Soundtrack Saturday-Parachute

Happy Saturday my friends!

Hope you are recovering well from any goings-on last night, maybe you got a chance to sleep in?  I know I did, and I love it!

So this band I have been a fan of for several years.  They partner with one of my favorite organizations Mocha Club.  I volunteered through MC at one of their concerts a year or so ago and met the band, they were so great!

This song makes me cry every time I hear it is kind of sad it but it's so beautiful!  The love story is so heartbreakingly sweet, it's amazing.

I highly suggest you give it a weekend.

Enjoy your Saturday my friends!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yikzoM4tbfg]

Love,

Keely

Smashing Saturday-test

So here's my smashing creation, share your link below.

Weekly Wrap Up

Happy Friday!  The weekend is in sight lovelies!

How was your week?  What were you up to this week?

I sadly don't have a lot to chat about this week, it was just an average week.  Nothing super amazing in anyway and nothing horrible, it was just, life.  It was nice.  It was a pretty relaxed week full of a LOT of baking, which is a lot of fun but a touch tiring when you're always doing it around 11 at night.  You know how some bloggers are morning people?  That is so NOT me!

I am always up super late at night doing all sorts of things, mornings are just not for me, as much as I would love for them to be.  Such is life.



My friend has a bunch of Where's Waldo books, and check it out, I found Waldo, woohoo!



Told you I did some baking.  Vanilla raspberry anyone?



Getting ready for camp this week, isn't this sun great!



Ah, I love the park across the street from me, it's so wonderful.  Too bad it was 100 degrees out that day.



Oh wow it has been SO hot!  There have been some thunderstorms recently, it's been better!



Ah!  Getting ready for our first, in home Martini Monday, I have a slight obsession with that bar cart!



See that, that's not a cloud, that's some smoke from one of the fires.  It's crazy.



It's totally normal to take cupcakes on a .8 mile walk, right?  That's what I thought.  Dulce de Leche cupcakes (recipe soon).

So there you have it.  Hope you had a wonderful week as well!  What was your favorite moment?

Love,

Keely

Thankful Thursday!

Good morning lovelies!

I hope you are all having lovely week so far.  It's about that time again for us to be thankful.

I know this is only the second time I've done this post, but it's so great for me to have to sit down and think about all of the blessings in my life, it's a nice reset moment in the week!

Here's this weeks list.

I am thankful to have the ability to share my baking with my friends and family.

I am thankful to have a home that I love.

I am thankful that I have been blessed with such a wonderful community.

I am thankful for the moments, even the small ones, that remind me how lovely life is.

I am thankful that my friends and family are safe and that the fires in Colorado appear to be more under control.

So there we have it, my brief list.

I hope that you compile your own list and that you think about all the blessings in your life!

Love,

Keely

P.S. don't forget to check out A Complete Waste of Makeup for a link up!

Whimsical Wednesday-Week 9

In my normal life I have a hugely disgusting amount of conversations about cupcakes. Different flavor ideas, what I'm making them for, my new pans, etc.

My friends and I often sit around and chat about new flavor ideas, which ones were their favorites, and it's a really great way to get new ideas for recipes.

This week I came up with ideas for Strawberry Balsamic Cupcakes, Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes, Shirley Temple Cupcakes, Olympic Cupcakes (my friends are going to be having an opening ceremony party), and some times I need some recipe help.

I turned to the interwebs and found some great ideas!  I plan on making them my own but it's nice to have some guidelines.



via

Strawberry balsamic buttercream on top of a chocolate cupcake.  Yes please!



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I have dreams about making a Shirley Temple Cupcake, look at how amazing this one is!



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My friend mentioned Pineapple Upside Down cake, wow, this one is amazing!



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Key lime is my favorite kind of pie, so why not bake it into my favorite dessert!



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These are absolutely perfect peanut butter and jelly cupcakes!  How cute!



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The Olympics are coming up!  Look at how perfect these Olympic cupcakes are!  I have big dreams...

There you have it my friends, my brain on a daily basis.  I am pretty much always wondering what I can bake into a cupcake, if you ever have any ideas let me know!

Love,

Keely

Cupcake Tuesday-Apple Spice and Blackberry

Oh I am so excited about this recipe!  This has been dubbed my several as their favorite cupcake I've ever made (wow, that's a HUGE thing to say seeing as how I've made most of my friends so many!).

It's really very simple, but it's a perfect blend of flavors that just wake up your mouth and say "hey, don't I taste DELICIOUS?!?" Get ready, cause we're doing it!



(also isn't that little banner so fun?  I used an app called Labelbox, once you add the banner you export it straight to Instagram!)

Apple Spice Cupcakes

makes 24 cupcakes

2 sticks butter room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

vanilla

salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 1/2 cups flour

1 cup applesauce

Preheat oven to 350 and line 2 cupcake pans.

Ok, don't let the long list of ingredients scare you (it's just a lot of spices is all, but it is called an apple SPICE cake, it'll be delicious I promise.

Beat the butter in a medium bowl with the sugar.  Beat until smooth and a bit fluffy.  Add in the eggs, one at a time and beat until well incorporated.

At this point you need to add vanilla, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and all spice.  Blend all of that in a bit, see that was painless.  I bet it already smells amazing in your house!

Now add the baking soda and powder to your flour, this makes things easier (especially if you're using a stand mixer).

Add 1/3 of the flour mixture, when that is just incorporated add in 1/2 of your applesauce, followed by 1/3 of the flour, then 1/2 of the apple sauce and the last 1/3 of the flour.  Wow, that looks way more complicated than it is!

Scoop mixture into cupcake pan (about two ounces per cup or 2/3 of the way full).

Bake for 15-18 minutes and then let cool.

Blackberry Curd

this is just yum!

1 stick butter

3/4 cup sugar

2 cups blackberries

5 egg yolks (put those whites in a freezer and make some meringue)

This is super easy, you just can't leave it, but what else are you planning on doing while those cupcakes are in the oven.

Start by separating your eggs (this just makes things easier later).

In a large pan melt the stick of butter.

Drop the temperature to medium-high once the butter is melted, add in the sugar and stir.  Once the sugar is incorporated, drop in all of those delicious blackberries (if there aren't fresh around you can use frozen).

Stir those in and mash them a bit, the goal is the juice, nothing else really matters.

Now that all of that is ready to go and nice and hot we're going to take the leap and add in those egg yolks.  Whisk, whisk like nobody's business, you do not want those yolks to curdle!

Ok, we made it!  Bring to a boil and cook over medium-high heat for about 10 mintues stirring frequently (I use a nice wooden spoon for this part).  You'll know that the curd is done when it passes the spoon test (it should coat the back of your wooden spoon and when you run your finger through it, it should stay in place.)

Take it off of the heat and pour through a sieve into another bowl.  Make sure to really mash at those blackberries and get every drop of deliciousness out of them.

After this stage I usually pour my curd into a squeeze bottle and pop it in the fridge, but you can keep in in a bowl just make sure to lay some plastic wrap right on it.

Cream Cheese Frosting

2 sticks cream cheese

1 stick butter (room temperature)

3ish cups powdered sugar

Cream the cream cheese and butter together until fluffy.

Slowly add the powdered sugar in until you reach a consistency you like and a taste that isn't too sweet.

That's it, it's really that simple.

Ok, so now grab those cooled cupcakes and cut out a little hole in the middle of them.

Put about a half teaspoon of curd in each cupcake (this is where a squeeze bottle will come in handy but you can totes use a ziploc bag).

Using a piping bag, frosting the cupcakes (it's ok if some of the filling squeezes out under the frosting, it looks gorgeous so just don't fret).

Then drizzle the top with some more curd (because that stuff is just too good, oh and you might have leftover, just put it on toast, or a biscuit).

If you have some more berries on hand plop one of those on top.

Done!

Enjoy!

Love,

Keely

Sunday School-Raspberry Maple Syrup

Happy Sunday!

I hope you all slept in today, maybe had some brunch and were all around lazy (doesn't that sound nice, how to my Sunday's never turn out like that?)



After your brunch, while you're winding down you should think about making this syrup.  It's natural sweetened with some pure maple syrup and it's simple.  All you have to do is throw the four (yes only FOUR) ingredients into a sauce pan and let them boil away.  Then, when all is said in done you add the syrup to some sparkling water and vodka ice and tada you have a fabulous drink!

To make it even more fancy I would suggest that you drink out of a mason jar, cause that just makes you look super cool, and well it just is cool!

So here we go, kick up your feet and make some syrup/homemade soda!

Raspberry Maple Syrup

adapted from Joy the Baker

1 carton fresh raspberries (or about 2 cups frozen)

2 tablespoons pure maple syrup (optional)

salt

1 cup water

Start out with a medium sauce pan.  (This is going to get really complicated, are you ready?)

Add the raspberries, maple syrup, salt and water into the sauce pan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.



See, we're off to a good start, looks innocent enough

Allow to simmer for about 2o minutes or until liquid has slightly thickened.



It'll look something like this

Now you'll need a sieve and another bowl.  Pour the syrup into the sieve and push all of the delicious liquid out of it!

Once you have the liquid strained, allow it to a cool for a bit.  Now pour a little bit over ice.



Things are looking good

Now add some vodka sparkling water and tada, you are super fancy! (Especially considering that you are drinking out of a mason jar, that just takes fancy over the top!)

Also, if you are wondering what to do with this...



That's easy!  Make a face mask!  Take 1/4 cup of the leftovers and mix with 1/4 cup of honey and oatmeal in a blender or food processor and smear across your face, your skin will thank you!

Enjoy!

Love,

Keely

Soundtrack Saturday-The Avett Brothers

Happy Weekend!

Did you have a great Friday night?  I know I did!  It's so nice to get those few days "off" (I always end up having SO much to do on weekends).

Today I'm coming at you with a song from a band that my sister introduced me to (are you seeing a pattern here, my sisters and I share a lot of music, it's great that we all have pretty much all the same taste)

This song is such a sweet song!  It's relaxed and romantic and all around a great song to start (or continue) your Saturday with!

Hope you enjoy it!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqZZlL0l5Uk&w=560&h=315]

Love,

Keely

Weekly Wrap Up

Happy Friday!  It's almost the weekend, we've almost made it!

My picture taking has significantly slowed these past few weeks, I'm sorry!  I don't know what 's going on with that, but I still have some great moments to share with you today!

Nothing super exciting has happened this week, and it's been SO busy but it's been good.

I would also like to take a moment to thank you so much for all of your support this week!  It's been a record week here on Hair Bows and Butter, I am so surprised and so blessed for all of your support!



Green River Ordinance!  Amazing live, such a great show.  If they come to your city you should definitely go see them!



A pretty summer pasta salad, leftovers from Father's day, yum!



I got this great headband from Petunia Blooms, check out her store, it's amazing!



Martini Monday!  My roommate and are going to start a new tradition (just one each ;)).



My lovely roomie!  Cheers to Martini Monday!



Creme brulee cupcakes? Yes please!  Look for the recipe on Friday, June 29 over on Dragonflight Dreams.



Waiting at the courthouse...so bored!



My friends and I went and saw Pirates of the Caribbean in a parking lot, super fun!  They went all out, check out the pirate ship!



Mini bundts!  Yes please!  If you live in Denver, Birds and Belles is having their grand opening party TONIGHT at 6 and these will all be there!  Yum! (Nutella and salted caramel, spiced apple and blackberry, maple bacon chocolate and spicy mango!)

Hope you enjoy!  Can't wait to see what this next week holds!

Love,

Keely

Thankful Thursdays

I came across a blog called A Complete Waste of Makeup (great name right!) today and she has a link up party called It's Ok to be Thankful Thursdays.



I was instantly in love with this idea because to be honest today I was struggling through this day.  I was really tired and maybe border-line grumpy, I needed a pick me up and this idea was perfect!

This may become a regular feature here, wouldn't that be great!

Here's my list:

I am thankful that I have a job, and a job that I love 90 percent of the time.

I am thankful that I have the world's most wonderful roommate who is such a sweetheart and so encouraging.

I am thankful that I have people in my life who love and support me and want to see my "succeed."

I am thankful that my family loves me and is letting me grow up and figure this whole thing out.

I am thankful that I have this small corner of the internet to share my thoughts and recipes, and that people are actually reading it!

There you have it.  That felt good!

What are you thankful for?  Join the link up!

Love,

Keely

Whimsical Wednesday-Week 8

As most of you may know, I just recently moved.  It's interesting to try and rearrange a new home.  I want to make the most of my space and I want to very intentional start new habits relating to organization.

The problem is that there isn't a lot of storage space in my new apartment.  I have a huge closet with only two shelves.  So I've been looking for some creative solutions to this problem.  So far these are the ideas I've collected!



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I already bought a frame to attempt this earring hanger.  It would look really cute inside my closet.



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This old drawer is a perfect jewelry box.  It's so rustic and cute and super functional (which really is MOST important).



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What an amazing medicine cabinet.  Making the back of it magnetic is such a genius move!



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Printable labels for your pantry.  I have some jars but I've just been using painters tape to label this.  This printable is way cuter!



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I love this key holder, mail station.  We don't really have a good drop place when we first get inside and I would love to have something like this.



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I love this old metal mesh organizer.  It's so cute and perfect for important things you need to remember in the morning!



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And of course, I couldn't have an organization post without some mason jars.  I love this idea with the rustic wood and the mason jars.  It's such a great way to organize this.  Now if I could find a place to hang it...

I'll keep you updated, hopefully I'll get at least one of these projects done, we'll see!  Really what I need is a good place to put shoes.  Any ideas?

Love,

Keely

Cupcake Tuesday-Gluten Free!

So for all of you gluten-free people out there I'm sure you don't want to hear this, but I'm sad for you! I can't imagine a life without those perfect baked goods and I'm sure that blogs like mine that just throw them in your face are frustrating to you.

Alas! I have a recipe for YOU! Yes you! And I think that all of your gluten eating friends will also LOVE these cupcakes.

They're a wonderful balance of chocolate and orange with just a hint of raspberry in the frosting. Oh, and the frosting is pretty bomb, you can't really go wrong when you mix cream cheese with whipped cream. Oh boy you should be so excited right now, I know I am!



Before we get started, would you ever guess that those are gluten-free? I mean look at how cute they are! Just don't tell anyone and no one will ever know! (It can be our little secret :))

Also, here's the deal with this recipe. I get super stressed out when baking gluten-free for someone who NEEDS gluten free! I freak out about contamination from my non-gluten-free kitchen, so I clean all the bowls like two times before I use them, oh and I can't use my sponge because I use that ALL THE TIME to wash gluten-filled bowls. I also grabbed a clean kitchen towel to wipe everything with, and has anyone else ever noticed that collection of flour on their stand mixer!?! What is that, that needs to go before any of this can happen. Oh and just to be safe, I had this pan from IKEA that has a slightly different shape, I had only used it once so it is now officially dubbed my "Gluten-free-cupcake-pan." Done.

Ok, so after our little freak out, everything is clean and ready to go! So let's get going!

Orange Chocolate Gluten-Free Cupcakes

makes 12 cupcakes

Adapted from My Life At Arnold's

3/4 cup brown rice flour

3/4 cup arrowroot powder

1/2 cup cocoa

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons guar gum

1 cup warm water

3 tablespoons oil

vanilla

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

2 eggs

zest of 1 orange

The best part about gluten-free baking is that it is incredibly hard to over mix (there is no gluten to develop). I love it! I also love that most recipes can be made with a whisk instead of a mixer.

Preheat oven to 325.

In a medium bowl combine all the dry ingredients (if you don't have guar gum on hand you can use 1 teaspoon xantham gum. I didn't have xantham gum and guar gum was cheaper, thus the substitution.)

In a second bowl, combine all the wet ingredients except the eggs.

Add the eggs directly to the dry ingredients, whisk a little bit. (I did this because I was a little bit nervous about the warm water/egg situation).

Finally, pour in the wet ingredients and whisk. Whisk for a while (2-3 minutes).

Put in a line cupcake pan (about 2 oz. in each liner) about bake for 25 minutes.



Success! I was jumping with joy when I pulled these out, I never expect that kind of rise from gluten-free baking.

Raspberry-Orange Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

adapted from Joy the Baker

1/3 cup heavy cream

4 ounces cream cheese

2 tablespoons agave

1 teaspoon raspberry jam

1 teaspoon orange zest

In a small bowl whip the heavy cream to stiff peaks.

In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese, agave, jam and orange zest until smooth and light.

Add half of the whipped cream and fold into the cream cheese mixture. Once mixed in add the second half of the whipped cream and gently combine.

Pipe onto to cooled cupcakes and top with a raspberry (optional).

Enjoy!

Love,

Keely

Sunday School-Sugar Free Roasted Strawberry Buttermilk Cake

Wow, that is one long title for a cake, but it's going to be delicious.  And by sugar-free I do not mean that this is packed full of fake sweetener, nor do I mean that this is particularly healthy, there is still some butter and buttermilk in it (you could make it lighter by using non-fat buttermilk.)

So instead of refined sugar I used agave.  This created a much less-sweet cake, but that's ok because the strawberries really shine through which makes it amazing!

And let's talk about the roasted strawberries.  Roasting them caramelizes their sugars and makes them so sweet and delicious, adding salt just makes them taste more like strawberries, it's amazing!

And look at how delicious those strawberries make the top of this cake look!



Are you hungry yet?

Ok good, let's get going on this!

Roasted Strawberries

adapted from Joy the Baker

1 carton strawberries cut into halves or quarters (you can use more if you would like)

1 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoons real maple syrup

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon sea salt

Preheat the oven to 400.

While you are slicing your strawberries, put a pat of butter on a edged cookie sheet (edges are super important!  If you don't have a cookie sheet with edges you can use a pyrex) and put in the oven until melted.

Swirl the melted butter around the pan and pour the sliced strawberries on top of it.

Drizzle with maple syrup and olive oil and sprinkle some salt all over those strawberries.



Now mix everything together, it's looking yummy!

Throw that pan in the oven for 20-30 minutes or until the strawberries are nice and tender and their juices have formed a syrup.

Buttermilk Cake

adapted from Joy the Baker

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/3 cup pure agave

salt

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1/4 cup butter, melted

vanilla

Roasted strawberries

So while your strawberries are roasting you can go ahead and get this together, it's pretty simple and all you need is a bowl and a whisk!

Preheat oven to 400.

In a large bowl mix together all your liquid ingredients (agave, eggs, buttermilk, butter, vanilla).  Give them a quick whisk and make sure that everything is incorporated.

Then add in the flour and the baking powder.  Whisk until smooth (don't over whisk, it's ok if the batter is mostly smooth with a few chunks).

Butter and flour a pie pan, this will prevent the cake from sticking.

Scoop the cake in, all of it may not fit, you can make it into a cupcake or two if you feel like it.  Smooth out the top a little bit.



This is where this cake gets taken up a notch, it's about to get exciting.  Take your strawberries and spread them evenly over the cake, adding some of the syrup as well.



Throw that puppy in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until nice and golden brown and firm.

Allow to cool and slice and serve, everyone will be so impressed with your skills (especially since the name makes it sound so fancy!).

Also, for the record, this cake was so easy that I was able to make it with this much counter space.



I had just moved and that's about all I could clear off at the time, so no excuses, just go and bake and love it!

Love,

Keely

Soundtrack Saturday-Green River Ordinance

I discovered this band a couple of weeks ago and instantly fell in love with their sound, their lyrics and pretty much everything about them.  The great news is that I totally get to go see them TONIGHT!

All of their songs are great!  It was really hard to pick just one for today (and there was a lyric that I searched all of their songs for but couldn't find so I must have been dreaming but this is a just as amazing song!)

I've been listening to these guys almost all week long.  This is a great song, nice and slow and super romantic, totally breaks my heart a bit, and gives me a reason to hope!

Enjoy!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGCr6zTLfLA&w=420&h=315]

Love,

Keely

Weekly Wrap Up

Happy Friday lovelies!

I hope you had a fabulous week, as always!

This was my first full week in my new place and it is almost totally decorated!  My roommate and I have been having so much fun arranging things and making things for our walls and staying up really late talking.  It's a ton of fun!

We've been not only holed up in our apartment, we've been exploring our neighborhood as well and we are in love.  It's so wonderful (and they really like fireworks!)



This is my favorite wall!  My thrifted retro ball cart and a fabulous starburst mirror.  It's like going to the seventies!



My roomie and I hung up a bunch of embroidery circles (she loves sewing, I love cupcakes).  It's the easiest, cheapest project and it's SO cute!



Told you my neighborhood loves fireworks.  We had a block party and at the end of it there were fireworks, great fun!



Isn't this stop sign awesome?  It's yellow and is trying to keep you safe!



Strawberry lemonade cupcakes anyone?  Recipe coming soon!



My cute little German girl hairstyle.  Gotta love the braids (I'm a shoe in for a remake of The Sound of Music).



Exciting things are happening here, raspberries, maple syrup, water.



Turned into raspberry syrup and mixed with sparkling water.  Raspberry soda!  Amazing (it was missing a touch of vodka ;)).

So there you have it, a reasonable slow week (only 8 pictures this week, not the usual 15).

Love,

Keely