Pumpkins, and more pumpkins...

So this week I worked on and nailed a Pumpkin Cookie recipe as well as the Pumpkin a L'Orange cupcakes. Sold a ton of the cupcakes but unfortunately, none of the cookies sold even though the tasters said they were amazing! I am going to make a fresh batch and mail them out as a part of some packages I am sending out this week. I know this would be a great way to get additional feedback on the cookies and I want as many folks as possible to love them as much as I do! I will keep you guys posted!

FALL FUN...PART DEUX!

I am so excited!

My "Taster" has deemed my very NEW Pumpkin a l'orange Cupcakes delicious! I tried them myself and must admit, I am surprised at how tasty they are! I can taste the freshness from the orange zest that Iadded to my batter along with the pureed pumpkin. The Orange Cream Cheese frosting is a nice touch too! And don't worry folks, the orange taste is much softer than the color you see! I was merely going for a bit of Fall "splash" there. That said, I'll let you know how many of these make it out my door this week. ;)

FALL FUN!!

I have been baking my butt off! Had so much fun these past few weeks as my creative "treat" juices have been flowing! The pic on the right represents one of my newest recipes, Punkin Pie Cookies. Full of spice, real pumpkin and so moist and cake like...truth is my sample batch of over 2 dozen were DEMOLISHED in just a few short hours! I am hoping these do well this week,just in time for Harvest and Halloween season!

As we speak, I am creating another pumpkin treat, this time adding one of my favorite flavors to the "mix", orange! I am logging off now to go and frost these beauties, so stay tuned!

So much on my mind...

Got back from my trip to the SF Bay area to visit my kid! Had an awesome time and am feeling super motivated and inspired! This gig HAS to work out for me...I can smell and TASTE my success.
The week before I left was rough...my ideas for Taste Your Dreams' Deals of the Week kinda fell flat, with me selling ZERO Oatmeal cookies but lots of pumpkin bread and brownies (YAY!). I love my loyal and loving customers and am hoping to acquire many more!
For this week, I am seriously considering red velvet cake or cupcakes and the quadruple threat chocolate chip cookies for sale...or maybe the cream cheese marble brownies??? Sigh...decisions, decisions!
So to get me back in mode I decided to do something that my family is super excited about. I am creating the starter for my Amish Friendship bread. I have been making this bread every fall and winter for the past 25 years and it NEVER gets old! Now, to patiently wait the 12 days for the starter to "develop"...stay tuned!

Muffin Liners!

I am LOVING these new tulip-shaped muffin liners recently purchased. They hold lots of batter and bake some really pretty muffins!
Also loving the old recipes I have been playing with and revamping this past month. Lots are being made healthier but more flavorful, imagine that!!
Biggest news: Taste Your Dreams is officially kicked off and here with weekly specials that will provide a little something for everyone...
Up and coming is credit card payments, shipping orders country-wide and canine cookies (yup, sweet treats for dogs)! Stay tuned, there's lots of fun things ahead!

The Taste Fairy Explores...Yogurt Vs. Sour Cream

This past weekend, while creating Nicole's cupcake order I decided to try an ingredient I had been recently playing with in my baking: Greek yogurt. I know, some purists out there would laugh at my attempts to make a "healthy" cake. I mean, it IS cake after all, right!? My theory is, if you don't treat yourself, you cheat yourself...but that doesn't mean DELETE yourself! Haha...I know. Corny.
In any case, I LOVE adding sour cream to my pound cakes and cupcakes...it makes them so moist and so tender. Not to mention, the flavor it imparts. Mmmm. BUT, it is sour cream and per tablespoon, has almost as much fat as butter and 8 times the fat as Greek yogurt. And Greek yogurt, is every bit as creamy and thick as sour cream. Mind you, I tried using light sour creams but they were watery in texture and yeah, watery in taste...
A trainer at my gym once told me about the benefits of Greek yogurt (low fat, HIGH in protein) which is why I began eating it daily. I perused the supermarket dairy aisle every couple of days, buying different brands until I settled on 2 that I love, for their creaminess as well as their texture (some seemed powdery on the tongue--ew).
I have found that the yogurt (plain or vanilla flavor) is a perfect replacement for the sour cream I use in my sour cream pound cake cupcakes. However, I found when using the same yogurt to make pound cake, I needed an extra 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda. Without it, my cakes are on the gummy side and do not rise.Note that even with the 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda, the cake still seems a little rich, or dense to me but for a coffee or breakfast cake, this would be ideal, or so I am told....anyway, try either one in your favorite butter or pound cake recipe and let me know what you think!

Nicole's Vanilla Cupcakes

Ok, so I was invited to my son's girlfriends' going away party as she is relocating to California as a result of a job promotion. I made some of my vanilla cupcakes, using my slightly modified pound cake recipe. Some were iced with my fresh strawberry frosting, some with (my NEW favorite-all improved!) chocolate frosting. I don't know why, but my 1st batch didn't look too pretty, with most of them a little sunken in the middle. Not to mention, I used regular cupcake liners, doubled up so the colors would be vibrant. Typically, when I bake with regular liners, the butter leaches through, giving the liner a greasy, transparent look that I detest. Thankfully, I had the grease proof kind and let me add, I can't ever go back! The colors stay true and your fingers don't get oily from holding your cupcake! No need for doubling up either, since that doesn't work for me anyway.

I plowed ahead and made a second batch, and they were picture-perfect! Not to mention, they tasted lightly sweet, moist and buttery. I frosted them all, while picturing how they would look perched on the new pink cupcake holder I bought at T.J. Maxx, of all places!!

Quickly, I showered, got dressed, grabbed my charged up camera (so I could take pix of the folks at the party as well as the cupcakes on display), the cupcakes and the holder and headed out the door. I fought torrential rain, a road detour and a highway accident before arriving at the party, late of course! AGGHH!

All obstacles aside, the party was som much fun and I feel llike I made some new buddies. Not to mention, the cupcakes were a hit! I am so glad, humbled and elated all in one. I may have said this before, but when anyone compliments my baking it ALWAYS feels like I am heraring this for the very 1st time!! Today I end by letting you know that before all was done, I took a picture of my "naked" cupcakes but TOTALLY forgot to take a pic of the finished product...What a doof I am!