Duff’s Gingerbread Cupcakes

 You may be familiar with Duff Goldman. He is a staple of the Food Network. He is a judge on Kid’s Baking Competition and Holiday Baking Championships. He also competed on some of the older cake/cupcake competitions. Most recently he and the Cake Boss did some head to head competitions building and decorating huge cakes. Check him out. He’s talented and very funny and great with the kid competitors. So when I found this recipe I had to give it a try.

I know a lot of you will say gingerbread is for Christmas and that was last month. But I think of gingerbread as a winter flavor. Those spices are all nice and warm spices perfect for winter.

Nothing out of the ordinary in the ingredients. You might not keep molasses on hand but of course I do because of my gingerbread cookies.

Start with one stick of softened butter.

Add 1/2 cup sugar

Mix well.

Add 2 room temp eggs one at a time. Mix well after each egg.

The eggs helps make the butter and sugar nice and fluffy.

Here is a little hint for you. Spray your measuring cup with Pam before you add the molasses.

Measure out 1 cup of the molasses.

Add and mix well.

See how clean your measuring cup will be.

1 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups all purpose flour. Add a little at a time mixing between each addition.

Isn’t that a pretty batter?

Now in a small bowl add 2 teaspoons baking soda.

Add 1 cup boiling water to the baking soda. I used the molasses cup that is why it is a little discolored.

Stir it to dissolve the baking soda.

Add to the other batter.

Fold the water into the batter. It will be a little runny.

This is what the batter looks like.

Preheat your oven and prepare two twelve cup muffin tins.

Ready for the oven. Bake for 20 minutes.

Fresh out of the oven. Let sit in the muffin pan for about ten minutes.

Let them completely cool on a baking rack.

Low we are ready to make the icing.

Add 2 sticks of softened butter and 8 oz softened cream cheese to the mixer.

Mix well.

Add 1 Tablespoon vanilla flavoring 

You are going to add 4 cups powdered sugar. Add a little at a time unless you want a powdered sugar covered kitchen.

After you get everything mixed, turn your mixer to medium high and whip it to make it nice and fluffy.

O am going to pipe the icing on. To me it takes less time and they look a little better. I put the Star tip in the bag. This is what I use to hold the bag while I fill it.

It’s a full bag. I got these rubber band type things to go around the bags at the top. It has made my life easier.

This is the Star tip. It’s sorry I don’t remember the Wilton number for it.

They are all piped. I start in the middle of the cupcake and swirl around to make the rose like design. One day I will make a video of how I do them.

This is one of my kitchen gadgets. It is a small softer. I put some cinnamon in it to lightly dust the tops.

Just a little on top for a little decoration.

Duff’s Gingerbread Cupcakes Recipe

1 stick softened butter

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup molasses

2 cups plain flour

1 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350. Bake for 20 minutes

For the frosting

4 cups powdered sugar

1 8oz room temp cream cheese

2 sticks softened butter

1 Tablespoon vanilla 

Crockpot Mississippi Meatballs

 This is based on everyone’s favorite Mississippi Pot Roast recipe. They are turning a lot of things into Mississippi these days. I had to try the recipe. There are a couple of things I would tweak a little next time.

The picture from the recipe showed mashed potatoes with it so I decided to try that.  Good choice.

Not sure I used the correct amount of meatballs but just go with it.

Put your liner in the crock pot, then add the meatballs in the bottom.

Measure 1/2 cup of water.

1/4 cup pepperoncini juice. Now I thought it was very spicy, husband did not. You can adjust the juice more or less as you want but I would make up the difference with water.

Add 1/2 a packet of Au Jus seasoning. I just eye balled it. Add it to the water juice mixture.

Add 1/2 a packet of ranch seasoning. I eyeballed it again. If you use the whole packet of these two seasonings the it could be too salty.

Whisk together.

Pour over the meatballs. Try to get it on all of them.

Looks good.

Cut up 4 Tablespoons of butter into little pats.

Place around on top of the meatballs.

Pick 4 or 5 peppers.

Add them on top too. Cover and cook for about 4 hours on low.

They are ready to eat. I heated up my mash potatoes and dinner was ready. Doesn’t get any easier than that.

Taste like the pot roast. Another easy recipe to add to the rotation.

Crock pot Mississippi Meatballs Recipe

32 oz frozen home style meatballs

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup pepperoncini juice

1/2 a packet of Au Jus seasoning mix

1/2 a packet ranch seasoning mix

4 Tablespoons butter

4 pepperoncini peppers

Cook for 4 hours on low

Butter Swim Biscuits

 I have to tell you I had never heard of these biscuits until recently on a Food Network baking competition show. I was very curious and started looking for a recipe. I found one that looked good and so last night I tried it. I have made regular biscuits before, it’s a messy endeavor. And to be honest the Mary B frozen ones are just as good and so much easier, so that is what I usually make when I need biscuits. I have found my new biscuit. These were so easy and mess free. They puff up really big and are nice and tender on the inside. I know the recipe sounds strange but trust me. Give them a try soon.

Yes these are biscuits.

The one ingredient that I don’t usually have on hand is buttermilk.

The first thing you will want to do is melt one stick of butter. I think I want to try something different next time. More on that later.

The next thing you need to think about is your dish. It needs to be deep enough that the butter doesn’t bubbly out of the pan. This is a nice deep pan. The pan also needs to be a 8x8 or 9x9 pan.

Butter is melted.

Pour it into the bottom of the baking dish. Go ahead and preheat the oven to 450. Yes you read that right.

Next add 2 1/2 cups all purpose plain flour to a bowl.

4 teaspoons baking powder. I told you they were going to puff up.

4 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons salt. Stir the dry ingredients together.

Add 2 cups buttermilk to the dry ingredients. That’s all you need.

Stir until everything is mixed well.

Now pour the batter into the pan on top of the butter. The batter is going to “swim” in the butter while they bake.

Make indentations in the batter to make 9 biscuits. It will make it easier to cut after they bake. No rolling or having a biscuit cutter needed.

Now they are ready for the preheated 450 oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes. 

Fresh baked biscuits. These cooked for about 22 minutes.

Look how nice and big and fluffy they are.

I had mine with some fresh homemade strawberry jam that a friend gave me and they were so good. You have to try these biscuits.

Butter Swim Biscuits Recipe

Preheat oven to 450 while you are putting the biscuits together.

2 1/2 cups plain flour

2 cups buttermilk

1 stick butter

4 teaspoons baking powder

4 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons salt

Next time I am going to melt the butter in the pan while the oven is preheating to get it hot. Then pour the batter in the pan I think that will make the bottom a little crispier. They were good this way but I just want to try it.

Bake for 20-25 minutes.