March | 2026 | edenfreed.com

A Special Recipe Adults Will Enjoy!

Happy St Patrick’s Day. We’re making cupcakes.

St. Patrick’s Day falls on the same day as my Liquid Friday blog this year, so there will be enough green beer and silly cocktails to keep you busy. To celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, we’re going to make a batch of cupcakes. Since it falls on a weekday and I’m up to my eyeballs multi-tasking, we’ll use a boxed mix and keep it simple and flavorful. I’m tossing my corned beef in the crock pot with potatoes, carrots, cabbage wedges, and some peppercorns, so I can keep my oven free for baking.

Let’s get started.

Grab you favorite green cupcake liners and heat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, we’re baking.

Cupcake Ingredients:

1 Box chocolate cake mix (I use Duncan Hines but really any brand will do)
1 1/4 cup Guinness to replace the water portion on the box
3 eggs
1/2 cup canola oil (yes, you can still substitute 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup applesauce for oil for lower fat cupcakes)

Before you put liners in your favorite cupcake tin, sprinkle some rice in between. This gives you a little air cushion so you have the perfect bottoms on your cupcakes. If you decide to skip the liners, grab two 9″ cake pans and fill equally for a chocolate cake that will make you lick your lips. Once your done baking, save the rice to reuse next time.

Mix wet ingredients and slowly whisk in the box mix until smooth. Pour 1/2 to 2/3 full into cupcake liners and bake at 350 degrees for 18 to 23 minutes (they’ll spring back when you touch them or a toothpick will come out clean).

While your cupcakes are baking its time to make the frosting. If you used a red velvet chocolate cake mix use the doctored cream cheese icing mix at the bottom of the page, otherwise mix up a batch of Bailey’s Flavored Buttercream(recipes below).

NOTE: If you’re serving children omit alcohol from icing-most alcohol will cook out in the oven for the cupcakes, but we don’t bake the icing, so just omit the alcohol.

Bailey’s Flavored Buttercream icing

2 sticks butter (8oz total) softened

1 1/2 to 2 cups powdered sugar

1-2 teaspoon(s) vanilla sugar (blended sugar and vanilla bean)

3 Tablespoons Bailey’s Irish Cream Liquor

Hand or machine blend until smooth and fluffy. Put in a pastry bag and decorate cooled cupcakes. Top with sprinkles, party picks, or shaved chocolate.

Jameson Black Barrel Cream Cheese Icing

1 stick butter softened

1 package (8oz.) Phili Cream Cheese

1 teaspoon vanilla sugar

2 cups powdered sugar

3 Tablespoons Jameson Black Barrel Whiskey

Since you have some liquid in this recipe, you won’t need any milk. If, however you omit the alcohol, add 1-2 Tablespoon milk.

Blend until incorporated and then whip for added volume. Spoon frost or use a pastry bag with this icing and top with some sugar crystals or a light dusting of brown sugar for extra flavor.

Whichever version you went with, I hope your cupcakes come out great and you have a safe and happy holiday.

Join my mailing list or keep checking back for new recipes, cocktails, authors and their books, and some of my crazy stories.

the skinny on cocktails just in time to release BOOK 10!

We so excited about our recent release Knot Daddy’s Valentine, that it’s like a party here! We have a great recipe for you below, perfect for people trying to stay on lower carbohydrate diets.

We had hoped to have this book out pre-Valentine’s Day but SNAFUs happen, so it’s taken us a little bit longer. We hope that means you’ll enjoy it even more.

While puppy Mooshu is on mend from his latest episode(flare up of his bleeding disorder), we’re keeping our eyes on him and making sure we’ve stocked up on his meds in case another unannounced snow storm catches us off guard.

Both puppies Butler and Mooshu are spoiled. They get steamed salmon for omega 3s, carrots for prebiotics, and frozen blueberries for antioxidants and polyphenols in addition to a specially formulated diet and more than their fair amount of treats. We’ve added glucosamine for Butler who is nine and a half and we want to keep his joints as fit as a six month old puppy. Mooshu has his own issues and spontaneous bleeds always make us gasp. Fortunately, even with an incurable disease, we have a treatment plan in place for him and he’s doing well.

Our book sales help with some of the treatments and of course the insane cost of pet insurance, so thanks for reading and sharing. We couldn’t do it without you.

It has been the craziest winter in NJ and I’m waiting anxiously for spring. I think even the puppies that run around like little snowballs are over it too. Fingers crossed this weekend marks the turn of the season, because getting these puppies up an hour earlier is going to be insane.

Despite the delay, we hope you love our latest book in the All Tied Up series.

https://www.amazon.com/Knot-Daddys-Valentine-Tied-Knots-ebook/dp/B0GQNYB1D2

Skye has dreamed of doing the flying trapeze since she was a young girl. In pursuit of the goal, there just isn’t time for romance. Valentine’s Day is coming up, and she’s resigned herself to be alone for yet another holiday. She’s working for Johnny as an aerial silk artist for parties and events. It’s a long way from her work in the circus but she’s hoping it’ll make the difference between being stuck in the silks or flying high on the trapeze.

Tommy, an MMA cage fighter, is a gentle giant of a man that has left the rodeo circuit to save the family farm. He’s been attending Johnny’s events, hoping to find a nice girl he could bring home to mama that’s still into his brand of kink.

Will Skye follow her dream? Is Skye be the perfect match for Tommy and his appetites? Will they naturally click together, or do they need a little push from Johnny?