PLAYING WITH SUGAR

WTH??? - Where The Heck have I been?????

2009-09-14T23:56:00.001-07:00

Seriously my dear readers, I can NOT believe it has been this long since I posted!!! - UGH! I miss you and baking for myself so much! I have (thankfully) had TONS of stuff going on in my life (good stuff). I have been baking cakes for others almost every weekend since my last posting AND a few other things. I hope you bear with me for just a little while longer. I have TONS of fabulous, yummy things to share with you for the fall. In the meantime I wanted to share some of what has been going on with me. The most recent cake I made is this baby shower cake. I can't help but be in love with the teddy bear! He was almost too cute to eat! It was a two tiered cake with a 10 inch white cake and strawberry filling on the bottom topped with a 6 inch strawberry cake with butter cream frosting all of which was covered with fondant and of course this adorable little bear!

This cutie patootie surfer girl was another weekend’s project for a special 16 year olds birthday. She was made out of all fondant and the cake was a chocolate cake with strawberry filling, butter cream frosting and fondant. How cute is she???

Up next was Wow Wow Wubbzy for a sweet little one year olds first birthday party. They told me that she thought it looked so much like Wubbzy that she was slightly scared to eat it! It was as single layer chocolate cake frosted with butter cream frosting and covered with fondant.

Last but not least, we have the soccer lover’s cake! This was a birthday cake for a birthday celebration shared by two little guys who love soccer. I incorporated two colors of their uniforms and of course personalized the jerseys with their individual numbers. I think they really liked it and hopefully it made a good impression with the soccer moms! It was chocolate cake with butter cream frosting. The ball and jerseys were covered in fondant.

I have a fabulous wedding cake that I will be working on this weekend for a very beautiful bride and I will be sure to post pics as it will be a one of a kind!

Finally, here is something else that has been distracting me from my blog (but what a wonderful & beautiful distraction she is)

This is my 18 year old daughter Morgan. When Will got his promotion to California, Morgan decided to stay in PA to finish out her senior year. Well school is done and summer is winding down so I am proud and excited to say that Morgan is coming here to live with us!!! I have been making plans, shipping arrangements, flight arrangements, plans for going back home etc. (if anyone has any advice on shipping just clothing and shoes freight, I'd be so grateful if you'd share your knowledge and info. Thanks!) I will fly back home for a week the end of September/beginning of October to get Morgan and then after that I am all yours! Back full time and baking more than ever especially during fall which is my favorite time of the year! See you all soon!

Stacy

Chocolate Chip Cookie or Cupcake? HAVE BOTH! Chocolate Chip Cookie Cakes

2009-08-17T02:10:00.000-07:00

Some things a girl should never tell…her age, her weight and her favorite recipe that has potential to make money for her someday. For that very reason I wanted to make one of my favorite cupcake ideas, but I’m not quite ready to share my secret recipes for my homemade goodies yet. Wipe your tears from your eyes my friends, this one is just as good and I’ll tell you are secret, come a little closer, shhhhhhhhh, it is all made from boxed mixes with the exception of the frosting. Will came in and said “are those homemade?” to which I lovingly answered “Well they were made in our home!” LOL. But ladies and gentlemen that is as close to homemade as these get. When I can’t or don’t want to use “from scratch” recipes, I like to at the very least try to dress up an otherwise lame boxed mix. That is just what these babies are all about! They are the can’t decide between a chewy chocolate chip cookie and a heavenly cupcake? HAVE BOTH cookie cake!

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

1 white or vanilla boxed cake mix of your choice.
Water - according to directions
Oil - according to directions
Eggs - according to directions
1 Cup Mini Chocolate Chips - plus more for garnishment.
1 TBSP of all purpose flour.
Paper cupcake/muffin liners.

Butter Cream frosting:

2 Cups shortening
2 tsp clear vanilla
7 TBSP of water
2 pounds of confectioner's sugar

Cookies:

1 pkg of Betty Crocker Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix
1/2 Cup of Butter - 1 stick
1 Egg
Regular size chocolate chips for garnish

Directions:

Cupcakes:
Mix and prepare according to directions on package. Toss 1 Cup of mini chocolate chips with 1 TBSP of all purpose flour. Fold into prepared batter. Bake according to directions. Allow to cool completely.

Butter Cream Frosting:
Beat all ingredients until icing forms peaks (7-10 minutes at low speed with a heavy-duty mixer, 10-12 minutes at high speed with a hand-held mixer).
NOTE: Keep all utensils completely grease-free for proper icing consistency.
* For stiffer icing, use 1 tablespoon less water.
**When using large countertop mixer or for stiffer icing, use 1 tablespoon less water.

*Instructions can be found on the Wilton website.

Cookies:
Prepare and bake cookies according to directions.

Once cupcakes have fully cooled, I used a long cake decorator’s tip to fill the middle of the cupcake with frosting. Take the longest tip you have (preferably one with a round open end), insert it into the middle of the cupcake and squeeze. Next frost the entire top of the cupcake with butter cream frosting. Style it according to your choice. (I decorated mine using only a pastry bag with a coupler inside.) Make sure you add an extra bit of frosting to the top center of the cupcake. Next you'll want to shake a good amount of the mini chocolate chips onto a plate, roll cupcake in chocolate chips. The way I did this was dip down and lift, turn slightly, dip down and lift until all sides are thoroughly covered. Next place a well shaped chocolate chip cookie on top of the frosted cupcake slightly tilted to the side. Top with a dollop of butter cream. Last but not least, garnish with a larger sexier chocolate chip and there you have it chocolate chip cookie cakes! Enjoy!

Recycling cake scraps.... Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cake Balls

2009-08-04T18:35:00.001-07:00

I don't know what to call these, I mean they are essentially cake balls BUT for whatever reason that just sounds so gross to me. They need a more chic name like cake truffles or cake bon bons, something. I should hold a contest to name my personally made ones. Too bad I didn't think of this sooner it would have been a perfect give a way! Bakerella does some FABULOUS things with these little delicious delights! You have to see all of the things she comes up with. Plain and simple, she ROCKS! Check her site out for complete directions and so many fabulous ideas! You can visit her by clicking here. I adapted mine slightly using vanilla frosting instead of cream cheese basically because I usually make my own frosting and therefore do not have usually have a can of store frosting around BUT I did have a can of vanilla that I found for a project that never came to be - ummmm, yeah I have way to many "good ideas" to mention that happen like that. The land of forgotten baked goods. You know those ingredients that end up being used for something other than their original intent. Oh well, all’s well that ends well right? I had cake scraps from a birthday cake that I made over the weekend. (The Steelers jersey birthday cake (for Bryan turning 24 - Happy Birthday Bryan!!!) that I mentioned in a previous post.)

NOTE: For the correct and entire recipe please see Bakerella's blog!!!

I used the cake scraps - or the left over cake from two 13 x 9 strawberry cakes - the crown (or top) which was cut off of both of them and about a quarter of the other 13 x 9 that I used to carve the sleeves. All in all it was probably about half of a whole 13 x 9. Did I lose you yet with all of that?

I crushed up all of the strawberry cake scraps to get them into crumbs and mixed about half of the can (15.6 oz) of vanilla frosting. Once I made sure it was thoroughly mixed, I used a cookie scoop and made approx 1 inch balls. I placed them on a cookie sheet with wax paper and placed them into the freezer for approx 6 hours until set. Once they were set enough to dip, I melted 1.5 bags of Wilton Candy Melts. (for directions on melting chocolate see my post here) (I have used Almond bark in the past). I used a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake ball to dip into the chocolate. Once completely covered I placed on a cookie sheet covered with wax paper, drizzled on the opposing chocolate flavor and placed in the refrigerator until it was set. Viola! There you have cake balls (truffles- bon bons- LOL)! Recycling never tasted so good! ENJOY!

Making fondant "pregnant" - the latest addition of Stacy bakes...

2009-07-30T10:05:00.000-07:00

WOW, has it really been that long since I posted anything? Time sure does fly! In short, I have been up to my elbows in frosting and cake batter (and loving every minute of it!) I promise to be back in the next day or two with some actual recipes but for now I will entertain (and distract) you with some cakes that will hopefully make you smile! These were for Will's co-worker. She is pregnant with twins!!! How wonderful!!! Today is her last day before maternity leave and they are having a potluck luncheon for her. I was requested to make two round cakes both with butter cream (UGH - I just can't get used to seeing butter cream after working with fondant! I'm totally obsessed with getting it as smooth as possible to try to resemble fondant). They are both 9 inch rounds - one is white cake the other is strawberry. The figures on top are made totally of fondant. This was the first time I actually tried my hand at making figures. How'd I do?

Here she is from the side -

The colors were lavender and mint green to match the nursery colors.

Next we have the two peas in a pod, pea pod cake. I got my inspiration from this site. I think these are Will's favorites!

Here they are again looking down from the top. I also tried to incorporate the nursery colors in this one by including the little lavender flowers.

If you love that, wait until you see the back! Here it is - a huge pea pod!!! I needed support for the little guys as I knew Will would be driving on the freeway, alone, in a manual transmission car, so I knew it needed TONS of support - hence the giant pea pod.

In addition to these I had an order for a dozen blueberry muffins that I fresh baked at 1 am! Today is my "day off" and boy do I need it!!! I have another cake that is due on Saturday - a Steelers cake - imagine the irony of it all - a Pennsylvania girl living in California making a Steelers cake for a California man! Too funny! Poor Will, tomorrow is our 5th year anniversary and he'll be lucky to get cake scraps for our anniversary dessert. Oh the life of a baker!!! Hope you enjoyed them! Thanks for looking!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups - my latest cookie creation!

2009-07-22T17:06:00.000-07:00

Some things just go to be together: Peanut butter and Jelly, Bread and Butter, Batman and Robin, Movies and Popcorn, Smoke and Fire, Shoes and Socks the list could go on and on, AND now Cookies and Butter Cream Icing! These are two of my favorite things, and what do you do with two of your favorite things? Find a way to put them together to live in perfect harmony, which is just what these little bits of deliciousness are all about. You see one day I had left over cookie dough AND left over butter cream icing. Come on admit it, we've all had the lazy days where we think “you know what I could do with that frosting? No wait that would mean I have to make cupcakes. Or look at that left over cookie dough, but wait we just had chocolate chip cookies.” Out of this dilemma was born the cookie cup! When left in an office without a definition attached to them they have been known to be called “cookie muffins, chocolate chip cupcakes, “Mookies” or Cuffins.”
Will originally thought it would be too sweet but quickly realized the love affair between the two could not be denied. He now loves them as much as I do, as do his co-workers, friends and family.

As for the recipe you can use your own favorite top secret cookie dough, the one found here, or on occasion I have even (gasp) used the Betty Crocker chocolate chip cookie mix. Either way as long as they are a chewier type cookie it will work like a charm. I used the same process that I did with the Cookie Bites with the addition of making an indentation in the middle of the cookie after they are removed from the oven but prior to them cooling (if you wait too long after they begin to cool, they will crack). After they cool completely go back and pipe in butter cream icing into the center cavity. The recipe for butter cream icing can be found here or again you could use your own super secret formula. Auden said they are two thumbs up and she would "give them more thumbs up but I don't have any more thumbs”. :) Hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

It might be warm out side but it's "Chili" here! - Vegetarian (and meat lovers) Sweet Chili

2009-07-21T07:24:00.000-07:00

Okay readers; please don't hate me for this recipe. I will warn you in advance that this is a "William Original" which means no measuring on the spices. So, it's "to taste" when you get to the spices part of it. Trust me, I know, try living with him. :) On a positive note this chili won second place in a chili cook off several years ago at Will's work. Still to this day he is so proud of his second place finish and dollar store ribbon which he received as his prize. It's the little things in life people...

What makes this chili different is in the fact that is it sweet - but after visiting this blog, would you expect it to be anything less than that? I will type it out both ways for either our vegetarian counter parts or our meat loving friends as well. Either way you go, you won't go wrong with it! But on a side note, I will say that Will's second place award winning chili was made with the Morningstar Farm Crumbles and only AFTER they ate it and voted did they find out who made the chili (as the crock pots weren't marked) did they realize that they weren't really eating meat. The other nice thing about using the crumbles is that it makes it lower in fat, BUT like I said either way - vegetarians or omnivore, I will love you all the same either way you try it, it's not trying it at all that will make me give you the evil eye. :) Okay enough of the mindless chatter and poor attempts at humor, on to the recipe!

Ingredients:

1 pkg of Morningstar Farms Crumbles (ground beef substitue) or approx 1 pound of groud beef *NOTE* I say approx. because I have obviously never cooked with it but on our vegetarian substitute it states that one bag of meatless crumbles is the equivelent of 1 pound of ground beef.

1/2 jar of chili sauce (12 oz jar)- approx 3/4 of a cup

2 TBSP of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 or 3 strips of sweet roasted red pepper strips (approx 1/4 cup finely chopped)

2 TBSP of ketchup

1 Can (15 oz) of red kidney beans - drained

1 Can (15 oz) of black beans - drained and rinsed

1 3/4 Cup of crushed tomatoes

1 can (4 oz) of diced green chilies - drained

1 1/2 TBSP of minced garlic

1/4 cup of finely chopped green bell pepper

1 can (15.25 oz) of Whole Kernel Sweet Golden Corn - drained

5 tsp sugar

Cumin and cilantro to taste - (I warned you!)

Mexican Style Shredded Cheese blend - Optional

Directions:

*In a medium sauce pan brown meatless crumbles or ground beef in 2 TBSP of olive oil

* Finely chop sweet roasted red peppers and green bell pepper. Add to ground beef mixture

* Add chili sauce, ketchup, kidney beans, crushed tomato, green chilis, minced garlic, black beans, corn and sugar.

* Cook on medium to low heat for 30-40 minutes.

* Sprinkle top with Mexican Style Shredded Cheese Blend - optional

ENJOY!

The Power of Fondant - Fondant Attempt - Take 2

2009-07-20T06:17:00.000-07:00

(Cue the dramatics) - I'll just say it, I have issues people! LOL. What is it about fondant that can bring a grown woman to tears? I mean come on, in the end it's just cake people! But yep that was me over the weekend. After my first fondant attempt last weekend, Will showed the cake to one of his co-workers (which is one of the sweetest people you will ever want to meet), and she ask if I could make a cake for her sisters birthday. The butter cream part of me screamed - "Sure no problem" and then I learned she wanted a two tiered fondant covered cake - UGH- the sick in the pit of your stomach feeling took over. The confidence turned from "Sure, no problem!!!!! to sure......no problem.... As you know this would only make this my second attempt at a fondant cake and NEVER have I had to stack heavy tiers on top of one another which meant supporting the cake by inserting dowel rods. I was a mess with worry to say the least. Then on top of all of that, "if" I ended up pulling the whole thing off, I had to worry about carrying it down 3 flights of stairs, and drive pass 5,000 speed bumps to get out of our complex. "If" we made it that far, we were left with driving a half an hour in a manual transmission car, on the freeway to deliver the cake, so sure......no problem.....

But I am happy to report all’s well that ends well. As you can see I pulled it off. Not to say that MANY "heart attack moments” didn't pop up along the way. My first issue, the fondant was sticking to my counter in the worst way. So I added powdered sugar BUT if I continued to add powdered sugar so that it wouldn't stick, it would quickly dry it out (okay and I'm sure the location of the central air vent in our kitchen blowing right on it didn't help matters), but I discovered you MUST make sure you surface is clean and I when I say clean I mean clean, clean. I think I was just wiping the surface thinking it was clean BUT you could feel powdered sugar residue left over from the previous rolling. Plus I needed to roll out a larger piece than I had ever previously done due to the fact that it was a tiered cake. After numerous attempts both cakes were covered. I'm not sure if it's just me but that is the worst part in my opinion. After the cakes are covered I totally love the decorating part of it. The next stressor was the adding of the dowel rods to give support when you stack the cake. It becomes so heavy with fondant that you don't want to have the bottom layer collapse when you place the top tier onto the bottom cake. First, you need to cut the dowels just right, about 1/16th lower than the cake is what I did, and you need to place them just slightly inside the perimeter of where the top cake will be placed. MAN, someone should warn you how stressful cake decorating can be; it was like me being a new surgeon operating for the first time. Will was my "assistant" handing me the dowel rods and cheering me on. Just watching yourself insert the rods into the bottom cake (and therefore destroying the flawless finish you just spent forever creating) and hoping you measured correctly is nerve wracking to the fullest extent. Next came placing the top tier onto the bottom, (or in layman’s terms - waiting for the bottom cake to collapse when you let go.....) My "assistant" had the important job of watching to see if any bulging occurred, and the first sign of it I wanted him to say "problem" and I would quickly remove the top as to save at least one half of the cake from total destruction. But guess what? It didn't happen!!! Next came Will wiping sweat from my brow, and me placing the center dowel rod down through the entire thing. If I made it through this I was going to celebrate with a nice margarita or two or three. Much to my surprise it went much smoother than my nerves would ever allow me to believe it could be. I had to just step back at that point and say "I did it”!!! I was so excited I think I cried happy tears. :) Sure there are a few minor flaws I have to work out and things I really would have been "better" with the cake but overall I guess for the stepping into to virgin cake baking territory (I’ve never taken a cake decorating class in my life) I didn't do too bad, did I?

Okay here is my list of questions for the fondant fans.....

* Other than the counter having some residue, is there anything else that could be making it stick? I am using the Marshmallow fondant recipe as seen here.

* I noticed that I got a few air bubbles even after I smoothed it out, any tips on how NOT to have that happen?

* What do you do it you accidentally mark the fondant after it is on the cake - like a finger nail scrap as you put the decorations on to the cake. Is there a way to smooth it out?

* How do I achieve a more realistic bow affect? I tried and still don't totally like how my bow creation turned out despite following an absolutley AWESOME bow making tutorial here (if you are a baker/cake maker you MUST check out there site for the most amazing software to assist you in running your business.)

* How long do you wait until you put ribbon on the bottom of the cake if you are indeed doing that so that it doesn't appear that it is bulging over the ribbon (and I also think I put it on too tight).

In the end, I did what I set out to do; I baked it, assembled it and transported it all in one piece, AND still lived to write this post. I guess it's true what they say, what doesn't kill you will make you stronger. I promise I’ll be back shortly with an actual recipe. Thanks to all who got this far in the post for my “therapy session”. You can all send me your bill in the mail.

Oh and on a side note - how many times can I say fondant and tiers in one post? I think I just set the record. :)

Oven Baked Parmesan Seasoned Fries

2009-07-17T18:56:00.000-07:00

These fries ROCK plain and simple. Funny how one would still call them "fries" when really they are not "fried" in anything. Nope, these fries are too sophisticated for greasy oil, and much like a skinny swim suit model they prefer to be lightly oiled, slightly accentuated by a few minor spices and baked lying on a cookie sheet basking in the golden glow of the oven, BUT the one thing that sets these fries apart from the skinny swim suit model is that you can actually LOVE them instead of secretly hating them :)

When we were still in PA, my neighbors RAVED over them and I mean RAVED! They could smell the wonderful aroma coming from the windows in the spring and would say "Oh my gosh" someone is cooking something that smells delicious! I once made the mistake of calling them "healthy French fries" and very promptly these little fry guys lost their appeal— that is UNTIL they tasted them!!! A few of the "manly men" of the neighborhood were still the naysayers of the bunch and only relented in a feeble attempt to silence my pleas to try them. Then it happened, they liked them, no wait they LOVED them!!! They urged their wives to get the recipe. So I typed it up and before you know it that very familiar smell began filling the air on our tiny little street. I just KNOW you are going to love them too, but whatever you do, don't call them healthy!!! :)

Oven Baked Parmesan Seasoned Fries

NOTE: The amounts listed are for every one pound of fries. One pound of fries is the equivelant of appoximately 3 medium potatoes. (I just double or triple the recipe to fit within my needs).

Ingredients:

1 pound of medium russet potatoes (approx 3 medium potatoes)
1 1/2 TBSP of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 tsp Dried Thyme
1/4 tsp Dried Oregano
1/8 tsp Dried Rosemary
1/4 tsp of Garlic Powder
1/4 tsp of Old Bay Seasoning
2 TBSP of Kraft Parmesan Style Grated Cheese (I used reduced fat)

Directions:

*Preheat oven to 425.
*Wash and cut potatoes into 1/8ths.
*Place on a cookie sheet that has been lined with foil (I used Reynolds Release foil so that they will not stick, but you could also either use non-stick cooking spray or lightly grease the top of the foil with extra virgin olive oil).
*Mix all of the spices and the parmesan cheese in a small bowl.
*Place all of the potatoes (remember we are talking about one pound at a time) into a gallon size freezer bag, add olive oil and the parmesan cheese/spice mixture to the bag.
*Seal the bag and shake until the potatoes are evenly coated.
*Once thoroughly coated dump onto the prepared cookie sheet and spread in a single layer.
* Bake 30-45 minutes or until tender and lightly golden brown. (Baking times will vary depending on the amount of fries that you make and the size that you cut them). For the ones shown in the picture they were baked at 425 for 45 minutes.

ENJOY!

Blueberry Streusel Muffins

2009-07-16T20:33:00.000-07:00

I just have to get this out of the way - I'm not sure why but I keep wanting to call these Blueberry Streusel Muffins - Violet Beauregarde style. You may not know the name but surely you remember..... she is the girl from Willy Wonka who turns into a blueberry, BUT the one advantage that these have is that you won't have to worry about swelling up like Violet because these muffins are low fat (although to taste it you would NOT even know it - they are that sinfully delicious)! In fact, I will go as far to say your scale might even thank you for them. My scale has been in so much trouble that I'm have been contemplating selling it on eBay for being so cruel to me. Why can't it just lie to me? Blogging and baking and being in a new area with new restaurant opportunities does NOT make for a happy ending to the weight loss story. Now before you all start deleting the blog from your favorites - HOLD UP, I'm not going all soft on you, this will NOT turn into a low fat blog - oh heck no, I will just throw a "healthy" or "low fat" alternative on here every now and then to make the "Diet Nazi" - a.k.a the hubs happy. Just make sure no one tells him when I cry out for full fat donations smuggled to me in unmarked boxes. ;)

This recipe has been adapted slightly from Weight Watchers and it's listed as being worth 3 points HOWEVER, I saw that there is a typo (they have listed 1 TBSP of sugar and it is really 1 Cup of sugar, as stated later in the recipe)therefore I'm not sure which way they based their points.

Blueberry Streusel Muffins:

Ingredients:
Muffins:
2 Cups of all purpose flour (in the past I used half white whole wheat and half all purpose flour to reduce the points even further)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp table salt
1 large egg
3/4 Cups sugar
3/4 Cup reduced fat sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup skim milk
2 Cups of Blueberries - washed and picked over

Streusel Topping:
1/4 Cup of all purpose flour - I used slightly more than 1/4 cup
1/4 Cup of Sugar - I used slightly more than 1/4 cup
2 TBSP butter

Directions:
Muffins:
*Preheat oven to 375.
*Place muffin liners in a 12 hole muffin tin - I actually got 14 muffins which also could possibly affect a slight reduction in points.
* In a large bowl, combine 2 cups of flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; set aside.
*Using an electric mixer, beat egg with 3/4 cup of sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add sour cream and milk and beat until thoroughly combined; blend in vanilla extract.
* Add mixture with flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Beat until smooth.
* Fold in blueberries (make sure you coat them with flour so that they don't sink to the bottom of your muffin) and fill each muffin liner about 3/4 full; set aside.

Streusel Topping:
*Combine remaining 1/4 cup each of the flour and sugar. Pour in melted butter and combine with finger tips (if it is too moist add equal parts of flour and sugar until it looks like crumbs).
*Divide crumb mixture over muffins.
*Gently press into top of the muffin batter with finger tips.
* Bake until slightly golden and a toothpick inserted in a center of a muffin comes out clean, about 30 to 35 minutes. Cool in pans for 10 to 15 min and then transfer muffins onto racks to cool completely.

Enjoy!

Super Easy Cream Cheese Brownies and the tale of brownie bribery....

2009-07-15T21:21:00.001-07:00

If we all take a moment of silence you will hear the faint sound of a woman crying, probably all balled up in a corner of her home in a small town in Pennsylvania. That folks would be my mother in law and she would be sulking due to the fact that she knows that I made these brownies all the way on the other side of the United States and she can't eat a one of them (we moved away in January, so I’m sure she has suffered from 6 months of brownie withdraw)! You see these are my mother in laws FAVORITE brownies - like EVER!!!! They are so much her favorite in fact that she once used them to bribe me in order for her to watch my very cranky, needy, hyper, going through the terrible two's toddler while I went into the hospital to have my son (okay so I am a bit dramatic - I know in my heart she would have watched her without me making them), but I knew that there would be some incident of pooping in the bathtub that would send her over the edge unless there was something to keep her in the house - hence the brownies. I quickly learned that these brownies much like superheroes have some sort of power to make grown adults weak in the knees, so of course I did what all good bakers do and decided to use it to my full advantage. I came up with the genius idea that baking a HUGE pan of brownies for the nurses would give me the edge over the "other" patients when it came to midnight snacks and extra visitors during my hospital stay. Oh, who am I kidding I wanted to make sure I was first in line to get my epidural well ahead of all others! :). So with one pan of brownies on the kitchen counter and one pan of brownies in hand, Will and I ventured off to the hospital, and much like I expected the nurses went gaga over them. If I remember correctly the pan of brownies were gone long before the first signs of hard labor pains began. The nurses loved me for them and so did my mother in law!

Lesson of the day folks, the best bribery =baking brownies, and not just any brownies, THESE brownies! I hope you enjoy them as much as we do, and Sandy I promise I will have a pan full of these waiting at the airport with Will. Just know in advance there will be diapers to change, a sink full of dishes to wash and ten loads of laundry when you get here. Oh and did I mention there will be brownies? :)

Super Easy Cream Cheese Brownies:

Brownies:
1 Package of Betty Crocker Original Supreme brownie mix
1/3 Cup Water
1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
2 or 3 Eggs

Cream Cheese Mixture:
1 package of cream cheese softened – 8 oz
1/3 Cup of sugar
1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
1 egg
1/2 Cup of Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips

Directions:

Brownies:
* Heat oven to 350.
* Grease a 13 x 9 inch pan.
* Stir brownie mix, chocolate syrup (included in the package), water, oil and 2 eggs for fudge like brownies or 3 eggs for cake like (I used 2 eggs).
*Mix until well blended and spread into pan.

For Filling:
* Beat cream cheese in medium bowl or mixer until smooth. Gradually beat in sugar, vanilla and one egg until well blended.
* Pour (or spoon and spread) cream cheese mixture over brownie batter in pan. Cut through mixture with a knife several times (I go zig zag up and down the pan and from side to side as well until you reach a marble affect).
* Sprinkle with chocolate chips.
* Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until cream cheese mixture begins to brown and toothpick inserted in brownie2 inches from the side of the pan comes out clean or almost clean. Cool completely. Store covered and in refrigerator if desired.

If you like these, don't forget to vote for these on Foodie Views of the Day!!!!

Enjoy!

Fondant doesn't "bug" me anymore - my very first fondant cake!

2009-07-13T06:42:00.000-07:00

Fondant fears be gone!!!! Yep, you are reading this right - I did it, I finally faced my fondant fears head on and made my very first official fondant cake this weekend. Let me tell you at first I was ready to throw in the towel and go back to what I know best - butter cream BUT I knew that in my heart of hearts IF I ever in my wildest dreams want to open any type of baking business that I MUST start to work with fondant. So that is just what I did!

I didn't want to buy that pre-rolled type, as I've read that it pretty much tastes like the package that it comes in (yeah that good huh?), so I decided if I was going to do it, I was going to go all in or nothing and I made homemade marshmallow fondant myself. I found a recipe and quick tutorial here. I was pretty surprised how quickly it all came together and that the clean up wasn't as horrific as I once thought. As for working with the fondant, lesson learned is that you can read and read and read about it BUT you don't really know a darn thing until you actually try to do it yourself. I had a few moments where regardless of using a huge about of both cornstarch and powdered sugar it was STILL sticking to my counter (que the "I HATE THIS!, I'M GOING BACK TO ICING!" moment). I quickly learned that it works better if during the “rolling it out” process you roll it out a bit in one direction, flip it, sprinkle your counter again and begin rolling out the other side. Once I actually had the cakes covered I fell in love with fondant. Decorating it and seeing it all come to life was so cute! I would love to have the "professionals" give me their opinions of the cake and what I could have done to make it even better. Here are the questions that I have for the fondant pros:

How do you make sure that they are no flaws in the fondant - no creases, no dimples, no stray finger nail marks as you smooth it out and what do you do if you happen to have one once it is already on the cake?

How do you use enough icing base under the fondant but yet make sure it doesn't come out under the fondant when you are smoothing the fondant onto the cake?

When you are putting the cake together, do you torte the cake (even if it is a small cake) so that there is plenty of icing along with the marshmallow fondant?

Is there a way to get the fondant to look shiny after you have it all in place? I just used a pastry brush to brush off all of the excess powdered sugar after the entire cake was finished.

Any other tips or suggestions? (I am sure I will think of more once I post this and if so I will come back and edit)

Without further ado I introduce you to the finished product. Drum roll please........

I used a regular 13x9 cake for the base and the Wilton Sports Ball pan set for the lady bugs (instead of putting the pans together to form a ball, I kept them separate). I used various fondant cutters and flower cutters for the shapes and leaves as well as using Wilton decorating tips to create various looks on the lady bugs. But my favorite part was using the fondant to make these little bees. I mean seriously how cute are they????

Thanks for looking and I appreciate any and all feedback that you can provide to me!

Enjoy!

Not the same "chip" off of the old block - Chocolate Dipped, Chocolate Chip Cookie Bites

2009-07-10T08:20:00.000-07:00

I won't bore you with a lot of blah, blah, blah about this recipe. The fact of the matter is, I should be cleaning my house but instead I'm baking and blogging. I have been brainstorming this for the past few weeks, and I'm actually still NOT totally thrilled with the outcome, taste (HECK YES THEY ARE DELICIOUS!!), but as for appearance I would like it to look, I don't know - cuter? I would like to have them on a lollipop stick, then dipped and use all kinds of decorations (think sprinkles, nonpareils, etc, etc), but like I said I'm supposed to be elbow deep in domesticated bliss (laundry, dusting and cleaning toilets), but instead I'm baking, so for now this is what I had time (or lack thereof) to pull together. Hope you enjoy them as much as I am!!

Ingredients:

3 cups of all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup of unsalted butter
1 cup of light brown sugar
1/2 cup of granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp of pure vanilla extract
10 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate chips
Wilton Candy Melts in both chocolate and white chocolate
Candy decorations of your choice (optional)

***NOTE*** This recipe will make quite a few cookies so I cut it in half for this project.

Directions:

*Preheat oven to 350.
*Combine first three ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
*In a large bowl, cream together butter and both sugars with mixer until fluffy.
*Add eggs one at a time and beat well.
*Mix in vanilla
*Add dry ingredients and combine well.
*Fold in chocolate chips.
*Generously grease a mini muffin pan
*Place one scoop of cookie dough into each mini muffin cup - I used a cookie scoop, but you can also use approx 1 heaping tsp full of dough (as I said the muffin cup will be a little more than 2/3 full)
*Bake for 10-15 minutes or until lightly brown. Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack.
* Once the cookies have completely cooled, melt the Wilton Candy Melts (see directions for melting chocolate here.
*Dip the top of the cookie into the chocolate and garnish with your choice of decorations - another flavor of chocolate, candy decorations, frosting - you're the boss - let your imagination run wild!!!
* Refrigerate just long enough (approx. 5 min) for the chocolate to set.

ENJOY!!!!

Extreme "bakeover" -Pineapple Banana Bread .

2009-07-06T17:02:00.000-07:00

Bear with me for a moment. I feel the need to apologize to my bananas. I really had intentions of eating you right away when I first laid eyes on you at the grocery store. I thought for sure someone in my family would gobble you up right away, but when it didn't happen I saw how your ego (and peel) became bruised sitting over there on the counter all by yourself. Today I just couldn't take it anymore. I knew I had to save you from yourself (and my unappreciative family). So I did the only thing that I could think of, I grabbed your friend canned pineapple, my recipe and the rest as they say is history. You have become banana pineapple bread and much like a high school ex boyfriend (or girlfriend for my male readers), I didn't realize how much I liked you until you transformed into something much more beautiful and desirable then you once were. My family is TOTALLY appreciating you and enjoying you now!

Okay now where were we? Oh I was going to give you all the recipe for this wonderful, out of this world, delicious, moistest bread like EVER! I used to buy bread like this at a specialty store, but for $8.00 a loaf? Are you kidding me? Some might say I'm cheap, others may call it frugal but whatever the case may be, I knew I had try to bake something similar myself. It wasn't just similar - it tasted like the same exact thing! I have been making this for a while and it remains one of my families all time favorites.

Pineapple Banana Bread

Ingredients:
3 Cups all-purpose flour
2 Cups sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3 eggs
1-1/4 Cups vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 can (8oz) crushed pineapple, drained
2 Cups (4 to 5 medium) mashed ripe bananas

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. In another bowl, beat the eggs, oil and vanilla; add pineapple and bananas. Stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened. Pour into two greased 8-in. x 4-in. loaf pans.

Bake at 350 for 60-65 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick remains clean when inserted into the center. If you notice that the tops are starting to get browned, yet the tooth pick does not come clean, cover with a piece of foil and continue baking to prevent top and the sides from getting too dark. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

Yield: 2 loaves.

ENJOY!

No "shroom" for dessert - Ravioli di Portobello

2009-07-05T22:10:00.000-07:00

I feel like I have become VERY domesticated this weekend. First, I made homemade ice cream and tonight I made my own pasta ravioli's. Will wanted to try making ravioli for awhile, but I doubted my ability to roll it out that thin and smooth without it tearing or sticking to the counter. I had a taste of doing just that a week or two ago when we tried our hand at making pierogies, and while they tasted totally delicious they were not at all worthy of pictures (hence the reason they didn't make it to the blog). I knew after that, that if we were going to attempt ravioli's that we needed a pasta maker. So, I picked one up at while at Bed, Bath and Beyond last weekend. It was actually less complicated then I originally expected it would be, although Will was the one using the hand crank while I just fed the pasta dough through. What a gentleman!!! Now that we know we can do it, we are anxious to try many other variations on pasta and ravioli. I'd love to hear some of your favorite pasta dishes as well! Oh and by the way - as the title implies, this was so good there was no room or should be say "shroom" for dessert!

Ingredients:

Pasta Dough:
2 1/2 Cups of all purpose flour
3 eggs
Water - enough to make ball of dough smooth and no longer sticky (I think I used about a little less than a half cup)

Filling:
2 large Portobello caps - vents cleaned out
1/2 yellow onion
1 tsp of minced garlic
1 TBSP of butter or margarine
5-8 leaves of fresh cilantro
1 tsp Oregano
1/2 tsp salt

Sun Dried Tomato Sauce:
2 cups milk
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
8 ounces smoked Gouda cheese
2 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (2 to 3)

Directions:

Pasta Dough:
Pour flour into mixing bowl and make a "well" or pit into the center.
Break eggs into the well.
Slowly blend the flour and eggs until they are well blended.
If the mixture is wet, slowly add more flour; if the mixture is dry, slowly add a little water. (You do not want the dough to be sticky)
Continue kneading until the dough has a consistent color and texture.
Form the dough into a mound shape and place on a floured table or countertop. Cover with a damp towel.
Allow the dough to rest for 10-15 minutes in order for the ingredients to blend together.
After the dough has rested begin form ravioli's either by hand or using a pasta maker.

Filling:
Finely chop mushrooms. Peel and finely chop onion. Melt butter in a skillet and sauté the onion for approximately five minutes or until transparent. Add mushrooms, garlic, cilantro and oregano and salt. Stir-fry over high heat for about five minute so that all liquid is evaporated. Reduce heat and cook for another five minutes. Remove from heat and let mixture cool. Place mixture inside the dough and create ravioli's. Place ravioli's in boiling water and boil for approximately 20 minutes until done. Melt the remaining butter. Pour over the ravioli, mix and serve.

Sauce:
Heat milk and butter in a sauce pan until the butter melts, whisk in flour and cook over medium heat for about 3-5 minutes until thickened. Add 8 oz smoked Gouda cheese (I think the next time I will only use 4 oz of smoked Gouda. Eight ounces made it a VERY thick sauce) and 2-3 chopped sun dried tomatoes. Mix on med-low heat until cheese is melted. Pour over mushroom stuffed ravioli.

ENJOY!

Ice Cream with "appeal" - Homemade Banana Ice Cream

2009-07-05T08:48:00.000-07:00

Here it is, my very first ice cream made with my brand new Cuisinart ice cream maker and I couldn't be happier! Banana ice cream is Will's all time favorite, and as I mentioned before he was such a naysayer when it came to getting an ice cream maker (he thinks that I will make 2 flavors and the novelty will wear off - eye roll), that I thought I better try to win him over with his favorite flavor. As I placed the ingredients into the machine Will says "Oh honey, how do you feel? This is your dream come true." - again insert eye roll here - he is such a man. Yes it WAS a dream because I was going back and forth about an ice cream maker for YEARS. Once he started to see the liquid mixture beginning to transform into actual ice cream some of his reluctance began to fade. He said "Oh, it's looking like ice cream!". When it was all finished and before I put it into the freezer for a bit, I gave him a taste and he said "Oh my gosh, this is the best thing you ever made!" I knew at that moment I had him hooked! As I told Katrina at Baking And Boys, I now only have 1,534,000 more flavors to make before he completely eats his words about me buying an ice cream maker! It really is delicious. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Homemade Banana Ice Cream Slightly adapted from the recipe found here on Cooks.com

Ingredients:

2 c. heavy whipping cream (1 Pint)
1 cup whole milk
1 inch split vanilla bean (optional) - I did not use the vanilla bean, simply because I did not have one on hand.
2 eggs (whole)
1 c. sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 peeled bananas (medium)

Add whipping cream, whole milk, and vanilla bean in a pan and simmer for 15 - 20 minutes. Stir constantly and do not cover.
In a separate bowl mix the eggs and sugar until well blended.

After the cream and milk has been simmering, take out the vanilla bean (if you are indeed using one) and add the egg/sugar mixture to the pan, maintaining the simmer and the stirring.

When this begins to thicken (approx 3-5 minutes) remove from heat, cover with plastic wrap (tight to the mixture), and put in the fridge until completely cool.

The original recipe asks you to dice the bananas and then put the entire mixture into a blender but with two kids on a holiday who has that kind of time? So I just added 2 ripe mashed bananas to the mixture when it was completely cooled.

At this point place mixture into the ice cream maker and process according to manufactures directions (for my Cuisinart, I let it spin for 20 min). During this time you could add in extras such as chocolate chips or whatever your heart desires, but Will wanted just plain old banana ice cream so I didn’t add anything additional.

Mine was the consistency of soft serve ice cream when it was done in the machine - which was still great, but since I knew I wanted to blog it, so I put it into an air-tight container and placed it back into the freezer overnight (I don't think you would really need to wait longer than a few hours though, I just ran out of time yesterday). Today as you can see in the picture, it is the consistency of hand dipped ice cream.

It will make just less than 2 quarts. Mine is a 1.5 quart maker and I didn't have any problems with it all fitting in.

ENJOY!!!!

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!!

2009-07-04T07:27:00.000-07:00

(Photo compliments of freestockphoto.com)

I just wanted to wish you all a Happy (and safe) Fourth of July!!! May it be filled with happiness, love, laughter, TONS of good food & drinks, friends, family, and beautiful fireworks!!! See you soon!!

Stacy

Let them eat cake - Red, White and Blue Jello Cake.

2009-07-01T16:14:00.000-07:00

While Will and I were watching TV the other day, CNN had a story about a study done in Canada that states that a few extra pounds can add years to your life!!! You can read the full Reuters article here. Well, you can imagine my delight being that I am a baker and have an insatiable sweet tooth!!! I think I jumped off of the sofa, clicked my heels together and did a few cartwheels for good measure! Okay, I am exaggerating a little, but trust me when I say I was more than a little thrilled. I did sit there and exclaim to Will (who I think was born lacking any type of sweet tooth) - LET THEM EAT CAKE!!!! So that my fellow American's is just what I am going to do!!! I am presenting to you the classic Jell-O cake in red, white and blue!!

*NOTE* I am slightly upset that I did not add more Jell-O, but the kids were insisting that I save a little on the side for them (can you believe at 4 and 2 years old they have never tasted Jell-O? I wish I would have taken a video of the reaction to the first few bites - it was pee your pants funny to say the least!) Anyway, next time I will add more of the mixture to the cake.

Ingredients:
2 - 3oz boxes of Jell-O - I used Strawberry and Blueberry
1 box white cake mix (or if your kids are feeling particularly independent that day you can make one from scratch - notice I opted for a white boxed cake mix.)
1- 8oz container of Cool Whip

Directions:

Prepare cake mix according to directions - I used two 9 inch round cake pans.

Allow cakes to cool completely.

Poke cakes with fork all over the entire surface of the cake. - Usually half inch intervals. Making sure you poke all of the way through to the bottom.

Prepare Jell-O according to directions on the box, with the exception of allowing it to set.

Pour Jell-O slowly and evenly over the entire surface of cake layers - obviously I made 2 types of Jell-O and poured blueberry over one and strawberry over the other. I only used a cup of the Jell-O liquid but next time would use slightly more. Don't panic if the cake looks soggy, I promise it will be okay.

Refrigerate cakes and allow Jell-O to set for at least 3 hours.

To remove from pan, carefully sit cake pan in a small amount of hot water for 30 sec - 1 min.

Unmold onto a serving plate.

Top the bottom cake layer with Cool Whip, repeat with second (top layer) cake.
Frost the top and side of the entire cake with the remaining Cool Whip.

Garnish with fruit pieces (optional) - I used Strawberries and blueberries.

Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or until ready to serve.

Left over cake should remain refrigerated.

This recipe has been slightly modified from Kraft's Jell-O Poke Cake Recipe

ENJOY!

We have a winner!!!

2009-06-30T22:48:00.000-07:00

Thanks so much to all who entered and left such nice comments. I had so much fun with this, so much in fact that I think I am going to do a giveaway at least every other month - so stay tuned for more cool stuff!!!

Drum roll please............ The winner is (and please forgive the crappy iphone picture, as I have no idea how to do an actual screen shot- LOL)......

Comment #24 was Stephanie from Ice Cream Before Dinner!!! Thanks Stephanie and I'll be in touch soon!!! CONGRATS!!!!!

It was awesome to see everyone’s favorite summer time dinner and desserts! I blame you all for giving me ideas about "frozen desserts" - and I mean this in the nicest way! Thanks to all of you I ran out and bought an ice cream maker!!!! I have been asking other foodies about it, but was somewhat on the fence about it UNTIL I read all of your posts! I HAD to have one to make all of this deliciousness!!! Will thinks it's a passing fad so I need your help to prove him wrong!!!

Here are some things I learned (and want to learn!!)

* Thanks for giving me the tip about dipping the pretzels in caramel first - Yummmmmmy!!!
* I too LOVE grilling - I could grill morning, noon and night!!!
* Cookie ice cream sandwiches - Oh I MUST try these!!!
* I NEED to try more lemon desserts - ice box pie, pink lemonade pie, lemon curd - can you believe I've never had any of them?
* All of the fruit dish ideas - love them. Nothing better than a dessert disguised with fresh fruit!!! And cobblers, now why didn't I think of that? Frozen watermelon - LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that idea- genius! Shortcakes, muffins and fruit in and on pancakes - totally YUM!
* Corn on the cob - I heart you!!!
* Mango pudding - I will be bookmarking that!
* Homemade potato and macaroni salad and all of the other salads - thanks guys for helping my plan my Fourth of July menu! Nothing compliments a picnic better than those old friends!
* White chocolate ice cream - now this I must look into!!!
* Summer salsa - my husband makes some killer homemade salsa - but I think I'd like to mix it up summer style!!!
* I had to come back to say - "Better than sex cake???" Never had it before BUT sign me up!!!! Anything with that name HAS to be amazing!!!

Oh and Casey - thanks for the compliments! Trust me when I say there will be plenty more, poor old rejected photos in the weeks (or days to come). For anyone who hasn't seen it yet - Casey has a great site for the photos who get rejected at other sites. You have to check it out sometime - http://tastestopping.wordpress.com/. Even the rejects need some love too - (spoken in my best nerd voice with my finger pushing up the center of my glasses). Thanks for showing my pictures some love!!!

Thanks again to everyone for all of your great comments and for visiting my blog! I hope you all continue to check it out and enjoy it as it grows! I can't thank you all enough for all of the kind words and compliments that you have given to me so far! You all really know how to make a newbie feel welcome into the blogging world! Thanks again for all you do and for all of the hard work each and every one of you put into your own blogs! They are greatly appreciated! Thanks for sharing!

Let's take a dip! Chocolate covered pretzels and strawberries. PLUS my very first giveaway!!!

2009-06-27T12:55:00.000-07:00

In the last couple of weeks it has come to my attention that my kids will eat ANYTHING that has been dipped in chocolate or has chocolate involved. So when brainstorming for my "Fourth of July" treat ideas, it was a no brainer that this would be one of them and who wouldn't love a pail full of chocolate covered pretzles and strawberries? I also couldn't resisit trying to make "tuxedo" strawberries and boy am I glad I did! Those things are freakin' cute!!! Although there isn't much of a recipe to this I can tell you what I used.

Bag of pretzel rods - once you buy one bag you will become obsessed with standing at the store trying to pick the bag with the least amount of broken ones.

Wilton Candy Melts - I had white for the pretzels, a bag of dark chocolate for the strawberries and a bag of red colored white chocolate for the squiggles.

Instructions are pretty simple - dip in the chocolate and deocorate!! Okay maybe not that simple but here are a few things I've learned along the way:

* If microwaving the chocolate make sure you do it for short intervals at a time (either 30 seconds full power or 1 min on 50% power). Chocolate DOES burn and it happens rather fast. I have heard that you can save it by adding some Crisco to it, but in my experience that is like an urban ledgend because once my has been done it is DONE, no Crisco can save the day.

* Like the in the movie Gremlins - never, never get it wet. The chocolate will "seize" - or in regular terms will get into this big blog of funky chocolate that is impossible to save.

* When making the pretzels and decorating with sprinkles and nonpareils, make sure that you have shaken all of the excess chocolate off of the pretzel rods before sprinkling the decorations on. If not, chocolate will fall off in globs and into the bowl of decorations. Messed up pretzel rods and decorations = not good.

* When drizzling use either a disposable pastry bag or a sandwich bag. I melt my chocolate right in the bag and then cut a very small portion of the corner off. Begin to drizzle by zig zagging back and forth. Start with this motion prior to getting to the item that you are drizzling.

* Allow pretzels and/or strawberries to chill(until completely set)in the refrigerator before packaging.

*I microwave my chocolate for dipping pretzels, but for the strawberries I use a small melting pot (again I have a Wilton). You can use a small crock pot if you have one.

* When using a double boiler (which is what I used to do prior to purchasing my Wilton chocolate melting pot), remove the top pan and fill the bottom of the with just enough water so that it does not touch the bottom of the top pan. Cook on medium heat until you reach a boil (Remeber DO NOT have the chocolate on at this stage). Once it has reached a boil, turn off the heat THEN place the top pan (with the chocolate for melting) on the bottom of the double boiler. If the chocolate begins to harden, repeat the process but make sure you remove the chocolate before you turn the heat back on.

* For the tuxedo strawberries dip entirely in white chocolate. Place in refrigerator and wait for the white chocolate to harden. After it is set, bring back out and dip one side at an angle into regular chocolate, lift and repeat dipping the other side. Decorate buttons with a toothpick that has been dipped in chocolate of an alternate color.

ENJOY!!!

KEEP READING TO FIND OUT ABOUT MY GIVEAWAY!!!!

So here it is my first giveaway!!! Drum roll please....... Up for grabs is this wonderful little cookbook you might have heard about, from a very creative lady you might have heard about. Without further ado I present you to, Martha Stewart's Cupcake book!

Photo is courtesy of http://www.marthastewart.com/

To win this wonderful book here's all you have to do:

1.) Leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite summertime dinner or dessert is (feel free to link your blog as well!). Remember to leave contact information with either your email or your own blog.

2.) Deadline to enter is 8pm PT on Tuesday June 30, 2009. The winner will be announced on Wednesday morning on this post.

3.) The winner will be chosen at random by random.org - random number generator.

GOOD LUCK and thanks for visiting my blog!

Decorated Sugar Cookies - Fourth of July Style

2009-06-26T09:06:00.000-07:00

*WARNING* - These piping skills leave A LOT to be desired!! If one could interview when decorating cookies I would have added "steady hands need only apply". But in the end, you get the idea of where I'm going with this. Plus what can you expect for an up all night, toddler hanging on my pants at 3 am, 2 cans of soda kinda girl???

In my attempt to continue to find that "just right - WOW factor" item to take to the upcoming Fourth of July picnic scene, I introduce you to the frosted sugar cookie- Fourth of July style. I LOVE frosted sugar cookies and once you get the hang of it (which obviously I'm still learning to do) it really becomes quite fun. Just outline the cookie with butter cream icing first - recipe can be found in this post. Then use flood icing to fill in the rest of the cookie. (Pros: correct me if I'm wrong in my description, but flooding the cookie is like zig zagging the thinner icing over most of the cookies surface and then using a tooth pick or such to spread it around and fill in the gaps.) After the flood icing has begun to set up (and learn from my mistakes - don't have the central air vent blowing directly onto your cookie while working with the flood icing as it will begin to set FAST!), decorate with your choice of icing or frosting, and let your imagination take over from here! Allow icing to set - at least 4-6 hours or overnight I find is best (nothing worse then trying to arrange them and having them start to drip down the cookie before your very eyes - so sad).

Frosted Sugar Cookies - recipe from Gold Metal Flour

Ingredients & Directions:

Cookies:
1 1/2 Cups powdered sugar
1 Cup butter or margarine - I used unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract - I didn't use this because Will is allergic to nuts and I wasn't sure if this would kill him or not.
1 egg
2 1/3 Cups Flour
1/2 tsp baking soda

In large bowl, beat powdered sugar and butter on low speed or with spoon until light and fluffy. Stir in vanilla, almond extract and egg. Stir in flour and baking soda. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours. Divide dough in half. Roll each half 1/4 inch thick on lightly floured surface. Cut into desired shapes. If cookies will not be frosted, sprinkle with sugar, sprinkles or decorations of your choice. On ungreased cookie sheet, place cutouts 2 inches apart. Bake 7 to 8 minutes or until edges are light brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack.

Royal Flood icing (makes 2 1/2 cups - from Martha Stewart Cookies book):
1 Pound of confectioners' sugar, sifted
5 TBSP meringue powder
Scant 1/2 cup water

* I found that I needed to add a bit more water. A good judge in testing the flood icing is to place it on a suface - I use a plate, and drag a spoon through it to create a line, a good flow icing consistency should fill back in by the time you count to 10, anything faster or slower needs to be adjusted by adding more water or sugar until desired consistency is reached.

ENJOY!!!!

Tune in tomorrow for info about my first giveaway!!!!

Bruschetta Pasta - it's not just for bread any more!

2009-06-24T19:35:00.000-07:00

Will used to make bruschetta in it's original form on garlic bread. If you've eaten at our home you know it has been transformed and eaten in several ways. We used to put it on top of garlic bread or toasted Italian bread topped it with mozzarella cheese and baked it. It was pure heaven. We found that most restaurants that we went to served it cold, so of course we followed their lead. We began toasting bread topped with butter and garlic powder and served the bruschetta cold. One night we decided "hey let's see what this would be like on pasta" and the rest ladies and gentleman is as they say history. Born was bruschetta pasta and my life will never be the same. This is best served with toasted garlic bread, a salad and a nice bottle of wine (or bottles if it's been one of those days with the kids and a Jack Russell who is the worlds worst dogs - just sayin'). A perfect dessert would be to pair this delightful meal with the cheesecake recipe listed here.

Bruchetta Pasta

Ingredients:

1 box angel hair pasta
1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes or we prefer 6 fresh (ripe) diced Roma tomatoes
6 tsp sugar - more to less according to taste
2 TBSP of minced garlic
2 TBSP of balsamic vinegar
3 TBSP of extra virgin olive oil
Basil to taste - can you tell this is Will's job? - thanks for measuring - MEN!!!
Shredded parmesan cheese - for garnish

Directions:

Boil pasta according to directions on box.

Mix tomatoes, sugar, minced garlic, balsamic vinegar, extra olive oil and basil in a medium sauce pan, cook for 15 min. or until it is warm and the tomatoes are tender. Garnish with shredded parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake - a better late than never Father's Day treat!

2009-06-24T10:00:00.000-07:00

After looking at this I think the better title would have been better late than never chocolate chip cheesecake because it was a Will's Father's days dessert choice and by the date of this post you see it was just a tad bit late -oops! Will loves cheesecake so I had no doubt in my mind when I ask him what he wanted for his Father's Day treat that he would say some type of cheesecake. I really do like cheesecake, but for some reason I don't care for cheesecake with sour cream in it. Not sure what my hang up is about it, but perhaps I just haven't found the right recipe (a hint for any of your fellow foodies who have a good recipe with sour cream - please include your link!) I will also give the recipe sans chocolate chips for those who would rather have your cheesecake plain Jane (as I would), as well as some other ideas on how to dress up your cheesecake!

On an unrelated topic, I have decided that coming up in my next few posts I will be making Fourth of July inspired desserts! I think it will be a fun way to get ideas for the holiday weekend coming up. What do you think? Anything you'd like to try or would like to see?

Philadelphia Classic Cheesecake (with chocolate chips)
Recipe can be found at http://www.kraftfoods.com/
Prep Time: 20 min
Total Time 5 hr and 15 min
16 servings
Ingredients:

Crust:
1-1/2 Cups graham cracker crumbs
3 TBSP Sugar
1/3 Cup butter or Margarine

Filling:
4 pkg (8oz each) cream cheese softened
1 Cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
1/2 Cup of mini chocolate chips mixed and coated with 1/2 TBSP of flour (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 F, if using a springform pan (or to 300 F if using a dark nonstick spring form pan). Mix crumbs, 3 TBSP sugar and butter, press firmly onto bottom of pan. *NOTE* you can also use a ready made graham cracker crust but when I do this, this recipe will yield two cheesecakes.
Beat cream cheese, 1 cup of sugar and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition just until blended. If you are adding chocolate chips, take 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips and coat them with 1/2 TBSP of flour (this will prevent the chips from sinking to the bottom of the cheesecake). Fold in by hand. Pour over crust.
Bake 55 minutes or until center is almost set. Loosen cake from sides of pan, cool before removing side of pan (you can skip this step if you are using a pre-made crust) Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator.

Additional info:
* I have found that my cheesecakes don't crack if I place them either on a cookie sheet that has been filled with water half way up the side of the sheet or else by placing a cookie sheet filled with water on the rack below where my cheesecakes are baking.
* Again, I can double this recipe, making two cheesecakes if I follow the same directions and use pre-made crusts. I usually do one plain and one with extras in the mix.
* Extras I have used include chocolate chips, crushed oreos, and swirling in various types of jams (blueberry, strawberry) after the filling has been added to the pan.
* My personal favorite is to eat plain and garnish with flavored pie filling or fresh fruit.

ENJOY!

Fourth of July cupcakes - all dressed up and ready to go!!!

2009-06-20T10:47:00.000-07:00

While on my recovery from surgery, I have rediscovered the abilitly to dress up a good old cake mix and make it special in your own way (call me a baking snob it's the ONLY way I can bring myself to using a boxed mix). Last night I was so tired after cleaning up the house and making a batch of pizza dough (recipe can be found here), but that didn't stop the kids from demanding that they wanted to make cupcakes. I did what all tired, at the end of her rope mothers do and grabbed a box of white cake mix and let my mind do the rest!!! Needless to say everyone involved was pleased with the results! I think that bringing these cuties to any Fourth of July gathering will leave you having the sensation of the event!

PS.) Will thinks they remind him of bomb pops. What do you think?

Fourth of July Cupcake Cuties

Ingredients

One white box cake mix of your choice

Butter Cream Icing - See recipe below

Wilton red and blue coloring paste

Cupcake papers

Directions

1. Prepare cake mix according to directions on the box.

2. Divide prepared mix into three containers - I used a digital kitchen scale and measured each one to be approximately 10 3/4 oz.

3.) After all 3 containers are equally divided tint one container with red coloring and the other with blue. Leave the remaining container white.

4.) Fill each cupcake liner with all three colors (I did them red, followed by while and blue on top). For each color I used between 1.5 to 2 tsps. dropping one on top of another. I tried to smooth each color out being careful not to dig or disrupt the color below.

5.) Bake according to directions on the box.

6.) Allow to cool for completely before frosting.

Butter Cream Icing

2 Cups shortening

2 tsp clear vanilla

7 TBSP of water

2 pounds of confectioner's sugar

Beat all ingredients until icing forms peaks (7-10 minutes at low speed with a heavy-duty mixer, 10-12 minutes at high speed with a hand-held mixer).
NOTE: Keep all utensils completely grease-free for proper icing consistency.
* For stiffer icing, use 1 tablespoon less water.
**When using large countertop mixer or for stiffer icing, use 1 tablespoon less water.

*Instructions can be found on the Wilton website.

Decorating Ideas:

I tinted my royal icing red and blue (leaving the remaining white). I used various Wilton tips to make the different size stars. They would also be cute with cupcake toppers as well as sprinkles. I think the next time I make them I might actually do them from scratch and flavor the cake them making them strawberry, blueberry and vanilla.

Enjoy!!

Famous pancake recipe

2009-06-18T09:56:00.000-07:00

Who needs a pancake house when you have your own kitchen? Not I says the cook from Southern California. Will and I used to love to go out for breakfast and specifically to eat a good quality pancake. I say "used to" because you see we have children now and good pancake or not there is nothing delightful about spending over $35 for breakfast just to have a race with your spouse to see who can eat it first before the "countdown to melt down" begins. Not to mention that more than half of the kids food gets thrown away. The answer to our prayers - find a good substitute recipe and make your own!!! Which is just what I did this week and folks I'm not sure we're ever going back to the dining out for breakfast madness again! Yes, people it IS that good and for the fraction of the cost of one restaurant meal you, can have a dozen pancakes! To those of you who choose to ignore my warning and venture out anyway, I say good luck. Maybe you will have better luck then we do, and when it all goes south my little old blog will be here with your recipe solution. I promise not to say I told you so when you come back! :0)

Recipe from epicurean.com

Ingredients

Nonstick Spray

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 egg

1 1/4 cups buttermilk (I didn't have buttermilk so I used the substitute of 1 1/4 cup of milk plus 1 TBSP of lemon juice - let sit for 5 min., this will sour the milk and produce the same result as buttermilk)

1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 heaping teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup cooking oil

pinch of salt

Directions

1. Preheat a skillet over medium heat. Use a pan with a nonstick surface or apply a little nonstick spray.

2. In a blender or with a mixer, combine all of the remaining ingredients until smooth.

3. Pour the batter by spoonfuls into the hot pan, forming 5-inch circles.

4. When the edges appear to harden, flip the pancakes. They should be golden brown.

5. Cook pancakes on the other side for same amount of time, until golden brown.

Makes 8 to 10 pancakes.

Don't forget!!!

2009-06-18T09:53:00.000-07:00

Remember that in addition to this blog, I also have a baking/cooking message board! Please come visit me over there as well!

http://playwithsugar.hyperboards.com/index.php

Thanks!

Stacy

And the winner is Cinnamon Buns!

2009-06-15T22:45:00.000-07:00

I guess it's true what they say, Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus - he wants chocolate chip cookies, she wants cinnamon buns and since "she" is the baker cinnamon buns, win by a landslide!

This all started a year or so ago when Will was talking about the Cinnabon company and how good their cinnamon buns are. Since I apparently live under a rock, I have to confess I have never in my 35 years of living had a actual "Cinnabon". But the whole concept of a cinnamon bun being so delicious that one has to rave over it got me curious. At that time we were living in PA and the closest "Cinnabon" was over an hour a way, not really a practical drive to make just for me to sample this urban legend of yumminess, so I did the next best thing, I baked my own!!!

It took me a while to perfect them from unrolling, but I think over time I have found that the tighter you roll them and the closer you put them in the pan the less likely they are to unroll. One other tip that I will give you is to pinch the ends of the dough together after you are done rolling, but prior to slicing.

To my East Coast peeps (also known as friends, family and co-workers) since I left you high and dry where sweets are concerned I know these were one of your favorites! I hope that in my absence the recipe will some how make up for my abandonment of all of your sweet tooth's.

Here is the recipe and I hope that you enjoy them as much as I do!!!

ROLLS:

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (I used rapid rise)

1 cup warm milk

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter

2 eggs

1 tsp salt

4 cups flour

Combine all of the dry ingredients. Warm the milk in the microwave (I warmed mine for 1 min on regular power) to the warm milk add the yeast and the sugar - stir. Allow to sit for a few minutes until the yeast begins to dissolve and foam at the top of the mixture. Add eggs, butter and milk, yeast, sugar mixture to the dry ingredients. Mix until a smooth ball forms (use extra flour as needed). Place in a bowl, cover with a warm, wet towel and away from drafts. Allow to rise for 1 hour.

FILLING:

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 1/2 TBSP Cinnamon

1/3 cup of butter - I used no salt butter

Combine filling and begin rolling out dough. You will want to roll the dough on a lightly floured surface until it's approx. 20-24 inches long and 16 inches wide. It should be approx. 1/4 inch in thickness.

Spread the butter completely over the dough surface. Top with the brown sugar/cinnamon mixture. Working from the long side roll the dough (remember to try to keep the roll as tight as possible. Once completely rolled, pinch the seam to the roll to form a seal. Cut the roll approx every one inch. Place into a greased pan - I used to use a 13 X 9 inch pan and you certainly can do it, but I found that I have better luck with using round cake pans and placing 6 in each pan (including the center position). This recipes should yield approx 16-18 rolls assuming you cut them every one inch.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F, bake rolls for 15-20 min until they are lightly golden brown, but not doughy. Do not over bake.

While the rolls are baking, I prepare the cream cheese icing.

CREAM CHEESE ICING:

7 TBSP of butter - you should use actual butter - again I used non-salt

1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar

2 oz or 1/4 cup of cream cheese

1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix until creamy and smooth. When the rolls are done, remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Spread icing on tops of rolls (Will and I keep the icing separate and spread icing on each one individually as we eat them. We also just reheat the left overs and spread the icing on after they have been reheated.

ENJOY!!!

Grilled Pizza - Yummmmmmm

2009-06-13T08:36:00.001-07:00

1 tsp rapid-rise yeast
2 tsp salt
1 1/2 Cups of water
2 TBSP olive oil
3 Cups of all purpose flour (plus more as needed)

In a large bowl combine the yeast, salt, water and olive oil - stir. After the yeast begins to dissolve and begins to foam, pour mixture into dough. I used the dough hook on my Kitchen Aid but I am sure kneading by hand will work fine. Knead until the dough is smooth. If the dough is too sticky add flour until the dough becomes a smooth round ball (if you are using a stand mixer, add the flour until the dough no longer sticks to the mixing bowl. Cover with a damp cloth (away from drafts) and allow to rise for approx 1.5 to 2 hours or when it has doubled in size.

At this point I usually split one batch of dough into 4 smaller balls. I roll out the dough - shape is not too important to me as I think it gives it a more artisan look. I brush both sides with olive oil and hand it off to "the grill master" AKA my husband. You will place the dough directly onto the lower rack of your grill (no need to worry about it falling through, as it almost instantly cooks and turns into the crust). When you reach the desired crispness and color remove it from the grill. We usually grill up all of the 4 smaller pizzas and then go back to add the toppings. At this point you can put them back on the grill rack or we like to put ours on a cookie sheet (although I will warn you the heat probably WILL ruin the bottom of your sheet. We keep one specifically for this) Once the topping and cheese has melted to your liking remove and eat. This is one of my favorite ways to use our grill all year round!!!

What happens when brownies and cookies get together??? Brookies!!

2009-06-13T00:22:00.000-07:00

I am NEEDING to bake BIG TIME - BUT I am still not up to standing for any length of time to bake, soooooo I did the next best thing - I used a box mix - gasp - I know me use a box mix, right? I did and I'm darn proud of it! You will be too after you see the results!!! The recipe just fell into my lap and I KNEW I had to make it for dessert tonight!!! It is from Betty Crocker’s website and I will copy and paste the recipe. Take my word for it when I tell you how delicious this was. I liked it, the kids liked and the dog stole SEVERAL pieces from the kids table so I know he liked it too. We also mixed it up a bit and smothered it with ice cream, hot fudge and whipped cream. The recipe shows it iced with chocolate frosting, but I didn't have any so I just made do with what I had. Trust me when I say I don't think you will miss it a bit if you don't have any either. Okay enough of the rambling, here is the recipe....

1 box Betty Crocker® Original Supreme brownie mix (with chocolate syrup pouch)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
2 eggs
1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® chocolate chip cookie mix
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 egg
1 container Betty Crocker® Rich & Creamy chocolate frosting

1. Heat oven to 350ºF. Spray bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray, or grease with shortening. Make brownie mix as directed on box, using oil, water and 2 eggs. Spread in pan.
2. Make cookie mix as directed on pouch, using butter and 1 egg. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls evenly onto brownie batter; press down lightly.
3. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted 2 inches from side of pan comes out almost clean. Cool on cooling rack 30 minutes. Frost with frosting.

Here's the link if you'd like to bookmark it for yourself. http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes.aspx/chocolate-chip-cookie-dough-brownies?Source=SearchResultPage&terms=cookie%20dough%20brownies

ENJOY!!!