Big Weekend!

Today my father-in-law graduated, earning his Psy.D. Wohoo! We can now officially call him Dr. Dave. We are so proud of him! Tomorrow it's time to celebrate with family and friends and I decided what a perfect opportunity to bake some more cupcakes! I was going to wait until tomorrow to post the pics but couldn't wait. Congratulations Dr. Dave! You have worked so extremely hard and are an inspiration to all of us.

Raspberry Lemon Cupcakes

We celebrated my mother-in-law's birthday tonight out on our new deck...how I will miss these beautiful Colorado summer nights! I made these delicious Raspberry Lemon cupcakes with a recipe adapted from My Baking Addiction. They were a perfect summer treat. I'll share the recipe with anyone who comments. Happy Friday to all!

Brooke's Bridal Shower

I am creating the decor for my soon-to-be sister-in-law, Brooke. It is vintage inspired with hot pink and black as theme colors. Here's a sneak peek at what's to come!

 Brooke and Patrick. Aren't they the cutest?!

Jaxon's First Birthday Party

For my little man's first birthday party I decided to celebrate with a Dr. Seuss theme. I love Dr. Seuss and Jax loves to read, so it was a perfect match. The details included a sweet station with red velvet cupcakes topped with a cream cheese frosting, marshmallow pops, oreo truffles and candy coated pretzels.

I also hung pictures of Jaxon from month one through twelve along with my favorite quotes from Dr. Seuss.

Oh how I love my sweet boy!

Snickers Cupcakes

Pictured above are Snickers cupcakes I made over the weekend. Mike (the husband) said they were A.MAZ.ING. I'm gonna have to agree. Snickers Minis are baked into an awesome variation of devil's food cake and topped with a caramel butter cream frosting. I found this recipe at My Baking Addiction - by far one of my favorite baking blogs. Below, find a copy of the recipe if you'd like to try them yourself - or you can always ask me to do the baking :)


SNICKERS CUPCAKES
Yeild 24-30 cupcakes

For the cake:
1 (18.25 ounce) package devil’s food cake mix
1 (5.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs; lightly beaten
1/2 cup warm water
1 teaspoon of vanilla
24-30 frozen Snickers Miniatures
Method
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line (2) 12 cup muffin tins with paper liners.
3. In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs, vanilla and water.
4. Evenly divide the batter amongst the prepared pans. {I use a large cookie scoop from OXO to scoop my batter; it holds 3 tablespoons}.
5. Gently push a frozen Snickers Miniature bar into the center of the batter and smooth the surface making sure to cover the candy bar with batter.
6. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean.
7. Cool cupcakes thoroughly on wire rack.
For the frosting:
2 sticks unsalted butter; room temperature
1/2 cup shortening
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 pounds confectioners’ sugar
1/3 cup caramel topping; plus more for drizzling
1/4 teaspoon salt
Method
1. Cream the butter and shortening in the bowl of an electric or stand mixer. Add the vanilla extract, salt and caramel syrup and combine well.
2. Begin adding in the sugar and mixing thoroughly after each addition. After all of the sugar has been added and mixed thoroughly, give it a taste and decide if you want to add in more caramel syrup. For thicker frosting you can gradually add in a little more sugar.
Garnish with chopped Snickers bars and a drizzle of caramel of caramel syrup.

Welcome to Sugar Mama!

This is my first official post on Sugar Mama! I am so excited to start this blog. I've been whipping up some awesome little treats and now get to share them with you all.  I will share recipes I find, create and experiment so you can join me in the fun of baking, celebrating and enjoying life's sweet moments. Welcome and thank you for reading!