Let it snow? Maybe in my kitchen...

I have to say that I think my piping skills have gotten a lot better over the last year, so I was excited to try out snowflake cookies again this year. Snowflakes have always been my favorite cut out to decorate. Last year I decorated them all the same see here but the day I made these I decided to do whatever flowed from the tip. I love how they came out, especially the white on white one. I used the No Fail Sugar Cookie recipe posted on Cake Central. I've had a lot of success with this recipe, but have learned that the cookies work better when rolled thicker and that they get really, really hard if you let them bake too long (like even the slightest brown.) To decorate, I used a simple royal icing...I never measure, just mix egg whites and confectioners sugar together until I get the right consistency. I think I decorate cut outs different than some people; I learned from an old employer to paint on (with a smaller paint brush) the royal icing. It is much easier to do (unless you have shapes like a circle, and then you HAVE to pipe the outline to get it perfect) and then pipe on details (I used a #2 tip.)

For the ones with the the blue in the middle, I used a smaller snowflake cutter and cut out the middle, added crushed blue Jolly Ranchers, and baked them (make sure you are baking these on parchment paper....I'm sure they would stick if you didn't.) After I decorated and the royal icing was all set, I brushed on super pearl luster dust. I love how these cookies turned out; it is pretty rewarding to see the difference between my last year ones and these.

I Rock The Pie...

One would think that after making 100 (yes, you read that right...ONE HUNDRED!) 5" pies for wedding favors a few weeks ago that I would be SO over pie making. However, after a week of serious cake making, and after still seeing a peck of Ida Reds (which I purchased from an Amish farm back home for $3...the whole bushel was only $7!) still sitting in the corner of my kitchen, I decided to whip up an apple pie to stick in the freezer. The reason I really like pies is probably (other than the crust) there is no measuring....some of this, some of that...whatever I feel like putting in. And somehow it always turns out great. Since I only had enough pie dough for a single crusted pie, I decided to do a crumb topping. WOW...talk about a bad day to start doing a low carb diet! I had a tiny bite of the piece I cut (so I could take a picture of the inside)...I am a sucker for the crumb topping. To make my crumb topping I used a stick of butter, added flour and brown sugar and mushed it all together, adding more flour until I got a crumbly texture. Mmmmmm.....

My second quest today was to make a pumpkin roll. I used this recipe from Allrecipes. Ehhh, it was ok. I chose to do a cream cheese buttercream instead of the filling, which was my mistake. Another problem that I had with the recipe was the pan size. I chose to use a 12x12 pan, which is larger than what is called for, and I still don't think it is large enough. I had a tough time rolling it without the cake cracking. I have found that the thinner the cake is, the easier it is to roll. I might try it on a 1/2 sheet pan next time, maybe with a different recipe.

Tiered cake + construction zones=YIKES!

I had to post this picture of my niece with her birthday cake. I dropped the cake off half way to my sister in law on Saturday, and let me tell you...4 hours worth of construction zones are a death sentence for a cake!!! My niece still loved the cake though...next time I'll have to figure out a way to get some better support in it!

One Crazy Week....

This week has tested my cake limits like never before. It started off with one big cake...the zombie (which, btw, I updated my last post with a better picture.) After that, I was talking to a good friend of mine who wanted a Twilight themed cake and matching cookie favors for her daughter's birthday. "Sure, no problem!" I said. Then I found out when she wanted it...the same day as the zombie. My first reaction was, "OH CRAP!" But I went with it, knowing I'd figure it out. And then another acquaintance asked me to make a small cake and sugar cookies for her daughter's class. "Of course!" I said. And of course the due date...the day after the two others. And then a few weeks ago while visiting my parents (3 1/2 hrs away) my sister in law asked me if I would want to make a cake for my niece's birthday. This time my first question was, "When do you need it by?!!!" Yep, you guessed it...the same day as the zombie and Twilight cake. Oh man! How could I say no to my niece??? So it has been one crazy, crazy week...and it's not over....my niece's cake I have to drive 1 1/2 hrs to meet up with them this morning, and then drive back to hopefully carry Mr. Zombie in one piece across the street to my neighbor's birthday party. Shew! One thing I can say for myself, I rock at time management!!!!!!

ZOMBIEEEEEE!!!!!

Jill's son's birthday is this coming week, so she decided to have a Halloween theme party for him. After telling me he wanted a haunted house cake, I went home and scoured the internet for some inspiration. Somewhere among the Halloween cakes, I found the original version of this cake from Courtney's Cakes. After seeing her version, I really wanted to make it (and had to convince Jill's son that he didn't really want a haunted house!) I had never worked with an internal structure and was really excited to try it. Courtney's version is a bajillion times better than mine (the head of mine kind of cracks me up a little!) but I think for my first time using a structure like this I didn't do too badly! And I think I will be declared the coolest neighbor evah.

National Cookie Network September Challenge

After first seeing that Septem-ber's secret ingredient was strawber-ries, I thought, "Geez that is going to be a snap!" However it took the entire month for my creative juices to flow and come up with an idea. I knew I wanted to use fresh strawber-ries, and in the end I chose to make a shortbread thumbprint type of cookie. For some extra pizazz I added shaved white chocolate to the cookie dough. I thought that these cookies were super good (unfortunately I'm the only one in the house that will eat strawberries, so these cookies have not been good for weight loss!) However, next time I would dice the strawberries instead of just using halves. I didn't like that the cookie spread and the strawberries got smaller as they baked, leaving "exposed" parts of the cookie middle. If the strawberries were diced, I think it would look a little nicer.

Strawberry Shortbread Cookies
1 c. butter, softened
2/3 c. sugar
1 tsp. strawberry extract
2 c. flour
1 oz. shaved white chocolate
white chocolate chips/white chocolate/white candy melts
fresh strawberries, cut in halves
Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add extract, then flour and shaved white chocolate. Form into tablespoon size balls. In the center of each ball, make a hole or indentation large enough to place a strawberry half. First place a small amount of white chocolate in each hole, and the top with a strawberry (cut side down.)\
Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 12ish minutes (I'm so awful about timing!) or until the cookies are set to the touch (do not let them turn brown.)Stripe with more white chocoalte. Yummmmmmmm!

Cystic Fibrosis Cookbook

Last November, when my blog was just starting and I had no followers I posted about the cystic fibrosis cookbook that I put together as a fundraiser. Since more people are reading my blog I thought I'd post about it again, especially since I've had some updates.

I put this cookbook together for a fundraiser for the Great Strides walk; a walk that I've done since I was a little girl. My brother was diagnosed with CF when he was 12 (I was 6.) Cystic fibrosis is a fatal, genetic disease that affects primarily the lungs. Since he was diagnosed, there have been several ups and downs, but the biggest changes have come this year. In March I received a phone call from my mom that my brother wasn't doing so well (he was already in the hospital) and he was going to be reactivated on "the list." His condition was very, very serious and if he didn't have a double lung transplant right then, he probably wasn't going to make it too much longer. In June, after 72 days of waiting, he received a new set of lungs.

In August while he was still in recovery I went and spent a week with him. I cannot say how incredibly thankful to the donor I am for his selflessness when he chose to sign up to be an organ donor. My brother and I had grown apart, and if it hadn't been for this donor choosing to pass life on to someone else, I never would of gotten the opportunity to know my brother again. Again I am just so thankful and grateful to his donor.

I am a big believer that things don't just happen by chance; everything happens for a reason, and there is a bigger hand in the picture. After I went to visit my brother in August, I was on my way back home. I had a connecting flight; on the first flight I got on the big, completely full plane and sat down in my seat next to a woman. We started talking immediately, and the conversation quickly turned to why I was visiting the area. I told her that my brother had just had a double lung transplant, and her eyes got huge. I continuted, and told her that he has cystic fibrosis. She said, "You are never going to believe this...my SON has cystic fibrosis." She started telling me about her son, Joe......yes, my brother's name too! We talked nonstop the entire flight; neither of us even remembered taking off! Earlier this week I got an e-mail from this woman. Her son has taken a turn for the worse and has been in ICU for the last several weeks. His wife is pregnant and is being induced today. It's weird to me that this woman I barely know could touch my life so deeply like she has. And it hurts me so much to know that this disease has brought yet another person so close death. It's not fair.

I know this is a foodie blog, and this isn't really a foodie post. I just wanted to bring some awareness to CF and to organ donation. If you aren't an organ donor, please consider becoming one! You don't have to wait to renew your driver's license...you can go here and sign up today. My brother is an awesome, awesome person and I am so lucky to have him in my life! If you ever see people campaigning for CF fundraisers or Great Strides, please consider giving something. Scientists and researchers are pretty close to finding a cure, but like everything else in our world...it's expensive! It breaks my heart and brings me to tears every time when I go to Great Strides walks and see the little kids that have CF. I have seen their future through my brother if a cure is not found.