Sweet As Pie Cupcakes

So we've been going with a kind of fallish theme and so today here are some adorable cupcakes disguised as pies! 

*Thanks to http://familyfun.go.com/ for the recipe!

Ingredients

• 1 dozen of your favorite cupcakes
• 16-ounce can of white frosting
• 3 drops yellow food coloring

• 1 teaspoon cocoa powder OR 1 tablespoon chocolate syrup
• red chocolate candies, such as M&M's

Instructions

1. Bake a dozen of your favorite cupcakes. Tint a 16-ounce can of white frosting with 3 drops yellow food coloring and either 1 teaspoon cocoa powder or 1 tablespoon chocolate syrup, then frost the cupcakes.
2. Transfer the remaining frosting to a ziplock bag, snip off a corner, and set the bag aside. Press red chocolate candies (such as M&M's) onto the top of each cupcake as shown, then use the bagged frosting to pipe a lattice pattern over them and a zigzag crust around the edge. Makes 12 cupcakes.
   
   
   Aren't these just adorable little "pies"?
   Enjoy,
   July

King Charles of Cavalier Spaniels

Hello my Creative Clique-ers! Today I'm doing a picture post just for fun ;) They will all be pictures of my favorite type of dog, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel! Here we go and enjoy!
*Thanks for Google Images for these photos

 And there you have it! My personal favorites are the brown and white ones like the one just 

above, just so adorable!!!

July 

Hot Apple Cider and Doughnuts

Hello Everyone! So we're kinda doing a series of fall themed recipes here! If you have a fall recipe to share, please email either me or Sea (our emails on the right side column) and tell us! So today I'm doing a "double recipe" where I'll have two things that go together. So let's do this!

Hot Apple Cider:

Ingredients

• 6 cups apple cider
• 1/4 cup real maple syrup
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 6 whole cloves
• 6 whole allspice berries
• 1 orange peel, cut into strips
• 1 lemon peel, cut into strips

Directions

1. Pour the apple cider and maple syrup into a large stainless steel saucepan.
2. Place the cinnamon sticks, cloves, allspice berries, orange peel and lemon peel in the center of a washed square of cheesecloth; fold up the sides of the cheesecloth to enclose the bundle, then tie it up with a length of kitchen string. Drop the spice bundle into the cider mixture.
3. Place the saucepan over moderate heat for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the cider is very hot but not boiling.
4. Remove the cider from the heat. Discard the spice bundle. Ladle the cider into big cups or mugs, adding a fresh cinnamon stick to each serving if desired.

Crispy and Creamy Doughnuts:

Ingredients

• 2 (.25 ounce) envelopes active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees)
• 1 1/2 cups lukewarm milk
• 1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup shortening
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 quart vegetable oil for frying
•  
• 1/3 cup butter
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 4 tablespoons hot water or as needed

Directions

1. Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water, and let stand for 5 minutes, or until foamy.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the yeast mixture, milk, sugar, salt, eggs, shortening, and 2 cups of the flour. Mix for a few minutes at low speed, or stirring with a wooden spoon. Beat in remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough no longer sticks to the bowl. Knead for about 5 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. Place the dough into a greased bowl, and cover. Set in a warm place to rise until double. Dough is ready if you touch it, and the indention remains.
3. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and gently roll out to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut with a floured doughnut cutter. Let doughnuts sit out to rise again until double. Cover loosely with a cloth.
4. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in confectioners' sugar and vanilla until smooth. Remove from heat, and stir in hot water one tablespoon at a time until the icing is somewhat thin, but not watery. Set aside.
5. Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large heavy skillet to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Slide doughnuts into the hot oil using a wide spatula. Turn doughnuts over as they rise to the surface. Fry doughnuts on each side until golden brown. Remove from hot oil, to drain on a wire rack. Dip doughnuts into the glaze while still hot, and set onto wire racks to drain off excess. Keep a cookie sheet or tray under racks for easier clean up.

Ok! So have fun and don't burn yourself with hot oil.... ;) And thanks to allrecipes.com for the recipes!

July

Pretty Pumpkins

Ah, fall. The most lovely season in the whole year. And while we're on the topic of fall, I've got these lovely little pumpkins that have been decorated in a simple, yet chic, way.

So, whaddya need?
1. Mini pumpkins, either fake or real, but if they're real, be prepared to toss them out when they start to feel a tad squishy.

2. Assorted patterns of ribbons, usually in either orange, white, or brown color combos. Be sure that there's enough ribbon to go around the center of the pumpkin (you can cut more off later).

3. A hot glue gun, and extra sticks of glue

4. A lovely big bowl, either clear glass, or a nice dark brown one like the picture above.

So, whaddya do?

1. Take the pumpkin, and hot glue one end of the ribbon around the equator of it, so that it stays there.

2. Now, wrap the other end around the pumpkin, so that it comes back to the place where you glued the other end.

3. Let the glue dry.

4. Repeat as necessary for the other pumpkins.

5 Put them in your lovely big bowl and stand back with a gigantic grin on your face and proudly announce, "I MADE THAT!" Point at it while jumping up and down like a deranged wombat for an added effect.

That is all.
<3 Seana

Pumpkin Ginger Cupcakes

Hello creative clique-ers! So now that fall is kind of moving in, here's a fall recipe for y'all! I had these at my friends house and asked where they got the recipe and they gave me the site. So thank you allrecipes.com for these awesome cupcakes!

What you'll need:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 (3.4 ounce) package instant butterscotch pudding mix
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/3 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger
•  
• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree

What you'll do: 

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 24 muffin cups, or line with paper muffin liners. Whisk together the flour, pudding mix, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ground ginger, allspice, cloves, and crystallized ginger in a bowl; set aside.
2. Beat the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until light and fluffy. The mixture should be noticeably lighter in color. Add the room-temperature eggs one at a time, allowing each egg to blend into the butter mixture before adding the next. Beat in the vanilla and pumpkin puree with the last egg. Stir in the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared muffin cups.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until golden and the tops spring back when lightly pressed, about 20 minutes. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.

And that's it! All I can say is "Yum, yum yum!"

Julyabelle