perfect as a side dish along with your favorite fall meal. Sometime I will start baking with other fall ingredients like maple and apples, but for right now it's all about the pumpkin. 

In my opinion, this cornbread is best when served with honey and lots of butter. From my pictures, you can tell I did not skip out on either when trying mine :) Seriously though, this cornbread is dense and full of warm flavors, so add some honey and butter if you want to sweeten it up a little. 

It is finally starting to feel like fall- the cooler weather outside, football on television and Halloween stuff (and even some Christmas stuff already) in every store. It is time to put away the strawberries and blueberries and get your fall baking on. You can start with this cornbread! 

Looking for more pumpkin recipes? I know you can't get enough pumpkin either, so check out my Pinterest board for more delicious recipes.

Pumpkin Cornbread

recipe from Sugarcrafter

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup cornmeal

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 large eggs

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/4 cup olive oil 

1 tbsp molasses

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Butter an 8x8 baking dish and set aside.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk the flour, cornmeal, brown sugar, salt and spices together until combined and free of lumps. 

In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Stir in the pumpkin puree, olive oil and molasses.

Combine the wet ingredients and the dry ingredients. Once combined, pour the mixture into buttered baking dish. Smooth out the top as much as possible. 

Bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Enjoy :) 

Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese

Everyone needs a go-to comfort food recipe and this is mine. Over the past few years, I have tried countless recipes for homemade mac and cheese and this one is by far my favorite. The gouda cheese makes the noodles super creamy and there is a hint of garlic in every bite. Ultimate. comfort. food. 

Whenever I think of homemade mac and cheese, I almost always think of baked mac and cheese with toasted breadcrumbs on top. I still think that my mom still makes the best baked mac and cheese! But this version is even simpler to make because everything is done on the stovetop. You basically just add all the other ingredients to the cooked pasta and stir until creamy and combined. Easy peasy, right? I hope that you enjoy this recipe as much as I do because there is nothing better than homemade mac and cheese!

Creamy Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese
Recipe adapted from Krissy's Creations (originally seen on the The Curvy Carrot)

1 16 oz box of pasta (I used small shells but you can use your favorite pasta)
1 10 oz block of gouda cheese, shredded
1/4 cup plain greek yogurt
1/4 cup milk
3 tbsp unsalted butter
2 cloves of garlic, minced

Cook pasta according to box directions until al dente. Make sure to retain some of the cooking liquid in the pot. Return the pasta to the pot immediately.
Add the gouda cheese and garlic and stir until well combined.
Slowly add the milk, butter and greek yogurt. Stir until smooth and creamy.
Serve immediately and enjoy!

Peanut Butter Cup Rice Crispy Treats

Every time I go to Target, I love to walk down the candy aisle and see if there is anything new. What, you don't do that too? Anyways, I found these mini peanut butter cups there a while ago and have been waiting for the opportunity to bake with them. When I came across this recipe from Your Cup of Cake, I knew I had to try it. Chocolate and peanut butter is one of my favorite combinations and these rice crispy treats did not disappoint. 

These babies are not your average rice crispy treats. There is a lot of peanut butter inside them. You can leave out the peanut butter in one or both of the rice cereal layers, but I chose to keep it all in. The more peanut butter, the better. And I love that you can see the mini peanut butter cups on the outside of each one. Even more peanut butter!

Now that I do more baking, I need to find ways to get all of these baked goods out of my house. Having a few rice crispy treats is a good thing, having thirty of them is not. This week that meant sending them into work with my mom and my boyfriend. If you have any ideas as to where I should send my future baked goods, just let me know. In the meantime, enjoy this recipe :)

Peanut Butter Cup Rice Crispy Treats

Recipe from Your Cup of Cake

1st Layer:

3 cups of crispy rice cereal

1/2 of a 10.5 oz bag of mini marshmallows

2 tbsp of softened butter

1/3 cup peanut butter

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2nd layer:

1/2 cup of softened butter

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 1/4 cups of mini peanut butter cups

3rd layer:

3 cups of crispy rice cereal

1/2 of a 10.5 oz bag of mini marshmallows

2 tbsp of softened butter

1/3 cup peanut butter

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

4th layer:

1 cup + 2 tbsp peanut butter

2 cups of chocolate chips

_____________________________________

Butter a 9 x 13 baking pan and set aside.

1st layer: In a large microwavable bowl, combine the peanut butter, marshmallows, butter and vanilla. Microwave in intervals of 45 seconds, stirring between each time, until mixture is smooth.  Add rice cereal and stir until combined. Dump mixture into the 9x13 baking pan and spread out evenly. Make sure to press the mixture firmly into the bottom of the pan. 

2nd layer: Microwave the butter and peanut butter until smooth. Add powdered sugar and vanilla to the mixture and stir until well combined. Dump over the cereal mixture in pan and spread out evenly. Take mini peanut butter cups and spread out evenly over the peanut butter layer. Make sure to press the peanut butter cups into the peanut butter. 

3rd layer: Prepare this layer the same way as you did the first layer. 

4th layer: Melt peanut butter and chocolate chips over low heat on the stovetop until smooth. Make sure to stir the mixture constantly to avoid burning the chocolate. After cooling for a few minutes, pour this mixture on top of the cereal layer. Tilt pan to evenly distribute the chocolate over the top of the cereal layer. 

Carefully put plastic wrap over the top of the baking pan and place in the refrigerator to firm. Cut into bars of your own size choice and enjoy!

Baked Pumpkin Spice Donuts

Who else loves fall baking? Pumpkin, apple, cinnamon and maple- I love it all! But of all of the fall flavors, pumpkin is definitely my favorite. I think I love the smell of pumpkin baking throughout the house as much as I love the final result. But let's talk about these donuts. They are full of warm pumpkin flavor and are the perfect breakfast for a cool fall morning. Don't skip out on the pumpkin spice sugar topping either, it is the best part :) 

What I love about these donuts is that they are super easy to make. No mixer required. You can have freshly baked donuts on your table in less than an hour. I would take homemade donuts over Dunkin Donuts any morning. So if you don't have a donut pan already, you should really go get one and make these donuts. You can thank me later.

When i was in college, we used to anxiously wait until October 1st for the pumpkin baking to begin. My roommate never started making pumpkin bread before then, but once October came around we were treated to 30 days of pumpkin heaven. Luckily for me, I don't need to wait until October to start my pumpkin baking this year. 

 So let the pumpkin baking begin now!

Baked Pumpkin Spice Donuts

adapted from King Arthur Flour

yield: approximately 15 donuts

Donuts: 

3 large eggs

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree

3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 3/4 cups + 2 tbsp all purpose flour 

Pumpkin Spice Sugar:

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground ginger

melted butter

Butter donut pan(s) and set aside. 

Combine eggs, sugar, pumpkin, spices, salt and baking powder in a large mixing bowl. 

Beat ingredients together until well combined. 

Add the flour and stir the mixture until smooth and well combined.

Fill each cavity of the donut plan about 3/4 full. 

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 15-18 minutes. A toothpick inserted into donuts should come out clean. 

Let donuts cool in pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. 

While donuts are cooling, melt butter in the microwave.

To make the pumpkin spice sugar, combine sugar and spices in a small bowl and whisk to combine.

Dip cooled donuts in the melted butter and then in the pumpkin spice sugar. Ensure that donuts are evenly coated with the pumpkin spice sugar mixture.