Strawberry Margarita Mini Muffins

You know how for the past week you've been wondering what to do with the rest of that strawberry drink mix you bought for the Strawberry Margarita Cake (by the way, the definitive answer is add tequila and ice)?  Well you're in luck because I used up some of that mix to develop this tasty recipe for a wonderful batch of mini muffins that are the perfect size for this intensely flavored batter.

Why, yes, I did say I developed this recipe.  Earlier this year I picked up a copy of Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking by Michael Ruhlman.  This is a great book for bakers and cooks in general.  Ruhlman breaks down standard foods into their basic structures (i.e., muffins are just a combination of flour, liquid, egg and fat) and provides you with the ratio of each ingredient for a particular item. Then he tells you how to use those basic ratios to come up with your own recipes, using your own flavors. It's actually less of a recipe and more of an equation.  And for geeky bakers like me, it explains why I can add flour, milk, eggs and butter one way and get bread and then add those same ingredients another way and get pancakes.

Blog Updates and Things to Come

Just a few campsite improvements that I'm sure you've noticed.  Have you visit the new Recipe Archives page?  (You're welcome.)  I hope you enjoy it and I apologize for taking so long to get it up there.  I do want to make some tweaks to it, but it's functional and, I hope, useful.  The Top 5 Recipes for the Month have also been added to the side.  It's interesting to see what gets all of you excited.  Knowing what you like (by clicking on those recipes) will certainly help in deciding what to bake next.

I also wanted to give you some updates about what you can expect as we roll into the upcoming Holiday Baking Season.  Remember how I've promised you (twice) product reviews of the things I use most for baking?  Well, for real, I'm going to get to that.  And hopefully I'll even have a few contests for you to get some of these products for yourself.  At the very least, you should have a very nice list of baking related gifts to put on your holiday wish list or buy for your baking friends.

There is a strong possibility that you will see ads.  I hope they aren't obnoxious, but frankly, I need the cash.  Many a penny has been spent on extra butter and sugar this past year.  I'm not looking to make bank, so if the ads get crazy or slow everything to a crawl, they may disappear.  Ideally the ads would provide a little extra slush for ingredients.

In return, I offer you two things: First, printer-friendly recipe links.  These will be added to recipes going forward and over time they'll be added to past recipes.  I know it can be obnoxious to not have those links, so I apologize for dragging my feet on that. 

The second thing is better photography.  I know my pictures aren't very technical and often pretty terrible and poorly lit.  I've been trying, but I know I can do better.  I've gotten a lot of feedback that the step by step photos are very useful, especially for the beginning and novice baker, so those will continue.  But hopefully they'll be sharper, brighter and more drool-inducing.

Thank you for your on-going support.  It would be easy to stop doing this and return to a life of baking occasionally.  But my compulsion to try new recipes has been fueled and I do want to share them with you.  In a blogsphere full of talented baker-writers and not-so-talented baker-writers, I hope to be a voice of clarity about what works and how to make the things that don't work better.  And how to blend from scratch and not-so-from-scratch baking into delicious treats to satisfy all your cravings.

Happy Baking,
The Cookie Princess

Strawberry Margarita Cake

Look! I made a cake!  My difficulty with cakes has come from two areas: 1) removing from the pan (despite trying various tips and tricks) and 2) frosting.  I can never get it as smooth and pretty as my mom and sister do, so instead I'm just focusing on other yummy treats.  But last weekend we had friends over for dinner and I wanted a light, fruity treat to share with them.  This recipe had been in my stack since May, and now was the perfect timing.  The light cake has a lovely strawberry sweetness and the lime whipped topping was a refreshing change to thick buttercream.

The recipe is based on a boxed cake mix, but as we head into the rigorous schedules of fall (back to school, no more vacations, and all that), consider this a time saver.  It comes from Betty Crocker and was featured as a fun twist on dessert for Cinco de Mayo, but it's pretty much perfect whenever.  I choose to make the standard 9 x 13 inch pan, but you could do 2 round pans, cupcakes or whatever your heart desires by following the baking instructions on the box.  For a split second, I considered adding lime juice to the whipped topping as well, but didn't.  After tasting it, Dave and I both agreed it was good, but a little more lime in the topping would have sealed the deal.  A squeeze of lime juice (maybe 2 teaspoons) would be worth the effort.

Funfetti Blondies

From scratch! Not from a mix!  Dave was surprised when I said that--he assumed I'd doctored up a Funfetti cake mix.  I took these to work last week because one of my coworkers said he was starting a Biggest Loser challenge.  Before you judge me for being cruel, hear me out.  I was helping.  One morning, I was chatting with him when a coworker came past and criticized him for eating a chocolate croissant because she knows he's trying to lose weight.  Then he explained that in two days he was starting a Biggest Loser challenge.  So I asked if he was bulking up and he sheepishly said yes.  So I immediately chimed in that I was going to bake and bring something in the next day.  It was a Friday so that lends itself to a fun treat day anyway.   See, I'm not evil.  But these are so delicious you might have a hard time resisting.

Beantown Baker made these first and I found them while looking for something else altogether.  But I'm glad I stumbled upon her recipe.  Simple to make and cute as can be, wouldn't they be perfect for birthday baking?  While I didn't alter the recipe, I didn't have any almond extract, so I only used vanilla.  The white chocolate chips and sprinkles really give these blondies great texture.  They are rich and sweet, just as any good blondie should be.  The only way they'd be better is with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.

Cranberry Apricot Oat Squares

Last week, Dave's aunt and uncle were in town, so we went to my in-laws house for dinner.  Of course I took it upon myself to bring a dessert but I wasn't sure what I was going to make. I figured something fruity with a more adult palate (since of the six of us, I am probably the only chocolate freak).  If it had been a weekend, I would have probably made cheesecake because I have a few recipes I'm aching to try out.  But being a weeknight and needing something that would keep well until the next day and that Dave could transport easily since he picked me up on the way to his parents' house, I decided on these bars.  They are sweet and crunchy with a clever combination of fruit flavors.  The nuttiness of the oats, with the added wheat flour, is a nice balance to the sweet dried fruit and preserves.

The recipe is another Betty Crocker find, but I modified it slightly since I didn't have any strawberry preserves.  Instead I found a jar of cranberry-orange marmalade in the pantry and, knowing what a hit the Cranberry Apricot Bars are, knew this would be a great substitute.  They come together quick and bake up nicely and because the sweetness isn't sugary confection, they'd be good for brunch or a pot luck, too.