Sugar Cookies from Halloween & Day of the Dead’s Past

I’ve been living without a functioning kitchen now for over FOUR months now. This means no cooking and no creative outlet. Since I cannot bake or cook or do much else creatively speaking (because everything is on its way from Jordan and isn’t set to arrive for months), and given that I’m at home from work due to the storm, I searched through my pictures of Halloween’s past to reminisce about the beautiful cookies that I could have been baking and decorating if I had a full larder and was equipped with my cookie making supplies.

get-attachment.aspx — Inspiration? Jack Skelington

76013_170030603023979_5577559_n — Dia de los Muertos beauties–my personal favorites

photo-27 — I wish I had a friend like me who bakes and distributes cookies for holidays!

In case you’re inspired enough to want to bake, here’s the recipe for the cookies and the icing:

No Fail Sugar Cookies

Preheat oven thirty minutes before you begin. (This recipe makes a lot of cookies, so I usually cut the recipe in half or save half of it to freeze and use later.)

Ingredients:

6 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
2 cups butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract or desired flavoring (I like almond myself)
1 tsp. salt

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Mix dry ingredients and add a little
at a time to butter mixture. Mix until flour is completely incorporated and the dough comes together.

Chill for 1 to 2 hours (or see Hint below)

Roll to desired thickness and cut into desired shapes. Bake on ungreased baking sheet at 350
degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until just beginning to turn brown around the edges. This recipe
can make up to 5-dozen 3” cookies.

HINT: Rolling Out Dough Without the Mess – Rather than wait for your cookie dough to
chill, take the freshly made dough and place a glob between two sheets of parchment paper.
Roll it out to the desired thickness then place the dough and paper on a cookie sheet and pop it into the refrigerator.
Continue rolling out your dough between sheets of paper until you have used it all. By the time you are finished, the
first batch will be completely chilled and ready to cut. Reroll leftover dough and repeat the process! An added bonus
is that you are not adding any additional flour to your cookies.

Royal Icing

Makes 3 cups of base consistency icing

3 3/4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
3 T meringue powder
6 T warm water

Beat 4 to 5 minutes
By hand, stir in optional flavorings and desired tints.

Add 8 T of warm water if you want flow consistency.

Baking, Cooking, Eating, Living in Amman

Penzeys Spices True Love

Love to cook. Cook to love. That’s Penzeys Spices motto and my adopted motto as well. I’ve been a devotee of Penzeys ever since my sister turned me on to their catalog years ago (yes, Nicole, I give you full credit!). The closest store to us back in California was Torrance (way too far from San Clemente) so we would both study the catalog, read the articles, and then coordinate our orders to save on shipping. Lucky for me, I have access to the fabulous Falls Church, Virginia store, which I have yet to visit, but plan on supplementing my diminishing stores of spices soon.

Some of you may know that I was featured in the catalog a few years back and paid homage to Raj by including our traditional Friday night pizza recipe. One night while I was combing through the catalog in Amman (feeling sad for not being able to ship spices overseas), I was inspired (once again) to respond to their “Calling All Cooks” campaign. I was contacted by one of their pleasant writers and shared with her my experiences of living overseas and a few of my favorite Middle Eastern recipes. The story sort of morphed into a love story about how Raj and I met.

Here’s the link to the Fall, “True Love” catalog http://www.penzeys.com/images/F12.pdf. Our story is featured on page 48-49. Check out my recipes for Shish Tawouk (my favorite, simple and easy grilled chicken kebabs) and fattoush (a mixed salad with toasted pita bread pieces). Enjoy…

Baking, Living in Amman

Homemade, No Knead, Healthy, Whole Wheat Bread

Jordan is not known for its loaves of bread; pita bread, sure, but loaves of fresh, whole wheat bread, NOWHERE TO BE FOUND. I started experimenting with baking fresh loaves a few months ago after I gave up on trying to locate everyday bread. I can buy beautiful French loaves at Paul’s in Abdoun, but their loaves are expensive and last for a day or two before going stale. (Raj LOVES this bread and ensures that I’m baking it about twice a week, making sure we have fresh bread for his weekend breakfast.)

Here’s the recipe that I’ve perfected through trial and error. It only takes a few minutes to prepare, requires about six hours of sitting on the counter to ‘bloom,’ requires another hour of rising in a loaf pan, and then one more hour in the oven and you’ve got yourself a fresh loaf of heaven.

Make 1 loaf

2 cups white flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups ice water, plus 1 tbl water
4 tbl sugar
3/4 tsp. yeast
1 3/4 tsp salt
3 tbl canola oil (or whatever oil you have, I’ve used vegetable oil and corn oil)
baking spray for the tin and bowl

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl. Mix and fold all of the ingredients, making sure that all of the flour at the bottom of the bowl is blended. The consistency of the dough is very wet and sticky, no need to fuss over it. Spray the top of the dough with cooking spray. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave on the counter for at least 6 hours or overnight. (I’ve accidentally left it out for more than 18 hours and it still turned out great).

2. After about 6 hours, the dough will be a little bubbly and will have risen close to the bowls upper edge. Spray a rubber scraper with cooking spray, fold the dough in towards the center to release it from the bowl’s edges and scrape the dough into a prepared (with cooking spray) loaf pan. Spray the top of the loaf with cooking spray, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise for about an hour, or until the dough rises over the top of the edge of the loaf pan.

3. Remove the plastic wrap from the risen loaf, preheat the over to 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. With a serrated knife, slash a line down the center of the bread; sprinkle with the top of the loaf with about 1 tablespoon of whole wheat flour. Place the loaf in the oven and bake for approximately 60 minutes until the loaf is golden brown and sounds hollow when you tap it.

4. Allow the loaf to cool for about 10 minutes before removing the loaf pan.

Baking

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

[Makes one 9-inch loaf]

1/2 c granulated sugar
1/4 c packed light brown sugar
4 t ground cinnamon
1 1/4 c warm whole milk (110 degrees) [I used nonfat milk]
3 T unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus extra for brushing
2 large egg yolks
4 c all-purpose flour
1 envelope (2 1/2 t) rapid-rise or instant yeast
1 1/2 t salt

1. Mix the sugars and cinnamon together in a small bowl. Measure out 2 T and reserve for the topping. Whisk the milk, melted butter, and egg yolks together in a large liquid measuring cup.

2. Combine 3 1/2 c flour, the yeast, salt and 1/4 c of the sugar mixture in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the dough hook. With the mixer on low-speed, add the milk mixture until the dough comes together, about 2 minutes.

3. Increase the speed to medium-low and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. If, after 4 minutes, more flour is needed, add the remaining 1/2 c flour, 2 T at a time, until the dough clears the sides of the bowl but sticks to the bottom.

4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead by hand to form a smooth, round ball. Place the dough in a large, lightly greased bowl and cover with greased plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

5. Grease a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and press into a 20 by 8-inch rectangle with the short side facing you. Spray the dough lightly with water, then sprinkle evenly with the remaining sugar mixture, leaving a 1/2-inch border at the far edge. Lightly spray the sugar mixture with water until it is damp but not wet.

6. Loosen the dough from the work surface using a bench scraper or metal spatula, then roll the dough into a tight cylinder and pinch the seam closed.

(For some reason my bread roll was so big I cut it in half in the middle and made 2 smaller loaves. I was pretty sure what I had was too big for 1 loaf pan and I didn’t want to risk ruining the recipe and wasting my time and ingredients). Place the loaf, seam side down, in the prepared pan. Coat the loaf with vegetable oil spray, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until nearly doubled in size and the dough barely springs back when poked with a knuckle, 45 to 75 minutes.

7. Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush the loaf lightly with butter, sprinkle with the reserved sugar mixture, then spray lightly with water. Bake until golden, 40 to 60 minutes, rotating the loaf halfway through baking. Cool the loaf in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and let cool to room temperature, about 2 hours, before serving.

Variation: In step 4, after turning the dough out onto the work surface, knead in 1/2 c raisins by hand until evenly distributed. Proceed as directed.

Baking

Brown Sugar Banana Bread

Brown Sugar Banana Bread (from The Back in the Day Cookbook)

[Makes 1 9 inch loaf and two mini loaves]

2 c flour
3/4 c packed light brown sugar
3/4 t soda
1/2 t fine sea salt
1 t ground mace (didn’t have so I used nutmeg)
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1 1/4 c pecans toasted and chopped (I substituted 1/2 c mini chocolate chips)
1 1/2 c well-mashed ripe banana (about 3)
1/4 c sour cream (I used reduced fat)
2 large eggs
6 T melted butter, unsalted
1 t vanilla
2 T dark brown sugar for sprinkling (I only had light)

In a large bowl mix first 7 ingredients. Set aside. In a medium bowl. mix everything left except the extra brown sugar. Gently fold the banana mixture into the flour mixture. Scrape it into a lightly sprayed with Pam 9 by 5 inch loaf pan. I had enough extra batter for 2 mini loaves. Sprinkle the tops with the 2T brown sugar.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes. The mini’s took 25 minutes.

Serve warm or at room temp. Enjoy with a little butter and a cold glass of milk.

Baking

Retro Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Cocoa Frosting

Retro Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Icing (from The Back in the Day Cookbook)

[The recipe calls for a chocolate cream cheese icing but I’m using a lower fat recipe from my favorite Penzeys cocoa cake]

Cupcakes:

2 c cake flour
1 1/3 c sugar
1 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1 t fine sea salt
2 eggs separated
1 large egg white
1/4 t cream of tartar
3/4 c buttermilk
1/3 c canola oil
1 t vanilla extract
1 c mashed ripe banana (about 2 1/2 large)
1/2 c chocolate chips (I used mini)

Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until frothy. Add 1/3 c sugar and whip until soft peaks form. Set aside.

In a large bowl whisk cake flour, 1 c sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Add half of the buttermilk, the oil, vanilla, and the mashed bananas. Whisk or stir for 1-2 minutes. Add the egg yolks and the rest of the buttermilk, stirring until just combined. Gently fold in the beaten egg whites and chocolate chips.

Line 24 cupcake liners in pans. Use an ice cream scoop and fill about 3/4 way to the top. I had extra batter so made a mini 1 layer cake. You probably have enough batter for 6 more cupcakes, but I didn’t feel like waiting for my pans. Bake at 350 for about 18-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes.

Penzeys Cocoa Icing:

1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup cocoa powder
dash salt
6-8 cups powdered sugar (I only used about 3 cups)
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2-3 tbl. hot water

For the icing, cream together the butter and cocoa powder until fluffy. Add dash of salt. Gradually add the powdered sugar, beating well. Add the vanilla extract and mix well. Add just enough water to reach your desired consistency. Frost cupcakes.

Baking

Easter Bunny Buns and Orange Rolls

In Jordan, we get to celebrate TWO Easters, Western (Catholic and Protestant) Easter (last Sunday, April 8th) and Greek Orthodox Easter (April 15th). I didn’t do much for Easter, Part I, so I plan on making these adorable Bunny Buns for Easter Part II, this upcoming Sunday (thanks to my sister for emailing me the pics and recipe).

Easter Bunny Buns and Orange Rolls

1 package active dry yeast
1/4 c warm water
1 c milk, warmed but not boiling
5 1/2 cups flour
1/3 c sugar
1/2 c butter
1 t salt
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 c orange juice
2 T grated orange zest

Glaze: 2 c powdered sugar, 1/4 c milk or water, 1 t softened butter, splash of orange juice and vanilla extract

Sprinkle yeast in warm water, set aside.

In another bowl mix milk, softened butter, sugar and salt. Cool until lukewarm, then add eggs, water with yeast, orange juice and orange zest.

Stir in flour a few cups at a time to make a soft dough. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Put in Kitchen Aid and use dough hook to knead for 5-10 minutes. Alternately this can be done by hand on a lightly floured board. When it is smooth and elastic, place in a large greased bowl. Turn to coat the dough. Cover with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap and put in a warm place. Let rise for 2 hours or until double in size. Punch down dough and let stand for 10 minutes.

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a rectangle 1/2 inch thick about 30 by 10 inches. Cut dough in half if making rolls and bunnies, otherwise make all into bunnies.

For the bunny half, use a pizza cutter to cut about 14 one half-inch strips. Save one strip to roll into circles for the bunnies’ tummies.

Roll strips between hands into rounded snake shapes.

Place one long piece of dough onto a foil or Silpat lined baking sheet. Place one end of the strip over the other to make a loop; bring the end that is underneath up and cross it over with the other end. Place a ball of dough on top of the bottom loop.

Cover bunnies and let rise in a warm place 45-60 minutes until nearly double in size. Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes.

For glaze, stir together glaze ingredients and frost while still warm. I use mini chocolate chip eyes, an upside down heart sprinkle for a nose and 4 sprinkles for whiskers.

Orange Marmalade Rolls:

Makes about 17

Grease 2 disposable cake pans

Use the other half of bunny dough. It should be rolled out thin about 30 by 10 inches. Coat the dough with about 3 tablespoons of melted butter. Spread about 1/4 cup of orange marmalade. I used homemade Clementine marmalade. Sprinkle about 1/2 cup light brown sugar all over. Roll the long side towards you. Pinch the seams together. I use a pastry cutter to divide the log in half. I then cut each half into about 7-8 pinwheels. Arrange the rolls cut side down in the greased pans. Allow rolls to rise before baking. Bake at 375 for 17-20 minutes. Take out when golden brown and frost with the powdered sugar glaze.

Adults and children alike will be very glad that you made these orange yeast wonders for them 🙂

Baking

Itty Bitty Apple Pies

Believe it or not, it snowed here in Amman this weekend. Alright, so it wasn’t serious snow, but there was snow on the ground nonetheless and it was cold and dreary. With nowhere to go and nothing to do, what choice did I have but to bake? I looked into my barren refrigerator and found little more than 3 apples, about half a stick of butter, Crisco, and some other random bits of leftovers–it wasn’t looking good. Given the weather situation, there was no way I was going to drive to the store to pick anything up, so I had to improvise. I didn’t have enough butter to make a crust, but there was Crisco (please don’t recoil); I only had 3 Golden Delicious apples, not my pick of apples for pie and certainly not enough for much of anything. Given the sad state of affairs, I pulled out my adorable Emile Henry mini pie dishes (which I’ve had since we got married but hadn’t used until recently) and decided to make mini apple pies.

See how tiny they are sitting inside the regular size Emile Henry pie dish?

I am not considered the pie baker of the family. That crown has been bestowed upon my sister, I suppose deservedly, but somewhat unfairly since she’s SO much older than me and has many more years of practice. My mother and Aunt Alice’s pies have been crowned by Raj as “the best” and are the basis of any pie comparison around here (my sister comes in at a close second).

Prior to moving overseas, Raj pleaded with me to learn how to make pie like my mother. I obliged, had my mother teach me how to make her mother’s pie crust and the filling for both her cherry and apple pies (Raj’s favorites), and bought the necessary tools (i.e. a pastry blender (to make dough by hand like my mom, not in the food processor, which I prefer) a fluted pastry wheel to create a lattice crust, and I even shipped Crisco overseas to myself beforehand, in case I couldn’t buy it here (it’s widely available, in case you care to know)).

The Tools: Pastry Blender & Fluted Pastry Wheel

Here’s my grandmother’s pie crust recipe (written in my mother’s beautiful handwriting). I rarely use this recipe given my fear of white, solid fat (Is butter really any better? Don’t answer.), but without enough butter, Grandma Helen’s recipe it was. And besides, if my mom and Aunt Alice use this pie crust recipe, Raj will have to like it, right?

Grandma Helen’s Pie Crust

(I only used half of the recipe to fill two mini pies with and froze the rest for another (hopefully not snowy) day.)

2 cups flour
2/3 cup Crisco
pinch of salt
7-8 tablespoons ice water

Put flour mixture in bowl. Take out 1/3 cup flour and mix with 7 tablespoons water and make into a paste.
Place paste into bowl with the Crisco and the flour and blend with pastry blender, adding more water or flour until the dough sticks together.
Divide the dough into 2 even pieces. Turn each piece of dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and flatten into a 4 inch disk. Wrap each piece tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. Before rolling the dough out, let it sit on the counter to soften slightly for 10 minutes.

Mini Apple Pie Filling

3 apples (I used Golden Delicious, but I’d prefer any other kind), peeled, cored, and sliced
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3 tablespoons sugar (add more or less to taste depending on apples), plus more for sprinkling
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (or Penzey’s apple pie spice)

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in large saute pan. Place the apples in the pan along with the 3 tablespoons of sugar. Saute for about 8 minutes, or until the apples are softened. Sprinkle cinnamon (or apple pie spice) over the apples and stir. Remove from heat.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Take the pie crust out of the refrigerator and let sit for 10 minutes to soften. Roll out the dough and place the crust into the two mini pie dishes, trimming the edges.
Divide the apples evenly into each of the mini pie dishes.
Roll out the remaining, leftover dough into a rectangle to make the lattice strips. Cut strips of dough evenly with the pastry wheel. Weave the strips over and under each other. Trim excess lattice from the edge. Seal the edges with water. Place a little sprinkling of sugar on top of each pie.
Place the two mini pie dishes on a pan and place in the oven for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, turn up the oven to 375 degrees F and bake for 35 minutes more, or until the crust is a deep golden brown.

Postscript: I don’t deserve to be crowned best pie maker in the family, not because I don’t want the title–I want all titles, but because I don’t really like pie. I’m not a crust person so I’m not the one to tell you whether or not this was any good. I asked Raj about the pie expecting more than I got. His response, “It’s good.” No exclamation. That’s all. Nothing more. Inquiring further, I told him that I used my mom’s crust recipe (he’s always suspicious because he knows I’m not a fan of Crisco). The response was still the same. This was not the glowing review I wanted. Nevertheless, he asked for the second mini pie last night. I suppose that means something.

Baking

No Fail Sugar Cookies, Just in Time for Valentine’s Day

My favorite recipe for sugar cookies comes from Kitchen Collectibles, a website full of every imaginable cookie cutter. I get most of my cookie cutters from this website, which I happened upon years ago when I was searching for ocean themed cutters to use for my wedding cookie favors. What I love about the recipe is that the cookies don’t spread while they’re cooking, so what you place on the pan is what you get after they are baked.

Kitchen Collectibles’ website has great tutorials and inspiration for use with their cookie cutters.

No Fail Sugar Cookies

Preheat oven thirty minutes before you begin. (This recipe makes a lot of cookies, so I usually cut the recipe in half or save half of it to freeze and use later.)

Ingredients:

6 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
2 cups butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract or desired flavoring (I like almond myself)
1 tsp. salt

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Mix dry ingredients and add a little
at a time to butter mixture. Mix until flour is completely incorporated and the dough comes together.

HINT: Rolling Out Dough Without the Mess — Rather than wait for your cookie dough to
chill, take the freshly made dough and place a glob between two sheets of parchment paper.
Roll it out to the desired thickness then place the dough and paper on a cookie sheet and pop it into the refrigerator.
Continue rolling out your dough between sheets of paper until you have used it all. By the time you are finished, the
first batch will be completely chilled and ready to cut. Reroll leftover dough and repeat the process! An added bonus
is that you are not adding any additional flour to your cookies.

Royal Icing

Makes 3 cups of base consistency icing

3 3/4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
3 T meringue powder
6 T warm water

Beat 4 to 5 minutes
By hand, stir in optional flavorings and desired tints.

Add 8 T of warm water if you want flow consistency.

Baking

Will Run for Cupcakes

I’m training for an upcoming relay race–a very LONG, overnight, tiring run. Years ago, when we were still living in San Clemente (and living the fantasy), a storm called Sprinkles Cupcakes hit us hard. So hard were we hit that Raj used to leave work early on Fridays (let me clarify so as not to upset someone–this was considered physical training, PT, so it was a sanctioned, early leave from work) for what became known as the ‘Sprinkles’ Run.’ I suppose this ‘run’ isn’t as bad as it sounds, I mean he was burning calories by running, right? Raj would meet up with a small group of ‘work’ friends and fellow cupcake enthusiasts who set out on a five-mile run followed up by a jaunt into Sprinkles for a cupcake or two. Well actually, he’d call ahead and have a dozen cupcakes in various flavors (an on a good day, a shot of frosting for me) waiting to be picked up for himself, and me, and our dog Shanti. (Sprinkles makes great doggie cupcakes called ‘pupcakes.’) I could never meet up for these runs because I was too busy working, supporting the habit,…but that was a lifetime ago.

These days, I’m too busy looking for things to do. In honor of Raj’s ‘cupcake runs’ and because Valentine’s Day is just two days away, I decided to make these Sprinkles’ Strawberry Cupcakes.

I thought they turned out great. I was nervous about getting the frosting just right as the reviews on MarthatStewart.com were horrible–the frosting is runny, there’s not enough liquid, too much liquid, it’s disgusting…EXPLETIVES were seen in TWO reviews; it was that bad, seriously. After reading the reviews, I fought the urge to spend way too much money on imported, Betty Crocker “Strawberry” (artificially) flavored and brightly colored frosting at the grocery store. With trepidation, I continued on. It did take a few minutes in the mixer for the butter and powdered sugar to come together, but eventually they did. The frosting was perfect and slightly pink thanks to the addition of the REAL strawberry puree that I added.

Next up on the worry list was frosting the cupcakes. I don’t like the look of piped cupcakes (not home-made enough looking) and I prefer the dimpled look of Magnolia Bakery’s cupcakes to Sprinkles’. I was relatively happy with my attempts. In the course of my cupcake research yesterday, I read that it takes about forty hours of on the job cupcake frosting training to get the ‘dimple’ just right. I only have about 38 hours of training left to go.

Lastly, I added a few pale pink sprinkles that I’ve been hording in the larder for years (unsure why, courtesy of Nicole’s trip to Rome), along with a homemade heart-shaped sugar cookie (recipe which will be posted, next).

Sprinkles’ Strawberry Cupcakes

This recipe for strawberry cupcakes is from Candace Nelson of Sprinkles Cupcakes.

The recipe comes from The Martha Stewart Show, February Winter 2008

YieldMakes 1 dozen

Ingredients

2/3 cup whole fresh or frozen strawberries, thawed
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 cup whole milk, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
2 large egg whites, room temperature
Sprinkles’ Strawberry Frosting (follows)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners; set aside.
Place strawberries in a small food processor; process until pureed. You should have about 1/3 cup of puree, add a few more strawberries if necessary or save any extra puree for frosting; set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a small bowl, mix together milk, vanilla, and strawberry puree; set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until well combined and fluffy. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and slowly add egg and egg whites until just blended.
With the mixer on low, slowly add half the flour mixture; mix until just blended. Add the milk mixture; mix until just blended. Slowly add remaining flour mixture, scraping down sides of the bowl with a spatula, as necessary, until just blended.
Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Transfer muffin tin to oven and bake until tops are just dry to the touch, 22 to 25 minutes. Transfer muffin tin to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool completely in tin before icing.

Sprinkles’ Strawberry Frosting

Ingredients

1/2 cup whole frozen strawberries, thawed
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, firm and slightly cold
Pinch of coarse salt
3 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

Place strawberries in the bowl of a small food processor; process until pureed. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce mixer speed and slowly add confectioners’ sugar; beat until well combined. Add vanilla and 3 tablespoons strawberry puree (save any remaining strawberry puree for another use); mix until just blended. Do not overmix or frosting will incorporate too much air. Frosting consistency should be dense and creamy, like ice cream.