Happy Hour Cupcakes – Champagne Cupcakes with Champagne Glaze for Two

Well hello there! It’s been awhile! I wanted to drop in to say, I hope you have all enjoyed the holiday season as much as I have! I can’t believe today is New Year’s eve! Where did the year go? I am on vacation from work, and although my actual vacation ends on January 2^nd (already dreading that!); Beyond Frosting will return on January 7^th with a new Monday Foodie Finds. However, I couldn’t leave you hanging without a tasty treat for New Year’s eve!

I contemplated this dessert decision for quite some time. I finally decided to try something different and I hope that you will enjoy! I think I will be calling my mother first thing in the morning and tell her to make these immediately. She loves a good excuse to drink some wine, and for that, I love her. Today’s recipe is champagne cupcakes with a champagne glaze.

Champagne Cupcakes For Two

 

Mint Chocolate Brownies

When I was only four years old, we relocated from Wisconsin to Vermont, where I grew up until after I graduated college.  Some of the kids I graduated high school with, I have known since pre-school. Several years after we moved to Vermont, a few mothers in my 2nd grade class got together to a organize a holiday cookie exchange. Twenty years later, it is still going on with most of the original moms and some new ones we have met along the way.

When I was little, I looked forward to the cookie exchange every Christmas. It meant a few things for me. I got to help my mom bake cookies and I had an excuse to see my friends on a school night. Plus I got to eat lots and lots of delicious homemade cookies. This year was the 20th anniversary of my Mom’s cookie exchange.

Chocolaty goodness

I thought it would be fun for my Mom and I to each make a recipe of her mother’s Mint Frosted Brownies on the weekend of the cookie exchange. Even though I am 3000 miles away, we constantly swap cooking advice, especially around this time of year. How do I make that again? These mint frosted brownies were one of my absolute favorite Christmas cookies that my grandmother used to make; I swear, this is how I became hooked on mint chocolate. Well Grandma’s recipe is true to it’s taste, the same way it was when I was a child.

Christmas Funfetti Cupcakes

I make tons of chocolate cupcakes from my favorite doctored cake mix recipe, but I have never really tried a yellow or white doctored cake mix. A friend of mine at work got his wisdom teeth taken out, and since he couldn’t eat much of any solid foods, he asked me to make him cupcakes. His request: funfetti. I have never made a homemade funfetti recipe, so I thought it would be the perfect time to try. He wouldn’t be able to taste much anyway, right?

Christmas Funfetti cupcakes with dark chocolate frosting

I perused the internet for ideas; I was looking for something somewhat easy. I landed on the  Your Cup of Cake blog. She has lots of very intriguing cupcake recipes and lot of doctored cake mix recipes. I decided I would start with a white-based cupcake and add some Christmas colored sprinkles.

Chocolate Caramel Moose Munch Explosion Cupcake

Okay, this cupcake was too fun to make. It’s ooey, gooey and chocolaty delicious; I am still cleaning my camera off after this photo shoot. The Moose Munch Cupcake is  a chocolate cupcake, dipped in chocolate ganache, topped with caramel Swiss meringue buttercream, Moose Munch popcorn and drizzled with caramel and chocolate. It’s a chocolate caramel cupcake explosion!

Are you ready for this?

Moose munch is a wildly popular snack around this time of year. Caramel popcorn, plus chocolate covered caramel popcorn, plus caramel covered cashews and almonds. Don’t mind if I do. I thought I could whip together a few ingredients and turn this into an uber sugary sweet cupcake.

Trader Joe’s Foodie Finds!

This is the last Monday before Christmas; it’s crazy. Well, I guess technically next Monday is the last Monday before Christmas, but I don’t count it as a day I can get something done, I should be finished by then (hopefully). This is one of my favorite weeks of year. I see this week being full of wrapping gifts, baking, baking and some more baking, following by lots of eating! This is, however, the last Monday of Foodie Finds for 2012.

This past week, I stopped in at Trader Joe’s; I don’t know why I don’t go more often. Their food is so affordable, and they are always stocking the shelves with new food items. This week my mission was to see what types of holiday foodie items they had.

Melt in my mouth

Right when my shopping buddy and I walked in the door we were greeted with barrels of Cocoa Drizzle Kettle Corn and Chocolate covered Sea Salt Butterscotch caramels. Chocolate, sea salt, caramel; sold.