homemade magnolia cupcakes and the muffin man!

magnolia bakery in new york has the best cupcakes i've ever tasted...and i get to eat them once or twice a year. as it so happens, i was in ny for less than 24 hours a few days ago, and was sad because i couldn't remember the exact location of magnolia, and my Not For Tourists little booklet (which contains everything) didn't have the listing.

turns out, according to their website, there are now three locations - soon to be a fourth. and i missed all of them. sad.

but not all that sad, because my aunt and uncle happen to own the magnolia bakery cookbook. and, a few weeks ago, my cousin, jenny, made some and sent some down to me via some other cousins. and they were awesome - just like the bakery.

and so...(you can see where this is going) since i missed the actual magnolia, and happened to be spending the night at said aunt/uncle/cousin household...i made them. and, while i don't have the recipe to re-post here, i can tell you that healthy cupcakes these are not: lots o butter and lots o sugar. in short, these were my last big holiday treat.

you see before you one of the trays of cupcakes right before they went into the oven. the liners were picked out by jenny, btw.

and here they are, puffed up, after the oven.

but, everyone knows the real star of magnolia cupcakes is actually the icing. its butter, a bit of milk, and a million cups of powdered sugar. here we are halfway in AKA 6 cups. i lied about the million.

look - its turning pink!

as for frosting the things, i was told magnolia does not use a piping bag, and so i did not, either. sugar coma / bad flash heaven.

and, finally, i salute my uncle emy, who wants to be known here as 'the muffin man.' he's been on a muffin kick lately (everything from blueberry to weird muffins like pizza), and is a muffin-baking fool. as i made my coma cupcakes, he made some healthy oatmeal apple raisin muffins. and he wants everyone to know they were indeed healthy, and contained no butter. here they are, in all their glory.

thank you and please have a nice day.

toasted coconut cupcakes with buttercream frosting!

i haven't posted in a few days, and this post is still kind of a cheater post. this is because i've spent the last few nights helping out with auditions and call-backs of a play (and so dinners have been things like peanut-butter sandwiches and frozen things. there may even have been a 'tater tots at midnight' episode that won't be mentioned again.), and lunches and breakfasts have been things i've posted before or things i'm embarrassed to post or that i'm sure will be of interest to no one.

however, i will be cooking tonight.

and, i found a couple old pics of a fun dessert, so i thought i'd share.

this, my friends, is from a fun little cookbook that i got as a gift: vegan cupcakes take over the world: 75 dairy free recipes for cupcakes that rule. let me first say that this little cupcake cookbook is awesome. its square and small and cute and i've probably made five recipes out of it so far and each has been amazing and in no way could one tell that they were vegan. it was so awesome that i ordered the next in the series and i'm expecting it in the mail any day now. plus, anyone who knows me can attest to the fact that i'm a cookie girl, anyhow.

but i digress.

i give you, two somewhat-crappy-flash photos of: toasted coconut cupcakes with buttercream frosting! they are awesome and they are vegan - which is a bonus if you care about such things, and don't taste different from a non-vegan cupcake if you don't! here is an aerial view:

and here is a side view.

and, as a bonus, (click here) to get a view of the recipe, which another blogger has decided to post.

and, i must take a small opportunity to say...

happy veteran's day, everyone!

to everyone who is currently/or has served in the military - we are honored, proud, and in debt to your service. we respect you and thank you. i would give you all cupcakes, at the very least, if i could. and, to those of you who are unable to serve in the military because of your sexual preference, i protest that ignorant law as long as it stands. in the meantime - come have a cupcake with me, too.