Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

For all you cookie dough lovers out there, this recipe is for you! Jam packed with lots of cookie dough inside and out these cupcakes won't disappoint. Moist chocolate cupcakes with a ball of chocolate chip cookie dough hidden inside. Definitely a nice surprise once you take a bite through the first layer of cookie dough in the frosting!

The recipe is over at Half Baked so be sure to check it out.

So go grab a bag of chocolate chips and put this on your baking to do list for the weekend!

Enjoy!

Beach Cookies

This past weekend we took a short beach trip to Portofino Island, FL. We were visiting family and so of course I decided this would be the perfect opportunity to make something fun for the nieces and nephews! The kids were each bringing friends so I thought the girls would enjoy some bikini cookies and the boys some swim trunks!I also threw in some beach balls with sugar sprinkles! The cookies were a hit and all devoured immediately after dinner on the first night!

I just had to share this picture of our little beach bum! How cute is he all covered up in his beach attire! We tried so hard to keep him out of the sun, in the shade and under umbrellas, but the poor little guy still managed to get a little sunburn on his cheeks and top of the head. He absolutely loved the beach though and we can't wait for many more family trips!

 

Have you made any beach themed cookies this year? Where is your favorite family vacation spot?

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

I hope you all are having a wonderful summer so far! It's been pretty hot here in Mobile so we've made a few trips to the beach with our new little boy and we've also enjoyed staying cool inside with the AC. And most every night comes to an end with some type of ice cream treat! Today I'm excited to share with you one of my all time favorite treats as a kid...Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes! Yes you heard that right, cake baked in side of an ice cream cone. So grab some ice cream cones, your favorite ice cream toppings and let's get ready to bake some of the cutest and most perfect cupcakes for summer!

The recipe for these cupcake cones along with six "ice cream flavor" frostings are all on Half Baked to celebrate National Ice Cream Month! I'll give you tips on how to get the hand scooped or the soft serve look when decorating your cupcake cones! So head on over and check out this super easy recipe that will be a hit at your next summer party! Trust me the kids will love these...especially the cones with the edible candy eyeballs!

 

Have you ever made Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes before? What are some of your favorite ice cream flavors? Do you prefer your ice cream in a dish or a cone?

Rustic Cake Pops

I know things have been quiet on the blog here for a while now and I apologize. Life as a new mom to a 3-month old, working full time and trying to fit in daily chores around the house doesn't leave much time for baking and blogging these days! I have definitely missed baking and hope to get back in a normal routine soon! I have so many fun recipe and decorating ideas I'm excited to share...if only I could get the little one to take longer naps on the weekends so I can squeeze in some baking!

A few weeks ago I did manage to crank out 120 cake pops for my friend Alicia's wedding shower. Lucky for me, my mom was in town to watch our little guy so I could roll, dip and decorate the cake pops. Alicia is planning a fall wedding on a farm in North Carolina and her decorations are going to be very simple and rustic, with navy and beige as the main colors. To display the cake pops for the wedding shower I decided to use some burlap and navy grosgrain ribbon wrapped around soup cans to match her theme for the wedding. These DIY cans couldn't be any simpler to make and super affordable as well. Stuff them with some paper shredding on top and you've got a beautiful cake pop bouquet!

 

Check back soon for a new and super fun cupcake recipe for summer time!

Root Beer Float Cupcakes

Summer is quickly approaching and I can't think of a better way to cool off than with a Root Beer Float...cupcake that is! I've turned one of my all time favorite summer drinks into a cupcake that I think you all are going to love. This is one heck of a chocolate cupcake loaded with Root Beer in both the cake and frosting! And of course you've gotta have that scoop of vanilla ice cream on top!

Head on over to Half Baked for the recipe!

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Vanilla & Strawberry Swirl

Happy Friday and Happy May! It's been a LONG time since I've last posted and I apologize! But there is definitely good reason for that...I recently became a new mom and I've been spending lots of time with our precious little boy Sam! I have definitely missed baking and sharing the cake projects I've been working on with you all! So today I'm so excited to be back on the blog again and share with you a delicious new recipe, Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Vanilla & Strawberry Meringue Buttercream. I love a classic vanilla cupcake but these are extra special with the addition of vanilla bean paste and some fresh seasonal strawberries in the frosting. These cupcakes will be absolutely perfect for you to spoil your mom with this coming Mother's Day!

Head on over to Half Baked for the recipe and more photos that show the steps to creating the vanilla & strawberry swirl on top and the DIY ruffled & rick rack cupcake wrappers!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! I'm off to make a KY Derby Pie to celebrate the Derby tomorrow!

Navy & Pink Wedding Sweets

Earlier this month my good friend Molly got married. My obsession for baking and cake decorating all started a few years ago after Molly and I took our first Wilton Cake Decorating class together! Since then I've enjoyed developing new recipes and trying new decorating techniques. For Molly's wedding shower I created some fondant monogram cupcake toppers in her wedding colors of pink & navy to showcase her soon to be new last name "Spain".

Molly had asked me soon after she became engaged if I would make her wedding cake and cupcakes for her special day since she knew how much I enjoyed baking. After thinking long and hard about taking on this huge commitment, I had to turn her down though. The reason being b/c by the time her wedding rolled around I would be 37-weeks pregnant and not sure of how I would feel baking and decorating. Or would the little one make an early arrival and leave me in the hospital in labor during the weekend of her wedding...what a nightmare that would have been! So instead of baking I told Molly I would help with decorating her wedding sweets!

Molly came up with the idea of cupcake flags to top her cupcakes, so I found some fun pink & navy paper stock and she supplied 10 different words and phrases that she wanted included on the flags.

I made 100 cupcake flags to embellish their wedding cupcakes.

In addition to the flags Molly wanted me to add some navy fondant petals around the tiers of her wedding cake. She had a local bakery in Mobile bake her wedding cake and then I added the finishing touches. I was a little nervous about doing this at first, after arriving to the reception location and seeing a beautifully decorated white wedding cake standing tall, was afraid to touch it. I made sure with Molly's mom and sister-in-law before I started adding the fondant petals that Molly really wanted me to add these decorations. I have never added decorations to a cake that someone else baked before so I was a little worried I would mess something up.

The petals turned out fine though, just like the picture Molly had supplied for me to reference. And lucky for me, I got to see a sneak peak of the bride before the ceremony while I was there decorating!

Here's a picture of me with my 37 week pregnant belly and the beautiful bride to be, Molly!

Congratulations Molly & Keith! Wishing you a lifetime of happiness!