Lemon Cupcakes

My gosh, where does the time go? I've intended to bake for close to three weeks now and finally got my first chance today. With my parents visiting, sorority initiation, and my job, I barely had time to do my homework and I definitely haven't had time to do my laundry. Fortunately, things are settling back down. I got some new baking supplies from a dear friend so of course I had to put them to good use!

I made some delicious little lemon cupcakes with my new cupcake molds and cupcake stand, thanks to my friend and the wonderful blog Sally's Baking Addiction. Not only are these cupcakes pretty easy to make, but they don't require that you dirty every dish in your kitchen! Always a plus for me with my janky little kitchen.

I've got a few other new toys as well. Firstly was this bad boy. Just look at his cute little face! He came with the cupcake molds and stand, and I'm low-key obsessing. He watched over my baking... and is on top of our TV watching me type right now. I swear, it's not creepy at all.

This is my second toy--a Hamilton Beach hand mixer bought brand-new on Amazon for like $25. It has been life changing. Honestly how did I use a fork to cream together butter and sugar before this? I'm now worried I'll start losing bicep definition.

The cupcakes are straightforward, everyone! You will need:
 -1 stick unsalted butter, softened
 -1 cup granulated sugar
 -2 eggs
 -2 tsp vanilla extract
 -1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
 -2 tsp baking powder
 -1/2 tsp salt
 -1/2 cup of milk (any sort!)
 -Approx. 6 tablespoons of lemon juice (juice of two lemons)

Oven temp: 350˚F

Start by creaming butter and sugar until light and fluffy. You know the drill. Your electric mixer will make your life a million times easier and better. You may tear up with how much greater your life has become. (Maybe that's just me.)

Now add your eggs and vanilla extract and beat the mixture until combined and smooth, about two minutes. It will be quite runny at this point.

Next, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture in three parts, combining them by hand. Use those muscles! Make sure you're really getting everything evenly mixed. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl frequently to make sure no bits are being left out.

Finally, add the milk and lemon zest. Mix until they're combined--don't overmix! Texture-wise, they'll kind of be in the middle of pancake batter and cake batter. Does that make sense to anyone else but me? Pop those suckers into the oven for 18-20 minutes. They're done once a toothpick inserted into the center emerges clean.

Only fill the cups about 2/3 of the way full. They will rise...

See? They rose pretty darn well, if I say so myself.

Once those are out of the oven and cooling down, you can get started on the frosting...

You will need:
 -2 sticks of butter, softened
 -Approximately 4 cups of powdered sugar
 -1/4 cup of heavy cream (I used milk. Something with a higher fat content would be better, je pense)
 -2 tsp vanilla extract
 -1/4 tsp salt

Start by beating the butter until it's light and fluffy. Just the butter! Nothing else!

Then, while the mixer is going, add the rest of the ingredients. Just dump the sugar, cream, vanilla, and salt all in there and beat to combine. I added a bit more salt than the recipe calls for, just because I generally find frostings very sweet. However, I may just be biased towards cream cheese frosting!

Slap some frosting onto each cooled cupcake and then top with whatever you'd like! More lemon zest could be delicious, and I always find it a cute and delicious addition to have a coconut sprinkle atop the cupcake.

I got a fever, and the only prescription is more coconut!

Just look at it. Now that winter is truly coming, this deliciously delicate lemony cupcake is a gentle reminder that spring is coming in just a few months! They're light and wonderful and, in typical "I live with a ton of people" fashion, there are none left.

These could definitely be topped with lemon zest, white chocolate, or even a simple glaze. They're a cute little treat that brightened many days! I'll definitely be making them again, but when I do, I may try an easy cream cheese frosting. This frosting is certainly much lighter than cream cheese frosting, but the latter is just so dang good!

At any rate, I'm so grateful for all my new kitchen toys, and for these delicious cupcakes. However, I've turned my eye to eggplant, and I'm figuring out what seasonally appropriate meals to make with it... stay tuned!

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Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars

So here's a bit of backstory. I'm an only child--the people in my house are me, my mom and dad, and our crazy mutt Seeds. Therefore, whenever I make desserts, I have to find someone to give them to!

Every month, the dental practice I work at has a "team meeting", where all the employees meet and we discuss various topics. You see where I'm going with this? That's right; a group of people I could give dessert to!

Since all my coworkers are quite healthy, I thought I'd stay away from (deliciously caloric) things like brownies. I wanted something relatively mess-free as well... with some creative googling and blog-searching, I found a recipe on Brown Eyed Baker for Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake bars.

You will need:
 -Nine graham crackers
 -1/2 cup of granulated sugar, plus 2 tablespoons
 -Pinch of cinnamon
 -A cup of blueberries
 -16 oz (two little boxes) of cream cheese
 -4 tablespoons of butter, melted
 -2 eggs
 -Zest and juice of two lemons

First off, preheat your oven to 375˚F, and line a 9x9 pan with parchment paper. Trim the edges so they don't hang too far off the edge.

You'll use your food processor excessively for this--so drag it out from whatever cabinet it's in, give it a good rinse, and you're set! Break your graham crackers into pieces, and throw those into the processor with the two tablespoons of sugar and the pinch of cinnamon.

Pulse until it resembles bread crumbs, then pour in the melted butter. Pulse some more until it resembles the above picture.

Press the mixture into the pan, then bake for twelve minutes until it's even more golden brown. Take it out of the oven and let it cool, but keep the oven on and hot!

While the crust is in the oven, you can start on your filling.

Begin by zesting your lemons. We have a nifty little tool that we use, so that certainly simplifies things. Once you've zested (I'm never going to get sick of that word), slice your lemons in half, then juice them. If you don't have a juicing device, use a pair of tongs to squeeze the lemons. It works better than manual squeezing!

Into the food processor: all the cream cheese, the two eggs, a half cup of sugar, and all the lemon juice and zest. Process away until it's completely smooth.

Make sure you occasionally scrape the sides down, so that everything can mix together fully.

Pour the filling on top of the slightly cooled crust. It's going to be pretty thick, so spread it with a spatula to make an even layer. Once it's spread to your satisfaction, sprinkle your blueberries on top. Feel free to put as many or as few on as you'd like.

Now, pop that sucker into the oven for approximately 35 minutes, until "the center only slightly jiggles", which I took to mean as didn't jiggle much when I poked it (with clean fingers, I swear).

When they're done, take them out of the oven and let them cool completely before removing from the pan and refrigerating for at least three hours.

I brought them into the office and was greeted by some very happy coworkers! They went quickly and were absolutely delicious--they were wonderfully light and lemony. I saved some for my parents and they said that, flavorwise, the bars reminded them of Key Lime Pie. Next time I may omit the blueberries and instead top with a little bit of fresh zest!

These will definitely go on the roster for delicious, relatively guilt-free, and quick desserts!

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