Banana Cupcakes

What a busy month! It is hard to believe July 2021 has already come and gone. The days and weeks just seemed to fly by with all the activities keeping us busy however there was always time to squeeze in some sort of baking even on the busiest days which is always fun.  

These  cupcakes are quick and easy to make and a great way to use those bananas that are getting overly ripe. 

The nice thing about the Banana Cream Frosting is that it is not overly sweet and is perfect for these cupcakes. 

These Banana Cupcakes are one of our favorites, even for breakfast. When it comes to dessert though, we love it anytime! 

    Banana Cupcakes

    with Banana Cream Frosting
   

      by http://thegrandsurprise.blogspot.com 

    by Jennifer Stull

Ingredients

• 1-2/3 cups flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 
• 10 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 mashed ripe bananas 
• 1 egg
• 1 egg white
• 1/2 cup milk

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.2. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in bowl.3. In another bowl, mash bananas and add milk and              water.4. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy5. Add eggs and mix until combined.6. Add half of the flour mixture and beat alternately  with the milk mixture and beat after each addition until well combined.7. Fill cupcake liners with batter until about half full and bake approximately 20 minutes or until a toothpick   comes out clean. 
FrostingMix 1 cup of whipping cream and 1 Tablespoons instant banana pudding powder in a bowl and beat until stiff peaks form. Add a small amount of sugar for a sweeter frosting and a drop or two of vanilla, if desired. Spread on top of cupcakes. 

Yield: 12 cupcakes

Happy Saturday!

DIY Cup Holder w/pen

During the summer it is fun to entertain outside and when we do we try to keep things casual and easy. For larger groups we bring out the disposable serving supplies which includes cups. In doing so, we know that it is hard to remember which cup is yours, since they all look alike, so of course we write our names on them. That works well until the pen goes missing. In addition to missing markers there is always the possibility of a strong breeze and the chance the stack of cups will fall over and be scatter everywhere. So, to help keep the cups secure and cut down on lost cups, we decided to make a little cup holder with a built~in pen holder. 

Last summer we were making a lot of DIY pallet board projects for our nieces bridal shower and wedding so we repurposed one of the cute boxes to use as our new cup holder. 

It was quick and easy. Mr. Wonderful just drilled a hole on one side and then I added some cups and a marker and voilá our cup holder was finished.

It works great and will certainly be a handy and versatile little DIY box.

Happy Monday!

Red, White & Blue ~ simple sweets & snacks

The high temperatures last week made it feel more like the middle of summer than the beginning and I must say there was not much baking going on during the days of the record breaking temperatures. Thankfully by the 4th of July the weather had cooled down a little which helped in the kitchen. I tried to limit the baking but could not resist making a few fun things to serve over the weekend.

A small batch of mini Bundt cakes were easy to make and since we had extra they were also fun to give away. 

 Homemade cinnamon rolls are a must on weekends, especially when the kids are home.

However,  I also made a small batch of raspberry pastry squares since they are rather festive and always delicious. 

We love cheese so it was in the mix as well.

A red, white and blue Strawberry Meringue Cake was also on the menu.

After the strawberries were placed on top I thought it needed a little something else so I added a few blueberries and a little flag to make it even more festive. Easy, peasy!

Happy Wednesday!