Dinosaur Dig Cake

Jayme loves dinosaurs. So for her 23rd birthday I made her a S'mores cake but it morphed into a dinosaur dig theme cake when I went to put it together. I made the dinosaur bones from a silicone ice cube mold that I have and some gum paste. SO easy! Then I ground up some vanilla wafers and a chocolate graham cracker (in my Ninja) for the dirt. I had a new little Matchbox bulldozer so I added that. Then I put Hershey's Cookies and Cream candies, Raisenettes and some chocolate sprinkles for the rocks. I made a gumpaste sign and decided that since she is 23 the dig would be "AREA 23", added some little fencing from a little farm set and it was done. It was a fun and super easy cake to decorate! She loved it!

Cookies used as cake decorations

Celebrating Nikki's 29th birthday. She loves "PEEPS" candy. So I made pink PEEPS bunny cookies and a 29 to decorate a little 6" layer cake. The cake is pound cake with peanut butter filling and dark chocolate ganache over the top. I had pre-made the green dots and leaves so I added them and then just added the pink accents. 

I also cut out a bunch of little cookies and iced them pink then sprinkled with multi colored nonpareils. Wanted them to look like the little frosted animal cookies my girls used to love. 

Only they taste better. 

Happy Easter

I used a small egg cookie cutter and a small flower cutter to make these cookie place cards. 

After they were dry I wrote the names on them and attached them to the flower with piped leaves. I set them by a small cake stand to keep the eggs upright while they dried. 

After they were dry I decided the backs needed color so I did them. In the future I would do the backs first! 

Since I had a bunch of orange and green from something else I decided to make a few Easter carrots. 

Then after looking at them decided they needed more leaves, eyelids and noses.

Have a wonderful Easter! 

Spatty!

Can I just say how excited I was to find these at Bed, Bath And Beyond!!? 

I wish I would have saved the package so I could show you!

They are called Spatty and Spatty Daddy. They fit perfectly in my bottles I use for decorating cookies. I can not tell you how much icing I have wasted because I can't stir it in the bottle or get it all out when I'm done!  These are made by Rigdon Creative Solutions. $9.99 for a pack of 2 and worth every penny!

Maple Bacon Donuts

Made these today! Yum!

I used this donut recipe I have had forever and which I have adjusted to my taste.

Raised Donuts

1/2 cup warm water (100-100 degrees)

2 pkgs. yeast - sprinkle over warm water in a larger bowl and add 1 tsp. Sugar to help it bloom. Let sit 5 minutes.

3/4 cups milk ( scalded and cooled to warm) (I had skim and it worked just fine. Once I tried almond milk and it just wasn't that good)

1/3 cup butter melted in the milk

 (recipe called for shortening I prefer butter. You could use coconut oil)

1/4 cup sugar - stir into milk/butter mixture off the heat while it's cooling.

1 tsp. Salt - stir into milk butter mixture with sugar.

2 eggs - stir into yeast water mixture  add 1 cup flour and stir until smooth. 

Add milk mixture, when it is just warm not hot, alternately with remaining 3 cups of flour. 

When the flour and milk mixture is all mixed in, flour the work surface a little and knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic. Try not to add too much more flour to it. Spray the bowl with oil spray, put the dough back in. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to rise until double. When risen, roll out on a floured surface to 1/2 inch thickness, cut out and put on a floured kitchen tea towel to rise for 30 - 40 minutes. Cover with another kitchen tea towel. 

While the donuts are rising, Chop up and fry 4 - 6 slices of bacon. Reserve some grease for glaze. Drain well and chop even smaller. Set aside.

Heat your oil to 350 - 360, place the risen donut into the oil let it brown just lightly one that side. Flip it over to golden brown. Flip it back to finish the first side to golden. Remove to plate with paper towels on it. 

While the donuts were still warm I piped this glaze onto them.

Maple Bacon Glaze

1 Tbsp. Melted bacon grease

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

1/2 tsp. Maple flavoring

1 cup (about) powdered sugar more if you need it thicker.

Combine to make a slightly thick glaze, put in a bag to pipe onto the warm donuts and while it is warm and melty add bits of crumbled, cooked bacon.

Enjoy!

Easter Egg Sugar Cookies

Decided to do some Easter egg cookies for the bake sale also. 

Wish I would have done more with dots. 

Here they are all done.

Final Four and 30 years old

Jill turned 30 on Tuesday. On Saturday I am attending her party. I decided to take cookies. The theme is basketball because the Final Four games are on. So I came up with these. 

A 3 and a circle.

Used the circle to cut some of the three off. Used it and my offset spatula to mark the lines on the ball/zero.

Did the black piping and let it dry.

Filled in the orange and let that dry awhile.

Frosted the 3 white and when that was dry I piped on a black line and sprinkled it with black sanding sugar.

Also made just basketballs and some glasses of beer.