Confession time: I quit my (stable-ish well-paying, super fun) job a couple of weeks ago to go to culinary school for baking next year. Was this an awesome decision or a terrible one? The jury’s still out, but the way I think about it, the more time I have to devote to desserts, the better. So I’m leaning toward awesome.

To celebrate my decision, I’m using this week’s DIY to share an incredible buttercream frosting recipe with all of you. You can use it to frost a cake, cupcakes, cookies . . . or to eat it straight out of the Tupperware with some pretzels when you’re dealing with a breakup. Stop buying this stuff and make it yourself.

Ingredients
(Makes enough buttercream for one standard-size cake with 12-16 servings)

1/2 cup vegetable shortening (such as Crisco)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup heavy cream Read More »

Hi, my name is Lauren and I’m a cupcake-aholic.

My addiction has taken over my life. Sometimes, when I am driving home from anywhere, I suddenly find myself at the local bakery or grocery store, frosting all over my chin, and have no idea how I got there. There was even that one drunken night when I woke up with half a cupcake in my bed.

And I finished it.

I cannot walk past a cupcake shop without stopping in and trying a few, and I have been known to spend Saturday nights at home with a box of Dunkin Hines cupcake mix, my oven and a jar of icing.

I have been battling this addiction for years and it is tearing my life (and pants) apart. I am working to kick the habit, but I am not strong enough to do it cold turkey. I now consciously avoid streets that house any sort of mini cake delight and have in turn turned to the internet to feed (or not so much) my urges.

Yes, I am now a subscriber to cupcake porn. Read More »

Cookie or cupcake? Cookie or cupcake?? Ahhh life is full of tough decisions. And since I am the world’s worst decision maker (I swear it’s the Libra in me), I just couldn’t make up my mind the other day. So I chose both.

No, I didn’t spent all day baking various desserts. I just made one and got both my treats. That’s right. I made Martha Stewart’s Chocolate Chunk Cookie Cupcakes.

What you’ll need to make 2 dozen:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/3 cup whole milk

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, cut into 1/2-inch chunks

How to make these cookie cupcakes: Read More »