Cupcake Meetup

Last Saturday I went to the Cupcake Meet Up hosted by Cupcakes Take the Cake. It was a beautiful day, with lots of cupcakes! We met at St. Cupcake. There were fellow bakers, bloggers, and designers. And of course, Rachel from Cupcakes Take the Cake.

I thoroughly enjoyed the conversations I had with all these women.

Celeste from Celestial Cupcakes at Nye Beach Market...whose cupcakes are AMAZING!
Carrie from Bella Cupcake Couture with her delightful designs.
Susen from Indulge your Fancy.

And all the other ladies! It was a great time where I learned so much about cupcakes, making the best cupcakes, and running a cupcake business! It was a great day, thank you Rachel for hosting!

I hope to post pictures soon! If any of the ladies have the photo of the group, I would love to see that! :)

Brownies Brownies Everywhere!!!

My twitter/foodbuzz/blogger friend Michelle from Brown Eyed Baker posted a blog today about brownies. First, it made me drool. Second, it made me really really want brownies.

The only problem, I can't have chocolate (I know so depressing huh?) my doctor has me on no caffeine because I get these headaches...

ANYWAYS! That is not the point. The point is brownies. Warm, gooey, chocolately brownies (pardon the drool spots on this posting)

On Michelle's post, she asked people to share their favorite brownies. So I thought I would share mine. Peppermint brownies.

They are simple...here is why. I use box mixes, but before you judge, there are some good ones out there. So, when you are in a hurry for a brownie fix, it is a good solution.

So, you will need one box of your favorite brownies, or a great recipe. One package of mint chips. And all the ingredients to make the brownies. After you have the batter prepared throw in a handful, or two, or five of the mint chips. Bake, enjoy!

Now, I have made these several ways. A couple drops of peppermint extract. Crushed candy cane. Crushed Andes Mints. Melted mint chips on top. But my favorite is the mint chips in the mix.

So, go ahead whip up some brownies and enjoy! If I could, I would! :)

Thanks for the inspiration Michelle!

Cakes for a Cause

As most of you know Kelly Ripa teamed up with Electrolux to help raise money and awareness for Ovarian Cancer Research.

Just this week they hosted a cake-off in NY. They invited 15 food bloggers to come and bake 5 cakes with the help of Buddy Valastro and his team from Cake Boss. The cakes are all gorgeous!!!!

Anyways, you can help!!!! Each time you go to http://kelly-confidential.com/ and vote on a cake, they will donate one dollar to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. You can also send a virtual cake. Each one of those that you send, they will donate another dollar. You can send one cake a day, and vote once a day.

This is a great thing that they are doing and I would encourage you to vote.

Personally, I think you should vote for Team Take a Bow…but that is just my opinion!

Happy Voting!

Starting a Baking Business

So, I have thought about starting a baking business from home. You know sell cookies, and cupcakes. The things I love making the most!

But, I have no idea where to begin.

So, all you foodies/bakers out there, who started off with a dream to share your goods, can you give me any advice? From obtaining a logo, copyrighting (both name and logo), pricing, and legally starting a business, that would be awesome!

I haven't done a lot of research yet, but I thought I would check with all of you first!

Thanks!

-Danielle

Grandma's Peanut Butter Cookies

My mom has always made the best peanut butter cookies. Turns out, the recipe is from her mom. So Sunday, I pulled out the recipe, realizing I have not had peanut butter cookies in a while.

They were sure yummy and hit the spot!

Ingredients:
1/2 c. shortening
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 c. peanut butter (I use creamy, but my mom uses crunchy)
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:
Blend shortening, sugars and egg together. Add peanut butter and sifted flour with soda and salt. Form into balls the size of a walnut. Press flat on cookie sheet with a fork. Bake in hot oven (400 degrees) for about 10 minutes.

Thanks Grandma for the yummy recipe!

Cricut Cake

For Christmas my husband bought me my first Cricut. It's a scrap booking tool that cuts out shapes, letters, pictures, etc. It's great for scrapping! I have the personal, but I think the expression would be better. Anyways, I really like the Cricut (with the exception that the personal doesn't cut big enough for me).

I was at Bakerella's web page, and she mentioned the Cricut Cake! It's basically a fondant cutter. It does to fondant what the Cricut does for paper! I have never worked with fondant, but after watching the promo video for this new Cricut, I am sold. I guess that will have to go on my wish list!

Click here to see the video!

My niece, the cookie monster

My niece is almost two years old. She loves cookies!!! We got her one at McDonald's the other day and she looked at me and said, "Auntie cookie?". Her first cookie was a chocolate chip one I made her, and well, she knows that usually Auntie has cookies for her! I cannot WAIT for her to be old enough to bake and decorate cookies with (like Bakerella here: http://www.bakerella.com/the-sweetest-cookies-ive-ever-seen/).

I was at Bed, Bath and Beyond the other day and I saw this adorable kids baking set. When my niece is old enough, her Auntie will def. buy her something like this (http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=17054937&RN=867).

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Last night I really really wanted some chocolate chip cookies. Really bad. But I was so exhausted to make them (I know, shame on me as a baker). I opened my cupboard, and there in front of me was a package of Betty Crocker Chocolate Chip Cookie mix. Now, I usually make all my cookies from scratch, in fact, I don't like pre-made dough. But I had bought these thinking I was going to enter Betty's Cookie Contest.

But the craving was too strong, and the exhaustion too real. I had to make them. I needed them.

So, I went to work. Just adding a couple of things, and 10 minutes later, beautiful, gooey, yummy chocolate chip cookies. I took a bite. In my mind thinking that they are not as good as "home made". But I was surprised. They were very delicious and hit the spot.

I guess pre-made dough is not so bad when you are in a hurry, or just a bit too tired to do all the leg work. I should keep these on hand.

Red Lobster Cheese Biscuits

I recently received the recipe for Red Lobster's famous Cheese Biscuits. Yumm. The one I was given called for Italian seasoning. I don't remember the Italian seasoning when I last had the real deal at the restaurant. I remember garlic, and onion. And cheese. Warm. Flaky. Goodness.

So, I tweaked the recipe. I don't know the source of the recipe, and when I looked there are tons of variations out there!! But which is truly the secret Red Lobster recipe? I have no clue.

But my husband and I enjoyed my version of it. In fact, we could just eat those for dinner.

Here is my version:

* 2 Cups Bisquik Mix
* Shredded Cheese (I used about 1 cup or 2)
* 1/2 Cup cold water
*1/4 Cup Butter
1 tsp. parsley
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. onion salt

Preheat oven to 400.
Combine Bisquick, water and cheese until just moistened.
Make into biscuits. (Ok, so the recipe says to roll out the dough, then cut the biscuits, I use my large cookie scoop, because then you get lots of crevices for the butter to ooze into, just my preference)
Melt butter, parsley, garlic, and onion together.
Spread over top of biscuits..it's ok to lather it on...really it's the best part!
Bake biscuits about 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

ENJOY!

Another note: I did read that you can spread the butter on after they are baked, but I like how they get crispy on top. Maybe I should do both....mmmm.