better late than never!

i really wanted to post much earlier today, but well..... i got a little sidetracked ;) my son had the best idea ever... banana cupcakes! of course i said yes.

 soo hard to wait for them to cool!!!

it was a good decision... they are super yummy! the icing i used is a honey-cinnamon one. also yum. the cupcakes were light and fluffy... it's not at all like a muffin... and they're moist too! i'm rather pleased with them.
the recipe i used is actually from allrecipes.com and so credit is due to them. the only thing i did differently, is make my own buttermilk (well just a version of it ) because i didn't have any. i just put in 1Tbsp of lemon juice into almost 1 cup of milk. presto. buttermilk.

ingredients:
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

directions:
1. in a large mixing bowl, cream shortening and sugar. add the eggs, vanilla, bananas and buttermilk. combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to banana mixture. fill 18 paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full.
2. bake at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. remove to wire racks to cool completely.

i found the batter made enough for 21 cupcakes, and as i mentioned earlier, i used a honey-cinnamon frosting
which is just:
1 1/4 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1 Tbsp honey
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon.

i added a little extra cinnamon, and as you can see from the pics, i also added some fresh bananas to the top. so uber yummy!!!

... and i bet these won't last long. :)
i am also knitting to stock up the shop, but.... these seemed more important at the time.. so they happened first ;)

what did you get up to today? any little helpers in your kitchen?  send me a little note, i'd love to hear from you!