Winstead Wandering

Prone to Wander

Leftover Frosting Cookies

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Got frosting? These Leftover Frosting Cookies are easy to make, perfectly fluffy and sweet, and such a fun way to use up what’s left after you make a cake or cupcakes.

Got frosting? These Leftover Frosting Cookies are easy to make, perfectly fluffy and sweet, and such a fun way to use up what's left after you make a cake or cupcakes.

I don’t often find myself with leftover frosting, and it’s even more rare that I have enough to do anything with (other than eat, of course). But sometimes that happens, and when it does, I’m definitely not interested in using the frosting to make something time-consuming.

Enter these Leftover Frosting Cookies. They’re super easy to whip up and, while they’re definitely a sweet treat, they aren’t cloyingly sweet like frosting can be. Plus, I like to make these cookies small, so they’re just a couple bites of goodness.

Got frosting? These Leftover Frosting Cookies are easy to make, perfectly fluffy and sweet, and such a fun way to use up what's left after you make a cake or cupcakes.

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Homemade Cinnamon Rolls (No Yeast)

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You don’t have to choose between popping open a can or spending half your day tending to dough. Packed with gooey filling, smothered in rich glaze, and made without yeast, Homemade Cinnamon Rolls can be ready to enjoy in under an hour.

You don't have to choose between popping open a can or spending half your day tending to dough. Packed with gooey filling, smothered in rich glaze, and made without yeast, Homemade Cinnamon Rolls are ready to enjoy in under an hour.

I recently heard the period of April and May described as the Christmas season’s slightly less hyper sister. It’s true, y’all. Even without the insane busyness of wrapping up the time-consuming project for the capstone class of my Masters degree, we’ve still got T-ball games, science fairs, awards days, state tests, and more. I don’t mind being busy, but I don’t like when that busyness keeps me from doing something I love — baking.

I realized last Sunday morning that I hadn’t made a new recipe in quite some time. My kitchen is my happy place, so of course that realization got me thinking about what I could whip up to share with my Sunday school classmates at church. These Homemade Cinnamon Rolls were the clear winner. Because they lack yeast and don’t require rising time, they’re super easy to make in just a couple hours.

I used my beloved KitchenAid stand mixer to stir and knead the dough, but it can be done by hand, too. With a straightforward filling and a two-ingredient glaze, this recipe is easier to make than you probably thought Homemade Cinnamon Rolls could be. They’re perfect for lazy Saturday mornings or special occasion brunches.

You don't have to choose between popping open a can or spending half your day tending to dough. Packed with gooey filling, smothered in rich glaze, and made without yeast, Homemade Cinnamon Rolls are ready to enjoy in under an hour.

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Oatmeal Cream Pie Cupcakes

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With a tender, flavor-packed cupcake and real cookie chunks in the frosting, Oatmeal Cream Pie Cupcakes are the perfect decadent treat.

With a tender, flavor-packed cupcake and real cookie chunks in the frosting, Oatmeal Cream Pie Cupcakes are the perfect decadent treat.

I got a text a few Fridays ago. It was around noon, and the text was from a friend asking if I’d make cupcakes for her son to celebrate his birthday with his baseball team the next day. It was a no-pressure type thing, and she offered to pick some up from the Walmart bakery if I didn’t have time to bake anything.

With a tender, flavor-packed cupcake and real cookie chunks in the frosting, Oatmeal Cream Pie Cupcakes are the perfect decadent treat.

But y’all, friends don’t let friends buy Walmart cupcakes. Plus, I never turn down an opportunity to make them, especially when the friend gives me free reign over the flavors. I wanted to try flavors that would be a little bit unexpected while also pleasing the palates of a bunch of preteen boys. I made homemade oatmeal cream pies several years ago, and I remembered my friend’s husband mentioning hiding his Little Debbie snack cakes from their boys, and so the idea for Oatmeal Cream Pie Cupcakes was born.

With a tender, flavor-packed cupcake and real cookie chunks in the frosting, Oatmeal Cream Pie Cupcakes are the perfect decadent treat.

The actual cake part starts out standard enough; I use a box mix, as I usually do, but I added some extra goodies to take it into homemade territory. Because I’ve never made a cupcakes that wasn’t begging to be stuffed or filled with something, I cut miniature cream pie circles and tucked those down inside the batter. I used the extra cookie pieces in the frosting, because why wouldn’t I? The end result is these Oatmeal Cream Pie Cupcakes: rich, moist, and deliciously homemade.

With a tender, flavor-packed cupcake and real cookie chunks in the frosting, Oatmeal Cream Pie Cupcakes are the perfect decadent treat.

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Frosted Heath Cookie Bars

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Skip the bore and the time suck of rolling individual cookies and make these chewy and decadent toffee-studded Frosted Heath Cookie Bars instead.

Skip the bore and the time suck of rolling individual cookies and make these chewy and decadent toffee-studded Frosted Heath Cookie Bars instead.

Frosted cookie bars are one of my favorite easy desserts. I love that, instead of spending a ton of time in the kitchen rolling out and baby-sitting individual cookies, I can plop the dough in a pan, set the timer, and come back to a finished product. These Frosted Heath Cookie Bars are wonderful on their own; they’d be great even without the frosting. Everything is better frosted, though, and this homemade vanilla frosting takes the bars over the top.

Skip the bore and the time suck of rolling individual cookies and make these chewy and decadent toffee-studded Frosted Heath Cookie Bars instead.

I made these a while back for J to take to a party. Over the next few days I got multiple requests to share the recipe and to make them again. It isn’t tough to see why; these Frosted Heath Cookie Bars are thick and chewy, with a moistness and a richness you won’t find in regular cookies. The homemade frosting is fluffy, light, and the perfect complement to the toffee-studded bars.

Skip the bore and the time suck of rolling individual cookies and make these chewy and decadent toffee-studded Frosted Heath Cookie Bars instead.

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Strawberry-Filled Vanilla Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

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What happens when you combine homemade strawberry filling, moist vanilla cupcakes, and decadent cream cheese frosting? You get Strawberry-Filled Vanilla Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting.

What happens when you combine homemade strawberry filling, moist vanilla cupcakes, and decadent cream cheese frosting? You get Strawberry-Filled Vanilla Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Look, I’m just as eager as the next person for the arrival of fall. Probably more eager, actually, because a lot of people don’t live in the sweltering humidity of summer in Mississippi. But while I’m 100 percent ready to embrace sweatshirts, football, and all things pumpkin, there are at least a few parts of summer that I’m not quite ready to let go of.

Case in point: strawberries, particularly when they’re in these Strawberry-Filled Vanilla Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting. These little beauties are a twist on a cake I’ve been making for years, which is a twist on a cake my mom has been making for years. I’ve yet to share that cake recipe because I can’t seem to keep it around long enough to get photos. Moist and delicate cake, fresh strawberries, and homemade cream cheese frosting? Yeah, you can see why the cake disappears to quickly.

What happens when you combine homemade strawberry filling, moist vanilla cupcakes, and decadent cream cheese frosting? You get Strawberry-Filled Vanilla Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting.

These cupcakes are simply the cute portable version of that family favorite. I do my usual jazzing up of a store-bought cake mix, which results in fluffy cupcakes. Instead of layering sliced berries between big cake rounds, I make a fresh homemade sauce that’s packed with berry flavor. The thickened sauce gets spooned into a little pocket in the center of each cooked cupcakes, but it seeps into the cake to create an incredibly satisfying flavor combination. Neither the cake or the filling are overly sweet because the whole shebang is topped with the lightest, most decadent cream cheese frosting.

While you’ll certainly find me baking my fair share of pumpkin cupcakes and scones, you’ll also see me clinging to the last days of strawberry season, mostly in honor of these must-make cupcakes.

What happens when you combine homemade strawberry filling, moist vanilla cupcakes, and decadent cream cheese frosting? You get Strawberry-Filled Vanilla Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting.

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Homemade Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

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Homemade Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting is quicker and easier to make than you think, and it is oh so worth the effort. You’ll never go back!

Homemade Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting is quicker and easier to make than you think, and it is oh so worth the effort. You'll never go back!

I’ve posted a lot of homemade frosting recipes because I’ve shared a lot of cake and cupcake recipes and I never use store bought frosting. I know, I know, that sounds snobby, but it’s true; homemade frosting is just too easy and too dessert-altering to settle for anything less.

It occurred to me a while back, though, that I never shared my recipe for Homemade Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting. It’s a recipe I’ve made again and again to go with things like Double Chocolate Brownies and Loaded Candy Bar Cake, but I never got around to sharing just the frosting here.

Today I’m changing that. If you’ve never made homemade frosting because you always figured it was too difficult, or because you think the pre-made stuff in the jar is just as good, I’m begging you to make this recipe. It’s fluffy and rich, smooth and decadent, everything a homemade frosting needs to be.

And if you aren’t into cream cheese frosting (make this anyway; it just might change your mind), you need my Homemade Chocolate Buttercream recipe.

Homemade Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting is quicker and easier to make than you think, and it is oh so worth the effort. You'll never go back!

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Homemade Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

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Put the store-bought stuff down; homemade chocolate buttercream frosting is surprisingly easy and tastes 100 times better than those other options.

Put the store-bought stuff down; homemade chocolate buttercream frosting is surprisingly easy and tastes 100 times better than those other options.

Can I make a confession?

I usually use boxed cake mixes. I know, I know. I’m breaking all kinds of food blogger commandments. You know what, though? No one notices. Part of that is because it’s completely possible to make moist, delicious cakes and cupcakes from a box. Mostly, though, I think it’s because people couldn’t care less what the cake part is like when it’s topped with homemade frosting.

As okay as I am with boxed mixes, I am absolutely not okay with canned frosting; you’ve got to make your own. It isn’t that difficult- it’s way easier than from-scratch cake- and there’s no comparison flavor-wise. Trust me, you’ll be a dessert hero when you present anything topped with this homemade chocolate buttercream frosting.

The secret to this frosting is the way it’s finished. After all the ingredients are added, you turn up the mixer and let it work its magic. The beaters will whip air into the frosting, lightening the color and giving you the fluffiest buttercream you can imagine.

Put the store-bought stuff down; homemade chocolate buttercream frosting is surprisingly easy and tastes 100 times better than those other options.

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Triple Chocolate Frosted Brownies

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A rich brownie recipe is packed with chocolate chips and smothered in a fluffy homemade buttercream to make mouthwatering triple chocolate frosted brownies.

A rich brownie recipe is packed with chocolate chips and smothered in a fluffy homemade buttercream to make mouthwatering triple chocolate frosted brownies.

I have a recipe for double chocolate brownies. They’re pretty much everything you could want in a brownie: rich, fudgy, and studded with chocolate chips. They’ve got that delectably chewy crust. I didn’t think the recipe could get much better, but then I added homemade buttercream and turned them into triple chocolate frosted brownies.

My homemade chocolate buttercream was the perfect addition to a recipe I didn’t think could get any better. The frosting, which is the same one you’ll find on my triple chocolate cupcakes,  is whipped for several minutes until it’s light and fluffy. On their own, the brownies are a delightful treat; with the addition of the frosting, they become a mouthwatering dessert you’ll be asked to make again and again.

A rich brownie recipe is packed with chocolate chips and smothered in a fluffy homemade buttercream to make mouthwatering triple chocolate frosted brownies.

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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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Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

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Fluffy, smooth, and wonderfully sweet, strawberry buttercream frosting is the perfect topping for your favorite cake, cupcakes, or cookies.

Fluffy, smooth, and wonderfully sweet, strawberry buttercream frosting is the perfect topping for your favorite cake, cupcakes, or cookies.

If you’ve never made your own frosting, let me beg you to start. There’s absolutely no comparison between a homemade version and the cloyingly sweet kind you buy at the store. Making a buttercream like this from scratch isn’t as difficult as you might think it is; if you don’t believe me, check out the simple four-ingredient recipe below.

This particular strawberry buttercream frosting is smooth and rich and carries the perfect touch of berries. Because you make the strawberry sauce yourself, using real berries, there’s no artificial flavor or unappealing aftertaste. The subtle strawberry flavor perks up plain cupcakes or plays well with flavored cake. Or, don’t ask me how I know this, it tastes divine straight from the spatula.

Fluffy, smooth, and wonderfully sweet, strawberry buttercream frosting is the perfect topping for your favorite cake, cupcakes, or cookies.

 

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