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>>