The L&S Cupcake Club: Adventures in cupcakes part two

A big thanks to Army spouses and bloggers Lola and Samantha, who created the online L&S Cupcake Club. It is deliciously fun! For this month’s club, I whipped up the Applesauce Spice Cupcakes. (Actually, I had to make two different batches because I forgot to add brown sugar to the cake batter during my first attempt.) So how did take two turn out?

• I wasn’t a huge fan of the applesauce spice flavor, but that’s probably just because I’m a chocolate fanatic who believes (almost) any recipe can be made better with cocoa. 
• The icing was very thin. Although it dripped off most of my cupcakes in not-so-pretty ways, it created — quite accidentally — a heart on this one (below). Sweet! 
• Bottom line: I love any excuse to try new recipes, especially when they’re based around sugar. Join the L&S Cupcake Club fun next month if you too want a reason to bake. I’ll be there.

Hey, sweet thing: Dress cupcakes in camo or join a cupcake club with military spouses. (Or both!)

When it comes to baking cupcakes, the question isn’t “Why?” it’s “Why not?” After these cute camouflage cupcake liners arrived in my mailbox, the question became “Why not right now?” Use them for a soldier’s welcome home party or a child’s birthday — or because it’s Friday and they’ll make you smile. These green lovelies (below) came from The Cupcake Social, which sells mini, standard, and jumbo camo liners; cost is $7 to $8 for a box of 20.

Want a great excuse to bake cupcakes once a month? Join the online L&S Cupcake Club, which was started by two Army spouses and bloggers: Lola at Alis Volat Propriis and Samantha at A League of Her Own. The concept is simple and delicious: Everyone is invited to join the two friends as they bake their way through the cookbook  Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes: 175 Inspired Ideas for Everyone’s Favorite Treat. You don’t need to be a military spouse to participate; you just need a sweet tooth.

Here’s how it works. On the 20th of each month, Lola and Samantha post the new cupcake choice (and recipes) on their blogs; this October it’s pumpkin or applesauce spice. Your mission, should you chose to accept it, is to bake a batch of sweet treats by the 30th of the month. Then either leave a comment on Lola or Samantha’s blog about your baking adventures or — if you have your own blog — do a cupcake posting and link up to all the other L&S Cupcake Club bloggers. There is still plenty of time to join in the October fun, so grab your spatulas, meet some new online friends, and get your sugar fix.