Gutie's Goodies

Making these cookies reminded me of a very nice time when I started making cupcakes. #TBT if you will. For the first, like, three weeks of baking cupcakes, I was awful at it. Just awful. I always overbaked them, they were so dry they were basically inedible. I didn't really know how to frost either. I just haphazardly spread some overly stiff frosting with a knife, and even when I picked up piping I was still awful. The point of the matter is that it didn't come naturally to me; it took a lot of practice. So, I don't really know why I expected that I could just pick up cookies and be super good at it right away. They turned out alright in the end, but the process was certainly trying. I just can't tell when cookies are done, I've never made royal icing before, and I'm not awesome at piping in a straight line. Those were the primary obstacles. I actually underbaked half of the cookies and they broke almost immediately. I've never known how to test cooki...

Mmmmmmmmmm These goodies were a product of what I already had in the cabinets. I worked all day yesterday and didn't really feel like buying fancy ingredients and making something fussy. So I reverted to an old favorite. I promised myself I would branch out from cupcakes, and if I did relapse, it would at least be an interesting flavor or decoration...then I made vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream. But I have no regrets! They're cute, they're easy, and they're always a crowd pleaser. You really can't go wrong with vanilla, especially this one. It's my old standard. The recipe comes from an awesome blog called the Cupcake Project. She makes some really insane flavors, like these absinthe cupcakes  and these salt and vinegar pork rind cupcakes with a beer glaze . While she's awesome at the crazy stuff, her recipe for the ULTIMATE vanilla cupcake  is actually perfect. You know how cake made from a boxed sometimes just tastes better than from scra...