Cake Pops!

This was my first attempt at making Cake Pops!

They were a big hit, even with the adults in the crowd!

These are so easy to make.

First bake a cake according to the directions. After the cake has cooled, simple crumble it in a large bowl. (Note: I used a cake that I had in the freezer for a birthday that didn't get used. I let it thaw, then crumbled it.)

Next, add about a cup to a cup and a half of frosting. I used a homemade recipe, but you can use store bought it you want.

Mix it all together forming a big ball. Break off small pieces and roll into small balls.

Place the small balls on a cookie sheet and freeze.

Next, melt some chocolate and dip the stick into the chocolate before inserting into the cake ball. This will help keep the ball on the stick while dipping it. Stick the cookie sheet in the freezer for a few minutes to let the stick set good.

Dip the cake pop in melted chocolate, almond bark, etc. Swirl a little to get the excess off. Sprinkle with colored sugar, candies, etc.

Stick the cake pops in a piece of Styrofoam as you finish dipping them. Put them back in the freezer for a couple of hours.

That's it!!

Ornament Cookies

Here are a few of the ornament cookies I made this year:

My cookies are not nearly as complex as some I have seen this season, but they are quick and easy to do!

Here's a chocolate snowflake:

I tried this Brown Sugar Roll-Out Cookie recipe that I found over at The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle. It was a big hit!!

And since we're not celebrating Christmas with our family until New Year's Eve, I have many, many more cookies to make this week!!

Christmas Gifts

Last year, as Christmas gifts, we made these dollhouse headboards for three of our granddaughters.






They were ALOT of work, but well worth the effort!!

This year, we have several Christmas gift projects going. But since this is our off year, meaning that my children and their families all go to the in-laws for Christmas, we won't be celebrating with them until New Year's Eve. So the pics will have to wait until then!!

I can't wait to show you what we're making!!

A Good Use For Last Year's Christmas Cards

Are you like me and hate to throw out those Christmas cards after Christmas? Some of them are just so pretty!!

Last year, I think it was in March or April actually, I decided to toss the Christmas cards. But then, they were so pretty, and there just had to be a good use for perfectly good Christmas cards. So I cut off the front part and kept them.

While browsing online today I came across this. Perfect!!

I didn't have the foam ball on hand, so I used a spool of thread. And I couldn't find my red ribbon, so I used tinsel instead.

I think theirs look a little better than mine, but you get the idea.

So go ahead and save those Christmas cards for next year!!

Girly Polk-a-Dot Cake

Here's an easy cake for you.

Whipped frosting, fondant dots of various sizes, a fluffy feather boa and multicolored ribbon!

Doesn't take much time, but it's a very striking cake. It will be loved by the little girl in your life!!

Hunter Orange Smiley Face Cookies

I made these cookies for my nephew who was in the hospital recovering from a hunting accident. Thus the orange color.

Happy Timothy.

Sad Timothy.

Timothy on morphine!

He's recovering nicely, was released from the hospital last week, but has a long way to go before he will be back to normal. Keep your chin up, Timothy!!

Poinsettia Cookies

First poinsettias of the season!!

Many more to come!!

Delicious Pumpkin Pie Cake

The only thing that could possibly make this NY better, is if it had a caramel sauce drizzled on top of it!!

This is my son-in-law's favorite cake. It's his mother's recipe, but since the family was with us for Thanksgiving, I decided to give it a try.

I was disappointed, to say the least! It was nothing like I remembered the one time I tried it.

A week later, I decided to give it one more shot for our church's Ladies Christmas Party. Wow!! Apparently, I did something wrong when I made it for Thanksgiving and something right when I made it for the Christmas party!! It didn't have time to refrigerate so it was warm and that made it so much better!!

This recipe is definitely a keeper!

Here's the recipe:

Pumpkin Pie Cake

1 white (or yellow) cake mix

1/2 c butter, melted

5 eggs, divided

4 tsp cinnamon, divided

14 oz pumpkin

2 tsp nutmeg, divided

13/4 c sugar, divided

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1 c heavy whipping cream

1/4 c butter, cool

Preheat oven to 350.

Measure out 1 cup of cake mix and set aside. Combine remaining cake mix and melted butter. Add 1 egg, 1 tsp of cinnamon and 1 tsp of nutmeg. Mix well and press into the bottom of a 10 inch form pan. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine pumpkin with whipping cream. Add remaining 4 eggs, 1 1/2 c sugar, 2 tsp cinnamon, and remaining 1 tsp of nutmeg. Add salt, ginger and cloves. Mix with whisk and pour over unbaked crust. Set aside.

Combine reserved cake mix with remaining tsp of cinnamon, 1/4 cup of sugar and 1/4 cup cool butter. Mix until crumbly and sprinkle over pumpkin filling.

Bake 90 minutes or until inserted knife comes out clean. Let cool 3 minutes. Remove from pan. Refrigerate. Serve with whipped cream.

Tip: baking cake on a lower rack in oven may help filling set better. Also, put foil in bottom of oven as cake pan might leak.

More Fall Leaf Cookies

More Fall Leaf Cookies!! Probably the last of the season.

My son actually decorated these. He and his wife have been living in Vanuatu for the last couple of years and he jumped at the chance to do some decorating. Before he got married, he was always helping me out when my schedule was cramped.

He does good, doesn't he?

I guess it helps to be somewhat an artist!

Unlike me. But they sure did taste good!!

Baseball Groom's Cake

Here's the groom's cake I decorated for my niece's wedding.

The groom, Brett Mooneyham, is a baseball player, a pitcher, actually. My sister found these cute figurines online and they were perfect!!

The cake was chocolate with chocolate buttercream frosting and green tinted buttercream for the grass. I used white fondant for the base lines.

Congrats, Brett & Ashley!!

Elegant Diamond Wedding Cake

Here's what I did while in California this week!!

Kind of.

It was actually a joint effort. Because my niece's wedding was two hours away from where she lives, my sister opted to go with a "fake" cake. Except for the bottom tier, which another of my nieces made and delivered.

My sister purchased 8", 10", 12" and 14" Styrofoam cake forms, which we then covered with Wilton fondant. When the bottom 16" arrived, I stacked the fake tiers on the real tier, added the ribbon and "diamonds" and that was it.

Simple elegance!!

Here's a sheet cake I put together, continuing the "diamond" theme.

Congratulations, Mr.& Mrs. Brett Mooneyham!! Love you both!

Scooby-Doo Cake

My now six year old granddaughter, Nicole, has long been a Scooby-Doo fan. So, naturally, I wanted to come up with the appropriate Scooby-Doo cake for her birthday.

Years back, when our kids were small, my husband would make cartoon cakes for their birthdays. I remember a Dennis the Menace and a Garfield cake. I think there were more, but I can't think of what they were.

Anyway, I thought it would be cute to do another cartoon cake. This is what we came up with.

Nicole loved it, by the way!

Happy 6th Birthday, Nicole!

My Favorite Time of the Year!

I don't do a lot of seasonal decorating, but I did pick these cute little pumpkins up on clearance at Hobby Lobby after Thanksgiving a couple years back. So I set them around every year and the grand kids think they're fun! There are four different sizes and I think I paid 10 cents each for the small ones and 30 and 40 cents each for the two larger sizes.

Oh, I always buy the candy corn too, but it doesn't last long as a decoration!!

I picked up this cute "Give Thanks" cup and plate at Cracker Barrel last weekend. Love it!! And a friend gave me this cute tiered server for letting her family stay at my home for a couple of nights last week while they were in the area. Wasn't that sweet?

This little girl hangs on my door most years during the fall. I picked her up several years back at Big Lots thinking my grand daughters would like her. When my next to oldest grand daughter (who is six now) was younger, she didn't like me to use it. She said it hurt the little girls arms to hang like that for so long!!

And fall wouldn't be complete without a good Pumpkin Spice candle making the house smell wonderful!!

I hope you're having a wonderful fall!!

Words To Live By!

I found this quote on a friend's Facebook page and thought it was worth posting here.

"If I live in a house of spotless beauty with everything in it's place, but have not love - I am a housekeeper, not a homemaker."

Chocolate Wasted Cake!!

I've been dying to try this cake ever since I saw this post over at Art of Dessert! So here's my version.

My nephew, who can never get a cake that is chocolaty enough, asked me to make his 20th birthday cake. I knew exactly which cake I was going to try!

I used Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa instead of regular cocoa. Wow!!

I did cut one cup of cocoa out of the frosting though, since I used the dark. I was afraid it was going to be a "Death By Chocolate" cake!

Here are a few of the cupcakes:

How would I rate this recipe?

It was a more dense cake that I prefer, but the people at the party who prefer a dense cake loved it! My husband was one of them.

I'd say Peyton enjoyed his too!! Check out those chocolate eyes!!

Happy Birthday, James!!