Sweet Satisfaction

When I tied the ribbon on my "teacher gifts"for my kids to take to school I felt such satisfaction. So many things are NEVER done in my life- right now I am in the season of "Do-Over" jobs. Little kids mean little pickups ALL day long. They seriously go around pulling everything out and since my two youngest are physically challenged and can have breathing trouble I have to stay close- in the same room basically with them all day. So having such a fun hobby I really enjoy and can do while they scoot and toddle around is a wonderful outlet for me. A fun FINISHED product. Real question I guess is- why is it that I can make cupcakes but not dinner?

MINI's (and bad photography..)

I have been having fun with Mini cupcakes- a friend wanted some for her daycare helpers at the gym so her idea was to have something written on them- I cut out fondant letters that said (her cute idea) "Merry Christmas Mama's Little Helpers" and it got my brain spinning- all kinds of ideas for mini's! I had a large bakery box and filled the space around the lettered cupcakes with double chocolate mini's and lemon mini's with little frosting Christmas trees. The picture I took was really dark- maybe my friend took one, if she did I will post it. I am realizing to have a good blog you need to be a professional photographer! Hmmmm not gonna happen this year......

The chocolate CHOCOLATE mini's were for a birthday party (Thanks Jenn!) and had a truffle filling and just a touch of almond in the buttercream.

Christmas Trees

Jumbo Cupcake in its own gift box!

Wreath Cupcakes!

WHY?

Because I LIKE to...... I realized that baking is therapeutic for me. It is extremely rewarding to have a finished product that never fails to delight SOMEone, even if it is just my 7 year old daughter who thinks I am FABULOUS because I can make something so fun to look at.
My kids have all had the same kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Kuryllo and we LOVE LOVE her and like it or not, she is always a recipient when we have been baking.
There is just something, so satisfying about watching the looks on peoples faces when you have taken the time (!!! that's half the battle) and made something special- whether its my own idea or one I found and had to try.

Tis the season!

Cake Pops are my new favorite thing! The "Bakerella" website has the cutest ideas- round balls of cake dipped in chocolate.... I decided to triple threat and make a snowman!

Good cake is not made in one bowl

I have learned this the hard way. Every time I have tried to shortcut the process it just doesn't turn out. Good cake takes 3 bowls.
Growing up in a home where there was no granulated sugar- we used honey or real maple syrup in all our baking- imagine those cookies.... Real butter, honey and whole wheat flour with carob chips. Imagine the FLATTEST cookie you have ever seen and that's what we gobbled up.
So I have learned to improvise in my cooking- trying to get that really delicious flavor from REAL foods like butter, sour cream, and good grains while still getting a nice looking and yummy product. Maybe someday I will live the dream of cooking school but for now my test kitchen is just my own.

Mini cupcakes are a must have I think. They fly off the table at parties because, who cant eat a MINI cupcake?!? You get a delicious bite of frosting and cake and then you can move on to another flavor. These cupcakes were for the ladies at my church- and it was not just for Christmas, it was also a pre-Thanksgiving party as well, so that is why I had the pumpkin spice with cream cheese- the little cookie leaves were made with Royal Icing- I love the look and think it was worth the time.

Baby Showers and Birthdays

Oldie but Goodie

This is a cake i did for Natalies 1st birthday! I love the mix of flowers. Once again- fonadant flowers are not yummy but I just made sure the cake and frosting were good :)