Cottage Rose Cupcakes

Cupcake Batter

1/2 C softened butter
1 C sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2/3 cup cold milk

Cream butter and sugar.  Add eggs 1 at a time, beating gently after each.  Stir in vanilla.
In a separate bowl, stir together all dry ingredients.  Fold into butter mixture; stir in milk.

Preheat oven to 350F. Line muffin tin with cupcake papers.  Bake 20 minutes.  Test with toothpick. Yield 12 cupcakes

Icing
1/2 C Crisco shortening
1/2 C softened salted butter
1 tsp. clear vanilla extract
4 C sifted confectioner's sugar
2 TBS milk (may add a little more for thinner consistancy)

With electric mixer, cream Crisco and butter together.  Add sugar a cup at a time and mix.  Add milk and vanilla.  Beat until creamy.  Color with any cake decorater's food coloring.

To make roses use medium rose tip.  Insert coupler into bag.  Insert tip to outside and twist on plastic ring.  Fill bag with colored frosting.  Using a flower nail, squeeze a little drop of icing on the nail.  Put a 1x1 inch piece of wax paper on the wax paper.  Using a twisting motion and with the fat end of the tip toward the base, twist nail at the same time you are squeezing the icing bag.  Repeat motion until you have the size rose you want.

Growing up in Arkansas, I always looked forward to my birthday cake.  Every year in October, my mother would make me a beautiful yet simple homemade strawberry cake.  It was delicious with thin icing oozing down into the pores of the cake and the pretty pink color.  The only thing I really missed was getting my own frosting rose.  I've had a couple of professionally decorated cakes in my youth, but mostly it was homemade.  At my friends birthday parties, I would long to get the rose, knowing full well it was going to end up on the birthday girl's plate!  Well, this recipe is a tribute to all of you out there who wanted the frosting rose.  My Cottage Rose Cupcakes makes sure everyone gets one!  Enjoy!