Orange Chai Spice Mini Cupcakes

Its been almost 2 weeks since I have baked anything! I was getting the urge to bake today, then I was having kind of  a bad day, so I decided to go ahead with it. Lets face it, the whole past week has been rough. I should been baking all week instead of waiting for the stupid phone to ring :/ This is a recipe I have been wanting to try for awhile. I am not sure how they came out. Maybe I over baked them? I feel like they were a tiny bit rubbery. The taste seemed great, just the texture a little off. Something to think about for if I make these again. Also, I think I would add some orange zest to the frosting as well. But hey, thats why we try new things, to see if they come out good or not! This way we know if we like it or not. or if modifications need to be made. So anyways, here we go!

Cupcake Ingredients:

* 2 1/2 Cups Cake Flour
* 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
* 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
* 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
* Zest of One Medium Orange
* 2 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
* 1 Teaspoon Ground Ginger
* 1/2 Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
* 1/3 Cup Applesauce (plain)
* 1/2 Cup Packed Light Brown Sugar
* 1 Cup Granulated Sugar
* 2 Eggs
* 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
* 2 Chai Tea Bags
* 1/4 Cup Water
* 1/2 Cup Buttermilk
* 1/2 Cup Orange Juice

***To make Cake Flour - Substitute 2 Tablespoons of Flour with 2 Tablespoons of Corn Starch for every cup.*** ***OK, note to self, I just realized I didn't substitute enough flour for cornstarch, possibly thats what went wrong...***

***The original recipe called for vegetable oil, I heard from my Mom and my friend as well as Googling it, that applesauce is a healthier substitute for oils when you bake, so I tried it here. But if you prefer oil, use that instead of the applesauce***

***I juiced the orange after I zested it, and used that for the orange juice ingredient, it was the perfect amount.***

* Preheat oven to 350 Degrees F. Line 2 mini muffin pans with liners.

*Zest and Juice the Orange and set aside.

* In a medium bowl, sift together Flour, Baking Soda, Baking Powder, Salt, Cinnamon, Ginger, and Nutmeg. Set aside.

* In a separate bowl, combine the Sugars and add the Orange Zest. Rub the Zest into the Sugars with your fingers. Set aside.

* In a small saucepan bring the Water to a simmer and add the Tea Bags. Let sit for approx. 5 minutes, depending on how strong you want the flavor. Set aside and let cool.

* In the bowl of your mixer combine the Orange Zest Sugars, Applesauce, Eggs, and Vanilla.

* Combine the Buttermilk, Orange Juice, and Tea.

* Add half the flour mix.

* Add the liquid Mixture.

* Add the rest of the Flour Mixture and stir until combined.

* Fill Muffin Liners.

* Bake for approx. 15 minutes.

* Let cool before frosting.

Frosting Ingredients:

*1 Cup Butter
*4 Cups Powdered Sugar
*1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
*1/8 Teaspoon Ground Ginger
*1/8 Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
*2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract

*In the bowl of your mixer beat butter.

*Add Powdered Sugar 1 Cup at a time, beating well after each addition.

*Add Cinnamon, Ginger, Nutmeg, and Vanilla. Beat well.

* Frost Cupcakes and Enjoy!!!

Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is one of my favorite recipes. I came across it a few years ago when I got into my cookie baking craze. This is one that I make every year at Christmastime during CookiePalooza (I make ridiculous amounts of cookies during the holidays). Basically I made these today because I was bored and needed something to do. So I looked around for what ingredients I had on hand and figured that I had everything to make cookies. I was going to make basic chocolate chip, but decided on these in the end, because like I said, its one of my favorites!

Ingredients:

* 3/4 Cup Butter
* 1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
* 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
* 1 Egg
* 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
* 1 Teaspoon Peppermint Extract
* 1 1/2 Cup Flour
* 1/4 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
* 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
* 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
* 1 Cup Chocolate Chips

* Preheat Oven to 350 Degrees F.

* Stir together Flour, Cocoa Powder, Baking Soda, and Salt. Set aside.

* In the bowl of your mixer, beat together Butter and Sugars until smooth and creamy.

* Add the Egg, Vanilla, and Peppermint and mix well.

* Add the Flour mix and stir until just combined.

* Stir in Chocolate Chips.

* Drop by rounded spoonful onto baking sheet.

* Bake for approx. 12 minutes.

* Let cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet and move to wire rack to cool.

* Enjoy!

Shirley Temple Cupcakes

Another entry into the cocktail cupcake line, except this one is good for everyone! I remember when I was little and always wanted to order a Shirley Temple when we would go out to dinner. It made me feel grown up and fancy, kinda like how we would drink sparkling cider from wine glasses on holidays (I still do this actually!). So I figured this would be a good fun summertime cupcake.

Cupcake Ingredients:

* 1 1/2 Cups + 1 Tablespoon Flour
* 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
* 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
* 1/2 Cup Butter
* 1 Cup Sugar
* 1/2 Cup 7 Up
* 1/2 Teaspoon Almond Extract
* 1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
* Tablespoon Grenadine
* Red Food Coloring

***The original recipe called for Cherry 7Up, but I could only find it in a 12 pack which I didn't want, so I just used 7Up with some grenadine. The recipe also called for Maraschino Cherry Juice, but I used Grenadine instead. I figured they would work about the same right?***

* Preheat oven to 350 Degrees F and line a muffin pan with liners.

* Whisk together the 1 1/2 Cups of Flour, Baking Powder, and Salt. Set aside.

* In the bowl of your mixer, beat Butter and Sugar until creamy.

* Add Eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

* Add half the Flour mixture.

* Followed by the 7Up.

* Then the rest of the Flour mix.

* Add the Vanilla and Almond Extracts and Mix well.

* Remove most of the batter to a separate bowl, leaving about 1/4 behind in the mixing bowl.

* Add the 1 Tablespoon of Flour, Grenadine, and Red Food Color (as little or as much as you want)

* Spoon the Red batter to the bottom of the cupcake liners.

* Then top with the rest of the batter. Cover the red batter completely so it doesn't bake up the sides. You want the red just at the bottom of the cupcakes.

* Bake for approx. 20 minutes.

* Let cool on wire rack before frosting.

Frosting Ingredients:

* 1/2 Cup Butter
* Pinch of Salt
* 2 1/2 Cups Powdered Sugar
* 1/4 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
* 1/4 Teaspoon Almond Extract
* 1 Teaspoon Lemon Juice
* 1 Tablespoon Grenadine

* In the bowl of your mixer, cream butter until smooth.

* Add Powdered Sugar slowly and beat well.

* Add Salt, Vanilla, Almond Extract, and Grenadine. Beat well.

***After the frosting was made and while still waiting for the cupcakes to cool, I decided to have a Shirley Temple***

Decorating:

* Enjoy!!!