Oh Baby!

Dear little blog of mine, 

No, I have not forgotten about you! And yes, it has been about 6 whole months since I have last given you ANY attention! But there is good reason for that. December 30th, 2011; the day my life changed forever. That day we learned 

 WE ARE HAVING A BABY!!!!

So pretty much since then, my mind has been consumed with all things baby! And it has been extremely difficult for me to focus on anything else. All day long my mind races...Am I eating the right things? Am I exercising enough? What will he look like? Is he healthy? How should we decorate the nursery? Is my bump too big? Too small? What kind of stroller should we get? OMG! I'm going to be a mom!!!

And now, 9 months prego, we have the room finished, all the gear purchased and set up, hospital bag packed...I sit and wait with just 4 days and counting until this little guy's due date...

So what better thing to do other than give my blog a little attention? Something I plan to do more of since I'll officially be able to call myself one of those "mommy bloggers" very soon! ;) 

With Love, 

Colleen

Valentine Cookie Class!

The Valentine's Day themed Cookie Class was so much fun! Everyone got super creative and had fun experimenting with their cookies! I always love the moment when everyone starts decorating and realizes that it's actually possible for them to create these fancy cookies! You just need a little instruction and all the right tools and you can do it! 

Before!

 After!

Working hard and doing a great job!

I love my Mom!

Yours Truly...

With Love, 

Colleen

Winter Cupcake Class!

I am extremely behind in getting this post up but I wanted to share some pictures from the Winter Cupcake Class! I have been having a lot of fun with these classes and continue to be impressed with everyone's amazing creations! Unfortunately, I was caught up with the class this time and wasn't able to capture too many photos :( But here are a few to get the idea! 

I LOVE putting together the kits! 

Mittens!

 I have such supportive friends!!

Let it SNOW!

With Love, 

Colleen

Valentine's Day Treat!

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies (sorta). Whatever they are, I LOVE them and think they are adorable! I made these for the first time last year for Valentine's Day! 

I used a pan similar to the one Wilton one below. I think it would be even cuter with the whole cake being the shape of a heart for Valentine's Day! 

I have many more Valentine's crafting and baking ideas and I can't believe it's already February 2nd! I better get started! 

With Love, 

Colleen

Homemade Marshmallows!

Wait, what happened to the rain?! I am the kind of person who loves the rain (occasionally) and this winter there has not been nearly enough of those cozy rainy days! So for the last Cupcake Class, we pretended it was freezing cold and served brownies and hot chocolate with homemade marshmallows (that were surprisingly easy to make)! My mom and I also dolled up store bought brownies by adding some hand piped snowflakes on top. An easy way to make a simple dessert into an eye catching display!

Marshmallow Snowflakes

Yield

Makes about 100

Ingredients

2 envelopes (each 1 scant tablespoon) unflavored gelatin

1 1/2 cups sugar

2/3 cup light corn syrup

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Vegetable-oil cooking spray

Directions

1. Coat a 12-by-17-inch rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray; line with parchment paper. Spray parchment; set aside. Pour 1/3 cup cold water into the bowl of an electric mixer. Sprinkle with gelatin; let mixture soften, about 5 minutes.
2. Place sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 1/3 cup water in a medium saucepan. Cover; bring to a boil. Remove lid; cook, swirling pan occasionally, until syrup reaches 238 degrees (soft-ball stage) on a candy thermometer, about 5 minutes.
3. With mixer on low speed, whisk gelatin mixture, and slowly pour the syrup in a steady stream down the side of the bowl (to avoid splattering). Gradually raise speed to high; beat until mixture is thick, white, and has almost tripled in volume, about 12 minutes. Add vanilla, and beat 30 seconds to combine.
4. Pour mixture onto prepared baking sheet; smooth with an offset spatula. Let stand at room temperature, uncovered, until firm, at least 3 hours or overnight.
5. Coat a 1- or 2-inch snowflake-shaped cookie cutter with cooking spray to prevent it from sticking. Cut out as many individual marshmallows as possible; coat cutter with more spray as needed. Use marshmallows immediately or store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

Martha Stewart Living, December 2003

With Love, 

Colleen

Peanut Butter Blossoms!

These are freaking amazing. Please make them. You will not be disappointed. :)

1/2 c. butter
3/4 c. creamy peanut butter 

1/3 c. sugar (plus more for rolling)

1/3 c. light brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp coarse salt

1 tsp vanilla

1 & 1/2 c. unbleached, all-purpose flour

Hershey's Kisses (7 ounces)

Preheat oven to 375°F

In a large bowl, beat the butter and peanut butter till well blended. Add the sugars; beat till light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla, and beat well. Stir the flour, baking soda and salt together. Gradually mix into the wet ingredients.

Shape the dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in sugar. Place balls on an parchment-lined cookie sheets, and bake for about 10 to 12 minutes. Meanwhile, unwrap the "kisses". Remove from the oven and immediately place one chocolate "kiss" on each cookie. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

(Recipe modified from King Arthur Flour)

With Love,

Colleen

Cookie Class!

Here are pictures from the lovely Cookie Decorating Class last month! What a fun group! And just like the Cupcake Class, everyone really impressed and inspired me with their cookie designs! 

Here are some of my sample cookies...

Cookies ready to be iced and sprinkled!

Working very hard!

And we're gettin' the hang of it!

Just gorgeous!

I am so excited for the next Cupcake Decorating Class this week! It will be a "Winter" theme! I'll definitely post pictures sometime after the class!

With Love, 

Colleen