Caramel Puffcorn

While I was home for the holidays my wonderful Aunt Julie introduced me to this magical caramel puffcorn (she always makes the best sweets!).

The puffcorn has a similar taste to regular carmel corn, but the sugar coating is baked over light fluffy puff corn pieces that melt in your mouth just like cotton candy! It's one of those treats that ends up being a little dangerous because you can't resist constantly sneaking a few pieces in your mouth!

I thought this recipe would be perfect for my son's circus themed birthday party...and it definitely did not disappoint! So, click below to get the recipe!

by the way...

This is last of the posts from my son's circus themed birthday party...

View my Circus Tent Cake &Streamer Chandelier  tutorials if you are interested in throwing a similar party!

Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'm pretty sure everyone has their own favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe, but it's always fun to try something new!

This is the recipe my mom has been making FOREVER! I mean seriously look how old the Betty Crocker Cookbook is, it's pretty much about to fall apart.

Plus, you know a recipe is good when your book automatically opens to the overly used page upon opening...and it looks like you've spilled one to many ingredients on it over the years.

Do you have a favorite Chocolate chip cookie recipe?

Click below to get the recipe!

Circus Cake Tutorial

I finally managed to get a tutorial put together for the Circus Cake I made for my son's 2nd Birthday party!

As far as specialty cakes go, I would rate this in the "beginner" category...so don't be afraid :)

Click below to view the tutorial and details!

Valentine's Day treats

I've been contemplating what to make for a special Valentine's Day dessert this year. It will most likely end up being the white/strawberry cake I posted about last week, but here are a few other options I'm considering . . .

*These are recipes that I have made before...so I can tell you first hand that they are all delicious!

  Peanut Butter & Jelly Cookies

Peanut Butter & Carmel Kisses

Strawberry-Pretzel Jello

Lemon Cake with Raspberry Filling

Raspberry Ebelskivers

Happy Bird-day Cake!

My Mom's Birthday was a couple of weeks ago and I am so glad I got to spend it with her! My siblings and I prepared a roast dinner and of course I was in charge of the cake! (ok maybe I put myself in charge of it :)

The cake was actually more difficult to create then what meets the eye...

My Mom's first name is Robin and she has a thing for robin birds so I thought that would be a fun theme to go with. She has had this Cricut Cake Cutter in the garage for a couple of years now so my siblings and I decided to pull it out and make all of the bird and tree pieces with fondant.

Apparently the cutter doesn't work so well with homemade fondant because every time we tried to cut a shape the machine would sort of eat up the fondant. We did manage to make a few of the smaller birds using the cutter but if you look closely, you can see how jagged the edges are. In the end, I cut most of the fondant pieces by hand and I think it turned out just fine.

If anyone has ever used the Cricut Cake Cutter before, let me know if you have any suggestions :)

Christmas Sugar Cookies

Baking and decorating sugar cookies is one of my favorite Christmas traditions. When I was growing up, my mom would bake a batch or two and then me and my 4 siblings would have a blast decorating them with buttercream frosting and sprinkles.

When we were through, we would deliver multiple plates to some of our neighbors and friends. We always had a great time, except my parents would usually make us carol at every doorstep and lets just say my family wasn't blessed with much musical talent :)

My husband and I have been married for over 5 years, and I'm proud to say that we have continued this tradition (besides the caroling) every year!

Go HERE to get my Sugar Cookie recipe, and HERE for the Buttercream frosting recipe.

Sugar Cookies

Sugar cookies are fun to make for so many different occasions! Traditionally, my family will make and frost them for Halloween, Valentines Day, and Christmas. Every time I make them, they are gone before I know it, so watch out they may be a little addicting!

Click below to view the recipe

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Whoopie Pies

For some reason my craving for sweets has slightly diminished since being pregnant (unfortunately, the scale still says otherwise)  But seriously, I could not keep my hands off these scrumptious Whoopie Pies after I made a batch yesterday. Eventually, I had to hide them from myself, but that plan failed because I found them after dinner and couldn't resist!

If your looking for a great Thanksgiving crowd-pleaser that isn't technically a real "pie" this is it. You can make them with or without the chocolate chips, but trust me when I say they add just the right touch.

Get the recipe and baking tutorial below...

Something Sweet: Everything Pumpkin!

When I was was younger, pumpkin pie was one of my least favorite desserts. However, it must be true that your taste buds change over time because I now LOVE pumpkin pie...and basically everything with the word "pumpkin" in it.

I am so excited to make any and possibly all of these pumpkin desserts!
Although, I'm having a tough time deciding which to start with...

Find the recipes here... 1 2 3 4 5 6 

What Pumpkin recipes will you be making/trying this season? 

Spider Cookies

Spider Cookies have been a Halloween tradition in my family since I was a little girl. If I am remembering correctly... I believe my awesome Aunt Julie introduced them to me when I was probably about 6 years old and every year around this time I crave them like crazy!

This is the first year I have actually made my own batch and they were super fun and simple to make! Click below to view the full tutorial so you can make your own!

Something Sweet: Candy Corn Cupcakes

Cupcakes are one of my favorite treats to make for any special occasion. Mostly because they do more then just give your guests something tasty to eat...they can add to the decor as well!

I made these "Candy Corn" cupcakes last year for both a family Halloween party and my husbands work Halloween party. They were a hit and were so simple to decorate!

All you need is white, yellow, and orange buttercream frosting and a large round icing tip (like a 1A or 2A). Then you just make a large swirl of yellow frosting at the bottom of the cupcake, add a slightly smaller swirl of orange frosting on top, and end with a very small swirl of white (which should be done with a smaller tip, or you can just cut a hole in your frosting bag to whatever size you need.)

Halloween is still about 6 weeks away, but It's one of my favorite holidays and I am getting excited to try some new festive treats to celebrate!

Do you have a favorite treat you like to make for Halloween?

(I can't give myself credit for this idea, I saw a photo of something similar while browsing through google images, although I can't remember where it came from...but HERE is a similar idea done with a different icing tip.)

Something Sweet: Mint Brownies

Lately, I've been having a little creative block when it comes to sweets...good for the figure bad for the blog!

But I did manage to make a batch of these wonderful brownies (via "Our Best Bites") for a friend who surprised us a couple of weeks ago by coming over and magically sprucing up our yard (our lawn mower had been broken and we seriously had weeds like 3ft high!)

It's amazing how charitable people can be...I mean the amount of work he did probably would have cost us a pretty penny, but he did it all for nothing!

This week I would like to challenge everyone to make something sweet for someone else, maybe a friendly neighbor, or someone who might just need a little cheering up...I promise it will be worth it!

Something Sweet: Smores Cookies

I'm glad you all enjoyed previous smores post! I ran across these various smore cookie recipes and though...what a great way to continue making smores all year long even if you can't always have a bon-fire! All of these cookies look delicious and I can't wait to give them a try!

( 1 2 3 4 )

Which one looks the yummy-est to you? 

Something Sweet: Salted and Crunchy Reese's

If you agree with me when I say that peanut butter and chocolate is one of the best food combinations ever created, then you will love this recipe!  I thought it would be fun to create my own Reese's cups but add in a few of my favorite ingredients, salt and pretzels, to give this recipe a crunchy and savory touch! I also decided to make half of the Reese's with white chocolate...and they turned out delicious!

I would like to point out that I was first inspired by the "Fluffer Nutter Cups" over at Miss Anthropist's Kitchen (which I must say, look mighty yummy!)

Click below to view my recipe and tutorial!

Something Sweet: Smores

For me, a summer is never complete without a bon-fire and plenty of smores! My husband always gives me a hard time because I can't just eat 1 smore (or two for that matter). Actually, I tend to loose count whenever he asks but I'm guessing by the end of the night I eat around 5...or so.

I love getting creative with them too. Last weekend we made smores with Reeses peanut butter cups, but its fun to experiment with all varieties of chocolate candy bars! For a while, I would buy Chips Ahoy cookies instead of graham crackers and chocolate. Its a lot more convenient and a little less messy, but nothing compares to the original smore combination.

There is one thing that bothers my just a little when it comes to traditional smores...topping the graham with a cold piece of chocolate. To bypass this unfortunate occurrence, I like to pre-set up my chocolate next to the fire so its nice and melty by the time my marshmallows are ready.

There is one question that I must ask you readers when it comes to smores.....

Do you prefer a "charred" mallow or one that is "golden brown" ???