Happy winter! I live in Wisconsin and find the months of January through March to be the most depressing time of year. The holidays are over. Summer is still months and months away. There’s really not much to look forward to except the Super Bowl (I’m a football nut!). One of the few things I love about January is getting to open and begin new calendars. This year I have a Hello, Cupcake! calendar and these adorable polar bear cupcakes were featured this month. Holy cute, right? Here’s how I made them:

Polar Bear Cupcakes
Inspired by What’s New, Cupcake?
Print Recipe

12 vanilla cupcakes baked in white paper liners (I used a box vanilla cake mix)
1 can vanilla frosting
1/2 can chocolate frosting (or you can tint some of the vanilla frosting black, as I did)
12 plain donut holes
1 cup flaked, sweetened coconut
60 white spice drops (less if you are making fewer than 12 cupcakes)
24 frosted Cheerios
12 brown mini-M&Ms

1. Spoon 1/2 cup of the vanilla frosting into a ziploc bag. Spoon the chocolate frosting into a ziploc bag. Press out the excess air and seal the bags. Spread the top of the cupcakes with some of the remaining vanilla frosting, mounding it slightly. Place a donut hole close to one edge of each frosted cupcake. Place the cupcakes in the freezer until firm (15-20 minutes).
2. Pulse the coconut in a food processor until finely chopped. Place the coconut in a small shallow bowl.
3. Spread the remaining vanilla frosting in a thin layer over the donut hole and fill in the gap around the base to smooth. Roll the assembled cupcake in the chopped coconut to cover completely. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes.
4. Snip a small (1/8 inch) corner from the bags with the vanilla and chocolate frostings. For the bottom paws, flatten 24 of the spice drops lengthwise. For each cupcake, pipe dots of vanilla frosting on top of the coated donut hole and attach the cereal pieces as ears. Pipe dots of vanilla frosting on the cupcake and attach 2 of the flattened spice drops as bottom paws. Pipe dots of vanilla frosting and attach the flat side of spice drops as the muzzle on the donut hole and the front paws on the cupcake. Pipe the eyes, claws, and pads on the spice drops using the chocolate frosting. Add the brown candy as the nose.

My friend Beth had a birthday last week — and she loves red velvet! This was my second batch of cupcakes. The first batch was an epic, hilarious fail. I used the Pioneer Woman’s recipe the first time around, and they just didn’t turn out – didn’t rise, oozed out all over. I decided to rely on trusty Martha Stewart for my second batch — and they worked like a charm! But really, Martha’s recipes are always spot-on. Always.

Red Velvet Cupcakes
Recipe source: Martha Stewart
Print Recipe

2 1/2 cups cake flour (not self- rising), sifted
2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon red gel-paste food color
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together cake flour, cocoa, and salt.
2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, whisk together sugar and oil until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Mix in food color and vanilla.
3. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and whisking well after each. Stir together the baking soda and vinegar in a small bowl (it will foam); add mixture to the batter, and mix on medium speed 10 seconds.
4. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. 5. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.
5. To finish, use a small offset spatula to spread cupcakes with frosting (I used a Wilton 1A tip). Refrigerate up to 3 days in airtight containers; bring to room temperature before serving.

Cream Cheese Frosting
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 pound (4 cups) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Beat butter and cream cheese with a mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add sugar, 1 cup at a time, and then vanilla; mix until smooth. Frosting can be refrigerated for up to 3 days; before using, bring to room temperature, and beat until smooth.

Happy Friday, everyone. :) Just a quick post with a repeat recipe. Have a great weekend!

Omi’s Sugar Cookies
Print Recipe

2 cups butter
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon salt
6 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoon nutmeg*

Beat butter and sugar. Add eggs, sour cream, and nutmeg. Add dry ingredients gradually. Chill the batter overnight or for at least 4 hours. Roll out dough and cut with cookie cutters. Bake at 350F until golden (in true fashion, my grandma didn’t give a specific baking time. I baked the cookies for about 8 minutes).

*The nutmeg definitely gives these cookies a distinct flavor.

Omi’s Frosting
2 tablespoons shortening
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons scalded milk
3 cups (or more) powdered sugar

Beat all ingredients together besides the powdered sugar. Gradually add the powdered sugar until you get a smooth and creamy consistency.

I know, I know, I know. Christmas is over. I really wanted to make this tree, so I did. A few weeks late. :) I bought the star cookie cutter set from Crate & Barrel. I made two cookies for each size star and stacked them all up to look like a tree!

I used my grandmother’s sugar cookie recipe, which is my absolute favorite.

Omi’s Sugar Cookies
Print Recipe

2 cups butter
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon salt
6 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoon nutmeg*

Beat butter and sugar. Add eggs, sour cream, and nutmeg. Add dry ingredients gradually. Chill the batter overnight or for at least 4 hours. Roll out dough and cut with cookie cutters. Bake at 350F until golden (in true fashion, my grandma didn’t give a specific baking time. I baked the cookies for about 8 minutes).

*The nutmeg definitely gives these cookies a distinct flavor.

Omi’s Frosting
2 tablespoons shortening
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons scalded milk
3 cups (or more) powdered sugar

Beat all ingredients together besides the powdered sugar. Gradually add the powdered sugar until you get a smooth and creamy consistency.

Another late Christmas baking project! Better late than never, right? I was inspired to make these after my co-worker, Vicki, gave me a magazine clipping that featured similar cupcakes. Here’s how I made them..

1. Bake cupcakes of your choosing. I took the easy way out on these and made chocolate cupcakes from a box mix.
2. Frost with chocolate frosting.
3. Top with pretzels for the antlers, a Nilla Wafer for the face, white M&Ms for the eyes (or any other type of white candy), black icing for the eyeballs, and brown and red candies for the nose (I used peanut butter M&Ms and Cadbury chocolate balls).

These are super easy to make and kids will love them!!