NiftyFifty

I know, I know. Where have I even been? Ultimately, things have been pretty crazy around the household. School is now over, but things are just as hectic. Thank goodness baking helps me cope with stress! I tried to make some pretzel bites, but that didn’t go over very well.

They looked like unicorn turds, and they weren’t tasty at all. Second batch still didn’t come out right, so I gave up on it. They tasted all right, but they still looked like unicorn turds. I guess it just wasn’t meant to be!

I still wanted to bake something, so I looked around my favorite food blogs. The moment I saw the recipe for these cupcakes, I knew I wanted to try them. I love almost anything with nuts in it, especially pecans. It sounds like a strange combination: cinnamon, pecans, bananas, and pineapple. To me though, it sounds delicious.

The smell permeating from the oven was absolutely divine, and I just knew that the cupcakes were going to be heavenly. This is what I missed from baking! The smells that fill the kitchen are comforting. And so, while the cupcakes were baking to perfection in the oven, I decided to whip up the cream cheese frosting. I planned on just using store-bought frosting, but I knew that wouldn’t quite do these cupcakes justice. They needed frosting whipped up from scratch, with lots of butter and some Philadelphia cream cheese.

They turned out so great, and it was definitely a big hit around the house. I couldn’t even eat just one! I managed to scarf down two of them before I decided to pass them around to our neighbors. I managed to make 28 regular-sized cupcakes and 12 minis. I kept the minis so I wouldn’t feel too guilty about inhaling them. Hey, you just can’t get in the way of a girl and her sweet tooth!

Hummingbird Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting, from Bake or Break

Cupcakes
yields 36 regular-sized cupcakes
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 large eggs, beaten
1 cup vegetable or canola oil
1 & 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple
1 cup chopped pecans
2 cups chopped bananas
chopped pecans or sanding sugar, for garnish

Cream Cheese Frosting
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
1lb confectioners sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour regular cupcake pans. Set aside.

• Combine flour, baking soda, salt, sugar, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Add eggs and oil, stirring until dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in vanilla, pineapple, pecans, and bananas.

• Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake for 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Then, remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks.

• Beat cream cheese and butter until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Stir in vanilla.

• After cupcakes are completely cooled, frost cupcakes. Garnish, if desired.