Valentines Day Cupcakes

It's almost Valentine's Day and love is in the air. While that's great for the greeting card companies, as a wife and a mother, I want that love to come out of my kitchen and into the hearts of my family and friends. So I've put together a collection of my favorite Valentines Cupcakes and a Mini Cheesecake Bite recipe. Watch those you care about scarf down these delectable treats as their gratitude flies into your home on the wings of love.

We start off with Mimi's Mini Cheesecake Bites. The recipe came from my own grandmother and is a favorite among my siblings and cousins.

Mimi's Mini Cheesecake Bites

12 Vanilla Wafers

2 (8 oz) Packages of Cream Cheese

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla (Clear if you can get it)

1/2 cup crushed peppermint candies

4-5 drops red food coloring

2 eggs

Line muffin tins with foil liners. Place one vanilla wafer in each liner. Mix Cream Cheese, Vanilla, Food coloring and sugar on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs and beat well. Fold in peppermint candies. Pour over wafers, filling ¾ full. Bake 25 minutes at 325*. Remove from pan when cool and chill. Drizzle top with melted chocolate almond bark.

These next cupcakes look so innocent on the outside. Just regular white cake with some fluffy pink icing on top: until you bite into them and find a very sweet surprise! My cousin came up with the recipe several years ago when we were having a family strawberry bake-off for Thanksgiving dinner.

Samantha's Strawberries and Cream Cupcakes

1 can of Strawberry pie filling

2 (8 oz) packages of Cream Cheese, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup oil

4 eggs

1 package white cake mix (You can also use strawberry cake if you want)

1 package instant vanilla pudding

Strain Strawberries from syrup/filling. Do not throw syrup out.

Mix cream cheese and sugar with syrup from the pie filling. Set this aside.

Make cake according to package directions. Add instant pudding mix and blend well. Line muffin pan with foil liners. Pour liners 1/3 full with cake mixture. Add a couple of strawberries and then a spoonful of the cream cheese mixture. Top with more of the cake batter.

Bake cupcakes at 350* for 20-25 minutes or until they spring back when touched.

Remove from pan when cool to touch, then cool completely. Frost with strawberry frosting, or vanilla frosting mixed with a 3-4 drops of red food coloring.

These cupcakes aren't entirely pink, but you'll think Cupid has shot you with an arrow of love when you taste these decadent, chocolate delights. Once again, this is a family favorite! Although I make mine in my heart shaped muffin pan, you can make them in a regular muffin pan. Just grease and flour your tins, or line them with foil liners.

Aunt Helen's Heavenly Hash Cupcakes

2 sticks Butter flavored Crisco

4 Tbsp. Cocoa

2 cups Sugar

1-1/2 cups flour

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups pecans

1 bag miniature marshmallows

Mix Cocoa, sugar and Crisco together and then slowly add flour. Mix in Vanilla and nuts. Grease and flour heart shaped muffin pans. Fill 2/3 full with batter and bake 20-24 minutes at 350*. Turn out onto wire rack immediately. (You have to be careful since they will still be really hot.) Cover with marshmallows. Let cool and then drizzle with icing.

Icing:

1/2 pound powdered sugar

1/2 stick butter melted

2 tsp milk

1/2 tsp vanilla or peppermint flavoring

4-5 drops of red food coloring

Mix all together. You can add more milk if it's too thick or a little more powdered sugar if it's too runny. I like putting the icing into a icing bag and just piping it in lines over the marshmallows so they are still visible.

The last recipe is a simple yellow cupcake with a taste of fruit. Normally, we use mandarin oranges, but last Valentine's Day I traded in the tiny citrus fruit for a half can of cherry pie filing. My family loved them! So I'm sharing Freida's recipe with Paula's twist!

Family's Favorite Cupcakes

1 box cake mix

3 eggs

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1 small package vanilla instant pudding

1/2 can cherry pie filling

Line muffin tin with foil liners

Mix all cake ingredients and fill liners 2/3 full with batter.

Bake at 350* 20-24 minutes or until cupcakes spring back when touched.

These are wonderful with no icing of a spoonful of cool whip. If you really feel the necessity to frost them, you can use plain vanilla frosting or Pillsbury makes a wonderful cherry frosting.

From my kitchen to yours on this Valentine's Day....Happy Baking!