S'Mores Buffet - The Best Cookout Dessert EVER

My new favorite summer dessert plan: S'Mores' Buffet!
SO. MUCH. FUN!
I hit the candy aisle at the grocery store... found some fun crackers and cookies... even some leftover Girl Scout Cookies (highly recommend those!)... it was awesome!

The kids, of course loved it, but after the kids went to bed, the adults had a great time trying so many different options.

The biggest hits involved the Girl Scout Cookies, Reece's Peanut Butter Cups and Peppermint Patties.

If you come over for a cookout this summer... this will be the dessert. No question. LOVE IT! So easy, so many choices, perfect for all!

Click the Links Below to See:
S'Mores Cupcakes
S'Mores Cake 
More Spring/Summer Ideas 

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Tip for Tuesday- Cleaning Icing Tips

Big decorating projects leave a big mess.
Cleaning out the icing tips can be such a pain, but I've recently learned a relatively easy trick to get the tips really clean. The bonus is that if you're like me, and use the same tips for both buttercream and royal icing, this method cleans the tips well enough that you don't have to worry about grease getting into your royal icing.

I start by using a toothpick to get as much of the icing out of the tip as possible.

Wash the tips in a sink of soapy water, but you don't have to worry too much about getting them 100% clean.

Dump the tips (and couplers) into a pot of water. I often also add a splash of vinegar just for good measure.

Boil the tips for about 5 minutes.

Drain and rinse them with fresh water. Cool and dry the tips before putting them away.

Click the Links Below to See:

More Tips for Tuesday
The Icing Bag Bullet (also makes cleaning easier)

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Lemonade Cake with Strawberry-Lemonade Icing

Happy Birthday to Me!

My husband decided that for my birthday this year, he would make something from this blog for me. I couldn't let that go without some documentation.

He chose to take these Strawberry-Lemonade Cupcakes, and turn them into a cake.

I have to tell you, it's really, really hard to stand by and watch while your non-baker (though decent at cooking) husband follows a recipe I made! But I mostly stayed out of his way... other than with a camera.

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Baseball Cookies, Cupcakes and Cake Pops

Baseball season is in full swing (har, har) in our house right now. Practices, games, and most importantly, the treats that go along with those events.
Last year, I made a few fun baseball treats, that I thought I would bring back out for you today.

Baseball Cake Pops

Baseball Sugar Cookies

(very easy!)

Baseball Cupcakes

(Three ways to make them)

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Graduation Hat Cookies

Congratulations, Graduate! These Chocolate Graduation Hat Cookies are the perfect gift for a special grad or a great centerpiece for a graduation party.

What You Need:
Chocolate Roll-Out Cookie Dough (one batch makes about 12-15 hats)
Royal Icing*
Fruit-Flavored Tootsie Rolls or Starburst
Round Cutter (or glass)
Ruler
Small round cutter (I used icing tip #12)

*I added 2 Tbsp. Cocoa Powder to a full recipe of Royal Icing for these. You only need a tiny bit of icing, though. You would be fine to do a half recipe, or you may even consider melting some chocolate or Candy Melts to use as your glue instead of the royal icing.

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Graduation Treat Ideas

It's that time of year again, graduation time. If you're looking for some fun ideas for graduation treats, I made a few last year, and I have a couple up my sleeve in the next week or two that I hope to share when I get them done.

Homemade Peanut Butter Cup Graduation Caps

Peanut Butter Cup Graduation Caps-- on a stick!

Graduation Cap Cake Pops

And lastly, here is a link to the video of me making these with my friends, Karen & Tom, at Fox 9 last year.

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Marshmallow Flower Cupcakes on Fox 9

If you have trouble viewing the video above, Click Here to visit the MyFox9.com website to see the video.

I'm super excited and super nervous to take one of my little men on TV with me this morning to make these marshmallow flower cupcakes.

We first made them last year for Teacher Appreciation Day for their preschool teachers.

What You Need:
Cupcakes
Mini-marshmallows (about 20-25 per cupcake)
Icing (any kind will do, even canned icing)
Sugar sprinkles in pretty flowery colors
Sandwich Bags

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Half-Birthday Half-Cake

Yes, I realize that celebrating my children's half-birthday makes me the embodiment of all that is wrong with parents in America... or whatever.
But it's so fun! I made this half-birthday half-cake after seeing something similar online.

What You Need:
One boxed cake mix or about 5 cups cake batter
8" round cake pan
6" round cake pan
Chocolate Ganache
Buttercream Icing
Icing Colors
Piping Bags and Tip #7

Click Here to Read More>>

Teacher Appreciation Week

Monday starts Teacher Appreciation Week.
Don't forget to do something nice for the amazing teachers in your life. Below you will find my favorite ideas for teachers.

Teacher Appreciation Cookies

Easy A-B-C 1-2-3 Cookies

Apple Cake Pops

Apple Cookies

Caramel Apple Cupcakes

Crayon & Pencil Cookies

Kid-Friendly Marshmallow Flower Cupcakes

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Cinco de Mayo- Mango Ruffle Cake

Because I just made some yummy Strawberry-Margarita Cupcakes, and I wanted my boys to share in the cake I made for Cinco de Mayo this year, I opted to go away from margaritas and towards some other Mexican-inspired flavors.

The cake didn't quite turn out as I'd planned, thanks to some silly mistakes on my part, but I think it turned out pretty well, nevertheless.

What You Need:
For the Cake:
1 Box White (or vanilla or yellow) Cake Mix
3 eggs
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup milk
1 cup mango puree*
Optional: 
1-2 Tbsp. limeade concentrate
Food Coloring
6" cake pan

For the Icing:
1 cup butter (at room temperature)
1 cup vegetable shortening
1- 2 lb. bag powdered sugar
1/2 cup mango puree*
2 Tbsp. limeade concentrate

*Note: See below for the mango puree instructions. I used frozen mango chunks from the freezer section, defrosted and pureed them.

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