Last week, I was putting together a little gift box for my kids’ teacher for Valentine’s Day. I really wanted to include one of my new favourite things to make, cake pops, but I didn’t have any frozen cake or cupcakes on hand and really didn’t want to make a whole cake for one cake pop (because then I would have cake in the house – again!!) I had never made a mug cake before, but they seem to be quite popular and I thought why not make a mug cake and then turn it into a cake pop. As a newbie to mug cakes, I do not have a “go to” recipe, so I followed this recipe from the Instructables.
It turned out fine, but there was a bit of cake in the very bottom of the cup that seemed a bit hard and crusty (not sure why). Of course, this didn’t matter to me as the cake was tasty enough and I only required enough to make one cake ball. However, for future reference, I was able to make 4 cake pops from one mug cake.
I am not sure that I would have noticed this had I not been forming the cake into balls, but the cake did seem a bit oily to me. There was a comment on the original post that mentioned using only 2 teaspoons of oil and then substituting the balance with applesauce. I think I would play with this a bit in the future as well, unless someone has a great Mug Cake recipe to share?? I would love to have a “go to” recipe for mug cakes. I love that one mug cake could be used to make a small batch of cake pops or you could make two and break them up into 4 bowls and have dessert for the whole family. The kids would love warm chocolate cake and ice cream! I will continue to be on the lookout for that perfect recipe ~ share if you have it!!
Cake Pops:
break cake into small crumbs
add a spoonful of icing (not too much)
form into a dough like texture and roll in to balls
dip in melted chocolate
add sprinkles
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I think it might be a stretch to say that fondue is our family’s Valentine’s Day tradition, but we will often have fondue to celebrate the occasion. I must admit that for me having a fondue has never really been about trying a new recipe or experimenting with new dishes. More often than not, the food is simply prepared and the dips are often not even homemade. For us, having a family fondue is not about preparing a fabulous meal, but all about the process and more than anything an evening devoted to great conversation and quality family time. I love that we are all totally committed to the experience and no one is on their “device” or checking the scores in the hockey game. Everyone is totally engaged, communication barriers are stripped down, frustrations from the week gone and our spirits are fed with good (not great) food and a generous dose of family love and relationship building.
Traditionally, our family fondue evenings consist of:
Cheese and bread fondue
Potatoes (baked, roasted, stuffed or mashed)
Vegetables (sometimes I make a side dish and other times we will cook veggies in the fondue pot as well)
Meat (selection of pork, chicken, steak and shrimp)
Dips for the meat (and veggies, if applicable)
Chocolate fondue dessert
Again, I am not hung-up on the menu at all. It is really all about uninterrupted family time. Here is what we had for our 2014 Valentine’s Day fondue.
Family fondue night!
Potatoes Romanoff
Broken bread for the cheese fondue.
Marinated chicken.
Marinated beef and pork.
Valentine’s Day Fondue Menu:
1. Store bought Swiss Cheese Fondue with French Bread (No I am not kidding, I didn’t even make it from scratch. Sometimes I do, but not this time!)
2. Potatoes Romanoff ~ These potatoes are super easy to make and so yummy. I somewhat followed the recipe from About.com. I added a bit of minced garlic and butter to mine. I used extra old white cheddar and some Velveeta cheese I had leftover from another recipe. I thought it was a great way to use it up.
3. Salad – Just a basic “clean your fridge out” type salad. I tossed in whatever I had on hand and put out a choice of dressings.
4. Meat – I cut up the chicken, steak and beef into bit sized chunks. I generally don’t prepare it in any way, but I did decide to marinate the meat for a few hours before dinner. I think it really added to the flavour and tenderness of the meat. Both the pork/beef marinade and chicken marinade were super easy to make and contained ingredients I had on hand. I also wanted to make sure that the flavours weren’t so powerful that you couldn’t enjoy your favourite dips. These recipes worked out great and the flavours worked well with all of the dips I had out. We also had raw shrimp which required no preparation.
5. Dips – When preparing a fondue for company, the dips become a more important part of the meal. I found some great dip recipes on Multitasking Mom and will definitely give some a try in the future. However, my kids are not really that in to the dips and at this point it is really not worth the extra effort. I did make one homemade dip using a recipe I found on Martha Stewart. I chose her Horseradish-Mustard Sauce as I knew Tim and I would both enjoy it with our steak. It turned out well and the left over dip will be great served with the pot roast I am planning for later this week.
Horseradish-Mustard Sauce
This recipe makes about 1 1/2 cups, so I scaled the recipe down to about 1/3 and it filled my little dipping cup and we still have lots left over for the roast. Combine the following ingredients in a bowl and season with salt and pepper.
1 cup sour cream
6 Tablespoons horseradish
1 1/2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Other dips that we serve have included: Seafood Sauce, Warm Butter and Garlic, BBQ Sauce, Honey Dill Sauce, Honey Mustard Sauce, Teriyaki Sauce, Sweet Chili Sauce as well as many others. I generally do a combination of store bought and homemade, depending on whether we are entertaining or not.
6. Chocolate Fondue – Clearly this is the best part. The kids love chocolate fondue and will often request it at various times throughout the year. Eden often asks for it at her birthday parties. It is super easy to make and always a crowd pleaser. I have used the same Canadian Living Chocolate Fondue Recipe for years.
Chocolate Fondue:
1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Place the chocolate chips in your fondue pot/bowl. (I use a ceramic bowl that sits on top of a candle for my chocolate fondue). Heat the whipping cream until hot and steaming, but not yet boiling. (You can do this on your stove top or in the microwave. I use the microwave.) Pour the hot cream over the chocolate chips and let it sit for about 2 minutes. Stir until the chips are melted and the mixture is smooth. Stir in the vanilla. Set over low flame to maintain the smooth consistency.
Chocolate Fondue Dippers:
The possibilities are really endless, but here are a few of our favourites:
Fruit ~ strawberries, banana, pineapple and pears (kiwi, melon and apple are good as well)
Cookies ~ left over cookies are great to use. We have used left over shortbread, sugar cookies and last night we used Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies and they tasted awesome dipped in chocolate. If we don’t have any in the house, I have bought wafer cookies, lady fingers and/or shortbread in lieu of homemade.
Cake/Brownies ~ Pound cake and brownies both work well. Those little round brownies that can be purchased in the bakery section of the grocery store in brown bags are very good. With both cookies and cake, I cut them into smaller chunks. I have sometimes bought those tiny frozen cream puffs for dipping as well.
Marshmallows ~ Jumbo marshmallows cut in half are simple to prepare and tasty to dip.
Pretzels ~ I will sometime put pretzel sticks out as well. I love that salty/sweet combo.
Well, I must say that we had an incredible evening. I was a bit disappointed when the kids said they wanted to go to youth group, but it actually worked out perfectly. We enjoyed a lengthy early dinner and then Tim dropped them off at 7 pm. While they were gone, I cleaned up dinner and prepared the dessert fondue and had some time to relax as well. When they came home, they were excited to get back to the table and pick-up our conversations right where we left off.
Life is so crazy busy and I find that sticking to a regular family sit down meal time is not always easy with Tim’s shift work and the kid’s activities. Time is so sacred and it just seems to get away from us. On an evening like this, one of our favourite things to do is sit around the table and answer questions from our “Family Dinner Box of Questions“. This like a game, but there really isn’t a winner (at least not how we play). It is simply a box of cards with questions that are conversation starters. We all love this. Some of the questions are quick and don’t provoke much talk, but others seem to dig a little deeper and are the spring-board for great conversation. Last night, I even learned something new about my husband ~ never even knew that he always wanted to learn to play guitar. Go figure! It forces you to open up discussion on topics you might not have thought of discussing, helps you to learn more about how the members of your family think and feel about certain topics and is just a great way to connect. Our issue is more one of not being able to stop once we get started. The great thing is that you can do the same questions again on a different occasion and the answers might be totally different. This makes a great gift idea as well!
My mom passed away 15 years ago on February 13th. I can’t believe how fast the time has gone. I had kept a journal for a brief period around the time my mom passed away. I came across it the other day and read the entries on the days surrounding her passing. Last night, I shared a bit with my kids. One of the things that she said several times on her very last day with us was to “Never forget that it is the small things in life that count“. As we connected through of “box of questions” and conversation last night, her words of wisdom were so evident. The most memorable experiences weren’t of glitz and glamour, but of family road trips and camp fires. The thing my son would like most is not a new toy or device, but for my husband to get a job in which he doesn’t work the night shift, so he could be home at bedtime. Sometimes, we try so hard to give our kids the world, when all they really want is quality time! My mom was a wise woman and is still missed so much!
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Happy Valentine’s Day! The kids have a bake sale at school today and last night I finished up some Red Velvet Oreo Brownies for the sale. My passion for red velvet only began a year or so ago. I had tasted it occasionally before, but it didn’t become such an obsession until I tasted Piazza De Nardi’s Red Velvet Cake ~ Oh my goodness! Since then, I have tried out recipes now and again, but a Valentine’s Day bake sale seemed like the perfect opportunity to try out a few more red velvet recipes. Earlier in the week, I made Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies. They are absolutely delicious and the recipe is a definite keeper.
Well, these Red Velvet Oreo Brownies are incredibly good as well and the three layers make them look so pretty! I found the recipe on Sally’s Baking Addiction, so all of the credit goes to her. She mentions at the end of her post, that she adapted the Red velvet layer from Sunny Anderson at the Food Network.
Red Velvet Oreo Brownies:
Ingredients:
BROWNIES
2 large eggs
1/2 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon red food colouring
3/4 teaspoon white vinegar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
COOKIES ‘N CREAM FROSTING
(I adapted this slightly as I thought it would be criminal not to include a bit of cream cheese.)
1/4 cup butter (at room temperature)
1/4 cup cream cheese, softened
1 and 3/4 cups icing sugar
2-3 Tablespoons whipping cream
6 Oreos, crushed (plus 3 extra to break on top of ganache)
2 Tablespoons butter, softened to room temperature
Directions:
Set out the butter to soften.
Preheat the oven to 350. Foil line an 8×8 baking pan with extra foil extending over the sides, so that you can easily lift the cook brownies out of the pan after. Set aside or freeze and complete the last two layers closer to the day you need the brownies.
Brownies:
Beat the eggs in a small bowl. Set aside. Melt the butter in a large microwave safe bowl. Add each of the following ingredients one at a time in the suggested order, stirring between each addition: sugar, vanilla, cocoa powder, salt, food colouring, and vinegar. Whisk in the eggs, then fold in the flour until completely incorporated, but do not over mix. Pour the brownie batter into prepared baking pan. Bake the brownies for 22-24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out mostly clean, with a few small moist crumbs. Allow the brownies to cool at room temperature for 30 minutes, then transfer to the refrigerator to cool completely.
Oreo Frosting:
Whip the butter and cream cheese together with an electric mixer, until creamy. Add the icing sugar and 2 Tbsp cream, beating on medium until creamy. I found that 2 Tbsp of cream was enough, but if needed you can add 1 more Tbsp cream. You don’t want the frosting to be too thin, so be careful not to add to much cream ~ keep the icing thick, but spreadable. Fold in the crushed Oreos. Lift the cooled brownies out of the pan, remove the foil and spread them with the frosting. Stick them into the refrigerator as your prepare the ganache. You want the frosting to slightly chill on the brownies.
Ganache:
Break the chocolate into small pieces and place in a small bowl. Heat the heavy cream until boiling, either in the microwave or on the stove top. (I microwaved mine.) Pour boiling cream over the chocolate and stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Cut in the butter, one small piece at a time, and stir until smooth. Spread over frosted brownies. Add the additional crushed Oreos to the top and then chill for at least 30 minutes before cutting.
Cut the brownies into squares and then cover them tightly in a sealed container. They can keep chilled in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
If you double this recipe, use a 9×13 baking pan and bake for 35-45 minutes at 350.
These turned out really good. I was sad to package them up to send to the bake sale. I am sure the original frosting recipe would be very good as well, but I love the cream cheese flavour with red velvet. These are a must try!
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As soon as I saw these posted on Gonna Want Seconds, I knew I was going to want to give these cookies a try. I have always loved the simple look of crinkle cookies sprinkled with icing sugar and the contrast between the dark cookie and white sugar makes them look so pretty without much effort. With Valentine’s Day around the corner, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to try a new recipe or two.
I have never made these before, so I stuck to the recipe and was thrilled with the outcome. I wouldn’t change a thing, but did make my cookie balls smaller than suggested and thus my yield was higher. Thanks to Kathleen, we now how a red velvet recipe to add to our cache of favourite cookie recipes.
Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies
This recipe makes 2 to 4 dozen. Kathleen suggests using a 1 1/ Tablespoon cookie scoop and I don’t have one. I am not sure how big of a ball that makes, but with her suggested ball size the yield is 2 dozen cookies. I made my balls about 1″ in size and ended up with 55 cookies. Now, generally speaking I am not very good at determining the yield of a recipe because it is hard to account for the multiple cookies I ate while still in “dough” form. I generally eat very few cookies once their cooked, I am really more interested in the dough. Having said that, I know that this recipe would have made exactly 56 cookies had I not eaten one single solitary raw cookie ball. In fact, I was a little leery as too how these babies were going to turn out as I did not like the dough at all. However, I carried on and cooked them up and to my surprise they were delicious. I have not done much “red velvet” baking and so I don’t really have much experience with how the batter/dough should taste, but less this be a lesson to us all ~ “You can’t always judge a cookie by its dough!”
2 1/4 cups flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt (I omitted this because I used salted butter)
1/2 cup softened unsalted butter
2 ounces cream cheese (1/4 cup)
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons red food colouring
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup powdered sugar (icing sugar)
Instructions:
1. Place flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl. Use a whisk to combine the dry ingredients and then set this mixture aside.
2. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer. Add the sugar and mix for an additional 1 to 2 minutes. Add the eggs, red food colouring and vanilla. Mix well. Finally, slowly add the dry ingredients and mix to combine using a spatula. Refrigerate the mixed cookie dough for 4 hours in plastic wrap or a sealed container.
3.Heat oven to 350°F. Roll the chilled dough into 1″ balls and then roll each ball in powdered sugar until it’s completely covered. Bake on a parchment paper covered cookie sheet for about 9 to 10 minutes. Carefully pull the parchment paper from baking sheet and transfer the paper and cookies onto wire cooling racks. Allow the cookies to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
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I was in charge of snack for Girl Guides on Monday night. I was going to send fruit skewers and Girl Guide cookies that we had left over from our fall sales. We only have two boxes left, but thought it would be nice to finally get them out of the house.
After work, I headed to the store to pick-up fresh fruit, but quickly realized that I was not feeling “up to” preparing the skewers. Like most Manitobans, I am suffering from a debilitating case of “I HATE WINTER” and did not feel like cutting fruit and preparing skewers for 14. Instead, I opted for something much simpler ~ 2 boxes of yogurt tubes. I made by purchases and continued my drive home. Enroute, I was feeling a bit guilty about my lame snack and had a brain wave. I thought of a super simple way to kick the Girl Guide cookies up a notch and make them a little more Valentine…ish. Now, this is not about flavour because the cookies are already very good for boxed cookies, it was more about not feeling like a complete loser by bringing yogurt tubes and leftover Girl Guide cookies for snack.
Girl Guide Cookie Upcycle:
I happened to have everything on hand and didn’t have to make any icing, so these literally took 10 minutes to whip up.
Ingredients:
one box of Girl Guide cookies (mint flavoured)
butter icing (I am guessing a generous 1/2 cup)
chocolate (I had a few red wafers on hand for Valentine’s Day and I think I melted 5 of them in the microwave.)
sprinkles
Method:
Break 3 cookies into small crumb-like pieces (I used my food chopper).
Ice the remaining cookies (I actually had left over icing in my fridge, so this was quick – otherwise, just make a very small batch of butter icing)
Sprinkle the broken cookie crumbs on top of the iced cookies.
Drizzle melted chocolate on top.
Add sprinkles.
I had left over candy corn and added one to each cookie as well.
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You might remember my October post on making Yummy Halloween Candy Corn Cookie Bark. This is a super easy holiday treat and now with the candy industry making candy corn in various colours specific to the holiday season, you can change-up the candy corn to fit with any theme. I can’t promise all of these colours will be available in your local area, but Bulk Barn usually carries a bit of a selection for specific holidays.
It seems like we have a busy week ahead of us. I am in charge of the snack at Eden’s Girl Guides on Monday, a school bake sale on Friday and a possible class party that we will need to send goodies for. I am not 100% sure how many things I will need for all of the events this week, but I decided to spend a few hours baking on Sunday afternoon, so that I would be somewhat prepared.
CANDY CORN OREO COOKIE BARK
Here is a standard recipe, just change up the candy corn colour to make it fit with the colours of the season! Please visit Leigh Anne’s site for her detailed tutorial. Great job Leigh Anne!
INGREDIENTS:
14 whole Oreos, broken up
1 1/2 C pretzels, broken into pieces. I used the small stick pretzels
1 lb. white chocolate melting discs (I used about 1 1/2 pounds for mine and really find that the extra chocolate is needed.)
1 C candy corn (colour of your choice)
sprinkles, edible sequins or coloured sugar in the colours of your choice (Bulk Barn has a great selection.)
coloured chocolate wafers (sometimes I will melt a few coordinating coloured wafers to drizzle over the top as well)
INSTRUCTIONS:
Cover a large cookie sheet with wax paper
Mix the broken cookies, pretzels and about 3/4 C of the candy corn in a bowl
Spread the candy mixture onto the waxed paper
Place white chocolate in a container and microwave for 1 1/2 minutes
Stir and then microwave for another 30 seconds until melted and smooth
White chocolate melts faster and burns easier than chocolate
Drizzle the melted chocolate over the cookie mixture, spreading with spatula to coat evenly
Sprinkle remaining candy corn and coloured sprinkles over the chocolate quickly before it sets
Place the cookie tray in the refrigerator until set and firm
Remove and gently break bark into small pieces
Store in air tight container or place in cellophane bags if you wish to share!
Once the chocolate has set, break the slab into smaller pieces for serving.
Yummy Homemade Candy Corn Oreo Cookie Bark
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My mom was not Ukrainian, but when she married my dad, she learned how to make many of the traditional Ukrainian dishes. Over the years, she perfected her borscht and her borscht recipe is not only delicious, but brings back great memories of when she was still with us.
My Mom’s Borscht Recipe:
Ingredients:
ham soup bone (pork or beef bone will work as well)
1/2 head of cabbage (You can use drained sauerkraut in lieu of cabbage, but I never do)
2-3 cups chopped onion
2 large grated carrots
1 diced potato
1 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes (largest size)
1 can of white beans (or soaked dry beans)
3-5 cups of diced beets (I probably use close to 5 cups in mine)
2-3 bay leaves
fresh parsley (dry is fine)
2 cloves minced garlic
fresh dill (I don’t measure, but I am guessing a few tablespoons at least)
pepper and salt
1 cup of sour cream (plus extra for serving)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Method:
Make a very simple homemade stock by filling a large pot with water and the soup bones. You can add bay leaves and salt and pepper to the stock if you wish, but I generally just boil the bones and add the extra flavours to the borscht. Bring to a boil and continue to simmer or cook on low so that the stock is just at the boiling point. I usually leave mine on the stove for several hours and usually do this the day before. Remove the bones and reserve the broth for the soup.
Sauté onion, grated carrot, cabbage and garlic in a large pot with a bit of butter or olive oil. Add potato and bay leaves. Fill the pot to about 2/3 with your homemade stock. Add 1/4 teaspoon of salt (or more, to taste). Simmer 1 hour.
Meanwhile, place whole beets in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Boil for approximately 45 minutes or until a fork can be stuck into the beet easily (like testing a potato). Remove the beets from heat and transfer the pot to the sink. Run cold water over the beets and as soon as they are cool enough to handle, rub the skin off of the outside. The outer layer will remove very easily and there is no need to peel them, but it can get a bit messy. I don’t usually wear latex gloves, but you could. Just be careful because the beet juice can stain your clothes and hands. Once you’ve “peeled” the beets with your hands, you will need to dice them. I used to do this by hand, but now I use a little manual food processor/chopper. Whatever works for you.
Add the tomatoes, parsley, beans and dill to the soup.
Mix one cup of sour cream and 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda together in a measuring cup – stir the ingredients together. Now this is the hard part, add the prepared beets and sour cream mixture to the soup 10 MINUTES BEFORE SERVING. This means, that you don’t get much opportunity to taste test the finished soup, as the last ingredients are added right at the end. Resist the temptation to throw everything in at the same time, you really want to wait until the end before adding the beets.
Serve the borscht with a dollop of sour cream on top.
Warning: Once the soup has been made, you don’t ever want to bring it to a crazy hot boil again as it will totally take the colour out of your soup and look disgusting. When re-heating, do so carefully.
This seems like a lot of work, but not if you have a food processor to do the chopping for you. I always use to do everything by hand and found it to be quite a bit of work, but now it is pretty simple to make as it is the cutting that seems to take so long. This recipe makes a large batch of soup and freezes well, so I often freeze half the borscht and we enjoy it twice! I hope you love this borscht as much as we have. I am so glad that I not only got my mom’s recipe, but that she “walked” me through the steps of making it before she passed away. What a special gift ~ enjoy!
I need to make a confession. While others rave about Starbucks and the quality coffee they serve, you won’t find me going through the Starbuck’s drive-thru unless I have a craving for one of their Cake Pops. As previously mentioned, I am somewhat of an icing “connoisseur”. I love icing and the more the better. I actually can’t believe it took so long for someone to come up with the idea of combining the icing and cake. A cake pop is literally win-win, everyone gets the equivalent of a “corner piece”. If made correctly, the cake pop is super moist and absolutely delicious, without an offensive amount of icing. I have wanted to try making cake pops for a long time, but two things held me back:
Failure: I heard so many horror stories about how hard they were to make and how long it took to make a batch. I didn’t want to go to all the trouble only to have them fall apart and be a major fail. (Especially if I was making them for a special occasion).
Success: What if I make them and they turn out so well that I want to make them all the time? It is easy to resist what doesn’t exist. I rarely eat cake pops simply because they aren’t all that accessible. If I can make them successfully, I may be doomed!
I decided to give them a whirl for my daughter’s birthday party. My thinking was this. She was only having 4 girls over, so I only needed to make about one dozen cupcakes for the party. The recipe I made was large enough for 24 cupcakes. I basically made the entire batch into cupcakes and then made frosted only enough cupcakes for each of the 5 girls plus Tim, Shay and myself and few extras. I knew that 8 cake pops would be manageable and if they failed, it wouldn’t matter as they were just going to be added to the loot bags. I basically used the additional cupcakes to make the cake pops needed, so it wasn’t an overwhelming number for my first attempt.
How to Make Cake Pops:
I found a really great tutorial that was very helpful. Check out Divas Can Cook for the full tutorial.
My Experience:
I used 7 cupcakes to make 8 cake pops, I would never have guessed that the amount of cake in a pop was close to equivalent to that of a cupcake.
Crumble the cake with your hands, so that all of the larger lumps are out. You want fine crumbs.
Use only a small amount of icing. I didn’t actually measure, but I am guessing I used no more than 2 to 3 Tablespoons of icing for all 8 cake pops.
Form balls that are uniform in size.
Dip the “stick” in melted chocolate and stick about half way in. Set the pop upside down on a plate with the stick in the air. Freeze for about 20 minutes (or longer).
Dip the entire ball in melted chocolate. (I melted mine in my microwave.) You want to make sure that the container is deep and narrow so that the chocolate is deep enough to submerge the pop in.
Remove the pop and gently turn the ball to avoid it from dripping all over. Basically, try to “catch” the dripping chocolate at the base of the ball.
You can add sprinkles to the top or actually roll the ball in them.
Stick into a styrofoam base that you have prepared ahead of time.
Summary:
I was literally able to make all 8 in about 20 minutes (plus the freezing time). They were super easy to make and I didn’t have any “do-overs”. They all worked fine on the first try. The chocolate outer shell held up well and they didn’t crack at all. The flavour was great and I’m certain I’ll be making these again!
Red Velvet cake broken into fine crumbs.
Rolled cake pop balls.
Dip the sticks in chocolate and then push them half way into the ball. Freeze.
Finished cake pops. I used white chocolate and white sprinkles.
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Well, my little girl is now 12 and has officially reached babysitting age….I can hardly believe it! The birthday celebrations are behind us, but I thought I would share some photos to show you how the theme all came together for the party. Click on the links below to visit the original post for each of the theme elements:
and pulling until all the layers are pulled apart and you have a nice full pom pom.
These oversized paper flowers were made out of white tissue to create a snowflake…ish look.
We added a few white balloons to our fig tree to look like snowballs.
Completed 3D snowflake.
3D snowflakes
I picked up this twig snowflake garland in the after Christmas clearance. I got it for $6 regular $60 and it became the inspiration for the whole theme.
The snowflakes on the banner were printed with old paper towel tubes.
Finished snowflakes with a few clear sugar sprinkles and a silver candy ball in the center of each.
Snowflake Cupcakes
Finished cake pops. I used white chocolate and white sprinkles.
I tried to wrap her gifts in paper that tied into our colour theme.
Decide on your focal point. In this case, I wanted the message to be the highlight of the card.
Homemade loot bags.
Hot chocolate, mini marshmallows, Lindor chocolates and little cellophane bags. These were included in the loot bags.
I did end up making cake pops and I have to say I was quite surprised how easy they were to make. I have heard lots of people say how much work they are. To be honest, I found them much easier than many of the cakes, cupcakes and cookies I have decorated. Watch for the upcoming post on how to make Cake Pops.
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Eden had a sleepover birthday party last night and the girls will soon be up and ready for breakfast. Traditionally, I always make homemade waffles for her parties, as waffles are one of her favourites. This year, I thought I would try something different. There are several versions of these on-line, none of which I have ever made. I opted for this recipe and hope they are a hit with the girls ~ especially the birthday girl!
Birthday Cake Pancakes:
This recipe was borrowed from Seeded at the Table, but I do believe Nikki adapted this recipe from My Life As a Mrs. For the complete recipes and suggestions, please follow the links.
I have never made these before, so I decided to stick to the recipe. My last attempt at trying a new pancake recipe didn’t go that well. I make pancakes for the kids regularly and seldom have issues flipping them or having them stay together, but those Cinnamon Swirl pancakes weren’t my best work. They tasted great, but were a horrible mess to serve. Hopefully, these will go off without a hitch.
Here’s Nikki’s Birthday Cake Pancake Recipe:
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup yellow cake mix
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup milk
2 Tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup sprinkles
For the icing (optional):
Whipping cream
Powdered sugar
Heat a griddle or non-stick skillet over medium heat. Combine the dry ingredients and set aside.
In a separate medium bowl, lightly beat the eggs with a whisk. Add the milks, butter and vanilla and whisk to combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir until fully mixed. Fold in the sprinkles.
Scoop just shy of 1/3 cup batter onto the griddle for each pancake, leaving room for the batter to spread into larger rounds. When the pancakes begin to bubble, flip and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Transfer to a plate and cover with a kitchen towel to keep warm until serving. Serve with syrup or optional icing.
Optional Icing:
Mix together powdered sugar and whipping cream to reach desired consistency and taste. Pour over top individual stack of pancakes.
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