These are a nice, soft cupcake. Many who taste them say they are the “best” cupcakes they have ever had. She has also had a few people who do not like cupcakes compliment them and eat more than one.
Andrea’s Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting
Russian (Friendship) Tea Update
It is the day after a beautiful Easter. It snowed!
Adrian decided to play with our “Rotten” tea recipe so we did not need to use Tang and also to use less sugar. This is what he came up with.
Baklava
A not to sweet dessert that is perfect for special occasions.
Instant Mocha Mix
Mark and Katie gave us this recipe. Everyone likes as is, but I prefer it with whipping cream to make it creamer and thicker.
Experiment with different powdered creamers and omitting or swapping the spices.
Chocolate chip, brown butter, pecan cookies
Burnt Almonds (Gebrannte Mandeln)
We discovered this recipe while looking for German Christmas recipes. Many “Weihnachtsmarkt” (Christmas markets) serve these cinnamony nuts. While it would make sense to share the recipe for Christmas, we decided to wait until National Almond Day, which is the 16th of February every year.
To keep from burning, the mixture needs to be stirred continuously.
Valentine Popcorn
The first time Andrea made this was for a Valentine’s day soccer game treat. Thus, “Valentine Popcorn”. Though Megan insisted it was Princess corn.
Gingerbread Chai Biscotti
These are a drier biscotti, but are wonderful with hot chocolate or tea.
Pistachio, Cranberry, White Chocolate Biscotti
Andrea decided we needed some biscotti for our tea. Instead of using plain white chocolate, she caramelized some. She found many different recipes for caramelizing white chocolate online. It made the biscotti extra good, but the cookie was a little sweeter than we liked. Next time we make this, we plan to reduce the sugar some.
Laugenbrezel (German Soft Pretzels)
This is not the super soft, sweet pretzel that many malls offer. This has a bagel like texture that is much better I think! Salt as much or as little as you like and serve with a favorite mustard or cheese sauce.