Valentine's Day in Cupcakes- Cherry Gingerbread Cupcakes

I have always loved gingerbread and its versatility and being able to pair with most anything. Portland’s temperature is ideal for stabilizing hard gingerbread for cookies and gingerbread houses. No matter the reason, many Portlanders love gingerbread, and cherries grow naturally all around the area, making this a perfect combination. 

You Need:

• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup molasses
• 3 cups AP flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 24 maraschino cherries- well drained
• 4 ounce cream cheese
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 to 2 cups powdered sugar

This recipe makes 20 cupcakes. Preheat oven to 375. Place cupcake wrappers in tin cavities and set aside.

1.    In a large mixing bowl, cream the shortening and sugar until nice and fluffy. Add the eggs and molasses one at a time, mixing thoroughly between each addition.
2. Combine the flour, baking soda, ginger, and cinnamon in a smaller bowl. Add to the sugar mixture in 1-cup increments. Alternate adding the dry with the buttermilk to the sugar mix.
3. Stir in the nuts if you have chosen to use them. Fill each paper-lined cavity 2/3 of the way full. Place a maraschino cherry in the center of each cupcake- it will sink to the center as you bake it. These cupcakes are very dense so they will not rise much.
4. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-24 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted.
5. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove to a wire rack to finish cooling. Do not frost until the cupcakes until they have cooled completely. The frosting will melt.
6. In a small mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the vanilla and thoroughly incorporate. Gradually beat the powdered sugar into the mixture 1/2 cup at a time. If you feel the frosting is getting too thick do not add any more powdered sugar.

25 Days of Christmas Baking

Christmas is a hugely celebrated holiday in Portland. Many gift exchanges at work as well as potlucks and Christmas parties are not uncommon. When you are getting ready to do your holiday baking, here's a few ways that you can liven them up during the holidays.

Colored Tissue Paper-

When you put your cookies, cakes and fruitcake in the basket, box, or tin that you plan to give the baked goods away in, place some holiday themed tissue paper or even red or green tissue paper in the bottom to liven things up. A plus side to using tissue paper is that it will absorb the grease from the butter and keep that fat moisture in the container keeping your products moist and chewy instead of turning hard.

Holiday Flavors-

There are many flavors that are synonymous with the holiday season, flavors like peppermint, hot chocolate, candy cane, cherry and orange. If you can incorporate these into your baked goods, you will be in good shape. If you are making any items that include a frosting, try crushing up a candy cane to use as a topping. Red and green sprinkles as well as silver degrees make beautiful decorations.

Holiday Baking Papers-
If you are making muffins, cupcakes, bonbons or anything that you can put into a paper cupcake wrapper, consider purchasing the holiday inspired wrappers instead of the bulk package at the grocery store. Often times you can pick up these cheery wrappers at the dollar store in several different designs.

Holiday Shapes-
Not all cookies can be shaped, but for those that can, consider making Christmas shapes instead of letters or geometric shapes. Small cookie cutter sets that include a gingerbread man, Santa, a reindeer and a snowman can be picked up most anywhere, including the dollar store.
Ribbons and Bows-
To top it all off, try using a nice bow or ribbon around the tin of baked goods to make it look more like a present than something that is just going to be devoured within a day or so. The little things like this make these sort of items sell all the quicker at bake sales and bazaars as well.

Mahana Red Apples Come to America

Mahana Red Apples have been very popular in New Zealand since Braden Farms started growing them. This red apple is bright red, crispy, juicy and designed specifically for baking. These vibrant red apples retain their color and crispness during baking, something that no other red apple has been able to claim.

Many that have tried the Mahana Red have decribed it a combination flavor of an apple and pear. This delish apple is available in the produce isles of select Portland grocery stores, so keep your eyes peeled for these bright red apples at your favorite grocery store.

Earth Source Trading, the company that has brought this tasty treat to you from new Zealand has several social media sites set up for the Mahana Red Apple where you can find several recipes, more information about the Mahana Red and videos. Check out their social network pages at:
Facebook.com/MahanaRed
Twitter @ MahanaRed
Pinterest @ MahanaRed

Delicious Cookie Dough Pie crust

According to a recent survey I read in one of my gagillion food magazines, cookies are one of Portland’s favorite baked goods. Because of Portland's love of cookies, I created an awesome recipe that will allow you to have cookies with your pie too. Come on, who doesn’t love a cookie? Now that you have a recipe for the filling, the whipped cream on top, and now the crust you can make an awesome pie on your own.

You Need:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 cup AP flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup sugar

This recipe makes one 9-inch piecrust.

Step 1:

Place all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix on high for about one minute. It will turn into a large ball of dough.

Step 2:

Place in a pie tin and distribute evenly throughout the pan until it is covered, an 1/8 of an inch  should stick over the edge because it will shrink once baked.

Step 3:

Wrap in plastic and freeze until you are ready to use or fill and bake at the appropriate temperature as the rest of the pie indicates.

*On a completely unrelated side note--* I am a really crappy food picture taker. I have horrible lighting, I can't ever get close enough to show good detail without being blurry and the list goes on. So, I have no pics on any of my blog posts so far. :( I have been considering hiring someone to do the photos for me. The arthritis in my hands has gotten so bad I shake anyway.

Homemade whipped cream

Now that you know how to make your cherry pie filling from scratch, you cannot have a nice slice of pie without some whip cream. There is nothing better tasting than homemade whip cream. This recipe is simple and easy enough that anyone can do it.

You Need:

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 tbs white sugar

This recipe makes 4 cups of whip cream.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the whipping cream, vanilla, and sugar. Mix with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. You can tell if they are soft peaks by dipping the beater straight into the bottom and when you remove it, it will make a "ribbon" in the cream. Do not over whip this or it will be meringue and very stiff.

Scratch cherry pie filling

Cherries grow most everywhere in the Portland area because the temperature is optimal. When it comes to cherry pie filling, making it from scratch is always better than buying a can of filling. I used this simple recipe daily the whole fall quarter of my baking program. Whatever you do not use, you can simply can and use for cheesecake at Thanksgiving, future pies, or for ice cream.

You Need:

• 1 quart fresh sour cherries, pitted
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tbs cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp grated lemon rind
• 1/4 tsp almond extract
• 1/8 tsp salt

In a large bowl, combine the cherries with the sugar, cornstarch, lemon rind, almond extract and salt. Let stand for 30 minutes.

Drain the mixture into a bowl, measure the juices and add water if needed to measure 1/4 cup.

Toss the filling lightly and pour into pie or tart crust or canning jar.

See, wasn’t that simple?

Well, hello there!

Hey y'all, as the description states, I live in one of the "foodie-ist" cities in the PNW-- Portland. We have food carts, restaurants and food snobs all over the place. I cook 3 meals a day for my family, occasionally we enjoy a night on the town, which you will be able to read about because I'll give you the low-down. I love food crafts, playing with my food, cooking for my family and baking. I love to cook home style food and my baking specialty is none other than cupcakes.

I am a baker by trade; I have a degree in professional baking and cake decorating and I will share lots of advise with you on the subject. I grew up in Portland where my grandfather owned Gerry's Gables in Sellwood (the trendy, fancy area of Portland) and my grandma had a cafe in Gresham. And in general, I love, Love, LOVE food.

I have millions of recipes in my head that I can't hold in there forever! I will post craft projects, ways for playing with your food, tutorials, reviews, recipes and food facts that you may never have wanted to know. Overall, this blog is a great way to have fun with food and all the things you can do with it.