Christmas Cookies

As you can tell, I made a lot of cookies this year for Christmas. Joy and I estimate that we baked over 300. And by we baked, I mean, I baked. Although, don't get me wrong, she totally helped. She just didn't actually put anything in the oven. =P

We make all these cookies (and cake balls) solely to give away to people as Christmas gifts. I think it's a brilliant idea because 1) I love baking and 2) I love giving gifts. I love how excited and happy people are when they receive a tin of homemade goodies. Delivering them is seriously the best part (and eating the extras is pretty awesome too).

We ran out of room to put them all, too. Our apartment has been a little crowded (messy) lately, because we've all been stressed and busy with exams...some things (like doing laundry), get pushed to the side. Oh, the life of college students.

Nifty trick: the sugar cookies are just dipped in canned icing. I melted it in the microwave so it would get runny and added regular ol' food coloring (all my awesome gel pastes are at home) to make it redish and greenish. After you let them sit for a couple of hours (or over night), they get hard enough to package, but the icing is still soft when you bit into it. So simple, so brilliant. :)

The cake balls are strawberry/chocolate and carrot cake/white chocolate. I LOVE the strawberry. Once again, I went with the convenience of box mixes and canned icing. But with all the hard work that went into them, I'm sure nobody minded.

All in all, it was about a 3 day process. Joy and I did this last year too, and I love that we make a yearly tradition out of it (although she's been doing this for years before she even met me). One of our friends said our apartment looked like a bakery and our roommates and everyone who came by loved that we had extra cookies sitting around to snack on. Merry Christmas everyone!

(Just a quick reminder to let you know that you can vote every 24 hours for the "Show Your Duff" contest, so if you voted yesterday, don't forget to do it again today! I noticed that my entry is on the 2nd page-- there are 10 pages right now-- of cakes with the most votes, so let's see if we can move on up to page #1! And to everyone who's already voted: Thank you! You have no idea how much this means to me! I wish I could give a Christmas tin full of cookies to every one of you, for voting, for telling your friends to vote, for liking me on Facebook, for reading my blog, for encouraging me to go after my dreams. I love you all! <3)

Cake Balls: The Pictures

So here's the pictorial evidence of the candy corn cake balls that I made!

First, the candy corn:

Here we have a picture of the newly chocolated cake balls. (of course "chocolate" is a verb!) You might be able to see that some of the candy corn melted and leaked out of their shiny, tempered chocolate shell. Also note the beautiful sprinkles that Haley & I decorated with:

And finally, the close up:

These were oddly and surprisingly delicious.

Banana Chocolate Cake Balls

Hello, everyone! It's your favorite MIA baker, back with some more tasty tidbits!

Just wanted to share my recent cake ball shenanigans... banana chocolate!

Sorry about the crappy pictures...they were taken with my camera phone and/or a webcam. I wasn't prepared with my real camera because I was dog/house sitting with my roomie, and the cake ball thing was sorta spontaneous. I said "hey, doesn't banana cake balls covered in chocolate sound amazing??" and she said "we're going grocery shopping!" We turned on some Christmas music, and it happened just like that.

And I know you're excited to know what my recipe is, so let me share it with you:

A box of banana bread (I used whichever brand didn't have walnuts in it, since roomie is allergic...Pillsbury, according to the picture below), 2 bananas, chocolate almond bark, cream cheese icing, and yellow sprinkles. The sprinkles are the important ingredient, of course.

Just follow the recipe on the box (honestly, homemade banana bread would've been 100000x better, but sometimes you gotta work with what you have) and add 2 sliced up bananas to the batter for a better banana-y flavor. I suppose if you want to add walnuts, you can.

I used a cream cheese frosting to mix it up with, but you really don't need a lot, because banana bread is already really moist.

Finally, dip it in the melted chocolate almond bark. Or get all fancy and use legit tempered chocolate. I really wish I had the knowledge and patience to make tempered chocolate, because the almond bark just isn't cutting it for me. I'm sorry I'm such a chocolate snob, and if you want to continue to use almond bark, by all means do. I probably will be too, until I get my own bakery, and then I'm bringing out the big guns.

Just a picture of me being silly.

Peach Cake Balls

And so the saga of peach-flavored desserts continues.

This time we have cake balls. I just used up the leftover cupcakes that I had frozen (they were the cupcakes that were falling apart and I didn't want to deal with the hassle of trying to decorate them) and the cream cheese frosting in the fridge.

I did have to buy white chocolate, though. Blegh. I'm not a fan of white chocolate, but it was, as they say in Applied Decision Making Methods class (aka the math class that isn't advertised as a math class so you sign up for it oh-so-naively [plus they expect you to remember everything from stat, but you don't and you need this stupid class to graduate]), the "best alternative."

For half of the cake balls, I sprinkled them with orange sprinkles, and the other half with cinnamon. I like the sprinkles better, but since there was actually cinnamon in the cake, it would make sense to use it as a garnish too. Also, my roommate doesn't like sprinkles. (Weird, right?)

I really, really think that these cake balls would also be superbly amazing if I had used pumpkin cake instead of peach. Since fall is coming up, that would be a great recipe to try. Although I'll make pumpkin cake for any occasion year-round.

Did you ever wonder what would happen if Cake Balls and Oreos had babies together?

Awesomeness.

That's what would happen.

Cake Ballz

My roommate Joy and I made cake balls last night. I'm sure they're delicious (I haven't tried them yet but I saw Joy sneak a few) but they are really, really cute. Plus, they're red velvet, so how can they not be amazing??

Recognize those sprinkles? They're from the confetti cake I made last March. My other sprinkles could not compete.

Except the snowflakes, buuuuut, it's August, so that might be jumping the gun a little bit.

The colors really popped too, which you can't really see in the picture with my old school 4-years-old camera, but just trust me. :-)

Next up is sugar cookies, and then we're going to box them up and deliver them to our new neighbors (all fellow SLU students) and other people whom we like and/or want to get on their good side. ;)

Adam�s Birthday

Well, guys, I'm sure my blog is totally boring you to death now that I'm not baking anymore (insert dramatic sigh here), and frankly, I feel like an immensely more boring person. Baking is a part of me, and I feel like that part is missing.

And speaking of missing, know what else I miss? Adam. Yessiree, my baby brother. Except he's not a baby anymore- he's 6, and his birthday was last Friday. I didn't get to make him a cake, unfortunately, although Katie baked him some cupcakes (and called me that morning- woke me up!- to ask for some advice. I guess it wasn't really morning, though, it was around 1:00pm�). I did call him, though, and sing to him, and sent him a card. But it's not the same, ya know?



In honor of Adam's birthday, this post is dedicated to a cake I'm sure you've never seen before (unless you've check out my Flickr account recently): Spongebob Squarepants!

The prequel to the Patrick Star cake, and inspired by one of Adam's favorite cartoons, this cake is definitely a favorite of mine- and Adam's. The limbs are sugar cookies, and that lovely sponge shape comes from a 9 x 13" baking pan. What I remember having trouble with on this cake is the eyes- I used blue piping gel, and it had melted or something, because it was really runny. The picture is a little grainy, but if you look closely, the pupils are a little wacky. Not that Adam cared.

I actually made a Spongebob cake for Adam's second birthday too, but unfortunately there's no evidence of that cake. We were on vacation at the beach, and I had very limited supplies: a disposable cake pan, a box mix, a can of icing, some piping colors, aaaaaand� that's it. I didn't even have chocolate icing for his pants, so Mom & I (she's so smart) crunched up some chocolate cereal to use for his pants. Talk about limited resources, eh?

Not only do I love baking for Adam, but I love baking with Adam, too. Exhibit A: The gingerbread cupcakes:

I made these for James' first grade class' Christmas party. Let's see, he's in 5^th grade now, so that was 4 years ago, just when I started really getting into this whole baking thing. The little gingerbread men are actually chocolate. (If you didn't know, chocolate candy was actually my gateway into the cake decorating world. I'll have to tell you the story sometime!) And the buttercream is covered in cake sparkles (it's supposed to look like sparkly snow). I think the cupcakes went over well with the class� Ok, ok, they're first grades presented with a dessert, of course it went over well!

Oh, wait, I'm supposed to be talking about Adam, not James. He'll have to wait until October for his time in the limelight. So, Adam:

Ain't he sweet? I love this picture! First of all, I can't believe we still have those aprons. They're all torn up and worn from years of use now, but I'm pretty sure they're still sitting in the same drawer just waiting to be put on and covered with flour. I do wish I had a new apron, though. However, Adam's apron, which Grandma made (I got my artsy/craft gene from her. She's amazing with a sewing machine.) out of a tea towel and some string, no longer fits him. I remember every time I pulled out my handy dandy Kitchen Aid, he would run over to the drawer and hand it over for me to put it on him. And he always wanted to help, once he got over his fear of the loud noise the mixer made, that is. Oh, and that orange/pink thing hanging on his neck is a toy monkey. Actually, I think it's James' toy monkey.

Back to the present, I'm working on my job application at the cafeteria right now. I'm really hoping and praying that I can get this job� even part-time, once a week would be better than nothing. I haven't made anything since those cakeballs right before I left home. I'm having withdrawals like mad. If worst comes to worst, I'll beg one of my friends to take me home one weekend and steal their kitchen for a few hours. J

The Tastiest Kind of Success

Without bragging too much, I just wanted to say that my 2nd attempt at making cake balls turned out superbly excellent.  The entire process went smoothly (which is quite a feat for me) and, to top it all off, they are delicious!

So as I show to you the surprisingly easy process of making cake balls, I may just have to enjoy one myself!  Enjoy eating one that is. ;-)

The beginning.  It's so flat, it's it?  Too bad about what happens next...

 

Crumbled Cake and Cream Cheese Icing.  I mushed it up with a fork.  If the call balls don't form together properly, it's because there isn't enough icing.  However, I didn't use the entire can, just most of it.

 

Cake Balls!  They are half the size of an ice cream scoop.  The ones that were ice cream scoop sized were too big for dipping. :(  

Melting the chocolate chips in a "double boiler" (hello, multi-tasker!)  They are milk chocolate this time, although I still have a soft spot for dark chocolate!

This is my work station. I actually did a pretty clean job this time!  Surprising to hear that I didn't make a huge mess, isn't it?  I mean, I still made a mess; it just wasn't huge. :)

Dipping the cake ball into the chocolate.  Of course, I took the chocolate off of the heat and let it cool for a bit before dipping the cake ball (which was frozen overnight) in it.  Because I obviously know that hot, melted chocolate would burn my fingertips when I dip the ball.  Duh.

Three completed cake balls.  Too bad they didn't all look this nice (some of them had some funny shapes to them...).  All of them taste this nice.

 

And finally, a picture of the dipped balls sitting in the freezer to harden.  After they hardened, I put them in my big green Tupperware and stuck it in the fridge.  Oh, and I accidentally dropped 4 on the floor, but rest assured, the "5 Second Rule" was put into play!

Cake Balls, Take 2

I really wanted to try to make cake balls after that gooey fiasco.  I don't really have an excuse for making them, other than that I want to.  I suppose that is a good enough reason, right?  So I bought some red velvet cake and some cream cheese icing (I know!  Store bought!  But I wanted the process to be as little messy as possible so that I could concentrate on doing everything correctly).

Last night, I baked the cake.  Just a regular ol' box mix in my regular ol' (actually, it's kinda new) 9" x 13" rectangular pan.  I didn't bother with flower nails in the middle or even Crisco/flouring the pan; I just used that spray-on fake butter stuff.  I wasn't concerned with how the cake turned out because, well, I was just going to crumble it all up anyway.

Lo, and behold:  the cake was flat!  I don't understand.  I mean, I didn't try at all with this cake; but everything about it was perfect:  It came out of the oven perfectly; it's a perfect shade of red; it's not too lumpy in the middle (although there is a slight hump).  I just don't get it.  Why?!  Of all the times that I have make cakes, praying for them to be flat, why did this one cake turn out flat?

It's so perfect that I almost want to just leave it as a cake...

...Or maybe I'll smush it up and make red velvet cake balls like I originally planned.  I mean, either way, cake balls or no, it's going to get eaten.  So I might as well have fun with it.

So I'll try to finish these babies up this weekend (which would be quite a feat, considered the amound of homework that I have!) and next week I have 2 other cakes:  my brother's birthday cake (he wants a lemon cake?! But he still hasn't decided on the theme), and a surprise cake that I'm making for someone at school (chocolate).  And, of course, the week after that, my BFFF turns 18 and I get to make her delicious cake!

Fun Food

Technically speaking, none of the following has anything to do with cake baking/decorating and what have you.  But it is fun, therefore, I shall post.  Enjoy the pics and recipes!

Fun Food #1:  Deviled Eggs

My little sister loves deviled eggs.  And what's not to love?  It's like egg salad, but not as messy (unless you're the one making them...).  And they're fun to decorate, too.  I didn't have a recipe for these, but it's pretty basic:

• Hard-boil the eggs.
• Let the eggs cool down (I use ice water)
• Peel off the shell and cut the eggs in half
• Scoop out all of the yolks and put them into a bowl
• Add mustard and mayo to taste and mix it all up.
• Use a piping bag with star tip (or one of these fancy things) and pip the mix into the eggs.
• Sprinkles with paprika and top with parsley (I used it fresh from my herb garden)
• Ta-Da!

Fun Food #2:  Cream Cheese Penguins

Admit it.  These guys are adorable.  Not to mention tasty.  I made them for our Jonas Brothers CD Listening Party/Olympic Synchronized Swimming Party.   Here's the recipe from allrecipes.com:

INGREDIENTS 

• 18 jumbo black olives, pitted
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 18 small black olives
• 1 carrot

DIRECTIONS 

1. Cut a slit from top to bottom, lengthwise, into the side of each jumbo olive. Carefully insert about 1 teaspoon of cream cheese into each olive. Slice the carrot into eighteen 1/4 inch thick rounds; cut a small notch out of each carrot slice to form feet. Save the cut out piece and press into center of small olive to form the beak. If necessary cut a small slit into each olive before inserting the beak.
2. Set a big olive, large hole side down, onto a carrot slice. Then, set a small olive onto the large olive, adjusting so that the beak, cream cheese chest and notch in the carrot slice line up. Secure with a toothpick.

We have a lot of cream cheese at our house since they have Bagel Fridays every week at my Dad's work, and he brings home leftovers.  Unfortunately, we ran out of jumbo olives before we ran out of cream cheese; so if you've got lots of C.C., then buy a couple cans of jumbo olives.  Also, Wal-Mart had "medium" olives, not small.

Fun Food #3:  Cake Balls

Something semi-cake related.  I made these with the ruined cake from Kayte's birthday.  I think I had too much icing/not enough cake, or something.  Because they are kinda droopy and the texture was off (gooey).  My little sisters and brothers loved them, but I wasn't a fan.  I will try again, though.  (The Bakerella blog/flickr slideshow inspired me!)

Here are some good recipes (unlike whatever it was that I attempted!):

• Cake Balls from allrecipes.com (I'd like to try the German Chocolate variation)
  
• Bakerella's Cake Balls on a Stick
• Bakerella's Red Velvet Cake Balls
• CakeCentral's Cake Ball Tutorial

It is also probably important to note that the cake should cool completely before adding the icing.  I believe 16oz is the norm.  I hope that everyone who tries these has better luck than I do! ;)