These from scratch Red Velvet Cupcakes have a bright red color, a tender texture and a luscious cream cheese frosting.

 
These Red Velvet Cupcakes are made from a recipe in the most recent addition to my Southern Cookbook Collection, Bless Your Heart: Saving the World One Covered Dish at a Time. If you’ve ever spent any time in the south, you’ve no doubt heard the term “Bless Your Heart” numerous times. What you may no know is it takes a little skill decoding the meaning of “Bless Your Heart”. It can mean genuine concern and empathy. Or it can be used to say something nice when nothing else nice to say can be thought of. You know when your mother used to say, “If you can’t think of anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” Well southerners just say, “Bless Your Heart”.
 
My great-grandmother went her entire life without saying an ill word about anyone, but she said lots of Bless her heart’s. It was code for she’s a no-good, two-timing you know what without a lick of sense.
 
Beyond having a great title, this cookbook is also filled with numerous stories and recollections from authors Patsy Caldwell and Amy Lyles Wilson. Including this one-
“Eddie Ray Barnell, ninety-two, dropped dead in the middle of the night on a Saturday. Heart attack in the backyard. He was in his bare feet, and to this day his wife says she has no idea why he went outside. Some of us have ...