Happy Birthday, Burgh Baby

Let's all take a moment to revel in our dismay that THIS kid is now 13 years old.

I think that's about the age she was when people first started noticing this space, so it's fair to say that there are people reading right now who "internet remember" Alexis at that age. Hope you didn't blink because that baby is gone. And then some.

Looking back, there is one thing that is profoundly evident - she is exactly who she has always been. That kid was born with a fully developed personality and she has stayed true to that personality. Case in point, she's still a perfectionist. We've worked on being okay with an A- and enjoying something even if she's not good at it, but that "gotta do it perfect every time" thing still rears its ugly head from time-to-time.

Namely last week. HOOBOY did Alexis and I have a fight about it. She's going to stay a perfectionist at heart, apparently.

Alexis is also still a lover of words. She "read" as soon as she was big enough to hold a book and now she's big enough to hit me with a book if I try to take it away. Which, I won't. It definitely doesn't suck to have a kid who will happily spend her every waking hour lost in the written word. She often has three or four books going at one time and has an endless hunger to read some more.

Another thing that has grown and evolved but yet stayed the same is that thing where Alexis sees the world in black and white only. There's no grey. You're either following the rules or you're not. She has a guilt complex seven miles wide, so it's still very hard for to knowingly break a rule. She ALWAYS tells me. Eventually. Even when she thinks she's keeping something a secret, I tend to know about it and have the joy of watching from afar as she spazzes out from the guilt. If that sounds like a parent's dream come true, that's because it is. Alexis just isn't capable of being sneaky, but we're working on it.

Yes, really.

Her world continues to be TOO black and white. (And HOOBOY did Karma boomerang with Mila ...)

Alexis has always been just a wee bit too empathetic, and that's still true. Other people's feelings take a front row seat in her life. Like all things, that's both good and bad. She catches herself when she says something mean, but she catches YOU if you say something mean, too. She would do anything for anybody, which basically means she's a screaming liberal at heart. Equality and fairness reign supreme (see also, her world is black and white) and she fights to make sure people are treated as she thinks they should be treated.

But, man, she is KIND. Just plain kind.

And she's an amazing big sister.

And she's hilarious.

And she's smart. I don't check her report card (she would fall apart with guilt if there was a reason I should), but I know she hasn't broken her streak of straight A's yet. I'm not sure that she ever will.

Alexis is exactly who she has always been, which is to say she's an amazing person who is going to do great things. She already has, really.

Happy birthday, kid. Now go clean your bathroom, please. IT IS SO GROSS.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

This kid had a birthday.

 

I KNOW. It seems impossible that she’s 13 already. ::blink::blink:: More on that later, though. The first order of business is the fact that in 13 years, that kid has learned to ask for the impossible. I always bake something slightly crazy for her birthday, always at her request, and this year she went with “cookie dough.”

That was my mission.

She is obsessed with chocolate chip cookie dough, preferably raw, even better as a dip or whatever random concoction she’s been making without eggs lately. She wanted that somehow swirled into a cupcake.

Mission accomplished.

I made these with both a “cookie dough” cake and with my usual chocolate cake, and chocolate won out by FAR. I’m not sure if that’s because I’m just better at chocolate or if the balance of flavors was better, but whatever. A little chocolate cupcake with a cookie dough frosting and a hidden glob of cookie dough fit the bill.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes (makes 24 cupcakes)

Really important note: You need to make the cookie dough filling a day ahead so it has time to freeze. If you don’t freeze it, you end up with a cookie baked inside cake, which isn’t a bad thing, but isn’t what I was told to make. Consider yourself warned.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Filling

1 stick butter, softened
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ¼ cup flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup mini chocolate chips

1. Beat the butter and sugars together. Add the milk, vanilla, and salt and mix some more. Add the flour and mix a little more.

2. Stir in the chocolate chips.

3. Break off small spoonfuls of “dough” and roll into balls that are about ¾ - 1 inch across (you need 24). Place on a piece of parchment paper and freeze overnight.

Chocolate Cake

2 cups flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups hot water
1 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a few muffin pans with cupcake liners. Again, you’re making 24, so plan accordingly.

2. Whisk together the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Add the water, oil, and vanilla and stir until you don’t see any signs of dry anything.

3. Fill the cupcake liners about 2/3 full with cake batter. Plop a little frozen ball of dough in the middle of each one.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

5. Allow to cool before adding frosting.

Cookie Dough Frosting

3 sticks butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
3 to 4 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Miniature chocolate chips

1. Beat the butter and brown sugar together until fluffy. Slowly add the first two cups of powdered sugar, beating more and more and more until you have frosting.

2. Add the milk and vanilla and beat a little more.

3. Add as much powdered sugar as you think you need to have the consistency of frosting you like.

4. Top the cupcakes with the frosting then sprinkle miniature chocolate chips over top.

And Then She Was 13