Winstead Wandering

Prone to Wander

Pumpkin Cheesecake Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting

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Perfectly sweet cupcakes with a ribbon of creamy filling and a topping of decadent frosting. You’ve got to try Pumpkin Cheesecake Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting!

Perfectly sweet cupcakes with a ribbon of creamy filling and a topping of decadent frosting. You've got to try Pumpkin Cheesecake Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting!

A friend asked me recently to make cupcakes for a wedding shower she was hosting. Because I’m always up for spending time in the kitchen creating decadent treats, I immediately said yes. And then I spent the next couple weeks narrowing down my flavor choices.

I knew right away I wanted to do some sort of spin on my to-die-for Triple Chocolate Cupcakes, and I knew I had to a berry version with cream cheese frosting. It was only at the last minute that I decided to whip up these Pumpkin Cheesecake Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting, too.

Perfectly sweet cupcakes with a ribbon of creamy filling and a topping of decadent frosting. You've got to try Pumpkin Cheesecake Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting!

The pumpkin in these cupcakes is subtle, but not underwhelming; they’re perfect for those who haven’t yet seen the light when it comes to the magic of pumpkin desserts. Plus, nothing helps win over pumpkin skeptics quite like a ribbon of rich cheesecake filling. Top the whole thing with made-from-scratch salted caramel frosting, and who can resist?

Whether you’ve got a fall party coming up, or a tailgate to attend, or you just want to surprise your coworkers or family, these Pumpkin Cheesecake Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting are the perfect treat.

Perfectly sweet cupcakes with a ribbon of creamy filling and a topping of decadent frosting. You've got to try Pumpkin Cheesecake Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting!

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

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Take cupcakes made from a jazzed-up chocolate cake mix, stuff them with rich and creamy chocolate ganache, and top with smooth peanut butter frosting. You’ve got Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes!

Take cupcakes made from a jazzed-up chocolate cake mix, stuff it with rich and creamy chocolate ganache, and top it with smooth peanut butter frosting. You've got Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes!

I volunteer to make the cupcakes any time there’s a baby shower at church. As a food blogger, I’m always looking for an excuse to bake and to test my recipes on others. I knew the most recent shower was for a couple expecting a baby girl, so I wracked my brain for some fun fruity flavor ideas. I had plenty of inspiration, but I kept coming back to chocolate.

Finally I decided to say to heck with the idea of a light and girly cupcake. I made these Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes instead. The cupcake recipe is the same as the one I used to make my Triple Chocolate Cupcakes; the ganache is the same, too. The frosting, though, is where things get interesting. I took my decadent cream cheese frosting and subbed for peanut butter for the cream cheese. The result was a smooth, delightfully-rich frosting that stole the cupcake show.

Take cupcakes made from a jazzed-up chocolate cake mix, stuff it with rich and creamy chocolate ganache, and top it with smooth peanut butter frosting. You've got Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes!

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Triple Chocolate Cupcakes

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Stuffed with a rich chocolate ganache and topped with the fluffiest chocolate buttercream, these triple chocolate cupcakes will fulfill all your chocolate fantasies.

Stuffed with a rich chocolate ganache and topped with the fluffiest chocolate buttercream, these triple chocolate cupcakes will fulfill all your chocolate fantasies.

I signed up to bring cupcakes to a baby shower at church a couple weeks ago. I knew right away I wanted to make something decadent and over the top, something the expectant mom would love to indulge in. I knew it had to be these triple chocolate cupcakes.

To say they were a hit would be an understatement. And seriously, how could they not be? That moist cupcake? That smooth ganache? That rich and fluffy homemade buttercream? These guys are literally one of the best things you’ll eat.

Don’t be intimidated by the multiple steps or the long list of ingredients. The cupcakes themselves are made with a box mix, and then enhanced with a few extra ingredients. The ganache takes only a few minutes to make and is so worth it. The ridiculously light frosting is the perfect topping.

Stuffed with a rich chocolate ganache and topped with the fluffiest chocolate buttercream, these triple chocolate cupcakes will fulfill all your chocolate fantasies.

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Cream Cheese Frosting

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This stuff is rich, creamy, sweet, and smooth- it’s everything you expect a decadent cream cheese frosting to be.

This stuff is rich, creamy, sweet, and smooth- it's everything you expect a decadent cream cheese frosting to be.

Truth: I’m sitting here writing this blog post and catching up on The Voice on Hulu. This is the first season I’ve watched, but I’m loving getting to see the journey of all the contestants. It’s all so much more uplifting and positive than that other singing competition show.

As I’m writing this, I’m kind of wondering how to craft an entire post around a frosting recipe. After all, it only has four ingredients. And while every frosting lover knows it’s the true star of any cake or cupcake, a lot of people regard it as an afterthought to the confection it’s covering.

If you’re wondering what this cream cheese frosting pairs best with, the answer is: everything. Seriously, I dare you to make this stuff and not eat at least a little right off the spoon. But if you’re wondering about what socially acceptable vehicle you can use to deliver it to your guests- assuming spoons are out- you can’t go wrong with a rich Oreo cupcake or a light and sweet strawberry layer cake.

It doesn’t really matter what you serve this frosting on. What’s more important is that you make it, and that you share it with those you love. Nothing says, “you’re one of my favorite people,” like the gift of homemade cream cheese frosting.

This stuff is rich, creamy, sweet, and smooth- it's everything you expect a decadent cream cheese frosting to be.

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33 Perfect Summer Strawberry Recipes

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Forget Christmas- everyone knows strawberry season is the most wonderful time of year. Here are 33 perfect summer strawberry recipes to help you celebrate.

Forget Christmas- everyone knows strawberry season is the most wonderful time of year. Here are 33 perfect summer strawberry recipes to help you celebrate.

If you’ve hung around here for a while, you’ve probably noticed the abundance of strawberry recipes I’m posting and sharing. Maybe it seems a little redundant, but not to someone like me who loves strawberries. Because I know the internet is filled with people who share my strawberry love, I decided to gather a ton of mouthwatering summer strawberry recipes from a few of my favorite bloggers.

You’re bound to find the perfect recipe for any meal or occasion.

33 Perfect Summer Strawberry Recipes

Drinks & Frozen Treats

Forget Christmas- everyone knows strawberry season is the most wonderful time of year. Here are 33 perfect summer strawberry recipes to help you celebrate.

Strawberry Lemonade Granita from Winstead Wandering

Forget Christmas- everyone knows strawberry season is the most wonderful time of year. Here are 33 perfect summer strawberry recipes to help you celebrate.

Strawberry Watermelon Agua Fresca from A Savory Feast

Forget Christmas- everyone knows strawberry season is the most wonderful time of year. Here are 33 perfect summer strawberry recipes to help you celebrate.

Strawberry Mint Julep from Feast + West

Forget Christmas- everyone knows strawberry season is the most wonderful time of year. Here are 33 perfect summer strawberry recipes to help you celebrate.

Boozy Strawberry Milkshake from The New Baguette

Forget Christmas- everyone knows strawberry season is the most wonderful time of year. Here are 33 perfect summer strawberry recipes to help you celebrate.

Strawberry Basil Frozen Daiquiris from Cake ‘n’ Knife

Forget Christmas- everyone knows strawberry season is the most wonderful time of year. Here are 33 perfect summer strawberry recipes to help you celebrate.

Strawberry Lemonade Shandies from Feast + West

Forget Christmas- everyone knows strawberry season is the most wonderful time of year. Here are 33 perfect summer strawberry recipes to help you celebrate.

Mango Strawberry Smoothie from Hip Mama’s Place

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Maple-Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars

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Forget the hassle of refrigerating and rolling out dough; make these maple-frosted sugar cookie bars instead. The bars are a thick layer of soft and sweet sugar cookie, topped with a rich and unique maple frosting.

Forget the hassle of refrigerating and rolling out dough; make these maple-frosted sugar cookie bars instead. The bars are a thick layer of soft and sweet sugar cookie, topped with a rich and unique maple frosting.

Sugar cookies are one of favorite treats to eat make. They’re a hit just about anywhere I take them and, to be honest, they’re one of my absolute favorite desserts. It just doesn’t get much better than a perfectly-baked sugar cookie- crunchy outer edges, soft interior- spread with homemade frosting.

But, if I’m still being honest, sometimes I’m just not in the mood to make them. They really aren’t that complicated, but the flouring and rolling and cutting involved just seemed too overwhelming to me this past holiday season. The first trimester of this pregnancy is wiping me out, so I was all about shortcuts when it came to Christmas baking. The fact that a shortcut turned into a much raved about treat was an unexpected bonus.

The sugar cookie portion of these bars is great, but the maple frosting stole the show. It’s such a rich, unexpected twist, and it makes these bars smell so good. I brought these to a family gathering, made a batch for my students, and shared them with my coworkers. Each time, the reactions were the same: “Is that maple?” “These are really good!” “This frosting is amazing!”

Don’t be shy about buying a bottle of maple extract. I can think of several ways to use it up, but two of my favorites are these scones and this stove-top potpourri.

Forget the hassle of refrigerating and rolling out dough; make these maple-frosted sugar cookie bars instead. The bars are a thick layer of soft and sweet sugar cookie, topped with a rich and unique maple frosting.

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Dark Chocolate-Dipped Clementines

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Looking for the perfect healthy snack for yourself, or a fun treat alternative to sugary goodies? Look no further than dark chocolate-dipped clementines.

Looking for the perfect healthy snack for yourself, or a fun treat alternative to sugary goodies? Look no further than dark chocolate-dipped clementines.

I’ve been having quite the love affair with Cuties lately. You know, the seedless, easy to peel clementines that are so popular this time of year?

I’m craving them like nobody’s business, eating at least four or five a day. Don’t get me wrong, I have zero complaints about craving something healthy and loaded with vitamin C. With previous pregnancies, I craved things like Burger King Whoppers and endless amounts of Juanita’s brand tortilla chips with my Granny’s homemade salsa.

That’s not to say I’m not craving anything unhealthy this time. I’ve got an unfilled hankering for some really good French fries, and I’ve been jonesing for some dark chocolate, which is where these guys come in.

It took just a few minutes for me to melt the chocolate, dip the little slices on, and sit back and admire my work. I sprinkled a few with sea salt and I added red or green sugar crystals to some others, because Christmas.

Looking for the perfect healthy snack for yourself, or a fun treat alternative to sugary goodies? Look no further than dark chocolate-dipped clementines.

Clementines are so bright and juicy; adding the swirl of dark chocolate gives you a perfect bite of flavor. These would be so great to whip up as a healthy treat for yourself, or to package and give away as a fun alternative- or addition- to traditional Christmas goodies.

If you’re not up for dipping (you should be; it’s totally easy) you could always drizzle the melted chocolate over the clementines. It would speed up an already quick process, and you could even use both white and brown chocolates. You wouldn’t get as much chocolate per bite, but they’d be healthier, your chocolate would stretch further, and they’d set up and be ready to serve or package quicker.

Looking for the perfect healthy snack for yourself, or a fun treat alternative to sugary goodies? Look no further than dark chocolate-dipped clementines.

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Frosted Cranberry White Chocolate Cookie Bars

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A hearty oat cookie bar base, packed with cranberries and white chocolate chips, spread with a thick layer of white chocolate cream cheese frosting, and topped off with more cranberries and a white chocolate drizzle.

A hearty oat cookie bar base, packed with cranberries and white chocolate chips, spread with a thick layer of white chocolate cream cheese frosting, and topped off with more cranberries and a white chocolate drizzle.

Frosted cranberry white chocolate cookie bars taste like home. My mom, whose cookie prowess I’ve mentioned before, makes a cranberry white chocolate oatmeal cookie that’s to die for. Like, good enough to convert cranberry and white chocolate hating people like J. Seriously, her cookies have powers.

So I texted her a couple weeks ago and asked if I could blog that recipe. She didn’t hesitate to send it to me, but the wheels in my head were already turning. My mother-in-law, a darn good cook, too, had mentioned her affection for Starbucks’ cranberry bliss bars. I checked them out and the basic idea reminded me of my mom’s cookies.

So I decided to combine the two. To make my mom’s cookies a little more holiday-friendly, I added cinnamon, nutmeg, and orange zest. I baked them in bar form, as much to save time as to mimic the coffeehouse kind. And then I smothered the whole thing in a decadent white chocolate frosting.

I’ve got to confess that I’ve never had a cranberry bliss bar, but these bars are the definition of bliss (perfect happiness; great joy). Happiness is devouring a generous square of these frosted cranberry white chocolate cookie bars.

A hearty oat cookie bar base, packed with cranberries and white chocolate chips, spread with a thick layer of white chocolate cream cheese frosting, and topped off with more cranberries and a white chocolate drizzle.

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