I’ve realized that apples really aren’t as scary as asparagus, drinking milk or Justin Bieber’s hair if the apples are inside of a cake covered in a massive amount of cream cheese frosting or inside of a pie with tons of buttery crumbs on top. But you know what’s even better than apple cake or apple pie? Apple doughnuts dipped in melted butter and covered in cinnamon and sugar. I think it’s the whole melted butter part that puts me at ease, doesn’t make to hyperventilate and actually makes me want to eat something with apples in it. Butter can work miracles people, serious miracles.

Ok confession time: I like making baked doughnuts mainly because of the doughnut contraption…uh doughnut pan. Using this pan brings me way too much joy. Like so much joy, it’s scary.

First sift 2 cups cake flour, 3/4 cup sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon kosher salt and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon into a large bowl. Mix mix mix it up with your blue spatula.

Pour in 3/4 cup buttermilk (at room temperature), 2 lightly beaten eggs (also at room temperature), 2 Tablespoons melted unsalted butter and 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract.

Mix everything together but for the love of light and tasty doughnuts, do not over mix the doughnut batter. Unless of course you’re into doughnuts that you could use as weapons. I totally am not into that by the way.

Chop up a large apple into small pieces. You should have 1 cup chopped apple. And throw it it! Oh how I hate fruit. But fruit in doughnuts…yeah so much better. And apple doughnuts dipped in melted butter? Uh yeah so there. Then covered in sugar and cinnamon? Oh just give me the entire batch.

Gently fold in the chopped apple.

Apple doughnut batter = love. Well sort of.

Lightly grease a doughnut pan (uh doughnut contraption…) and using a spoon, fill the pan with the doughnut batter. I scoop three spoonfuls for each doughnut.

Bake the doughnuts at 425 degrees F for 9 minutes.

Once they’re done baking, cool them in the pan for 5 minutes and then flip the pan upside down. Take the doughnuts out.

Melt 1/2 cup unsalted butter. Yes we’re using a whole stick of butter. Makes up for the whole baked thing which totally goes against everything I believe it. Deep fried is the way people.
On a plate or in a bowl mix together 1 cup sugar and 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon.

Very lightly dip the doughnut into the melted butter. Dip both sides!

Then dip both sides into the cinnamon sugar mixture.

Eat, devour, whatever…just enjoy!

Baked Cinnamon Sugar Apple Doughnuts
(adapted from Wilton)
(makes 15 doughnuts)

2 cups cake flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 Tablespoons melted unsalted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup chopped apple (chop the apple into small pieces)

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Sift together the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, kosher salt and ground cinnamon into a large bowl. Mix together.

Add in the buttermilk, lightly beaten eggs, melted butter and vanilla extract. Gently mix everything together.
Chop a large apple and add 1 cup chopped apple to the batter. Gently fold the chopped apple into the batter.

Lightly grease a doughnut pan. Using a spoon, fill the doughnut pan with the batter.
Bake the doughnuts at 425 degrees F for 9 minutes.

While the doughnuts are baking:
Melt 1/2 cup unsalted butter in a shallow bowl.
Combine 1 cup sugar and 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon in a shallow bowl or on a plate.
Set the melted butter and cinnamon sugar aside.

Let the doughnuts cool in the pan for about 5 minutes and then flip the pan over to take the doughnuts out.
Lightly dip each doughnut on both sides in the melted butter.
Then lightly dip each doughnut on both sides in the cinnamon sugar.

Enjoy!

As much as I love maple syrup/could drink it by the bottle (ok not really that’s weirder than me)/want to marry it…I’m one of those lone weirdos who doesn’t put maple syrup on their pancakes or waffles or french toast. Perhaps I’m the only one in the universe? And by the way, I know what you’re thinking as I mention no syrup on my pancakes. Lindsey, you put frosting on your pancakes don’t you? Actually no I eat them plain although frosting on pancakes sounds pretty incredible. But speaking of frosting, you know what makes frosting even more delicious? Maple syrup. Yeah you know, the stuff that’s supposed to go on your pancakes or waffles or french toast. Oh my word just give me a bowl of maple cream cheese frosting and a giant spoon and I’ll devour it in the corner. Actually give me a cupcake. Wait no, give me a dozen cupcakes…

Put 1 cup of rolled oats (aka old fashioned oats) in a large bowl. I know what you’re thinking because I’m a super mind reader. You’re thinking about how I’m going to destroy the health factor of the oats at any moment. And yes my dears you would be oh so right. Pour 1 1/2 cups boiling water over the oats. Do not stir, leave it alone! Back away people. Let the oats cool before adding them to the cupcake batter.

Sift together 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Set it aside. Yeah I still need to find that super cool looking bowl to put my sifted ingredients in. Right now they’re sitting in a glass bowl. So not cool looking.

In a bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix together 1/2 cup softened unsalted butter, 1 cup packed light brown sugar and 2/3 cup sugar on medium speed for 4 minutes. Butter how I love you. And sugar I love you too.

Add in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and mix!

Add in 2 large eggs, one at a time. Mix mix. Oh how I hate eggs…except in cakes, brownies, bars, you know…stuff with massive amounts of sugar.

Throw in the cooled oats. Even if there’s a bit of water, add it. Throw it all in…

And mix!

Slowly add in the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until almost combined. Do not over mix the batter unless you’re into oatmeal bricks which I am totally not into by the way.

Take a spatula and fold everything together. If you don’t have a colorful spatula, it’s cool. I don’t judge.

Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners and using an ice cream scooper, scoop the batter into each cupcake liner. I fill the cupcakes about 2/3 of the way. Bake the cupcakes at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes.

Cool the cupcakes in the pan for 10 minutes on a cooling rack. Then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Onto the frosting…maple cream cheese frosting. Oh my word I just want to bathe in this stuff…along with that oatmeal batter. Oatmeal is good for your skin? Right? Sort of…ok I’m weird. But we already knew that.

Sift 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar and set aside.

In a bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment, mix together 6 ounces of softened cream cheese and 6 Tablespoons of softened unsalted butter on medium low speed for a couple of minutes until smooth. I want a bagel.

Add in 3 Tablespoons of maple syrup. By the way, my maple syrup was sent to me.  (woohoo!) I love free maple syrup especially since it costs more than my first born child. Kidding kidding! But really, nothing is better than a cupcake with maple cream cheese frosting except maybe a cupcake with maple cream cheese frosting made with Pure Canadian Maple Syrup. (check out the site for recipes, health benefits…uh did I just write health benefits? Weird, odd, yes.)

And add in 1/4 teaspoon maple extract. Why? Because it makes it more mapley. Is that even a word? I don’t care, I’m using it. Mix mix!

Slowly add in the powdered sugar and mix on medium low speed until smooth.

Frost the cooled oatmeal cupcakes with maple cream cheese frosting and devour them. Enjoy! Oh and if you’re totally sprinkle obsessed…put sprinkles on them.

Oatmeal Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
(cupcake recipe adapted from allrecipes)

Cupcakes
1 cup rolled oats (aka old fashioned oats)
1 1/2 cup boiling water
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup softened unsalted butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
2 1/4 cups powdered sugar
6 ounces cream cheese
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter
3 Tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon maple extract

For the cupcakes:
Put the oats in a large bowl. Pour the boiling water over the oats. Do not stir. Set aside and let the oats cool.

In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and kosher salt. Set aside.

In a bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix together the softened butter, brown sugar and sugar on medium speed for about 4 minutes until light and fluffy.
Add in the vanilla extract and mix.
Then add in the eggs, one at a time and mix them in.

On low speed, add in the cooled oats. (if there is a bit of water left in the bowl, add that too. Add all of it!)
Slowly add in the dry ingredients on low speed.
Then take a spatula and fold everything together.

Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop the batter into each cupcake liner. Fill each cupcake about 2/3 of the way.

Bake the cupcakes at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
Cool the cupcakes in the pan for 10 minutes on a cooling rack. Then remove the cupcakes from the pan and cool them completely on the cooling rack.

Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

To make the frosting:
Sit the powdered sugar and set aside.

In a bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix together the cream cheese and butter on medium low speed for 3 minutes until smooth.
Add in the maple syrup and maple extract and mix.
Slowly add in the powdered sugar and mix on medium low speed for a couple of minutes until completely smooth.

Frost the cooled cupcakes with the maple cream cheese frosting.

In my kitchen you’ll find a rolling cart full of sprinkles, tubs of fondant (hardcore cake decorator here), 10 million colorful spatulas and a pantry stocked with tea. Tea you say? Yes, I know you’re surprised to find out that TeaLand (I made up that land) exists in my kitchen. So when I was given the chance to sample the new Lipton Green Tea Superfruit teas I think I exploded with happiness because I had three new flavors of tea to add to my ever growing collection. In the package were Lipton’s three new flavors; White Mangosteen and Peach, Red Goji and Raspberry and Purple Acai and Blueberry. Can I just say how much I love that the flavors are unique and not something you see everyday?

White Mangosteen and Peach – I have to admit I was immediately intrigued by this tea because of it’s name. Mangosteen?! Coolest sounding word ever. This was the first tea I tried and I loved the pairing of the peach flavor with the green tea flavor.
Red Goji and Raspberry – I LOVE goji berries but have never had goji berry tea. This tea was so refreshing! Even though I’m solely a hot tea drinker, I would actually make iced tea with this.
Purple Acai and Blueberry – My absolute favorite! Oh my does this tea smell sooooo good. As I was taking photos of the scones, I couldn’t help but take sips of the tea because of the amazing blueberry smell.

When I have a warm cup of tea, I enjoy it with something that has copious amounts of sugar and butter. Cake, cookies, muffins and the list goes on. But as much as I could chow down on chocolate cake like there’s no tomorrow, scones are what I crave like a madwoman while drinking tea. Warm, flakey, buttery scones just out of the oven and slathered in butter. As soon as I tasted the Purple and Blueberry, I immediately knew I wanted to enjoy my Blueberry tea with homemade scones made with lemon zest (always a good flavor with tea!) and dried blueberries. I love fresh blueberries but I recently tasted dried blueberries and fell in love. They have a strong blueberry taste and go perfectly with the blueberry flavor in the Purple Acai and Blueberry Tea.

By the way, at the end of this post is an amazing giveaway!

Zest 1 Tablespoon of lemon zest. Did you know I actually love lemons? Please don’t go into shock and no I don’t put sugar on them.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, put 2 cups all purpose flour, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 Tablespoon baking powder, 1 Tablespoon lemon zest (that you zested previously) and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. teaspoon kosher salt.

Mix it up with a spatula or your hands. Whatever floats your boat and makes you happy. Place the bowl in the freezer for 10 minutes. Why the freezer you ask? Because really cold ingredients make for really flakey and light scones!

Cut up 12 Tablespoons of cold unsalted butter into small pieces and place it in the freezer. (I keep it in the freezer for 10 minutes) Is there anything better than a bowl of butter? Yes, buttery scones with butter on them!

Take the bowl (with the flour, etc) and butter out of the freezer and add the cold diced butter to the bowl.

Turn the mixer on medium low speed and mix until the mixture resembles small peas. I also use my hands to crumble up the mixture because sometimes the mixer doesn’t break up the butter enough.

Mix together 1/2 cup cold heavy whipping cream and 2 cold large eggs.

Pour the heavy whipping cream/egg mixture into bowl and mix it on low speed.

Add in 1/2 cup of dried blueberries. Oh how I love dried blueberries. Seriously, that says a lot for the girl who thinks that fruit is the spawn of the devil.

And mix it on low speed. I mix it on low speed, then stop the mixer, scrape the bowl and then mix again. Be careful not to overmix the scone dough though!

Put some flour on the counter and place the scone dough on the counter.

Flatten the dough out with your hands. The dough should be 3/4 inch thick.

Put the scone cutter into the flour so the dough doesn’t stick it. I use a 2 1/2 inch cutter.

Press the scone cutter into the dough.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the scones on the parchment paper.

Whisk together 1 large egg and 1 Tablespoon of whole milk.

Brush the tops of the scones with the egg wash.

Sprinkle each scone with about 1/4 teaspoon of turbinado sugar.

Bake the scones at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

And enjoy with tea!

Dried Blueberry and Lemon Scones
(adapted from Ina Garten)
(makes about 16 scones)

2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 Tablespoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 sticks (12 Tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, diced
1/2 cup cold heavy whipping cream
2 large eggs
1/2 cup dried blueberries
1 egg mixed with 1 Tablespoon of whole milk (for the egg wash)
1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon turbinado sugar (you may need more or less depending on the number of scones you have and/or how much sugar you want on each scone)

Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest and kosher salt in a bowl of a stand mixer and mix the ingredients together with a spatula your hands.
Place the bowl in the freezer for about 10 minutes.
Cut the butter into small pieces and place the butter in the freezer for 10 minutes.
Really cold ingredients make for light and fluffy scones!

Add in the cold butter and mix on medium low speed with the paddle attachment until the mixture looks like small peas. Sometimes I need to crumble the mixture up with my hands if the mixer doesn’t break up the butter pieces enough.

Whisk together the cold heavy whipping cream and eggs. Slowly pour the liquid into the mixing bowl on low speed until it’s combined.

Add in the dried blueberries and mix them in on low speed. Do not overmix! At this point, I’ll scrape the paddle attachment and the bowl and then mix again on low speed for a couple of seconds.

Dump the dough onto the floured counter and sprinkle some flour on the dough. Flatten the dough with the palm of your hands. The dough should be 3/4 inch thick.

To cut the scones, I use a 2 1/2 inch across cutter. Put the cutter into some flour so that the dough doesn’t stick to the cutter
Firmly press the cutter into the scone dough.

Place the scones on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush the scones with the egg wash. The egg wash is 1 large egg mixed with 1 Tablespoon of milk.

Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon (or less) of turbinado sugar on top of each scone. (Sprinkle them immediately right after you brush the scones with the egg wash)

Bake at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes.
Enjoy!

The first three people to comment will receive a box of Lipton Green Tea Superfruit!

Share a recipe that you think compliments the taste of the new Lipton Green Tea Superfruit! Tell us what you enjoyed about this tea, and share how you enjoy your tea.

Now that I have shared what I would pair with these refreshing Lipton Green Tea Superfruits, I want to know, how do you enjoy your tea?

Share your tea time must haves for a chance to win a year’s supply of Lipton Tea, a tea kettle, a tea box, a mug/saucer set, a travel tumbler and a $50 gift card to Amazon.com!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Lipton Green Tea Superfruit. The opinions and text are all mine. Official Sweepstakes Rules.

Hi everyone! I’m guest posting on one of my absolute favorite blogs today, Sugarcrafter. Tracy is one of the sweetest people in the world (she made gingerbread bagels for my blog!) and I am so honored to be guest posting for her.

Please head on over to Sugarcrafter and check out my recipe for Valentine’s Day themed Golden Oreo Truffles.

Hope you all enjoy my recipe and please check out Tracy’s recipes too!

After making Chocolate Chip Almond Butter Granola Bars for my blog, I think I shed about 10 tears (I’m all about even numbers, don’t ask) because I realized I didn’t have any chocolate cake with massive amounts of chocolate buttercream in my kitchen. Instead I had granola bars with almond butter, almonds and chocolate chips. Don’t get me wrong, the granola bars are really really tasty but I prefer other things like copious amounts of sugar, Anthony Kiedis, bagels with cream cheese and chocolate buttercream. As I sat there picking the chocolate chips out of the granola bars (I do this with all things with chocolate chips), I really started to think, “I want candy….M&Ms sound good. Like those red and pink Valentine’s M&Ms. Or those cute little conversation hearts. I haven’t had those in a billion years.” Yes random thoughts about Valentine’s Day candy pop into my head. But anyway, is there really anything better than Valentine’s Day candy? Absolutely not. Well perhaps having Ian Thorpe, the hot Australian swimmer hand feed you Valentine’s M&Ms. But since Ian Thorpe is all the way in Australia, I thought a candy creation that looks like it’s on red and pink acid would do for now. Oh how romantic.

First you’ll need to walk past all of the stuffed animals, those creepy Bieber cards and find your Valentine’s Day candy. You’ll need 1/8 cup Valentine’s M&M’s (if you’re using peanut butter or peanut M&Ms you’ll need about 1/3 cup), 1/8-/14 cup Valentine’s candy corn (Yeah they think of everything to go inside of the envelope of your Jonas Brothers Valentine’s card), 1 box conversation hearts (Kiss Me) and 1/2 cup chopped Valentine’s yogurt covered pretzels. If you can’t find the pretzels, that’s cool. The pretzel pieces would probably get in Anthony Kiedis’ mustache anyway…. Set your candy aside.

Excuse me but didn’t conversation hearts used to be so innocent? Shake it? What is this world coming to?

Place a big piece of parchment paper down. (You’ll make the Valentine’s Day candy bark on this) In a microwavable bowl, melt 8 ounces of semi sweet chocolate chips and 8 ounces of milk chocolate chips. Please for the love of gingerbread bagels, don’t use Nestles. It won’t harden and you’ll cry. And as if we’re not crying enough on Valentine’s Day…

Pour the melted chocolate onto the parchment paper.

And spread it out into a rectangle. If your rectangle looks like a hexagon or octagon, that’s cool. It’s chocolate, no one cares. Well I care but we won’t get into my obsession with perfect squares and even numbers.

In another bowl, melt 3 ounces of pink candy melts.

Mmm melted pink candy melts!

Plop (I like that word) the melted candy melts onto the chocolate.

And the part I get way too excited about. Swirl it up and down.

Then swirl it back and forth. I go back and swirl it around again because I can’t stop swirling. Super festive yes?

Place the candy and yogurt pretzel pieces on top of the melted chocolate.

Dry the candy bark for 4 hours (or more). Yes we must wait long torturous hours but it is oh so worth it. Promise.

Cut into giant pieces and enjoy (by yourself in the corner…). Or put some inside of the envelope of your Justin Bieber Valentine’s Day card. (or not…)

Valentine’s Day Candy Bark

8 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips
8 ounces milk chocolate chips
3 ounces pink candy melts
1/8 cup Valentine’s M&Ms (If you’re using a different flavor such as peanut butter or peanut use about 1/3 cup)
1/8-1/4 cup Valentine’s candy corn
1 box conversation hearts
1/2 cup chopped Valentine’s yogurt pretzels

Note: Do not use Nestle chocolate chips. They do not harden.

Measure out the Valentine’s M&Ms, the candy corn and conversation hearts. Chop the yogurt pretzels. Set the candy and yogurt pretzels aside.

Lay a large piece of parchment down. You’ll make the candy bark on this.

Put the semi sweet chocolate chips and milk chocolate chips in a large bowl and melt them in the microwave.
Pour the melted chocolate onto the parchment paper. Spread the melted chocolate into a large rectangle.

Put the pink candy melts in a separate bowl and melt them in the microwave.
Drop the melted pink candy melts on top of the melted chocolate. I drop them in rows of threes.

Swirl the pink candy melts down and up. Then swirl back and forth. I go back and swirl the melted candy melts.

Place the candy and yogurt pretzels pieces on top of the chocolate.
Let the candy bark dry for at least 4 hours. Sometimes it takes longer so be patient.

Cut into giant pieces and enjoy!

The winner is: Caitlin! Thank you Caitlin for entering and your fantastic comment. So glad I’m not alone in my bubble wrap love. haha.

Congrats! Email me at: gingerbreadbagels@gmail.com with you name and address and the yogurt will be on it’s way!

Whenever I make granola bars for my blog it feels so odd, so what in the flying squirrel and so….wrong.  I’m pretty much convinced I hit my head the night before I make granola bars because granola bars just typically aren’t my thing. They have oats, nuts and fruit (help me) and there isn’t any chocolate frosting on top or there aren’t 2 sticks of butter in there. As soon as the recipe is posted on my blog, I stare at the frosting-less bars (I just shed a tear) and think, “this should be illegal…it’s healthy (sort of) and there’s fruit in there!!” And you all know how much I want to burst into tears when I see oranges or apples.
While buying the ingredients for this recipe, I considered putting fruit in there, like dried cherries. Yeah, I’m pretty sure the box of golden raisins on the baking aisle hit me in the head. But as I stared at the boxes of Funfetti cake mix, delicious canned Betty Crocker frosting (I like canned frosting, don’t judge) and Ghirardelli chocolate chips….I thought, “why in the world would I want to torture myself with dried cherries? Why not ease the pain of healthy granola bars with chocolate chips? Or Funfetti frosting….uh maybe I should stick to the chocolate chips. Good idea Lindsey.” Yes I talk to myself in third person in the grocery store.

These are so simple and take like 5 seconds to make. Well sort of. In a large bowl, mix together 2/3 cup plus 2 Tablespoon creamy almond butter, ½ cup packed light brown sugar, ¼ cup honey, ¼ cup melted unsalted butter (yes I had to get butter in there) and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

Mix mix mix with your gingerbread man spatula. Mmm love.

Throw in 1 ½ cups quick cooking oats, 1/3 cup chopped unsalted almonds and ¼ cup semi sweet chocolate chips. Dear chocolate how I love you. You are even more beautiful than David Beckham in those H&M underwear ads. Oh come on, you know you looked (uh stared) too.

Mix with your amazing spatula.

I want to stick my head in this bowl but that’s weird and I’m weird enough.

Spray an 8 by 8 inch baking pan (please use a metal baking pan!) and line it with parchment paper. The nonstick spray helps the parchment paper stick to the pan. Spread the granola mixture into the pan. I press it down with a (gingerbread man) spatula and my hands.

You know, I could really just eat this without baking it. But I’ll bake it, just for you since I love you. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Mmm granola bars with chocolate! Cool completely before cutting into bars. I always cut off the edges because I’m super anal about how I do things.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Almond Butter Granola Bars

2/3 cup plus 2 Tablespoons creamy almond butter
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
1/3 cup chopped unsalted almonds (I just cut them in half)
1/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

In a large bowl, mix the almond butter, brown sugar, honey, melted butter and vanilla extract.

Add in the oats, chopped almonds and chocolate chips. Stir.

Lightly spray an 8 by 8 inch baking pan with nonstick spray. The nonstick spray will help the parchment paper stick to the pan.
Line the baking pan with parchment paper.

Spread the granola mixture into the pan. I use my hands to press it in.
Bake the granola bars at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Please for the love of helping me feel somewhat sane, tell me you too get excited about popping the bubbles on the bubble wrap, think packing peanuts are seriously cool, are fascinated with insulated packaging cases and the nifty ice packs that come with yogurt that’s been shipped across the country. Yes, it doesn’t take much to keep me entertained or make me happy. I’m the one who’s more intrigued by the red holiday Starbucks cup than by what’s inside or the crazy who’s more fascinated with the Anthropologie bag with the shoelace handle than the pretty (highway robbery) plate inside the bag.
So when I received the three new flavors of Chobani Greek yogurt, the weirdo in me couldn’t help but get excited about this giant insulated case. How could you not? Nevermind, don’t answer that. I took the yogurt out of the insulated case, took the ice packs out and hopped inside. Too bad I didn’t take a photo. Woohoo free Greek yogurt and a free insulated spaceship. But in this case, I was actually excited about what was inside. How can you not get insanely excited about Greek yogurt especially from Chobani and in three new flavors?! You can answer that.
In my spaceship contained:

Blood Orange…I want to bathe in this.

Passion Fruit…have you ever in your life seen passion fruit yogurt? Neither have I. Pure genius.

My favorite….Apple Cinnamon. I want to marry this yogurt. And no, I’m not afraid of the fruit on the bottom of the cup. I want to marry it too.

Ok, on with the cake! Cake is good (duh) especially when it’s made with Chobani…. By the way, I totally hate when the sun is in my eyes while I’m baking…

Sift together 1 1/4 cups cake flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg. Set it aside.

In a bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix together 2/3 cup sugar and 6 Tablespoon of softened unsalted butter on medium speed for 4 minutes. Ooooh sugar and butter = the love of my life. (Next to bubble wrap and insulated cases) Add in 2 large eggs, one at a time. Mix mix!

Then add in 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Mix!

Ok yogurt time! You’ll need one container (6 ounces) of Chobani Apple Cinnamon Greek Yogurt. Throw it in, all of it! Mix on low speed until combined.

Slowly add in the dry ingredients on low speed and mix until almost combined. Don’t over mix the batter or no one will want to eat your cake. Don’t cry, just don’t over mix.

Chop up an apple and measure out a cup. Ah apple!

Throw in the 1 cup chopped apple. Yes this person who is afraid of fruit is putting apple in her cake. Gently fold in the apple. Can I just say how much I love this batter? Yeah, you’re not supposed to eat batter but I never follow the rules.

Spread the batter into a lightly greased 9 inch round cake pan. Set the cake aside while you work on the crumb topping. I swear crumb toppings make everything better.

In a bowl, mix together 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg. Mix mix with a bright blue spatula!

And for my favorite part ever (well kind of…), pour in 1/2 cup melted (cooled) unsalted butter. Mix mix mix!

Add in 1 1/3 cups of all purpose flour and mix it up.

I really could just eat the crumbs along with the batter and be one happy girl. But I’ll continue…..for you….

Put the crumbs on top of the cake. Bake the cake at 350 degrees F for 45-50 minutes.

Cut into giant pieces and enjoy! And serve on your new highway robbery Anthropologie plate…..

Apple Cinnamon Yogurt Crumb Cake
(adapted from Ina Garten)

1 1/4 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2/3 cup sugar
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (6 ounce) container Chobani Apple Cinnamon Greek Yogurt
1 cup chopped apple

Crumb Topping
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour

Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, kosher salt, baking soda and ground nutmeg. Set aside.

In a bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix together the unsalted butter and sugar on medium speed for 4 minutes until light and fluffy.
Add in the eggs, one at a time and mix.
Add in the vanilla extract and mix.
Then add in the yogurt and mix on low speed.

Slowly add in the dry ingredients. Mix until almost combined.
Using a spatula, fold the ingredients together.

Spread the batter into a lightly greased 9 inch round cake pan. Set it aside while you work on the crumb topping.

For the crumb topping:
In a bowl, combine the packed light brown sugar, sugar, ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg. Mix together.
Pour in the melted butter and combine. Add in the flour and stir. At this point, I like to use my hands to mix the crumb topping together.
Crumble the topping evenly over the cake.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 40-50 minutes. (my cake is typically done at 40-43 minutes)

Cool on a cooling rack and cut into slices. Enjoy!

Congrats to the winner: Tara @ Chip Chip Hooray
Please email me at: gingerbreadbagels@gmail.com and I’ll send you the Biscoff Spread asap.

Valentine’s Day is one loved filled day I actually don’t despise even though I don’t have an insanely hot boyfriend or at least a stinkin’ date. And I actually don’t mind one of my least favorite colors (pink) being plastered on everything in sight. (I like green and blue) Weird considering it looks like my blog threw up a bottle of Pepto Bismol.  I like to think of Valentine’s Day as a day that gives me a million excuses to do things I never would. You know, like really pathetic G-rated things…
Like buying myself a box of Godiva chocolates and pretending my boyfriend Zak (uh hunky Zak Bagans from Ghost Adventures) gave them to me. No wait, I like the name Massimiliano better. It totally screams hot Italian lover and I actually knew two Massimilianos so that wouldn’t be a complete lie. Oh and by the way, while on the topic of Godiva (and I am totally going off topic)….I saw this man buying his wife chocolates (good idea..chocolate is tasty especially overpriced chocolates) and a teddy bear from Godiva. Dude, no woman wants a freakin’ stuffed animal, especially a Godiva teddy bear. We want…nevermind. I’m starting to sound like the X-Rated blogger again. You know what? I’m done. This is depressing. If you need me, I’ll be in the corner shoving mini red velvet cupcakes in my mouth.

First you’ll need to make the mini red velvet cupcakes. You know what I like about mini desserts? You can stuff more in your face than regular sized cupcakes. Sift together 2 1/2 cups cake flour, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoon kosher salt and 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder. Set it aside. I really need to get some kind of cool looking bowl so I can take a photo of it.

In a bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix together 1 1/4 cups canola oil, 1 1/4 cups buttermilk, 2 large eggs, 1 ounce red food coloring (that’s 2 Tablespoons), 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar. Mix mix mix on medium speed for 3 minutes.

Ooooh red! And yes I got red dye on my face, hands and the carpet….yeah the carpet. Don’t ask.

Slowly add the dry ingredients on low speed until almost combined. Take a brightly colored spatula (I like blue…) and gently fold the ingredients together. Red, white, blue…looks so patriotic. Wrong holiday.

Line a mini cupcake pan with mini cupcake liners. I tried to use these cheesy heart ones but then you can’t even see the freakin’ hearts on the outside once the cupcakes are done baking. Whatever. Screw hearts and love and heart cupcake liners. Really I’m not bitter.

To fill the cupcakes I use a Tablespoon so I don’t make a massive mess (because I always make some sort of mess…hello red carpet) and it always makes the cupcakes even. Because who likes uneven cupcakes? Not me. I’m the one who’s completely anal about how I bake.

Bake the cupcakes at 350 degree F for 10 minutes. Don’t over bake them or you’ll end up like me…alone with no one but your imaginary boyfriend named Massimiliano. Wait I want him to be named Zak. I changed my mind.

Cool the cupcakes in the pan for 10 minutes on a cooling rack. (Ok so I take them out after 5 minutes and risk burning my hands. But burnt hands are nothing compared to burnt boobs.) Then carefully remove the cupcakes from the pan and cool them completely on a cooling rack before frosting them.

Once the cupcakes have cooled completely, make the whipped cream cheese frosting. I love all kinds of frosting on my red velvet cupcakes. Chocolate cream cheese, regular cream cheese, vanilla buttercream and for these cupcakes…whipped cream cheese frosting. Frosting is pretty much my life next to highway robbery cherry cordials from Godiva and coffee.

Sift 3/4 cup powdered sugar into a really cool bright blue bowl or whatever kind of bowl. Set it aside.

Pour 1 1/2 cups of heavy whipping cream in a bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Mix mix mix on high speed until stiff peaks form.

Whipped cream!!!! Sort of…don’t eat it. Put it in a bright red bowl with pink hearts and set it aside.

In a bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix together 8 ounces of softened cream cheese, 3/4 cup powdered sugar (that you sifted earlier), 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt. Mix it on medium speed for about 4 minutes until smooth. I don’t bother cleaning out bowl that I used to whip the heavy whipping cream and neither should you.

I love my blue spatula and this cream cheese mixture. Taste it. Makes me drool almost as much as hunky Zak Bagans.

Add 1/3 of the whipped cream to the cream cheese mixture.

And gently fold it in. Add in another 1/3 of the whipped cream and gently fold it in. Then add in the remaining whipped cream and once again….very gently fold it in.  Take your time and don’t rush making the whipped cream cheese frosting or no one will want to eat your cupcakes. Not even Adam Richman and he eats everything. (Adam Richman, I love you too.)

Mmmm whipped cream cheese frosting. This stuff is so freakin’ delicious.

And because I’m piping bag obsessed, I put the frosting in a piping bag fitted with a closed star decorating tip (Ateco #846) and pipe it onto the cute mini red velvet cupcakes that I’m going to shovel into my mouth…alone. Oh and I highly recommend putting sprinkles on them. Sprinkles are cool and festive.

Enjoy! Happy Valentine’s Day (which will be coming up soon…) xoxo

Mini Cream Filled Red Velvet Cupcakes
(cupcake recipe adapted from CakeMan Raven)
(makes 48 cupcakes)

Red Velvet Cupcakes
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 cups canola oil
1 1/4 cups buttermilk, at room temperature
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 ounce red food coloring (2 Tablespoons)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar

Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F

Sift together cake flour, sugar, baking soda, kosher salt and unsweetened cocoa powder.

In a bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix together the canola oil, buttermilk, eggs, red food coloring, vanilla extract and white distilled vinegar on medium speed for 3 minutes.
Slowly add in the dry ingredients on low speed until almost combined. Take a spatula and fold the ingredients together.

Line a mini cupcake pan with mini cupcake liners. Using a Tablespoon, scoop the cake batter into each cupcake liner.
Bake the cupcakes at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Do not over bake the cupcakes.

Cool the cupcakes in the pan on a cooling rack for 10 minutes.
Take the cupcakes out of the pan and let them cool on a cooling rack. Cool them completely before frosting.

Once the cupcakes have cooled, make the whipped cream cheese frosting:

Sift the powdered sugar in a bowl. Set aside.

In a bowl of stand mixer with the whisk attachment, mix the heavy whipping cream on high speed until stiff peaks form.
Put the whipped cream in another bowl and set aside.
You don’t have to clean out the bowl that you used to whip the heavy whipping cream.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, add in the powdered sugar (that you sifted earlier), cream cheese, vanilla extract and kosher salt and mix on medium speed for about 4 minutes until smooth.
Add 1/3 of the whipped cream to the cream cheese mixture and gently fold it in. Add in another 1/3 of the whipped cream and fold it in. Add in the remaining whipped cream and fold it in.
Take your time folding the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture.

Frost the cooled cupcakes with the whipped cream cheese frosting and decorate with sprinkles! Enjoy!
If you want to pipe the cupcakes: put the frosting in a piping bag fitted with a closed star decorating tip. I use Ateco #846 but Wilton #1M will work well too.