Spring Time Cookies and Cake Pops!

 I seem to be combining more and more treats together into one post more often than not.

But that's ok.

At least I'm getting them posted!

 I made these for a bake sale at church.

They were inspired by "Bake at 350."

I knew when I volunteered to do them, I wanted something springy.

But...I wasn't sure what I wanted to do.

I began looking for ideas.

When I came across some similar to these, I knew I had to expound on them!

 From the shapes, to the colors, to the designs, to the quotes...

I love everything about them!

And the bake sale was a success!

 These cookies, I made for our Youth Girls Conference at church last month.

Their theme was "Beautifully Beloved."

 The colors were pink and gold.

Ms. Kate gave me free reign on the design...(I love it when people do that!)

I had a lot of fun adding the metallic gold touches at the end! 

 Honestly, the pictures don't do them justice.

They turned out so cute!

 I hope the girls enjoyed receiving and eating them as much as I enjoyed making them!

 And I hope they all know how "Beautifully Beloved" and special they are!

 Up next...cake pops!

 These were done for a bridal shower.

They were white cake, dipped in white chocolate, and  drizzled with a variety of colors.

These, I made for my momma for Mother's Day.

They were white cake with chocolate chip and dipped in milk chocolate and sprinkles.

I told her the only stipulation was, she had to share with dad, ha!

Well, that's all for now!

Stay tuned for more upcoming treats!

And as always, if I can ever assist you with desserts and treats for your upcoming event, don't hesitate to contact me!

A Little This & That...

 So, I have been a VERY (with a capital V) bad blogger lately!

But I'm back and I've got a few goodies to share with you!

Now...like I said, I've been very bad...so this will take us all the way back to Christmas!

I know...REALLY bad.

So starting with the most recent (above)...

These were some cake pops I did recently for a baby shower.

They were white cake dipped in white chocolate with a pretty yellow drizzle and navy blue ribbon for accent.

 Chocolate covered strawberries were a new request for me!

A couple co-workers asked me about this and I thought it would be a fun thing to try.

I think they turned out pretty!

These were for an anniversary.

 This platter and the following bouquet were for a co-worker who was going on maternity leave.

A sweet baby girl to celebrate!

The cookies were my butter-vanilla flavor.

I iced these with glaze instead of royal icing.

The platter of cookies was for a potluck we had for the momma-to-be.

I made up this bouquet as a gift for her to take home.

I included some butter-vanilla cookies and also some cake pops as well.

Valentine's Day wasn't too terribly busy for me this year.

This is actually when I got my first request for those chocolate covered strawberries I mentioned above.  These were requested by another co-worker for his sweetheart.

 And another co-worker requested cake pops for his sweetie!

These were red velvet...a new popular request!

 I celebrated MY birthday in February as well.

I normally don't bake myself a cake...however, this particular year, I was craving cake.

So, what do you do when you're the baker?

Make yourself a cake!

This was a white cake.  I iced it in classic buttercream.  It was accented with fondant roses.

Pink and yellow...my favorite colors!

I won't tell you how old I am...

29...again.

 And lastly...embarrassingly enough...

Some Christmas cookies I never posted, LOL!

These were just some simple sugar cookies that I iced with royal icing and then did some metallic stenciling on.

I really like how the snowflakes turned out.

Well that catches us up for a bit.

Next up...

I have some very pretty spring cookies from a bake sale that I did...

And some pretty girly cookies for an upcoming girl's retreat!

Stay tuned...they're coming!

(I promise.)

Snow Flurries!

 Yes!

Sweet Ivy is still alive and kickin'!

LOL!

It's been a while since I've posted anything on the blog, but I wanted to share these lovely snowflakes with you.

 These are done in one of my signature flavors, a butter vanilla almond cookie.

I offer both royal icing and/or glaze on my flooded cookies.

These are done in a glaze.

Many people like the glaze because although it hardens enough to stack or bag the cookies, it isn't "crunchy" or "hard" like royal icing.  It has more of a "chew" to it. 

 When doing detail work, I always use royal icing.  Even if I flood with glaze, I detail in royal because I can get sharper lines/details.

 These snowflakes were done for gift platters for Christmas.

I gave these to our pastor's family and my women's ministries director and her family.

 Sweet Ivy is still taking a limited amount of orders!

You can contact me via Facebook in my message box or e-mail me at:

mjames72@sbcglobal.net

May your 2016 be blessed!

Congrats ZEHS Boys Tennis!

It's been a while!

I took a brief cookie hiatus.

Not so much intentional...

But, due to some unplanned..."life events" (challenges)...

I needed the time to...recover...regroup...recuperate.

But I am back.

I am still taking very limited orders, simply due to work/school demands...

But I'm ready to get creative again!

When I accepted this order, it was like a breath of fresh air.

I forgot how much I missed cookie-ing.

This order was for the Zeeland East High School Boys Tennis team who qualified for state!

They definitely deserved a treat!

These were a vanilla/almond cookie with classic royal icing.

Hopefully this gave them a little sugar-buzz for their next match!

Congratulations boys!

And good luck!

Summer Lovin'!!!

 Oh how I miss "cookie-ing"!!!

Working a full time job and being a full time student doesn't leave me near the time I'd like to spend on cookies!

 But I still try to squeeze in a little any chance I can.

 My cousin from Illinois and her family were coming up to Michigan to visit.

And so I decided this was a good time to bake!

 I decided on a summer theme!

 These are buttery almond vanilla with royal icing.

They were a really fun set to make.

 And I think everyone enjoyed them.

Everyone's names!

 Summer Lovin'!

You are my sunshine!

 Flower power!

 In the good 'ol summertime! 

What have you been doing this summer?
Special trips?  Family reunions?  Activities?

I hope whatever it is brings you much joy!

Happy Summer!

Quick And Easy Hot Fudge (recipe)

Most days on the blog, I share the desserts and treats I've been working on for customers...but from time to time I like to share a yummy recipe when I come across one.

For the most part, when I come across a family favorite recipe, it's quite by chance that we've discovered it.  My husband is famous for discovering recipes in the newspaper.  I come across them usually on blogs or Pinterest.  But today, the recipe I'm going to share, we discovered out of desperation.

I went to Sam's Club last night and the hubs asked if I'd pick up some of those "GIANT" bottles of Hershey's Syrup.  You know Sam's Club, EVERYTHING is sold in GIANT quantities.  Well, of course...without a list...I forgot.

So when he got home from work last night and wanted some ice cream, it dawned on me that I forgot the chocolate syrup.  Not to worry!  Google to the rescue, haha!

I knew it couldn't be that hard to make hot fudge.  My friend makes it all the time.  The problem I was having was that every recipe I came across had either evaporated milk or heavy cream in it...and I had neither.  Then I came across this one on about.com.  

About.com never fails me.  Whether is be general information, recipes, you name it...I've had great success with that site.  So I whipped it up and it...is...delish!

I could eat it with a spoon!

I could sip it with a straw!

I could...

You get the picture.

Oh...and speaking of pictures...excuse the pathetic picture I snapped with my phone. Ha!

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

Enjoy!

Hot Fudge
2 c. sugar
4 tblsp. four
2/3 c. cocoa powder
2 c. milk
4 tblsp. butter
2 tsp. vanilla
 In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Over medium heat, combine milk, butter and vanilla until the butter has melted. Add dry ingredients to the milk mixture, constantly whisking. Boil, stirring constantly until thick and smooth, about 5 minutes. Cool and refrigerate unused portion. 

You can find the recipe here on about.com if you'd like to explore their site.

I hope your family enjoys it as much as we did!

♪♪♪Take Me Out To The Ball Game♪♪♪

 I have probably shared on the blog before that before moving to Michigan, I grew up in Illinois...close to the St. Louis, MO border.  Being that close to St. Louis, all of our family are big Cardinal fans!

 My mom and dad recently went back to the St. Louis area to visit and for a family reunion so they took some cookies to my aunt that she had requested I make.

 Their beloved Cardinals!

 Having moved to Michigan, spending more of my adult life here, and marrying a HUGE Detroit Tiger fan...I have to be a Tiger fan with him. ;)

But...if the Tigers aren't playing...the Cardinals will always have a piece of my heart!