A Southern Grace: not my gumdrop buttons!

December 6, 2011

not my gumdrop buttons!

Yum

I love the Shrek movies. Granted, much of the humor is aimed at kids, but there are some lines here and there that are totally meant for and appreciated by adult ears only.


One of my favorite parts of the first movie is the scene with the Gingerbread Man (aka Gingy) and Lord Farquaad. "Do you know the Muffin Man?" "The Muffin Man?" "THE MUFFIN MAN!" So clever. They made a short Halloween episode, and one part that made me laugh out loud also involved Gingy--be sure to wait for his moment:


Did you not giggle at least a little? Okay, maybe I'm just easily amused.


In honor of Gingy, I was inspired to make some gingerbread cupcakes. They have all the flavors of a yummy cookie but with the soft, pillowy texture of a great cake. Plus, there's a pile of cream cheese frosting and crumbled cookies on top. Winner, all around.

Gingy-bread Cupcakes
(you guessed it)
(makes about 15)
1 cup water
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1 cup unsulphered molasses
2 large eggs, room temperature
cream cheese frosting
gingerbread cookie crumbs, to garnish

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with paper baking cups, and set aside. In a small saucepan, bring 1 cup water to a boil. In a bowl, combine boiling water and baking soda; set aside. In a large bowl, sift together flour, spices, salt, and baking powder; set aside.
In an electric mixer, cream the butter until light. Beat in the brown sugar until fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping as needed. Beat in the molasses, baking soda mixture, and flour mixture. Mix well.
Fill the cupcake papers three-quarters full, making sure that the batter is divided evenly. Bake cupcakes until a toothpick inserted in the center of them comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Let cupcakes cool a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.

41 comments:

Alicia Foodycat said...

Every time you post a cupcake recipe I become inspired to buy a piping bag and frost the heck out of something!

Von said...

I love gingy!! And the Shrek movies too (who doesn't love them?) :) Though probably not as much as I'd love the frosting on this cupcake! (the cupcake looks great too- but the frosting looks amazing!!)

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

Your cupcakes are always so tempting and this one is no exception!

Cheers,

Rosa

Joanne said...

I'd much rather have my gingerbread in cupcake form. WIth cream cheese frosting on top.

I'd rather have EVERYTHING with cream cheese frosting on top.

A Plum By Any Other Name said...

Gingerbread is one of my favorite holiday treats. It's filled with sugar and spice and everything nice. Cheers for gingy.

pam said...

I love this time of year, because I love gingerbread. I think it's against the law to make it any other time.

Sue/the view from great island said...

I was thinking about you while I was in the baking aisle of Michaels picking up some cellophane bags for my candy bark. Like Foodycat I especially think of you when I pass the piping bags and all those tips. Someday...

Anonymous said...

I also am a big fan of the Shrek movies! My hubby & I laughed a lot! I also loved the gingerbread man! So cute too!

These gingerbread muffins look like real winners, Grace! MMMM,...delightful & fluffy! ;)

Barbara said...

Gingerbread is the best! All kinds...but particularly muffins. I was going to make some minis to take for dessert to a friends this weekend. I found the cutest little holly mini muffin liners! Definitely will compare our recipes. Think mine has candied ginger in it...not a favorite with me, but everyone else seems to like it.
Love all that cinnamon! :)

LyB said...

I love every single Shrek movie and special ever made! Part of the appeal is that it is as much fun to watch for grown-ups as for kids. Those cupcakes look scrumptious!

Robin said...

Those Shrek movies are always great for a good laugh. Esp. when things go right over my kids' head and I am sitting there laughing and they think I am crazy! Another good cupcake by you!

vanillasugarblog said...

Huge fan of Shrek movies and huge fan of your creations!
I only made one gingerbread-theme goodie so far. Need to fix that

Hungry Dog said...

Are you a mind-reader? I was just thinking about gingy-bread cupcakes this morning. You are psychic.

vianney said...

I love Shrek!! have you seen puss in boots, a riot!! Loving these, perfect for movie night!

shaz said...

Oh my goodness Grace, these amazing cupcakes just keep coming! What next? I think I've only seen one Shrek movie so far, not sure how I managed that with two kids :)

Erica said...

I love all the Shrek movies....My favorite is Puss :) The cupcakes look delicious!

lisa is cooking said...

Yep, I'm a fan of the Shrek movies, and Gingy is awesome. As are these cupcakes! Love that frosting topped with crumbled cookies.

Elizabeth said...

These look delicious!

scrambledhenfruit said...

I could seriously eat that frosting with a spoon. Along with the frosted cupcake, of course. :)

Patsy said...

Yum! Just YUM... that's all I can say!

Corriendo said...

I did laugh! I didn't know about this clip until just now! lol That cupcake looks sooo good!

The Blonde Duck said...

I'm obsessed with gingerbread right now.

Jaime said...

I heart gingerbread. I need to practice frosting cupcakes b/c I am not very good at making them pretty like yours :P

Deborah said...

I love this! Gingerbread in cupcake form!!

Pam said...

I'll have to show that to my kids... too funny!

The cupcakes look amazing - I am afraid I would eat the entire tray by myself.

Hornsfan said...

I agree with you 100% about Shrek - have you seen Shrek the Halls? It's quite entertaining too. Love the 'Gingy' cupcakes :)

Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said...

Gingerbread cupcakes? A stroke of genius m'dear! :o

Marjie said...

I do love Shrek. When it came out, my youngest couldn't say his SH sound yet, so the movie was called HECK. There are some great lines in it, no doubt. And your cupcakes sound great.

Beth said...

Gingerbread cupcakes ... with cream cheese frosting ... why haven't I thought of this before??!!

Amanda said...

You do the best cupcakes!!

Shoutforfood said...

i am hungry. it looks so good. i want to have all of them.

Sandi @the WhistleStop Cafe said...

That would go perfectly with my coffee this morning~

Carolyn Jung said...

You had me at ginger. Well, that and frosting. ;)

Angie's Recipes said...

You have again tempted me with those sexy swirls on the cupcake!

The Blonde Duck said...

I made gingerbread blondes this weekend..and put in extra cinnamon for you!

Katerina said...

I love gingerbread cookies. I have never made gingerbread muffins but I am sure they tasted heavenly!

cookies and cups said...

I need these in my life.

Hotly Spiced said...

Your cupcakes look perfect. And your photography is very good as well.

Anonymous said...

How fun! These cupcakes sound wonderful and Junior would love to make them with me for one of our Theme Thursdays :)

Becki's Whole Life said...

Gingerbread is my favorite thing right now..I can't get enough of all of the spices. You know what would also be a good frosting on these? What about a lemon buttercream? Although I really like the cream cheese with your cookie crumbs...

Rosita Vargas said...

muy hermoso y económico,luce exquisito,abrazos hugs,hugs.