For The Love of Sweets!

Easy Penguin Cookies

2013-04-12T09:50:00.002-07:00

To celebrate the completion of a unit on penguins, I volunteered to make some cookies for Ava's class. After I had already volunteered, I realized I didn't have a cutter!

I thought about all the different cutters I had and how I could somehow transform one of them into a cookie that would somewhat resemble a penguin. I guess it was a good thing i still hadn't put my Easter cutters away yet because when I saw the egg/oval cutter, the wheels started turning!

Next, I turned to Pinterest to see if anyone else had the same idea. Lo and behold, they had! Here's what I came up with:

I used this recipe for the cookies and even though I'm a Royal Icing kinda girl, I was running low on meringue powder, so gave glaze icing another try. They were super simple and the kids loved them!

Jellybean Topiary

2013-03-29T13:50:00.000-07:00

I have to admit it. I really don't like when Easter comes in March, even if it is the very last day. I just feel like everything was rushed and by the time I put away my cute St. Patrick's Day decorations, my even more adorable Easter decorations had so little time. Oh well, there's always next year!

Anyway, I found some left over (extremely stale!) jellybeans from last year and wanted to use them for some type of craft project. One trip to the Dollar Tree and I was all set! To make my topiary, I bought the following supplies :

package of Styrofoam balls

ceramic pots

ribbon

Styrofoam blocks

hot glue sticks

wooden dowels (Joann Fabric)

jelly beans (left overs)

Easter grass (more left overs)

In small sections, I covered the ball with hot glue and stuck on the jellybeans. I made sure to leave a spot at the bottom to stick the dowel in. Then, I put a block of foam in the pot and and stuck the stick in that. I covered up the foam with Easter grass and finished it off with a bow. Here it is!

I also made a few more apothecary jars,

Let's not forget my Easter Egg Wreath

I also found some time to make these adorable chick cake pops

HAPPY EASTER!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2013-03-15T16:40:00.001-07:00

Well, hello there!

I guess it's a good thing I'm not a professional blogger because I obviously wouldn't be any good at it! Well, I finally decided to try a new recipe and had a little time to sit down at the computer to tell you all about it. In honor of St. Patrick's Day and the bottles of Guinness I forgot were in the fridge, I bring

you . . . . . .

CHOCOLATE GUINNESS COOKIES WITH BAILEYS GLAZE

cookies

2 sticks room temperature butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup Guinness

2 cups flour

1 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup chocolate chips

glaze

powdered sugar

Baileys Irish Cream Liquor

Mix butter and sugar until smooth
Add eggs until fluffy
Add Guinness
Add dry ingredients until well mixed
Fold in chocolate chips

*My personal preference is to chill the dough before baking but it isn't necessary.

6. Using a cookie scoop, scoop dough onto lined sheets

7. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 - 12 minutes

8. Let cookies cool on rack

9. Mix some powdered sugar with some Baileys until desired consistency and drizzle over cooled

These cookies are DELICIOUS!! Crisp outside, soft and gooey in the middle, the perfect combination of chocolate with Guinness and the glaze definitely puts them over the top!

While we're celebrating, might I remind you of my Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes.

HAPPY ST PATRICK'S DAY!

Guess Who?!

2012-12-09T15:45:00.000-08:00

If you have young children, I'm sure you know all about Elf On The Shelf. This is the fifth year "Joey" has been visiting our house and when I came across some cookies sporting his resemblance, I just had to give them a try.

Now, I'm not nearly as talented as Bridget from Bake at 350, but my kids were absolutely thrilled when they saw them! I think I may make them again for Ava's class and hopefully they'll come out even better.

The complete tutorial can be found here.

I used my new favorite sugar cookie recipe and made the template from a Cool Whip lid.

I'm looking forward to trying them out again!

My New Favorite

2012-10-30T13:00:00.000-07:00

I always thought the recipe I used for my sugar cookies was good, but I think I may have finally found the best recipe ever! The dough is smooth, easy to work with and doesn't need to chill. Best of all, the cookies taste fantastic on their own as well as iced. I've used this one recipe two different ways to bake up some adorable Halloween treats.

Sugar Cookie Dough

1 cup (2 sticks) butter at room temperature

1 1/2 cups confectionery sugar

1 egg at room temperature

3 tsp flavoring (I used 1 1/2 tsp orange and 1 1/2tsp vanilla)

2 1/2 - 3 cups flour

Cream butter and sugar until smooth. Mix in egg and flavoring.

Mix in flour until dough is formed.

Once I had the dough made, I was able to make these:

Candy Corn Cookies

adapted from Land o Lakes

Divide the above dough into 3 equal portions. Color 1/3 yellow (I used Americolor gel paste lemon yellow), 1/3 orange (I used electric orange), and leave the last 1/3 uncolored.

Line a loaf pan with plastic wrap and let the excess hang over.

Press uncolored dough into bottom of pan. Follow with orange and then yellow. Wrap with plastic wrap and chill at least 2 hours.

When dough is thoroughly chilled, remove plastic wrap and trim around edges. Cut crosswise into 1/4 inch strips.

Cut each strip into triangles and bake at 375 degrees for 7 - 10 minutes.
I think these may be my son Max's new favorite cookie!

I packaged some up in dollar store jars and added the cute tag from http://lilluna.com/no-tricks-just-treats-jar/

What a yummy treat!

I also made a batch of dough to decorate for Halloween. These are for Ava to bring to school.

Copy Cat Halloween Crafts

2012-10-10T16:55:00.001-07:00

I wish I could take credit for my Halloween decorations, but unfortunately, I'm what you might call a copy cat. Everything you see here came from someone else's idea with my own spin on it.

I just loved the idea of a tulle wreath. There are tutorials and pictures all over Pinterest. For this wreath, I took a Dollar Tree wreath form and tied strips of tulle all the way around. The tulle came in spools in these great Halloween colors at Joann Fabrics. I finished it off by hot gluing some sparkly spiders.

My mantel got decorated with these spider topiaries.

As soon as I saw this, I knew I had to make one. It's sitting right outside my front door!

http://madebymolliesmom.blogspot.com/2011/10/its-pumpkin-totem-pole.html

I downloaded some Halloween subway art and put them in dollar store frames

and followed this tutorial to make a few spooky ghosts.

http://www.everydayisacraftingday.com/2010/09/floating-ghost.html

Here they are displayed with my diy apothecary jars.

I may not be original, but I had fun making them all!

Spider Topiary

2012-09-26T12:07:00.001-07:00

Once again, I came across a pin on Pinterest that I wanted to replicate but change up a little.

I got the cute buckets in the dollar bin at Target. I inserted a foam block inside and then covered the block with orange paper shreds which were also found in the dollar bin.

I spray painted 2 dowels orange and inserted them into the foam block.

Next, I took 2 Styrofoam balls from Michaels ($4.99 each plus I used my 40% coupons!)

and painted them black with craft paint. When they dried, I pressed them into the dowels.

I bought 2 bags of plastic spiders in the Halloween section of Target and hot glued them to the Styrofoam. I glued a few spiders to the dowel too.

Here they are displayed on my mantel.

*Original pin from Crafts by Starlight

Caramel Apple Tart

2012-09-17T06:17:00.002-07:00

I know, this picture doesn't match the title of the post, but . . . .

http://www.pauladeen.com/recipes/recipe_view/fresh_fruit_tart/

It all started with this recipe. I had somewhere to go and needed a dessert so I thought I'd give this a try. It seemed easy enough and turns out, it was!

Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture, but I swear, mine looked identical to this!

Then, I made it again for a friend on a gluten-free diet. I substituted white rice flour for the all-purpose flour and it came out equally delicious!

When the third time came around, I decided to give it a Fall flavor so I used apples and caramel. The results did not disappoint.

Whichever route you decide to take, they are all equally delicious!

Caramel Apple Tart

Crust:

1 1/2 sticks butter at room temperature

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 1/2 cups flour

Mix butter and sugar. Add flour until dough forms. Press dough into tart pan with removable bottom. (I left the bottom of the bottom of the pan at my friend's house so I used a spring form pan instead)

Bake crust for 12 minutes at 350 degrees. Allow crust to cool.

Cream:

8 oz cream cheese

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Mix all ingredients until smooth. Spread over cool crust

Caramel:

2 cups sugar

1 1/2 sticks butter softened and cut into pieces

1 cup heavy cream, room temperature

In a heavy saucepan, heat sugar until melted, whisking often. Once sugar is melted and turns golden, add the butter and continue to stir. Once mixture comes to a boil, remove from heat and slowly add cream while continuing to stir. caramel will thicken as it cools. Once cool, spread over cream cheese mixture.

Top with sliced apples. I used 1 1/2 Honey Crisp apples. Then drizzle with more caramel and top with Heath bits.

DIY Apothecary Jars

2012-09-13T15:36:00.002-07:00

I've been seeing these every where and just couldn't resist making my own. They were super simple and super CHEAP! I made these three for under $10!

I found the candle sticks at Goodwill. They had a brass finish and I simply spray painted them black.

I found the jars at Dollar Tree and glued them to the sticks.

The tops are wooden circles with knobs glued to them. They were also spray painted black.

I found some cute Halloween ribbon at Michaels and we're done!

I love that all I have to do is change the ribbon and they'll be ready for another holiday!

I also love that the lids just rest on the jars so the kids just simply lift them off to take a treat!

I can't wait to display them with some of my other Halloween creations!

Tulle Pumpkin Wreath

2012-09-12T13:45:00.001-07:00

It all started with this picture I saw on Pinterest.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/103325491/handmade-front-door-deco-mesh-halloween?ref=sr_gallery_23&ga_search_query=pumpkin+wreaths&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_search_type=handmade

Yes, I took just one look and knew I had to have one. However, I wasn't crazy about paying that much for it when I knew I could probably do it myself!

Sooooo, I kept analyzing it to try and figure out how it was made and then I stumbled upon this . . .

Pumpkin Wreath tutorial! :)http://erin--elizabeth.blogspot.com/2011/10/diy-pumpkin-wreath.html

After looking it over I went out to gather my supplies only to realize I didn't buy the right kind of mesh!
My first attempt had failed, but I wasn't going to give up!

During one of my travels to Joann Fabrics, I noticed they sold 15 yard spools of tulle for only $2.99!!!
I knew some how, some way, I was going to make this work!

So I followed the basic directions and improvised. I used

10" embroidery hoop

orange latch hook canvas
2 spools orange tulle
8 pieces green tulle
1 piece black tulle
floral wire

First, I stapled the latch hook canvas to the embroidery hoop

Then, I cut the tool into 10'' strips. I rolled the strip into a tube and fastened it with the wire

I poked the wire through the holes (not every one!) and then twisted the wire on the back

When all the orange was filled in, I attached some green pieces for leaves and a black piece for the stem

Not the exactly the same, but pretty close!

What do you think?

Inspired by Pinterest

2012-03-21T12:44:00.000-07:00

It's been quite a while! I've still been baking but unfortunately I haven't been faithful about blogging about it.

I've also been spending a lot (A LOT) of time on Pinterest. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you've got to check it out here. Once you try it, I'm sure you'll be addicted like I am!

I must say I've been quite inspired by so many of the pins I've seen and thought I'd try to replicate some of them.

Here are a few:

The directions for this jellybean holder can be found here.

and the directions for this adorable Easter wreath can be found here.

I hope you'll be inspired to try them too!

Christmas Popcorn and Hot Chocolate Spoons

2011-12-21T17:54:00.000-08:00

My turn to bring snack so I had to think of something semi-healthy with a holiday theme. I loved the idea of Cookies & Cups Santa Hat Party Mix but wanted to lighten up on the sugar so I did my own take on it.

First, I made the Santa hats. For some, I used nonpareils but for others, I used white sanding sugar. (I liked those better!)

Then, I took a regular bag of popcorn

and a can of this

I sprayed the popcorn on a cookie sheet lined with paper towels.

Then, I mixed them both with some holiday m&ms.

The girls loved it!

I thought it would be fun to serve it with hot chocolate, especially since I was dying to use my new carafe I picked up for $2.99!!!!

I dipped plastic spoons into melted chocolate chips, making sure the spoon was full of chocolate. I set the spoons on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper and before they set up, I sprinkled them with mini chips and marshmallows.

The girls had so much fun swirling them in the warm milk!

Snowman Votive Holder

2011-12-13T17:14:00.000-08:00

Looking for a cute, inexpensive gift? Look no further! I wish I could take credit for this, but the original idea came from Tatertots and Jello. I adapted it slightly and am in love with it! It was so simple to make too!

All you need:

1 wine glass (Dollar Tree)

Air-Dry Clay ($4.99 for a HUGE container)

Snow-Tex ( I used my Michael's coupon!)

E-6000 (Michael's coupon again!)

scarf (I got this at the Dollar Tree but you could also use felt)

1. Paint the wine glass with the Snow-Tex and let dry.

2. While the paint is drying, shape the clay into eyes, a carrot nose and mouth and then

paint.

3. When all paint is dry, glue your pieces to the glass with E-6000.

4. Cut a strip from the scarf and tie around the stem of the glass.

5. Add a votive candle and you have it!

Now, who to give them to . . . . .

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-23T14:08:00.000-08:00

Just thought I'd share my famous Thanksgiving appetizer that the kids look forward to every year. The original idea came from Family Fun, but I've expanded on it over the years. The base is simply a sugar pumpkin because I thought it was the perfect size. Skewer some olives and tomatoes, (the olives were a BIG hit with Ava's class!) add carrots and cucumbers with toothpicks. The head is an orange baby bell pepper and the waddle and feet are a cut red one. The beak is a carrot attached with a toothpick and the eyes are olives that I cut in half. Serve with ranch dip!

While we're all stuffing ourselves, I always like to sip on something festive! This year I decided to go for a spiced cider cocktail.

Fill a shaker with ice. Pour in 1 ounce Spiced Rum, 1 ounce Cinnamon Schnapps and 4 ounces of apple cider. Shake and pour over ice. Garnish with a cinnamon stick.

Happy Thanksgiving!

DIY Cake Stand

2011-11-21T17:20:00.000-08:00

I love to entertain and will jump at any chance to host a party! Part of what I love about parties is decorating and presenting the food in creative ways. Anyone who knows me well, knows I have a dish, plate or tray for almost every occasion! My cabinets are completely full!! When it came time to throw my daughter's birthday party, I knew exactly what theme and colors I was going with but fell short on a few items I wanted. I 'm constantly surfing the web and have come across many sites with directions for making your own cake stands so I figured why not? Well, let me tell you, it was so easy and so cheap I will definitely be making more!

Just go to the Dollar Store and purchase these

The glue came from Michael's Crafts (I used a coupon!)

Glue the candlestick to the dish and let the glue dry over night

Either leave as is, or simply paint it with the spray paint of your choice

It's that easy to color coordinate for any event! I think this could become addicting!

I used this one for some cookies

*Please note that these are not food safe because of the paint. Simply use a doily, clear plate or in this case, paper plate on top. As you can see, I didn't just stop at the cake stand. The candy/cookie jars are simply a glass and candlestick!

HAVE FUN!

Baked Pumpkin Spice Donut Holes

2011-11-09T18:57:00.000-08:00

I'm still on my pumpkin kick and don't plan on ending it any time soon! There's just nothing like the taste of it mixed with all those spices. I love the way the house smells too while they're baking. Yes, I said baking, because these donuts are baked not fried! These babies are so good, you may want to make a double batch because they seem to disappear quickly!

Donuts

1 3/4 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup canned pumpkin (not pie filling)

1/2 cup milk

Coating

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

2/3 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 24 cup mini muffin tin with baking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and spices. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, pumpkin and milk. Add dry ingredients to wet and mix until just combined.

Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. I used a small scoop

then bake 10 -12 minutes.

While the muffins are baking, melt butter in one bowl and combine sugar and cinnamon in another bowl. Remove muffins from oven and cool until able to handle. Dip each muffin in melted butter, then roll in cinnamon sugar to coat.

YUM!!

*These are best dipped and coated the same day because they can get soggy. I really wouldn't know though, because they they all went!

Candy Corn Martini

2011-10-23T10:54:00.000-07:00

I learned a little trick that will result in a great big treat!

I've been hearing a lot about candy infused vodka and just had to give it a try. I figured since it was Halloween, I'd start with candy corns!

Candy Corn Infused Vodka

1/2 cup candy corn

1 cup vodka

Place the candy corn in a glass or bottle and cover with vodka.

After a few hours it will look like this!

Strain the vodka into a decorative bottle to store. (Maybe next time!) Now you're ready for your cocktail!

Candy Corn Martini

4 ounces candy corn vodka

2 ounces orange liquor (I used Cointreau)

1 egg white, optional

candy corn, for garnish

colored sugar, for garnish

Rub a slice of citrus fruit around the rim of your glass (I used orange) and then dip it in the sugar.

Place a few candy corns in the bottom of your glass.

Fill your shaker with ice and then add vodka, orange liquor and egg white. (I did not use egg white)

Shake and pour into your glass.

A little treat for you to sip on while you're handing out the candy! Please beware, this drink is incredibly sweet! It's meant to be sipped slowly!

Now that I know this little trick, I think I'll try it with bubblegum, maybe some Jolly Ranchers, and definitely candy canes at Christmas!

2 Ingredient Pumpkin Cake

2011-10-20T18:36:00.000-07:00

I found this on Pinterest and had to see if it really worked. I mean, how could you possibly make a great tasting cake with only these 2 ingredients?

Well, you can! This cake was incredibly easy, very moist and super delicious! I will definitely be making this again!

2 Ingredient Pumpkin Cake

compliments of Noble Pig

1 box white, yellow or spice cake mix

1 15 ounce can of pumpkin (not pie filling)

Simply mix the cake mix together. The batter will be thick.

Pour the batter into a greased 11 x 7 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

While the cake is cooling, you can mix up the glaze. (ok, so there are a few more ingredients!)

Glaze

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

3 tablespoons apple cider

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Mix all ingredients. Invert cooled cake onto platter and spoon glaze over cake, letting it run down the sides.

This cake is best served warm but is delicious at room temperature too. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Blondies

2011-10-16T11:00:00.000-07:00

Today my husband told me all the sweets I make are making him fat! He told me I needed to make more fruits and vegetables instead. Pumpkin is a fruit--right?!

Pumpkin Blondies

2 cups flour

1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 egg

2 tsp. vanilla

1 cup pumpkin

1 cup white chocolate chips

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

Beat butter and sugars until creamy. Add egg, vanilla, pumpkin and continue to beat. Add dry ingredients and continue to beat. Fold in chips.
Pour batter into a greased 9 x 13 pan and bake for 40 minutes. When cool, cut into 24 bars.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

2011-10-13T14:42:00.000-07:00

I've always wanted to make whoopie pies and thought I'd try these to finish up the can of pumpkin I had opened. Pumpkin and cream cheese are such a yummy combination and a wonderful taste of Fall!

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Cookie

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

(1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg)

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup softened butter

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

1/4 cup milk

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

Filling

1 (8-ounce) package softened cream cheese

2 tablespoons softened butter

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 cups powdered sugar

Combine flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set aside.

Beat butter and brown sugar until creamy. Add pumpkin, milk, egg and vanilla. Reduce speed and add flour mixture. Beat until well mixed.

Drop batter by level tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheets. (I used a small cookie scooped and silicone baking liners)

Bake 10 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven. Cool 2 minutes on cookie sheet, then cool completely on cooling rack.

Combine all filling ingredients except powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Gradually add the powdered sugar, beating until creamy.

I put the mixture into a ziploc bag and snipped he corner off. Spread the filling on the bottom side of one cookie. Top with another cookie bottom side down.

This recipe made 2 dozen.

French Toast Muffins

2011-10-10T15:18:00.000-07:00

I am officially addicted to Pinterest! I came across a delicious looking picture of these muffins and thought I'd make them for my kids as a special breakfast treat.

French Toast Muffins

recipe from Velvet Lava Cafe

1/3 cup melted butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg, room temperature

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 cup milk

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add wet ingredients and stir until combined, don't over mix. Using a large ice cream scoop, scoop batter into a greased muffin tin. (I got 8 muffins from this amount of batter) Bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Topping

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup melted butter

1 tsp cinnamon

Mix sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Place melted butter in another small bowl. Dip the warm muffins in butter and then cinnamon sugar.

*Everyone enjoyed them but it seemed as though something was missing. I think next time, I will add 1/2 tsp of vanilla to the batter. My daughter enjoyed hers with syrup!

Dairy Free Pumpkin Bread

2011-10-02T13:36:00.000-07:00

I love the flavors of Fall, especially pumpkin! If you love pumpkin bread, you've got to try this one. It's extremely moist and full of flavor. You won't miss the eggs or milk at all!

Dairy Free Pumpkin Bread

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup coconut milk

Combine all ingredients until thoroughly mixed. Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hr and 15 minutes.

Remove from oven and immediately cover top with foil for 10 minutes.

Turn out onto rack to cool.

Royal Icing vs. Glaze

2011-10-01T13:51:00.000-07:00

About a year ago. I got into cookie decorating and started surfing the web to see how people were decorating theirs. As I was admiring everyone's beautiful creations, I couldn't help but notice how different the icing looked on some cookies. I didn't realize that different decorators used different types of icings. For instance, Sugarbelle uses Royal Icing (which is how I thought everyone did it), Cookie Crazie uses a corn syrup glaze, and Karen's Cookies uses meringue buttercream.

Though I've never tried the meringue buttercream, I have used both Royal Icing and corn syrup glaze. Each has it's pros and cons.

Royal Icing

To me, this icing looks the most professional and seems to dry quicker, to a nice, rock hard finish

but, the taste isn't fabulous. It needs quite a bit of flavoring and a really delicious cookie to sit on! It is also more expensive to make since I don't like to use raw egg whites and have to purchase meringue powder. Lastly, it takes a lot more coloring to get deep shades.

Glaze

In my opinion, this icing is very sweet, but tastes so much better! I also love the way it takes on a rich, vibrant color without having to use too much.

On the down side, it can be hard to get the right consistency. I've run into problems where it seemed thick enough, but then ends up running off the cookie. It also takes longer to dry and tends to look a little more translucent.

What's your opinion?

Apple Treats

2011-09-23T11:53:00.000-07:00

My favorite time of the year has arrived and I was very excited to go apple picking with my family. Every year, we go at least once, (usually 2 or 3 times!) and enjoy an afternoon filled with a hay ride, apple picking, cider donuts and farm animals.

We came home with lots of apples and so far, I've done the following with them

Apple Dip

8 oz. softened cream cheese

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix all of the ingredients together and then chill until it firms up a little. Serve with sliced apples!*

*To keep sliced apples from turning brown, toss the slices in a little bit of lemon or orange juice!

and . . . . .

Dutch Apple Mini Tarts

(compliments of Pampered Chef)

1 package (15 ounces) refrigerated pie crusts

Filling

4 ounces softened cream cheese

1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 egg

2 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups peeled, chopped apples (I used Cortland)

Topping

3 tablespoons firmly packed light brown sugar

3 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons butter

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out 1 pie crust and cut 12 circles using a cookie/biscuit cutter.

Press into mini muffin pan using the handle of a wooden spoon. Repeat with remaining crust.

For filling, mix cream cheese until smooth. Whisk in sugar until fluffy. Mix in egg until well blended.

Stir in flour and cinnamon until smooth.

Peel and slice apples. Chop into small pieces.

Stir into cream cheese mixture.

Fill prepared muffin cups with apple mixture, filling over top of pastry.

For topping, combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter until it forms coarse crumbs.

Spoon over apple filling.

Bake 18-20 minutes. Let cool in pan 5 minutes before removing.

Serve warm or at room temperature. Enjoy!

Fall Leaves

2011-09-22T18:38:00.000-07:00

I'm back! Sorry I haven't posted in such a long time, but with the kids being home all summer, it being soooo hot, and running off to the baseball field pretty much every night, there wasn't much time left for baking! Now that the kids are back in school and Fall weather is setting in, I'm happy to be back in the kitchen.

A while ago. I saw a post from one of my idols, Sugarbelle, and couldn't wait to try for myself. I used my favorite sugar cookie recipe and used a maple and oak leaf cutter.

When the cookies were cool, I iced them with lemon flavored Royal Icing colored with egg yolk yellow and orange gel paste.

First, I outlined them with piping consistency and a #3 tip.

Then, I filled them in with flood consistency.

When dry, I used more piping icing and a #2 tip to make the veins.

The last step was to use these spray colors. (Sorry, I forgot the green!) I pretty much just randomly sprayed them until they looked like this!

Thank you Callye for the inspiration!