Ricotta Cookies

This month's What's Baking theme fit perfectly with the holiday season: Christmas Traditions. Like many others, my Christmas Tradition is to bake Christmas cookies. Every year I bake way too many cookies and way too many varieties, but I love cookie time! This year, I dropped a few of the tried-and-true recipes in favor of some new ones. I have eaten many ricotta cookies through the years, but I had never made them myself. So this year, I decided to add them to the list. I loved how tender and light this cookie baked up; almost cake-like. I used almond extract for that hint of cherry flavor and topped them with a simple vanilla glaze. They were delicious! 

Ricotta Cookies
Source: adapted slightly from Rachael Ray

4 and 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 sticks butter (room temperature)
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 pound (15–16 oz.) ricotta cheese
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I used almond.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Sift together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl and set aside.
Cream butter on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. 
Add sugar and continue beating until well combined.
Add eggs, ricotta, and vanilla (or almond) extract and beat well.
Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture and beat until mixed well.
Drop by teaspoons onto cookie sheets.
Bake 11 to 15 minutes until edges are golden brown. The tops will remain pale.
Cool on cookie sheets for 2 minutes and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
When completely cooled. top with glaze and sprinkles.

Simple Vanilla Glaze
2 cups powder sugar
3 tablespoons milk (or water)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix together powdered sugar, milk (or water), and vanilla extract until smooth, adding more milk (or water) or powdered sugar to reach desired consistency.

Apple Cider Cupcakes

Fall is my favorite season. I love the leaves changing colors, fresh apples, everything pumpkin, and the overall feeling of the season. Every fall we make a trip to a local orchard for honey crisp apples, apple cider, and apple cider donuts. This year, I wanted to replicate those little delicious donuts in cupcake form. The little bites of heaven taste strongly of apple cider and are covered in cinnamon-sugar. I love them, but I only allow myself to eat two a year. The only thing I don't like about donuts is that they are fried. When I eat them, the oil slick covers my tongue and leaves an unpleasant taste in my mouth. This is why I opted for cupcakes. I make a spice cake spiked with apple cider and shredded apples and dipped the tops in melted butter and cinnamon-sugar. Boy we these addicting! I loved the light, airy texture and strong apple flavor of the cake, and the cinnamon-sugar topping added a nice little crunch to each bite. 

Apple Cider Cupcakes
source: adapted from So, How's It Taste?

Cake:
1 box Spice Cake Mix
1 teaspoon cinnamon3 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup apple cider
2 apples, peeled and shredded

Topping:
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon

Preheat oven to 325  degrees, and line two cupcake pans with 24 paper cupcake liners. Shred and peel 2 apples and set aside. Mix together cake mix, cinnamon, eggs, cider, and oil in a large bowl and beat at low speed until moistened. Turn the mixer to medium speed and beat for 2 minutes. Fold in shredded apples. Fill cupcake liners about 3/4 full and bake about 18–22 minutes. Remove cupcakes from oven and transfer to a wire rack. Mix together the sugar and remaining cinnamon in a small bowl. While the cupcakes are still warm, dip the tops in the melted butter and then the cinnamon-sugar mixture.

2013 Pumpkin Beer Round-Up

My husband and I are huge fans of pumpkin beer. We try a bunch of new brews every year in search of our favorites. This year we originally set out to test 20 pumpkin brews, but that list ballooned into 29 beers. It was a tough job, but somebody had to do it! We drank three to four seasonal beers each weekend for the past few weeks to find what we think is the best. A few beers really surprised us—especially some of the more popular ones. In the end, a local brew was declared the winner, and a very popular one finished in last place.

#1: Stegmaier Pumpkin Ale - Lion Brewery, Inc. (Wilkes-Barre, PA)
Stegmaier Pumpkin Ale, the winner of the bunch, is a local brew. We are fortunate to have several decent breweries in our little valley. Stegmaier brewed this beer for the first time two years ago, but they didn't make it available to the public. We first tried it at an Oktoberfest celebration and were hooked. We couldn't wait until they bottled it. This is the perfect pumpkin ale. It tastes strongly of pumpkin and spices—especially cinnamon—that perfectly complement each other. It makes an awesome dessert when served in a cinnamon-sugar rimmed glass. This is the ultimate pumpkin pie in a glass and hands down our favorite. 

#2: Pumpkin Ale - Williamsburg AleWerks (Williamsburg, VA)
Ever since we had Williamsburg AleWerks Pumpkin Ale for the first time about two years ago, we've been on the hunt for it. We drank the last two bottles at a small local eatery and were in love. But we were out of luck. It was mid-October (which you beer lovers should know is winter brew time), and the beer was nowhere to be found in Northeast Pennsylvania. So we waited until the following year and hunted this beer to no avail. Finally two years later, we procured a case. (The only case in the whole Valley, I'll have you know!) This beer is very spicy with a slight sweetness and a mellow pumpkin flavor. It has a high alcohol content, which makes you feel warm and fuzzy. The two-year wait was worth this beer, and I'm savoring every bottle. 

#3: UFO Pumpkin - Harpoon Brewery (Boston, MA)
UFO Pumpkin has a clean, yet strong pumpkin flavor with mild spices. It smells strongly of pumpkin and light spices. We really enjoyed this one. We had a chance to try this on draft and was again wowed by the flavor of this pumpkin beer. 

#4: Whole Hog Pumpkin Ale - Stevens Point Brewery (Stevens Point, WI)

Whole Hog Pumpkin Ale smells like pumpkin pie and tastes spicy and sweet. It has a strong pumpkin flavor and was heavy on the spices, especially the cinnamon. It easily won us over. 

#5: Pumpkin Ale - Old Forge Brewing Company (Danville, PA)

Old Forge Pumpkin Ale was recommended to us by our beer guy. We bother him all the time to put beers aside for us and send him on wild goose chases for certain beers. This beer was the only pumpkin we tested in a can. It has a light pumpkin scent that was followed by notes of vanilla. It tastes similar to its smell. It is sweet and has a noticeable pumpkin flavor that is accented by vanilla and spices. It was unlike most of the other pumpkin ales we sampled. 

#6: Jack Be Nimble Pumpkin Ale - Nimble Hill Brewing Company (Mehoopany, PA)
Nimble Hill Brewing Company is another local brewery. They are only a few years old and also make some pretty decent wines at Nimble Hill Winery. We were lucky enough to try Jack Be Nimble two years in a row, and this year, we got to take home a growlette to enjoy. It has a strong pumpkin and caramel flavor that starts and finishes sweet. The spices are very light. It remains one of our favorites. 

#7: The Fear Pumpkin Ale - Flying Dog Brewery (Frederick, MD)
The Fear is very dark for an ale. It has a strong scent of spices, but it is very faint on the pumpkin. Although it was hard to detect any pumpkin flavor at all, we liked the very spicy flavor and almost creamy texture. It also has a high alcohol content. 

#8: Terrapin Pumpkinfest - Terrapin Beer Company (Athens, GA)

Terrapin Pumpkinfest was also recommended to us by our beer guy. Aside from the cute turtle on the bottle, this beer was really good. It has a mellow pumpkin flavor complemented by light spices. It also has a slight bitter finish, but is easy to drink. 

#9: Night Owl Pumpkin Ale - Elysian Brewing Company (Seattle, WA)
The label sold me on Night Owl Pumpkin Ale. Who could resist a huge owl face? This pumpkin ale is very interesting! It tastes like pumpkin seeds and spices. It is heavy on allspice and cloves and smells fantastic. While I loved this beer, however, my other half did not enjoy it at all. We agree to disagree.

#10: Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale - Shipyard Brewing Co. (Portland, ME)

Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale was one of the first pumpkin beers we tasted a few years ago when we began drinking pumpkin beers. And it used to be one of our favorites. The smell of this beer is unbelievable. It smells like pumpkin pie and is heavy on the spices. Sadly the taste has changed. We found the flavor very light, almost watered-down. We wondered what happened to this great brew. 

#11: Fegley's Devious Imperial Pumpkin - Bethlehem Brew Works (Bethlehem, PA)

We first tried Fegley's Devious Imperial Pumpkin at a beer sampling. It has a great pumpkin flavor and is heavy on the spices. It finishes slightly sweet and smells like pumpkin pie. An all-around decent pumpkin brew. 

#12: Imperial Pumpkin Ale - Weyerbacher Brewing Co. (Easton, PA)

Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale is another beer with a high alcohol content. We tend to gravitate toward and enjoy high-alcohol beers. This beer didn't disappoint. It smells awesome and tastes like a spicy pumpkin pie with lots of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. 

#13: Shock Top Pumpkin Wheat - Anheuser-Busch (St. Louis, MO)

We are huge fans of wheat beers, so Shock Top Pumpkin Wheat intrigued us. Even though it is light, we were able to detect both pumpkin and wheat flavors. It is a little light on the spices for our tastes.

#14: Pumpkin Ale - Susquehanna Brewing Company (SBC) (Pittston, PA) 

SBC is another newer local brewery. I'm sad to say their beers have not been our favorites. Last year they made a peach pumpkin berry beer that was gag-worthy. It was very bitter, and we couldn't taste any pumpkin or fruit flavors. This year, they kept it simple and brewed a normal pumpkin ale. I must say we were pleasantly surprised. The beer has a deep pumpkin flavor and is slightly sweet. It is not as bitter as their other beers. Our only complaint is the lack of spices.

#15: Saranac Pumpkin Ale - Matt Brewing Company (Utica, NY)

Saranac Pumpkin Ale has a light pumpkin flavor, mild spices, and a hint of vanilla. We enjoyed the pumpkin flavor and sweetness of this beer. Although it lacked spices, its sweet finish made up for it.

#16: Captain Pumpkin's Maple Mistress Ale - Saucony Creek Brewing Company (Kutztown, PA)

Maple Mistress was another beer that we were very excited to try, but we were quickly disappointed. It is very dark when poured and smells like pancakes. We didn't taste any pumpkin or spices. The beer tastes sickly sweet, like drinking maple syrup. It also has a high alcohol content, which makes it feel hot going down. 

#17: Ubu Pumpkin Ale - Lake Placid Craft Brewing Company (Lake Placid, NY)

I really wanted to enjoy Lake Placid Ubu Pumpkin Ale since it had received rave reviews. It is very dark like a porter with flavors of coffee and spices. We didn't detect any pumpkin at all. It tasted more like an Oktoberfest porter and has a slight bitter finish. 

#18: Country Pumpkin - Ithaca Beer Company (Ithaca, NY)

Ithaca Country Pumpkin has no wow factor whatsoever. It is very light and does not taste like pumpkin or spices. It is nothing special. 

#19: Harvest Pumpkin Ale - Samuel Adams (Boston, MA)

While Sam Adams Harvest Pumpkin Ale isn't a bad beer, it isn't very flavorful or memorable. We didn't taste or smell any pumpkin or spices. 

#20: Boxcar Pumpkin Porter - Starr Hill Brewery (Crozet, VA)

We love porters, so we were excited to try Boxcar Pumpkin Porter. It has a dark, rich color but sadly this beer tastes flat. We did not detect any pumpkin, and the spices are very faint. 

#21: Potbelly Pumpkin Ale - Breaker Brewing Company (Wilkes-Barre, PA)
Potbelly is from another local brewery. We love these guys, and their tasting room is always a lot of fun. I really wish I liked their beers more, though. Like many of their offerings, this pumpkin ale is a tad bitter. While the pumpkin flavor and spice factor are pretty decent, we didn't enjoy the bitter aftertaste.

#22: Pumpkin Lager - Lakefront Brewery, Inc. (Milwaukee, WI)
Lakefront Pumpkin Lager smells like pumpkin pie, but then the scent fades. The pumpkin taste is pretty much nonexistent. The spices seemed to fade with each sip as did our interest in this beer.

#23: Johnny Rails Pumpkin Ale - Erie Brewing Company (Erie, PA)

At first we really liked the intense pumpkin flavor and smell of Johnny Rails. It also has a hint of spices. The more we drank it, however, the more it tasted like the smell of the inside of a pumpkin (pumpkin guts, gross!). 

#24: Pumpkin Ale - Long Trail Brewing Co. (Bridgewater Corners, VT)

Long Trail Pumpkin Ale is not very sweet and finishes with a slight bitterness. It is light and has more of a caramel flavor than pumpkin. The spices are also light. It is nothing special. 

#25: Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale - Smuttynose Brewing Company (Portsmouth, NH)

We loved the name of Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale and really wanted to love it. But we just didn't. We don't like bitter beers or IPAs. We try and try, but they just don't do it for us. This beer is light and bitter, and we did not detect any pumpkin. I think the bitterness really turned us off. 

#26: Jack-O Traveler Pumpkin Shandy - Traveler Beer Company (Burlington, VT)
Jack-O Traveler came highly recommended to us by one of our favorite waitresses at a local pizza place.The first sip tasted of pumpkin and cinnamon and something else that I could not quite put my finger on. After the next few sips, I figured out the taste: cola. The beer tasted less and less like pumpkin and more like terribly sweet cola by the end of the glass. It was very off-putting and made the beer very unenjoyable.

#27: Pumpkin Ale - Southampton Publick House (Southampton, NY)

Southampton Pumpkin Ale tastes of pumpkin and bitter cinnamon. It smells much better than it tastes. The beer is very thin, and its flavor is flat and odd. 

#28: Pumple Drumkin Spiced Ale - Cisco Brewers Inc. (Nantucket, ME)

Pumple Drumkin is another beer with a cute label. But don't let the cute little pumpkin man fool you. This beer is all-around bad. It is sour, bitter, and leaves a bad aftertaste. It reminds me more of a really awful Oktoberfest than a pumpkin ale. Where's the pumpkin Drumkin? 

#29: Pumking - Southern Tier Brewing Company (Lakewood, NY)
Pumking was the first pumpkin beer we sampled this year. We missed out last year on this popular brew. As soon as we opened it and got a whiff, our excitement dissipated. The smell is sickly sweet. It is way too sweet and hard to drink. It tastes like candy corn and pie crust mashed together. Out of all the beers we tried, we sadly dumped this beer down the drain. Sorry Southern Tier! 

Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes

One of my friends celebrated a big birthday recently, and I made her cupcakes to celebrate. I wanted them to be special, exciting, and delicious. She likes chocolate and raspberry, so I decided on a vegan chocolate cupcake stuffed with chocolate raspberry ganache and topped with raspberry buttercream. I also wanted them to look super girly and pretty, so I decorated them with pink edible pearls and sparkling white sanding sugar and baked them in zebra-striped cupcake liners. These cupcakes were rich and sweet. The bittersweet ganache in the center was a nice surprise and a perfect complement to the sweet raspberry buttercream.

Chocolate Cupcakes
adapted from Martha Stewart Cupcakes
(makes 12 cupcakes)

1 and 1/2 cups cake flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa (unsweetened)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 and 1/4 cups water 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a cupcake tin with 12 paper cupcake liners. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt and set aside. In another bowl, beat together oil, vinegar, vanilla, and water with a hand mixer on medium-high speed. Add flour mixture and beat until smooth on low speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Fill cupcake liners about 3/4 full and bake about 20–25 minutes.

Chocolate Raspberry Ganache
adapted from Smitten Kitchen

4 oz. chopped chocolate or chocolate chips
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon butter (room temperature)
2 tablespoons seedless raspberry preserves

Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set aside. Simmer the heavy cream in a small saucepan until hot and simmering. Pour hot cream over the chocolate and let sit for one minute. Stir until silky and smooth. Add butter and raspberry preserves and stir until combined. Let cool for a few minutes.

Raspberry Buttercream
2 sticks salted butter (room temperature) 
3 - 4 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons seedless raspberry preserves
1 - 2 tablespoons water or milk (or any other liquid)

Beat the butter on high speed for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Turn mixer to low-medium speed and add powdered sugar one cup at a time. Add raspberry preserves and water, until desired consistency is reached. Beat well.

Chocolate Salted Caramel Cupcakes

This month's What's Baking theme is Back to School. At first I was unsure what to think until the theme was further explained. We were asked to make our favorite childhood treats with a modern twist. I racked my brain and remembered that one of my favorite childhood treats was chocolate cupcakes. There is just something about a chocolate cupcake that brings me back to when I was a child. My twist on chocolate cupcakes was to top them with a very adult salted caramel buttercream. Salted caramel is all the rage right now, and it has swept me off my feet! I can't get enough of it. 

Chocolate Salted Caramel Cupcakes
Source: Hershey's 
(I halved this recipe to make minis.)

2 cups sugar 
1 and 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 
1 teaspoon salt 
2  eggs 
1 cup milk 
1/2 cup vegetable oil 
2 teaspoons vanilla extract 
1 cup boiling water 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a mini cupcake tin with 24 cupcake liners. 
Sift together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl. 
Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. 
Carefully stir in boiling water and fill cupcake liners about 3/4 full.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Salted Caramel Buttercream
2 sticks butter, room temperature
4 - 6 cups powdered sugar
1/4 caramel sauce (homemade or store bought)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon salt
2 - 4 tablespoons water

Cream the butter on high speed for about 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time and mix on low. Add caramel, vanilla, salt, and water one tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached. Beat well.

Coconut Raspberry Cupcakes

I've been on a coconut kick. While there is nothing wrong with that in my opinion, I'm not fully to blame. You see everyone keeps requesting coconut. Who I am to deny a request? Especially when it's for one of my favorite flavors (and for my favorite person!). My husband and I have transformed our bodies over the past two years with diet and exercise. Because of this, I have been baking much less. For his birthday, he decided he didn't want cake. I know, right? He's crazy! So I didn't plan on making him a cake like I normally do. Well at the last second, my husband broke down and asked me to make him coconut cupcakes for his birthday. I obliged, but I didn't have many ingredients on hand. I found some shredded coconut and raspberry jam in the pantry and came up with raspberry-filled vanilla cupcakes with coconut buttercream. These were sweet and fruity and devoured by the birthday boy! 

Coconut Raspberry Cupcakes
Vanilla Cupcakes
1/2 cup seedless raspberry preserves
Coconut Buttercream
1/2 shredded coconut (optional)

After the cupcakes have cooled, fill them with the seedless raspberry preserves, using the cone method. Then top with a swirl of coconut buttercream and some shredded coconut if desired.

Chicken & Waffles with Spicy Maple Drizzle

I never had chicken and waffles until I met my husband. I know it's a Southern dish typically made with crispy fried chicken, but here in the Northeast, it's made with shredded chicken in a cream sauce. I wasn't a fan of the creamy kind and wrote off chicken and waffles—that was until I had the real deal at a pop-up dinner that I attended. (Read about Pop-Up dining here. It's an amazing experience.) This version, which included a popcorn dusted chicken thigh on top of a cornmeal waffle with a drizzle of jalapeno syrup, was the perfect combination of salty, sweet, and spicy. I couldn't stop thinking about the dish afterward, so I decided to recreate it. While it wasn't as good as the original dish, it satisfied my chicken and waffles craving.

Chicken & Waffles with Spicy Maple Drizzle
Inspired by Peculiar Culinary Company

Breaded Chicken
3 chicken breasts, sliced in half
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
2 eggs
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together bread crumbs, panko bread crumbs, salt, and pepper and place on a plate. Whisk the eggs together in a bowl. Dip chicken into the bread crumbs, then the egg mixture, and again into the bread crumbs. Place chicken in a greased baking dish and bake for 30 minutes.

Belgium Waffle
Bake your favorite waffle, using a waffle iron. I used a box mix, but you can make your favorite waffle recipe. This one from Alton Brown is really tasty! 

Spicy Maple Drizzle
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Whisk all ingredients together in a small saucepan over low heat until syrup is warm. Drizzle on top of chicken and waffles and enjoy!

Coconut Creme Cupcakes

If you already didn't know, I love coconut. It's my favorite flavor. I think you either hate it or love it. Many don't like it because of its texture. I love the flavor and the texture, and I tend to gravitate toward coconut-flavored treats. I made these coconut creme cupcakes for my coconut-loving friend's birthday, and they were well received—even by the self-proclaimed coconut-hating partygoers. I stuffed chocolate and vanilla cupcakes with coconut pudding and topped them with coconut buttercream and then dipped the tops in shredded coconut. They are a coconut-lovers dream!




Coconut Creme Cupcakes
Vanilla Cupcakes (makes 1 dozen)
Chocolate Cupcakes  (makes 1 dozen)
1 cup shredded coconut

While the cupcakes are baking, make the coconut creme filling.

Coconut Creme Filling
1 package coconut cream Jell-O pudding
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon coconut extract

Whisk together all ingredients and chill for one hour. 

Coconut Buttercream

2 sticks butter, room temperature

4 - 6 cups powdered sugar
1 and 1/2 teaspoons coconut extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 - 4 tablespoons water

Cream the butter until light and fluffy. Add coconut and vanilla extracts and beat well. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time and water until desired consistency is reached. Beat well.

Assembly
After the cupcakes are cooled, remove the centers of each cupcake using the cone method. Fill the centers with coconut creme filling and then top with coconut buttercream. Dip each top in shredded coconut and enjoy!

French Dip Sandwiches

I love Pinterest, but I am weary when it comes to recipes from the site. I've had a few flops along the way. Sure, I pin a ton of recipes that I want to try, but I usually read the comments and reviews before I give them a whirl. Boy was I happy that I gave this one a try. I was hesitant because of how salty dry onion soup mix could be, but everything turned out great! The roast beef for these French dip sandwiches was tender and succulent while the au jus was beefy and not too salty. 

French Dip Sandwiches
Source: Fat Girl Trapped in a Skinny Body via Pinterest

4 pounds boneless beef chuck roast (or sirloin roast, tri tip, brisket, rump roast, etc.)

2 envelopes dry onion soup mix
3 cups beef stock
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
10–12 rolls
5–6 slices provolone cheese (optional)

Whisk together onion soup mix, beef stock, and pepper. Pour a little of the liquid on the bottom of the slow cooker and place the roast on top. Pour the rest of the mixture on top of roast.

Cook on low for 6–8 hours or until meat is tender.

Remove meat from slow cooker and shred with two forks on a cutting board. Strain the liquid left in the slow cooker with a fine mesh strainer and discard any chunks. Add about 1/2 cup of the liquid to the shredded beef to keep it moist and reserve the rest.

Preheat broiler. Place shredded beef on rolls and top with 1/2 slice Provolone cheese. Place in broiler until cheese is melted and buns are toasted. Serve with au jus on side for dipping.

What's Baking: Bake Your Favorite Cocktail

July was my month to host the What's Baking challenge for my monthly blogging group.
I chose Bake Your Favorite Cocktail because who doesn't love a nice cold cocktail in the summer? I asked the group to transform their favorite drink into a baked treat.
They came up with some great ideas, so have a look and enjoy! 

Eva from Eva Bakes made White Russian Cupcakes

Nicole from Seven Ate Nine made Guinness Cupcakes

Kate from Kate's Recipe Box made Rum & Coke Cookies

Amanda from Our Italian Kitchen made Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes 

Catherine from Pursuing Domestic Goddess-ness made St Germaine Cookies

Steph from Brownies and Blondies made Creamsicle Bundt Cake

And I made Strawberry Colada Cupcakes