Monday, September 26, 2011

Pumpkin Cupcakes and Glitter

My Husband is a Real-Estate Agent, and this week he was holding a broker tour of one of his listings. So I thought it would be nice to serve a yummy fall treat. One of my favorite fall cookies is from the Martha Stewart Cookie cookbook that came out a couple of years ago (see link below) - the Pumpkin Cookie with Brown Butter Frosting. So delicious. I love browned butter- what a perfect way to flavor a butter cream frosting.

Here's a link to the most wonderful moist pumpkin cookies recipe.

I was not in the mood to bake cookies though, I was in a cupcake baking mood, plus I wanted to save the cookies for later this fall. So I went looking for a cupcake recipe to match the brown butter frosting, and decided to try out Martha's pumpkin cupcake recipe.

Here's the Cupcake recipe I tried.



Here they are frosted with delicious brown butter frosting. I topped them with the pumpkins so the saran and wax paper wouldn't stick to the frosting, and the pumpkins add some color.


These turned out wonderfully, so moist and the flavor is wonderful! Perfect dessert to serve for fall gatherings, I will definitely be making these again! The brown butter frosting went along with them really well. I have to say, over the years I have tried many Martha Stewart recipes, mostly baked goods, and they always turn out really well.

I have made many of the Martha Stewart Cookies from this book, mostly for Christmas. My daughter makes the Snickerdoodle recipe from this cookbook as well, and they turn out delicious every time.


And now about the Glitter... I have a thing for glitter, maybe because I have been doing children's crafts for so many years, even as a child I always loved glitter projects. The last couple of years I have collected the Martha Stewart Glitters that they sell at Michael's Craft store- they have the most amazing colors and sizes of glitter. I have had a lot of fun using them for cards, and in scrapbooking. I have an entire storage tote just devoted to glitter in my craft closet.

When I was at the craft store a month ago, I spotted a new (well new to me) brand of glitter. Art-C brand glitter and mixed media sets. They came in color coordinated sets of three, and have coordinating sets of glitter, beads, and spools of wire and fiber. The best part- they come in little glass bottles, with cork stoppers & the wire and fibers come on little wooden spools. I could just envision these in my craft area, inspiring all sorts of creative projects during the upcoming holiday season. I searched the web until I found them on sale at a reasonable price, and splurged on the set.


Here are the purple bead and glitter sets- I love the little cardboard boxes. This glitter was just calling my name!!


I knew I didn't want these beautiful bottles and spools hidden away in my glitter tote- so off I went in search of a nice way of displaying them. As I was stocking up on household supplies at Walmart last weekend, I came across these pretty wooden serving pieces that I thought would work well. I love the way they look. I'm very excited to get crafting with my new supplies, and I just had to share about them.











Aren't they pretty!! Sure to inspire some fun crafting!


17 comments:

  1. Those cupcakes look delicious! Thanks for stopping by my blog. I'm following you back!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi April,
    Just writing to thank you for joining in the fun with the Fairy Garden Competition. I LOVED your garden and your story too. Reminded me of myself :-)
    Also, can you send me your address so that I can get your prize in the mail. My email is vined@ymail(dot)com.
    Hope you'll be back next year :-)
    Blessings and magic,
    Donni

    ReplyDelete
  3. Stopping by from the blog hop and now following your blog thru GFC, Facebook and RSS Reader. I would love a follow back on all of those when you get the chance. Thanks so much for your help and have a great day!

    Mary@http://www.mmbearcupoftea.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. You're making me hungry! Aren't the fall flavors the best?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yummy! They look scrumptuous :o)
    Gary called us yesterday at church saying how he has these awesome cupcakes you made just across the street from church! I wondered where that wonderful scent of a pumpkin baked good came from!

    ReplyDelete
  6. We will have to give those a try next week. Next week Hazel and I are going to do pumpkin crafts. (This week we are focusing on apples.) Since you are recommending the recipes I'll trust you. I usually don't have good luck with Martha Stewart recipes.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love pumpkin cupcakes - I used a different recipe earlier this month and they were delicious, but I never thought to add the little pumpkin candy on top. Neat idea. Maybe I'll have to try this recipe. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks everyone for stopping by and leaving such nice comments!! I do love the flavors of fall- and these pumpkin muffins sure hit the spot, definitely going in my permanent recipe notebook- perfect for my morning coffee break :) Hope everyone is having a beautiful day!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Ok I am not a huge pumpkin fan but these look scrumptious! New follower from the blog hop hope you can by and check out my site.

    ReplyDelete
  10. What delicious looking cupcakes! Hope they inspired some agents to bring clients to the house! ;) I like how you're using the glitter as home decor, too.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thanks, Traci and Mommy Bags, for stopping by and your kind comments :) I am really enjoying the glitter as home decor- it makes me happy every time I pass by. ~April

    ReplyDelete
  12. The pumpkin look so cute and delicious. Good for the coming halloween. Will be a much nutritious snack for kids into their basket.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks for stopping by my blog, and for your king comments Malay-Kadazan Girl :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Oh, glitter! I can never resist, and yours are so pretty.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Tasty treats and lovely glitter, cheers Marie

    ReplyDelete
  16. New follower here from Weekend Gathering hop. I hope you will take a moment to stop by my blog and check out my kind of fashion (hair jewelry). I'm not just trying to gain followers with hopping, I'm trying to spread the word about a product I love. Here's my url http://talesfrommyjournal.blogspot.com I also have a facebook page which is www.facebook.com/DeniseMartin.LillaRose I hope you can stop by there as well. It's the fastest way to hear about specials. I'll go give your facebook page a like right after I post this comment.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I love glitter also. It's hard to clean up, but it is a lot of fun and makes everything so pretty. This is a great blog. I'm Sarah, I'm a new follower from the Weekend Gathering hop, I'm following through GFC and Networked blogs and also liked your FB page. I would love for you to come follow back http://skylarinc.blogspot.com/. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete

I love to hear your thoughts, feedback, and ideas. Please feel free to leave a comment.