Creative Cuts & More Mega Recipe Blog Hop!

Hi blog hoppers! Weren't Jen's projects fabulous? (If you didn't arrive here from Jen's blog, you don't want to miss what our designers have in store for you! The CC&M Mega Recipe Blog Hop starts HERE.




Welcome to the first day of the Creative Cuts & More Mega Recipe Blog Hop, which will feature the 8"x8" Treasured Family Recipes Kit. There are 24 designers who will be creating recipe book pages to inspire you. Plus we all will be sharing some of our own delicious treasured family recipes. Make sure you check back at http://www.diecutdiva.com/ tomorrow for the Holiday Treats Apron Recipe Kit Blog Hop. There will be 24 designers who will be showcasing their great creations and sharing holiday treat recipes! YUM!

Here is a link to the kit that I used to create this recipe book:

Treasured Family Recipes Kit

As part of the celebration CC&M will be having a great sale. For the next six days, we will offer 20% off the entire store. But act quickly, it is only for six days – this sale will end on Nov 14th. Make sure you enter this code recipebloghop2009 during checkout.

Here are some of the pages I created:

I am going to print out my recipes and laminate them to put in between the chipboard pages. This way I can take them out and use them. I am a messy, messy cook so laminating is key! I also plan to include lots of handwritten recipes of my late mother.

Speaking of my mother, I want to share with you a recipe that she often made for her girlfriends for their card playing nights when I was a little girl:

Nana Pat's Apple Cake

Ingredients:
3 C all purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
2 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 C oil
1 1/2 C granulated sugar
4 eggs
1/2 C orange juice
4 apples, pared and sliced (not too thin)
cinnamon and brown sugar for sprinkling in pan

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients except for the apples in bowl. Mix by hand until smooth. Grease a bundt pan with butter then sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar. Pour in half of the cake batter. Add the apples. Sprinkle with more cinnamon and brown sugar. Add the rest of the batter. Sprinkle with more cinnamon and brown sugar.

Bake for one hour.

Now, continue on our hop and go to Michele Kovac's blog to see what she has done with the kit and what she's cookin'!

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings and Peace,

~Lori

Can a cupcake make you cry?

These cupcakes can! They were so good, they brought tears of joy to my eyes!



Chocolate Red Wine Cupcakes with Mascarpone Icing

Recipe is inspired by Silvana Nardone
From Every Day with Rachael Ray
September 2007

I made a few little changes.

Makes approximately two dozen cupcakes.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup good quality milk or dark chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup water
2 sticks (8 ounces)unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (I like to use superfine sugar for baking)
4 large eggs
1 1/4 cups flour (I use Softasilk cake flour)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup full bodied red wine
Two 8-ounce containers mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
Red grapes, halved, and chocolate curls for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350º. Line 2 muffin pans with baking liners.
2. In a large glass measuring cup, microwave water until boiling, about 2 minutes. Add the cocoa powder and chocolate pieces. Whisk until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is combined. Whisk in red wine.
3. In a large bowl, cream the butter and granulated sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until blended. Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt and mix until just combined. Add the chocolate mixture a little at a time, mixing well between each addition, until the batter is smooth. Divide among the muffin cups, filling each about three-quarters full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Let cool in the pan.
4. Lightly beat the mascarpone, then add the powdered sugar and beat until creamy. Remove the cooled cupcakes from the pan, spread each with icing and top with a grape half and chocolate curls.

*To make the chocolate curls, just use a vegetable peeler. Works great!

These are hands down, the best cupcakes I have ever tasted!

♥♥♥
~L