Lemon Cupcakes

Posted by:  Maggie

These cupcakes have officially surpassed my Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes as the best cupcakes I've ever made. Everything about this recipe is seriously perfect - the cake is moist but sturdy, the frosting is lemony but not too tart - I really just love it.

I shared these with my coworkers yesterday, and am still getting compliments as of this morning!

You *must* make these sometime soon. The bright citrusy flavor makes them so perfect for spring, and I will definitely be making these again sometime soon so Jeff can try them too. I saw him last night but didn't bring him a cupcake. I'm such a bad girlfriend.

Here's what you'll need for the cake:

2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
4 large egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
lemon zest from two lemons
1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pure lemon extract

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and line cupcake tins with 24 paper liners.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk together the buttermilk and egg whites in a separate medium bowl.

Put the sugar and lemon zest in a large bowl, and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is slightly moist and fragrant. Now take a break from cooking and click on the YouTube video that the word moist is linked to. When I typed that word, that scene immediately popped in my head. Moving on...

Add the butter into the large bowl, and cream together on medium speed for 3 minutes. Beat in the extracts, and then alternate adding in the flour and milk mixtures, beginning and ending with the flour. Beat for a minute to make sure everything is well combined, and scoop into your prepared cupcake tins.

Bake 18-22 minutes, or until cupcakes are well risen and spring back when touched. Cool on a wire rack.

Here's what you'll need for the frosting:

2 (8) ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 stick butter, softened
2-3 lbs. confectioners’ sugar (I started with a 2 pound bag, and probably added an additional 2 cups to get it to piping consistency.)
juice of one lemon

I know cream cheese frosting typically has vanilla extract, but I skipped adding it to maintain the white color of the frosting. It had plenty of flavor from the lemon juice without it. This makes enough frosting to generously frost 24 cupcakes, with a bit left over.

Beat cream cheese and butter until well combined. Gradually add in confectioners sugar, and beat to combine. Finally, mix in lemon juice.

Source: My Baking Addiction

Roasted Chipotle Chicken Drumsticks

Posted by: Maggie


This recipe was a momentous cooking occasion for me. You see, I used to be afraid to cook chicken. I was so doubtful of my own cooking abilities that I was absolutely certain I would undercook my food and poison myself and others.

I partially got over this fear, but only when I could use boneless, skinless breasts. They seemed safer to me. They cook evenly, they don't have a bone, and it's fairly easy to tell when they're done.

Then one day I came across this recipe for Chipotle Chicken Drumsticks, and I decided that I wanted to get over my weirdo fear of cooking other chicken parts. I love, love, love canned chipotles in adobo. Their smoky, spicy flavor is just amazing. I couldn't let this recipe pass me by.

Guess what...I did it! Betcha' caught on to that from the picture just above. I cooked them, and as I type this 24 hours later, I am TOTALLY ALIVE and not suffering from salmonella, or E.coli, or chicken pox! (heheh)

I should probably stop talking about food borne illness (and skin viruses) if I want you keep reading.

Does anyone else get excited when they conquer a cooking fear? I'm also scared to make yeast bread.

Here's what you'll need:

1 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons lime zest
4-8  canned chipotle chiles (depending on how spicy you like it...I didn't think these were very spicy, and I used a lot of chiles, however, this is coming from a person with a very high tolerance for spice)
1/2 cup cilantro, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
Salt and black pepper to taste
4 chicken drumsticks, with skin
Lime wedges for serving


Line a 9x13 baking pan with foil, and preheat the oven to 425 degrees. 

In a food processor, puree the first 6 ingredients until no chunks of chipotle peppers remain. Add salt and pepper to taste. Reserve half the mixture. I pulled big pieces of the chicken off the bone when I was eating and dipped them in the extra sauce, and also dipped my sweet potato fries in it.

Spread the remaining half of the mixture evenly over the drumsticks. Place in the pan, and cook uncovered for 50 minutes, or until the juices run clear and the chicken has an internal temperature of 165 degrees.

I highly recommend serving these with sweet potato fries. I just used store-bought, and they went extremely well with the chicken.

Garlic Shrimp

Posted by: Maggie

I have another quick and easy dinner for you today! 

I wanted something healthy, since DC is going to be unpleasantly hot and humid in approximately one month, and I am in no way ready for anything skin revealing. Much to my dismay, jeans and cozy sweaters cannot be comfortably worn in DC year round. If I had it my way, November weather would last all year, and I'd never have to reveal my pasty appendages in sundresses (I don't do shorts. Seriously, I own zero pairs.) Unfortunately it's not November year round, and if I'm going to wear all the new sundresses I bought I'm going to have to break out some healthy foods for the time being. 

As much as I love food blogs that encourage me to stuff my face with copious amounts of bacon, peanut butter, chocolate, animal fat, and frosting, I also enjoy quite a few health conscious blogs, particularly Gina's Skinny Recipes.  She makes all of her diet friendly fare look and sound so downright delicious I often forget I'm reading a healthy blog. 

I settled on the garlic shrimp from Gina's website, since I ate the leftover lemon linguine for lunch back on Tuesday when I made this, and wanted something a bit more protein heavy for dinner. I ate these shrimp by themselves, but I imagine they'd also be great on a salad, or over rice. 

Here's what you'll need:

1/2 pound large shrimp, washed, peeled, deveined, and tails removed

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Crushed red pepper flakes, to taste

Paprika

Salt

2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley 

Lime wedges for serving

In a skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic and red pepper flakes, and saute until golden, about 1-2 minutes. This will burn really easily, so keep an eye on it. Add shrimp to pan, and season with salt and paprika.  Cook for 2-3 minutes or until shrimp is cooked through, stirring frequently. 

Transfer shrimp to a bowl, and stir in parsley. 

Enjoy!