An award, just for me?! Thanks Lisa!

Lisa from Cranberry Flats was given this award, and she so deserved it! Congratulations Lisa! She definitely made my day! I am extremely happy. Thank you! Of course, here are the rules...

*Put the logo on your blog.

*Add a link to the person who awarded you.

*Nominate at least seven other blogs.

*Add links to those blogs on your blog.

*Leave a message for your nominee on their blogs.

There are so many blogs that I read everyday, it is hard to choose!! So, here goes!

Megan's cookin

Cilantro and Lime

Cooking with the Kids

The Baking Beauties

My Baking Adventures

Well, that is only 5. Oh well! :)

CH July-Blueberry Lemon Cupcakes with Raspberry Cream Cheese frosting!

For the month of July, Clara from I Heart Cuppycakes and Nikki of Crazy Delicious Food are hosting this month's challenge. Get this..Red, White and Blue. I had an idea of what I wanted to do, so this is what I came up with. I have made this cupcake batter before except that I used lime instead of lemon and this time I folded in the blueberries. Now, if you look really hard at the frosting, you will see red specks from the raspberries, instead of just pink.

Now, confession time. I really like this cupcake. I use it again and again. But, in my crazy head, sometimes, I tend to skip a few steps or add something....like using 2 sticks of butter instead of just 1. And only realizing this after they are baked and are like a muffin with melted butter. Don't get me wrong...I love that. If I eat a muffin, it has to be loaded with all that fatty butter, but...not really what I was going for in the cupcake. So, I just pretended that there was the only 1 stick and it was the fluffy batter that I love.

And let me just go on to say that I LOVE this frosting! You have the tartness from the cream cheese with the sweetness from the raspberries. I could have stuck my face in the bowl and licked the bowl clean! :)

Blueberry Lemon Cupcakes:
1/2 Cup unsalted butter, softened
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 Cup sugar
2 eggs, room temp
3/4 Cup self-rising flour
1/2 Cup plus 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
4-5 Tbsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 Cup Blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream butter and zest in the bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed until butter is smooth. Gradually add sugar and continue beating until fluffy. Add the eggs 1 at a time, scraping the bowl and beating until smooth after each addition.-Squeeze the lemon directly into a liquid measuring cup. Add enough milk to total 1/2 cup of liquid, whisk to combine.

In a medium bowl, whisk flours together to combine.-Add the flour mixture to the batter in four parts, alternating with thirds of the milk mixture and beating after each addition until incorporated. Add in the vanilla. Fold in the blueberries.

Divide batter among the 12 cups of a lined standard cupcake pan. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until cupcakes are just starting to turn brown and toothpick comes out clean. Remove cupcakes from pan and let cool completely.

Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting:
3 oz cream cheese, room temp
1 pint of raspberries
2 lb bag of powdered sugar
1 tbsp vanilla
pinch of salt

Cream together cream cheese and raspberries. I just put the whole berries in the mixer with a whisk attachment and creamed the 2 ingredients together. Add the vanilla and salt. Start adding the powdered sugar until you get the consistency that you want. You may not use the whole back of powdered sugar.

Baking with Abby

This is Abby, my 8 year old daughter, who loves to be in the kitchen. She also named my blog, after her, of course! The other day I was checking out my daily blogs and Jeanine from The Baking Beauties mentioned that through the Summer, her daughter Abby would be doing segments on Mondays. I really liked this idea and thought I would "borrow" her idea and do the same. The plan is, for each week, I will let one my kids choose a recipe and will post on Mondays. This week was Abby, next will be Blake and the following Shane. I may have a problem with Shane, as he is 13 and spends most of his free time with the lady friend that lives behind us. But, hopefully, he will play along as well. Another kid inspired blog is Cooking with the Kids, hosted by Sabrina and Alex, this brother-sister duo cooks up some great things! Everyday, I am shocked of what they come up with! Now back to Abby.


Abby chose a recipe from the Pink Princess Cookbook by Barbara Beery, Ice Cream Sandwiches made with rice krispie treats. Abby loves this book, and if you have a daughter, she would love it too! Even if you don't have a daughter, you ladies will love it! It is one of my favorites. It brings out the little girl in me. :)
First, Abby sprayed the inside of a large pot with nonstick cooking spray and put in the butter and marshmallows to start melting. Stirring as they melted to combine to 2 ingredients. Then you mix in the rice krispie treats, and a few pink bunny sprinkles to add that pink girly touch.



The finished product!


Abby was excited about how they turned out, and so were her brothers!



Rice Krispie Treat Ice Cream Sandwiches



1/4 cup butter or margarine (do not use soft-spread margarine)

1 (10 oz) bag marshmallows

1 tsp vanilla

6 cups rice krispie cereal

1/2 cup decorating sprinkles (optional)



Ice cream



Spray a large saucepan with nonstick cooking spray. Melt butter or margarine with marshmallows in pan, stirring often. Stir in vanilla. Add cereal and remove from heat.



Stir together until a large ball begins to form. Add decorating sprinkles, if desired.



Scoop mix into a 9x13 inch pan that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Flatten; then chill in the refrigerator for 10 -15 minutes. Removed from refrigerator and cut into 2 inch squares. (A trick that we discovered was to let the mixture cool for a few minutes in the pan, and then use your hands to flatten it.)



Put a small scoop of ice cream on top of one square and top with another square. Trim off extra ice cream so it is square. Press together and eat right away, or place in freezer until ready to serve.

Who is the Cupcake Hero, melon edition.....

I know that it is almost the middle of July, and the July's theme for Cupcake Hero has been announced, and I am just now getting to the winner of June's Cupcake Hero challenge, but to my own defense, you cupcakers out there really know how to rise up to the challenge and I have been baking and test tasting, baking and test tasting...you get the picture, right?

I had been wanting to make cupcakes using cantaloupe, but just really couldn't think of how to,(it is not like melon is a common used ingredient) so when Laurie and the CH staff decided to take the Summer off and was asking for volunteers to host, I thought that this would be a great way to see what variations you guys would come up with. You guys really put on your cupcake creativity and brought it! A HUGE Thank you to those who participate!

With that said, let the Melon round up begin...

First we have the Summer Cantelope Cupcake from Mary at Shazam in the Kitchen. Not liking melon at all, Mary remember a cantaloupe salad that she had tried for inspiration. Thanks Mary!

Next, we have Melon Yoghurt Honey Mint Cakes from Tammy at Wee Treats by Tammy. Again, not a melon lover and the fact that it is the middle of winter where she it, but rose to the challenge using a smoothie as her cupcake creation!

Clara from I heart Cuppycakes, skipped the whole melon all together and went straight to the melon booze for her cuppycake. May I present to you the Midori Melon Mojito Cupcakes. BTW, she is having a giveaway on her blog, go and check it out!

Here we have the Heroism cupcake from Funky at The Meatless Chulent. She went straight to the watermelon for her melon of choice. Complete with chocolate chip "seeds".

Tommi from Brown Interior created the Melon cupcake. Simple and refreshing. Thanks Tommi.

How about a Rock my Melon cupcake from Minko at Couture Cupcake? Why not! Topped with a lemon frosting, tastes like summer!

Now, this one was a learning experience for me a Honey melon cupcake with a quark cream filling with a lemon honey melon glaze. I first that that quark was a fruit that I had never heard of! Yes, you can laugh with me! This is from Laura at The Dessert nook.

Next up from Janna at Honeyed Hashette, she created a Coconut Cream cupcake with a canteloupe buttercream.

Mary Ann from Meet me in the Kitchen, invited me into her kitchen for Watermelon-Lime cupcakes with lime curd and white chocolate mousse.

Sophie from Flour Arrangements created, summer in a cupcake, Watermelon Cocktail Cupcakes with Cherry Vanilla Frosting.

Roy from It Ought to be Enjoyed baked up Cinnamon cupcakes with Canteloupe Buttercream.

Thanks!

Here we have the cupcake creation from Mara from Lick the Spatula. This chick not only used 1 type of melon, but 3 for her Triple Melon Cupcakes.

Now, Robert from Amicus Cupcake, got a little cantaloupe happy, and made me 2 different cupcakes! First we have Cantaloupe Cupcakes filled with cantaloupe curd and topped with salted caramel frosting with candied prosciutto and below is the Cantaloupe and Matcha Cupcakes with a Cantaloupe and Matcha Swiss Meringue Butter Cream frosting. I wasn't sure about the candied prosciutto, but surprisingly like it! You never know when you will learn something new! Thanks, Robert!
Are you still with me? I still have a few more to show you!

How about a blueberry cupcake with honey dew cream cheese frosting? That is what I got from Erin with Sweets and Eats. Made with her homemade vanilla!

Amanda from DelightfulLea Sweet, came up with Summer Cakes. That is exactly what these are Summer in a cupcake form!

Thayer from I like Cake baked up a Cantaloupe Cupcake with a honey melon buttercream! Thanks Thayer!

Jamieanne from The Cupcake Review concocted a Watermelon cupcake. This little cupcake looks like a slice of that sweet fruit!
Finally, Suzy Q-zy from Feeds an Obsession came up with a Blueberry cupcake with a Cantaloupe Cream cheese frosting.

Wow! A total of 21 entries, this went way over what I expected! Picking a winner was really hard, I don't know how the CH staff do it each month! Now, on to the winner....

The Cupcake Hero for June is... Janna from Honeyed Hashette with her Coconut Cream cupcakes with Cantaloupe Buttercream! I will let Laurie and the CH staff know.

Baking Beauties Bingo Package..

Wow! Say that 3 times fast! Ok, so I am such a slacker! I should have posted about this weeks ago! A little while back, I played Baking Beauties Bingo which was hosted by the lovely beauties themselves, Dawn and Jeanine. This lasted for 4 weeks, the first 3 weeks you had to get bingo in a certain form, and the 4th week was the blackout board week. Surprisingly, I won that week, so, I received 2 prizes. One from Dawn and one from Jeanine. So, Thank you girls for putting up a wonderful event! I hope that you do it again! And Thanks for the wonderful prizes. And, please, pretty please forgive me for taking so long to post about it!

First, here is the flirty apron that Jeanine made. I hate pics of myself, but the good thing about this is, I am now 10 pounds lighter!! And, I absolutely LOVE this apron!!!

This is what came in the box with the apron, 2 potholders, and little notebook that was hand embellished and the thing (not sure what it is called) that you put plastic bags in. I guess it would be called a plastic bag holder. :)

In my second box, there were recipe cards, flavored teas, 3 handmade cards (that I just can't bear to give away because they are precious!) A magnet notepad, a recipe book that was handmade, cake tester and mini spatulas. I think that was it! Thank you girls so much!!

Cookie Carnival-Blackberry Almond Bars

For this month's Cookie Carnival, Kate chose Blackberry Almond Bars. I was super excited about this recipe, well, because anything with blackberries, I will eat it. Now, last night, I had a co-baker with me in my kitchen, Charlotte at Taylor Loves Chocolate. Charlotte is a newbie to the blog world, and is a newbie in the baking kitchen as well, so go and check her out. Taylor is my niece and Charlotte has been in the family for about 3 years, and hopefully someday will make it official as my SIL (hint, hint to my brother!)ok, so now back to these bars!

First, you puree the blackberries and strain them to get the seeds out, then you make them into a curd. Make an almond based shortbread crust, bake it, then top with the curd and bake some more, top with powdered sugar when cooled. These will definitely be made again and again! Love them! What are you waiting for, go and try them for yourself!

BLACKBERRY ALMOND BARS
(williams-sonoma)

INGREDIENTS:
For the shortbread:
* 12 Tbs. (1 1/2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 cup ground toasted almonds
* 1/2 cup granulated sugar
* 1/2 tsp. salt

For the blackberry curd:
* 2 pints blackberries
* 4 eggs
* 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
* Pinch of salt
* 1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
* 4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room
temperature, cut into 1-inch pieces

Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat an oven to 350°F. Lightly butter a 9-by-13-by-2-inch cake pan.
To make the shortbread, in the bowl of a food processor, combine the butter, flour, almonds, granulated sugar and salt and process until small lumps form. Sprinkle the mixture into the prepared pan and press evenly into the bottom. Bake until the shortbread is golden, about 20 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack. Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F.

Meanwhile, make the blackberry curd: In a food processor or blender, puree the blackberries until smooth. Pass the puree through a chinois set over a bowl, using a pestle to press on the solids and extract as much juice as possible; discard the solids. You should have about 3/4 cup juice.

In the top pan of a double boiler or in a nonreactive saucepan, whisk together the eggs and granulated sugar until blended. Then whisk in the blackberry juice, salt and lemon juice. Set the top pan over but not touching simmering water in the bottom pan, or set the saucepan over medium-low heat. (If using a saucepan, take care not to heat the mixture too quickly.) Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spatula or spoon, until the mixture is warmed through, 1 to 2 minutes.

Begin adding the butter a little at a time, stirring each addition until blended before adding more. Continue cooking, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom of the pan, until a finger drawn across the back of the spatula leaves a path, 8 to 10 minutes more. Immediately remove the pan from the heat. Pass the curd through the chinois set over a bowl and let stand for 10 minutes. Whisk to blend, then pour the curd over the shortbread, spreading it evenly to the edges.
Bake until the curd is set, about 30 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely. Cut into individual bars, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Dust the bars with confectioners’ sugar before serving.
Makes 20 bars.

Peaches from the Farmer's Market

We have a new Farmer's Market here in Knoxville on Thursday evenings. So, I loaded up the kids and went this past Thursday. The only thing that I bought were these peaches, so what do you do when you have a bag full of peaches? Make jam of course! I love to make jam, there is just something about the fact that you use fresh fruit, sugar and a couple of other ingredients, cook it down for about 20 minutes, put it into some jars and let it cool. When you open up the jar, you have thick jam. The only addition to my normal go to recipe was that I added half of a scraped vanilla bean, so you have those lovely little specks throughout the jam. I also have a little trick to get my jars to seal, when you fill the jars with your jam, put the lids on tight and flip them up side down on their lids to cool. Once cooled, flip them back over and the lids should be sealed. This is easier to me than sticking the whole jar down into boiling water.

Peach-Vanilla Bean Jam

2 pounds peaches, peeled, and cubed

5 cups sugar

2 Tbsp vinegar

1 pinch of salt

1/2 vanilla bean, scraped

Combine all ingredients into a large pot and bring to a rolling boil. Stirring frequently, continue boiling for about 15-20 minutes or until your candy thermometer reaches 220 degrees F. Transfer to your canning jars and cool. This recipe made 10 of the small jars that I used.