Sugar Swings! Serve Some

Sunday, September 16, 2012

chocolate cupcakes with sweetarts frosting....!


...so have you seen these teeny cupcakes over on pinterest?? they've been on my to do list for ages and the last time the kids begged for a mc'd's happy meal, i swiped extras of their ketchup cups....

...and ta-da...instant mini cupcakes! plus i had seen this cake from easybaked awhile back and thought it was such a neat idea....so decided to mash them up....mini cupcakes with sweetarts buttercream.....


and i made some regular sized ones too since we were going to visit the girls who draw my daughter's blood work every so often (they are total pros and always get a good vein the first poke...so they deserve some homemade cupcakes)


the buttercream is made with these...sweetarts or sweeTARTS (not sure of the proper way to write it but you get the idea)...they are hard candies which are kinda sweet and tart (hence the name!)


....and if your house is like mine....these candies always end up being the last to be picked in the candy bag and seem to always be around way past halloween into christmas and by valentine's day something needs to be done with them...

...earlier in the year i had some leftover vanilla buttercream so decided to crush up some of the leftover sweetarts and add it the the frosting...i added about 5-6 packs of the candies to about 3 cups of buttercream


mix up well...and then i froze it, well because i didn't have a need for it then....and forgot about it until like a week ago!...turns out freezing buttercream for like 7 months is totally fine and the icing was as yummy as it was the day it was made!


...the chocolate cupcake recipe is this super simple and totally yummy recipe from i am baker (btw-she is awesome, every time she takes time to like or comment on one of my instagram pics i get all giddy!)


...ice (or is it frost?) as you like with the sweetarts buttercream...which is kinda tangy and the candy gives it a neat texture thing going on



...and you get some boob cupcakes! kidding! (i topped with some candy coated chocolates and colorful nonpareils but don't they make the cupcakes look a bit like boobs??!)....anyhoo the cake is super moist and yummy (NOTE: the batter is really runny but i promise it bakes up great!) topped with some really tasty sweetart buttercream....hope the girls like them!

make yourself some mini and regular sized cupcakes just to celebrate this great fall weather on the east coast.....thanks for stopping by and have an omgawesome week!

Posted by at 4 comments :
Labels: , , ,

Sunday, September 9, 2012

homemade candy corn pretzels


....so since all the halloween candy is in stores already....i think it's safe to post some fall and halloween stuff these days! (even if it's still 80 degrees here in jersey, which i'm still loving!)...and although i'm not a huge fan of the flavor of candy corn (neither are the kiddos), i still love the colors...there's something about tri-colored stuff (also a big fan of neapolitan!)....last year i did some candy corn striped madeleines....and this year i thought i'd try some fun pretzels!


...these are really simple too...no boiling needed...i used the recipe here from musings from a stay at home mom (she gives some great step by step pics of the dough mixing too)....i tinted the dough to give it the candy corn colors (not the flavor of candy corn, but you could add some butter flavoring if you wanted as well)....tinting dough is tough---the easiest way would have been to add the color to the yeast liquid, but since i needed orange and yellow i did it after the dough was mixed (make yellow first, save some, then add some red to make orange)

1st batch i did orange before the yellow which took awhile by hand!
...add foil to a baking sheet and spray with non stick spray (you could prob use parchment as easily but that costs more so i use foil :) ....then add a little of each color one at a time to make the candy corn layer colors (it may be sticky at first, let the dough sit for a few minutes and you'll be able to move the dough with your fingers to shape it into the candy corn shape that looks best)


or you can skip the candy corn shapes and just go for more traditional pretzel shapes.....i experimented a little...


...once the shapes are formed, paint tops with an egg wash and sprinkle generously with some good salt (i used pink sea salt) an bake at 425 degrees for only about 10 minutes....take out when just starting to brown...

...i like this recipe because it lets the color show really well without turning really brown like some recipes....they came out of the oven all hot, soft and tasty (don't forget the salt!)....

and you get some fun homemade soft pretzels all dressed up for the soon to be here halloween season!


p.s. bake soon after you get the dough ready....i let it sit out on the counter for a few hours because we had to go out and i covered with plastic wrap.....both big mistakes---i couldn't get the plastic wrap off and pulled off all the top layers.....AND the dough had really deflated a bit and it was not a good scene....had to start all over again....oh well you bake and you learn! 

hope you like them and have an awesome week!!!

Posted by at 19 comments :
Labels: , , ,

Sunday, September 2, 2012

mini marshmallow ice cream cones....!


..so summer can't be over just yet! is it really almost september? we didn't even get to the beach...! oh well, in a last ditch effort to keep the summer going, made some mini ice cream cone homemade marshmallows.....

do you remember these things? mini marshmallow ice cream cones?

i remember them from when i was little, my dad used to bring them home for us...the marshmallow was always kinda stale and chewy but i liked them anyway....


...and a few months ago, i won shauna sever's marshmallow madness! book (how cool is that? dozens of puffalicious recipes!) and making homemade marshmallows has been on the to do list all stinkin' summer...

                            

...AND when i saw these mini ice cream cone cups in the supermarket the other day, i kinda knew what had to be done...(they are tiny!)

                                                  

...i made the simple vanilla marshmallow recipe from the book....and believe me, i have been putting off making these for months because it seemed like some work, but they really are super simple once you have all the ingredients ready...there is some heating involved and you need a candy thermometer (actually i can't find mine and used a meat thermometer and it worked just fine)....basically you need sugar, gelatin packets, vanilla, water, and corn syrup (yeah i know it's so not in now...but it's not a lot and i don't use the stuff everyday so i think as with everything else in moderation, we're not drinking it like water around here)....


...once you get the marshmallow done (so it clings well to the kitchen aid mixer blade and it's thick enough to hold it's shape), paint the sides of a piping bag with your color of choice using a paintbrush just for food and food gels, then add the marshmallow to the bag....i was going for the look of swirled soft serve cones and used a wilton tip #2D


practice some swirls if needed and to get the color just right...(my swirls are definitely not perfect, but they kinda remind me of the old marshmallow cones)


...there is something about ice cream cones, right...(my most popular post of all time is the rainbow ice cream cone cake bites [thanks if you have shared, liked, or pinned them, and especially if you've credited them back to me!]) especially when they are in bright colors...! so ridiculously cute and so very summery...and tiny!


...and you end up with a bunch of mini marshmallow faux soft serve ice cream cones in a bunch of fun colors to celebrate the remaining days of the summer....

....i still think we need to try to get another month added to summer...maybe call it funtember and everyone is off from work....i'm going to see if i can add it in as some pork barrel legislation...i would totally vote for anyone running on that platform...


.....and these definitely remind me of those marshmallow cones from when i was little, except the fresh homemade marshmallow is like a gagillion times better than the old stale marshmallow that you get in the premade ones....(it was hard not eating the entire batch as they are THAT good!).....

....hope you like the mini cones, and thanks for stopping by!

Tidy Mom's I'm Loving It

Posted by at 14 comments :
Labels: , , ,

Sunday, August 26, 2012

schoolhouse rock! cupcakes.....!


....so school starts after labor day around here and i am trying to get the kids back into the swing of things with some schoolhouse rock! themed cupcakes....

...do you remember those cartoons (for those of us old enough to remember saturday morning cartoons when you had to wake up super early to watch cartoons 'cause you didn't have stations dedicated to cartoons....i know what?? no cartoon channels 24/7? nope, you had to get up early and watch them)....and schoolhouse rock! actually taught you some stuff and were like little mini cartoons that were played in between the actual shows.....i still say i learned my multiplication tables by watching them! ...and although the kids haven't seen them on tv, we bought the dvds and play them in the car on long rides and they actually do love them too (yay!)

...there are so many that were cool...science, numbers, history, grammer, but here are a few of my favs...

3 is a magic number (3, 6, 9...12, 15, 18...21, 24, 27...30!) made with frosting and candy melt...and electricity (...flip that switch and what do you get??) which is a candy melt sign....


the infamous bill from how a bill becomes a law (made from tootsie roll, edible food writers, and candy melt) and lolly, lolly, lolly get your adverbs here (suppose your going nut gathering...your buddy wants to know when and where!) sign made from a graham cracker and candy melt....


the WOW! from interjections (so when you're happy HURRAY! or sad AW! or frightened EEEEEK! or mad RATS! or excited WOW! or glad HEY!) and the tea party cup from no more kings (rockin' and a rollin', splishin' and a splashin' over the horizon what do you see?), tea cup made from tootsie roll


and you get some fun back to school cuppies to celebrate the new school year...hard to believe i have a 2nd grader and 2 (TWO!) kindergarteners!  what the what is that all about?



anyhoo, it was really hard to pick my fav schoolhouse rock! cartoons to make into cuppies, there are so many awesome ones and they definitely remind me of being a kid, about the age of my 2nd grader so i'm syked they are into it as well...

as always, thanks for stopping by and have an awesome week! what's you're favorite schoolhouse rock cartoon from back in the day?

Tidy Mom's I'm Loving It
Posted by at 7 comments :
Labels: , , ,

Friday, August 17, 2012

origami yoda and friends pops.....!


so who know's about origami yoda???...well if you have kids that are into diary of a wimpy kid, chances are you may know about this book series as well...and if they are fans you know that the secret of the fortune wookiee just came out (which is the 3rd book in the series!)


...the books are by Tom Angleberger and are about a bunch of 6th graders dealing with well, 6th grade issues....AND it combines star wars and origami so double win!

my almost 8 year old could not wait until the latest book came out and was over the moon when it came  in the mail (pre-ordered on amazon)....!

the first book is about Dwight - an origami whiz who invented his own Origami Yoda finger puppet who gives sage advice to Dwight and other kids in class....in book 2, Yoda is challenged by another force, Darth Paper, a scorn-spewing puppet wielded by the hard-hearted Harvey....and the latest edition book 3 features a paper fortune-teller (remember those things from middle school??) in the form of Chewbacca (it's a Fortune Wookiee, get it?!) which seems to give advice that's just about as good as Yoda's....

the books even tell you how to make your own characters!

so to celebrate the latest book...made the kiddos some character pops....with my fav, melted candy wafers/candy melt....just taped some parchment onto the books and colored in with candy....also if you can't get candy melt/wafers, you can use melted white chocolate and tint with color (but be sure to use coloring for candy otherwise normal food coloring will mess up and bind the white chocolate)


...and then attach a stick - i just attached with more candy on the back


....and you get all the main origami characters in edible form.....in the fortune wookiee book, there is also his buddy Han Foldo....(get it? Han Foldo!!!! love!!)


....of course in the books, yoda and darth paper are enemies....


....and han and the fortune wookiee are still buds....


and is this the last book in the series?...."the end...this is not!" - says origami yoda

....thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

Posted by at 5 comments :
Labels: , , , , , , , ,

Friday, August 10, 2012

summertime brownie bites....!



...so aren't bars like the perfect dessert to bring over for a party? (well ok, pretty much any dessert is cool to bring to a party!) but bars are so relatively simple....you bake up a pan, cut them up....and you've got a bunch of fun bars and if you cut them into squares, they are the perfect and bite size....i've done bars a bunch of times...like rainbow blondie bars, cake batter granola bars, football brownie bites, frosted cookie bars, and more frosted brownie bars...(wow that's a lot of bars!)

...for these i just used a boxed brownie mix (i did the more cake like brownies and added an extra egg) and to make them even more fun, piped on some buttercream....


....and to make them even more fun....drew some faces onto yellow m and m's....


...add a little yellow royal icing for some fun yellow suns....(trying to see how many times i can use *fun* in a post!!!)


....but then thought they needed to be a little more fun and sunny.....so added some orange rays too...


...and you get some really FUN iced brownie bites to go along with the perfect sunny summer weather....


Posted by at 11 comments :
Labels: , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts ( Atom )