Polka Dot Cake

I made this cake last weekend for a vendor show. It would be a great birthday cake for any girl young or old :)

Halloween Cookies

What's better than a chocolate chip cookie with chocolate candy in it? Mmmmm!!!

Halloween Candy Cookies:

3 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1 cup butter

1 1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

2-3 cups chopped candy bits (I used Snickers, Peanut M&Ms, Pretzel M&Ms, regular M&Ms, Kit-Kats, 100 Grands, Twix...all great things!!)
Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

Beat butter and sugars together with a mixer until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla. Reduce sped to low. Add flour mixture and mix just until combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Stir in candy bits.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Drop dough by tablespoons onto baking sheet. Bake 15-20 minutes. Cool on baking sheet 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

My adorable new cake stand from Aunt Erin :)

I also couldn't resist and had to do some Halloween Sugar Cookies!! So cute :)

Nickie's Mint Chocolate Birthday Cake

For my friend Nickie's birthday, I made her a Mint Chocolate Cake. She loooooooves mint chocolate!!

I had no idea Andes made baking chips! They were in the baking aisle right next to the chocolate chips. From Andes website, I found the recipe for this Flourless Mint Chocolate Cake!

My Ingredients:
12 oz. dark chocolate (60% cocoa recommended)

2 cups (10 oz.) Andes Crème de Menthe Baking Chips

3 1/2 sticks of butter

5 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

2/3 cup sugar

Pre-heat oven to 325° degrees.

Prepare a removable-bottomed cake pan, 9 inches in diameter, lined with parchment or wax paper and buttered.

In a 2-quart saucepan, over very low heat, gently melt butter, Andes Baking Chips and chocolate broken into small pieces.

Stir occasionally until completely melted and smooth.

Remove from heat and let cool.

Mix eggs, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until mixture becomes three times the original volume (about 3-5 minutes).

Through a strainer, add 1/4 of the chocolate mixture into the bowl.

Using a spatula, mix gently until thoroughly incorporated. Add remaining melted chocolate through strainer to catch any solid pieces and fold in gently until well mixed.

Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 12 minutes.

The cake will be slightly soft to the touch, not firm. Don't be tempted to bake it for any longer than this. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan. When cool, cover pan and refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight. Remove pan sides, invert cake onto large plate and remove pan bottom and peel away parchment paper. Invert cake again on another plate or serving platter. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar or cocoa powder immediately before serving.

And I forgot to take a picture of the finished product :(

40th Birthday Cake

I made this cake for a friend of a friend's 40th Birthday Party!

I think it turned out pretty cute!!

Cardinals Cookies

I love Cardinals Baseball and I love sugar cookies, so I decided to make Cardinals Sugar Cookies!

Cap
Cardinal Bird...so cute!!

The Cup Cupcakes

For Jenni & Nickie's combined Birthday dinner I picked up a few cupcakes from The Cup!

BEFORE:

Vanilla with sprinkles, Peanut Butter Cup, Strawberry

Carrot Cake, Chocolate-Chocolate, Red Velvet

We got 6 forks and dived in getting a bite of each flavor! It was delicious!!!

AFTER:

"That Other" Lemon Cake

"That" Lemon Cake recipe has been in the family for many years. It started out as just a Lemon Cake recipe, but eventually became known as "That" Lemon Cake! I decided to try a variation on "That" recipe and try to make it a bit healthier, yet equally delicious, so I called it "That Other" Lemon Cake!

My ingredients:

1 package of Yellow Cake

1 package of Instant Vanilla Pudding

4 egg whites

1 package of Apple Sauce (about 4 ounces)

1/4 cup of Oil

3/4 cup of Water

Mix together following cake directions.

Spray pan with Pam and dust with flour.

Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.

Mix together:
2 cups of Powdered Sugar
1/3 cup of Lemon Juice
2 tablespoons of Melted Butter
2 teaspoons of Water

While hot, poke holes in the top with a fork or toothpick.

Pour the glaze over the cake. Once cake has cooled, flip over onto a serving platter and sprinkle with powdered sugar right before serving.

YUM!