tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82161537419726584932024-03-06T03:14:35.107-05:00How Sweet It IsHow Sweet It Ishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17909654288159079568noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8216153741972658493.post-53023358139720875872012-04-12T17:03:00.001-04:002012-04-12T17:08:28.035-04:00Not Just Baked Goods!<div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">So far, we've shared a few of our favorite festive recipes to cook up. But the fun doesn't stop there! We like to make other confectionary treats, like chocolates! Each Easter, we put together personalized baskets for our family and friends, but we think baskets make for great gifts anytime of the year! We've also done Mother's Day baskets and Birthday baskets! Each one is tailored to the giftee and whatever holiday/occasion the basket is being given for!</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Check out some of our Easter baskets below and drop us a line at </span><a href="mailto:howsweetitisny@gmail.com" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">howsweetitisny@gmail.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> to order a basket for your next upcoming occasion! </span></div><div align="center"><br />
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<div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">And here we have *some* of the specialty treats found in our baskets:</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX40Ws8HA67mcss4593l4AnUEWr0_XKwMm1-hqlAcYwQ_JudlkrBfr4Pl1qQuMME7irhXZkxtjOni2RHHE6t33IW9-MA0nb5wa6H9H8wfmJOCZBhjmkKpzsp3HNiBV-9k3ukblOuQpj8pl/s1600/MarchPhotos+255.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX40Ws8HA67mcss4593l4AnUEWr0_XKwMm1-hqlAcYwQ_JudlkrBfr4Pl1qQuMME7irhXZkxtjOni2RHHE6t33IW9-MA0nb5wa6H9H8wfmJOCZBhjmkKpzsp3HNiBV-9k3ukblOuQpj8pl/s320/MarchPhotos+255.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbG4_RzumWp7x8uNvAf142PLYrOE7nJo7r1aJLtVr-zBshmwU0iF7FP-ZzJKAwMD-9iUnwkwR2KGzOFjcfHA5BEPRQvYaHnucEosCkeHkPYWRQb0K9hCrsGxZX6pD02QnVsRfHDkQ4B3k0/s1600/MarchPhotos+257.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbG4_RzumWp7x8uNvAf142PLYrOE7nJo7r1aJLtVr-zBshmwU0iF7FP-ZzJKAwMD-9iUnwkwR2KGzOFjcfHA5BEPRQvYaHnucEosCkeHkPYWRQb0K9hCrsGxZX6pD02QnVsRfHDkQ4B3k0/s320/MarchPhotos+257.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Chocolate Dipped Peep S'mores</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiZdkmhT0xhdeOAyvCvh6JRShlCD-7n8BiRFuxIAQ5K6NdhE9vYLpUj1KVUu_aLPm5zYtZWPruogljvN0d8ucuKhom0iFGsOSvsfgGcimsxD492pXMaDaQPl7qStY1vr2lY4035ZerjDqn/s1600/MarchPhotos+258.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiZdkmhT0xhdeOAyvCvh6JRShlCD-7n8BiRFuxIAQ5K6NdhE9vYLpUj1KVUu_aLPm5zYtZWPruogljvN0d8ucuKhom0iFGsOSvsfgGcimsxD492pXMaDaQPl7qStY1vr2lY4035ZerjDqn/s320/MarchPhotos+258.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Chocolate Dipped Rice Krispies Treat Egg</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPC2-a3ZwsRK2G6sfpFr3AyB4bVT7bEM-ykj2rzspS6Rd72WGKCshdQOzHiTS7EJYrYgwkTZGVdKSYzCgcbimlawa4Ozm3-DZ2eluP30p1CsTJ1vK3S5zV394-esp9D1AFuUV47jBVvHP2/s1600/MarchPhotos+261.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPC2-a3ZwsRK2G6sfpFr3AyB4bVT7bEM-ykj2rzspS6Rd72WGKCshdQOzHiTS7EJYrYgwkTZGVdKSYzCgcbimlawa4Ozm3-DZ2eluP30p1CsTJ1vK3S5zV394-esp9D1AFuUV47jBVvHP2/s320/MarchPhotos+261.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Assorted Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing</span></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtQ5JNYPZ9IlwmEKU2iJ2eTJk-iBSylAS0RLoYM_LyMWtCXD4y5gp15Z8DUkCyhl2CKftT8yS_VsVMrX4nupEvu6IKoT4O7758sD-1XnaaKNBovonaC_j60O_SdIvhm2fO7DcVKTvJp6f5/s1600/MarchPhotos+263.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtQ5JNYPZ9IlwmEKU2iJ2eTJk-iBSylAS0RLoYM_LyMWtCXD4y5gp15Z8DUkCyhl2CKftT8yS_VsVMrX4nupEvu6IKoT4O7758sD-1XnaaKNBovonaC_j60O_SdIvhm2fO7DcVKTvJp6f5/s320/MarchPhotos+263.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPjJ2SUwKvM3teQe0PkdN9ciOOEujv1vbkINoLJ0KnYHGHLCrJ1sd0et_VDqdrLcoYdUPcD8pzikIvxa_otEGbtQr7j-xmjEKxZD-ze51ETQEIBDzuo3EAgLiTUS8plXVDHRnIoIHTUJZH/s1600/MarchPhotos+262.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPjJ2SUwKvM3teQe0PkdN9ciOOEujv1vbkINoLJ0KnYHGHLCrJ1sd0et_VDqdrLcoYdUPcD8pzikIvxa_otEGbtQr7j-xmjEKxZD-ze51ETQEIBDzuo3EAgLiTUS8plXVDHRnIoIHTUJZH/s320/MarchPhotos+262.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Giant Crisp Chocolate Egg</span></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5mOYGgeLDpszJZIesIMs7Z_2-b0rtGqcYveiPl8kfM7mYIH8VpzHpYhERL1ajMxIBt4C5a6EWki5wdA_OqbmRAQFWZRBc7Tn3F3wwVe6R6kZnczcZdzu4FcDROpb0hhRjnLaGJS_27T1E/s1600/MarchPhotos+264.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5mOYGgeLDpszJZIesIMs7Z_2-b0rtGqcYveiPl8kfM7mYIH8VpzHpYhERL1ajMxIBt4C5a6EWki5wdA_OqbmRAQFWZRBc7Tn3F3wwVe6R6kZnczcZdzu4FcDROpb0hhRjnLaGJS_27T1E/s320/MarchPhotos+264.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Assorted Mini Chocolates in Milk, Dark, White, and Crisp</span></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCrdxe6Ig2V7DPiHHbTRLyx7UiO8fgV5aVkgfVMgB_a1n4ckNMRmS5cHrfy-aiyh-7AdbvxE4TIBqkSK4YtxkxrhjQS2B_JG-M10FMhR5yJRTrMDHg2U6ok1vkA4YZVEQFdsk5qKW9-2aW/s1600/MarchPhotos+268.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCrdxe6Ig2V7DPiHHbTRLyx7UiO8fgV5aVkgfVMgB_a1n4ckNMRmS5cHrfy-aiyh-7AdbvxE4TIBqkSK4YtxkxrhjQS2B_JG-M10FMhR5yJRTrMDHg2U6ok1vkA4YZVEQFdsk5qKW9-2aW/s320/MarchPhotos+268.jpg" width="241" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Chocolate Covered Oreos</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxiZ9DRhsCqA_wtMB7R6dI-CP_L_7DNwczz1FiiQ_tmTyXwkq0j2CljEPXyD8NnoNqUcR0Mqv8opISgSZpFBeRG80JOnb81GSFSNYLUAhg5nglMH1abfnjcg__GHN6erFGZvtOggJV6cQO/s1600/MarchPhotos+266.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxiZ9DRhsCqA_wtMB7R6dI-CP_L_7DNwczz1FiiQ_tmTyXwkq0j2CljEPXyD8NnoNqUcR0Mqv8opISgSZpFBeRG80JOnb81GSFSNYLUAhg5nglMH1abfnjcg__GHN6erFGZvtOggJV6cQO/s320/MarchPhotos+266.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">"Bunny Trail Mix"- Popcorn, pretzels, and M&Ms drizzled in colored chocolate</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbUlfgMMtUJxzea-nmbGBqTkGaTi7afjbqWGNs9az3sjKK_6imXRnBYhPv1A2SL_U7-X7ntJv2m2LDeqKUfr-zYwasaasFWX-pi9X9sqPhZsmgS6qk2LR498xoYgHQBjzmWutQU6qdAypU/s1600/MarchPhotos+269.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbUlfgMMtUJxzea-nmbGBqTkGaTi7afjbqWGNs9az3sjKK_6imXRnBYhPv1A2SL_U7-X7ntJv2m2LDeqKUfr-zYwasaasFWX-pi9X9sqPhZsmgS6qk2LR498xoYgHQBjzmWutQU6qdAypU/s320/MarchPhotos+269.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Chocolate Covered Pretzel Twists</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4mxE_CvTad-sUNloZLOipMhENpiOx-1vZqSTPHA96YyuHefK_sYi0KLd2a_sOvNvvRl9ccJhluZxXSNKjsRlr6EgJNFFfRCjKHZ7FaKyHRJSETuhaPycl5qoCYaX2EorKA1d5DN7IgbmQ/s1600/MarchPhotos+270.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4mxE_CvTad-sUNloZLOipMhENpiOx-1vZqSTPHA96YyuHefK_sYi0KLd2a_sOvNvvRl9ccJhluZxXSNKjsRlr6EgJNFFfRCjKHZ7FaKyHRJSETuhaPycl5qoCYaX2EorKA1d5DN7IgbmQ/s320/MarchPhotos+270.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Chocolate Covered Pretzel Rods (In Bunny, Basket, and Carrot designs).</span></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">In addition to the treats pictured, baskets included the following:</span></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">-Homemade Candy Buttons</span></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">-Peanut Butter Eggs</span></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">-Ritz crackers with Peanut Butter dipped in Chocolate</span></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">-Chocolate Dipped Peeps</span></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">-Chocolate Dipped Bunny Marshmallows</span></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">-Assorted Chocolate Lollipops</span></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">-Small Hollow Chocolate Bunny</span></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">-Chocolate Easter Egg Cake Pops</span></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">-Goldfish "Carrots"</span></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">-Jelly Beans, M&Ms, and Skittles </span></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">In addition to the sugar rush in a basket, we added little gifts for each giftee depending on their age and what they enjoyed. The gifts ranged from Easter themed stickers to nail polish and even to mini bottles of Godiva Chocolate Liquer in the adult Easter basket! </span></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">We hope you enjoyed checking out our Easter baskets and hope to hear from you for your own occasion basket soon! Til next time!</span></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>How Sweet It Ishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17909654288159079568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8216153741972658493.post-3294018988191069302012-03-16T12:46:00.000-04:002012-03-16T12:46:18.488-04:00Shamrock Whoopie Pies<div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This weekend is my favorite holiday!!!</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">St. Patrick's Day, of course!! With names like Sullivan and O'Connor, I'm sure that's not much of a surprise though! So in celebration (and in preparation of the drunken munchies later) I've prepared Green Velvet Whoopie Pies!! These are one of my favorite desserts- is it a cookie? Is it a cake? C'mon, even the name is fun! And it's so hard to find a good one! You know the saying- if you want something done right, you've got to do it yourself. So I grabbed my green food coloring and this recipe from </span><a href="http://annies-eats.com/2010/02/08/red-velvet-whoopie-pies/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Annie's Eats</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> and I was on my way! </span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ2twK6JQ9kjnL0eZ-Avktv7urdTjzKvdwTG4z8UEWRR6yGPOl8YAUVJiFEcAkz8g_SlNw2nyTilzAZXloZMjP3bjhvu5zsEgo2ATd3bBNwfORJC_tXILVWvv1Ha5jt8-mJdVPG1oKjjn7/s1600/MarchPhotos+137.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ2twK6JQ9kjnL0eZ-Avktv7urdTjzKvdwTG4z8UEWRR6yGPOl8YAUVJiFEcAkz8g_SlNw2nyTilzAZXloZMjP3bjhvu5zsEgo2ATd3bBNwfORJC_tXILVWvv1Ha5jt8-mJdVPG1oKjjn7/s320/MarchPhotos+137.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">If you notice, I tripled Annie's recipe! My reasoning was that the shamrocks would need to be larger than the hearts to get the effect and also I just wanted more to go around. I ended up with 20 shamrock sandwiches in total (and one little half circle that I just piped some icing on so I could have a taste! It was goooooood.)</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="center"><u><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">Green Velvet Whoopie Pies</span></u></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuOWpXGVWkxZLXamHrCmIp2ufuVr6GMgLRMEARpfeaUFcatDShXUDtpBIPBfalT6bVEUPgzPjBdPIUC_0_KZT1W5vezVGJXNTNbaHoMqJL-2fwLfFHrVzl2HYWEo0gbof89ewLe7nn1Io4/s1600/MarchPhotos+130.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuOWpXGVWkxZLXamHrCmIp2ufuVr6GMgLRMEARpfeaUFcatDShXUDtpBIPBfalT6bVEUPgzPjBdPIUC_0_KZT1W5vezVGJXNTNbaHoMqJL-2fwLfFHrVzl2HYWEo0gbof89ewLe7nn1Io4/s320/MarchPhotos+130.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">- 6 Cups All Purpose Flour</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">- 6 Tablespoons Cocoa Powder</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">- 1 1/2 Teaspoons Baking Powder</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">- 3/4 Teaspoon Salt</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">- 1 1/2 Cups Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature (3 Sticks)</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">- 3 Cups Light Brown Sugar, Packed</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">- 3 Large Eggs at Room Temperature</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">- 3 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">- 1 1/2 Cups Buttermilk at Room Temperature</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">- 1/2- 1 Oz. of Green Food Coloring (McCormick)</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1. Using a pencil, lightly trace your design onto parchment paper and line cookie sheets. Make sure the traced side is face down, nobody wants any lead in their whoopie pies! Also, when choosing a design to trace, make sure the design is smaller than you want the actually whoopie pie to be as the batter spreads when baked.</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL0-Q2s9mIej_SdpuCLx6UTifQmGSrNFlSVqUP1dHKgKaQexS3Ch7VPBucKGLkqIEGIvr1MOfAnlyKQPBJ4fe7eh1oR3UdslK-xnUr7CqxBEs8DGij9HNUB0cXk9KWWDUFxrC109PVAfCT/s1600/MarchPhotos+142.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL0-Q2s9mIej_SdpuCLx6UTifQmGSrNFlSVqUP1dHKgKaQexS3Ch7VPBucKGLkqIEGIvr1MOfAnlyKQPBJ4fe7eh1oR3UdslK-xnUr7CqxBEs8DGij9HNUB0cXk9KWWDUFxrC109PVAfCT/s320/MarchPhotos+142.jpg" width="213" /></span></a></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
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</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream together butter and brown sugar on medium speed for about 3 minutes or until light and fluffy. </span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9pstkonGNsyW9AcTy7QTbnOCwFPm0d5aBsdy4jmTSoyfUCvFA8xsjKilMvrlm4dLOWH2G-z_0hNCb0yxWccv1Y2S9W6gfXHzFHbWyHd_CcXOWVf4_KlbpEQbny2a1mU6f0N-G9ZQlaYbX/s1600/MarchPhotos+133.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9pstkonGNsyW9AcTy7QTbnOCwFPm0d5aBsdy4jmTSoyfUCvFA8xsjKilMvrlm4dLOWH2G-z_0hNCb0yxWccv1Y2S9W6gfXHzFHbWyHd_CcXOWVf4_KlbpEQbny2a1mU6f0N-G9ZQlaYbX/s320/MarchPhotos+133.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">3. Switch mixer to lower speed and beat in eggs one at a time until incorporated. Beat in vanilla extract. Keeping mixer on low speed, beat in 1/3 of the flour mixture. Add in half the buttermilk and another 1/3 of the dry ingredients. Add in the rest of the buttermilk followed by the remainder of the dry ingredients.* </span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">*For this step, it's important to do it kind of quickly. You don't want to overmix your batter so once each part is incorporated (but not before!), immediately add the next. You can stop the mixer to scrape the sides, though.*</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyMXtU0qB-CzqfUkigsAgGWfIkywDX0sCzt2Vj9dl02jZk8de-kSloiExA2M_IZz3-iaeRfOxGa1bdunRPt4rScpLtsl3BzVeCivCjfb8Ty6GnezZasUJWUOORCx0bxeUi_ysUTEO2qUXL/s1600/MarchPhotos+138.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyMXtU0qB-CzqfUkigsAgGWfIkywDX0sCzt2Vj9dl02jZk8de-kSloiExA2M_IZz3-iaeRfOxGa1bdunRPt4rScpLtsl3BzVeCivCjfb8Ty6GnezZasUJWUOORCx0bxeUi_ysUTEO2qUXL/s320/MarchPhotos+138.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Blend in food coloring- I used a little more than 1/2 oz. of green to achieve the color I wanted.</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">4. Fill a pastry bag with batter. You can either use a round tip or simply snip the end of the decorating bag. I just snipped the tip because I'm laaaaaaazy. Pipe batter along design outline and fill in the middle. It doesn't have to be perfect, it settles nicely. And besides, whoopie pies aren't really <em>supposed</em> to look perfect!</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyVPiGrW6hvLPRi6GwzHdoWPmHJMOrVXXana3-lTnKHaj0sPEia-sMoKGHw2K841xzspZqokFbBL0kqjvsyU4fjiSwHDSwCmioBXM2UY2UqOTJs7niQkNy9JNsfcr30hrixmF-jv7tfl71/s1600/MarchPhotos+145.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyVPiGrW6hvLPRi6GwzHdoWPmHJMOrVXXana3-lTnKHaj0sPEia-sMoKGHw2K841xzspZqokFbBL0kqjvsyU4fjiSwHDSwCmioBXM2UY2UqOTJs7niQkNy9JNsfcr30hrixmF-jv7tfl71/s320/MarchPhotos+145.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">5. Bake on center rack about 7-9 minutes, rotating if necessary. 8 minutes was the magic number for my oven! Let cool on cookie sheet about 10 minutes before transferring to cooling rack. Use a cookie spatula to remove cookies from parchment paper. Repeat with any remaining batter.</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidP2naiPb0Tlbf4Z4XK_5LAZCN1x1vyScRSFC7O3vWQT-voGcRni4AjlJzpuSrgCYpa3FkuryhORrtqU-ufPDHpSxrJvXr-OdxKRmwXWcBlhgMC87Gw7nCqnxFYEriXyVR8S6RwTZ0phzq/s1600/MarchPhotos+151.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidP2naiPb0Tlbf4Z4XK_5LAZCN1x1vyScRSFC7O3vWQT-voGcRni4AjlJzpuSrgCYpa3FkuryhORrtqU-ufPDHpSxrJvXr-OdxKRmwXWcBlhgMC87Gw7nCqnxFYEriXyVR8S6RwTZ0phzq/s320/MarchPhotos+151.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Now since these are technically red velvet, Annie paired her cookies with a cream cheese filling, but I say nay. I loooooooove the classic whoopie pie filling so I opted to use my own recipe for the filling.</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"><u>Vanilla Cream Filling</u></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="center"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7DbkZWmtluX7EWkFgUNKXtpOEceFXfcIYe4he_l5A9g3hSEdZAIVUgvFxu7G0wpquK-JY7NielvYkDnGAtBCs5nehoQsCjhkE74rAdvhCnMobMy4TRbxdDx1c6DE1Mk2KDqdyDKL4v613/s1600/MarchPhotos+153.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7DbkZWmtluX7EWkFgUNKXtpOEceFXfcIYe4he_l5A9g3hSEdZAIVUgvFxu7G0wpquK-JY7NielvYkDnGAtBCs5nehoQsCjhkE74rAdvhCnMobMy4TRbxdDx1c6DE1Mk2KDqdyDKL4v613/s320/MarchPhotos+153.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
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</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">- 1/2 Cup Vegetable Shortening</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">- 1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter at Room Temperature (1 Stick)</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">- 2 Cups Powdered Sugar, sifted</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">- 3 Teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">- 3/4 Cup Light Corn Syrup</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1. Cream shortening and butter together at medium speed. With mixer at lowest speed, gradually add powdered sugar until incorporated, scraping down sides when necessary. Increase speed to high and beat for about 4 minutes or until light and fluffy.</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">2. Decrease speed and beat in vanilla extract. Keeping mixer on low, slowly drizzle in corny syrup. Continue to beat for about 1- 2 minutes until filling has reached desired consistency.</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">From here you can either prepare a piping with a round tip and pipe the filling onto the cookies or you can spoon a tablespoon of filling onto each cookie. I started out by piping, but quickly switched to using a tablespoon. It really makes no difference since you're going to be squishing the filling between two cookies anyway.</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUQ-4a4ctxIsC3TK6ilgTzCI_e7S0-52irY-k9Bm78QDJe455Z0iqywdC0usVx9e8gN8L_kku3NcQfgtOW3K5SssaJSqusje2kuvQzdK-tvC6eVfXNTYWLVrUkCIOZ1AeECIyLpRFwzoeb/s1600/MarchPhotos+160.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUQ-4a4ctxIsC3TK6ilgTzCI_e7S0-52irY-k9Bm78QDJe455Z0iqywdC0usVx9e8gN8L_kku3NcQfgtOW3K5SssaJSqusje2kuvQzdK-tvC6eVfXNTYWLVrUkCIOZ1AeECIyLpRFwzoeb/s320/MarchPhotos+160.PNG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div align="center"><em><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Oh hello there, lover!</span></em></div><div align="center"><em><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></em> </div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggayJhCvHkslG2yjWn-SAcYYhQWtcbYNrPCrH4bF1SCVmWEQErYWR4ReLk91dgs1ZTzZl8xDxbC910HRCyhtGgMD1XcITK6fOLGFOHNJGnBVgIMui5beWALGcoo6xgNQvEho19ba8Bu-HH/s1600/MarchPhotos+158.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggayJhCvHkslG2yjWn-SAcYYhQWtcbYNrPCrH4bF1SCVmWEQErYWR4ReLk91dgs1ZTzZl8xDxbC910HRCyhtGgMD1XcITK6fOLGFOHNJGnBVgIMui5beWALGcoo6xgNQvEho19ba8Bu-HH/s320/MarchPhotos+158.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXJhqPp8tfIQbnRmlUKTQgNVt_5J5gghvWHGBtLkgwmPWr-cMPf9mf1bRk7G1V-yr5yNhXat2xu_oVUbnakQp4GhCIBtDhR9LMEifM8THOHpa7zkZt9AP1tp5F_0kf_cn_czR0MHkK802v/s1600/MarchPhotos+156.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXJhqPp8tfIQbnRmlUKTQgNVt_5J5gghvWHGBtLkgwmPWr-cMPf9mf1bRk7G1V-yr5yNhXat2xu_oVUbnakQp4GhCIBtDhR9LMEifM8THOHpa7zkZt9AP1tp5F_0kf_cn_czR0MHkK802v/s320/MarchPhotos+156.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZowuqrD9Z7cApJej74O288rfpioEQOUh3_1-OIME4r5bfQCPE9Rj1Fsgacrg-Ogn9BSd1woTEoiYuaFmCa_wn-HGvcX9_eWaXHycQBev2tkGuTcIGp9tVrF4mfiIkmHZB6fzX1xwVcxYm/s1600/MarchPhotos+157.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZowuqrD9Z7cApJej74O288rfpioEQOUh3_1-OIME4r5bfQCPE9Rj1Fsgacrg-Ogn9BSd1woTEoiYuaFmCa_wn-HGvcX9_eWaXHycQBev2tkGuTcIGp9tVrF4mfiIkmHZB6fzX1xwVcxYm/s320/MarchPhotos+157.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I can't even tell you how good that cream is!</span></em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq03lGx9J5U1M5qUOlIvHb4RdC2s7yKtCwmN0y_5BhtOavW2bnLiC55H38MLsQcRoLNUroFH4y82X-7Btfc9bSHI6QuD5Z9YoGeHkUgojVfV1tsMBjzHduDHo0UFXO3WVDeIblzfK1ZUIk/s1600/MarchPhotos+167.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq03lGx9J5U1M5qUOlIvHb4RdC2s7yKtCwmN0y_5BhtOavW2bnLiC55H38MLsQcRoLNUroFH4y82X-7Btfc9bSHI6QuD5Z9YoGeHkUgojVfV1tsMBjzHduDHo0UFXO3WVDeIblzfK1ZUIk/s320/MarchPhotos+167.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlV_oUk3xoADkn722G-VCW6qP_7VKFFV8pG6NKXG29hS7OzctYW-4LXzSNmCqPZq20Ebk9hyphenhyphenTMcb-LzDR4AzYT2_F62WC9uFGuJc_1okRDkh5vR5pjS3_M6lw-ZElAPiQAvydFTgnmyYw_/s1600/MarchPhotos+165.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlV_oUk3xoADkn722G-VCW6qP_7VKFFV8pG6NKXG29hS7OzctYW-4LXzSNmCqPZq20Ebk9hyphenhyphenTMcb-LzDR4AzYT2_F62WC9uFGuJc_1okRDkh5vR5pjS3_M6lw-ZElAPiQAvydFTgnmyYw_/s320/MarchPhotos+165.PNG" width="213" /></span></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Thanks everyone for checking out the blog! Have a happy and safe St. Patrick's Day! Don't do anything I wouldn't do! ;o)</span></div>How Sweet It Ishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17909654288159079568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8216153741972658493.post-78925278054200488192012-03-07T17:56:00.000-05:002012-03-07T17:56:33.952-05:00Happy Birthday, Sister!!!<div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">On March 4th, my <u>favorite</u> sister turned 19.</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">::Faint:: </span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Way to make me feel old, Kelly!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHYKowjTkhxBQ_EknEA0GsixmUwZP7Iq7-ZTXWPis8HohCUEtFxDqWRE0-W-QuucNC5JBT7_SAM04zRXuWOU0BdrKKkZas0mEBOM_ZMKwdA_7x0NG4hw1y8vfvdhYY3UR_kpf1swQtjoa5/s1600/MarchPhotos+071.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHYKowjTkhxBQ_EknEA0GsixmUwZP7Iq7-ZTXWPis8HohCUEtFxDqWRE0-W-QuucNC5JBT7_SAM04zRXuWOU0BdrKKkZas0mEBOM_ZMKwdA_7x0NG4hw1y8vfvdhYY3UR_kpf1swQtjoa5/s320/MarchPhotos+071.PNG" width="213" yda="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Here's Kelly with her "World's Best Boss" mug from her Office Kit.</span></em></div></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">My mom and I wanted to make her a really special cake for her last year as a teenager. We already knew it had to be something pink as that is Kelly's favorite color. We asked Kelly what flavor cake she wanted and she requested Cookies 'n' Cream. No problem!! But she requested Cookies 'n' Cream cake like they do on Ace of Cakes. Now even though I love to bake, I don't really watch any baking shows (Aside from Top Chef: Just Desserts, of course!) so I had no idea what she meant. Apparently, Chef Duff makes a white cake with a marble ribbon of Oreo cookie crumbs. Sounds delicious right? I searched high and low and couldn't find a "Marble Cookies and Cream" recipe, so we decided to wing it. It didn't come out exactly as I had hoped, but it was still <strong>really</strong> delicious and now I know exactly what I need to do for next time. That's what I'm here for right? Your personal guinea pig! ;o)</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><u><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">White Cake</span></u></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This recipe was adapted from </span><a href="http://www.joyofbaking.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Joy of Baking</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">. I pretty much followed the recipe exactly as it appers on the site, but I doubled it to make for a taller cake. You'll see why! I also want to mention, don't be intimidated by this recipe! It is a lot of steps and might seem a little complicated, but it's not difficult and it makes a really delicious cake. I chose this recipe specifically because I find that this cake isn't too sweet which is perfect since we're putting Oreo Cream icing on top of it and that is very sweet! In a good way, of course!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK2gxLMyaZ0IfVFX2IqFeoCFD_tAcTOxjTeVjuaq2zpNFlIIqdwz6uW2ORqNqpavELOc_NlIw2BK9u6KELp1xGcjuD9L93ETCADaqm4EQQJAICNWnqT_LPmweTApQ1V5RHkD5vspf6hwj4/s1600/MarchPhotos+006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK2gxLMyaZ0IfVFX2IqFeoCFD_tAcTOxjTeVjuaq2zpNFlIIqdwz6uW2ORqNqpavELOc_NlIw2BK9u6KELp1xGcjuD9L93ETCADaqm4EQQJAICNWnqT_LPmweTApQ1V5RHkD5vspf6hwj4/s320/MarchPhotos+006.jpg" width="320" yda="true" /></a></div></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">- 4 Large eggs separated</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">- 2 1/2 Cups cake flour, sifted</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">- 4 Teaspoons baking powder</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">- 1/2 Teaspoon salt</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">- 1 Cup unsalted butter (2 Sticks), at room temperature</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">- 2 Cups granulated sugar, divided</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">- 2 Teaspoons pur vanilla extract</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">- 1 Cup milk</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">- 1/4 Teaspoon cream of tartar</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2- 9" round cake pans with butter or Pam. Cut out rounds of parchment paper to place in bottom of pan. Grease parchment paper and flour. Lightly flour sides of pan as well.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGTwWdwE8A_wTsJouk38VpjnJxJOpYbVKw9EocLF_vQ1xadN5co1tloT26eFvCWXC9xM38Cr317PIiZ4GtRz_WQt1lB9s_siXm8h-QmnfvK_X6FkarYKOrGwv7P6spBF0XVBTOiU3JtHRN/s1600/MarchPhotos+014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGTwWdwE8A_wTsJouk38VpjnJxJOpYbVKw9EocLF_vQ1xadN5co1tloT26eFvCWXC9xM38Cr317PIiZ4GtRz_WQt1lB9s_siXm8h-QmnfvK_X6FkarYKOrGwv7P6spBF0XVBTOiU3JtHRN/s320/MarchPhotos+014.jpg" width="320" yda="true" /></a></div></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">2. While eggs are cold, separate 4 eggs into two bowls: whites in one bowl and yolks in the other. Cover and set aside, allowing eggs to come to room temperature.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYXCVEIkovQpiNMnOZ3Fwqysocg6A8qLZb5saEjwwWn6J8XmmOQuqbUsWW383T28ga7avk9m5lGQhh5Dw-56cRuNA8hdlaWKzuY6oLffLcHowNqsBKeKbxcGWs6lChtfYEp_NW28-Q8nx8/s1600/MarchPhotos+009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYXCVEIkovQpiNMnOZ3Fwqysocg6A8qLZb5saEjwwWn6J8XmmOQuqbUsWW383T28ga7avk9m5lGQhh5Dw-56cRuNA8hdlaWKzuY6oLffLcHowNqsBKeKbxcGWs6lChtfYEp_NW28-Q8nx8/s320/MarchPhotos+009.jpg" width="213" yda="true" /></a></div></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">3. In a mixing bowl, sift together cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine.</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">4. In the bowl of your electric mixer, beat butter on medium speed until soft (about 1-2 minutes). Add 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). While beating on medium speed, add egg yolks one at a time until incorporated. Scrape down sides of bowl when necessary. Add vanilla extract and beat until combined.</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">5. With mixer on low speed, alternately add flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with flour. I used 5 incorporations to add everything in the pattern of: flour, milk, flour, milk, flour.</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">6. Attach whisk attachment to stand mixer or hand mixer.* In a clean bowl, beat eggs whites until foamy (about 4-5 minutes). Start out at a low speed and increase speed gradually. Add cream of tartar and continue beating at medium/high speed until soft peaks form. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxMyUpTzqPajtkFc48E8PSskRV3sQqp_6ttN52irslI7cDi_8rDXetqQD2flgwIDyJ1NlAaFz4Jfirn78yoAGwj9E3Dwf-_wmoKYcok9CXtqvWUh7xLx0Ydz8bP48APOM0eqa_4PbboxU_/s1600/MarchPhotos+022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxMyUpTzqPajtkFc48E8PSskRV3sQqp_6ttN52irslI7cDi_8rDXetqQD2flgwIDyJ1NlAaFz4Jfirn78yoAGwj9E3Dwf-_wmoKYcok9CXtqvWUh7xLx0Ydz8bP48APOM0eqa_4PbboxU_/s320/MarchPhotos+022.jpg" width="320" yda="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><em>It's kind of hard to see, but you can see the soft peaks here.</em></span></div><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Gradually add remaining 1/2 cup of granulated sugar until stiff peaks form. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_2OcFXF0Vc25BYOBjMMoSff3pNBn-BaEJ7_HozSMfkRa5WDCy1BxlI57zUm_AGf1NdfaYrg7vRLri7qJalGJkPy2ycDw-7J5qXbP8km8n30k1U4ywzhUJcnUSS7sbVinK-jETRKPm6m2D/s1600/MarchPhotos+025.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_2OcFXF0Vc25BYOBjMMoSff3pNBn-BaEJ7_HozSMfkRa5WDCy1BxlI57zUm_AGf1NdfaYrg7vRLri7qJalGJkPy2ycDw-7J5qXbP8km8n30k1U4ywzhUJcnUSS7sbVinK-jETRKPm6m2D/s320/MarchPhotos+025.jpg" width="320" yda="true" /></a></div><em><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Stiff peaks!</span></em> <br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">With a rubber spatula, gently fold egg white mixture into batter. This will inflate and lighten your batter. Overmixing will cause batter to deflate and your cake to come out flat.</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">*The recipe specifically says to use your stand mixer, but most people I know (myself included!) only have one stand mixer bowl! You can switch your batter to another bowl and use your stand mixer or you can just use a hand mixer, like I did. Boy, did it suck having to stand there holding that mixer for 5 minutes straight though! It made me appreciate Betty (my nickname for my Kitchenaid) all the more!*</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Now, in an attempt to make the marble swirl, I added a few extra steps. Unfortunately, it wound up not being very cookie-y, but I'll explain what happened and how to correct it here. If you don't want the cookie crumbs in your cake, feel free to skip on down to step 4 below.</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"><u>Cookies 'n' Cream Marble Swirl</u></span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1. Place sleeve (about 15 cookies) of Oreos, unwrapped, in a Ziploc bag. Do *not* zip the bag the entire way, leave a little opening for air to escape. Place Ziploc bag with cookies into another Ziploc bag with the zips facing away from each other. Again, do *not* zip bag entirely. Leave a small opening for air to escape. Repeat with second sleeve of cookies.</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">2. Using a mallet (or rolling pin, or hammer, or book, or anything heavy and handheld that you have lying around), crumble cookies into small pieces and crumbs.</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">3. Pour 1/4 of batter into each prepared 9" pan. Set aside additional batter. Sprinkle cookies crumbs in a ring in each pan. Divide batter and pour left over batter over cookies crumbs.*</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">*Here's where I made my mistake. I *assumed* (and we all know what they say about people who assume, don't we?!) that the cookie crumbs would sink and settle into my batter while baking. I didn't want to end up with the crumbs at the bottom, so I sprinkled them on top and put them in the oven to bake. If I had a less dense cake batter, it might've worked. Unfortunately for me, they didn't sink. The cookie crumbs just baked right into the top of the cake. When I leveled the cakes to stack them, I pretty much removed all the cookie crumbs from the cake itself. Whoops! But, I tried those cake scraps and OH MAN was it good! Yum!*</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoJXUbTxtMVZsMo9VHqe4JOGkK-GNLysmLqvi6MzF6DVBaljdCHecdQA7Oy-cn2PWWIw-I_4yFfxmy8RXGP35Fw9wc8tPqtkwEEeRrCi568D8Z2_bzZRWq5v_yihXOxEmU2gPTDlKLmqG1/s1600/MarchPhotos+031.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoJXUbTxtMVZsMo9VHqe4JOGkK-GNLysmLqvi6MzF6DVBaljdCHecdQA7Oy-cn2PWWIw-I_4yFfxmy8RXGP35Fw9wc8tPqtkwEEeRrCi568D8Z2_bzZRWq5v_yihXOxEmU2gPTDlKLmqG1/s320/MarchPhotos+031.jpg" width="320" yda="true" /></a></div><div align="center"><em><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">My oreo crumbs on top of the cake batter. Womp womp.</span></em></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">4. Bake at 350 degrees for about 22- 28 minutes (25 was the magic number for my oven.) or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cakes completely on wire racks before leveling/frosting.</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"><u>Oreo Cream Icing</u></span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This recipe was adapted from </span><a href="http://www.bhg.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Better Homes & Garden</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">. We chose this recipe because we wanted a recipe that tastes like the cream you find inside an Oreo (and this one tastes exactly like that!) and because we needed a smooth icing recipe (one with no cookie pieces in the icing). Again, you'll see why! I don't make this up for no reason! Hehe! This recipe was <strong>tripled</strong> from the recipe that you will find on BHG's site. And I still needed extra after all was said and done. Bananas, I know.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvnTfqTBbWfqltutXHYqrE4QqT5igPKGLBX2RVZ7GAXZTq_oBwz9ea5KDNpamlrKqM2MlIkygF61AFdAdlmLbtOaKq0owX3OIzlc_M9WQ3YdTG4-Wo855ZxKa8D7Qm17R2gkfmyOc3u3Xe/s1600/MarchPhotos+032.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvnTfqTBbWfqltutXHYqrE4QqT5igPKGLBX2RVZ7GAXZTq_oBwz9ea5KDNpamlrKqM2MlIkygF61AFdAdlmLbtOaKq0owX3OIzlc_M9WQ3YdTG4-Wo855ZxKa8D7Qm17R2gkfmyOc3u3Xe/s320/MarchPhotos+032.jpg" width="320" yda="true" /></a></div></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">- 1 1/2 Cups vegetable shortening</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">- 3 Teaspoons vanilla</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">- 6 3/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted, divided</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">- 4- 6 Tablespoons milk</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1. In a large mixing bowl, beat vanilla and shortening at medium speed for about 30 seconds. Sift 3 3/4 cups powdered sugar into a separate bowl.</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">2. With mixer at low/medium speed, gradually add powdered sugar until mixed well. Add 3 tablespoons milk and beat until incorporated. Scrape down sides of bowl when necessary.</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">3. Sift 3 cups powdered sugar into a separate bowl. With mixer at low/medium speed, gradually add powdered sugar, beating until incorporated.</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">4. Add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until icing has reached desired consistency.</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">*Since I had a little fail as far as the cookies 'n' cream cake went, I added some cookies crumbs to part of the icing. I used this icing to fill and crumb coat the cake. I left the rest of the icing smooth for piping.*</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwq4kj19ti3A1pJejbYOlm0ZGEXdnXjOocq2mIoKQaMV7WJnGw_Z4GAhnRXsN1FXWKapvcZv2WpGK-3jKLh6fDtdoPQHom5P9Ko6FmpHzN755BmpntLdQqZ5IQFdrNDzqluZqVls1lPjKI/s1600/MarchPhotos+040.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwq4kj19ti3A1pJejbYOlm0ZGEXdnXjOocq2mIoKQaMV7WJnGw_Z4GAhnRXsN1FXWKapvcZv2WpGK-3jKLh6fDtdoPQHom5P9Ko6FmpHzN755BmpntLdQqZ5IQFdrNDzqluZqVls1lPjKI/s320/MarchPhotos+040.jpg" width="320" yda="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><em><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Cookies and Cream crumb coat!</span></em></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">And here is the reason I needed so much icing! We wanted to do a pink "ombre swirl" cake. If you have no idea what "ombre" is, it is the French word for "shade" or "shading". As far as hair and clothes, ombre refers to the gradual deepening or lightening of a color. Here is how I got the ombre effect.</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><u><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">Pink Swirl Ombre</span></u></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1. Prepare your favorite icing recipe (doubling or tripling if necessary, this design takes quite a bit of icing!). Using a toothpick, add a very small amount food coloring gel (not liquid food coloring drops!) to entire batch of icing. Once you've reached the desired color, set aside about 1 1/2 cups of icing in a separate bowl. This will be your top most design layer so it will cover the top as well as the sides.</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">2. Using a toothpick, add a little more food coloring gel to remaining icing. This should be one shade darker than the icing you have set aside. Set aside 1/2 cup of icing in a separate bowl. Repeat twice more until you have 4 shades of color.</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4sruKDUvdbxTxkdO3e_p7rrjb21lAtpzRsnqz7qMxJt45Zwg7j2uC37gyQ7Iax1p18xAz0Z4Df5foAUKbMpxpwl2cq_ZN0zb-u27pFvWqwL-rkBaR4zsSOLQQ2Z8UO3sgehi-RPB9JDTJ/s1600/MarchPhotos+044.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4sruKDUvdbxTxkdO3e_p7rrjb21lAtpzRsnqz7qMxJt45Zwg7j2uC37gyQ7Iax1p18xAz0Z4Df5foAUKbMpxpwl2cq_ZN0zb-u27pFvWqwL-rkBaR4zsSOLQQ2Z8UO3sgehi-RPB9JDTJ/s320/MarchPhotos+044.jpg" width="320" yda="true" /></a></div><div align="center"><em><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The darkest pink isn't shown since it was transferred from my mixing bowl directly to a piping bag.</span></em></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">3. Prepare an icing bag with your chosen star tip (open or closed, doesn't matter, but each will give your design a different effect). I used Wilton's #21. It's mid-sized and worked out perfectly for this cake. Originally I had planned to use Wilton's 1M, but that was a little large for this cake. Fill bag with darkest color icing.</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">4. Beginning at the bottom of the cake, pipe icing onto cake in a circular motion. I started from the outside and swirled the icing into the center of the circles I made, but either way really works. Continue around the entire cake. Repeat with other icing colors.</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">5. For the top, I started piping my swirls along the outer perimeter of the top of the cake and gradually worked my way to the middle. You might notice some "bald" spots on the sides or the top. You can fill these in by squeezing leftover icing (in the corresponding color) into the space. If it's a bigger bald spot, use a curved or swirling motion so the additional icing goes along with the original design.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixTz9eDx-F8XdL3VEtBq605zYz_dLx4m63MIdqihIfgNOV7jqQmNXf78buEJtnwhIn8McQNiH0hk2yj3NxIemSRJp54RSvTkMbQvRqrHbGume3aRXYnGC9N9kGQaffnNkAc9lvSUttEiS4/s1600/MarchPhotos+049.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixTz9eDx-F8XdL3VEtBq605zYz_dLx4m63MIdqihIfgNOV7jqQmNXf78buEJtnwhIn8McQNiH0hk2yj3NxIemSRJp54RSvTkMbQvRqrHbGume3aRXYnGC9N9kGQaffnNkAc9lvSUttEiS4/s320/MarchPhotos+049.jpg" width="320" yda="true" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><em>Now doesn't that look sweet?</em></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4_EHjh4LEIcL112rLl7VOafm3Zk9eNGTErLrmvlOjUVW_GXb5rl23XDLSoLeFNfm0A-HzCWkJZTIWJck6fGsC3zF8uxICeAkIfMhNedOGcnAx3Njv56Td9MpAoolWOOWq-MjuagzlIVrx/s1600/MarchPhotos+050.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4_EHjh4LEIcL112rLl7VOafm3Zk9eNGTErLrmvlOjUVW_GXb5rl23XDLSoLeFNfm0A-HzCWkJZTIWJck6fGsC3zF8uxICeAkIfMhNedOGcnAx3Njv56Td9MpAoolWOOWq-MjuagzlIVrx/s320/MarchPhotos+050.jpg" width="320" yda="true" /></a></div></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhanaZZtZfXxEZiQ8nFqYAzRJ8QLOZTMIS8_XDRumHcMSigEr6T3Jd1zpwX5REwnoXEMdtiMowWw5dn8jWb770f2E1yJeqMQgDT7uCj70IujXUNSWd_gSzeHll9RVCdVuXdnBzF3f0th4nt/s1600/MarchPhotos+052.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhanaZZtZfXxEZiQ8nFqYAzRJ8QLOZTMIS8_XDRumHcMSigEr6T3Jd1zpwX5REwnoXEMdtiMowWw5dn8jWb770f2E1yJeqMQgDT7uCj70IujXUNSWd_gSzeHll9RVCdVuXdnBzF3f0th4nt/s320/MarchPhotos+052.jpg" width="320" yda="true" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWxnHcWk86p16Je2HF-gP7dYX8Q6GB-2_6s90O7mlSJYZGMRJuFtUzC85e_aHQv_ZAwHBcje70ONcdwGkhukpzFa0M45Ij-MhXjGWJG_PO38PaDu7z_9dRhHMW-AcCn8mgxyehy8zXxBqf/s1600/MarchPhotos+073.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWxnHcWk86p16Je2HF-gP7dYX8Q6GB-2_6s90O7mlSJYZGMRJuFtUzC85e_aHQv_ZAwHBcje70ONcdwGkhukpzFa0M45Ij-MhXjGWJG_PO38PaDu7z_9dRhHMW-AcCn8mgxyehy8zXxBqf/s320/MarchPhotos+073.PNG" width="213" yda="true" /></a></div><div align="center"><em><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">And oh boy, it was.</span></em></div>How Sweet It Ishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17909654288159079568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8216153741972658493.post-90987642146394377192012-03-02T15:33:00.000-05:002012-03-02T15:33:31.399-05:00Peanut Butter Eggs<div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Psssst. Want to know the way to this girl's heart? It's really simple....</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Chocolate & Peanut Butter.</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I'm not exaggerating when I say I could live on these two things alone. My favorite candy of all time is a Reese's, for obvious reasons, but I like them even better around the holidays when you get the double dose of peanut butter in fun holiday shapes like eggs, hearts, and Christmas Trees. So, when I saw someone boasting that they made homemade Reese's Eggs, I had to check it out myself.</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This was a Pinterest find, and if you're scratching your head at the word "Pinterest", google it now! It's a very visual online pin board where people post photos of ideas, food, projects, books, games, jokes, quotes, inspirational photos, anything and everything really. The best part is when you click on the photo, it takes you to the source of the "pin"- a website where you can find the tutorial or recipe or find where to purchase the product shown in the pin. You may be surprised to learn that some of our very own recipes are floating around Pinterest! Check out our </span><a href="http://pinterest.com/jilliibabii/how-sweet-it-is/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">board here!</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><u><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">Homemade Peanut Butter Eggs</span></u></div><div align="center"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD3uBE0HB1sgIR60o0T8-IYGXfljDZ9XNVvzuM-pAyuFEkMiAxg3EV344bthf9SOnCQQrN-Cgk55fVGbDAYalBqSEADxI66nOizV7Tser4YbgytzrC8JDFpumptskgQCKXjsXyKdwZbqEt/s1600/FebPhotos+437.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD3uBE0HB1sgIR60o0T8-IYGXfljDZ9XNVvzuM-pAyuFEkMiAxg3EV344bthf9SOnCQQrN-Cgk55fVGbDAYalBqSEADxI66nOizV7Tser4YbgytzrC8JDFpumptskgQCKXjsXyKdwZbqEt/s320/FebPhotos+437.jpg" uda="true" width="320" /></a></div><div align="center"><em><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">How's that for simple?!</span></em></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">-4 Cups Powdered Sugar, Sifted</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">-1 1/2 Cups Creamy Peanut Butter</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">(I guess Crunchy would work just fine, too, if that's your preference.)</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">- 1/4 Cup Butter at Room Temperature</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">-3 Tablespoons Milk</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">- 3 Cups Chocolate Chips</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">(I used Milk Chocolate, but it's really up to you.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">-Vegetable Oil (Optional)</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1. In a large bowl, mix together sugar, peanut butter, and butter. Add milk and mix until crumbly dough forms. At this point, I found it easier to work the dough with my hands than with a mixer.</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPBb-267reCnGPFaI1RWpfZjGSQj-2-CkFK6A2bS2-jOMbtCtfl3CSmDKn0glloHsXD6JnTDSmC52V8tP6ksYyW6FAbV3iBhIX2CKK7d4ANdF7mAIoACb2hhEhkHbU5jAWJYBoWuUWoLdg/s1600/FebPhotos+441.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPBb-267reCnGPFaI1RWpfZjGSQj-2-CkFK6A2bS2-jOMbtCtfl3CSmDKn0glloHsXD6JnTDSmC52V8tP6ksYyW6FAbV3iBhIX2CKK7d4ANdF7mAIoACb2hhEhkHbU5jAWJYBoWuUWoLdg/s320/FebPhotos+441.jpg" uda="true" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">2. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper. Form dough into egg shapes (or round, if that's your preference) and place on wax paper. Place cookie sheet in freezer and let set for at least 1 hour.</span></div><div align="center"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9EB6Np7RyJnrzachYxlhWPz6pKnk7cJAMZ2DO8S-Bbb-qrGu9T2bmXSNvL6zFps6xKq8OigxcFyfaBjSnETiAkXRx_dNHOorZxttnd2q0fjrti5vdm30Xn2aFCwc4tpai8VmoTrOUKNqq/s1600/FebPhotos+446.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9EB6Np7RyJnrzachYxlhWPz6pKnk7cJAMZ2DO8S-Bbb-qrGu9T2bmXSNvL6zFps6xKq8OigxcFyfaBjSnETiAkXRx_dNHOorZxttnd2q0fjrti5vdm30Xn2aFCwc4tpai8VmoTrOUKNqq/s320/FebPhotos+446.jpg" uda="true" width="213" /></a></div><br />
<div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">3. Melt chocolate in either the microwave or on the stove using a double boiler. If you're using the microwave to melt the chocolate, make sure you use a microwave safe bowl. I'm sure that's obvious, but sometimes it bears repeating. Heh. Also, microwave your chocolate in 30 second increments, stirring before returning the bowl to the microwave. If your chocolate is looking a little thick, add a teaspoon of vegetable oil and stir. **Heating chocolate does NOT thin it out. In fact, it thickens the chocolate more and renders is unusable.**</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">4. Dip peanut butter eggs into melted chocolate. I used a spoon to dip the eggs and tapped my wrist lightly with my left hand to remove any excess chocolate and give it a nice, even coating. Place dipped eggs onto wax paper and leave in the fridge for at least an hour to set.</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGoZEg6_k3fVBptorHDWJKQKi0NUntUq0YfJu9azE2ZGuYU2McQ4mezG9ZpVC1P5gtB5r4PIep6aE2ObtPqnJ42I8AXVc5zIvgvfWJtk88SUlghyY3_UWR1S3p0QF9BgSxhrCtdq_hu8mP/s1600/FebPhotos+454.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGoZEg6_k3fVBptorHDWJKQKi0NUntUq0YfJu9azE2ZGuYU2McQ4mezG9ZpVC1P5gtB5r4PIep6aE2ObtPqnJ42I8AXVc5zIvgvfWJtk88SUlghyY3_UWR1S3p0QF9BgSxhrCtdq_hu8mP/s320/FebPhotos+454.PNG" uda="true" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">5. Once they are all set, you can use a sharp serrated knife to trim off any excess chocolate that may have pooled around your egg.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiem36TesnCmmjqy8He4oOhBbBDamNZy8vM9doYxScrB8dHf_7NjGGN4s0LFTeC8vFuZvK2-RLaovkSedua3aBjPT4KH28ql-Cpy_ZjhfjmQnQZFaVTsEKTENUwWTzvBtvNxjx0UvFvKGto/s1600/FebPhotos+460.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiem36TesnCmmjqy8He4oOhBbBDamNZy8vM9doYxScrB8dHf_7NjGGN4s0LFTeC8vFuZvK2-RLaovkSedua3aBjPT4KH28ql-Cpy_ZjhfjmQnQZFaVTsEKTENUwWTzvBtvNxjx0UvFvKGto/s320/FebPhotos+460.jpg" uda="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMGVO0R0ifHaTbBZtYCXoWHFZYij3lC93C1FKPeHfzQTzk3UC5WfNexfxLG52v6koP6JPxqo9Y71HKdld9vk42U1pGmIWyE7BgCza3mtNZhiZmxgPeqnqvkqlGf7VmXOhq60umCNPviKt1/s1600/FebPhotos+462.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMGVO0R0ifHaTbBZtYCXoWHFZYij3lC93C1FKPeHfzQTzk3UC5WfNexfxLG52v6koP6JPxqo9Y71HKdld9vk42U1pGmIWyE7BgCza3mtNZhiZmxgPeqnqvkqlGf7VmXOhq60umCNPviKt1/s320/FebPhotos+462.jpg" uda="true" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Mmmm... look at all that peanut buttery goodness!</span></em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">YUM!</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">I have to say these things are amazing and so, so simple to make. I didn't even have to turn on my oven! And the recipe goes very far. This made about 75 eggs and they were the same size if not larger than the actual Reese's eggs. This would be a great recipe to try out with kids!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>How Sweet It Ishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17909654288159079568noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8216153741972658493.post-86416809227957275842012-02-24T12:56:00.000-05:002012-02-24T12:56:51.834-05:00Love Birds Market<div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">First of all, I just wanted to give a huge THANK YOU to everyone who came down and supported us at the Love Birds Market on February 11th, 2012. That was our first event like that (Ever!) and I felt like it was a great success. I truly hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did.</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">I also wanted to share a few photos of our table from the event. Enjoy!</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu8rvXu5Oq6l2TVOIb0sFZpDj04G1d43myN9StL3kgWNZUUJ8cSQzI8F0b6CdzwImd_B3nomTfmx-vJ6I3-fOlMn72Q3Y8xVNibUSESQ5P09g4_-xpWgh-GQUAd_0wHL86cAP52GTY5w_X/s1600/FebPhotos+368.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" lda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu8rvXu5Oq6l2TVOIb0sFZpDj04G1d43myN9StL3kgWNZUUJ8cSQzI8F0b6CdzwImd_B3nomTfmx-vJ6I3-fOlMn72Q3Y8xVNibUSESQ5P09g4_-xpWgh-GQUAd_0wHL86cAP52GTY5w_X/s320/FebPhotos+368.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><em>Our table was an explosion of pink and sugar!</em></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLF5hSEtaCWJFrHkSv06-A-uExk0SjmwwOmA0lM9aKO1Qts0V2IivlTYcpBG3rr4i0isJZ_mQ3uOpMBMyPwfXVamLm4YMGzHwjg_Mrm5S-94SS9a1uNL2Fm887iFhh4PqM-q_1MDEOFbcI/s1600/FebPhotos+376.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" lda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLF5hSEtaCWJFrHkSv06-A-uExk0SjmwwOmA0lM9aKO1Qts0V2IivlTYcpBG3rr4i0isJZ_mQ3uOpMBMyPwfXVamLm4YMGzHwjg_Mrm5S-94SS9a1uNL2Fm887iFhh4PqM-q_1MDEOFbcI/s320/FebPhotos+376.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The team working hard!</span></em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4HjX4r6G9gx3HXWgUfbdBJrajWCirZvAjQkzjB_uRiQ-uNbb-kL13LktvHxQPR3Xbs_cMQo1p8Z9JNbjh2c9VrU2a00WVEumrCNGKFMLoCe1NE5EyvNNZI5Hk9DkkifO_W-ZdywSK_ubQ/s1600/FebPhotos+361.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" lda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4HjX4r6G9gx3HXWgUfbdBJrajWCirZvAjQkzjB_uRiQ-uNbb-kL13LktvHxQPR3Xbs_cMQo1p8Z9JNbjh2c9VrU2a00WVEumrCNGKFMLoCe1NE5EyvNNZI5Hk9DkkifO_W-ZdywSK_ubQ/s320/FebPhotos+361.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Pictured: Oversized Hershey Kisses, Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, Chocolate Mousse in Mason Jars, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Mini Nutella Tarts, Fruit Tarts, Assorted Chocolates, Assorted Butter Cookies with Chocolate and Royal Icing, Fudge Brownies.</span></em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgstWaLcGjb0dvoB6P8DmHP6Sjq_0gbH6P9sibKH1dr5u1lKlRuXL3vmcN3YIODHz3o59639YFjJ54uOZGdgVB6CoxS_inH2Su6A2WMboTTxk9UQshqn_iEJ1ECU5rD6cHqgkb0sKchgPaR/s1600/FebPhotos+381.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" lda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgstWaLcGjb0dvoB6P8DmHP6Sjq_0gbH6P9sibKH1dr5u1lKlRuXL3vmcN3YIODHz3o59639YFjJ54uOZGdgVB6CoxS_inH2Su6A2WMboTTxk9UQshqn_iEJ1ECU5rD6cHqgkb0sKchgPaR/s320/FebPhotos+381.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Chocolate dipped butter cookies.</span></em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5akw-dO-DDejaEMXM4F6oESPdaGZWbhQoN4bTPQCLbSMVzOl3-VQxTfOYjTlwzf425hUvhat9jQKxs5vI4fNTACxzyqE46rGTvO2zajBpUKPQgQx1Zw9SMScP7hypEsZ0GwTFDYoZwrsr/s1600/FebPhotos+380.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" lda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5akw-dO-DDejaEMXM4F6oESPdaGZWbhQoN4bTPQCLbSMVzOl3-VQxTfOYjTlwzf425hUvhat9jQKxs5vI4fNTACxzyqE46rGTvO2zajBpUKPQgQx1Zw9SMScP7hypEsZ0GwTFDYoZwrsr/s320/FebPhotos+380.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div align="center" style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Royal Icing decorated butter cookies.</span></em></div><div align="center" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEieY-4qA7w8qQq0nLH1RiZD9bCKQStK6Kq5Bk3uCYO-Zvcx9UVovYzxzkCe03ixAZ300KFim-htFzBXqIOLofHj3yusjQB7W5KD-yoQMo1VF0qtCxJGwdGblEkeEwAPeeTr6GDZKMbAAg/s1600/FebPhotos+366.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" lda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEieY-4qA7w8qQq0nLH1RiZD9bCKQStK6Kq5Bk3uCYO-Zvcx9UVovYzxzkCe03ixAZ300KFim-htFzBXqIOLofHj3yusjQB7W5KD-yoQMo1VF0qtCxJGwdGblEkeEwAPeeTr6GDZKMbAAg/s320/FebPhotos+366.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><em>Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies.</em></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5cQrq7-WkcGFOuk-xXAQp62vIX-yRHdGZ49oV6YJHwYgP7niIQ2n9IvTAaHGgycu9Y7XqEtlcQXl1BSS8kfM5DnKkj8lA8eu2wksPQNjMPLIYoDAPu7o3yWU8Hh5Sdwx3AjmfiMTGCZtq/s1600/FebPhotos+359.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" lda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5cQrq7-WkcGFOuk-xXAQp62vIX-yRHdGZ49oV6YJHwYgP7niIQ2n9IvTAaHGgycu9Y7XqEtlcQXl1BSS8kfM5DnKkj8lA8eu2wksPQNjMPLIYoDAPu7o3yWU8Hh5Sdwx3AjmfiMTGCZtq/s320/FebPhotos+359.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><em>Milk and dark chocolate dipped strawberries.</em></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQCbloZ6MuHSl_QC4xUdmWVSy-b-9wHQ-HXXlMEzy7im1sko6sDsgoIwBL6Ps72QBXhadZJLF8rvw8X7G-7FHa0Las7oRYmIHxeqzopQx-x4qT_MBmyw26ddUr2BvjiSGuVN1D7jxXu6dk/s1600/FebPhotos+384.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" lda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQCbloZ6MuHSl_QC4xUdmWVSy-b-9wHQ-HXXlMEzy7im1sko6sDsgoIwBL6Ps72QBXhadZJLF8rvw8X7G-7FHa0Las7oRYmIHxeqzopQx-x4qT_MBmyw26ddUr2BvjiSGuVN1D7jxXu6dk/s320/FebPhotos+384.PNG" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Triple Chocolate Puzzle, Blueberry Pie Pops, Mini Classic Cheesecakes.</span></em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4IwEDNFPDrgAmo4Ac42IZFU4bEk80vWHLgjbUuPFHPaCuJTki6jPfk0BPBNGfG2v7Kik3lxDIVn3EnpH7iIQ9ZVZjkynHoc7Pwjb8AkKcFtl9VggNKEufXa29enfrTsxaNiDe1pkfdSKR/s1600/FebPhotos+351.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" lda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4IwEDNFPDrgAmo4Ac42IZFU4bEk80vWHLgjbUuPFHPaCuJTki6jPfk0BPBNGfG2v7Kik3lxDIVn3EnpH7iIQ9ZVZjkynHoc7Pwjb8AkKcFtl9VggNKEufXa29enfrTsxaNiDe1pkfdSKR/s320/FebPhotos+351.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><em>Mini Classic Cheesecakes.</em></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYdGoDgQtwnxTX479yB2P5PzEWMWHTt9Nmdt1f4P6k0JVoNMnrsSPDuiR8UvciDmwoaDOmHEXmBhL8L2dfMigM9Okg4Hdr6jr_1uHcKF_8tR1THYEHdv7zltRJ3mBDZmgapwUT2RjBw2FH/s1600/FebPhotos+379.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="303" lda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYdGoDgQtwnxTX479yB2P5PzEWMWHTt9Nmdt1f4P6k0JVoNMnrsSPDuiR8UvciDmwoaDOmHEXmBhL8L2dfMigM9Okg4Hdr6jr_1uHcKF_8tR1THYEHdv7zltRJ3mBDZmgapwUT2RjBw2FH/s320/FebPhotos+379.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div align="center" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><em>Chocolate Mousse in Mason Jars.</em></span></div><div align="center" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCbcgZEOsJn2GVfeD0XyvnJZVGShpizeseJgP4hiZTZJ2siEmy0LY-eEdkZ9tPRZXj0EQ1roF6bWXxAv8Em0IJqY1NdQUhyphenhyphenuaDMZsXTFY4pgsZaQcgUs4ZvGrEU3qKoFrVQnYwJsFASxFW/s1600/FebPhotos+360.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" lda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCbcgZEOsJn2GVfeD0XyvnJZVGShpizeseJgP4hiZTZJ2siEmy0LY-eEdkZ9tPRZXj0EQ1roF6bWXxAv8Em0IJqY1NdQUhyphenhyphenuaDMZsXTFY4pgsZaQcgUs4ZvGrEU3qKoFrVQnYwJsFASxFW/s320/FebPhotos+360.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><em>Fruit tarts.</em></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxEX3ijcFhO8KJDtgQo_0KoHrwOPjA_kW6ryI_wLf5voPV8th5ilX5GnyEgUeSfAV55J0oRnwzyZQ1TLdq-wH4q1vhbD3SUpgcXIJqxSNy0rb3x04j5VffB9x2zg9Y6ByYoltce5IYK2OG/s1600/FebPhotos+363.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" lda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxEX3ijcFhO8KJDtgQo_0KoHrwOPjA_kW6ryI_wLf5voPV8th5ilX5GnyEgUeSfAV55J0oRnwzyZQ1TLdq-wH4q1vhbD3SUpgcXIJqxSNy0rb3x04j5VffB9x2zg9Y6ByYoltce5IYK2OG/s320/FebPhotos+363.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><em>Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cupcakes and Chocolate Whoopie Pies.</em></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO58jWJivyj_iLANvUnMOHbHbjm2Tj5eenmryo0yDXxBVxBb6tc77XWggJNOkMcejsxsTqhKZmMVZzRydu2pGnrFd85QvQ7tBrfv0Czx3VCx9HU9HxO91RHpXGh0bX5Lo8HJsGDc9jDKVr/s1600/FebPhotos+355.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" lda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO58jWJivyj_iLANvUnMOHbHbjm2Tj5eenmryo0yDXxBVxBb6tc77XWggJNOkMcejsxsTqhKZmMVZzRydu2pGnrFd85QvQ7tBrfv0Czx3VCx9HU9HxO91RHpXGh0bX5Lo8HJsGDc9jDKVr/s320/FebPhotos+355.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><em>Root Beet Float Cupcakes.</em></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimOILEYQcwGbyyYyn5rj4myjWfLrA3AgKIejF39mb-QkSMabESDxsZAIPz9iK1HsZu9MIzScgtf_3DLWrgU4cX0dM4weAJu75lLoJfhDy2I2kRQzZLwhYvCcknh1KfrvaWjxtNWBjjaBSH/s1600/FebPhotos+365.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" lda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimOILEYQcwGbyyYyn5rj4myjWfLrA3AgKIejF39mb-QkSMabESDxsZAIPz9iK1HsZu9MIzScgtf_3DLWrgU4cX0dM4weAJu75lLoJfhDy2I2kRQzZLwhYvCcknh1KfrvaWjxtNWBjjaBSH/s320/FebPhotos+365.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting.</span></em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKmAB1N5BSaXwOBcFAisfbHP9Jbu3BrAGl3fvGJTqnXk5Ghhyphenhyphene2sj-oCEvIm2u5Ertb3l6E9Y-Hjp8BbjBpnKypnCWjuYnYylyhWNUBVSax6XQZP-2ooV7fE1Ski2CVZ3wBlQOTaIz8JO4/s1600/FebPhotos+369.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" lda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKmAB1N5BSaXwOBcFAisfbHP9Jbu3BrAGl3fvGJTqnXk5Ghhyphenhyphene2sj-oCEvIm2u5Ertb3l6E9Y-Hjp8BbjBpnKypnCWjuYnYylyhWNUBVSax6XQZP-2ooV7fE1Ski2CVZ3wBlQOTaIz8JO4/s320/FebPhotos+369.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><em>Salted Caramel Cupcakes.</em></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We plan to do many, many more of these types of events, so make sure you check out our blog and Facebook page for updates!</span></div>How Sweet It Ishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17909654288159079568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8216153741972658493.post-54665377442026086482012-01-31T13:45:00.000-05:002012-01-31T13:45:06.407-05:00Love is in the Air!<div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We've got some exciting news to share with you! How Sweet It Is will be participating in a Valentine's Day themed flea market in Greenpoint, Brookyln on Saturday, February 11th, 2012!</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Aside from our table of delectable desserts, the flea market will feature food, live entertainment, and a great selection of gifts for your Valentine.</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">So please come on by and check out our table!</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYDPJhyb6zGrGPByaswJwTe8BFLxn7F07VGm6GGLRXa1Q9UK3clzB20SJHqTj6_BukG0TOCSEL4jlq1HoH8CLF9hgPZ-EHVTatVxNJfEsKI7I6hIai-QJGe8PXbcsrJvwqzOuNnCUfJZ92/s1600/loveb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYDPJhyb6zGrGPByaswJwTe8BFLxn7F07VGm6GGLRXa1Q9UK3clzB20SJHqTj6_BukG0TOCSEL4jlq1HoH8CLF9hgPZ-EHVTatVxNJfEsKI7I6hIai-QJGe8PXbcsrJvwqzOuNnCUfJZ92/s320/loveb.jpg" width="251" /></span></a></div><br />
<div align="center"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/146427545470092/#!/events/146427545470092/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Click for more info!</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div>How Sweet It Ishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17909654288159079568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8216153741972658493.post-20603365912090072312012-01-30T17:53:00.001-05:002012-01-31T13:45:31.676-05:00Words with Cookies!<div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Ever since getting my iPhone last year, I've been obsessed with it. I'm embarassed to say it has basically become and extension of my arm. But there's just always so much to do! Like Words with Friends for instance! I have always been a fan of word games, so it's pretty fun to have one in your pocket at any given moment.</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">And my friends are no different... especially my good friend, Matt. The only difference is Matt consistently beats me in Words with Friends. I wish I was joking- I only won ONCE! </span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Anyway, this past Christmas, Matt proposed to his girlfriend and my good friend, Teri. This past weekend was their engagement party and I knew right away what I wanted to do for them. I wanted to make cookies that were actually Words with Friends "tiles" so I could spell out a special message to the bride and groom to be!</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">For Christmas, I had gotten a box of 101 cookie cutters. So I've been dying to whip them out and bake up some fun shapes. Funny enough, out of 101 cookie cutters, there was not a single square or rectangle in sight. I wound up using the Haunted House cutter and just cut the "roof" off. It worked out pretty well, though it did leave me with rectangular tiles instead of square. C'est la vie!</span></div><div align="center"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDedJPh4mBkmEKWdpagbCQ8-IK9WQLJqAoFr1nhhqcXjcU0suhZIz7OE1P6xqHgnTQi1xlJvu-qhvEgB-oSi63mE1WoibbK2mp5fp3oZvqucTvzyD1GTxOy96APDlT8mTF4Fj4Tp2es73u/s1600/JanPhotos+302.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDedJPh4mBkmEKWdpagbCQ8-IK9WQLJqAoFr1nhhqcXjcU0suhZIz7OE1P6xqHgnTQi1xlJvu-qhvEgB-oSi63mE1WoibbK2mp5fp3oZvqucTvzyD1GTxOy96APDlT8mTF4Fj4Tp2es73u/s320/JanPhotos+302.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><u><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">Rolled Sugar Cookies</span></u></div><div align="center"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw_eKVGyFNhRgD02M0L2JYQfWpXwY0rbcypSSAOcSZ30aE7eWkFU3fVafed-jELU_Warec2b41hY4ph24fNjT1NNWnqQ7UONzWuUF9Ab-NHQIiD7pD3vu_6eU8DvMufTsLEfCGIW7y3hKT/s1600/JanPhotos+270.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw_eKVGyFNhRgD02M0L2JYQfWpXwY0rbcypSSAOcSZ30aE7eWkFU3fVafed-jELU_Warec2b41hY4ph24fNjT1NNWnqQ7UONzWuUF9Ab-NHQIiD7pD3vu_6eU8DvMufTsLEfCGIW7y3hKT/s320/JanPhotos+270.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">- 1 1/2 cups butter, softened</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">- 2 cups white sugar</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">- 4 eggs</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">- 5 cups all-purpose flour</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">- 2 teaspoons baking powder</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">- 1 teaspoon salt (I use salted butter and omit this part.)</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">1. Cream together your butter and sugar in a large bowl.</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUaEK3ltHeaSio3b0Z2EWSEdFMnICI4kvQ5mf3X1ridSkJf15ObH8qwG8PjVWkm9dGeXF3ubO8MNGBV7mTuR3HlEbgCKxlyYrBI2nSLKSPgHcgd3n8DKKBbN8x40lx9ip55Y9nS-kW8FVq/s1600/JanPhotos+273.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUaEK3ltHeaSio3b0Z2EWSEdFMnICI4kvQ5mf3X1ridSkJf15ObH8qwG8PjVWkm9dGeXF3ubO8MNGBV7mTuR3HlEbgCKxlyYrBI2nSLKSPgHcgd3n8DKKBbN8x40lx9ip55Y9nS-kW8FVq/s320/JanPhotos+273.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">2. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Add flour, baking powder, and salt and beat on low speed until dough forms. Cover and chill dough for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.*</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgavVTxH3o4PYW0D6zhtYr2nSxthgMQ_GO2CDL8-odQDADw7AQghIW4I0UH5w9QK2Hf1ByhAkzPlLU5A1B0VBtWMNu9MRFOpjm5SrhmTuEqv0O-GPiyIhhzczge8dGJqQMRansp3NBYIgSO/s1600/JanPhotos+289.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgavVTxH3o4PYW0D6zhtYr2nSxthgMQ_GO2CDL8-odQDADw7AQghIW4I0UH5w9QK2Hf1ByhAkzPlLU5A1B0VBtWMNu9MRFOpjm5SrhmTuEqv0O-GPiyIhhzczge8dGJqQMRansp3NBYIgSO/s320/JanPhotos+289.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div align="center"><em><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Yeah, I taped it shut since my cling wrap wasn't being very clingy. And what??</span></em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">*I only chilled my dough for 2 hours. It wasn't the easiest to work with. I had to use a lot of flour on my rolling surface and on my rolling pin to make it work. If it was chilled over night though, it would be much easier to work with.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">3. Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees F. Generously dust rolling surface and rolling pin with flour and roll out chilled cookie dough to about 1/4" to 1/2" thickness. Cut out dough with any cookie cutter and place on ungreased cookie sheet about an inch apart.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjynqBYMjqoes6zo0Jp2KyiVIm-pYQd6FTnOkwMlImpQnV4gPCWtvclQB9Hhkh8rpG6jAtC-CavLYQhN2yFhTOSTZW95NKs-zhisM1WQeZVLSunZ6j74DuHqA1qbhFC80xw9mg0Hh1NcWXE/s1600/JanPhotos+309.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjynqBYMjqoes6zo0Jp2KyiVIm-pYQd6FTnOkwMlImpQnV4gPCWtvclQB9Hhkh8rpG6jAtC-CavLYQhN2yFhTOSTZW95NKs-zhisM1WQeZVLSunZ6j74DuHqA1qbhFC80xw9mg0Hh1NcWXE/s320/JanPhotos+309.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><em>This makes for a soft and thick sugar cookie.</em></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">4. Bake 6-8 minutes or until edges are golden. Remove from cookie sheet and cool on racks.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR5DWrZVIHbaA2lcaT1bXa_AeP748f0B2dz3bWx9jpRIb2VgHn4W_fWWVL0SMhxOsmZN64C5FOLiAGtJHhle_S12LUAQF7N-h0KeZwFv1ItdGpoTCAZc2n7B4N688E9bn0yvDz6q4O8CUx/s1600/JanPhotos+323.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR5DWrZVIHbaA2lcaT1bXa_AeP748f0B2dz3bWx9jpRIb2VgHn4W_fWWVL0SMhxOsmZN64C5FOLiAGtJHhle_S12LUAQF7N-h0KeZwFv1ItdGpoTCAZc2n7B4N688E9bn0yvDz6q4O8CUx/s320/JanPhotos+323.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">These stackable cooling racks are clutch in my tiny kitchen!</span></em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">I actually had a bit of dough leftover after I made the necessary tiles (plus a few extra in case I messed one up!) so I decided to make some heart cookies, too.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaSgWwnf5_eRpm7qnq9yOKFXgQt12rk8aBtVvO4T_ht5hNHRYnri01paOaEORrj-LspzFptMOEszQY7_haiRbTafs8oxaKEbz08MLgWdnPgqDqK3dtVeYBdunn2dxqrBM3b8VQv_IMyFwR/s1600/JanPhotos+332.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaSgWwnf5_eRpm7qnq9yOKFXgQt12rk8aBtVvO4T_ht5hNHRYnri01paOaEORrj-LspzFptMOEszQY7_haiRbTafs8oxaKEbz08MLgWdnPgqDqK3dtVeYBdunn2dxqrBM3b8VQv_IMyFwR/s320/JanPhotos+332.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Since Valentine's Day is coming up, of course!</span></em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">From here, I whipped up some royal icing for the tops of the cookies. (Please see our <a href="http://www.howsweetitisny.blogspot.com/2011/12/giraffe-cake.html" target="_blank">Giraffe Cake post</a> for the recipe for royal icing!) I made one batch and split it. I dyed about 3/4 of it yellow for the tiles themselves. I used Wilton's food coloring gel in "Orange" and "Sunshine Yellow" to get the proper color. I used about 3 parts of the yellow to one part of the orange. It was the perfect shade! I then dyed the leftover royal icing black and piped the letters onto the cookies.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Unfortunately, I didn't have a big enough tray to display these cookies, but I have to say, they looked pretty darn cute on my kitchen counter!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihsFQ7at7ygiTfOpa215_hxK3D5Y-9L4UH8Z3KarIuHGH7h6xjRxsWfVKn2IdfaBAUS6gjtqRh082YbdSpPc1dNwz8kiNVLhszgiV0NiDiIG2zlc_z1gpL9dU-oGeSIvc5idufy_G-27Jr/s1600/JanPhotos+343.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihsFQ7at7ygiTfOpa215_hxK3D5Y-9L4UH8Z3KarIuHGH7h6xjRxsWfVKn2IdfaBAUS6gjtqRh082YbdSpPc1dNwz8kiNVLhszgiV0NiDiIG2zlc_z1gpL9dU-oGeSIvc5idufy_G-27Jr/s320/JanPhotos+343.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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</div>How Sweet It Ishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17909654288159079568noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8216153741972658493.post-78400637971669860592012-01-20T11:26:00.000-05:002012-01-20T11:26:23.608-05:00Baking With Kids<div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">My mom is the reason that I've gotten into baking. She never ceases to astound and inspire me, especially in the kitchen! I only hope that one day I can have that effect on my own little ones. But, I'm not a mom... yet! But that doesn't mean I don't have a few special little munchkins in my life. So, I'd like to introduce you to my little helper, Hailey!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8rtJ0qVk0z6BV6vDb-mGCwS6RvCIuhpqKZ7L-SucIoWgSu0Kw-bw6eatPFmxYLpt2aCK2VFMPuhOslU57-aD8oWZaC7N11cgujmECaya6B2IL9kupoLMjmPdWYi-CZJd61VclXPyJPs1K/s1600/JanPhotos+011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" nfa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8rtJ0qVk0z6BV6vDb-mGCwS6RvCIuhpqKZ7L-SucIoWgSu0Kw-bw6eatPFmxYLpt2aCK2VFMPuhOslU57-aD8oWZaC7N11cgujmECaya6B2IL9kupoLMjmPdWYi-CZJd61VclXPyJPs1K/s320/JanPhotos+011.jpg" width="213" /></a></div></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This is quite possibly one of the coolest kids I've ever had the fortune of hanging out with. And let me tell you, she knows her baking. So much so that I pretty much read out the ingredients, hung back, and let her do her thing! </span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Since I had a little partner to bake with, I wanted to do something fun and really different but still simple. After searching the web, I decided to try a new spin on cupcakes- baking them in ice cream cones!</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We kept the flavors simple- yellow cake and vanilla buttercream frosting. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">For the cake, I used a recipe from </span><a href="http://allrecipes.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">http://allrecipes.com/</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> as it was very simple and had RAVE reviews. And I can see why, it's a really moist, delicious yellow cake!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"><u>Simple White Cake</u></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtQ3036279gazlhrOJorIgNKNu7R83lFDoLSNbNMWHZTxEMrIzoP4URDLb970-iQOdKl-KpnOG5h4szVHBAnbbl4lYgzFQuIo4NXtn-G9NUqFAc2bic0oo4mE_FdSdrInxaPf43Jc4tPjK/s1600/JanPhotos+010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" nfa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtQ3036279gazlhrOJorIgNKNu7R83lFDoLSNbNMWHZTxEMrIzoP4URDLb970-iQOdKl-KpnOG5h4szVHBAnbbl4lYgzFQuIo4NXtn-G9NUqFAc2bic0oo4mE_FdSdrInxaPf43Jc4tPjK/s320/JanPhotos+010.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">- 1 cup sugar</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">- 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">- 2 eggs</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">- 1 1/2 half cups all-purpose flour</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">- 1 3/4 teaspoon baking powder</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">- 1/2 cup milk</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake tins with ice cream cones and set aside. I used muffin tins since it spaced them out a little more.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlAaNai57-209Uc1ZbuoQpQ6W_4V9Z-2pnT_Z1RGJ1S8OrMM1PlQxENvhZIKjx_zq6eTLiDpuD6imIKqNdoRSxRtlmNSjc2hbMJjEtvMcajQGFuZ5FEIejfy0Zps406vzFTN7lziDUoJZD/s1600/JanPhotos+017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" nfa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlAaNai57-209Uc1ZbuoQpQ6W_4V9Z-2pnT_Z1RGJ1S8OrMM1PlQxENvhZIKjx_zq6eTLiDpuD6imIKqNdoRSxRtlmNSjc2hbMJjEtvMcajQGFuZ5FEIejfy0Zps406vzFTN7lziDUoJZD/s320/JanPhotos+017.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix-v5bvEL39jOkfMngldxDTls2C8CN5i7y_VIis21woyDllApcFOmHqlrNycEvg1sedOwma6Pjs39uGdQnIBXoBX-Q8MS0sRebemS1J6igawWq9DLLI1Evo5d7lEL0mlDFYmBjZGydrQuc/s1600/JanPhotos+018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" nfa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix-v5bvEL39jOkfMngldxDTls2C8CN5i7y_VIis21woyDllApcFOmHqlrNycEvg1sedOwma6Pjs39uGdQnIBXoBX-Q8MS0sRebemS1J6igawWq9DLLI1Evo5d7lEL0mlDFYmBjZGydrQuc/s320/JanPhotos+018.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">2. In a medium bowl, cream together sugar and butter. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then add vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder and add to creamed mixture and mix until incorporated. Stir in milk until batter is smooth. </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB__UI9eo96VMaHs_C0ZtnfYY-_rfkpng3ZaHUUDCPtIavOeUELXwNqTMdkFGIXX_8LHGBaG6VP3iR_UcxX88Ncbe29kFPoaEFN1UERTmfUyWP3SvVzT6D2eFnOcJX0CCUmgwZFVE2lFjj/s1600/JanPhotos+016.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" nfa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB__UI9eo96VMaHs_C0ZtnfYY-_rfkpng3ZaHUUDCPtIavOeUELXwNqTMdkFGIXX_8LHGBaG6VP3iR_UcxX88Ncbe29kFPoaEFN1UERTmfUyWP3SvVzT6D2eFnOcJX0CCUmgwZFVE2lFjj/s320/JanPhotos+016.PNG" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">She was SO good with measuring.</span></em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">3. Pour or spoon batter into cones. I found using an ice cream scooper was the easiest and neatest way to do this.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijVvPiH4xqvjfgHQwmj-bwZhdPE6XdAXP4SEDqiPAT2klzHqBxapZkO6d0lxbSoNqMrf_Mvjuo2i2fQ78z1c7muUy0AHGOJmxpwhU8b1kOtHItoZRXExSmS_e-671q_zo-0fiOKZPQKnti/s1600/JanPhotos+020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" nfa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijVvPiH4xqvjfgHQwmj-bwZhdPE6XdAXP4SEDqiPAT2klzHqBxapZkO6d0lxbSoNqMrf_Mvjuo2i2fQ78z1c7muUy0AHGOJmxpwhU8b1kOtHItoZRXExSmS_e-671q_zo-0fiOKZPQKnti/s320/JanPhotos+020.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">4. Bake 20- 25 minutes. Cupcakes are done when a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool before frosting.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnfjX9_PbgnJXF8wHwequ0E3_R9gkit-uEqVtTMElyfop1qrER8mBM5JGtvuIxy6YfZv92Ld-I2oBdpO2k515AwINdiGrpI3-vT5uxqZuMJ1sVaP8fh7IPkX1A_Y1KxzI3G_5vZLo3TQuD/s1600/JanPhotos+024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" nfa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnfjX9_PbgnJXF8wHwequ0E3_R9gkit-uEqVtTMElyfop1qrER8mBM5JGtvuIxy6YfZv92Ld-I2oBdpO2k515AwINdiGrpI3-vT5uxqZuMJ1sVaP8fh7IPkX1A_Y1KxzI3G_5vZLo3TQuD/s320/JanPhotos+024.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Et voila!</span></em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">From here, we made our tried and true favorite- Wilton's buttercream recipe. You can find the recipe <a href="http://www.howsweetitisny.blogspot.com/2011/12/happy-birthday-daddy.html" target="_blank">here</a> in our football cake post. It only takes a minute or two to whip up and it is delectable. Again, I made Hailey do most of the work.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU0QE8GypswcsflzcHqthdW43ay03MSmBZJWdGGct-BccbCip1ObncS1BPqL37eWC87gB5_3imHBbZlB_mbQgycEDkbCpqQOsq5XnDTMIlqYfQpuJcBlVCqqBtwLkEnr7jGG0wGvvYmqVY/s1600/JanPhotos+025.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" nfa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU0QE8GypswcsflzcHqthdW43ay03MSmBZJWdGGct-BccbCip1ObncS1BPqL37eWC87gB5_3imHBbZlB_mbQgycEDkbCpqQOsq5XnDTMIlqYfQpuJcBlVCqqBtwLkEnr7jGG0wGvvYmqVY/s320/JanPhotos+025.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">And boy did she hate sifting! LOL!</span></em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiearlx6BrmBcZ_vFNjM076MyqcwPGqSfwxUgLCq5gBYB8j-ZbHg5G6pKZLl3S6E1YweMdJYk_GhmFY78rEHIcUZ4U1FBi-a-SeU7e2TSF0AoHc9_qMKE6Cbi66Tuq5LJAyz022z5tOXi7V/s1600/JanPhotos+027.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" nfa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiearlx6BrmBcZ_vFNjM076MyqcwPGqSfwxUgLCq5gBYB8j-ZbHg5G6pKZLl3S6E1YweMdJYk_GhmFY78rEHIcUZ4U1FBi-a-SeU7e2TSF0AoHc9_qMKE6Cbi66Tuq5LJAyz022z5tOXi7V/s320/JanPhotos+027.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><em>But she was cool with it, as long as she got to lick the paddle.</em></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">From here, I piped the buttercream frosting onto our cupcakes cones using a Wilton 2D tip. This is usually my go-to tip for frosting cupcakes. It always comes out looking fancy and leaves room for imperfections.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihfMKJuhsUZi7qKzQanUzJqzx88JwZgMwNfMyZU48KN2oQ-RDe4pWn7QssQ_WRFMb-4jjQYAa37YypF1fiiTaE2SPWzbyCX7NvMxIiHWtmvYIwfb0uQkjvQSVmh-vSebB9IdkGXIkKyU5D/s1600/JanPhotos+028.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" nfa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihfMKJuhsUZi7qKzQanUzJqzx88JwZgMwNfMyZU48KN2oQ-RDe4pWn7QssQ_WRFMb-4jjQYAa37YypF1fiiTaE2SPWzbyCX7NvMxIiHWtmvYIwfb0uQkjvQSVmh-vSebB9IdkGXIkKyU5D/s320/JanPhotos+028.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGKvziwWKZt5XBq22QiMGKcOwU2Lb6MHTJ7hIV_aMBI-gT2vQ_jjXsmPsZBG2B7oyRFp9nIJEgFgXcEenGuRqsI0odNj1SPn6GIeMucVnDj2Y2-4QN49RvyJX-nXHx_FE-FmgCqBtjzLT2/s1600/JanPhotos+030.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" nfa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGKvziwWKZt5XBq22QiMGKcOwU2Lb6MHTJ7hIV_aMBI-gT2vQ_jjXsmPsZBG2B7oyRFp9nIJEgFgXcEenGuRqsI0odNj1SPn6GIeMucVnDj2Y2-4QN49RvyJX-nXHx_FE-FmgCqBtjzLT2/s320/JanPhotos+030.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgElYL2_nDsZG1skEG32Dp0Mx43Ub_L6IkBKua8D5JuTyO56A2KWWzFlVqsKehe-N3aNhDV_P2dB4-1tH3VXaftdjnU-xE3jHkm-J9Y9A6SU6OH_4GloUQ6zT152r9iQwXAzbISlu3WwW8W/s1600/JanPhotos+040.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" nfa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgElYL2_nDsZG1skEG32Dp0Mx43Ub_L6IkBKua8D5JuTyO56A2KWWzFlVqsKehe-N3aNhDV_P2dB4-1tH3VXaftdjnU-xE3jHkm-J9Y9A6SU6OH_4GloUQ6zT152r9iQwXAzbISlu3WwW8W/s320/JanPhotos+040.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">After eating one (okay, two), I realized we forgot to add sprinkles! Whoops!</span></em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-voJ75OQQ67H4pkkDL5pKnQBhWY1oYerx3MfxeNb-F_wABF-n16Uiq4QDgn6GKb6wfmOQbAPsZgnmZE9ijk2M5yY1J0gaAaTn5BIzAl31mWHPDNJ3Hitl31Onz5eH90FTbtUY0AxiAMA_/s1600/JanPhotos+046.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" nfa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-voJ75OQQ67H4pkkDL5pKnQBhWY1oYerx3MfxeNb-F_wABF-n16Uiq4QDgn6GKb6wfmOQbAPsZgnmZE9ijk2M5yY1J0gaAaTn5BIzAl31mWHPDNJ3Hitl31Onz5eH90FTbtUY0AxiAMA_/s320/JanPhotos+046.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Thanks again for stopping by!</span></em></div><div align="center" style="text-align: center;"></div>How Sweet It Ishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17909654288159079568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8216153741972658493.post-71104963724066415632012-01-17T17:15:00.001-05:002012-01-18T16:17:10.786-05:00S'Mores Cupcakes<div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This blog post all started with a Christmas gift from, you guessed it! My momma. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I have been dying to try this recipe out, but I've been lacking the tool that makes it <strong>fun</strong>.</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrEWPxgSLoyS4bf4lwpbarLabO4cic9ZLgd0d3k4Wtqmyps61qs_LtDtmhn7KM2yCDYnGCzjqXh_AOOWp1asK31vFsuQgLRLI9UtzabM5aPavGBjzLIbvadYT8VQZbAbBrIRbNxAJG3BPd/s1600/SmoresnLadybug+063.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrEWPxgSLoyS4bf4lwpbarLabO4cic9ZLgd0d3k4Wtqmyps61qs_LtDtmhn7KM2yCDYnGCzjqXh_AOOWp1asK31vFsuQgLRLI9UtzabM5aPavGBjzLIbvadYT8VQZbAbBrIRbNxAJG3BPd/s320/SmoresnLadybug+063.jpg" width="229" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><em> A kitchen torch!!</em></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">So much fun for such a tiny, dangerous little object! My husband was a little afraid of me when I was using it. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzuWLr3r-kdCNJt-pBTqh73w_4hKFBM-jjOeaN1WkHIgdKJCkj4QfQ4wYCTkmmqcow5t8DsVzM7aos9ZtxuqRDRdUGDZxZBgrSeOKNX_YkterDnrPP81Qec3RN7zovckpbbGFTWROMyW_T/s1600/SmoresnLadybug+066.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzuWLr3r-kdCNJt-pBTqh73w_4hKFBM-jjOeaN1WkHIgdKJCkj4QfQ4wYCTkmmqcow5t8DsVzM7aos9ZtxuqRDRdUGDZxZBgrSeOKNX_YkterDnrPP81Qec3RN7zovckpbbGFTWROMyW_T/s320/SmoresnLadybug+066.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><em>Heh heh heh. </em></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Other than this and creme brulee, I have no idea what you would need a kitchen torch for. But for $10, it's worth the thrill of toasting your homemade marshmallow frosting that tops that delectable chocolate cupcake you just whipped up. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">This recipe is from <a href="http://www.marthastewart.com/332838/chocolate-graham-cracker-cupcakes-with-t" target="_blank">Martha Stewart's website</a>, although this isn't an original recipe of hers. I'm not going to lie, I was intimidated a little bit by this recipe, especially the marshmallow frosting, but I threw up my arms and figured "Why the heck not?!" I am SO glad I did.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><u><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;">Chocolate Graham Cracker Cupcakes</span></u></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKfSTXtsH7pfaYutbnR1yZA6gq42RzUPrzUAdIsPpLOcXX4yRhpizEUND-mxDXt7oYhPPETyR5p7d7Hr4REJSAptY3JLbb-5FejLtFdX-niFC95fxtGHklz6cl1s6PLOMyYPBV_rVHZ-sH/s1600/SmoresnLadybug+006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="202" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKfSTXtsH7pfaYutbnR1yZA6gq42RzUPrzUAdIsPpLOcXX4yRhpizEUND-mxDXt7oYhPPETyR5p7d7Hr4REJSAptY3JLbb-5FejLtFdX-niFC95fxtGHklz6cl1s6PLOMyYPBV_rVHZ-sH/s320/SmoresnLadybug+006.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><em>I know, it's a lot of ingredients. I promise it's easy though!</em></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">- 2 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">-1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">-3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon cocoa powder (NOT Dutch-processed)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">-1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">-1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">-1 teaspoon salt</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">-2 large eggs</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">-1 cup whole milk</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">-1/2 cup vegetable oil</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">-2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">-1 cup boiling water</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">-1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">-1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">-9 ounces semi-sweet chocolate morsels (3/4 of the bag)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 cupcake tins with liners and set aside.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">2. Sift 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar (you should still have 1/4 cup of sugar leftover, set aside), flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Mix until all ingredients are incorporated.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_n927ciba-09JgiGNQPD6ein7HGL2IpxgOOF1L1wahjCHIixB76IN1m20Qlud5EKkBlKIWEUFRs57cBxWdZMZVpHSTur5SqiAArBF8TpEa4LkCLSgpEGx_pQUeR_90g1jSSLZcFwzv0Ly/s1600/SmoresnLadybug+019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_n927ciba-09JgiGNQPD6ein7HGL2IpxgOOF1L1wahjCHIixB76IN1m20Qlud5EKkBlKIWEUFRs57cBxWdZMZVpHSTur5SqiAArBF8TpEa4LkCLSgpEGx_pQUeR_90g1jSSLZcFwzv0Ly/s320/SmoresnLadybug+019.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">3. In a separate bowl, mix together eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Add flour to mixture and beat on medium speed for 30 seconds. Scrape sides of the bowl and continue beating on medium for an additional 2 minutes. Add boiling water and stir to combine.* Set cake batter aside.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">*Before I added the boiling water, my cake batter looked pretty good. It definitely looked like batter and I was so hesitant to add this water. I thought it would be a disgusting, liquid mess. I was wrong! I'm glad I listened to Martha! ;o)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">4. Place graham cracker crumbs, 1/4 cup sugar, and melted butter in a large bowl. Stir to combine.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiePOJIDD76gbUJ_b0P24cWIzwQ_gPvxXWLVhSD4ioWwYE7GgpQzOGHRrU5brEhw7GYNptBS-gpsCRCls-vZM2AScEKzouBbrg6yBnzSBCii2dlM9bIV-POakbNWXIjas8b9f7CjisBMhze/s1600/SmoresnLadybug+046.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiePOJIDD76gbUJ_b0P24cWIzwQ_gPvxXWLVhSD4ioWwYE7GgpQzOGHRrU5brEhw7GYNptBS-gpsCRCls-vZM2AScEKzouBbrg6yBnzSBCii2dlM9bIV-POakbNWXIjas8b9f7CjisBMhze/s320/SmoresnLadybug+046.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">5. Place 1 tablespoon of graham cracker mixture into the bottom of the liners. Using your fingers (or the bottom of a glass, like Martha suggests), gently pack crumbs into liner. You should have some graham cracker mixture left over. Put this to the side to sprinkle on top of cupcake batter.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_lBfHOTnmup2VqDznZc2oA436AXwRfOK2iK9-_uWQ_Za2EEyZSjsnyCc6uLMlBoj9137-tAnNABq-asGijlRpiF62woD4FVzrNTBJzvK0i4BdC0zn9W_mjsp4RrnJVsz7E-_HWHr-BFNP/s1600/SmoresnLadybug+044.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_lBfHOTnmup2VqDznZc2oA436AXwRfOK2iK9-_uWQ_Za2EEyZSjsnyCc6uLMlBoj9137-tAnNABq-asGijlRpiF62woD4FVzrNTBJzvK0i4BdC0zn9W_mjsp4RrnJVsz7E-_HWHr-BFNP/s320/SmoresnLadybug+044.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">6. Place 2 teaspoons semi-sweet chocolate in each liner. </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1SYNLhZ5BGMWDA6MxvFiEqHaY6BIs4jZ-cI8qI2EoEF8Mz67wNgUprp1ozJ1YMFaHgS6V-fPYqDW0skuycL_JE1M7HhZVOPnpSHa2VKP7D68osNd8oq321EYtWdubBhG_EV5ow9ZVNH-4/s1600/SmoresnLadybug+041.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1SYNLhZ5BGMWDA6MxvFiEqHaY6BIs4jZ-cI8qI2EoEF8Mz67wNgUprp1ozJ1YMFaHgS6V-fPYqDW0skuycL_JE1M7HhZVOPnpSHa2VKP7D68osNd8oq321EYtWdubBhG_EV5ow9ZVNH-4/s320/SmoresnLadybug+041.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Bake until the edges of the graham crackers are a golden brown, about 6 minutes. Remove from oven and fill each liner 3/4-full with chocolate cake batter. Sprinkle leftover chocolate and graham crackers over cake batter.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2EV0r2G4fNf3e_ORGsppbNyagrvLE6TTR9mjcvRktAHFsBTMLLLKUcBzuN9ucPde4UVxNDO3GTaDLxUAFoLJFJ7M_ebpVIzYAYNxOhpkeatcorqU2SLxSbfoYBa4T2pbHzWKJKtUPHhYV/s1600/SmoresnLadybug+049.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2EV0r2G4fNf3e_ORGsppbNyagrvLE6TTR9mjcvRktAHFsBTMLLLKUcBzuN9ucPde4UVxNDO3GTaDLxUAFoLJFJ7M_ebpVIzYAYNxOhpkeatcorqU2SLxSbfoYBa4T2pbHzWKJKtUPHhYV/s320/SmoresnLadybug+049.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">7. Bake cupcakes for about 17-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in tops of cupcakes comes out clean. Let cupcakes cool for at least 1/2 hour before topping.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaPuIWm8cM4bN6ARd0U_n-co37fkqJuRPFDgfsuX4wl6CwBanBKFurUNYXzMoTPtJfToR1WKoC-3-Bs4YUbh5QtOR4CEngWe4J7FVcM7GkYnLYQT7pD4arZMh4fuGfgYpKa_rOyAag57u2/s1600/SmoresnLadybug+074.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaPuIWm8cM4bN6ARd0U_n-co37fkqJuRPFDgfsuX4wl6CwBanBKFurUNYXzMoTPtJfToR1WKoC-3-Bs4YUbh5QtOR4CEngWe4J7FVcM7GkYnLYQT7pD4arZMh4fuGfgYpKa_rOyAag57u2/s320/SmoresnLadybug+074.PNG" width="244" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><u><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">Marshmallow Frosting</span></u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeKf682oDmZEs-PAKPft8HR6D39Mczq8zt1rCr8KAlr7bFbEmKOcu5hJb3DvIVJ71jDF5MXNhPVXEj4hKumIjHJ89VWLKC0N6W07M2Uaf0LOs79D4JLxsSnIizmM1DWrIWLAeELUeDPdOI/s1600/SmoresnLadybug+073.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="261" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeKf682oDmZEs-PAKPft8HR6D39Mczq8zt1rCr8KAlr7bFbEmKOcu5hJb3DvIVJ71jDF5MXNhPVXEj4hKumIjHJ89VWLKC0N6W07M2Uaf0LOs79D4JLxsSnIizmM1DWrIWLAeELUeDPdOI/s320/SmoresnLadybug+073.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">-8 large egg whites</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">-2 cups sugar</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">-1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">-2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1. Place egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in a heatproof bowl (I used my stand mixer's bowl after verifying that it was indeed heatproof!). Set over a saucepan of simmering water. Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved* and egg whites are warm to the touch, about 3 to 4 minutes.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjevKbyHRgcxe3PjYxogVBc6ejm41hfmIc8N4mbRu3pIjIWiOEVEU-QJKVld3fdzYPdSllvlHf8RXixpSw6ubYuaHnO81FYsPeuWNaOcasHiZkyAaqPDsPizwAGp3kO8f7UY71dDceBk7Vm/s1600/SmoresnLadybug+082.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjevKbyHRgcxe3PjYxogVBc6ejm41hfmIc8N4mbRu3pIjIWiOEVEU-QJKVld3fdzYPdSllvlHf8RXixpSw6ubYuaHnO81FYsPeuWNaOcasHiZkyAaqPDsPizwAGp3kO8f7UY71dDceBk7Vm/s320/SmoresnLadybug+082.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><em>You can see the sugar still stuck along the edges of the bowl, but this is pretty much what your mixture will look like.</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">*A great tip I learned to tell if the sugar is dissolved: pick up a little bit of the mixture in between your fingers and rub them together. If it still feels grainy, keep whisking it on the double boiler.*</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">2. Transfer bowl to electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment and beat starting on low speed. Gradually increase speed to highest until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 5-7 minutes.* Add vanilla and mix until combined.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiatsuFhLXeQyBiUrLBlIalXAH8k8oLCL-_R7AQn-9G2mguTwcR4p2ksvIU2ZGCXlu0Yc7LgVbGRk_EvCbNLkHvak3DDAZKFzkJdtrJaYheGaXu1T5-nl1lfQxtUZB-G3qAYZOckhhoGbEu/s1600/SmoresnLadybug+084.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiatsuFhLXeQyBiUrLBlIalXAH8k8oLCL-_R7AQn-9G2mguTwcR4p2ksvIU2ZGCXlu0Yc7LgVbGRk_EvCbNLkHvak3DDAZKFzkJdtrJaYheGaXu1T5-nl1lfQxtUZB-G3qAYZOckhhoGbEu/s320/SmoresnLadybug+084.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><em>That peak is a thing of beauty!</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">*This is another step I was unsure of. The way my egg white mixture looked, I never dreamed it would whip into anything that I could pipe onto a cupcake and consider tasty. Wrong again! I started on the lowest speed and increased my speed one notch just about every minute until I got to 10 right at the 6 minute mark. It was actually pretty cool to watch- I wish I had taken more photos, but I was a little nervous it wasn't going to come out right so I didn't want to walk away!*</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">From here, I piped the frosting onto the cupcakes with Wilton's 2D tip. This icing piped onto this cupcake SO beautifully. It is somehow very firm when you pipe it, yet incredibly soft when you bite into it. It astounds me! </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">And now the scary part! The torching! Since I was on my own for this project, I couldn't take photos of the actual torching. BOO! But I assure you it was fun and easy. This icing was MADE to be toasted! lol! So without further ado, I present you, S'Mores Cupcakes!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA7rxHm94OaU_6ojdl4ppK0ESRCzq8twVW-H8YdwR-P-5E_zv-mxho00x23zGffQHW9bhEw60DROtbfQqOKleDS76VJ22Q_NhUVJQC6aqHjEQsiY-cbsF1eLvA4eeAvAhZv9FKyfPqAPKY/s1600/SmoresnLadybug+089.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA7rxHm94OaU_6ojdl4ppK0ESRCzq8twVW-H8YdwR-P-5E_zv-mxho00x23zGffQHW9bhEw60DROtbfQqOKleDS76VJ22Q_NhUVJQC6aqHjEQsiY-cbsF1eLvA4eeAvAhZv9FKyfPqAPKY/s320/SmoresnLadybug+089.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE9Hz-Hxg-F7dl0vrY8_OG_NwJ2oQrRn4UlbArn30ZP_teNbRnZFnbOJ55fllFkHDVMUf4fH_CwfmADP0I2dvn1L-BRkyN8PGHTszNgpHYMCTHq0gBK_RFAV72Ctm2xqwZAOpMj93hTT34/s1600/SmoresnLadybug+086.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE9Hz-Hxg-F7dl0vrY8_OG_NwJ2oQrRn4UlbArn30ZP_teNbRnZFnbOJ55fllFkHDVMUf4fH_CwfmADP0I2dvn1L-BRkyN8PGHTszNgpHYMCTHq0gBK_RFAV72Ctm2xqwZAOpMj93hTT34/s320/SmoresnLadybug+086.PNG" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><em>I could not get over how much these actually tasted like a s'more! Especially the marshmallow frosting considering there was not a SINGLE marshmallow in the whole thing! Bananas! </em></span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh36w1U7YcfPlfq1Qnc4lMISgDbcW1xA0kJAElO3l_2ZE_jpYUhtXHv_nzR4f0bKxnRjHm8AArmsyoYjmsiTN2fkEn1HPJ0kJuhL8mRCznag7rDV8Ux38hciXQQdoQXYUdjOYJ7tB5t5uD/s1600/SmoresnLadybug+090.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh36w1U7YcfPlfq1Qnc4lMISgDbcW1xA0kJAElO3l_2ZE_jpYUhtXHv_nzR4f0bKxnRjHm8AArmsyoYjmsiTN2fkEn1HPJ0kJuhL8mRCznag7rDV8Ux38hciXQQdoQXYUdjOYJ7tB5t5uD/s320/SmoresnLadybug+090.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Thanks for checking us out everyone!</span></div>How Sweet It Ishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17909654288159079568noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8216153741972658493.post-71039987473975306882012-01-17T16:14:00.001-05:002012-01-18T16:18:55.139-05:00Christmas with How Sweet It Is<div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">As you all know, the holidays are the perfect excuse to go crazy with delectable desserts. New Year's Day and a clean slate are right around the corner so might as well live it up on Christmas!!</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR344lQFMHSz2JYGVjmNZDdQYYgKFg6zfsI-pJT4XX7JCgQFezsbPuo4aOxS9N09yagW3J8MsNTe_VdOOnZygakuBKVCcuel8QNJ6KWrrdbDDtm0X-y7XdDScFX_nYboB0rhehEHT99eWQ/s1600/Christmas+073.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR344lQFMHSz2JYGVjmNZDdQYYgKFg6zfsI-pJT4XX7JCgQFezsbPuo4aOxS9N09yagW3J8MsNTe_VdOOnZygakuBKVCcuel8QNJ6KWrrdbDDtm0X-y7XdDScFX_nYboB0rhehEHT99eWQ/s320/Christmas+073.PNG" width="213" /></a></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This year, my mom and I decided to make a dessert table for everyone. We decided not to stick to a color scheme, but to have a Gingerbread House with an explosion of colorful candies be our centerpiece. In other desserts we used a lot of red and green... it is Christmas after all!</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Now since Christmas was sooooo busy, I didn't really get to photograph the step by step process for you so this blog post is pretty much a bunch of pretty pictures. Let's be real, you probably skip over half of my ramblings anyway! =)</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Enjoy!!</span></div><div align="center"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIJpWV5QecLX2uUwtWIRtRtrplUXDbor5zk19xG8Uc4ZhZf_4qRiqwcti_DnjECqEUXHMlMDLkfTrn3_1pP9NXgJn6ECgaCtC-2qlmsN9cU8jdnDoa4GoMj9o6xlXjzqShc6UjblfaMTKt/s1600/Christmas+121.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIJpWV5QecLX2uUwtWIRtRtrplUXDbor5zk19xG8Uc4ZhZf_4qRiqwcti_DnjECqEUXHMlMDLkfTrn3_1pP9NXgJn6ECgaCtC-2qlmsN9cU8jdnDoa4GoMj9o6xlXjzqShc6UjblfaMTKt/s320/Christmas+121.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Our dessert table!</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">(Chocolate Buttercream Cupcakes, Rice Pudding with Fresh Strawberries, Christmas Tree Brownies, Christmas Cake, Gingerbread House, Christmas Themed Chocolate Covered Oreos, Royal Icing decorated Sugar Cookies, Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, Petit Fours, and Mini Cheesecakes including Classic, Chocolate, and Red Velvet. PHEW!)</span></div><div align="center"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMxSEv1dbpP8cQR6JT9wVtEACgarAbGjcJGuEmHGw8hRzAnhXsDSsMLn79LgOkh_O_zwsrvQmuw3th7NYZrjZG2XBKLdQ2m4MzBzFc_GeCrYHFSjGe4i8ezoti9dDxxYCmcvC7W6JQXKA-/s1600/Christmas+139.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMxSEv1dbpP8cQR6JT9wVtEACgarAbGjcJGuEmHGw8hRzAnhXsDSsMLn79LgOkh_O_zwsrvQmuw3th7NYZrjZG2XBKLdQ2m4MzBzFc_GeCrYHFSjGe4i8ezoti9dDxxYCmcvC7W6JQXKA-/s320/Christmas+139.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvm3RpukP0A6tUdon5yA09qmE64ftplhyoKWu_usQf8r1_jPRc5u7Y1W4bbSbhOj8q2gB03vFgiHZBp-ctO-IYI0-pF-KmGekVONCllVMhjEmbLfjMsGPF8fFBWYzlfh40FjEQC1cpo4F9/s1600/Christmas+063.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvm3RpukP0A6tUdon5yA09qmE64ftplhyoKWu_usQf8r1_jPRc5u7Y1W4bbSbhOj8q2gB03vFgiHZBp-ctO-IYI0-pF-KmGekVONCllVMhjEmbLfjMsGPF8fFBWYzlfh40FjEQC1cpo4F9/s320/Christmas+063.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Our Gingerbred House. <3</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8oGBktwqHRLqMIqawXB6ju6XC5umJBaWDZr_RHQx1mku4Mf-I9lfpFa1VJEGACoqrBVRnKKhOnOIkpaJisI4jRyEXkrJCMckC6j6AvStM-G0SMxRRmq9ulYl95R77cs_yk3Ro899UxNKV/s1600/Christmas+071.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8oGBktwqHRLqMIqawXB6ju6XC5umJBaWDZr_RHQx1mku4Mf-I9lfpFa1VJEGACoqrBVRnKKhOnOIkpaJisI4jRyEXkrJCMckC6j6AvStM-G0SMxRRmq9ulYl95R77cs_yk3Ro899UxNKV/s320/Christmas+071.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBz0bdhWjvVUdmgmMA86fDReCoZhUBJvOq2HqQ6-q_gSGYypkP8bD051E0oRztCT26qJWdMrpr_2J_ZtexeEIJegFT47EFPfERZ_6ZdrFiIIPzbSso5Xiee6fAhFgTuEFDRL4J_Gc0KWFq/s1600/Christmas+092.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBz0bdhWjvVUdmgmMA86fDReCoZhUBJvOq2HqQ6-q_gSGYypkP8bD051E0oRztCT26qJWdMrpr_2J_ZtexeEIJegFT47EFPfERZ_6ZdrFiIIPzbSso5Xiee6fAhFgTuEFDRL4J_Gc0KWFq/s320/Christmas+092.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj91tzXn1QJ3ShF4CSjY92Mj7FJiTsFtuKCwDnCm2e1rX6OlZeB5OB8ThYhaYzx1m8AXLKsFRTIGPTnxMSXwjyOKmyPQAoaskjebP836G1t-rbQMUbA2BarcL83btC0Jn70J-LDTMGzz9kI/s1600/Christmas+106.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj91tzXn1QJ3ShF4CSjY92Mj7FJiTsFtuKCwDnCm2e1rX6OlZeB5OB8ThYhaYzx1m8AXLKsFRTIGPTnxMSXwjyOKmyPQAoaskjebP836G1t-rbQMUbA2BarcL83btC0Jn70J-LDTMGzz9kI/s320/Christmas+106.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Our Christmas Cake!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsY-uPWXu5qWoLxA5fHeTkQzrum33HnR6z6Wc8H_E5-XuC8GXSS8tmeIYV_aFo_ilTBHIMYTDas5BAsDdrX9Fs0dv4jAKCJLvHaCzx_Ppxg-F-YmpyAdxCmlDtnyxOaxYWrRWx6-Y-VdmM/s1600/Christmas+131.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="301" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsY-uPWXu5qWoLxA5fHeTkQzrum33HnR6z6Wc8H_E5-XuC8GXSS8tmeIYV_aFo_ilTBHIMYTDas5BAsDdrX9Fs0dv4jAKCJLvHaCzx_Ppxg-F-YmpyAdxCmlDtnyxOaxYWrRWx6-Y-VdmM/s320/Christmas+131.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Royal Icing Decorated Sugar Cookies</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj893fjBrLf_bVpwJlD-vjHSu5Viplr-Pz7TzX7VGZdGeqTPKqHSIKQWKpQLuoKdCT9l-uYxzA8PmH3zXpgDs42XbQjoPcPbTJR8Nvacku_te2Q3H1_CEHihdE-wOkZiUuSnM6dPSz_UkeW/s1600/Christmas+132.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj893fjBrLf_bVpwJlD-vjHSu5Viplr-Pz7TzX7VGZdGeqTPKqHSIKQWKpQLuoKdCT9l-uYxzA8PmH3zXpgDs42XbQjoPcPbTJR8Nvacku_te2Q3H1_CEHihdE-wOkZiUuSnM6dPSz_UkeW/s320/Christmas+132.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Christmas Tree Shaped Brownies</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglK8ykQiyr7VZPmgdynWzWzaOszqTTHAmAX5oiYwAUdtuKmfkm6C_Zmq7irqY3bzlf8YLENMmq_c_6OUzeVmnXxKw4GC-92e-bI9dJAU8kMjssrnFuTH-EdgK-I3Ga8BR2XRP2OjZNy1O5/s1600/Christmas+133.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglK8ykQiyr7VZPmgdynWzWzaOszqTTHAmAX5oiYwAUdtuKmfkm6C_Zmq7irqY3bzlf8YLENMmq_c_6OUzeVmnXxKw4GC-92e-bI9dJAU8kMjssrnFuTH-EdgK-I3Ga8BR2XRP2OjZNy1O5/s320/Christmas+133.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Christmas Themed Chocolate Covered Oreos</span></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK78Uixy6ioXueeLsOEUv6_yh1OiL7qgcuin1AUF9V41zpLLMXIMQVSO_NrhvMJv7lJcDNTgPg0IV-Qsf0hNTMYggJ0_zXS4UagEqbdzSNL33PrBE2aWPb7DNs0Fk_XUwxfYadFIjtktDW/s1600/Christmas+151.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK78Uixy6ioXueeLsOEUv6_yh1OiL7qgcuin1AUF9V41zpLLMXIMQVSO_NrhvMJv7lJcDNTgPg0IV-Qsf0hNTMYggJ0_zXS4UagEqbdzSNL33PrBE2aWPb7DNs0Fk_XUwxfYadFIjtktDW/s320/Christmas+151.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Chocolate Buttercream Cupcakes</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg6z8OttrraiyuLFZWuDatm6o_kA9lzlmZrNAa-f90oiTzPu4-jZERjSCJWcMIfPcXSWl513ive4ET02BTFJj7g21QEbLo2P96hnqAeYPRP3x0l7ymA3HJ1cGNLoxVGKDDW9MzvvT8VUCl/s1600/Christmas+144.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg6z8OttrraiyuLFZWuDatm6o_kA9lzlmZrNAa-f90oiTzPu4-jZERjSCJWcMIfPcXSWl513ive4ET02BTFJj7g21QEbLo2P96hnqAeYPRP3x0l7ymA3HJ1cGNLoxVGKDDW9MzvvT8VUCl/s320/Christmas+144.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Assorted Mini Cheesecakes</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">(Including Classic, Chocolate, and Red Velvet)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinY9RfYhRaousVqKfHTpDsa8iHzMkxZkgwu5hT5phL7FyRfn8c1dbnkA0ATAMnx1Esgua-Btxkj3HENGKosdUU66ItGPvi2Zl51E7uZ5zpwlnRLfB6PO_O4pT28YU7MhwAhpEjBE3OUV1G/s1600/Christmas+180.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinY9RfYhRaousVqKfHTpDsa8iHzMkxZkgwu5hT5phL7FyRfn8c1dbnkA0ATAMnx1Esgua-Btxkj3HENGKosdUU66ItGPvi2Zl51E7uZ5zpwlnRLfB6PO_O4pT28YU7MhwAhpEjBE3OUV1G/s320/Christmas+180.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />
<div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Rice Pudding Shots</span></div><div align="center"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4rOsmXDtWibWh7Oc2RP0JOFIIkfrqDkesRDGB63cSj1IPF6MqMgmPBAkDfNNzS2rIFPLw7ZgPo-vqz0dLlCVlk4jpIJCg0uKSWu3aBDP1g129lcdxO7tn3IYzidv6js8GRBDccOxSoyWw/s1600/Christmas+033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4rOsmXDtWibWh7Oc2RP0JOFIIkfrqDkesRDGB63cSj1IPF6MqMgmPBAkDfNNzS2rIFPLw7ZgPo-vqz0dLlCVlk4jpIJCg0uKSWu3aBDP1g129lcdxO7tn3IYzidv6js8GRBDccOxSoyWw/s320/Christmas+033.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!!!</span></div>How Sweet It Ishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17909654288159079568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8216153741972658493.post-89797565738909008512011-12-16T13:25:00.000-05:002011-12-16T13:25:16.628-05:00Giraffe Cake.<div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">First and foremost, let me apologize that this blog post is a little late. My darling husband made it to the playoffs in his Fantasy Football League so I wasn't allowed near the computer Sunday or Monday. Unfortunately, he also made it to the semi-finals. LOL! So 'm certain the computer will be off-limits again this weekend.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Anyway this past</span> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">weekend was the birthday of one of our friends, Megan. Let me just take a minute to give Megan a shout out. Megan volunteers at a children's psychiatric hospital with her dog. They go around and visit the units and cheer up the kids. This year, in lieu of birthday gifts for herself, Megan asked us all to donate gifts to the hospital for the kids. They try to discharge as many children for the holidays as they can, but some simply cannot. Hopefully at least a gift on Christmas morning will help brighten their holiday.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO-iOY_ittT5EsZjIMNV-F2e-j3Ty5e3Xa8l25oL_Y_qsJTZpznBsJEnYlRWZZsITgRNTevi8BOTtJwwv4kBNtbi5Vzdo1QmlPadCV-PXA86GdhVT3uefc4OKBs8uZgblTIHp1L5dsOtxH/s1600/IMG_6506b.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320px" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO-iOY_ittT5EsZjIMNV-F2e-j3Ty5e3Xa8l25oL_Y_qsJTZpznBsJEnYlRWZZsITgRNTevi8BOTtJwwv4kBNtbi5Vzdo1QmlPadCV-PXA86GdhVT3uefc4OKBs8uZgblTIHp1L5dsOtxH/s320/IMG_6506b.PNG" width="213px" /></a></div><em><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The tree complete with presents for the kids.</span></em> <br />
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</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">In light of her generosity, I wanted to do something special for Megan for her birthday. I asked her boyfriend if it would be okay to make her birthday cake for her and he agreed, so long as it was red velvet. That was the easy part. I asked him what is something she loves and he told me simply "giraffes." Huh. We'll figure out a way to do this. I did a quick google search and found <a href="http://www.madbaker.net/2007/10/mad-about-a-giraffe-cake/" target="_blank">this idea from www.madbaker.net/.</a> Apparently, the giraffe design is from an old Wilton cake decorating book, "Discover the Fun of Cake Decorating." We didn't have this book, but we were able to save the photo from her blog and blow it up and use it as a template this way.</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">We decided to use royal icing just like the Mad Baker did. If you're wondering what royal icing is, it's the sweet icing that you often find on top of sugar cookies. It's great for decorating since it hardens and keeps well. You can make royal icing decorations on wax paper and store them in tupperware for months to use whenever you need them. In fact, I did just that a few weeks ago. I made royal icing flowers in blue, pink, and purple and stored them in tupperware. They came in handy for a few little embellishments on our cake today! </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDHWbbrpwW2KMQPwL_cFGQYq-55e8zCHXNNvNPUm6vE4bH6uXvM-9gydnmMOa497HZjJGXkKz8oDPocYDlO9sJJBQs5qyhYYmHDMpOAbgglLh7tMfKKA9tkAJgLE7EqM5zo5ywv9Kg9WTF/s1600/IMG_6484b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213px" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDHWbbrpwW2KMQPwL_cFGQYq-55e8zCHXNNvNPUm6vE4bH6uXvM-9gydnmMOa497HZjJGXkKz8oDPocYDlO9sJJBQs5qyhYYmHDMpOAbgglLh7tMfKKA9tkAJgLE7EqM5zo5ywv9Kg9WTF/s320/IMG_6484b.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">We always use the recipe for royal icing from <a href="http://www.wilton.com/recipe/Royal-Icing" target="_blank">Wilton.</a> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;"><u>Royal Icing</u></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">-3 Tablespoons Meringue Powder</span><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
-4 cups (about 1 lb.) confectioners' sugar, sifted<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">-6 tablespoons warm water</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">-Gel Food Coloring (As Needed)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">1. Sift 4 cups confectioners' sugar into a large bowl. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">2. Add meringue powder and water and beat on medium speed until stiff peaks form. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">*From here your icing can be thinned or thickened as necessary. For outlining or making flowers, you might want to add a little more powdered sugar to thicken your icing. For filling in your design or covering an entire cookie, you should thin your icing by adding more water.*</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">We divided the royal icing into 3 parts for the 3 colors we needed. We used brown royal icing to make the outline of the giraffe. To do the outline, I recommend thickening your icing. We didn't use a tip at all, we just filled decorating bags and snipped a very small part of the tip off. It worked perfectly.</span></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi67jdPFPnIouitt_4CA9LyGpMYDnN97WHQJnTq6vc9dfg6OIiSU8NfiG-O36llQ295PWJhsAyzEJxnkA6LftlbEM1Re511rQgcn2XxYjBdKcMFWvkmlBvJCx52hKVyxYSqVNUNYcNNppZr/s1600/IMG_6443b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213px" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi67jdPFPnIouitt_4CA9LyGpMYDnN97WHQJnTq6vc9dfg6OIiSU8NfiG-O36llQ295PWJhsAyzEJxnkA6LftlbEM1Re511rQgcn2XxYjBdKcMFWvkmlBvJCx52hKVyxYSqVNUNYcNNppZr/s320/IMG_6443b.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We taped the giraffe template to a cookie sheet with wax paper taped over it to keep it steady while we traced the design. First, we outlined the entire thing in brown and let it set for about a half an hour. We filled the brown parts first. Then we filled the orange spots and then finally the yellow body. We left it in the fridge overnight to set.</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5PH1C5MPI_cabPday9apu4g41Um7FDPHQyTf9iQdpDRrbGNgouanWiTOH_cwJRYMybH955eaoWt3FD4xB63KqcFuZYOikT7CJk-dscboWppIuJq7GHw7hXUXZ5uuV9yVsLxzbc0BnUy7x/s1600/IMG_6459b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320px" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5PH1C5MPI_cabPday9apu4g41Um7FDPHQyTf9iQdpDRrbGNgouanWiTOH_cwJRYMybH955eaoWt3FD4xB63KqcFuZYOikT7CJk-dscboWppIuJq7GHw7hXUXZ5uuV9yVsLxzbc0BnUy7x/s320/IMG_6459b.jpg" width="142px" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We used a large Wilton cake pan (12x18) which took 3 batches of our red velvet cake recipe, but we'll save that recipe for another post. We cut the cake in half lengthwise for layering. Next, we used our homemade cream cheese frosting to layer and crumb coat our long cake. We always use <a href="http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?sku=409-789" target="_blank">Wilton's tip #789</a> to crumb coat our cake. It's easier and neat than spreading it on entirely. We do usually spread the icing so there are no seams, but since the royal icing giraffe would be covering most of the top of the cake it didn't matter.</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_3gTkc8Umc0iZj7z2PG8PLDcdCLtpDl9J4pHrJpnUHtqdOkQlsRhBfBMWxXYl8ZLJBPkxHELsTuit456b3Z7D4mUnaCBQbtkT8g9gS0sFGTPmE_XD8bBjsvVBO8RWnzQcvkQrpvVlODoB/s1600/IMG_6488b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213px" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_3gTkc8Umc0iZj7z2PG8PLDcdCLtpDl9J4pHrJpnUHtqdOkQlsRhBfBMWxXYl8ZLJBPkxHELsTuit456b3Z7D4mUnaCBQbtkT8g9gS0sFGTPmE_XD8bBjsvVBO8RWnzQcvkQrpvVlODoB/s320/IMG_6488b.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">For the cream cheese frosting, we used a recipe from my mom's signed copy of Paula Deen's Southern Cooking Bible. It was a birthday present for my mom from her co-workers and she's been trying a ton of new recipes. We decided to give this cream cheese recipe a shot and it turned out delicious.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6vpc_DRe0mCsvrmDMScExUCA1XR99h6I7tWiYLyNCslrccT0avuY-Kag9JZSPjhIn7WopADUrn-4dRZ0G4GQN738PakY5Q_w1W4ss5kZquL9_DQoJsr8CwUm5QpHZ_jnCZtEc86MtqVBe/s1600/IMG_6472b.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320px" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6vpc_DRe0mCsvrmDMScExUCA1XR99h6I7tWiYLyNCslrccT0avuY-Kag9JZSPjhIn7WopADUrn-4dRZ0G4GQN738PakY5Q_w1W4ss5kZquL9_DQoJsr8CwUm5QpHZ_jnCZtEc86MtqVBe/s320/IMG_6472b.PNG" width="220px" /></a></div><br />
<div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"><u>Cream Cheese Icing</u></span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">-1 package cream cheese (8 ounces) at room temperature</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">-8 tablespoons butter (1 stick) at room temperature</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">-1 tablespoon vanilla extract</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">-6 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted*</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">*The recipe didn't call for the sugar to be sifted, a lot of icing recipes don't. But I find they don't get as smooth if you don't sift your sugar so I usually do for icing. If you don't have a sifter you can use a whisk or a fork to break up the clumps.</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1. In a large bowl cream together butter, cream cheese, and vanilla extract with paddle attachment at medium speed for about 2 minutes or until light and fluffy.</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">2. In another bowl, sift powdered sugar. Add to mixture gradually, beating at low speed until incorporated. If icing is too soft, chill for 10 minutes before use.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">While my mom crumb coated the cake, I made the marshmallow fondant. We'll talk about that recipe in another post. I can't give away all my secrets right away! lol! Once the fondant was made, my mom rolled it out immediately. You can store fondant wrapped tightly in cling wrap and then zipped in a ziplock bag in the fridge until you're ready to roll it. Just make sure you take it out and let it thaw before trying to roll it out.</span></div><br />
<div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP-zncUFSphHBvE_iCWPBWErhdja1cfVV1kWhZGcZsekOPXj2P0y15cc2RajCpztOcE3VNwUYhHpI0rp8YxbT1sx1ODcYfemlwA8lTaKzpcRuDlzXvqLqA6CxH70E9HnAqAlry4-eGabzX/s1600/IMG_6491c.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320px" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP-zncUFSphHBvE_iCWPBWErhdja1cfVV1kWhZGcZsekOPXj2P0y15cc2RajCpztOcE3VNwUYhHpI0rp8YxbT1sx1ODcYfemlwA8lTaKzpcRuDlzXvqLqA6CxH70E9HnAqAlry4-eGabzX/s320/IMG_6491c.PNG" width="213px" /></a></div><br />
<div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Once the fondant was laid out we had the task of transferring the royal icing giraffe from our wax paper to the cake. We took the tape off the wax paper and tried to peel it back from the giraffe, but since the giraffe was so long and thin, he cracked. He cracked in 3 places by the time we finished transferring him, but he was easy to slide back together and secure with a little leftover cream cheese icing underneath him. You could hardly tell he was broken. For a little added effect, we colored some buttercream "leaf green" and piped grass along the bottom of the cake. We also added some of the royal icing flowers we had previously made as embellishments. All in all, I think it came out great!</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip5dhAfoItgsHFc7JkB5MlKU8_3e4ecrLBvUyIE3QAD5BZdxcKHI9347Tq1-SNDlKfgv72ps5YygEwJJ1sK53SVeeQ8dUoeZnk_QR1S9-4oJTDr5YiY-Rfjmb2JfmJUDcq4WImspQAJGjF/s1600/IMG_6500b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320px" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip5dhAfoItgsHFc7JkB5MlKU8_3e4ecrLBvUyIE3QAD5BZdxcKHI9347Tq1-SNDlKfgv72ps5YygEwJJ1sK53SVeeQ8dUoeZnk_QR1S9-4oJTDr5YiY-Rfjmb2JfmJUDcq4WImspQAJGjF/s320/IMG_6500b.jpg" width="147px" /></a></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVoNZK4JGK5npSU_oVAkTg9JJPSY9M7h3wycgHUOaPgewPMOeDmdQGrY36VZoGWKKTFp59WM5tNplJV9GwzfzXCGyAvKhwfRboAmntBwAqDEsuzrj9ISUa91WAOdAgUN2p_ptU0XTrR9Z5/s1600/IMG_6497c.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320px" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVoNZK4JGK5npSU_oVAkTg9JJPSY9M7h3wycgHUOaPgewPMOeDmdQGrY36VZoGWKKTFp59WM5tNplJV9GwzfzXCGyAvKhwfRboAmntBwAqDEsuzrj9ISUa91WAOdAgUN2p_ptU0XTrR9Z5/s320/IMG_6497c.PNG" width="189px" /></a></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Happy Birthday, Megan!!</span></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvYr5WxkSZD2nkg18Od1e5Bay8RJvmK9zdpY3TDoiuRJQVlkG3B6kNNvlLVy67bSApXYaPKw8PONjj0IrgBBdRTjYmTAoM5ritjGli8iMrJVS_BlfvAUJrDOPOK2c4uR7WdWpcZdIHQy2z/s1600/IMG_6538b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211px" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvYr5WxkSZD2nkg18Od1e5Bay8RJvmK9zdpY3TDoiuRJQVlkG3B6kNNvlLVy67bSApXYaPKw8PONjj0IrgBBdRTjYmTAoM5ritjGli8iMrJVS_BlfvAUJrDOPOK2c4uR7WdWpcZdIHQy2z/s320/IMG_6538b.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><br />
<div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">You're probably thinking, "There are two cakes there!" Yeah, there were two birthdays. I only made the giraffe cake. If I had known I would have made a second cake!</span></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span id="goog_1705981941"></span><span id="goog_1705981942"></span></div>How Sweet It Ishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17909654288159079568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8216153741972658493.post-19986726181172746442011-12-04T21:53:00.001-05:002011-12-04T21:53:46.424-05:00Happy Birthday, Daddy.<div align="center"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">So this past week was my father's birthday. Naturally, my mom and I were going to take the opportunity to make a cool cake for him. What are a few of my dad's favorite things? Mets, Jets, and BBQ- in that order. We decided since it's football season to make him a football shaped cake. To make it easier, we actually purchased a football shaped pan.</span></div></div><div align="center"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ2yceBomXbZKb-p8bYO7Tk52Zj26S7pvUspyzwVOHMqrH3IcdnNCIR3wUQ3SRtoCRSFThhOW_LJ0tvyydxGvZ7hOYCm-XP6IqMfEp_6zqv0BU2csKbesAh40X7x4J4wSLufX-1fH3y-TL/s1600/IMG_6385b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="213px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ2yceBomXbZKb-p8bYO7Tk52Zj26S7pvUspyzwVOHMqrH3IcdnNCIR3wUQ3SRtoCRSFThhOW_LJ0tvyydxGvZ7hOYCm-XP6IqMfEp_6zqv0BU2csKbesAh40X7x4J4wSLufX-1fH3y-TL/s320/IMG_6385b.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><div align="center" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div align="center"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">It's not necessary since you can cut and shape your cakes however you want them, but it did make life so much easier. The pan is deceptively large. We used a full box of cake mix in this pan and it only filled it about halfway. Yeah, I know I said "cake mix". Between recuperating from Thanksgiving and my birthday and trying to stay on top of Christmas shopping, we decided to cut a few corners. I have no problem with boxed cake mix once in awhile. It's delicious and easy to use. But, we did make homemade buttercream icing. It's my favorite and it's so simple and delicious that it's worth the extra 10 minutes you'll spend in the kitchen making it. We always use <a href="http://www.wilton.com/recipe/Buttercream-Icing" target="_blank">Wilton's buttercream icing recipe</a> and thin or thicken it as needed for piping and spreading. We made this one particularly thin since we decided to just cover the cake in a thick layer of buttercream rather than cut it in half and make it two layers.</span></div></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><u><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;">Buttercream Icing (Thin)</span></u></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3PriPfIRvBCzv1B0LBOeDbkDb9RBELJog9WD6bIS_vnm5-wSCrDWSoj7JEAw4BZmaY8ReoADJUTJvnycTIty8Kq0lzYBuvQ8kVtBr1UnY8v4z524BHFm36qE8XLFZ3CQCCnvKxmNtesSo/s1600/IMG_6380b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="cssfloat: left; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="213px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3PriPfIRvBCzv1B0LBOeDbkDb9RBELJog9WD6bIS_vnm5-wSCrDWSoj7JEAw4BZmaY8ReoADJUTJvnycTIty8Kq0lzYBuvQ8kVtBr1UnY8v4z524BHFm36qE8XLFZ3CQCCnvKxmNtesSo/s320/IMG_6380b.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">- 1/2 cup vegetable shortening</span></div></div><div align="center"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div></div><div align="center"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">-1/2 cup (1 stick) butter (I use salted, it brings out the flavor nicely)</span></div></div><div align="center"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div></div><div align="center"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract*</span></div></div><div align="center"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div></div><div align="center"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">- 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted</span></div></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">- 3-4 tablespoons milk</span></div></div><div align="center"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">*Note: If you don't use clear vanilla extract your buttercream will have an off-white tint. Since we're usually layering it under fondant, I don't mind. So that's why our buttercream isn't pure white.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">1. Cream butter and shortening in large bowl with electric mixer. Add vanilla.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNo7Y7qyuCbbBTrggv5lsMdLdcnCDEldxhXmZPnmo1YPIqu3IfrCfL55Wzj1U8yUe2Cdlv8ko_y89d_CZRFJUB0bMp-nyI54nhK9rlN1eCuH2E_3saB2oTsHkJ-O1lIl3f4x6oBW5TGmFZ/s1600/IMG_6375b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="213px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNo7Y7qyuCbbBTrggv5lsMdLdcnCDEldxhXmZPnmo1YPIqu3IfrCfL55Wzj1U8yUe2Cdlv8ko_y89d_CZRFJUB0bMp-nyI54nhK9rlN1eCuH2E_3saB2oTsHkJ-O1lIl3f4x6oBW5TGmFZ/s320/IMG_6375b.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><em><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Make sure you sift your powdered sugar otherwise your icing won't be smooth.</span></em><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">2. Add sugar one cup at a time, beating on medium speed. The mixture will be dry after all sugar is incorporated, this is normal.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">3. Add milk and whip until light and fluffy. If needed, more milk can be added until you reach the desired consistency. If icing is too thin, add more sifted powdered sugar until you get the consistency you want.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-qbWv4vcbEQ_ux3kplYBfPV8Q3kSThiWxE2TbBhOjKziIXg55aUgI_UgayA151xYa0pxOoTdpOjjJQaHTdBr9pk-Q0aVvFEJ4WBIPNWMPpEAfQ1N7J98wfJWOVLT2q0g0in_gLBHkZMko/s1600/IMG_6390b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="250px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-qbWv4vcbEQ_ux3kplYBfPV8Q3kSThiWxE2TbBhOjKziIXg55aUgI_UgayA151xYa0pxOoTdpOjjJQaHTdBr9pk-Q0aVvFEJ4WBIPNWMPpEAfQ1N7J98wfJWOVLT2q0g0in_gLBHkZMko/s320/IMG_6390b.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Icing can be stored in an airtight container in refrigerator for up to two weeks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Now this cake is a good size for someone who wants to try fondant but is nervous about tackling it for larger cakes. This guy is small, intended for our family of 6, so it was easy to roll out and lay the fondant. Here, we'll show you how.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">We decided to use Wilton's chocolate fondant since it already has that rich brown color and would save us a good 10 minutes of kneading coloring gel into our own marshmallow fondant which is more than a little difficult to color.</span><br />
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</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPt9fOqyticNqgA2C0iFi1RoTUOubr3Lcv4paeMaEiQ3soqxOtrUdx7W6xixeRFbE-gyQNSGn-m1KspU4RZg3sqH99dpG7ikg6L-blBfy0lJbuNUEIn3edwokdMRXMCnHRQF6FmhtVXO33/s1600/IMG_6388b.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="320px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPt9fOqyticNqgA2C0iFi1RoTUOubr3Lcv4paeMaEiQ3soqxOtrUdx7W6xixeRFbE-gyQNSGn-m1KspU4RZg3sqH99dpG7ikg6L-blBfy0lJbuNUEIn3edwokdMRXMCnHRQF6FmhtVXO33/s320/IMG_6388b.PNG" width="213px" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We had plenty left over using this 1.5 lb. box.</span></em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">When rolling out fondant, I suggest getting a fondant mat. It just makes life easier. You can roll the fondant out on your counter top, parchment paper, or wax paper. But really, I find the mat the easiest. Make sure to generously dust your rolling surface, whatever it may be, and your rolling pin with powdered sugar. It's even better if you can use sifted as powdered sugar can make little bumps and imperfections in your fondant when rolling it out. Here's my mom rolling out the fondant. I have to say, this chocolate fondant rolls out very nicely.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUUh-JSv5Dk1VQ-DaCnksZqdpJVQhvcZrFnHBh1oRVPYRRDESBIBzM5Lc2oUXJCGgFYmUy3TQHiqSdMgsahd_oC2Ph9XTHtDabMqpliCyZ7-yOp5B00pr14WNvRX2m8HRUPPCYErlAuXte/s1600/IMG_6402b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="213px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUUh-JSv5Dk1VQ-DaCnksZqdpJVQhvcZrFnHBh1oRVPYRRDESBIBzM5Lc2oUXJCGgFYmUy3TQHiqSdMgsahd_oC2Ph9XTHtDabMqpliCyZ7-yOp5B00pr14WNvRX2m8HRUPPCYErlAuXte/s320/IMG_6402b.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">While you're rolling the fondant, lift the fondant off the mat and add more powdered sugar. This ensures the fondant won't stick to the mat. You can also turn the fondant so you can smooth out bumps or imperfections. The thinner the fondant the better, since it's usually a bit much for most people on top of an already sweet cake. We try to roll it to 1/4" thickness or less.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_DK3KaO8a3OXhDwmbknB67Bprnm7yEdaguBLCcIZyAHXtfgFFWvxipdtQKm6bd5Pqm-lra_IzWOerS7A59wDQ-iOQZL-iZsiXpcnQyT04IdWX0T9hq5EmQwT6a2nHc9B-owzP1ySdTPM4/s1600/IMG_6403b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="162px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_DK3KaO8a3OXhDwmbknB67Bprnm7yEdaguBLCcIZyAHXtfgFFWvxipdtQKm6bd5Pqm-lra_IzWOerS7A59wDQ-iOQZL-iZsiXpcnQyT04IdWX0T9hq5EmQwT6a2nHc9B-owzP1ySdTPM4/s320/IMG_6403b.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Once your fondant is rolled thin enough, you can lift it and transfer it to your cake. This is always the scariest part for me- is it going to rip? Is it going to flop on the cake lopsided? But 9 times out of 10, it works out just fine. And that other last time? Well, we work through it.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHtQdcrzxXt06Y69dlKfh6b-_JxDkMIHb1c2WKWjrOz8mBpCOezB4H8lonXb9D_jGrUSE97YQEsOeDw2fQderVwiZj7UuyqHCwbtaneoLjIiHFp5jQCcSBzpw8WL26pG7crv5UeDE1G-fY/s1600/IMG_6407b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="213px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHtQdcrzxXt06Y69dlKfh6b-_JxDkMIHb1c2WKWjrOz8mBpCOezB4H8lonXb9D_jGrUSE97YQEsOeDw2fQderVwiZj7UuyqHCwbtaneoLjIiHFp5jQCcSBzpw8WL26pG7crv5UeDE1G-fY/s320/IMG_6407b.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Once your fondant is on the cake, press in along the edges to make sure it lays flat and snug. Then remove excess fondant with a sharp knife.</span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZU3ZL78_LPLhx6yixfAc-Gih7NNVvFvWLX2oA0Qx0isVYuaTr4y7cMMNaT1FpRVqAi4-nQs5nPiC8r9SEsdOjJsfhGah8AiOg2rIL3exLTBft14ZhXoPCpGCV9F3ard20ag3RlhARymp6/s1600/IMG_6409b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="213px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZU3ZL78_LPLhx6yixfAc-Gih7NNVvFvWLX2oA0Qx0isVYuaTr4y7cMMNaT1FpRVqAi4-nQs5nPiC8r9SEsdOjJsfhGah8AiOg2rIL3exLTBft14ZhXoPCpGCV9F3ard20ag3RlhARymp6/s320/IMG_6409b.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><em><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></em><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><em>Doesn't it look like an almond? Lol!</em></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">From here I bagged up some of the icing and snipped the tip. I didn't even bother using a decorating tip since I hate cleaning those things out. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOprtjhBBxzkOWFQv1PAIMHO7PrSTOEi_1C4uPhUXoRgw41v91MCJQ7aI6Y5hm5V83F2Eert7WKiUVl2W3CRIFl4RusDeKpgutUJ9tpTXW3n5NP0Fkz8JoRq2FfUIoO0DhHMmDaZ9elT9y/s1600/IMG_6414b.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="320px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOprtjhBBxzkOWFQv1PAIMHO7PrSTOEi_1C4uPhUXoRgw41v91MCJQ7aI6Y5hm5V83F2Eert7WKiUVl2W3CRIFl4RusDeKpgutUJ9tpTXW3n5NP0Fkz8JoRq2FfUIoO0DhHMmDaZ9elT9y/s320/IMG_6414b.PNG" width="213px" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">You might notice my mom is in the background rolling out white fondant for the white stripes on the football. This is leftover marshmallow fondant we had stored.</span></em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I used this to pipe the stitching onto the cake.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHdNaKEGKVSdnYe_0ENO9rcikMaYbp5WYzweeQh7j_gVlrAQVIj2B_OwZ0giDArh4uLGjtpRETYcZ5t7TwXj22wP_-sxUvFD0AVvwt1hYnVq3kR_4vS7mdBKj0scD_0AA419CqdJuxVMkR/s1600/IMG_6415b.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="320px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHdNaKEGKVSdnYe_0ENO9rcikMaYbp5WYzweeQh7j_gVlrAQVIj2B_OwZ0giDArh4uLGjtpRETYcZ5t7TwXj22wP_-sxUvFD0AVvwt1hYnVq3kR_4vS7mdBKj0scD_0AA419CqdJuxVMkR/s320/IMG_6415b.PNG" width="241px" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">While my mom was cutting the white fondant stripes and attaching them to the cake using leftover buttercream icing, I dyed some icing green for grass using gel food coloring. Never use those food coloring drops from the supermarket- they thin out your icing and it takes a lot of them to get a rich color. This is especially true for dying fondant, gum paste, royal icing, or mostly anything you'd use on your cake.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCO8iDWaUAwWo-Nt6piiaMquqT-jhOlkfo3FAvdlF7cmckFgYfSrCwkd0n21NeZT3fr5PfPE_ZGgyFrDKgdYLoQ8F2vf9tDJMZ_NWE2lxyoKZNTyGQ5UvpG6t1pPqxP9wZAweR-TByKf2X/s1600/IMG_6417b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="213px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCO8iDWaUAwWo-Nt6piiaMquqT-jhOlkfo3FAvdlF7cmckFgYfSrCwkd0n21NeZT3fr5PfPE_ZGgyFrDKgdYLoQ8F2vf9tDJMZ_NWE2lxyoKZNTyGQ5UvpG6t1pPqxP9wZAweR-TByKf2X/s320/IMG_6417b.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><br />
<div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">From here, I prepared a decorating bag using Wilton's #233 decorating tip and my mom piped grass around the base of the cake. For piped grass, I recommend thickening your icing with powdered sugar. Our icing was a little thin for the grass but we made do and it came out looking great.</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8BOiAl3AAZWHt_hLIzt0LgJhhkEafC4uEf_8T_wgvcycDPn9wcFZTN7awIP47WbCz3-eZHi3ABc8Jz0Hj6auYUpiX6RDow46sRXayRE7bXdfz4PzPgH0diXbckOmLSukQ-kBWYhoNdOBX/s1600/IMG_6420b.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="320px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8BOiAl3AAZWHt_hLIzt0LgJhhkEafC4uEf_8T_wgvcycDPn9wcFZTN7awIP47WbCz3-eZHi3ABc8Jz0Hj6auYUpiX6RDow46sRXayRE7bXdfz4PzPgH0diXbckOmLSukQ-kBWYhoNdOBX/s320/IMG_6420b.PNG" width="256px" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">And ta-da! A perfect little football cake for one of my favorite football fanatics!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFTb6_igkMcZrYfkx9eJvg2JbzfM4ANPGiGL36F6ZDf_C6a1t3uTTm8kciqjJvqzHra7OHqhyphenhyphenW38z7Pa8GD6_6KJ4p_KcxYkv_OMFSk6pfL1daqDQfAFKqL6TJ75lyCle6O1PZSlavzzNO/s1600/IMG_6423b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="213px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFTb6_igkMcZrYfkx9eJvg2JbzfM4ANPGiGL36F6ZDf_C6a1t3uTTm8kciqjJvqzHra7OHqhyphenhyphenW38z7Pa8GD6_6KJ4p_KcxYkv_OMFSk6pfL1daqDQfAFKqL6TJ75lyCle6O1PZSlavzzNO/s320/IMG_6423b.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP_s9FQGyC_oogzCOwLqQPwChzo37yiXHwDgbhQULAABbm5NJtFrFG56fmpLbUXZ2PoIkyzBLtKfxoRlX9knjSobykm8N13F_TgAX1JwjAimZLaUpsc9NoA92Q5DK_z8AJt4ZeHPSNLoUZ/s1600/IMG_6424b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="213px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP_s9FQGyC_oogzCOwLqQPwChzo37yiXHwDgbhQULAABbm5NJtFrFG56fmpLbUXZ2PoIkyzBLtKfxoRlX9knjSobykm8N13F_TgAX1JwjAimZLaUpsc9NoA92Q5DK_z8AJt4ZeHPSNLoUZ/s320/IMG_6424b.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Happy birthday, Dad! We love you!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjecxzK66ax2n_d6S_U8lIZAsoC5cPW-NkZLxb3JfNsvPWE_rgIUzfd_7vCvqSXyky-BnBm95xnmkjMVPhl8bXo5WvBoZOwuijKMKUPtIPPSNQ8rEgNkMdGXIaef29uY6b2fnCZYuCze2A6/s1600/IMG_6439.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="213px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjecxzK66ax2n_d6S_U8lIZAsoC5cPW-NkZLxb3JfNsvPWE_rgIUzfd_7vCvqSXyky-BnBm95xnmkjMVPhl8bXo5WvBoZOwuijKMKUPtIPPSNQ8rEgNkMdGXIaef29uY6b2fnCZYuCze2A6/s320/IMG_6439.JPG" width="320px" /></a></div><br />
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</div>How Sweet It Ishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17909654288159079568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8216153741972658493.post-32949287360388854842011-11-27T22:42:00.001-05:002012-01-18T16:19:42.195-05:00Thanksgiving Treat.<div align="center"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Hey! Hope you had a great Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays for a numbers of reasons- good food, time with the family, and best of all, my birthday. Hehe. While the dinner is delicious, my favorite part always has been and always will be dessert.</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Now autumn seems to be all about pies. Of course, pies are delicious, but I like my pies with less fruit and more chocolate. Cue this delicious dessert that a friend mentioned to me that she was making.</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><em><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Nutella Tart.</span></em></div><div align="center"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj03C99tI7_tpA7rSIb66_5RhJZjTNnnTSQwlDJPoYyEZuVp2ek5QWLWEisQHNgTNiHlNoKAUG_Mj58iHATRfER28EQVOsV18qfk5w_-H8AWBPr6Aq9AX3IkWkjYmlOtd7Lh6uSjit_f91M/s1600/IMG_6348b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj03C99tI7_tpA7rSIb66_5RhJZjTNnnTSQwlDJPoYyEZuVp2ek5QWLWEisQHNgTNiHlNoKAUG_Mj58iHATRfER28EQVOsV18qfk5w_-H8AWBPr6Aq9AX3IkWkjYmlOtd7Lh6uSjit_f91M/s320/IMG_6348b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Now, I don't know if you have all tried this delicious chocolate hazelnut spread, but if you haven't already, run out to the store and buy some. Spread it lightly on toast, bake it in this tart recipe, or better yet, eat it right out of the jar with a spoon. I'm embarrassed to say just how much of this stuff I ate while I was making my tart.</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">The following recipe was adapted from <a href="http://lemonsandanchovies.wordpress.com/2010/07/20/nutella-tart-courtesy-of-pierre-herme/" target="_blank">Lemons and Anchovies</a>. I decided not to use the crust recipe and just used a simple shortbread recipe adapted from <a href="http://fruittart.wordpress.com/2007/06/01/here-a-tart-there-a-tart/" target="_blank">Fruit Tart</a>. This crust would usually be used for a fruit tart but I think it was delicious with the nutella tart.</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;"><u>Shortbread Crust</u></span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div align="center"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguvVOfp0oDFaG4IxeSncFpEViPyPcoLWDM6rVmtcu_R5G1chHbcupuQM9rW0nfi8cB4olx7BTCOvwvxSRUzXL2czJ5L3AKViita_GVts4B3anXbdJksvr8vjbAzu6USnRalpgfxqyWB5ks/s1600/IMG_6327c.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguvVOfp0oDFaG4IxeSncFpEViPyPcoLWDM6rVmtcu_R5G1chHbcupuQM9rW0nfi8cB4olx7BTCOvwvxSRUzXL2czJ5L3AKViita_GVts4B3anXbdJksvr8vjbAzu6USnRalpgfxqyWB5ks/s320/IMG_6327c.PNG" width="298" /></a></div></div><div align="center"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">-1 1/3 cup flour</span><br />
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</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">-1/3 cup light brown sugar packed</span><br />
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</div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">-7 tablespoons butter, softened</span></div><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease and flour your tart pan. I used a 9" Wilton tart pan with a removable bottom plate. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">2. Mix flour and brown sugar with mixer or whisk. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">3. Cut in butter one tablespoon at a time until mixture is crumbly.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">4. Press into bottom and sides of tart pan firmly.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSqGXX7YMLpQGN5iKdckkIvNYQp9FlwSHf5eNiPXQNUDmUgJRWHRn8WTExqHfD0e9y261Lw5nGfBv_rW4GNb6f8gLL9MM1fHjgkHzZ9I0s01jVUOrgEcKd1ElsHBf68ulH4EwouY8LLc3U/s1600/IMG_6337b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSqGXX7YMLpQGN5iKdckkIvNYQp9FlwSHf5eNiPXQNUDmUgJRWHRn8WTExqHfD0e9y261Lw5nGfBv_rW4GNb6f8gLL9MM1fHjgkHzZ9I0s01jVUOrgEcKd1ElsHBf68ulH4EwouY8LLc3U/s320/IMG_6337b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">5. Bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;"><u>Nutella Tart Filling</u></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidQRjMHHY4-ypKe5BTUwtor9UCPv7_AJ4x1lmccERq2QGC9wCl0-sH197gEKe7gtHo68HT5hxbP1AGbe8Yvh9HLiCTo20dRAkbsoEspTzL5aMsrEiPeMuD7fH2kg-JG6NDhjcaGsdLpyN8/s1600/IMG_6351b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidQRjMHHY4-ypKe5BTUwtor9UCPv7_AJ4x1lmccERq2QGC9wCl0-sH197gEKe7gtHo68HT5hxbP1AGbe8Yvh9HLiCTo20dRAkbsoEspTzL5aMsrEiPeMuD7fH2kg-JG6NDhjcaGsdLpyN8/s400/IMG_6351b.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">-2/3 cup Nutella spread</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">-4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">-7 tablespoons unsalted butter</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">-1 large egg at room temperature, whisked</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">-3 large egg yolks at room temperature, whisked</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">-2 tablespoons sugar</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">-1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">-2/3 cup Nutella spread</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Spread the Nutella evenly over the bottom of the tart crust.</span><br />
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</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">2. Melt chocolate and butter in double boiler or, if you're lazy like me, in the microwave.</span></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">3. Use a small whisk to stir egg into chocolate very carefully. If you whip the mixture too quickly, it will "agitate" the ganache and you'll end up with air bubbles in your finished tart. Trust me, I know from experience. But I promise, it's just as delicious with a couple of air bubbles in it.</span></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">4. Repeat with egg yolks, then sugar, and finally, melted butter. Pour the ganache over the nutella and tart crust. If wanted, you can also scatter the chopped hazelnuts over the top of the tart. It looked nice and it was a nice, tasty little crunch, too.</span></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrOCArH7i7FKnXMvYtxY_r9FLGKgRSdo5u7SsGeOxQdJk4upAEaXYcdMPHJzIroBjFj1KMPz0ttLqDvH-iM0FrcnQqgi0c3gQXxHqLxOI4vUFQwtWS8VBzqtCoD8qQf76h29s49kzWKiD-/s1600/IMG_6355b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrOCArH7i7FKnXMvYtxY_r9FLGKgRSdo5u7SsGeOxQdJk4upAEaXYcdMPHJzIroBjFj1KMPz0ttLqDvH-iM0FrcnQqgi0c3gQXxHqLxOI4vUFQwtWS8VBzqtCoD8qQf76h29s49kzWKiD-/s320/IMG_6355b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">5. Bake tart for 11 minutes on center rack. The center will not be solid yet. Let set for 20 minutes and serve. I recommend serving warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. </span></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4A_X1rHtafF4xxWkYjepEjdL8t8oIGpYWzPShhwts4-7kbD4X5AP1GWfcP2xxhdZcCRoRE_cfZtq_t3dqPwrxKNYXk672GDbhjVS3nCQ0v6VWgURQF6AXur2eomZo-gU6R1nhDz2gA2-Y/s1600/nutellatart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4A_X1rHtafF4xxWkYjepEjdL8t8oIGpYWzPShhwts4-7kbD4X5AP1GWfcP2xxhdZcCRoRE_cfZtq_t3dqPwrxKNYXk672GDbhjVS3nCQ0v6VWgURQF6AXur2eomZo-gU6R1nhDz2gA2-Y/s320/nutellatart.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">I made this mostly for myself and my sister-in-law since we're both Nutella fanatics. But I have to say, everyone else really enjoyed it, too. It's now my husband's new favorite baked goodie.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>How Sweet It Ishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17909654288159079568noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8216153741972658493.post-76927793353893968952011-11-23T12:11:00.001-05:002011-11-23T12:16:22.021-05:00Newb.<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">First and foremost, welcome and thank you for stopping to check out my blog!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Some of my fondest childhood memories were of spending time in the kitchen with my mom. I was always amazed by the fact that she could turn common household ingredients into something delicious with barely a recipe to follow. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ_LayXwmdQIXM1uLtdtvXxzk_c-dxeioViQiA28oDY3cXJLks9HxTkfqBZujw0mFilxiXyYr7PTD8U-Wjd6mp18FuSxWEBU9dRFMQbbIEF3YiiOyacMyVS7i5LDSA0pzPq5k0QdS8EfuN/s1600/momnme.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ_LayXwmdQIXM1uLtdtvXxzk_c-dxeioViQiA28oDY3cXJLks9HxTkfqBZujw0mFilxiXyYr7PTD8U-Wjd6mp18FuSxWEBU9dRFMQbbIEF3YiiOyacMyVS7i5LDSA0pzPq5k0QdS8EfuN/s320/momnme.jpg" width="298" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Mom & Me</span></em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">(Don't mind the lion.)</span></em></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">As an adult, my baking adventures began, as they probably do for most, with boxed cake mix and a tub of cookie dough. But somewhere along the way, I read this quote and it changed me.</span><br />
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<em><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">"If you only do things you know you can do, you'll never do very much."</span></em><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Challenge accepted.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Naturally, I consulted my mom and together we got to work in the kitchen. She's taught me so much, but the biggest lesson I've taken away is "Baking is science." It absolutely fascinates me how much chemistry actually finds it's way into the kitchen!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">From there, we grew. Eventually my sister and my aunt got involved in learning more about baking and we started taking classes all together. We have a blast spending time together and making delicious treats for our family and friends.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaKWio2c3EUgGgZl3WM83mWc5xFBlKBGGt3sHkAZZ5b5oq8k260rQKLz5Ccx9hE7oXZYQF3kyVR3KUUaH4E9NWcWPGj9B4VszW_vJUCq6QW8ljnMdlCPH5_69UUY1e8a9zksqAZjK7UicE/s1600/kellynme.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaKWio2c3EUgGgZl3WM83mWc5xFBlKBGGt3sHkAZZ5b5oq8k260rQKLz5Ccx9hE7oXZYQF3kyVR3KUUaH4E9NWcWPGj9B4VszW_vJUCq6QW8ljnMdlCPH5_69UUY1e8a9zksqAZjK7UicE/s320/kellynme.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">My sister and I.</span></em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0pT_IDS10FX4KI9JujWiN8a17D2_ADQ_JgaCoSqe1Ie-4ZJPFAYVJR-e073ZaWxDFuZnJ6p5SfVmtNeqpmbC955PXarwVy_YFVlWAsmLAY-Ky4y8aJUdRX5Fk7xLlswXRX45WiqYuIbt4/s1600/lisanme.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0pT_IDS10FX4KI9JujWiN8a17D2_ADQ_JgaCoSqe1Ie-4ZJPFAYVJR-e073ZaWxDFuZnJ6p5SfVmtNeqpmbC955PXarwVy_YFVlWAsmLAY-Ky4y8aJUdRX5Fk7xLlswXRX45WiqYuIbt4/s320/lisanme.jpg" width="213" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Aunt Lisa & me.</span></em></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">And now, I'd like to share our adventures (sometimes, misadventures) with all of you!! Happy Baking everyone!</span>How Sweet It Ishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17909654288159079568noreply@blogger.com0