Emillie's 15th Birthday

We celebrated Emillie's 15th birthday on Saturday.

It was a nice day.

We had a big, yummy pancake breakfast.  (Emillie helped me cook.)

Did some school shopping at Target.  (Riley had a huge tantrum.  No surprise there.)

Had Rita's water ice for a snack afterwards. (Emillie's choice for her birthday "treat.")

A movie during Riley's nap. (Dear John is what Emillie picked, she had never seen it but read the book.  Emillie and I cried like little babies while Daddy and Hannah laughed at us, real nice.)

Emillie opened some cards from family and a couple gifts from us.  (Her big gift was a camera!)

And ribs for dinner.  (Emillie's dinner choice!)  Riley and I had veggie burgers - ribs, double blech!!

I also surprised Emillie with cupcakes for dessert.  Her pick for a treat was Rita's...but I love baking so I had to do something fun for dessert.  It kills me not to bake for the girls' birthdays!

Emillie also had the "special" plate for dinner.  I forgot to take pics.  It's a plate that our family used growing up and I do it now with our family.  It's a big red plate that says "You're special today" around the rim. 

At the end of the day, Emillie said she had a fun day - and said she felt really special.  :)

(We mostly stayed indoors and ate too much sugar - but all in all, I would say it was a good day too!)

We love you, Emillie...Happy Birthday!!

gifts!

Emillie - birthday girl!

Hannah (only pic I had of her, sorry it's a little blurry)

Riley



new camera!!



mmm, cupcake.



cuppy cake.

Oreo cupcakes.  Ahhh-mazing.  If you like Oreos, that is. 

There is a whole Oreo at the bottom of each cupcake, crumbled Oreos in the cake and crushed Oreos in the frosting.  Oh boy.

When I saw this recipe I instantly thought of Emillie (that's why I made them!)  She's an Oreo freak.  ;)  I made mini cupcakes for Riley, which were so cute.  (Sorry, no pic.)  I also sent the girls home with cupcakes - so it worked out perfectly.

Here's the link to the recipe, if interested.  (FYI - I used half the butter it calls for, and cut the powdered sugar way down too - the frosting was perfect.)

Here's to birthdays and cupcakes!

red velvet

Ah, Friday.

I had every intention of relaxing tonight with a brownie in hand and a movie to watch.

I got as far as brownies.

I can't believe how fast this night flew!

At least I got my red velvet on tonight.

Source: sweetpeaskitchen.com via Abby on Pinterest

Thank you, yet again, to Pinterest for the idea.

My picture looks like crud compared to the one above.  But, I felt the need to post a pic of mine so you know that I really did make them!

Ha.

I only ate one of the brownies pictured, in case you were wondering how much of a pig I really am.

Actually, I know how to put down some sweets.  It's rare I only eat one of anything with sugar in it.  But, brownies can be killer!  They hit my belly like a ton of bricks.  Especially real brownies.

These are no exception.  Rich, gooey, cream cheesy (a word, right?) and red velvety (another word, yes?)

No recipe here...I have no time (or desire) to post it.  Visit my Pinterest or Sweet Pea's Kitchen for the recipe, if up for the challenge.  Can you eat more than one in a sitting?  I bet not!

Happy weekend, all!

German Chocolate Cupcakes

Riley & I visited my parents yesterday.

My mom's birthday was this past weekend and we wanted to celebrate with her!
(Happy Birthday, Mom!)

I made some German Chocolate Cupcakes to share.

When making most cakes and cupcakes, I like to use the box mix.  It's easy and tastes great to me!  I bought the German Chocolate Cake mix and made the cupcakes according to the package directions.

As usual, I made the icing homemade.  My mom gave me this recipe awhile back from one of my grandma's cookbooks.  It's SO good!

German Chocolate Cake Icing
(Printable Recipe)

 

Ingredients:

7 ounces Evaporated milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 beaten egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Approx. 3 ounces coconut (sweetened)

Directions:

• Stir all ingredients together over medium heat; stir constantly.
• Cook for 15 minutes.
• Remove from heat and beat occasionally while cooling.
• When cold, add pecans and coconut.
• Spread over completely cooled cake or cupcakes.

I told my mom that I was actually very selfish when making these, because I really wanted to eat one!  My mom likes them, but so do I...German Chocolate Cake happens to be my all-time favorite.

What's your favorite kind of cake?!

  

Candy Cane Blossoms

I found this recipe initially from Pinterest...the great pic caught my eye!

 

Source: bakedperfection.com via Abby on Pinterest

I had this cookie in mind when I signed up for a contest at my church, as part of a Girls Night event they were having on Dec 13.

I had never made them before, but they looked pretty!

I baked all the cookies (6 dozen +) the night before the event.

They are probably one of the smallest cookies I've ever made, ha! 

They were super cute (and yummy)!  These Kisses taste similar to peppermint bark.

If you want a festive cookie to make this Christmas, try these!

Candy Cane Blossoms
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

1 bag Hershey's Kisses Candy Cane Kisses

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 egg

2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons milk

Red and Green colored sugar

 

Directions:

 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Remove wrappers from Kisses.
• Beat butter, sugar, vanilla, and egg in large bowl until well blended.
• Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; add alternatively with milk to butter mixture, beating until well blended.
• Shape dough into 1 inch balls.
• Roll in red or green colored sugar.
• Place on ungreased cookie sheet; bake 8 - 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned and cookies are set.
• Remove from oven; cool 2 to 3 minutes.
• Press candy piece into center of each cookie.
• Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.
• Cool completely.

Source: Hershey's and Baked Perfection

 

 

The event was awesome, such a nice night.  And the cookie contest was fun! 

 

There was a total of 12 of us that participated.  We had to bring 5 dozen cookies for the audience, and 1 dozen had to be plated (pretty) for the judges.

 

Here was my beautiful creation, for the judges...

 

 

Nice, huh?  I thought so!

 

I was in the kitchen, literally figuring it out as I went!  I had a general idea of what I wanted to do but wasn't sure how to piece it together.  The candy canes around the glass was actually my friend's idea.  She was out shopping with me at Michael's the night before and we were discussing it! 

 

The sign is stuck into a large marshmallow with mini marshmallows all around it, hidden under the unwrapped Kisses.

 

I thought it turned out cute...it went with my "candy cane" theme, obviously!

 

Then to top it off...

 

 

Cellophane wrap (which is a favorite thing of mine), a ribbon and a little note to the judges.

 

And the winner of the cookie contest is...

 

ABBY!

 

No, not really.  I did not win the grand prize, but I did win something...

 

A Christmas platter!

 

AND...a Christmas tree spatula!

 

To be totally honest, I was so excited to win.  (Even if I was 1 of 4 to win the same prize.)  I was all giddy.

 

I was not expecting to win the grand prize - in all seriousness, because my cookie was OK but it wasn't awesome, right?  It wasn't super duper creative or anything (heck, the recipe is on the back of the Hershey bag!) but I knew my plate decoration was killer.

 

When I went up to the stage at the event to place my plate next to the others, I knew I had a shot.  Mine looked sweet.  It looked Christmas-y and pretty.  I walked away from that table with a smirk on my face.  (I'm so competitive, right?!)

 

I came home to tell my step-daughter, Emillie (who was babysitting Riley that night) about my win.  I showed her my prize...and she said, "how adorkable."  Not adorable...aDORKable.

 

Great.

 

I'm 30.  I'm into baking.  I enter cookie contests.  And I get excited for winning a platter and a spatula.

 

She's right!  I am a dork.  A cookie baking dork.

 

Thanks, Emillie, for bringing me back down off my winning high. 

 

Someone had to do it. 

 

Peanut Brittle Blondies

You've waited...and now, the secret is out!

For the Cookie Swap...




I made Peanut Brittle Blondies.

This was a new recipe; I had never made before!  I love peanut brittle and it's a favorite holiday candy.  I thought the idea of it inside a brownie...even better!

If you are looking for a good, rich, sturdy bar (maybe something to mail?) give these a try!  Obviously, you have to like peanut brittle...and if you don't, well then boo hoo for you!  Ha ha.

PEANUT BRITTLE BLONDIES

(Printable Recipe)

A rich and sturdy cookie bar

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups firmly packed light brown sugar

¾ cup butter

2 large eggs

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

2 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

*3 cups coarsely crushed peanut brittle (about 14 ounces)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

·         Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

·         Combine brown sugar and butter in a saucepan over medium heat; heat until butter is melted.
·         Remove from heat; let cool slightly.
·         Add eggs, one at a time, beating until blended.
·         Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl; stir into brown sugar mixture.
·         Stir in peanut brittle and vanilla.
·         Press into a greased and floured 13 x 9 baking dish.
·         Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden brown.
·         Cool in dish on a wire rack.
·         Cut into bars when completely cool.

*I used Old Dominion Peanut Company’s Old-Fashioned Peanut Brittle (comes in 6 ounce boxes).

 Yield: 2 dozen.

Source: Hallmark Christmas Cookies, 2005

After baking these (which was really easy!) I had to package them both securely (so they could mail) and pretty (so that I would approve).

 

I decided on small white boxes (I bought blouse boxes from Target).  And to (hopefully) preserve some freshness while shipping, I wrapped each bar in Saran wrap.  Not the most attractive package job, but at least the wrap was clear so you could see the bars when opening the box.  I added extra Parchment Paper in between the gaps so that the bars wouldn't move around too much inside the box while in transit.

I then assembled all three boxes (one of the rules of the swap was to give a dozen cookies/bars to each of our swap matches).  I bought some gold ribbon to wrap around the boxes.

I went with a color theme...gold (to match the bars) and dark red (to add a holiday touch)!

I then made a copy of my recipe and tucked that behind the ribbon on each box.

I also included a note to each recipient with a brief description of the cookie bar they were receiving and who it was from (me!)

I just printed the note off my computer (since my handwriting has gotten sloppy) and glued that to a piece of dark red card stock (again, to go with my color theme).

I worked on a clean, large surface so that I didn't include anything else in the packages that I didn't want to (like one of Riley's toys...or a piece of food leftover from dinner)!

I used tissue paper that I bought at Target (totally matching my color theme), three small-ish boxes, and bubble wrap to finish packing the cookies!

I wrapped the outside of the white blouse box that had my bars inside, with bubble wrap.  I then used tissue paper on top of that, so that when the box was opened they would see pretty paper!

Here is a lovely blog post from Rachel over at little Chef BIG Appetite about receiving my box in the mail!  It was fun reading what one of my recipients thought of the bars.  Thanks again, Rachel!  (I also sent my cookies to Kelley from The Culinary Enthusiast and Lindsey from Feasibly Happy.)

You already saw the kinds of cookies I received in the mail.  If you haven't, please read the post of mine and then visit my senders' blogs for their recipes too! 

Aside from baking cookies...and eating them, the big thing about this swap is that it connects you to other (food) bloggers out there.  Some of the bloggers I was introduced to are solely food bloggers, others blog about food along with other passions of theirs, and some are momma bloggers like me!

It's a lot of fun!

So...are you sold? Do you want to participate next year? If so click here. You can sign up to receive notification about the swap next year. It's definitely a good idea, that way you don't have to remember about it one year from now! They'll remember for you.

Thank you again to all of you who had me as your "match."  I really enjoyed your cookies...actually, I still am enjoying them!  I even have been kind enough to share.

Thank you to Julie & Lindsay for hosting such a great Cookie Swap!

I'm done...that's it from me.  Now, go eat a cookie!!

Chocolate Pudding Cookies

More cookies!!

Yeah, my freezer is packed full. 

Don't believe me?

Now, do you?  Yes, I know.  I could eat the ice cream and that would give me more room but I eat it like once a week.  (Too cold to eat ice cream!)  And with Aaron gone most of our dinners end up in the freezer too!  It's too much for Riley and I to eat.  I probably should stop baking...

Anyway, back to my cookies.

I saw these on the web and had to try them out.  They looked so simple; I had the ingredients on hand and I had been craving chocolate.  How perfect is that?!  I also had some leftover Reese's Pieces from Halloween and wanted to use those in these cookies.

If you're not afraid of butter, or chocolate - try them some time.  They are a very soft cookie, too!

Chocolate Pudding Cookies
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter, softened at room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
*1 (3.4 ounce) package instant chocolate fudge pudding
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup Reese's Pieces (or chocolate chips, etc.)

*I had Fat Free/Sugar Free pudding on hand - so used that, and it worked out fine!

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Stir together flour, salt and baking soda; set aside.
• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars together.
• Add pudding package and beat until combined.
• Add eggs and vanilla; mix together.
• Add flour mixture to bowl and mix until blended.
• Add 1 cup Reese's Pieces and stir together.
• Roll into 1 inch balls and place on greased baking sheets.
• Bake for 8-10 minutes.

  

Source: slightly adapted from Chef in Training

Yummy!

Banana-Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I've been making this recipe for at least a year now. 

I honestly don't make regular chocolate chip cookies very often (those are a rare treat!)  When I want something similar though, I bake these.

These cookies have oats, less butter, and a taste of banana!  

I feel like they are healthier.  I know, all sweets in moderation - but, if you're going to have a cookie...it might as well be this one.  You won't feel as guilty after you eat it, promise.  You'll feel good about incorporating an occasional cookie in your diet.

If you want them even healthier, cut out some of the sugar and add some whole wheat flour.  Use dark chocolate chips (which I use a lot).  Play around with the recipe!  You'll have fun with it, like I do.  Actually, you'll have even more fun eating them with a cold glass of milk. 

And, this is a great way to use some very ripe bananas!

Get baking!

Banana-Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 2 medium)

1 cup packed brown sugar

¼ cup butter, softened

*3 tablespoons Canola oil

½ cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 large eggs

*2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

4 cups old-fashioned oats

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Cooking spray

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Combine first five ingredients in a large bowl; beat with mixer at medium speed until smooth.
• Add egg; beat well.
• Combine flour, oats, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. 
• Add flour mixture to banana mixture in bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended.
• Stir in chocolate chips.
• Drop batter by big tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes or until golden.
• Cool on pans for 2 minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks.

 *If you don’t want to use oil, just use a total of ½ cup butter in place.  You also could use a combination of oil and applesauce.  As for the flour – I usually use 1 cup of whole wheat flour and the rest is all-purpose.

Source: Cooking Light, July 2009

(Rachelle...this is for you!!)

I'm done blogging for the day! 

Happy Halloween!

Click here for a better pic of these cookies!