Saturday, March 13, 2010

Mini Vanilla Scones

I made Scones for the first time. I was so surprised by how simple they were, and how great they turned out!

I used this recipe from King Arthur Flour, without the chocolate chips. They were a big hit, and I will be making these again!

Friday, March 12, 2010

Bridal Shower Cookies

Last Saturday I had the privilege of throwing a bridal shower for a good friend of mine. I am actually doing her cupcakes in a week! I did a Breakfast at Tiffany's Theme Shower. So...we had breakfast. Mini Quiche, Scones, Fruit Salad. But there were favors. To reflect the Tiffany's theme, I made diamond ring cookies.

I must say, I have to thank Bridget at Bake at 350 for all her inspiration. I learned how to do royal icing, flooding, and now glitter from her! These cookies are a result of that! :)

First I made Diamond ring shaped cookies. Then using my small circle cutter I cut the middle of the ring out when they first came out of the oven.

I made the cookies with Better Homes Melt in Your Mouth Sugar Cookies...they are my favorite but they crumble really easily because they are not intended to be shape cookies, but I just like them so much!

I frosted them with Royal Icing. Then after they had dried overnight, it was time to glitterfy them. I brushed the areas with water and a pinch of meringue powder. Sprinkled the edible glitter on (I used Wilton's) and shook it off over a coffee filter to save the extra (thanks Bridget!).

After they dried, I packaged them all pretty. I was so happy with how they turned out. I was a bit nervous as a few crumbled, and some of the glitter didn't work quite right for me. But here is a glimpse for you!







Tuesday, March 2, 2010

S'mores Cupcakes!

I have been craving a S'mores Cupcake for a long time now. I had one on Friday night that well, just wasn't what I was wanting.

So I made my own. I improvised, and so far...they seem to be a hit.

I lined the bottom of the muffin cups with crushed graham crackers that were combined with melted butter. Topped that with Chocolate cake mix. I stuffed some marshmallows in the mix, which all came to the top during baking, weird. Then I made Marshmallow Frosting and toasted it under the broiler.

Now, I had hoped to have a pretty swirl of marshmallow goodness on top, with a piece of graham cracker and chocolate drizzle. That didn't happen.

The recipe I had for the Marshmallow Frosting, well, didn't work. Or I messed up. But it said after 7 minutes of mixing in a double broiler (or a pan and glass bowl) that stiff peaks would form, well 20 minutes later, no peaks. And one sore hand and wrist. So I said, oh well. I globed the non-stiff frosting on top of the cupcakes and toasted away. I must say, now they look like messy S'mores not the perfect cupcake I had in my head.

But who says that the look effects the taste? Because here at work, they are flying off the plate. I love making people happy.