First Communion Butterfly Dessert Bar

Nicholas' First Communion was yesterday! After mass, there was a huge party at the Cottonwood Club of course so Erica and I had the opportunity of doing the dessert bar for it. It was a lot of fun to make the desserts as well as watch everyone eat them! Erica made the cookies and rice krispie pops and I made the cupcakes and cake pops! Teamwork is so nice! Enjoy.

I made the butterflies out of chocolate

Butterfly Dessert Bar

Lemon Drops, Snickerdoodles and Rice Krispie Pops

Yellow Buttercream Butterfly Cake Pops

Spice Cake with Buttercream Frosting and Chocolate Crosses

Red Vines, Chocolate Chips Cookies and Gumballs

 

The Dessertologists: Sara (me) and Erica

The Rice Krispie Pops were Dipped in Chocolate and Vanilla

  

Golf Ball Cake Bites

For my dad's birthday (March 29th) I thought I would make him a delicious surprise so I made some golf ball cake bites! They are made with yellow cake and buttercream frosting and dipped in vanilla. They are sitting atop a bed of green coconut as the grass! Mmmmm. They were delicious and cute. Enjoy.

Erin Go Bragh!! Eat Mint Truffles!

St. Patrick's Day Mint Truffles

Eat Me. I'm Irish.

1 pkg. Cool Mint Oreos 15.25 oz + 6 Regular Oreos (give or take)

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

Green vanilla or chocolate melting wafers

Place the cookies into a food processor and crush until it forms a fine crumb. Stir in the softened cream cheese. The easiest way is to just dig in with your hands and mix it up or you can use the back of a big spoon to smoosh it together. The mixture will feel soft and slimy.

Use a small cookie scoop to make 1 inch balls then roll them until smooth. Place them on a piece of parchment paper on top of a cookie sheet that will fit into your freezer or fridge. Cover them with plastic wrap and place in the freezer or fridge for 15 minutes or longer. This will make dipping them much easier.

Melt the wafers according to the package (usually the microwave is easiest) making sure no moisture gets into the melted wafers or it will seize. Using two forks or a dipping tool, dip the mint balls into the melted wafers, let it drip until no more is dripping and place on another cookie sheet covered with parchment paper.

Refrigerate (because of the cream cheese), admire and enjoy.

I made these mint truffles for a St. Patrick’s Day Party at work and got RAVE reviews. Everyone asked for the recipe. I didn’t want to tell them it was made from oreos! A definite winner.

Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler! Mardi Gras Cake Pops!

This Mardi Gras season brings me back to the days of junior high and my French class with Monsieur Erickson. That was the best class ever. We not only learned the language well but we spent a lot of time diving into the culture and celebrations of France....and what kid doesn't love celebrations!

One of my most potent memories is of the King Cake. Mr. Erickson would order a King Cake from a local french bakery and would hide the baby inside. He would pass the cake out to the class and whoever got the baby would get some Francs that we could then trade in for candy or extra credit points and such (He used Francs to bribe us to do good. It worked.) He also hosted a costume contest and would give Francs to the most festive costume. I won every year I was there because I had a jester costume that happened to be gold, purple and green. Haha...I kind of cheated by wearing it every year but it was festive! What can I say. I'll post a picture when I find it. :)

So anyway, I made some mini king cakes. They were tasty.

No hidden babies though.

Then I whipped up some Mardi Gras Cake Pops from some of my previously frozen chocolate fudge cake pops. I ended up giving them to my sister-in-law to serve at her Mardi Gras party. Thank goodness someone is keeping the spirit alive! No one celebrates Mardi Gras anymore.

I'm bringing it back. Next year....you just wait!

I also very vividly remember burning a huge newspaper man named Rex outside the school. I'm not sure what that was about...

Under Construction Baby Shower

I made some desserts for an "Under Construction" Baby Shower. The theme colors were yellow, black and white. I made Chocolate Fudge Cake Pops, Lemon Tassies w/ Rasberries and Orange French Macarons. The original plan was to have an orange macaron tower representing a construction cone but they turned out a little too brittle so I wasn't able to do that. It would have been so darn cute! The desserts were displayed in construction equipment such as dump trucks and loaders. It turned out so cute! Enjoy.

Plain Chocolate Fudge Cake Pops

Orange French Macarons

"Under Construction" Yellow Chocolate Fudge Cake Balls

Lemon Tassies w/ Raspberries

Butterfly Cupcakes

2 years ago I started a tradition making cupcakes for my little brother's 7th birthday party. His birthday was hosted at the Tracy Aviary and the theme was "Flying Things". Subzero came and did a delicious demonstration with flying liquid nitrogen bottles! I wanted to try something fun and different so I made chocolate Monarch butterflies for the cupcakes. I was surprised how good they turned out! It was a ton of fun and I am sure I will make butterflies again!

French Toast Maple Bacon Cupcakes! Yeah Baby!

Why the heck not?! You know everyone wants to try one. Here is the infamous French Toast Maple Bacon Cupcake. It is a french toast cake with maple frosting and bacon crumbles on top (I like to call them my "bacon sprinkles") It was pretty good. I mean it had bacon....on a maple cupcake!

During this adventure and a few others since, I have found the secret to deliciously crispy bacon.....gaaaahhhh (insert drool and homer voice.) Drum roll please..............................the oven! That's right, cooking your bacon in the oven is the best way to get your bacon perfectly crispy and tender every time. About 350 degrees for 20 minutes on a rack on a baking sheet (depending on your oven). That's it!

Go try it. You'll be amazed!