Rum Snickerdoodle Cookies

Wait, there are boozy cookies too?! You betcha. The rum, especially when they are warm, highlights what we all love about cinnamon and sugar. They are so fluffy and perfect, I'll be making them again sooner rather than later.

Yield: 18 cookies (depends on how big you make them, I preferred smaller ones)

Time: 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

Cookie:

• 16 Tbsp (two sticks) Butter

• 1 1/3 Cup Sugar

• 1 Egg

• 3 1/4 Cup Flour

• 1 tsp Cream of Tartar

• 1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract

• 1/2 tsp Salt

• 1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda

• 2 tsp Cinnamon

• 1/4 cup Spiced Rum

Topping

• 1/4 Cup Sugar

• 3/4 tsp Cinnamon

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

In a small bowl combine dry ingredients.

In a large bowl, mix together the sugar, egg, and butter.

Slowly combine the wet and dry ingredients incorporating the spiced rum. Combine until all batter is moist. (It may look like the dough isn’t wet enough, use your hands to fully incorporate all ingredients).

In another bowl, place the topping mix.

Using a spoon to form balls (or hands to roll dough into small balls, about 2inch big), and then roll in topping mix.

Place on a cookie sheet about 1-2 inches apart. (they don’t expand when baking so it's okay to bake closer together).

Bake for 10-15 minutes or just until the cookies are slightly brown.

Allow cooling and… Enjoy!

Best Ever Chocolate Cupcakes

This cupcake is the perfect amount of chocolate; you can never go wrong with chocolate! this may be non-boozy, but get yourself some red wine and you'll have the perfect dessert.

Yield: 12-14 cupcakes

Time: 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

Cupcake:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

• 2 oz semi-sweet baking chocolate

• 2 large eggs

• 3/4 cup sugar

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/2 cup sour cream room temperature

• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

• 3/4 cup flour

• 1/2 tsp baking soda

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1/4 tsp salt

Frosting:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter

• 2 cups powdered sugar

• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 2-3 Tbsp milk

INSTRUCTIONS

Cupcakes:

Preheat the oven to 350°F, and line a standard cupcake pan with paper liners.

Melt the butter and chocolate together in the microwave. Microwave in 30 seconds then 10-second increments, stirring in between each time to not burn the chocolate. Set aside.

In a small bowl, sift the cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together until combined.

In a large bowl, add the eggs, sugar, vanilla, and sour cream and whisk on medium speed until smooth.

Add the cooled butter/chocolate to the wet ingredients, mix until smooth, about 30 seconds.

Slowly add in the flour mixture, until fully incorporated. Do not over-mix or else the cupcakes won’t be light and fluffy!

Fill the cupcake liners about ¾ full. Bake for 14-16 minutes. or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Frosting:

Add the butter to a large mixer bowl, mix until smooth and light in color. About 5 minutes.

Sift together the powdered sugar and cocoa over the butter. Mix until combined.

Add the vanilla and 2 Tablespoons milk, and mix for a minute or until fluffy. If the frosting is too thick, add more milk to get a thinner consistency.

Pipe onto cooled cupcakes and… Enjoy!

***As you can see in the pictures, there are M&M’s incorporated into the cupcakes. I had a request for chocolate cupcakes but to make them a little more exciting I incorporated Harry Potter house colored M&M’s. I cored out the middle, inserted the M&M’s, then made sure to cover it completely with the frosting. This way, when guests bit into them they were surprised to see what house they were assigned. I was Ravenclaw, by the way!***

Blackberry Bourbon Smash Cupcakes

Not only has this been my favorite alcoholic drink, but this has become one of my favorite cupcakes. Just a regular bourbon vanilla cupcake with a filling that pulls the whole cupcake together. Never hurts to put a little extra bourbon in the cupcake!

Yield: 12 cupcakes

Time: 45 minutes

INGREDIENTS

Cupcake:

• 1 cup sugar

• ¼ cup vegetable oil

• 2 large eggs

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• ¼ cup sour cream

• 1 ½ tsp baking powder

• ½ tsp salt

• 1 ¼ cup flour

• 1/3 cup bourbon

• 1/3 cup milk

Filling:

• 12 oz blackberries

• 2 Tbsp sugar

• 1 Tbsp flour

• 6 large mint leaves, chopped

• 1 Tbsp lemon juice

• 1 tsp bourbon

Frosting:

• 1 cup butter

• 4 cups powdered sugar

• 2 Tbsp heavy whipping cream

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 tsp bourbon

INSTRUCTIONS

Cupcake:

Preheat the oven to 350°F, and line a standard cupcake pan with paper liners.

In a small bowl, combine dry ingredients. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla extract. Beat together until the butter is lighter in color, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl as needed.

Mix in the sour cream and beat until well combined.

Add half the dry ingredients and beat on low speed while pouring in the bourbon and mix just until the flour starts to incorporate.

Add the remaining flour, mixing at low speed while pouring in the milk and beating until all of the ingredients are well combined.

Fill the cupcake liners about ¾ full. Bake for 14-16 minutes. or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Filling:

In a medium-sized saucepan, combine the blackberries with the sugar and flour, stir well.

Add the lemon juice, bourbon, and mint leaves. Cook over medium-high heat until mixture starts to break down, boil and bubble, stirring frequently to break down the blackberries.

Reduce heat and simmer for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the blackberry sauce starts to thicken.

Remove from heat and allow the sauce to cool completely. (You can place it in the fridge to help speed up the process).

Frosting:

Add the butter to a large mixer bowl, mix until smooth and light in color. About 5 minutes.

Add about half of the powdered sugar, combine.

Alternate adding remaining powdered sugar with heavy whipping cream, vanilla, and bourbon until incorporated. Then increase the speed until the frosting is light and fluffy.

To Assemble:

Once cupcakes are cooled, use a corer or a knife to cut out a hole in the middle of the cupcake.

Fill centers with the filling, leaving some to put on top of the cupcakes as garnish.

Pipe frosting onto cupcakes. Garnish with leftover sauce, whole blackberries, and mint leaves… Enjoy!