Just in the nick of time, Magnolia Bakery now offers a monthly cupcake club with nationwide shipping.  Pre-orders are being taken and shipping begins on January 2 with caramel cupcakes, followed by a different cupcake each month.

So if you find yourself in a line that’s too long for someone who is too hard to please, how about putting at least yourself in the spirit?  And while you’re placing your order, why not order Magnolia Bakery’s “Truffled Chocolate Cupcake.”

I know what I’m going to click on as soon as I click on “publish!”

Good Morning ATC Community! and welcome to the official start of crunch time.  These are the days that we second-guess whether we did enough of everything and end up doing too much!

If you’re like me, you’ve baked a fair amount of holiday treasures.

But holiday week is a bit like a marathon and, in the home stretch, who isn’t looking for fresh ideas to keep inspired?  The challenge I set to myself is whether I can come up with a week of images, recipes, and instructions to keep us all – myself included – at 350F from now through next Saturday.

These Baked Ideas images are cookies, but so fresh and original they will inspire your cupcake decorating ideas. Here’s a smorgasbord of cookie decorating ideas from “Baked Ideas” by Patti Paige, along with the Baked Ideas’ Facebook page  and the video on the Baked Ideas mini gingerbread houses.  3,000 each season!

If you’re still looking for last minute gifts, Baked Ideas even sells yoga cookie cutters.  How did she do that?  Here’s her video on piping royal icing onto each one of the yoga posed gingerbread men and here’s the Baked Ideas gingerbread recipe.

Ah-ha!  My Muse gripped that one!

Today, I’m going to springboard those Baked Ideas into spice cupcakes with yoga shapes drawn on the top, including some Sandskrit symbols, such as “Namaste.”  And I know just who is on my list for these yoga cupcakes…

Now that’s what I mean about taking inspiration and giving yourself permission to be creative at the holidays!  What’s your idea?

Countdown:  6 days.

Christmas stollen is such a favorite food at the holidays, who can resist the notion of converting it into a cupcake?

Here’s one recipe for Christmas stollen cupakes from The Cupcake Project.

Raisins, dried cranberries, dried currents, dried cherries…we’ll let that negate the bit of pleasure we’ll take from a bit of cherry liqueur and brandy.  And, of course, we’ll only pour those into the recipe, won’t we?

Just in case you have some cherry liqueur left over, here’s a companion recipe for Black Forest Cupcakes.  Well, if I’m on that theme, let’s be sure to have on hand a recipe for White Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes.

Now there’s a cupcake trio that deserves a Ho-Ho-Ho!

Glitter, glitter, and more glitter!  I just want these holidays to shine so that I can sing “Silver & Gold” along with Burl Ives when spinning the Rudolph soundtrack.

What’s more perfect to go with those silver and gold ornaments than cupcakes decorated as ornaments?

These ornament cupcakes come from Hoosier country, Indiana!  “Hoosier Homemade” had several holiday cupcake decorating ideas from a multi-week cupcake challenge.

Find other inspiration in actual vintage Christmas ornaments.  The 1950s ornaments were the very essence of elegance in design and can still be found at antique co-ops and flea markets and also on etsy and e-bay.

What do you get when you take a steak house owner and put him in a cupcakerie?

Answer:  Coke + Ruffles cupcakes!

Now I know that everyone is thinking holiday cupcakes and presents, but, after all, Santa Claus is a man, so perhaps our stockings would become a bit more plump if we left guy-inspired cupcakes beside the fireplace on Christmas Eve?

4 Rivers Sweetshop owner John Rivers has come up with several of these “sweet and savory” cupcake ideas, including Moutain Dew + Doritos cupcakes.  Rivers told The Today Show that he’s working on Nehi grape soda cupcakes, and that the secret to using sodas in frosting is to boil it down to syrup thickness.

Now that’s one Ho-Ho tip I’m headed into the kitchen to try!

Move over cakepops, mince pies want a piece of the stick!

Ha!  I love these, actually when trying to come up with a heading for the post I originally typed Mince Poppies, but thought it gave the wrong message and transposed it!

I have excellent news, one of my fave bloggers is back doing that which she does best, baking and blogging!  The Lone Baker is back and whipping up a Christmas flurry of flour and fruit!  There is so many good things on her website and interesting techniques, that it is often hard to choose what to feature, but today I had no doubt, it had to be these!

So not really a cake, but who doesn’t love a mini mince pie at Christmas?  And when cooked on a stick in the shape of a star?

Want to find out how to make them?  Full recipe and photo instructions are available on her website!

Sometimes it is just down right unfair that I live in Australia and most of you live in America!  Otherwise I would have this little baby hanging on my Christmas tree for sure!

Apparently Hallmark started off creating miniatures in 1974 and many of those are now highly sort after collectors items.

This mixing bowl is the latest release for 2010 and will no doubt also become a collectors item some day.  You can pick these up from many stores (in America) and online by doing a search for Hallmark Merry Miniatures Mixer.

The bowl moves and says “Mixing up some holiday fun”.

Have you always wanted to make ‘WOW’ cupcakes but are not sure where to start?  Well Cupcake Envy now have the answer in their latest DVD which takes you through the entire process on how to make your own bauble cupcakes.  Actually it teaches you how to make sphere shaped cakelet  designs, which really means you will be able to make baubles, hand grenades, tennis balls, basket balls, planets and anything else that is round!

I just love these, though they are so good I would love to hang them on my Christmas tree… it seems a bit wrong to just, well… eat them!

Are you tired of flicking through hundreds of different Christmas cupcakes after doing your Google Image search, finding images you love, but no instructions?

Well rest your weary mouse and check out this one site.  It is of course the Wilton Cupcake site, and by clicking on this link here you will find loads of Christmas Cupcake ideas along with full instructions and lists of the equipment you need to make them.

As a baker I am constantly checking out this site as a way to learn new techniques and find new and interesting ideas.  This year I am loving the angels!  I have just got to buy myself that pan.. early christmas present perhaps?

Click on the images to go directly to the instructions for that cupcake.

There are many ways to create a cupcake christmas tree, including using cupcakes on a christmas tree cupcake stand, or what I am talking about today, and that is decorating your regular every Christmas fake or real Christmas tree with cupcake decorations!

Start with heaps of tinsel, and then put up your cupcake Christmas lights if you can get them, if not go with candy cane lights, or failing that normal lights.  Then decorate all the rest of your tree with cupcake based ornaments!  Here are some cupcake decoration ideas:

• Glass Cupcake Ornaments
• Faux Cupcakes (any design, just add a little ribbon)
• Cupcake pictures adhered to pegs
• Cupcake pictures hung by ribbons
• Felt Cupcake Pouches
• Cupcake wrapper streamers (and don’t limit yourself to the Christmas tree!!!)

Happy decorating!

Oh, and one word of caution, ensure your cupcake lights are safe to use with paper if you are making paper streamers as you don’t want a cupcake bonfire!

Its that time of year again!  Less than a month until Christmas day and you have to buy presents for all those people in your life and more often than not, you have no idea what to get!

Well here are a few cupcake ideas for a cupcake inspired Christmas!

First is a cupcake clutch, this one was spotted by Rebecca A. Cooper in Periwinkle boutique at  Shirlington and is USD $52 plus tax. The patent bag is super cute with its embossed cupcake!  See more here.

For kids, you cannot really go past this year’s best seller, the Squinkies and their Cupcake Surprise Bake Shop from Blip Toys!  You can pick this one up for just USD $39.99 from Amazon and it is currently in stock (though only just).

Or how about something a little more strange?  Like Angel Heart Design’s Cupcake Chandelier?  This white iron chandelier comes with three cupcake lights and is USD $145.00.  You can also have a say in the color of your cupcakes!

Or play it safe with body products like these adorable little cupcake soaps from Ditsy Daisies.  They are just GBP 8.50 and come in three flavors, or should that be smells!?

Then don’t forget, if they bake there are heaps of ideas around, such as cupcake liners, wrappers and toppers, not to mention cupcake books and baking trays!

Yes, I know it isn’t even Thanksgiving yet but cupcake Christmas ornaments are popping up everywhere!  Our Facebook readers have been keeping me posted and I have also had many sightings myself.  So far I have seen or heard of cupcake ornaments at Kohl’s, Walmart, Target, Hobby Lobby, JcPenney and Macy’s.  Here are also I few more I found online today.

Amazon:

 Oriental Trading:

 Ebay: 

So have you had some sweet sightings?  Leave us a link or tell us where you saw them!