Cupcake Tuesday-Nutella Chocolate with an Olympic Twist

It's that time again!

My favorite day of the week!  It's Cupcake Tuesday!  I still don't know why I love these tiny little goodies so much, but they are for sure my favorite.

This week I made some goodies for the Olympics!  I love the Olympics about as much as I love cupcakes, I'm totally watching diving right now! (How do they do it!)

It's been a good week, bingeing on Olympics, it's so much fun!  So now, back to the cupcakes

These are just a basic chocolate cake with some Nutella cream cheese frosting on them, they are yummy!

Chocolate Cupcakes

makes 24 cupcakes
2 sticks butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 1/4 cupcakes flour
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
salt

Preheat oven to 350 and line two muffin pans with liners.

In a medium bowl, whip the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time.  Beat until everything is nice and combined.  Add the cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt, mix until combined.

Add in 1/3 of the flour to the well mixed butter mixture.  When that is just combined add 1/2 of the sour cream.  Repeat.

Add the last of the flour.  Mix until just incorporated making sure to not over mix.  Scrape the sides of the bowl to make sure that everything gets mixed in and quickly mix one last time.

Scoop into the muffin tin using a two ounce ice cream scoop (you can use spoons but this is much faster).

(This is the scoop that I use, I just picked it up at the grocery store).

Bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Nutella Cream Cheese Frosting
2 blocks cream cheese
1 stick butter
1/4 cup Nutella
3-4 cups powdered sugar

In a medium bowl combine the cream cheese and the butter with a mixer until it gets a little fluffy, this will take about 2 minutes.

Add in the Nutella and briefly mix until combined.

Now slowly add the powdered sugar, about 1/2 cup at a time, keeping the mixer on low to let it mix in. Once you have the right sweetness, scrape the sides and mix on medium for about 20 seconds to make sure everything is smooth.

Once the cupcakes are cooled, pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes.

You can stop there and they will be delicious, or you if you are feeling Olympic, which I am :), you can add some decorations!

I just used M&Ms to make the Olympic rings, and then I took toothpicks and printed out little 2x3 flags, a different country for each cupcake!  I really love the way they turned out :).

Enjoy!

Love, 

Keely

Soundtrack...Monday-The Lumineers

Hey all!

I'm so sorry for my lack of posting this weekend, I don't know what happened to me, guess I just needed a break!

So to make up for it I'm giving you your Soundtrack Saturday right here on this wonderful Monday.  Doesn't have quite the same ring, but it is what it is I suppose!

I saw the Lumineers at Red Rocks this weekend, hello amazing!  So here's another song from them, because I love them and I think you should to!

In unrelated news, I plan on returning this blog to it's normally scheduled programing.  How about some Olympic cupcakes tomorrow?  Yeah, that'll be fun!

Also I bought peaches!  Yummy, fresh Colorado peaches so keep your eyes out for happenings with those this weekend, I'm thinking coffee cake! :)

Have a great Monday!


Love,
Keely

Weekly Wrap Up

It's Friday!  I hope you all had a fabulous weekend!  Do you all have any exciting weekend plans?  Maybe just some relaxing and lounging around would be nice.

My weekend will be an interesting mix of concerts and friends as well as lying on my butt watching TV.  Should be a fun time!

Well friends, here we go again, my week via Instagram!  Enjoy!

First Love Club box!

Fun headband from my Love Club box :)

Board games, popcorn and beer, great Friday night.

Too bad that isn't one word!

 I wrote a letter!

Did some smashing (which you can find here).  More of that on Sunday.

Got some new glasses!

And a new headband (that I don't remember ordering...)

Made some cupcakes (recipe here).

Gooey S'mores Treats :) (recipe here).

Got a new flower crown, love it!  Get one for yourself here.

Dinner of champions, fo-sho.

Love this dog, and he loved his belly rub.

FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE.  Terrible picture, fabulous concert.

I want her dress

And then we found a food truck, that serves waffle sandwiches.  Delicious!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Love, 

Keely

Thankful Thursday

We're almost there everyone.  It's almost the weekend!

This week has gone so fast!  There has been so much meeting at work and craziness and learning and my poor brain is melting, in a good way.  It's melting so that it can reform into a new super brain that knows everything it's supposed to!

So what am I thankful for this week?

I am thankful for being busy, it's a nice change of pace from the slow work days of weeks past.

I am thankful for new friends.

I am thankful for a new budgeting system.

I am thankful that it always works out, even when it feels like there is no way it will.

I am thankful that I have a hobby that I love that I can share with others.

Have a great Thursday!

Love,

Keely

Budget With Me Wednesday-Week 1

Ok, so I know that you were coming here looking for something beautiful, something delicious or whatnot, so I'm sorry, really I am, but budgets are important, taking care of your money helps you to live a beautiful and delicious life!

Ok, so maybe I'm exaggerating a bit about that, but still, it's pretty true.  I've been living a bit on the crazy side of spending recently, nothing too extreme but certainly not saving as much as I should.  I decided it was time to change that, so I came up with some rules for myself.

I hope that this helps you, I am NO expert on the matter, but I'm trying.  If you have any advice I would love to hear it!

The Rules:
-10 dollars a day spending money in CASH (I will go to bank, take out 70 dollars for the week in 10s and put each 10 in a sealed envelope.  The envelope will be dated and the money cannot be used before that day a.k.a.  If I have leftover money from Monday I can spend it on Tuesday but I can't spend Tuesday's money on Monday.)
-25 dollars a week CASH for groceries (also goes in an envelope).
-One clothing purchase over 30 dollars PER MONTH. (This is just in case I need new jeans, "need" a date outfit, really love that dress from ModCloth, etc.).
-Only ONE subscription box a month.  (I hadn't done these before this month but they're super fun and I love them, sadly, the budget really only allows for one, so one it is, at least it's something!).
-Save!  I don't have a set thing for this yet but based on my math there should be extra, and that I need to SAVE and not spend.
-Track money via TheBirdy.com (this is amazing, scroll for more details!)

So there you have it, my rules for getting my spending on track.  I hope that this inspires you a bit, it's been less than a week for me, but so far so good!

What is TheBirdy.com?
I found The Birdy randomly one day and as it turns out this site is amazing.  All you do is give them your email address (it's FREE), and then every day the email you and ask you what you spent that day.  In response you'll say something like "$19.45 #groceries #blog"  You come up with your own hashtags and they keep it all organized for you!

These are my hashtags.

They also organize everything in to an interactive pie chart.  I spend a lot on my blog, mostly because most of my groceries are for baking projects for le blog.  It's worth it.

This website is so easy!  It really helps me pay attention to what I'm spending and is an important part of the spending budget for sure.

*this post was not sponsored by TheBirdy.com these are my opinions on a product that I have found helpful*

Love, 

Keely

Cupcake Tuesday-Black Forest Cupcakes

Happy Tuesday my loves!

Cupcakes are such a wonderful little bites!  They have everything you could want in a dessert!

These ones are even better, they have fruit in, and on, them which of course makes them incredibly healthy! (Don't we wish).

These perfect bites are full of chocolate and cherry and so much deliciousness!

Are you ready for the recipe?  Well here we go then!

Black Forest Cupcakes

2 sticks unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

vanilla

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

salt

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup cherry preserves

Preheat oven to 350 and line 2 cupcake pans.

In a medium bowl combine the butter and sugar with a mixer.  Do this for about 2 minutes or until the mixture gets fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each addition.

Once the eggs are mixed in, add the vanilla, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Now add 1/3 of the flour and mix until just combined. Next, add the sour cream and continue to mix.  Add another 1/3 of the flour followed by the cherry preserves.  Finally add the last of the flour.

Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix one last time to make sure everything is combined.

Bake for 20 minutes, remove from pan and let cool.

Cherry Cream Cheese Frosting

2 blocks cream cheese at room temperature

1 stick butter

1/4 cup cherry preserves

3-4 cups powdered sugar.

In a large bowl combine the cream cheese and butter using a mixer.

Add the cherry preserves and beat well.

While the mixer is running slowly add the powdered sugar about 1/2 cup at a time.  Continue adding until the mixture is thick and delicious and able to hold it's shape.

Pipe on top of the cupcakes and top with a maraschino cherry.

Enjoy!

Love, 

Keely

Sunday School-Ideas

So things are getting a little busy around here on Sundays!  Due to some insane busyness I don't have a new recipe for you!

But I still wanted to share with you some old recipes so you can still have some great brunch adventures!

How about some crepe cake?  So delicious and gooey!

Some delicious cinnamon pancakes!  Makes me hungry just looking at them!  Perfect way to start a Sunday morning/afternoon.

And finally, you need something wash all this down, so how about a nice, fizzy, raspberry maple drink!  If you're feeling super adventurous you could even try to put this syrup on some fresh pancakes!  

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a lovely Sunday and while you're here check out the new Smashed on Sunday link-up!

Love, 

Keely

Smashed on Sunday

Happy Sunday lovelies!

Welcome to first inaugural post of the Smashed on Sunday link up!  Zie, of Zie Darling, and I are teaming up to starting the Smashbooking revolution!

Zie is the reason that I got into Smashing in the first place, so this is super fun for me!  At the bottom you'll find the link up "rules" as well as a place to submit your link!  Get friendly people!

So my Smashbook page this week is rather simple.  The background on the page was so interesting on it's own!

I had this great little letter card from Zie's It's Paper Dear box.  I thought it fit perfect in the blank space on the page.  See how interesting this page is?  I didn't want to mess with it to much.

Enter the old book pages.  I decided to read through a few pages and write a "story."  More on that later.

Here's my little story.  "Look, about a quarter of a mile.  We will go on, off the track, and some had many good times.  This is an adventure, running into the lake."

I don't really know what it means, but I thought it had a nice little thought to it.  I especially love the line "This is an adventure."  My goal is to live my life with just that attitude.

And the finished page!  I know it's nothing spectacular but I really enjoy the simplicity.  You don't need to do a lot of editing just to create something special!

Now for the link up!

The Rules

Follow your hosts through GFC!

Zie Darling | Hairbows and Butter

Add your link!

It's super simple and we would love to see your paper/smashbook themed posts!

Make new friends!

Make sure to check out the others and make new friends!

Soundtrack Saturday-Florence and the Machine

Happy weekend my loves!

Did you get yourself some donuts, or something delicious for breakfast this morning?  Maybe you slept in a bit, went out to coffee, read a book?

I hope that if that's the case this will just make your day better!  My roommate and I are going to go see Florence and the Machine on Thursday so they're on my mind for sure!

This song intrigues me, I don't really understand but I really enjoy it.  It's great, I hope it gives you a chance to think and reflect, and enjoy life.


Love,

Keely

Weekly Wrap Up

It's Friday my loves!

We have made it through the week.  High five for that!  

So I think I'm going to take this week's post more on the wordless side.  It's been pretty standard, minus the going to a speakeasy with the roomie and a friend.  It was so wonderful to feel transported in time!

There was work, a dinner party, and fabulous box from It's Paper Dear that I am in love with!

Other than that it was a bit of lounging, some family time and a pedicure.  Enjoy the photos!

Love,

Keely

Thankfully Thrifted Thursday

Good morning my loves and welcome to the new home of Hairbows and Butter!

So far I'm loving the switch to blogger, you can now follow me via Google Friend Connect! How fun!

I also set up ads with Passionfruit, so we can swap if you're up for it! I'll be doing a sponsor feature as well as a giveaway within the next month!

Now on to what we should be talking about today! Don't you love this dress! I picked it up at Savers. It had an elastic band around the bottom which doesn't flatter my shape, so I had my mom pull it out, I love it now, it's perfect. However the belt is incredibly important, it wouldn't have much shape at all without it (belt from Goodwill).

The thing about thrifting is that it's not a guarantee. You have to be persistent, check out several stores over multiple weeks until you find the winner! Someways you just get lucky, other days are just horrible. Keep thrifting lovelies!

Now for what I'm thankful for :)

I am thankful for family that trusts me.

I am thankful for the opportunity to make a difference.

I am thankful for the wonderful, supportive blogging community.

I am thankful for nights off.

I am thankful for sharing struggles with friends, and learning that were not alone, we all have battles.

Have a lovely Thursday!

Love,
Keely

Cupcake Tuesday-Orange Burst Cupcakes

Tuesday.  It's such an interesting day isn't it.  It's kind of a boring day really.

Tuesday isn't Monday so we don't dislike it, it isn't Wednesday so we aren't working our way over the last of the "hump" and it's not Friday so we don't love it.  Tuesday and Thursday are just days in the midst of a week in which nothing much seems to happen.

Unless you live my life, and attend church every Tuesday night and often bring cupcakes.  There is a reason that I picked Tuesday as cupcake day here on Hairbows and Butter.  It's because in real life Tuesday usually is cupcake day.

On Monday nights I almost always make a batch of cupcakes to share with my church folk the next day.  It's become some what of a tradition, it's pretty great!

These particular cupcakes were not however made on a Monday night, nor were they distributed on a Tuesday night.  They were in fact made on a Sunday morning while I was getting ready to leave for camp.  They were out for all to eat throughout the week of camp and were gone on Friday.



They're pretty yummy, if I do say so myself!

Orange Cupcakes

makes 24 cupcakes

2 sticks room temperature butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

zest of one orange

vanilla

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

salt

2 1/2 cups flour

1 cup sour cream

cubed orange if you so desire

Preheat oven to 350 and line two cupcake pans.

In a large bowl combine the butter and the sugar.  Using a mixer whip until fluffy, about 2 minutes.  When the mixture is light, add in the eggs, one at a time beating well after each addition.

Add the orange zest, vanilla, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Mix briefly.

Measure out the flour and the sour cream.  While the mixer is on low add in 1/3 of the flour and mix until incorporated.  Next, add 1/2 of the sour cream and mix, repeat the process with another 1/3 of the flour and then 1/2 of the sour cream ending with the last 1/3 of the flour.

Scrape the sides, add the fresh orange if desired and mix one last time.

Scoop into cupcake liners, about 2/3 of the way full (I used a 2 oz. scoop to measure).

Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

Allow to cool.

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

2 8 ounce blocks cream cheese

1 stick room temperature butter

zest of one orange

3-4 cups powdered sugar

1 tablespoon fresh orange juice if needed

In a medium bowl add the in the cream cheese and the butter.  Mix until well incorporated and fluffy, this will take 2-3 minutes.

Add the orange zest and mix well.

Turn the mixer to low and slowly add in the powdered sugar until your desired consistency is reached.  I find that it's best to do this 1/2 cup at a time.

If you desire more orange flavor or need to thin out the frosting a bit go ahead and add the orange juice and mix until combined.

Pipe or frost onto the cooled cupcakes and enjoy!

Love,

Keely

Sunday School-Banana Nut Brunch Bundt

Banana nut brunch bundt, trying saying that three times fast!

The great news about this cake is that it's practically dessert but the bananas make it totally ok for brunch, which means you're a winner!

The cake is dense, flavorful and moist.  It's so yummy with some scrambled eggs, some fruit salad, and it's pretty easy!  You could definitely make it the night before and take it to brunch, super fancy style!



Love brunch, wish I could have it ever Sunday :)

Banana Nut Bundt

adapted from Taste of Home

1/3 cup butter

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 eggs

vanilla

2 large mashed bananas

2 cups flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

salt

1 cup sour cream

chopped walnuts

powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease a bundt pan, extra well!  I always freak out about it, so I use a lot of spray.

In a large bowl add the butter and sugar.  Cream with a mixer together until lighter in color and slightly fluffy.  Mix in the mashed bananas.

Add the eggs and vanilla to the butter mixture and mix well.

In a medium bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt

Add 1/3 of the flour to the butter mixture and mix until incorporated.  Add 1/2 of the sour cream.  Add another 1/3 of the flour, then the last half of the sour cream and finally, the last 1/3 of the flour.

Scrape the sides of the bowl and then mix in the chopped walnuts.

Pour the batter into the greased pan.



Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Remove the cake from the oven and turn upside down on a cooling rack.  Allow to cool for 10 minutes.

When the cake is removed from the pan dust with powdered sugar and sprinkle some more chopped nuts on top.

Enjoy, my loves!

Love,

Keely