HINT... hint hint hint...

Recently, I've learned that hints don't work. I'm not sure why that is though... I can hint to my girlfriends all day, and they completely get it. I don't even so much as have to speak a word, just a look or a nudge and it's like they've just read my mind. Guys on the other hand, I don't understand how you can't do that! Sometimes being blunt is rude, so girls hint things. Hints that are so obvious you should pick up on it, but don't.

Case in point, the Ring on the Tiffany Blue Cupcake. I wonder what that could mean...

Photo Credit: Two Parts Sugar's Flickr

Pretty Ornaments!

Guess what I get to do tonight!!!!!!!!!!!!

SET UP THE CHRISTMAS TREE!!!

So in honor of that loveliness here are some pretty Ornament Cupcakes, with the "How To" Courtesy of Star Telegram:

Edible Ornaments
Makes 24 cupcakes
24 vanilla cupcakes in assorted green, red and white paper liners
2 cans (12 ounces each) vanilla frosting
1/2 cup each green, light green, red, yellow and white decorating sugars
24 yellow spice drops
Black licorice laces, cut into 24 (1 1/4 -inch) pieces
24 thin pretzel sticks
Assorted colored fruit chews and leathers, such as Laffy Taffy, Airheads, Starbursts
Red licorice laces
1 cup M&M Minis
Cinnamon Red Hots
1. Spoon 1/2 cup vanilla frosting into a self-closing plastic bag, pressing out excess air; seal and set aside.
2. Place decorating sugars in separate small shallow bowls.
3. Spread tops of all cupcakes in remaining vanilla frosting, mounting it slightly. Roll top of each cupcake in one of the sugars to coat completely.
4. Make top of ornament by poking a hole in each end of each spice drop with a round toothpick. Bend one black licorice piece in half and insert both ends into one of the spice drop holes to make a loop. Insert one end of a pretzel stick in the hole in the other end of the spice drop. Press the other end of the pretzel stick all the way into a cupcake. Repeat with remaining cupcakes.
5. Roll out fruit chews on a piece of wax paper to 1/8 -inch thickness. Use clean scissors to cut the fruit chews and leathers into decorative pieces. Arrange these with red licorice laces to make strips, bands and other designs on the cupcakes.
6. Snip a tiny corner off the bag with vanilla frosting and pipe dots in different patterns over the cupcakes, atop the fruit chew designs. Press M&M Minis and Red Hots into frosting. Place cupcakes into small boxes or arrange on a platter.
— June Naylor

Photo Credit: Rachel From Cupcakes Take The Cake's Flickr Via Star Telegram

Sugar + Sunshine Bakery

I like Sugar
I like Sunshine

Why not have both?

Sugar + Sunshine Bakery, 6 Market St., Plainsboro. (609) 936-3777. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays; 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays; 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sundays. Closed Mondays. sugarandsunshinebakery.com.

Article Via NJ.Com:

I am sitting in my car behind 1st Constitution Bank in Plainsboro, pondering the next step in a daring daylight heist.
The loot is spread across the passenger seat -- two boxes and two bags of unmarked, untouched goods.
Cupcakes, mostly, with a dozen cookies and muffins scattered throughout.
The big question: How much of the merchandise do I sample right now, and how much do I take back to the office?
This, I tell myself, is no time to suddenly develop a conscience. I have a job to do, and besides, I am hungry.
The baked goods are from Sugar + Sunshine in Plainsboro, and they're so good I immediately hate owner Gigi Burton. Why? When I lived in Plainsboro eons ago, there was no bakery like this -- or much of a town, for that matter.
We're several years into the "Sex and the City"-fueled cupcake craze -- one trend I really wanted to avoid -- but Burton's cupcakes, and the rest of her baked goods, are first-rate, and Dec. 15 is National Cupcake Day, after all.
"We wanted to focus on nostalgic American desserts," Burton said. "We didn't want to do these fancy little French pastries."
For 12 years, Burton worked in the credit card division at J.P. Morgan. But baking was always on her mind, and when her job was transferred to Delaware in the wake of J.P. Morgan's merger with Chase, Burton took it as a sign to get out of the office and into the kitchen. The bakery opened in April, and Burton's commute is painless -- she lives in town.
Supermarket cupcakes, even the bakery cupcakes I've sampled, are no match for the cupcakes at Sugar + Sunshine. The icing, a thick swirl of rich buttery goodness, emboldens but doesn't overwhelm the soft cake. In fact, all her baked goods have great texture; the banana nut muffin, with a flaky, sugary crust, is just about perfect. The chocolate chip cookie tastes like home; the chocolate brownie tastes like real chocolate. The oatmeal raisin cookie may have been my single favorite item. The sole disappointment: the blueberry muffin, which tasted more like lemon than blueberry.
"Everyone wanted to sell us pre-made pie filling, pre-made everything," Burton said. "We could buy tons of frosting, but then we'd be just like the supermarket. Our suppliers said, 'You're never going to make it.'"
She seems to be doing quite well, thank you. There are a dozen or so cupcakes, from chocolate/chocolate (double yum) and vanilla/chocolate to carrot/cream cheese, strawberry/strawberry buttercream and coconut/lemon buttercream. The frosting is done out front, so if you want to create your own combination and there's cake available, you can.
Cupcakes are $2 each or $20 per dozen. Cookies are $2 each; brownies $2.50 each. Cakes and pies are made to order. Cinnamon rolls, $2 each, are available Thursdays through Sundays only.
In the end, it was probably a good thing I brought my loot back to the office.
"I am going to walk away before I stick my face in that box," a colleague said.
"The most astounding cupcake I ever ate," raved another.
Some complained the cupcakes, from which I extracted small slices, weren't whole. "Hey," I replied, "I'm working here!"

Photo Credit: Amanda Brown/The Star-Ledger

Candy Cupcakes M&Ms!!!!!

As I sit in my Cubicle... WORKING OF COURSE... I came across these cute little M&M cupcakes. I find it Ironic, because as I work, Blog, and look for cupcakes, I play BINGO. Horrible Christmas Music Songs BINGO. The prize you ask? M&Ms!!!!! We've switched to BLACK OUT, and I only have 4 more songs until I can fill my card and collect my prize! So, call in and request Horrible Christmas songs for me. I need some Kenny G and Whitney Houston. My partner in crime next me needs Madonna and Gloria Estefan! Hop to it!

Photo Credit: scarfmonster's flickr

Cupcake Camp?

Okay, I've been reading all about this Cupcake Camp I have to say, I'm intrigued, and depressed that I don't live in the San Fran area... However, if you do, please feel free to partake. Click the link and go!

I really hope that the day after they have Cupcake Camp they have Boot Camp, so people can work off the 15 cupcakes they ate the day before. I'd be completely ready for that... I wonder how many miles you have to run to burn off one cupcake. My guess is 2-4, depends on the size and amount of frosting. A CRUMBS cupcake is probably closer to 4 miles. Who cares, Cupcakes are one of the best things on EARTH, enjoy 1, or 10. Worry about running when you're dead.

Photo Credit: gruntzooki's flickr

Toasted marshmallow frosting on a sweet potato cupcake

Yummmmmy! And I even got you guys the recipe to try out yourself... Courtesy of Coconut & Lime so go to her site, and get the recipes, plus tons more and enjoy these!

Send me any photos if you make them... I'd love to see your creations!!

Photo Credit: Rachel is Coconut & lime's Flickr

Santa is real

He's real to me at least... And look, here he is on a red cupcake! He's everywhere! He watches me everyday to make sure I stay on the Nice list. How many of you are on the Naughty list this year? I know I've been very good... And instead of cookies and milk, Santa is getting cupcakes in Milk. I'm sure that'll please him more than a batch of Oreos! Who am I kidding... My dad won't stop at the Cupcakes on the plate he'll head to the fridge and eat the whole batch afterwards. Very Un-Santa like behavior, but I guess he's no longer participating in that charade for my benefit anymore.

Photo Credit: two parts sugar's flickr

Good Morning Cupcakers!

It's the cupcake NINJAS! Here to protect all my cupcakes from the evil cupcake stealers!!

Don't let their cuteness fool you, they are dangerous, and they can kill you will their little pinky finger! Don't get near any cupcakes today, or they are coming for you.

I want to be a Ninja when I grow up. Bailey will be my side kick "Ninja Pup".

Photo Credit: Lilley1's Flickr

VOTE FOR ME PEOPLE!

Vote Vote Vote!!!

VOTE FOR ME PEOPLE!

Vote Vote Vote!!!

Winter Wonderland

Pretty Pretty! The snows is pretty, the tree is pretty, and the cuppy liners are the the prettiest! I love how classy Christmas stuff can look!

We have a fake tree... just like this one, but probably bigger. Every Christmas, I get to set it up. Then I get little green slivers stuck in my skin... My dad sits on the couch and usually talks on the phone... Then I get mad, and call him a scrooge. He usually helps after that. Good Story huh.

Photo Credit: Couture-Cupcakes.com's Flickr

PRESENTS!!!!!!!!!

I'm the kid who refused to go to bed because I was to excited to open my Christmas presents. Eventually, I passed out, and I had to be carried to my bed. The day I found out that my dad was really Santa Claus, I nearly had a heart attack at the age of 6. I always found it odd that my dad and Santa had the same handwriting... And so did the Easter bunny... I put two and two together and realized I had been DUPED!

These are whole new kind of present... the cupcake kind. I'm excited to tell you that, I will be ordering cupcakes online, right before Christmas, as a present to myself. Not only will it be Christmas, but I will be 5 lbs lighter. That's my goal at least... Then I'll gain all 5 back, but who cares!

Photo Credit: +0+cupcakes.com's flickr

mmm. moist.

Seriously, you can almost tell that this cupcake is going to melt in your mouth! It's also got me wondering how they get that pretty pinkness in the middle. Hmm... I may need to experiment with that! I've seen ones where they cut the cupcake in half, and then put the yumminess on, and then put the cupcake back together, but this looks way to dainty to have been done that way... Any ideas?!

Photo Credit: spidercamp's flickr

And it's December!

Happy December, and Happy Monday to everyone in Cupcake Land!

Let's Celebrate the last month in the year with a little cupcake shall we?

A festive Cupcake none the less. Perfect little snowflakes, and the red cupcake holders go perfectly with December. I love love love it! I wish it would snow already... it's SUNNY.. In OREGON. Who would have thought it would be Sunny in December... It at least RAINS!

Photo Credit: evbjone's flickr