Blue Moon Cupcakes

With all the Holiday Parties to attend this time of year I wanted to help out and bring some snacks. So I headed to my computer to jump on Pinterest- the holder of the best and most creative ideas. I found this idea for Blue Moon Cupcakes. YES PLEASE! Not only do I love Blue Moon, but happened to already have the Winter Abbey Ale in my fridge and decided it would make a good holiday snack. Everything was to be made from scratch so this was no small task for someone who doesn't bake often. But the experience was totally worth i

 Mixing the batter was pretty standard, but getting to the the icing was a little more challenging. When you beat everything by hand expect it to take 10x as long! It said to beat the icing for 7 minutes to get it to the right consistency- kind of a merange to reflect the foam top of blue moon. But I beat constantly for 45 minutes it only kind of got it to where it was supposed to be, but it was good enough as I was then late for my party!

 These are the beautiful cupcakes! I added some red food coloring to make it more orange-y looking like the actual beer. I also used white cupcake liners so that they kind of became transparent after cooking. Although, I think cute holiday cupcake liners would of been fun too!

 This is what they look liked finished! Blue Moon in the batter, orange juice in the icing, and a little orange slice to finish off the look. They really were delicious and I'm sure would be even better with an electric mixer!!

 Next time you need a good dessert to bring consider making these! They were pretty simple and the ingredients were mostly things you would find in your pantry or fridge :) Below is the recipe and the link to the original blogger who created these wonderful cupcakes.

Blue Moon Cupcakes

3/4 c unsalted butter, softened

1 3/4 c sugar

2 1/2 c flour

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3 eggs, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla

2 drops red food coloring

10 drops yellow food coloring

1/2 tsp orange zest

1 c Blue Moon beer

1/4 c milk

Frothy White Frosting [recipe follows]

small orange slices, for garnish

Directions:
1. Line 24 cupcake trays with liners. [Use white liners if you can, they become translucent during baking and really sell the mini Blue Moon image]. In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking power and salt.
2. In a large bowl beat butter on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar a little bit at a time, beating well. Once it's all added beat for 2 more minutes.
3. Add eggs, beating after each.
4. Add vanilla, food coloring and orange zest and beat.
5. Mix beer and milk in a measuring cup. Alternatively add beer / milk mixture and flour mixture to butter mixture in the large bowl, beating after each. End on the flour mixture.
6. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full. Bake for 18 minutes at 375 degrees F until cupcakes are golden and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
7. Once cool, frost each cupcake with a generous amount of frosting. Just before serving, garnish each with a small orange slice.

Frothy White Frosting

2 egg whites, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp orange juice

1 c sugar

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1/3 c water

Directions:
1. In a saucepan, mix sugar, water and cream of tartar. Cook on medium heat until sugar is dissolved and mixture is bubbly.
2. In a large bowl, beat egg whites, vanilla and orange juice until soft peaks form. Slowly add hot sugar mixture, beating continuously. Beat for 7 minutes until stiff peaks form.