Bacon Cookies Enter my Baby Pool Contest for a chance to win up to $100 (3 winners!). Click here now. I love decorating cookies (obviously). Ingredients: Your favorite sugar cookies recipe (for cutout cookies)Various food coloring (I used Wilton’s golden yellow, Americolor pink, Americolor chocolate brown, Americolor super red – I think that is it!) 1. I didn’t get a picture of the dowels themselves, but you’ll see what I mean in a minute. 2. Dye the smaller dough ball a dark red/pink/brown (I used red, pink, and brown coloring – imagine that?). I wanted to make these cookies slice and bake, like the original tutorial, so once your dough is nice and cold, start building your block of dough. 3. As you can see, this is not rocket science! Then, I started adding in some of the beige dough and the pink dough in the random grooves: It is harder to see the cross-section view since some of my dough hangs over, but you get the idea. Don’t worry about the top being even. 4. Success! 5. 6. Close enough!
Glass Etching Have you ever done any glass etching? Well, neither had I before today. But wow. Check out my new and improved etched Trifle Bowl. The perfect bowl for desserts of all kinds…..and even a great place for fresh fruit on the counter. Glass etching is also a great way to stamp your name on your pyrex dishes, to make sure they come back to you. And how about adding a little extra detail, just because…… (Edited to Add: The font used here is called Smiley Monster and I downloaded the font for free here.) Sweet in every way. Are you wanting to make your own? (This technique permanently etches your glass. First, you’ll need a piece of vinyl with an adhesive back, like the vinyl you buy for vinyl wall decor. Then peel away the shapes, leaving the negative space all in one piece. The Silhouette code for the bird/branch is: bird_on_branch_C00044_23067 01/18/2010 Then peel the vinyl backing away. Then place your vinyl against your glass, making sure to center the image just where you’d like it. Good luck!
Baklava My style of baklava is nut-heavy, as you can see. I like it that way, though it does produce a baklava that isn’t easy to eat according to formal Turkish baklava etiquette. If you’re a stickler for formality, cut down the nuts. The result will be pieces of baklava that are easier to spear with a fork and pop into your mouth. Start with the nuts. I use an equal mix of walnuts, almonds, pistachios and pine nuts. Pulse them in your food processor until they’re finely chopped by not ground down to a paste. Add your brown sugar and spices… …and stir. ..and trim them down to size using a ruler. Since filo will get brittle with only a few minutes’ exposure to the air, you’ll want to cover it with a kitchen towel… …spritzed lightly with water. Now for the fun part. Apply butter to the bottom of your pan. Drop in a filo layer and butter it liberally. Spread on half your nut mixture… …and pat it down gently. Now start layering on more buttered sheets of filo. …then the remaining half of your nuts…
DIY Solar Lamp: Make Your Own Eco-Friendly Sun Jars The principle is simple and seductively clever: solar lights that store energy during the day and release light at night. These can be purchased ready-made in a variety of colors (yellow, blue and red) but they can also be built at home. A simple, less-technical approach involves buying a conventional solar-powered yard lamp and then essentially harvesting it for key pieces to put in a jar. This is simply a way of taking an existing solar lamp design and appropriating its parts to make something more attractive for display around a house or home. A more electronically-savvy individual can take the more complex route and built a solar lamp from the ground up using small solar panels – though the aesthetic result may not be as impressive. Whatever route you choose to go, these are fun and sustainable gadgets that make it easy to go green, automate the process of turning on lights at night and can add some color to your porch, patio, garden or windowsill.
No-Bake Chewy Cookies and Cream Bars Oh how I love a treat that can be whipped up in about 15 minutes. My boys and their buddies couldn’t get enough of these Chewy Oreo Bars we had as an after school snack this week. Sometimes my spontaneous recipe creations turn out to be the most fun, lol! Yes you use an entire package of Oreo Cookies, but what you get in return is a marshmallow-y Oreo treat that is worth every bite Surprise the kids (and yourself) with this one, they’ll be all smiles, Enjoy! 3 whole ingredients. Break out your Cookies! Place them all in the food processor or blender and mix until ground. Like so. Melt the butter and marshmallows into a large bowl until puffed. You’ll get a little something like this Working quickly, pour in your ground cookies. Mix, mix and mix You’ll get a gooey mess….that’s delish! Transfer to an 8×8 inch baking pan and let set for about 10 minutes. Cut into squares and indulge No-Bake Chewy Cookies and Cream Bars One 16 oz package of Oreo 5 cups Large Marshmallows 4 tablespoons butter 1.
Inspired Entertaining: DIY Chalkboard Wine Glasses Last month I got an email from one of those "deal of the day" websites featuring a very cute set of wine glasses with chalkboard stems from a company called Chalkboard China. I've seen chalkboard glasses before, and always thought them to be a fun and chic way for guests to keep track of their glass throughout the night so you don't end up with mixed-up glasses or dozens of half-full glasses left around the house. But all the ones I've seen in stores feature a strip of chalkboard paint across the bowl of the glass, which I've always felt looks awkward and takes away from the beauty of the wine or beverage in the glass. What I like about this version is that the writing part is at the bottom on the stem and foot of the glass, so it doesn't compete with the beverage. I also like that the simple black foot on the glass is in itself an elegant design element, and would work just as well with no writing on it. So I figured, "I can totally make that myself!" Materials 1. 2. 3. Method Step 1.
S'mores Cookies These cookies are every bit as delicious as they look. You may have noticed that I have been in a s'mores kick lately. First with the cookie dough pops, then with these cookies. S'mores Cookiesadapted from Make and Bake 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour1 cup graham cracker crumbs 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 1 dash of cinnamon 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened 3/4 cup sugar 3/4 cup brown sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 eggs 2 cups miniature chocolate chips1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows2 Hershey bars, choppedPreheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl combine the flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking soda, salt, and dash of cinnamon. Makes approximately 4 dozen cookies. Rainy Daze Activity Sticks While on Pinterest the other day, I ran across some super cute color-coded chore sticks from Embellish. Loved the idea, but my daughter is only three and can’t help out too much around the house. So, I decided to alter the idea a bit and help cure boredom! Here’s my Rainy Daze activity sticks! So here’s the step by step instructions… First I gathered all of my supplies: White tin jarScrapbook paperWooden craft sticksSpray adhesiveElmer’s glueEmbellishments (I used Puffies)Hot glue gunRibbonAlphabet stickersPrint out of 30+ activities First thing I did was spray 10 wooden craft sticks to three different colors of paper (30 sticks total) using spray adhesive. While that was drying I started work on the tin jar. Then I used some scrap paper and the alphabet stickers to label my jar with “Rainy Daze” and added a little embellishment with a Puffie. Now it’s time to finish the activity sticks that were set aside for drying. Here are all of the completed activity sticks! Pretty cute, huh?
Banana Split Bites Banana Split Bites ~ A classic ice cream dessert gets mini for some bite size fun. And yes, there is actually a tiny scoop of ice cream tucked inside and underneath the whip cream of those little darlings. Banana Split Mini Bites For once I made something mini for portion control and not just for the cute factor. Keeping all things in mind what I served is what you see here. Here’s what wasn’t a hit and what I learned. Impromptu play dates with four kid’s ages 3-5 year olds after a full work day –not a good idea.Know in advance what other kids will and won’t eat. Luckily, dessert made all things right. No recipe just a few notes: Use firm bananas and cut into 1 inch sections. Leave a Comment
Plastic Bottle Apple For The Teacher This morning I sent my kids off to school with these cute plastic bottle apples for the teacher, together with a wish for a happy new year, written by each child. I filled the bottom of the bottle with a circle of round tissue paper, and left the top portion empty to view the red colored treats. For complete instructions, see my tutorial here. This is a simple project that's great as a teacher appreciation gift any time! Guest Post–Key Lime Swirl Cheesecake Bars Today’s post is from Heather of the sweet blog Sprinkle Bakes. Heather’s blog is one of those that I find myself immediately clicking on the second I see that she has a new post up. Her recipes are mad creative, and her photos…are stunning. I am DYING to go to her house. I imagine it would be a combination of Willy Wonka and Fancy Nancy, and I have no doubt that the whole day would be totally enchanting. And I really love the word enchanting. When Kristan asked me to guest post here, I was thrilled! Then almost immediately after, I was worried that you all might be disappointed that I’m not as funny or witty as she is…. then I thought I’d distract you with these yummy Key Lime Swirl Cheesecake Bars, and maybe you wouldn’t notice. Is it working? I took these home for Easter and they were instantly a family favorite. Lime curd is tinted and swirled into the cheesecake batter to create a lovely marbleized effect. Key Lime Swirl Cheesecake Bars [click to print] Crust: 2 cups graham crackers Filling: