Thursday, September 22, 2016

THANKSGIVING SWEETS


this year i decided to do something a bit different, and bake dainty platters for thanksgiving to sell. i'd usually just do straight sugar cookies, but i had tried a few recipes last year that i LOVED and got the stamp of approval from friends/family. so this year i developed this little goody arrangement for thanksgiving, which if your on dessert duty (or hosting and just dont have the time to make something from scratch) this is where i can help! there is bound to be something that intrigues everyone. i included 

Pumpkin Pie Snickerdoodle Bars
Mini Apple Pies 
Decorated Sugar Cookies in white/orange pumpkins & acorns 

i'll be posting a recipe or two in a short while - so please keep your eyes peeled for that! 

Thursday, September 15, 2016

FARM ANIMAL SUGAR COOKIES


I did these up for a customer's daughter's birthday. i was told 'farm animals", so i just went with it. i thought they turned out pretty cute (in my humble opinion). sugar cookie making is honestly terrifying for me. theres not alot of room for error, especially when you have 50+ to make. i still definitely struggle with consistency. but sugar cookies are absolutely my favourite thing to make. i just hope she'll like them, too!




Saturday, September 10, 2016

SUGAR COOKIE SATURDAY | sports


wow! these cookies took A LOT of time to do. but i loved it. i love doing themed cookies where i can basically have some sort of creative freedom. a customer asked for "sports" for her boyfriend's birthday, so ... sports is what i gave. ALL THE SPORTS. i have never done any sort of sport theme cookies for me - so it's always a bit terrifying when your trial-and-error doubles as your final product. i had about 3 days notice on these bad-boys, so there wasn't a terrible amount of time to do any practice rounds. but all-in-all i don't think they came out half bad. i find variety to be fun. i just wish i had enough icing tips and pastry bags... but these are the lessons learnt for next time. 

i also love the satisfaction of completing a task like this. where i basically have no idea what i'm going to do- or how it will all turn out for me. 40+ cookies done & dusted. 

OH. and yes.. i know that Philadelphia flyers are orange. the icing dried darker turning to more of a coral-y red shade. oops. like i said - lessons learnt. 

Saturday, August 27, 2016

"AUTUMN IS COMING" SUGAR COOKIES | pumpkins & acorns


autumn (fall) is just around the corner whether we're ready ... or not. I for one - am so eager for the fall. it's obviously my favourite time of the year. with fall- comes halloween, which is one of my favourite holidays. if only that time of year could last longer before we enter Canada's harsh winters.... 

i did these up the other day as practice cookies for selling around Thanksgiving this year. I'm wanting to do some thanksgiving dainty platters complete with my pumpkin pie snickerdoodle bars (say that 10x fast), mini apple pies and salted caramel pecan krispie treats. fingers crossed i can get all of my ducks in a row to do this. but for now - here are my pumpkins and acorns ! 

Monday, August 22, 2016

MICKEY MOUSE SUGAR COOKIES


i have been practicing with sugar cookies a lot lately. i'm really trying to be at my best. I continue to learn every single time i attempt to decorate a new design..... so many things go wrong.. but at least i know now what to do to correct those mistakes.. i had a lot of trouble with the consistency with the royal icing on these cookies. usually i never have a problem. the black icing was slightly too thick and i had a lot of air bubbles (which i tried to get rid of with a tooth pick) but it didn't quite work. in the end these still turned out OK. (these are just practice cookies - they aren't actually made for anyone specific). who doesn't love disney? *dreaming of DisneyLand* 

Sunday, August 14, 2016

STAR WARS MARSHMALLOW CEREAL TREATS | {recipe}


we all know what a classic rice krispie treats are. one of the simplest squares to make. consists of 4 ingredients, and almost impossible to mess up. so i decided to amp it up a smidge. more like - rice krispie squares on drugs.


ingredients: 

1/4 cup butter
6 cups mini marshmallows
6 cups cereal (my local grocery store just so happened to have starwars cereal on special- but any will do)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

directions:

melt butter in a small heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat.
once melted - add in the marshmallows and vanilla extract. stir with wooden spoon until fully melted. stir in cereal until fully combined with the melted marshmallows. 
in a 9x9 in square pan lined with parchment paper - press krispie mixture down into the pan until flat. place into fridge for an hour to solidify. 

*i added in some sprinkles and a few chocolate chips* feel free to add any extra flavours/bits. 

slice and enjoy. *may the force be with you*. 

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

SHAKEN' - NOT STIRRED | martini sugar cookies

i ended up having some extra sugar cookie dough from my donuts & cones - so, i thought i would try something a bit new. i had so much fun making these little martini glasses. i want to try making some margarita ones next - or even cosmopolitan! how cute. 

Sunday, August 7, 2016

SUGAR COOKIE SUNDAY | cones & donuts


what else would i have to be doing on a Saturday night other than randomly have a bake sesh?! 
i always love the opportunity to have the time to practice- especially when it comes to baking sugar cookies. they just so happen to be my favorite thing to bake/decorate. i find the process of decorating with royal icing very relaxing - and when i'm relaxed - everything seems to turn out a little bit better than expected.  i have been seeing similar ones being posted on pinterest... and thought i'd give my own version a try. 


Friday, August 5, 2016

VEGAN LEMON-BLUEBERRY MUFFINS {recipe}


Lemon-Blueberry VEGAN muffins 

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg (i used chai seasoning) 
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
zest from 2 lemons
1 tsp pure lemon extract
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 cup non-dairy milk (i used unsweetened vanilla almond milk) 
1/3 cup canola oil (i used Earth Balance spread - melted) 
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries 

set oven temperature to 350ยบ.
in a medium sized mixing bowl combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, lemon zest.
in a separate bowl combine sugar and milk. add in oil and extract. mix. (minus blueberries)
slowly combine wet ingredients into the dry- mixing until JUST combined. do NOT over-mix. 
gently fold in blueberries. 

line a cupcake pan with paper liners, or just grease/flour. fill 2/3 of the way full of batter. 
bake for 22-25 minutes until toothpick inserted comes out clean!