ICE:APPLE

This month's Iron Cupcake Earth challenge was dedicated to...what else? Apples! Apples are so incredibly versatile in the world of food and can be sweet or tart, cider or vinegar, wine or soda, and butter or jelly. Take your pick, any pick..they are all delish! I went ahead and created an apple ginger spiced cupcake topped off with a spiced cream cheese frosting and garnished with a homemade mini gingerbread man. Too cute; and did I mention finger-lickin' good?

Each cupcake was filled with chunks of sweet spiced apples which made for a perfect Fall treat. The combination of a sweet and spicy cupcake with a creamy cream cheese frosting created the perfect trifecta! I really can't get enough of these cupcakes and neither could my boyfriend's colleagues! Here's a closer look at the anatomy of this cuppie:

With all this said, please vote for me for this month's Iron Cupcake Earth challenge!! Voting takes place on Friday November 27th @ 8pm at No One Puts Cupcake In A Corner and will be open through Thursday December 3rd @ noon. Go on, don't be shy :)

Our Generous IronCupcake:Earth Prize Providers:

• The Demy™ by Key Ingredient
• Hello, Cupcake by Karen Tack & Alan Richardson
• Bella Cupcake Couture
• Cupcake Stackers by Gourmac
• The Cake Mix Doctor Returns! by Anne Byrne
• Beautiful Baking Liners by Vestli House
• Sweet Cuppin' Cakes Bakery & Cupcakey Supply

GO VOLS!!

I'm off to the Tennessee vs. Ole Miss football game tomorrow in Oxford, Mississippi! My boyfriend was a player on the U of Tennessee football team several years ago so naturally, he is a die-hard fan! Mississippi is only about an hour from Memphis and we are leaving super early to tailgate. There's nothing like smash mouth SEC football. This rivalry should be great.

Since the tailgate is consisting of over 100 people, I thought it would be a nice touch to bring Tennessee Volunteer decorated cookies including a football, helmet, and "T" logo. I made about 6 dozens of these today using a basic sugar cookie recipe. All of the cookies were dipped in icing and decorated with royal icing. These were super fun to make and tasted so delicious. I individually wrapped each cookie and topped the baggies off with orange and white ribbon. I hope everyone enjoys them tomorrow at the tailgate! GO VOLS!!

TWD: SUGAR-TOPPED MOLASSES SPICE COOKIES

The month of November was a great time for me to rejoin my beloved Tuesdays With Dorie baking group; and because November is such a crazy time with the holidays, the members can bake any of the 4 recipes selected for November and post on whichever Tuesday they please. With that in mind, I decided to start off with these cookies. I've been inundated with cakes, cupcakes, and pies the last month or so that I really missed the operation that is cookie baking!

Pamela of Cookies with Boys chose these cookies for November 17th, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for the recipe that will be posted on her blog. These cookies were tremendous and by tremendous I mean tremendously delectable. They had a sugary crunchy top with a semi-soft center and a spiced molasses flavor that was to die for! All the cookies baked perfectly uniform and were super easy to make. I doled out half of the batch for noshing and the other half to be ground up as a crust for my pumpkin cheesecake that I will be making later this week. Thanks for a great selection, Pamela!

FALL YUMMIES

Hi there. I know, I know. I keep making promises that I can't keep. I keep disappearing without any notice. I'm neglecting you. It's wrong. Will you forgive me? Give me another chance? I promise to be the blogger you deserve! I've gone MIA once again but with very good reason!! You see, the very last module of my culinary program involves a 210 hour internship to be completed practically anywhere in the country; based on your future food industry aspirations. Practical experience in the food biz is so incredibly important. In my case, a small bake shoppe is what gets my wheels turning, so I chose this fantastic little mom and pop bakery in Memphis, TN. Yes, you heard correctly...Memphis! As random as the home of pulled pork may be, my boyfriend lives there so it was a no-brainer! Needless to say, the past few weeks have been madness between shlepping my dogs on an 18 hr car ride, setting up a new place to live, getting my bearings adjusted, and catching up on much needed sleep. OK, y'all? I'm working on my southern drawl, so bear with me. I've digressed a tad from my original reason for posting and that reason is Fall deliciousness!! Think pies, pumpkin, a world of delicious spices, and...wait for it...BBQ!(I joke, I joke). Over the last few weeks I made some delicious goodies and let me tell you; my boyfriend's co-workers are psyched that I've become a Tennessee resident :) See for yourself...

• Ghost Petit Fours- pumpkin spice cake baked on a sheet pan cut into 1 inch circles, piped buttercream, and smothered in a buttery icing glaze. Black decorating gel used for the eyes and mouth. Super cute and super tasty! Recipe and how-to found here.

• Mini chocolate cupcakes with orange cream cheese frosting- The "BOO" was made by smearing chocolate icing on the back of 1/2 an Oreo cookie and piping on top. I used Martha's One Bowl chocolate cupcake no-fail recipe. Cream cheese frosting recipe found here.

• Pumpkin pie with gingersnap pecan crumble- I got this recipe off the cover of the November Southern Living issue. I can't find the recipe online yet, however, I will post as soon as it becomes available. This pie had a flaky pie crust followed by a gooey gingersnap layer with a spiced up pumpkin pie filling. It was topped off with a gingersnap pecan crumble and homemade whipped cream. Beyond delicious.