Christmas Cupcakes

I had a request for 2 dozen mini Christmas cupcakes due today, and had pretty free reign to decorate them as I pleased for the season. 

I decided to do half as bright red poinsettias, and the other half with some cute Christmas trees!

Since a nice red is so hard to obtain, I ended up trashing the red icing I had made (it was more of a bright pink or orange...I'm not really sure which!) and used one of the Wilton Red Decorating Icing tubes.  These are fabulous because you can fit your wilton tips onto them, and go nuts! 

I had a lot of fun making these, and I hope everyone enjoys eating them!

Oatmeal Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

Earlier this week I had 4 sad brown bananas looking at me from my countertop.  Usually my go-to is to make Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins (they are a serious favourite), but I wanted to try something else with my lonely bananas.  


I searched around and found this recipe on makeandtakes.com.  It was created and posted by Maria from Two Peas and Their Pod, another great cooking blog.

I will admit that I was worried when I was mixing these up, it seemed like there wasn't nearly enough liquid ingredients to go around.  But after I continued to mix everything together, the batter came together really well!


The banana flavour is quite subtle in these cookies, and we thought they were absolutely delicious!  They are also quite filling, so they made an amazing and quick breakfast for work.  I made 24 cookies from one batch.


Oatmeal Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1/4 cup butter or margarine
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 egg
• 1 banana, mashed
• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups Old Fashioned Oats
• 1 cup chocolate chips (I used semisweet)

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F and line a couple cookie sheets with parchment paper
2. Cream together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until smooth
3. In a second bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt
4. Add the vanilla and egg to the butter/sugar mixture and mix well
5. Add the mashed banana to the wet ingredients, and again mix well
6. Add the flour to the wet ingredients, and mix until the batter just begins to come together
7. Fold in the oats and chocolate chips until well distributed
8. Drop large tablespoons onto the cookies sheets (I fit about 8 - 10 cookies per sheet) and bake until the edges are golden brown.  The original recipe said to bake for 15 - 18 minutes, but mine were done in 8 - 9 minutes
9. Let cool, and Enjoy!

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream

Here are some delicious vanilla cupcakes.  I am beginning to realize the true value of vanilla beans, and the wonderful taste they bring to desserts!


I found the recipe for both the cupcakes and the chocolate buttercream on joythebaker.com. She has some truly amazing recipes on her site, and is a wonderful person too. 

I decorated these with my fun Christmas sprinkles, and ta-da! Cute Christmas Cupcakes!


These cupcakes were more dense than I anticipated, but they tasted wonderful! As for the chocolate buttercream, I really enjoyed what the addition of Ovaltine did for it, but I only needed about a quarter of whipping cream and ovaltine than what was listed.  

These are also incredibly delicious when naked! 


This recipe made 24 cupcakes, and the icing was the perfect amount needed to ice them all.


Vanilla Bean Cupcakes

• 1 cup butter or margarine
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 1 vanilla bean - seeds scraped out and reserved
• 2 3/4 cups flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F and line two muffin pans with paper liners
2. Beat together the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy
3. While the butter and sugar are mixing, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl
4. In a small bowl, whisk the milk, vanilla, and vanilla bean seeds together
5. Once the butter/sugar is light and fluffy, add the eggs (one at a time), making sure to mix very well
6. Add half of the flour to the butter/sugar, then the milk/vanilla mixture, followed by the remaining flour
7. Mix until the batter is just coming together
8. Fill up the cupcake cups, and bake for approximately 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into a cupcake
9. Let the cupcakes come to room temperature before frosting with your favourite frosting

Chocolate Buttercream

• 3/4 cup butter or margarine
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 1/4 cups icing sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tbsp milk
• 1/2 cup heavy/whipping cream (I needed less than half of this)
• 1/3 cup ovaltine (I used less than half of this)

1. Beat the butter, cocoa, and salt together until well combined
2. Add the icing sugar and begin to mix well
3. As you are mixing in the icing sugar, pour in the vanilla and the 2 tbsp of milk
4. Beat the icing on high so that the icing smooths out
5. In a small bowl, mix together the heavy cream and ovaltine
6. Add the cream/ovaltine mixture to the icing 1 tbsp at a time, until the desired consistency is reached
7. Enjoy!

100th Post!

Now this is an exciting day! When I decided to give blogging a shot and let people into my kitchen, I never dreamed that I would reach such an important milestone, or that it would come up so fast! 

Thank you so much to everyone who has taken the time to stop by for a visit. And thank you so much for all of the amazing blogs out there that continue to inspire me every day, maybe even too much! (Seriously, you should see the pile of recipes I want to try that is quickly taking over my living room floor right now).

This blog has given me the drive to try things that I would never have considered previously.  And while I believe that I have come a long way in my baking and cooking, I am also very aware that I have much much more to learn, and that is the most exciting part!  For example, today I learned to always keep an eye on the water level in your pot when steaming vegetables, I definitely just boiled a pot dry. Yup, my house stinks and I have no idea if i can save the poor pot. Oh dear.

Here is a recap of some favourite recipes since I started blogging this summer.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I have!

My favourite recipes so far, and in no particular order: (This list was so difficult to narrow down; I tried really hard to keep it from listing the majority of the recipes!)

• Gingersnap Cookies
• These are by far my absolute favourite holiday cookie!
• Chocolate cupcakes (with peppermint icing)
• These are an absolutely wonderful chocolate cupcake, and I love how beautiful they turned out
• Chocolate Pistachio Biscotti
• This was my first ever attempt at making biscotti, and now I am hooked!
• Portobello Mushroom Burgers
• These were a completely new concept for me, and they are amazing. I can't get enough of fresh basil mayo now
• Vanilla Cupcakes w/ Chocolate Frosting
• This vanilla cupcake is the best vanilla cupcake recipe I have found yet! The cupcakes are incredibly moist and delicious
• Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
• Even though these didn't come out exactly as planned, they tasted wonderful and I am definitely going to make them over and over
• Flowers and Vanilla Buttercream Icing
• I learned so much in my cake decorating class, and I have a lot of fun with flowers on my cupcakes now
• Cheddar Jalapeno Biscuits
• I still try to make these as often as possible with supper!
• Greek Salad with Chicken
• I love this salad. It completes me
• Strawberry Shortcake Cake
• This is an amazing cake, and it was my first attempt at a layer cake!
• Honey Oat Bread
• My first ever attempt at bread, and it was a success! Tasty too
• Peanut Butter Smartie Cookies
• So good, make these now
• Strawberry Cupcakes
• The perfect cupcake for summer
• Spicy Potato Pizza
• Such an amazing pizza!
• Pig Cupcakes
• I am still so proud of how these turned out

My fiance, John, was sweet enough to list out his favourites so far too!

• Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Steamed Pork Buns
• Mini Jumbo Pretzels
• Devil's Food Cupcakes
• Raspberry Preserves
• Cinnamon Buns
• Bacon Cheddar Perogies
• BBQ Nachos

Thank you again for all of your support :) I have been having an absolute blast! I still have so many more recipes to post, and to try. I can't wait!

Steamed Pork Buns

Wow, post #99! How did this happen? Time has really flown by since I started posting the happenings of my kitchen :)  Now I have to decide what to do for post #100! It is such a great milestone, I can barely believe it! So exciting.


I first made these this summer after we had gone for Dim Sum and I found out that they were my fiance's favourite dish to get.  I have made them a few times since, and they are a hit every time! They don't involve any complex ingredients, but do require a fair bit of time to produce.  The nice thing about them is not only are they tasty, but they freeze extremely well and therefore make a quick supper for another day.


We cook the pork in our slow cooker, and this makes it so tender and easy to work with.  We usually cook ours on high for 5 or 6 hours, and it comes out juicy every time!  The dough isn't very complicated to make either. If you make the dough while the pork is cooking, then once the pork is finished you can start making the buns as soon as the pork is seasoned.


The filling and closing of the buns is probably the most complex part.  Here is a step-by-step guide to how I have managed to make it work for myself.


After I roll out the dough, I score it with a knife to make sure that I get 24 equal pieces of dough. 

I then stretch out each piece of dough to about 4" in diameter (one at a time).  In the centre of each circle place about 1 to 2 tbsp of the pulled pork.

To close up the buns, fold up opposing sides and pinch them together. Continue folding up opposite sides and pinching them together until it is completely sealed.

Place the completed bun seam-side down onto some aluminum foil, and then cover with a tea towel.  Repeat with the remaining dough and pork until all is used up (I get 2 dozen buns from this recipe).  Let them rise for about an hour.

They will get nice and puffy after all that time rising!  At this point, you can cook or freeze the buns. To freeze them for a later date, place them on parchment paper in a freezer safe bag or in a freezer safe container. Do not layer the buns until they are completely frozen, or they will squish each other. To cook frozen buns, let them thaw for a couple hours first so that they cook thoroughly.


To cook the buns, place them in a parchment paper-line vegetable steamer above some simmering water (be sure to use a knife to poke out holes in the parchment paper to let the steam through). Once the water is boiling, add the buns to the parchment lined vegetable steamer, and cover for 10 minutes.


I also posted these a few months ago on tastykitchen.com :)


These are great! 


Steamed Pork Buns

• 1 pound Pork (boneless)
• 1 cup Water
• 1 Tablespoon Teriyaki Sauce
• 1 Tablespoon Hoisin Sauce
• 1 pinch Salt
• 1 pinch Pepper
• 1 package Active Dry Yeast (.75 Ounce Packet)
• 1 cup Warm Water
• 4-½ cups All Purpose Flour, divided use
• ¼ cups White Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
• ½ cups Boiling Water
• 1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil
• ⅔ cups Hoisin Sauce

1) Brown the pound of pork in a pan until brown on all sides. We use any kind of pork we happen to find on sale.
2) Place the pork in a slow cooker with 1 cup of water, and season with the teriyaki, hoisin sauce, salt, and pepper. Cook on low for about 8 hours, or on high for about 5 – 6 hours.
3) While the pork is cooking, place the 1 cup of warm water in a large mixing bowl and add the package of active yeast. Add one cup of flour, then cover it with a tea towel and let stand until bubbles appear on the surface (15 – 20 minutes).
4) Add the sugar and the vegetable oil to the 1/2 cup of boiling water, and mix to dissolve the sugar. Let cool until warm to the touch. Then mix the yeast mixture, the sugar/oil mixture, and the remaining flour all in a large mixing bowl.
5) Mix the dough until it becomes stiff, and then place on a floured surface and knead it until it becomes nice and smooth (this takes me about 15 minutes, but I am no expert ‘kneader’!)
6) Coat a large bowl with the 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and put the smooth ball of dough into the bowl. Coat the dough with the vegetable oil and then cover the bowl with a tea towel. Allow the dough to rise for about 1 hour, or until it has doubled in size.
7) When the pork is cooked through, remove from the juices in the crockpot and pull the pork apart. It should come apart very easily at this point. You can use two forks or whatever method works for you. Then add to the shredded pork about 1/4 cup of the juice from the crockpot (if pork is dry). Season with the remaining 2/3 cups of hoisin sauce until the taste is wonderful. (I find I just keep seasoning and tasting the pork, without using a specific amount of the hoisin sauce. It is all about personal preference.)
8.) Roll the ball of dough into a large log, and then slice off pieces that are approximately 1 inch thick. Flatten each piece into a 3.5 - 4 inch circle, and place 1 to 2 tablespoons of the seasoned pork in the middle.
9) Pinch all of the edges together over the filling to seal, and then place pinched-side down on aluminum foil. Cover with a tea towel and allow them to rise for about 1 hour.
10) Fill a pot with about 2 inches of water, and place a vegetable steamer on top. If you line the vegetable steamer with parchment paper, and then use a pencil to poke out the holes of the steamer, this will allow the buns to come out nicely and not stick to the pot.
11) When water is boiling, place 3 or 4 buns in the steamer (do not layer them or they will stick together), and cover with a lid. Allow them to cook for 10 minutes, then remove and enjoy! Repeat with the remaining buns.