cupcake decorating 101

These sugary little rose topped cupcakes are super easy to make... I'll show you how:
Here's what you need: mini cupcakes (I made red velvet and topped them with cream cheese frosting.. yummm)

gummy cinnamon hearts and green tootsie rolls

It takes 2 hearts to make one rose.

using a rolling pin flatten the gummy hearts out as thin as you can (you can use a bit of sugar on the surface you are rolling the candy so it doesn't stick)

once you've flattened out the candy, slice it in half...

now begin to roll the candy from the largest side to the smaller side with the sugary side facing inward.

keep adding strips around the outer edge until you have formed a full rose

*don't roll too tightly, keep pinching the bottom to make the petals spread out.

using the same rolling out method for the leaves, form the green tootsie roll into small leaves, create a vein in the leaf using the back side or dull side of your knife in the center of a leaf shape (free hand or use small cookie cutter)

You can pipe the frosting on the cupcakes as shown or just spread evenly with a knife or spatula.

place rose and 2 leaves on each mini cupcake. (It would be cute to put each mini cupcake with rose in a mini clay flower pot and use them as a place setting on a table for valentines day, mother's day, easter....)

Let me know if you give it a try... I would love to know who's "stealing" my ideas!

*you know I stole the idea right?*

Happy Valentine's Day!

"manly valentine"

What guy doesn't like gummy fish? Maybe (after disassembeling all the "girly" ribbon) he'll take it to work?

I found the fish on microsoft clip art and the font is called "for the hundredth time" (free font I found on google) I stamped with love and need to sign it....
I had the jar, but you can find them at the dollar store. filled it with $5 worth of sweedish fish. I have an ice fishing "jig" that I'm going to attach to the card somehow that he can re-use. I wrapped it with mesh gardening fabric and a recycled peice of ribbon.

perfect manly valentine for my man!
feel free to copy.
or call me, I'll make you one!
:)

Weekend Trip to Hardware Ranch

Here's the crew... bundled up and ready for fun.
That smile is cute enough for a christmas card don't you think?

have you ever seen a more perfect snowflake? I don't know if I have...

Billy and Vicky

Hardware Ranch is a place where elk come every winter. The volunteers there feed them and take horse drawn sleds up right in the herds of elk to get a close up view of these animals. We live close enough to take advantage of seeing this cool sight, so this is our 2nd time, but still just as amazing as the first.

It was even more fun this time to have Mom, Dad and Missy here with us.

valentine cupcake ideas

these darling little things are made with fruit roll-ups. found them on family fun. I'm teaching them to the young women next week.

thought they would be yummy on red velvet.

might even have time to show them how to do molten chocolate cupcakes...
don't you wish you were a young women on the 8th...

can't wait.

German Chocolate Inside Out Cake

So, every year on the 27th of January I bake a cake... and every year I try some version of German Chocolate in the hopes that one year it will be the BEST!

This year I'm trying the inside out version... as you can see we have yet to taste it..
and if you know me at all my patience for waiting to taste chocolate cake makes me borderline hostile... JUST KIDDING!
Here's what's in it:
1 box german chocolate cake mix (added a little buttermilk in substitution for some of the water)
*prepare as package suggests and pour 3/4 batter into a well greased bundt pan.
FILLING:
1 pkg cream cheese
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 c. chopped almonds
*spoon filling into the center of batter and top with the last of the chocolate batter. Bake 350 for approximately 40 minutes

Drizzle top with carmel sauce...
if you want to make the homemade version go to my recipes page and find the recipe for carmel (the same stuff I used on the apples.)

I've used this filling in cupcakes before only no nuts and coconut but mini chocolate chips. It's delish... can't wait to see how this turned out... I'll let you know... or bake one up for yourself and see.

p.s. DO NOT EVEN TRY TO ADD UP THE CALORIES or I'll smack ya ;)

THE BLOG BUZZZZZ

Did anyone see Studio 5 today... you would have heard the blogger buzz about a woman named Emily Matchar a writer from Chapel Hill, NC who is a self proclaimed feminst athiest woman who is obssesed with reading "mormon housewife blogs."

Here's a link to the article, it's pretty interesting. I guess I don't really take have reason to be offended by it, it's quite uplifting and positive (surprisingly.) Thanks to my mom calling this to my attention. It is food for thought.

speaking of food....

I'm in love with cupcakes as you know and will be teaching a class on them Feb. 8th @ my ward's young womens... thought these free printable downloads were cute, just wanted to share.

thanks Martha

Time to fix some "stuff"

I guess because it's a new year I feel the need to make some improvements on ME.

Here's a couple of things I'm doing...

this is an online tool I stumbled upon that I'm giving a try. Here's why I like it...

• it has a calorie tracker... you put in what you've eaten in a day and it tallies up your calories. You set limits and you track them.
• It has charts for weight loss
• it has search querries for all the questions you might have along the way.... (like my thyroid issues... I'm doing a little research and getting more "in the know")
• it's as easy as blogging...

Heaven knows relationships are always in need of feeding!

click on both and see more.