Mini Chocolate Pies {Recipe}

My baby sister is getting married next summer. We're about ankle-deep at this point in trying to get some of the basics set. The thing is, she can't really be related to me because she's not a huge fan of cake. (I know! Right?!)

So, I'm thinking that if we can convince my mom, and perhaps my future brother-in-law... she can go with some kind of dessert bar.

Now, I would LOVE to be able to actually make such a thing happen for her all by myself, but given that the wedding will be in Texas, and I live in Minnesota, this seems unlikely. But perhaps I can make some recommendations... like these mini chocolate cream pies.

What You Need: 
For the crust:
2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. powdered sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 Tbsp. butter

For the filling:
3/4 cup butter (at room temperature)
1 cup powdered sugar
5 oz. semisweet or unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs (or 3/4 cup 'pasteurized egg product' to protect from salmonella)

For the topping:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
3 Tbsp. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Yield: About 36 mini pies.
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Game Night Cookies

Super simple cookies made for a 'Game Night' at my kids' school. Three colors of icing, if you count the white. Can't beat that!

What You Need:
Roll-Out Cookie Dough
   (I used both my Chocolate Sugar Cookie & Vanilla Sugar Cookie Recipes)
Royal Icing
Red & Black Food Coloring
Ruler & Knife (or pastry wheel)

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Cool Summer Cupcake Ideas

We're hitting the long, hot dog days of summer around here... so I thought I'd round up some of my favorite "cool" summer cupcake ideas for you today.

Strawberry Margarita Cupcakes

Banana Pina Colada Cupcakes

Hawaiian / Beach Theme Cupcakes

(Pina Colada Cupcake Recipe)

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

Beach Ball Cupcakes

Banana Split Cupcakes

 

Baseball Cupcakes

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Cake Decorating Basics: Easy Ruffle Cake

Ruffle-covered cakes are very popular right now. The problem with a lot of them is just the amount of time it takes to do them.

This strawberry-banana ruffle cake is much easier than most. For this 2-layer 6" round cake, I spent less than half an hour piping the decoration.

What You Need:
6-8" Round Cakes (2-3 layers)*
Buttercream Icing**
Piping Bag fitted with Tip #21

*I used my Banana Cake Recipe. You could also use Cake Mix Made to Taste Like Homemade.
**I used my favorite Strawberry Buttercream Recipe (with some red food coloring added to make it a little darker). You can find all of my Icing Recipes Here.
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Fresh Strawberry Donuts {Recipe}

The strawberry season in Minnesota has been amazing this year! We are knee-deep in berries here, because I love to take my boys to pick strawberries every summer.

We're all about Cakes with Strawberry Icing, Strawberry Shortcake, Strawberry-Rhubarb Sauce, and this weekend... these Strawberry Donuts.

What You Need:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 eggs
2 Tbsp. melted unsalted butter
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup pureed strawberries

-- 2-3 cups powdered sugar for coating after baking
*Note: This recipe makes about 18 standard donuts, and a few dozen mini donuts. If you don't want that many, the recipe can easily be cut in half.

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Red, White and Blue Cake - [Banana Split Cake]

The Fourth of July isn't just a national holiday, it's also the birthday of one of my closest friends. Because my birthday often falls on or near Memorial Day, we share the childhood memory of no one coming to our birthday parties because they were all out of town! (sniff, sniff)

So, I made this special patriotic birthday cake to serve double duty for our July Fourth celebration with her and her family.

I know from past discussions that she loves the Strawberry Buttercream Icing as much as I do, so I wanted to have that for the cake.

And with three colors, and three flavors, I thought why not go for a Banana Split Cake, and just color the icing to make it red, white and blue?

What You Need:
Banana Cake
Swiss Meringue Buttercream*
Red and Blue Icing Coloring
Piping Bag with large round tip (Tip #12 or 1A)
Icing Spatula or butter knife

*Note: You will need to divide the icing into thirds to flavor it (vanilla, chocolate and strawberry). I would recommend a double batch, even though you will end up with some leftovers. Too much icing is always better than too little! 
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Fireworks Cookies - (If you squint)

You know, sometimes, things turn out great. Just like you plan. Perfect...

And sometimes they don't.

I don't hate the cookies, they just didn't turn out quite as well as the last time I made firework cookies:

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