Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Cake Pops

I had many treats and goodies to make for the holidays this year.  I made cake pops for a few of them.  Everyone loves cake pops!!

They both were made with yellow cake and vanilla frosting.  The first ones were Christmas Trees.  Paul bought me 14 different kinds of sprinkles for Christmas and it happened to have yellow stars!  Worked out perfectly :)  It was dipped with green candy melts and has sprinkles for the lights.
The second ones were Santa Hats.  I showed my aunt how to make these the week before for her Christmas.  I think they are a cute idea. 

I made them a little bigger than normal, but they were still delicious!

I now have a portfolio with my pics inside!  My little sister Ashley made me a book with my pictures of my cakes for Christmas.  It was very thoughtful of her!  I have a cake due in two weeks for a teenage girl. 
Until then, I hope you all have a great and safe New Years!

Friday, December 23, 2011

Cookie Exchange :)

Every year my family does a cookie exchange.  This year there were 4 of us participating.  We each made three different kinds of cookies and exchanged 1/2 dozen each.  I made Chocolate Crinkles, Peanut Butter Ritz and Red Velvet Cookies.  I also made some snowmen as an added bonus :)  He was made from an Oreo ball and dipped in Almond Bark.  A girl and I were talking at work one day, I still don't know for sure what Almond Bark is, but I use it every year :)  Here is how to make the snowmen:

First you need to crush up a pack of Oreos, I use my Bullet to finely crush
Then mix in a package of softened cream cheese.  It is easiest to hand mix this

You want to put it in the fridge for about 10 minutes.  Then shape into 1 inch balls. After they are all rolled, put back in the fridge for another 10. While they are chilling I started the bases of the snowmen.  I got everything ready to go beforehand.  Makes for easier decorating.  Here is what I used for his accessories
Melt the almond bark.  Take a tablespoon and dump on wax paper.  Spread it around to get your base.  Then add all your extras.  You want to do one at a time, otherwise the bark will set before you get back to it.


I let them set in the fridge for a few minutes.  Then take your balls and dip in the bark and place them on your base.  Put your nose on right away.  Do these one at a time as well.  Otherwise you will have to go back and glue on your noses.  I let them completely set and then drew in the faces with my food writers.  That's it!  Pretty simple, just takes a little bit of time.  When you do the oreo balls, please remember to refrigerate them.  They have cream cheese in them.  Here is the finished product

They are super fun for the holidays! 

Lastly, my girlfriend Katie gave us some treats for dog sitting for her this year.  I thought I would post a pic of them since they are so cute!  Thanks KT!

Stay tuned for Christmas Cake Pops!!!  Till then, Have a great and safe Christmas!

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Bake Sale!!

We have an annual craft and bake sale at my work every year.  I decided to bake for it.  I made cupcakes for the event.  There was a ton of other foods there, but no other cupcakes :)
I didn't know how many to make or how to package etc.  I ended up making 4 different kinds and totaling 72 cupcakes.  I bought some containers for the big sellers and just gave other people plates which seemed to work out.

My first cupcake I did because of my brother, Tony.  These are his favorite kind and so I made some extra to bring over to him.  It is Devils food mix with filling in the middle
I then frosted them with whipped frosting.  I made candy molds of Christmas lights to go on top.

This is what they look like once you bite into them.  It's a nice surprise!

Those were the most popular and no one knew of the filling :)  The next sellers were my snowmen.  It is a chocolate cake with the snowman on top.  I have a pretzel in the middle of the marshmallows holding him up and standing on the cupcake.  His accents are glued on by candy melts.  I have done another version of him in the past.  Always a crowd pleaser.

I then made two different kinds of yellow cupcakes.  The first were the wreaths.  These were also a hit.  They were pretty easy to make.  Just a little bit of piping work, simple but cute.

The last ones were ornaments.  By the time I did these I was getting a little tired and started loosing inspiration.  They took a lot longer to do than I thougth they would.  I still think they turned out good.
I made 72, but gave a few away.  I sold them for $2 a piece and only left with 6!  I brought the rest to Paul's work for them to finish them off.  Here is a pic of them all waiting to get packaged up.
Overall, it was a lot of fun!  I am glad it went so well.   I will definitely want to do it again next year.  I hope you enjoyed it and hope you all have a great weekend!