Chocolate Chip Cookies are my BFF

 

The secret is out. Even though my last name is "Cupcake", I LURVE (that's my word for extra credit love) chocolate chip cookies. Making chocolate chip cookies is a fun hobby for me. I don't sell them anywhere.I've baked them for many reasons.One..is that I eat the dough and never eat the cookie ♥♥♥♥ 

Perfect gift idea: Scoop the dough into a jar and give it to a friend to eat with a wooden spoon. Or throw yourself a **me** party and gift it to yourself! Just to be safe, if I am eating the dough only, I substitute 1/4 cup milk in place of the eggs. It works and still tastes just like cookie dough!

I have used the eggless cookie dough recipe to make chocolate chip cookie dough balls dipped in candy melts. Heaven on earth. ♥ What's better than cookie dough on a stick?!

I throw sprinkles in my chocolate chip cookie dough because I'm a big kid.
I love giving these to kids of all ages. (Hmm maybe a back to school treat or great for a college care package?!)

But did you know..there is something that a chocolate chip cookie does to fill a void in your spirit?! A warm ball of soft gooey slightly crispy chocolate chip cookie in your tummy replaces a hole and makes you feel better if even just for the moment you are eating the cookie.That's why I  hand deliver generous sized packages of them to people who I know are grieving. ♥

What tummies will your chocolate chip cookies travel to?

The possibilities are endless. Don't be afraid to add bits and pieces of the things that you crave. (Sprinkles, m&ms, sparkles, white chocolate chips, cherry chocolate chips, marshmallows?! Use your imagination)!

Recipe below ♥
This recipe takes patience, so make sure you plan at least 24 hours in advance.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients needed:
2 Cups Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
A little dab of salt
3/4 Cup Unsalted Butter, Softened
3/4 Cup Light Brown Sugar

1/4 Cup Fine Baking Sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
1 small box of white chocolate instant pudding mix (dry powder form)
1 egg
2 cups chocolate chips
optional: 1 cup rainbow sprinkles

**Note, to make this recipe eggless for cookie dough treats: replace the egg with 1/4 cup whole milk. Omit the pudding.

Method:

1.  In stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream the egg, softened butter, sugars, and extracts together.

2.  In separate bowl, whisk the dry ingredients (flour, salt, pudding mix, and baking soda) together.
3.  Gradually add the dry ingredients to the creamed ingredients and beat until all ingredients are thoroughly mixed. Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl to make sure there are no forgotten bits of valuable ingredients ♥
4. Fold in chocolate chips and sprinkles.

5. Line baking pan with parchment paper. Scoop cookies onto baking pan. I like using a cookie scoop to make sure they are all uniform in size.
6. This is the secret to amazing puffy cookies that won't flatten when you bake them: Cover cookies with plastic wrap and refrigerate them on the pan overnight.

7. Get up the next morning, and bake at 325 for appx 12-15 minutes. I like to under-bake my cookies and take them out at about 10-12 minutes so that they are super soft and gooey.

A few chocolate chip cookie tips:

♥Cookies last forever in the freezer when covered in an airtight container (my "forever": is about half a year)...but I don't think these will last long enough. They are toooooo yummy!!!! ♥ Cookie dough can also be frozen for up to about 90 days.

♥If you want to add more color and sparkle to your cookies, top them with extra chocolate chips, m&m gems, mini peanut butter cups, or sprinkles immediately after you remove them from the oven.   The extra pieces will add more color and will "melt" just enough to stick to the top of your cookies!

♥And as always..don't be afraid to sprinkle some edible glitter on top!

Fresh chocolate chip cookies always taste good with cupcakes....and coffee! ♥♥♥

My Summer of Love......

I never would have guessed that this would be my "Summer of Love".

In the beginning of the summer, I was facing a pretty harsh breakup. One of my status updates on my personal Facebook back in May said something like, "I need someone to glitterize my heart." Sadface.

Red Velvet Cupcake Hug for me?! :(

(I made this for a friend, but I totally could have used one myself!)

 

Well ladies and gents, you better be careful what you wish for.

My heart was glitterized this summer.

Maybe not by my own summer fling or a rebound romance..

Instead my cupcake heart was invited to attend a wedding as a cupcake caterer almost every weekend this summer!

(I was even in my friend's wedding. I'm one of these ladies here and it's pretty easy to tell which one I am. Look for the glittery heart).

(awesome California photographer btw: Stark Love Photography)

♥

Gradually..with each sweet wedding tale... my heart began to patch itself up.  It's almost September now, and I feel vibrant, alive, and glittery again.  Like my heart never lost it's sparkle. (hmm just in time for some Hologram Gold Fall sparkly-ness, perhaps)?

Thank you to each unique wedding I attended. I have witnessed how much love is out there in the world. It seems there is quite possibly enough love out there left for me ♥.

This blog entry and my next few blogs are going to be dedicated to the couples of my summer that glitterized my heart again.

So I want to say a thank you to...

Sarah and Joey
for sprinkling my heart with their sparkles.

(photos of Joey/Sarah courtesy of DanWoolf photographer extraordinaire)

 

 

My description of these two: Fun, Young, Insanely Sweet. When I had my first consult with them I thought.."Wow, these two are so lucky that they have found a best friend in each other."  It's just the vibe that I got from them, and I don't think my instincts were wrong ♥.

  

Joey and Sarah were married at *the* Lambeau Field in June.♥

 

This was my entrance to Lambeau Field. I had to load the wedding cake and cupcakes here to cart it up into a top secret elevator.  I felt like a cupcake spy. ♥ The security guard guy even gave me a tour of the stadium VIP status!

 

The Lime Green, Pink and Navy Blue Three Tier Wedding Cake made it safely. Phew. 

 

I love that the bride & groom requested Funfetti as the flavor of their wedding cake.  I thought adding giant, oversized tissue paper flowers would be way more "fun" and celebratory than the typical fondant perfection wedding flowers ♥.

 

 

 

Cupcakes to match the cake ♥

(Americolor Gel Colors: Electric Blue, Electric Pink, Electric Green)

 

Flavor: Cocktail Cupcakes (Lime Margarita).

 

Wedded Bliss In a Cupcake ♥.

A quote from my instagram, "Reminds me of the cosmos."

 

Sarah's request: Multi-colored swirls of Frosting that make the cupcakes look like they jumped out of a Dr. Seuss book!

 

Sparkly Blueberry Velvet Cake Pops.  The flavor even matches their wedding colors!

 

Joey's fave:  Banana Chocolate Peanut Butter ♥

 

What bride doesn't love a pink sparkly cake pop?  I wonder if Sarah and Joey exchanged sparkles in their kisses ♥

 

I bet some of the cupcake sparkles and/or crumbs I delivered for Joey & Sarah are still lingering in the Lambeau Field breeze. :)  Hooray for touchdowns. ♥

 

Joey and Sarah..this is the glitter you left lingering on my heart---a quote by Julia Child:

 

 

 

A California Wedding ♥

This last week I packed up my cupcakes and extended the love to California for my friend Alicia ♥

She was married to her love, Ryan Santibanez in Huntington Beach!

Alicia and I call each other full time friends, because we worked together side by side in the fashion industry for over 40 hours a week. We always entertained each other with laughter in the office, including passing notes to eachother on Post It Notes. One afternoon several years ago, we used a Post It Note as a contract promising each other that when we got married, we'd be in each other's weddings. We even autographed the note, officially ♥.

And last weekend..our written promise became reality.

I was a part of her wedding...as a bridesmaid.

....and as her cupcake caterer!

I traveled 2000 miles to share the cupcake love.

♥

60 white velvet cupcakes swirled with lavender promises between Alicia and Ryan of Sweet Love, "I Do", and "Happily Ever After."  My friend has grown up. She's gone from Post it Note promises to Vows of Eternal Love ♥.

Peanut Butter Cup Hors d'oeuvres anyone?

The Peanut Butter Cup "Hors D'oeuvres" were baked inside of 60 more chocolate cupcakes that I named "Peanut Butter Cup Gems".   Ryan (the groom) loved this flavor so much, he posted a photo on Facebook with the caption: "Superbomb.com":

I even made them a little wedding cake. ♥

♥

Ryan and Alicia's special day radiated love. Every detail was made by hand. Alicia even designed this beautiful backdrop for the dessert table.

(cupcakes half eaten).

I may not have married the man of *my* dreams yet.  Right now I'm married to my cupcake career ♥ But Ryan and Alicia's love reminded me that if I keep my hope alive, the love of my life might just squeeze into all of the sweetness that is Amanda Cupcake!  That reminder was probably the best gift given to me, in exchange for 120 cupcakes.

Recipe for the groom's Superbomb.com Peanut Butter Frosting:

Ingredients Needed:

8 oz Cream Cheese

1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter

2/3 Cup Peanut Butter

2-3 Cups of Powdered Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Optional: 1-2 Tablespoons of Heavy Whipping Cream

1.  In a large mixer using a paddle attachment, fluff up cream cheese and unsalted butter. 

2.   Gradually add Peanut Butter until all ingredients are combined and creamy.   (Make sure you scrape the bowl continuously with a rubber spatulat to incorporate all ingredients).

3.  Add the teaspoon of Vanilla Extract. 

4.  Slowly add powdered sugar into the mixture and whip with paddle attachment until frosting is the thickness you desire. I like to leave this frosting pretty smooth and creamy. 

**If frosting is too thick, you can always go back and make it more creamy and dreamy, "superbomb.com" by adding 1 or 2 Tablespoons of Heavy Whipping Cream. 

Fishing for ♥. A Wedding!

Being Amanda Cupcake isn't just about cupcake obsession. It's about you-the people behind the cupcakes. And that I get to meet so many of you, reach out to you, through a piece of me that has come from my big heart ♥. Through my cupcakes, I get to attend your events, share your special day, create a story that tastes like your very own dream come true.  

A few weeks ago, the cupcakes from my heart were about my friend Kati and her best friend Chad ♥  They were married. Their wedding was an event to behold-where love warmed the entire room, and you knew without question that they were two people in love.  If the rest of the world fell apart, they'd have each other and that would be okay.

Kati & Chad

Their  story-Fishing for ♥.

Hundreds of cupcakes.

Blueberry Velvet.

Sundrop Lemon.

Classic Chocolate.

Pretzel Stick Fishing Poles.

Little blue frosting "pond" swirls.

Do you want to catch ♥?

Or a delicious bass? (Swedish Fish, actually).

An enchanted evening....where you could even eat the sparkly lily pads floating on top of each cupcake.  Are you falling in love under the moonlight yet?

I stayed up late making bobber cake pops.  Fishing for hearts!  I dipped 100 cake pops in red candy melts.  As soon as the red dried, I dipped the top half of the cake pop in white candy melts.  While the white candy melts were still dry, I topped each one with a red heart candy bobber top instead of the traditional bobber top.

The grooms cake:

A pond. I swirled sky blue Americolor gel into the fondant to make it look like water.

And for a special surprise..

I filled the inside of the cake with a camo print. ♥

♥

Kati's Cake was a mini chocolate wedding cake

♥

She and Chad are cutting it here. I topped it with a glittery blue heart!

♥

Kati and Chad's recipe for love:

(I snuck all this into the cupcakes I made for their wedding)!

(a chocolate coconut Amanda Cupcake)