Happy New Year!

Final Christmas Baking

I've been furiously baking for the last week or so. I made Cake Pop and Chocolate Lollipop Coffee Cups for my wonderful neighbors. An easy, inexpensive gift (the coffee cups were only $1 at Michaels!).
I also volunteered to donate 100 cookies to my children's school for the teachers to have a sweet treat. Decorating 100 cookies was definitely biting off more than I could chew (ha!). The teachers loved them though...and isn't that what matters the most?

Christmas Cookies

More experimenting with the flooded cookie technique, sugar cookies recipes and icing. I wanted to personalize the stockings with the monogramming technique I learned from Bridget's blog but ran out of time. Taking a break from cookies (at least for a day!) to make white chocolate covered marshmallow snowmen (pics later!).

Chili Pepper Cookies

I spent a good portion of the day yesterday in the kitchen making snowman cake pops and chili pepper cookies. My husband is having a Mexican-themed party at his work today. I think I'm actually getting better at piping and this time the consistency for the flooded icing was perfect! And who cares if my children's initial reaction upon seeing them was, "Oh Mom! You made carrot cookies!" My husband very kindly told me that more than likely, our kids have never even seen a chili pepper. And that made me feel a little better. Just a little.

Flooded Cookies (Attempt 2)

I tried Bridget's flooded cookie technique again today with similar results. I think the consistency of my icing is too thick. When I tried the dot method, the dots simply sat on top of the icing instead of "melting" inside. Well, I think they're cute anyway...and they taste delicious!

Flooded Cookies

Well, if Bakerella is the Cake Pop Queen, Bridget is the Flooded Cookie Queen! Her cookie creations are so creative - from the dots to the squiggly lines to the designs themselves. Her cookies truly are impressive. And with her easy-to-follow and thorough instructions, it should be a breeze to create cookies just like hers, right? Ahem....yeeea....not exactly. But I tried. And considering these are the first decorated cookies I've ever made in my entire life, I'd say they don't look too bad, right? Right!?!?

I obviously need to work on my piping skills - both on the borders and the lettering. Tonight is only my third Wiltons class and I'm hoping practice makes perfect!

Snowman Cake Pops!

I thought these would be the last Cake Pops I would ever make. Ever. But then my husband saw them and asked me to make 50 for his company Christmas party. And my mom wants to know when I'm bringing some in to her work. And I have to make 100 - something - for the twins Teacher Appreciation luncheon...so I guess this won't be last time I make them!

I was going to make Santa Claus Cake Pops but couldn't figure out the beard so I decided on the snowmen instead. I actually love them. They're easier to make than the reindeer and so delicious! Thanks again Bakarella!

Follow the directions for the reindeer cake pops. For the snowmen, dip end of lollipop stick in melted chocolate and insert first ball just enough to leave space for the second ball. Dip stick in melted chocolate before inserting the second ball as well. Chill for at least an hour in the refrigerator.

Get your supplies ready! I used mini chocolate chips for the eyes and buttons, Good and Fruity for the nose, and pink and red heart sprinkles.

Holding the lollipop stick with balls facing down, spoon hot melted chocolate starting at the top of the balls and work your way around. Dip bottom of pop into melted chocoloate. Gently swirl stick to remove any excess. Immediately add candy.

These look great placed in a treat bag with a ribbon tied around it.

Who you lookin' at?

Reindeer Cake Pops!

Inspired by the oh-so-clever Bakerella (my hero - I bow down to you!) I decided to start my reignited hobby by making reindeer cake pops. Probably not the easiest venture to begin with but Bakerella's are so cute, I just had to try my own design. Not too bad for my very first cake pop project (and quite possibly my last...these things take forever to make!). Complete instructions are located on Bakerella's website but here are my very basic directions:

Bake a cake and let it cool completely

Try not to let your 3-year-old eat the whole cake!

Crumble the cake into a large bowl

Mix in one can frosting

Place your balls (what?!) on a wax paper lined baking sheet and chill for a few hours in the refrigerator Dip ends of popsicle sticks in hot melted chocolate and insert into cake pops. Let chill for an hour. Prepare the items you're going to use on your cake pop Melt chocolate in bowl in microwave, stirring after 30 seconds. Dip your cake pops into the melted chocolate gently tapping off any excess.

The reindeer in the back was obviously involved in a very tragic car accident! The one in front of him is dripping everywhere! These were the first two I did...very discouraging...but I kept at it.... ...and voila! Reindeer cake pops!

Inaugural Post

I have loved to bake my entire life. I remember my baby-sitter asking me quite often to bake oatmeal cookies when I was only six or seven years old. But life happens and people get busy and things get put on the back burner (no pun intended). Inspired by so many creative baking blogs I've decided to jump back into my long lost hobby. Here goes....