Taffy Apple Cupcakes

Ingredients

• 1 package (18-1/4 ounces) spice cake mix or 1 package (18 ounces) carrot cake mix
• 2 cups chopped peeled tart apples
• 20 caramels
• 3 tablespoons 2% milk
• 1 cup finely chopped pecans, toasted

Directions

• Prepare cake batter according to package directions; fold in apples.
• Fill 12 greased or paper-lined jumbo muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.
• In a small saucepan, cook the caramels and milk over low heat until smooth. Spread over cupcakes. Sprinkle with pecans. Yield: 1 dozen.

Pumpkin Butter Cake

Like a pumpkin pie...only I think it's better (since I don't generally like pumpkin pie and I loved this!)

St. Louis Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake (from scratch)

Crust inspired by Food & Wine; filling inspired by Paula Deen
Crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2/3 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup dry milk powder (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 stick butter, melted
Filling:
1 (8-ounce) package Neufchâtel cheese (reduced-fat cream cheese), softened
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin purée
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 stick butter, melted
1 3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg

• Preheat oven to 350° F and lightly grease a 13″x9″ glass baking pan.
• To make the crust: Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and dry milk (if using) in a bowl. Add the egg and butter and mix until just combined with an electric mixer. Pat the mixture into the bottom and one inch up the sides of the pan.
• To make the filling: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter, and beat together. Next, add the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mix well. Spread pumpkin mixture over the crust and bake 1 hour. Don’t overbake, as the center should be a little gooey.

From: Su Good Sweets

Magic Bar Cookie Cupcakes

Melt 1 stick of butter with 1-1/4 cups of graham cracker crumbs; press mixture into cupcake tins lined with cupcake papers (sprayed with PAM) to form a crust. (Divide by weight into the 12 cupcake liners.)


Pour one ounce of condensed milk (from 12 ounce can) over crumbs in the cupcake liner.


Sprinkle 12oz bag of mini chocolates chips (1 ounce in each cupcake liner) on top of  the condensed milk.


Lastly, cover each "cupcake" with 1-1/3 cups of coconut flakes (divided by 12). 


Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.


From 52 Cupcakes and Layla: http://52cupcakes.blogspot.com/2010/11/experiment-magic-cookie-bar-cupcakes.html

Applesauce Spice Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Frosting

Martha Stewart’s Applesauce Spice Cupcakes

Makes 18 cupcakes

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups unsweetened apple sauce

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line muffin tins with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, cream butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. On a low speed, add applesauce and then the flour mixture, beating until just combined.

Fill each cup 3/4 full with batter. Bake 20 minutes. Frost with Brown Sugar, Cream Cheese Frosting (see below).

Brown Sugar Frosting

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup packed light-brown sugar

In the clean bowl of electric mixer, mix cream cheese with 1 stick butter and 1 cup light brown sugar on medium speed until smooth. Spread cream-cheese frosting on cupcakes. Cupcakes can be refrigerated in airtight containers up to 2 days.

Cookies & Cream Cheesecakes

Oreo Cookies and Cream Cheesecakes

(from Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes)

Makes 30

• 42 Oreo, cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies, 30 left whole and 12 coarsely chopped
• 2 pounds cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
• 1 cup sour cream
• Pinch of salt

1. Preheat oven to 275° F.  Line standard muffin tins with paper liners.  Place 1 whole Oreo cookie in the bottom of each lined muffin cup.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese on medium-high speed until smooth, scraping down sides of the bowl as needed.  Gradually add the sugar, and beat until combined.  Beat in the vanilla.
3. Drizzle in eggs, a little at a time, beating to combine and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add in sour cream and salt, beat to combine.  Using a large spatula, fold in the chopped Oreo cookies.
4. Divide batter evenly among the cookie-filled muffin cups, fill each cup almost to the top.  Bake, rotating muffin tins halfway through, until the filling is set, about 22 to 28 minutes.  Transfer the muffins tins to a wire rack to cool completely. Refrigerate (in the muffin tins) at least 4 hours (or overnight). Remove from tins just before serving. (Confession, I never refrigerate in the tins because I just don't have that many tins. I move them to a cookie tray and refrigerate the tray of them. Done.)

Jewish Apple Cake

This turned out quite well! The only adjustment I'd make in the future would be to layer the apples in several layers rather than one in the center.

Ingredients

• 2 cups peeled apples, thinly sliced
• 5 tablespoons white sugar
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
•  
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups white sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
•  
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 2/3 cup white sugar

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9 inch tube pan.
2. Mix apples, 5 tablespoons sugar, and 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon in a bowl and set aside. Beat the oil and 2 cups of sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl. Add the room-temperature eggs one at a time, allowing each egg to blend into the sugar mixture before adding the next. Beat in the vanilla and 1/4 cup of orange juice with the last egg. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl and stir into the sugar mixture; mixing until just incorporated. Pour half of the batter into the prepared tube pan. Layer the apple mixture on top, then pour the remaining batter over the apples.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour and 25 minutes. Allow cake to cool completely in the pan before removing.
4. To make glaze: Combine butter, 1/3 cup of orange juice, and 2/3 cup of sugar in a bowl. Pour over the warm cake while still in the pan.

Mint Filled Brownies

Mint Filled Brownie Cupcakes - from Martha Stewart Cupcakes

Yield: 12 cupcakes

8 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
¾ tsp salt
3 large eggs
½ cup all purpose flour
¼ cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder
12 small chocolate covered peppermint patties, such as York

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Line a standard muffin pan with paper liners. Place chocolate and butter in a heat proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir occasionally until just melted, 4 to 5 minutes.

Remove from the heat. Whisk in the sugar and salt until mixture is smooth, whisk in eggs to combine. Gently whisk in flour and cocoa just until smooth.

Spoon 1 heaping tablespoon of batter into each lined cup. Place 1 peppermint patty on top, gently pressing into batter. Top with two tablespoons batter, covering patty completely. Bake, rotating tin halfway through, until a cake tester inserted halfway into centers (above mint patty) comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached, about 35 minutes (ALWAYS start checking sooner!). Transfer tin to a wire rack to cool completely before removing cupcakes.