Thursday, February 25, 2010

My First Cake Pops!!!!!!!!!

Ever since I've seen cake pops, I've wanted to try them. Finally I did! My aunt did some similar to these for a wedding, but she used Oreos instead: I used Nutter-Butters.  My Aunt and I got this idea from Bakerella at this web address:  http://www.bakerella.com/category/pops-bites/cake-pops/. She has awesome cake pops!  I am going to give them away to my friends.  I am also posting this to Foodie Friday at this web address:http://designsbygollum.blogspot.com/.

 The green ones would be fun for St. Patrick's Day!


The white ones would be fun for a wedding!



The recipe is pretty easy. Make sure you follow all  the steps and they should turn out great!

1 package of Nutter Butter Cookies
1 (8 ounce) package of Cream Cheese
Dipping White Chocolate (I used the kind in a block.)
Sprinkles for decoration 
Sucker sticks
Floral oasis (for drying cake pops)

Crush the Nutter Butter cookies with a food processor or in a baggie with a rolling pin.  Take the crushed Nutter Butter cookies and mix with cream cheese.  You can refrigerate this for 10-15 minutes to harden the mixture.  Then, roll in small balls, one inch or less, and put in refrigerator for another 10-15 minutes to harden again. 



Melt dipping chocolate according to instructions on the package.  Then dip the ends of sucker sticks in the dipping chocolate and place stick in the middle of the cake pop. Wait to dip until chocolate on stick is dry. 



Then, dip cake pops in dipping chocolate and pour or dip sprinkles on wet chocolate.  If you are having a hard time dipping (the ball falls off the stick), you may need to refrigerate for longer.  I actually put them in the freezer for a few minutes.  Push end of sucker stick in oasis to dry.  After drying, refrigerate (because of the cream cheese). 





Wednesday, February 24, 2010

St. Patrick's Day Table Setting!

I love St. Patrick's Day! It's so fun, and so easy; no buying presents, or costumes. It is a great excuse to get your family together to party!  My mom and I had fun using some of the same things to set a table. 





Green is so pretty!






My mom bought the green glasses, green bowls,and green plates at the dollar store!  The plates were only fifty cents!  The silver chargers and the candlestick were from Target years ago.  The silver is the Damask Rose pattern by Oneida.  The tablecloth was from Wal-Mart a few years ago.

See my mom's tablesetting using some of these items with a totally different approach for St. Patrick's Day.  Her website can be found here:http://redcouchrecipes.blogspot.com/.


Tuesday, February 23, 2010

No Bake Cookies

These are my very favorite cookies. Of course they are........ They're chocolate!!!!



Mmmmm!!!



Ingredients:

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter
4 tablespoons cocoa
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoons vanilla
 3 cups oats

On medium heat, mix in saucepan: 2 cups sugar, 1/2 cup melted butter, 4 tablespoons cocoa, and 1/2 cup water. Stirring constantly, cook until it comes to a boil, and then cook it for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, and add 1/2 cup peanut butter. Stir until blended, then add 1 teaspoon vanilla and 3 cups oatmeal. Stir until glossy. Spoon onto waxed paper, or pour into pan and cut. Let it dry.  Then....Viola!!!!!








Saturday, February 20, 2010

Crazy for Coconut M&Ms!

I love M&Ms! So naturally I was soooooooo excited when I saw these coconut ones. I tried these, and I love them. They are the perfect mix of chocolate and coconut.  These are really good, especially if you love coconut!




These would be great for St. Patrick's Day!


Pick some up next time you're at the store; I strongly recommend them!


Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Spring Tea Party!


Here is my Spring Tea Party Tablescape!

These are my mom's dishes, I just set it up and arranged them.
( I took lots of pictures of course!)













I didn't make these macaroons, they are from Smith's bakery.
They are amazing!












Aren't these plates the cutest?

















The teapot, plates, and teacups are from Roberts Arts and Crafts.
The silver pattern is Damask Rose by Oneida.
The Domed candy dish is from Target.
The glass candy dish was a wedding gift for my mom.





Monday, February 15, 2010

Can't put' em down sugar cookies!

 These sugar cookies are melt in your mouth good! Sometimes we just
 need those sweet things in life!













Ingredients:

1 cup butter
1 cup oil
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups flour


 Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix your butter, sugar, vanilla and eggs. Then add the oil. Add the remaining flour mixture. ( Powdered sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar, and flour.) Roll into balls and dip in sugar. Mash with glass that has been dipped in sugar. (Cocoa can be added in place of 1/2 cup flour. You can also add nuts.)   Bake for 8 - 10 minutes and cool on a wire rack.  Mmmmm! Hope you enjoy these!



Saturday, February 13, 2010

Last Minute Valentine's Gift!

These are way fun! I got them from a Better Homes and Gardens magazine, and I decided to make them. They are fun, quick, and easy!


















I know... I went a little over board with the pictures!












Here's what you will need:

1. votives (candle holders)
2. Valentines colors, Hershey's kisses
3. String or ribbon
4. cupcake papers


Take your votive, and fill it with 7-8 hershey's kisses. Put cupcake paper on top of your votive. Tie string around it and...... viola! Now wasn't that easy? Your friends, family, or special someone will love these!( You can put anything you want in these, like lipgloss, movie tickets, jewely, or anything else you can think of!)





Thursday, February 11, 2010

Slice'n Bake Lemon Gems

These are the perfect lemony treats! I got this recipe from a Taste of Home magazine in 2008. In these pictures, the cookies are smaller then they are supposed to be. I read the recipe wrong.  I thought it said to roll out the dough to 1 or 3/4 inches instead of 1 and 3/4 inches. That's why they are so little in my pictures. We sometimes call them cookie bites, because they are so small. You can make them any size you want!











Recipe: 

3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup colored nonpareils

Lemon Icing:

1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel


In a small mixing bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in lemon peel. Combine flour and cornstarch; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle.

Shape into a 1-3/4 Inch diameter roll; ( you can do them any size that fits you best) roll in nonpareils. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm.

Unwrap and cut into 1/4 inch slices. Place apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for
9-11 minutes or until set and edges are lightly browned. Cool for 1 minute before removing to wire racks to cool completely.



In a small bowl, combine icing ingredients. Spread over cookies. Mmmmm don't those smell good? Now you can treat yourself to some delicious cookie bites. (Makes about 28 cookies, depending on size.)












Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Valentine's Tea Party Tablesetting--My First Tablescaping Post!



Come join in the fun at Tablescape Thursday!  I have posted pictures of a Valentine's Tea Party that my mother hosted for young girls from our church.

Red Chargers:  Wal-Mart
Clear Plates:  Walmart
Paper Plates and Napkins:  Smith's Grocery Store
Napkin Holders:  Wal-Mart
Table Runner:  TJ Maxx (many years ago)
White Table Cloth (Dillard's)
Candy Dish with the Kisses:  Target (many years ago)
Plate Holder:  Target
Candle Holders (Wal-Mart)
Red/Silver Heart-Shaped Bowl (mother inherited from my grandma)
Silver Pitcher (Wal-Mart)
Punch cups (from when my mother was married 22 years ago!)

As you can see many of the items are from Wal-Mart.  We live in a small town and Wal-Mart is the happening place!

Monday, February 8, 2010

Linzer Cookies




These cookies are so pretty! My mom suprised us all, when she made them for valentines day last year. They would also be perfect for a valentines party!

Makes about 20 to 24 sandwich cookies:

1 1/2 Cups ground almonds or hazelnuts
1 1/2 Cups flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick (8 Tablspoons) butter
1/2 Cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Raspberry or strawberry jam
Confectioner's sugar for dusting

If you're starting from raw hazelnuts, toast them in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Then transfer them to a kitchen towel and use the towel to rub off as much of the skin as possible. Transfer the skinned hazelnuts to a bowl and shake out the towel outside so the skins don't fly everywhere.(Yikes!)

If you're starting with raw almonds, follow these instructions to blanch them. Squeeze the nuts out of the skin and toast them in a 350 degree oven until they are dry and lightly goldent but not browned, about 5 to 10 minutes.

Cool the nuts completely before grinding them. Pulse them in a food processor until they are finely ground.

Whisk the ground nuts, flour, cinnamon, and salt together in a mixing bowl, set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. In a small bowl, beat the egg with the vanilla and almond extract. Add half of this to the butter, beat and scrape down the bowl, beat until combined then add the rest of the egg mixture. continue to beat until combined. Add the dry ingredients and continue mixing until all the ingredients have been combined.


Divide the dough in half, shape each piece into a disc, and wrap in plastic wrap and chill, 2 hours in the fridge or 45 minutes in the freezer (the dough can be stored in the fridge for 3 days or 2 months in the freezer).

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Keep one disc of dough in the fridge and roll out the other disc. Lightly flour your work surface and roll out the dough until it is about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out as many cookies as the dough can fit. Gather up the scraps with the second disc of dough and continue to roll out the dough and cut out the cookies. Cut out the centers of half the cookies.


Transfer the cookies to the baking sheet and bake for 12 - 14 minutes or until the cookies are golden, dry, and firm to the touch. The cookies don't spread so they don't have to be spaced out too far apart. Cool the cookie sheets completely before baking a second batch.


Heat up some jam in the microwave or on the stove top until it it warm. spread about a half a teaspoon to a teaspoon of jam on the cookie and place a cookie with a cut out center on top. Lightly dust with powdered sugar before serving.



Finally after all that hard work you can ENJOY!







Saturday, February 6, 2010

Peanut Butter Blossoms


These are my second favorite cookies. They are so perfect for valentines day!

1 3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup margarine
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 bag Hershey kisses

Cream sugars and margarine. Beat in egg. Add milk, peanut butter and vanilla. Mix in dry ingredients. Kneed with hands. Roll into balls,walnut-sized, and roll in sugar. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. When cooked, lightly press Hershey kiss in the middle. (Make sure you put Hershey's kisses on after the cookies are baked and cooled.) And the final step is Enjoy!


Make sure you roll the dough in sugar before baking!
































                                                                                                                           

Friday, February 5, 2010

Soda Cracker Pie

Hi! I'm Tati. I'm a teenager in eighth grade, who loves to cook and bake. I was inspired to start my own food blog by three people. First, my mom, for her love of trying new things. Second my aunt Jackie made a recipe book of all the recipes she and her family liked to make. My grandma also inspired me with all her desserts she makes whenever we go over to her house. I hope you enjoy looking and reading about all the fun recipes that are on here. Bon Apetit!


We have been making this recipe for a long time. It has been a favorite in my family. I got this recipe from my grandma, I'm not sure where she got it. It would be great for Valentines Day!

3 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
16 soda crackers
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup chopped nuts (walnuts work best)
1 banana
strawberries
whipped cream


Beat egg and baking powder until stiff. Add sugar and vanilla. Break up crackers into mixture. Fold in nuts. Place in 8 inch pie pan as if a pie crust. (Or drop into circles on wax paper, this makes about six pies). Bake at 325 degrees for 20-30 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool. Top with strawberries, and sliced bananas. Spread or drop whip cream on the top.