Limoncello Cupcakes

June 1, 2016May 31, 20162 Comments

When Ian and I moved to our town we were both fresh out of college and experiencing being financially independent from our parents for the first time. Long gone were the days where I could pack up my clothes to do laundry at my parents’ house or tag along on grocery shopping trips!

Luckily, Ian and I both were offered jobs that allowed us to be financially stable, but I still found myself searching for inexpensive date night experiences. One of my favorite discoveries was a little bakery in town that made gourmet cupcakes with unique flavors. After an afternoon of ridding our bikes along the river we would stop by the bakery and share a delicious cupcake. For less than $5 we could enjoy an afternoon date that felt like we were splurging – that’s how good these cupcakes were!

Here I am, three years later, and I still love those bike ride/cupcake dates! However, when I brewed a batch of Limoncello I had an idea – why not try my hand at baking my own batch of gourmet cupcakes?! After some trial and error, I finally nailed the recipe down and believe these fresh limoncello berry cupcakes would compliment any summer party dessert table! Better yet, bake a batch of these cupcakes and gift them to a recent grad!

Limoncello Cupcakes

Ingredients:

A box of white cake mix and the required ingredients listed on the back
Limoncello
3 Tbs. grated lemon peel
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup softened butter
2 Tbs. lemon juice
24 mini lemon wedges and fresh raspberries for decoration

Recipe:

Prepare the cake by following the cake instructions on the back of the box and swap out the require amount of water with limoncello
Fold in the grated lemon peel
Place liners in each cupcake tin and fill half full with batter
Bake per box instructions
While cupcakes are cooling make the butter cream frosting by beating the softened butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract with an electric mixer until well combined
Add lemon juice to the frosting 1 Tbs. at a time until you reach your desired consistency
Pipe onto each cupcake and top with a fresh raspberry and lemon wedge

Homemade Almond Milk

February 29, 2016February 16, 20161 Comment

If you read my about me page you will know I grew up on a dairy farm. So why am I posting about almond milk?! I believe enjoying everything in moderation, so while I still love a good cheese board or a scoop of ice cream, I’ve been experimenting with non-dairy milk options to use in recipes.

Store bought almond milk is a great option when crunched for time, but if you plan ahead, you can easily make it at home! Maybe it was just me, but I assumed it was difficult to make almond milk, so when it actually turned out I was proud of myself! So if you need a little ego boost, this recipe is for you!

Homemade Almond Milk

Ingredients:

1 cup raw almonds
10 cups filtered water
1/4 tsp salt

Recipe:

Place the almonds in a bowl with 5 cups water. Seal and let soak overnight.
Drain the nuts and place in a blender with 5 cups of water and salt. Blend until smooth.
Over a new bowl, pour the mixture through a cheese cloth to strain out the nut pulp.
Store the almond milk in the fridge.

Raspberry Yogurt Parfait

February 24, 2016February 16, 20161 Comment

First of all, can we take a second to appreciate how cute these mini parfaits look?! I know presentation isn’t everything, but it helps. Right?!

Okay, back to the serious stuff. I have been guilty of falling into a breakfast rut (a.k.a. eating a bowl of Smart Start every morning…) Need-less-to-say, it was time for me to change things up.

Ian loves eating yogurt in the morning, but I often find it a little too bland for my liking. I decided to add a bit of granola and raspberries too see if it would spice things up, and boy was I surprised! I know yogurt parfaits are not groundbreaking, but here’s a little reminder that they exist just in case you need breakfast inspiration!