S'mores bites

 s'mores bites

For the Fourth of July, I found the cutest red, white and blue goodies that I just had to get for my little niece and nephew. I found the blue and red pails and sunglasses from Target (gotta love that $1 section) and mini pinwheels from Michael's (gotta take advantage of those 40% off coupons). I also got one of those $10 coupons from Kohl's and found the cutest little red, white and blue baby doll top for my niece and plaid shorts for my nephew (sorry they're rolled up in the pails so you can't see them). And of course as an added personal touch I had to bake a little something for them!...even though they're not even 2 yet and can't eat the treats I make...my sisters and brother-in-laws can enjoy them.

For the s'mores bites I used this s'mores bars recipe I found from the "Hostess with the Mostess" blog. Since the pails were so small I didn't think the bars would fit well, so I decided to try to make them bite size. For the bites I took the graham cracker crust and pressed it into a mini muffin pan. I baked it for about 7-8 minutes until it was slightly golden brown. Then I melted the chocolate (I used candy coating from Fred Meyer's because that's what I had on hand and I wanted to use it since it's been in my pantry a while). Next time I think I'd prefer dark chocolate, but this was definitely the classic s'mores with milk chocolate. After spooning the chocolate on I placed a marshmallow star on top. I found the red (more like pink), white and blue marshmallows at Walmart. They come in varying sizes too. After I put a marshmallow on each s'more bite I put it in the fridge to let the chocolate set. Since I was in a little bit of a rush to get these packaged, I just put it in the fridge for about 5 minutes. Then, I put it under the broiler for 1-2 minutes and kept a close watch on them, until they were nicely browned. After that I put it back in the fridge for 5-10 mins to make it easier to pop them out.

These were really simple and added that little touch to make their little Fourth of July packages extra special. Maybe next year they'll be old enough to really enjoy them. 

Happy 4th!

Spring Flower Cookies

 spring flower cookies

Spring has finally arrived! Last weekend we had such beautiful weather and what better way to add some sunshine inside than making a colorful platter of flower shortbread cookies! Ok, I did get outside and enjoy the sunshine too...

For the cookies, I used the same dough as the Easter cookies (this shortbread cookie recipe from sweetopia). I also got the inspiration for this cookie from sweetopia. On the blog she made daisy cookies in which she made royal icing transfers.

First I made a template for my flower on a piece of wax paper, using edible marker, but looking back at it I could have just as easily drew it on a piece of paper and used a regular pen. I then suran wrapped over it to make it stay on the counter. I usually suran wrap my counter top to make a nice clean surface for me to work on...and it makes it so easy to clean up. Gotta love that costco suran wrap...it's practically endless!

Once I had my template. I cut out squares of wax paper for each flower and wiped some shortening on them so the flowers would easily come off. The wax paper is kind of opaque so the template shows thru nicely. I then piped the flowers on each piece of wax paper using pink, yellow, lavender and green royal icing. While the flowers were still wet I put a pearl sprinkle in the center of each one.

While the flowers were drying I piped a circle on the fluted circle cookies, leaving about a 1/8" border and filled with with white icing. Once the white set a little, I piped little dots with the correponding flower colors around the white circle to add a decorative touch. Then it was the moment of truth...I carefully peeled the flowers off the wax paper, piped a little icing on the back and adhered it to the center of the cookie.

With all the cookies together it looked like spring! It was so much fun making these and I really liked this technique of making icing transfers. Thanks again sweetopia!

Carrot cupcakes

carrot cupcakes

Also for Easter I made some mini carrot cupcakes. With the Easter cookies, I kind of ran short on time and decided to take a little shortcut and use the betty crocker mix for make these cupcakes. Just didn't have enough energy to shred all those carrots...

However, I do like the mix too. It's very light and not too sweet. I frosted half the cupcakes with a whipped cream/cream cheese frosting (only frosted half because I actually prefer it without the frosting, but my husband would disagree). For the carrots I used the orange wilton tube icing (this tube frosting has come in handy for these little carrots and the beaks for the thankgiving turkey cupcakes). The tube icing is very stiff which is good for adding the little ridges for the carrots, but it is tough on my hand muscles. I just used a little bit of the cream cheese frosting and tinted it green for the stems.

I found cute stripped mini cupcake liners at World Market but I'm always a little disappointed when I bake up the cupcakes and can barely see the print on the liners anymore. Wish there was a trick to ensuring the print will show through...

These cupcakes were so simple and easy to make. Next time maybe I'll muster enough energy to try it all from scratch...

Happy Easter!

easter shortbread cookies

For Easter I decided to try out this shortbread recipe I found on the Sweetopia blog. She does the most amazing decorate cookies. I was really excited to try her shortbread cookie and icing recipes and compare them to the ones I've always used before. I have to admit I've been a little obsessed with her blog. I'm just in awe of how amazingly perfect her cookies are!  I strive to be as good of a cookie decorator as her...someday.

So, for Easter I decorated eggs!...egg shaped cookies that is. Using pastel pink, violet, yellow and green I decorated the eggs in white polk dots and flowers. I piped a little dam about 1/8" from the edge of the cookie then filled it in with corresponding colors. Before the base layer set I piped white polka dots. For the flowers I piped the yellow centers and five white dots (petals) around the center. I then took a toothpick and dragged the white dots in a semi-circular motion towards the yellow center to create petals. I found that shaking the cookie (gently) really helps the polka dots and flowers to settle in nicely into the base color to make a nice smooth finish. A toothpick is also a great tool to help pop any tiny air bubbles.

For the bunnies, I iced them all white and piped a little black eye using the wilton tube icing. I have to say, this has been great to have on hand because I don't have to make a little bit of black icing for tiny eyes (ie. the elephant cake). Black icing is not fun to make...it uses so much food coloring! For the tails I piped a little white tail, after the base layer set, and used yellow sanding sugar to add that fluffy tail texture and some color.

Sorry in the picture I only had one flower cookie left...I was a little delayed in getting my photoshoot together and some didn't make it to the shoot). But, I liked the polka dot ones better anyway. Needless to say I really enjoyed making these and the cookies taste great. They are more crumbly and delicate than the shortbread cookies I usually make but I love how light and melt in your mouth they are. The icing recipe was great too. Thanks Sweetopia!

Hope everyone had a happy Easter!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

 

 clover cookies

For St. Patty's Day I wanted to make these cute clover cookies I saw on Martha Stewart's website. I'm usually more of a shortbread than a sugar cookie fan, but I thought I'd give this recipe a try.  Plus, I haven't made sugar cookies in a really long time. I used the template from the website. However, since I couldn't just use paper to put on the cookies, I used a plastic disposal lid (had one laying around from a costco calzone container) to cut out the clover shapes. They worked out really well because the lip of the lid provided a nice handle to easily lift the stencil off the cookie.  Also, it's great because I can wash them and save them for next year!  I used a scalloped 3.5" circle cookie cutter to add a little decorative touch. My mother-in-law helped me sprinkle all the clovers on the cookies. (Thanks mom!)

I was suprised how well the clovers came out on the cookie and how little the sugar actually melted once baked.  After we baked them all up I packaged a few up in a clear cellophane bag and put a nice green bow on it for my Uncle's birthday. As for the rest of them...let's just say a leprechaun is a big fan of these cookies.

Happy Birthday Uncle Clay!

Happy Valentine's Day!

triple chocolate mousse cake

Happy Valentine's Day! Last weekend we had a Valentine's Day dinner at my in-law's house and I wanted to make a special dessert just for the occasion. I decided to make this triple chocolate mousse cake I saw on the i-heart-baking blog. I had to search a little for the recipe but I found Ina's chocolate cake recipe on the foodnetwork website and the mousse recipe from annie's eats blog. Using a triple heart cupcake stencil and red sugar sprinkles I decorated the cake with some valentine decorations.  I found the little cupcake stencils (packet of four different patterns with hearts and valentine sayings) in the dollar section at Target.  The only problem was I couldn't keep the sprinkles from getting everywhere...so it turned out a little messier than I had hoped. Overall, the family got the picture and the cake was divine. This recipe is definitely a keeper.

Hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Chinese New Year Cake

 chinese new year cake (nien-gao)

Every Chinese New Year we have this dessert called "nien-gao".  It's a chewy sweet dessert that my mom would slice into thin strips, dip in egg and pan fry to get a nice crispy layer on the outside and a gooey warm center. The "cake" is made out of glutinous rice flour, brown sugar, coconut cream and water and steamed instead of baked.  I really wanted to learn how to make it this year since I've really only watched my mom make it before.  So I called her up to get the recipe and to my suprise she and my oldest sister came over and helped me make it!  

"Nien-Gao" recipe:

1 pkg.  glutinous rice flour

1 lb.     dark brown sugar

1 can    coconut cream

1 cup    water

For the batter, mix all the ingredients together and it's best to use your hands to mix it and make sure there are no clumps of sugar and flour. Lighly grease a round cake pan (I used 2 small 3.5" springform pans to make mini ones, but if you use a springform pan be sure to wrap the bottoms with foil to avoid leakage). My mom usually uses an 8" round cake pan. Pour the batter through a sieve as you pour it into the pans to ensure all the clumps are out.  Put the pans in a steamer for 20 minutes for the mini ones or up to an hour for an 8" pan (or until a bamboo chopstick/skewer comes out clean). Let cool and garnish with sesame seeds and a dried cranberry (or traditionally a dried date).

When fresh it's soft enough the just slice up and eat as is.  But after it's been in the fridge and hardens up a little, it's great to slice up and pan fry. My mom would always dip it in egg (and traditionally I believe this is done) but I found that with a non-stick pan it's fine to just leave out the egg.  I love it this way! It's so simple and I'm glad I got to learn how to make this special dessert with my mom and sister.