That Winsome Girl

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T23:54:00.006-04:00

Just thought I'd quickly share the "Zipper Face" Halloween costume I wore to a party with friends on Sunday. Gory costumes aren't usually my thing as I much prefer to dress as something pretty or whimsical, but this year I couldn't decide on a last minute costume that fit into my self-imposed $10 budget. My hubby suggested I go for this look and I figured, why not! A zipper, some liquid latex, and lots of fake blood later and I was decked out and disgusting.

I hope you all had a frightful Halloween!

Key Lime Pie Ice Cream

2011-06-25T15:16:00.002-04:00

I couldn't wait to try this recipe for Key Lime Pie Ice Cream when Jamie of My Baking Addiction shared it as a guest post over at goodLife {eats}. The thought of the tart key lime pie flavor made my mouth water and pucker all at once. I'm so glad I gave this recipe a try; this is hands down the easiest ice cream recipe I've ever made. You simply whisk a few ingredients together, chill, then let the mixture freeze in your ice cream maker. How easy is that?

This would be the perfect simple dessert for summer entertaining. The cold, tart ice cream would make a lovely finish to a cookout on a hot summer's day. You could prepare the ice cream ahead of time and keep it in the freezer before serving, or prepare the base and keep it chilled, then churn the ice cream just before serving for a delightful soft-serve consistency.

I can't wait to make this ice cream again and try sandwiching it between two homemade graham crackers for the perfect summer ice cream sandwich. I found this recipe pretty tart, so I'd definitely suggest starting with a less key lime juice, tasting, and adding more to your preference if you like things a bit sweeter. If you're a fan of Key Lime Pie, you've got to give this recipe a try! You'll be amazed at how quickly it comes together and how vibrant the resulting flavors are. This is definitely one to keep around for summer entertaining.

Key Lime Pie Ice Cream
via My Baking Addiction at goodLife {eats}
serves 6

1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup bottled key lime juice (such as Nellie and Joe's)
1/2 cup heavy cream
dash of salt
1 (14 ounce) can of sweetened condensed milk
6 graham crackers, coarsely crushed, divided
key lime wedges, for serving (optional)

In a large bowl, combine milk, lime juice, heavy cream, salt and sweetened condensed milk; whisk to combine.

Pour mixture into your ice cream maker, and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Stir in 1/3 cup graham crackers into ice cream. Spoon ice cream into a freezer-safe container, and cover and freeze for 1 hour or until firm. Sprinkle each serving with 1 teaspoon graham cracker crumbs. Garnish with lime wedges, if desired, and serve.

Chocolate Malt Ice Cream

2011-06-23T20:35:00.002-04:00

I have been wanting to try this Chocolate Malt Ice Cream for a couple of months now since seeing Darla's mouthwatering post on Bakingdom. I purchased a copy of David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop (where the original version of this recipe resides) in January and made a mental bookmark to try several recipes. Unfortunately I was without a working ice cream maker for months, so when I got a new ice cream maker for my birthday I was eager to finally give this recipe a try.

I'm so glad I put this recipe at the top of my list of frozen desserts to try. This ice cream was rich and creamy with a lovely, mild chocolate malt flavor. I enjoyed it the most fresh out of my new ice cream maker with it's divinely velvety texture. The addition of chopped malted milk balls gave a nice crunch and texture to the ice cream, but I honestly found them a bit distracting from the creaminess of the ice cream. I was really in love with the creaminess of this ice cream and was incredibly impressed with my new Cuisinart Pure Indulgence Ice Cream Maker.

For a couple of years I made due with a very simple ice cream maker I purchased in a garage sale for $2. While it mostly worked, now having used the fantastic Cuisinart model, I now fully understand where my old maker was lacking. I'm a big fan of very soft, slightly melted ice cream and the texture of the ice cream right after churning in my new maker is absolutely dreamy. I have a long list of ice creams and sorbets I plan to try over the coming months. I recently made a Key Lime Pie Ice Cream that I'm sure I'll be sharing with you all soon.

Chocolate Malt Ice Cream
via Bakingdom, adapted from The Perfect Scoop
makes about 1 1/2 quarts

2 cups heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup malted milk powder
1 cup half-and-half
3/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
6 egg yolks
2 cups malted milk balls, roughly chopped

In a medium bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, malt powder, and vanilla; place a mesh strainer on top and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, heat the half-and-half, sugar, and salt over medium heat. Once hot, whisk in the cocoa powder. Remove from heat.

In another medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks. In a very slow, steady stream, whisk half of the half-and-half mixture into the eggs. Be sure to whisk constantly to prevent the eggs from cooking. Once combined, whisk in the remaining half-and-half mixture. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring with a spatula constantly, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the spatula.
Pour the egg mixture through the mesh strainer into the cream mixture. Whisk until combined, then stir over an ice bath until cooled. Cover and chill overnight in the refrigerator.

Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and mix according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Fold the malted milk balls into the ice cream as you remove it from your ice cream maker.

The Band Was Altogether

2011-06-08T16:53:00.004-04:00

My 24th birthday was this past Friday and my niece and nephew, knowing how much I had adored the hermit crabs I had in the past, brought me two sparkly shelled crabs for my birthday. I named them Ziggy and Lady Stardust (because of their sparkly shells and, well, because who doesn't love a good Bowie reference), and until this afternoon they had been hanging out in the tub in our guest bathroom. Today I went our for lunch with a friend and afterward we stopped into a pet store so I could purchase some sand for Ziggy and Lady's tank as well as a few other accessories and essentials for their new home.

I decided to give their tank a bit of a land and sea feel with a sandy area with coral and their water dishes (one with plain water and a deeper dish with salt water for soaking), as well as an area covered in coconut fibers and a little hollowed out log for hiding. I spoiled them with two food dishes, one for dried shrimp and the other for dried fruit. I also feed them fresh fruit and vegetables at least a few times a week.

I tend to shy away from the look of a lot of traditional hermit crab accessories sold which are often obnoxiously neon in color. I prefer a more au naturale look for my crabitat.

If Ziggy and Lady are anything like my past hermit crabs, the clean separation of the two areas probably won't last long. With my other crabs, I would often wake up to find they had completely redecorated their tank! They love to move things around and make a mess of things. For now I like the style and set up of their tank, though I'd love to find a branch of some sort to position on an angle in the back right corner (behind the log) of the tank for the crabs to climb on.

Ziggy and Lady didn't waste any time getting acclimated to their new space. Lady hid behind the sponges in her water dish the entire time I took these photos, so I didn't get a great picture of her. Maybe I'll share some more photos of them later when they're feeling playful.

Ziggy did let me take a few pictures of him though. I hope they enjoy their new home! In the least, it's a step up from the bathtub and there's plenty to do and see, drink and eat. :)

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

2011-06-06T13:40:00.004-04:00

I can't believe how long it's been since I've posted. Honestly, this year has been a busy one and the days, weeks, and months are just flying by! I haven't been baking nearly as much as I would have liked the past few months, and when I have gotten the chance to bake something yummy I never seem to find a moment to take a photo of my creations before they're gobbled up. I deeply miss blogging and it seems I have some very sweet readers who miss me as well! I hope to remedy my lack of posts soon.

With my lack of baking lately and having been busy with other adventures, I've been thinking about including more non-food and jewelry related posts here on the blog. I have been tackling a few projects around the house that I thought might be fun to share here, and I've recently rediscovered my passion for makeup, beauty, and fashion and am curious about sharing some posts of that sort as well. I've always been kind of apprehensive about posting on such a wide range of topics because I know a lot of my readers are only interested in food-related posts. Personally some of my favorite blogs cover a wide range of topics and I'm curious to know how my readers would react to a variety of other topics.

I made these White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies last night for a mostly-weekly movie night the hubby and I host for a small group of friends. This was my first time making White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies and I was surprised to find so few recipes available for them. After searching around online and in a few cookbooks I own, I decided to try this recipe from Handle the Heat as it reminded me a lot of one of my favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie recipes. These were quick and simple to throw together and they baked up beautifully. I used a tablespoon and a half cookie scoop and the recipe yielded just shy of 3 dozen cookies, the perfect amount for everyone to freely indulge during our movie while leaving plenty leftover for the hubby to take to work the next day. These were very well received and I'll definitely be keeping this recipe on hand for the next time I want to make these cookies.

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
via Handle the Heat
makes 2-3 dozen

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted & cooled
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips
1 cup chopped macadamia nuts

Adjust an oven rack to lower-middle position and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl.

In a large bowl, beat the melted butter and sugars together with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Beat in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla until combined.

Reduce mixer speed to low and slowly add the flour mixture until combined. Mix in the white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts until incorporated.

Working with 2 tablespoons of dough at a time, roll the dough into even balls and lay them on the baking sheets, spaced about 2 inches apart.

Bake the cookies until the edges are set and beginning to brown but the centers are still soft and puffy, about 16 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes, then serve warm or transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

Nanaimo Bars

2011-03-02T18:20:00.003-05:00

I had my first Nanaimo Bar back in 2008 while I worked in the bakery at The Fresh Market. There these Canadian treats were called Dream Bars and I quickly learned how delightful they were. These were one of the first desserts I made on my own, inspired by the ones I so often enjoyed at the bakery. I made them again this past Sunday and was quickly reminded of how delicious these little bars can be.

These take a little time to throw together, due to the preparation of three different layers. No actual baking is involved, however, and these would be a great dessert to make when you don't feel like heating up the house. These certainly aren't difficult to make and would be a perfect project for a new baker.

While I was combining the ingredients for the bottom layer, I noticed the mixture was a lot more greasy than I would have expected (or remember it being from years ago when I first made these bars). I actually blotted the top of the bottom layer with a paper towel after pressing it into my pan. I'm not sure what caused the excessive greasiness at the time, but the bars set up great and tasted fabulous.

In my opinion, the real star of these bar is the second, creamy layer. I've been trying to get my hands on custard powder for ages as I really wonder if the taste of the bars would dramatically improve with using custard powder. Unfortunately I still couldn't find any around town, so I make these with your basic vanilla pudding powder. They are absolutely divine custard powder or not!

I followed Jaime's advice to use a hot knife to slice through the bars. This made cutting them a breeze, but I did notice that little streaks of melted chocolate would mar the pale yellow custard layer. The bars are still pretty, imperfections and all. I find bars like this, with distinct layers, very visual appealing.

These bars keep fabulously when stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. At the bakery we would get these in frozen, thaw and cut them. I'm sure the homemade version would freezer just as beautifully. These are great chilled, just from the fridge, but I prefer them after they've had a chance to warm up a bit so the layers get soft and creamy. Absolutely divine!

Nanaimo Bars
via My Baking Addiction, originally from here

Bottom Layer
½ cup unsalted butter
¼ cup sugar
5 tbsp. cocoa
1 egg beaten
1 ¼ cups graham wafer crumbs
½ c. blanced almonds
1 cup coconut (I use sweetened coconut)

Melt first 3 ingredients in top of double boiler. Add egg and stir to cook and thicken. Remove from heat. Stir in crumbs, coconut, and nuts. (I ground my graham crackers in a food processor then processed the almonds and coconut with the crumbs until the almonds were finely chopped). Press firmly into a parchment-lined 8″ x 8″ pan. Refrigerate while making second layer.

Second Layer
½ cup unsalted butter
2 Tbsp. and 2 Tsp. cream
2 Tbsp. vanilla custard powder (such as Bird’s Custard Powder; I used vanilla pudding powder)
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

Cream butter, cream, custard powder, and powdered sugar together well. Beat until light. Spread over bottom layer. Refrigerate while making third layer.

Third Layer
4 oz. bar semi-sweet chocolate
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

Melt chocolate and butter over low heat. Cool. Once cool, but still liquid, pour over second layer and chill in refrigerator. Slice with a warm knife when ready to serve.

Orange Creamsicle Cookies

2011-02-25T17:52:00.004-05:00

A dear friend of mine came over today for lunch and cookbook browsing. She brought a delicious cauliflower chowder and I made Garlic Knots for dipping in the soup and these Orange Creamsicle Cookies. The food was delicious and we had a fabulous time!

These Orange Creamsicle Cookies were inspired by the Strawberry Cream Cheese Cookies I found at Espresso and Cream and made just before Valentine's Day. The strawberry version of these cookies were to die for and I immediately wanted to try an orange version. I imagined the cream cheese frosting when paired with an orange cookie would taste just like a creamsicle!

These cookies were almost as good as I imagined. I used Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Orange Supreme Cake Mix as the base for these cookies. The resulting cookie was a little more tart than I was imagining, but still really yummy! I think I preferred the strawberry version of these cookies a bit more than the orange but they were still delicious and I'm curious to try more variations. These are a easy treat to throw together and look super cute when decorated with sprinkles, colorful sugar, or edible pearls. With so many cake mix flavors available, the combinations for these cookies are pretty limitless.

Orange Creamsicle Cookies
inspired by and adapted from Espresso and Cream
makes ~2 dozen cookies

For the cookies:
1 box of Duncan Hines Orange Supreme Cake Mix
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a Silpat.

Sift the cake mix into a large bowl. Add the lightly beaten egg, oil and water; stir by hand until the ingredients are evenly combined. Using a 1 1/2 tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop the dough and roll between your hands to make a smooth ball. Set on a baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Lightly flatten the tops of the cookies.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until slightly cracked and very lightly golden around the edges. Be careful not to over bake. Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for a minute or two, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the frosting:
8 oz. package cream cheese, at room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon orange bakery emulsion (optional)
sprinkles for decorating (optional)

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the sifted powdered sugar and beat until well combined. Add vanilla extract, orange bakery emulsion, if using, and milk. Beat until fully incorporated and frosting is smooth.

Using an offset spatula or a knife, spread frosting on top of cooled cookies. Immediately garnish with sprinkles. Frosting will be very soft at first, but will set up slightly (enough so that cookies may be lightly stacked) in a few hours. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container for a few days.

Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

2011-02-21T13:47:00.004-05:00

Sometimes a song or an idea gets stuck in your head and lingers for weeks on end. In my case, I've been obsessed with malt flavored desserts since I made Chocolate Malt Cupcakes a few months back. I have quite a few malted treats on my to-bake list and among them was the idea for some strawberry malt cupcakes inspired by strawberry malt balls I found while shopping for some regular Whoppers. I didn't have any luck finding an existing strawberry malt cupcake recipe online, so my plan was to adapt a plain strawberry cupcake recipe to give it a hint of malt flavor.

Since I had never made any strawberry cupcakes before, I decided to start out by finding a plain strawberry cupcake I liked that I thought would work well with the addition of malted milk powder. The Sprinkles Strawberry Cupcake was my first strawberry cupcake to try. I chose to top mine with a strawberry version of my favorite basic cream cheese frosting. Unfortunately overall the hubby and I weren't totally in love with this cupcake. Despite only baking my cupcakes for 15 minutes they were on the dry side and lacked strawberry flavor. The frosting was okay, but oddly enough the cake masked the tangy flavor of the cream cheese that we love so much about this particular frosting recipe.

Despite receiving mixed reviews, I wanted so much to love these cupcakes. I thought the batter itself tasted divine and the cupcakes baked up so pretty--pale pink with perfect little domes. Honestly, I would be curious to try this recipe again in the future. I'd probably pull the cupcakes out of the oven before they were even fully set to hopefully keep them from drying out, and I'd likely try them as mini cupcakes to see if the smaller bite and larger cake to frosting ratio would aid in them not tasting so dry. I've been curious about using simple syrups to add flavor and moistness to cakes and if I could concoct a strawberry syrup for these cupcakes it could be the perfect thing to add a bit more flavor and much needed moisture.

All said, I don't think these cupcakes are exactly what I'm looking for to adapt into the strawberry malt cupcakes of my dreams. Perhaps with a little tweaking these could become the perfect strawberry cupcakes. I'll include the recipe below as I made the cupcakes, for those who are interested in giving them a try. I certainly can't compare them to any other strawberry cupcake recipes as they are the first I've baked (and really some of the only strawberry cupcakes I've ever tried). I do think they're quite cute, and as mini cupcakes could make a darling addition to a bridal or baby shower dessert spread.

Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
cake from Martha Stewart, frosting inspired by Milk and Honey Cafe
makes ~1 dozen

For the cupcakes
1/3 cup strawberry puree
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 cup whole milk, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
2 large egg whites, room temperature

To make strawberry puree, start with approximately 2 cups fresh or frozen, thawed strawberries (I used frozen). Heat berries and a tablespoon or two of sugar in a small saucepan over low heat, mashing them with a potato masher or the back of a spoon. Cook the berries until they are very soft. Remove from heat and let cool. Blend the strawberries until smooth and strain to remove any large pieces.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners; set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a small bowl, mix together milk, vanilla, and 1/3 cup of the strawberry puree; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until well combined and fluffy. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and slowly add egg and egg whites until just blended.

With the mixer on low, slowly add half the flour mixture; mix until just blended. Add the milk mixture; mix until just blended. Slowly add remaining flour mixture, scraping down sides of the bowl with a spatula, as necessary, until just blended.

Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Transfer muffin tin to oven and bake until tops are just dry to the touch, 22 to 25 minutes (mine only took about 15 minutes). Transfer muffin tin to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3-4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup strawberry puree

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter until completely smooth. Add vanilla extract and beat until combined. Sift in 3 cups of powdered sugar until well incorporated and fluffy. Add strawberry puree and beat to combine. Taste frosting and check for consistency, if a sweeter flavor or thicker texture is desired, sift in an additional cup or more of powdered sugar, to taste.

Frost cooled cupcakes and store in the refrigerator until 15 minutes or so before serving.*

*Once my frosting had came together, it was still a bit runny to hold up well to piping. I chilled my frosting in the mixing bowl for about an hour, then beat it again briefly before frosting. If you aren't going to pipe your frosting, you could skip this extra chill without any problem.

Cake Batter Pancakes

2011-02-19T11:31:00.003-05:00

From the moment I saw these Cake Batter Pancakes on How Sweet It Is, I knew I had to make them! I figured they'd be the perfect treat to start a Saturday morning and they certainly didn't disappoint.

As Jessica suggests, I definitely had to do some tweaking to this recipe to get it just right. I ended up adding about 1/4 cup more cake batter and used about 1 3/4 cups milk in the pancake batter. I also choose to thin out the glaze considerably (I wanted something very thin and pourable and not too terribly sweet), using about 1/4 cup milk total. This recipe is all about personal preference; you decide how intense you'd like the cake flavor in your pancakes and how thick or think you'd prefer your glaze. I'd suggest using Jessica's recipe as a staring point and tweaking as you go to suit your tastes.

The hubby and I enjoyed these pancakes by themselves for breakfast, but thought their sweetness would be best rounded out when served with a savory item or two. These pancakes have such a whimsical charm and they'd be perfect for a birthday breakfast or for feeding a bunch of hungry kids. If you're a fan of cake batter flavored treats, I most definitely recommend these pancakes!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies

2011-02-18T12:19:00.002-05:00

I've been shamefully absent from the blog lately. A few weeks ago I came down with the flu and as soon as I was feeling mostly like myself again, the hubby started getting sick as well. I've been in a general funk lately with all the cold and snow we've seen this winter and am desperately craving spring and sunshine! I'm longing for warmer weather and am daydreaming of so many little projects I'd like to tackle come spring. My mind's a flurry with recipes I'd like to try and improvements I'd like to do around our new home. I hope to get back on the blogging bandwagon so I can share them with you all!

I was dying to bake something last night and had a difficult time choosing between a few recipes that I fortunately had ingredients on hand to try. Ultimately I decided to go with these Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies because of their ease of preparation. I originally wanted to make these as an excuse to bake with some Reese's Mini's, but ultimately decided that another application would better to highlight their flavor (I'm thinking some peanut butter cup cheesecake bars are in my future).

These blondies came together fast with little mess in my kitchen. The flavor was simple yet satisfying. I fed these to a room full of guys and they were quickly devoured. The taste and texture reminded me a lot of these Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies I made last year, which is fantastic because those cookies were divine!

If you're looking for a quick way to satisfy your peanut butter + chocolate cravings, I'm sure these will be a hit!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies
adapted from Smitten Kitchen
makes 24 blondies

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 large eggs, plus 1 large yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in the middle of the oven. Butter a 13- by 9- by 2-inch baking pan, then line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and butter the parchment.

Beat together butter and sugar with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until the mixture is light and fluffy, then add peanut butter and beat until incorporated. Beat in whole eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla. Reduce mixer speed to low, then mix in flour and salt until just combined.

Fold in chocolate chips, then spread batter in prepared pan, smoothing the top. (The batter will be thick, almost like cookie batter.)

Bake until blondies are deep golden, puffed on top and a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out with some crumbs adhering, 40 to 45 minutes.

Cool completely in pan on a rack, about 1 1/2 hours.* Remove from pan and cut into 24 squares.

*The original recipe calls for the addition of a ganache topping, but I didn't have enough chocolate on hand nor the patience to wait for the bars to cool enough for the ganache to set properly. I removed mine from the pan, cut and served them after about 30 minutes of cooling time. They were cool enough to handle but the chocolate was still nice and melted. Perfect!

Thomas Keller Oreos

2011-01-17T15:45:00.003-05:00

I have seen these Thomas Keller Oreos popping up on various blogs for some time now and have been meaning to give them a try myself as so many bloggers were raving about them. Since I love traditional Oreos, I figured I couldn't go wrong with Thomas Keller's gourmet version.

I would describe these as the sophisticated older sister of the traditional Oreo. Two deep, dark chocolate cookies are sandwiched between a thick layer of white chocolate ganache. The cookies themselves have a crumbly, sandy texture and a hefty dose of salt for a contrast to the sweetness of the ganache filling. Using a fluted cookie cutter gave these cookies just the right about of cuteness and charm.

While I shamelessly love the shortening based filling of the traditional Oreo, the white chocolate ganache filling for the TKOs was divine! These were just a wee bit too salty for my personal preference and I think in the future I'd reduce the salt in the cookies down to 1 teaspoon. If you're a big fan of the contrast a hefty dose of salt can provide, I'd recommend making the cookies as written.

Thomas Keller Oreos
adapted from Piece of Cake
makes about 24 sandwich cookies, depending on the size

1 1/2 cups plus 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
15 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 3/4" cubes, at room temperature
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 ounces white chocolate, chopped (I used chips instead of bar chocolate, it worked fine)

For the filling: In a small pan or microwave-safe bowl, bring the cream to a boil on the stove or in the microwave. Remove from heat and add the chocolate. Let stand for 1 minute, then whisk to melt the chocolate until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl, and let stand for 6 hours to thicken up (you can also chill it in the refrigerator, stirring often, to speed things up significantly).

For the cookies: In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt, and mix on low speed. With the mixer running, add the butter, a piece at a time. The mixture will be dry and sandy at first, but over 2 minutes, will form pebble-size pieces that start to cling together--be patient, it will eventually come together. Transfer the dough to a work surface.

Divide the dough in half. Roll each half between two large pieces of parchment paper to 1/8 inch thick. Stack the rolled sheets of dough onto a baking sheet (to keep them flat) and chill until firm, at least 15 minutes.

When you're ready to bake, position a rack to the center of the oven and preheat it to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone baking mats. Working with one sheet of chilled dough at a time, use a round 2 to 2 1/2-inch cutter* to cut the dough into rounds (scraps can be gathered and rolled out again). Place the rounds about 1/2 an inch apart on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, rotating halfway through baking. Remove and cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer cookies to a cooling rack. Cool completely.

To assemble the cookies: Lightly whip the white chocolate cream to smooth it and fluff it up. Transfer filling to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4" plain tip (I just snipped the tip off the pastry bag). Pipe about 1 1/2 tsp in the center of half the cookies. Top with another cookie to sandwich. Gently press down until the cream comes to the edges. Refrigerate to for a few minutes to firm up the filling.

Cookies can be stored in a covered container for up to 3 days (I recommend refrigerating to keep the filling from getting too soft).

*I used a 1 3/4-inch round fluted cookie cutter and got about 30 sandwich cookies from the recipe.

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes v2.0

2011-01-10T12:14:00.004-05:00

I recently purchased a copy of Martha Stewart's Cupcakes and have baked a few of the recipes (including the Orange-Vanilla Bean Cupcakes and these Snickerdoodle Cupcakes) since. I already had a go-to Snickerdoodle Cupcake recipe when I first saw the recipe for these cupcakes popping up around the blogosphere, but was curious to try them nonetheless. I made the cupcakes as the recipe suggested, topping them with clouds of Seven-Minute Frosting and sprinkling them with a bit of cinnamon sugar.

I was curious to see how they compared to my other Snickerdoodle Cupcake recipe. I really enjoyed the lightness of the cupcakes itself but oddly found the cinnamon flavor to be lacking, despite using a whole tablespoon of delicious King Arthur Flour Vietnamese Cinnamon in the batter. I think this could be contributed to the fact that my other recipe also includes a hefty dose of cinnamon in it's cream cheese frosting. The seven-minute frosting is really where these cupcakes failed in comparison to my favorites. While the airiness of the seven-minute frosting was refreshing, it lacked flavor and the cupcakes could have really used the extra hint of cinnamon. I'm also a huge fan of cream cheese frostings and I think the tangy flavor pairs well with the punch of cinnamon.

All said, I'd definitely make these cupcakes again in the future, but I'd frost them with the cinnamon cream cheese frosting instead of the seven-minute frosting suggested by Martha.

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes
from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes
makes about 28 cupcakes

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon, plus 1/2 teaspoon for dusting
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar, plus 2 tablespoons for dusting
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/4 cups whole milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Sift together both flours, baking powder, salt, and 1 tablespoon cinnamon.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of milk, and beating until combined after each.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes.

To finish, combine remaining 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 2 tablespoons sugar. Using a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip, pipe frosting on each cupcake: Hold bag over cupcake with tip just above top, and squeeze to create a dome of frosting, then release pressure and pull up to form a peak. Using a small, fine sieve, dust peaks with cinnamon-sugar. Cupcakes are best eaten the day they are frosted; keep at room temperature until ready to serve.

Seven-Minute Frosting
from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

NOTE: This recipe makes a ton of frosting. Unless you plan to make a double batch of cupcakes or would like extra, I suggest reducing the recipe to half.

1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2/3 cups water
2 tablespoon light corn syrup
6 large egg whites, room temperature

Combine 1 1/2 cups sugar with the water and corn syrup in a small saucepan; clip a candy thermometer to side of pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves. Continue boiling, without stirring, until syrup reaches 230 degrees.

Meanwhile, in the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk egg whites on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. With mixer running, add remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, beating to combine.

As soon as sugar syrup reaches 230 degrees, remove from heat. With mixer on medium-low speed, pour syrup down side of bowl in a slow, steady stream. Raise speed to medium-high; whisk until mixture is completely cool (test by touching the bottom of the bowl) and stiff (but not dry) peaks form, about 7 minutes. Use immediately.

Chocolate Malt Cupcakes

2010-12-06T15:37:00.002-05:00

I can't believe it's been months since I last updated! Life has gotten the best of me lately with getting settled into our new home, finding and starting a new job, and planning and preparing for the holidays. Life has been full of numerous blessings and they're keeping me busy. With homeowner duties and a new job fighting for my time, I haven't been baking as much as I used to. With the holidays in full swing I've set my mind to baking at least one new treat each week. The hubby and I have friends over every Sunday night to watch Dexter and The Walking Dead and I've been baking various treats for our guests. Last week I made Gingerbread Cupcakes. Yesterday I made Ham and Smoked Cheddar Thumbprints and these Chocolate Malt Cupcakes, both of which I thought were delicious.

I really loved the flavor and texture of the cupcakes and found they baked up beautifully! I'm curious to try adapting the recipe, removing the malt powder, for a plain chocolate cupcake. The buttercream was light, not overly sweet, and was dream to pipe. Decorated with a single malted milk ball and a paper straw, I thought these were darling to look at.

The recipe and my decorating inspiration came from The Culinary Chronicles. When I saw these cupcakes, I knew I had to make them myself!

Chocolate Malt Cupcakes
adapted from The Culinary Chronicles
makes approximately 30 cupcakes

For the cupcakes:
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup unsweetened dutch-process cocoa powder
½ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup packed brown sugar
1½ teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
1½ cups malted milk powder
1 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup sour cream, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the buttercream:
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup vegetable shortening, at room temperature
½ cup malted milk powder
4 tablespoons unsweetened dutch-process cocoa powder
5 cups confectioner sugar, sifted
*Chocolate Covered Malt Balls and Straws to garnish (Optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together flour, cocoa, both sugars, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, whisk together milk and malted milk powder until powder is dissolved.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat flour mixture, milk mixture and oil until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add sour cream and vanilla, and beat just until combined.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each halfway. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, 18-20 minutes.

While cupcakes are cooling, prepare frosting. In a large mixer bowl, whip the butter and shorting for several minutes until very light and fluffy. Sprinkle in malted milk powder and cocoa powder. Whip for 1 minute. Slowly add the powdered sugar a few spoonful at a time, letting it incorporate until the frosting becomes thick and stiff.

Fill bag with the frosting and pipe large swirls on top of cupcakes. Top with candies and straw garnish. Enjoy!

New York-Style Crumb Cake

2010-09-08T18:09:00.005-04:00

This was my second time making the New York-Style Crumb Cake from America's Test Kitchen. I sat down and spent much of Sunday evening watching Little Women and making this cake. This cake is simple but the taste and texture are to die for. If it weren't for the fact that the crumb topping takes ages to shape, I'd make this cake every week! This is a great any time cake (or an "All-Day Cake" as Shauna describes it), you can enjoy it at breakfast with a cup of coffee, as a midday snack, or as a satisfying dessert to end a meal. It's absolutely irresistible.

The use of cake flour makes for a light and delicate texture and the simplicity of the subtle cinnamon and vanilla flavor is scrumptious. The folks at America's Text Kitchen don't disappoint and they certainly delivered with this one. So, trust me when I tell you that you'll want to find time in your schedule to sit down, watch a favorite movie, and make this crumb cake. You won't be sorry.

New York-Style Crumb Cake
Adapted from America's Test Kitchen via Piece of Cake
Serves 8-10

For the crumb topping:
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, still warm
1 3/4 cups cake flour

For the cake:
1 1/4 cups cake flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup buttermilk, at room temperature

Set an oven rack to the upper-middle position and preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Spray an 8-inch square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and line it with a strip of parchment paper or aluminum foil that is just shy of the width of the dish and long enough to overhang the sides of the dish. Spray the parchment paper with nonstick spray as well.

In a medium bowl, stir together all the ingredients for the crumb topping until they form a smooth dough. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes while you prepare the cake.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, stir together the cake flour, sugar, baking soda and salt at low speed. With the mixer running on low, add the butter chunks one at a time, letting each one incorporate into the dry ingredients before adding another. When the mixture resembles even, moist crumbs, add the egg, egg yolk, vanilla and buttermilk, and increase the speed to medium. Beat until the batter is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.

Break apart the crumb topping into large pea-sized pieces, rolling them slightly in between your fingertips to get them to hold their shape. Spread the crumbs in even layer over the batter. Bake until the crumbs are golden and a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool on wire rack at least 30 minutes. Lift the cake out of the pan using the parchment handles. Dust with confectioners' sugar just before serving.

Chicken Pesto Calzones

2010-09-07T08:17:00.003-04:00

I first saw this recipe for Chicken Pesto Calzones on My Kitchen Addiction early last month. I immediately knew I'd be giving this recipe a try. I'm a huge fan of pesto in any recipe and I loved that Jen claimed this was a freezer friendly recipe.

I finally got around to making the calzones last night and they certainly didn't disappoint! I baked two for dinner and placed the other two in my freezer for a quick, effortless meal when I've had a long day and don't feel like puttering around in the kitchen. Someday soon I want to spend the chunk of a Saturday afternoon making a variety of calzones to stock my freezer. Shaping the dough into 4 calzones creates very generous portions. You could easily shape these into 8 smaller calzones for kids or for modest meals on the go. You can fill the calzones with any of your favorite pizza toppings, but I must say that I was quite fond of this chicken pesto version!

Chicken Pesto Calzones
adapted from My Kitchen Addiction
makes 4 calzones

For the dough:
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 teaspoon yeast
1/2 teaspoon sugar
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup olive oil

To finish the calzones:
1 cup pesto
3 cups cooked chicken, shredded
4 ounces shredded cheese (mozzarella or provolone)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
olive oil
Italian seasoning

To prepare the dough, combine the warm water, yeast and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk until the yeast and sugar are dissolved in the water. Add the olive oil, salt and flour. Using the dough hook, mix until dough is smooth and begins to pull away from sides of the bowl. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow the dough to rise for about 1 1/2 - 2 hours.*

Once the dough has risen, preheat the oven to 475°F. (If using a baking stone, place it in the oven while preheating.) Divide the dough into four portions and shape each portion of the dough into a rectangle/oval on a sheet of parchment paper or aluminum foil for easy transfer to the oven. If using a baking sheet, lightly grease and you may shape the calzones directly on the baking sheet.

In a mixing bowl, combine the pesto, shredded chicken, and cheeses. Spoon 1/4 of the chicken pesto mixture onto half of each piece of dough. Fold the dough over the filling and pinch the edges to seal the calzone.

(At this point, you can wrap with plastic wrap and freeze any or all of the calzones, if desired.**)

Brush the top of the calzones lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with Italian seasoning. Bake for 12-14 minutes until golden on top and cooked through. Enjoy!

*For a faster rise, I microwaved a cup of water until boiling and allowed it to continue to boil for 2 minutes. I then placed my dough in the microwave. The warm, humid environment will allow the dough to rise considerably faster than it would in a typical kitchen.

**To bake the calzones from the freezer, allow them to thaw in the fridge or at room temperature then bake as directed.

Help Save Lives!

2010-09-04T23:53:00.007-04:00

As I mentioned some time ago, a dear friend of mine is bravely fighting leukemia. She has been nothing but positive and strong throughout her treatment and she is a real inspiration. She is currently taking donations for the Light the Night Walk for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. If you feel inclined to donate, it would be a real blessing to patients and their families. Any amount is appreciated if you feel moved to donate but can only offer a little.

Thank you!

A completely unrelated but adorable video. Sure to add a smile to your day!

Dulce de Leche Ice Cream

2010-09-01T17:27:00.002-04:00

The hubby and I had our first dinner guest Sunday evening. I prepared a simple, but delicious dinner of Fettuccine with Fresh Corn Pesto, homemade Focaccia Bread and Dulce de Leche Ice Cream. Our guest brought salad and ginger snaps (to serve with the ice cream) and it was a great start to what I hope to be many nights of entertaining in our new home.

Unfortunately I didn't snap any photos of the pasta or focaccia, but today I made sure to get a photo of the last bit of the ice cream. This recipe was incredibly easy to throw together and absolutely delicious. While I enjoy the richness and creaminess of custard style ice creams, I really love the ease of Philadelphia style recipes. This Dulce de Leche Ice Cream can come together with as few as three ingredients and just a few minutes of preparation. The caramel flavor of this recipe is absolutely outstanding. This is definitely a great recipe to throw together effortlessly to share with dinner guests. I highly recommend serving the ice cream with something spicy (such as ginger snaps) or a bit salty (maybe some roasted nuts or salted pretzels would be delightful) to provide a pleasant contrast to the sweet and smooth caramel notes.

Dulce de Leche Ice Cream
adapted from Gourmet
makes about 1 1/2 quarts

2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 lb dulce de leche
1/8 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Bring milk and cream just to a boil in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, then remove from heat and whisk in dulce de leche until dissolved. Whisk in vanilla and transfer to a metal bowl. Quick-chill by putting bowl in a larger bowl of ice and cold water and stirring occasionally until cold, 15 to 20 minutes.*

Freezer mixture in ice cream maker until almost firm.

Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden, at least 1 hour.

Ice cream keeps up to 1 week in freezer.

*I chose to chill the ice cream base in a covered container in the fridge overnight.

Morning Kitchen Vignette

2010-08-20T10:14:00.004-04:00

I had been using a loaner stove this past week as we waited for our range to arrive (there was a mix up initially and our builder's supplier brought the wrong range). This morning, bright and early, our door bell range and there was our shiny new range! We actually received a different refrigerator and dishwasher than we picked out/paid for, but they were upgrades from what we had chosen (our fridge is absolutely amazing, but that's a different post). The range we received today was also a free upgrade from the one I picked out. My new range has 5 burners and a convection oven with 6.0 glorious cubic feet of space and 4 oven racks, just waiting for me to bake a ton of delicious treats! I couldn't be more excited about my new kitchen!

I'm growing to absolutely adore the color scheme of my kitchen. When I was dreaming of my future home, my head was full of pictures of white cabinets, butcher block counters and sweet candy colors. Now that I'm in my neutral-colored space, I'm really starting to love it. I'm planning on working in lots of white ceramic accents (such as the egg crate and creamer in the vignette) and throwing in a few punches of complimenting color. I really like the way the coral pink of the macarons in the pri nt pop with the copper cookie cutter. I think these pinks add just enough color while still complimenting the neutral palette. Eventually I'd like to do a huge wall of photos in my kitchen behind where our table will go. I'm thinking lots of baking-related photos, mostly in muted neutral tones and maybe a few hints of color thrown in for interest. I really look forward to growing into the space and breaking it in with dinner parties and gatherings. I really feel at home here.

Moved In!

2010-08-19T21:03:00.003-04:00

{Please ignore our dead grass, we'll be getting new sod once the temperatures calm down a bit.)

Well, last time I wrote I excitedly shared what I thought was our closing date. Unfortunately the day before we were supposed to close, the underwriter came back requesting more documentation and our closing got pushed back several days. It was inconvenient and a lot of stress, but fortunately we finally got to close on our first home this past Friday. We moved in on Saturday and things have been splendid!

In the past few days I have gotten my kitchen unpacked and organized, done about 10 loads of laundry in my brand new washer and dryer, enjoyed the blessings of a having a dishwasher, and felt utterly pampered in my new shower. I absolutely LOVE our new home and am beyond excited about our future here. I look forward to dinner parties and gatherings, cookouts and celebrations. We look forward to sharing our home with friends and family. I really love it here.

I've been busy with work the past few days, trying to get in some last minute preparations for the Woodland Art Fair this weekend. Once things calm down a bit next week, I plan to get more unpacking done and spend a lot of time puttering around in my new kitchen. I haven't really cooked or baked all summer due to the heat, but now that I have a huge kitchen and air conditioning, I'm beyond excited to be back in the kitchen. I hope to share photos of my kitchen and a few other pictures of the house soon!

Finally, There's a Date!

2010-08-05T21:01:00.008-04:00

First of all, I wanted to thank everyone for the incredibly sweet and supportive comments and wishes on my last post. They really mean the world to me!

We had the first walk through of our home today with the builder to discuss anything and everything that's still left to be done or needs fixing before we close on our first place. We finally found out our actual close date. We're closing this Tuesday! I am so beyond excited right now. This whole process has felt a little surreal to me until today and, honestly, probably will continue to feel a little unreal until we get settled in. We still have so much packing to do to prepare for the move. We'll be spending much of the evening after closing on Tuesday at the house taking care of a few things. Wednesday will be super busy with moving. We're having a home security system installed on Wednesday and our new TV, washer and dryer delivered, so I'm planning to stay at the house all day unpacking as the big, burly men do all the heavy lifting of moving everything. (Boy, did I luck out with that job!)

I'm so excited about our new space. I know it's going to feel incredibly bare for some time as we've decided to leave behind almost all of our broken down furniture. We'll be living without dressers and the like for at least a few months. So, in the mean time, I plan to focus on small, inexpensive DIY projects that will inject a little life into the place. Our kitchen, thanks to stainless steel appliances and pretty cabinets will be pretty spiffy looking to start (though it will be even more gorgeous down the road when I can afford my dream table), but I have a few DIY projects in mind for the room in the mean time.

The project I'm most excited about will actually remain hidden most of the time. Inspired by this kitchen cupboard message center at Apartment Therapy, I plan to turn the inside doors of one section of my cabinets into a chalkboard/cork board center. I love how fun and practical this project is. One side is perfect for quickly jotting down things we need to pick up from the store, and the other side is great for hanging recipes for the week, a calendar, etc. I really love all the creative uses for chalkboard paint in kitchens, and this one is a great way to have fun with the trend without feeling like I'm defacing our brand new kitchen.

And with the extra chalkboard paint, I plan to paint a few pots for a small indoor/outdoor herb garden. Using chalk markers I'll label each pot with the name of the herb growing inside. When the weather is nice, I'll set the herbs on the deck outside our kitchen. Other times I'll bring them inside and sit them on a pretty table next to the windows in our sunny kitchen. I'd love to find an interesting and airy looking plant stand for the purpose, maybe something like this vintage stand.

I'm looking forward to all the cooking and baking I'll be doing in my new kitchen and a little herb garden would be so lovely! Next summer I'd like to try my hand at planting a few more edibles, including some tomatoes and raspberries! I feel so blessed to be embarking on this joyful journey of home ownership.

That's all for now, I'm off to attend to some packing!

Still Alive

2010-08-04T17:19:00.002-04:00

So, despite what my lack of posting lately might suggest, I'm still alive. The hubby and I have started the process of packing for our big move. Long story short, our closing date is still not set in stone, but we're hoping for early next week. We're planning to head to our new home the day we close to take care of a few things (hanging blinds, installing shower curtain rods/hanging shower curtains, etc.) and will be moving immediately the following day. My hubby took the photo above a few nights ago on his iPhone. Believe it or not, all these boxes are just a part of his video game/movie/book collection (and I'd say that all but two or three of those boxes are video games). Crazy, huh?

Packing has been a slow and difficult process. Other than packing some clothes and kitchen items, I really haven't packed much. We had trouble getting our hands on some (free) boxes at first. The hubby got tons more recently from Kroger but they were all awkward sizes for things I needed to pack. I have a feeling we'll be packing like crazy the last few days before the move. When we moved in our first and current apartment together we really didn't have much and didn't bother with actually packing--just kind of transported things in drawers, trash bags and the like. Now we have a lot more stuff and we're trying to be more organized with the move. I've been labeling every box with its contents as well as the room in the new house were it should end up. I'm hoping this will help avoid chaos when it comes time to unpack. *Fingers crossed.*

As I'm sure many of you are experiencing, this summer has brought with it an incredible heat wave. Our apartment lacks air conditioning and the walls and attic above us are entirely uninsulated. Today, for example, brought a heat index of 108 degrees in Lexington. We are fortunate to have a window unit in our bedroom which keeps the room relatively cool and comfortable. Right now a thermometer in the bedroom, next to the air conditioner, reads 80 degrees. My studio down the hall (sans air conditioner) is 90 degrees. I sit and I sweat. Needless to say I haven't really been in the mood to cook or bake all summer. Since baking is one of my favorite things to post about, I've been lacking in things to share as of late. I really miss blogging and hope to be back in the swing of things after we move and settle in. I've missed baking and have accumulated a million recipe I want to try, so I'll be posting tons soon. I'm also excited to have home decor and DIY projects to share in the future as well. I have a few kitchen related projects I want to tackle soon after the move and I'll be sure to share them here when I do!

Wedding Cookies

2010-07-23T18:29:00.007-04:00

I spent the bulk of the past two days working on an order of royal icing decorated sugar cookies for a wedding this Saturday. These might look familiar since I made similar cookies a while back for a bridal shower.

I basically made a smaller, slightly modified version of the original sugar cookies I made for the bridal shower. In addition I also made some heart shaped cookies with the couple's monogram.

I went simple and clean on both designs, using mostly white with just a hint of clover green accents to play off the wedding colors.

The wedding cake cookies got a bit of color in the form of tiny handmade gum paste flowers, while I chose to pipe the monogram on the heart cookies in the same clover green. Both designs got a bit of sparkle with some white sanding sugar.

I used my current go-to rolled sugar cookie recipe, an adapted version of The Best Rolled Sugar Cookies from All Recipes, and Bake at 350's Royal Icing recipe. This was my third time decorating sugar cookies with royal icing. I could still use A LOT of practice, but I've decided that I don't really enjoy baking and decorating sugar cookies as the process is so time consuming and exhausting. I don't think I'll have the desire to bake/decorate any more sugar cookies for a long time, despite how cute they can be.

The Best Rolled Sugar Cookies
adapted from All Recipes

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract until combined. Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir until just combined. Divide dough into two disks and wrap tightly in plastic wrap; chill for at least 1 hour, or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll dough out on a floured surface to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into desired shapes. Place cookies at least 1 inch apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Place cookies on sheet in the freezer for at least 15 minutes before baking, until hard.*

Bake in preheated oven for 10-14 minutes, until edges just begin to turn light brown. Do not over bake. Let cookies cool for 1-3 minutes on baking sheet before removing to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Once completely cool, decorate as desired.

*I find that working with 3 baking sheets at a time is very helpful. Once you get into a groove, there will always be one sheet baking, one sheet in the freezer getting firm, and one sheet available for the cookies you are currently cutting out.

Royal Icing
from Bake at 350

4 tablespoons meringue powder
scant 1/2 cup water
1 lb. powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon corn syrup
few drops of any clear extract (I left this out)

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the meringue powder and water. Beat until combined and foamy.

Sift in powdered sugar and beat on low to combine. Add the corn syrup and clear extract, if using. Increase speed to medium-high/high and beat for about 5 minutes, just until the icing is glossy and stiff peaks form. Do not over beat.

Use immediately, color to preference, or cover tightly with plastic wrap until ready to use.

This stiff consistency is ideal for outlining or piping detail onto cookies. To adjust the icing to flooding consistency, add a teaspoon of water at a time, stirring with a rubber spatula, until the icing is the consistency of syrup.

Pleasant Changes

2010-07-15T15:04:00.004-04:00

I have some pretty exciting news to share. I've been waiting to share the news for several weeks as I wanted to hold off until everything was confirmed. There are still some final steps we have to take before everything is completely official, but I am overjoyed to share that...

The hubby and I are buying our first home!

We feel incredibly blessed to have the opportunity to even entertain the thought of home ownership so early in our lives. I just turned 23 and my husband just graduated college and started his first "real" job. I feel so blessed to be able to take such a huge step two and a half years into our marriage. Purchasing our first home makes me feel all grown up. Long story short, what started out as a hunt for us to find a single-family home to rent turned into our first house hunt! We found a 3 bedroom/2 bath, 1,521 square feet new construction home that we love. The layout is ideal for us and the home feels so spacious and is perfect for entertaining. Currently we're on schedule to close around August 6th!

What will become my studio/office is at the very front of the house, which will be perfect for having clients stop by. You enter the large, open living room/eat-in kitchen after a short entryway/hallway. The hallway to the rest of the bedrooms is off the living room. The master bedroom (complete with master bath and a walk-in-closet), the guest bathroom, a linen closet, the third bedroom and the laundry room/mudroom are all in this area. I really like that there is a separation from the main living area. I'm extremely excited about the space and have been pondering ideas for decorating. I'm looking forward to adding DIY and decorating posts to the blog. We'll be purchasing a few furniture pieces right away, but, for the most part, our home will be a work in progress for some time. I'll be sharing some of my inspirations and my ideas for the different rooms of our home on the blog over the coming weeks.

First I thought I'd share a few ideas I have in mind for our entryway. While I love the look of adorable coat racks and umbrella stands, our entry is somewhat narrow and does have a coat closet, so they aren't quite as practical or necessary for the space. I knew I wanted to include some simple wall art and a place to drop keys, mail, etc.

After seeing John and Sherry at Young House Love add these adorable wallflowers by Umbra to their guest bedroom, I was completely smitten and knew I wanted to find a place to add them to my home one day. I'd love to add these white flowers to the right wall of my entry, sprinkled in sort of a random horizontal pattern, leading into the living room. I love the clean, graphic look of the flowers and their playful, whimsical feel. I think they would be the perfect thing to add a "wow" factor to our narrow entry.

Originally I was hoping to find a place for a cute console table to use as a drop for keys, mail, etc. Since there isn't an ideal space for one in our future home, I was sort of lost for ideas. That is until I saw this cute and functional letter organizer, also from Umbra. I love the simple, sleek look of the brushed aluminum organizer. There is plenty of room to hold mail, a flap to hold notes, shopping lists, etc., and even a few hooks for keys. How perfect! I think there should be just enough room on the left wall of our entry, before the door to my studio/office and the coat closet, for this darling organizer.

I think these two additions would be just enough to add some function and interest to our entry without overwhelming the space. I'll be back soon with some ideas for my studio/office!

Office and Studio Inspiration

2010-07-08T10:08:00.005-04:00

I love the clean and simple display of art above this desk.

Design*Sponge has posted some of their favorite offices recently and I thought I'd share my favorites out of the bunch as well as some other inspiring studios I've seen around the net. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

This wall-mounted organizer is fantastic.

I really love the soft, neutral colors of this space.

I love inspiration boards!

The "Hand Made Love" sign in this space is so unique and creative.

I have posted about this space more than once before, but I can't help being smitten with everything about it!

This space looks so loved and productive.

I am really drawn to the look of colorful fabrics stacked neatly in open or glass front shelves.

No list of inspiring studios would be complete with mention of this space from Alicia Paulson of Posie Gets Cozy. This was the first studio space that made my heart skip a beat and I think it will always be one of my absolute favorites!

Mocha Chocolate Chip Muffins

2010-06-29T13:48:00.002-04:00

This morning I was craving coffee and something chocolaty. A quick search on Tastespotting and I found these Mocha Muffins with Chocolate Chips posted at The Food Librarian. Bingo!

These were quick to throw together and helped satisfy my longing to bake. I thought these muffins were pretty good, not great, but good. I followed the original recipe from Bon Appetit, omitting the pecans because I didn't have any in the house, and found the flavor a bit lacking. Overall there was obviously a hint of something other than chocolate, but the coffee flavor wasn't pronounced enough for me to really consider these mocha muffins. The chocolate chips in the muffins were, however, plenty to satisfy my chocolate craving. I used a mix of bittersweet and semisweet chocolate chips and really loved the slightly bitter dark chocolate flavor.

Overall I'd say I enjoyed these muffins, but I definitely wouldn't make them again without upping the espresso powder, increasing the cocoa powder, or adding in the pecans or something else to give a bit more depth of flavor.

Mocha Chocolate Chip Muffins
from Bon Appetit via The Food Librarian

1/4 cup hot water
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed golden brown sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips (I used 1 cup bittersweet and 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips)
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans (about 4 ounces), toasted (I left these out)

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line twelve 1/2-cup muffin cups with paper liners. Stir 1/4 cup hot water and espresso powder in medium bowl until espresso powder dissolves. Add buttermilk, oil, eggs and vanilla and whisk until well blended. Mix flour, sugar, brown sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add buttermilk mixture and stir just until combined. Mix in chocolate chips and pecans.

Divide batter equally among prepared muffin cups. Bake until tester inserted into center of muffins comes out clean, about 25 minutes (Mine were done after 20 minutes). Transfer muffins to rack and cool.

Raspberry Lemon Cupcakes

2010-06-25T14:33:00.002-04:00

The fresh raspberry and lemon flavor of these cupcakes was absolutely to die for! I made these for the hubby to take to a potluck at work yesterday and I thought they were divine. The lemon cupcake was perfectly light in texture with just a hint of refreshing lemon flavor. The raspberry buttercream was sweet and delicious with the most beautiful natural pale pink color.

The cupcakes baked up to a beautiful pale golden dome--I finally a homemade cake recipe that bakes up beautifully! Oddly though, I noticed near the end of their baking time, the cupcakes sort of shrank up a bit. They shortened in height and pulled away from the cupcake liners. I've never had this happen before and I'm not sure why it did. I've never made a true white cake recipe before, so I wondered if that had something to do with the shrinkage. Despite shrinking up a bit, they still looked lovely and I plan to try making these again as soon as possible because they were absolutely delicious!

The recipe comes from My Baking Addiction who adapted the cupcake from Dorie Greenspan's Perfect Party Cake (and now I'm dying to get my hands on her book Baking: From My Home to Yours). My Baking Addiction also uses the cupcake base and pairs it with a lemon cream cheese frosting in her Lemon Cupcakes, which sounds like a heavenly combination since the hubby and I are both crazy about cream cheese frostings. I'm thinking about making halving the recipe and making some mini Lemon Cupcakes this weekend.

These cupcakes have such a refreshing quality, making them perfect for summer! The cake is so light and tender in texture. I think these would be the perfect dessert for casual summer entertaining.

Raspberry Lemon Cupcakes recipe from My Baking Addiction.

Oreo Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-06-22T14:49:00.001-04:00

I realize I sure have been posting a lot of Oreo/cookies & cream recipes lately. Ever since I made those delicious Cookies & Cream Cupcakes I've been baking with Oreo cookies nonstop. Can you really blame me?

I made these Oreo Chocolate Chip Cookies to take to a close friend who is, unfortunately, in the hospital undergoing chemotherapy for leukemia. I got together yesterday evening with some friends and we picked out a card and some "trashy magazines" to take to her to help pass the time. Our friend is so vibrant and social and I can't even imagine how difficult this time in the hospital is going to be for her. We plan to continually spoil her with visits, baked goods and lots of magazines to read and movies to watch. I hope, in some small way, all the little gestures help her get through this time.

Oreo Chocolate Chip Cookies
makes ~2 dozen
adapted from Picky Palate via Lovin' From the Oven

1 stick unsalted butter, cold and cubed
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
6 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ¼ cup flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
8 Oreo cookies, chopped
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream butter and sugars until well combined. Add egg and vanilla extract, mixing until combined.

Place flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl; whisk to combine. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet, then stir in the chopped Oreo cookies and chocolate chips until just combined.

With a 1 1/2 tablespoon cookie scoop, portion the cookies and space them at least 2 inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 7-9 minutes or until cooked, but still soft in the centers. Let cool on the baking sheet for 3 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Creamy Oreo Pie

2010-06-21T00:27:00.005-04:00

First off, this is another ugly photo post. Honestly, I have two windows in my apartment that I've really learned to work with and how to get a great photo during certain times of the day. Any other place or time and I simply can't capture a pretty photo if my life depended on it. I am going to work on this. I just need to find time to really play around with white balance on my camera in different settings to figure out how to get natural and captivating colors outside my ideal shooting situation. I didn't have my trusty tripod with me for these photos and that definitely made my job even more difficult.

Terribly photos aside, this Oreo Pie, though nothing too exciting visually, is simple but delicious. I had about 2 hours this afternoon to make something for dessert for Father's Day/the weekly life group cookout my in-laws have every Sunday evening. I knew I had to make something that was quick and I wanted something that would be cool since it's been so hot out lately. This pie, while definitely rich and decadent, does have a slightly refreshing quality about it. This one is a real breeze to throw together. It's even faster and more fool proof to make if you decide to buy a ready made Oreo pie crust. I decided to make my own to use up the rest of the package of Oreos I needed for the filling and because I wanted to use my pretty, vintage inspired pie plate. I roughly made 1 1/2 the original recipe to fill my large pie plate. The amount was perfect for my 10-inch x 2-inch pie dish. This is a really simple recipe and is perfect for all those cookies & cream fans out there. I definitely suggest making this sometime!

Creamy Oreo Pie
adapted slightly from Nabisco

39 Oreo cookies, divided
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 (8 oz.) package Philadephia cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
2 cups thawed Cool Whip

Process 26 cookies in a food process until finely ground; mix with melted butter until well blended. Press the crumb mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Refrigerate the crust while preparing the filling.

Chop 9 of the remaining cookies; set aside. Beat cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Gently fold in the whipped topping and the chopped Oreo cookies until well blended. Spoon into prepared crust and smooth top.

Refrigerate at least 2 hours or until firm. Pipe swirls of whipped topping on top of the pie and garnish with halved Oreo cookies before serving, if desired.

An Elegant Retreat

2010-06-14T11:42:00.002-04:00

I stumbled upon this bedroom today and immediately fell in love! I've seen several bedrooms in the past that utilized crisp, clean whites and neutrals and have always enjoyed the sophisticated look and calming effect. This is by far the most lovely example I've seen and I would love to use this as inspiration for the day the hubby and I can invest in furniture and really decorate our bedroom. There is an elegance and grace about this room that really captivates me. It certainly has a feminine touch without being overwhelmingly girly. I think I could get my hubby on board for a knock-off version of this room for our future.

I am drawn to this neutral look the most when various textures are thrown in to create visual interest and drama. I've seen some gorgeous white and ivory bedding lately with pretty pin-tuck and rosette details that would be perfect for this application. I love the soft beige walls, crisp white trim, and dark wood accents in the furniture. These neutral palettes are perfect for adding pops of color which can be changed around daily, weekly, with the seasons, or just whenever the mood strikes. You could even work in a soft accent color more permanently with something like this gorgeous robin's egg tweed bench.

I do love color, but I find I have difficulty finding color schemes I could really commit to. While some folks can afford to change out furniture or mix things up every few years, I just don't see that kind of luxury in my immediate future. With a neutral backdrop such as this, you could easily switch out relatively inexpensive accessories such as pillows and art to completely change the way the entire room looks. A room full of crisp, clean colors will always look elegant, sophisticated and luxurious.

Bridal Shower Treats

2010-06-14T08:23:00.004-04:00

First of all, let me say that these photos are going to showcase my complete inability to take a decent picture in anything but natural light. While I am fairly proud of my ability to take a pretty picture when the sun is shining, I still haven't quite gotten the hang of capturing colors accurately in harsh artificial light. I need to work on that.

That said, today I'm sharing photos of some treats I made last Friday for a friend's bridal shower. Her colors are black, white and clover, which I wanted to incorporate in the desserts. I chose to mostly use white with hints of black and with a few spots of clover to keep things elegant and simple. I thought the prettiest treats I made for the shower were these wedding cake shaped sugar cookies.

I decorated the cookies with royal icing. I outlined and flooded the cookies and let them dry for about an hour. After they were fairly dry to the touch, I piped on increasingly thicker lines (from top to bottom) and sprinkled them with crystal clear sanding sugar, giving the cookies a gorgeous, glittery sparkle. I then added three small handmade gum paste flowers for a sweet pop of color. This was really only my second time working with royal icing, so I'm pretty happy with how these turned out. I'd like to get some cute cookie cutters to practice decorating different cookies. I'm seriously smitten with these strawberry cookies from Bridget of Bake at 350 and would love to give them a try. If only I had an appropriate cutter.

I took the next several photos after setting up at the shower. I had to make due with borrowing some cake stands and a cupcake tier from my mother-in-law because I really have absolutely no serving pieces. I made chocolate and vanilla cupcakes, topping half of each with vanilla buttercream and half with chocolate fudge frosting. Each cupcake was topped with a gum paste flower.

With my limited resources, I couldn't get too creative with the presentation of the sugar cookies. I just piled them high on a large cake stand and called it a day. :)

I loved these black and white brocade look baking cups I found for the mini cookies & cream cheesecakes I made. I bought these from Bake it Pretty with most of the other supplies for the shower. I was pretty bummed about these. They worked great and were beautiful, but I paid almost $5 for them and then saw them at my local Kroger (can you believe these gorgeous baking cups are from the folks at Reynolds?) while I was shopping for ingredients for less than $3. I definitely made a mental note for the future!

I'm a bit embarrassed about the piping on my cupcakes. I was definitely behind schedule with everything and had to finish baking my cupcakes, make the frosting, and do all the decorating the morning of the shower. I was rushed, exhausted, and wasn't feeling well and it definitely shows. I was also half afraid I would run out of frosting and didn't have time to make more, so I was a bit less generous than usual with my frosting clouds.

You can't tell in these photos at all, but I painted the white gum paste blossoms with luster dust so they had a really pretty, pearly shimmer to them! I thought they looked very girly and elegant and contrasted nicely with the dark chocolate fudge frosting.

I wish I could have captured the beauty of the sanding sugar on these cookies better in the photos. It was such a pretty touch and now I want to coat everything in sanding sugar.

These cookies and cream cheesecake are really nothing to look at, but they sure were yummy! The pretty baking cups definitely help them look less drab. I thought about doing a cute little piped dollop of whipped cream on top of these, but I knew it wouldn't hold up well over the course of the shower.

Now you know how I spent Thursday evening, all of Friday, and Saturday morning. I really enjoyed making all these treats for the shower. I'm really excited about really experimenting with more recipes and figuring out my favorites in a few months once things cool off. With the heat we've had lately and the fact that I don't have air conditioning in my apartment, I'm not as inclined to want to get in the kitchen and bake. But once things cool off again, I fully plan to take advantage of the fact that I know can send my baked goods to work with the hubby so I can experiment with recipes without trying to figure out what to do will all the resulting desserts.

Most of the time when I bake for a given event, I really struggle over deciding what to make. With a few exceptions, I really don't have go-to recipes for the basics just yet. I still haven't found homemade plain chocolate or vanilla cupcakes that I completely love. There are some chocolate cupcakes that I have made that bake up beautifully and are pretty yummy but could be a bit more moist. As for vanilla cupcakes, I've yet to try a recipe that baked up to a nice, pretty dome. I half wonder if some of my issues with the appearance of cupcakes is due to my oven. I have a really cheap gas oven. While I have an oven thermometer and pay attention to it, I still find that I have serious difficulties getting my baked goods to bake up according to a recipe. A lot of times the texture turns out off or I'll have to bake things A LOT longer than a recipe states. I'm curious to see if and how my baking changes when I have a different oven. I've only been seriously baking since we moved into this apartment a little over a year and a half ago.

I'm curious, does anyone have any recipes for chocolate or vanilla cupcakes that they swear by? I know appearance isn't everything, but one of my biggest criteria for the perfect cupcake is that it bakes up with a beautiful, domed top.

AllRecipes.com Favorite Photo - Again!

2010-06-12T07:27:00.002-04:00

My Cookies & Cream Cupcakes were voted Favorite Photo today on AllRecipes.com! This is the third or fourth time one of my photos has shown up on the front page of AllRecipes and each and every time is a joy. It's such a neat feeling having one of your photos on the front page of such a popular site.

Cookies & Cream Cupcakes

2010-06-09T15:21:00.003-04:00

I made these Cookies & Cream Cupcakes last night for the hubby to take to work with him today (to all three of his work places, actually). I wanted to try out the recipe since I was planning to use it for a bridal shower I'm baking for this weekend. I was looking for a super moist, rich chocolate cupcake that still baked up beautifully (as I've mentioned before, most moist chocolate cakes just don't deliver for me when I use them for cupcakes). I wanted something moist that wouldn't dry out overnight since I'll be baking the cupcakes for the shower the evening before to save my sanity of trying to bake and decorate 48 cupcakes the morning of a shower that starts at noon. This recipe promised to be moist and super chocolaty, so I had to give it a try!

These cupcakes were sinfully rich and moist freshly baked last night. Today they were still moist and delicious. Success! While the chocolate chocolate chip cupcakes are stellar, I must say my favorite part of these cupcakes is the cookies and cream buttercream. I'm surprised how delicious the buttercream is. I was a little concerned before I made it because it called for shortening (in addition to butter) and a full 2lb. bag of powdered sugar. I usually am more drawn to less sweet/tangy cream cheese frostings. Surprisingly though, the buttercream turned out delicious and not overly sweet. The frosting really tasted just like the center of an Oreo and these cupcakes definitely lived up to their name. When I make these for the shower this weekend, I plan to leave out the miniature chocolate chips (for a smoother surface) in the cupcakes and the crushed Oreos in the frosting. I'll be making 24 chocolate cupcakes and 24 vanilla cupcakes (in addition to Cookies & Cream Cheesecakes and Wedding Cake Sugar cookies). I'm thinking about doing half chocolate fudge frosting and half vanilla buttercream on the cupcakes. In other words, I'll be posting lots of baked goods after this weekend.

Unfortunately I've still got to decide on a vanilla cupcake recipe for the shower. I am thinking I may go with Magnolia Bakery's vanilla cupcakes.

Cookies & Cream Cupcakes
via My Baking Addiction

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
yields ~30 cupcakes

1 (18.25 oz.) package Devil's Food cake mix
1 (5.9 oz.) package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper baking cups.

In a large bowl, sift together the cake and pudding mixes. Mix in sour cream, oil, beaten eggs, and water until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips and pour batter into prepared cupcake pans. (I filled each cupcake with 3 tablespoons of batter.)

Bake for 20-24 minutes, until tops spring back when touched and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cook in pans for 5 minutes before removing to a cooking rack to cool completely.

Cookies and Cream Buttercream Frosting

2 sticks of unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup shortening, at room temperature
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 lbs. powdered sugar
4-6 tablespoons very cold milk
8 crushed Oreo cookies (cream filling removed before crushing)

Cream the butter and shortening in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the salt and vanilla extract; combine well. Begin sifting in the powdered sugar in three or four parts, mixing thoroughly after each addition. After all the sugar has been added and mixed in, begin adding the milk slowly, one tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency is achieved (you may not use all of the milk). Fold in the crushed Oreo cookies. Frost cooled cupcakes as desired.

*I had just enough frosting for the 30 cupcakes.

The Kitchenist

2010-06-08T09:34:00.003-04:00

I stumbled across the Kitchenist this morning and perused Ele's entire blog over my morning coffee. With her beautifully arranged photos of fresh farmer's market produce and her hearty and healthy recipe posts, Ele has me romanticizing vegetables to a degree I never knew possible. Heck, I even found myself enjoying a bowl of chickpeas for breakfast because I was craving veggies something awful and I always have a few cans on hand even when the rest of my fridge and pantry are bare (more often than not I'm afraid). I've bookmarked several of her recipes to try, including a delicious looking Leek and Potato Soup. The Kitchenist is a real gem.

Shop Update

2010-06-07T17:13:00.004-04:00

I've been adding some new pieces to my shop this afternoon. This first necklace is a similar style to the very popular Oui, Darling Necklace. I call it the Non, My Love Necklace. ;)

These earrings are one of my favorite pieces at the moment! They are styled after the incredibly popular and currently sold out The Prancing Peacock Earrings. While The Prancing Peacock Earrings were a bit whimsical and quirky, these Date Night Earrings are much more romantic and feminine. I only have one pair available at the moment but I plan to have more available soon.

The A Rose for My Love Necklace is currently available with your choice of three different colors. Choose from a red, pink or blue rose cabochon.

Lastly, the Hopeless Romantic Necklace, one of my best selling designs, is back in the shop.

Weather permitting, I'm hoping to photograph and add more items tomorrow!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars

2010-06-05T15:52:00.003-04:00

I've had my eye on these Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars for a few years, ever since I first saw them over at Bake or Break. I finally decided it was time I make them and I'm sure glad I did! These bars are absolutely amazing. The graham cracker crust has little speckles of miniature semisweet chocolate chips which takes it to a whole new level. The filling is a super rich and creamy vanilla cheesecake that is spotted with little chocolate chip cookie dough balls. After baking, the whole thing is drizzled with melted semisweet chocolate chips. The combination is absolutely brilliant!

I baked mine in a 8-inch square pan because I don't have a 9-inch pan. I'm honestly not sure how long I ended up baking my bars because I never heard my kitchen timer go off after the suggested 30 minutes and, frankly, I wasn't really paying attention to the time so these little puppies could have been in the oven 31 minutes or 45. I honestly have no idea, but they turned out perfect. When I pulled them out of the oven the cheesecake filling was still wobbly everywhere except the very edges. Once these cool overnight in the fridge, they finish setting up and you have the most rich and creamy cheesecake filling.

I almost didn't want to cut into the bars and ruin their pretty little drizzled chocolate topping.

But these bars looked too delicious to resist.

I was absolutely smitten with the cute little specks of mini chocolate chips in the graham cracker crust.

Finally I couldn't resist any longer, so I cut into the bars and served myself up a slice. I admired the smooth, creamy appearance of the filling.

And once again awed over the pretty crust. Then I took a bite and it was sheer heaven!

What I love most about these bars is that, while being incredibly rich, they aren't overly sweet. In my opinion these are perfectly balanced in flavor. The chocolate chip cookie dough balls add a nice contrast in texture to the super creamy filling. When really cold, the dough balls have a very stiff texture but they soften up a bit as the bars warm up. I think the flavors blend and harmonize when the bars are slightly warm but they are equally pleasant ice cold. These are absolutely delicious and I completely and wholeheartedly suggest serving them with a big glass of ice cold milk. Trust me.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars
adapted from The Essential Chocolate Chip Cookbook via Bake or Break

Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2/3 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325°. Butter a 9″-square baking pan. Line pan with parchment paper, leaving enough to extend over the sides. Butter the parchment paper.

Combine graham cracker crumbs and butter until crumbs are moistened. Stir in chocolate chips.

Press crust mixture into bottom of pan and 1 inch up sides. Bake for 6 minutes. Set pan on wire rack to cool.

Cookie Dough:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used miniature)

Using an electric mixer , mix butter, brown sugar, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract at medium speed until smooth. Decrease mixer speed to low and add flour. Mix just until incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips. Shape into teaspoon size balls. Chill while making cheesecake filling.

Filling:
10 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar just until smooth. Add egg and vanilla extract, beating just until blended.

Pour batter into baked crust. Drop cookie dough balls over the top of the filling.

Bake about 30 minutes, or until set but still wobbly in center. Transfer to wire rack to cool.

For chocolate topping, melt 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips in a double boiler or in the microwave (I melted them in a ziplock bag in the microwave). Add about 1/2 tablespoon of butter if necessary to make chocolate smooth. Drizzle over top of bars. Once the pan feels cool to the touch, chill the bars completely in the fridge overnight before cutting.

Using the edges of the parchment paper, remove bars from pan. Cut into bars and serve.

Win a $20 Gift Certificate from That Winsome Girl!

2010-06-04T15:18:00.002-04:00

From now until midnight EST on July 3rd, send in a photo of yourself wearing your favorite That Winsome Girl design and you'll be entered to win a $20 gift certificate!

You can enter one of two ways:
1. Upload a "fan photo" to the That Winsome Girl Facebook fan page.
OR
2. Email a photo to thatwinsomegirl(at)gmail(dot)com as an attachment with "That Winsome Girl Fan Photo Giveaway" in the subject line.

Details:
*All entries must clearly highlight the participant wearing a That Winsome Girl design.
*Entries will be assigned a number according to when they were received. These numbers will be entered into a random number generator and a winner will be randomly chosen and announced on July 4th.
*Anyone and everyone may enter. You may submit as many photos as you like, but there will be only one entry per participant.
*The winner will receive a gift certificate code which will be redeemable for purchases made online ONLY via the That Winsome Girl Etsy shop. The gift certificate must be redeemed by midnight EST October 3, 2010 or it will become invalid.
*By entering, you permit That Winsome Girl to use your photo for promotional purposes. (Please contact me if you are firmly opposed to your photo(s) being used and I'd be happy to make an exception.)

I look forward to receiving all your wonderful entries!

Not Quite 30...

2010-06-03T15:17:00.003-04:00

{Click photo for source.}

Is this not one of the most beautiful birthday cakes you've ever seen?! All those floral details are painted on by hand. It's such a work of art. While I'm not turning 30 (I'm actually 23 today), and I won't be having any dessert that could even compare to the beauty of this cake, I expect to have a happy and low-key birthday. Tonight the hubby and I are celebrating by having dinner out. I haven't completely decided where I'd like to go (he's so picky and we're still on a budget despite celebrating), but I'm thinking we might try Azur which was suggested to me by a friend. We'll be celebrating with the hubby's family on Sunday for which I'll probably bake some cute cupcakes or something of the sort.

My life is so full of excitement and uncertainty and potential at the moment. I am so blessed to have a wonderful, loving and supportive husband, great family and friends, and the ability to pursue my passions. God has truly blessed me in my 23 years of living.

Featured on decor8!

2010-06-02T00:19:00.003-04:00

Heather of Gathering Spriggs featured my work today in a guest post on decor8. Check it out here along with the work of four other amazing Etsy artists!

Share Your Favorite Home Decor Blogs

2010-06-01T00:19:00.003-04:00

Photo of Young House Love's John and Sherry's gorgeous living room!

In the midst of searching for a rental home, I am dreaming of a future (hopefully not too long) down the road where I'll slowly be able to purchase new furniture and actually decorate our home. The past two years the hubby and I have been living in a very old, very neglected apartment in a converted 100 year-old-home. I graduated a year ago and the hubby just graduated this May. In the past two years while living here the only furniture we have purchased are a cheap kitchen island (bought with housewarming gift cards) and two ugly bedside tables we got in a yardsale for $10. Our apartment is a hideous mismatch of hand-me-down furniture and bachelor style pieces my husband purchased from Goodwill before we even met. Nearly half of the furniture pieces we do have are broken. I've never had the opportunity to buy furniture or even really decorate a room. I find that I am drawn to a couple different visual styles and I'm afraid I won't be able to decide on a cohesive decorating style when I am finally able to indulge in decorating.

One of my dream furniture pieces found by Rachel of Smile and Wave.

There is a huge part of me that has the urge to decorate everything in florals and sweet candy colors, but I know that outside my studio and kitchen, my husband would never let me indulge in this girly style (and honestly, I'm not sure I would want to let myself either). I also enjoy the clean, modern, nature-inspired look from folks like John and Sherry of Young House Love. I think I could please my husband with a simple, understated style along these lines but part of me craves a bit more character and whimsy. This is where the trouble comes in. I've seen so many homes featured on blogs like Design*Sponge and Apartment Therapy that I've loved that I can't even pinpoint what I'd like for myself and my home. I am set on mixing new and vintage pieces in our home to create a unique look (and also to save money by buying used). I really love the look of mid-century pieces mixed in with inexpensive new furniture with simple, clean lines. I think I'll probably bring in some whimsy via accessories and art, that way I can change things around without breaking the bank if we ever decide to go for a different look.

I love the whimsy and vintage vibe of this workspace of Liz of say YES! to hoboken.

I do have a general idea in my head of how I'd like to style my home, but I'd like to start an inspiration folder on my computer to keep an extensive inspiration resource at my fingertips. So, I'm hoping you all will be willing to share some of your favorite home decor blogs with me, and/or share photos of some of your favorite spaces! I'm definitely most interested in spaces that are welcoming and cozy with a bit of whimsy. I'd really love to see spaces that blend vintage and new pieces beautifully and make use of budget-friendly resources such as Target and Ikea. Thanks so much! I look forward to seeing all your favorites!

My Cupcake Pops

2010-05-31T00:34:00.002-04:00

So these are my Cupcake Pops inspired by Bakerella and her adorable and genius ideas! I had a bit of difficulty shaping these the way I wanted since I only had a double sided biscuit cutter 1/2-inch larger than I needed. My Cupcake Pops ended up a bit larger than I would have liked and I didn't take my time decorating them, so they aren't quite as cute as I was aiming for. But with their pastel tops and colorful nonpareils they are still pretty darn adorable, if I do say so myself.

I used a boxed moist vanilla cake for the base of the Cupcake Pops, combining the cooled crumbs with a homemade cream cheese frosting. The result was an incredibly yummy and moist interior. I shared these with family tonight and among seven people twenty of these disappeared in a couple hours. They are pretty addictive!

On another note, the hubby and I have exciting plans for the morning! We are going to look at a few brand new rental houses, officially beginning our hunt for a new place. I couldn't be more excited! If we end up with any of the places we've been looking at online, it will be a huge upgrade from our current apartment. We're looking to rent a 3 bedroom, 2.5 or 3 bath single-family home with all the modern conveniences we've been missing the past two years (central heat and air, dishwasher, laundry). I am so excited about the prospect of moving into a bigger and better place in a couple of months! I'm sure I'll be updating about our progress of looking for a rental home, moving, and--further down the road--decorating!

Summer Necklaces

2010-05-27T17:47:00.003-04:00

For all those who were interested in the Oui, Darling Necklace when I first posted about it back in March, I know have it available in my shop!

Also in the shop is this adorable necklace featuring the cutest vintage brass bunny charm ever! I call it BunBun and the Cabbage Rose and it's inspired by a close friend's seriously cute bunny. I love the vibrant colors and the whimsical design. I think it's a perfect necklace for the sunny days of summer!

More on Cupcakes

2010-05-27T17:23:00.004-04:00

Tonight I have a date to make these Cupcake Pops from Bakerella. Originally I was just planning to make some simple Cake Pops to practice and see how many I'll get of a certain size (in preparation for a bridal shower that I'll be making them for in June), but then I decided that I'll give these little cuties a try as well. I don't exactly have the cookie cutters that Bakerella suggests using for shaping the base of the cupcakes, but I'm going to try to improvise with what I have in my collection. I'm thinking about making mine with chocolate coated bottoms and a variety of pastel color tops (pink, blue, mint green, peach). I was hoping to find some white nonpariels or some small pastel sprinkles, but all I could really find at Kroger on short notice was some rainbow nonpariels. Hopefully they turn out cute as I could use a little cheering up...

Tonight is the series finale of FlashForward and I'm really sad to see it go. The hubby and I both really enjoyed the show and are disappointed that it got cancelled. With Lost over now as well, there are only a handful of great shows left on the air. Without giving anything away to those who still may have not seen the Lost finale, I must say I haven't really come to terms yet with the conclusion. I was really angry while watching the last 15 or so minutes of the finale and I'm still pretty annoyed with the way things were concluded. I've decided that I really need to rewatch the last two seasons again before fulling committing myself to an opinion about the finale. As silly as it sounds, I've been experiencing a weird sense of loss since Lost ended. Part of me feels a bit numb as well since the conclusion was so lackluster for me. Oh well, at least Dexter's still around.

For the Love of Cupcakes!

2010-05-26T15:14:00.003-04:00

Ever since I saw these Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes on Pink Parsley last month, they have been on my mind almost nonstop. I intended to make them soon after I saw the post, but being so busy lately, time got away from me and I have still yet to make them. The recipe comes from Cook's Illustrated, so you know it has to be amazing. An intensely chocolaty cake is baked with a dollop of ganache filling. The cupcakes are then topped with creamy chocolate frosting. I am determined to make these soon!

There always seem to be a million cupcakes and other recipes on my list of things to try but I never seem to find the time or purpose to bake as much as my heart desires. Now that my hubby is starting a new job in a few weeks, I'm already dreaming up all the things I can bake for his future coworkers. (As silly as it is, one of my first questions for my hubby about his new job was whether or not I could bake cupcakes for his coworkers.) So, with more baking in my future, I thought I'd share a few of the cupcakes I've seen around the interwebs lately that have caught my eye and been added to my long list of recipes to try.

These Oreo Cupcakes from My Baking Addiction are made from a "doctored cake mix" and are topped with a buttercream frosting filled with crushed Oreos. Now, I usually shy away from using cake mixes, but since these Snickerdoodle Cupcakes were so fabulous, I figure I'll give these Too Much Chocolate Cake cupcakes a try. And from the chocolate pudding mix, sour cream and chocolate chips in the batter, I have a feeling they'll be intensely chocolaty and very moist! Plus I'm very curious to try the buttercream recipe which My Baking Addiction says is her favorite. While I have always gone with all butter in my frostings previously, lately I've really been wanting to experiment with using a bit of shortening to create frostings that are more stable at room temperature. I'd top these Oreo Cupcakes with Mini Oreos. I'm definitely curious to try these out as soon as possible.

These Lemon Cupcakes (also from My Baking Addiction), while so simple in their decoration, are some of the cutest cupcakes I've seen around lately! Something about the sunny yellow baking cups and the single yellow sprinkle atop a creamy swirl of frosting is perfection. I'm going to have to get my hands on some lemon extract to try these, though I might make a few adjustments and create an orange version first, since I have plenty of orange extract in my pantry. After the Lemon Mascarpone Macarons I made recently, I'm dreaming of all the different lemon/mascarpone and lemon/cream cheese combinations I can think of. I love tart desserts!

I saw these Crème Brulee Cupcakes at Bakers Royale yesterday and immediately thought they were genius! I think these would be a great finale for a summer dinner party--classic but playful. I imagine the crème brulee centers of the cupcakes would a perfect creamy contrast to the crumb of the cake. Bakers Royale used Magnolia Bakery's Chocolate Cupcake recipe as the base of these cupcakes, which reminded me that I have been meaning to give their recipe a try.

These last cupcakes aren't technically cupcakes, but they sure are cute! Miniature Reese's Cups have been frosted and decorated and pass as some seriously adorable little cupcakes. Confessions of a Cookbook Queen uses them as cupcake toppers and they sure are whimsical and cute!

Lemon Mascarpone Macarons

2010-05-25T15:16:00.007-04:00

This past week I finally found time to bake some more French macarons. I couldn't believe I hadn't made these since last year. Last time I used David Lebovitz's recipe for Chocolate French Macarons with a few modifications. This time I went with Not So Humble Pie's recipe from her fabulous Macaron 101: French Meringue tutorial. I followed her recipe and directions for macarons, save I decided to grind my own almonds after getting crackled tops on some chocolate macarons that I made with Good Foods almond flour (I couldn't find Bob's Red Mill almond flour that she suggested using).

I left my macaron shells plain and colored them with a bit of yellow gel dye. For the filling, I used Not So Humble Pie's recipe for Mascarpone Lemon Filling. I used store bought lemon curd in my filling to save time. Strangely I had difficulties with the texture of the filling. After thoroughly mixing the mascarpone cheese and lemon curd together, I couldn't get the mixture to firm back up, despite an entire night in the fridge. After a few hours in the freezer, the mixture was firm enough to pipe, but would warm back up to a oozing mess. I basically had to pipe a thin layer of the filling on a macaron shell and then let the filling set up in the fridge before I could sandwich with another macaron shell (otherwise the filling would just ooze right out). I'm not sure what caused this problem as the mascarpone cheese and lemon curd separately were both firm while cold before mixing, and Not So Humble Pie's macarons appeared to have a firm and stable filling.

The filling was absolutely divine despite the issues it gave me. I thought the tartness of the filling was an absolute perfect pairing with the sweet macaron shells. Unfortunately I couldn't fill the macarons with as much of the filling as I would have liked, since it would just ooze out. These little macarons were absolutely heavenly nonetheless. I'm dreaming of all the different fruit curds I could pair with mascarpone cheese to fill future macarons. I think a macaron with homemade strawberry curd would be splendid!

Most of my macarons baked up with slightly lopsided feet. I guess it's time that I invest in some new baking sheets and precut parchment sheets.

Lemon Mascarpone Macarons
Ms. Humble's Scatter Plot Macarons + Not So Humble Mascarpone Lemon Filling

* The vintage floral napkin in the background of these photos was from de Epoca, a darling vintage shop on Etsy. I won a gift card from de Epoca back in February and I picked out two sets of lovely vintage floral napkins! I'm sure they'll be turning up in many of my photos.

From Frumpy to Fabulous!

2010-05-20T13:25:00.004-04:00

I am crazy about this Before & After over at Design*Sponge today. The makeover was submitted by Joëlle from Umbu Lumière and I think it's fabulous! Something about the finished chair screams preppy to me, which isn't my usual style, but I am absolutely drawn to it. I really love how Joëlle left the two middle pieces on the back of the chair unpainted, while giving the rest a crisp, clean coat of white paint. And that plaid fabric on the seat? Repurposed from an old shirt. How fantastic is that?! This amazing before & after is going to be stuck in my head for quite some time.

Farmhouse Character

2010-05-19T03:02:00.005-04:00

{click photos for link to original sources}

I've been a fan of farmhouse tables for quite some time. I love their rustic, loved appearance and the way they perfectly compliment mismatched vintage dishes and chairs. I love the way a worn butcher block top makes for a hardy work surface and an interesting background for photos.

I particularly love the pairing of crisp, white legs with a stained wooden top. I love the way a farmhouse table can look so rustic while being effortlessly feminized with a beautiful doily table runner or a vase of flowers.

I love how simple they can look. They appear humble yet trustworthy, as though they've witnessed generations of conversations around breakfast and again at dinner between family members and close friends.

To say it simply, I just love their character. I've been dreaming of making one of these beautiful tables my own. I was standing in my kitchen today, arranging vintage china on pink open shelves and I was imagining how perfect a farmhouse table would accent my space. Though I often long for modern conveniences (oh, to own a dishwasher!), sometimes I really love the character of my kitchen. There's a 1940's farmhouse drainboard sink and a mishmash of furniture to add storage and workspace to otherwise open space. There are interesting architectural details and quaint little windows. It can be really charming when I look past the ugly floor, stained walls, and noisy pipes. I really think that a farmhouse table would be just the thing to add cohesion and create the illusion that all the little quirks were intentional.

Mayfest!

2010-05-17T13:29:00.002-04:00

Sorry I've been so absent from the blog lately! I've been in relaxation and regrouping mode since Mayfest. I relaxed most of last week and then spent ALL DAY on Friday, well into the wee hours of the morning, cleaning and reorganizing my studio. The studio hadn't seen a complete overhaul for probably close to a year. It felt so great to go through and reorganize everything from top to bottom. My desk drawers and closets are much more functional now and I love it! It's so easy, especially when you work with lots of small items, to let things get taken over with clutter. Projects in various states of completion were taking over the entire studio and it was driving me bonkers! But now, everything is back in its rightful place and I feel so calm and focused and ready to get back in the swing of things.

I am expecting a busy summer ahead of me. Last summer I participated in shows every weekend (except three) from June until the end of August and I was completely exhausted by the end of things. This year my goal has been to focus on participating in fewer shows, mainly larger, higher traffic venues, and to pay more attention to my Etsy shop and to selling at boutiques locally.

I have already started to shift focus to photographing items for my Etsy shop. I have had intentions to really fill up my shop for the past couple of years. I always dread the act of photographing items, editing photos, and creating listings (mainly because I am a perfectionist). With the nature of my work, many of my designs are one of a kind or a few of a kind and it seems that I often spend so much time preparing to list something on Etsy only for it to sell locally as soon soon as it get it listed. I then have to remove the item and lose the time and money I spent listing it in the first place. Sometimes I wonder what the point is. BUT, I have so many wonderful customers who meet me at shows or find my designs at their favorite boutique and they crave and online source where they can really browse the extent of my collection. I really want to be able to provide an online shop that accurately reflects the vast number of items I have in stock at any given time. So, despite all my annoyances with Etsy, I am going to spend the next few weeks focusing on getting my shop in shape. And I'm hoping that sometime this summer I can finally get my hubby to help with designing my very own website.

This summer will be a busy one for That Winsome Girl. I hope to expand my business and see where things go. I really struggle with shyness and insecurities, and for so long I have been letting them take power over me and limit my growth. I have grown so much as a person over the past few weeks and I'm finally going to let go and trust in God and the talents and blessings he's given me. I am incredibly blessed to have an incredibly supportive husband, wonderful family and friends, and the best customers a girl could hope for. I think it's about time that I stop listening to the insecurities and consider all the generous praises I receive from others. I'm ready to jump into things wholeheartedly and just enjoy and appreciate where life leads me. I have a feeling it's going to be a real journey.

Amid all the ramblings, I've shared a few photos of my display from Mayfest. I took these on Sunday morning after customers started arriving and it was quite difficult to get any photos taken, so these mediocre ones will have to do. Unfortunately I wasn't able to really finish several of the ideas I had for my display. As you could see, I wasn't able to find time before the show to sew the ruffled tablecloths I had been envisioning. My booth wasn't quite the whimsical little space I had hoped, but that's okay. The show was a huge success despite my less-than-perfect display. I had set an incredibly high goal for myself after the success I experienced last year at the show. I was able to meet and exceed my goal and the weekend was a huge blessing! Before the rest of my summer shows, however, I do plan to sew those darling ruffled tablecloths, make some tissue paper pom-poms, and figure out some other ways to add a few more pops of color to my display. I've switched from using two 6'x2.5' tables to four 4'x2' tables, so I've been completely reconfiguring my space. It's been fun but a little challenging.

Featured on EpiCute. The Cute Food Blog.

2010-05-05T17:51:00.002-04:00

I've been following EpiCute. The Cute Food Blog. since I found them and posted about their adorableness back in January. One of my friends recently suggested to me that I submit some of my own photos of my treats. At first I was hesitant and I didn't think anything I've ever made/photographed was quite cute enough to be featured. But then I figured there was no harm in submitting a photo. So I did...

And today they featured my Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Fudge Frosting! I am seriously on the verge of doing a happy dance right now! I'm so flattered. Words cannot describe how happy this made me.

Breathing New Life

2010-05-04T13:34:00.003-04:00

The past couple of days I've been working on some custom pieces for a customer using costume jewelry passed down from her mother. As Mother's Day presents to her siblings, the customer had me transform these sentimental pieces of jewelry into new, modern designs that would reflect the style of her siblings.

For this first necklace, I took a darling little stone bird bead from a pair of clip on earrings and transformed it into a playful necklace inspired by nature. The inspiration bird bead hangs above an antique brass branch from which I added a glowing citrine leaf briolette.

It's difficult to really capture the facets in the leaf-shaped citrine briolette, but it is truly stunning in person.

For this next necklace, I utilized a screw back earring with a beautiful, soft blue detail. I turned the earring into a pendant and added a bold and beautiful blue quartz briolette.

The design is simple, allowing the beautiful colors and details of the pendant to really shine. I think the color is mesmerizing.

I love breathing new life into heirloom pieces such as these. We keep and cherish the costume jewelry of our mothers and grandmothers but don't often wear it ourselves. It's nice to transform something so sentimental into something practical that we can not only cherish but really wear and enjoy.

Lilac Beauty

2010-05-03T17:46:00.002-04:00

Just thought I'd pop in to share another new design for Mayfest. I've been a busy little bee in the studio these past few days and things will remain super busy until after this weekend. I probably won't be posting much this week, save for maybe a post or two to share new designs I'll have available at Mayfest.

This necklace is one-of-a-kind. I'll have a few necklaces available in a similar style, but no two will be just alike. The necklace features vintage cabochons (with a couple of new, vintage-style cabochons) linked together and finished with a simple 14K gold-filled chain, adjustable up to 19 inches. I think it would be stunning with a vintage strapless lilac dress and gold pumps for a summer wedding.

Desk Inspiration

2010-04-28T17:59:00.002-04:00

I am absolutely crazy about this desk makeover from Liz at say YES! to hoboken. I love the clean white top with the wood--reminds me of John and Sherry's mid-century dresser makeover. As I mentioned back in November, I have been planing to refinish my mid-century hand-me-down desk for a while. I've been busy and time has gotten away from me. Now that the hubby and I will likely be moving sometime in the next few months, I figure it'll be best to wait until we're settled into a new place before I tackle refinishing my desk. I was originally planning to paint the entire desk white, but seeing these two-tone pieces lately has been pondering a different look. I'm sure I'll wait and see how I want to decorate my new studio space before I settle on a new look for my desk, but I definitely think I'll end up utilizing this two-tone look in one of our furniture pieces.

Another thing about Liz's desk that I love? The IKEA jars next to that big spool of red and white baker's twine. I actually have almost the exact same setup on my desk. Three IKEA jars (one of the four in my set was broken and I didn't notice until I got home with my loot) holding vintage buttons, and a huge spool of baker's twine. Though I'm afraid mine aren't as artfully displayed.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-04-27T15:11:00.008-04:00

My friends had a little cookout/game night last night to say goodbye to a friend who's moving. Our friend has an unyielding love for all things peanut butter, so of course I thought to make a sweet peanut buttery treat for the occasion. I was so busy yesterday that I knew whatever I made had to be quick. I immediately remembered some Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies I had come across before on the Martha Stewart website. Glancing back over the recipe and reading numerous comments about the cookies being dry and bland, I decided to look for another recipe. My search took me to my beloved All Recipes where I found this recipe. After reading the great reviews, I decided to use a slightly modified version of the recipe. And I'm certainly glad I did, because these cookies were great!

After making some seriously sinful Levain Bakery inspired cookies recently which used cold, cubed butter rather than the usual room temperature, I decided that cold butter is now my secret weapon when I don't want my cookies to spread while baking. Using cold butter and a cookie scoop gave me the most darling, perfectly rounded cookies, a look that I adored about the original Martha Stewart cookie inspiration.

The combination of the peanut butter cookie and the melted chocolate morsels make these cookies irresistible. And the texture on these cookies are magical! With an almost fluffy interior, the crumb is along the lines of what you'd find in a cake.

These cookies are divine, and if you're looking for a peanut butter and chocolate fix, look no further. This is one mighty fine cookie.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
adapted from All Recipes
makes about 40 cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups smooth peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the cold, cubed butter and brown sugar until thoroughly combined and fluffy. Beat in peanut butter, vanilla and eggs.

Sift in flour, cornstarch, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Mix until almost combined. Add in the chocolate chips and finish mixing until everything is incorporated. Be careful not to over mix.

Using a cookie scoop (I used a 1 1/2 tablespoon scoop), shape and place cookies onto a parchment lined sheet pan about 2 inches apart.

Bake for 12-16 minutes, or until cookies are set and bottoms are golden. Be careful not to over bake the cookies, the tops will only be lightly golden when they are done.

Let cool on sheet pans for 5 minutes before transferring them to cooling racks to cool completely. Store in an air tight container.

Meringue Kisses

2010-04-24T12:35:00.002-04:00

I made chocolate and vanilla meringue kisses last night. I separated some egg whites earlier in the afternoon, intending to start aging them to bake some French macarons. Instead I got the urge to make these meringue kisses right away.

I used this recipe from Not So Humble Pie, adapting it slightly to make half the batch chocolate and half vanilla. After whipping my meringue to stiff peaks in my stand mixer, I separated half the mixture into another bowl. To that bowl, I sifted 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder and gently folded it in until no streaks were left. In the mixer bowl, I added a wee bit of pink food coloring and whisked it in until the color was even. I piped the meringue kisses using piping bags and two different tips. These adorable, quarter-sized kisses were in the oven for a little over 2 hours at 175 degrees, until they no longer stuck to the parchment.

I'm not sure why, but my chocolate meringue kisses turned sticky once cool though my vanilla meringues dried out perfectly. At any rate, texture aside, the hubby and I both decided that we preferred the delicate, barely there flavor of the vanilla meringue kisses.

These are so simply to make and are really sinless as far as dessert go. These fat free sugary clouds are cute and delicious, and I'm sure I'll be making them more often. I can't wait to experiment with all the pastel colors and darling shapes these little meringue kisses can be.

Such Vintage Charm

2010-04-22T16:39:00.004-04:00

I'm back to share another new design for Mayfest. These are a cross between a stud and a dangle earring. Vintage ivory rose cabochons are given 14K gold-filled post backs and are accented with vintage yellow rose cameos set onto the most darling brass charms with a heart and scroll design. The rose cabochons sit on the ear lobe while the yellow rose cameos dangle just below the ear. I am crazy about this style and hope to offer a few different rose and cameo color options. I should have these available with blue and coral colored vintage rose cabochons and coordinating floral cameos. I am hoping to have the other colors paired with sterling silver findings if I can get the little brass charms plated in sterling silver in time for Mayfest. If I can't get them plated in time, I may offer them in 14k gold-filled/brass as seen here for Mayfest and have them in sterling silver in the future.

The Perfect Print

2010-04-20T15:55:00.002-04:00

I did a little online shopping last week when Torrid had one of their fabulous 50% off clearance sales. I also had a 10% off coupon which got me some great deals. Torrid usually only has a handful of pieces at any given time that are really feminine and frilly enough to suit my style. This floral print chiffon ruffle blouse was just my taste--feminine and romantic with just a hint of whimsy. And it has the most perfect print: light and airy pastel flowers. Love it. Had to have it. And now it's mine!

Seriously, isn't that print amazing? I'm a big fan of teeny tiny floral prints but hate bold, overpowering prints. This print is large enough to be noticed, but delicate enough to still look soft and understated. Something about the thin lines and transparent hues remind me of watercolor, which I just adore. I have a few design ideas for the perfect earrings to pair with the blouse. One idea is a bit more sculptural, playing off the outlines in the print. Another idea is more simplistic to compliment the pretty pastel colors. We'll see which wins my heart.

I also purchased this perfectly pale gray cardigan to wear over the floral blouse. Now I just need a dark denim pencil skirt to complete the look. I have a denim pencil skirt but the color is a bit too light to pair with more elegant tops and it's becoming rather worn as it's one of my staple pieces. I'm having the worst luck finding affordable (plus size) just below the knee length pencil skirts this season.

These are my favorite of the pieces I purchased during the most recent 50% off clearance sale. These sales are pretty much the only way I shop from Torrid as I just can't justify their regular prices. I'm proud to say that none of the pieces I purchased were more than $12. I just love a bargain.

Triple Berry Smoothie

2010-04-15T13:21:00.002-04:00

Gina has been posting some seriously mouthwatering smoothies this week. When she posted this Triple Berry Smoothie yesterday I knew I had to make it! I love a vibrant, healthy smoothie full of fresh fruit and yogurt. This one really hits the spot.

Be sure to scroll through her blog to see the other smoothie recipes she's posted this week. And, honestly, you'll want to stay a while. Gina offers some of the most delicious, figure friendly recipes! Her blog is always my go-to source when I'm looking for a healthy, but delicious meal.

Triple Berry Smoothie
via Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
serves 2

1/2 cup blackberries and raspberries
5 medium strawberries
1 cup crushed ice
6oz WW berries and cream nonfat yogurt (I used WW vanilla yogurt)

Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Serve with a straw.

*I just kind of eyeballed all the ingredients and it turned out great.

Vietnamese Coffee Jello

2010-04-15T10:06:00.004-04:00

I know half of you, dear readers, are thinking "Ewww!" And the other half are intrigued...

I was intrigued when I read this recipe at The Food Librarian yesterday. I was so intrigued in fact that I had to run to Kroger to get some sweetened condensed milk so I could try this right away.

I threw this Vietnamese Coffee-inspired Jello together in about 15 minutes yesterday evening, popped it in the fridge and eagerly waited for the gelatin to set. I had never even thought about making homemade Jello until my mother-in-law made those darling almond Jello eggs for Easter. Now I'm pondering all the different Jello options out there.

This Vietnamese Coffee Jello turned out pretty darn tasty, if you like coffee and gelatinous things. I found the overall coffee flavor to be pretty mellow and perfect. The sweetened condensed milk offered the ideal level of sweetness, in my opinion. I'll definitely consider making this recipe again sometime. I'd like to try making it with 2 packages of gelatin instead of the 3 called for in the recipe, to see if I prefer a slightly softer texture.

The Jello can be cut into the most perfect, smooth cubes and are sturdy enough to be picked up and eaten with your fingers. The Food Librarian referred to it as "finger jello," and I think that's a perfect name for it. These definitely offer a unique combination that could be quite a hit in the right crowd. Unfortunately I am the only coffee drinker around these parts, so I'm not sure I'll be able to finish off this entire batch before I get tired of Jello. We'll see...

Vietnamese Coffee Jello
via The Food Librarian

1/2 cup cold water
2 cups strong coffee
1 (14oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
3 packages of Knox unflavored gelatin

Place 1/2 cup cold water in a medium bowl. Sprinkle 3 packages of unflavored gelatin over the water; stir to combine. Let this mixture set for about 10 minutes, until the gelatin blooms. Meanwhile, prepare 2 cups of strong coffee. (I used 8 tablespoons of ground coffee for 2 cups of water.)

Stir the hot coffee into the bloomed gelatin until the gelatin is completely dissolved.

Stir in the can of sweetened condensed milk.

Pour the combined jello mixture into an 8x8 pan (you could use a larger pan for thinner jello cubes). Place in the fridge for 2-4 hours, until gelatin is completely set.

Cut into 1-inch cubes and serve, or store in an air tight container in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Head in the Clouds

2010-04-14T11:47:00.004-04:00

This darling photo of marshmallow clouds floating in cocoa from Nikole Herriott is one of the sweetest things I've ever seen and has been on my mind since I first saw it a few months back. I think any day would be brighter if it began with a few clouds in your morning drink.

I haven't found much about the origin of the marshmallow clouds, but I imagine they are probably Japanese as all the cutest candy is. Nikole had some for sale in her shop earlier in the year but they seem to have sold out quickly (of course). I'd love to get my hands on some. I even did a little search for molds as I thought about making my own. I'm sure you could create a similar looking cloud using a cookie cutter, but you'd sacrifice the sweet rounded edges these have.

"Buffalo Wing" Turkey Burgers

2010-04-12T17:25:00.003-04:00

{Don't you just love that bit of sauce dripping down the burger?}

I made these "Buffalo Wing" Turkey burgers for the first time on Saturday evening. I've been wanting to try some different turkey and chicken burger recipes lately since they are a bit healthier than your typical beef burger. I've heard tales of dry, tough chicken/turkey burgers before and was a bit worried before I made these, but they were so moist and juicy!

I had planned to make these with ground chicken but couldn't find any at my local Kroger when I shopped for the ingredients to make these burgers. Instead I went with 93/7 ground turkey (I would have used ground turkey breast, but the 93/7 ground turkey was on sale). These were really amazing and I'd love to try them again with ground chicken to see how the flavor differs.

I flavored my ground turkey with onion and garlic sautéed in a bit of butter, salt and pepper. After grilling the burgers for 5-6 minutes per side, I coated them generously in a mixture of Frank's buffalo wing sauce and a tiny bit of melted butter. They were topped with mozzarella cheese and placed on a kaiser roll smeared with peppercorn ranch. I think these would be killer with a blue cheese spread but I figured my hubby wouldn't touch it and I didn't want to buy expensive blue cheese just for myself. Regardless, these were amazing! I really loved the juicy burger paired with the spicy sauce, creamy ranch and soft bun. It was just a knock-out burger, in my opinion! The burger itself doesn't have the same intensity of flavor that you're used to from a beef burger, but I think the lighter flavor is a nice change of pace and makes these burgers really great for experimenting with different flavor profiles. I also turned these into "Chicken Parmesan" Turkey Burgers and they were delicious as well.

"Buffalo Wing" Turkey Burgers
serves 2

2 tablespoons butter, divided
2 tablespoons white onion, minced or grated finely
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 pound ground turkey (or chicken)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3-4 tablespoons Frank's buffalo wing sauce
2 slices of mozzarella cheese
2 kaiser rolls
ranch or blue cheese dressing

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté a couple of minutes, until translucent and tender. Add the garlic and sauté another minute. Remove from heat.

In a medium bowl, gently combine cooked onion and garlic, ground turkey, salt and pepper. Do not over mix. Shape into two patties.

Preheat cast iron grill pan over medium heat. Meanwhile, melt 1 tablespoon butter and combine with 3-4 tablespoons of Frank's buffalo wing sauce, set aside.

Cook the burgers in the preheated grill pan for 5-6 minutes per side, or until burgers are cooked through and the juices run clear. When the burgers are finished cooking, coat them generously in the sauce mixture and top with a slice of cheese. Smear buns with the dressing of your choice and serve!

Petit Fours

2010-04-12T14:19:00.003-04:00

These petit fours were fun to make, though I certainly don't recommend making them from start to finish in one day as I did--well, I did bake the pound cake the night before I finished them, but that was by far the easier part of making these sweet little treats. Making the gum paste flowers alone took nearly two hours. The icing was simple to make, but incredibly messy! These are so cute though so they are well worth the time put into them. I'd definitely save them for special occasions, however. Tea party anyone?

I used this vanilla pound cake recipe which is very much your traditional pound cake--in one word: dense. But delicious nonetheless. I sliced the pound cake into 1-inch thick slices and used a 1 1/2-inch round cutter to make little petit fours. I kept them simple and iced them with this petit four icing which is essentially a very, very thick glaze. Instead of the clear vanilla extract (I don't have any) and almond extract (which I'm not a big fan of) called for in the recipe, I used 1/2 teaspoon of orange extract which gave a very pleasant hint of citrus flavor. When I make these again, I'd like to try using a cream cheese pound cake, splitting the layers of the cake and filling them with thin layers of buttercream and/or fruit curd for some added flavor and texture. I was able to get 20 petit fours out of one pound cake loaf. I think these would be even cuter on a slightly smaller scale. I made due and used the smallest round cutter I had. The resulting petit fours are darling little 2-3 bite treats. Perfect for nibbling on between sips of tea.

Feeling Springy

2010-04-11T20:19:00.002-04:00

This is how I spent my Sunday afternoon. I made my first batch of petit fours... just a very simple version made from vanilla pound cake. I was inspired by these petit fours from Such Pretty Things which are so very pretty. These were quite time consuming, with baking the pound cake, making the gum paste flowers, making the icing and decorating, but they are so very cute! I could see these at the most darling tea party or bridal shower. With the pound cake scraps, I'm making a trifle with layers of pound cake, whipped cream and fresh strawberries macerated with vanilla bean paste and sugar. YUM! I'll be back tomorrow with prettier photos of the finished petit fours.

I hope you all had a beautiful Sunday!

Closet Inspiration

2010-04-05T12:24:00.007-04:00

After seeing Freckle Chick's closet makeover at Adventures in Renovating a Brooklyn Limestone, I have been dreaming of pretty closets. I thought I'd post some of the prettiest and most practical closets from some of my favorite bloggers as well as some professionally styled closet inspirations. With spring cleaning on all our minds, I think closets are a great place to focus. Behind closed doors--out of sight, out of mind--our closets are often anything but glamorous. As these closets show, a clean, organized closet can be one of the most cheerful and inspiring corners of one's home.

The first two photos are from Making it Lovely's Nicole Balch. Nicole uses a freestanding wardrobe from IKEA to organize all her clothes and accessories.

I really love Nicole uses interesting knick-knacks and display pieces to organize and show off her jewelry.

All of her clothes and shoes are neatly and attractively displayed. While very full, the wardrobe is neat and everything is visible and easy to find. I love this inspiration for those who don't have a typical built-in closet to work with. See more photos and read more about Nicole's wardrobe here.

Next are two photos from Freckle Chick's closet makeover. What I find most inspiring about this closet is how well the space is utilized.

Clothes are neatly hung on the bar to the left, a simple bookcase is brought in to organize and display a gorgeous shoe collection, and a shelf above the bar helps to utilize height for storing purses and other items.

I am crazy about the beautiful display of jewelry and accessories and that fabulous little mirror! Freckles Chick added style and organization to her small closet for under $100. I really admire the way she was able to transform her lackluster closet into a really chic, practical space. This is a very attainable inspiration for those of us who don't have hundreds of dollars to spend on fancy closet systems. See more photos and read more about the makeover here.

Ladies, get ready to be totally and utterly jealous! Lola B's Kasey has transformed a small room in her gorgeous home into her own little boudoir.

I love the separation and definiion of space. This space really feels like a trendy little boutique!

I am crazy about the bright light streaming through the window. The room is so sunny and inspiring. I would love to get dressed every morning in this space! I adore the use of dressers in this closet space and the table in the middle of the room is beautiful and incredibly practical for folding and putting away clean laundry. I really love when form and function meet. Click here to see more of Kasey's fabulous closet.

Lastly, for those with space and money to spare, the Elfa closet systems from The Container Store are a real dream come true! I admire how many different organization solutions these systems offer. There are racks for hanging garments, pull out drawers for folded pieces and intimates, and beautiful boxes for small or out of season items. I am totally a sucker for the way these closet systems are styled with a focus on a single color. I tend to gravitate to the same colors and I think there is something so chic and whimsical about a closet filled with similar-hued fashions.

These systems offer a really sophisticated way to organize one's wardrobe. Different finishes are available, but I am most fond of this beautiful walnut finish. It looks so rich and luxurious.

I think having a closet this beautiful would be all the inspiration I would need to stay on top of laundry and keep everything pressed and perfect. I could spend all day in such a beautiful space.

I am really drawn to how decluttered these closets look. I like that they aren't filled to the brim. Each and every item of clothing looks expensive and fabulous. With room to breath, these clothes look crisp and clean. With everything in a similar palette, it would be easy to imagine countless different ways to pair outfits together.

These inspirations have me dreaming of making over my closet. My current closet is a dark, unfinished cave. It is anything but glamorous and, aside from tearing the whole thing out and starting over, there is no way to make it feel spacious and inspiring. The hubby and I will be moving sometime in the near future and I look forward to the possibility of having a little more space to utilize. I think one of the best investments you can make when adding some glam to your closet is to invest in matching (wooden) hangers. Sturdy, matching hangers instantly make a closet look more sophisticated and expensive. Utilizing containers, shelves and other storage solutions will make the most of a space and keep everything tidy and organized. And to best utilize a small space, think vertically!

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T18:00:00.003-04:00

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter enjoying the beautiful spring weather, spending time with family and friends, and celebrating a risen savior!

I enjoyed a wonderful time spent with the hubby and his family. My mother-in-law and I spent several hours last night doing some preparations for today's dinner. I made the nest-inspired chocolate cake above. It didn't turn out as well as I was hoping. I had to use two 4 oz. Hershey's chocolate bars instead of the huge 16 oz. bar the recipe called for, so the chocolate for my nest was a little more rustic looking than the perfectly chopped chocolate from the Martha Stewart inspiration. It was still pretty cute though, and quite yummy!

I also made modified versions of Ina Garten's Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic and Parmesan Smashed Potatoes. We also had some amazing ham, rolls, corn and broccoli. Homemade beer cheese and deviled eggs served as appetizers while we finished cooking this afternoon. My mother-in-law also got the brilliant idea to turn an almond Jello recipe she loves into egg-shaped Jello Jigglers. I wish I would have snapped a photo (I was too full at that point to even think about photographs), because they were perfect! They were opaque white and looked exactly like hard-boiled eggs. I insisted that they become a tradition because they were too cute! She also prepared Rice Krispies Treats to make Peep Sushi but we were all too full and folks had to part ways before we could get around to making our sushi--so sad!

We had a wonderful time and I'm already thinking ahead to the cute treats I want to try out for next Easter. There are still a few spring-themed treats that I want to try in the next month, including some adorable petit fours which I had originally planned to make for today but ran out of time. I am hoping to make them next weekend. I am going to relax a bit this evening, probably spend some time in the studio (because hardly a day goes by where I don't work at little) and hang out with my adorable hubby.

Featured on the FRONT PAGE of Etsy!

2010-04-03T11:45:00.004-04:00

{Please click to view larger.}

This morning at 8am while I was preoccupied in dreamland, my Butterfly Stud Earrings were featured on the front page of Etsy.com!

According to the stats from CraftCult, the treasury which featured my earrings appeared on the front page this morning at 8am. Fortunately/unfortunately the earrings sold at 8:23am, so they didn't receive as much front page glory as possible. I have gained quite a few new shop and item hearts from the experience! This is so exciting as I've been hoping and waiting to see one of my items on the front page for years. It's a real honor!

In the Studio

2010-04-02T15:22:00.003-04:00

I thought I'd share another version of the In the Garden Necklace which I shared in my last post. I love the soft femininity of the pale pink rose paired with the white freshwater pearls. It's so sweet and romantic.

I've been insanely busy building stock for boutiques, Mayfest and my Etsy shop (which is utterly neglected these days). My studio is an insane mess and it's driving me a bit bonkers.

{It actually looks worse since I've taken this photo. Oh dear!}

This is what my main work table looks like right now. My mind gets all foggy and I get cranky when things are messy, so this is a real problem. I have so many pieces in progress and others that are finished and waiting to be carded and/or labeled. I need to take 15-30 minutes to go through and put away any stray materials and get things a bit organized. I know I'll feel much more calm after a little organizing.

I've been so preoccupied with work lately--often I'm in the studio until 2 or 3am--that I haven't gotten to dive into any cute Easter baking. I was planning to make some flower topped petit fours and individual versions of this cake for Easter dinner, but it looks like I may only have time for the cakes. Maybe I'll be naughty and make time for both on Saturday.

...But maybe not. This weekend, in addition to everything else, I'm actually working on some pieces to send off to Kentucky Bride magazine for them to potentially use in a photo shoot for the upcoming issue. I actually had the joy and honor of being included in their Fall 2009 issue. I'll be sure to share if any of my pieces make it into the upcoming issue!

Sneak Peek

2010-03-31T12:54:00.004-04:00

I thought I'd share some sneak peeks of new designs which I'm saving to debut at Mayfest. The first necklace above is one design of many that will be made in this same style. I will be offering this design in 14K gold-fill (as shown) as well as sterling silver in various color combinations. Different color roses will be paired with beautiful freshwater pearls in a few different shades. The chocolaty brown freshwater pearls used in this particular necklace are so rich and warm and gorgeous! I think this particular color combination would be so dreamy on someone with a golden complexion.

This next design is one of my luxe pieces featuring freshwater pearls and gemstones. I have paired a gorgeous smokey quartz briolette with a gorgeous cluster of freshwater keishi pearls. I have meticulously connected each and every keishi pearl to the delicate sterling silver chain with handmade (by me) fine silver head pins. Each pearl is securely connected so this beautiful cluster will last a lifetime and beyond.

I really love this design as it pairs two of my favorite materials to work with: smokey quartz and freshwater keishi pearls. The bridal earrings I designed for my wedding featured a gorgeous cascade of these same keishi pearls, so they have a special place in my heart. I adore the way center-cut keishi pearls are like little abstract flowers. When they are top drilled, they look like little rose petals. I am crazy about their uniquely organic shape and their gorgeous nacre.

I'm am planning on designing a pair of matching earrings to make the necklace part of a set. I think it would make a beautiful, sophisticated gift for Mother's Day.

Vintage China Love

2010-03-30T12:41:00.002-04:00

As promised, I'm back to share photos of the gorgeous vintage china and napkins I purchased at Street Scene yesterday. This set of eight cups and saucers (with matching lace-edged napkins no less!) caught my eye immediately and I was hooked. I would have been heart broken had I not purchased the set. And the price was fantastic! I love the unusually large size of the cups, they would be perfect to serve everything from coffee to soup to ice cream to homemade granola, in this case. Honestly, I will be eating anything and everything possible out of these gorgeous cups! I am absolutely crazy about the cheerful blue and green rose pattern. It's feminine without being overly sweet, if you know what I mean. This set really makes me want to have an outdoor dinner party with a table full of gorgeous blue and green and white accents.

The vintage china is always my biggest weakness when I visit Street Scene. With my current kitchen situation (we hardly have ANY cabinet space), I really shouldn't be building a collection of vintage china. However, sometimes there are some pieces that I just can't pass up. Thankfully my jewelry has been selling like hot cakes at Street Scene, so I don't feel quite so naughty when I treat myself to a little something when I stop in to replenish my stock.

Unfortunately there are no markings on the china so I have no clue the age or maker of the set. I'd love to know if the pieces were part of a larger set. I would kill to have a whole set of china with this gorgeous rose print. If anyone knows anything about this particular set or knows of any great resources for researching china, do tell!

Ruffled

2010-03-30T01:41:00.002-04:00

In the middle of my preparations for upcoming art fairs, I am frantically trying to redesign my booth setup for the season. I created my own fitted tablecloths last year, but after a full show season, they are ready to be retired. This year, I am thinking RUFFLES!

I have been obsessed with the image of the crisp white ruffled tablecloth with sunny yellow accents from Country Living since I first saw it earlier in the month. I love how fresh and cheerful it is while being utterly and perfectly feminine! I'm torn about the white; however, since I'm not sure how practical a white tablecloth would be for one outdoor event after another. Though, on the other hand, I have heard that white is really the best color for items that see a lot of use since they can be easily bleached or OxiCleaned back to their original beauty. I am smitten with the idea of a clean white tent, gorgeous white ruffled tablecloths and various candy-colored pastel accents. I currently have all my display pieces colored bright white, but it would be so fun to change a few to sunny yellow or aqua or petal pink for a bit of playful interest.

The next tablecloth inspiration was handmade by Andrea Singarella of Everyday Beauty. She repurposed a ruffled shower curtain to create this adorable tea-stained tablecloth. The more ruffled tablecloths I see, the more convinced I am that this is the look I am going for this year with my display. I have a feeling it is going to be a real pain to sew two six-foot by three-foot floor-length ruffled tablecloths entirely from scratch. I'm afraid sewing them from scratch is my only option to keep the cost low and to get the perfect fit I desire. If anyone has any cost-effect yet time saving tricks, please send them my way!

Back in Stock!

2010-03-29T23:00:00.003-04:00

Just a little update for those who were interested, The Prancing Peacock Earrings are now back in shop and available for purchase in my Etsy shop.

Today I took new designs to Street Scene in Lexington. Of course I couldn't resist being a little naughty as well... I bought the most beautiful vintage eight-piece mug and saucer set with matching napkins, lined in lace! I'll be sure to share a photo of the set soon.

I'll be updating my stock at Calypso, Kolors, and ReBelle in the next couple days as well. After that I'll be focusing all my attention on preparing stock for Mayfest. I'll be adding some new items in my shop in the following weeks and will be posting little peaks at new designs which I'll be saving for Mayfest. Stay tuned for that!

Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Fudge Frosting

2010-03-28T21:01:00.004-04:00

I had been planning to bake cupcakes today since earlier in the week. The hubby has friends over nearly every Sunday afternoon and I often use them as test subjects for my baking. So this afternoon, despite a pounding headache and fever, I couldn't wait to try out a new chocolate cupcake recipe.

I have this issue with most chocolate cake recipes. The most moist chocolate cakes always have annoyingly thin batters, which are great if you're baking a layer cake as they tend to bake up nice and flat--no leveling the layers; but, if you're going for adorably domed cupcakes, they don't deliver. I'm on a mission to discover a go-to recipe for chocolate cupcakes that produces a flavorful, moist batter and a pleasantly sweet rounded top. A recipe that produces 12 or fewer cupcakes is also a plus.

I received Julie Hasson's 125 Best Cupcake Recipes from the hubby for my birthday last summer. I immediately read through the cookbook and was intrigued by several of the recipes. Unfortunately I tend to turn to TasteSpotting, FoodGawker or All Recipes first when I'm looking for a recipe and my cookbooks are often neglected. I can't believe it took me almost a year to finally try one of the recipes from this book!

Julie Hasson's book is beautifully organized and nearly every recipe in the book yields 12 cupcakes--perfect! Each cupcake recipe is followed by a few suggestions on which frosting to pair with the cake. Today I made the Best Chocolate Cupcakes and paired them with the Chocolate Fudge Frosting. The result was a rich, decadent chocolate experience! Both the cupcake and frosting recipe were simple, straightforward and yielded delicious results. For now I am thankful to finally have a chocolate cupcake recipe I adore, but I can't wait to try more of the recipes from the book.

Best Chocolate Cupcakes
from Julie Hasson's 125 Best Cupcake Recipes
yields 12 cupcakes*

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted**
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pan with paper or foil liners.

In a small bowl, mix together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.

In a large bowl whisk together sugar, oil, egg and vanilla until smooth. Alternately whisk in flour mixture and buttermilk, making three additions of flour mixture and two of buttermilk, beating until batter is smooth. Stir in chocolate chips.

Scoop batter into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 22 to 27 minutes or until tops of cupcakes spring back when lightly touched. Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on rack. Top cooled cupcakes with frosting.

*I made 6 regular sized cupcakes and 24 mini cupcakes. I baked the mini cupcakes for 13 minutes and the regular sized cupcakes for 22 minutes.

**I used King Arthur Double-Dutch Dark Cocoa for the deepest, darkest, most chocolaty experience!

Chocolate Fudge Frosting
adapted from Julie Hasson's 125 Best Cupcake Recipes
yields about 1 1/2 cups*

1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 tablespoons milk
pinch of salt

In a food processor fitted with a metal blade, process confectioner's sugar, cocoa powder, butter, milk and salt until smooth, scraping down the sides as necessary.

Spread onto cooled cupcakes or pipe with a decorator bag and preferred tip.

*Since I like a heaping swirl of frosting atop my cupcakes, this was only enough frosting to frost half the cupcakes (24 mini cupcakes). I would suggest doubling this recipe is you plan to generously frost 12 cupcakes.

The Great Granola Experiment of 2010

2010-03-27T15:32:00.006-04:00

{Please excuse the sad looking, hand-me-down table.}

This afternoon I made a triple batch of the Easy Homemade Granola I posted about last Tuesday. Halfway through baking the granola, I decided to do a little experiment. In the past I have often used unsweetened applesauce in place of oil when making granola. I decided to make a single batch of the Easy Homemade Granola substituting all of the oil for unsweetened applesauce to do a side-by-side comparison of the original recipe and the oil-free version.

After the granola baked and cooled, I did a comparison of the look, texture, and taste of each batch. As seen above and in the following photograph, the original version of the granola (in the larger bowl on the left) was a bit darker in color than the oil-free version, though both were baked for the same length of time. The oil-free version, not surprisingly, had a faint apple flavor while the original version had a satisfying deep, toasted flavor. The oil-free version formed fewer clusters, and the ones that did form were less crisp and crunchy than the clusters of the original version. Overall, I must say that I preferred the pleasantly toasty flavor and crunchy texture of the original granola over the oil-free version, though the oil-free granola was certainly yummy and would be a great option for those looking for a healthier option. I'm curious to see how substituting some, but not all, of the oil for unsweetened applesauce would affect the recipe.

I kept my camera with me in the kitchen while I was baking, taking photos of each step in putting the granola together.

Oats, cinnamon and salt are tossed together in a large bowl.

Oil (or unsweetened applesauce, if using), honey, brown sugar, and vanilla extract are whisked together in a medium bowl until combined.

The mixture will be thick if using oil and relatively thin if using unsweetened applesauce.

The honey mixture is poured over the oats and thoroughly combined.

The mixture is spread out onto parchment-lined baking sheets and placed in a 325 degree oven.

10 minutes later, sliced almonds, walnuts, and pecans are sprinkled on top.

The mixture is returned to the oven and baked for 15 more minutes, flipping the granola at least once.

The baked granola will be several shades darker than it was before baking.

Once completely cool, add the raisins and cherries and store in an air tight container.

Get the recipe here.

The Prancing Peacock

2010-03-25T13:31:00.003-04:00

I designed these earrings yesterday evening and am absolutely head over heels crazy about them! I ordered these vintage peacock cabochons, not entirely sure what I'd use them for. I had also ordered these vintage inspired dahlia cabochons around the same time, intending to use them for studs, bobby pins or rings. When I saw them laid out on my work table yesterday and was struck by how perfectly they paired together! I couldn't be more in love with the outcome of this design. The peacock cabochons have such a gorgeous detail and paired with the dahlia cabochons, I feel there is something so perfectly 1970s about this design. It feels retro and modern at the same time and something about the majesticness of the peacocks and the richness of the blue feels very royal. I think these would make such a perfect eclectic pairing to a cocktail dress for a night on the town.

I only have two pairs of the earrings made at the moment and both were quickly spoken for via my Facebook fan page where I showed a sneak peak of the design in progress yesterday evening. I'm will be ordering more of the components for these earrings and should have plenty more available soon. I'll post when I have them available in my Etsy shop. In the mean time, if you'd like me to reserve a pair for you when I have them ready, leave me a little comment!

Easy Homemade Granola

2010-03-23T12:51:00.004-04:00

I've been in the mood for some homemade granola for the past few weeks. I had been in a real granola mood several months back and made a batch every week, having it for breakfast and sometimes lunch each and every day. Needless to say, I got a little burned out on granola (it probably didn't help that I made every batch from the same recipe). When I checked Baked: New Frontiers in Baking out of the library back in January, I had seen a recipe for Easy Homemade Granola that I was curious to try. It was similar to the recipe I had been using but differed just enough to interest me.

I picked up the necessary ingredients on Sunday and threw this granola together last night. This recipe is quick and simple. I threw the entire batch together in the time it took my oven to preheat. With minimal effort and dirty dishes, I was on my way to cinnamon-scented bliss.

I filled my granola with slivered almonds, walnuts, pecans and just a tiny bit of golden raisins and cherries (I'm not a big fan of most dried fruit, so I add mine in moderation). The great thing about granola is it's so easy to customize according to what you like. This granola was delicious! The recipe makes a small batch but could easily be doubled, tripled, etc. as needed. I made a single batch this time to try out the recipe, but I plan to make a triple batch when I make this again so as to have plenty around for the week.

My favorite way to enjoy homemade granola is still warm from the oven, drowned with cold skim milk. I love the contrast of the warm, crunchy granola with the cold milk. It's also fantastic with yogurt and/or fresh fruit. Homemade granola is a breeze to make and you can control all the ingredients. You'll never buy the store bought stuff again.

Easy Homemade Granola
adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking

2 cups rolled oats
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup slivered almonds
1/3 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup golden raisins/cherries (I used a blend by Sun-Maid)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, toss the oats with cinnamon and salt.

In a medium bowl, stir together the oil, honey, brown sugar, and vanilla. Whisk until completely combined.

Pour the honey mixture over the oats mixture and use your hands to combine them. Gather up some of the mixture in each hand and make a fist. Repeat until all of the oats are coated with the honey mixture.

Pour the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. Spread it out evenly, but leave a few clumps here and there for texture.

Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and use a metal spatula to lift and flip the granola. Sprinkle the almonds, walnuts, and pecans over the granola and return the baking sheet to the oven.

Bake for 5 minutes, then remove from the oven and use a metal spatula to lift and flip the granola. Return the baking sheet to the oven.

Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven. Let cool completely. Sprinkle the raisins and cherries over the granola and use your hands to transfer it to an airtight container. The granola will keep for 1 week.

Lilac Dreams

2010-03-22T21:25:00.002-04:00

I created this necklace a while back. I was sort of saving it for Mayfest, then today I had a sweet customer contact me looking for a purple necklace as a birthday present for friend. I shared this design with her and she loved it! I shared the photo on my Facebook fan page this evening and another one of my wonderful customers inquired about it. I was only able to create two of these necklaces as the gorgeous soft purple vintage rose cabochons were a pair. I have been crazy about the colors in this design since I created it, and with both necklaces being snatched up the day I revealed the design, it seems others are just as crazy about it. I think the lilac of the vintage cameo paired with the almost watercolor look of the purple rose is perfect. I'm sure I'll be creating a similar version of this necklace, with a slightly different rose accent, in the near future.

Marie Antoinette

2010-03-18T14:06:00.002-04:00

I have been a busy bee in the studio today. I've been preparing some raw brass charms to send off to a plating company which I am very excited about! Up until now many of my designs have only been available in gold as I tend to work with a lot of brass charms and findings. Now that I'm having a lot of my favorite charms plated in sterling silver and other finishes, I'll be able to offer more color choices and new variations on old designs. I am so excited to have more variety available for Mayfest this year!

I have also been working on new designs for all the stores I consign with in Lexington. I plan to have my supply restocked at all the shops next week and will focus on updating my shop after that. Things have been a bit crazy keeping up with my consignment sales and trying to build my stock for Mayfest and other upcoming shows (I practically sold out of stock both days at Mayfest last year, so I'm really preparing this year!) that I've kind of neglected my Etsy shop. I really want to get the shop ready for spring and summer. I promise I'll get on that asap and will let you know when new items are hitting the shelves, so to speak. I'm also planning a little giveaway and a sale to welcome spring once the shop is looking a bit more full!

The darling Marie Antoinette cameos above are destined to become sweet and delicate necklaces. I will only have a few available for the time being, but I hope to make them a permanent part of my collection as I adore them!

Teacups and Cupcakes

2010-03-17T14:28:00.004-04:00

I just stumbled upon this adorable new product via Bake it Pretty and fell in love! TeaCupCakes are adorable silicone molds in the shape of teacups in which you cake bake the most darling cupcakes. I've seen tons of folks place baked cupcakes inside teacups for tea parties and the like, but this takes it to a whole new level! I think these are such a cute idea.

Glitz and Glam Bridesmaid Necklaces

2010-03-16T18:07:00.004-04:00

I designed this necklace yesterday to be worn with my Glam Stud Earrings by four bridesmaids in an upcoming Australian wedding. I wanted to create something simple, glamorous and fashionable that would look stunning on the bridesmaids while being subtle enough to not steal any of the spotlight from the blushing bride. I love that the design is delicate but still has plenty of interest from the luster of the freshwater pearls and the sparkle of the Swarovksi crystals. And the vintage silver plated rose cabochon is stunning. You really have to see the necklaces in person to see how the light sparkles off the crystals, it's subtle but beautiful.

I love making brides happy and giving bridesmaids gorgeous jewelry to wear at the wedding and to cherish for years after.

I'll have s'more, please.

2010-03-15T14:59:00.003-04:00

I was able to spend some time in the kitchen yesterday making vanilla bean marshmallows and graham crackers which were destined to become some seriously delicious s'mores. I shared my desire to make these last week after I had been drooling over the homemade graham crackers that Shauna of Piece of Cake made back in February. Shauna's graham cracker recipe is a bit different than your typical graham cracker. I would describe them as having an almost shortbread texture and flavor but, with the use of brown sugar, honey, cinnamon and bit of whole wheat flour, have a much deeper flavor. Rolled thin and baked crisp, these graham crackers have a great "snap" when bitten into and a hardier texture than the fragile store-bought variety.

I made vanilla bean marshmallows, a variation on the usual Martha recipe I always use, to pair with the graham crackers. I decided to cut mine into little rounds to mimic the darling marshmallows at Miette. To toast the marshmallows for the s'mores, I pierced mine with a bamboo skewer and toasted them right over the flame on my gas stove. I have a feeling they could just as easily be toasted over the flame of a candle. How cute would it be to have some friends over to watch your favorite show and make s'mores over a big pillar candle? Can you imagine?! The graham crackers and marshmallows could also be packaged together with a bar of chocolate, a few bamboo skewers and a candle for the sweetest gift ever. Yum!

Homemade Graham Crackers
Adapted from Miette Patisserie, San Francisco via Piece of Cake

The key to getting the crispiest cookies with an awesome "snap" is to roll the dough very thin--try for as close to 1/8 of an inch as you can. This is a very buttery, soft dough--be sure to chill it completely before rolling and then again chilling the cut cookies well before baking them, otherwise they will be maddeningly difficult to work with and will spread during baking.

Makes about 4 dozen 2 1/2-inch cookies*

2 cups flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar**
1/4 cup honey
Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling (optional)

Position an oven rack to the center position and preheat it to 350. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

Whisk together flour, wheat flour, salt and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed, cream together the butter and brown sugar, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl, and beat in the honey. Stir in dry ingredients on low speed. Scrape the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap and pat it into a disc, wrap well. Refrigerate until firm but still pliable, about one hour.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll out very thin, about an 1/8-inch thick (you can gather the dough scraps and reroll as necessary). Cut out cookies with a 2 to 3-inch cookie cutter and place on the prepared baking sheets, a dozen per sheet. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar if desired. Chill the cut cookies on the sheets for at least 15 minutes before baking. Bake 14 to 16 minutes until golden. Let the cookies set for a minute before transferring them to a rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for a week or more.

*I use a 2 1/4-inch scalloped cutter and got about 60 cookies.
**I used light brown sugar as my dark brown had turned all dry and crumbly.

Vanilla Bean Marshmallows
adapted from Martha Stewart

makes about 40 marshmallows*

2 1/2 tablespoons unflavored gelatin (3 packages)
1 cup cold water, divided
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste or seeds of 1 vanilla bean

Combine gelatin and 1/2 cup cold water in the bowl of an electric mixer with whisk attachment. Let stand while you make the syrup mixture.

Combine granulated sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 1/2 cup water in a small heavy saucepan; place over low heat, and stir until sugar has dissolved. Wash down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush to dissolve sugar crystals.

Clip on a candy thermometer; raise heat to high. Cook syrup without stirring until it reaches 244 degrees.(firm-ball stage). Immediately remove pan from heat.

With mixer on low speed, slowly and carefully pour syrup into the softened gelatin. Increase speed to high; beat until mixture is very thick and white and has almost tripled in volume, about 15 minutes. Add vanillas; beat to incorporate.

Grease and generously dust a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with confectioners’ sugar. Pour marshmallow mixture into pan, spreading it into corners and smoothing the surface. Dust with confectioners’ sugar; let stand at least 4 hours or up to overnight, uncovered, to dry out. Turn out onto a board; cut marshmallows with a dry hot knife into 1 1/2-inch squares, and dust with more confectioners' sugar. Store in an air tight container for a week or more.

*I cut mine using a 1 1/2-inch cutter and got 54 round marshmallows plus scraps for snacking.

On the Front Page of All Recipes Again!

2010-03-15T11:45:00.003-04:00

Click to enlarge.

My Oreo Truffles were voted the one of the Favorite Photos on All Recipes today! It's so neat to see your photo and creation on the front page of a website that isn't of your own creation. This happened once before back in November after I made the Halloween Spiderweb Cookies. It's such a small, fleeting thing but it brightens my day!

My Truffles

2010-03-12T14:48:00.005-05:00

Click photos to view larger.

As I mentioned in my last post, I was up until 4am last night making some darling Oreo and Nutter Butter Truffles for the hubby to take for a Pi Day celebration in his History of Mathematics class. Now you're probably thinking I'm crazy for staying up so late for some truffles, but after spending the past four days working on taxes, I needed a break. My way of relaxing and letting my hair down, so to speak, is to enjoy some alone time in the kitchen making something cute. These truffles were therapy. Delicious, adorable therapy.

And, yes, I do feel better now. Thank you for asking. :)

The innards of a Nutter Butter Truffle are simple and modest and absolutely delish. Ground Nutter Butter cookies are mixed with cream cheese and rolled into perfect little balls (or really any shape you desire). I dipped mine in chocolate bark, because you cannot go wrong when peanut butter and chocolate meet.

I decorated them with pale orange flowers which I handmade from gum paste. The coated truffles also got a little decoration with melted and piped orange candy melts and almond bark. I really like the soft springy orange contrasted against the warm brown. It's pale and feminine and lovely for spring.

I was tired by the time I got around to piping the details and didn't take my time so they were a bit messy. I didn't get too creative with these; I mostly just repeated a few different designs. Some truffles were given a simple striped decoration, others were given cute little spirals. I love the little guy in the front--kind of reminds me of plaid.

My Wilton gum paste gave me some trouble with the flowers. I find the premade gum paste to be quite dry and difficult to work with. I am never able to really manipulate my flowers any after they are cut. And darling roses are out of the question. Since I don't have much experience with gum paste I don't know if I got a particularly old/dry bag of gum paste or what. I'm planning to try making my own gum paste from scratch soon for comparison. I'd love to just sit down at the table on a lazy Saturday and listen to music and make gum paste flowers all day long!

Now friends, this deep, dark ball of gorgeousness is an Oreo Truffle. So good you would think you'd died and gone to heaven. So so so good!

The Oreo Truffles got coated in almond bark and decorated with pink candy melts and pale purple gum paste flowers which I gave a bit of shimmer to by painting them with edible luster dust. If you click on the photo, you may notice a little shimmer on the front truffle there. I left a couple of the truffles plain and added a bit of sparkle to their white exteriors. A little subtle fanciness, you might say.

While I loved the soft, girly colors of the Oreo Truffles, I was definitely more fond of the color and contrast of the Nutter Butter Truffles. These feel a bit one-dimensional next to the other truffles.

Still cute though. And oh so yummy! Mmmm... so yummy! It's a good thing I only saved one of each as a sacrifice (i.e. to be cut in half for photographic purposes). One of the hubby's classmates claimed, "These have changed my life forever!" They may be simple and a breeze to make, but these truffles are seriously good eats.

Truffles

2010-03-12T00:40:00.003-05:00

I am up late tonight making these and these for my hubby to take to a Pi Day celebration for one of his classes tomorrow. I wanted to make some cute cupcakes with handmade gum paste flowers, but I don't have a cupcake carrier or other useful vessel for transporting cupcakes (and it was too late to try to buy something off a bakery), so I decided to make truffles instead. I'm coating the Oreo truffles in almond bark and am decorating them with pale purple flowers. The Nutter Butter truffles are going to be coated in chocolate bark and decorated with pale orange/peach flowers. I may do some cute piped details on the truffles as well. Right now all my truffles are shaped and chilling, all my gum paste flowers are made and I'll soon be coating my truffles and doing the final decorative touches. I always jump at an opportunity to make something cute and edible, even if it means "slaving" away in the kitchen at 1am. What can I say, I love to bake (even if actual baking isn't involved as is the case with these truffles). Haha. Hopefully I'll wake up early enough to take some pretty pictures of my finished truffles before I send them off to be devoured by a bunch of hungry math nerds.

I've been working my butt off all this week getting all my stuff together for taxes. It only took me four days... I think I have finally learned my lesson about keeping track of things as the year goes on so I don't have to spend an entire week slaving over old receipts and Excel files. I'm very excited to be done so I can get back to designing new jewelry. My designs have been doing quite well locally and I need to restock at all the boutiques that carry my work. I've been focusing so much on my consignment sales lately and I've pretty much forgotten about my Etsy shop. I really, really want to get busy and give the store a face lift and a huge restocking in the next couple of weeks. Also, my first show of the season will hopefully be in early April. More on that later!

Link Love

2010-03-08T01:34:00.002-05:00

I've updated/added a ton of new blog links on the right column. I've separated my favorite blogs into categories for easy browsing. Click through them and perhaps you'll find a new blog to love.

Scallops

2010-03-07T18:15:00.003-05:00

I did a wee bit of shopping on Saturday and picked up these darling Martha Stewart cutters from Macy's. I have been dying to have some scalloped cookie cutters and these are perfect! With two sides, one scalloped and one plain, and seven different sizes--not to mention that adorable Martha blue color--these cutters are sure to become a staple of my baking. I'm already thinking of all the things I could make more adorable with a scalloped edge.

I'm am hoping to put these to use next weekend as I plan to make homemade graham crackers and homemade marshmallows which will become the cutest S'more kits ever! Packaged thoughtfully, I think these would make adorable gifts. I love the way Miette packages their graham crackers. The scalloped edges are just perfect.

A Whimsical Sugar Garden

2010-03-02T23:53:00.004-05:00

Amanda of Bake It Pretty always thinks up the most darling, whimsical treats! She posted a charming tutorial for the sweetest little flower-topped sugar cubes which would make the most perfect addition to a small tea party. Pretty royal icing flowers are affixed to sugar cubes. As you stir them into your tea, the sugar slowly dissolves away leaving a small bud to float atop of your drink. How perfect is that?! Read all about the process on the Bake it Pretty blog here. I've been wanting to practice piping a ton of royal icing flowers myself, this would be a great use for all the little buds I'd end up with.

Oui, Darling

2010-03-02T14:51:00.003-05:00

This necklace was one of the fruits of my studio time yesterday. It's currently one of a kind, but I'm planning to order more "Oui" charms and make this a staple design. I find the simplicity of the design refreshing. The antique brass "Oui" charm dangles from an antique brass chain along with a vintage teal flower cabochon and a gleaming white freshwater pearl. It's delicate and a perfect accompaniment to the feminine spring dresses we are all dying to pull from the depths of our closets.

Grilled Salmon with Avocado and Mango Salsa

2010-03-01T00:19:00.003-05:00

Sunday night I made Grilled Salmon with an Avocado and Mango Salsa and Applesauce Granita with Cinnamon Maple Yogurt. Everything was so light and refreshing. I know it's still freezing out, but this would make a perfect summer meal! I'm hoping that with all the salmon, avocado and mango I've been eating lately that soon my skin will be glowing. I'm still on track eating tons of fresh produce and lots of whole grains with a little bit of lean protein thrown in. I miss baking, but I must say that I'm really learning to enjoy cooking. I love chopping all sorts of colorful fruits and vegetables and playing around with herbs and spices for flavor. Cooking healthy has been really enjoyable and an easy transition. I'm glad I'm finally making a heatlhy lifestyle change; it's been hard for me to jump in until now. Unfortunately my husband won't eat any fresh food aside from a potato and a few fruits, so most of our meals were usually processed and anything but nutritious. Thankfully he's been doing his own thing lately allowing me to indulge in all the healthy foods that I actually love. Until recently I was thoroughly convinced that I hated to cook. I now realize that a huge part of why I never enjoyed cooking before was because I had to fight to find recipes that my husband would eat. I've been getting to try all kinds of recipes I've been drooling over for months. It's so exciting to try new ingredients and techniques. Cooking can be a great adventure. The sight, aroma and taste of a meal can really transport you to a whole different world, and the satisfaction you receive from creating a delicious and healthy meal is priceless.

Long + Bold

2010-02-27T22:15:00.002-05:00

I created this new cameo necklace a couple of days ago. I just love long and bold cameo necklaces. They feel so retro and whimsical. I'm working on several similar designs with floral and woodland cameos for spring. I'll be taking this beauty to Street Scene in Lexington in a couple weeks when I restock my designs.

Call Me Crazy

2010-02-26T22:57:00.002-05:00

Continuing my quest to eat low-fat, healthy foods, I have been pondering different ways to continue my love for baking and satisfy my sweet tooth. This has led me to the world of black bean brownies. I have seen several black bean brownie recipes around the blogosphere which utilize the texture of black beans to add richness in an otherwise typical brownie recipe. Personally, I think adding a can of black beans to a recipe that has a cup or more of butter kind of defeats the purpose. Earlier tonight I found this recipe and pondered it for a while. Black beans and avacado? In a brownie? I thought it sounded interesting, to say the least. Then I found a similar but more appealing recipe which calls for banana and oatmeal. Now we're talking. If I can get my hands on some ripe bananas, I am going to give this recipe a try tomorrow. And I've already chopped up a banana and stuck it in the freezer to make some banana "ice cream" to enjoy with the brownies.

Of course, I'll let you know what I think after I give these a try.

On the Menu

2010-02-26T13:44:00.004-05:00

Today's lunch consisted of left over White Bean Turkey Chili with a Black Bean and Guacamole Burrito. I made the burritos for dinner last night and they were seriously the best burritos I've ever eaten (even better than Qdoba--though, admittedly, I am partial to their nachos). I filled whole wheat tortillas with cilantro lime brown rice, homemade guacamole, and a mixture of red onion, garlic, japaleno, tomato, corn, black beans and lots of spices. I topped them off with a sprinkle of fat free cheddar cheese and browned them in a cast iron pan. So good! And I'm officially addicted to homemade guacamole. It had such a bright, fresh flavor. I'll be making these burritos again soon, for sure!