4th of July Recipes - Butter Cream Icing

When I think of the Fourth of July, I imagine cheerfully set picnic tables covered in pot luck foods that would tantalize any tastes. However, I also picture those cheesy store bought cupcakes with the grainy over-sweet icing, which has somehow dried out. They usually also have those strange little red and blue stars on them, but I digress. I wanted to come up with a great icing that would wow not only the little ones, but the adult set as well. So, I went to the drawing board and began to examine different approaches to the big icing question. I found easy recipes that included just sugar and water, and hard ones that needed actual cooking time. I also saw some recipes that included raw egg whites, which I didn't love since children are likely to be eating this sweetness, and I don't want anyone getting sick. I found comments that said some recipes were too sweet, or too plain, or too buttery. After some trial and error, and lots of sticks of butter, I came up with a recipe that is just right: a little sweet, a little savory, a lot of fun.

Ashley's Butter Cream Icing - will frost about 36 cupcakes

3 sticks Unsalted Butter (3/4 lb)

1 stick Salted butter (1/4 lb)

3 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

2 Tablespoons Good Vanilla

Food coloring

Whip room temperature butter on medium speed with whisk attachment for 2 minutes until well blended. On low speed, add the sifted sugar until blended. Turn off blender and scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure complete incorporation, then whisk for another 3 minutes on medium speed. Add the vanilla and any food coloring and continue to blend another minute. The frosting is now ready to go.

Consider investing in a pastry bag and tips to help decorate cupcakes, a decent starter kit is about $12. Another alternative is to use a heavy gallon-sized plastic food freezer bag, and cut off one of the lower corners of the bag to use as your 'tip.' This icing is so good, you can go ahead and make the cupcakes out of your favorite box mix, but skip the star shaped sprinkles. Happy frosting!