Up to My Knees in...Wedding Cupcakes.

.  And the updates continue...!

You may remember my post a couple of months back about a fellow UP employee who approached me about my baking hobby.  He indicated he had the pleasure of trying one of the cupcakes I made for a donation drive [the Nutella Cloud Cupcakes, to be exact] and that he absolutely loved them. So when talk of his daughter's wedding reception came about, he threw out the idea of hiring 'whoever made that cupcake' for the big day. And [shockingly], the bride accepted. So long story short, I became the official baker for a wedding reception. 

Ironically, I was engaged just a short time after this all happened so you can imagine the pressure I began to feel in not screwing this up. I mean, I would be absolutely devastated if for some reason my wedding cake/cupcakes turned out to be a complete failure. So there was no way I was letting that happen to this bride!

Fortunately the bride was not controlling nothing like me and put full trust in yours truly that I could deliver something presentable.  So with a few discussions here and there, flavors were decided rather easily, decorations and stands chosen, and when June 29th, rolled around, all was left up to me.

I've most definitely been pretty quiet about this monumental event in my baking career.  Probably because I was [a wee bit] nervous and in typical 'me' fashion, doubting that it would actually get pulled off.

But lo' and behold, we did it.

And not only was I ecstatic about the results, but the bride and her family also shared in my enthusiasm.  So I would say it was most definitely a success and job well done!

But don't think I'm trying to toot my own horn here.  I'm just over joyed with how this whole thing went down and thanks to my crafty, helpful friend Hollyann [aka Bacon Loving Girl], we managed to string together 3 cupcake trees, 300 cupcakes, and 300 toppers, to create a beautiful display of three different types of cupcakes [Nutella Cloud Cupcakes, (Better Than) Classic Vanilla Cupcakes, and Hummingbird Cupcakes] for this wedding reception.  So just let me be happy for a bit.

And because I was SO very happy with everything, I want to give a little shout out to some of the vendors I used for supplies.  I found myself being extremely cost conscious but also wanting to get the best products possible.  And I found the best of both worlds via the following channels:

•  Costco: I used my Costco membership to buy a number of baking ingredients, but only for those in which it made sense.  So for example, I went to the regular grocery store for flour, sugar, etc. because let's be honest, I didn't need the 10 pound bags Costco sold (if I ever own my own bakery though, Costco is where it's at!).  But I did end up buying things like Nutella, vanilla extract, butter, and eggs, at Costco and I got some FABULOUS deals.  I needed those ingredients in mass quantities and you can't get better than the bulk prices at this place.  Score!
• Cupcaketree.com: I stumbled upon this site for cupcake towers and I must say, uber pleased with the product!  The 'trees' are only cardboard but they're sturdy and I'll be using mine over and over again [that is, if I get another opportunity like this!].  You can also decorate them as you wish, tailoring them to the event you're using them for and they have loads of decorating ideas on their site.  When I bought them, the site also had a deal going on so I received free end caps, which I highly recommend, with the three pack of Mini Square Cupcaketrees the bride picked out.
• American Celebrations: For an extra special touch, we opted to go with cupcake wrappers from this site.  The bride picked out the design she liked [Spanish Tile wrappers] in purple, grey, and ivory [the reception colors], and the rest is history!  My only complaint is that there was some kind of glitch in the shipping that I had to deal with, but fortunately the wrappers still made it to the house in time for the big event.  Crisis averted!
• Etsy: I had to take full advantage of this business/blogging opportunity, so I ordered some clean, simple business cards [design to reflect LSM] from Mallory Hope Design on Etsy.  I was very pleased with the cards and Mallory was a joy to work with, providing numerous iterations of the card design until I got exactly what I wanted.  If I ever need more cards, I'll be going back to her! 

So if I must say it one more time, I absolutely loved the opportunity I was handed.  It's something I've always wanted to try but hey, not many chances come around when someone would take a chance on a novice baker.  For their wedding!  So I must say congratulations and thank you again to the happy bride and groom, and I hope you enjoyed the cupcakes as much as I did making them!  This is most definitley one for the books!  .

{No Bake} Nutella Cookies

.  And it's the beginning of the week once again.  But did everyone have a good weekend?!

Over in our neck of the woods, the weekend absolutely flew by because on Friday night, Robbie and I headed down to Kansas City for his sister's baby shower weekend.  We went down a bit early to see their brand new house, do a little shoppin', and of course hang out with the fam.  It's pretty rare for the entire family to get together due to distance, so we gotta take advantage when we can!

The weekend ended with the baby shower on Sunday afternoon and fortunately most of the immediate family were all able to attend, many of them making 5+ hour drives in order to celebrate the special occassion.  This will be the first grandchild in Robbie's family so you can imagine the buzz and excitement!  It was also really great to see all of Robbie's relatives again since I hadn't personally seen them since Kelli and Brett's wedding [Robbie's sister and brother-in-law] a few years back.  The shower was held at the soon-to-be-parents house and was filled with loads of gifts, summertime foods, and endless chatter.  So all in all, a perfectly lovely afternoon!

But you're probably thinking these [No Bake] Nutella Cookies debuted at the baby shower, huh?  Well, unfortunately they didn't quite make it that far into the weekend.  Well, the majority of them didn't.  But no worries, that wasn't the plan anyway.  And there were plenty of lovely desserts at the shower, Kelli's girlfriends had it all covered!

I actually made these [deeeeeeeeelicious] little chocolate nuggets as a weekend treat for everyone.  Kelli and Brett graciously hosted Robbie and I, his family, and his mom's sister, for the weekend so I figured a little snack was the least I could offer.  And luckily...these were a hit.

Do any of you remember the regular no bake cookies from your childhood?  Because I most definitely do.  And if you never had these, your parents deprived you of something fabulous.  And I'm only slightly joking...

These little mounds of chocolatey yumminess are downright addicting.  A couple bites of one just isn't enough, you'll find yourself going back for a second.  And third...  Trust me.  But what makes them so dang good?  Well...the chewy oatmeal, the richness of the Nutella flavor, and the creamy, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate concoction binding this simple recipe into a classic cookie you'll make for the kiddos [and yourself] over and over!  So despite your busy schedule, I know you'll have a hot moment to whip up these chocolate bombs [thank you, Jamie!].  Stove on...stir...and cookies!

P.S. I haven't mentioned the gender of the baby because Kelli and Brett have decided to wait to find out.  So we'll find out what 'Baby L' ['L' for Lauritsen, their last name] really is around July 19, when the little bundle is due!  So be on the look out for a baby post right around that time  .

My Notes:

• I doubled the ingredients from the original recipe and the cookies turned out perfectly.  So if you're serving a big crowd [or people who can crush cookies], double away! 

Adapted from Six Sister's Stuff

Ingredients:

1/2 c. butter, softened

1/2 c. milk

1-3/4 c. sugar

4 tbsp. cocoa powder

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 c. Nutella

3 c. quick cooking oats

Directions:

1. Line baking sheets with wax paper, aluminum foil, or parchment paper; set aside.  In a large saucepan, whisk together butter, milk, sugar, and cocoa powder, over medium heat.  Bring to a rolling boil and then boil for 1 minute.  Remove bowl from heat.  
2. Add vanilla extract and Nutella and whisk until combined.  Add oats and stir until completely incorporated.  
3. Drop batter by scant tablespoonfuls on prepared baking sheets.  Let cool until set.

Yield: 30 cookies

Nutella Creme Sandwich Cookies

.  I caved.

I'm a bandwagoner.

I couldn't stop myself.

There, happy?  I admitted it.

But can you really blame me?  One gigantic spoonful little taste of Nutella and it's got ya.  Hook, line, and sinker.  If you don't believe me, do yourself a favor and buy some.  Then get back to me.

I know most, if not all, of you have heard the buzz surrounding the infamous Nutella.  That creamy, rich, chocolatey, hazelnutty, Nutella.  Mm. Mm. GoOOoOoOd.

So it probably goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway, that these [rather large] sandwich cookies are deeelicious.  Robbie requested I whip a batch of these up for him to take into work last Saturday, but Omaha decided to seek revenge on our literally-no-snow-winter and dump about 9 inches of fresh snow at our doorstep.  Thus, no Saturday work for Robbie!  So aside from the five or six cookie sandwiches Robbie gobbled down on our snow day [no joke, he really did!], I served the 'leftovers' at our little Super Bowl gathering.  I tried to warn our friends, but Nutella got those suckers, too.  It was a happy Mexi-feast and Nutella filled night.

So what makes these sandwich cookies so special?  Well aside from the soft, chewy Nutella cookies and the Nutella/marshmallow creme filling...yeah, that's pretty much all that needs to be said.

Oh, well one more thing.  These wouldn't be a bad idea for a Valentine's Day treat.  Uh huh, V-day is right around the corner.  Sorry to remind you.  But a batch of these will surely make up for any 'forgotten' gifts ☺  .

My Notes:

• Now, I do think bigger is better.  But, since these are cookie sandwiches (i.e., TWO cookies in one treat), I would probably make the cookies a little smaller next time around.  But I've given you the original directions below, just thought you'd like my input.

From Bakingdom

Ingredients:

Nutella Cookies:

1-1/2 c. all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/4 c. packed brown sugar

1/4 c. sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 c. Nutella

Sugar in the Raw (for sprinkling)

Nutella Creme Filling:

6 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 c. powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

3/4 c. marshmallow creme

1/2 c. Nutella

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375°F.  For the cookies, whisk together the flour, salt and baking soda in a small bowl.  Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar and sugar.  Beat in egg until combined.  Add Nutella and beat until well mixed.  Stir in vanilla extract.  Add flour mixture to the wet ingredients and beat until combined.
3. Roll the dough into balls, one tablespoon at a time.  Place balls 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheet.  Press the tops of each ball gently with a fork in one direction.  Lightly sprinkle cookies with sugar.  Bake 10 minutes and allow to cool on wire rack before frosting.
4. For filling, beat butter in a small bowl until smooth.  Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth.  Stir in vanilla extract and salt.  Mix in marshmallow creme and Nutella and beat until light and fluffy (if the filling is too runny, add in powdered sugar to thicken).
5. Place 1 to 2 tablespoons of filling onto half of cookies and top with remaining cookies to create sandwiches.  

Yield: 1 dozen cookie sandwiches