Banana Bread/Muffins...

 It's starting to feel like fall outside!

My favorite time of year!

In the fall, I always crave homemade muffins and bread.

I mean, you can eat muffins and bread any 'ol time...but for some reason they taste especially good in the fall and winter with hot coffee.

Today I'm going to share my favorite Banana Bread (muffin) recipe.
I have been using this same recipe for years and cannot for the life of me remember where I got it.  It's always turned out well for me and I love the flavor/texture of it, so it's a winner in my book!

 When I got the recipe it was originally written up for bread.

But today, for the first time, I made it into muffins and they turned out really good!

It's especially yummy, warm, with a little pat of butter!

So, without further ado...here's the recipe!

Banana Bread

2 1/2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

3 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

3 tblsp vegetable oil

3/4 cup milk

1 egg

1 cup mashed banana

1 c. chopped nuts

Mix together and bake in a well greased pan at 350 degrees.

For bread...55-65 min.

For muffins...20-30 min.

2nd Annual Go Bo! Foundation Bake Sale...

 If you are a "cookier"...you probably already know all about the Go Bo!  Bake Sale.

However, for those of my friends, family, and followers who may not be "in the cookie loop", I will explain a little about it.

 The best and easiest way for me to explain would probably be to take a little excerpt from the Go Bo! Foundation page:

Bo Johnson was diagnosed with a rare form of Leukemia, EM/AML, at the age of 12. He has battled this disease for a year, and lost on Sept. 28, 2012.

Prior to his illness, Bo was a normal active boy, enjoying life with family and friends. The illness that took his life could NOT stifle his spirit or courage. Facing the most serious medical condition, Bo chose to show all of us what it means to "live life to the fullest & enjoy every day.”

Bo reminded us what true courage means, and why one boy can inspire a multitude with nothing more than a smile and a dream to help others. 

The GO BO Foundation brings hope to children with life-threatening medical conditions by funding research, supporting treatment, and helping their families during times of financial need.

Paying it Forward...this is Bo's dream.

The GO BO Foundation fulfills its mission by:

• Funding the cutting-edge research on cancer and related blood disorders at the MACC Fund

• Supporting state-of-the-art treatment in a child friendly environment provided by doctors like David Margolis at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin

Assisting the families of Door County children through the GO BO Family Assistance Program
You can read more here: http://www.gobofoundation.org/

 

 Last year Jill from Jill FCS ( https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jill-FCS/212511055506815 ), organized a bake sale amongst many "cookiers" to raise money for the Go Bo! Foundation.  I wasn't "in the know" last year, but this year was so thrilled to be made aware and join bakers from all 50 states and 8 countries!  What a blessing and honor to be able to join all of these bakers for such a wonderful cause.

 Having 2 sons, I cannot in the deepest of my heart...imagine losing one of them as this mother did.  But out of this sadness came forth Bo's message:

You Only Live Once.

It's a lesson that Bo taught all of us.

Cherish every moment.

Live. Laugh. Love.

"You only live once so make it count. Just think about what you do. Think about what matters. Live your life like it's your last."  - Bo

 Pay it forward.

Make it count.

I don't think there's a better message.

 For the bake sale, we were asked to do either a Fall or Halloween themed cookie set...

 I decided on the ghosts with the little "Go Bo" pennant banner, some autumn leaves, and some patterned pumpkins.

 I am so honored to be a part of such a wonderful cause and donate to this bake sale.

 Good luck Jill at the bake sale!

 God bless you for organizing this!

 And remember...

 "...make it count..."

 ...and pay it forward...

GO BO!!!

A "Toy Story/Buzz Lightyear" Birthday Theme...

I was super excited when one of my daycare clients asked me to do the desserts for her daughter's birthday party.  However, a little apprehensive when I found out it was "character" cookies and cake.  It's not that I dislike character cakes/cookies...I really love them and they're a lot of fun.  However...there is a lot of pressure to make the end result look identical to the character.  People have expectations as to what the character should look like...as do I.  This means that I am VERY critical of my work.  I am constantly critiquing my work.  It's a tough balance.  But I have to say, in the end, for an amateur...I was happy with the results of this cake and cookies.

 

 This was a chocolate cake with homemade classic buttercream icing.

 

 I made a frozen buttercream transfer for Buzz.  I have to admit, I was terrified.  I have only done 3 or 4 FBTs since I started cake decorating.  The first was a total flop (if you remember the Detroit Lions story).  But I have since learned the tricks of the trade thanks to several of my baking buddies and the last several I've done have turned out great!  As I peeled the wax paper off of Buzz, my heart was pounding...my stomach was in knots...but alas...SUCCESS!

 This was the transfer I piped before freezing it.

Next came the cookies!  I am never satisfied with my character cookies.

And although I got loads of compliments on them when I posted the pictures on Facebook, I still am my own worst critic.

Jessie gave me the most trouble.  Her mouth was very difficult to master for me.

And then of course, my husband had to point out, that I gave her blue eyes instead of green!  Oh my gosh...how in the world did I screw that one up!?!

Hopefully no one else noticed...except that I just told everyone on the world wide web now, LOL!

Hopefully the birthday girl enjoyed her treats.
I had a blast making them.
Happy birthday Addison!

Floral Fun & Butterfly Bliss...

 This was the set I ended up doing for the winner of my two year anniversary giveaway.

The recipient received these pink and orange flowers and butterflies.

 I love it when I get free reign over choosing what theme of cookies I get to make.

But...

 Inevitably I always lean toward florals!

 ...and butterflies!

 What can I say?
I'm just a flowery kinda gal, LOL!

I also added some squares in the same color palette in a variety of patterns.

 These flowers were inspired by the lovely Sugarbelle. 

Her work is much more lovely than mine.

But she remains one of my cookie idols.

 I enjoyed doing these butterflies.

I put very little detail on the small ones...but the larger ones, I had fun doing a lot of tiny scroll-work.

This watering can was not my best piece of work.

It was the first time I had ever done one, and you can tell...my hand was a little shaky in some spots!  But all in all, I think they turned out pretty good.

The winner enjoyed them and from what I hear, they all arrived in one piece!

Yay!

What are you baking these days?

 

Packaging Cookies For Shipping...(A Tutorial)

~Shipping Cookies~

It's every baker/decorators worst nightmare.

 I have finally found "what works for me" and I thought, "Why not share it?"

I know there are other cookie decorators who use this method as well, but I've yet to find a "step-by-step" tutorial on this method, complete with pictures.  I'm the kind of learner who needs to be able to read the words and also look at pictures.  So I hope this helps SOMEONE else out there as well.

First off...most people ask, "Should I use UPS, USPS, or FedEx?"

Here is where I will just give you my own personal experience and opinion.
Upon many personal experiences with the USPS, I have had packages ripped, shredded, crushed, dropped, torn...and the contents destroyed.  Not to mention, they rarely arrive on time.  I have never used UPS for cookies, but I do know I've never had a bad experience with other packages that have arrived at my house that they've delivered.  
My PERSONAL FAVORITE is FedEx.  In my town, they offer the best hours of service.  They have friendly employees.  All of my cookies have arrived on time and in one piece.  I personally think their customer service can't be beat.  The cost of shipping "may" be a little more with FedEx, but is it worth it to have your cookie arrive on time and in one piece?  In my opinion, that would be a big resounding YES!

The staff at FedEx explained to me, that no matter which mailing service you use...all packages, at some point, are "dropped" from a conveyor belt.  Now I don't know "how high" or "how hard", but that is why packaging your cookies correctly is so critical.

Above is a little step by step collage I put together.  You can click on it to make it larger if you'd like to see it in detail.  The exact same pictures follow in the tutorial.

Ok, so here we go!

Are you ready to ship your cookies?

 First off, you're going to want your cookies to be fresh...so I recommend using a heat sealer to seal your cookies.  Once your cookies are all sealed, lay them out and we're ready to start prepping them for shipping!

 Next, you want to find a box suitable for shipping.  Nothing too huge.  I generally only ship 1-2 dozen cookies at a time, so my boxes are pretty small.  Once you have a box, you'll want to line it with bubble wrap...bottom, and each side.

 Ok.  Now that we've padded the box, we're ready to move on to inserting the cookies.  I use what I refer to as a "file" method.  I kind of just made up this term because when you insert the cookies, they look like they're little file folders.  You're going to need some scrap cardboard at this point.  Old boxes work just fine.  You'll need to cut them down in size so that they fit the width (or length, depending on which way you insert) and the height of the box.

 You can measure or just hold it up to your box to get an idea of the size you need to cut them into.

 Continue measuring and cutting until you have as many as you need.

I always insert them into the box like this, to see if they fit properly.

 Next what you're going to do, is lay out a long piece of bubble wrap (I like to buy the big rolls).  Lay your cardboard cutout onto the bubble wrap.  Place a cookie on the cardboard.  Take a small piece of Scotch tape and gently tape it to the cardboard.  Depending on the size of your cookies, cardboard, and box, you can generally fit several cookies on each piece.

 You will (very gently) flip your cookie board over and do the same thing again (place cookies/tape).  You will have cookies taped to the front and back of the cardboard.

 Now, we're going to (very gently) wrap our cookie board in bubble wrap.

Bring it around and place a small piece of Scotch tape to hold it in place.

 Now we're ready to insert them into the box.

Simply (and gently) place it (standing up) into the box, as if it were a file folder.

 Continue placing them into the box as you repeat each of the above steps.

(Wow, my hand looks chubby there...doesn't it? Haha!)

 As you are finishing up packing, you're going to want very little movement in the box.

 Remember, we are packing "snug" but not TIGHT.

If you pack too tight, it can wreck havoc on your icing details or crumble your cookies.

We don't want a lot of "wiggle room".

If you have "movement" place some more bubble wrap or some packing peanuts on the ends for more support/cushion.  When finished, it should feel secure and there shouldn't be much shifting.

There you have it.

You're cookies are snug an secure.

So far...(knock on wood)...I haven't had any problems with this method of shipping.

All of my cookies have arrived in one piece with no icing cracking.

Tape your box shut.

Take it to the delivery office of your choice.

Cross your fingers, say a prayer, and wait for your recipient's response!

I can tell you, it never gets any easier.

No matter how many times you ship cookies.

You will always be on pins and needles until you hear the recipient say, "They're here in one piece!"  LOL!

Then you can sit back, relax, and pat yourself on the back for a job well done!

Good job my friend!