Trilogy Edibles

Spring Fling Doodle Cake

2012-06-03T08:09:00.001-04:00

Yesterday was our HOA’s street party and since I was already making a cake for Abby’s birthday party I didn’t really want to have to think up something else. So I remembered Rosie at Sweetapolita’s doodle cake and thought that’s it!

So I made a three layer marbled cake with vanilla buttercream and covered it with vanilla fondant. I put it into the fridge to firm up and then gave the girls the edible markers and let them have at it. I added the words to the top but the rest is them! OMG this was so fun, especially to watch.

This is a fabulous idea for a kids party, or a holiday or really at any time at all!

The cake was a huge success both with the girls making it and those who ate it!

Thanks for looking!

I link with these awesome parties here

NY Mets Grooms Cake

2012-06-02T08:29:00.001-04:00

My friend Jill’s brother got married last week and when she asked me to make his groom cake I was honoured. Then the kicker came, can it be a NY Mets cake??? S..U..R..E (said ever so slowly) and then to myself (crap!)

I like a good challenge and this was definitely a challenge. Yay for my new best friend, my kopykake overhead projector. I got the logo the exact size as my 10” cake and cut out the pieces for the logo. You definitely need a very sharp knife to cut out the fondant and I put it into the freezer so it would be firm. This certainly helped.

Anyway, other than the NY Mets was the theme I got free range, so I made a couple of bats and some balls and had fun with it!

I got the thumbs up from Jill and not a piece was left…YAY!

Now my sister wants a cake for her favourite team, the Pittsburgh Steelers.UGH

Thanks for looking!

Baked Apples with Blueberry Struesel

2012-06-01T08:02:00.001-04:00

I’m trying to make simple, somewhat healthy desserts lately. I mean I love a good old fashioned fatty, ooey gooey goodness dessert but since we are trying to be better I thought why not change up desserts.

Now apple and blueberry is probably one of my favourite fruit combinations especially when baked. The apples get sweeter and the berries get tarter and the mixture is divine! Add a little oatmeal streusel on top takes this dish a little farther!

Recipe:

4 apples
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/4 cup flour
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 cup blueberries
3 tbsp melted butter

Slice the top of the apple and core out the centre.
In separate bowl, mix oatmeal, flour, sugar and melted butter.
Add blueberries to oatmeal mixture.
Scoop mixture into centre of apples
Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes
Serve warm!

These are so delicious and relatively healthy. If you like your apples a little softer than bake longer. I like a little crunch to mine.

Thanks for looking!

Treat Day Wednesday–Blueberry Ice cream

2012-05-31T09:13:00.001-04:00

A day late and a pint short! (pun intended) :) Sorry, life got in the way yesterday but I’m here and this is what we had!

Every time I make ice cream or just eat ice cream, I always seem to have the ice cream song in my head! I love this part of summer, not the heat or the humidity. I know I live in the hottest place ever!

So for yesterday’s treat I used up the rest of the blueberries we picked and went with a classic. Blueberry Ice Cream! I also get to use my awesome ice cream maker which I think I’ve used 4 times in the year I’ve owned it (hangs head in shame).

This is a super easy recipe.

2 cups fresh blueberries (I’m sure you can use frozen)
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp water
2 cups half and half cream
1 cup blueberries

In large saucepan, combine blueberries, sugar and water.
Bring to boil.
Once sugar is dissolved, pours blueberry mixture through a sieve and discard skins and seeds.
Let cool a bit, add 1 cup blueberries and the cream. Mix gently and store in fridge overnight.
Pour into ice cream maker and use as directed.
Store in air tight container in freezer for up to a week.
Enjoy!

I can’t even begin to tell you how amazing this flavour is. The whole blueberries are little frozen pops of awesomeness (yes that’s a word). I couldn’t get Rowan from sticking her fingers in it when it came out of the ice cream maker. And the thought of having to wait until it really firmed up in the freezer almost killed her (and me a little bit). Then of course life got in the way and I forgot about it until my mother called and asked if everything was ok because my Treat Day post wasn’t up…oops! Ah well, the trials and tribulations of a blogger who is also a stay at home mom. Sometimes the floors need to be washed, laundry done and kids fed before you can sit down at the computer to write a post. So here I am on Thursday morning doing just that!

Hope everyone has an awesome day and you totally need to make this!

Thanks for looking!

I’ve linked to these awesome parties

Flag Cake–an unintentional post

2012-05-28T07:13:00.003-04:00

Happy Memorial Day!

So what’s with the cake you’re asking? I know right? It’s kind of fun right? I so didn’t intend to write this post. We were invited to a friend’s house yesterday and I, of course, offered to bring dessert. My original plan was to take the left over layer of marbled cake from a grooms cake I made and was just going to cut it in half and do a “half” cake. But as I was trying to wake up, it hit me. The idea that is.

I remember seeing Amanda’s post on I am baker about making a flag cake. Now hers is a little more elaborate and she probably took more than the 2 hours total I took to throw this cake together.

I just wanted to try a version, so I used my Wilton checkerboard insert and baked the colours together instead of cutting out the blue cakes. I then used vanilla buttercream and used sanding sugar to make the flag look on top.

This is so not the pretty cake, nor would it be a cake that any normal blogger would take a picture of and blog about, but then I wouldn’t call myself normal. :) I mean it’s not level, it’s not perfectly iced and the sprinkles are everywhere. It also didn’t help that it was still warm when I iced it, that in itself makes for a pretty sloppy cake. oh well!

When we arrived at our friend’s place they were excited about cake and thought the sanding sugar looked pretty neat. I told them it was a flag cake but I’m not sure they believed me until I cut into it and served. I love when I can silence a room by cutting into a cake. It reinforces why I do what I do.

The steps are pretty easy.

Make your favourite vanilla cake batter and separate into 4 equal parts.
Colour one and half part red and one part blue, leaving one and half part still plain (or white)
One cake pan will be a vanilla cake, one cake pan will be a red cake.
Using the checkerboard divider, the third cake will be blue in the centre two rings and plain in the third ring.
The fourth ring will be blue in the centre and red in the outer ring.
Bake until done. Let cakes cool and make favourite icing, mine was vanilla buttercream.
On a board, place red cake down first and fill with buttercream.
Place the plain cake next and fill with buttercream
Next is blue with red cake, then blue with plain cake.
Finish icing the cake and decorate with sanding sugars.

So this may have been an unintentional blog post but in the end, those posts that aren’t planned are usually the most fun!

The cake was fun and super tasty and really isn’t that what you want from a cake!

Happy Memorial Day all :)

Thanks for looking!

I have Linked with these awesome blogs, plus
Get Your Craft On

Mango Panna Cotta with Strawberry Coulis

2012-05-26T08:34:00.001-04:00

What to do with left over mango…make panna cotta. Well at least in our house. This isn’t my first post on panna cotta and probably won’t be my last. It’s one of Rob’s favourite!

So here’s the thing, it didn’t set completely which would normally piss me off and then I’d have to start all over, but today, it was not a problem. It’s not one my favourite desserts and not because it doesn’t taste divine, it’s the texture. I’ve never been a fan of anything gelatin. Jell-o grosses me out but I make it all the time for the kids (yes that includes Rob).

Today’s panna cotta was a little looser and it was more like pudding than gelatin. I didn’t use heavy cream, just milk so that might be it. The mango puree was thin-ish, that also could be the reason. But whatever it is, it works for me!

Now to make it really yummy, I added a strawberry coolis on top. Strawberry-Mango is one of my favourite fruit combos!

Recipe:

2 1/2 cups milk
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1 cup pureed mango
1/2 cup sugar

Directions:

Put 1/2 cup of the milk in a 6- or 8-cup saucepan, and sprinkle the gelatin over it. Let sit for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, blend together the remaining milk, cream, mango, and sugar.
Turn the heat under the saucepan to low, and cook the milk, stirring occasionally, until the gelatin dissolves. Pour in the cream mixture, and turn the heat to medium. Cook, stirring occasionally, until steam rises. Turn off the heat, and ladle or pour the mixture into ramekins or whatever you have.
Chill the panna cotta until firm, and serve.

Strawberry coulis: blend 6-8 large strawberries with some lemon juice and sugar. Pour over panna cotta and enjoy!

Thanks for looking!

Happy Memorial Day

2012-05-25T08:15:00.001-04:00

You know it’s weird. Not that Memorial day is in any way weird but to be celebrating it is. I don’t remember what we did last year, probably the same thing we’ll do this year. Sit on the back deck, have a bbq and drink a few beers with friends. You see, I’ve celebrated Victoria Day for 40 years, which was also to sit on the back deck, if it was warm enough, and pretty much do the same things. We use to always throw a big start to summer party at our place. There was of course always dessert but nothing like making fancy cookies.

This year seems different. I mean we’ve been here in Cary, NC for about a year and half and finally it’s starting to feel a little like home. The girls have made some friends and I’m glad to say so have I. It will never truly be home, that’s southern/eastern Ontario, but at least I don’t feel as secluded as I did when we moved down here. We have some awesome neighbours, I play tennis at least once a week with a group of wack-a-doodle people that I just love and what I started in this blog, to keep myself from truly wanting to be put in a rubber room, has become so much more than I could ever have imagined.

Trilogy Edibles started as a coping mechanism. Rob was working and travelling and I was stuck in a two bedroom apartment that was so small that I needed an outlet. I had posted stuff on it before but it was really for those who weren’t close so they could see my creations. It’s grown into itself, matured as it were. Many of you visit on a daily basis and some of you are new. That is so awesome. And through it all I’ve met some of the most amazing people. Now it’s all via the web and maybe someday I’ll get to meet them, but this community of women (and a couple good men) have made this journey a fantastic adventure.

So why am I being all nostalgic and sappy? Not sure. I always get a little homesick around the holidays and since Victoria Day just passed and I didn’t sink it to my usual stupor, I feel the need to express my appreciation. I credit all the wonderful people I’ve met this past year and my friends and family from home who have been so amazingly supportive. So Thank You!

I know you’re shocked, I made some cookies!

And some flowers.

Have an awesome memorial day!

Thanks for looking!

Treat Day Wednesday–Fresh Fruit in a Cookie Bowl

2012-05-23T09:11:00.001-04:00

Most of the time the treats in this house are healthy. I know you don’t believe me but it’s true. So today I decided to show you the typical after school treat, but of course I spruced it up just a titch :)

Yup, everyday they eat fresh fruit. Strawberries, blueberries, mangos, apples, pears, bananas oh my! My kids and hubby love fruit. So do I, but I have to be careful because I have a sensitivity to acidity and therefore can’t eat as much as I’d like.

So today I give you fresh fruit in a cookie bowl. It’s not rocket science so everyone can do this.

Here we go!

Cut up fruit – I know right!

Now for the bowl. I used left over cookie dough. There is always some in our house. I cut them using my largest fluted circle cutter.

I then inverted my muffin pan and sprayed with Pam. Place the circles over the pan bottom but don’t try to form them, the baking process will do that for you. Bake at 400F for 10 minutes, they should be slightly browned. So that’s longer than you would bake your regular sugar cookie.

Let the cookie bowls cool on the pan and then remove. You might need to use a knife to help lift. Be careful as they are cookies, they will crumble if you use too much gusto to get them off the pan.

Fill with fruit, icecream or whatever (chocolate mousse would be awesome!)

And enjoy!

So even fruit can be an awesome treat!

Thanks for looking!

Blueberry Streusel Muffins

2012-05-21T07:55:00.001-04:00

It’s blueberry season! So weird to say that in May. It was also weird to pick them in tall bushes. At home blueberries grow in low bushes, so you spend most of the time bent over. This was so much more civilized :)

So we picked a few berries. The strawberries were almost near the end of season, so we didn’t get many. Plus I’ve got two of these boxes in the freezer.

What to do what to do?

So Rob picked first, blueberry streusel muffins and they are delish!

Recipe: As adapted by AllRecipes.com

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons white sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter, diced

Pre-heat oven to 375F
Combine flour, baking powder and salt and put aside.
Toss blueberries and 1 tbsp flour
In stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla.
Alternate adding flour mixture with milk until just combined.
Fold in blueberries.
In separate bowl, cut butter into the flour, sugar and cinnamon until it’s like course oatmeal.
Scoop batter into prepared muffin tins to half way. Sprinkle with streusel and then top with more batter.
Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Let cook 10 minutes before diving in! Enjoy!

These are super yummy and a perfect breakfast treat!

Thanks for looking!

Oatmeal Raisin Roll-Out Cookies

2012-05-19T09:05:00.001-04:00

I have a confession to make, or maybe you already know.

I HATE RAISINS

It’s funny because I’m always taunted by my friends that I hate them but when I asked a few of my Facebook cookie friends I wasn’t alone. YIPEE!

So why I on earth would I make oatmeal raisin roll-out cookies???? Well a friend asked me if I would make oatmeal raisin cookies for her mother for mother’s day, but decorate them too. I had to tell her that they don’t exactly do great for cut outs. Then an idea popped into my head, what about a roll-out version? My friend Diane from Created by Diane had recently posted her oatmeal roll-outs and I asked her if they would work with raisins and would it be ok if I gave them a whirl. She said yes, so I gave them that whirl.

There were a few challenges. I had to touch them, so gross. Then I had to chop them up, I might have gagged a little bit. It’s not the smell or the flavour that I’m so against, it’s the texture. I’m sorry if I gross you all out but it’s kind of like squishing up bugs. There I said it! When I was a wee girl, my family and I were at the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) in Toronto and as a treat my parents bought us cotton candy. I was so excited, I took a big bite and not paying attention bit down on a bumble bee. One chew, two chew, Spit, Scream, Cry! So I know of where I speak when I say they have the texture of bugs.

Several years later I still can’t eat them. And it’s not just raisins, it’s anything dried. Cranberry, plum etc. ick! I did, however, eat them when the girls were really little and learning about food. Yes, I ate a raisin so my kids wouldn’t get my issues. I usually bit once and swallowed so fast there was no actual biting into the raisin. It’s amazing what we do for our kids. Now that they are older and are determining which foods they like without prejudice from us parents, I no longer have to fake it. Thank god!

So back to the cookies. These were a huge hit in the family. Everyone else is a lover of raisins. Which is why you’ll have to take their words for it, other than mine. The cookies smell fabulous and the batter pre-raisin was very tasty but once they went in I had to defer to their reviews. Abby and Rowan kept asking to have another and Rob told me these were his favourite so far. So there you go!

The batter once made was sticky, so I put it into the fridge for a couple hours and then rolled them out. I used a bit more flour on the board to prevent sticking and moved it around after each roll. On these cookies I only used a scalloped circle cutter, but the ridges stayed after baking, so it’s safe to assume they will take any shape.

My plan is to make up a few with icing and give them to my friend for her mom, better late than never :)

Recipe: as adapted by Created by Diane (really I just added raisins, Diane did all the leg-work!)

1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 flour
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 cups Quaker Oats (if they are larger oats, cut up with knife)
1 cup finely chopped raisins

Instructions

Beat butter and sugar.
Add in the egg and mix thoroughly.
Add flour, vanilla, cinnamon, baking powder and oats to mixture.
Mix well and raisins, mix until combined.
Chill dough for at least an hour as it’s quite sticky
Roll out dough on well floured surface with floured rolling pin.
Cut with floured cookie cutter.
Bake at 350 degrees.
For 7-9 minutes until just golden.
Enjoy!

So hopefully my story hasn’t ruined raisins for you because, according to my family, these are awesome!

Thanks again Diane for allowing me to alter your fabulous recipe and thank you all for looking!

How to Save $3.50 a day!

2012-05-18T08:23:00.001-04:00

The other day we were out with the girls at Pullen Park in Raleigh. It’s this awesome park that has a train, carousel, boats and a huge play park area. But after a couple hours both Rob and I needed a little pick-me-up. So we went to Dunkin Donuts. He got a regular hot coffee and I their non-fat iced latte. It was ok, but it wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted that thick frapped sweat coffee you can get from Starbucks. I love the Mocha Frappuccino but my waistline not-so-much. I brought the coffee home and stuck it in the blender added some sugar and pureed. It was good but so not the same.

Pretty much every day Rob leaves about half a pot of coffee in the coffee pot. So I put into a cup and stuck it into the fridge for the afternoon.

When the time came and I needed a little something I grabbed the chilled coffee out of the fridge and decided to try a home version of my beloved Mocha Frappuccino. And I now have my new afternoon drink. The girls can have a popsicle, I’m having this and I save $3.50 plus the gas to get to Starbucks!

Recipe:

3/4 cup chilled coffee
3/4 cup milk (I used 2% as that’s what we have, but choose your poison)
2 cups ice
3 tbsp sugar or sugar substitute
1 tbsp dark cocoa

Put all ingredients into a blender and puree for 30-40 seconds.
Pour into glass, it makes two “tall” frapped drinks!

I better be careful with these because there are a few more calories in this drink than my regular mid-afternoon tea with milk.

Thanks for looking!

Treat Day Wednesday–Cinnamon Roll Donuts

2012-05-16T09:50:00.001-04:00

Today I had every intention of getting up and making today’s treat from scratch. I had cookies on the brain and it’s been a while since I made something other than a decorated sugar cookie. However, when I woke up this morning I thought I would die. I went to bed last night with a head ache and woke up with one. You see, we’ve had wicked storms here for the past few days and the pressure sytems have been up and down and my brain can’t handle it. I’d prefer to be hidden under the sheets in the dark but alas life must be faced.

So I went with easy peasy lemon squeezy today; Cinnamon Roll Donuts. There’s something about donuts and kids. What’s better than a mini cake with a hole in the middle?

I took some Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls and then cut a circle out of the centre and baked as per directions. I then drizzled with icing and voila, a super fun and delicious treat that takes the time to open the package, cut the hole and bake in the oven, 30 minutes tops!

Happy Treat day!

Thanks for looking!

My Mother’s Day!

2012-05-14T08:10:00.002-04:00

I am like a flower
That’s raised with love by you
You help me grow up big and strong
Mom, thanks for all you do!
(from a card made by Rowan)

So what did you do for Mother’s Day? I got to sleep in, my girls made me breakfast and I got to spend the afternoon at Swank Cake Design.

Best. Day. Ever!

After I did the Jacobean cake class in January, I knew I wanted to go back and take another. So when there next dates for classes were release I decided on the fancy gum paste shoe and what was even better was that it fell on Mother’s Day. Oh yeah!

My husband initially rolled his eyes but then realized he didn’t have to think about what to get me from the girls, I’d done all the work. Genius :)

Yesterday I set off after my wonderful morning with my family to Swank’s new digs in Cary, NC. I loved it because it’s 10 minutes from home plus it’s bigger than the old spot.

Wayne and Chuck were their awesome selves. Everyone felt so welcome and the best thing is that no question is left unanswered. Their relaxing manners and teaching style make the class so much fun. What’s even better, you get to leave with your work of art plus all the forming tools and templates required to make this shoe at home. So worth it’s weight in gold.

The next class I want to take is for this cake! Sadly I have to wait until 2013, which bites, but I’ll be there when it’s offered. Isn’t it awesome!

And now a comparison.

Waynes:

Mine: (personally, I think mine’s nicer. hehe)

My day was topped off with a lovely dinner made by Rob and it was shared with my friend Anna (who’s hubby was out of town).

So as you can tell, I had the most awesome Mother’s Day. Here’s hoping next years will be as good!

And thanks again Wayne and Chuck, you guys rock!

Thanks for looking!

Linking with:
Crazy Sweet Tuesdays
Get Your Craft On

Pineapple Cupcakes

2012-05-11T07:43:00.001-04:00

As I was surfing through Pinterest I saw a pin on how to make flowers from dried slices of pineapple, but the link went no where. WHICH I HATE!!!!

Now I had an itch I couldn’t scratch as it were, so my friend Google found Annie’s Eats. Which in the end was the original source of the pin. YAY!

So I bought a pineapple and I made some flowers. Now I have all this left over pineapple and only two of four in the family who will eat it. I love pineapple but my sensitivity to acidic fruits makes me shy away from eating too much for fear of canker sores.

Ok, so lets try pineapple cupcakes.

SO GOOD!

I still had some puree left over so I added some powdered sugar and mixed it up. Stuck it into a piping bag and inserted a squeeze into each cupcake.

I then topped it off with a pineapple (why not?) cream cheese icing and a pineapple flower.

You would think with all this pineapple it would be over powering, but no! It’s, in my opinion, perfect!

Recipe:

1 1/4 cups flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup pureed pineapple
1/2 cup buttermilk

Directions:

Mix eggs, sugar, vanilla and pineapple together.
Mix flour, baking powder, soda and salt.
Alternate adding flour and buttermilk to egg mixture.
Bake at 350 for 20 mins. Makes about 12 cupcakes using the mid-size ice cream scoop.

Pineapple Puree

2 cups chopped pineapple with juice

Puree until smooth.

Pineapple Cream Cheese Icing

4 oz softened cream cheese
2 cups icing sugar
3 tbsp pineapple puree

Whip together until smooth.

Steps to complete the cupcake:

Bake cupcakes.
Pipe puree into cupcakes until they plump up.
Swirl icing on top.
Top with pineapple flower.

The day I made these we had an impromptu get together with friends down the street and I had to take something, so I brought these. Not sure they lasted an hour!

I recommend these for sure!

Thanks for looking!

Welcome Alexandra

2012-05-10T07:51:00.001-04:00

Lots of friends having babies this year. My good friend Kenzie just had her second about a month ago and I’m finally getting around to sending her cookies and few little gifties.

Thanks for looking!

First Birthday Cookies–For Hartley Grace

2012-05-08T07:40:00.002-04:00

So I’m back from Vegas and had an absolutely fabulous time. Nope not telling!

But last week before I left I made a few cookies. It was an ask and you shall receive kind of thing, at least for my friend Linda.

Linda sent me this picture, it was the plate the party was being themed around.

Wow, that’s a lot of colour! Ok…so I make a bit of royal icing. Rowan felt it should be photographed as the rainbow. Yes dear ;)

Hey Karen, can they be different types of cookies too? Vanilla, Chocolate, Chocolate Chip and could you throw in a few Gluten Free too?

You bet :)

Oh, and the gluten-free!

My hand was cramped by the time I was done but the cookies were so bright and cheery, how could I not smile! Plus I have a ton of left over dough, so expect lots of cookie posts.

I also received the sweetest email from Hartley’s grandmother thanking me for making the GF cookies so she could partake in the fancy cookies too! Well, it was my pleasure. To be honest, my Abby loves the GF cookies more than my regular, so as you can imagine they are really tasty!

Thanks for looking!

Linking with:
Mrs Fox's Sweets Party

Going to Vegas baby…

2012-05-04T08:11:00.001-04:00

So I made some cookies…

That is all!

Thanks for looking and I’ll see you on Tuesday :)

The Avengers

2012-05-03T08:08:00.001-04:00

Ok, I’m a geek, Star Trek, Star Wars but only new to the Avengers. It started with Robert Downey Jr’s portrayal of Iron Man and I loved it! Next up was Chris Evans (who you all know I kind of have a crush on) as Captain America. Now I haven’t seen Thor but Chris Hemsworth was in Star Trek so he’s aces for me and I love Mark Ruffulo (13 Going on 30, huh? huh?). Last but not least is Jeremy Renner, I mean really what’s not to love and if you’ve never seen The Hurt Locker, stop and go rent. It’s amazing!

Ok, so maybe not so much a comic book geek but more about the hot men in this movie. Don’t get me wrong, I love Scarlett Johansson too because she can kick some serious ass, but come on, the men? drool, sigh…composure.

I also love a flawed hero and well, they kind of all fit that bill too!

With some left over cookie dough, I made these to celebrate the release of the Avengers movie this weekend.

I can’t wait to see the ~~men~~ movie ;)

Thanks for looking!

Treat Day Wednesday–Cookies & Cream Pops

2012-05-02T09:57:00.001-04:00

To continue with the ongoing trend of loving all things frozen on a stick in our house, I decided that I’d again make popsicles for Treat Day.

These ones were way too easy. I had a package of cook & serve vanilla pudding and some chocolate graham crackers. I made the pudding, I crushed the cookies, I combined and I froze. Can’t lie to you, as you know, these are really good. So simple. One drawback, they look gross. Those were Rowan’s words. But as I’ve always said, never judge a book by it’s cover or in this case a food by it’s appearance, you should try before you pass your judgment. Well one lick in and not another word was said. SUCCESS!

I really do love easy treats and what’s even the best part is that they are a relatively low calorie treat. YAY!

Thanks for looking!

Mother Goose Day Cookie Swap

2012-05-01T06:00:00.001-04:00

Today is May 1st and it’s also Mother Goose Day!

A few months ago Melissa from The Baked Equation asked if I’d like to do a cookie swap and of course I said yes! I’d never been apart of one before and was so excited. We were joined by Samantha from Flour-de-lis and Christina from Sweet C’s Bake Shop. All three of these ladies are uber talented cookiers and I was so honoured to be apart of this swap.

We decided on a day and then had to come up with a theme. I looked at the fun holiday calendar and found that May 1st was Mother Goose Day and boom! we had a nursery rhyme theme.

I volunteered to accept all cookies, then package up and re-distribute. The first package came in from Christina and it was like Christmas morning! I love packages, especially when there are cookies involved.

Melissa was next and more fun stuff with cookies. Real work got in the way for Samantha so she had to send out her own packages. Which made me sad because I really liked seeing all the cookies first.

Here’s what we got!

From Melissa: She went with Pat-A-Cake and she also sent me an awesome gift for hitting 1500 likers on Facebook. She remembered that square pans were something I’d always wanted but never bought for myself. So she sent me an awesome 3 pan set. She also sent Rob one of her awesome golf cookies.

From Christina: Just look at all the goodies. Her cookie theme was Itsy Bitsy Spider. Rowan got into the cookies within 10 minutes of me opening the package.

From Samantha: Her rhyme was the Queen of Hearts and along with her cookies I got a PME #2 tip (you can never have too many), a small pot of jam and a chocolate bar. I had to take Sam’s out of their packaging b/c it was a cloudy day here and all you got was wrapper, and I may have eaten the cupcake one right after this picture was taken. WHAT??? it’s a chocolate cookie, I have no shame :)

And this is what I sent.

I couldn’t pick just one nursery rhyme so I used 6 different ones. These were so much fun to make and I hope the ladies loved them too! I also sent a set of circle cutters, from 1” to 6”. You can never have to many circle size cutters.

Thanks again ladies for including me in your swap, this was a ton of fun!

If you want to see what the other ladies had to say, check out their blogs at:

Melissa at The Baked Equation

Christina at Sweet C’s Bake Shop

Samantha at Flour-de-Lis

Thanks for looking!

Happy Birthday Eamonn–Hero Factory Cookies

2012-04-29T20:52:00.002-04:00

Another year and as expected another birthday for my nephew, Eamonn. Where does the year go???

Last year I made Star Wars and Harry Potter cookies. They were the first “fancy” cookies I had ever made. I’ve come along way in a year :)

When asked what the theme of the party was going to be this year, Lego Hero Factory was the answer. WTF??? Having two girls I knew not of these boy toys. Google is my friend, yes it is!

And this is what I found:

As you can see by these photos there are lots and lots of details. I had every intention of colouring them in but once I outlined them in black, I decided they looked pretty cool and left them.

As you can see, I also made the Hero Factory Logo. I got a call from my sister and Eamonn could name all the cookies and was super excited. Nothing better than a 6 year old’s seal of approval. Can I get a whoop whoop?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EAMONN!

Thanks for looking!

Linked with:
Mix it Up Monday

The Best Coffee Cake Ever!

2012-04-28T08:57:00.001-04:00

Thanks to Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman. But I’ll get to that :)

Some days I hate Facebook. I mean it’s a great place to share and meet some amazing people but it’s also the source of many impulse bakes. It’s like the dollar bins just before the cash register at most stores these days. If you have the will power they don’t affect you but if you have a four year old staring at you with their puppy eyes, you’re weak at the knees. Well that’s Facebook for me and this would be no exception.

All it took was someone to ask what your favourite breakfast treat was and my mind went instantly to coffee cake. There is just something about this cake. The moist sponge, the crumbly topping, the smell of cinnamon or the combination of all three. I just don’t know but whatever it is, I love it!

Now back in Ottawa, my friend Cindy and I also have a small addiction to The Farmer’s Market coffee cake. I mean we love it and because of that, it’s become kind of a running joke. Whoever is having the other over, the one visiting brings the cake. It’s sold at Loblaws back home and I’m sure when I left, they didn’t need to keep so many in stock :) I’ve never found a suitable replacement here in Raleigh nor a good recipe…until now.

I’d never made anything from Ree’s website before but after this success, I will now go and peruse her recipe list!

Now I did make a few modifications to her recipe because that’s what I do. I added 1 tsp of cinnamon to the cake and replaced the the walnuts with chocolate chips.

Recipe as adapted by The Pioneer Woman

The Cake:

1-1/2 stick Butter, Softened
2 cups Scant Sugar
3 cups Flour, Sifted
4 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1-1/4 cup Whole Milk
3 whole Egg Whites, Beaten Until Stiff

Preheat oven to 350F
Combine the butter and sugar in a stand mixer until fluffy.
Combine flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon and set aside.
Add flour mixture and alternate with milk to butter mixture.
Fold egg whites into cake batter.
Pour cake batter into 12” square pan.

Topping:

1-1/2 stick Butter, Softened
3/4 cups Flour
1-1/2 cup Brown Sugar
2 Tablespoons Cinnamon
1 cup chocolate chips

Combine first 4 ingredients with a pastry cutter or fork. Then fold in chips.
Cover cake batter with topping.
Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.
If using a smaller pan, place a baking sheet underneath as it may bake over.
Remove from oven and let cool before slicing.
Bet you can’t eat just one square…I had a really hard time with this.

So now that I have this recipe I may have to take it back to Ottawa with me in July and instead of buying one, I’ll make it for Cindy :)

Thanks for looking!

Cosmopolitan Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream

2012-04-27T08:09:00.002-04:00

Just over a month ago a threw a martini party. I had bought some different martini mixes and since then always thought I should attempt a cupcake version of said martinis.

Now I’m not a huge drink drinker. I love a really good really cold red beer as well as a really nice glass of Cabernet Sauvignon. But every now and again I’ll drink a martini.

I decided to choose the Cosmo because it reminded me of my first trip to New York City some 15 years ago. I went with my best friend, Sapna and we stayed with a friend of hers, Randy, who lived in Manhattan. Now Randy was the concierge at the Four Seasons hotel and his partner (at the time) was a modeling agent. So basically we went to NYC and hung out in somewhat fancier digs then we were use to as well as with really beautiful people. It was a blast and an eye opening experience all at once.

Now because we were hanging with the “beautiful” people we got to get into some pretty funky clubs. At one club you needed to know someone to get in but then you needed to know someone else to go into the back room. It was like being in a movie. I actually walked into the bathroom whilst a stick figure did a line of what one would assume was cocaine, but who knows. I felt like I was invading her privacy but I really had to pee. I know I’m all class! Sapna and I decided to go fancy and order a Cosmo. It was really quite tasty but the funny part of this story, or just proving how sheltered a life we led was when the bill came. The waitress said 16 dollars please. It didn’t take long to realize she meant each. Che-Ching! I mean it was good, but not 16 bucks good. That’s 4 beers at a pub :) Needless to say, it was the last drink I bought that evening.

So when I picked Cosmo, it reminded me of my first visit to NYC. Good times!

Cosmopolitan Cupcakes (adapted by A Cup Full of Cake)

1/2 cup butter room temp
2 cups sugar
2 eggs room temp
1/2 tsp salt
2-1/2 tsp baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 1/4 cup Cosmopolitan Mix

Directions:

Allow all ingredients to come to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line muffin pans with cupcake papers.
With a mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy.
Add the eggs 1 at a time and beat until well combined.
Combine all dry ingredients in a separate bowl and set aside
Combine the buttermilk and Cosmo Mix.
Add in 1 cup each of the dry and wet mixtures alternately, beating on low until the whole mixture is well combined.
Fill cups with batter two-thirds full. Bake at 350 F for 18-22 minutes or until cupcakes
spring back in the middle when touched lightly. Cool for 10 minutes in pan.

Lemon Buttercream

1/2 cup butter softened
1/2 cup shortening
4 cups icing sugar
6 tbsp lemon juice

In stand mixer, combine all ingredients together and beat on med-high until smooth.

Now you can add red food colouring to the cupcakes it you want them a more true cosmo colour. I really liked these, however Rob wasn’t a huge fan. He did say the buttercream has the perfect lemony flavour. The leftovers went into Rob’s work and were demolished. So despite Rob’s nonchalance towards them, they were well received by his office. So I say success!

Thanks for looking!

linking with:
Gallery of Favourites
I'm Loving it Friday
Friday Food
Kitchen Fun & Craft Linky

Treat Day Wednesday–Strawberry Vanilla Swirl Popsicles

2012-04-25T08:42:00.002-04:00

And you thought I’d be through with strawberries. Well I didn’t pick today’s treat, Rowan did.

Both Abby and Rowan have been all about the popsicles and ice cream these days. When I was flipping through Pinterest, I saw these popsicles.

This great little website Our Best Bites has so many wonderful ideas, especially for kids.

When scrolling through the several popsicle ideas, Rowan stopped me and said, those ones mommy!

So here we are on Treat Day and I give you these strawberry and cream pops!

Recipe: adapted by Our Best Bites

1 small box instant vanilla pudding (now I used cook and serve pudding b/c that’s what I had in the pantry. I just made it as per directions but with just 1 cup of milk.)
1 C milk
6oz vanilla yogurt
12 medium strawberries (about 1 3/4-2 C roughly chopped)
2-3 T sugar

remove stems from berries and pulse with 2 T sugar in a food processor until completely smooth. Taste and add more sugar if needed. You should have just over a cup of puree. Set aside.
In a blender combine pudding, yogurt, and milk and blend until combined. Layer or swirl the pudding mixture with the strawberry mixture in popsicle molds and freeze until solid. (Here’s what I did. I cooked the pudding, cooled it in an ice bath, added the yogurt and then continued)
Enjoy!

This is a great idea for the kids to help with. Rowan put the sticks in and helped swirl the strawberries into cream! So many giggles and smiles, this was a really fun treat!

Thanks for looking!

Linking with:
Cast Party Wednesday
Mrs Fox's Sweets Party
Success U

Lingerie Cookies

2012-04-24T07:44:00.001-04:00

Here’s a simple and short post. A friend asked me to make her some bachelorette cookies after she saw my last batch of corset cookies I had made for another friend. So using Glory at Glorious Treats and Carolyn at Occasional Cookies as inspiration, I give you these! Sorry the pictures aren’t great, still working on figuring out my lightbox.

Thanks for looking!