Category Archives: Contributors

Sweet Little Details: Surprise Red Velvet Cupcakes

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It is the most wonderful time of the year and I absolutely love all the goodies and sweet treats out there.   Jen Campbell from Sweet Little Details has given us a very yummy Christmas treat.  Thanks Jen, enjoy!

Surprise Red Velvet Cupcakes makes 2 dozen cupcakes

You can use a boxed Red Velvet Cake mix if you would like…just prepare as normal.

Filling

I like to use more than just a heaping teaspoon of filling…so I normally will double this recipe. 

1 8oz package cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1/3 cup sugar
8-10 ounces of white chocolate chips

In a small bowl, blend cream cheese, egg and sugar. Beat until smooth. Add white chocolate chips.

Red Velvet Cake

The cake recipe is from Bakerella

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 Tablespoon cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 Tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 oz. red food coloring

Images by: Jen Campbell

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 standard muffin cups with cupcake liners.

Lightly stir eggs in a medium bowl with a wire whisk. Add remaining liquid ingredients and stir together with whisk until blended. Set aside. Place all the dry ingredients in your mixing bowl and stir together really good with another wire whisk. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix on medium-high for about a minute or until completely combined.

Fill prepared pans 2/3 full and top with heaping teaspoon of filling. Bake at 350 for 20 -25 minutes.

If you choose to frost these cupcakes, cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

2 8 oz packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 pounds confectioners sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla

Cream together cream cheese and butter. Beat in vanilla. On low speed, add confectioners sugar a little at a time. Once all sugar has been added increase to medium speed until frosting is creamy.

Sweet Little Details: Chocolate Covered Cheesecake Bites

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Are you looking for something nice and cold but rich in flavor?  Try these delicious treats from our friend, Jen Campbell at Sweet Little Details.

Image by Jen Campbell

Chocolate Covered Cheesecake Bites

1 1/2 cups oreo cookie crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup sour cream
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

24 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
3 tablespoons shortening

White chocolate for drizzling

Preheat oven to 325°. Line a 9-in. square baking pan with foil and grease the foil. In a small bowl, combine the cookie crumbs and butter. Press into prepared pan; set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and sour cream until smooth. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Stir in vanilla. Pour over crust. Bake at 325° for 40-45 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack. Refrigerate until chilled. Freeze for four to five hours or overnight. Melt chocolate and shortening in a double boiler; stir until smooth. Cool slightly. Using foil, lift cheesecake out of pan.

Gently peel off foil; cut into 48 squares. Remove a few pieces at a time for dipping; keep remaining squares refrigerated until ready to dip. Completely dip squares, one at a time, in melted chocolate; allow excess to drip off. I like to use a plastic fork with the middle prongs broken off for dipping. Place on waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Let stand for 20 minutes or until set. Drizzle with melted white chocolate. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer. Yield: 49 squares.

Sweet Little Details: Confetti Pops

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What’s more fun then a confetti cake pop?  A birthday party filled with confetti cake pops.  Try these super tasty cake pops for your next party from our very own Sweet Little Details.

Image by Jen Campbell at Sweet Little Details

Confetti Pops

1 package (16 oz) Vanilla Candy Coating

1 box White Cake Mix (plus ingredients for mix)

1 cup frosting vanilla frosting

Lots and lots of edible Confetti

48 lollipop sticks

Prepare and bake Cake Mix as directed on box; cool completely. Crumble cooled cake into a large bowl. Mix thoroughly with 1 cup frosting. Add 1/8 cup of confetti to the cake, frosting mixture. Roll mixture into tablespoon size balls and place on cookie sheet; chill until firm.

Melt Vanilla  Candy Coating over low heat in a double boiler.

Dip tip of lollipop stick into candy coating. Insert stick a little over half way into the cake ball.  Coat the cake ball in the candy coating. After access coating has dripped off, let cake pops dry completely. I use Styrofoam to keep sticks vertical.

While candy coating is still wet sprinkle with confetti.


Sweet Little Details: Homemade Fruit Roll Ups

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We just celebrated my little girl’s second birthday, so children party ideas are still on my mind. Therefore, I would LOVE to show you a simple, but perfect snack for any kid’s party from our lovely friend at Sweet Little Details.  These treats are very natural and yummy for your kiddos!

Image by Jen Campbell

Mango-Strawberry Fruit Roll-Ups

2 cups strawberries, diced

1 large mango, diced

2 tablespoons water

Agave Nectar

1 Teaspoon Sugar in the Raw

Preheat oven to 150 degrees F one hour before dehydrating the fruit roll-ups.

If your oven does not allow you to bake at 150 degrees F, you can use your warm setting.

In a sauce pan over medium heat, add water and diced fruit. Cook until the fruit breaks down so that it is soft and mushy. Allow the fruit mixture to thicken (the syrup should coat the back of the spoon and shouldn’t be runny or thin), almost like the consistency of a chunky applesauce. Adjust sweetness with agave nectar and raw sugar.  I used about 1 tablespoons of agave nectar and a half of a tablespoon of raw sugar.

Carefully pour the fruit mixture into a food processor or blender, and puree the liquid until it is smooth in consistency.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly grease with non-flavored oil, such as corn or vegetable oil. Pour fruit mixture onto baking sheet and spread evenly across the baking sheet, about 1/4-inch thick. Spreading the fruit evenly is extremely important, in order to insure that dehydration is even.

Place baking sheet into oven and dehydrate for about 6 to 8 hours. The amount of dehydrating time varies depending on the thickness and the amount of sugar in the fruit mixture, so check every two hours until done. You don’t want crispy fruit roll-ups. When the fruit is dry and no longer sticky to touch, remove baking sheet from oven, and allow to cool at room temperature. If you find that the edges are a little crispy, just rehydrate by dabbing the edges with a wet paper towel.

When cool to handle, carefully peel the sheet of dehydrated fruit and lay it on a cutting board, and cut with a knife or pizza slicer into strips. Cut wax paper or parchment paper just a little larger than the strips, and roll the strips of fruit into fruit roll-ups. Store in the pantry in an airtight container for up to two weeks.

Sweet Little Details: The Perfect Easter Treat Part 1

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The main thing I love about Spring and Summer is all the fresh fruit.  It just makes the dead of heat go away.  Our lovely friend, Jen over at Sweet Little Details has released the perfect Easter treat.  Check out her Lemon Cream Cupcakes.

Image by Jen Campbell

Recipe from AllRecipes.com.

Lemon Cream Cupcakes

3 cups self-rising flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 cups white sugar

4 eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons lemon zest

1 cup whole milk, divided

2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided

Lemon Cream Icing

2 cups chilled heavy cream

3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 30 cupcake pan cups with paper liners.

Sift the self-rising flour and salt together in a bowl. In another bowl, beat the unsalted butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating each egg until incorporated before adding the next. Mix in the vanilla extract and lemon zest.

Gently beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture, one third at a time, alternating with half the milk and half the lemon juice after each of the first 2 additions of flour. Beat until just combined; do not over mix.

Fill the prepared cupcake liners with batter 3/4 full, and bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 17 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool in the pans for about 10 minutes before removing them to finish cooling on a rack.

To make the icing, beat the cream in a chilled bowl with an electric mixer set on Low until the cream begins to thicken. Add the confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice, a little at a time, beating after each addition, until fully incorporated. Increase the mixer speed to High, and beat until the icing forms soft peaks, about 5 minutes. Spread on the cooled cupcakes. Refrigerate leftovers.

Guest Contributor: Sweet Little Details

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Jen, over at Sweet Little Details, has done it again.  Her creativity and style is just so inspiring.  Today, she sent us a festive recipe for your St. Patrick’s Day party.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
a pinch of salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup warm water
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners.
In a mixing bowl whisk together flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add eggs, buttermilk, oil, vanilla and water. Beat on low speed until smooth and combined. Add chocolate chips if desired, I love them with the mint frosting! Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each about two-thirds full. Bake about 15 minutes or until center is set. Cool completely.

Mint Buttercream
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups vegetable shortening
2 tablespoons milk
2 lbs confectioners sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons peppermint
Green frosting coloring (optional)
Cream together butter and shortening on medium speed. Add milk. Slowly beat in powdered sugar until combine. Add peppermint, if using peppermint flavoring you may need to add more than if you are using pure peppermint. Add green food coloring, if desired. Using a decorators bag, pipe frosting onto cupcakes. Garnish with shaved chocolate or Andie’s mint candy.

Photos by Sweet Little Details

Guest Contributor: Sweet Little Details

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We are so excited to announce that our beautiful friend Jen, over at Sweet Little Details, will be sharing a yummy sweet recipe with us once a month! She is a talented baker, photographer and all of her recipes are party-perfect. Without further ado, we present the Social Graces debut of Sweet Little Details!

 

Classic Whoopie Pies from Whoopie Pies

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

4 tablespoons vegetable shortening

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a bowl, sift together, flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.

In another bowl, beat butter, shortening and sugar with a mixer on low until just combined. Increase speed to medium and beat for about 3 minutes. Add egg and vanilla and beat for two more minutes. Add half of the flour mixture and half of the milk and beat on low until incorporated. Repeat with remaining flour and milk and beat until combined.Using a tablespoon, drop batter on baking sheet two inches apart. Bake for about 10 minutes each or until pies spring back when pressed gently.

Remove from oven and cool for about five minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.

1 Tbsp of batter should make about 48 two-inch cakes or 24 pies.
2 Tbsp of batter should make about 30 four-inch cakes or 15 pies.

Classic Marshmallow Filling from Whoopie Pies

1/2 cups Marshmallow Fluff

1 1/4 cups vegetable shortening

1 cup confectioners sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

In the work bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the Marshmallow Fluff and vegetable shorting, staring on low and increasing to medium speed until the mixture is smooth and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to low, add confectioners sugar and the vanilla, and beat until incorporated. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat until fluffy.

Sandwich filling between two cakes and store in an air tight container.

 

Photos by Sweet Little Details.

Thank You!

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Oh my goodness! Thank you for such a great day. We realize that most of you were stuck at home in the Missouri “blizzard” and had ample time to surf the internet today. So, thank you so much for all the views, comments, “likes” and encouragement that came our way today. We are so grateful for your support! Enjoy being snowed in with your loved ones!

xoxo,

Bec & Meg

Hello World!

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Thanks so much for stopping by! We are so excited about launching our event planning business and blog in Springfield, MO and beyond. We feel honored that you are going to be a part of our journey from the very beginning.

Our purpose is to make your day perfect and stress-free.

Although we are almost up for anything, our services mostly include:

  1. Party Planning: Birthdays & Showers
  2. Corporate Event Planning
  3. Wedding Planning & Day-of Coordination
  4. Ideas/Inspiration Consultations

Between the two of us, we have over twelve years of event planning experience; from birthdays, to showers, to weddings, to community and corporate events. You name it and we’ve probably done something similar. We’ve worked with crowds as small as 10 and as large as 3,000.

Thank you for your support and encouragement already. Please take a moment to peruse our new site.

Here’s to the launch of Social Graces!

Cheers! Becca & Megan

To find out about event planning fees, email info@eventsbysocialgraces.com.