Happy Halloween!

Hope you all had a safe & happy Halloween filled with lots of sugar! 

Here is a drive-by of all of the Halloween treats I squeezed in!

Happy baking...happier eating!

spider web lolli

Franki-lolli

Mr. Bat lolli

Mummy lolli

Jack lolli

family-o-jacks

chocolate cupcakes with buttercream ghosts...booooooo!

creepy spiders on cupcakes (bad picture!)

Teddy Bear 1st Birthday!

Wow, where is time going. Ya know, I know I say that a lot, but seriously...where is it going. It's like I blink and suddenly it is almost the middle of June and more importantly almost our first wedding anniversary! Can you believe a year already, ummm...I cannot! And where better to celebrate you ask? Yep, that's right...we're headin' to Texas and I cannot wait! I have always been a southern gal at heart, even though I was raised in the sticks of Northern Nevada, and I am looking so forward to checking out all that Texas has to offer!

Whirlwind {Part 2}!

Here are the remaining pics...

Doggie sugar cookie favors for a 3rd birthday...

 

 Red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting for a lady-bug themed baby shower...

 Happy Baking...Happier Eating!

Whirlwind!

So I have a little problem...I cannot seem to allow the simple word of 'no' to come out of my lips. I have tried and tried and tried tried tried, it just won't come out and I don't know why! I have been vexed with this my whole life and I blame this condition for why I sleep very little and do very lotta! Truth be told, I love to be super overly busy...it makes me feel alive! I thrive when I have a whole lot to do and little time to do it in! Anyone else like this? I imagine there are many of us crazed with this problem, but that is what makes us who we are right!

Fiesta!

Here is just a quick little post about a little thing I can international deliciousness...and what is that you ask? Mini Mexican chocolate cakes! This past weekend we had a little fiesta and to keep in line with the carnitas tacos we cooked up, I made these yummy cakes for a sweet end to the evening. Funny story about this cake recipe, I actually made it for the first time almost 6 1/2 years ago. Why do I remember this so clearly you may wonder...well that is because I made this cake only a few hours after meeting my wonderful husband. It was that afternoon, I turned in my cynical ways for the belief in love at first sight, and I couldn't be happier I did!

To Be A Cupcake or To Be A Brownie...That Is The Question!

So is something that looks like a cupcake but taste like a brownie considered a cupcake or a brownie? The verdict is still out, but I will let you help me decide. I made these the other night after I got off at 4pm, which was oh so awesome it needed a celebration of baking! My wonderful husband (oh how I love saying that word) LOVES brownies, but can I just tell you that I have a mental road block when it comes to making brownies? I don't know what it is...I am just not that good at making brownies. Maybe it is the lack of flour that restricts me ;) I don't make brownies all that often, and although you can make some pretty fabulous concoctions like cheesecake, peanut butter, mint, nut, cherry, etc. I just don't go to brownies when I am in the mood to bake. I will tell you however that I LOVE warm brownies fresh from the oven, and I happen to love box brownies, which I am pretty sure I have mentioned before! They seem to turn out perfect; not too cakey, not too fudgy. Scratch brownies however seem to be a bit more finicky!

Happy Easter!

Eeek! Ever have one of those days you just should not have done what you planned to do? Well that was yesterday for me, I had been looking forward all week to making some Easter cupcakes, however yesterday my baking experience sort of turned into a comedy of errors. I was absolutely shocked that I did not just toss in the hat and decide to do without a sweet Easter treat and indulge myself in a store-bought Cadbury.

Happy Valentine's Day!

What better excuse to bake than Valentine's Day, combine that with me finally having the weekend off, let the baking bonanza begin! So given that I love Valentine's Day I had so many things I wanted to bake and decorate, but given my hunny can only eat so much, I limited myself to 3 varieties of heart-felt treats. 

• vanilla cupcakes with Swiss meringue buttercream and royal icing hearts
• 'conversation heart' sugar cookies
• chocolate sandwich cookies with vanilla cream filling

Tested Recipe: Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

Source: Adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes
Difficulty: intermediate
Satisfaction: AAAAAMAZING! 
I always love to share a little something sweet with others on my birthday, and this year was no exception! My fiance's brother and girlfriend gave me the Martha Stewart Cupcakes book for Christmas and as you can see, I have become obsessed with recipe testing her latest and greatest cupcake recipes. I deviated this year from my usual chocolate cake tradition for something a little different and these totally satisfied my craving for moist, rich cake and frosting. All I have to say is DELISH! As I write this evening, I am simultaneously stuffing my face with one of the remaining cupcakes, so let's get to it!

Tested Recipe: German Chocolate Cupcakes

Source: Adapted from Martha Stewart Cupcakes

Difficulty: intermediate

Satisfaction: less than delicious 

I was meeting a good friend for my birthday lunch, and I thought what a great time to test a new recipe and share them with her. Truthfully, I was less than impressed with these cupcakes. They were a bit dry, despite adding some sour cream to the batter for moisture, None the less, she enjoyed them, and I brought the remainder to work the following day and they were eaten immediately. It is amazing how many people will eat a cupcake for breakfast! So here it is...