Food Art Party

Freebie New Year's Cupcake Wrapper

2011-12-27T18:05:00.005-05:00

2011 Annual Cookie Decorating Party & Marshmallow Fondant Tutorial

2011-12-21T19:37:00.001-05:00

If you have been following my blog for a while now, you have probably seen photos from our cookie party we have each year. This year was even better as we had sweet new faces as well as the girls who come each year! I enjoy this party so much because it is just for me and my friends. No kids allowed! :-) I love kids as much as the next person, but it is nice to be able to get together with MY friends and do something that I love to do!

Anyway, we had a great turn out and the cookies were adorable when we were all done. I have been collecting cookie decorations for years now and I have sooo many to share. Sanding sugars, non-parielles, jimmies, cute little shapes as well as candy coated sunflower seeds, Sixlets, and icing eyeballs. You really can't have too many! I found these little tart cups at our local dollar store. They were awesome for this purpose. I love the scalloped edges!

This year I added a few designs to my cookies. I have seen some of the ideas online and some I made up myself as I go. Hope you enjoy the ideas and if you want to copy them, feel free!

One of the things I played with this year was marshmallow fondant as a background. It was so fun.... like playing with PlayDoh! I cut the fondant with the cookie cutter I used so that it fit perfectly on the cookies. I will include the fondant recipe below. I made my fondant anise flavored because we all love it. The cookie icing, however, is vanilla or lemon. I think that will go over better with others who might not love anise like we do! The bottom reindeer cookie with the 2011 on it is made with fondant as are the backgrounds of the blue Happy Holidays and the O'Holy Night cookies.

The blue tree with snow below was made with fondant as was the white quilted cookie with blue pearls and the ornament cookie.

The square cookie with the white tree on the white background was also done in fondant.

Marshmallow Fondant and How to Use It on Cookies

This is the original recipe, but I've changed it up a bit and I've got a few notes to add.
http://www.wilton.com/recipe/Rolled-Marshmallow-Fondant

Ingredients:

1 package (16 ounces) Fireside white mini marshmallows
2-5 tablespoons water
2 pounds (about 8 cups) sifted confectioners' sugar
plus extra confectioners' sugar for rolling fondant
Pinch of salt

Makes:

About 2 pounds marshmallow fondant.

Instructions:

Step 1

To make marshmallow fondant, place marshmallows and 2 tablespoons of water in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave 30 seconds on high; stir until mixed well. Continue microwaving 30 seconds more; stir again. Continue until melted (about 2 1/2 minutes).

Step 2

Using a mixer, mix sugar & salt into marshmallow mixture. Flavoring should be added at this point. . Generously sprinkle extra powdered sugar onto counter. Turn marshmallow mixture onto counter. Separate into pieces per the color you need. Add your coloring here. This allows the coloring to flow easily through the fondant. Dampen your hands with water. Start kneading like you would dough. Continue kneading, adding additional confectioners' sugar to the counter so the fondant doesn't stick. If the marshmallow fondant is tearing easily, it is too dry; add water (about 1/2 tablespoon at a time) kneading until fondant forms a firm, smooth elastic ball that will stretch without tearing, about 8 minutes.

Step 3

It's best to allow Marshmallow Fondant to sit, double-wrapped, overnight. Prepare the fondant for storage by coating in confections' sugar and wrap in plastic wrap and then place in resealable bag. Squeeze out as much air as possible. Marshmallow Fondant will keep well in refrigerator for several weeks.

Step 4

When not working with fondant, make sure to keep it covered with plastic wrap or in a bag to prevent it from drying out. When ready to use, knead fondant until smooth. Roll out fondant 1/8 in. thick.

Step 5

To color fondant: If you need to tint the entire batch of fondant, add a little icing color to the melted marshmallow mixture before adding confectioners' sugar. For smaller amounts of tinted fondant, add icing color to portions of fondant as needed.

My notes:
In case you are wondering.... this fondant does get hard (like a royal icing would) on the cookies, but it still tastes great and keeps the cookies somewhat soft. If you flavor it with vanilla, it tastes a lot like candy corn, which to me is too sweet. I put anise flavoring in it this time and will try lemon next time. I also added a dash of salt to the recipe. This cut some of the sweetness.

I have made this using the medium-sized marshmallows too.

I usually separate the larger mass into smaller balls before I start kneading in the color and the extra powdered sugar. If you make it the day before you need it, it really makes the color nicer. Always put LOTS of powdered sugar down when you are rolling the fondant out. It will keep it from sticking. Put powdered sugar on the top of the fondant before you roll it with your rolling pin too. Be generous with the powdered sugar, you can't use too much. Pretend you are playing with Play-doh and have fun with it!

The original recipe had you put shortening on the counter and your hands, but I found that this just made a big mess to clean up and really was unneccesary. I just wet my hands often and added more powdered sugar.

In order to use it on cookies, roll the fondant to about 1/8 inch thick. Cut the shape you used for your cookie with the same cookie cutter. You can also use a smaller shape than the one you used so that you will have cookie edges. I did this with the square Christmas tree cookie in the picture just above. I cut the square cookie with a larger cutter. Then I used a smaller square cookie cutter for the background. I then used a tree cookie cutter to cut the tree out for on top. In order for the fondant to stick to your cookie and to itself, use a little of your icing. You can then add icing on top to decorate, or you can use dabs of icing to hold your little decorations on. Enjoy and have fun!

Kid's Hot Cocoa Birthday Party

2011-12-21T18:26:00.002-05:00

My son's 9th birthday happens to fall right before Christmas, so this year we moved his party ahead and celebrated early. Why didn't I do this before? It gave me a lot of time to prepare and we had a blast getting ready instead of putting this on top of present wrapping and Christmas parties & dinners.

I decorate mostly in red, white and light blue for Christmas, so I decided to go with those colors for his party too. I am sure the pictures speak for themselves. Everyone had a good time and the cocoas (especially the Nutella cocoa) were yummy!

I found a lot of these ideas on the internet by searching for hot cocoa party!

These cups are made using those GIANT marshmallows!

The table is wrapped with wrapping paper.

Did I mention that my son has a large personality?

The cake is a Mario Power-UP mushroom. I just baked a cake in a large metal mixing bowl, put it on top of a cake stand, covered it with chocolate icing, rolled fondant and painted eyes on the bottom of the cake stand with chocolate.

Happy birthday, to my little one!

Tom Ka Gai

2011-12-21T18:24:00.000-05:00

Okay... I know I will get yelled at for calling this soup by the Thai name Tom Ka Gai. For one, I'm not Thai and I followed no recipe for this soup so... I guess I will need to call it my adaptation of Tom Ka Gai. Okay? I am in no way saying that this is the classic Thai soup. Don't you love when you go to a cooking website for recipes and the comments are all about how the dish is NOT whatever they are calling it?

Anyway, this soup I made is much like Tom Ka Gai but it has a few added extras which I think compliment the soup very well. It was VERY tasty. There is nothing like going to a Thai restaurant, ordering Tom Ka Gai and finding that it tastes like leftover dish water. Ick.

MY Tom Ka Gai

7 Chicken Breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces and sauted in 1 tbsp of oil
15-20 white button mushrooms
1 can of coconut milk (2 cans are better if you like it extra creamy and with more calories!)
7 cups of chicken broth
1 Tbsp lemongrass
2 Tbsp fish sauce
1 Tbsp Thai green curry paste
1 red bell pepper, diced
30 green beans, cut into bite-sized pieces
4 sprigs of cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

Saute chicken in a frying pan, set aside. Saute mushrooms in olive oil and set aside. Fill stock pot with chicken broth and coconut milk. Add lemongrass, fish sauce and curry paste. Add chicken, mushrooms, red bell pepper and green beans. Simmer until the pepper and green beans are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with cilantro.

Mmmm!

Free Halloween Printables

2011-10-22T09:16:00.001-04:00

Hello, Friends! I wanted to take the time to make new cupcake wrappers this year, but I haven't had time, so I am reposting these from last year. Just right click on them to print. I tested this and it worked on my computer.

Witch hat toppers! Just add a toothpick and stick into your cupcake icing.

Cute cupcake toppers... same thing. Add a toothpick and stick. These are larger than this when printed out.

If you would like to see my cookies from last year, pop over to this page to see them all plus get some tips on where to find the decorations for cookie baking.

and if you need a cute party appetizer for that great Halloween bash you or a friend is having, check out these mini-cheeseball appetizers.

I hope you have a spooky Halloween!

Fall Birthday Celebration: Squid Ink Pasta with Mussels, Dark Chocolate Cake and Cheezy Pizza Bread

2011-10-21T19:50:00.002-04:00

Don't you just love Fall? Nothing makes me want to cook more than that change of seasons! All of those pumpkin recipes! I have already made a pumpkin roll, pumpkin spiced lattes and an apple pie, apple sauce and apple crisp. Love it!

One of the other things that comes with fall is our whole family's birthdays. We go from September through December... one per month. I had a gamer birthday party for my oldest 11-year-old son as seen here.

Today is my husband's birthday, so I am making a cheezy pizza bread and some great squid ink bow tie pasta with mussels... his favorite.

For the pizza, I do nothing terribly fancy. Make a pizza dough using the THIS recipe, spread the dough on a greased pan, and then top it with olive oil, chopped garlic, 5 different cheeses of your choice and then sprinkle with paprika and white pepper. Delicious!

The special dinner of mussels and squid ink pasta is a great birthday dinner for my husband. He loves mussels and it is fairly simple to make.

Aren't these cute? How could I resist a striped pasta???

So, I cooked the pasta according to the package directions.

Add some chopped garlic to 1 cup of canned, chopped tomatoes and 1 cup of chicken broth and 1/2 cup of white wine {or just 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth if you have no wine}. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the mussels and cover to steam them until they open. If any of them fail to open, throw the unopened ones out.

Top pasta with the mussels and the sauce and sprinkle with cilantro or parsley. Dig in!

The other thing I made is my husband's favorite cake, Hershey Dark Chocolate Cake. YUM! The recipe is on the back of the cocoa box but instead of using the boiling water, I used freshly brewed espresso.

Seriously, this is the best chocolate cake ever. You really only need a small piece. It is really rich. My little one was home from school today until his antibiotics kick in. He was feeling so much better that he wanted to help decorate the cake, so he picked his dad's favorite candy and told me how to put them on the cake. {I wouldn't let him touch it.... germy little thing!} Then he picked the candles from my candle stash {blush... yes, I have one}. This is what he came up with.

Happy birthday, Sweetie!

Enjoy what is left of Autumn! I know I will!

Boy Party Ideas - For the Gamer Kids

2011-09-19T10:42:00.001-04:00

Boy party ideas are getting harder and harder to come by. My son is getting older and the boy themes are really too immature for him and his friends, so this year I created a BOY themed party. Okay, so it wasn't a theme at all. It was just a party in which I used all kinds of BOY favorites.

My son wanted a 3DS for his birthday, so I made him 3D 3DS cookies. As you can see, they are 3D! They were by no means perfect, but the boys loved them and the disco dust on the screen added a bit of pop to these gamer cookies. If you would like recipes for the sugar cookies or for the icing, check out this post! For other cookie decorating ideas, look here. If you don't feel like making cookies, I realized after they were made that I had cut them about the same size as a graham cracker, so you could actually use two graham crackers for this cookie project!

I also made some monster pops out of marshmallows dipped in white chocolate and decorated with candy and marshmallows. Boys like monsters, right? Even 11 year old boys. I found a ring of floral form at the dollar store and wrapped it in crepe paper so I could display the pops.

Next were the Ninjabread Men. I love these cookie cutters and so do my boys. I have mentioned before that my boys love ninjas. They have to be included!

Another gamer favorite it Pokemon and so I made some Pokeball cookies to go in the treat bags. Simple and fun! I used red chocolate for the red part and white icing for the white. They really did turn out well and have two different flavors, so they are a bit like a black-and-white cookie. I also found these cute little test tubes filled with flavored sugar. I'm sure the moms appreciated me. Can you say hyper?!? I did have each child put pizza toppings on his own grilled pizza and they ate lunch first. I promise!

I also filled apothocary jars with my son's favorite candies just for some fun color on the "candy bar"...

I asked my son what kind of cake he wanted and he said he wanted "my" chocolate cake with chocolate icing and if I could add some raspberry to that, it would be great, so I made a white chocolate, raspberry ganache for the filling. Fudgy cake and icing with raspberries. He loved it. For the recipe, look on the back of the Hershey Cocoa box! A great recipe I have been making for years and years. For the icing on this cake, I used the Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Cocoa.

You don't need to print it out, but here is the recipe. It has been on the box forever and for good reason!

http://www.hersheys.com/pure-recipes/184/HERSHEY'S

and here is the delicious icing also from the Hershey's site...

"ESPECIALLY DARK" CHOCOLATE FROSTING

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
2/3 cup HERSHEY'S SPECIAL DARK Cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt butter, Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.

For the ganache, I used a recipe I found on http://www.cakecentral.com/ and modified it because I had already gotten some frozen raspberries in sugar liquid.

White Chocolate Strawberry ganache

Ingredients

1 12 oz. package white chocolate chips
6 oz. heavy whipping cream, scalded
1 Tbs. of softened butter
2 oz. crushed, frozen rasperries in sugar liquid, thawed

Instructions

1. Pour white chips into medium-sized bowl and microwave for 1-3 minutes. Check after each minute as each microwave varies.

2. Heat 8 oz. of heavy whipping cream to a simmer.

3. Pour cream over melted chips.

4. Add raspberries. Stir until creamy.

5. Place bowl into refrigerator until cooled and thickened (can be placed in freezer if you are in a hurry.)

6. Whip with mixer until thick and fluffy enough to spread between cake layers if necessary…..

You will love this cake if you haven't made it before. It is a classic!

Coconut Macaroon Recipe

2011-07-11T16:30:00.000-04:00

It is official... I am crazy. I had always thought so, but this makes it real; I chose one of the hottest days of year on which to bake cookies.

I found some organic, unsweetened coconut at our local bulk food store and had to buy it because I had seen a recipe for macaroons in my library book,
"Baking at Home" from the Culinary Arts Institute. It really is a nicely written book and helps even the most basic baker with the most basic baking methods.

So, I set out to make the coconut macaroons today, which is 84 degrees F, but feels like 95 with the humidity. Luckily, the recipe only takes about 20 minutes to make and the dough comes together relatively quickly.

The thing I like about this recipe is that there is none of that overly sweet sweetened-condensed milk in them. The recipe is pretty simple if you have coconut and an orange, you probably have everything else needed to make them. I may dip them in chocolate next time, but this time, we are enjoying the nice citrus flavor with the coconut.

So, here is the recipe as I have adapted it from the CIA cookbook. The first batch I made was a bit too hard for my liking. I enjoy the center soft and the outside chewy.

1 cup sugar (divided)

2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

3 1/2 c. shredded unsweetened coconut

6 large egg whites

2 tsp grated orange zest

2 tsp vanilla extract

Makes about {25 macaroons} {This was my change. I made them bigger so they would stay softer inside. The CIA says you should make about 32}

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line cookie sheet with {silpat} or parchment paper. Combine 1/3 cup of the sugar with the flour and set aside.

Combine the remaining 2/3 cup sugar, the coconut, and the egg whites on the top of a double boiler and stir for 3 minutes. {I just put them in a pot and stirred constantly over low heat until the ingredients came together. A double boiler is not necessary if you are sure to use really low heat} Remove from heat. Fold in the flour mixture, orange zest and vanilla extract.

Drop tablespoonfuls of batter {I liked them on the bigger side (1 1/2 Tbsp) because they stayed softer} onto the cookie sheets spacing them 2-inches apart and shaping into neat mounds. {I didn't space them two inches apart. I put them about 1/2 an inch from each other and they cooked just fine and didn't spread at all. This way, I could bake them quicker on a hot day by fitting them all on one cookie sheet}

In batches, bake until the macaroons are a light golden brown on the outside, but still soft enough to give slightly when you press on them with your fingertip, 20-25 minutes. {start checking at 15 minutes because if you make them on the smaller side, they will be done quickly.} Transfer macaroons to a wire rack to cool completely.

{Enjoy one while they are still warm!}

If you are interested in the book, you can check your library or buy it here. I have enjoyed everything I've made from it so far.
Baking at Home with The Culinary Institute of America
Bob's Red Mill Shredded Coconut Unsweetended, 12-Ounce Bags (Pack of 4)

Magnolia Bakery in NY City - SoHo

2011-07-09T11:55:00.002-04:00

My family and I took a day trip to the Soho and Tribeca neighborhoods of NY City yesterday. It was a humid and rainy day, but that didn't stop us! We walked the neighborhoods like troopers with umbrellas and rain ponchos. Some of our stops were Peep for Thai food for lunch (awesome bathroom!), Macbar for dinner (perfect with kids!)

and we trekked up to Magnolia Bakery which is on the corner of Bleecker Street and West 11th.

My husband was completely amazed that there was a huge line around the corner in the rain, just for cupcakes! He was also amazed that they had the cupcake bouncer; a woman, wearing what could have easily been interpreted as a referee shirt, whom was keeping the line and making sure nobody cut in front of the line. He thought the women (and he himself) waiting in line must be crazy.

We finally got inside and were able to make it inside and amid the chaos. I could barely take a picture due to the crowd. There were probably 15 people at a time in the store and it was basically standing-room only. I'm thinking there must be some seriously good cupcakes or perhaps just a lot of hype. We squeezed to the boxes and chose 2 cupcakes (pistachio and vanilla with chocolate buttercream) and an apple crisp and a flourless cake for me. They put them in a pretty white shopping bag with their logo on it and we were off.

This is the only picture I could get from the cash register. LOL! Cute t-shirts though, right?

Unfortunately it was so rainy that we couldn't stop anywhere and eat our cupcakes after we got them, so we decided to bring them home. Well, even with an umbrella, the shopping bag was ruined from the rain and the cupcakes had to be shoved into a Macbar plastic bag so they wouldn't get ruined too.

We carried them onto the subway, onto the train back to NJ and home 3 hours. They were a but smushed by the time we got home.

This morning, my boys and I cut the vanilla with chocolate buttercream and the pistachio into 3rds so we could all try them. The cake is wonderfully heavy and "wedding cakey" and the icing... omg... so good! The pistachio icing was more like an Italian buttercream I recently made. Thick and buttery and less sweet than you would think. The chocolate was fudgy and thick and ganache-like. Mmmm! We haven't tried flourless cake and apple crisp yet.... I'll let you know. You should really try this place if you get a chance!

Update: We also tried the apple crisp and the flourless chocolate cake. While the apple crisp had much more crumble than I like, my son devoured the whole thing minus the bite I took. He loved it. The flourless cake was also sugarless, I think. If you love a dark chocolate with a low amount of sugar in it, you are sure to like this. The % of sugar was a low for me and I love dark chocolate... it was much like eating a cocoa cake. My husband LOVED it and enjoyed most of it himself. I'm sure he would get it again!

2011-07-04T13:43:00.001-04:00

I posted this on my crafty blog, but I thought you might like to see the INSIDE of the cake I posted about here. I found the tutorial at Glorious Treats. Be sure to stop by to see how it is assembled! Very neat!

I hid the baking and assembling part from my boys. They didn't see it until the white, whipped cream icing was on it. Under the whipped cream icing, I made and Italian buttercream and layered and crumb coated with that. Yum! My red is a bit pink, but I love pink, so I didn't mind!

New Fourth of July Cupcake Wrappers

2011-06-27T22:51:00.002-04:00

Enjoy! I am going to make cupcakes tomorrow just so I can use these! :-) There are older 4th of July cupcake wrappers in my previous post, so be sure to check them out. If you don't know how to use these, go here!

Happy 4th!

I linked these at

Annin Tough-Tex Woven Polyester Replacement Flag, High Winds 3 by 5 Foot

Patriotic Flags/stars Garland
Martha Stewart Flag Garland - 8" x 10' - Grandin Road

Fourth of July Cupcake Wrappers- Happy 4th!

2011-06-27T16:04:00.001-04:00

I thought I would repost my 4th of July cupcake wrapper freebie from last year. I plan to make some more later tonight, so be on the lookout for new ones!

http://foodartparty.blogspot.com/2009/07/more-free-cupcake-wrappers.html

Spring White Picket Fence Cupcake Wrapper Freebie

2011-04-29T19:50:00.001-04:00

Here are some Spring picket fence wrappers for your cupcakes. If you can't figure out how to print and use them, check out this link! The second page is toppers for your cupcakes. They print out at 8.5 x 11. Enjoy!

These are some cute toppers I made which can be used on your cupcakes!

Just follow the directions on the page after you print it.

Wilton 307-831 13 Count Cupcake Stand

Anchor Hocking Presence 3-Tier Platter Set

Lime Polka Dot Cupcake Liners STD 50 count
Regency Patisserie Grade Greaseproof Baking Cups

I linked up at

Spring and Easter Cupcake Wrappers and Toppers

2011-03-30T19:08:00.001-04:00

Spring is in the air!

Oops.... I mean, SNOW is in the air. That's right. We have a winter weather advisory tomorrow. I am day dreaming of Spring though, so I made some Freebie Spring and Easter Cupcake Wrappers just for you. I am going to make some Easter cupcakes this year... right after I get back from SPRING BREAK in San Diego!

Enjoy these pages and if you need help with how to print them, cut them, tape them, use them in any way,

check out the tutorial I have done: here. There are also many other Spring freebies from

years gone by here!

I was looking at Amazon for some fun stuff to add to my post.... and LOOK at what I found! Super cute for decorating the tops of cupcakes and that pink stand is something I REALLY want. No purchasing for me right now though... first comes vacation!

Lucks Dec-Ons Adorable Easter Mini Assortment, 208-Pack

Wilton How to Make Icing Flowers

6" Pink Milk Glass Pedestal Cake Plate Salver

Wilton Spring Confetti sugar-sprinklers - 3oz

Meri Meri Cupcake Stand Easter Bunny

Giveaway and Great Tutorial Videos

2011-03-29T08:04:00.000-04:00

Hi, Cookie Bakers (and Want-To-Be's)!

I saw a great giveaway on Facebook today, so I went to check it out. I was supposed to Tweet about it to enter, but I don't Tweet, so I am posting about it here. I REALLY want to win because the goodies are SO me. But, I also think you will benefit from Sweetopia's awesome new video channel on YouTube.

I have been flood-filling cookies for years and I never quite get the consistency thing down. Flood-filling cookies can be a bit tricky if the consistency isn't just right. It is super annoying when you get the icing in the decorating bag only to find that it is too thin or too thick and you have to take it out of the bag and fix it. Well, Sweetopia has a video that shows exactly how to determine how thick your icing is BEFORE you put it in the bag. Why didn't I figure this out years ago? LOL!

Anyway, to check out her giveaway, go to her site... here. And to check out her videos, you can go to her link below her giveaway. I really think it is a good one!

Valentine's Day Treat

2011-02-02T20:56:00.001-05:00

My boys and I made some yummy treats for Valentine's Day today. It isn't so much as a recipe, but an idea. I got the idea from a friend in my card group named Ouizee who made it recently.

Here's what to do....

Mix together any sweet and salty snacks you have in the house plus some cereal!

We used Rice Crispies, Special K, mini-marshmallows, broken pretzels, peanuts, cut up Fruit Rollups, Valentine's candy corn & red Sixlets.

Melt some white chocolate according the the directions on the package... we used 4 of the blocks from this....

but you can use white chocolate chips. I melted this in a double boiler, but you can use the microwave.

You can also add some peanut butter at this point.

Pour it on and stir it up! Drop in piles on a Silpat liner or on waxed paper. We topped them with Wilton's Sour Cherry Sprinkles and heart sprinkles.

You can also put it in

a dish and cut it after it it is cold. I sat ours outside on our porch and it got hard in about 5 minutes.

Yummy Tummy Love!

"No Pancakes Today, I'm Afraid!"

2011-01-30T09:36:00.000-05:00

I love this quote by Parker Posey in "The House of Yes"....totally making fun of Pennsylvania where I am originally from.

My kids love pancakes. I don't really get it. I think it is more about the syrup than the pancakes. Pancakes offer very little nutritional value, so I've found a recipe made with whole wheat that I like. They like it, but not as much as those fluffy buttermilk ones they get at, say, IHOP. I've discovered that adding mini-chocolate chips or M&M's to the whole wheat ones make them disappear very quickly. This morning they wanted pancakes but I had no chocolate to add to them. What was I to say? "No pancakes today, I'm afraid?"

Noooo.... I found that we had THESE in the cupboard.

So I added the marshmallows to the pancakes and they went down very well, thank you very much, Swiss Miss.... Here's the pancake served upside-down so the colors show. Looks like a party on the plate, don't you think?

Here's my favorite recipe for whole wheat pancakes.

For pancakes (yields 2-4 pancakes)

1 1/4 cups whole-wheat flour
1/3 cup cornmeal
6 tablespoons buttermilk
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups water
2 large eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
butter for oiling the pan

Whisk together dry ingredients in a bowl, then add water, eggs, and oil and whisk until smooth. Let stand 5 minutes (batter will thicken). If batter is too thick to pour easily (whole-wheat flours vary in how much liquid they absorb), thin with additional water, 1 tablespoon at a time.

Brush a griddle or 12-inch skillet with butter and heat over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Reduce heat to medium-low. Pour 1/4 cup of batter into hot pan to form one large pancake. Cook until bubbles appear on surface and pop, edges are set, and undersides are golden, 45 seconds to 1 minute. Flip pancakes with a spatula and cook until undersides are golden and pancakes are cooked through, 45 seconds to 1 minute more. (Lower heat if pancakes brown too much before insides are cooked through.) Transfer pancakes to plates and brush griddle with butter between batches. Serve with syrup.

Happy Morning!

How To Make Thai Spring Rolls

2011-01-15T21:01:00.001-05:00

When I lived in San Diego, I found the tastiest treat EVER at Saffron on India Street. I fell in love with this low-cal, low-carb treat.... really, a hand-held salad. It was heaven. I had my husband pick them up about once a week on his way home from work.

Eventually, I moved to Upstate NY and could no longer get these yummy lunches/dinners, so I learned to make them myself. It really is easy if you can find the spring roll wrappers at your grocery store. I've found these at Wegman's in NY and hopefully you can find them at yours too.

These are the ingredients you need:

Spring Roll Wrappers

Roast Chicken breast sliced - Great from leftover roast chicken or you can buy a roast chicken at the grocery; Large leaf lettuce (mine is red leaf), cucumber sliced the long way, cilantro, peanuts (chopped or not)... I also sometimes add thin carrot sticks to the mix. Some people like fresh mint leaves in theirs too, but I'm not a fan. I have also seen them made with cooked shrimp instead of the chicken.

Optional... but oh so good... a peanut sauce and a Thai Sweet Chili Sauce. These are my favorite brands...

You can actually find them at our Walmart, but not sure about yours.

To assemble:

Take one of the Spring roll wrappers from the package. They are hard and feel a little like plastic.

In a large frying pan, heat about a cup of water to simmering. Turn off the heat.

Have a pair of tongs ready.

Put the wrapper into the water. It will roll a bit, but use your tongs to keep it down

a bit. Just after you get it wet, flip it over carefully.

Get the entire other side wet. You don't want to keep it in too long or it will get too soggy and rip

easily.

Remove from the pan to your work surface. Try to keep it from doing this!

In order to do so, while you pick it up with the tongs, grab the other side with

your fingers. It will be hot, so be careful. If it does turn out like this, throw it

out and start over. I guarantee one will do this.

This is what it should look like.

Add one leaf of lettuce in the top middle.

Cilantro on top of that....

Cucumbers on top of that...

Chicken pieces on top of that...

Peanuts on top of that. I like mine whole, but you can chop them if you like them less chunky...

I add the peanut and chili sauces right inside so I don't have to dirty a dish to dip in, but you can dip them if you like!

Next, fold the bottom half of the wrapper up over the filling....

Fold the left side over the fillings and roll it all up to the right side.

In the end it will look like this...

I generally eat 4 of them for a meal. Hope you enjoy this tutorial and love these as much as I do!

If you can't find the wrappers at your store, you can order them online at Amazon... Same goes for the sauces... but they only hvae a 6 pack of peanut sauce on there. I'm sure you can find the single bottle online somewhere....

Spring roll wrappers (rice paper)- 12 oz
House of Tsang Bangkok Peanut Sauce, 11.5-Ounce Bottles (Pack of 6)

Sweet Chili Sauce - 25 oz

Valentine's Day Freebie Cupcake Wrappers

2011-01-02T14:36:00.003-05:00

I usually don't do two posts in a day, but I wanted to get these on my blog so you have a chance to grab them up before the holiday hits... rather than as I usually post them a few days before the holiday. Please enjoy! Directions for using them can be found here as well as a whole list of freebies which can be found here.

This type of cupcake wrapper works best on larger cupcakes, but you can cut the ends off of the wrapper and make it smaller so it will fit a normal-sized cupcake.

This kind of wrapper works best on normal-sized (12 cupcakes to a pan) cupcakes. Just print, cut out and tape the ends together.

I posted this on Made By You Monday at

and '
and

and I was featured on

How To Make Glitter Lollipops - Revisited

2011-01-02T14:23:00.000-05:00

One of my most popular posts on my crafty blog was this quick tutorial showing how to make glittered lollipops. I don't know why I never showed it on my food blog??? So, I just reposted it here for my foodie friends to see. Hope your New Year is SWEET!

I made some glitter pops today. I had this mold that I haven't used and wanted to play with chocolate. I bought mine at a cake supply store about a year ago.

These pretty pops are flavored with creme de mint.

Here is what you need:

Wilton Lollipop Mold

Wilton Lollipop Sticks

Wilton Candy Melts

Food Coloring

Creme de Menthe Flavor Oil (I get this at one of my local pharmacies)

Sanding Sugar (Found with cake supplies and toppings)

1) Add a tiny dab of shortening to a small microwavable bowl wiht about 15 of those little white chocolate disks that you can get at Michaels or WalMart and melt them in the microwave for about 20 seconds. I used about 15 per lollipop.

2) Stir (you may need to melt a little more) then add some food coloring and a few drops of mint flavored oil and stir again.

3) Fill the three molds and put the sticks in them and twist the sticks so they get coated with chocolate

4) Put them in the refrigerator for about an hour. Pop the out of the molds.

5) After I unmolded them, I stuck them under the hot broiler element in my oven for about 5 seconds and dipped them in sanding sugar. You are DONE! Easy Peasy.

They are so glittery and pretty! What kid wouldn't want to eat those? Heck, what adult wouldn't?

If you need to get the candy melts, you can get them here. I couldn't find any blue ones, but they would look super cute in pink too... and they would be cheaper t! I used white and colored them with neon food coloring. The link is below if you would like to get them...

Wilton Pink Candy Melts

Wilton Candy Melts 14 Ounces Pink W1911-447, 3 Item(s)/Order

And here is the neon food coloring which created this pretty blue...

McCormick Food Colors & Egg Dye, Four Assorted Neon, 0.25-Ounce Vials (Pack of 6)

Wilton White Candy Melts

Sanding Sugar...

CK Products 4 Ounce Sanding Sugar Bottle, Opal

I really have to get the heart lollipop molds to try this with for Valentine's Day. The round one would be cute too, but I couldn't find the swirly one that I used. I think I found that one years ago at a cake supply store.

Lorann Oils Candy Molds Heart Lollipop 5 Cavity L55-66, 6 Item(s)/Order

Candy Making Molds-Happy Birthday Round Lollipop

Also, if you need lollipop sticks, you can find them here...

Sucker Lollipop Sticks 4 1/2 x 5/32 inch Package of 100

And bags to put them in....

Wilton Lollipop Bags

(Pack of 6)

Please show me your product if you make these! I'd love to see them!

Tami

Holiday Cookies

2010-12-11T19:24:00.000-05:00

The holidays are here and it is time for my annual Christmas Cookie Decorating Party. Unfortunately, I wanted to get some cookies in the mail, so I couldn't wait to do all of my cookies at the party, so I did a few beforehand. They are so fun to make. If you want the recipe for the cookies or for the icing, please go here

These cookies turn out so nice and shiny and pretty! They aren't perfect, but they sure were fun to make.

Stuff that I used to make these....

Free Thanksgiving Printable Cupcake Wrappers

2010-11-17T13:19:00.002-05:00

Making cupcakes for your Thanksgiving celebration? If you need help printing these, read this.

I was inspired by this little cake stand. :-) Hope you enjoy them!

Cypress Home Harvest Blessings Hand-painted Ceramic Cake Plate With Glass Dome

Autumn Leaves 4½"-5½" Asstd Design Decorations

Tag Autumn Harvest 60-Inch-by-84-Inch Tablecloth

EuroQuest Imports Fall Deco Parchment Leaves, Package of 20

Pack of 6 Thanksgiving Harvest Embossed Tin Table Top Signs 12"

Mini Cheeseball Pumpkin Appetizer

2010-11-02T11:40:00.000-04:00

Awe... aren't they sweet? These are such a simple appetizer that anyone can make them! They were a big hit in both flavor and cuteness. Because I had some very picky eaters eating these, I made some {the darker pumpkins} with a spicy mixture on top, but I also made some plain for those who don't like things spicier.

Mini Cheeseball Pumpkin Appetizer

8 oz block of cream cheese
6 oz finely shredded orange cheddar cheese
sesame stick snacks
Equal parts {approx. 1/4 tsp each}
paprika
chili powder
ceyenne pepper
cumin
black pepper
Mini toasts or crackers

Mix 8 oz cream cheese with 3 oz orange cheddar in your mixer bowl. Roll 1 tsp (more or less depending on the size you'd like) of the cheese mixture into balls. Roll all of the balls in the remaining shredded cheddar to coat. Roll half of the balls in the spice mixture to create the darker, spicier pumpkins. Place one sesame stick into each pumpkin to create a stem & flatten the ball slightly. Serve on small toasts or crackers.

These are the mini toasts I used. So adorable!

Whole Wheat Mini Toasts (3.1 ounce)

Homemade Hot Pretzels & Deep-Fried Fettuccini Knots

2010-10-23T15:48:00.000-04:00

Oh yum.... Today I made homemade whole wheat hot pretzels. They are yummy! The boys covered them with Easy Cheez. I dipped mine in mustard.

Here's the recipe.... adapted from Alton Brown by Kirbie's Creations.

The pretzels are soft inside, chewy and tough on the outside just like a good pretzel should be. I put
Celtic Grey Sea Salt on mine. It is subtle, but adds a lot to the flavor.

How about this for a fun party food? Deep-fried Fettuccini! Really! It is awesome!
I found the recipe at Ceramic Canvas and their recipe tutorial is very nice and the pictures prettier than mine!
Go check it out. It is SO easy... but beware, it makes your house smell like a doughnut shop. I think these would also taste great with some powdered sugar sprinkled on them... or maybe some cinnamon and sugar.
Oh... and I did not put the wasabi powder in them. They were perfect for the poker party we had.

Free Halloween Cupcake Wrappers and Toppers

2010-10-08T20:02:00.000-04:00

Halloween is in the AIR! I'm totally stoked to get my Halloween stuff out and start decorating. Maybe tomorrow morning! If I do, look for the post on my other blog... Pixeltrashamania. For directions on how to print and cut out these cupcake wrappers, go under the header labeled "Cupcake Printables" above. You will also find LOTS more freebie cupcake wrappers. If you use these, please send me an email with pictures! I'd love to see!

Cupcake toppers. Just glue to a toothpick and stick them into your icing!

More traditional toppers to glue/tape to toothpicks and top those cupcakes cutely!

May I also suggest?

This stand would be perfect for these Halloween cupcakes!

Wilton Haunted Manor Treat Stand

I'd love to make these chocolate covered pretzels look like theirs (probably couldn't!) and stick them in the tops of the cupcakes as cupcake toppers.

Wilton Haunted House Pretzel Mold

Or how about these guys stuck right into the icing and sticking out of the cupcakes with the cupcake wrappers on them? Cute!

Wilton Halloween Spooky Ghosts Candy Mold

Oh... and if I only had the MONEY... check this out! I love a cake stand and this one would be AWESOME!!!

Halloween Skull & Bones Pedestal Cake / Cupcake / Dessert Stand Plate, with Glass Dome

Toaster Bags

2010-10-07T12:03:00.002-04:00

I just recieved an email in my inbox that had this product in it and I think I might have to try it!!! Check it out. It is a reusable toaster bag for grilling sandwiches in the toaster. WHAT??? I would love to be able to throw a grilled cheese in the toaster and let it toast up and then just put a little bag in the dishwasher. I'm going to order these. I'll let you know how they work! Has anyone else used them? Do they work? If so, which do you have and which should I try? Do they wash well in the dishwasher? I am going to go for the cheapest if I don't hear from anyone in my comments.

Toastabags Two Reusable Non-Stick Sandwich/Snack "In Toaster" Grilling Bags

Toastabags Two Reusable Non-Stick Sandwich/Snack "In Toaster" Grilling Bags

Set of 2 NoStick Toast It Toaster Bags

Makin' Whoopie... Pies That is!

2010-09-17T11:04:00.002-04:00

This is a cookie my mom used to make, but they called them Gobs. Did your mom call them that? I'm not sure where that name came from, but I think Little Debbie must have renamed them to Whoopie Pies. Anyway, I love the way this recipe turned out, but next time, I'm adding a flavor to the center... like maybe peanut butter. MMMM... that sounds good to me. Or maybe some peppermint flavoring. These are much like them originals my mom used to make.

This recipe is adapted from Bakerella's recipe. I only changed it a bit, but I love dark chocolate, so I had to make them dark. They are just like I remember them.

Chocolate Whoopie Pies - adapted from bakerella

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup Hershey's unsweetened Special Dark cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
4 tablespoons vegetable shortening
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a bowl, sift together, flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, beat butter, shortening and sugar with a mixer on low until just combined. Increase speed to medium and beat for about 3 minutes.

Add egg and vanilla and beat for two more minutes. Add half of the flour mixture and half of the milk and beat on low until incorporated. Repeat with remaining flour and milk and beat until combined.

One of my changes: In order to make them all the same size, I printed the circle template below and laid it under the parchment paper. I filled a pastry bag with the tip cut off with the batter. I then started from the outside of each circle and swirled in toward the center to create a perfect circle. I then removed the template and baked as below.

OR....If you don't care about the shape/size, then follow the next step.

Using a tablespoon, drop batter on baking sheet two inches apart. Bake for about 10 minutes each or until pies spring back when pressed gently.

Remove from oven and cool for about five minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.

1 Tbsp of batter should make about 48 two-inch cakes or 24 pies.
2 Tbsp of batter should make about 30 four-inch cakes or 15 pies.

Filling:

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

To make the cream, place butter and shortening in a mixing bowl, and at low speed, gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla. Turn the mixer on high and beat for 2 to 3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy.

To assemble the whoopie pies:

Spread filling on flat side on one cooled cookie. Top it with a second cookie and press gently.

Enjoy!

Here is the template.... Click on it to enlarge and fit to page print on 8 1/2 x 11 inch paper.

Ninja Birthday Party Theme

2010-09-12T22:06:00.001-04:00

My son's birthday party was today. I had made the cute little cupcake wrappers and toppers from my previous post, but when I went to print them, I had run out of ink! Yikes! The toppers printed gray rather than black ink, so I cut them out anyway and traced the eyes with black pen. Then I used my cupcake wrapper as a template and cut black ones out of black construction paper and wrapped them with red ribbon. In a pinch, it worked.

I also made some oragami throwing stars to use as decorations (and weapons)...

Ninja swords on the chair backs lead to some great ninja battles. I had to take the swords away eventually though because they were getting a little too serious! The balls in the glass container on the table are actually gumballs from Party City! Black, Silver and Pearl!

I sewed some headbands and put some Asian symbols on them. Each boy wore one and then took them home with them. Oh... and they were told to dress in their ninja-wear if they had any. They all did! The banner says (probably barely says) "Happy 10th Birthday Adorable Ninja Son"

Word of warning.... the ninja head toppers are flammable. See that guy in the front?

Ninjas of many shapes and sizes came to the party. Even my husband dressed up and surprised the boys with a sneak attack which happened in the blink of an eye. He jumped over the couch while they were watching the presents being opened and stole one of the gifts and took off with it! Lots of excitement!!! The boys didn't even hesitate and took off after him! They were ninja warriors and rescued the stolen gift in mere moments! It all happened so fast I couldn't even get a picture! With all of the cameras in the room, you would think someone could have, but no one did!

Oh... and yes, we had pizza at the party. Pizza is Ninja food according to my son's t-shirt.

The weather stunk... so no better day for a party indoors!

Ninja Cupcake Wrappers

2010-08-21T23:48:00.003-04:00

My boys are so into ninjas! I had to do a ninja wrapper, so I thought I would share. Enjoy! If you need help with how to print and use these wrappers, go.here. I had a comment regarding this particular wrapper not printing correctly. Once you right click on this one and choose Print Picture, you need to go into your printers settings and change the layout to landscape! I hope that helps!

I am looking for a cupcake carrier so I can take cupcakes to parties, etc. The problem? Finding one that is high enough for the little cupcake toppers. I don't want to put them in the cupcakes after I get there so the carrier has to be high. Here are a few I'm looking at. If you have one like it, please let me know how it works for you.
Wilton Ultimate 3-In-1 Cupcake Caddy and Carrier

This one looks much higher.
Cupcake Courier 36-Cupcake Plastic Storage Container, Saffron Yellow
Maybe this one without the top layer???
Good Cook 24 Count Cupcake Pan and Carrying Case

This one is awesome. Love the color. I have to see if those layers hold 12 or more.
Cupcake Courier - Soft Blue Sky

While looking on amazon for the carriers, I found these boxes which would be awesome for sending cupcakes home from the party! Again... look at that blue!
Darice 1404-281, Cupcake Box with Window, 12-Pieces per package, 3-1/2-Inchby3-1/2-Inchby3-1/2-Inch
Aqua Blue Cupcake Box with Window packs of 10
Red Cupcake Box with Window packs of 10

Happy cupcake making!

I've linked up to

Tami

English Crumpets Recipe

2010-08-10T11:21:00.004-04:00

I was browsing Tastespotting last night, looking for something yummy to make.... anything yummy. The only thing that caught my eye was lots and lots of chocolate. I didn't want to make anything chocolate because I would really, really want to eat it. As I browsed further and turned off my chocolate radar, I found a recipe for English Crumpets. I didn't realize I could make these at home! So, I got up early this morning and mixed up a batch. I changed the recipe a bit from this one I found because I didn't want to wait and hour and a half to add the baking soda. Below is my new recipe that allows you to make them right away without the 1 1/2 hour wait. Basically, I used rapid rise yeast instead and threw the baking soda in right away.

This is what they looked like before I sliced them and toasted them.... Notice my homemade jelly in the picture. It is so good on these!

I will give Sunday Hotpants a pat on the back for both posting the recipe and for her advice! She tells you to add extra water/milk after the batter sits a while. She is so right. Too bad I didn't listen to her. LOL! My first maybe 6 or 7 crumpets turned out like crumpets. Lots of air holes and just right, but the end of the batch started getting less and less large air holes and started turning out like English Muffins instead (heavier, but still with lots of nooks and crannies). Well, guess what? I love English Muffins, so I went with it. Either way, they are awesome! The other advice I would give, is that you cook these on low and realize they will take over an hour to cook the whole batch because you have to let them cook slowly. Also, be sure to really butter (or Pam) the cookie cutters because they will stick and you will ruin the bubbles trying to get them out.

Okay, here is how I made them.

I have a set of round cookie cutters which are about 2 1/2 inches high, so I used the two biggest to form the crumpets. They are about 4 inches and 3 1/2 inches across.

English Crumpets

(recipe from Bill Granger - Sydney Food)

Makes 14 crumpets depending on your cookie cutter

1 1/2 cups of milk

1 1/2 tsp sugar

2 Tbsp of dried rapid rise yeast

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

6 1/2 fl oz water (or more if needed)

pinch of salt

Pour the milk into a saucepan and heat until just warm. Transfer into a bowl and add the sugar and yeast. Allow to stand for 10 minutes or until the milk starts to bubble.

Measure flour and salt into a bowl. Add the milk/yeast mixture to the flour and beat with an electric mixer until completely smooth. Mix the baking soda with the water and use your electric beater to combine this with the batter.

Heat a heavy frying pan or griddle over a med/low heat and grease with a little butter.

Grease your crumpet moulds also - grease between each crumpet. Place your moulds on the hot surface and place approximately 1/4 c. of mixture inside the mould. Your first 2-3 crumpets will be a little trial and error to get your desired thickness. Your mixture will rise in the moulds.

Within a short period of time your crumpets should get small bubbles all over the surface that begin to break.

Once the top is somewhat set and the bottom is nicely golden, use an oven mit to remove the mould, gently flip the crumpet to cook the other side until golden.

Eat hot or cool the crumpets on a cooling rack and refrigerate or freeze until you need them.

Cut in half and toast the crumpets when you are ready to eat them. Enjoy!

YUM!

I may just have to get myself some of these. It would be faster to make them if I had more moulds!

Norpro English Muffin Rings Set of 4

Fox Run Set of Four English Muffin Rings

Oooo... and how awesome are these with handles? I think these would be awesome! Maybe my

next online purchase!

RSVP Egg Ring, Set of 4

I've linked this post to ....Stop by their blog party to get some budget conscious, healthy recipes!

Princess Cupcake Wrappers to Print

2010-08-05T13:24:00.002-04:00

I decided to play with some girly cupcake wrappers today. If you need help figuring out how to use these, please go here. I would get some little gems and glue them to each of the circles at the top of the wrappers. Once you tape the stars to toothpicks, the stars will look like wands. You might even put some glue on the stars and glitter them to add some bling.

Click on the pictures to see the whole thing and to print.

And for the funky princess....

Please send pictures if you use these wrappers. I'd love to see how you use them!
Also, if you have a boy... I have ninja wrappers too!

Here are some fun ways to display your cupcakes after you make them....

Wilton Princess Cupcake Stand Kit

Wilton Tall Tier Cupcake Tower/Stand Set

Rosanna Petit Treat Cupcake Stand Pink

And other ideas for your princess party....
Brand Castle Crafty Cooking Princess Cupcake Deluxe Kit, 10.2 Ounce Box
Wilton Princess Cupcake Wraps' n Pix, 12 Count
Disney Princess Baking Cups 50ct

Enjoy!

Tami

Pinwheel Cookies for Summer

2010-07-22T22:40:00.000-04:00

Today our neighbor delivered some cabbages to our back porch and the other day, they allowed us to pick LOTS of blueberries from their bushes! Yum! We also had a pool playdate to go to, so I made up some cookies to take to the kids at the pool and to say thank you to our neighbors. It was nice and cool this morning. 60 degrees F, so it was a great time to bake. These pinwheel cookies are so easy to make. Use your favorite sugar cookie recipe... or buy the stuff already made in the store if necessary.

Just roll out dough, make 3 in. by 3 in. squares, sprinkle with sanding sugar, slice from each corner to almost the middle, fold the same corner down on each triangle, and push a candy into the middle and decorate with floral decorations and bake! Simple and cute!

I created and printed the Happy Summer toppers and stapled them to the cellophane bags. For the "thank you" ones, I used some 4" thank you cards I found at the dollar store as toppers. The butterflies were all glittery, so they looked adorable.

Kids Snack Tortillas

2010-07-21T12:18:00.002-04:00

My kids were looking for a sugary snack this morning and we had none in the house, so I came up with these fried tortillas with cinnamon and sugar. Very uncomplicated and yummy. I have made them before with regular tortillas, but wanted to sneak some nutrition in them, so I used multi-grain tortillas and canola oil. I also cut them into the shape of their initials. Along with a strawberry-banana fat-free smoothie, I think they had some great nutrition and a yummy snack. PS... I shook the excess cinnamon and sugar off before serving. They look pretty with a lot on though, don't you think?

Below are the tortillas I used. The only trick is to have the oil on high so they only have to fry for about 1 minute or less on each side. That way, they get crispy and don't soak up the oil. Just heat your oil in a frying pan (take it off the heat if it starts to smoke) and get to work! One tortilla was enough for each boy. I had a half of one and an ice coffee. Great on a hot day!

Happy Summer!

Tami

How To Use Printable Cupcake Wrappers

2010-07-02T15:26:00.006-04:00

I have had some people post on their blog that the cupcake wrappers are too large for their cupcakes. This made me realize that I need to show you how to use them. If you would like to try to use them, go to the "Cupcake Printables" tab under the header on my blog, pick one and click on the link. It will take you to the post.

This is important! Click on the sheet that you would like to use and it should open into a larger screen.

Next right click on the picture and choose "print picture" {or you can choose "save picture as" and save it to your hard drive. This will let you open it into any photo editing software you have} and print it on white cardstock. These are all created in Letter size (8 1/2 x 11), and some of them are landscape rather than portrait so you may have to adjust your printer set-up. To find another size paper in Internet Explorer, choose "General" tab, "Layout" button and then "Advanced" button from the print pop-up. IE is the only browser I use, so you may have to play around with it if you use Firefox, etc. Sorry!

Cut out the elements you'd like to use. This particular wrapper comes with paper "lollipops" which go into the top of the cupcake.

Here is what you will need to make the paper lollipops.

Toothpicks (any kind will work as will skewers)

Tape

The rest is optional....

3D foam pop-dot (I use the white roll in the picture. It is usually used in matting for pictures)

A 2-inch hole punch (will make it easier to get nice round circles)

Glue (optional)

Crystals or brads (optional)

First, I baked the cupcakes in the Wilton silicone cupcake "papers" and removed them after they were cooled. Don't forget to spray the silicone or the cupcakes will stick. Learned this the hard way! You can also bake them in paper liners and keep them in the liners. Let your cupcakes cool while you are printing and cutting these out.

Once they are cut out, place pop-dots or foam tape onto the center of the lollipop backgrounds.

Place a dot of glue in the middle of the flowers if you are using crystals. (Try not to make a mess like I did!)

If you do make a mess with the glue, don't worry about it as it will dry clear.

Next, remove the paper from the foam glue/pop-dots.

Place the crystals in the middle of the glue. And place these middles onto the pop-dots.

So they look like this. Don't worry if your circle aren't prefect. You want people to realize that they are homemade. If you are more discerning that I am, you can use a paper punch to punch them out perfectly!

After the glue dries a bit, you can flip these over and tape the toothpick to the back of the circle. Now you have a lollipop for the top of your cupcakes.

Now onto the cupcake wrappers themselves....

First you have to have your cooled cupcakes which you baked in cupcake papers. Do not bake your cupcakes in these wrappers! If you have large cupcake pans (6 to a pan), the cupcake wrappers will fit as they are. Just cut them out, tape the edges and plop your cupcake into them. If, however, you are making normal, standard-sized cupcakes, you will need to do some adjusting to the wrappers.

Next, print out and cut out your wrappers from here. They should look like this.

Measure your cupcake to the wrapper so you can tell about how round it should be.

Cut the extra from the ends of the wrapper or you will have a lot of overlap. That is fine too, but I prefer it with less overlap. (See the end pieces I cut off?)

Have a piece of tape ready and neary by. Re-wrap the cupcake and tape it on the outside. If I don't cut those ends off and I have a lot of overlap, I sometimes put a piece of tape on the inside too.

Here it is with tape on it.

Now look under the wrapper. If you are keeping your cupcakes at home, you can leave them this high. They are a little more tipsy this way, but I think they look more elegant and more of the design shows.

If you are taking them somewhere, you will need to do the following steps.

Cut 1/2 to 3/4 inch slits up the bottom. The closer you make the slits, the more round your bottom will turn out. I'd say you should make 8-10 slits all around the bottom.

Next, fold the flaps toward the inside. This will create a bottom to your wrapper. You are looking at the bottom in this photo.

Now insert your cupcake and get ready to add some frosting.

Here is the frosting recipe I use for my cupakes. It is so yummy and so fluffy. I use a Wilton #1E tip to frost my cupcakes. You will see that I didn't measure my cupcake wrappers very well in the photo below. I wanted to show you that it doesn't matter. You can fill them with MORE icing this way!

Start at an outside edge and squeeze some icing around the edge of the cupcake.

Pipe around and around until you get to the center! And you are done and can add sprinkles and a lollipop topper!

Eat up and enjoy!!!

I posted this at....

Stop by and check out the other tutorials!

Cupcake Kit: Recipes, Liners, and Decorating Tools for Making the Best Cupcakes!

If You Care Unbleached Large Baking Cups, 60-Count Boxes (Pack of 24)
Beyond Gourmet 96 Unbleached Mini Baking-Cups

Red Polka Dot Cupcake Liners STD 50 count

Free Summery Cupcake Wrappers

2010-06-28T11:28:00.000-04:00

I finally gave my blog a makeover. I've been wanting to do it for a while and now that school is out, I had some time! Yeah!

To celebrate the makeover, I decided to make some new cupcake wrappers. I've done them a little differently this time. I created some flower centers which you can cut out and glue or pop-dot onto the flowers on the toppers. I made the flower in the top left corner with the though that you could put a little brad or a pretty crystal sticker in the middle.

Hope you enjoy them.

Remember, in order to save them, you must click on them first. This will make them full-sized so you can print them. Make sure you choose "Size to Fit 8 1/2 x 11" on your printer if you have this option. Enjoy!

Grandma's Strawberry Freezer Jam

2010-06-18T21:36:00.003-04:00

My friend Janet MADE me make my own jam. I've never done it before, nor did I really want to make it. But SHE made jelly and sent it home with me in the cutest ever little teensy tiny jar with a bow on it. I had just gotten a loaf of fresh bakery peasant bread and popped the jar open after school so my boys could have an afterschool snack. I handed them the fluffy bread with the pretty red jelly on it. One bite and you would have thought I had given them a huge banana split with everything on it! They LOVED it so much that I had to 'SAVE' the rest for their lunches the next day. I did lick the knife and I will say, it was awesome.

Well, Janet picked her strawberries so they were nice and fresh. I hate to pick strawberries so, on a whim, I had my husband pick up strawberries from a farm stand on his way home. He also went to the store and bought pectin for me... oh and jars! What a good husband I have.

I pulled out my grandmother's recipe and holy cow... I can't believe how easy it was!!! Seriously, who would have known? So, now I have this.

Here is the recipe if you'd like to try it. If you click on the recipe, it should open larger so you can read it better. I don't know why my grandmother says not to double it and she is no longer with us so I can ask her.

Enjoy! It is super simple!

Tami

How To Shuck Corn (ie Peel Corn!)

2010-06-08T21:00:00.000-04:00

This may seem like an inane thing to blog about, but when I was young, my mom would buy corn by the dozen and I would get the annoying job of shucking the corn. Bleck. I would peel it one piece of husk at a time and it was so annoying! No one ever told me how to do it this way.... I saw this technique somewhere.... maybe on Food TV? Perhaps Emril Live or Martha Stewart Living.

On the stalk end of the corn, feel for where they corn ends and the stalk starts. Cut here.

It should look like this....

Now turn the corn and feel for where the tip of the corn is and cut there.

Now slice through the husk the long way. Don't worry about cutting through the corn itself. It isn't going to hurt the corn at all.

Turn it over and do the same thing on the opposite side of the cob.

Now you can just pull the husk off easily!

To take all of the silk off, I run it under cold water against the

way the silk is growing. It takes most of it off.

If you have any other easier methods, let me know!

I'm always interested in making things easier!

Tami

Bird Freebie Cupcake Wrappers to Print

2010-04-18T20:11:00.000-04:00

To print, please click on the picture below and print from the larger image. Don't forget to turn your

print to horizontal.

Enjoy!

Easter Cupcake Wrappers

2010-03-30T21:02:00.002-04:00

Be sure to click on these first. This will open them into a larger screen so you can print it from there!

Enjoy!

Tami

Spring or Easter Decorated Cookies

2010-03-26T19:43:00.000-04:00

My kids had the day off today, so we spent the day baking and decorating cookies. It is always fun at the beginning but then by the end, I'm usually sick of it. The boys didn't last quite as long as I did. That's the way it usually goes. They are all gung-ho and then they make two cookies and they are then done. The sure love eating the dough though!

So, here are the cookies we made. We traced the cookie cutter and the boys designed their cookies before they decorated them. This gave them an idea of what to make before they started trying to make things with the icing. Icing isn't quite as forgiving as colored pencils. You can see below both the drawings and the cookies. So cute!

These are my 9-year-old's eggs. He did a pretty good job! Of course, how Meta Knight and Warrior Skeletons have anything to do with Spring or Easter, I don't know!

These are my 7-year-old's eggs. He was bored more quickly. Cute though!

If you would like the recipe for the icing, you can find it HERE.

Have fun!

Winter Strawberries

2010-03-26T08:15:00.001-04:00

Have you ever made these? They are called Winter Strawberries and they are SO tasty! My kids love them and they really brighten up a plate of cookies at Christmastime. They are also pretty on a plate for Valentine's day. Frankly, they'd be great in the middle of summer too. They make a great gift if you have one of those plastic pint-sized containers that fruit comes in and you put them in it and cover it with plastic wrap and a rubberband.

Here's how to make them. Super SIMPLE!

1½ cup Finely chopped grated pecans; (or walnuts)

1½ cup Finely grated coconut

3 packs (3 oz.) size Jello ; (strawberry)

1 can (14 oz.) Eagle brand sweetened condensed

1 teaspoon Vanilla

⅓ cup Red sugar

Combine all ingredients (except red sugar). Mix well, chill for 1 hour. Then form mixture into strawberry shapes and roll in red sugar to coat. Make green leaves with green icing that comes in tube or can from grocery. {I used green sugar to make my leaves}

Cupcake Excitement

2010-03-17T10:30:00.000-04:00

Janine at That's Soap Cute used my cupcake wrappers and toppers to make her granddaughter, Katlynn's, birthday cupcake tower! How cute is that? The cupcakes are spice cake with cream cheese icing. YUMMY!!! Be sure to stop by and tell her how much you love it!

Butterfly Cupcake Wrappers

2010-03-16T16:16:00.006-04:00

I made these cute little cupcake wrappers today and thought I would share them with you all. I just love how they turned out, but I should have been a little more careful with the cutting out of the circles. I was in a big hurry.... you take your time! So, here is what they will look like on your cupcakes. Love them!

Playing with PSP.....

Fancy Free Cupcake Wrappers

2010-03-15T19:11:00.001-04:00

More Freebie Cupcake Wrappers

2010-03-13T16:31:00.005-05:00

Once again, playing with cupcake wrappers. I love these florals with pinks and blues. Click on the image below and save or print from the larger image {8 1/2 x 11}.

Seriously! How Cute are These Cupcake Wrappers?

2010-03-01T18:54:00.003-05:00

I just love how these turned out. I wasn't sure because I made the wrappers and posted them without trying them out first. Now that I have, I say USE THEM! They are super cute.
Sorry about the bad lighting, but it is dark outside and I had to use my flash.

YUM! They taste as yummy as they look!

By the way, how fun is it that these match my blog? {I planned that.... not!}

Tami

Having Fun with Cupcake Wrappers!

2010-02-26T23:47:00.011-05:00

I am really enjoying making cupcake wrappers. Now I just have to make some cupcakes to go with them! Stick these little circles onto a toothpick and adorn the tops of your cupcakes with them! So pretty!

I should mention, these are for personal use only. If you do use them, please post pictures and send me a link. I'd love to see them!

More Cupcake Wrappers for Free!

2010-02-16T22:25:00.001-05:00

I was playing with cupcake wrappers again. They are so fun for decorating your pretty little baked goodies. Here are some new ones.... enjoy!

How cute would these be for a bridal shower or even a birthday party? You can cut out (or use a paper punch) the circles, attach them to a toothpick and stick into the top of the cupcake frosting.

Don't forget that this is just a thumbnail. To save the full-sized sheet, click on the thumbnail first and then save it from the bigger picture. It should print nicely at 8.5x11 inches.

Cookie Decorating Party 2009

2009-12-22T13:02:00.008-05:00

This is becoming an annual event! My friends and I got together to decorate Christmas cookies. We do the flood-filled cookies that I have shown you before, so I won't go into the detail of the recipes as they are shown previously on this blog. You can find the recipe for cookies and for the icing here.

We had a blast and I pulled out all of my cookie decorations. Whoa... I have a lot. I made icing that matches my Christmas decorations this year. I LOVE the way the snowmen turned out! Check them out!

Seriuosly, can you believe the number of toppings I have? Obsess much?

Tami

How to Make Flood-filled Sugar Cookies with a No Egg Icing- Halloween Cookies

2009-11-11T10:38:00.017-05:00

Ok... now.... I'm about to make an obvious statement!

Sugar cookies are so fun to make and decorate! You can make this beautiful, shiny icing with very few ingredients and then decorate away. This icing gets hard and stays shiny for days. The only downfall is that after about a 2 weeks or so, the sugar can start to crystalize and make crystal shapes in the icing. I haven't figured out the problem with this yet, but in most cases the cookies don't stick around that long. It did make an awesome design in my snowflake cookies!

I have a huge collection of decorative candies for on top of my cookies. I find them at Michaels, WalMart and at specialty cake shops. One of my favorites that I used this year is the edible glitter. It consists of huge chunks of shiny sugar that looks adorable on the cookies. You will notice it on a few of the black cats below. Also, the sugar eyes were fun to play with. I found those at a cake shop in San Diego and hope they still have them because I've used all of mine.
I did find them at this shop online though. I need to order some more.

Another awesome product (especially if you can't find sugar eyes), is this one. They are pearls made of sugar. Very fun to use for polka-dots or eyes. If you click on these pictures below, you can see them close up. See how shiny they are? These are dry, but still shiny.

See the edible black glitter? So cute!

When decorating with Royal Icing, you find that some people can't have raw egg whites and the meringue powder in other recipes is expensive and hard to find in some areas (like ours). But I have a secret! I found a wonderful icing recipe on Wilton that I have been using that works JUST like Royal for flood filling on cookies. I just use less liquid for piping the outlines and more for the flooding. If you get it too runny for the piping, you add more powdered sugar. If it is too thick, add more corn syrup.

I use a regular icing bag and tip #1 or #2 for my piping around the outside. Then I either use a zip-lock bag with a corner snipped or a diposable piping bag to flood fill. You can cut the end off so that the icing flows the way you like. Start with a tiny hole and work your way up to a bigger one. A hole that is too big is really not good!

I wish I had taken some pictures of my set-up so you can see how I do it, but I forgot. Next time! I will edit this post and put the pics in. For now, however, picture this.

I use a lazy susan and fill it with baked cookies. I use the thicker icing and pipe all around the edges of them with white. I keep doing this in batches until all cookies are outlined. That's the hardest part.

Next, I make my thinner icing and color batches. I put them into the disposable bags and stand each bag in a drinking glass. This contains the mess that you are sure to make because the icing flows easily out of the bag.

Next, pick the cookies that you would like to have flooded with the same color. Slowly squeeze some icing on the cookie and use the tip of the bag to spread it out to the edges. Be careful not to squeeze too much or it will go out over the edges. If you want to include two colors that blend, do so now. Fill one part of the cookie with one color, stop and fill the other half with another color. You can swirl it with a toothpick so that the colors blend together. You can make polka-dots or any other design in another color as well, but be sure you don't put on too much of the original color or it will over-flow the edges of the cookie when you add the second color.

Now you can add all kinds of nonpareils, jimmies, confetti, etc. to make the cookies look adorable. Put them on while your icing is still wet.

Once that original layer gets a little hard (5-10 minutes), you can take your thicker icing and use

it to make some swirls or dots or stripes that will look 3D on top of the icing.

Here is the Wilton recipe for the icing. When I thin it, I use corn syrup rather than milk. If you use milk, it can cause it to crystalize after it dries. (This was edited because my icing was crystalizing and a reader of this blog suggested I use corn syrup rather than milk to thin the icing because the milk is what was causing it to crystalize! Turns out she was totally correct and I haven't had a problem since! So thank you to my reader!!!) This icing dries smooth and hard, like royal icing, so you can add on other decorations and piped details.

Ingredients:

5 cups confectioners' sugar sifted
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup light corn syrup
Makes: About 3 cups of icing.

Instructions:
Place sugar and milk in bowl. Stir until mixed thoroughly. Add corn syrup and mix well. For filling in areas, use thinned icing (add small amounts of light corn syrup until desired consistency is reached).

For the cookies, I use a basic sugar cookie recipe from Martha.

Ingredients
Makes 2 dozen
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons brandy, or milk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions
Whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar; add dry ingredients, and mix until incorporated. With mixer running, add egg, brandy (or milk), and vanilla; mix until incorporated.

Transfer dough to a work surface. Shape into 2 discs, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with nonstick baking mats or parchment paper; set aside.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes, and transfer to prepared baking sheets, leaving an inch in between. Leftover dough can be rolled and cut once more. Bake until lightly golden, about 10 minutes; do not allow to brown. Transfer to wire racks to cool.

Have FUN!

Blueberry Muffins

2009-08-14T20:08:00.003-04:00

Come to tea?

Today I tried a new recipe for blueberry muffins and I loved the outcome! I changed the recipe up a bit because I didn't have sour cream but I did have fat-free Greek Yogurt so I made them using the yogurt. Oh my... they were so great. The kids each ate two and wanted to go for 3, but I made them stop.

They make for a rich and tender muffin in which the blueberries are floating throughout. Don't be surprised by the thick batter. It doesn't pour like some muffin batters, but plops more like cookie dough. That is the way it should look.

Here's the recipe as I made them.

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 large egg

1 cup sugar

4 tbsp melted and cooled unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups 0% Greek yogurt

1 1/2 cups small, fresh blueberries

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat to 350F. Spray muffin tin with PAM.

2. Whisk flower, baking powder and salt in medium bowl until combined.

3. Whisk egg in second medium bowl until light yellow. Add sugar and whist until thick and well combined, about 30 seconds. Add melted butter slowly in 2-3 batches, whisking between to combine. Add yogurt and whisk just to combine.

4. Drop batter into greased muffin tin filling 3/4 full. Bake until light golden brown and toothpick inserted into center of muffin comes out clean... 25-30 mintues. Or 20 minutes on convect bake.

5. Invert muffins onto wire rack and let cool 5 minutes.

Enjoy!

Tami

Kiwi Sorbet

2009-07-31T19:48:00.003-04:00

This is an awesome dessert that you should definitely try. Everyone raved about it while they ate it. It is SO simple!

Here is what you need....

12 kiwis (ripe)

1 cup of sugar (less if you like sorbets a little tarter)

a blender or food processer

an ice cream freezer

Peel the kiwis and blend them with the sugar. Pour into your ice cream freezer and freeze for about 45 minutes or until icy. Scoop into covered freezer dishes and freeze for an hour or so. Enjoy!

More Free Cupcake Wrappers

2009-07-27T19:31:00.009-04:00

I had so much fun making cupcakes to match my themes that I've made a few more printable cupcake wrappers. I thought I'd share them with you all. Click on them and they will open to full page size so you can save them to your desktop. Enjoy!!!

Pretty Cupcake Wrappers

Girly or Springtime Cupcake Wrappers

Superbowl Party Cupcake Wrappers

4th of July Cupcake Wrappers

Masculine Cupcake Wrappers

Tami

Other fun Fourth of July decorations...
5 Sets - Red White and Blue Lights Electric String Lights with White Cord - Patriotic Christmas Lights

20 Cnt 4th of July Red White Blue Star String Lights

Patriotic Color Whirls
30' Outdoor Patriotic Pennant Banner

Plastic Printed Patriotic Border Roll

Red, White & Blue Crepe Streamer
Love these!
Tag Firecracker Candles, Set of 4, Red White and Blue, 2.875-Inches High
Patriotic Paper Cups - 9oz. - Package of 25

Salsa Roja!

2009-07-26T17:59:00.005-04:00

To be honest with you, I'm not much of a salsa lover. It is okay and I do eat it, but it's just okay to me. My husband, however, has some almost every day. He LOVES it... and the hotter, the better.

So, I went to Tastespotting and found one that looked like the ones he seems to love. Very dark and very smooth. One Particular Kitchen is the name of the blog where I found it. Oh... this girl and her cousin KNOW their salsas. Everyone has loved it who has had it. It started out SUPER hot the first day, but it mellowed nicely the next day. Still really spicy, but I could eat it. The heat is strong and then mellows after a few seconds. You'll love it... I know because it won me over!

I got permission from oneparticularkitchen (sorry, I don't know your name!) to post their recipe and after you get this recipe, run over to her blog and check out some of the other yummy food she has posted!

The Best Salsa Ever:
16 full size tomatoes, or nearly a produce bag full of roma tomatoes (we used roma)
2-3 yellow onions
20-25 Serrano peppers (remove caps) Note: this many peppers makes it hot. Feel free to reduce # of peppers, or scrape the seeds out of them
8-10 cloves of garlic
1-2 Tbsp salt
1-2 bunches cilantro

Half the tomatoes and onions and lay cut-side up on a cookie sheet along with the peppers and garlic.

Roast at 375 till the onions look nice and translucent and tomatoes look soft, and peppers are getting a nice char on them

Let it all cool a bit, then run through the food processor with salt and cilantro (we had to do this in two batches)

Stir it all together and eat with abandon.

If you have any questions about this salsa, be sure to go read the comments because her cousin answers a ton of them (like storing and freezing, etc.) Her pictures are much nicer than mine, so you may want to just go check them out for yourself!

Let me know if you made it and how you liked it!

Tami