Banana Cupcakes

Andrew was bugging me to make cupcakes for Emma during my time off, and I finally tried a new banana cupcake recipe yesterday. I don't really have any cupcake recipes--so please share any good cupcake recipes you have with me! Andrew found out after taking Emma to work with him for a couple days---that she loves cupcakes! Really, she's a garbage can, but anyway... she wanted one of these cupcakes so bad that I put the frosting on too soon and it started melting, not that it bothered Emma.

But it was a really yummy recipe. It would probably be really good with a cream cheese frosting:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup mashed ripe bananas
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

FROSTING:

• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk

1. Cream shortening and sugar. Add the eggs, vanilla, bananas and buttermilk. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to banana mixture. Fill 18 paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full.
2. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove to wire racks to cool completely. In a small mixing bowl, cream the butter, sugar and enough milk to achieve desired spreading consistency. Frost cupcakes.

Now here are some pictures from Christmas. I loved my time off with Emma, and it was so hard coming back to work. I miss her like crazy: