Orange Cupcakes...

You've probably noticed that under my Cooking label I constantly make the disclaimer that I am a recipe follower and NOT a recipe "maker-upper". Any attempts at throwing things together in a bowl have always turned out...well, the word disaster doesn't even begin to describe what the final mess result is.

But I've had a breakthrough...a breaking of the mold for disastrous recipe alterations. And it was the direct results of working with one of my favorite foods....Cupcakes!

This absolute breaking outside the box began just this last weekend when in celebration of my friend's birthday I made cupcakes for her Sunday School class. I found myself standing in the baking aisle at H-E-B almost ready to grab the box for chocolate cupcakes when I spied this...

Ahhh...so Duncan Hines is also thinking outside the box.

I thought Orange cupcakes with orange buttercream icing and my mouth instantly began to water.

It wasn't until I came home and began searching for a recipe for orange buttercream icing that I broke my mold of No Cooking Creativity.

Wilton's recipe calls for finely chopped orange zest and oranger flavoring but the following is my own alteration which turned out scrumptious:

Orange Buttercream Icing

1/2 Cup Shortening
1/2 Cup Butter
1 tsp. vanillla
3 Cups Powdered Sugar
1 Tbsp. milk
1 Heaping Tablespoon of Orange Zest (Simply grate the outside of an orange with a fine grater)
Orange Juice from 1/2 of large orange (Can add more if you need icing thinner)

Cream shortening and butter; then add vanilla. Mix in powdered sugar one cup at a time. Add milk, orange zest, and orange juice. Adjust liquid mixture as needed.

Enjoy...and eat one for me! Hey, maybe I should make another batch in celebration of actually successfully altering a recipe...