MS Cupcakes Club: Candied Sweet Potato Cupcakes

This month's Martha Stewart Cupcakes Club selection, Candied Sweet Potato Cupcakes chosen by Karen at Karen's Cookies, Cakes & More, offered many firsts for me. It was my first time baking sweet potatoes (we usually buy them in a can), my first time baking a dessert with sweet potatoes as an ingredient and my first time broiling marshmallows to get them toasty brown.

I loved every step involved in the recipe. I took a nibble of the sweet potato as it came out of the oven, and I was amazed at how naturally sweet it was, without the marshmallows or brown sugar. I definitely need to get in the habit of baking sweet potatoes more often when they are in season.

This cupcakes turned out fantastic, almost more like a muffin than a cupcake. The combination of spices -- including freshly ground nutmeg (yum!) and cinnamon -- were divine. In fact, the cupcakes tasted so good, I almost didn't want to add the marshmallows. Almost.

But gleefully I did. It was tricky to stack the tiny, round marshmallows without them falling over when they hit the oven. And it was even trickier trying to transfer the half-melted marshmallows to the cupcakes, but by some miracle, I managed.

I didn't manage, however, to make the candied pecans for the topping. I gave it a good try, but the sugar syrup crystallized instead of caramelized, and the combination of "rock candy" and pecans wasn't that great to look at or to eat. So I left the pecans off.

But the cupcakes still looked so cute...

And I discovered that you have to eat the cupcakes while the marshmallows are still warm and gooey. I loved these cupcakes, and I'd love to bake them again sometime.

Wordless Wednesday: Cranberries are here!

Martha Mondays: Pasta with brussels sprouts

My husband thought I was goofy for trying a brussel sprouts recipe for Martha Mondays. We've never much cared for brussel sprouts. However, that may be because I've only tried to cook with frozen brussel sprouts. But recently, I read an article explaining that fresh brussel sprouts taste better than frozen, so I was willing to give these veggies another go.

I prepared all my incredients ahead of time, including bacon, garlic, shallots, sage, chicken broth and olive oil. The recipe was a little time consuming for me, with all the chopping and measuring. But the brussel sprouts smelled great as they were cooking in the bacon fat. I also loved the smell of the sage.

I have to admit, this recipe may have changed my mind about brussel sprouts. The pasta turned out beautiful. It would definitely impress at a dinner party. And I couldn't stop eating it. There was something addicting about the combo of sage, bacon and pasta.

Don't the Parmesan cheese and bacon look delicious?

As much as I liked it, however, my husband still couldn't warm up to the brussel sprouts. So I guess I probably won't be making them again. But I sure enjoyed the recipe. Thanks to Pru at My Life: Pru Singer for picking this week's project. Please visit Martha and Me to see how the recipe turned out for the others.