MSC: Zucchini-Spice

Seeing has how this is my first Martha Stewart Cupcakes Club post, I should probably give an introduction.

So here it is.

We all know I love to bake and cook. Currently I'm a part of the Craving Ellie in My Belly (CEiMB) blog group. At least twice a month, usually it's once a week, on Thursdays, I bake one recipe from Ellie Krieger's The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life with my fellow CEiMB bloggers and blog about it. This group is great because I already own and love Ellie's cookbook. For the most part her recipes taste great and are healthy for you - not just in calories, but in nutrients as well.

I'm now a part of the Martha Stewarts Cupcakes Club blog group and it operates in a similar way. This group bakes one cupcake recipe per month out of Martha Stewart's Martha Stewart's Cupcakes cookbook and blogs about it on the 15th. Occasionally there are bonus recipes anyone can make, but they are not required.

So now that we have that covered...

I present to you - Zucchini-Spice cupcakes:


Don't they look delicious?


Down right scrumptious actually.. just like this post I did on Sadie Lynn.

Do you know why I love these cupcakes? I love them because they remind me of Christmas. Filled with cinnamon, ground clove, and fresh ground nutmeg, these cupcakes pack a ton of flavor.

I don't know about you, but the smell of a spiced cake baking in the oven is so warm and inviting. It makes me want to light a candle, grab a cup of hot cocoa, snuggle in a blanket (not to be confused with a snuggie) and watch a good romantic comedy. I love romantic comedies..! Has anyone seen The Ugly Truth? Side note: I want to see that.

So these cupcakes taste great. Martha's recipe includes a cream cheese frosting, but I actually prefer them without. If I were bringing them to a party I would probably leave the frosting on, but I think in the future I'm going to make these without the frosting and throw them in the freezer for a quick treat.

I also thought about how these would be good gifts to give during Christmas. I might try baking them and giving them as a gift in a cute mini loaf pan. My sister sent some sort of bread (I think it might have been banana) as a Christmas gift a few years back. She baked them up the night before the gift exchange in a separate dish she owned that was the same size, let it cool, then put the loaf back in the loaf pan she was gifting us with. The loaf looked perfect because the gifted pan wasn't the one she baked the bread in so when I opened the gift, there sat a wonderful looking loaf of freshly baked bread.

I was also thinking you could bake this batter in a normal size loaf pan. Once the bread cools, frost with the cream cheese frosting and slice. Serve spread out on a long platter at your next get together.

This recipe was hosted by Tracey from Tracey's Culinary Adventures. What a great pick Tracey, perfect for the upcoming holidays - thank you.

Happy cupcake baking, photographing, blogging, and finally enjoying!