Snickerdoodles? Or Cupcakes? Now you don't have to decide.

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

I lifted this recipe (with permission) from a friends facebook page.

Bring wet ingredients to room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
(frosting & cinnamon-sugar to follow)

1 1/2 c. white flour
1 c. cake flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 sticks butter
3 eggs
1-1 1/4 c. buttermilk
2 tsp. vanilla

Cream the butter in the bowl of your stand-up mixer, or if you aren't lucky enough to have one, in a bowl with your hand mixer.  Add the sugar and cream it into the butter.  Scrape down the bowl when necessary, but at least once.

Add the vanilla.  Add the eggs one at a time, fully incorporating each egg before adding the next.  A good tip from Ina Garten is to break the egg into a small bowl in case of stray shell or in case the egg is bad it won't ruin the whole batter.

Have your buttermilk measured and ready.  Put all your other dry ingredients into a small bowl and mix them together with a fork.

In three additions, add in 1/3 of the dry mixture, incorporating it completely.  Add 1/3 of the buttermilk, incoporating it fully.  Lather, rinse, repeat til flour mixture and buttermilk are used up.

Fill baking cups about 3/4-ish with batter.  Bake for 25 minutes or until golden and springy, and the neighbor kids knock on the door because it smells so good.

Cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting
Bring wet ingredients to room temp, otherwise the butter & cream cheese won't incorporate.

1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
1 stick butter
2 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Again with the mixer, cream the butter and cream cheese.  Add the sugar & vanilla.  Taste it, add more sugar if you like. Spread on the cupcakes & top with cinnamon-sugar.

Cinnamon-Sugar

2 Tblsp. white sugar to 1 tsp. cinnamon

Make about double this and then sprinkle on top of cupcakes.
Save the rest for toast :)

Hot Cocoa Mix

This recipe was taken from Ravlery's Hot Chocolate Group courtesy of irene522

1 cup powered sugar (Irene uses 1 Cup Splenda.)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (Irene uses Hersheys Dark Chocolate Baking Powder)
1 packet of dry milk powder (the one that says it makes 1 quart, they sell 5 pack boxes and 10 pack boxes at the supermarket).
1 teaspoon cornstarch (keeps everything from clumping)
1/8 teaspoon of salt (salt brings out chocolate flavor).
You sift it all twice, and store in a jar.
Very easy, and yummy!

*I tried the powdered sugar version and liked it.  I even brought some of this mix to a friend's house.  She was unable to try it though as her kids managed to make it disappear. 

Movie Weekend #3 May 20, 21, 22

Did you know that May 20th is "Be a Millionaire Day"? I'd like to celebrate that by winning the lottery, but just in case I don't, I'll celebrate it with these movies:

How to Steal a Million, starring Audrey Hepburn and Peter O'Toole

Oceans 11 (add Oceans 12 and Oceans 13 also if you're in the mood for a marathon or possibly need some cheering up if you, too, fail to win the lottery!)

Movie Weekend #2 May 13, 14, 15

We should definitely celebrate National Train Day, which is May 9th, so let's do it by watching one of these movies:

Unstoppable, starring Denzel Washington

Throw Momma from the Train, which is available to view instantly.

Hufflepuff Movie Weekends - Spring 2011

We're going to try something different for Movie Weekends this term - TWO movies every week. Hopefully this way there will be something for everyone! Many of these movies were taken from the "Hufflepuff Favorite Movies" lists, so these movies
are chosen from among your, and your classmates', favorites

Watch the movie you like best! Watch them both! Then come chat about them on the current week's "movie weekend" thread. Tell us why your choice is the best movie, tell us all your favorite parts, tell us why we need to watch it if we haven't seen it already! Tell us about your favorite movie-watching treats, or a menu you'd choose for a movie night built around whichever movie (or movies!) you've chosen. Quote all your favorite lines. Make fun of any terrible lines. Tell us about bloopers, or parts you dislike. Tell us about an alternate ending you'd have chosen if you were in charge of the movie. Tell us why you love (or hate) the actors in it. Tell us who you'd have cast. Whatever. Just choose a movie, and come talk about it!

I'm going to try to keep the blog updated so that you'll have plenty of time to locate any movies you want to watch. I'll update it on Sunday nights, so check back often!

Okay....Movie Weekend #1 May 6, 7, 8

Let's celebrate Cinco de Mayo by watching films shot in Mexico! Your choices for the week are:

Romeo + Juliet (from Baz Lurhmann), which is available to view instantly on Netflix.
-and/or-
The Mask of Zorro!

Pot Pie

I find pot pies to be the some of the very best kinds of comfort food.  This is the recipe as I learned it:

If you like your pot pie to actually look like a pie, then make your crust.  Pick the crust recipe you like best.  If you are not a fan of that sort of thing, you can always top the pot pie mixture with mashed potatoes.  

Thoroughly cook 2-3 chicken breasts.  If you don't have any use another meat. The amount of space that three full decks of cards take up - that is the amount of meat you want to use.  However, you do not HAVE to put in any type of meat at all - you can use tofu or just add more vegetables.

If you intend to use a mashed potato topping, this is the time to start the mash potato process.  Fill a pot with cold water and then toss in 5 potatoes.  Make according to the way you like them best.  Or shortcut with instant mashed potatoes. 

While the meat, if you are using it, is cooking, chop up 2-3 cups of vegetables.  Peas and carrots are traditional.  Set aside.  Chop up an onion - about 1/3 to 1/2 cup.  Set aside.  Make sure you have butter, flour, salt, pepper, garlic, one egg, chicken broth and milk.

Melt 1/2 stick of butter (1/4 cup) on stove top in the sort of pan that works best for you.   Add the onions and let them caramelize.  Then add 1/2 cup flour, 1 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper.  If you like pepper it's OK to add more.  Remove from heat when the mixture starts to bubble.  Add milk and chicken broth. Mix thoroughly and place back on burner until it starts to boil.  Add vegetables and chicken.  Mix thoroughly and place in cooking dish. 

If you made a crust, place the top crust on and brush egg (well-beaten) onto the top.  If you decide to take the mashed potato route mix the egg into the potatoes.  Top pot pie mixture with mashed potato and egg mixture.

Place the dish in the middle of a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes.  Crust should be brown/mashed potato topping should have some browned peaks.  Let pot pie stand about 10 minutes before serving.


Food substitutions that I have tried and liked:
Unflavored soy milk in place of milk,
Olive oil in place of butter,
Rice flour instead of regular flour,
Vegetable broth in place of chicken broth,
Sweet potatoes/yams in place of regular potatoes,
The egg can be skipped if necessary.

*Cross posted in my own blog CrochetedKitten.

Death by Jello

Not really, but made you look!  Maybe.  I found the Stringativity Blog and wanted to share it with my fellow 'Puffs.  The Blogger in question posts about her experiments with Jello on 12/09/2007.  She even posts a follow up pic in the post dated 12/14/2007 - so you can see what a jello swatch looks like once its been knitted up.

Jello in the microwave from http://stringativity.blogspot.com/

In a mixing bowl in the order listed:
5 cups water
1 tsp salt
1 pkg regular Jello Berry Blue (color used in the example)
1 cup vinegar.
81 grams of wool

 Add wool and swish it around a bit allowing the dye to soak in.  Stir with a utensil unless you like the look of colored hands. 

You will need a microwaveable bowl. Place jello soaked yarn in bowl and microwave for about 2 minutes on high heat.  Allow it rest a bit to cool.  Repeat 3 times. 

Their is a bit more - the rest of it can be found on the Stringativity blog.  A place I am pointing to as it is an amazing blog.