Cupcake Whore

I am apparently a cupcake whore.. and I love it!

It's funny to think that as I was growing up, my mom always worried that I wouldn't know how to cook. Cooking, more baking, is my passion. It's my ME time, my de-stresser, time for me to regroup.
And probably the one thing that I do half-well, I think.

I have been told I make the best cupcakes EVER! It's funny when you get tons of compliments and all you did was FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS ON THE BOX, and open a tub of processed, store bought frosting. I make the best BOXED cupcakes, EVER. lol

For the longest time, when ever I felt the need to bake, I'd take the majority of my results to work. I sure don't need that crap in my house. Before I knew it, coworkers were bringing me baking supplies to feed their need. (Works out well considering my budget) I hit a roadblock though when they all started going on diets. Not that they don't still appreciate it, I think that my bringing goodies in is a good way for them to "cheat" without too much guilt. And every diet needs a little cheat on occasion. But I've found a new way to accommodate my baking fetish. Paramedics and firemen!

I have a friend who works at the fire station near my house. Boys don't diet! I get to kill so many birds with one stone.

I live in a town with two hospitals. I work in the ED at the smaller of the two. One thing I love about my hospital is that everyone is family. We love and appreciate our medics and police officers and understand that, in a lot of ways, our livelihood depends on them. We strive to make them feel appreciated every time they walk through our doors. As the ED secretary, I offer them sodas, juice, and coffee, or to order them a free meal from the cafeteria. (The breakfast sandwiches are known far and wide as the best EVER!) My understanding of the other hospital is that they don't treat the medics and officers like family, probably because they know that a lot of times they don't have a choice in which facility they go to.

So in taking the cupcakes to the station... I'm not breaking coworkers diets TOO much, I'm getting to know the firefighters and medics better, and that's good PR for the hospital, Burp got a tour of the new fire station (though he was too scared to go down the pole (thank the gods!), I'm allowing for my need to bake, and feel like I'm giving back in some way.

In a weird way Burp and I get mother/son time AND I get alone time, as Burp's attention always wanes long before the cupcakes are finished. We've also taken to distributing them amongst neighbors too.  My manager loves me (says she's going to buy the stuff for me to make her some scones soon), and it's a nice way for Burp to learn how good it feels to let someone else know that you were thinking of them. Nothing says, "I was thinking about you," better than chocolate frosting!!

If you have small children, bake some cupcakes with them, then gift them to your nearby fire station or police station. It's a great way to spend an hour with your kid, they learn the joy of giving, and they might get a tour out of the deal. Plus, it really makes the public servants feel appriciated... AND, you can keep some for the family without feeling guilt about sweets. Win, win, win, WIN!

A couple of little hints for the BEST CUPCAKES EVER......
1. Use your Kitchen Aid. Throw everything in. Mix for 30 seconds, then jack it up to 2 or 4 and walk away for 5 minutes.
2. For moist fluffy cupcakes, use olive oil, not regular cooking oil.
3. Make sure your oven is fully preheated for nice rounded tops.
4. If batter sits, rewhip it for 30 seconds before putting into baking cups.
5. DON'T OVER COOK. Know your oven. When lightly pushing the top they should spring back, and when taking them out of the oven you should still hear them cooking (a slight crackley, bubbley sound)

Well, I have to go deliver cupcakes..... and I have to say, being a cupcake whore makes me incredibly happy!

Happy baking!