Jen's Sweet Sensations

End of Sweet Sensations Blog

2012-12-07T16:22:00.000-08:00

Sad to say...I think this blog is ending......

It's a free blog that I've been using...and for me to add pictures I would have to pay a monthly fee now since looks like I've over - exceeded my picture limit. Imagine that!!!

No more blog, but if you want me to continue to email you pictures of my cookies, just send me your current email address and I will!!!

My email is jenngantt@aol.com

I don't want to include anyone that really doesn't want to get updates or have time...I totally understand that!!!

Happy Baking, Jen

Gobble Gobble

2012-11-17T16:26:00.005-08:00

Can't believe Thanksgiving is just a few days a way! But I am ready with my cookies....all ready to take to our hostess in Colorado. We are headed there with some friends. It should be a good time and I hope the family likes them!!!

Thanks to Bee in a Bonnet, I was inspired by these turkey faces. I decided just to do the faces this year and not add the feathers!

Bake at 350 has the most awesome pumpkins on her blog.

And doesn't everyone have a few nuts in their family that they will see over Thanksgiving? LOL. Acorns are so appropriate.

Gobble Gobble.

Making falls leaves are so fun with the different colors, swirling, adding sprinkles. Each one is different. These are the mega sized cookies!

Sweet Bella Bakery's website had such a cool fall scene with trees and leaves. I had to try them. Think they are festive!

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving surrounded by friends and loved ones! Not sure how much cookie decorating I will get to do this season. Seems each one is more and more busy as life changes and Trevor gets older. But I still enjoy it when I can.

Happy Baking,

Jen

3 D Halloween Fun

2012-10-20T03:06:00.005-07:00

So I was walking in Michael's last week and found another Halloween cookie I had to make! It was a 3-D box with 4 cutters made by Wilton. Something new and fun for me to try......So see what you get when you put together.....

Some grass.......

a tombstone.........

Ghost.....

And Tree......

You get a 3D Halloween scene! And all to eat!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Baking,

Jen

More Halloween Fun

2012-10-17T18:05:00.001-07:00

Happy, Happy Halloween. I've been having more fun trying new things this Halloween. Every time I see a blog or website with something cool, I seem to want to try it even if I don't have a reason! Especially at holiday time. So I've been making more MORE Halloween cookies, yes more.

The design for my witches shoes came from Lizy B's blog which you can see here.I've always made these into witches boots and loved the idea of the show!

The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle website has these adorable Frankenstein faces.

Thanks to Karen's Cookies Blog for this adorable idea for a Haunted Door. I just loved the detail and had to make this one when I saw it.

Ha Ha Ha - can you see a witch stirring over these cauldrons with her brew?

I'm still trying all different sorts of pumpkin faces and haven't quite come up with one that I really like. But I do like the shape of this pumpkin alot.

Spiders were all around when I was looking for ideas for Halloween cookies!!!

The baking sheet inspired these cobwebs.

I found these monsters on Unsophisticook.com and just loved them. Simple and in teh spirit of Halloween.

I really liked what SugarDot.com did with the cupcake cutters and used that as a inspiration for my own variety.

Wanted to try something different with a witches hat so tried to make some cobwebs at the top. Not sure that was really what I was going for but......

When I saw the Bride of Frankenstein cookies on Bake at 350's blogspot , I couldn't resist making several of these. What a cute idea using a candy corn cookie cutter!

Happy Baking!

Jen

Trick or Treat

2012-10-07T19:17:00.001-07:00

It's my FAVORITE time of the year again. I love making Halloween and Fall cookies. I have so many different ones to choose from that I always make too many! And make them just for fun. But I'm sure I can find a home for these.......

Here's a great idea on how to make leggy little witches that I borrowed from the Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle blog. Using a T-shirt shaped cutter upside down just look at what you can come up with!

The design for these ghosts came from this blog. I loved the design and the colors.

Witches boots were inspired by Bakersandartists.com

When you add a triangle top to a candy cookie cutter, you can get a spider with this cute little Halloween hat. Munchkin Munchies website gave me this idea.

Of course you have to have many pumpkin styles for this holiday.

Cookies Crumbs gave me the idea for the mummy and the Frankenstein face. Karen's cookie gave me the vampire inspiration. And The Baking Sheet had the spiders on her website.

Thanks to the Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle website for giving me the inspiration for these owl faces. Using a heart and tulip cookie cookie was a great idea!! And for the owl in the pumpkin I used a candy corn cookie cutter!

I still have so many more Halloween cookies I want to make! I've already started my next batch!

Happy Baking, Jen

Super Hero's for a Super Boy!

2012-09-22T11:48:00.002-07:00

Happy Birthday to a Super Boy, Aiden!!!! And what's better than some SUPER Hero cookies to help him celebrate his 6th Birthday!!! I have to admit, I feel a bit out of practice......and I'm not really happy with how these turned out, but they were a gift for me to give so that made it okay :) I strive for perfection and not happy with the "imperfections"!!

We know all about Captain America in our House. One of Trevor's favorites. And it just so happens that Aiden was Captain America for Halloween last year.

Batman!

And can't forget Spiderman!

Happy Baking.

I'm thinking about starting some Halloween cookies soon!

It's my favorite holiday!

Jen

Happy Birthday!

2012-09-13T19:16:00.002-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to me!!

This weekend I will celebrate my 37th Birthday! Not really to excited about celebrating being another year older...but who is except children right? I haven't had a chance to make cookies in about a month, and finally had time. This was the PERFECT excuse!

Lila Loa gave me the idea for the balloons.Very simple polka dots but I just loved them.

I found inspiration for the cakes and hates on Flickr HERE. I loved all the details!

A girls got to make her own cookies, right?

Happy Baking,

Jen

Trevor's 6th Birthday

2012-09-03T11:27:00.000-07:00

For Trevor's Birthday that was Thursday, he was very specific on the treats he wanted to take to school. He requested Oreo cupcakes with blue icing. And a wafer cookie on top. Love a little boy that knows what he wants! And that was simple enough to make. Just required crushed Oreo cookies.....

A box of yellow cake mix.

And wafer cookies.

Very simple. And my little helper had a great time smashing up the oreos for me! We put them in the cupcakes and the icing. So very rich!

Yum....look at all those oreos in the batter!

Cupcakes rose nicely!

Because there were crushed cookies in the icing too, I couldn't "pipe" the icing like I wanted. I tried but it got clogged in the tips so I just had to spread it on top!

The kids got to enjoy his treats after lunch. They sat outside under a tree and sang Happy Birthday to Trevor.

It was sure fun for me to see all the kids enjoying the treats. It was a great Birthday for Trevor!

Happy Baking!

Jen

Trevor's 6th Birthday!

2012-08-20T12:13:00.001-07:00

My baby is turning 6 on August 30! We had his birthday party this past weekend and it was crazy! 26 kids for a swimming party at my parents house. Wow. Bless my parents. It turned out great - wonderful weather even though I was worried it was going to be too cold with the cooler air that had moved in. And no injuries which makes it a success in my book!

This year Trevor opted for a police theme. Worked for me! I made police badges, cars and mini cars. The kids got them in the favor bag to take home.

And I decided to make a police cake. It was funfetti - per Trevor's request on the flavor. I bought a new car cake pan - had to order it off the Internet and made 2. My friend, Ali, helped me decorate it. we decided to keep it simple and didn't get as elaborate on the decorations as I was originally thinking I might have to be. I was pretty satisfied with how it turned out and it was easy.

I was the most proud that the cake came out of the pan with no problem! That is always what you worry about, but I greased and floured the pan really well. I cheated and used a box mix - which of course tasted great. And I had to use 1.5 boxes to fill the pan. There is more cake in that little car than you think!

Trevor would have been happy if I had let him have a taste prior to his party goers arriving, but I made him hold off.

And here is the crazy bunch of kids that were at the party. I got my picture although it was NOT easy. The kids swam, had cake and Popsicles, a pinata and a Balloon artist came. It was a very fun party and the kids had a blast.

Haven't been baking or making cookies lately. Just no time. Between baseball games and practices, getting things settled in Trevor's new school, soccer practices soon to start, working - with the new added element today of my employer being bought out meaning no idea what is going on with my job.....I really don't know whether I'm coming or going most of the times. Life seems to be more demanding lately. All is good, just hasn't left much time for cookies! I guess we all go through stages of that. Not really sure when I will be back to baking.....probably not for a few weeks!

Happy Baking,

Jen

Elvis Presley Cake

2012-07-30T18:32:00.006-07:00

This is a recipe I got off Pinterest and it is WONDERFUL and very easy to make. The picture doesn't do it justice really. I'm not sure why it's called Elvis Presley cake, so if you know, enlighten me!

You can find the recipe on allrecipes.com here. It uses a white cake mix with pineapple and sugar on top. The icing is cream cheese, powered sugar and pecans. Simply amazing and you can make this in no time!

Happy Baking.

Jen

Happy 21st!

2012-07-28T11:11:00.000-07:00

An event to remember! Your 21st Birthday! And what is the most fun about this milestone? Well, finally being legal to do some of the things you already do!

Thought this assortment was fun for a friends step daughter ! The shoe was inspired by my amazing friend Amalia from Cookie Construction. You can check out her amazing cookies on her blog here. She is fabulous! The most talented person I know!

Happy Birthday Taylor!

Enjoy!

Happy Baking, Jen

Summer Fun

2012-07-24T19:06:00.005-07:00

I've been busy making some summer cookies. Just some things that say "fun to me".

I have always wanted to make a fruit assortment with all my cookie cutters! Thought summer was the perfect time to do this!

Happy Baking,

Jen

Ole!

2012-07-21T11:26:00.002-07:00

Repeat customers are always very flattering to me! Makes me feel good that they ordered once and were pleased and decided to come back! These were parting gifts for a Mexican party with a pepper and cactus in each bag. She had seen these on my Facebook page that I had done earlier this year. I really liked doing the chili peppers with all the details and bright colors!

Ole!

Happy Baking,

Jen

Angry Birds Crash the Party

2012-07-15T10:55:00.003-07:00

Angry Birds are all the rage right now! More so I think with kids even. Trevor loves to play the game on anyone's phone....I know better than to keep it on mine or I would never get my phone back!

Trevor's buddy from school, Parker, had an Angry Birds party and I was asked to make cookies. Figuring out which cookie cutters to use for each bird and the pig took some creativity on my part. All in all I was pleased with my attempt on them. They weren't the easiest to do and they were quite detailed. The beaks were the hardest part in my opinion.

The pig shape was made from a bunny head with the ears cut off a bit.

I used an balloon cookie cutter for the red angry bird.

Above is Trevor and Parker at his party! I think they all liked the cookies. I had fun making these! Something new and different for me.
Happy Baking,

Jennifer

Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

2012-07-09T19:23:00.002-07:00

If you like Peanut Butter like I do, then these cupcakes are for you. I found there here. On Ming Makes Cupcakes website Cupcake 17. Very easy and very tasty. I even used lower fat peanut butter and they were tasty.

The frosting has peanut butter in it so you can't do much decorating with it - pretty thick to spread on. But with a big glass of milk, these are perfect!

Trevor enjoyed them too!

Happy Baking!

Jen

Happy 4th of July and Happy Birthday to Pat

2012-07-03T19:26:00.002-07:00

Happy 4th of July! Happy Independence Day! And also Happy Birthday to my husband Pat! On the biggest national holiday for us, the United States is turning 236 years old. My husband is not quite that old....only 41! What more could you ask for on your birthday - a paid day off from work (providing you aren't a firefighter or other service employee that has to work on holidays like Pat), fireworks and the whole USA celebrating on that day!

For this round of cookies I wanted to make something other than the plan sugar cookie. I hardly venture out and can only do so when they are just for us. I decided to make some Peanut Butter Sugar cookies and found the recipe from Lizy B here.

Lots of fun ideas for the holiday - like these Bomb pops that I found on Sugarbelle's blog here . Who doesn't like a cookie on a stick?

I saw these stars on hearts on The Baking Sheets website and thought they were fun!

In honor of Pat's birthday I made some 4th of July themed Birthday cookies.

Simply Sweets by Honey Bee made this fun butterfly for the 4th of July. I thought it was fun and different and had to try it. My cutter for the butterfly is a little off-kilter as you can, but I think that adds to the artistic value! You can find a tutorial if you click here.

Cookie Crazie and Ali Bee's Bake Shoppe had some fun firework cookies on their blogs that I used as inspiration and made them my own a bit.

Happy Baking!

Jennifer

Summer Time Fun

2012-06-30T11:55:00.003-07:00

Well, summer has definitely arrived here in KC with the temperatures being in the high 90s and 100s this past week.

So definitely time to make some summertime cookies!

Instead of plain sugar cookies, I made chocolate chip ones! Something for variety and a good time to test out a different recipe. I used Sugarbaker's Chocolate Mini-Chip Cookie recipe that I found here. I was quite pleaesed with the taste and the way it rolled out nicely when shaping them. This is definitely a recipe I would use in the future.

Last year The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle had some great ideas on her blog. One of them was to use a butterfly cookie cutter to make a pair of flip flops. That blog always has great ideas of how to use cookies cutters outside in an outside of the box way.

Here are your swim trunks, bikini and one piece swimming suits! That's about all you can do right now in the KC heat - swim!

Another neat idea Sugarbelle gave me last year was to use a cross cookie cutter to make a palm tree. I just trimmed off the top part of the cross. Isn't that clever?

Lots of bright colors and summer shapes! I'm having some girls over for dinner and I hope they enjoy them. I made them for a special cousin that is in town and hasn't had any of my cookies yet.

Happy Baking! And stay cool.

Jen

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

2012-06-27T20:01:00.002-07:00

Let's go KC Hawks!

What would our baseball season be without some baseball cookies?

They are a pretty good looking team, don't you think? The boys have all doing really well this season with Machine Pitch.

OF course I think this little guy is the cutest!!!

Our summer baseball season is almost over, but have no fear....fall ball beings only a few weeks after that and we don't even stop practicing!

Happy Baking,

Jennifer

Soccer Time

2012-06-19T18:41:00.001-07:00

When we started our soccer season I of course decided that I was going to make soccer balls for all the kids! I came to find out that soccer balls were much harder to make than I imagined!

The unfortunate thing about these was that I wanted to take them to our end of the season soccer event - all 50 cookies that I made. Pass them out and get a picture of all the kids because we didn't get any team ones this season. But the event was planned on a night that we had baseball (with only a few days notice I might add and more than a month after the season ended) and we couldn't make it. That really made me sad after all the hard work I had put into it. I sent the cookies with another parent though. I hope the kids enjoyed them!

We didn't get any professional pictures, but I took these of my soccer "kid" after his last game!

The most we got to do with our cookies was deliver them to a friend that was going to the party. And you can see the little trophy all the kids got.

Happy Baking.

Jen

Father's Day Yummy Desserts

2012-06-18T19:07:00.002-07:00

For Father's Day I made some Yummy desserts...that were super easy but WONDERFUL. I had my little helper for these...and he was a professional taste tester as well!

There is nothing better than being able to lick the icing is there?

My first creation was this Oreo Cookie Cake. I'm always very impressed when my cakes come out super easy and in one piece from the pan! Worked like a charm this time!

This recipe was super easy and delicious - everyone that had it LOVED it. I PINNED It from this website Veronicas Cornucopia here.

You simply use a box of white cake mix (or your favorite recipe) and add crushed oreos. That's it. The icing is just as easy - cream cheese, powdered sugar, oreos and whipped cream. That's it! Everyone raved about it. A different kind of icing than I had made before and it was wonderful. You to have to keep it refrigerated until you use it though.

My second reason was the result of another successful Pinning here. From Delish.com. A wonderful "Ice Cream Treasure". Very simple to make. The crust is made of rice krispees, cheerios and brown sugar. The website didn't say to bake it, but I did put it all in the oven for about 15 min at 350 and it seemed to work just perfectly. Not really sure what it would be like if you didn't bake it. Then you can take any kind of ice cream you like and add bits of toffee like Delish did. It calls for coconut and nuts as well but my guests weren't fans of either so I skipped all that jazz..but that would be fabulous in it as well.


I totally recommend both of these recipes if you want something easy, wonderful and serves a big group.

HAPPY BAKING.

Jen

Happy Father's Day

2012-06-15T19:42:00.004-07:00

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to the amazing Father's I have in my family. My Dad and my husband! And Happy Father's to all those out there!

Being a Father is an incredible job and not always easy. Like Bill Cosby said, "Even though your kids will consistently do the exact opposite of what you're telling them to do, you have to keep loving them just as much."

Father's brought many images to my mind.....here are some that I decided to make to honor my Father's in our family.

I found the rainbow on Pinterest and had to make one. I love Pinterest, but the only thing is that sometimes when you try to find the source of a picture or what you are pinning, a valid one does not exist. Such is the case with this. Unfortunately I can't tell you where I got this idea from!

I found the sun on Glorious Treats website here. They made me smile when I made them --- and they also made me think of DAD.

Dad's bring lots of sunshine and rainbows to the world of a child. That is what my Dad and my husband have done and are doing each day.

Some golf cookies in honor of my husband.....this being his latest hobby. I loved the idea of making a little golf scene using a circle cookie cutter. I found that inspiration on Sugary Sweet Things Blog here.

Doesn't every Dad or Father like Beer? At least in my house they do.....I'm all about raising our glasses in honor of Pat and my Dad on Sunday! Cheers!

T-shirts are hard for me to do...they are still a work in progress....but it still sort of looks like something a Dad might wear!

We all know that the TIE is a symbol of Father's day...but do you know the background?

As early as 1920, the custom of giving ties to fathers was symbolic of love and a joke. A man was often teased for his ugly tie that his wife gave him, as it was common for her to have no sense of taste. And poor Dad was left wearing an ugly tie in order not to hurt his wife's feelings. It still remains today that the tie if the traditional and classic Father's Day gift.

Read more about Father's Day history on Browinelocks.com here.http://www.brownielocks.com/fathersday.html

Happy Father's Day to 2 very important Father's in my life. My Dad and my husband. You are the best Dad''s I could ask for.

"Any man can be a father. It takes someone special to be a dad." - Author Unknown.

Happy Baking,

Jen

Welcome to the world Baby Boy!

2012-06-07T18:55:00.000-07:00

There is nothing more special in this world than the birth of a child! A beautiful friend that I met clear back in grade school had her first child recently. I simply had to make something to celebrate this wonderful occasion. I really enjoyed making these to welcome baby Samuel into the world. Just a small token I could send the family to let them know how happy I am for them!

Welcome Baby Samuel! You have been born into the most wonderful and loving family and have parents that are going to take such good care of you!

I looked through many websites to gather ideas for some fun baby cookies and came up with quite a few I think! The baby ducks I found on A Dozen Eggs bake Shoppe website here. I think the polka dots are just adorable for a little baby.

I didn't have an elephant cookie cutter (guess I need one, right?) but really wanted to try to make one so I did this freehand after looking at a few different designs. With freehand you get a something just a bit different each time. Not bad for my first attempt!

I found these sweet baby faces made from a flower on Facebook - on Icings by Ang's page. I think they look so peaceful!

My baby bottle idea came from browsing through many pictures on Yahoo. I can't really give credit to any one person - I sort of combined what I saw. A simple design that I think is pretty neat.

Thanks to Ali Bee's Bake Shop for giving me the idea for this sweet baby face. She has so many cute ideas. I combined a few and made a few changes to what she did but want to give her credit.

My cookies are going in the mail and I hope they arrive safely and in one piece!

Congrats to my friend and her family.

"A baby will make love stronger, days shorts, nights longer, bankrolls smaller, homes happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for."

Happy Baking,

Jen

Yummy Treats

2012-06-03T03:32:00.001-07:00

I haven't posted anything in a few weeks! I've actually taken a bit of a break and have been able to get some deep cleaning done around the house. I've also been busy with sports games and practices for Trevor.

But here are a few yummy treats I have to share with you!

These CARMELITAS are super good!

Gooey, yet wonderful. I found them on this blog. Click Here for the recipe. I did my own variation on this which includes caramel squares, oats and chocolate chips. I used low fat caramel sauce and white chocolate chips instead. Super good substitutions in my opinion!

These White Chocolate Blondie Brownies I found on a website I use all the time - All Recipes. Click Here. I'm a "blondie" fan and am always trying to find something that I really, really like. This is pretty tasty. My own variation was to use butterscotch chips on top instead of white chocolate chips since that was already inside. I left this a bit underdone to get more of a dense taste instead of cake like - just my preference! This was pretty tasty too.

Happy Baking!

Jen

Spidey!

2012-05-21T17:51:00.000-07:00

What says Happy Birthday to a little boy more than SPIDERMAN?

I'm not sure of much else! Hope the little boy that these cookies were

made for has a wonderful Birthday!

Happy Baking,

Jen

Happy Mother's Day

2012-05-13T18:48:00.001-07:00

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

I hope you have a great day celebrating your Mom or any mom! Moms are such a wonderful thing and make so many sacrifices in their lives. I never knew the full meaning of that until I had my own child. I would do almost anything to make Trevor's world a better place. And I know for a fact that my Mom did that my whole life...and continues to do that for me and now for my son. I can't say thank you enough to her for everything! Being a Mother has been the best job I could ask for.

"Being a full-time Mother is one of the highest salaried jobs...since the payment is pure love."

I got pretty ambitious this week with my Mother's Day cookies. Saw several blogs lately that had some fun things to make - but they were all very detailed!

Lady Bugs always remind me of summer....so I thought I could "spring" them up and use some bright colors! They are happy little bugs to me!


One of my favorite places to get ideas is from Cookie Crazie. She posted these basket cookies here this past week. She does a step by step process on her blog which is so helpful. I thought they turned out pretty neat. Lots of little details with the flowers but they look like Mom to me!

I've always struggled on my butterflies and haven't been real happy with my designs yet. With all the other detailed cookies I was doing this week I opted for a simple butterfly and thought this one that The Painted Cookie had was nice.

I got the idea for these potted violet cookies from Sugarbelle here. I thought it was a neat idea to use the cupcake cookie cutter to make a flower pot! The only thing I didn't venture to try from this tutorial were some flower transfers. I just ran out of steam this week as I had taken on so many different designs and had a lot going on. I will definitely have to try them soon as the flowers Sugarbelle makes are so pretty.

I give Glorious Treats the credit for the Morning Glory Cookie design from their website. It was harder than I thought to make the vines look as neat and realistic as they did. I definitely need more practice on that. Cake Central was my inspiration for the flower scene. Such a simple, yet pretty cookie.

Another beautiful idea from Sugarbelle. Gorgeous Marigolds with a great tutorial here. The marigold petals were made in stages to get the layering affect. You place one layer, let it dry, then go to the next. I think they turned out pretty good and really enjoyed making these.

I used petal dust in the center of the cookie which is a very fun detail to add.

What says Happy Mother's Day like a whole assortment of flowers!

And one more dessert I made for Mother's Day. Bailey's Irish Cream Cupcakes! I found them on All Recipes.Com posted here. And I always have Bailey's on hand so thought they would be something different to try! Following the recipe exactly and they turned out delicious! I put a simple buttercream frosting on top. Definitely a cupcake to make again.


Cookies, cupcakes and ice cream. What could be better, right?

Our main course for Mother's Day dinner was Cranberry Chicken. YUMMY. And so simple to make. Here's the recipe on this link. Only 3 ingredients - french dressing, a can of whole cranberries and a package mix of onion soup. You place chicken in a baking dish and toss those 3 things on top (mix them up a bit). Then bake in the oven. The link I found puts them all in the crock pot which would be easy as well. But I baked it for about 35 minutes (or until the chicken was done). A fabulous flavor and you have a wonderful sauce for the chicken as well. This was great to have for company since there was so little prep work!

I had a wonderful Mother's day celebration with my Mom (on the right in blue), my husbands Mom, Kathy (in the middle in gray) and my son. The best thing is just spending time with family!

Happy Baking to all.

And hope you have a great Mother's day~

Jen