Farewell to 2013! {Giveaway} - WINNER!

2014 could be your lucky year! I'm starting it off with a little giveaway, and a quick review of my favorite recipes and ideas from the last year.

10. Mini Chocolate Pies

9. Red, White & Blue Bunting Cake

8. Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

7. Half-Birthday Half-Cake

6. Kentucky Derby Cookies

5. Chocolate Roll-Out Cookies

4. Banana Split Dessert Bars

3.  Pumpkin Cupcakes with Fluffy Cream Cheese Icing

2.  Cranberry-Gingerbread Cheesecake Bars

1. How NOT to Make a Polka-Dot Cake (And How-To)

(This cake also rocketed up to the most popular post ever on my site!)

Now, it's your turn!

You can win this Wilton Tool Caddy to hold all of your decorating tools:

photo courtesy wilton.com

And to get your collection started, I'll throw in this 18-piece decorating set, as well:

photo courtesy wilton.com

 Total giveaway value: approx. $58.

WINNER is #16: Jenny Sireno! Congratulations!

You have three chances to enter.
ALL ENTRIES MUST BE MADE IN SEPARATE COMMENTS ON THIS POST ONLY.

#1- Leave a comment telling me: What are you most looking forward to in 2014?

#2- Let me know that you get my emails, or "like" me on Facebook, or are a "follower" of the blog.

#3- Share or link to this post on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest (or all three), and let me know that you did so.

The Info:
This giveaway will be open until 6:00 am (Central Time) Saturday, January 4, 2014.
I'm sorry, but it is only open to those U.S. Residents (because other countries have too many rules about giveaways) who are 18 years-old or older.
You must put your name (and email address) in your comments. I can't trace anonymous comments.
I will announce the winner - chosen by a 7-year-old pulling a number out of a hat - by noon the same day.

The Fine Print:
I bought these gifts myself, with my own money. No one gave me anything for this post.

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Easy Candied Nuts and Spiced Pecans {Recipe}

Looking for an easy, and really good food gift for Christmas? Well, look what I have for you!
These Chai Spiced Candied Pecans are so good, and so easy! They're my gift for all of the teachers and neighbors in our lives this holiday season.

What You Need:
2-3 cups pecan halves (or walnuts)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2-1 tsp. cinnamon*
1 tsp. salt
1 egg white
1 Tbsp. water
*Note: Use any spice combination you like. Below are some of my ideas.

Variations:
Chai Spiced Nuts
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. cardamom
add 1 tsp. vanilla to the water and eggs.

Spicy Sweet Nuts
add a pinch - 1/8 tsp. each:
- cayenne pepper
- chili powder
- ground cumin
- smoked paprika
Click Here to Read More>>

Cranberry-Gingerbread Cheesecake Bars {Recipe}

"Tastes like Christmas!" That's what my husband said when he took a bite of these yummy bars.

What You Need:
For the Crusts:
1 cup DARK brown sugar (or 3/4 cup brown sugar + 1/4 cup molasses)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon 
1 cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes (chilled)

For the Filling:
2- 8 oz. block cream cheese (at room temperature)
2 cups sugar (divided)
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1- 12 oz. bag of  fresh cranberries
2 Tbsp. corn starch
Click Here to Read More>>

Cookie Decorating Kits - Perfect Holiday Gift!

Here's a fun holiday gift idea for you...

A cookie decorating kit for your friends and family.
Combine the icing, the sprinkles and the cookies all in one place... it's perfect! And perfectly fun.

What You Need: (for 3-5 kits)
(I will describe each in detail below with recipe links)
Cut-out cookies
Buttercream Icing
3-4 bottles of sprinkles
Disposable icing bags*
Mini treat bags *
*Available at craft stores

Click Here to Read More>>

Gingerbread Houses for Kids

There are plenty of amazing websites out there devoted to those perfect, architectural-wonder gingerbread houses. This is not one of them.


My boys and I went to visit Fox 9 to show the weatherman, Cody, how gingerbread houses are done. Click the video above to see the segment, or you can click here to go to the Fox 9 website.

Gingerbread houses in our house generally involve a whole lot of sugar, layers upon layers of candy, marshmallows and sugar cereal, and who knows what else. And with kids, I think that's really what it's all about. Below are some of my ideas for making the kid-friendly gingerbread house a more fun experience.

It's all about the icing

Whether you're making your gingerbread house with a kit or graham crackers or Homemade Gingerbread, whether or not it stands up to the test of a child decorating it is all about the icing.
Most of the kits come with some pre-packaged icing, which is fine for adding your decorations and making snow around the outside of the house, but I've found that real Royal Icing makes a huge difference for getting the house to stay together.

Click Here to Read More>>

Homemade Gingerbread House {Recipe}

We love decorating gingerbread houses at our house. But admittedly, I'd never made them from scratch before this season. I was sure my awesomely soft Gingerbread Recipe wouldn't hold up the decorations, and I don't usually eat the houses, anyway.

Graham crackers and store-bought kits worked well enough for us. Now I know. Totally worth it, making our own. Though I did have to add a lot more flour to get the dough stiff enough to hold up.

What You Need:
For the house pieces:
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup unsalted butter (softened)
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup molasses
5 - 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

For the Icing:
1 lb. powdered sugar (about 3 1/2 - 4 cups) 
1-2 tsp. vanilla
3 Tbsp. meringue powder
1/3 cup water

(See my Egg White Royal Icing Recipe if you don't have meringue powder.)

For the Decorations:
Cereal: Fruit Loops, Trix, Golden Grahams, Frosted Mini Wheats
Candy: Gum Drops, Mini Candy Canes, Mints, Gumballs, Cotton Candy
Teddy Grahams or Gingerbread Men Cookies
Click Here to Read More>>

Egg White Royal Icing Recipe

Royal Icing is the icing that dries hard for cookie decorating. I usually make my Royal Icing with Meringue Powder. But sometimes I'll get questions about making royal icing with egg whites instead of the powdered version.

So, I made some with egg whites for these gingerbread houses. It's really quite easy, you just want to be sure you don't use the egg whites raw, to avoid any potential for food poisoning.

What You Need
3-4 egg whites (about 1/2 cup)
2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
4-5 cups powdered sugar

Click Here to Read More>>

"Acorn"y Little Thanksgiving Idea

After I saw this acorn treat idea on the website, The Fountain Avenue Kitchen, I decided my children must make them for their teachers as a treat for the upcoming Thanksgiving break.

Of course, being that I just looked at a picture and didn't read directions, I didn't realize I needed mini Nilla Wafers instead of regular ones. So, ours didn't turn out quite as well. But the 7-year-olds didn't care.

All you need is Hershey's Kisses, Mini Nilla Wafers (or regular-sized), and a butterscotch chip. Some melted chocolate or almond bark or even icing to put it all together, and let the kids go!

We put four in a bag and added a little note that said: "Acorn"y little gift to say: I'm Thankful for You!
Because well, we're just acorny like that!

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Yee Haw! Cowgirl Birthday Cake

A cowgirl-themed birthday cake for twin girls... one insisted there be a cow on the cake, and one insisted there be a horse. So, we ended up with this.
It's all buttercream, and really only three colors (chocolate, black and white), so it's not too hard to accomplish. The real surprise is inside of the cow tier-- which is also cow-spotted.

What You Need:
Cake Mix or Recipe for 1 vanilla and 1 chocolate cake 
1 recipe Buttercream Icing
Double recipe of Chocolate Buttercream Icing
Black Icing Coloring
Food-safe dowel rods
6" & 8" cake pans
Piping Bags and Tips #7, 10, 233
Click Here to Read More>>

Leftover Halloween Candy Treats {Recipe}

Sometimes just sending the leftover Halloween candy into the office to get rid of it doesn't work. People see right through that attempt at getting rid of it. So, I try to repackage it... into Cupcakes, Brownies and this year, Rice Krispies Treats.

What You Need:
6 cups Rice Krispies Cereal
1/4 cup (half of a stick) butter
10-oz. bag marshmallows
Various chocolate candy (We used about 25-30 pieces.)

Click Here to Read More>>

Halloween Leftovers Treats

If your kids ended up with a serious haul of Halloween Candy like mine did... you need something to do with all of those treats. Click the links below for the recipes.

Leftover Halloween Candy Brownies

Leftover Halloween Candy Cupcakes

Monster Cookies 

(Use leftover candy in place of the chocolate chips and M&Ms.)

... And stay tuned, I have another idea that we're planning to make with the kiddos after school today!

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Easy Monster Cupcakes - 5 Ways

I found some Candy Eyeball Sprinkles at the store this week... so, I had no choice, I had to make some quick Monster Cupcakes for Halloween.

I thought I'd show what you could do with a few different, easy-to-find decorating tips. The tips are labeled in the picture above. I think my favorite is the easiest... Wilton Tip #233 in a messy pile. The center cupcake.
(Click on the picture to see the cupcakes larger and in more detail.)

My kids' teachers and our neighbors will hopefully enjoy their simple little monsters.

Click the Links Below to See:
Easy Monster Cake
Halloween Cupcake Ideas 
How to Make a Cake Mix Taste Homemade
Basic Buttercream Icing Recipe

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Easy Cat or Dog "Food Bowl" Birthday Cakes

My boys turned seven this weekend. Every year, we have a costume party for their birthday, to give them (and their friends) another chance to wear their Halloween costumes.

This year, they were cats. So, they wanted cat food bowls for their birthday cakes.

I decided to go with simple for the decoration because this year the boys were very particular about flavors and fillings. (Chocolate-chocolate-chocolate for Charley, and White cake with lemon curd filling and vanilla frosting for Jax.)

The 'water' is piping gel colored blue. (I added a small layer of white icing underneath the blue gel to make the water look lighter in color.) And the cat food is cereal. Each cat chose his favorite cat-food-looking cereal to go on his cake.

I made each a two-layer 9x13 cake, filled in between the layers, and to get the 'indentation' for the sides of the bowls, I used a tip #12 to add a thick layer. I added three layers, then tried to get them as smooth as possible (easier said than done).

In the end, they weren't perfect, but they won over the cats, and their friends.

Click the Links Below to See
How to Make Cake Mix taste Homemade
Rich Vanilla Buttercream Icing Recipe
Silky Chocolate Buttercream Icing Recipe
Lemon Curd Recipe
How to Frost the Corners of a Cake
Last Year's "Backson" Monster Birthday Cake

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Easy Pumpkin Creme Brulee {Recipe}

I love Creme Brulee. It is such a decadent, rich, perfect dessert.
I've long wanted to create a pumpkin creme brulee recipe for fall because it seems like that carmelized sugar yumminess on top is just the right flavor to go with spiced pumpkin.
This recipe did not disappoint.

What You Need:
 2 cups half & half
1 tsp. vanilla extract
6 egg yolks
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
  (OR 3/4 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. ground ginger, 1/4 tsp. nutmeg, 1/8 tsp. ground cloves)
2-3 Tbsp. granulated sugar

Yield: Six 1/2 cup custards 

Click Here to Read More>>

Pumpkin Cake Pops - Many, many ways

I have done Pumpkin Cake Pops in so many different ways...

Right-Side Up...

And Upside Down...

Colorful & Glittery...

With Sticks...

And Without.

All of them taste amazing thanks to The Best Pumpkin Cake Recipe!

Click the Links Below to See How to Make Each Variety:
Basic Pumpkin Cake Pops
Pumpkin Cake Pops- Upside Down
Glittery & White Pumpkin Cake Pops
Pumpkin Cake Bites (no sticks)
Pumpkin Cake Pop Video

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