Oh Mister Milk Man....

So, these little guys have to be the cutest thing I've seen in a long time.  And what makes them so over-the-top cute is how SIMPLE they are to make!!  

These Snowman Milk Glasses are the perfect mix of winter and whimsey.

Chances are you may have already seen them on The Today Show when Amy Atlas was featured for a Holiday Dessert Table bit.  Amy was inspired by Chris of Celebrations at Home, who was inspired by THESE from Better Homes and Gardens.  The trend is making it's way around the table decorating scene and being used by the best of them.  I can't wait to make very own little snowy milk men.



All you need is...
Small Milk Glasses (These from Target would work)
Powdered Donut Holes
Straws
Milk, of course

To decorate...
Use chocolate jimmies to press into the doughnuts for the eyes and mouth.  The noses are orange coated sunflower seed pressed into the doughnut and attached with a bit of frosting.

And to make it super duper cute, coordinate the felt scarves with the same color striped straws.  And to finish them off, glue a few buttons to the glass.

So wonderful!


{Photos courtesy of Bakerella}


 I can't wait to make very own little snowy milk men.

Be Sweet.

-Kristy

Sweet Jamaica...

Our time spent in Jamaica was amazing and I highly recommend the island destination to anyone considering a trip to the Caribbean.  The natives are so kind, the terrain is gorgeous, and the food is fantastic.  And of course, the desserts don't disappoint either.  Below are some of my faves! 

Happy Monday!!

Blackberry Cheesecake Cupcake, Hazelnut Dulce De Leche Cake and Chocolate Layer Cake

Chocolate Pie Cupcakes

I love all the chocolate and cherry details!  

Assorted Mousses 

The fresh fruit, especially mangos, were so delicious.  

Blueberry Pie Muffin Cupcakes 

I couldn't decide if they were more muffin or more cupcake...so I decided they were both.

Key Lime Cheesecake Cupcakes

Pecan Pie ... one of my holiday faves!!

And my amazing husband drew this for me.  Fortunately, he captured the picture at the perfect moment, before being washed away by the ocean.

Be Sweet.

-Kristy

California Blues....

As many of you know, I am a California girl through and through.  There have been many a' days when I ask myself why I ever left and moved to the East Coast.  The immediate follow up question to myself is: "When will I ever go back?"  These questions tend to arise when I find myself missing my family, the amazing weather, the beautiful sights, sounds and scenes of the State.  In the end, however, I am always able to look on the bright side of life and count my blessings for everything that I have right where I am.

But, when I come across something so fantastic as Paulette Macarons, those yearning feelings for the West Coast (the Best Coast!) come creeping back.  These sweet treats are hand-made and baked fresh daily in their Beverly Hills bakery.  How fantastic is this?!?!  I have found a few places in the DC that carry fresh macarons, but nothing compares to these little doozies of a cookie.  

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that when I'm in Los Angeles in a few weeks I'll get to make a stop at Paulette Macarons and buy one of each flavor!! 

Be Sweet.

-Kristy

The Famous Sugar Cookie

I can't wait to get home and finish these bad boys!!  

They are going to be so cute once their done.  Yay!  

Pictures to follow...stay tuned!

Be Sweet.

-Kristy

Pumpkin Pie Bites

Oh how I L-O-V-E me some pumpkin pie!  And these mini pumpkin pies are to die for!!  Bakerella, the queen of cake pops, posted this fabulous recipe on her blog.  I can't help but share it with my fantastic readers.  I have received such wonderful compliments from you all - Thank you!!  You propel my inspiration and desire to continue by leaps and bounds.  I couldn't be more appreciative.

Enjoy this cute and simply sweet recipe.  

Roll out a refrigerated pie crust.  It comes 2 to a pack, so if you roll the crust a little bit thinner than it's packed, you'll have 24 pumpkin cut-outs.

Stuff the pie crust cut-outs into a mini muffin pan. 

Press the dough down, in and around each muffin cup.  Make sure the stem for the pumpkin remains sticking out.  It's a good idea to alternate muffin cups so the stems don't touch - you'll end up baking 2 batches this way.

Fill each pumpkin to the brim with pumpkin filling.

When you pull the mini pies out of the oven, they will be puffed up, but unfortunately gravity takes over and they will fall a bit.  No matter what, they are still so cute!!

Let the pies cool on a cooling rack.  

So easy and so perfect for Thanksgiving.  But, I lets be honest...who really wants to wait until then??  (Sound: Crickets)  I thought so, no one.  

Grab that chocolate and drizzle away!

Delicious!

Looking for something to use (and eat - wink!) right away?  Pipe little jack o' lantern faces on the mini pies.  I promise they will be devoured in a flash.

{Recipe & Images courtesy of Bakerella}

Have a wonderful day and remember, today is all we have.  Take advantage of it.

Be Sweet.

-Kristy

Chocolate Covered Pretzel Sticks

Super simple.  Super easy.  Super delicious!!  Great for any occasion.

Chocolate Covered Pretzels

Ingredients:

-1 bag of pretzel rods

-1 package of chocolate bark coating (Ambrosia)

-Festive Sprinkles or toppings

Supplies:

-Baking Sheet

-Wax Paper

-Baking dish

-Tall drinking glass

Microwave chocolate bark in a tall drinking glass at 20 second intervals, stirring between intervals.  When chocolate is melted, you are ready to begin dipping!

Take 1 pretzel stick and dip it into the glass, coating 3/4 of the pretzel stick.  Use your index finger to tap the top of the pretzel to shake off any excess chocolate.

Hold the pretzel stick over the baking dish and liberally cover with sprinkles.  (I mixed the sprinkles used HERE into one dish for a festive assortment!)  Rotate the pretzel stick to ensure you cover all sides.

Lay the pretzel stick onto the baking sheet covered in wax paper.  Let the chocolate bark set before eating - approximately 20 minutes.

Enjoy!!  

Be Sweet.

-Kristy

(Lindsay - let me know what Nick thinks!!)

Sweet Treats for Halloween!!

After reading Bakerella's book, Cake Pops, I was inspired try some of my own cake creations in preparation for Halloween.  This was my first attempt at making Cake Pops, or as mine turned out to be, Cake Balls...so there were a few lessons learned along the way.  With that being said, I'm pretty pleased with the turnout.  I know my Dad will be very pleased when his Halloween package arrives filled with these delicious goodies!

Halloween Cake Balls

Ingredients:

- 1 box of cake mix

- 1 can of store bought frosting

- 1 package of White chocolate and/or Milk Chocolate Bark Coating (Ambrosia)

- Festive sprinkles

- Good n' Fruity Candy

Supplies:

- Baking Sheets

-Wax paper

-Ramekins or small bowls for sprinkles

-Deep bowl(s) for melted chocolate

-Spoon(s)

1.  Bake cake according to directions on the box.  

2.  Let cake cook completely (I left mine to cool overnight)

3.  Cut cake into 6 equal pieces.  Take 2 pieces of cake and rub them together to crumble the pieces.  Make sure there are no lumps in your crumbled mixture.

4.  Add 3/4 of a can of cake frosting to you crumbled cake mixture.  Mix thoroughly.

5.  Roll cake and frosting mixture into 1-1/2" balls.  Place on a baking sheet lined with wax paper.  Chill for approximately 2 hours.

Now the fun part!!

6.  Place sprinkles in ramekins or small bowl.  This make it quick and easy to use when you are ready to sprinkle the coated ball...

7.  Line a second baking sheet with wax paper, set aside.

8.  Melt chocolate bark in microwave at 20 second intervals in a deep bowl.  Stir candy coating between each interval.  When the chocolate is melted (not too hot!) you are ready to begin DIPPING!

9.  Grab 3-4 cake balls from the refrigerator and place them on the baking sheet.  Submerge each cake ball individually into the melted chocolate candy coating.  Spoon chocolate over the cake ball.  Scoop your cake ball and tap your spoon against your bowl to remove excess chocolate coating from the spoon and the ball.  Gently slide the cake ball off of the spoon onto the lined baking sheet.  

10.  Quickly sprinkle any jimmies, sanding sugar or decorations onto the coated cake ball.  The chilled ball will cause the chocolate coating to set fairly fast, so you want to move on the sprinkle step!  (For pumpkin cake balls take 1 green Good n' Fruity candy and insert into the top of the cake ball.  Sprinkle with orange sanding sugar.)  Repeat until all cake balls are coated.  Let the cake ball set until candy coating is firm.

Lessons Learned:

• I used orange Wilton Candy Melts for the pumpkin cake balls and it is much harder to work with rather than my normal Ambrosia Chocolate Bark Coating.  I will need to invest in some thinning agents when using candy melts as it is very thick and very hard to get that smooth look on the cake ball.  I love the many colors of candy melts though so I will definitely be using them again.

• Not all Chocolate Bark is the same.  I picked up a different brand of White Chocolate bark that I had seen at another grocery store and figured it would melt and coat just as the Ambrosia brand I've used previously  - Wrong.  If you find a candy melt or chocolate bark that you like, stick with it.  

• Make sure you completely enclose the cake ball with your coating.  What makes the cake ball moist is the oil from the cake mix and frosting.  The coating constricts the cake ball, squeezing it tighter, so if you do not fully enclose the ball, oil will escape from the ball.

Sneak attack of the Chocolate Covered Pretzel Stick!  This recipe is SUPER easy and one of my husband's favorite sweet and salty treats.  Check back tomorrow to learn how to make your own!

Be Sweet.

-Kristy

Brownie Blitz!!

In preparation for an event we'll be hosting in the coming months, I wanted to practice making some Brownie footballs.  These will be perfect for our football themed dessert table and after taste testing one (or three!) I know they will be a hit.  Or, should I say TOUCHDOWN!!

These delightful little treats take a little time, mostly waiting for the brownies to cool and the football shapes to chill, but they are SUPER easy to make.

Choose your favorite store-bought brownie mix and bake as directed.   Make sure to line the baking dish with parchment paper so you can easily remove the brownies from the pan.

Use a sharp knife to remove the edges from the brownies.  The corner pieces of brownies are my favorite but I didn't want crispy chunks in the brownie balls when I was rolling them.  The good news, you can set them aside and enjoy for later!!

Cut the brownies into 24 small squares.  If you want larger footballs, cut 16 squares.

Roll the brownies squares into football shapes.  Place rolled footballs on a baking sheet lined with wax or parchment paper.  Chill balls in refrigerator until thoroughly chilled, about 1 hour.  If you are in a hurry, you can place the balls into the freezer for a faster chill, but make sure not to freeze the balls.  

Line a second baking sheet with wax or parchment paper.  Microwave chocolate candy coating in a deep bowl at 20 second intervals.  Stir candy coating between each interval.  When the candy is melted (not too hot!) you are ready to begin DIPPING!!

Grab 3-4 brownie balls from the refrigerator and place them on the baking sheet.  Submerge each football brownie individually into the melted chocolate candy coating.  Spoon chocolate over the brownie ball.  Make sure you don't stir the ball or roll it as the brownie can come apart in the warm chocolate and leave crumbs.  Not good.  Tap your spoon against your bowl to remove excess candy coating from the spoon and ball.  Gently slide the brownie ball off of the spoon onto the lined baking sheet.  Repeat until you've coated all of your footballs!  Place the baking sheet baking into the refrigerator to allow the candy coating to set.

Once your footballs have chilled long enough for the coating to set, it's time to doll them up with the threads.  Microwave white chocolate candy coating at 20 second intervals until melted.  Once the candy coating has melted, spoon a small amount into a Ziploc baggy.  Snip off a small corner of the bag and Ta-Da!  You've got your piping bag!

Pipe the threads onto footballs and return baking sheet to refrigerator to chill.

Once the coating has set, these cute bite-size brownie footballs are ready to serve!  I promise your family, guests or neighbors will love them!!  

Be Sweet!

-Kristy

Got Pops?

Bakerella's new book, Cake Pops, just hit the shelves in bookstores and I can't wait to pick up my copy today after work!

Her cake pops have become an overnight sensation, sweeping the internet with popularity.  I'm pretty sure appearing on the Martha Stewart Show also helped a bit.  Either way, I'm so excited to see get her book and make some pops of my own this weekend.  I have a particular shape in mind....  

Does, "Let's get ready to RUMBLE!!" give you any hints??

{Images courtesy of Bakerella}

Be Sweet.

-Kristy