BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES! BLIZZARD JUNO IS UNDERWAY!!!

In case you live under a rock- the east coast is getting hit by a massive blizzard tonight and into tomorrow. Everywhere I look (online) I see headlines like- New York Getting Hit With Potentially Record Breaking Storm…and blah blah blah. YEAH, We get it- no one cares about us in the outlying areas of NYC. I live in Southern Connecticut about an hour from NYC, but nooooo ones looking there. Honestly, I have no sympathy for NYC dwellers (sorry ya’ll) but you have seamless and a convince store on every block. Me? I’ll be eventually digging out my car IF the roads are cleared maybe by…some time tomorrow evening…???.

Ok, enough complaining. I live in New England and I should deal, but these types of storms still stuck. Especially when you have a dog who needs to still go outside as much as she does on beautiful sunny days. Sigh.

Anyways, let’s flashback to last week. When I was commenting on what a mild winter we have been having (I know, I jinxed the entire north east). One of my favorite work ladies was having a quarter life birthday (Happy Birthday again B!) and I knew I had to make some tasty treats for her birthday at the office.

You may have noticed that I have yet to post any baked goods on this blog. Mostly because I am a terrible baker….well…I am slowly recovering. I don’t know why, baking has never been my thing. I don’t like the exactness of the recipes and I tend to forget about things when they are in the oven. Baking always makes me nervous, i’m constantly peaking through my oven window to make sure things aren’t burning, then walk away for what feels like 30 seconds and all hell has broken loose!

But but baking can be cool. Most of my favorite kitchen gadgets are very helpful. (stand mixer-yesssss) And this awesome egg separator I got from Crate & Barrel.

I would be lying if I didn’t say it’s the simple things in life that make me most happy.

Leftmost cup, second down from the top- yes, I can barely properly fill cupcake tins.

One thing, though, that my time in the restaurant business has taught me is how to cleanly an efficiently fill a pastry bag.

 ..even if i’m not the prettiest of pipers….

Since I will be trapped in my house for all of eternityyyyy (I know, I’m being over dramatic at this point) I think I’m going to give these another go tomorrow. The end result is a fluffy almond cupcake with a hint of cinnamon topped with a full blown cinnamon butter cream frosting. The end result is a bit familiar of coffee cake (basically i’m looking for an excuse to eat cupcakes for breakfast with my coffee), but way more cake. Not to mention I love almond flavored anything. The ingredients aren’t too intense beyond what you’d have in a generally stocked cabinet, which is great for more apprehensive bakers, like myself.

Keep your eye out the next few days! Lot of new stuff coming your way while I am trapped in my snow prison!

Cinnamon Almond Cupcakes

• 1 2/3 cup All purpose flour
• 3 egg whites
• 3 1/2 tsp Almond Extract
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
• 3 3/4 tsp Cinnamon
• 4 cups Powdered Sugar
• 1 cup Sugar
• 1/2 cup Shortening
• 1 1/4 cup Butter
• 1/2 cup Milk
• 1/2 cup sour cream

Start by pre-heating your oven to 350 degrees. Wisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon and baking powder in a large bowl. Add 3/4 cup of butter, egg whites, almond extract, sour cream and milk and mix on medium speed til blended and smooth.

Fill cupcake tins and bake for about 20 minutes.

Allow to cool completely, at room temperature, before icing.

For the frosting- Beat the shortening and butter together until blended, then slowly add your powdered sugar. Once combined, add the rest of the cinnamon (2 1/4 tsp), vanilla extract and about 2 tbsp of milk or water. I ended up using a bit more to get my frosting a bit thinner. Really just add it little by little until you get your desired consistency.

Garnish with more cinnamon and almond slices.