Snowglobe cupcakes

So our sweet little Caiti-did had her 5th B-day party & I got to make her some cupcakes. She requested chocolate & something with bears and the color purple. I saw a picture of a cool idea at bakearella.com & HAD to try it for her birthday. I ended up doing purple ballarina bear snowglobe cupcakes. The 'globe' part is one of those round coke bottles you see at Wal-mart this time of year with the top cut off and the 'stand' is the cupcake turned upside down with the wrapper cut off the bottom & frosted like the top. Too cute huh? I'll give the specific directions for 'how-to' below. Also, since I ment to do it a few days ago and forgot, I'm going to post a great 'holiday' guacamole recipe I got from Kim and my creamy miso dressing recipe. You should know, getting Ethan to eat salad is a rather painfull experience......until now. I made this dressing a few days ago and the kid ate 3 plates of salad then ate his dinner and then ate another plate of salad. Why I didn't try it on him earlier now escapes me. I'm just glad we ran out of ranch dressing so I had to whip up something else that night. Okay, for the directions and recipes....

So you take the label off the coke bottle (get Coke not Sprite even if you don't drink it because the Sprite ones are tinted green....unless that's what you're going for....frogs maybe? Cute thought). There is a faint line around the top of the bottle. Take a pin or box cutter or something & just scratch that a little bit to make it more visible. (It makes it easier when you're trying to cut it.) You can see the outline I scratched below.

Then take a box cutter and poke it into that line somewhere and carefully cut off the top following the line you made. I did 8 bottles and only cut myself once which is really pretty good for me because I'm not really known for my knife safety skills. (I know you're laughin' Gram.) Below is the bottle after it's been cut, then you can test it on an empty upturned cupcake liner in the size you're using (I used standard size papers) to make sure it's going to sit how you want.

Once you're sure it's the right size, take some simple syrup (or in my case a mix of 2 T corn syrup & 4 T water) and rub it where you want the 'snow' to stick. I found that I like the look best if I just put it at the top and around the bottom so the image inside could be clearly seen. Don't worry about making the edges straight (I tried not to in fact) just use your finger and smear it around a little. Then dump a tsp or so of your 'snow' into the top and shake it around. I used Wilton glitter flakes, but you could just use plain sugar too. Here's a picture of one that I did early on before I decided I only liked it on the top and bottom, but you get the idea.

Once they're cool, level the tops of your cupcakes with a serrated knife and flip them over. Use a pair of clean scissors to cut off the bottom of the cupcake liner being careful not to detach the rest of the paper from the cupcake.

Decorate the bottom-now top-of the cupcake as desired. To make the bear, I found a picture I liked and made 8 copies and then flipped it and made 8 more copies then printed it on plain computer paper and glued them together. Then I got the 'no heat' laminating sheets and laminated them all on one sheet and cut them out leaving a long strip of the laminate at the bottom of the image to stick into the cupcake. It's important to use the 'no heat' kind of laminate sheets because they have a hard back which makes them stiff enough to stand up and stick into the cupcake without falling over.

Then pop that into the cupcake and do any additional decorating that you want to before adding the 'globe' part. Once I got mine situated on there I piped some icing around the base of the 'globe' to keep it stable and then did a little piping on the outside of the globe as well because that 's just the way I am.Voila! Snow globe cupcake. Thank you bakerella.

Kim's Holiday Guacamole (very slightly altered by me because I have a disease and can't help but tinker)

1 to 1 1/2 c pomegranite seeds (directions for seeding to follow if you need them)

1 to 1 1/2 c avocado, mashed

1/2-3/4 c cucumber

handfull of cilantro, chopped

1 clove minced garlic (or 1/4 tsp powdered garlic)

1/8-1/4 tsp cumin

2-3 green onions diced (use the whole thing)

2 T lime juice

salt & pepper to taste

Mix it all together and enjoy. I know it sounds weird with the pomegranite, but it is SO GOOD.

How to seed a pomegranite:

Martha Stewart cuts around the pomegranite with a paring knife-being careful not to cut into the flesh but only the peel- and then rips the thing open. That way you don't have a red mess on your counter from cutting the seeds. Then she holds it over a bowl and whacks the heck out of it with a wooden spoon until all of the seeds fall out. No joke I promise. I tried it, but haven't got the patience for that-surprise surprise. Instead, I open it the same way she does, but the carefully pull it apart and pick the seeds out. If you get bits of the white membrane in with your seeds just fill your bowl with water. The seeds will sink and the membrane will float and you can pick it off the top and then drain off the water.

Creamy Miso Dressing

I like miso, but if it's a new flavor to you, or if you just like it a little less pronounced then just use less miso.

2/3 cup white miso (about 1/2 of a 12-ounce package)
1 1/4 cup mayo
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3-4 tablespoon honey
¼ tsp ground ginger
A few drops of sesame oil
2 chopped green onions

Instructions:
In a food processor or blender, combine everything but the green onion and blend until smooth. Stir in the green onion. Enjoy. (Enjoy a lot if you're Ethan.)

Happy Eating! Have a great Christmas everyone!