Cupcakes - from SCRATCH!

These cupcakes are so delicious and easy to make, you'll never want to buy a box mix or can of frosting again! I've always wanted to make cupcakes from scratch, but every recipe I've found is so complicated. NOT this one. So, give it a try!

 

This recipe comes from Dave Ramsey's website. To see the original recipe, click here.

Cupcakes

Chocolate

3 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened Hersey's Cocoa Powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, softened to room temperature
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups milk
3 ounces bittersweet baking chocolate square (found in baking section), grated

1. Allow eggs to stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Meanwhile, line your cupcake pans with cupcake liners. I like to use the foil liners because they are both decorative and sturdy. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt; set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, beat softened butter with electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Gradually add sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, beating on medium speed until well combined. Scrape sides of bowl; beat 2 minutes more. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in vanilla.
3. Alternately add flour mixture and milk to butter mixture, beating on low after each addition just until combined. Beat on medium to high 20 seconds more. Stir in finely grated chocolate. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full. (If you have more batter than cupcake pans, cover and refrigerate remaining batter until ready to use.)
4. Bake cupcakes on middle rack of oven. Every cupcake pan, liner, and oven is different, so you should monitor your first batch of cupcakes closely. Check after 10 minutes of baking time to insure that your cupcakes are cooking evenly. You may need to turn the cupcake pans halfway through baking time to guarantee even baking if your oven cooks faster toward the rear of the oven. When done (inserted toothpick should come out clean), remove from oven and cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove cupcakes to a cooling rack and cool completely before applying icing.

Vanilla


6 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
2 2/3 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups buttermilk

1. Separate eggs. Allow egg whites to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes (reserve yolks for another use). Meanwhile, line cupcake pans with cupcake liners. I like to use foil liners because they are both decorative and sturdy. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar and vanilla; beat until well combined. Add egg whites all at once; beat on medium-high 3 minutes. Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk to butter mixture, beating on low after each addition just until combined (batter may look slightly lumpy). Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full. (If you have extra batter, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.)
3. Bake cupcakes on middle rack of oven. Every cupcake pan, liner, and oven is different, so you should monitor your first batch of cupcakes closely. Check after 10 minutes of baking time to insure that your cupcakes are cooking evenly. You may need to turn the cupcake pans halfway through baking time to guarantee even baking if your oven cooks faster toward the rear of the oven. Mine were done at 17 minutes. When done (inserted toothpick should come out clean), remove from oven and cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove cupcakes to a cooling rack and cool completely before applying icing. Yield: 3 dozen

Buttercream Icing

Chocolate I divided ingredients in half and had plenty for 3 dozen cupcakes

1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened to room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups of unsweetened Hersey's Cocoa Powder
2 (16-ounce) boxes of confectioner's sugar
2/3 cup of whole milk

1. Beat butter, vanilla and salt at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy.
2. In separate bowl, whisk together unsweetened cocoa and powdered sugar.
3. Alternately add the cocoa/sugar mixture and milk to the butter mixture, beating on low after each addition until blended and smooth. Beat in an additional tablespoon of milk if needed for desired consistency.

Vanilla


1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened to room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 (16-ounce) boxes of confectioner's sugar
6–7 tablespoons milk

1. Beat butter, vanilla and salt at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy.
2. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating on low until blended and smooth after each addition. Beat in an additional tablespoon of milk if needed for desired consistency.

Homemade Pizza

Sorry I don't have pictures, I'm having some techincal difficulties.

We really enjoy making homemade pizza here on a fairly regular basis. I really like this dough recipe better than the recipe from my bread machine. To see the original recipe, click here.

Homemade Pizza Recipe

Prep time: 2 hours Cook time: 30 minutes Ingredients

Pizza Dough: Makes enough dough for two 10-12 inch pizzas

1 1/2 cups warm water (105°F-115°F)

1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) of active dry yeast (check the expiration date on the package)

3 1/2 cups bread flour (can use all-purpose but bread flour will give you a crisper crust)

I use 1-1/2 cup all-purpose and 2 cups whole wheat flour

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon sugar

Pizza Ingredients

Olive oil

Cornmeal (to slide the pizza onto the pizza stone)

Making the Pizza Dough

1 In the large bowl of a heavy duty electric mixer, add the warm water. Sprinkle on the yeast and let sit for 5 minutes until the yeast is dissolved. Stir to dissolve completely if needed at the end of 5 minutes.

2 Attach a mixing paddle to the mixer. Mix in the olive oil, flour, salt and sugar on low speed for about a minute. Remove the mixing paddle and replace with a dough hook. Knead using the mixer and dough hook, on low to medium speed, until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. If you don't have a mixer, you can mix and knead by hand. If the dough seems a little too wet, sprinkle on a bit more flour.

3 Place ball of dough in a bowl that has been coated lightly with olive oil. Turn the dough around in the bowl so that it gets coated with the oil. Cover with a dry towel. Let sit in a warm place (75-85°F) until it doubles in size, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours (or several hours longer, a longer rise will improve the flavor). If you don't have a warm spot in the house you can heat the oven to 150 degrees, and then turn off the oven. Let the oven cool till it is just a little warm, then place the bowl of dough in this warmed oven to rise.

At this point, if you want to make ahead, you can freeze the dough in an airtight container for up to two weeks.

Preparing the Pizzas

1 Place a pizza stone on a rack in the lower third of your oven. Preheat the oven to 450°F for at least 30 minutes, preferably an hour.

2 Punch the dough down so it deflates a bit and divide the dough in half. Form two round balls of dough. Place each in its own bowl, cover and let sit for 10 minutes.

3 Prepare your desired toppings. Note that you are not going to want to load up each pizza with a lot of toppings as the crust will end up not crisp that way. About a third a cup each of tomato sauce and cheese

4 Working one ball of dough at a time, take one ball of dough and flatten it with your hands on a slightly floured work surface. Starting at the center and working outwards, use your fingertips to press the dough to 1/2-inch thick. Turn and stretch the dough until it will not stretch further. Let the dough relax 5 minutes and then continue to stretch it until it reaches the desired diameter - 10 to 12 inches. Use your palm to flatten the edge of the dough where it is thicker. You can pinch the very edges if you want to form a lip.

5 Brush the top of the dough with olive oil (to prevent it from getting soggy from the toppings). Use your finger tips to press down and make dents along the surface of the dough to prevent bubbling. Let rest another 5 minutes.

Repeat with the second ball of dough.

6 Lightly sprinkle your pizza peel (or flat baking sheet) with corn meal. Transfer one prepared flattened dough to the pizza peel. If the dough has lost its shape in the transfer, lightly shape it to the desired dimensions.

I typically let the crust bake by itself for 10 minutes so that it cooks thoroughly.

7 Spoon on the tomato sauce, sprinkle with cheese, and place your desired toppings on the pizza.

8 Sprinkle some cornmeal on the baking stone in the oven (watch your hands, the oven is hot!). Gently shake the peel to see if the dough will easily slide, if not, gently lift up the edges of the pizza and add a bit more cornmeal. Slide the pizza off of the peel and on to the baking stone in the oven. Bake pizza one at a time until the crust is browned and the cheese is golden, about 10-15 minutes. If you want, toward the end of the cooking time you can sprinkle on a little more cheese.

Yield: Makes 2 10-12-inch pizzas.

Oatmeal Cinnamon Chips Cookies

This recipe quickly became a Stephens family favorite after my mother-in-law made these cookies for a family gathering. The recipe is from Hershey's.

Oatmeal Cinnamon Chips Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1-1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2-1/2 cups quick-cooking oats

1-2/3 cups (10oz pkg) Hershey's cinnamon chips

3/4 cup raisins (optional)

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Beat butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in bowl until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Combine flour and baking soda; add to butter mixture, beating well. Stir in oats, cinnamon chips, and raisins (batter will be stiff).

3. Drop by heaping teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Makes about 4 dozen.

BAR VARIATION: Spread batter into lightly greased 13x9 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool; cut into bars. Makes about 3 dozen bars.