Fabulously Fancy Cupcake Hack (And a Cover Reveal)

Mindy here, and last week south central Texas was treated to a beautiful harvest moon. If only this picture did it justice. But it was big and oh, so bright.

Have you ever wondered why they call it a harvest moon?

I did, and in case you’re wondering, here’s what I learned.

A harvest moon is the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox and it’s often referred to as a harvest moon because its bright light allowed farmers work into the night to harvest the last of their crops.

Thought that was a fun little factoid.

So we went to wedding this past weekend.

Don't my guys look sharp?

I don’t know about you, but one of the things I look forward to most at weddings is the cake.

Doesn't this look amazing?

I could hardly wait.

Except we were all so exhausted that we ended up bowing out before the bride and groom cut the cake. Which meant I woke up the next day craving cake. Fortunately, I had a mix on hand so I whipped them up in no time. When it came to frosting them, though, I found myself with a dilemma.

You all know how I love to pipe swirls of icing atop my cupcakes, except all of my piping bags and tips are in storage.

Really?

What was I thinking?

I obviously wasn’t. So I dusted off my thinking cap and came up with an idea.

A zip-top bag!

I have plenty of those.

I simply snipped off one corner,

Added my buttercream frosting (recipe here) to the bag,

Twisted the top so it wouldn’t go shooting out the wrong end and set to work.

Simply start piping the frosting around the outside edge and work your way toward the middle until you have a nice little peak.

Tah, dah!

And believe it or not, the cupcakes were frosted in less time than it takes to spread the icing with a knife. I can just envision these with some of those edible pearls to dress them up.

Go ahead, grab yourself a cupcake because we’ve got some celebrating to do.

This announcement is way overdue, but here goes.

I am proud to announce my very first Christmas book.

A Family for Christmas

Lacie Collier is determined to give her niece, Kenzie, the best Christmas ever! But Lacie’s got her work cut out for her when they spend the holidays at her Christmas-averse mother’s home. With his focus on keeping his own mother’s holiday traditions alive, sheriff’s deputy Matt Stephens is surprised to see his old friend Lacie back in Ouray. He’s always regretted that their friendship became strained after he started dating her sister in high school. But it’s pure shock he experiences when he sees Kenzie, whose uncanny resemblance to Matt is undeniable. This Christmas will bring new memories for Lacie and Matt…if they can open themselves to the possibility of love.

I love Christmas and I love, love, LOVE this story. It was challenging to write, but all came together nicely.

Isn't the cover gorgeous? Cute, outdoorsy guy, cute kid... What's not to like?

So what do you think? About the cupcakes, the cover...?

Mindy Obenhaus lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, the youngest of her five children and two dogs. She's passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. When she’s not writing, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her grandchildren. Learn more at www.MindyObenhaus.com