Chocolate Cupcakes

Apparently, I never get tired of making these chocolate cupcakes with chocolate buttercream from More from Magnolia.

Walnut Shortbread

After pulling out Magnolia cookbook No. 2 the other day to make cupcakes, I ended up making this shortbread instead. I subbed walnuts for pecans since I had them on hand and went ahead with the white chocolate glaze. All in all, very happy with how this batch turned out. I liked the recipe enough to start thinking about how much fun it would be to experiment with other nut/chocolate combinations. (Also, technically, I am not sure if purists would let this count as shortbread since the dough contains an egg.)

Junior's Cake, Part 2

This cake was a variation on this cake, which I made a couple of weeks ago. While I liked the idea of the cake, I thought it would be better with a butter-type cake layer instead of a sponge-type cake layer. So I went back to a reliable yellow cake from More From Magnolia by Allysa Torey.

I made the cake as three layers, then decorated it with the chocolate frosting and toasted coconut/pecan combo. I guess it's a matter of personal preference, but I liked this version better. The butter cake just seems like a more-sturdy base for the frosting and nuts.

Apple Bars

I'd made these Apple Bars with Oatmeal Crumb Topping to bring to the Groundhog Day party, but they finished baking only a half-hour before we needed to leave for the party. No time to cut them without destroying them, so they were saved for another day.

This handy recipe is from Allysa Torey's More from Magnolia. I've made it before and like it. The recipe is convenient and quick to assemble. It just requires a fairly long baking time (20 minutes to bake the crust, then 45 minutes after it's all assembled). When I make these bars, I always feel a little lazy because canned pie filling is one of the ingredients. I'm certain they'd taste better with a fresh apple filling. That will have to go on my to-do list for a future baking endeavor. One tweak I made this time was to add 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the crust, which as written calls for just flour and butter.