very merry tacky cupcake christmas.

THE ADVENTURE
Four different flavors for my Tacky Christmas Sweater Party

1. Peanut Butter and Jelly
2. S'mores
3. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
4. Red Velvet

THE PARTY
Around Thanksgiving Zan and I decided to throw a Christmas party which evolved into a Tacky Sweater Christmas Party.  Initially I thought finding a sweater would be no big deal, my first place to look was my mom's closet but she informed me that about two years ago after watching "what not to wear" on tlc she threw out all Christmas sweaters, bummer!  So my next thought was to go to Goodwill, but they had nothing!  At this point I was thinking I'm going to be the host of the Tacky Sweater party and not be wearing a tacky sweater :(  But Stein Mart came to my rescue and for ten dollars I found the perfect tacky sweater!

The party was a blast, everyone looked hilarious (accolades going to Ryan Christopher, aka Christopher Ryan, the grandma jammies girls, and Zan for best outfits in my opinion)!  We played the biggest game of apples to apples I've ever been a part of and had a white elephant gift exchange where the gifts had to be something from home.  I ended up with NFL player bobble head dolls, could have been worse (jean covered babysitter hand book or dolphin ash tray)  Here are some pictures of outfits and people enjoying their white elephant gifts...

Awkward Family Photo

brushing up on their babysitting techniques

HOW IT WENT

So when I decided to take on the task of making four different flavors of cupcakes the thought of it being challenging did not cross my mind, umm am I crazy??  I was like oh yeah I'll just half the recipes and it should be no big deal, I was very very wrong!  Right now I need to give a big shout out to Zan, he was a great helper that day cleaning and helping garnish.  I decided on peanut butter and jelly because to date they had been the best outcome so far and most people's favorite, s'mores per Clay's request, chocolate chip cookie dough per Zan's request, and red velvet with green cream cheese icing to be festive.

The peanut butter and jelly came out great and gave me no trouble and the red velvet were much much better this time because I tried a different recipe.  I turned the cream cheese icing green and made them into Christmas trees and garnished them with round sprinkles to look like ornaments.  But then came the s'mores and chocolate chip cookie dough...

Thank goodness I halved the smores recipe because it ended up yielding twelve cupcakes anyways.  I did chocolate cupcakes with crushed graham crackers mixed in, marshmallow icing and garnished each with a graham cracker and a piece of hershey chocolate bar.  I think they turned out cute!

Now at this point I was tired, ready to change for my party, and just not in the mood to make ANOTHER batch of cupcakes!!  But, I promised Zan and therefore I forged ahead..  made yellow cake, dropped the frozen cookie dough into the centers, stuck them in the oven, made chocolate frosting while baking, took them out, didn't let them cool and just slapped the icing on top.  Certainly not my finest work but I was just over it and needed a drink.  Is this a bad sign... I can't handle making four types of cupcakes?  I'm sure my shop would have more than that on the menu... uh oh!

HOW THEY WERE RECIEVED

This had been my biggest crowd of cupcake taste testers and I was slightly nervous for what they would think but... I got glowing remarks!! and only a few were left at the end of the party!  One person even told me that in a year when they make more money they would invest, yippee!!!  I think I'm on the right path :)

our dessert spread

smore cupcake up-close



me and my red velvet christmas tree


CHRISTMAS PRESENTS
Now that I am a professed cupcake shop entrepreneur much of my Christmas list was dedicated to such.  My big present was a stand mixer!  I am soo excited to use this and not a hand mixer anymore, should make the process much easier and cleaner!  I also got cupcake boxes, a carrying case, baking cups, a new apron, and new cupcake recipe books from my mom and Mrs. Patorgis!!  Can't wait to use all my new stuff and make even more cupcakes :)

I hope everyone had a Very Merry Tacky Cupcake Christmas!

breakfast cupcakes yum yum.

THE ADVENTURE
French Toast Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing and Bacon Bits!

THE DISCLAIMER
I swear these are not gross!  I know you are probably thinking "bacon bits.. wtf kelly", but they really do go together.  I mean you have french toast for breakfast, cream cheese on your bagel for breakfast, and bacon for breakfast, so why not incorporate it with a cupcake recipe?  My true inspiration for this cupcake comes from my favorite doughnut shop, Sublime Doughnut, where Zan once ordered a doughnut with maple syrup frosting stuff and bacon bits (delicious).  So please stop making your disgusted face and continue reading with an open mind ;)

HOW IT WENT
Deciding on what recipe to use took a lot of time.  It was hard for me to decide between a french toast cupcake or cinnamon roll.  I feel like they are in the same family, as in the french toast is the younger brother and the cinnamon roll is the older sister.  I guess I picked the younger brother... lol?

Making the batter went well.  I taste tested it before going in the oven, and that caused me to continue taste testing a couple spoonfuls, oops.  While baking the aroma they caused to waft through the house was soo good!  My mom walked in and the first thing out of her mouth was smells like french toast!  Zan stopped by later and said the same thing.

I used a cream cheese frosting recipe that I had used previously for my go at red velvet cupcakes and was pleased with the results.  I think it should be a little thicker and a little less creamy to have the perfect consistency. 

Now for the garnish!  Bacon bits seemed like the perfect salty compliment.  I am such a sweet then salty girl that I knew the richness of the cupcake and frosting would need something to not make it too intense.  Here's some pictures of how they turned out, bacon bit garnish included!

I feel like when I frost the cupcakes using this decorating tip they come out looking like dog poop, literally, like a dog pooped on top of the cupcake in a swirl, agree?

I made 10 total, and had already eaten one at this point

AFTERTHOUGHTS
When I tried one of these cupcakes I thought "yummy" but not quite as WOW as I was hoping for.  My opinion is that the cream cheese icing is too overpowering and you can't really taste the bacon bits :(  I also overcooked the cupcakes by about a minute causing them to be the slightest bit dry.  So I'm still learning and trying to make improvements.

P.S.
I am having a Tacky Sweater Holiday Party soon and am planning to make a variety of cupcakes for my guests, so if you have some suggestions please tell me and I'll add them to the menu!  And donations to the Kelly's Cupcake Bakery are always welcome :)

chocolate blah.

THE ADVENTURE
Dark Chocolate Peppermint cupcakes, I think with Christmas being around the corner these are the perfect seasonal treat!

THE PROBLEM
I HATE chocolate :(  well, hate is a strong word, but if I had my pick every cupcake I made would be vanilla or something along those lines.  And yes, I do ultimately pick the cupcake flavors I make right now but since I'm not the one who ends up eating all of them I have to please a variety of people with a variety of taste buds.  The same goes for nuts, I personally think they are gross in any type of dessert, but my mom says if I want to open a cupcake shop and please a wide range of customers I must give in and use nuts on some.  The nut battle I am still fighting!

HOW IT WENT
When I want to make cupcakes I'll do some research when it comes to the recipe.  I like when they have a lot of positive reviews because if its worked out for someone else then it should more than likely work for me.  It's also helpful when reviewers post tips on making the cupcakes even better.  For this cupcake I used this recipe for the cake part and this recipe for the frosting.

The dark chocolate batter ended up looking for like chocolate soup.. very very thin.  The recipe said it would be though, but still a little odd looking.  I poured the batter into the muffin cups and got a little batter happy because when I went to check on them in the oven 5 or 6 of them were spilling over and two had dripped all the way to the bottom of the oven, eek!  It started to burn so I had to scrape the stuff off real fast and put out a couple sparks??  Luckily the firefighters were not needed!  There was plenty of batter left over so I put in a second batch and tried to salvage the overspilling cupcakes.

I made a total of 18, but one was a runt, so I took him out of the picture

The frosting went smoothly.  A little bit of peppermint extract goes a long way and comes out of the bottle very fast!  Thank goodness I watched some you tube video that recommended measuring your liquid ingredients over a different bowl in case you over pour.

A tip I saw: put your piping bag in a glass when you're filling it, keeps mess to a minimum

Frosting the cupcakes, I'm a pro!

Finished product, with sugar peppermint sprinkles!

nom nom nom

AFTER THOUGHTS

All in all I was pleased.  I think they turned out pretty.  Not sure this is going to be my go to chocolate cupcake recipe though.  My mom, our pest control guy, and Clay have eaten one so far and said they're yummy and even if you aren't a huge peppermint fan it's subtle enough to where you would enjoy it as well.

So who wants to invest in my shop?!?