Melissa Benoist

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's..... Supergirl!!
Now, if you haven't figured this out yet, I love superheroes. And superhero shows. And when CBS announced that they were creating a Supergirl TV show, I was a little skeptical. I mean, The CW had done pretty well with Arrow and The Flash, so long as you aren't a diehard fan of the comics. Because they do take a number of liberties. So, I held my breath when Supergirl started. For, like, 10 seconds.  And then it didn't actually ruin Kara Zor-El's origin story and I kept watching.

I'll be honest, before Supergirl I did not know who Melissa Benoist was. But I have the utmost respect for her and am very glad she took the role. She captures the hopefulness and strength of Supergirl and is just brilliant


with Grant Gustin who plays The Flash. In fact, my favorite episode of TV ever is the crossover episode of Supergirl where The Flash accidentally travels to her dimension. I'm excited for her to join the Arrow-verse this season on The CW.

She was also on Glee, which is where she first met Grant Gustin because that is where his career started. I heard they may be doing a musical crossover between The Flash and Supergirl, which wouldn't be a bad thing considering many cast members from both shows have musical backgrounds.
And speaking of all these superhero shows, The Flash starts tonight, kicking off a week and a half of premieres on The CW! Supergirl starts on Monday, Oct. 10th. There are a lot of new shows this fall that I already love and am excited to check out. I wrote about it on my writer blog HERE.

But, going back to Melissa, she was in The Last Ride, which I
loved because I'm a sucker for love stories. She's not the main character, but one of the sorority sisters. Melissa has had many smaller roles, so if you're thinking she looks familiar but you haven't watched Supergirl yet, (the first season is on Netflix, btw. You should go watch it... )  that's probably why! I would love to work with her in the future. I'm currently working on two very different screenplays, both of which I think she would be phenomenal in. So hopefully we can make this happen! The world needs more Melissa Benoist! To see everything she's been in, you can visit her imdb page HERE.

And in honor of her birthday today, I made chocolate mint thumbprint cookies!! These are delightful and not overpoweringly minty  or chocolatey. They're an amazing balance of deliciousness!

I adapted these from THIS recipe over at Julie's Eats and Treats.



Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies

For the cookie:
1 cup butter (room temperature)
2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 ounce chocolate candiquick

For the fudge  filling:
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips
1/2 of a 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 teaspoon mint extract to taste
food coloring ( Green )

Start by mixing butter and sugar until they are light and fluffy. This will take a few minutes in a mixer. Then, add the eggs one at a time until combined. Add the vanilla. Then add the dry ingredients. Mix until well combined.

Roll dough into one inch balls and place on cookie sheet. Then, press the centers with your thumb (hence the name thumbprint cookie. Haha) or you can use a small round object to create the dip in the cookies.

Once the cookies are pressed, bake them at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. Once baked, let them cool briefly on the pan, then transfer them to a cooling rack to finish cooling.

For the filing, combine the white chocolate. chips, mint extract, and sweetened condensed milk in a saucepan and cook on a medium heat just until the chocolate is just melted. Remove from heat and add food coloring.

Spoon into center of cookies. Then, melt the candiquik chocolate and drizzle over filled cookies.

Once chocolate sets, enjoy!! They are delightful!! What shows are you looking forward to this fall? Let me know in the comments!

Zachary Levi

For YEARS my best friend was trying to convince me to watch the TV show Chuck. She was raving about how awesome it was and how much I would love it, and I just never made time for it.

And then, I got tricked into watching the pilot and that was it. I was hooked. And I couldn't stop until I was caught up. Which took me, like, a week. Because when I binge watch, I binge watch until it's done.

And then I went and bought my first pair of Converse shoes, because, you know, Chuck wears them. And so does the 10th Doctor. So, I obviously had to own a pair. Because I'm a nerd. And it's awesome.

Any way, Chuck is played by Zachary Levi. And he is amazing. Not only is he Chuck Bartowski, he's also Flynn Rider on Tangled. He is also Fandral in Thor: The Dark World. AND, probably the best part, he's a nerd. Like, SUCH a nerd. And it's awesome. Check out his iMDB profile HERE.

He's been in a number of fantastic shows playing a wide variety of characters. He's also a fantastic human being in real life, which is why he has made it to the #2 spot on my top 5 list. Here's a PSA he did with Sesame Street:

And every summer he hosts Nerd HQ which happens the same weekend as San Diego Comic Con every year were he hosts so many amazing panels that are live streamed on both Facebook and YouTube. All proceeds from Nerd HQ go to Operation Smile, which is fantastic. Here is a link to a couple of the panels:

An interview with Tom Hiddleston (at the end he does an impersonation of a raptor that is HILARIOUS):

And here's a panel with some friends from Chuck!!!

And in this panel Zac mentions that he loves all things Cookies and Cream, which is why for his birthday I made Cookies and Cream Cupcakes as well as Cookies and Cream popcorn!

For the cupcakes, I highly recommend just going over to the blog I got them from RIGHT HERE.

For the popcorn, here is the recipe I made up a few years ago. The idea came to me when I was watching Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Gale leans over and kisses Katniss and says something like "I just had to know what that was like" and I leaned over to my friend and said "I just had the most genius idea. I really want to make cookies and cream popcorn" and then I worked up a recipe. So delicious.



Cookies and Cream Popcorn

2 bags Pop Secret Homestyle popcorn popped
2 cups white chocolate
2 cups mini oreo cookies

You can use whatever kind of popcorn you want, I prefer the Homestyle variety because it's got a hint of salt to it and isn't overly buttery. You can even just use fresh popped popcorn with no salt or butter. Just whatever you prefer.

First, pop the popcorn and seperate the kernals out. Then, melt the white chocolate until it's smooth. I am really picky about my chocolate because you want a chocolate that will stay smooth when it's melted. You don't want clumpy or gross chocolate.

After the popcorn is seperated and the chocolate is melted, sprinkle half the mini oreos over the popcorn and then drizzle half the melted chocolate over the popcorn and cookies.


Mix that so the popcorn is lightly coated, then add the rest of the oreos and drizzle the rest of the chocolate over that and mix until all the popcorn is evenly coated. Let it set, usually about 20-30 minutes, then eat away!!! You won't be able to stop, though. It's pretty addictive. Just like Zachary Levi shows.

Rupert Penry-Jones

Do I have any Spooks fans out there? How about Jane Austen fans? If not, keep reading, I may make a fan of it you yet!

Today's post focuses on Rupert Penry-Jones who I first saw in the 2006 BBC adaption of Jane Austen's Persuasion. He is Capt. Wentworth who, for those that don't know me in real life, if my FAVORITE Jane Austen guy. I love him more than Mr. Darcy. More than Mr. Knightley (even though I do adore both Jeremy Northam and Jonny Lee Miller) and more than Edmund Bertram. Capt. Wentworth is hands down the best. I can argue this point to the end of time. And Rupert Penry-Jones is my favorite portrayal of him.


He was also on the British show Spooks which, regrettably, I haven't seen. Despite the fact that it has, like, ALL of my favorites in it. But Mr. Penry-Jones was on it for quite awhile and, I believe, met his wife while filming the show.

And, let's not forget about his role in The 39 Steps, which was incredibly under rated. But he does a great job in that one as well.

He was also in the film The Four Feathers with Heath Ledger and Kate Hudson. It is a violent, but very moving story about a young man (Heath Ledger) who is in the military to make his father proud, but once war breaks out, he gets scared and leaves the military. Before his friends are shipped to Sudan. Rupert Penry-Jones is one of his friends who gives him a white feather as a sign of cowardice before he leaves. Heath Ledger's character then decides to redeem himself and save his friends. It's very interesting. You should check it out.

And then, last Christmas I was watching all the Hallmark Christmas movies with my brother and sister in law and saw his name on the opening credits of one of them and went "oh my gosh, what?!" neither of them care as much as I do about actors and actresses and did not understand my excitement until he was on the screen and my sister in law went "ooooooooooooooooh! HIM!" and then we enjoyed the rest of the movie where he plays the king of a small European kingdom.
He hires a maid from New York to be the nanny for his 9 year old daughter who has been struggling since her mom died several years earlier. Is it cheesy? Yes. But it's also adorable and I've added it to my list of Christmas movies I watch every year.




And, in case you need a great end to your night, here he is reading a bedtime story:

And, in honor of Rupert's birthday, I will be watching all the things and eating delicious Leige waffles. Have you ever heard of Waffle Love? These are kind of really similar to those. I found the recipe on the back of a box of Belgian pearl sugar-which is the secret ingredient to making these delicious waffles! Also, they are not a light and fluffy type waffle, but dense and very very delicious.

BELGIAN LEIGE WAFFLES

3 1/2 cups of flour
1 packet yeast
3/4 cup lukewarm milk
8oz softened butter
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Vanilla
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
8oz Belgian pearl sugar

Add the yeast to the lukewarm milk and set aside. In a bowl mix together all dry ingredients except for the pearl sugar. Then add the butter, and eggs mixing well. Slowly pour in the milk and mix until well combined. Do not add the sugar yet. Let the dough proof until it is about double in size and then mix in the sugar.

Heat up your waffle iron and separate the dough into balls. I like to make smaller waffles so that you can try different flavors together, so I make my dough a little bit bigger than a regular sized cookie scoop. Then cook them in your waffle iron. It usually takes a few minutes to get them nice and golden crown. You'll hear the sugar pop as it heats up. These are a little messy, so be prepared to clean up your waffle iron after you make them, but they're so worth it!
I usually have a few different toppings available. They taste SO SO GOOD with Biscoff cookie spread over them with some fresh whipped whipping cream and strawberries on top. I also like cutting a slit in the side of the waffle when it's still hot and slide a piece of chocolate inside and let it melt. So yummy. The sky is the limit really! So go have fun and make these delicious waffles!!

Roald Dahl

I am going to break from our usual tradition here and we are celebrating Roald Dahl's 100th birthday today! He may not be a famous actor or musician, but he has touched so many lives through his writing. I love Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as well as The Witches, though ad a child I was terrified of them. He has had a huge impact on our childhoods and imagination and I think it's something we should celebrate!!

I have been reading and writing all of my life. As a child, my mom tells me, I would write stories and gather my dolls and stuffed animals and "read" to them. She would look at the books I'd written after I'd gone o sleep and it would be pictures and gibberish, but to me they were grand adventures full of Princess and warriors.

As I grew and learned to read I fell in love with books. I was always begging to go to the library to get new books and Roald Dahl was one of my favorites. I loved The BFG



and Fantastic Mr. Fox. I drank up the words on each page, often returning for a third and fourth reading before they were returned to the library.

And as I grew up, Hollywood decided to adapt several of the novels into
movies. How can anyone forget Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka? Or Angelica Houston in The Witches? I was terrified of accidentally running into a witch that would trap me in a painting. These movies defined a generation! These stories sculpted or imaginations and helped us look at the world differently!

I found this quote from his daughter Lucy, "his spirit was so large and so big he taught us to believe in magic."

And believe we did! To read more about Roald Dahl, you can visit his website here

And, in honor of his birthday, I made some Double Chocolate Pecan Cookies!! They've got Chocolate and are practically candy, which I feel is especially perfect today!!

This is a recipe I have seen very similar variations of all over Pinterest. I found this recipe in an old cookbook that's been sitting on my bookshelf for years, so I'm sure you will find it similarly all over the place, but I did not take this from any one specific blogger.

Double Chocolate Pecan Cookies

1 cup butter
1 ¼ cups light brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 cup uncooked rolled (or old fashioned)
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup roughly chopped pecans

Melt the butter in a saucepan on the stove. Once it is melted, remove from heat and stir in brown and granulated sugars. Move to the fridge to cool for about 10 minutes.

While that is cooling, combine the dry ingredients (flour, oats, soda, salt and cinnamon) in a bowl and set aside.

In a mixer, combine the vanilla and eggs and mix until combine. Then add the butter and sugar mixture. Once that is well mixed, add the dry ingredients. Once that is all mixed, add the chocolate chips and chopped pecans.

Now that the dough is ready, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and scoop the dough onto cookies sheets. Bake for about 10-12 minutes.

Andrew MacMahon

A few years ago my best friend Katie invited me to go to Vegas to see my favorite band, The Fray, play live. I had seen them once before, but they were my favorite band. And, I hadn't taken a vacation in years, so I agreed and we made plans.

Well, The Fray was headlining with Jack's Mannequin who I had heard a time or two but couldn't name any of their songs, let alone who was in the group. I was really lucky, though, because Katie LOVED them and it was a very educational week for me. I heard all of their music and fell in love with so many of their songs. I bought all of their music as well as all of Something Corporate's music because Andrew MacMahon is the genius behind both of them.

Katie also introduced me to Andrew's documentary Dear Jack which is his journey through cancer. It's on Netflix. There is some language, but over all, I think everyone should watch it. It is very raw and real. It is a front row seat of Leukemia. And it is powerful.

So, I became obsessed with everything Jack's Mannequin. I picked up one of their t-shirts at the show in Vegas and I wore it out. I still have the shirt somewhere in my room, but it's sooooo thin now, I can't wear it anymore. But I don't want to get rid of it. I LOVE that shirt. LOVE it. It's so soft and well worn, I just can't part with it. I'll figure out something to do with it, right? Right.
Any way, if you want to check out my introduction to Jack's Mannequin, you can check it out HERE.

One thing I love about Andrew MacMahon is that he LOVES jumping on his piano. He's done it at every show I've been to. It's awesome. And what's more awesome is his incredible talent. Currently he is playing under the name Andrew MacMahon in the Wilderness. He was actually just in my area and I couldn't go the night he was playing her and I nearly died to death. But it was okay....or it will be.

Here is his current top song:

I think the thing I love about this particular video for the song is that it focuses on his family, particularly, his daughter Cecelia for whom he wrote the song. There are three lines that I absolutely adore from the chorus and they are:

For all the things my eyes have seen the best, by far, is you.

For all the places I have been, I'm nowhere without you.

For all the things my hands have held the best, by far, is you.

I have stitched all three of those and framed them for people. Two of them for a dear friend who got married. I couldn't think of a better sentiment than those first two lines quoted above. And the last line I gave to a friend who was having a baby. Because Andrew has phrased them so perfectly. I love his perception on life. I really want to meet him one day. I have the utmost respect for him.

Also, have you heard that new Lindsey Sterling song for Pete's Dragon? Have you wondered who that guy is singing on the track?! It's ANDREW McMAHON!!!! And I love it. GO FIND IT, if you haven't already.

As I've been relistening to his music for this blog post, I am reminded how much his music has affected my life, my writing, my world. We need more artists like him in the world. And, in case you are new to his music, let me give you a list of songs you need to go listen to RIGHT NOW!!

Dark Blue
Swim
Cecelia and the Satellite
The Resolution
MFEO Pt. 1 - Made for Each Other / Pt. 2 - You Can Breathe
High Dive
All Our Lives
Hostage
The Mixed Tape
Amelia Jean
Rescued
Amy, I

And, once you've listened to all of those, you'll need the rest of his music and you'll be a fan. And I'll be happy. Because I know you're all out to make sure I'm happy. Haha.

But seriously, make sure and check out his music HERE and his website HERE.

And so because whenever I'm down I listen to Something Corporate, Jack's Mannequin, and now Andrew MacMahon in the Wilderness, I made double chocolate cookies. They are so so delicious. I LOVE them.


Double Chocolate Cookies
Adapted from Averiecooks.com (she calls them Sofbatch Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies)


1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
2 ounces (1/4 cup) brick-style cream cheese (get the brick, not the whipped or spreadable kind.)
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
12 ounces (2 cups) semi-sweet chocolate chips


Okay, so start by pre heating your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. creaming together the cream cheese, butter, sugars, egg and vanilla together for about 4 or 5 minutes. This is important. Don't just mix it a little bit and call it good.

Scrape the bowl and make sure everything is well mixed and then add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Mix this until just combined. Then mix in the chocolate chips and make sure that everything is mixed in super good so that you can back them!!

Averie differs from my recommendations here, so if you want to try her cookies, you'll need to follow the link above. I tried her way first and didn't like them as much. Once everything is combined, I used my regular cookie scoop, patted them down so they were a little flat on top and just put them on the tray and threw them in the oven. I baked mine for about 10 minutes and then pulled them out, let them cool just a bit and then transferred them to a cooling rack. This method gave me about 24 cookies. And they are delightful. 

Richard Armitage

Guys. I have been looking forward to today for a year. No joke. Last yea
r around this time I finally gave in to peer pressure and watched BBC's North And South. People had been telling me to watch it for about seven years. And I kept finding other things to do and I thought it was based on that Civil War book of the same title. Oh, how wrong I was. It has nothing to do with America and everything to do with the character named John Thornton played by Richard Armitage. I fell IN LOVE with the story and watched it on repeat for, like, a month or something. Crazy/ridiculous/awesome.

And then, after my marathoning of the mini series, I decided to
look up who played Mr. Thornton because he did a really good job and I was curious if I'd seen him in anything else. I was surprised when I discovered that I had in fact seen him in a couple of different things. The Hobbit being one of them. Which is hilarious because I remember watching The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey on New Years Eve with a guy friend and at the end I remember telling him, "You know, that main dwarf was almost attractive. I wonder if I've seen him in anything else." And my guy friend just rolled his eyes and we went about the rest of our day. And I forgot about the almost attractive dwarf. And I didn't watch the rest of the Hobbit movies until last year.

So yeah, Richard Armitage. I read on Pinterest somewhere that he doesn't like being reminded of his age on his birthday, is that a real thing? I have no idea. Sometimes Pinterest lies. But if so, that's funny. Hence why I just put the number 5 on his birthday cake that I will go into later. I also read on Pinterest that he is a huge anti bullying advocate, which I greatly respect. And he's a bit of an introvert which I TOTALLY relate to. He gre
w up in Leicester, which is in northern England and joined the circus in Budapest when he was 17 to get his equity card. He has such a rich, deep voice and sounds amazing when he sings. He also plays the guitar, flute and cello.

I barely missed his birthday last year because I didn't know who he was yet and I was so mad that I missed it that we had a Richard Armitage marathon in September when I discovered who he was. He currently holds the #1 spot on my Top 5. He knocked Tom Hiddleston off last September and has maintained the #1 spot ever since. I would LOVE to work with him at some future date. I think he is a phenomenal actor.
If you don't know this for yourself, I highly recommend watching North and South, BBC's Robin Hood series (even though the costuming is abominable the first three seasons and it's trying so hard to be as great as Merlin, but it's not. Watch it for Richard and nothing else), The Hobbit movies, the second half of the last season of Hannibal. His role is mostly silent in that, and he plays a killer, but if you want to see his acting ability, he is so amazingly good. Also, you should watch him in The Vicar of Dibley. I think that is one of my favorite roles of his. I love the character and he has mentioned that his character, Harry Kennedy, is probably the most like him in real life. Which is wonderful because his character was so awesome on that show. You also need to find a copy of The Crucible from The Old Vic theater in London in 2014. Richard plays John Proctor and Oh. My. Gosh. He is phenomenal. I know I already used that word, but I felt stupid saying that he's really really really really really really good in it. Because he is. Holy cow. He's amazing. Go watch it. Or, if we're friends in real life let me know because I have a copy of it. And I'll gladly watch it again.

Because he is at the very top of my Top 5, I decided to make an AMAZING birthday cake for Richard even though he may not ever see it. Which would be sad. But I'm the one who is going to eat it with some friends during my Richard Armitage marathon, so it had to be good, and I think this is the most amazing cake I've ever made. No joke. It's a triple chocolate cake because I read on Pinterest somewhere that Richard loves chocolate and I'd like to think that if he were actually here to celebrate his birthday he'd enjoy the amazing cake I made. So, here's the recipe!!

The original recipe comes from Recipe Girl's blog HERE.





Triple Chocolate Cake

CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE:
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate (70% cocoa), chopped
Two 8-ounce packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons granulated white sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 large eggs

CHOCOLATE CAKE:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar
2/3 cup + 2 Tbs. unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups buttermilk, divided
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

CHOCOLATE SOUR CREAM FROSTING:
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons light (white or golden) corn syrup

For the cheesecake layer, which you will want to make first, preheat the oven to 325. Melt the chocolate in the microwave and then set aside to cool a little before adding it to the cheesecake batter. While that is cooling down, cream the cream cheese until it's nice and soft. Then add the sugar and the cocoa. I use a rich, fancy cocoa and it actually does make a difference. This cake is amazing and I recommend going all out for it. Buy the expensive 70% cocoa chocolate bar. Buy the fancy cocoa for the cake. It will be the most amazing cake you've ever tried in all your life. I promise.

Any way, once you add the cocoa and sugar, add the eggs one at a time mixing it thoroughly after each addition. Scrape the sides to make sure everything is mixed thoroughly.  Then, slowly pour in the chocolate. Mix until just combined. Pour into a 9 inch springform pan. This batter will be thick, so be aware of that. Then, pop it in the oven for 45 minutes. You can bake it in a water bath, but I have found it still works either way.

Once the cheesecake is done, you want to cool it down before you use it. This can take a couple of hours, so plan accordingly.

While the cheesecake layer is baking, you're going to mix up the cake itself. Start by grease and flouring two 9 inch round pans. This is essential so that you can get the cakes out perfectly. Once the pans are prepared, set them aside. Then, in a stand mixer combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, salt, baking powder and baking soda and wisk them together. Then add the eggs, butter, 1/4 cup of buttermilk, and vanilla. Mix on a low speed until the ingredients are incorporated, then turn the mixer to high for 2-3 minutes to get the batter nice and fluffy. Once the batter is well mixed, slowly add the remaining buttermilk. Scrape the sides of the bowl and then mix for 30 more seconds to ensure all the ingredients are well mixed. Pour into your prepared pans and turn the oven up to 350 degrees after the cheesecake layer is finished baking. Bake these cakes for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let them cool in the pan for about 5 minutes and then turn them onto a cooling rack to finish cooling outside the pan.

Once you are ready to assemble your cake, you are going to melt the 2 oz of semi sweet chocolate chips and the butter in the microwave melting in 30 second spurts until it is completely melted. Once melted, add the corn syrup and sour cream and stir until well combined. Then, let it sit in the fridge for a few minutes until it is to a consistency that you can spread it on the cake. Frost the cake and then viola! You'r ready to curl up on your amazingly comfortable couch and watch this youtube video of Richard reading you a bedtime story!!

Sebastian Stan

Okay, I'ma be straight with you guys. I didn't actually know who Sebastian Stan was before I saw Captain America: The Winter Soldier. I was sad when he died in the first one, but mostly because then Cap was sad and Captain America is my favorite Marvel superhero. That's also why I started with Chris Evans' birthday back in June. Because he's my favorite.

So, after I watched Captain America: The Winter Soldier, I thought that maybe I should look up The Winter Soldier because he was sad. Because he didn't actually want to be the bad guy. And then I realized that I HAD seen him before. He's the Mad Hatter.

Have I mentioned yet that I kind of LOVE Once Upon A Time? Like, I have seen every season at least three times. Including the season that just ended in May.
I'm a total #captainswan shipper. That's the nerdiest thing I've ever written on a blog before.  Do I have a problem? Maybe. Do I want to fix it? No. I digress, SO, Sebastian Stan shows up a few times in the first two season of Once Upon A Time and does a magnificent job as the Mad Hatter. A completely different style of Hatter than Johnny Depp's, but brilliant none the less.

He was also on Gossip Girls for about 11 episodes. He was also on The Martian, which was a really good movie! He was in The Covenant, which I haven't seen but have heard a lot about.

So, I've actually met Sebastian Stan. See how long my hair was? Sometimes I really miss having long hair. It was so pretty. sigh.
I met him at Salt Lake Comic Con, and so far I've only met him and Chris Evans of the people I've featured on here.
And they both signed this poster. And Sebastian spelled my name wrong. How do you spell a name as crazy as mine wrong? You forget one of the Es. *shakes fist at the sky* but he was really really nice, so I'll forgive him. More so than Manu Bennett who signed the cover of my Arrow graphic novel and now it's coming off. grrr.

Sorry. Let's get back to the point. Sebastian Stan. He's been on so so many things. Check out his IMDb profile HERE. He's a really nice person in real life. I didn't know I was starting this blog when I met him or I would have asked what his favorite dessert is, so since I don't actually know, I made Margarita Cupcakes. Yes, I know what you're thinking, and I assure you they are as delicious as they sound.

Also, I haven't mentioned this before, because there was no reason to, but these cupcakes have no alcohol in them as I don't drink alcohol, so if you're thinking that maybe I've just become a drinker, I haven't. It's cool. Just try them out.




Margarita Cupcakes
This recipe comes from Brown Eyed Baker and can be found HERE (her recipe does include tequila). I made a couple of changes for the cupcakes I made and have included them below:

For the Cupcakes:
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
5 Tbs. lime juice
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup buttermilk


For the Lime Frosting:
½ cup butter, at room temperature
¼ cup shortening
3 ½ cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon vanilla
Pinch of coarse salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Pull out your liners and line a regular 12 count muffin tin. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

In an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the butter and sugar together until pale, light, and fluffy. This takes about 5 minutes. It IS worth it. Completely worth it, trust me. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and add the eggs one at at time, mixing thoroughly after each addition.

Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the lime juice, and vanilla. Mix until combined. It will look curdled at this point, which is totally normal. Don't even worry about it.

Reduce the mixer speed low. Add the dry ingredients in three batches, alternating with the buttermilk. Mix only until incorporated. Divide the batter between the muffin cups. The original recipe says it makes 12 cupcakes, but I got 12 cupcakes and then 12 mini cupcakes. Bake for 25 minutes or until just slightly golden and a toothpick comes out clean or with a few crumbs. Be sure and rotate the pan half way through.


For the frosting, I combined the shortening and butter and whipped them on medium high speed in my stand mixer with the paddle attachment until they were well combined. Then I added the salt, vanilla, and lime juice and mixed until combined.
I add powdered sugar last so that I can stop when I get the right consistency. I add it slowly and then mix until well combined so that I don't get too stiff of frosting. When you do hit the consistency you're looking for (I need a frosting that will hold it's shape, but not be too stiff), stop mixing and frost those cupcakes!!