Vanilla Bean Buttercream Frosting

A basic vanilla buttercream frosting with an extra dose of vanilla flavor from using vanilla bean seeds. Use to frost you next baking project.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped

Procedure:

Add all of the ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat until evenly combined, light, and fluffy. Yields enough to frost two dozen cupcakes.

And with the recipe out of the way, on to the Liebster Award! I’m sure you’re thinking, “What is that?” I had no clue when I asked to be nominated either. It’s kind of a pay-it-forward way to recognize and highlight bloggers with small-ish followings. Thanks to Julie from Sweet and Spicy Monkey for recognizing me! Here’s how it works:

1. Acknowledge the blogger who nominated you with thanks and a link to their blog.
2. Display the Liebster Award badge.
3. Answer 11 questions about yourself provided from your nominator.
4. Provide 11 random facts about yourself (optional).
5. Nominate 5+ bloggers (with less than 1,000 followers) that you feel deserve the award.
6. Create a new list of 11 questions for your bloggers to answer.
7. Make sure you notify your nominees.

My questions from Julie:

1. Why do you blog? It started as a fun hobby, but now I’ve taken it on as my mission to teach people how to cook and help make them less afraid of their kitchens.
2. Where do you see your blog one year from now? Bigger, better, and in 3-D! (Maybe.)
3. What’s your favorite food to make? As you might be able to tell, I really enjoy baking (despite a lack of a sweet tooth).
4. Where is your dream vacation? Anyplace where I can lay on a beach.
5. Are you a dog or cat person? Dog.
6. Do you like sweet or salty snacks? Salty all the way!
7. What’s your favorite movie? I don’t think I have one, but the last one I watched was “How to Train Your Dragon 2” on Netflix.
8. Who inspires you? Lots of people, but at the top of the list are my parents who continually encourage me to follow my food dreams.
9. A glass of wine or a margarita? I’ll take the whole bottle of wine.
10. Are you where you wanted to be now (at your age)? I don’t really plan out my life much. I will admit that I wish I was a little further along in my career, but that will come in due time.
11. She didn’t list an 11th question, so I’ll make up my own: What’s the last thing you ate? Street meat from the Halal Guys.

I’m not sure who to nominate at this point… Do you want it to be you? Let me know in the comments!