balls of cheesy goodness «
That’s what lulu calls them. When I tell her I’m making them she jumps around shouting for joy. Fingers crossed she is always that easy to please. fried bocconcini
Cupcake Christmas Tree
My brother threw a holiday potluck for a bunch of friends and on the invite he presumptuously assigned me to dessert, pending I could attend of course. He assumed correctly on what I would be bringing, but now that I have claimed myself a “baker” on this lil blog of mine, I have a lot to live up to! I’ve done my fair share of cookie baking this holiday season, so I wanted to try something a little different. I stumbled across this awesome cupcake tree and the next minute was calling art stores nearby to see if they had Styrofoam cones in stock. I do love living in this city, but spur of the moment craft projects are not exactly SF friendly.
DIY Vanilla Extract . . . Works for Me Wednesday
Christmas is less than 3 months away. Honest. I counted it out on my fingers twice just to be sure.
DIY: cupcake in a jar
Going to the other side of the spectrum, from a vegetable garden to loaded with all things bad for you, but tastes so good cupcakes. You won't think I am such a genius anymore once I tell you how these are done. It really is easy and makes for such a visually appealing way to dress up cupcakes, not that cupcakes need to be dressed up as the name itself is cute and enticing! I pretty much use Paula Deen's recipe, but with a few of my own tiny tweeks to the ingredients (see*) and then I pretty much follow the directions in Paula Deen'srecipe to make the batter and frosting, though I change it up a bit (time in the oven) when it comes to baking it. Ingredients:
Mudslide and Brownie Trifle
Stacking this multi-layered dessert are rich custard layers of chocolate pudding with Kahlua and vanilla pudding with Bailey’s Irish Cream. Cut between those rich layers is a welcoming interruption of tender crushed brownie bits and crunchy roasted almonds. Mudslide and Brownie Trifle Have I told you, I sorta have a thing for mudslides?
Inside Out Chocolate Caramel Apples make great teacher's gifts.
You've eaten apples, right? You've probably even eaten an apple covered in rich and creamy caramel. If you are lucky, you've enjoyed a chocolate covered caramel apple. But, I am positive you've never had an inside out chocolate caramel apple, but you really should try one! The idea for this recipe came to me in stages.
Frog, Goose and Bear: DIY FIZZY SHERBET {aka edible fairy dust}
I wasn't really focusing at the time Goose asked if she could make something out of her science experiment book. She said she could do it herself and she'd checked and we had all of the ingredients. It may not be the healthiest of foods (!?!) but the kids LOVED it* It tasted just like Wizz Fizz in those little paper bags with the dipping candy and brought me right back to my childhood. DIY Fizzy Sherbert
Chocolate Party Spoons!
My original thinking with these beauties was that they would become the modern day Welsh Love Spoon. The one you'd actually like to receive on Valentine's Day, as opposed to one of those outrageously over-priced and overwhelmingly useless, hideous, hand crafted, wooden goodfornothings. Those of you not in the same country as I am might not know what a Welsh Love Spoon is, and in this case, Google is your best friend - he's found this for you. My timing is off though; I've been busy! Thus, I didn't make them in time for Valentine's Day, and they became Dessert One of Two at Rowanne's Un-Birthday Party. (It's a little-known, but fortunately often implemented rule that one must always have two desserts at an Un-Birthday Party).
Coconut Butter Recipe - 3 Steps to Bliss
Forgive me, internet, for I have sinned. Today I was going to talk about the merits of making your own dishwasher detergent. Instead, I did that. That up there. That stuff that looks like homemade coconut butter. And it was pure, unadulterated, sinful bliss.
Chocolate Truffles Recipe : Alton Brown
Directions Place the 10 ounces of chocolate and butter in a medium size glass mixing bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds. Remove and stir, and repeat this process 1 more time. Set aside. Heat the heavy cream and corn syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat until simmering.
Rainbow Sprinkles… homemade!
Somewhere over the rainbow… Above, rainbow homemade sprinkles on my Healthy Vanilla Ice Cream. I was surprised at how easy—and fun—it is to make healthy sprinkles from scratch, with none of the artificial ingredients, dyes, or corn syrup.
Banana Cake Recipe with Butterscotch and Cream Cheese Frosting
We entered the convention center’s ballroom to find two women sitting on the stage. One in her 30′s-40′s, chef jacket attired with a professional’s serene gaze. The other – a bubbly, plump Southern Grandma with short cropped hair, her enthusiasm barely contained.
Soft Ginger Cookies {filled with cream cheese frosting} - StumbleUpon
I have to say ginger cookies are were not one of my favorite cookies in the past until… my friend Maria introduced me to her delicious recipe. These are flavorful, soft and chewy cookies rolled in large crystal sugar and then to kick them up a notch, cream cheese frosting smothered in between them. These are the perfect cookies for gift giving during the holidays because of the warm spices. The recipe for these cookies is versatile, whole wheat flour can be substituted for half the flour still giving a wonderful texture and flavor to them. I also like to use flax meal in my baked goods to cut down on cholesterol, add healthy omega fats and fiber, if your like me then this would be a great recipe to tweak to your liking. Enjoy making, eating and or giving these delicious cookies to your family and friends.
