For the Love of Christmas (17 page)

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese
Frosting and Caramel Drizzle

Makes 26 cupcakes

cupcake liners 2-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

2-1/2 cups granulated sugar 1/2 teaspoon + 1/8 teaspoon salt

5 large eggs 2-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1-1/4 cups vegetable oil 1/2 teaspoon + 1/8 teaspoon allspice

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1-3/4 cups (15 oz.) canned pumpkin

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Insert cupcake liners into cupcake pans. Mix sugar, eggs, and oil in a mixer on low speed until well combined. Add in the dry ingredients and blend well. Add the pumpkin and mix all of the ingredients on low speed.

Scoop this mixture into the cupcake liners, filling each about three-quarters full. Bake the cupcakes for 20–25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool before frosting. Swirl the cream cheese frosting (see recipe to follow) on the cupcakes and then drizzle with ­caramel

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter

3/4 pound (12 oz.) cream cheese

3-3/4 cups powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Caramel Drizzle:

24 caramel candies

1 tablespoon milk

Cream the butter and the cream cheese. Add the sugar and the vanilla and beat until smooth. Don't overbeat this mixture.

Unwrap the caramel candies, making sure that you remove all of the plastic. Combine the caramels and the milk together in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 1–2 minutes or until they have melted.

Lori Karmel, We Take the Cake, www.wetakethecake.com

The Writers

Nancy Bechtolt
wrote a travel column, Ikimasho (Let's Go), for an English-language weekly newspaper when she lived in Japan from 1971–76. In addition, she penned monthly editorials for her local Unitarian newsletter.

Kathe Campbell lives on a Montana mountain with her mammoth donkeys, a keeshond, and several kitties. She is a prolific writer on Alzheimer's and her stories are found on many e-zines. Kathe is a contributing author to Chicken Soup books, numerous anthologies, Rx for Writers, and medical journals. E-mail: [email protected].

Helen Colella
is a freelance writer from Colorado whose work appears in parenting magazines across the country. A Chicken Soup for the Soul contributor, Helen writes educational materials and articles/stories for adults and children. She operates AssistWrite, [email protected], a home-based business offering writing services to independent publishers.

J. Vincent Dugas
is a semiretired businessman, now sorting and assembling hundreds of stories written throughout his lifetime.

Terri Elders
prefers books as Christmas gifts and shops for her own underwear and jackets. She lives with husband, Ken Wilson, two dogs, and three cats in the country near Colville, ­Washington. Write her at [email protected].

Peggy Frezon
is the winner of
Guideposts
2004 writer's contest and the
Children's Writer
2007 personal story contest. Peggy's publishing credits include
Guideposts, Teaching Tolerance, Positive Thinking, Pockets, Chicken Soup for the Soul
titles, and others. She's currently writing a book about dogs and diets. Visit her blog, The Writer's Dog, at thewritersdog.blogspot.com.

Caroline Grant
is senior editor of
Literary Mama,
which features her monthly column, “Mama at the Movies.” She is coeditor of
Mama, PhD: Women Write about Motherhood and Academic Life
­(Rutgers University Press, 2008). Write her at ­[email protected].

Lori Hein
is the author of
Ribbons of Highway: A Mother-Child Journey Across America
and a contributor to several Chicken Soup for the Soul titles. Her work has appeared in publications worldwide, including the
Boston Globe
and
Philadelphia Inquirer.
Visit her at LoriHein.com or her world travel blog, RibbonsofHighway.blogspot.com.

Sonja Herbert
is the author of an award-winning and as yet unpublished novel about her mother ­surviving the Holocaust in a circus and other true stories. Sonja presently lives in Germany where she is doing research and getting reacquainted with her mother and siblings. Her website is ­germanwriter.com.

Joseph Hesch
is a writer and poet who lives and works where he draws much of his inspiration—his hometown of Albany, New York. His poetry has appeared in
Boston Literary
and
Wanderings
­magazine.

Marybeth Hicks
is the weekly culture columnist for the
Washington Times
newspaper and the author of
Bringing Up Geeks: How to Protect Your Kid's Childhood in a Grow-Up-Too-Fast World.

Jeanne Hill
is the author of three hundred inspirational articles including seven in Chicken Soup books. Her award-winning short stories and ­articles are often chosen for anthologies. She is a contributing editor to Guideposts and has published two books, Daily Breath (Word Books) and Secrets of Prayer Joy (Judson Press).

Joanne Hirase-Stacey
is an attorney living in rural Idaho with her husband and dogs. She has published several short stories and articles as well as a devotional and poetry. When not working, Joanne finds time to enjoy her favorite things: writing, quilting, running, and biking.

Robert W. Howe
is manager and chief naturalist for a Wyoming guest ranch. He travels to South America's jungles whenever he can to study ethnobotany and live in the rain forest with indigenous friends. He has written numerous articles and two books,
Yours, from Wyoming
and
Tigres of the Night.

Connie Alexander Huddleston
spent twelve years in Panama. She enjoys writing about parenting, prayer, and missions. She and her ­husband, Harry, are marriage and family counselors in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. She can be reached at ­[email protected].

Nancy Edwards Johnson
writes stories and ­memoirs about growing up in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. She is a longtime contributor to area magazines and has written a monthly column for
Latitude
magazine, Winston-Salem, North ­Carolina, for more than two years. Her e-mail address is ­[email protected].

Since 2002, entrepreneur
Lori Karmel
has been the owner of We Take the Cake (WTTC), a unique cake boutique in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Her cakes have been featured on
Oprah
, several shows on the Food Network, and in many local and national publications, including the
Washington Post,
the
Miami Herald,
and
Entrepreneur Magazine.
In 2004, Oprah Winfrey selected We Take the Cake's Key Lime Bundt Cake as one of her “Favorite Things.” Lori's delicious and beautiful cakes are sought out by some of the most discriminating customers—including brides—in the United States. We Take the Cake also supplies desserts to many upscale hotels and resorts, and many of WTTC's cakes and cupcakes are also available at Whole Foods Markets in the Florida region. We Take the Cake's Gourmet Bundt Cakes are available through
www.wetakethecake.com, www.neimanmarcus.com,
and www.normthompson.com. Additional information
is available at www.wetakethecake.com.

Elisa Korentayer
is a singer-songwriter and writer based in New York Mills, Minnesota. She performs under the name Elisa Korenne. Learn more at www.elisakorenne.com.

Robyn Kurth
is a freelance writer with over fifteen years of experience writing and producing corporate and industrial videos, and a specialty in “writing for the ear.” A native of the Chicago area, she currently resides in Orlando, Florida, with her husband, Greg, and children, Alex and Zell. Ms. Kurth's essays have been published in
Chicken Soup for the Chocolate Lover's Soul
and
Democrat's Soul.
She can be reached at [email protected].

Andrea Langworthy
writes a column for
­Rosemount Town Pages
newspaper and another for
Minnesota Good Age
. She won first place in the 2008
Chicken Soup for the Divorced Soul
Contest. Her work has ­appeared in the
Lake Country Journal
and
Minnesota
Parent
magazines. She coteaches a workshop at the Minneapolis Loft Literary Center.

Ivy Larson
is the coauthor of an Amazon.com #1 bestselling health and diet book,
The Gold Coast Cure
(HCI Books, 2005) and the follow-up
Gold Coast Cure's Fitter, Firmer, Faster Program
(HCI Books, 2007), which she cowrote with her husband, Andrew Larson, M.D. Ivy developed and created all of the healthy whole-foods recipes in both books and currently teaches nutritionally oriented cooking classes at Whole Foods Markets and culinary shops, as well as group classes at private homes. For additional information on Ivy, please visit her website at www.goldcoastcure.com and her blog at www.wholefoodsmom.blogspot.com.

Jaye Lewis
is an award-winning inspirational author and a frequent contributor to many popular anthology collections. Jaye lives with her family in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia. Visit her website at www.entertainingangels.org or sign up for her blog at http://entertainingangelsencouragingwords.blogspot.com. E-mail Jaye at [email protected]

Pat Mendoza
is an internationally acclaimed story­teller and author. Prior to his ­entertainment career, Pat served as a police officer for nearly eight years, including a year and a half as a homicide investigator. He also served in the United States Navy for four years. Write him at [email protected] or visit his website at www.patmendoza.com.

Linda O'Connell,
a veteran early childhood educator, is a widely published writer who enjoys outdoor activities such as camping and walking on Florida's white sandy beaches where she goes to reenergize after each school year. She and her husband Bill enjoy spending time with their blended family of four children and nine grandchildren. Contact her at [email protected].

Dorri Olds,
a native New Yorker, earned a B.F.A. in 1985 and has been a graphic designer ever since. In 1994, she started her Manhattan-based business, ­DorriOlds.com. Her short stories have been ­published in Chicken Soup for the Soul books,
New Woman
magazine, and in the book
At ­Grandmother's Table.

Todd Outcalt
is the author of seventeen books, including the HCI titles
The Best Things in Life Are Free
and
The Healing Touch.
He lives in ­Brownsburg, Indiana, with his wife and two children.

Diane Perrone,
with an M.A. in advertising/
education, is a mother of seven and Grandma Di to sixteen. She writes between babies from ­Franklin, Wisconsin. Credits include
Redbook, Exclusively Yours, Girl Talk, Catholic Digest, Family Digest, Marquette University
magazine,
Catholic Herald, Milwaukee Journal, Devotions for Writers,
aviation periodicals, and Chicken Soup books. Contact her at [email protected].

Wanda Quist
grew up in Oregon, graduated from Brigham Young University, and made a career of raising eight children. She enjoys writing, reading, hiking, sewing, and visiting her family. She and her husband, Robert, live in Colorado. They have seventeen grandchildren with two on the way.

Carol McAdoo Rehme
is a widely published author and editor who finds her niche—inspirational writing—is the perfect avenue to share life's lessons. She discovers warmth and unconditional love in her work with the frail elderly. Learn more at www.rehme.com. Contact her by e-mail at [email protected].

Donna Rushneck
's romantic and inspirational short stories are published widely by national ­magazines. She hopes to expand to the science ­fiction and mystery/thriller markets. With more time now to devote to writing, Donna has started working on her first novel.

Ryma Shohami
is a technical writer/editor. She lives in Israel with her husband and two daughters. Check out her new blog Write It Down! at http://rymashohami.wordpress.com. Two websites are under construction: one devoted to technical writing, the other to muffins. She dreams of swimming with dolphins in Hawaii.

Candace Simar
is a poet and writer living in ­Pequot Lakes, Minnesota. Her work has appeared in
Dust and Fire, Talking Stick, Lake Country Journal, Her Voice
magazine, the
Otter Tail Review, ­Spirit-Led Writer,
and many online magazines. Learn more at www.candacesimar.com.

Ted Thompson
is a freelance writer and columnist living in northern Arkansas with his wife, Roxanne. A former advertising copyrighter and conceptualizer, Ted's stories, articles, and essays have been published in magazines, story collections, and ­anthologies. In addition to writing he enjoys motorcycling, houseboating, and gardening. ­Contact him at [email protected].

Anne Culbreath Watkins
lives in Alabama with her banjo player husband, Allen, a beagle named Darby, and two loud parrots. She is the author of
The Conure Handbook
and publishes in magazines, websites, and books, including
Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul, Chicken Soup for the Shopper's Soul,
and
Chicken Soup for the Soul Celebrates Grandmothers.

John Winsor
lives in the mountains north of Cody, Wyoming. He's the author of numerous outdoor relationship adventure magazine stories and the book
Love of the Hunt,
short stories using hunting as a metaphor for the search for the meaning of life. He is finishing a family relationship adventure novel.

Debbi Wise
was raised in Memphis and lived ten years in Louisiana. She wrote several one-act plays performed in the New Orleans area, including
Makin' Groceries, Breakfast at the Southern Café,
and
Vacation.
She lives in Castle Rock, Colorado, with her husband, daughter, and most loyal fan—a long-haired dachshund.

Carla Zwahlen
lives in Wolfeboro, New ­Hampshire, where she plays keyboard at church and other events and teaches private piano ­lessons. Her paintings hang in galleries and private collections in the United States and in Europe. Currently, she is working on a nonfiction book project from which
Guideposts
published excerpts.