Cute Everything

mini ice cream cookie cups

CuteEverything — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 20:04:34 +0000

This recipe for Mini Ice Cream Cookie Cups is a million dollar winner from the 2010 Pillsbury Bake Off. A lady named Sue Compton from Delanco, New Jersey was the lucky winner. I thought these were just adorable, although I would probably exchange the raspberry on top with half of a maraschino cherry. Other reviewers said that they used coconut instead of nuts to dip them in and also suggested making them in a regular muffin tin, using two of the pieces of cookie dough instead of the one they use for the mini muffin pans.

Mini Ice Cream Cookie Cups

INGREDIENTS:
1 package (16 oz) Pillsbury® Ready to Bake!™ refrigerated sugar cookies (24 cookies)
4 teaspoons sugar
1/3 cup Fisher® Chef’s Naturals® Chopped Walnuts, finely chopped
1/2 cup Hershey’s® semi-sweet chocolate baking chips
1/4 cup Smucker’s® Seedless Red Raspberry Jam
1 1/2 cups vanilla bean ice cream, softened
24 fresh raspberries

DIRECTIONS:
1 Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 24 mini muffin cups with Crisco® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray. Place 1 cookie dough round in each muffin cup. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.

2 Place 2 teaspoons of the sugar in small bowl. Dip end of wooden spoon handle in sugar; carefully press into center of each cookie to make 1-inch-wide indentation. Cool completely in pan, about 20 minutes.

3 Meanwhile, in small bowl, mix walnuts and remaining 2 teaspoons sugar; set aside. In small microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips uncovered on High 30 to 60 seconds, stirring after 30 seconds, until smooth.

4 Run knife around edges of cups to loosen; gently remove from pan. Dip rim of each cup into melted chocolate, then into walnut mixture. Place walnut side up on cookie sheet with sides.

5 In another small microwavable bowl, microwave jam uncovered on High about 15 seconds until melted. Spoon 1/2 teaspoon jam into each cup. Freeze cups about 5 minutes or until chocolate is set.

6 Spoon ice cream into cups, using small cookie scoop or measuring tablespoon. Top each cup with fresh raspberry; serve immediately.

-Michelle

mardi gras cookies

CuteEverything — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 19:24:33 +0000

I’m not very familiar with Mardi Gras so I did a little research and found that it is celebrated all over the world with parades, pancakes and parites. Wikipedia says that, “The term ‘Mardi Gras’, refers to events of the Carnival celebrations, beginning on or after Epiphany and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday. Mardi gras is French for Fat Tuesday, referring to the practice of the last night of eating richer, fatty foods before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season, which begins on Ash Wednesday.”

The best Mardi Gras decoration (and treat!) that I have ever seen are these beautiful cookie masks from Sweetopia. I love the glitter and the Mardi Gras colors she used! Marian uses a gingerbread cookie base (thick and yummy!) and royal icing to outline and fill the cookie (video from Sweetopia showing this technique below). Then she added disco dust and little decorations to finish them. I think they turned out absolutely gorgeous! Happy Fat Tuesday!

-Michelle

cherry fun

CuteEverything — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 20:40:46 +0000

Last year on President’s Day, I posted this pretzel based log cabin, which is supposed to be reminiscent of Abe Lincoln’s homestead. This year I thought George Washington deserved recognition, so I tried to find some fun cherry ideas to share with you. I saw these darling little cherry mini pies on Pinterest and then found them over at Sew Sweet Stitches. She has a tutorial on her blog where she shows how to make this scrumptious mini pies in a muffin pan and even adds a secret ingredient (that I love!).

If you ever have fresh cherries that you want to pit, this little Cherry Chomper Cherry Pitter will make easy work of it for you, plus it may brighten your mood when you see it sitting on your kitchen counter.

While the mini cherry pies bake, how about painting your nails? My daughter loved this cherry pattern for nail painting fun!

I hope you have a nice holiday!

-Michelle

review: hot & cheesy

CuteEverything — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 03:39:06 +0000

Hot and Cheesy is a new cookbook which is written by Clifford A. Wright and published by Wiley. In the introduction, Mr. Wright tells us that “melted cheese is, after all, the star of so many favorite dishes from the grilled cheese sandwiches of our childhood, to the cheese pizza of our adolescence to the fondue of our adulthood.” So true! There is a large selection of savory dishes in Hot and Cheesy, which include delicious recipes for soups, quiches, pizza, eggs, pasta, and more. There is even a section for desserts which utilize cheese as an ingredient, like cheesecakes and cheese blintzes. Even the names of his creations are enticing, like Homemade Fresh Fettuccine with Homemade Ricotta Cheese.

The author travels the globe in Hot and Cheesy and brings us all kinds of new ways to think about using cheese in our cooking.He advises that it is best to store the cheese in the compartment in your refrigerator for cheese or butter and offers other storage tips, as well. He also has information on cooking with cheese and things you want to keep in mind for best results. One suggestion: Remember to slowly cook cheese until barely melted. Mr. Wright covers all of the bases in Hot and Cheesy, from the familiar (Macaroni and Cheese) to the more exotic (Saag Paneer). Since my family enjoys cheese grits on a regular basis, I was intrigued by the Swiss Polenta Casserole, with its additions of Gruyere and heavy cream. Sounds heavenly! If you are a cheese lover (I know I am!), Hot and Cheesy gives excellent ideas for making all kinds of delicious new dishes using ever-popular cheese as the main ingredient.

About the Author:
Clifford A. Wright is the award-winning author of twelve previous cookbooks. His book A Mediterranean Feast won the James Beard Foundation/Kitchen Aid Cookbook of the Year Award, as well as the James Beard Award for Best Writing on Food. He has frequently written for Saveur, Bon Appétit, Fine Cooking, and Food & Wine, and teaches and lectures on cooking and food history at schools throughout the country, including The Culinary Institute of America and Harvard University. He is the cofounder of the Venice Cooking School in Los Angeles and a contributor to ZesterDaily.com. Keep up with his latest at Cuisines-Mediterranean.Blogspot.com and at CliffordAWright.com. He lives in Santa Monica, California.

sushi set

CuteEverything — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 18:41:26 +0000

My kids love playing with wood toys and they have several set, a sandwich one and a wood pizza that you can put the toppings onto. Perpetual Kid sells a wooden sushi play set, where the kids can slice the sushi rolls with the clean that comes with it and use the chopsticks to “eat” it! Plus, it also comes with pieces of wasabi and ginger. It even makes a “chopping sound when they’re sliced”. They suggest that if you don’t have any kids that may like it, it could be an interesting desk toy. There’s 24 pieces altogether and comes in a really cool storage box.

Another fun (and functional) desk toy is the sushi eraser set, which will make you hungry for lunch!

-Michelle

game: russian doll dress up

CuteEverything — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 19:27:07 +0000

I love those little Russian dolls that stack up and are so fun to play with! So, of course, I also enjoyed dressing them up in different colors and patterns. My daughter suggested this game to me and I hope you like it!

-Michelle

hidden treasure cupcakes

CuteEverything — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 18:14:31 +0000

If you know a little pirate who might like a pirate style birthday party, these Hidden Treasure Cupcakes from Taste of Home could be the perfect dessert for it. I like how they added a “hidden treasure” of strawberry filling into the center of the cupcakes as a little extra. For the treasure chest, they used a Little Debbie Swiss cake roll and then decorated them with nerds as jewels and sea creature candies (gummies could work for that too!). Add some mini goldfish and gold chocolate coins and you got yourself a pirate treasure. If you want to know a little more about pirates, I’ve embedded a video from National Geographic about their lives. (Recipe after the video).

Hidden Treasure Cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 package (18-1/4 ounces) chocolate cake mix
1/4 cup strawberry pie filling
24 Swiss cake rolls
1 can (16 ounces) vanilla frosting
Blue food coloring, optional
Assorted candies: Jolly Ranchers, Nerds, skull and fish hard candies
Yellow food coloring, optional

Directions:
Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Fill paper-lined muffin cups half full. Drop 1/2 teaspoon pie filling in the center of each; top with remaining batter.

Bake at 350° for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the cake portion comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.

Meanwhile, cut cake rolls lengthwise (do not cut through); set aside. Place two tablespoons frosting in a small bowl; set aside. Tint remaining frosting with blue food coloring if desired; frost cupcakes.

Place a cake roll on each cupcake. Decorate with assorted candies. Tint reserved frosting with yellow food coloring if desired; place in a resealable plastic bag. Cut a small hole in a corner of bag; pipe latches onto chests.

Yield: 24 servings.

-Michelle

jenny and teddy

CuteEverything — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 21:41:59 +0000

If you like to crochet or know someone who does, I just found out about a sweet lady who designs crochet patterns and sells them on Etsy. She also has some free ones on her website: Jenny and Teddy. They are just adorable and are a fun project to do in your spare time to make for yourself or as gifts. In the big picture above is the teddy bear hat, I love how it looks on the baby. It is a free pattern and you can click here to go to her site and see the full instructions for the Teddy Bear Hat. She has several other free patterns on her site, click here to see them all.

These two little teddy bears are named Amanda and Annie and the pattern to make them is free!

Click here to get the free crochet pattern for this cute pirate chick!

I think this little girl with the purple hair is so darling! The pattern is sold in her Etsy shop.

You can buy the pattern for this strawberry hat with the green ruffled edging in the Jenny and Tedddy Etsy shop.

-Michelle

petunia picklebottom

CuteEverything — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 21:59:29 +0000

The Petunia Pickle Bottom Spring 2012 collection has arrived at Layla Grayce! It features fun new prints in their diaper bags, totes, coordinating travel bags, cell phone cases, baby carriers, slings, layette sets and more. I love the iPhone case shown in pic above. Not to mention, Layla Grayce is offering Free shipping on Petunia Pickle Bottom orders over $50. You can even get free gift wrap on all Petunia Pickle Bottom diaper bags and accessories. Additionally, if you spend over $250 in Petunia Pickle Bottom products you can receive a coupon for $25 that can be used towards your next Layla Grayce purchase.

-Michelle

video: forever friends hearts flying

CuteEverything — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 18:51:52 +0000

Happy Valentine’s Day! Here’s some love from the Forever Friends! Hope you have a great day!

-Michelle

valentine goodies

CuteEverything — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 20:28:21 +0000

The Toy Maker site has some fun Valentine’s Day goodies to share. These are pdf’s that you can print and use to make lovely gifts for friend and family. Above are the Valentine stamps that she made that you can adorn your love letters with!

Or if you want to wrap your mini candy bars in Valentine’s Day style with these gorgeous illustrated wrappers, click here for the pdf!

I love this triangle shaped Cheery Valentine Heart Box, so perfect to fill with delicious treats for your loved ones!

She has lots more free downloads for Valentine’s Day, just click here to see them all!

-Michelle

felt heart barrettes

CuteEverything — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 19:02:11 +0000

I had featured these felt rose barrettes from Molly’s Sketchbook on the Purl Bee previously and I just loved them. So I was excited to see her creation for Valentine’s Day (or really any day!), felt heart barrettes. She gives all the details as to how to make them on the Purl Bee site and suggests making them for any little girls that you know. They would be really fun for Girl Scouts, preschool or just friends!

-Michelle