Today is the birthday of one of my favorite characters in the Potterverse.
Dobby the House Elf.
Now, let me tell you a little secret. When Dobby first arrived in Chamber of Secrets Ididntlikehim.
What? C'mon. I am NOT alone here. He was a weird little annoying thing cause Harry all sorts of issues. I actually feared he was the Jar Jar Binks of the Wizarding World. Once he made it to the screen, I was even LESS convinced. However, time wore on, pages were read, love was built, tears were shed.
I apologize, deeply, and fully, dear Dobby. I'm sorry I thought such things of you. You were brave and loyal. You'd be a true Gryffindor. So, I made you some cake. It's Butterbeer flavor AND House Elf sized!!
I made this cake with a set of 4" Wilton pans. They come in a pack of three. Each pan takes about the same amount as 2 cupcakes. So, basically, this cake is 6 cupcakes big.
I used the rest of the batter to make cupcakes, because why not?
Happy Birthday, little guy! Tonight I raise a glass of Butterbeer to toast in your honor.
Want more Happy Birthdays to Dobby? Check out Darla's from last year! Butterbeer Krispy Cake!
If I've ever had a hipster moment in my life, it's this:
I liked John Green before he was cool.
Ok, lie. John Green has ALWAYS been cool (unless you ask him about his school days). John has rocketed to fame after publishing The Fault in Our Stars in 2012, and even more so now that the movie hits theaters in only 3 days. I, however, have been a fan of John Green's (and his brother Hank) since 2007, when they started a little YouTube series called Vlogbrothers. When I subscribed to their channel in July of that year they had, I believe, around 4,000 subscribers. As I write this, the vlogbrothers now have 2,103,154 subscribers. Upon watching the first video I found (Accio Deathly Hallows), I then went back to the start and watched all of them. I loved these quirky guys. They were just too much fun. I did what I always do, and I googled. I found out John was an award winning author and I ran right out and bought the two books he had published at the time (Looking for Alaska & An Abundance of Katherines). Since then he has published Paper Towns, and Co-authored Will Grayson, Will Grayson, and Let It Snow. Also, obviously, The Fault in Our Stars. (See all about John's books here). You can read much more about the Brothers Green in my prior post about them which I wrote after meeting John at a signing in 2012: {That Time I Met John Green & JScribble Cookies}. Back to the cookies, eh? As I mentioned, the movie comes out in 3 days. I'm quite excited, as you can imagine. TFiOS is a beautiful, quirky, heart-wrenching book, and I love it. In the book, the main characters, Hazel and Augustus, banter back and forth over the word "Okay", and that simple word eventually becomes full of meaning. That's where these cookies come in. The front cover of TFiOS features two clouds.
One cloud is actually black and the other white, but I don't find black icing all that appetizing, so I went with TFiOS blue.
These are simple sugar cookies with royal icing. I decorated with the flood and fill method. I'm not great at it, but I think these look ok :) I couldn't find a cloud cookie cutter (what?!), so I made a template from cardstock and cut around it.
Yes, those are ALL my copies of TFiOS. What?!
Are you a John Green fan? Are you going to see the TFiOS movie? Are you a Nerdfighter? Do you know about the vlogbrothers?
If so, leave me a note in comments!
And as they say in my hometown... Don't Forget To Be Awesome!
My baby Bean went to his girlfriend's Homecoming this past weekend. Her Junior Homecoming. How can they be Juniors? That's just crazy talk.
I've gotten to the point where I can barely say "I can't wait" anymore. Time passes SO quickly, I can, in fact, wait. While there are things coming up that "I can't wait" for, like Christmas, the new Hobbit movie, our trip to Florida next year with Darla... I can WAIT. I don't want to wish time away, it's too darn precious. Sigh.
So, my Bean and his Girl.
1. Aren't they cute? I think so too.
and B. SLOW DOWN the growing! TOO FAST.
So, last week, I posted about the sadness that abounds here at the moment. I mentioned in that post that I made two different kinds of cupcakes that day. This recipe is for the second batch.
I love. love. love. Snickerdoodle cookies. My love for them is so deep that I created my Pumpkindoodle cookies. It seemed only right that I make Snickerdoodle Cupcakes. There is pretty much nothing NEW on the internet anymore, but these Snickerdoodle cupcakes start with a box mix.
You're welcome.
You'll add a bit of cinnamon to the batter, and, a few minutes into the baking, you'll add a little cinnamon sugar mix to the top of the cupcakes. It adds a great crunch to them. I really love it. Yes, I totally just patted myself on the back there. I'm sorry... but not really, cause YUMMEH. Then, you'll top it all with a Cinnamon Buttercream, and to top the top... sprinkle more cinnamon sugar. YES.
I have to say that these are some of my favorite cupcakes to date, and they are just so dang easy.
They are Bean's new favorite too!
Cinnamony and sweet, they are a lovely little cake.
I think you'll like them too. Try them soon, and be sure to slow down and enjoy the moments around you. They go far too fast.
Tina
Snickerdoodle Cupcakes Recipe by Tina @ Sugar Bean Bakers Yield: 24 standard size cupcakes Preheat oven to 350* F For the cupcakes: 1 box white cake mix (plus ingredients listed on box) 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon vanilla For the Cinnamon Sprinkle: 6 Tablespoons sugar 2 teaspoon cinnamon Combine together. Prepare cake according to box directions. Add in cinnamon and vanilla and mix to combine. Scoop into prepared paper lined cupcake pans. Bake for 5 minutes. Open oven and pull out rack a little (do not remove pans from oven). As quickly as possible, sprinkle about 1/2 teaspoon of the cinnamon sprinkle over the tops of the cupcakes. You will have leftover cinnamon sprinkle. Return to bake for 14-16 more minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.
Allow to cool.
For the Cinnamon Buttercream: 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 lb. (about 4 cups) confectioners’ sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 to 3 tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 teaspoon of cinnamon With mixer, beat butter for 3 minutes. Slowly add
powdered sugar and salt and cinnamon until well combined. Add 2 tablespoons heavy
cream. Beat on high for 4 minutes. If too thick, add more cream 1/2
teaspoon at a time until desired consistency. Pipe onto cupcakes. Top cupcakes with the remaining cinnamon sprinkle.
Ohio is bipolar. I'm being serious here. I think Ohio has some major issues she needs to work out this year. This summer has been cool. As in, too-cold- to-get-in-the pool-except-for-maybe-6-times-cool.
Sure, it was an extraordinarily pleasant summer for me. I'm not a 90+ degree sweaty Betty kinda girl. Give me a nice 80 degrees with a breeze and I'm a happy, happy chica. Bean though? While not great in the heat himself (especially not our lovely Ohio 100000% humidity hot) being the coughy, wheezy, asthma man he is, LOVES to swim. Loves it. Loves, loves, loves it.
This summer though? Uh. No. Sorry. Swimming season is over, in JUNE. All of July, all of August, save for about 1 week were cool. The one week it WAS nice and hot, the kid? Yeah, got Swimmer's Ear and was not allowed in the water (even with earplugs) for 10 days.
Fast forward to September and mother of all that is good and mighty, it's suddenly 92 degrees again. Ok, what?? Our pool is closed for the season (I'm using the word "season" lightly this year) and it's holy hot. However, Thursday it was 92, Friday? 60. You're killing me, Ohio. For serious. Pick. A. Season. We don't even care which at this juncture... Just. Pick.
So, yeah.
Sorry, I have no segue for this conversation, so let's just move forward from here.
You know what's a beautiful thing?
Buttercream.
You know what's even better?
Caramel Buttercream.
For really.
There are a ton of Caramel Buttercream recipes out there that are complicated. Making the caramel to add and such. Sure, you can do that. They are delish, but... sometimes fast and easy is the way to go.
In that case, I gotcha covered. You're welcome.
Basic buttercream ingredients, plus one... caramel ice cream topping.
That's it. Easy. Tasty. The end.
Excellent, of course, on chocolate cake, but really lovely on spice and white cakes too.
Give 'er a try.
Now that it's cooled back down, I'm looking forward to cranking out some fall recipes (like the Pumpkin Bread I just posted. Of course, it was totally 90+ degrees that day, but DUDE, I NEEDED a pumpkin infusion STAT).
Next up? Something appley! YUS.
Til then,
Tina
P.S., see, I told you I wouldn't talk about Harry Potter in this post! Ha! Wait, what do you mean I just did?
If you haven’t already, you can ‘like’ my Facebook pagehere, and follow me on twitterhere, and you can follow me on instagramhere.
Easy Caramel Buttercream
by Tina @ Sugar Bean Bakers
3/4 cup butter (softened)
1/4 cup shortening (I prefer Crisco)
3-4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping
pinch of salt
Milk*
Beat the butter and shortening until fluffy. Slowly add in the powdered sugar. Beat for about 3 minutes. Add in the salt and ice cream topping. Mix until distributed.
**you shouldn't need any milk with the liquid ice cream topping, but if you find the buttercream too thick, add milk 1 teaspoon at a time until desired consistency.
Drizzle extra caramel topping on top of cupcakes/cake if desired.
Easy Salted Caramel Buttercream variation
by Tina @ Sugar Bean Bakers
3/4 cup butter (softened)
1/4 cup shortening (I prefer Crisco)
3-4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt (sea salt)
Milk
Long rambling post, but there is a cookie/cupcake decorating tip at the end, promise!
You all know by now that I am a huge, massive, raging Harry Potter fan, right?
Well, there is another in my life. Actually two others.
Don't tell.
They are the brothers Hank and John Green. They have a little YouTube channel calledVlogbrothers. And by little, I of course mean, over 788,000 subscribers and over 258,000,000 video views. I've been watching the Vlogbrothers since 2007. The project, which started on Jan 1, 2007, was simply a year of textless communication between two brothers who lived thousands of miles apart. John, then in New York City (currently Indianapolis, Indiana), and Hank, in Missoula, Montana, were not allowed to email, instant message, or text each other for an entire year. Instead, they alternated days making YouTube videos. It just snowballed from there.
I found the brothers Green in July 2007, when Hank's video for the day, a song called Accio Deathly Hallows, was featured on the home page of YouTube.
So, really, Harry Potter brought me to this community.
This is one of my favorite John videos. Honestly, it's NOT because he's talking about Harry Potter. haha... I love his quote about being a nerd. It's awesome.
John Green, the older of the brothers, is a prize winning, best selling author of Young Adult literature. I'm sure it will come as no large shock to you that YA is my preferred read. John's books include: Looking For Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, Paper Towns, and The Fault In Our Stars, which is currently spending it's 40th week on the New York Time's Best Sellers list (children's chapter books section). He's also co-authored the book Will Grayson Will Grayon with David Levithan, and wrote one of the three short stories in the book Let It Snow (the other two being authored by Maureen Johnson & Lauren Myracle).
I love these guys. They are made of awesome. Completely crazy, nerdy, educational and, yes, sometimes a little risque. They celebrate the power and amazingness of being a nerd. They have a foundation called "The Foundation to Decrease World Suck". They also have the educational channels Crash Course& SciShowwhere John teaches History & Hank teaches Science (these are often used in classrooms across the country). They have other channels too, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, Hank Games, andTruth or Fail.
They are busy guys.
Oh, and Hank also founded a little something called VidCon.
Anyway, this is a really long intro to tell you that I met John Green on Monday.
He was speaking and signing a the Cincinnati Public Library.
Well, that's quite a drive, but dern it, we.were.going.
In the years since discovering the Vlogbrothers, I have made Nerdfighters
this video explains it all
(what they call their followers, we don't fight nerds, we ARE nerds) out of the Bean and my two nieces. So, we gathered in the car with my sister in law behind the wheel and away we went.
It was insanely packed. The library guesses 1200 people. We got there an hour prior to John's talk and we were still WAY in the back. He was a great speaker, of course. I watch him on YouTube all the time, so I know he can string an entertaining speech together. It was so surreal to see him after nearly 6 years though!
We are in the crowd shouting "GOOD MORNING, HANK, IT'S TUESDAY!".
We've always wanted to say that!
To us, meeting John was more exciting than meeting a movie star. I think this in the same way that if I had a chance to meet a Potter actor or J.K. Rowling, I would pick Rowling. Hands down. So, we were pretty geeked out.
They handed letters out for the signing. We were Q. Yes. Q. I saw two girls with Y though, so I was feeling OK about the situation. In the end, we waited 3 hours to have our things signed. And it was worth it. He was engaging and polite (in the 60ish seconds you get with him), even though he'd been signing non-stop at that point for 3 hours.
The Bean & my niece with their line letters. Q. They were on E when I took this photo.
See John in the background?
John's autograph is affectionately known as the J-Scribble. So, I decided to make some J-Scribbles* out of chocolate.
Cause, why not.
First I started by making these sugar cookies & icing them with this icing (it's so glossy and pretty!).
I made up the icing and tinted it, anyone? anyone? Bueller? Green. Yes, I tinted it green.
I iced a couple of my cookies, then decide that, since the icing was so pretty, I should dip the cookies.
Then I allowed them to dry.
While that was happening, I melted up some white chocolate. I had John autograph two prints I made, which I brought home and laminated. I put one of those under parchment paper so I could see his J-Scribble. I put the melted chocolate into a decorator bag and snipped off a TEENY bit off the end. You could also use Wilton Tip #1, which I planned to, but could not find. Hmph.
I allowed them to dry, then very carefully, with a spatula, I popped them off the parchment and onto the cookies.
It's a little tedious, but it was a lot of fun. In the end, here is what I got. They aren't perfect (aww shucks, my plans for a career in forgery aren't going to work out!), but I think they are pretty cool.
This is one of the prints I designed for him to sign
Yes, I have his books in ebook & hard copy. I actually own hardback copies of
Alaska & Katherines, but I couldn't find them for the photos.
The other print I made
If you think you might want to read a John Green book, I recommend The Fault In Our Stars.
It was deeply moving, but also amazingly witty.
I own four copies. Ask me about my Harry Potter books sometime. *wink*
A warning, there is frank dialogue in some of his books. He is writing for teens about teens.
If this is something you don't like, his books may not be for you.
So, I said there was a decorating tip at the end of this. If you've read this far and not closed the page, thanks! I know I'm a nerdy fangirl, but I can't help it. It's who I am.
QUICK TIP TIME
The tip is the chocolate. Many people think of chocolate for dipping only. They don't realize how versatile it is. You can pipe out designs, let them harden, then add to cupcakes, cakes, cookies, ice cream sundaes, etc. It's also EXCELLENT for gluing gingerbread houses together at Christmas!
It's so much fun. I mostly like to do circles, stars, and hearts, but it's all fun to play with.
Try it sometime!
After all the yammering on about John, I guess I should show you the photos from the event.
He couldn't do posed pictures, we would have been there FOREVER, but I shot these from the line.
niece 1
niece 2
The Bean & John
The Bean and John again
And again...
Thanks for letting me get nerd all over the page.
I'll be ok. Possibly.
DFTBA
(that's the Nerdfighter mantra: Don't Forget To Be Awesome)
Tina
*these cookies are meant as an homage to someone that I admire. I am in no way claiming that they are John's actual autograph. I'm also not trying to forge his name. These cookies are not being sold. Only eaten by myself and my son, at a rapid pace, I might add.
I love John Green and would never forge his name. Ever.
Oh. My. Landsies. How it makes me laugh! I used to look forward to seeing it each year, but I don't think they've played it for a few.
However, this is NOT how I feel. I feel more like this:
Sighhhhhhhhhh......... I love having the Bean home in the summer. We run around together, have 'dates' once a week, we have a good time. Of course the last couple years have been eaten alive with his Summer Drama Troupe (takes up all of June), but still, we love the summer. More than anything though, more than the passing of holidays or the coming of birthdays, the start of the new school year always makes me realize how quickly he is growing up. He will be a Sophomore in High School this year. Oh Em WHAT? 15 years old, working on 6 foot tall, wearing a size ELEVEN shoe. Sad Panda Mom. So, school starts here on Wednesday. Crazy cakes, I know, but that's when it starts. On Sundays, during the school year, I always bake up a batch of cookies or cupcakes for his lunch. Today
I'm sharing several cookie recipes that you might have missed.
Chewy Oatmeal CookiesRich & Buttery, these Oatmeal Cookies make fans out of even non-Oatmeal Cookie likers!
SnickerdoodlesSweet & lightly cinnamon-y, these are *my* favorite cookies. They aren't just for Christmas, folks!
So, there you have it. Some of our favorites. Make some up for your munchkins & pop in their lunchboxes. They'll be the most popular kid at the lunch table. Just ask the Bean! In the meantime, I'll try not to be a Sad Panda. Cheer me up by posting below about your kids heading back to school. Are you excited? Nervous for them? Happy to have time to yourself? Or are you, like me, saddddddddddd pannnnnnnnda?
Last Saturday, after returning from the Bean's auditions for the local summer children's theater, I was sitting here, twiddling my thumbs (or something like that), when this evil idea just fell upon me.
I realize now at this point, that me inventing something new is out of the question. The Googlesphere is too, too full of clever, crafty people. What I'm trying to say, is that someone has probably already came up with this.
Whatevs.
This is what *I* did.
I took our favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie, seen here and filled it with Cookie Dough Buttercream, seen here(*note, be sure to use the Cookie Dough Buttercream recipe, there is also a Cookie Dough Filling in the same post. Don't use that.. that.. wouldn't... work.).
I did add chocolate chips to the Buttercream, which is something I do not do when making the icing for cupcakes.
Just use mini chocolate chips for this. The regular sized ones are too large. I was out of minis and I tried to chop some up, which worked OK. However, the minis would work better.
So, bake up some cookies, whip up some Cookie Dough Buttercream, toss about 1/2 cup of chocolate chips in, mix a little more, then, when the cookies are completely cooled, (with a LARGE open tip) pipe the icing on one cookie (or spread with a knife), and top with another.
These were EXTREMELY popular when I took them to Sunday School.
The Bean loves cookie dough. Like, crazy loves. The fact that it has raw eggs in it does nothing to stop him begging like a stray dog.
I first made these a couple years ago, and they were met with lukewarm reception, so I'd never made them again.
My BPIC (Baking Partner in Crime, Lori) and I were doing a bake sale at our kid's high school to raise money for a new, and sorely needed, mascot costume, I thought I'd try them again.
Kids, they like cookie dough.
Lori made her Oreo Cupcakes, which are quite like these, but she uses more cookies in the batter, and then, after they are cooled, fills them with a plain buttercream, then tops with an Oreo buttercream (lots of finely crushed cookies in buttercream). They sold like holy friggin hotcakes! I did my Cream Filled Cuppies along with a few downsized Double Trouble Cookies (because the ones in the recipe are HUGE). We nearly sold out and made a nice little bit for our mascot fund.
Lemme tell you about the mascot.
You know how they make fun of mascot costumes on TV/Movies, because they smell bad and no one wants to wear them? That.Is.Ours. It's super gross. Like SUPER GROSS. ALL CAPS. It's the same one that was at the school 20, ahem, a FEW years ago when I was in high school (that sounded convincing, right? RIGHT???!). So, it stays in the closet. No one wears it. We are mascotless. It's sad. Mascot costumes are SPENDY. Like, WOW, spendy. We are working on it though. We'll have a non vomit smell radiating suit before you know it. We're determined.
Maybe I shouldn't have said vomit in a food post.
Hmm...
Oh, well.
Now, cookie dough.
So, here's the dealio. I followed, for the most part, this recipe by Recipe Girl.
You'll need to make a cookie dough batter, I love hers, it's egg-less. The Bean was quite certain I should just sell balls of cookie dough at the Bake Sale.
Uh, that didn't happen, but it DID, however, give me a devious plan for later on this blog.
Shyeah, it did!
So, here's her batter, except I doubled it for 24 cupcakes.
Cookie Dough Filling 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick butter, melted
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
4 Tablespoons granulated white sugar
4 Tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup miniature chocolate chips
Beat the butter and the sugars together, add the salt, soda, and vanilla. Then add the flour. Add the milk and beat until well mixed. Stir in the chocolate chips with a spatula.
Roll into balls.
I used the Pampered Chef small scoop.
Place them on a baking sheet and freeze for an hour. I froze mine in the deep freezer rather than the refrigerator freezer. I knew they were good and solidly frozen.
Don't skip this step! If you don't freeze them, the cookie dough will bake & you'll just have a cookie in your cupcake.
Not that a cookie in your cupcake is a BAD thing, just that it kinda make it a chocolate chip cookie cupcake and not a chocolate chip cookie dough cupcake.
I think.
I'm officially confusing myself and that is never good.
Now, I took a shortcut. I used a box cake mix.
Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh...................don't tell.
Actually, as you'll see, I did this using both a yellow cake and a chocolate cake.
The chocolate were the more popular, FYI.
After prepping your mix, according to the box, and filling your cupcake papers, add 1 ball of cookie dough to each cupcake. Press it down to touch the bottom.
Bake according to box. I, personally, baked mine for 19 minutes.
While cooling, make your Cookie Dough Buttercream.
This recipe is one I tweaked. The original is from Tidy Mom.
Cookie Dough Buttercream
3 sticks butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3/4 cup flour
3 tbsp. milk
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
Yeah, I said flour. Totally sounds weird, but it gives it that cookie dough taste.
Beat together the butter & brown sugar. Add the vanilla. Mix in the flour. Then slowly add the powdered sugar. Beat in the milk. Mix until amazing.
Top your cooled cuppys with this & a sprinkle of mini chocolate chips!
What? OH! You want to see the INSIDE?
Ok, sure.......... it's... gooey, and chocolatey, and cookiey (cookiey??)
Yeah Bayyybee... there it is!
The Bean has now declared these his new favorite cupcakes in all the land.
Apparently this recipe is MUCH better than the one I used before.
