In Honor of St. Patrick....

I'm a little Irish....little less than 1/4. Okay, technically it's Scotch Irish...it's all the same though, right?! So, in honor of my heritage...and our wonderful holiday, I present you with....

Irish Cream Cupcakes

• 1 package super moist yellow cake
• 1 (3.4 ounce) package chocolate pudding mix
• 4eggs
• 3/4 cup Irish cream (you can use any brand)...I made my own
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350degrees.
2. Sift together cake and pudding mix. Whisk in remaining ingredients until smooth. Mixture will be somewhat thick.
3. Line a cupcake pan with liners. Place the cookie part of an Oreo on the bottom of each liner. Fill liners 2/3 full of cupcake mixture.
4. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle of cupcakes comes out clean. Cool completely.

Irish Cream (if you want to make your own)

1/2 can Eagle Brand Condensed Milk

1/2 cup whipping cream

5/8 cup whiskey (or to taste)

1 1/2 teaspoons cocoa

3/4 teaspoon instant coffee

Blend in a blender

Irish Cream Icing:

• 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons (maybe more) Bailey’s Irish Cream
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
  

Mardi Gras ....

Vanilla Cupcakes.....


and King Cake Cupcakes.... :)King Cake Recipe

Ingredients

• PASTRY:
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
• 2/3 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• FILLING:
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 2/3 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• FROSTING:
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 tablespoon water

Directions

1. Scald milk, remove from heat and stir in 1/4 cup of butter. Allow mixture to cool to room temperature. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in the warm water with 1 tablespoon of the white sugar. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. When yeast mixture is bubbling, add the cooled milk mixture. Whisk in the eggs. Stir in the remaining white sugar, salt and nutmeg. Beat the flour into the milk/egg mixture 1 cup at a time. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes.
3. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 2 hours. When risen, punch down and divide dough in half.
4. To Make Filling: Combine the brown sugar, ground cinnamon, chopped pecans, 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup raisins. Pour 1/2 cup melted butter over the cinnamon mixture and mix until crumbly.
5. Rip off pieces of dough and make long strips out of them (about 2.5 inches wide). I didn't find the dough to be easy to roll so I basically just pressed it into the thin strips.
6. Spread the filling down the center of the strip.
7. Fold the top and the bottom of the strip around the filling to form a log.
8. Stretch the log out to make it as thin as as you can without it breaking.
9. Start on one end of the log and roll it until it fits snugly in a cupcake liner. Break it off, put it in the liner and continue rolling sections of the log.
10. Bake at 350 F for 20 min.