Sunday, June 27, 2010

Peanut Butter Creme- Filled Devil's Food Cupcakes



I haven't baked in a long time, except of course for sugar cookies to decorate, but for some reason, that's different. The cookies are so easy to make and they are , for me, a means to the enjoyment of the decorating part.
I tend to bake less in the summer for obvious reasons- hot, sticky,less desire to eat baked goods ( thank goodness for that ), but every once in a while, I sit down and leaf through my cookbooks and huge three-ring notebooks with recipes I have accumulated and vow to make someday. Last night I got the urge and just went with it. After finding a recipe which I had all the ingredients for, I jumped right in, at 10 o'clock at night.(I'm on vacation- I can sleep in!)
The combination of chocolate and peanut butter is one of my favorites and this recipe by Bobby Flay is one I have had on my list for a long time. I used the recipe as is , except for the gananche frosting. I had some chocolate buttercream frosting on hand so of course I used that instead. I piped it on using a medium sized flower tip.
They are as delicious as I had expected them to be, so I sent them with my daughter when she went back to the army this morning. Otherwise I would have finished off the whole bunch and the two new pairs of pants I bought would not have liked that at all!


Friday, June 25, 2010

Amazing Giveaways!

If you like decorating cookies or even just looking at them, then you have to visit Glory's blog "Glorious Treats. She does some of the most amazing work I 've ever seen and her blog is lots of fun to read. This week she is having three ( yes 3!!) incredible giveaways for cookie cutters from three of the best cookie cutter sources there are.
The first is from Foose Cookie Cutters, the second is from Copper Gifts and last but certainly not least is from a truly amazing site called Ecrandal. Even if you are not into decorating cookies yourself, it's lots of fun just to see the interesting shapes they make.

These amazing designs are from Ecrandal.


            These are from CooperGifts.


                                            These fun ones are from Foose.
                                                                                             
                                                                 .
So take a jump over to Glorious Treats - feast your eyes and join in the fun! Who knows? Maybe you'll even win!

Friday, June 18, 2010

She's here!


She's finally arrived!
Wednesday, June 16, 2010 2:32 a.m.
Baby girl ( no name yet!)
8lbs. 1oz.
and just the most gorgeous thing ever created ( that's the "grandma " in me talking- did you expect something else!?)




I'm participating in Tidymom's I'm Lovin' It Fridays - Have a look!

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Practicing baby cookies

We are still waiting ( somewhat impatiently!) for my eldest daughter to give birth. To help pass the time I am baking and decorating baby theme cookies. She will  probably have a party when the baby is about a month old and I am planning on setting up a dessert table for the event. These are just practice ( they've already been eaten!) Hopefully, next time I post there will be some exciting news!
onsies
                            bottles

                                                                                   rattles



                                     bibs
                                                                      duckies


Flowers for a Friend

A friend of mine had some surgery last week and I thought I would brighten her day with a flower bouquet- one she can enjoy looking at AND eat at the same time!





                              
                                              

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

More Summer Fun

Here are a few more cookies I made for friends at school to wish them a happy summer vacation.
I am still working hard on perfecting the icing- not sure if I like the corn syrup glaze , royal icing, a combination of both, or maybe someting I haven't even tried yet. Well, now's my chance to experiment! I have all summer to work on it!

 sunglasses
 sailboats( just in case you couldn't figure that out!)
wrapped candy
 ( I 've seen these on other blogs and just love them- didn't have a cookie cutter so I found a picture and made a template.)


Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Cookies for Summer

Yeah!  Boo hoo! One more week of school. Actually, I love my work, but teaching has such a high rate of burnout and anyone who thinks teachers have an easy job should come try it for a week  day. As much as I enjoy being with my students, I find that by the end of the school year, I really need the summer to "recharge" my batteries. Teaching the little ones (K-2) is like being on stage all day long! I really am just a frustrated actress!
I made these summer time cookies for my colleagues at school to wish everyone a Happy Summer! My plans for the summer include working more on cookies during the break and perfecting some of my skills. And of course, the most important thing- my eldest daughter is giving birth to her first child ( my first grandchild and my Mom and Dad's first great- grandchild!!). We are on pins and needles now. Her due date is June 16th so I suppose it could be any day now- just waiting for that phone call!  Anyways, I will have something exciting to keep me occupied this summer!

So , what are you doing this summer? I'd love to hear !

coconut trees

beach balls and sandy feet

bite of watermelon, anyone?

sea shells by the seashore

sunny smiles

flip floppin' along