Cupkins & Contest Winners!

Thanks to those of you who entered my contest! It was a tough decision but the winners are...

ARWEN

&

TIM MILLER

CONGRATULATIONS! Arwen and Tim have each won 200 custom postcards from UPrinting. Yeah!

Winners, please e-mail me (joanneroehm@yahoo.com) with your mailing address and e-mail address by the end of the day Monday. If I don't hear from you by then, I'll select another winner in your place. Again, thanks to you all for entering - I'm working on another contest coming soon so be sure to enter that, too!

And now, what you've all been waiting for!

Introducing...

Meg at Mega•Crafty and Joanne at Ready, Set Craft! have teamed up to bring you the ultimate collaboration of baked goods: Cupcakes and Muffins! On the first Monday of each month, hop on to one of our blogs to see this month's featured ingredient and/or theme and view our mouth watering recipes! Meg will entice you with her delicious muffins while Joanne will lure you in with a sweet and sugary cupcake. Simply click on the Cupkins logo to switch between sites and enjoy both recipes!

A little about muffins and cupcakes:

What's the difference? Well just by looks- cupcakes are usually frosted and muffins are not. Recipe wise butter seems to be the biggest difference. Muffins don't usually have butter in the batter while cupcakes do. Also muffins usually have nuts or fruit, instead of ingredients like chocolate or candy. Think of cupcakes as being a little cake while muffins are more like a quick bread. But really isn't it just a way to eat dessert twice a daywithout feeling too bad?!

September's ingredient is APPLE! Think Fall, apple orchards, and back to school time! Join us on Monday September 7 for our Cupkins debut!

A little about us:

Meg:
I love making things and I'm always up for trying a new craft (my packedstudio shelves are proof of that)! You'll find me blogging on everythingfrom knitting, kids crafts, and card making to my newest adventures inglass blowing, yarn dying and spinning. I started Mega•Crafty at thebeginning of 2009 as a way to be involved with a larger creativecommunity. It's also been a great way to help me stay creative on aregular basis.

I live with my husband, our dog and two cats. My favorite color is teal.

I'm a Creative Director by Day. My favorite holiday is Halloween and I've recently started new new blog, Mega•Spooky dedicated to all things Halloween

Joanne:
Joanne started Ready, Set, Craft! about a year ago as a creative outlet and way to connect with other artisans and crafters world wide.

An avid paper crafter and cupcake connoisseur, Joanne has recently started to dabble in yarn and sewing crafts - and is loving it! Joanne has taught art, craft, and fashion/jewelry classes throughout West Michigan, and enjoys encouraging creativity in all those around her - young and old!

Joanne holds a BA in Music, and is currently a full-time graduate assistant majoing in Public Administration and Non-Profit Leadership.

Joanne is a demonstrator for Stampin' Up! and lives with her husband, dog, and two cats in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Can't wait until September? Here's a little taste of what to expect each month from CUPKINS...

Toy Store Cupcakes: Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting and Toys on Top!

For the Cupcakes... (makes 30)

3 1/4 cups cake flour

1 1/2 tbsp baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

7 oz unsalted butter

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 cup + two tbsp milk

1 tbsp vanilla

5 large egg whites

Preheat oven to 350. Whisk dry ingredients. Cream butter and sugar in a mixer until light and fluffy.

Reduce mixer speed to low, add dry ingredients to butter and sugar alternating with wet ingredients in three additions.

Beat egg whites until stiff peaks, then fold into batter.

Place in cupcake tins lined with liners immediately and bake for approx. 22 minutes.

Once cooled, top with vanilla frosting (colored if you wish!) and with small toys (like those for kids party bags from a party supply store.

If serving to young children, make sure they know that the toy is to PLAY with - and not to EAT! : )

Want another recipe? Hop on over to Mega•Crafty to see more! Click on the Cupkins logo below!

(I recently made the toy store cupcakes for an event... check out the pics!)