Spider-Man

I know I am not married, and nowhere near having kids anytime soon, but I think that when my time to be a mother rolls around I am going to have boys. Lots of them. I don’t know why I think this but I do.

I don’t have a whole lot of experience with boys. I have 3 sisters, girl cousins who might as well be my sisters and most of the kids I have babysat have been girls. I am a girls girl.

Boys make me nervous. They jump off things.

When my sister asked me to make these cupcakes for Sawyers birthday my first thought was ‘I don’t even think I know what Spiderman looks like’ I mean yeah I’ve seen the movies but when it comes down to it I don’t think I could draw him. My second thought was ‘Well you better brush up on your super heroes cause this is your future.’

So I cheated a bit.

I printed out a picture of Spider Man and used it to make little faces out of both dark and white chocolate.

1. Make a template of Spider Man.
2. Cover template with a layer of wax or parchment paper.
3. Melt white chocolate and fill in the eyes.
4. Melt dark chocolate and freehand the shape of Spider Man and the web that makes up his face.
5. Let set up before continuing. (I made mine on a cookie sheet and put in the freezer, I have no patience.)
6. Once outline is hard melt white chocolate and add red food coloring.
7. Fill in the face with the red chocolate.
8. Let harden completely before topping cake.

3 Second Rule

Sometimes food falls on the floor. Sometimes that floor is a little dirty. Sometimes it’s a lot dirty. Sometimes I don’t care.

3 second rule…I love you.

Yeah I ate this after it fell over :)

Inauguration Day

If you know me at all you know I am not one to talk politics.

I’ll make this short and sweet.

Here’s to the next 4 years Mr. President.

Banana Cupcake

Spring has sprung! Well not quite but it sure feels that way. Here in the Pacific Northwest we have been blessed with the sun after our “artic blast”. In honor of the spring feeling I give to you banana cupcakes.

I know what you are thinking.

“I don’t like banana”.

For years I thought I didn’t like coconut and fish. Let me tell you, when you eat it every day for close to a month, you learn to love it. Now I crave both. Sometimes you need to try something a few times before you really appreciate it.

Try it, I dare you.

Even if you don’t think you like something, be adventurous. Take a bite. Step outside that bubble, but most importantly, don’t let what you think you know hold you back from a lifetime of discovery.

This recipe is for banana bar however follow the mixing directions, scoop and bake like you would any other cupcake.

Frosted Banana Bars

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed ripe bananas

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 10x15 inch jellyroll pan.

2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the sour cream and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the batter. Finally, mix in the mashed banana. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.

3. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow bars to cool completely before frosting.

I like to frost with this.

Almond Bear Claws

I am not gonna lie… This recipe intimidated me.

It wasn’t nearly as bad as I made it out to be in my head. The first batch turned out wonderfully. The second bunch, let’s just say my dad get his very own “special” batch. They were still good but I think the pastry dough was to warm and the filling escaped from a split in the dough… on every one. Next time I will be sure to keep the dough cool for a while before I put them into the oven.

Recipe found on allrecipes.com


Almond Bear Claws

INGREDIENTS
1/3 cup almond paste
2 3/4 cups ground almonds
1/2 cup white sugar
1 pinch salt
2 tablespoons butter
2 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 teaspoons amaretto liqueur
3 pounds puff pastry
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
3 tablespoons sliced almonds, for garnish
3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar for dusting

DIRECTIONS

1.In a large bowl, beat almond paste with an electric mixer to break it apart. Add the almonds, sugar, and salt; continue to mix until the almond paste is no longer lumpy. Stir in the butter, egg whites, almond extract and amaretto liqueur on high speed until its as fluffy as you can get it. Set aside.

2.Using half of the dough at a time, roll it out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle that is about 8 inches wide and 1/4 inch thick. Trim the edges of the dough. Cut the dough in half lengthwise to make two 4 inch wide strips.

3.Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

4.Fill a pastry bag halfway with the almond filling and pipe a stripe of filling down the center of each strip. Whisk together the egg and water. Brush onto one edge of each strip. Fold each strip over the filling and press gently to seal it. Brush each piece with egg wash and sprinkle sliced almonds over the top. Cut into 3 to 4 inch pieces, then cut 1/2 inch slits into the sealed edge to make the ''claws''. Place the bear claws at least two inches apart on baking sheets. Refrigerate and repeat with the second half of the dough.

5.Bake in the preheated oven until almonds are toasted and pastry is golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool and dust with confectioners' sugar right before serving.

Chocolate Chip Cupcake

vanilla cake.mini chocolate chips.butter cream frosting.more mini chocolate chips.



s.c.r.u.m.p.t.i.o.u.s

Bran Muffins

You had baby
Now you can’t go poo
Don’t worry Sissy
I’ve got the perfect thing for you.

It’s a little thing
I like to make
When I know
Your tummy does ache.

It will help you out
Get you moving like new
So have a bite
And go find the lou.

Happy pooing everyone!

But seriously, this is a great recipe. I don’t like raisins so I leave them out, but other than that this is a keeper! Thanks allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS

1 ½ cups wheat bran
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup raisins

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.

2. Mix together wheat bran and buttermilk; let stand for 10 minutes.

3. Beat together oil, egg, sugar and vanilla and add to buttermilk/bran mixture. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir flour mixture into buttermilk mixture, until just blended. Fold in raisins and spoon batter into prepared muffin tins.

4. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool and enjoy!

What a girl needs...

Sometimes a girl needs a pink cupcake when her heart is a bit broken. I loaded this thing with love and sprinkles, its how I cope.

Adieu Jeremy.

You are sorely missed.

Haystacks

My sister Nora usually makes these but as I was looking through the cupboard looking for something to make I had all the ingredients for these tasty treats. I usually am not a fan of butterscotch but I love it in this form. Recently I heard of people using peanut butter chips in place of the butterscotch but have yet to try that.

HAYSTACKS

INGREIDENTS

1 bag semi sweet chocolate chips
1 bag butterscotch chips
1 bag Chinese chow mein noodles

Wax paper

DIRECTIONS

1. Melt together chocolate and butterscotch over a double boiler.
2. Add in the whole bag of Chinese noodles.
3. Mix well but try not to break noodles.
4. With a spoon scoop out and form into a mound on wax paper.

Let cool completely before storing in an air tight container.

Chocolate Pretzel

Salty and Sweet is one of my favorite flavor combinations. There is something so satisfying about it.


CHOCOLATE PRETZELS

INGREIDENTS

1 bag pretzels, any style will work
½ bag your favorite chocolate chips (milk, dark, white or a combination)
Sprinkles
Wax paper

DIRECTIONS

1. Melt chocolate over a double boiler

2. Dip half of the pretzel into melted chocolate. Shake off excess and dip into sprinkles.

3. Lay flat on a piece of wax paper

Let cool completely and store in air tight container.