Recipe: Girl Scout Cookie Cupcakes

Hi all! I know it's been a while since you've seen me around these parts, but I tried out a new recipe over the weekend and wanted to share it with you! I was inspired by one of the posts I curated for Rue Now on ways to cook and bake with Girl Scout cookies, so I whipped up two different variations of vanilla cupcakes with peanut butter frosting and Girl Scout cookies baked in. :) They're quick and easy to make and are a total crowd-pleaser, so I highly recommend trying them when you're able to get your hands on some Tagalongs and Peanut Butter Sandwich cookies!

Recipe: Lemon Chiffon Cupcakes

I hope you all had a great weekend! I baked for a baby shower brunch this past weekend, and in addition making blueberry pancake cupcakes with maple buttercream, I also made a new recipe: lemon chiffon cupcakes filled with lemon curd and topped with a fluffy lemon buttercream! These cupcakes did take a bit of work, but they were SO worth it. The cake was light and fluffy due to the addition of the meringue, the filling was sinfully delicious, and the frosting was not too sweet and the perfect compliment for the rest of the treat. I definitely recommend trying these out for any spring or summer party you bake for since they're so light and refreshing!

Recipe: Blueberry Filled Vanilla Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

When one of my coworkers gave me a jar of blueberry jam as a Christmas gift, my first thought was "I want to fill some cupcakes with this!" So this past weekend, I made some simple vanilla cupcakes, filled them with the blueberry jam and topped them with a cream cheese frosting. They were absolutely delicious and are quick & easy to make, so you should definitely give them a try!

PS: Make sure you're following me on Instagram - @amybreckenridge - because I'm taking part in a loop giveaway today through Sunday for a $500 gift card of your choice!

Recipe: Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes

Some of you may have forgotten that I could bake. I almost did too because life has been so busy over the past few months that I've barely turned on my oven to try out a new recipe! But I made these delicious and simple mini pumpkin cheesecakes for Thanksgiving and I wanted to share it with you all. It's a great, easy treat to make throughout the fall and winter, so I hope you enjoy!

Recipes: Best of Fall

Some of you have probably noticed that I've been slacking in the Cupcakes department lately when it comes to Cupcakes & Couture...I've been so busy with work and the blog and the cats {and some semblance of a personal life} that there hasn't been much free time to bake! But, that doesn't mean I don't have some great fall recipes that I've already tried out and you may not have seen yet. Here are 7 of my favorite fall recipes - just click each of the links to be taken to the full recipe. Let me know if you try one out this season or if you have any favorite fall recipes in the comments below!

Caramel Filled Apple Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

{use your leftover apples from your apple picking trips!}

Butterfinger Stuffed Cupcakes

{perfect for Halloween!}

Caramel Filled Vanilla Cupcakes with Pumpkin Buttercream

{all the best fall flavors rolled into one delicious dessert!}

Recipe: Pineapple Mini Cheesecakes

This past weekend, I made a delicious summer recipe - pineapple mini cheesecakes! Topped with homemade whipped cream, these little treats are perfect for the summer because they're fresh, cold and light. I found the recipe on Reynolds Kitchens' website - in addition to making their famous tin foil, they make lots of other baking products and have a huge recipe catalog online! The recipe looks difficult because there appear to be a lot of steps, but it's deceptively quick and simple. Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Salted Caramel Filled Chocolate Cupcakes

It's been a while since I've baked anything new and put up a recipe on the blog! To be totally honest, the busier I get with work, my blog, etc, the less time and energy I have for baking. But I made these delicious salted caramel filled chocolate cupcakes for a friend's Memorial Day party and they were a hit, so I thought I'd share the recipe with you all today! :)

Lately on Instagram...

Happy hump day! I was going through my Instagram and realized that I had a lot of great pictures to share with you all. Here's what I've been doing in Boston lately...what have you all been up to?

went for a long walk along the Charles and stayed hydrated thanks to Zico!

baked some {not so red} velvet cupcakes for my friend Ellie...

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Happy Wednesday! I'm leaving tonight for San Diego to visit my sister and I am so excited to see her! Her 24th birthday is tomorrow and it'll be great to celebrate with her and get some warm weather. I'll be back on Monday, but I have a few posts queued up in my absence. :)

This past weekend I baked carrot cake cupcakes for the first time to get in the spirit of Easter! They were very moist, flavorful and delicious and I will definitely make them again. Try them out and let me know what you think!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

If you love Reeses peanut butter cups, you'll really love these chocolate peanut butter cupcakes! The cake is chocolate and theres a slightly sweet peanut butter filling inside along with a light, fluffy peanut butter buttercream. Delicious!

Lately on Instagram...

Happy Monday and happy St. Patrick's Day, all! I hope you had a great weekend :) I wanted to share some photos of what I've been up to lately!

wore my classic winter outfit here in Boston...

coat: Michael by Michael Kors

scarf: Burberry

bag: vintage Louis Vuitton

jeans: 7FAM

boots: Vince Camuto {similar}

came home from work to Phoebe who was very happy to see me...

bought some cute new measuring cups and spoons...

UPDATED: Snickers Cupcakes

I posted this recipe when I first started my blog, but thought I'd repost it with new photos and an updated recipe since I made them again this weekend! This Snickers cupcake recipe is my go-to recipe when someone asks me to bake for a party. This flavor combo seems to be the biggest crowd pleaser and never disappoints! The cupcakes turn out perfectly every time I make them and I know I can always count on this recipe. Plus, the caramel filled center is always a nice surprise to bite into! :)

Miss Boston Princess Party & Funfetti Cupcakes

Last weekend was the big Miss Boston/Cambridge Pageant, and it was a crazy busy one for me! On Saturday, I helped out with the Princess portion where we threw a little party for the younger girls who appeared in Sunday's pageant. There were arts and crafts, mani-pedis and lots of rehearsing for the pageant! I also set up a DIY cupcake bar for the girls with freshly baked homemade funfetti cupcakes, vanilla buttercream, candy and little crowns for toppers and helped them decorate their own cupcakes to bring home. It was such a fun experience and I thought I'd share some of the photos with you! :) Click through for the recipes as well.

the girls loved my sparkly jacket - they kept asking if they could touch it!

Pistachio Rose Cupcakes

When I was in Paris, I tried as many different pastries as I could. One treat I tried has stuck with me ever since I got back from my trip - a nice, light, not overly sweet pistachio & rose macaron. Although the flavor combination is originally Middle Eastern and not French, there was something perfectly Parisian about it. Everyone knows that I love to bake, but I very rarely make anything just for me, so since I haven't taught myself the fine art of macaron making yet, I decided to try my hand at a pistachio rose cupcake this weekend. It was a little pre-Valentine's Day treat for me, because let's face it - my true love is Paris! :) Not only were these some of the prettiest and best smelling cupcakes I've ever made, but they may have been the most delicious too.

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cupcakes

I hope you all had a great New Year's Eve and Day! For my office Secret Santa gift swap, I received some boxed cake mixes and frostings from a coworker who knows how much I love baking. I never make using anything boxed mixes and always bake from scratch (I don't want to feel like a faker when I say it's homemade!), so I was skeptical to use any of the mixes I received. But the Cinnamon Toast Crunch muffin mix intrigued me, and as I was falling asleep one night last week, I dreamed up a recipe using the mix that I thought would be delicious - Cinnamon Toast Crunch cupcakes filled with cream cheese and topped with a cinnamon buttercream! I have to say, they were really good and I couldn't tell the batter was made from a box at all! Maybe I should stop being so judgmental...

Thanksgiving Recipes

Can you believe Thanksgiving is tomorrow?! This year has just flown right by! For those of you who plan to bake for the holiday and don't want to make a traditional pie, I wanted to share some of my recipes that are perfect for Thanksgiving dessert. Please let me know if you end up baking any of them and how they turn out! :)

I'm taking tomorrow off from blogging - I hope you all have a very happy and delicious Thanksgiving! :)

1. Pumpkin Cupcakes with Whipped Cream Frosting. Take off the Halloween peep and top them with some cinnamon sugar to make these Thanksgiving appropriate.

2. Pumpkin Pie Stuffed Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting. These are definitely a project, but they're super delicious and will impress your family and friends!

Snickers Filled Halloween Cupcakes

My friend Jen had a Halloween this past Saturday night and I wanted to bring a spooky Halloween themed treat to go along with her creepy, disgusting theme.  (Think blueberry eyeball punch, mummy pizza, "blood" shots, etc.) I baked chocolate cupcakes with mini Snickers bars inside, which are Jen's favorite Halloween candy, and topped them with caramel buttercream. She gave me some red food coloring and bloody axes she found at the party store and they looked really cool! I wish I got a better picture of the Snickers filling, but the punch was quite potent and I forgot... :)

Oh, not so funny story: I got locked in my bathroom for an hour and a half on Saturday night before the party. Thank goodness I brought my cell phone in there with me and was able to call the landlord who got a locksmith to come rescue me, or else I have no idea what I would have done! I can't tell you how happy I was to get out of there!

PS: I have two more Halloween events to attend this week and I'll be sure to post photos of my Alice in Wonderland costume next week! :)

Caramel Filled Vanilla Cupcakes with Pumpkin Buttercream

I am very excited to announce that I'm a new baking contributor for Annina Hendrick's Enchanting Details blog! I shared my first recipe with Annina's readers yesterday using some of her cute Halloween printouts and I am so thrilled with the results. My inspiration for this recipe was a caramel pumpkin latte - I wanted to combine vanilla, caramel and pumpkin flavors in a new but delicious way and my coworkers all enjoyed these on Monday when I brought them in to work! Let me know if you try them out :)

Joia's Wedding

This past weekend, my best friend from college Joia married the love of her life, Travis. :) I was so honored to be one of her bridesmaids and even more honored to bake all of the cupcakes for their special day!! I wanted to share my photo diary of the weekend, starting with my baking of the cupcakes and ending with the fun reception. I hope you enjoy them!

On Thursday night, I started to bake. The amazing staff at Neighborhood's Cafe on my street let me use their kitchen to bake in, which was unbelievably generous. Instead of baking 120 cupcakes in 6 batches with my stand mixer in my apartment, I was able to use their industrial equipment and make them all in one batch which saved me so much time and energy! I cannot thank them enough!!! Please please visit them to eat their delicious crepes and drink their fabulous coffee and teas...tell them Amy sent you!

REVISED: Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes

When the lovely folks over at Effie's Homemade in Hyde Park contacted me about trying out some of their products, I was absolutely thrilled. Not only are they a local company started by two best friends (which I love!), but their crackers and cakes are truly delicious.

I knew I wanted to try baking with one of their biscuits, so I chose their pecan nutcakes and decided to remake one of the first recipes I ever posted on my blog - strawberry cheesecake cupcakes! I made them using the nutcakes instead of graham cracker crumbs and they turned out fabulous.

If you want to try out Effie's Homemade products, click here for store locations. In addition to loving their biscuits, their lavender sea salt crackers are amazing with goat cheese and are my new favorite snack!