Panda Cupcakes

Aren't these little panda's cute?

OK, time to admit a few things.  First off, my camera's battery is dead.  And I can't find the charger!  One of those many moments when that nagging little voice rings in my ears "Isn't this the year you were going to get organized?"  Oh well.  Maybe next year....

So I took this picture with my old camera.  And I only realized after I had all the pandas assembled that I should have taken pictures.  I suppose I wasn't thinking they would turn out so cute!  So sadly all you have is finished product pictures.  Sorry!  But they were relatively EASY.  And fun!

I found the "recipe" and procedure in the book Hello, Cupcake!


I found this book used at Third Place Books and as soon as I saw the Pandas, I knew I would buy it and make them for my friend Lisa's birthday.  Lisa loves all things Panda.  Now I found this book last March, and her birthday is in February, so I've been having fun for months thinking about her birthday panda surprise.

For those of you who know me, I very rarely make anything from a mix.  But Hello, Cupcake! is all about using store-bought ingredients to make really cute cupcakes without a lot of work.  And although I originally planned to make cupcakes and frosting from scratch, in the end it saved me tons of time to buy store bought ingredients.  

To make the Pandas, I baked up 8 regular size cupcakes and 8 mini-cupcakes using a vanilla cake mix.  You could have made 16 pandas with that amount of cake mix, but it was also Superbowl Sunday, and my pants were already feeling tight.  I made the Panda faces first.  A mini-marshmallow helps make the snout, and then it's a simple matter of adding black food die to some vanilla frosting to create the eyes, nose and snout.  Hello, Cupcake! gives really clear directions on how to use ziplock bags to pipe on all your frosting.  It suggests using Oreo Os for ears, but I never did find those, so Chocolate Cheerios worked for me in a pinch.  The Panda fur on the big cupcake is made up of Oreos that I pulsed up in my blender.  Oreos also make up the arms and feet on the pandas.  Everything is held together with frosting.

Now is perhaps a good time to admit some other things.  These Pandas looked super cute (see above picture) when I put them in the car to take to Lisas.  Upon arrival at her house, they pretty much all needed major surgery.  I looked over at the passenger seat to find 8 headless Pandas.  Fortunately, they were easily put back together.  But note to the user--I suggest assembling these at the party location, or else having someone carry them in the car, as opposed to letting them bounce away on the pothole-filled drive to your friend's house.

If you like this sort of thing, this book has a lot of very creative ideas to make cute cupcakes with regular ingredients that you can find at most grocery stores.  If you get really into it, there's also a sequel book, "What's New, Cupcake?" that I've heard is also cute.  Both books are about $10 on Amazon (don't forget free 2-day shipping with you free membership in Amazon Mom!) or you could probably find them at your local library.  Or support your local bookstore!

Happy Birthday Lisa!  Happy Creative Endeavors everyone!

cinna-yum!

Yummy Cinnamon Roll...

I find Cinnamon Rolls to be very comforting.   Before I had a child, I tended to make them often.  I would make a batch of my mom's honey-whole-wheat bread dough, roll it out, brush on melted butter, sprinkle on cinnamon, sugar, raisins and walnuts, roll it up, slice it, and bake it.  

Yummy.  

Nowadays, I am somewhat limited to what I can bake/cook/sew/etc during naptime.  Which doesn't leave much time for working with yeast.  But I tried an experiment with this Cinnamon Roll recipe, and it turned out great.  I started the dough after Elliott went to bed and let it rise all night.  I started the rolls early enough that I thought I would let the dough finish its first rise while the Hubs and I watched a movie, and then quickly get the rolls ready so they could do their second rise overnight while I was sleeping.  Unfortunately when I checked the dough after our movie (which sadly was terrible, otherwise I'd tell you about it), it had not risen much (suggestions on this below).  So I just let it finish doing its thing overnight and finished the project in the morning.  It turned out great this way, but did make for a late breakfast.  Fine for the adults, less fine for the toddler.  Although in the end, he ate almost 2 rolls, which was twice what I managed.

Oh, did I mention these are Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls?  Perfect for this time of year.  I plan to make these (or another version) again, because it really is pretty easy to prepare the night before (especially if you do a better job proofing your yeast than I did), and then just pop in the oven when you wake up.  Yum!

Here we go:

First gather all your ingredients:

Then proof your yeast in a bowl (note, the original recipe does not have you add any sugar.  Next time, I would add a spoonful of your brown sugar to the yeast at this point):

Add your milk, eggs, pumpkin, sugar, and butter and beat that baby up!

Then slowly add the flour

Once the flour is incorporated, change to a dough hook, and "knead" on speed 2 for about 7-8 minutes (alternately you can knead by hand until you have a smooth elastic dough)

  

Spray a clean bowl with cooking spray, add dough, and let rise until doubled (could be overnight in a cool house or your fridge)

Then punch down your dough and roll it out into a big square or rectangle

Pour on melted butter (original recipe calls for a lot of butter, next time I'll use half the amount!), and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.  You could add nuts or raisins here if you wish.

Then roll up your dough into a long log

I use a bread knife (any cerated knife will work, or you can use floss or thread) to cut my rolls and add them to a greased 9x13 inch pan

Let those rise for a bit (this would be the ideal time to throw them in your fridge for a nice, slow overnight rise).  After they're bigger, toss them in the oven, and make your frosting.

Remove rolls from oven (try not to eat them now!)

Frost, or not, and enjoy!

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing

from Good Life Eats

Ingredients:

Roll Dough:
1/4 cup warm water (not hot, about 110 degrees)
1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
1/3 cup warm milk
1 large egg, beaten
3/4 cup pumpkin puree, either fresh or canned
1 tablespoon melted butter
2 cups (approximately--I used more) All-Purpose Flour
1 1 /4 cup Whole Wheat Pastry Flour  (I've used regular whole wheat flour in the past.  It's OK!)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom  (I left this out)

Filling:
1 stick butter  (next time I'll use half a stick.  I got butter everywhere!)
2/3 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon each of allspice and ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cloves

Cream Cheese Frosting:  
(I would also recommend making half a batch, unless you need frosting for something else)
4 ounces cream cheese
1 stick (4 ounces) butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon lemon juice
2-3 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

In a large bowl, stir yeast into water to soften  (Add a spoonful of sugar! See above). Let rest for 5 minutes before stirring. Add milk, eggs, pumpkin, butter, 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cardamom to yeast mixture. Beat vigorously for 2 minutes.

Gradually add remaining flour (all purpose), a little at a time, until you have a dough stiff enough to knead. Start with about 1 1/2 cups and increase if necessary. Use the dough hook on your Stand Mixer and knead at level 2 for 7-8 minutes.  Alternately you can turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead, adding flour as necessary, until you have a smooth, elastic dough.  You may need to add more flour (I added an additional cup).

Put dough into an oiled bowl. Turn once to coat entire ball of dough with oil. Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour (This ended up taking overnight for me).

Combine the white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, nutmeg and cloves in a small bowl, set aside. Transfer the risen dough to a lightly greased work surface, and pat or roll it into a 16" x 12" rectangle (or whatever you can manage--don't sweat it!). Spread softened butter over dough and then sprinkle with the sugar mixture.

Roll the dough into a log the long way; it'll stretch to about 20" long as you roll. Using a very sharp knife, slice the log into 15 slices.  I like to use a cerated knife, other people used string to great effect. Place slices in a greased 9x13 inch baking pan (or in two 8 or 9 inch round cake or pie pans). Cover with a towel and let rise until almost doubled, about 45 minutes.

Bake in a preheated 375°F oven. Bake the rolls till they're brown around the edges and beginning to turn golden brown across the center, about 20-30 minutes.

While rolls bake, prepare the cream cheese frosting. Mix the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and lemon juice.  I used my Stand mixer, but you could also use your blender, food processor, or electric mixer. Blend until smooth and combined. Add the powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time, blending in between, until well mixed and desired consistency is reached. (I used 2 cups powdered sugar)

Frost warm rolls with the cream cheese frosting and serve immediately.