Holiday Rum Cakes

These “cookies”, Holiday Rum Cakes, are my own creation. They are made from a store bought cake mix (I prefer Betty Crocker Butter Recipe Yellow Cake Mix.) and golden rum. Yum! I know that some foodies out there might see using a store bought cake mix as sacrilege; however, I believe that using ones resources well enables the home cook to save time and reduce stress during the holidays! These cookies are really more like little cakes. I top them with Royal Icing. My family and friends love to receive these cakes during the holidays.

Holiday Rum Cakes

Ingredients:

1 package yellow butter recipe cake mix

¾ cup golden rum

butter, at room temperature

eggs

water

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

Follow the package cake directions adding a ½ cup flour* (*this is an adjustment for high altitude baking) and replacing ¾ cup of the water with rum and all of the oil with softened butter.

Line regular size cupcake tins with fluted paper liners. Using a #50 disher (1 ¼ tablespoons), spoon batter into paper liners only filling each cupcake a ¼ to a 1/3 of the way up the sides. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. While still warm peel paper liners off cakes and place them on a serving platter. Repeat until all the cake batter has been cooked. When cakes are completely cooled brush with Royal Icing – recipe follows. ©2011

Tip: You can reuse the paper liners for this batch.

Variation:

Pour batter into mini loaf pans until it comes about half way up the sides of the pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely, slice, and serve. These mini loaves also make wonderful holiday gifts! ©2011

Royal Icing

This recipe is taken from The best of Martha Stewart Living Holidays cookbook, paperback version, ©1993, page 72.

Ingredients:

1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

1 large egg white

If desired, you may use a few drops of food coloring to color the icing. I left mine plain.

Directions:

Mix the sugar and the egg white together. Add coloring if desired. Brush on the cooled cakes. This icing may also be brushed or piped onto cooled cookies.