Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Cupcakes in a Jar- My Holiday Project Planning

Like many of you, I am sure, several months back I decided to play with fire and check out Pinterest.com. I had heard much talk about this website, and I say "play with fire" because from what I had heard, I was quite certain this site had the potential to suck even more from my ever dwindling well of free time. Oh, and it has most certainly lived up to that potential!

I mostly use Pinterest to catologue all the wonderful cakes and baked goods I want to make. One of the most intriguing ideas I have seen on the site is for cupcakes in a jar. Putting desserts in jars seems to be a current trend and I am in the process of gathering supplies to hop on board this train of sweet jarred cuteness this Holiday Season. In my mad dash to buy mason jars and adorable tiny and earth-friendly wooden spoons I realized maybe I was putting the cart before the horse. So this post is basically a list of the best links I think the Web has to offer on making and jarring cupcakes. I hope it helps me with my Holiday baking project and I am sharing in case it might help you too!

1) Martha's Buttermilk Cupcakes in a Jar. This recipe does not offer instructions on how to jar the cupcake but I feel it is worth noting that Martha has been putting cupcakes in jars since the Spring of 2009.
2) This post on Glorious Treats has instructions but omits how to put the lid on the jar. Since I have heard stories about the process of boiling the mason jar to seal the lid from my canning friends, this is something I  definitely an area where I want more details. Also, she uses cupcake liners in this recipe whereas I have seen others say they omit them to eliminate the ridges and give the cakes a smooth look in the jars.
3) Cakies has a post on jarred cupcakes and the instructions are fairly descriptive and include information on how to actually bake the cupcake in a jar
4) I like this post because it gives some tips for decorating the jars. To me, especially because these will be Holiday gifts, the decoration of the jar is almost as important as the cake inside it.
5) These instructions show you how to make the cupcakes in 4 ounce jars, instead of the 8 ounce jars, and she also makes an adorable printed label for the top of the jars.
6) These peppermint fudge cupcakes in a jar would be perfect for Christmas gifts! It looks like 4 ounce jars are used here, and I have purchased 8 ounce jars. However, if you add the step of baking the cupcakes in a muffin tin and halve them, and frost between the layers this would work in 8 ounce jars as well.

Good luck to you if you are trying cupcakes in a jar for the first time this Holiday Season, and wish me luck too, please!

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