Georgetown Cupcake - Caramel Cheesecake

I love all of the variations on the cheesecake "cupcakes" at Georgetown Cupcake, so of course I was excited to try this Caramel Cheesecake.  The creamy cheesecake (with crumbly graham cracker crust) is topped with a generous swirl of caramel frosting and caramel ganache to top it all off.  This was a rich and delicious combination of vanilla and caramel pairing perfectly together!

Lunchtime Links for January 28th, 2015

• Cookies & Cups: Cheesy chicken and bow tie pasta.
• Damn Delicious: Parmesan potato chips.
• Weelicious: Chicken pesto wraps.
• My Baking Addiction: Snickerdoodle bars.
• Picky Palate: Roasted chicken and tomato pesto spaghetti Florentine.

Shake Shack - Liberty Shell

A few months ago, I was in PA for a business trip, and while I was there I realized that I wasn't too far from King of Prussia mall.  As fast as I could get my GPS up and running, I was off to go to Shake Shack for dinner, haha.  Be sure to drive around the perimeter of the mall, because Shake Shack is a standalone restaurant, and not actually inside the mall itself.  

Unfortunately I didn't have a ton of time to go to the actual mall, which is a fabulous mall to spend time in, and every Jersey-raised mall-loving girl's dream, but I am super happy that I got to go to a Shake Shack in a different area and try one of the PA-area concretes.  This one above is the Liberty Shell: Vanilla custard, Termini Bros. cannoli shell, strawberry puree and lemon ricotta.  The cannoli shell pieces added a fantastic crunchy component throughout the dish, and I loved the addition of the tangy and creamy lemon ricotta.  As someone that isn't really a fan of fruit-based desserts, I will say the strawberry puree was sort of a lot for me, but I definitely wanted to try it out as it was meant to be for the first time trying it.  What a fun little surprise for an otherwise standard business trip! 

Lunchtime Links for January 27th, 2015

• Two Peas and Their Pod: Mexican layer dip.
• The Comfort of Cooking: Chocolate peanut butter mug cake. 
• Averie Cooks: Easy cheddar sourdough bread.
• Creme de la Crumb: Red velvet sugar cookies. 
• Kirbie's Cravings: Pizza grilled cheese sandwich.

National Christmas Tree 2014

Sooooooooooo, it's just over a month after Christmas, so what better time to finally write about the National Christmas tree, haha.  I did want to share some photos from the 2014 tree because every year the design is different and super fun to see! 

There are probably a bazillion other photos just like this, but the tree lines up so nicely with the Washington Monument, haha. 

This year they had a fun new feature for the smaller state trees, working with Google's Made With Code initiative.  People (particularly young girls) from all over could try their hand at "coding" a state tree, and their design would show up later at a specific time!  They even had stations around the trees encouraging guests to try their hand at "coding" on the spot, which I thought was a neat idea for kids especially.  I look forward to seeing what fun new ideas they come up with for this year's trees!

Lunchtime Links for January 26th, 2015

• Damn Delicious: Shrimp and broccoli stir fry. 
• A Beautiful Mess: Funfetti buttermilk birthday cake. 
• Gimme Some Oven: Beef Chow Fun.
• The First Year Blog: Oreo Scotcheroos.
• Crazy for Crust: Skinny cheesecake dip.

Georgetown Cupcake - Snowy Vanilla and Buttercream Cupcake

This Snowy Vanilla and Buttercream cupcake is a perfect little treat for these snowy winter days that are common around here this time of year.  The vanilla cake base is topped with a generous swirl of vanilla buttercream frosting, "snow" sprinkles and a blue fondant snowflake.  This cupcake was available during the holidays, and I hope that they have it as a free secret flavor sometime this winter!

If you're a fan of Georgetown Cupcake's Vanilla Squared cupcake, you will definitely love this one too.  The buttercream frosting is rich but not too cloying, for those of you that feel like buttercream is always too thick.  This is the perfect wintertime treat to enjoy with a cup of hot chocolate!