Anniversary Cake

My little team at work is celebrating 5 years and they asked me to make the cake. Not sure how I feel about it how it looks, but it tasted good!

Ghost Cupcakes

Happy Halloween!  

Aren't these ghost cupcakes fabulous!?  They are delicious too!

Cubs cupcakes

These could be made for any team really, but I made them the week the Cubs tanked in the postseason. But at least they were yummy, right? GO CUBS GO (in 2009)!

Flower Cupcakes

I love these, they are too cute!

Cake I Class - Finale

WOW this icing is bright! I didn't realize it until the photos turned out this morning. It's like 80's flouresant! Particularly the green - I may need to put on sunglasses.

Here's the end product of Cake Art I. Last night we worked on leaves, the purple flowers at the top, ribbons, and more roses. The class was super fun, and I'm looking forward to Cake Art II in February!

Cupcake Class

Last night was Cupcake Night in my cake class! Some of these are definitely better than others.

My favorite are these first two - white flowers that look surprisingly classy. The first was done with a spiral flower, the second with some kind of spin technique.

This one is actually pretty fun as well. I used the tie-dye bags from the clowns (below) and it turned out really neat looking.
Creepy Clowns. These would look better without the weird heads.
Not a fan of how she had us position this clown. He's suppose to be "on his tummy." Uh... that's what she said.

This one was "sprinkled" by the teacher. I wanted it to look like a white rose. She apparently thought it needed an extra dose of ugly. And then on the way home it toppled over. This poor cupcake never had a chance.

Love the colors on this one!

Cake Class, Results Part 1

These are the cakes I made last night in cake class.  The top one I am happy with, the bottom one was not centered enough and it's driving me insane.  Hopefully Curtis will eat it quickly and not concern himself with less-than-perfect cake.  The balloons themselves were actually my bet yet... just too high up.

Peanut Butter Pup Treats

Peanut Butter Dog Treats! Wrigley is crazy about these things. If I give her one she follows me around the apartment as if I am some kind of treat dispenser. An A+!

Cookie Pops - Thanks

After Holli and Marc helped me with my car selling insanity, I thanked them with their favorites... cookie pops.  

More Cookie Pops

Different colors, different cookie recipe, more confetti - same look.  These are by far the best according to popular vote. 

Cinnamon Rolls

I made Low Fat Cinnamon Rolls for Amie's visit this week.  I pounded out the dough a little too long so they were a little tough, but otherwise REALLY good :)

Cookie Press Experiment

For my birthday, I got a cookie press from Nick and Erin.  (Actually, I got a gift certificate and just cashed it in for the cookie press).  I gave it a go and here are the results.  According to the tasters, the vanillas are much better than the chocolate ones.  

Chocolate Chips - Sweet Success

FINALLY perfected these dang things.  I tried 8 different recipes before I found this one.  Basically, I could now make you any kind you want.  Like flat and crispy?  Fluffy and cake like?  I can cover all of your chocolate chip desires.  Try me.

White Chocolate Chip Cookies

I invented a cookie!  Okay, so I am sure in the grand scheme of life I was not the first person to come up with this, but they are de-lish.  Great for the person that cannot have regular chocolate and still wants the chocolate chip cookie experience.

Thumbprint Cookies

Thumbprint cookies!  These are my absolute favorite cookies.  A bakery in my mom's hometown (Peoria, IL!) makes them and I get them by the dozen when I am up visiting.  Mom nicked this recipe from my granma's friend who swore it was the same... and it is!  

They can be filled with a dollop of icing, or chocolate and are AH-mazing. 

Cupcake Cookies

These were a HUGE hit in law school.  Ben calls them "crack cookies" because they are completely addictive.  Made out of cupcake batter, each cookie is basically a dense version of a cupcake.  I remember making them in law school for Wally, Stud, and I.  Wally and I would eat our respective shares immediately and Stud would save his.   Cookie by cookie, Wally and I would eat ALL of his as well.  Serves him right... leaving them there to taunt us.  Just cruel.

This particular batch got a little smooshed on their way to East Atlanta.  Wally assures me that it didn't effect the taste.

Chocolate Chips

Chocolate Chip Cookies are classics, so I had to add them to the collection.  I've been playing with different recipes, and this one is the best so far.  I'm trying to find a recipe that results in plumper looking cookies.  Everything I have tried makes flat ones.   Surprisingly this classic cookie has been more trouble than expected.

Fortune Cookies

I'm not going to lie. I found this idea on a wedding website and LOVED it, so I ripped it. I have been waiting a few weeks to try it out, and I am so happy I did!  Granted, out of the 10 I made, only 4 turned out to be semi-presentable, but I am thrilled with the idea of it all.  

On the wedding website, it had cute little love fortunes with the couples name and the wedding date as lucky numbers.  Mine have personalized fortunes as well, but since I wrote them they are rather sarcastic.  Would you expect anything else from me?

The top photo here is a "naked fortune."  The ones below have been dipped in chocolate and rolled in sprinkles.  My favorite is the chocolate one with the heart in the right hand corner.  

What do you all think?

Alex's Cookie Pops

The camera wasn't cooperating here, and I have already posted cookie pops, BUT here are a few more that I made for Alex's birthday last week. 

Harry Potter cookies!

Harry Potter glasses, snitches, potion bottles, floating keys, and stars!  Awesome HP cookie cutters inspired by The Chamber of Secrets!  These were just plain FUN to make!  Yummy too!

More Cake Attempts

I made up two chocolate cakes on Friday and froze them for moistness (tip!), before decorating them.  The first cake is a single layer chocolate cake and it turned out better than I had hoped design-wise, but the sides were a disaster (which is why you aren't getting to see them). 

This double layered chocolate cake is actually surrounded in chocolate chip shavings.  I grated the chocolate chips with my cheese/chocolate hand grater.  I used the wrong blade, so they were more "snow like" than I had envisioned.  It was a huge mess.  The icing hardened too fast, the shavings wouldn't stick, then the icing for the top started to melt.   It was one thing after another with this cake.  Oh well, I have a plan for my next attempt so stay tuned.

Placecards...

I was very nervous about this idea, but now I am super excited!!  Wouldn't these edible placecards be adorable at a bridal luncheon or a nice dinner?  Definitely unique, and surprisingly classy looking!  

Stars and the 4th

I'm a holiday girl, so I loved making Fourth of July stars!  Confehr gave me a set of star cookie cutters for my birthday, and I really enjoyed pulling them out today!  How fun and yummy!

Palm Trees

When at the beach, I found this amazing palm tree cookie cutter.  My first attempt burned the skinny palm branches, but this thicker version turned out wonderfully!

Dipped Doodles

Last night I made one of my favorites... Dipped Doodles.  These are snickerdoodle cookies dipped in white chocolate (or milk chocolate).  Someone made these in law school for a Transactions Journal function and I fell in love with them.  Such a great combination!

I made them for the office staff, and had great things said about them (which is always nice to hear).  I'm working on trying to get better pictures, but I fear that I am a baker and not a photographer.  Oh well, at least they tasted great!

Cookie Pops

Here is the latest creation - cookie pops!  As a birthday gift, mom got me this popsicle cookie pan which is seriously cool.  Then today I went to Michaels and just stood in the cake aisle dreaming of possibilities!  The weekly Sex and the City lunch is tomorrow and the cookie pops will be a surprise for the girls... they'll be the judge!  

A Monogram Cake

This was my first attempt at a double layered cake.  Also my first attempt at a monogram!  I fully realize that I definitely need to work on my cake decorating abilities, but Johanna recommended that I post a "first-try" so that when I become a pro, I can see the improvement.  

This cake was for Holli and Marc's first anniversary.  You can't see them, but there are little dots all around the side.  I do NOT like that the brown icing looks like poo.  Or that it was super runny icing, or that the cake itself kept falling apart.  Anyway, definitely a work in progress!

Cupcakes

Cute mini cupcakes that I made for Johanna and Curtis today.  I was experimenting with my icing tips.  Some definitely look better than others, but the colors turned out to compliment each other nicely!