Happy Birthday Doodles

My sweet nephew Doodle had a combined birthday party recently.   His actual birthday is still a few days away but his Mom and her best friend decided to throw a combined party for their children.  And what a party it was..... balloons, popcorn, a jump house, hot dogs, cotton candy and cookies.   

Can you guess what the theme was?  A Circus Party!! And it was perfect.  I made some circus tent cookies to go with the theme.  

Here is a not so good shot of them all wrapped up.  

And here is another not so good picture..... ugh... I am still waiting on that camera tooth fairy!

I  also made some number three cookies because the birthday boy and girl were both turning three!  The three cookies were made with a chocolate cut out cookie recipe. The recipe was a new one I tried.  If I knew the source I would reference them here but it is a recipe I have had saved for a while.   There are no rising agents used in the chocolate cookies which I worried about, but the cookies turned out great.

This day was a special one not only because of the birthday boy, but also because I was able to spend the weekend with my favorite set of twins- my other nephews.   They are always so full of energy and bring me so much joy!

I plan on baking up some cupcakes soon so I can continue to find excuses to make and eat copious amounts of frosting. YUM!

Smiles,
Marci

Thank You!

This post goes out as a thank you.  I am thankful every day for the happiness that my new social work position brings to me.  I have loved meeting new co-workers, getting to know a new team and working with a great group of doctors, nurses, researchers and other social workers.  I also am appreciative of the attention and focus  that is paid to social workers during the month of March- or as it shall forever be called- National Social Worker Month.   So this post is a thank you- a thank you to all of the social workers out there.

This post is also a thank you to a great group of co-workers.  They surprised me last week with a surprise luncheon.

They gave me a surprise gift and it was filled with baking goodies.   They know me so well already!!  But I love it and love them for being so thoughtful.

And here is the cake that another co-worker made from scratch.  It was phenomenal.

A thankful Marci.

March is off to a good start.....

March is shaping up to be one of my favorite months.  First off- it is National Social Work Month.   I am proud to be a social worker and am thrilled to participate in the events planned at my employment.   I wish there were more ways that we could recognize and acknowledge the difficult and fulfilling job that social workers have.   I regret not taking the time to write Oprah and ask her to dedicate one of her "favorite things episodes" to social workers.  I love that she shared one episode with teachers- another difficult job that is often under-recognized.    But, trust me, social workers take the cake.....

Speaking of cake, I made some oreo cupcakes.  They were delicious.  I placed an oreo at the bottom of a cupcake liner, mixed up a white cake mix and topped it off with some homemade buttercream and some more oreos.   And let me tell you.  This butterceam was soooooo good.   I will share more one it later, because I may have fulfilled my-quest-to-find-the-perfect--frosting.   It was that good.

Here is a close up.  And yes my iphone pictures are lacking.   I would love a fancy schmancy camera so I could take pictures that would truly show how good these bad boys are.   So, tooth fairy if you are reading my blog- take note.   And I definitely think a root canal justifies a visit from the tooth fairy... Yep... It does.

Here are some goodies my friend and I baked up the other weekend for a cutie's first birthday.

The favor bags were adorable.  Between my sister, me and my BFF I know we could take on the baking and decorating world.

Next up is my adorable nephew's birthday party.  I will be baking up some more fun goodies for that party.  And my favorite twins in the world will be in town and I cannot wait for their smiles and giggles to fill up my heart.

But the best part of March- it means the end of winter and the beginning of spring.  Bring on the sunshine!

Smiles,
Marci

Birthdays Galore Ahead...

I had a busy weekend and even managed to squeeze in some baking for a party.   I made oreo cupcakes.  They were tasty but not so photogenic.   I want to make some adjustments and will post pictures and a recipe soon.   

In the weeks ahead I will be busy with cookies.  I may have to table the quest-to-find-the-perfect-frosting for a couple of weeks as I work on decorating and baking some cookies.   Besides I don't think my hips can handle cookies and frosting at the same time.   

I am planning on helping a dear friend with some cookies for her son's first birthday and my nephew's third birthday is fast approaching.   Here is a hint below of the template I am working on for his themed cookies.   I need to find a thick cardstock that will hold up well because I will need to hand cut these cookies.   

I hope to have some fun pictures up soon. 

Smiles,

Marci

The Quest

I am on a quest. A very very important quest. This quest is big- it could impact thousands of lives. I know that when I complete it- I will be changed forever. What is this quest? THE Quest to find the perfect frosting of course....

I am a frosting girl. I love it. But, I am kinda particular. Gone are my days of buying a tub of chocolate frosting and eating it with a spoon. Okay- not really- but for the sake of science I am willing to give that secret habit up. So I figure that in my quest to find "my" perfect frosting I may find yours. I am willing to sacrifice my hips to all of you in my quest. And also my poor coworkers who will probably be eating a lot of cupcakes in the meantime.

Now let me clarify- I am testing cake frosting here. I love cookies and do agree that there are quite a few variations of cookie frosting out there, but I tend to stick to two types for my cookies.

Instead I want to find a perfect cake frosting- preferably a version in chocolate and one in vanilla.

I started out this quest with a simple recipe for cream cheese frosting. This recipe is from Annie's Eats. I loved how simple it was and also how she explained her secret to the frosting. I also love her beautiful photographs. Food photography=Love.

Here are the ingredients:

I wanted to tell you about some of the mistakes I make along the way and this is one of them. If you did not already know (because I know you all have read my blog from the exciting beginning to now....lol), but I have a new oven and with a new oven you are always experimenting and figuring out how things are going to "bake" in it. In my old oven I was able to pop two pans of cupcakes in one on top of the other and they would bake up fine. But, as I learned- not in my new oven. Here is why:

The cupcake on top was baked on the middle rack and the cupcake below was baked on a lower rack, but it was not at the bottom of the oven either. Which was why I assumed that it would bake up fine. In my old oven I could not bake two pans side by side on the same rack because it was too hot in the back of my oven and the cupcakes closest to the back would bake more quickly than the ones in the front despite pan rotations. Anyway, the cupcake on top is how I prefer my cakes to turn out- evenly baked with a slight crust on top. The cupcake on the bottom had some funky air pockets on it and remained "gooey" to the touch even after adequate cooling time.

So below are the lovelies that turned out well. Luckily the "special bottom row cupcakes" tasted just as good as the others and you would never know the difference unless you had seen them pre-icing.

Here is me mixing up the frosting. This frosting is also great because it does not require a fancy stand mixer. Your standard hand mixer will work just fine. And if you have arms of steel and titanium fingers you may be able to mix this by hand. Not me.

And here is the frosting on some simple Devil's Food Cupcakes. And for the record- the cupcakes are not homemade. They are from a box. After all I was busy saving the world that day and did not have time to add "made from scratch cupcakes" to my to do list.

I enjoyed this frosting. I enjoyed it a great deal. I enjoyed it on many cupcakes. I am far too polite to tell you how many were eaten. by me. alone.

I liked this frosting because it was sweet, but not too sweet. I also love the tang and creamy(ness) that you get with cream cheese. I also loved that this frosting paired really well with the deep chocolate of the cupcake. It truly was one of the best cream cheese frosting that I have had. Most of the time, cream cheese frosting's are too sweet or too thick. All in all a very very nice try for my first attempt on my life-altering-quest-to-find-the-perfect-frosting.

My only side note to this recipe is that it did not cover two dozen cupcakes. It covered more like 18-20 cupcakes depending on the size of your cupcake and how generously you frost them. Personally, I say double the recipe and eat whatever is left with a spoon. Better yet, put it in a red tub with a lid and sneak bits of it on a spoon all day long... Yum!!

Here is the recipe from Annie's Eats if you want to try it for yourself.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

Ingredients:

10 oz. cream cheese, chilled
6½ tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
3¼ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
4 tsp. clear vanilla extract

Directions:

Combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add in the confectioners’ sugar and mix on low speed just until incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat 2-3 minutes more. Blend in the vanilla.

Smiles,

Marci

It's all in the tools...

LilaLoa is a blog that I follow and love. She makes amazing cookies and cakes and I see her work and dream of being so talented. Recently, she posted a picture of her icing colors and how she stores them. And she challenged us to show her our icing colors and how we store them.

So here is a peek at my cookie (and sometimes cake) supplies.

And here are my Americolor icing colors. I really do like these gel colors. The small bottles are my favorite to buy as I always am convinced that I just "need a teeny bit". Until you make something red, or blue or black... and then I feel like I use the whole small bottle.

So I have invested in some large bottles of color. So if you need some black food color just call me cause I am your gal.

Does anyone else have a hobby that requires a bin of supplies? I feel like so many of my interests require bins of tools. Someday I will find a hobby that requires nothing... Like tv watching...just kidding....well maybe.... (and if you haven't noticed yet- I like to use my punctuation incorrectly. I know English majors out there are cringing. But, I like it because I feel like pauses look like periods in my head- so hence many periods and many exclamation marks).

My nephew has been asking about cookies so I think I am going to plan another "Cookie Decorating- but really just need the sprinkles" Day with him. I CAN'T WAIT!

Smiles,

Marci

Blueberry French Toast Bake

My BFF- hee hee- I just had to sneak this in-Lory introduced me to this french toast bake and I LOVE IT!! It is just sweet enough and the addition of blueberries pushes it over the top. I made this french toast bake for Christmas morning and it was a huge hit.

Some of my best memories involve brunch with family and friends. You can be so flexible with brunch time- you can include lite lunch items, the classic breakfast trio- bacon, eggs and potatoes and even include sweet items. This french toast bake is one of those sweeter items. I especially love brunch items where you can make it up and set it aside and throw it in the oven in the morning to bake.

Here are the cast of characters for this breakfast bake. BTW- these blueberries I bought from Wal-mart (yes I know that they are evil....) were so good. They were so plump and were some of the biggest blueberries that I had ever seen. You can find them in the freezer section and they were a lot (cheaper) than some of the other supermarket frozen blueberries.

The night before you want to bake the french toast, you will cut your loaf of bread into small chunks, whip your eggs and sugar till light and fluffy, add in the half and half and then soak the bread cubes overnight in the mix.

The next morning you will add your blueberries to the soaked bread chunks. See how plump those blueberries look. I think I just want to see how many more times I can use the word plump.....

On your stove top you will melt a half cup f butter and half cup of brown sugar. You will cook both until the mix is bubbling gently.

Pour your bread mix in a lightly greased casserole dish and then drizzle this buttery, sugary mix on top.

Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour or until top if puffed and lightly browned.

Here is what the finished french toast bake looks like. You can serve this french toast with maple syrup, but personally I enjoy it just the way it is. But if you do make this and serve it with maple syrup- let me know how you like it.

Again- check out those blueberries...plump....

Here is the recipe in case you want to bake this bad boy on up for your next brunch. Hey- invite me too!!

Blueberry French Toast

8 cups French bread (one loaf) 1" cubed
5 eggs
1 cup sugar
3 cups milk or half&half
1 1/2 cups Frozen blueberries
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup brown sugar

Place bread cubes in large bowl
Whip eggs and sugar until light in color and thick. Add half and half.
Pour mixture over bread cubes
Cover and refrigerate overnight

In the morning, preheat oven to 325
Mix 1 cup blueberries into bread and put into greased 9X13 pan
Sprinkle remaining berries on top

On stove in a saucepan, melt butter and brown sugar until bubbly
Pour mixture over bread and berries
Bake at 325 for 1 hour or until puffed
Serve with syrup

Enjoy!!

Marci