Some of my first....

One half of the time I bake things it's for some occasion and the other half is because I want to try a recipe or there are no baked goods in the kitchen to eat. These are a few of either, that are some of the first in me baking things.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes for my cousin's baby shower.

Cake:

1 3/4 c all-purpose flour

1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1.2 c milk

1/2 reduced-fat sour cream

3/4 c unsalted butter, softened

1 3/4 c sugar

1/2 c creamy peanut butter

3 large eggs

Frosting:

Peanut Butter

1/2 c creamy peanut butter

3 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 c confectioners' sugar

3 to 4 Tbsp milk

Chocolate:

2 c semisweet chocolate chips

1 c reduced-fat sour cream

Oven: 350

Wisk all dry ingredients minus the sugar in one bowl. Wisk milk and sour cream in a second. Cream butter and sugar, add peanut butter until blended. Add eggs one at a time. Alternately add dry and wet ingredients until just blended. Bake for 20 mins.

For the fillings. Beat peanut butter and butter until smooth. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar and milk until blended. Beat until fluffy. Fill cupcakes with peanut butter frosting.

Melt chocolate chips and add sour cream, beat until fluffy. Frost cupcakes and top with a piece of peanut butter cup.

(from Women's day)

Honeybee Cookies to try a recipe using honey. I used honey from a former coworkers' own bee hive. So yummy, they taste like Teddy Grams.

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, beat the butter, brown sugar, hone and egg on medium speed, scraping bowl constantly, until smooth.
3. Stir in the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Mix until just combined.
4. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased or parchment lined baking sheet. Bake until set and light brown around edges (surfaces of cookies will appear shiny), 7 to 9 minutes. Let stand 3 to 5 minutes before removing cookies to a wire rack to cool.

I wanted to make some Monkey Bread Muffins, but the thing was, I didn't have an premade dough that the recipe calls for. Determined to make it, I set out trying to make my own dough. I tried looking for recipes for plain biscuit dough, but most called for Bisquick or self-raising dough. Still, I had neither. So I turned to google for self-raising dough substitutes and recipes to finally get it down.

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup cold butter or margarine
• 3/4 cup milk
• 
  

• 1 teaspoon apple pie spice
• 1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

3 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon water

In a bowl, combine dry ingredients. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. With a fork, stir in milk until the mixture forms a ball. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead five to six times.

I was making these as a representation of cynobacteria stromatolites and wanted each ball of the monkey bread to be both blue and green, preferably layers, so I split the biscuit dough into two balls to make one green and one blue. That was split eight times for each of the muffins, then six more for each ball of the monkey bread. I took one green and one blue ball and folded them onto each other a few times to create layers. The dough was rolled into a ball and rolled in the mixture of apple pie spice and white sugar. This was repeated to fill the muffin cups. For the coating, combine the brown sugar, butter, and water in a small saucepan over medium heat; bring to a boil, stirring continuously. Allow the mixture to boil until the sugar is completely dissolved, 2 to 3 minutes. Spoon the mixture over the biscuit pieces. Bake in the preheated oven until golden, and the tops spring back when lightly pressed, 8 to 12 minutes.