Strawberry and Brownie Getting Close

In the great line of awesome, next to peanut butter and chocolate stands brownie and strawberry!

Since I have been super swamped with things going on (read life), my mom has been carrying on this challenge.  She made these brownie/strawberry cupcakes for the people she used to work with.  Looks delicious!

 

 

Cupcakes by My Mother, Crystal

My mom has taken this challenge and run with it...I just haven’t had the time to share all of her hard work...until now!

She has been out there making people’s day brighter for days now, so it is time that I update the blog and show you all what she has been up to.

Chocolate Chip Cupcakes:

These are for the Monday night meeting of the San Angelo Composite Squadron of Civil Air Patrol.

Super Chocolate Cupcakes:

 

"Friday was Chocolate with Chocolate Frosting given to Roger (her brother and my uncle) - made his day! Saturday was Rocky Road served at supper with my friends. It was a hit with everyone."

 

Yellow Cupcakes for the Yellow Rose of Texas:

The Texas Veterans Commission was created in 1927 as the State Service Office to assist veterans of the Indian wars, Spanish-American War and World War I. Our purpose has always been to act as the state appointed advocate of Texas veterans as they attempt to secure the benefits rightfully earned in exchange for their service in our nation's armed forces.

 

And my all-time favorite kind of cupcake, the Jello Poke Cupcake with Whipped Cream on top:

Today, I delivered cupcakes to the Tom Green County Library. What serendipity: when I told Sally I had made Raspberry Jello 'poke' cupcakes, she told me that if she had to choose one kind of cake, that's what she would choose; and today is the second anniversary of our new library building!  Sally is the first person I met at the library when I moved here. She speaks fluent German (she translated the words on the block in your backyard stone wall), has shared recipes with me and greets everyone with her warm smile. Sally is the Youth Services Coordinator for the Tom Green County Library System.

 

My mom, another ginger!

 

Cupcakes of Oreo Goodness

Luckily my mom has taken on this cupcake challenge with me and has kept this going while I have been out wandering around Luxembourg and adjusting to life outside the military.  And there is no better way to keep a challenge alive like Oreo cupcakes!  If she didn’t live 8,000 miles away, there probably wouldn’t be as many cupcakes left to give to others!  They look so good!

 

She delivered her cupcakes to the nice people at Disability Connections who help people with “everything from having someone to hang out with, playing Wii, and talking them though legal forms.” 

 

I will be back to cupcaking tomorrow and will write a recap of our trip of the grand duchy Luxembourg.

 

 

Cupcakes for Mr. Bateman

Yesterday I made a batch of chocolate cupcakes with chocolate icing and kept a dozen of them at home because our family went through a big change and it seemed appropriate.  I said I was going to talk about what that big event was. 

Yesterday was my last day at work in the US Air Force.  After eight years, I am turning in combat boots for Sesame Street and string cheese.  I have missed a lot of things with my family, so I am excited to be a stay-at-home-momma (or whatever the politically correct term is these days). 

This morning while out-processing I met a retired veteran who had served in the Navy from 1953 until 1983.  And since his retirement from the Navy, he has been working ever since.  When telling me about how long he's worked, he reminded me that work is good for you.  I don't think he ever intended on not working. 

We got to talking and I decided that if I was going to make anyone cupcakes today, it should be him that I give them to.  So I did.  I tracked him down at the golf course and delivered them to him.  He was very grateful, and it felt so good to give a gift to someone who wasn't expecting it.  I think I have made a friend that I won't soon forget.  He made me promise to come back soon for a cup of coffee, and to put the picture that I took up in my barn in Michigan.

We still live in Germany, but he had remembered me saying I dream about having a big red barn when we move back to Michigan.  He was such a sweet man.  I may have given him cupcakes, but I feel like I got so much more in return.  This is the condensed story.  If you would like to read more, please jump over to my other blog, My Ginger Riott, where I have written the whole story out. 

If you would like to join in on making cupcakes to give to others and you would like to share your story and pictures, please send me an email! 

Cupcakes and Sunshine

Today was a really big day for me, and I will write more about that soon, but for now, I will tell you about the chocolate cupcakes that I made.  Today is one of those days where I thought my family and I could use a cupcake.  We ate six from the batch pictured, and tomorrow the rest will be given to a cupcake friend in need.    

Not only was it a cupcake-needing-kind-of-day, it was also a great day to blow off energy at the park.  The sun is finally out here in Germany, and the temperature was up to 45 degrees, so outside we went...then came home and had cupcakes after dinner. 

 

So if there were a competition, Dunkin Hines would knock out Betty Crocker in the first round!  Granted, the types of cupcakes I made (Betty Crocker Carrot Cake and Dunkin Hines Devil’s Food Chocolate) were completely different, but I still have to say that Dunkin Hines is my go to when I’m using a box recipe. 

Here are the cupcakes my mom made. 

 

This is what she had to say about her German Chocolate Cupcakes

“They baked up a little tall and rounded, so I used the cupcake corer to make a divet in the center to anchor the frosting."

“I delivered them to the staff and volunteers of Old Fort Concho. Its a wonderful place established in 1867 and is one of the best conserved forts in the nation. People really are happy when you give them fresh-baked cupcakes. I'm having a blast with this challenge.”

If you'd like to share your cupcakes, for the whole month of challenges or just for a day email me here! 

 

Cupcakes for the Easter Bunny

What kind of cupcakes to Easter bunnies eat?  Carrot cake ones of course! 

 

 

 

To kick off the beginning of the next 30 days, I made two batches of carrot cake cupcakes.  Carrot cake is not my favorite, but with it being right around Easter time, how could I resist?

 

I took a dozen of these little orange-ish gems to work with me, and in about 15 minutes, they were all gone.  The perk of working with mostly men is that you always feel like Gordon freaking Ramsey!  If Gordon Ramsey baked cupcakes from the box that is. 

 

I used cream cheese frosting and used a little frosting gun that I picked up for about $10.  My mom sent me the cupcake liners and Easter themed toppers, so I of course HAD to use them haha. 

 

So my mom is also doing this challenge with me!  And as it so happens, great (red-headed) minds think alike.  She also made carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.  Hey Easter bunnies in Texas have to eat too! 

 

 

 

Being the smart lady she is, she used nuts on top.  She took hers to the, “nice, cheerful people who work at the Work in Texas office”.  I say that the people who are helping others find jobs deserve a nice cupcake!  The meaning behind the Cupcake Challenge, is to show people love, especially when they aren’t expecting it!

 

Bake some cupcakes with us and share your photos!  You can send the photos and some information about them to my email box, here.  You can always leave a comment or message on the Facebook page too!  In other news, I have been getting a bunch of spam in the comments, so I will be adding a comment filter.  Please still use the comment box if you have something to say...unless you’re trying to get us to check out your site where you sell little blue pills or something. 

 

Cheesy Goodness to Complete the Challenge

Today was a great, but very tiring day.  I took the girls to an Easter egg hunt, a visit with the Easter bunny and to a capacity busting Toys R Us.  It doesn’t sound like a lot, but it wore us all out.  So tonight, to wrap up this thirty day challenge we had Rotel dip and chips.  Easy “meal” and we ate it while watching Les Miserables.  It was a great ending to a great day.

I like to make my dip with ground turkey because I think it gives it a lighter flavor.

Brown a pound of ground meat of your choice, then put it in the crockpot with a bar of Velveeta cheese and a can of Rotel.  Some people add corn.  When the cheese is melted and you are ready to eat, just put it in a bowl and serve with tortilla chips! 

While it’s not a healthy recipe, sometimes I just want a comfort food smothered in cheese.  No apologies!

I hope you’ve enjoyed the first challenge.  Starting two days from now will be the 30 Days of Cupcakes Challenge!  If you are interested in making cupcakes for one day or thirty days next month, send me a picture and some words of your cupcakes to my email here.  This upcoming challenge will be great because cupcakes are a great way to show people some love, especially to someone who isn’t expecting it. 

I hope you are enjoying the blog, feel free to leave me a comment below!