The Pioneer Woman comes to Utah (hope she likes Utah cupcakes!)

The Pioneer Woman at her SLC book signing w/ The Sweet Tooth Fairy Cupcakes

I have to start out by saying I HAD SUCH A FUN NIGHT last night! I decided last minute (wanted to go all week but had something else schedule…thankfully it opened up!) to head up to Salt Lake to see The Pioneer Woman at her book signing at the Kings English Bookshop in Sugarhouse. It was such a crazy night with a gazillion people. I was able to catch up with some other local bloggers and actually meet Ree – The Pioneer Woman earlier in the signing!

I had been chatting with Megan, THE Sweet Tooth Fairy, via Twitter and she asked me if I would bring some cupcakes and cake bites up to Ree. Megan just had a new little baby and couldn’t quite make it up. So um…hum..YES! Megan is an one of the most kind people (and business owners) you will ever meet and I’m always happy to help, especially since her goodies are delicious. So I brought The Pioneer Woman the following from The Sweet Tooth Fairy goodies: 

*Va-NIE-lla Squared
*Double Fudge
*Strawberry Shortcake
*Red Velvet
*Cheesecake (my favorite!)
*Key Lime
* Double Fudge Cake Bites (an addiction of mine!)

utbloggers-pioneer woman

Here I am with some of the local bloggers that met up for the signing. Ree was a delight. She is absolutely classy, witty and just seemed so kind. She seemed very excited about the cupcakes and even said that she may be taking pictures of cupcakes that night. :) She said she had heard of The Sweet Tooth Fairy and her Va-NIE-lla cupcake. The other bloggers had also brought some gifts of Utah-specific products for Ree.

On a side note, I have to say the Kings English Bookshop did a horrible job at anticipating the turnout for the event. It was poorly organized and managed. The staff was well…kinda unkind and I swear they had no clue about the power of blogging. Heather Armstrong aka Dooce was near our group for a while and the “gatekeeper” wasn’t even going to let her see The Pioneer Woman. It was like HELLO do you know who she is! Anyway, looks like the Kings Bookshop did NOT do their research.

But with that said, I had a crazy good time. I’m leaving out some very funny details, like how I got there at like 6:45 pm and didn’t even have a letter ticket to get my book signed, how I was in line for a while with some random people, how I chased PW with cupcakes as she was moving locations and how the book store staff took my one box of cupcakes, saying they’d give them to her with a card (thank goodness I had two boxes), and last how I luckily found April of Sweet Life in the Valley as she and  other local bloggers were about to get hooked up. Great times!

Thanks Pioneer Woman for being so fabulous, for being who you are, for sharing your story with the world, for making amazing meals and for visiting Utah! I love your cookbook already and think I’ll be making a dish this weekend! Hope you enjoy your cupcakes!

In the photo @inevergrewup @DomesticBecky @sweetlifeinthe @thepioneerwoman @joanieatwater @carolrice @emihill @newspapergrl and we are at @kingsenglish

group photo via Vanessa of I Never Grew Up

Read the other local blogger’s experiences:

Janet of Newspaper Girl  (Great insight on how to manage events…)

Carina of The Jet Set (dang funny…)

Allison of Petit Elefant

and here’s what The Sweet Tooth Fairy had to say.

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Frosting

pumpkin cupcakes

okay, these delicious and fluffy looking cupcakes have yet to be topped by some maple frosting!
head on over to Two Peas and Their Pod for the recipe!

Spinkles Cupcake Mix – Pumpkin Flavor

Pumpkin Cupcakes (Spinkles Mix)

I’m a big fan of Spinkles Cupcake’s Mixes. I think they taste great and offer some convenience. So naturally when they roll out a new flavor I I have to try it out! This was no exception for the pumpkin flavor. (I think they had it last year, but can’t remember…anyway, I think it only comes out seasonally!)

I purchased mine at my local Williams-Sonoma in Provo.

Overall I thought the mix produced some nice pumpkin cupcakes. To top them off, Spinkles suggested using one of their cream cheese recipes. It was the perfect fit, becuase the frosting has a hint of cinamon that really tied it into the cake.

The end result, meaning texture of the cupcake surprised me because it really was more like a quickbread than a cupcake. The baking time was even longer than a normal cupcake. But i didn’t mind. It was delicious. I brought the cupcakes to work and they were very well received!

Here’s a little photo journey of my baking adventure.

Empty bowl from Spinkles Pumpkin Cupcake Mix batter.
for some reason i love the way my kitchen aid bowl looks after I scrape out the batter…

Pumpkin Cupcakes (Spinkles Mix)
before the oven…

Pumpkin Cupcakes (Spinkles Mix)
nice close up!

Pumpkin Cupcakes (Spinkles Mix)
i guess i didn’t get any shots of the unfrosted cupcakes. here’s the finished product!

Pumpkin Cupcakes (Spinkles Mix)
Yum yum. I love pumpkin cupcakes! And as i said the cinnamon cream cheese frosting really makes them special!

Pumpkin Cupcakes on a pretty cake plate!

Hordes of pumpkin cupcakes

Pumpkin Cupcakes on a pretty cake plate!
via Utah Cupcake Lover and Flickr pool member Hailie Hearts Cupcakes