Writing, Reading, Arithmetic...

     I know school has been in session for about a month, but August doesn't say school to me. September does. So the kids are hitting the books again and the teacher's are back to work. What screams school more than crisp apples and new, sharpened pencils? So, I made some cookie versions for my own students. The pencils need something, I know. They are missing their little metal things (did you know it's called a ferrule?). But i did not have anything to make gray or silver icing. I'm sure they still taste good. : )
     These would be great for an after school treat or a lunchbox surprise, great for teacher gifts ( tucked into one of those Pinterest teacher survival kits), for a test day... any of the above.
      Happy Back to School!

I'm Ba-ack!

     Wow! I am finally back to the blog. What a few months it has been. We moved, so even before the move there was no room or baking supplies to bake and definitely no time to bake. We are moved in and I am ready to start creating again.
    My first order of business was for a wonderful friend's birthday. Last year I discovered these great marshmallow sandwich cookies. Call them moon pies, smores, whatever, but no matter what they are called they are yummy! They consist of homemade graham crackers, which are really quite easy to make. These are slightly sweet, crunchy, a little salty, and cinnamony. The crackers are coated in semi-sweet chocolate and sandwiched around giant marshmallows. Homemade marshmallows. Have you ever had homemade marshmallows? So much better than store bought, so much! They are giant and and look really cute packaged. My friend said they would be great later when my son has bake sales. Good idea.
   Coming soon will be some September themed cookies. Let me know if you would ever like to order some or if you know of anyone else who would. I'm always game.

P.S. I know I need to change the blog surround. All in good time : )

Sunshine Day

I had a request for suns to go into goodie bags for a sweet little girl's birthday. The theme was from an old song, Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows. What a cute and creative theme! I can't wait to see pictures! the cookies went well, but when I finished flooding them I felt like they were missing something. In steps my husband. Again. Do you see a pattern? He said what is that orange sparkly stuff in the cabinet? In the end, they got orange edible glitter and yellow sanding sugar. It dressed them up and gave them the sparkle that every little girl (and big girl) loves.        

                   

                                                                         

Triple Lemon Blueberry Cake

Decorated sugar cookies are my forte right now, but I love to bake period. I am actually a cake girl, it's one of my favorite desserts, alongside cobblers and crisps. my cakes taste great, however they never look the way I imagine I want them to look. Alas, the pains of a perfectionist, Type A personality. On Food Buzz one day this cake showed up and I knew I had to make it. Besides my love of cake, my husband's two favorite items in dessert are blueberries and lemons, so perfect choice! It was not a hard cake to make just some time consuming steps. it turned out rather well and I have to admit it was probably the prettiest cake I have ever made. Three layers of lemon,blueberry cake, filled with lemon curd, and frosted with lemon buttercream. It was a hit!

Monkeying Around?

Not me. I've been working! I had a request for monkey cookies for a baby shower this past weekend. I got all my supplies and began my work. These cookies were smaller than others I have attempted and with more detail. First almost completed batch- FAIL!!! I was not happy with them and how they represented my work. After a late night crying phone call to my husband at work, he came home and made me a template to help with my design. What a sweetheart! Not just for the template, but for putting up with all the projects I get myself into. Second batch, much better and I was pleased. The monkey cookies went to their baby shower and I must say, I was not sad to see them go.

An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

Does that still work if it is an apple cookie? I'm going to go ahead and declare yes. This batch of cookies is for my first order due to the blog. I made cookies for a friend's open house in the fall, so this is technically my second order. Exciting for me, but I'm a nerd and get excited about lots of little things. A friend wanted to send along some much needed appreciation and sugar to some well deserving teachers during the TAKS test week. She requested the traditional apple, but in cookie form. Finding an apple cookie cutter was not hard, but finding one with a leaf was. So my husband bought me an apple cutter and a small leaf cutter and said, "see what you can do with this." This was my first time "splicing" two shapes together. It went really well! I was a little apprehensive about the whole red food coloring thing. However, the new brand I am using tastes a hundred times better than the other well known brand that shall remain nameless. Someday these will make great teacher gifts for my child's teacher. How 'bout them apples?

Mama Needed Chocolate

No this is not a cookie, but I needed chocolate and I like to bake anything. For awhile I have wanted to tackle cake balls, but have never gotten around to it. The desire for chocolate made this a reality. I made homemade chocolate cake and homemade chocolate buttercream frosting then dipped in semi-sweet chocolate to coat. Yum! I had some trial and error going on in the kitchen that day. I discovered that only taking a few balls out of the freezer at a time worked much better than the others quickly coming to room temperature while sitting out waiting for their chocolate bath. I also discovered that dunking the balls in a deeper container was much better at coating than a shallower container (thanks to my husband!). All in all they turned out great. I already have new and exciting combinations floating around in my head. I have a plan for Easter which you will just have to wait to find out about. These would be great for parties. They make quite a few and are so rich people would not need more than a couple. Anyway, I am a sleep deprived mom and need the chocolate and extra calories, right?