Salted Caramel Cupcakes

These are basically the best cupcakes in the whole wide world. I have waited all semester to make them - and finally had time to make them today!

I'm posting the recipe here so that I can "pin it" to pinterest. I'm a little obsessed with pinterest - it's like a gigantic bulletin board where you can pin stuff you like from all over the internet. And it's all in one place! Anyways, I want to post this to pinterest but it's got to be on a blog so that other people can access the recipe! So here it is...

Salted Caramel Cupcakes – Makes 36

Cupcakes

2 C. flour

1 C cocoa powder

1 ½ tsp baking powder

1 ½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

2 C granulated sugar

1 cup milk

1 stick melted butter

2/3 c melted chocolate

2 tsp vanilla

1 C sour cream

Chardonnay Caramel Sauce (Store bought caramel works just as well)

1 C sugar

1 stick butter

½ C heavy whipping cream

1/4 C oak vatted Chardonnay

Butter Cream

2 stick butter

1 tsp vanilla

6 C powdered sugar

3-5 tbsp milk

Make the caramel sauce first and stick it in the fridge; it will still pour just fine after being in there and won't be completely absorbed by the cake when you fill the cupcakes.

Caramel Sauce

Heat sugar and on medium high (any hotter and you'll have sugar flying all over your kitchen!) in heavy 2 quart saucepan and stir. When the sugar starts to boil (and all the sugar is melted) add butter to pan and whisk until melted. Remove pan from heat and let cool about 5 seconds. Whisk in cream. (It will foam and that’s good) Whisk until smooth. Add Chardonnay while hot and whisk together. Remove from pan into a glass jar to store. Can be premade. 

CupCakes

Preheat oven to 350. Line Muffin Tins with Cupcake Liners. Sift together Flour, Cocoa Powder, Baking Soda, Baking Powder and Salt. Beat eggs and sugar. Add Milk, Butter, Chocolate, Vanilla and Sour Cream. Add Dry ingredients. Beat at medium for 2-3 minutes. Pour Batter 2/3 full in muffin tins. Cook for 8-12 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. The cake is pretty fine (read: crumbles easily) and the less you handle the cake the better.

Butter Cream

Cream butter and vanilla. Add Confectioner’s Sugar in 1 cup increments. Add Milk to desired thickness. Beat on high about 4 minutes

Assembly

Once cupcakes are cooled, use a teaspoon to scoop out a hole in the top of the cupcake. Take that part out but keep it! No eating! Pour caramel sauce into the hole. Replace the top and then frost the cupcakes! Drizzle caramel sauce over the top if you'd like and sprinkle with sea salt. Enjoy!

Blessed

It took me forever to come up with a title for this post - this year has just been so incredible and the only way I can describe it is by saying I am so immensly blessed!

We finished up classes on Friday! Where in the world did the year go?!!! We've got Reading Week monday-wednesday now and then finals are thursday-wednesday. I've only got a final on thursday and then the following wednesday. Sucks that I have to stay a whole extra week to take just one final. But oh well! I'm not ready to leave!!!

Friday was Libby's birthday (she is one of my new suitemates for the fall) and so I went out do dinner with her and Melanie (another one of my new suitemates) and a bunch of other girls from their floor. We celebrated Libby's birthday and the end of classes!

Here is Libby, Melanie and I :) Can't wait to live with them next year!!

Tonight we had our College Central End of the Year Dinner (my church group). Here's some pictures!

Me and Jess (one of the married, young adults - love her!)

Rebekah, Lindsey and I (Rebekah is one of the young adults as well).

all the girls

Everyone

A bunch of the girls

So they did "paper plate awards." And that is where everyone just writes down fun things/awards for other people - they were pretty funny! Here are the ones I got... I think they describe me quite well!

Anna is in an a capella group and so we went to her final concert tonight. She sang a solo and it was beautiful!!

Me, Anna, Lindsay, and Jin.

I made a lemon zucchini bread this morning and it was delicious!! 

Oh! and yesterday, there was a tornado!! The weather was insane! A huge thunder and lightning storm, TENNIS BALL sized hail, crazy wind... The tornado sirens went off at about 6pm and luckily I was in my dorm. We all had to go sit in the hallway and everyone from the upper floors had to come down to our hallway. We sat there for about a half hour but then the tornado passed (a couple miles away)... it was pretty crazy! Certainly not the type of storms that I am used to!

Yesterday, CS40 had a petting zoo on the swamp for us! HA! It was so great!!

Okay now for the craziest part... I won the Justin X. Carroll Residence Hall Honorary Freshman Scholarship!!! 

I had heard about it a few weeks ago and figured it was one of those things that nobody applies too... so I said what the heck, I'll apply. I whipped out the application and had my College Council advisers write me a recommendation. And then I totally forgot about it.

Until today. 

I woke up to an email saying I needed to be at this lunch banquet where they will announce the winner. It was sent to several students so I figured they invited all the finalists... But I had already planned to go to Target after church so I figured what the heck, i'll be late to the lunch. I didn't think I was going to win anyways!

Yeah... no.

When I walked in, all the people from my college council waved me over and they had huge grins on their faces! Our advisor tapped the seat next to her and said it was for me and when I came around the table - I saw a big plaque! What!!! 

I felt so bad that I wasn't there to accept the award! But... guess what comes along with the award???

A $1,000 SCHOLARSHIP!!! 

I am so thankful and humbled by this award! There are so many other people in CS40 who deserved the award wayyyy more than me. But I guess taking a little study break to fill out an application can really pay off :D

Guess what I did today???

GUESS WHAT I DID TODAY?!

GOT TO PRACTICE WITH THE TEAM!!!

The coach had texted me last week asking if I'd like to come out to practice this week... and I of course responded that I would love to! I hadn't practiced much at all though so I was pretty worried... I went to the range Thursday, Saturday and Monday and did everything I could to get ready. Thursday I was extremely rusty, Saturday I felt and hit awesome, and Monday was BAD. Like real bad.

I was super worried all day Tuesday and this morning, wondering what in the world I was thinking when I agreed to this... I mean, I've dreamed of playing college golf and I've dreamed of "trying out" for a college team. I can remember being up at Newcastle and thinking, "gosh, someday I could be at a range somewhere else with a college coach watching me..." Never did I think I would be doing that coming straight off of a year of not playing!

So today... I just told myself that if this is God's will, then He will help me to stay calm and do my best! And BOY DID I KICK SOME BUTT!

They have two "shifts" of practice because some of the girls have later class times and so I went out with two of the girls in the early afternoon (just to the range). The coach showed up about half an hour later, which was perfect so I got to get all warmed up before he saw me.

My first shot of the day couldn't have been better and I knew that I could do it. So I stayed confident and remembered everything that Steve and Ryan had taught me over the years and hit 'em long and straight!

The coach watched me hit a whole bucket - and was very impressed! He said I've got a great swing, very fluid and easy and that I looked really good. (!!!!!)

He said that he just wanted me to come out today so that I could get a feel for the practices and so that he could see me hit the ball... We'll stay in touch this summer and I'll send him my scores as I play and hopefully I can drop to the low 80s and then I think I'll be on the team!! EEEEEEKKK!!

It really couldn't have been better. I am so thankful for the opportunity I had to get back on the range, to meet some really nice girls, and to play well! Hopefully next year I'll be BEAR!

Here a link to the team's website... they are finished with their regular season and will hear on Monday whether they got a bid to the DIII National Championships. They definietly should get a bid - they are ranked #2 in the country! How incredible that I could be playing for them next year! God is good!!

Best Ever Peanut Butter Banana Bread

Okay - this banana bread was so good that I am posting it on here so that I will never forget the recipe!

Plus... now you all can have the recipe too :D

I made mine in a mini loaf pan because there is no way I can eat a whole loaf by myself! I found the mini loaf pans at Schnucks (our grocery store) and got super excited cuz now I can make bread! When I did it, I quartered the recipe and that worked perfectly. The quantities for the full loaf is below but the 1/4 loaf is in parenthesis! Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Banana Bread - 1 loaf (1/4 loaf)

1 cup (1/4 cup) brown sugar

2/3 cup (1/6 cup) of organic peanut butter

4 Tbsp (2 Tbsp) strawberry yogurt split in two

1 cup (1/4 cup) mashed banana (1 small banana for the 1/4 loaf)

1 2/3 cup (1/4 plus 1/6) cup of flour

1 tsp (1/4 tsp) baking soda

1/4 tsp (pinch) of baking powder

1/4 tsp (pinch) of salt

Preheat oven 350° F. Grease and flour a 1-pound loaf pan. In a large bowl, beat sugar and peanut butter until fluffy. Beat in 2 tablespoons of the yogurt until blended then add bananas and the remaining yogurt. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds.

Stir in remaining ingredients until just combined then pour into loaf pan. Bake 55-60 minutes (40 minutes) or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the loaf. Cool in pan for 5 minutes and remove to cooling rack. Wrap tightly in wax paper and then in a layer of aluminum foil. Store in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Living life to the fullest!

I didn't have time to post about all the fun stuff from last week and now I've got even more from this weekend!

So last weekend, my church group had a "girl's night." One of the girls hosted us at her house and we had a blast! Here are some pictures...

We went to a pottery painting place - haven't done that since I was little! So fun!

My mug :)

We went back to Karri's house and made pizza. We had all brought a different topping and so we made some really yummy pizzas! Then we had a clothing swap... We all brought 4-5 things that we were tired of and put them all over her living room and then "went shopping"! It was great!

 We had fondue for dessert :)

Yay!

Then Wednesday, I went to the Cardinal's Game! CS40 had subsidized tickets and so Shannon and I went! it was SO MUCH FUN!

Our original seats. (We only sat there for one inning)

Then we just hopped around and sat on every level and what felt like every section!

Yummmm

The view from the top was amazing! The stadium is situated so that the arch is right over the outfield... it's awesome

It was so fun to be at a game where the team is actually really good! And the stadium is packed! Such a different experience from the Mariner's hahahaha

 So Friday night I went out with some friends to this amazing restaurant called Winslow's Home. It's this adorable little homey store/restaurant/cafe and the food was absolutely amazing. If any of you come out to visit me - I can assure you we will be going there! My friends have the group picture that we took, so when they post those on fb I'll post it on here! But here's my piece of pie!

And shannon's blueberry pie :)

Saturday morning I got up early and made a mini banana bread loaf :D It was SO AMAZING. No kidding. I'm posting the recipe for you all later because it was just soooooo good.

I also made angel food cupcakes with strawberry frosting :) My friend Helen invited me and Shannon and Melanie over last night for a sleepover. It was so fun! And so nice to be in a real house and to eat a real meal, at a normal table... ahhh! Wonderful! Anyways, I took the cupcakes over to her house :D

Today my res college had a BBQ - college council (which i'm apart of) put it on and so I grilled burgers for two hours! I've never grilled before but it was so fun! ha!

Gosh, i'm exhausted just reliving all this for you! So then later today, we went to Thurtene, which is this carnival that Wash U puts on. It's the largest student-run carnival in the nation! It's mostly put on by the sororities and fraternities. Each one made a gigantic facade... how incredible are these?!

 This is Libby and Melanie - two of my suitemates next year!

Apparently, this is like the first carnival of the season, so the "carnival company" brings out all their rides and tests them out and gets them ready...
There must have been like 12 different rides!

Well that's it! I've definitely been busy and have had so much fun this last week... now it's time to settle back down and finish out the year! Just one more week of class! I can't believe it!