Beyond the Box: Baking from Scratch

More cupcakes!  And today's is non-chocolate (you were starting to think that all my work was in cocoa, weren't you?).  Guys, this recipe is one of my absolute all-time favorites.  It's a little more work than the other recipes I've posted, but it is so  worth it.  The first time I made these and took them to work they disappeared like hotcakes (but, they're cupcakes, not hotcakes, so, even better, and probably faster).   One of my bosses at the time, a very classy, gentlemanly-type attorney, told me it was "the best cupcake he had ever eaten," and another attorney asked whether they actually had coconut in them, because he hates  coconut, but these were excellent.  They raved.  It was quite the ego boost.

It's Engineers' Week! Did you know? I didn't know either until my husband's work put a sign in their break room.  So I whipped up a little something for him to take in and share, as he is an engineer and that was the gist of the sign. Not knowing a TON of engineers, I'm going to explain a little bit of my reasoning for choosing this delicious treat.  The first reason I decided to make it was simply that I wanted to. I found it on Pinterest a long time ago (one of the first things I ever pinned) and finally had a chance to try my hand at it.

Hello, World!  Welcome to the inaugural post of Beyond the Box:  Baking from Scratch! I'm very glad you're here! (See?! Exclamation points!) Sorry, I've never been good with ice breakers, so I'll just get right into it.  As you've probably guessed from the title and description of this blog and my profile, I'm going to be sharing recipes for sweet treats that are made from scratch.  This isn't to say we will never use anything pre-made.  For example, graham cracker crusts will start with graham crackers in a box.  If you are feeling fancy and want to make your own graham crackers and the pulverize them so as to turn them into a crust, be my guest. I just want to share the joy that is making something sweet to share (or to guiltily eat way too much of all on your own, I won't judge) that didn't come from a box with its picture on the front.  Baking is fun, and when you use a box, all the fun part is already done for you.  Why are we letting Bet...