Sugar Blitz

Whoopie Pies

2012-01-26T12:37:00.000-08:00

After the cupcake craze came macaroons and whoopie pies. I found this Pillsbury mix for whoopie pies and decided to try them. They turned out great and my girlfriends loved them.

Before mixing the whoopie pies, cut a piece of wax paper the size of your baking sheet. Using a permanent marker, draw circles on the wax paper.

Mix according to directions on the package.

Put the mixture into a piping bag and pipe the whoopie pie mixture onto the baking sheet using the circles on the wax paper as a guide. This will ensure all of the whoopie pies are the same size.

Bake the whoopie pies.

Mix the frosting and place a dollop onto the bottom half of the whoopie pie.

Place the top half of the whoopie pie onto the bottom.

Roll the edges of the whoopie pie into sprinkles

Enjoy!

New Year's Resolution

2012-01-13T12:27:00.000-08:00

So I have been missing in action for awhile. My New Year's resolution is to update my blog at least bi-weekly. We'll see how that goes. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and Happy New Years! May 2012 bring joy and happiness!

BUNCO

2011-12-21T06:00:00.000-08:00

I recently made cake pops for a family friend's BUNCO get together. I thought it would be fun to make dice cake pops to go with the BUNCO theme. This was somewhat of a challenge as I have never made cube cake pops before.

Start by mixing your cake crumbs with 3/4 can of frosting.

Press the cake mixture into an 8x8" pan. I wanted my dice to be approximately one inch in size, so I pressed the mixture into the pan so that it was one inch thick.

To compact the cake mixture and get a smooth top, place a piece of parchment paper on top of the mixture and roll with a small rolling pin.

Place the pan into the freezer for approximately 15 minutes. Remove the pan and cut into cube shapes. Or if you live in Minnesota, like I do, place the pan outside in the freezing cold winter.

Place a stick into the center of each cube. Dip the stick into melted chocolate first. This will help keep the cake pop on the stick when dipping the entire cake pop into the melted chocolate.

Dip each cake pop into the melted chocolate and let dry.

Use sprinkles or frosting to decorate the dice. Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Pie

2011-12-14T06:00:00.000-08:00

So, I meant to post this before Thanksgiving but never got around to it. I was intrigued when I saw this Sweet Potato Pie recipe in the Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine. Try it out for one of your holiday gatherings.

Start by steaming or microwaving the Sweet Potatoes until soft.

Pulse the Sweet Potatoes with a food processor until smooth.

Blend in the buttermilk...

eggs...

brown sugar, and salt.

Pour the mixture into a prepared pie crust.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50min.

Now, here comes the fun part! Pile large and small marshmallows onto the top of the pie. Place under the broiler for approximately 3 minutes until the marshmallows puff up and are lightly browned. Then enjoy!

The Sweet Potato Pie tasted great. It was very similar to a pumpkin pie, but I really liked the addition of the marshmallow topping. It gave the pie an extra kick.

ONE!

2011-12-11T21:27:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to my sweet, baby boy! I can't believe a whole year has already gone by. It has been the most wonderful, exhilarating, and exhausting year of my life. I wouldn't change one thing about it. In honor of my baby's birthday we celebrated with a Peanuts themed dessert table.

Happy Birthday Charlie!

Candy jars filled with lemon drops, Hershey Kisses - Cookies n' Cream , and licorice.

Cake Push Pops These push pops are simple to make and were a hit at the party. Simply bake a cake, cut into small cubes, and alternate with layers of cool whip or frosting. Top with a garnish. I ordered my push pops from Sweet Lulu. Sweet Lulu is a great place to order party supplies.

Charlie Brown inspired sugar cookies.

Lucy football truffles. Remember in the Peanuts comics how Lucy always "holds" the ball for Charlie to kick? These are so de-lish and easy to make. You can find the "How To" from Bakerella.

Beverages in the theme colors; red, blue, and yellow. In addition, paper drinking straws from Sweet Lulu.

And last, but not least the Snoopy Cake! This took me hours to make but I was very happy with how it turned out. The cake was alternating layers of white and chocolate cake filled with buttercream frosting. Unfortunately, my little guy was not a fan of cake this year!

Another view of the cake.

Snoopy and Woodstock.

I love you Charlie! Here's to another year of amazing memories.

Halloween Dessert Table

2011-10-25T19:38:00.000-07:00

Halloween is a week away! Here are some fun ideas for a Halloween Dessert Table.

Rice Krispie Treats with Candy Corn and Peanuts. A good sweet and salty mix.

Graveyard Goodies. Brownies with marshmallow ghosts.

Spider Eggs (Sixlets) and Newt's Teeth (Watermelon Rock Candy) Treats

Coffins filled with Dirt n' Bones.

Monster Marshmallow Pops

Spider and Spider Web Cupcakes

Gooey Goblin Eyes

And don't forget the Witch's Brew

Happy Haunting!

Trick or TREATS!

2011-10-13T16:24:00.000-07:00

Halloween is definitely one of my favorite holidays. I love dressing up and I LOVE all of the candy and treats. Here are some fun Halloween goodies that are easy to make. All you need is test tubes, candy, and labels. I found these Martha Stewart test tubes at Michaels. They even come with labels. Last year I ordered test tubes online and made my own labels. I bought 'Newt's Teeth' (neon green watermelon rock candy) and 'Spider Eggs' (Sixlets) to fill the tubes. Be creative! You can use any type of candy and different sized test tubes. Stay tuned for more Halloween treats over the next couple of weeks.

4-0

2011-09-27T08:14:00.000-07:00

Happy 40th birthday to my cousins Amy & Ryan!

Here are some pics of the cake I made for their birthday celebration.

I started by making two 6" and two 8" round cakes and leveling them with a knife.

Then I filled the cakes with a homemade chocolate ganache and buttercream icing.

Next I iced the cakes.

I recruited my husband to help roll out the fondant.

Once the fondant was rolled, I covered both of the cakes.

I then cut off the extra fondant and smoothed out the bumps.

For the decorations I used these black Wilton Sugar Sheets. I found these at Michaels and they come in a variety of colors.

It was super easy to use and looks really nice on the cake. To start I peeled the sugar sheet off the plastic.

I then used a cutting board (a clean one, of course) to cut black strips for the cake.

Once the strips were cut, I used a paint brush to brush each strip with water so it would stick to the cake.

After brushing the strips with water, I placed them one by one onto the bottom layer of the cake.

After the bottom layer of the cake was decorated, I stacked the smaller layer on top.

I rolled white balls of fondant to use as the border around the top layer of the cake. I used a little bit of frosting to hold them in place.

For the top layer of the cake, I used a knife to cut 4s and 0s from the black sugar sheets. I added rolled white fondant balls to the top of the cake and added the fun, twirly wires with hanging jewels to the top of the cake. You can find the wires and jewels at Michaels also. I think they make a fun addition to any cake.

Zucchini Bread

2011-09-15T15:14:00.000-07:00

Does anyone have a lot of Zucchini from the garden that they don't know what to do with? We recently got a bunch so my mom and I made Zucchini bread using my Grandma's recipe. For this recipe you will need:

3 Eggs

1 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder

3/4 C. Applesauce (or cooking oil)

2 C. Grated Zucchini

1 1/2 C. Sugar

3 tsp. Vanilla

1 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Baking Soda

3 C. Flour

Start by grating the Zucchini. We grated all of the Zucchini and put the leftover in freezer bags for future use.

Beat the eggs. Add oil and sugar.

In a separate bowl sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.

Add grated zucchini and flour mixture alternately to the egg, oil, and sugar mixture.

Pour mixture into baking pans. We used miniature bread pans to make several loafs. We added walnuts and chocolate chips to some of the loaves. My favorite was the chocolate chip zucchini bread!

Here's a picture of the zucchini bread fresh out of the over. De-lish! Do you have any other recipe ideas for zucchini? We also tried zucchini noodles for dinner that night. Turned out pretty good!

Back to School - Brownie Bites

2011-09-07T07:31:00.000-07:00

Our nanny recently went back to school, so we made her these de-lish Mini Treasure Brownies which you can find the recipe for on the Tasty Kitchen website. How we miss her already! We are already looking forward to next summer when she will be back.

Start by mixing the sugar, vanilla, and oil in a bowl.

Mix in the beaten eggs.

In another bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Once mixed, stir into the liquid ingredients. Pour mixture into a lined, mini muffin tin and bake for approximately 10 minutes at 350.

While the brownie bites are baking, unwrap the Hershey Kisses.

Remove brownie bites from the oven. Let cool for a few minutes and then press one Hershey Kiss into the center of each brownie bite.

For a fun way to package your brownie bites (or other miniature treats), place in a clean egg carton.

Add your own personal touch, by decorating the egg carton. Or use one of these cute egg cartons that can be purchased from Bake It Pretty. I plan on ordering some of these for future projects! Hope everyone has a good first week back at school!

S'mores Dessert Guest Feature

2011-08-11T05:39:00.000-07:00

Did you know that yesterday was National S'mores Day 2011? In honor of this campfire treat I am featuring a S'mores Dessert that my mom made. This isn't your traditional campfire S'mores, but an ice cream S'mores Dessert. A refreshing treat for this hot, humid summer that we're having in Minnesota.

To make this de-lish S'mores Dessert, start by layering graham crackers side by side in a 9x9" pan (4-6 whole crackers for the bottom and top). Next spread hot fudge topping over crackers (about 1 cup). Sprinkle with mini marshmallows. Spread 2 cups of softened ice cream on top. My mom used chocolate chip ice cream. Top with graham crackers.

Freeze dessert and enjoy!

Have you seen these marshmallows in the store yet?

Take a closer look. They are square shaped marshmallows, perfect for S'mores! I haven't had a chance to try roasting these marshmallows over a campfire, but they would be perfect to use in the S'mores ice cream dessert. I hope you have a chance to enjoy a S'more over the campfire this summer. Happy Camping!

Target Cake Guest Feature

2011-07-21T07:53:00.000-07:00

How adorable is this cake? My friend Kristi decorated this cake for a friend of hers who works for Target.

Bullseye, the Target mascot, is so cute. The Bullseye Kristi made looks exactly like the real Bullseye. Great job Kristi! You are so talented!

Twin Cities Bakery Tour - Yum! Kitchen and Bakery

2011-07-16T09:53:00.000-07:00

This week's bakery feature is Yum! Kitchen and Bakery. Yum! is located in St. Louis Park at 4000 Minnetonka Boulevard.

I've been to Yum! several times and have tried out many of the desserts. Yum! also has a kitchen which offers soups, salads, sandwiches, entrees, and more. I haven't tried the food, but if it tastes anything like the desserts its to die for. The cupcakes and desserts are packaged in these bright blue boxes with a Yum! logo sticker. I love the red with blue lettering. See below for some of Yum's de-lish bakery treats.

The signature Yum! Cupcake...

...with a creamy filling.

Chocolate & Vanilla Cupcakes

Yum! always has a specialty cupcake featured. One I've tried is the Peanut Butter Cupcake.

Another is the Muddy Mousse Cupcake. The chocolate mousse was amazing.

Per my friend's recommendation I also tried a slice of Patti Cake. This cake was amazing! The chocolate cake was very moist and the frosting was perfect, not too sugary.

I also got a Nut Goodly Bar for my husband. This was very rich and creamy.

If you are ever in the area, you definitely need to check out Yum! bakery. It won't disappoint.

4th of July Trifle

2011-07-05T11:15:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July! Doesn't this look de-lish? I made this trifle for the 4th of July pool party that we went to. It's super easy to make and tastes wonderful. I know this post is too late to make this dessert for this year, but I just had to share.

Start by baking a vanilla cake. Using a fork, poke holes randomly into the cake.

Next prepare a package of blue Jello and a package of red Jello. Mix each pacakage of Jello with 1 cup of boiling water and stir until the Jello dissolves. DO NOT add the cold water called for by the instructions on the Jello box.

Once the Jello is prepared, pour over the cake. Pour the blue Jello on one half of the cake and the red Jello on the other half. Use approximately 1/2 cup of the Jello mixture on each half of the cake. Cover and let set in the refridgerator.

Once the Jello has set, remove the cake from the fridge. This is what the cake will look like when you slice into it.

Cut the cake into small cubes, keeping the blue and red pieces separated.

Now its time to make the Trifle. You will need your cake (cut into small cubes), a large tub of Cool Whip, blueberries, raspberries, and a Trifle bowl (or any other type of glass bowl). Start by layering the blue pieces of cake on the bottom of the bowl. Top with a layer of Cool Whip.

Next, add a layer of blueberries.

Layer the red pieces of cake on top of the blueberries.

To complete the Trifle, add another layer of Cool Whip and top with raspberries. And there you have it, a 4th of July Trifle! This dessert is always a hit and very refreshing on a hot summer day.

Happy 4th of July!

Check out my trifle, posted on Sweet As Sugar Cookies on the Sweets for a Saturday post.

Congrats Nikki & CJ!

2011-06-29T12:26:00.000-07:00

My best friend since the 4th grade recently got engaged! I am so excited for her and her soon to be husband. They are a great couple and I couldn't be more happy for them. Congrats Nikki & CJ!

We went out to dinner this past weekend to celebrate their recent engagement so I thought I would try out the new Cake Pop maker. First, you will need to prepare some cake batter and pre-heat the Cake Pop maker for a few minutes.

Once the Cake Pop maker is heated, pour approximately 1 Tbsp. of batter into each reservoir.

Once all reservoirs are filled, close the lid and let the cake balls bake for approximately 5 minutes. As you can see, I way over filled the reservoirs with batter!

When the cake balls are done baking, remove them from the Cake Pop maker. When I lifted the lid, the entire surface was covered with batter. I used a toothpick to trace around each cake ball and remove it from the Cake Pop maker.

After a few tries I got a little better at judging how much cake batter to fill each reservoir with.

For the most part, the cake balls turned out really great. There were a couple here and there that were slightly deformed, but most of them had a nice circular shape. I did find that the Cake Pop maker doesn't bake the cake balls evenly. The reservoirs in the back seem to cook faster than those in the front. However, they were all thoroughly baked and none were burnt.

Allow the cake balls to cool and then place them in the freezer for a few minutes. While the cake balls are in the freezer melt chocolate in a microwave safe cup. Dip the end of lollipop sticks in the melted chocolate and then insert into the cake balls. Place the cake balls with the sticks into the freezer and allow the chocolate to harden. This step will help to ensure that the cake balls do not fall off the sticks when you dip them into the chocolate.

Remove cake balls with sticks from the freezer, and dip the entire cake ball into the melted chocolate. Decorate cake balls will sprinkles or candies as desired. Allow chocolate to harden. If you do not have a Cake Pop stand or piece of Styrofoam to stick the Cake Pops in, fill a cup with rice. This will allow you to stick the cake balls into the cup without worrying about them tipping over.

Once I finished decorating all of my Cake Pops I placed them in this fun cup and gave them to my friend as an engagement gift! Congrats again to Nikki & CJ! Can't wait for the wedding.

For great Cake Pop ideas visit Bakerella's website. This is by far one of my favorite baking websites.

Cake Pop Maker

2011-06-22T10:50:00.000-07:00

If you are into baking you are probably aware of the Cake Pop craze. My mom came across this Babycakes Cake Pop Maker at Kohl's last week. They were sold out already so we purchased the display model. I love making cake pops and am really excited to try this out! I hope it works well as it would save a lot of time. Stay tuned for my review on the cake pop maker.

Cookies & Cream Cupcakes

2011-06-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

For my brother's birthday, I made baseball themed Cookies & Cream cupcakes.

I baked mini-cupcakes so I bought bite sized Oreos. I would recommend using full sized Oreos if making regular cupcakes.

Start by placing oreos into a plastic bag.

Crush the Oreos while they are in the bag. You may want to use two bags in case one rips/bursts open while you are crushing the oreos. Another option is to use a food processor to grind the Oreos. Crush Oreos until you have approximately 1 C.

Add crushed Oreos to your favorite vanilla cake mix.

For a crunchy addition to the cupcakes, split Oreos in half, remove the cream filling, and place one half of the cookie into the bottom of each cupcake tin.

Here is what the cupcakes will look like when they are done baking.

I decorated the cupcakes with 3 different designs:
I made one batch of frosting and dyed a third of it green for the grass cupcakes. The grass cupcakes are very easy to make. You will need a Wilton #233 frosting tip. Simply squeeze the frosting onto the cupcakes to fill the entire surface.
For the baseball cupcakes, start by frosting the cupcake with white frosting and then pipe on the stitching using red piping gel.
For the New York Yankee logo I melted black Wilton Candy melts and piped the design onto parchment paper. When the chocolate hardens remove the chocolate from the parchment paper and place on the cupcake. A helpful tip - draw your design on a piece of paper and place under the parchment paper. You can then trace the design with the chocolate.

My brother had a softball tournament on his birthday so shared the cupcakes with the guys. They were a homerun!

a-DOG-able™

2011-06-02T09:02:00.000-07:00

I don't have any yummy cupcakes or desserts to share with you this week, so I thought I would share this adorable flower bouquet that my husband surprised me with! You can order this bouquet from 1-800 Flowers.com . The little puppy dog sculpted out of carnations is so adorable. This special delivery made my day. Love you Matt!

Twin Cities Bakery Tour - Sweet Retreat Cupcake Boutique

2011-05-25T19:17:00.000-07:00

I've visited many of the bakeries that are popping up around the Twin Cities and thought it would be fun to share my experiences with you. I will be featuring different bakeries on my blog as I visit them.

The first bakery feature is the Sweet Retreat Cupcake Boutique. The Sweet Retreat is located on 50th & France in Edina at 5013 France Ave South.

I went to the bakery mid-morning on a Saturday and it was very busy. There were a couple of people in the bakery who seemed to be working with clients on cake designs/orders, and a lot of customers pondering over which delicious cupcakes to try out! The cupcakes are packaged in brown boxes sealed with the cute stickers shown above. If you look on the website, Sweet Retreat has different stickers for the packaging depending on the occasion.

There were 14 different flavors of cupcakes offered. They all looked amazing! It was hard to decide which ones to try out. I settled on a half dozen cupcakes. This is the Cookies-N-Cream cupcake. The best part was that there was a cookie cooked into the bottom of the cupcake.

This is Kevin's Vanilla Princess cupcake. Vanilla cake is my favorite and sometimes there is nothing better than a plain ol' vanilla cupcake.

Coo Coo for Coconut is the name of this cupcake. If you like coconut you will definitely like this cupcake.

My husband loves peanut butter cups so I had to try the Peanut Butter Cup cupcake. This cupcake was very rich and peanut buttery.

Of the cupcake flavors that I tried, this Salted Caramel Dream was definitely my favorite. The frosting was light and creamy and the hint of salt was a great combination with the caramel.

This is the Monkey Business cupcake. Banana cake with chocolate frosting. Very tasty!

Sweet Retreat also sells cake balls. My husband and I tried one of their Cookie Dough cake balls which was de-lish! We ate it before we got home, so no picture. They were so good that we bought one and a half dozen for a party that we had recently. I would highly recommend trying them. Sweet Retreat Cupcake Boutique had great cupcakes and we will definitely be going back. Let me know if you ever stop in and try some of the other cupcake flavors!

Girl's Weekend Booze Cakes

2011-05-20T10:04:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was the 9th annual girl's weekend with my family. There are 10 of us and we always have so much fun every year. We are lucky to have such a great family that loves to hang out with each other. This year I decided to make a special treat for the girls, booze cakes. I got this great book, Booze Cakes, from my mother-in-law with a lot of fun recipes. I made boozy, miniature Blue Hawaiian Pineapple Upside Down Cakes.

First I mixed up the batter (with Rum) per the recipe.

Next, I took a third of the batter and colored in blue with food coloring and added more booze. The blue layer of cake also had Triple Sec in it.

The next step was to melt butter and brown sugar in a pan. After the butter and brown sugar was melted I added rum to the mixture. I then placed one pineapple ring into each cupcake tin and spooned the mixture evenly into each tin, covering the pineapple.

Then I scooped the plain batter into the cupcake pan and topped it with the blue batter that was mixed with Triple Sec.

While the cupcakes were baking, I whipped up the boozy whipped cream. This was simple and oh, so delicious! You make the whipped cream by beating heavy whipping cream with sugar. Then add a few Tbsp. of any liquor of your choice. I used Triple Sec in the whipped cream to go with the cakes.

Here's how the cakes looked when I pulled them out of the oven.

Now, for the scary part. Taking the cakes out of the cupcake pan. I pressed a cookie sheet to the top of the cupcake pan and quickly flipped the pan over. The miniature cakes slid right out. I was impressed with how easily I was able to remove them from the pan.

Then each cake was topped with a spoonful of boozy whipped cream, toasted coconut, and a cherry. The miniature booze cakes were a hit on girl's weekend.

Run For the Roses

2011-05-11T08:22:00.000-07:00

I've been to Kentucky the last three years for the Derby, so I was a little disappointed that I wasn't in the midst of the excitement this year at Churchill Downs. However, we managed to have a great time at home in MN. We threw a small party at my parent's house for our friends who are also horse racing enthusiasts and created this Kentucky Derby Table.

I love these miniature serving glasses that I got from Pier 1 Imports. I made a simple Caprese Salad. To make this salad slice baby tomatoes in half, dice fresh mozzarella and basil leaves, mix all ingredients together and add pepper, salt, and extra virgin olive oil.

A Kentucky Derby Table wouldn't be complete without a Derby Pie. See recipe in my previous post.

My mom made spicy pecans to include on the table. These are really delicious and a crowd favorite.

I made some white cupcakes with buttercream frosting, adorned with red buttercream roses. After all, the Kentucky Derby is known as the Run for the Roses. The red rose is the official flower of the Kentucky Derby and the winner receives a garland made up of more than 400 roses.

A derby party wouldn't be complete without some libations. One of the specialty drinks we made was the Oaks Lily. This is the official drink of the Kentucky Oaks, which is the race run the day before the Kentucky Derby. This race is exclusively for 3yr old fillies. Click here for the official Oaks Lily recipe.

We also made Early Times Mint Juleps. The Mint Julep has been the traditional beverage of Churchill Downs for almost a century. Click on the following link to see the official Mint Julep recipe .

Here is my mom and some of her lovely lady friends sporting their Derby hats!

My friend Hanna and I with our fun, festive Derby head ware.

Congratulations to #16 Animal Kingdom, the official winner of the 137th Kentucky Derby!

Kentucky Derby Pie

2011-05-03T20:59:00.000-07:00

This coming Saturday is the 137th Run for the Roses, the most exciting 2 minutes in sports. I've gone to the Kentucky Derby the past 3 years but am unable to make it this year so we are going to celebrate at home, in Minnesota, with a small get together. Derby Pie is the perfect treat for Derby day.

The ingredients you will need are:

1/2 C. Butter (melted)

1/4 C. White Sugar

3/4 C. Brown Sugar

3/4 C. Light Corn Syrup (Karo)

4 Eggs

1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla

1/4 C. Bourbon

3/4 C. Gourmet Chocolate Chips

1 1/4 C. Toasted Pecans or Walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the melted butter, white sugar, brown sugar, light corn syrup, eggs, vanilla, and bourbon. Mix the ingredients until frothy. Fold in the gourmet chocolate chips and toasted pecans or walnuts. Be sure to blend well.

After all ingredients have been mixed together, pour into a prepared pie crust.

This is what the pie looks like before baking. Bake for 50-60 minutes, until set. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

Oops! I accidentally cut the pie into pieces and started eating it before getting a picture of the baked pie. I am making another one this Saturday for the Kentucky Derby so I will be sure to add a picture. I wonder if this will be the year for a Triple Crown winner? Who are you going to bet on; Uncle Mo, Watch Me Go, Santiva? Or do you think Jockey Calvin Borel, who has won 3 out of the last 4 years, will win again riding Twice the Appeal? Whoever it is, I am looking forward to race day!

So here it is, a picture of the final product! I resisted eating this pie until I was able to get a picture. It didn't last long on Derby Day though.

Noah's Ark Dessert/Appetizer Table

2011-04-29T13:16:00.000-07:00

For my son's baptism I decided to create a Noah's Ark themed dessert/appetizer table. I was inspired by Amy Atlas of Amy Atlas Events. She features AMAZING guest dessert tables on her blog http://blog.amyatlas.com/. Check it out sometime if you have a chance.

First I started by deciding on the desserts and appetizers I wanted to serve. I definitely wanted to have cake so I made this 6" layered cake. I created the animals with royal icing and the ark was sculpted with Rice Krispie treats and covered with fondant.

The table also featured pizza mini-muffins. These are a great finger food and super easy to make. I added pepperoncinis to them for a little extra flavor.

One of my favorite featured desserts were the cookie dough cake balls. I purchased these from the Sweet Retreat Cupcake Boutique in Edina, MN. I could have probably eaten this whole tray! My husband ate more than his fair share of them.

I also made homemade chex mix and poured it in these cute miniature glasses. I added green and orange ribbon around the stems to spice them up.

For drinks I purchased lime and tangerine Izze Sodas. To keep with the Noah's Ark theme I wrapped them with this playful animal paper and added green and orange ribbons to identify the flavor.

I also offered candy sticks. I placed them in a hurricane glass jar which I typically use to hold a candle. I thought this was a unique way to display the candy sticks and the corks coordinated well with the wooden serving platters.

I wanted to include at least one thing that was healthy so I filled a trifle bowl with fresh veggies.

The table turned out to be a hit at the party! If anyone is interested in a dessert or appetizer table for a party let me know. It was so much fun to make and there are endless possibilities!

Tsoureki

2011-04-20T09:26:00.000-07:00

Tsoureki, what is that? It's the name for traditional Greek Easter Egg bread. I've never made this before and thought it would be fun to try for Easter.

Start by hard boiling some eggs. Take as many eggs as you would like to dye and place them in a pan of water. You will need 3 eggs for each large loaf of bread and 1 egg for each small loaf of bread that you decide to make.

Bring the water to a boil. Once the water is boiling, remove the pan from the hot surface, cover, and let the eggs sit in the hot water for 14 minutes. After 14 minutes, drain the hot water and add cool water to the pan to help the eggs cool.

Once the eggs are cooled, it is time to dye them! You can use an Easter egg dye kit from the store or you can use food coloring and vinegar.

Place about 1 tsp. of vinegar and 1 cup of water in each cup. Add desired amount of food coloring depending on how bright you want your eggs to turn. Let the eggs dry once you have dyed them.

Now it's time to make the bread. I'll have to admit, I didn't follow a homemade bread recipe for Tsoureki. I just used a frozen load of Rhodes bread dough. I think you can probably use any homemade bread recipe (or frozen dough) to make Easter Egg bread.

To make a large loaf of Easter Egg bread, divide your dough into 3 sections.

Once you have divided the dough, roll each section into a long rope.

Take the 3 rolled dough ropes and braid them together.

Once braided, form the dough into a circle and pinch the ends together.

Now take three Easter Eggs and insert them into the braided bread dough. I used red dyed Easter eggs for my Tsoureki. It is a Greek Orthodox tradition to dye Easter eggs crimson red. The redder they are, the better. My great grandma used to dye her eggs with Rit Dye. That's probably not food safe, so I wouldn't recommend it. :) On Easter there is a tradition of cracking the red eggs. This involves two people, each taking a red egg and smashing them together. Whoevers egg does not crack will have good luck for the year to come.

To make small loaves of Easter Egg bread take two small section of dough and roll each section into a rope. Take the two ropes and twist them together.

Once the ropes are twisted together, form a circle and pinch the ends together. Place one Easter egg in the center of the dough.

For the finishing touches, beat one egg with appx. 1 Tbsp. of water and brush the mixture over the bread dough. This will give the bread a shiny coating.

Lastly, add any spices, toppings, or decorations to the dough. For the small egg bread I added blue sprinkles. On the large egg bread I added parmesean cheese and garlic salt. Bake the bread according to the instructions...

and enjoy your tasty treat!

Easter Baskets

2011-04-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

Easter is my favorite holiday. I love the bright colors, the springtime (which means farewell to the snow), and CANDY! Here are some fun, new items that you may want to get to fill your Easter baskets this year!

Peepsters: These are chocolate candies filled with marshmallow cream and they are delicious! If there is one thing on this page that you decide to try, I would highly recommend these. They come in both milk and dark chocolate. I tried the dark chocolate Peepsters.

Here's a photo of the delicious marshmallow center. We ate the whole bag already, so I'm going to have to get a new one for Easter!

Sour Patch Jelly Beans: I haven't tried these yet, but my husband loves Sour Patch Kids so I thought these would be great for his Easter basket.

Blow Pop Minis: Blow Pop suckers are always a favorite. These miniatures are easy to eat and have the same great taste. Their is gum in the center, however I think you would need to eat several to get enough gum to actually chew.

Here's what the Blow Pop Minis look like. They are smaller than I had anticipated. You get quite a few in each pack.

Peeps Rainbow Pop: I saw this as I was walking down the Easter aisle at the store and just couldn't resist. This Peep pop is so cute! It's basically different colored Peeps on a stick. Peeps remind me of my best friend growing up. I think this is a must for the Easter basket!

Crayola Colored Bubbles: Ok, so this doesn't have anything to do with candy or sugar but I saw these and thought they would be a fun addition to the Easter basket. There were only green and orange bubbles left when I saw these at the store, but they come in multiple colors. Once I got home, I opened them and tried blowing some bubbles. The bubbles are very colorful, but after trying them out I don't know that I would recommend them for kids unless you are prepared for a mess (see next photo)

I blew some bubbles onto a piece of paper and this is how it turned out. Looks like paint, right? If you read the small writing on the bottle it says to wash off surfaces immediately. Although these are very messy I thought it might be fun if for a kids birthday party if you bought everyone white t-shirts and let them blow bubbles on each other to color their shirts.

Coconut M&Ms: I first tried coconut M&Ms this fall in a single serving bag. Since then I have been waiting for them to be offered in larger bags and they are finally here for Easter! If you like coconut and chocolate you will love these M&Ms.

Old Fashioned Candy Sticks: So these aren't new at all but they are so bright and colorful I thought they were a great Easter treat.

Almonds: I thought I should add something somewhat healthy, so I found these flavored almonds. This bag is a mixture of vanilla & caramel almonds. They also had a bag of cinnamon & chocolate almonds that would be good. These almonds are sweet and heart healthy!

Hippity, hoppity Easters on the way!

Happy Birthday to Me!

2011-04-06T15:06:00.000-07:00

For my birthday I decided to make something a little different, a Rice Krispie cake. I got this idea from a friend of mine. It was really quick and easy to make.

Here is what you will need to make this cake:

(2) 6" Round Pan

(2) 10" Round Pan

Wax Paper

Per Batch of Rice Krispies

6 Cups - Rice Krispies (any flavor)

1 Bag - Marshmallows

2 Tbsp. - Butter

Chocolate Wafers (for filling & decorating)

I used Cupcake Rice Krispies for my cake. They are Rice Krispies sweetened with rainbow sprinkles. Very fun for a birthday cake!! It would also be neat to use different types of Rice Krispies for each layer of the cake, for example plain Rice Krispies for one layer and Cocoa Krispies for the other layer.

Start by pre-measuring 6 cups of Rice Krispies into a bowl.

Next, line the round pans with wax paper. This will allow you to easily remove the Rice Krispie cakes once they are pressed into the pan.

In another mixing bowl, pour in one bag of large marshmallows. Slice 2 Tbsp. of butter into smaller chunks and add to bowl.

Microwave the marshmallows and butter for 2 minutes.

Remove bowl from the microwave and stir the marshmallows and butter together.

Microwave the mixture for an additional minute. Again, remove the bowl from the microwave and stir.

Once you have stirred the marshmallow and butter mixture so that there are no lumps, add 6 cups of Rice Krispies.

Stir in the Rice Krispies so that they are evenly coated with the marshmallow and butter mixture.

Once stirred, press the mixture into the round pans. Helpful hint: spread Crisco or butter on your hands to prevent the Rice Krispie mixture from sticking to your hands.

You will need to make 4 batches of Rice Krispies to fill 2 - 6" round pans and 2 - 10" round pans.

For the bottom side of each cake layer, form a ridge around the edge of the pan by pressing down with your fingers. If you want to fill the center of each layer with chocolate, this will prevent the chocolate from leaking out the sides of the cake.

Allow the Rice Krispies to cool for 5-10 minutes. Then remove the Rice Krispie cake by pulling on the edges of the wax paper. Peel the wax paper off the cake.

I filled each of the cake layers with chocolate. To do this, you will need either Candy Melts, as shown above, or a bag of chocolate chips. Place the candy melts into a microwave safe container. Microwave for 30 seconds, remove, and stir. Repeat until the chocolate is fully melted.

Once the chocolate is melted, pour it onto one cake from each of the layers. Spread evenly with a spatula.

After the chocolate has been spread on the bottom half of each cake layer, place the second half on top.

To decorate this cake I used green and pink chocolate wafers. You can either use colored chocolate or frosting to decorate. If you choose to use chocolate to decorate, melt in the microwave as previously mentioned. Put the chocolate in a sandwich bag and snip the corner with a scissors.

Apply pressure to the bag with the melted chocolate and zig-zag back and forth across the cake. Do this on both layers of the cake. I used green chocolate on the bottom layer of my cake and pink chocolate on the top.

Lastly, place the top layer of the cake onto the bottom. If using chocolate to decorate this will help the top layer stick to the bottom. If using frosting to decorate, spread frosting on the bottom side of the top layer so that it will adhere to the bottom layer. Now you have a Rice Krispie cake! Have fun with this and try different variations by using assorted types of Rice Krispies, fillings (chocolate, caramel, marshmallow), and decorations!

Mommy Cake

2011-03-30T18:52:00.000-07:00

My mom’s friends recently threw me a baby shower and made this “mommy cake". It’s a diaper cake with a surprise hidden inside. Can you guess what it is? A bottle of wine! I thought this was very cool, so when I took it apart I decided I would post instructions on how to make one.

First, you will need a bottle of wine and a platter to put the "cake" on. You can use a cake board or a platter that you have at home. Place the wine in the center of the platter. Next, prepare all of the diapers by rolling them individually and wrapping them with a rubber band. You will need approximately 78 diapers for the entire cake (size 2 diapers were used for this cake). For the bottom layer of the cake put appx. 10 rolled diapers around the wine bottle to form the first row. Next, put appx. 16 diapers around the first row of diapers and then put appx. 20 diapers around the second row of diapers. After you place all of the diapers for the first layer, wrap one large rubber band around to hold them in place.

For the middle layer of the cake put appx. 10 rolled diapers around the wine bottle to form the first row. Then put appx. 16 diapers around the first row of diapers. Again, after you place all of the diapers for the middle layer, wrap one large rubber band around to hold them in place.

This is what your cake should look like at this point with the bottom and middle layers surrounding the wine bottle.

For the final layer of the cake put appx. 6 rolled diapers around the stem of the wine bottle and wrap one large rubber band around to hold them in place.

Here is how your cake should look now with all three layers in place.

Now, it's time to decorate the cake. You will need some ribbon and flowers. You can use any ribbon or flowers of your choice. Take a piece of ribbon and wrap it around each row to cover up the rubber bands. You can use a stapler to hold the ribbon in place.

Next take a few strands of ribbon and drape them over the cake as shown in the picture above.

Lastly, take some artificial flowers and place them on the top of the cake and sporadically throughout the layers of the cake. Now your "mommy cake" is ready to serve!

Congrats Jenna!

2011-03-23T13:40:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine recently got engaged, so at our girl’s night get together I made some mini cupcakes for the occasion. I didn’t have a lot of time so I made the cupcakes using a store bought white cake mix.

First, place cupcake liners in a mini muffin pan and fill them about 3/4ths full with batter.

I found this cookie scoop at Kohl’s which I used for the cupcake batter. Using a scoop like this will assure that you get the same amount of batter in each cupcake so that you end up with uniform sized cupcakes.

The part I enjoy the most is decorating so I did take the time to make homemade frosting. Some of you may be fa Buddy Valastro, otherwise known as the Cake Boss on the popular TLC show. Buddy now has another show, Kitchen Boss, on TLC. For Valentine’s day he made cupcakes with homemade frosting. I decided to make this frosting for my cupcakes and it is DELICIOUS! It’s very light and creamy with vanilla flavoring. You can find the recipe on the following website:

http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/valentines-vanilla-cupcakes-recipe.htm

As Buddy, suggests be sure to use unsalted sweet cream butter. I found organic sweet cream butter at the grocery store which worked perfectly. Mix the frosting per the recipe and then add food coloring if you choose. I colored half of my frosting purple and left the other half white.

For the frosting you will need:

1 C. Butter (room temp.)

2 1/2 C. Powdered Sugar

2 tsp. Milk

1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

Pinch of Fine Sea Salt

I chose to do three different designs. For the first design, start by putting a squirt of colored frosting on each cupcake.

Then using a butter knife spread the frosting evenly over the cupcake.

Next, pour some sanding sugar onto a plate. I used purple sanding sugar for a monochromatic look.

Dip the cupcakes into the sanding sugar to coat the entire surface.

For the second design, pipe white frosting onto the cupcake with a Wilton 2D tip. This is very simple, and looks elegant.

For the third design, I started by spreading purple frosting evenly over the cupcake as previously described and then added a white flower. To pipe the flower use a Wilton 2D tip. Hold the piping bag straight up with the end of the tip just touching the surface. Squeeze the piping bag to let the icing build up, and slowly twist your wrist. To dress up the flower add a White Pearl Nonpareil to the center.

Now that the cupcakes are completed, place them on a serving platter. I placed a small cake stand on a sparkly silver platter for a unique two-tiered look.

My friend happened to bring a bottle of wine that went perfectly with the cupcakes. What a cute logo! Cheers!

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

2011-03-17T18:46:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Paddy's Day! What better way to celebrate than with chocolate Guiness cupcakes topped with Bailey's frosting. These cupcakes were a hit with my family and friends. If you want to make some of your own you can find the recipe on SmittenKitchen.com (search for the Chocolate whiskey and beer cupcakes). I opted to not include the whiskey ganache filling, but I'm sure that would be delicious as well. May the luck of the Irish be with you, Slainte!

King Cake

2011-03-16T17:52:00.000-07:00

In celebration of Mardi Gras I decided to bake a King Cake for Fat Tuesday. Traditionally, the King Cake is served for the Feast of the Epiphany, otherwise known as "Kings' Day", which is celebrated January 6th. Today, in New Orleans, the cake is served throughout the Epiphany season, which is also Mardi Gras season.

Start by letting the sweet bread dough rise. In many of the recipes I found, the dough is handmade, I however decided to take the easy route and used Rhodes Sweet Bread which can be found in the freezer section at the grocery store. I wanted to make several miniature king cakes so I let two loaves of dough rise and cut them in half to make four cakes.

Using the dough for one cake, roll into a large rectangle.

To prevent sticking, sprinkle flour on the rolling surface and the rolling pin.

Cut the dough into three even pieces. Once cut into three pieces, spread butter over the entire surface and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. As seen in the picture above, leave about 1/4" on one side of each piece uncoated so that when you roll the dough it will stick together.

In one of the rolls you are supposed to hid a treasure. Typically, a tiny plastic baby is hidden inside the cake. The person who receives the slice of cake with the baby is supposed to continue the festivities by hosting the next King Cake party. I didn't have a tiny, plastic baby on hand so I used a jelly bean in my cake instead.

Next roll each of the three rectangles, which are covered with butter, sugar, and cinnamon, and pinch the dough together so it remains closed.

Braid the three rolls of dough. Once braided, place on a baking sheet and bake @ 350 for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Here is a picture of the baked King Cake. Looks delicious!

While the bread is baking, you can start making the frosting. For the frosting mix the following:

2 Tbsp. Butter (room temp.)

1 1/2 C. Powdered Sugar

1/2 tsp. Vanilla

2 Tbsp. Milk (add a little at a time)

Mix the ingredients until the frosting is smooth and creamy. Drizzle the frosting over the entire cake.

Now comes the fun part, decorating! Use sanding sugar in the traditional Mardi Gras colors; green, purple, and yellow. Purple represents justice; green, faith; and gold, power. I bought sanding sugar at Willams Sonoma. It comes in every color and the containers are stackable.

After the cake is iced, sprinkle the sanding sugar over the cake. You can dress up your cake by placing Mardi Gras beads around the cake, on the platter or table. Enjoy!