chocolate coffee cupcakes + coffee frosting

[ chocolate coffee cupcakes + coffee frosting ]

cupcakes:
2 cups      wheat flour
2 cups      sugar
3/4 cup      cocoa powder
2 teaspoons      baking soda
1 teaspoon      baking powder
1/2 teaspoon      salt
2      eggs
1/2 cup      butter
1 teaspoon      vanilla
1 cup      milk
1 cup      brewed coffee

Mix flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Stir together eggs, butter, vanilla, milk, and coffee into another bowl. Combine the ingredients well. Place wrappers into a cupcake tin. Fill the wrappers 3/4 full with cupcake batter. Bake cupcakes at 325 degrees for 20 minutes.

frosting:
1 cup      butter
2 1/2 cups      powdered sugar
2 teaspoons      espresso powder
2 teaspoons      vanilla 

Cream together butter and powdered sugar. Stir in espresso powder and vanilla. Mix well. When cupcakes are cool, pipe frosting onto the cupcakes.

chocolate espresso coffee cake

Oh. My!
This chocolate espresso coffee cake is perfect for the winter!

1 1/2 cups      wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon      baking powder
3/4 teaspoon      baking soda
4 tablespoons      coffee (or espresso powder)
3/4 cup      butter
1 cup      sugar
1 cup      Greek yogurt
2      eggs
1 teaspoon      vanilla
1 cup      milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup      Werther's Original Caramel Coffee candies


so delicious!

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and coffee. Cream together butter and sugar. Add yogurt, eggs, and vanilla. Mix in the milk chocolate chips. Stir ingredients well in a bowl.

 

Use cooking spray to line a 9 x 13 pan. Spread cake batter in the pan. Sprinkle the crushed Werther's candies on top of the batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

 

Enjoy this rich and moist coffee cake! It is so delicious!

my antique wash stand

I have had this antique wash stand since I was a little girl. My parents found it at an antique store in Galesburg. It has always been my favorite piece of furniture. The oak wash stand traveled with me when I moved. It is now in the corner of my living room to admire. And, I love to style it! 

 

 

mercury glass hearts @ Maverick Fine Western Wear

antique printing press letters @ Antique Archeology

mercury glass votive holders @ West Elm

black birdcage lamp + Parisian print shade @ Lowe's

tan antique crock [birthday present from my parents]

ebonized wood bowl [birthday present from my parents]

turquoise Ball jar [grandma]

11x14 b&w O9 print

 

 This beautiful wash stand brings me so much joy! I simply adore it.

 

#cattlegypsystyle

oatmeal chocolate chip beer cookies

oatmeal + chocolate + beer

2 cups      wheat flour
2 1/2 cups      oats
1/2 teaspoon      baking powder
1 teaspoon      baking soda
1 teaspoon      salt
1/2 cup      butter
2/3 cup      sugar
2/3 cup      brown sugar
2      eggs
1 teaspoon      vanilla
12 ounces      milk chocolate chips
12 ounces      dark beer

Reduce your favorite dark beer. [ I used an oatmeal stout from Iron Spike Brewing Co ] Pour beer into a saucepan and stir occasionally on high. Cook beer until it is reduced by half. Reduction of beer takes about 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.
 

Combine flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cream together butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Add in eggs, vanilla, and beer. Mix ingredients together. Stir in chocolate chips.

 

Drop cookie dough by spoon onto a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Move cookies to a cooling rack.

midnight express oatmeal stout

Midnight Express is an oatmeal stout by Iron Spike Brewing Co 
from Galesburg, Illinois!

farm chick favorite

💗 [ in love ] 💗 

hello

My heart is all aflutter. I am in love with this felt letter board from Aspen Lane! It will be so cute styled in my rustic farm home. Now, to find the perfect spot for it! I am so excited to letter inspirational words and messages on it. 

 

This is a 10x10 letter board with black felt and an oak frame. And, I am simply in love with it. My parents gave me birthday money for my 40th, so I bought the felt letter board!

find this beautiful felt letter board @ Aspen Lane!

#farmchickfavorite

beer brownies

[ today is my BiRtHdAy! i am 4.0! ]

To celebrate, I made beer brownies! They smell so good! And, they taste absolutely delicious! These beer brownies are perfect for my birthday. The beer I used for this recipe was ZiegenBock Texas Amber. I picked it up on a trip to TX to visit my friend, Keri!

beer brownie:
12 ounces      dark beer
1/2 cup      butter
1 cup      cocoa
2 cups      sugar
6 ounces      milk chocolate
2      eggs
2 teaspoons      vanilla
1/2 teaspoon      salt
1 cup      wheat flour

beer frosting:
6 tablespoons      butter
2 cups      powdered sugar
6 tablespoons      beer concentrate

Add the beer to a saucepan and bring to a boil. The beer reduces to about 2/3 of a cup. The process takes around 30 minutes. Set aside to cool. Reserve 4 tablespoons for the beer frosting.

Melt the butter and chocolate. Add in cocoa powder and sugar. Stir in the reduced beer, egg, and vanilla. Combine flour and salt. Add to the mixture and stir well.

Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Pour the batter into the pan evenly. Bake at 325 degrees for 40 minutes. Let the brownies cool.

To make the frosting, mix together the butter and powdered sugar. Stir in the 6 tablespoons of beer. Frost the brownies and enjoy!

 

I am looking forward to adventures in 2018!

Cheers to 4.0!

 

farm calendars

Detailed record keeping and organization is vital to our Shorthorn cattle farm...

On our farm, we keep in depth records on our cows and calves. Farm calendars help us remain organized and track important dates we need to make note. Through this, we are able to better our farm management.

I use a few calendars each for different purposes...
..  A smaller monthly calendar is just for the cow herds. It notes... when cows calve during spring and fall calving (the calendar is included in our kit during calving season), when we vaccinate the herds of cows, calves, and bulls with our health program in the summer, the date bulls are turned out with the cow herds for breeding season, when embryos are implanted in recipient cows, when calves are weaned, if a feeder calf is sick and needs treatment, and  when we vaccinate and pregnancy check cows in the winter.

..  A small wall calendar will hang in the corn crib feed room. It will track when corn is rolled as feed for calves, when we take delivery of pelleted protein, feed additives and mineral, and when antibiotics are used in feed if it is needed.  

..  A large desk calendar sits on my desk of the farm office. This calendar is the my main calendar.  In addition to tracking the cattle herds, and feed records, we note weather conditions, when we cut and bale hay, along with the amount of hay harvested, and is also my personal calendar.

I found a few cute calendars at Target. [ I absolutely love Target! ] It is always nice when calendars are super cute. So, I am ready for 2018 on the farm!

coffee table

My dad built benches from recycling old barn boards. I love them so much! I have a bench behind and in front of my couch. And, they are decorated with my rustic farm style.

 

My couch is brown with several accent pillows...brown, black and turquoise. They are in different sizes, shapes, and textures. A brown blanket is draped over the side of my couch. It is so cozy!
 

The wooden bench in front of my couch is used as my coffee table. It has a photo of my dog, Molly. This is one of my photos of her! We were in the corn field at harvest during the late afternoon...so cute! The print is in a leather frame that coordinates well with her coloring. A set of turquoise glass votive holders [ Pier 1 Imports ] sit beside the framed photo of Molly. An old horse shoe from the farm adds rustic farm charm.

 

* molly *

A tobacco basket I bought during a visit to Texas is at home on the recycled barn board bench. My friend, Keri and I had so much fun shopping that day The tobacco basket holds greenery I cut from my boxwood shrubs. It adds a fresh feature.

boxwood

An antique milking stool sits atop the coffee table. I love it so much! It is one of my favorite antiques from our farm. I absolutely adore it as a decorative piece! It brings height, color, and texture to the coffee table.

 

 

This space is so comfortable!

It is a great place to relax at the end of the day on the farm!

hearth & hand loves

So, I could not resist...

[ When Hearth & Hand by Magnolia arrived at Target, I had to go. I found a lot of cute things for my rustic farm home! ]

 

Here are a few of my Hearth & Hand loves...

black storage bin  [ 18x15x13 ]
kitchen towels  [ black + white striped & white with black embroidery ]
flour sack towel  [ black + white striped ]
glass measuring pitcher
measuring cups  [ black stainless steel ] set of 5 with a leather strap
measuring spoons  [ black stainless steel ] set of 5 with a leather strap

I am so excited to use everything!

espresso chocolate chip cookies

I love the aroma of coffee! These espresso chocolate chip cookies are so good!

3 cups      wheat flour
1 cup      brown sugar
1/2 cup      sugar
1 teaspoon      baking soda
1 teaspoon      salt
2      eggs
1 teaspoon      vanilla
1 cup      butter
1/4 cup      instant coffee granules
1/2 cup      chocolate chips

Mix together flour, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside. In another bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract. Beat eggs and add to the mixture. Combine all ingredients together. Stir in chocolate chips and coffee granules.

 

Roll cookie dough into balls and place on a greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 12-14 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool.