Baked in the South

  Devils' Food Samoa Cupcakes with Caramel Buttercream Ingredients 3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder 3/4 cup hot water 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter 2 1/4 cups sugar 4 large eggs, room temperature 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1 cup sour cream, room temperature 1 box of Samoa Girl Scout Cookies Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together cocoa and hot water until smooth. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Melt butter with sugar in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring to combine. Remove from heat, and pour into a mixing bowl. With an electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat until mixture is cooled, 4 to 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add vanilla, then co...

    Devils' Food Tagalong Cupcakes with Caramel Buttercream Ingredients 3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder 3/4 cup hot water 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter 2 1/4 cups sugar 4 large eggs, room temperature 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1 cup sour cream, room temperature 1 box of Tagalong Girl Scout Cookies Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together cocoa and hot water until smooth. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Melt butter with sugar in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring to combine. Remove from heat, and pour into a mixing bowl. With an electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat until mixture is cooled, 4 to 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add vanilla, then...

  So I submitted my first round of photos to both Foodgawker and Tastespotting yesterday and have already had two pictures accepted.  My Junior League French Quarter Cheese & Laura Bush Cowboy Cookies !   Can I get a woooohooooo!   This is probably better than Christmas!  I have been dancing around my office all afternoon.  If you don't know what these two websites are, you should definitely check them out.  They are professional food photography websites and it can be very difficult to get your photos approved.  I have been diligently working to get my photography up to par, and have finally made it!  I still have a long way to go, but I am starting to get a handle on aperture, depth of field, ISO, etc.  I use Photoshop Elements for my editing, which is a huge learning process in itself.  I would recommend watching some videos on post processing, as they really help get your photos to "pop"  I will eventually do a post ...