Nutella Buttercream Frosting

i made the mistake (on purpose ;0p) of purchasing nutella from costco a few weeks ago. and when i finally realized that there was no way i was going to be able to stop myself from continuing to dip a spoon into the jar over and over and over again, i knew i needed to start getting creative and use those jars up.

i started by making homemade nutella filled croissants and sent a bunch home with my mom. they were super easy to make and only took about 20 minutes to bake. you simply buy a few sheets of puff pastry, roll out the dough and cut it into triangles, spread some nutella on the rolled out dough and then roll them up into croissants. swipe an egg wash over them and pop them in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until they're golden brown. they were good, but nothing to write home about.

and then i started perusing pinterest, which is dangerous enough by itself, but if you type into the search bar "nutella recipes," life as you know it is over. so many crazy, amazing, delicious, fattening recipes to try!!!!

i settled on the nutella buttercream frosting because, well, it's my birthday next week, and cupcakes are always a good idea. so, i baked up a batch of confetti cupcakes (i used a box which i almost never do) and then whipped up a batch of the nutella buttercream. mind blown. or as my husband said after eating one and then two and then three: "those aren't going to last long." (lay off my birthday cupcakes husband! ;0p)

this frosting is so freaking good. i honestly don't think i'll make any other kind again. everything goes with nutella right?

Nutella Buttercream Frosting

1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup nutella
1 tsp vanilla
2-3 cups powdered sugar

in a medium size bowl, combine butter, nutella, vanilla and about 1 1/2 cups of the powdered sugar. mix well. sample and continue to add about 1/2 cup of powdered sugar at a time until you reach the desired consistency and taste. i think i ended up using about 2 1/2 cups of powdered sugar.

Magnolia Bakery Cupcakes

who has been watching the olympics?? while the 2014 winter olympics have been surrounded in contraversy...i can't help but get sucked in. the opening ceremony was pretty great (minus a malfunction or two) and there's something about athletes from all around the world coming together to compete in healthy sporting events, when the world can, at times, appear to be a little crazy.

we watched the opening ceremony with some friends this past friday, and i decided to get a little festive and make some team usa cupcakes. and, what better cupcake to make than magnolia bakery cupcakes?

for those of you who live under a rock, magnolia bakery is a cupcake bakery in nyc made famous by a little show called sex and the city starring sarah jessica parker. my girlfriend's and i, after a night out on the town, or sometimes to start the night out, or simply just because, used to venture into the city, new york city that is, and snatch up the world's best cupcakes from magnolia. it's one of the things i miss the most about living in nyc.

so you bet my pregnant little heart that when i found the recipe for magnolia bakery cupcakes from their  the magnolia bakery cookbook, i was determined to find an excuse to make these. you, however, don't need an excuse to go make these. i mean they are magnolia bakery cupcakes. winter olympics or not, these need to be made. do it.  

Magnolia Bakery Vanilla Cake with ButterCream Frosting
1c unsalted butter, softened
2 c sugar
4 large eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 c self rising flour
1 1/4 c all purpose flour
1 c Vitamin D milk
1tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350F.

Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake wrappers.

Cream butter until smooth and gradually add sugar. Beat until fluffy. Next, add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Combine flours and add to mixer in four parts, alternating with milk and vanilla.

Bake 20 – 25 minutes, until cake tester comes out clean. Cool completely on wire rack.

Magnolia Bakery Buttercream Frosting

1 c unsalted butter, softened
8 c confectioner’s sugar
1/2 c Vitamin D milk
1tsp vanilla
Your favorite food coloring (optional!)

Place butter, milk, vanilla and 4c confectioner’s sugar in mixer and beat until smooth and creamy.

Add remaining confectioner’s sugar 1c at a time, until frosting has reached a spreadable consistency.
Add food coloring if desired.

Depending on the level of cupcake to frosting ration you like to use (I like lots of frosting to my cupcakes ;0p) you may (or may not) have frosting leftover. This will store for up to three days in an airtight container or one month in the freezer.

For more Magnolia Bakery yumminess check out The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook: Old Fashioned Recipes from New York’s Sweetest Bakery.

Smitten Kitchen's Carrot Cake Cupcakes

i am learning that when it comes to desserts, my husband likes two things...no LOVES two things. cookies and carrot cake. if i can find a way to turn carrot cake into a cookie, i think he might marry me all over again. i'm working on it ;0)

i had some spare time on my hands this past weekend (read: it was Sunday, which meant husband was watching football) and we had all the ingredients on hand for carrot cake (thanks CSA basket and your never ending supply of carrots) so i whipped up a batch of carrot cake cupcakes for husband to take to work with him (so i didn't eat them all myself).

they were delicious. but of course they were because i used the recipe from smitten kitchen, and well everything i make from her is mouth wateringly good. i skipped out on the nuts and raisins (i'm not a big fan of nuts or dried fruit in my desserts) and made a simple cream cheese frosting instead of the maple cream cheese frosting (only because i think cream cheese frosting is sweet enough on its own).

husband came home with rave reviews from his co-workers (score one for the home team!) and i may or may not have scored a back massage out of the deal. :)

head on over to smitten kitchen for the recipe!

Get Your Irish on!

So I was going to try and be all on top of it, and post a bunch of recipes in honor of St. Paddy’s day on Sunday. 

But I wasn’t so on top of it. 

So I didn’t. 

Woops. 

Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

I have a secret to share. 

I love cupcakes. Like, really really really love cupcakes. 

I loved cupcakes before it was cool to love cupcakes.