"Other" Sweet Treats...(Christmas Goodies)

Well, Christmas has come and gone.

I thought I'd share a few "other" goodies I made this year.

I enjoy "DECORATING" fancy sugar cookies...

But I enjoy "EATING" drop cookies and bar cookies!

I tend to bake pretty much the same "stand-by" favorites in our family each year and maybe throw in one or two new recipes for the heck of it.

This year I did Butter Balls...some folks call these Snow Balls or Russian Tea Cakes.

Next came the Magic Cookie Bars...some folks call these Hello Dollies.

I tried a new recipe called Snickerdoodle Cutouts.  They weren't quite the same as a Snickerdoodle...more like a cinnamon sugar cookie.  

We also did some Rolo Pretzel Turtles...pretzel, Rolo candy, pecan.

Salted Caramel Thumbprint Cookies...one of my all time favorites!

White chocolate dipped pretzels...with a variety of sprinkles for good measure!

Holiday wreaths...corn flakes, marshmallows, red hots.

Peanut butter Delights...Wheat thins, peanut butter, dipped in chocolate.

Yes...we had quite a variety.

And we're STILL finishing it all up!

What did you make this year?
Do you make the same things every year?
Or do you try new things?

We hope you had a very Merry Christmas!

2012...The Best Of The Best...

 

Can you believe 2012 is over?

Me either!

I thought I'd put together a little collage of a few of my favorite projects I worked on this past year.

Some turned out well...others...not so much...were learning experiences, hehe!

I look forward to another year of baking and decorating.

I hope to continue to grow as a baker/decorator.

I hope to learn new things, challenge myself, try new techniques, and expand my skills.

If I can ever help you out with a dessert, gift, etc...feel free to give me a call, e-mail, or message me!

And don't forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

I wish you a very happy, healthful, successful 2013!

God bless!

Melody



Lemon Cooler Cookies

Growing up, I always remember my dad loving Lemon Cooler Cookies.

We'd buy them at the store all the time.

Over the years, it seemed they were harder and harder to find.

 There have been some "knock-offs" and "remakes" of them...but I don't think we've ever been able to find the REAL Lemon Coolers anymore.

Imagine my joy when I found this recipe for HOMEMADE Lemon Cooler Cookies!

I knew I just had to try making them for my dad.

And you know what?

They are really great!

I decided to put together a little gift basket for him for Father's Day full of these Lemon Coolers!

I have to thank Confessions of a Cookbook Queen.

It was SHE who found this amazing recipe!

I can't wait to make these again!

Next time...for ME!

Sweet Snowmen!

Here in Micigan, we have had a record-breaking mild winter.

UNTIL...

Thursday night.

It snowed...

And snowed...

And snowed some more!

We have a about a foot now!

It's all good with me.

I work from home, so it never bothers me.

The sun came out and all the roads are clear now, yet it's so beautiful ,with the snow laying heavily blanketed on all of the trees.

As it "blizzard-ed" (is that a word? lol!)...I decided I'd make a special treat for my family.

Sure they'd be tired of cookies and cake, I decided to whip up some brownies.

Boring brownies?

Nope!

I did snowmen brownies!

I had a snowman cake pan that make four at a time, so I was able to whip out a dozen (very slowly, only four at a time).

I decided to frost them and make them cute.

I had two conclusions on the final product.

My youngest son (whom is just like my husband) informed me that, "You do not frost brownies with anything but chocolate frosting mom."

LOL!

Ok then!

My oldest son, whom thinks there's no such thing as "too sweet" thought they were great.

So the final thoughts on this project were split right down the middle.

Oh well, I guess ya can't win 'em all...can ya?

If I Never See Another Sugar Cookie...It Might Be Too Soon...J/K...

Done.

I have completed all of my "customer" orders for December.

CUSTOMER?

Did I just say that?

It sounds so weird, because I NEVER DREAMED that I would EVER have "customers" for my baking adventure!  But, I do!  And I thought I'd share a few of the orders that were placed, plus a few of my own cookies that I did just for fun.

The Santas and Snowmen that you see were done for a holiday class party for a special little girl...my friend's daughter.

I hear the snowmen went REALLY fast, LOL!

Funny, I fancied the Santas being the more popular ones, LOL!

Go figure.

Can't figure out kiddos, LOL!

These stars are just some I did on my own for fun.

I just wanted to use some non-traditional colors.

Just playing around.

I kinda like them.

Nothing "typical" about them, as far as "Christmas" goes.

These were some I just did for "extras".

Some went into baskets for teachers and bus drivers of my sons'.

I found cute little "baskets" with Christmas/winter themes on them at Target.

Placed a little tissue in them.

And then bagged up cookies, white chocolate dipped pretzels, and cake truffles and filled the baskets.

I hope the teachers and bus drivers like them.

I always wonder how teachers/staff feel about homemade baked goods, LOL!

Being such a "germ-a-phobe" I always wonder things like this, LOL!

These trees, I did again in non-traditional colors.

I thought they were kinda cool.

And more for the teachers and drivers.

I feel like I've been baking sugar cookies NON-STOP.

I don't think my oven has seen so much action in it's entire life, as it has the past week!

LOL!

And the last of the sugar cookies...

Some will probably go down to my family's house when we celebrate Christmas.

Some will be for Santa.

These are nothing special, LOL...just using up the remaining icing...so nothing has any real rhyme or reason, LOL!

Lastly, a few "different" treats I made...

My husband LOVES white chocolate dipped pretzels...

So I had to sneak in some of those for him.

And then I did a few cake truffles as well for the teachers.

I am done with the "decorative" baking for the season (I think, LOL!)...

Next up is the tried & true family favorites.

Butter Balls, Magic Cookie Bars, etc.

Thinking of maybe even cranking out some mini holiday cupcakes...

You just never know about 'ol Sweet Ivy, LOL!

You'll Never Guess What These Are Made Of...Ok, Maybe You Will...GUESS!

Did ya guess?

This recipe is courtesy of my sister Jessica.

I think she may have been afraid to tell us what was in it the first time we tried them.

I think she might have thought we wouldn't eat them if we knew.

Have you guessed?

Well, I promise...it's nothing gross.

Unusual, maybe.

The original name for these, according to my sister was "Zastrow Delights".

"Zastrow" was the last name of some of my brother-in-law's family and they introduced these so the name stuck.

Since no one else knows who they are...

I have been calling them "Peanut Butter Delights", LOL!

I don't share too many recipes on this blog, but thought I'd share this one because they're so yummy and a Christmas time favorite in our house!

1 box of Wheat Thins (YES!  That's right!  Wheat Thins!)

1 jar of peanut butter

1 block of chocolate almond bark

Spread peanut butter on Wheat Thin and "sandwich" it with another.

Do this to the entire box of Wheat Thins, creating little peanut butter sandwiches.

Melt your almond bark in a bowl in the microwave.

Dip each peanut butter sandwich into the melted chocolate and lay on a sheet of wax paper.

I always put these in the frig and chill them.

And that's it!
I hope your family enjoys them as much as we do!

And thanks Jess!

Autumn Treats For The Family

I had an order for some cake pops on Friday.

They only needed a dozen, so with so many leftover...I decided to make some cake truffles for the family.

I had used a cherry chip cake and dipped it in white chocolate.

I used some autumn colored sprinkles.

I just love these little "autumn leaf" sprinkles!

I won these from a giveaway along with some cookie cutters and think they're simply adorable.

Along with the cake truffles, I had some leftover melted white chocolate, so I made up some of my husband's new favorite treat.

White chocolate dipped pretzels.

We all love them actually.

The sweet/salty combo just can't be beat!

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!

My Baby's Birthday Celebration...

Sunday we celebrated my youngest son's birthday early with the grandparents.

I had fun making some "pre-cake treats".

Who says you can't have dessert appetizers?

I did some white chocolate dipped strawberry marshmallows covered in sprinkles.

(Because sprinkles make EVERYTHING more fun!)

We also had some cake pops dipped in white chocolate with  a dash of sprinkles of course!

And some white chocolate dipped pretzels...with sprinkles!

Nate also requested I set out a bowl of his Disney Cars 2 marshmallows to share...to go along with his Cars 2 "theme".

(giggle)

Nate is the only one in our family who doesn't like cake.

So he requested an ice cream cake.

No problem I thought!

PROBLEM!

Stress...headache...tears...outbursts...frustration!

It started melting as I was decorating.

I would decorate, freeze, decorate, freeze.

But this wasn't it enough.

It was still getting runny.

So I finally gave up for the night.

Put it back in for another nine hours and started fresh in the morning.

My next frustration was that the buttercream frosting would FREEZE and solidify before I could spread it!

Yes, it was stressful.

Is it perfect?

No.

But was my baby happy?

Yes.

And I would do anything to make my babies happy.

His joy was worth every bit of stress I endured.

I (((heart))) my babies!