Monday, December 12, 2011

Sprinkles Cupcakes NYC

Just a few short years ago, in Los Angeles, CA, I visited the very first cupcake bakery, Sprinkles Cupcakes, founded by the one and only, Candace Nelson. Located on the west coast, and, me, living on the east coast, I could not wait until Sprinkles came to an area near me. Finally, in early 2011, Sprinkles opened a new location in New York City! I was super duper excited and couldn't wait to go back so I could enjoy that delicious cupcake that I haven't stopped dreaming about. After all those years of waiting for that cupcake, I returned to Sprinkles the other day! For their Holiday special, Sprinkles was offering a unique flavor for the month: Eggnog Spice Cupcake. The moist spice cake was complimented by a creamy eggnog frosting that simply melted in your mouth. While I enjoyed my eggnog cupcake, my parents were delighted by the most wonderful chocolate cupcake topped with only the best chocolate frosting. For a cupcake queen, like me, this wasn't just a visit to some cupcake bakery, but the highlight of my week!

For those cupcake lovers, like me, I highly suggest you visit the nearest Sprinkles. As a matter of fact, it is totally worth hopping on a plane if you are not within driving distance. I would never lie about cupcakes, so it is safe to say that these are the world's best little treats!






Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Gingerbread Cookies

Christmas time is my favorite time of year... mostly because of the Christmas cookies! Every year I usually buy the Nestle Toll House Gingerbread Cookie Dough in the huge tub from the store, but this year, I decided to make my own gingerbread cookies from scratch. I was extremely excited to try my hand at it, because I absolutely love gingerbread cookies! The recipe I tried was so delicious and the cookies came out soft and fat! They definitely did not disappoint, and a major plus was that the dough did not have any eggs in it, which made me believe it was perfectly safe to taste. So, if you are a gingerbread lover, like me, be sure to try out this recipe! Merry Baking!



Gingerbread Men
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1/4 cup water
1 tsp vanilla extract
In a medium bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking soda, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, cinnamon.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in molasses, water and vanilla, then gradually add in flour mixture until a smooth dough forms. Place dough in container and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, until firm.
Preheat oven to 375F.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough 1/4 inch thickness. Use cookie cutters of your choice (2-3″ gingerbread men are perfect!) to cut dough. Place cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 9-12 minutes, depending on size of cookie cutter. Cookies should be slightly firm to the touch at the edges. Let cookies cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Nutrition Information 1 cookie:
Calories 66   
Fat 2
Carbohydrates 9