A Sweet Treat for Mom

When I saw this little container, I knew I would be making cookies to fill it. And I knew I wanted the cookies to match.

I thought it would be a perfect little container for Mother's Day cookies.

After experimenting, I made some "MOM" cookies that matched the background of the container. I made the two different shades of blue that were on the container for the background on the "M" cookies.

Then I piped some abstract flowers to match the flowers that were on the container.

I think any mom would love this gift. Don't you?

Happy Mother's Day!

Keep it sweet,

Elizabeth



Ladybugs and flowers and pretty little things. . .

I love ladybugs.

I don't like them inside my house, however.

These are the only ladybugs that are allowed inside.

Although they might not survive for very long. My son has a sweet tooth. And so does his mom.

The rest of the designs seemed so "summer-y" to me. I'm not sure if "summer-y" is a word. But if it is, it sure is summer-y here. The high is like 94 today!

Designs inspired by the amazing Sweet Sugarbelle.

Be careful, or these ladybugs will be running all over the place!

Hope your day is summer-y!

Keep it sweet,

Elizabeth

'Twas the Night Before Easter

Easter Sunday is usually crazy busy for us, so this year we decided to do our Easter celebration today, the day before Easter. I made an unconventional meal this year, since my mother-in-law has been asking for a particular dish from me for awhile now ~ lasagna. After experimenting a few times, I was able to come up with "crockpot lasagna" - which I actually think is better than when it's cooked in the oven. But I'll save that for another post. Now, onto. . . DESSERT!

I made a spring cake trifle for dessert this year. Since I have been making Easter cookies for about a month now, I wanted to make something with spring colors, but something other than cookies. I have to admit that the best baking ideas I get come to me when I'm sleeping! That's where this idea was born!

You'll need about 10 strawberries, 2 small cans of mandarin oranges, 2 or 3 bananas, and at least 5 kiwi. (Yes, I know that there are only 4 kiwi in this picture; that is because I sent my sweet hubby to the grocery store and he forgot how many I said to get. I still love him though.) Instead of the kiwi, you could also use white (green) grapes, although I absolutely LOVED the kiwi in this. Also, instead of the bananas, you could use pineapple, but I don't know if I would like the taste as much. The bananas made it so YUM!

I doubled a silver white cake recipe. Before baking, I divided the batter into fourths, and colored each fourth with pink, orange, yellow, and green food gel coloring.

Then I baked the cakes. Once they were completely cool, I put them in a ziploc bag overnight. They became incredibly moist!

For the pudding, I used 2 - 5.8oz french vanilla pudding boxes. After letting it set up for about 15 minutes, I divided the pudding into fourths and colored it pink, orange, and green. You don't need to color the yellow, because the french vanilla already has a yellowish tint to it! Yay! Remember, when coloring, a little goes a LONG way.

Cut up all your fruit. You're going to want them in bite size pieces, but not so small that they become mush.

Crumble your cake into small pieces.

Now, you're ready to layer!

Start with your cake . . .

Then pudding, then fruit. I started with green, then yellow, then orange and pink.

And the finished product.

SO YUM.

Happy Easter everyone!

Keep it sweet,

Elizabeth

Hippity~hoppity, Easter's on its way...

Welcome to my blog! I am so excited for my first blog post to be the week before Easter. It's a holiday that I have come to love, not only because of the meaning that it has for me, but also because it is a reminder that spring, my favorite season, is here!

My first spring sweet were these fondant topped calla lilly cookies.

These cupcakes were delicious, even if I do say so myself. They were chocolate caramel, vanilla creme brulee, and strawberry banana topped with cream cheese frosting. I added a few fondant flowers to each. I especially loved the little basket cupcake holders.

I did these flowers and eggs to tuck in some Easter baskets. As I was making the cookies, my 4 year old son thought they were for him. When I wrapped them up and got them ready to go, he said to me, "Mommy!What are you doing with the cookies?!" He was a little sad that they weren't for him. . . 

Now, you might be thinking that these little chicks are too cute to eat. I can assure you, they are not.

I decided to do these chicks after wanting to use the egg shape cookie cutter for something other than eggs. I didn't really mean for their eyes to come out all "crazy" looking, but they did, and I think it sorta gives them even more character.



I wanted to make more sweet treats for spring and Easter, and I still have so many ideas in my head. Alas, they will have to wait until next year. . .

Until then, enjoy your Easter and keep it sweet!

Liz

Keep it sweet,

Elizabeth