Fall & Winter Delicacies!

 We've got some major catching up to do on the blog!

I've managed to post pictures to Facebook and Instagram, but our poor blog has taken a back seat!

So, we're back!

This fall I donated some cake pops to our church youth group's Speed the Light auction.

Speed the Light provides equipment for missionaries around the world.

The above photo was French vanilla cake dipped in white chocolate with some autumn leaf sprinkles.

 

These were also for the STL auction.  These were a red velvet cake...half were dipped in white chocolate and the other half in red candy melts (vanilla).  Sprinkles were added for fun, of course. ;)

I also did 2 platters of decorated cookies.  These were a pumpkin spice flavor cookie.

I hunted down a "base" recipe, but put my own spin on it.  They were quite tasty if I do say so myself!

I also did some red velvet cake pops for a birthday girl this fall.  Kiddos always get a kick out of cake pops.  They've become a popular request for many birthday parties I've done.

I did these autumn cookies for my aunt who lives in Illinois.  My parents were going back to visit family in the area and I know my aunt has a sweet tooth, so I wanted to send her something special.

 In December, we had our ladies Christmas tea at church.  This was my first year hosting a table.  As a little take-home "favor" for each guest at their place setting, I made little bags of cookies tied up with ribbons.  Our theme was "Night of Hope" so I wanted to do a custom cookie to match.

I did a "candy cane" theme at my table, so I also did some candy cane cookies for each guest.

This was my table.  Simple, but fun.  I look forward to hosting again next year!

 Our ladies Bible study group had a Christmas party in December and we had a White Elephant gift exchange.  I had no idea what to bring...and then it hit me.  WHITE ELEPHANT COOKIES!  Hilarious. Yet adorable. I wanted to make them a little Christmas-y...so I added mistletoe/holly-berries to their booties, hehe!  I think they turned out cute!

We also had to bring a snack or treat to the party...so I brought some cake truffles.  French vanilla cake dipped in white chocolate with Christmas sprinkles.  Yum.

 My last project for the year was some snowflake cookies.

We had a going-away potluck for someone at work and I always love to bring a dessert.

 Snowflake cookies are one of my favorite Christmas/holiday/winter cookies to make.

I love them because you really can't mess them up.

Each one is unique and different.

 There's no rhyme or reason to the design...and that's what's so fun about making them.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season.

May your 2017 be filled with blessings.

God bless!

Melody

♪♪♪It's The Most...Wonderful Time...Of The Year (Autumn!) ♪♪♪

 ♪♪♪It's the most...wonderful time...of the year...♪♪♪

 Nope!  It's not Christmas...yet!

Although that is my favorite holiday...

But my favorite "season" is AUTUMN!

Recently, my mom asked me if I would bake up an autumn variety for our extended family down in the St. Louis area.  She and my dad were headed that way to visit all of our family and she thought some cookies would be a nice treat to share.

I decided on these happy little candy corns for all of the cousins/kids.

 Next I made up platters for all of the "grown-ups".

 I incorporated some sunflowers...

 Some pumpkins...

 I experimented with my airbrush on the pumpkins...adding hints of green on the bottom.

It's a learning process for sure...

 Pumpkin pie anyone?

 Just kidding!

They're really mini cookies!

 I know...I totally had you, didn't I?

Haha.

 More pumpkins...

 And some pretty fall leaves...

 I experimented with my airbrush some more on these...

 I thought they turned out pretty good...

 ...and the finished product!

 The little kids platter...

 One of the "grown-ups" platters...

 I hope everyone enjoyed them!

I sure did enjoy making them!

Happy Fall Y'all!

Fall Fun...

This was a fun batch of cookies.

I used my new favorite cookie recipe.
Then I used glaze to flood them.

Next I used royal icing to pipe the intricate details.

I had been wanting to try these fall trees for quite some time and they were much easier than I expected.  I also printed out some "thanksgiving" script to practice on my KopyKake.

"Practice" being the key word.

I'm still not that great at it...but it's fun practicing and learning the ins and outs of the KopyKake.

This batch of cookies brought me joy...mostly because I did them as a gift.

Any time I can give my cookies away...

It makes me happy.

I like to bless people with cookies.

I like to think...Cookies make people happy.

Amazing Autumn...

 Nothing excites me more than when the temperatures begin to drop!

I am an Autumn Girl...ALL THE WAY!

I don't like summer...I don't like hot weather.

My make-up runs, my hair goes flat, and I hate sweating.

Ok...enough griping.

I'm happy!

Fall is upon us!

And to celebrate, I HAD to do some autumn leaf cookies!

 If you read my "Awesome Apples" post...you read that we debuted a new recipe for our cookies and icing.  I made these leaves with that recipe as well.

These cookies (along with the apples) were not about "fancy"...I was going for "taste" when I made these.

It was completely about testing out that new recipe...which was a hit!

I can't wait until you try our cookies with this new recipe and hope you enjoy it as much as our family does!

We are running a fall special.

With each 2 dozen decorated cookies (or cake pops) ordered, receive 1/2 dozen FREE!

Sweet Ivy regrets that we cannot ship at this time.

We hope to hear from you soon!

Awesome Apples...Nothing Fancy, But Ohhh So Good! (New Recipe)

 Are you ready?

Sweet Ivy has found a new recipe for our classic sugar cookies...

And...

IT IS THE BOMB!

Because as my hubby always says, "What good are PRETTY cookies if they don't TASTE GOOD?"

I have to agree.

I've been trying to master the art of "pretty" cookies...but all the while, my hubby has told me I need to find "that special recipe" to make my cookies...

AWESOME.

Well...I think I've found it!

These apple cookies are nothing special to look at...but I debuted my new recipe with these cookies and they are delicious! 

Couple that with my new "glaze" icing...and we have got one AWESOME tasting cookie!

My hubby and sons have never been big sugar cookie eaters, but since I made these with the new recipe and glaze...they can't stop eating them!

We hope you like our new recipes and will try some soon!

I will be using this recipe with ALL of my custom decorated cookies from now on.

I can't wait to hear from you!

Autumn Leaves...

This past weekend, I did some autumn leaf cookies.

So many bakers have been doing autumn leaf cookies lately...and mine don't even BEGIN to touch their beauty.

But hey, ya gotta start somewhere, right?

They were really fun to make, as I had new leaf cookie cutters.

Had I planned better, I could've used Stephanie's from Ellie's Bites Decorated Cookies recipe for MAPLE COOKIES!

She sent me some of hers and let me tell you...they were YUMMY!

My family (who doesn't even usually care much for maple) LOVED Stephanie's cookies!

And...hers were beautifully done too!

If you'd like to try her recipe, you can find it here. 

I just went with a basic sugar cookie recipe this time.

Maybe next fall, I'll be more prepared, LOL!

Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispies Treats...Have You Tried Them Yet?

My previous post was for these Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispies Treats...

Have you tried them yet?

I did.

And they are so yummy!

I used my pumpkin and candy corn cookie cutters to cut them into cute little shapes.

They taste just like fall!

In case you missed the recipe, you can find it here.

If I'm not mistaken, these marshmallows are exclusive to WalMart...so you might want to check there first, as I've heard this is the only place you can find them.

Well, what are you waiting for?

If you like the flavor of pumpkin...you'll love this childhood favorite treat!

We do!

Pumpkin Spice Crispy Treats (from Kraft)

I found these Kraft Pumpkin Spice Mallows at the store the other day and boy are they yummy!

I thought they would be great in hot cocoa.

And then I thought, "Hey, I bet they'd be good in Rice Krispies Treats!"

Well, sure enough...I looked on the back of the bag and they beat me to it!

There was the recipe!

So without further ado...

Here is Kraft's recipe for Pumpkin Spice Crispy Treats...

1/4 c. (1/2 stick) butter or margarine

1 bag (10 oz.) Jet Puffed Pumpkin Spice Mallows

6 c. crisp rice cereal

1 c. Candy Corn

Line 13X9 inch pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan; lightly grease foil.

Microwave butter in large microwavable bowl on HGH 45 sec. or until melted.  Add marshmallows; toss to coat.  Microwave 1 1/2 min. or until marshmallows are completely melted, stirring after 45 sec.  Add cereal, mix well.  Press cereal mixture firmly onto bottom of prepared pan.  Cool.

Remove cereal mixture from pan, using foil handles.  Cut into squares or pumpkin shapes using pumpkin shaped cookie cuter.  Decorate with candy corn.  Store in air tight container at room temperature.

Enjoy your fall treat!