One Year Ago: Margarita Cupcakes

Happy Cinco de Mayo and Happy Birthday to my sister! One year ago, we celebrated with these margarita cupcakes.

A hint of lime in both the cake and the icing make these cakes more tart than sweet. And they taste better if you bake them while wearing a sombrero. Seriously.

Bite-Sized Baked Brie

cheese + bread = my kind of popsicle

Sure, I preach that we should all eat whole foods and read labels. Usually, it's no more than a handful of ingredients for me, all of which I can pronounce or identify the source. Forget all that. At least for the next five minutes.

Flaky, buttery puff pastry is amazing. Just about as amazing as the list of crap that's in manufactured dough. Should I make my own pastry dough? Probably. Will I initiate a battle with cold butter while I'm finishing graduate school and a thesis? (no comment needed)

These bite-sized buttery pockets of cheese and jam are another one of my favorites from Joy the Baker. They're messy (even for Joy) and oh-so delicious.

What you need: frozen puff pastry, Brie, an egg, and jam. The popsicle sticks are optional but highly recommended. Seriously. Everyone loved the popsicle sticks.

Any flavor of jam will do (homemade and/or local is ideal, of course). If you're completely indecisive like myself, mix it up. I used raspberry (very sweet), blackberry (sweet but tart), fig (neutral), and the last of my apple butter from the fall (my favorite).