How cute are these?

I was looking around on the ever-popular Pioneer Woman website and ran across this adorable, although potentially labor-intensive, recipe. I thought about making some tonight, but then I sat down and it seems like an terribly daunting task at this point. However, maybe someone else is up for the challenge? I would definitely like to do some Valentine's Day baking at some point this weekend for my sweet coworkers....also considering making these or just traditional frosted and decorated sugar cookies. We'll see what the week brings. Does anyone have any favorite Valentine's desserts? I always think you can't beat chocolate-covered strawberries....too bad they're not really in season! :(

Who needs a snow day, when we've got cookies?!

So, tonight it's cold and icy and gross out.....what else are you supposed to do but make cookies to take to work to get through the fact that hospitals never have snow days?! I found this recipe on a blog that is great! Cara shares tons of recipes and actually gets to cook for a living as a high school cooking teacher. I bet the school kitchen has tons of interesting sights with lots of learning taking place! Anyway, I tried one (just to make sure they're okay) and I am a fan. I think whenever you combo peanut butter, chocolate chips and M&M's....things are going to work out!Hopefully my friends at work feel the same. :)

Holiday Baking

Perhaps a bit late, but wanted to share a couple new things I tried in the world of baking over the holidays with my family....both are treats that I would recommend.

I have had my mom's breadmaker for quite awhile but have never used it. My friend Sarah has the same one and uses it a lot. She frequently makes cinnamon rolls for her kids and I thought it would be good to learn how to do it. So, she showed me and I replicated my lesson the day after Christmas for my family. I ended up using cream cheese in the frosting, which surprisingly, I didn't care for....but the rolls were pretty good!

Also, a few days before Christmas, my sis said she was really wanting some homemade bread pudding. I have never made it, but our grandma did frequently and we LOVED it! I know it's not a dessert that everyone would probably like (for those that don't like desserts without chocolate....ahem, Kylie), but it brings up lots of good memories of growing up and sneaking a bite of it from our grandma's stove. :) So, I found a recipe online and tried it out. We didn't put the sauce over it, but maybe would try that another time. We ate it Chrismas evening while we watched "The Holiday"....will definitely make it again sometime. But we won't have it anytime soon as my sis and I are having a Biggest Loser battle that started this week.....more on that soon....

It must be fall...

So far this autumn season, I have used my favorite recipe for pumpkin bread twice and LOVE it! It is now on the black list of foods to not have in my house (along with Oreos, Doritos and Nutella) cause I want to eat the WHOLE loaf! But, for those of you with willpower, I thought I would share the recipe. I made it recently when my sister and I returned home from our trip (more on that later) since Meg requested, pleaded and begged that I make her some. We also like to add chocolate chips for extra sweetness. Give it a try!

Pretty sweet 4th...

There has been quite a bit of baking in my world with the recent holiday. I had a BBQ after watching the neighborhood parade Sunday morning and went to KC Sunday night for a friend's party....and I'm hosting bunko tonight (in 34 minutes). So, with all of these events I needed some sweetness to go with them. I made an apple pie for my house, cupcakes for Gena's party and my mom helped me whip up some star shaped fruit pizzas for bunko.

Pumpkin Rolls 101

Tomorrow is the Thanksgiving dinner for the rehab unit at the hospital. This involves everyone bringing something. I didn't remember it until today and when I talked to my mom, she suggested making a pumpkin roll, which she had done awhile back for a group at church. Well, I had attempted to make one last fall, but had a bit trouble unrolling it from the towel and ended up throwing the whole thing away- towel and all! But, with my mom's help tonight, it looks like I will have a successful dessert to share tomorrow. Here is Libby's Pumpkin recipe for it, as well as some pictures from throughout the process!!

Libby's Pumpkin Roll

Ingredients:

Cake-

1/4 cup powdered sugar (to sprinkle on towel)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin

1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Filling-

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, at room temperature

1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

6 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Powdered sugar (optional for decoration)

Directions:

For Cake-

Preheat oven to 375' F. Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan; line with wax paper. Grease and flour paper. Sprinkle a thin, cotton kitchen towel with powdered sugar.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in small bowl. Beat eggs and granulated sugar in large mixer bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Sprinkle with nuts.

Bake for 13-15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. (If using a dark-colored pan, begin checking for doneness at 11 minutes). Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end. Cool on wire rack.

For Filling:

Beat cream cheese, 1 cup powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until smooth. Carefully unroll cake. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Reroll cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving, if desired.

Cooking Tip:
Be sure to put enough powdered sugar on the towel when rolling up the cake so it will not stick.

Enjoy!!

Bridal Shower for Lisa!

My coworker Lisa is getting married next month so after work today we had a very casual shower for her at "Old Chicago". I made a cake (chocolate per her very specific request) and did some simple decorating of it to celebrate. Here are a few pictures....
My coworkers Kristen and Lisa, the bride-to-be....

The very chocolate cake for Lisa....

The whole crew at the shower!

Paula Dean and her cake

Sooooooooo, one of the other speech therapists at the hospital had a birthday Tuesday. I committed to making her and the 3rd SLP a bday cake. They just happen to fall two weeks apart so I recently made red velvelt cupcakes for Jason's birthday. Well, Barbra (birthday girl) had mentioned she liked strawberry cake. Not a personal fav, but not my birthday.....so I looked around and found a rich, rich cake on Paula Dean's website.


You could say that it turned out pretty well in the eyes of my coworkers. It was deemed "the best thing I have ever made" from one person; another therapist claimed it was "the best cake she has had in her whole life" and therapist said "if I would have had this cake before I got married, I would have asked you to make it for the reception". Whoa, serious cake love here people. Let me also say that I didn't loooooove the cake like these folks and probably won't make it again, but thought I would share in case any of you are strawberry cake lovers. Here is the recipe. Enjoy! :)

Velvet Birthday.

One of the other speech therapists that I work with at the hospital had a birthday today!!! Since there are only 3 of us....I offered to make cakes of their choice for them. I love baking but also love to have somewhere to take those calories and sugar....my coworkers seemed pleased. In a recent post, I mentioned that my mom gave me Betty Crocker's baking book....and Jason requested red velvet cake.....so I used the recipe out of there. Pretty good, not my favorite. It was my first attempt at red velvet, let alone scratch....so not sure what it should taste like, but they are very dense. Made a cream cheese frosting that I was pretty into....My favorite part of the whole experience was having a reason to use my new cookbook stand that I bought with a giftcard from my mama to a local cooking store. It completes my kitchen. :)

So, my coworkers tell me that red food coloring is made from beetles' shells....this called for 2 bottles!!! Mmm, Beetlejuice!

First paying gig...

Since I took a few cake decorating class last winter, I have taken severl decorated treats into work for my co-workers. Well, a couple weeks ago, my friend Lisa at work asked if I would decorate a baseball cake for her nephew's 2nd birthday. It turned out okay, so I thought I would share. I am definitely going to have to invest in a multiple star-tip for cakes like these....it took awhile to say the least.

Warning: This is a SERIOUSLY good cookie!

I love chocolate. I love peanut butter. When chocolate and peanut butter come together = heaven. Last week at work, a physical therapy student brought in some cookies on his last day. He brought the recipe with him, as he somehow knew that we would all request it since these cookies made us go INSANE! I wanted to steal the whole bag of them and run into my office and lock the door!

So when my mom reported that she needs to take some cookies tomorrow for church, I volunteered to make these. (Yes, basically so I could eat one....or two....or....you get the picture). I want to warn anyway trying to lose weight or eat healthily, it would probably be in your best interest not to make these. I felt like I gained weight just being around them. Anyway, enough of that. Give them a try and enjoy!!

Magic Peanut Butter Middles (courtesy of Annette Mathias; no idea who this is, but bless her)

Dough:

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup cocoa

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup margarine

1 tsp. vanilla

1 egg

Filling:

3/4 cup peanut butter

3/4 cup confectioners' sugar

In small bowl, combine flour, cocoa, and soda; blend well. In a large bowl, beat sugar, brown sugar, margarine and peanut butter until light and fluffy, beat in vanilla and egg. Add combined dry ingrediens and mix well. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine peanut butter and confectioners' sugar. Blend well and roll into 30 1-inch round balls. For each cookie, with floured hands, shape about 1 Tbsp of dough into a flat "pancake". Place a peanut butter ball in the middle and mold dough around it to cover completely.

Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten with the bottom of a glass dipped in sugar. Bake in 375' oven 7 to 9 minutes, or until set and slightly cracked. Cool on wire racks. Makes about 30 cookies.

Adding to the bunch....

This weekend I went to Kansas City for a baby shower for one of my college roommates. I met Julie in the dorms our first weekend in college, the next day we bonded over a dinner at Wendy's and we went on to live together for 4 years after that first meeting. She and her husband Aaron are having their first little one soon! She is due with a little girl on June 1st....very exciting! With this little "pumpkin" as she called her, the count will be up to four (five in July with another roomie expecting) with kids my college roommates have had. I am excited for Julie and Aaron to start their family and to meet Pumpkin!

The parents-to-be opening a gift....
Katie (due in July with a little girl) and Julie hide Lindsay (my other offspring-less friend). Cute!

All the girls together again....doesn't happen nearly enough!
Good picture!

I made a little quilt for Julie's daughter and was finally able to give it to her at the shower! Hopefully it will be a soft spot for the little baby to rest.

It's not really crooked....it's draped over a chair.

I also got a chance to work on my cake decorating skills for the shower. The hosts for the shower are from Dallas, so I offered to decorate some cupcakes for the day to bring over....I liked the little ones with chocolate frosting. :)

It's a little baby buggy with wheels and a baby inside, complete with a binkie. I wasn't too pleased with how the brown turned out...it's really hard to get a dark brown or black. I will have to keep working on it! :)

Have you thanked your social worker?

I got my computer back and it is up and running! Yea!!! So, I am a little behind with sharing pics, but have a few I wanted to post. When I first moved to Topeka, I took a cake decorating class. I needed something to decorate and I don't really need to eat cake on a regular basis so I decided to make cupcakes and give them to the social workers and case managers at the hospital since March was National Social Work Month. I think they turned out pretty well! I will definitely be experimenting with other designs for future creations! :)

Baking and wrapping and packing, oh my...

It's a busy time of year for everyone most definitely (hence, my lack of blogging), and it's hard to believe that Christmas is almost here! As I get packed up to drive to my parents' house after work tomorrow, I have wrapped a couple final gifts and baked a few treats to share with my family. My aunt, uncle and cousin are driving in to town as we speak, and tomorrow I will be headed to my parents' new house that they moved into last week....I will have to share more about that another time.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and safe travels. I leave you with a few pictures of the fruits of my labor this evening...