Christmas Goodie Bags

This year for my Book Club's Christmas gifts, I boxed each of the goodies and put them in a bag with a pretty Christmas ribbon.  The bags included the usual treats: peppermint iced brownies, peppermint bark, and cheese wafers.  This year I added the peppermint chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.

Now that Christmas is over, it's time to focus on New Year's Eve..........I am thinking Pink Champagne Cookies.  There is a recipe that I have had for a few years and I think this is the year to make it!

Gift Bags

Boxed Peppermint Iced Brownies

Boxed Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies

Boxed Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Boxed Cheese Wafers

Boxed Peppermint Bark

Snowman Wreath

A fun snowman wreath for the front door!

There is not a lot to say about the wreath except that if you buy ribbon for a wreath, buy two rolls so you don't have to run back to the store mid-wreath! :)

Snowman Wreath

Snowman Wreath

Snowman Wreath

Close-up of snowmen

Overflowing the Cookie Jar

What would Christmastime be without baking tons of cookies???

I have made several and still have a bunch of cookies I want to make before Christmas.  Right now there are three kinds of cookies on our counter, so I need to make some that freeze well and/or give them away.  Or just eat cookies non-stop for the next few weeks. ;)

I made the Hershey's recipe for Peanut Butter Blossoms* and they are good.  I will try some other recipes as this one seemed a little dry at first.  I baked the last batch for a shorter time and that seemed to help.  They look right though!

Due to my apparent obsession with chocolate and peppermint, I was looking for a chocolate chip peppermint cookie to try out.  I decided if I couldn't find one, I would just make up my own and may go that route next time.  I ended up making Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies based on this recipe*.   It calls for peppermint junior mints which I did not use.  Instead, I used dark and milk chocolate chips.  The cookies were good, but I am still looking for a favorite recipe in this category.

I make corn pudding from a Taste of Home magazine and below it is a recipe for Chippy Peanut Butter Cookies that I always see, but had never made.  I after several years of looking at it, I finally made Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies based on this Taste of Home Recipe*.  I used plain chocolate chips rather than the peanut butter swirl chips it calls for.  These cookies are wonderful!!!!  I was super pleased with them and will definitely make these again!

Of course I had to make Sugar Cookies!  I made Christmas Trees for Little C's school party.  I used my favorite recipe that my mom and I have been using for years.  I decorated them by brushing warmed corn syrup on the baked cookie and then adding the sprinkles.   I had never tried this, but it gives much better coverage and richer color for the sugar than adding before baking.

I also made 2 different M&M cookies; but I think I will save those for another post.  I have 4 or 5 recipes that I have looked at and I may try them all to see which I like best.

Peanut Butter Blossoms

Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Christmas Tree Sugar Cookies

*click on highlighted/underlined areas for original recipe links.

Apple Pie

I don't really make pies; I am not a pie person, but last week I made 2.

Little C had never had apple pie and had been asking me how it was made.  Well, there was only one way to educate her on the All-American dessert.  We made it together, based on the Perfect Apple Pie recipe from the PA Grange Cookbook.  I didn't make my crusts - I bought them to save time, but I think I will go back to making my own because that's like using a cake mix - I don't like to do it!

The pie was very good and it made me want to make another apple pie.

I made a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, using the Libby's recipe.  It was good, but did not turn out as pretty as last year's.

Below is the recipe for the Apple Pie:

6-7 Tart Apples - I used 5 or 6 large Jonagold Apples
1 Cup Sugar
2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
2 Tablespoons Milk
Dash Nutmeg
2 Tablespoons Butter

Pare and slice apples thin - I cut the slices in to 1/2 inch pieces.
Add the milk to the apples and toss to coat.
Combine sugar, cornstarch, and spices; mix with apples.
Put in a 9 inch pastry lined pie pan; dot with butter.
Add top crust and sprinkle with sugar (Oh dear! I forgot the extra sugar)
Bake at 400 for 50 minutes.

As the picture shows, I put mine on a foil lined baking pan to catch any overflows.

Several people have mentioned that they wanted to see what I did for Thanksgiving.  There was really nothing out of the ordinary.  I made homemade cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, corn pudding and the pumpkin pie.  Mr. SBQ made the turkey, stuffing/dressing, gravy and Brussels sprouts.  Our neighbors that joined us brought ham, and pecan pie bars.  It was a very good feast, but I didn't try out anything new this year.  I figured there was only so much food 7 people could eat; especially since 3 of them were little people. :)

I am working on my inspiration for Christmas.  I am still not sure what my new treats are going to be this year.  I have a few ideas, but am still searching.  Maybe I will make some pies! ;)

Apple Pie

Apple Pie Slice

Pumpkin Pie Slice

Halloween Part 3 - Trick-or-Treat

We had decided months ago that Little C would be a French Girl for Halloween this year.  It started when I told her that I had made myself a wig and dressed up as a Cabbage Patch Kid the last year I went trick-or-treating (mid 80's - yikes).  She didn't care what she was, she just wanted a wig for her costume.  I made the wig out of brown yarn in 4 sections which I bobby pinned to her real hair.  The beret was anchored to her head by her forehead and the bun of her real hair.  She wore a black striped shirt and slim black pants.  I made her trick-or-treat bag out of a plain tote bag.  On one side I ironed-on an Eiffel Tower and a French Poodle, and wrote French words all over.  On the other side, I made a Pink Bling Eiffel Tower.    She said Bonjour and Merci at each house! :)

Since we were walking around with Little C for trick-or-treating, I made a box for the candy and sat it at the front door.  Surprisingly there was some candy left - honest little trick-or-treaters!  I covered a box in black paper and orange polka dots.  The sign on the front has 2 eyes and says to please take one handful only.  I was happy because the box matched the candy - Tootsie Rolls and Sixletts.

The Jack-O-Lantern was the best I think I have ever done.  We designed it based on a stencil book, but I didn't use the stecil - I like to make my design and draw it on myself.   We had such warm weather that Jack didn't last very long, but he was good for Halloween.

I got to do lots of creating for this Halloween and it was fun!

Candy Box

Jack-o-Lantern

French Girl Costume 

French Girl Costume

Halloween Part 2 - Nancy Drew Costume

On the day of the pumpkin party at Little C's school, the children could dress up as their favorite book character.  While the rooms were being set up for the parties, the children had a book parade where they marched around in their costumes with their books.

Little C loves Nancy Drew books, so that is who she wanted to be for the party.  This was a bit of a challenge at first, but I came up with a costume that she was super excited about and was easy to wear at school all day.  I started with the shirt - I used iron-on letters on the front to spell out Nancy Drew (kids still asked her who she was); I used paint markers on the back to write things like mystery, clues, Nancy, Bess, George, who did it, and lots of ???'s.  I said I need a fat 80's type belt for the detective belt and to my delight I found an "80's style belt" in the costume section at Target!  The belt had a cell phone, lock picking kit, magnifying glass and finger print kit.  I tied the magnifying glass on with it's attached cord, and attached everything else with Velcro.  The cell phone was an old one that has been retired for some time.  The lock picking kit was made out of the sleeve that the magnifying glass came in, bobby pins and credit card (an old club membership card covered in pink duct tape).   The finger print kit was in an Altoids box - I cut a small paint brush, used a cap from a small make-up sample, and cut pieces of a plastic envelope for the slips to lift the finger prints with.   It's good to know that my Criminalistics Class from college has finally paid off! ;)

Nancy Drew Costume

Nancy Drew Shirt - Back

Detective Belt - Right

Detective Belt - Left

Finger Print Kit

Halloween Part 1 - Pumpkin Party Cupcakes

Since tomorrow is Thanksgiving, I figured I better make some time to blog about the Halloween things I did this year.

I made the cupcakes for Little C's Pumpkin Party at school.   I made the Bakery Style Vanilla Cupcakes and the Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Cupcakes, frosted with either vanilla or chocolate icing and topped with a candy pumpkin.  I was just as happy with the vanilla cupcakes the second time around.
The children seemed to like the cupcakes, although it was slightly torturous to watch the different ways 3rd graders eat cupcakes. :)

Halloween Cupcakes

Halloween Cupcakes - Chocolate with Vanilla Frosting

Halloween Cupcakes

Halloween Cupcakes - Vanilla with Vanilla Frosting

Mini cupcakes with the extras

Cupcakes!

Oh for the perfect vanilla cupcakes!  These are so delicious!

The Bakery-Style Cupcake post on one of my favorite blogs, Sweetapolita, caught my eye.
They are quite easy to make; the only thing I didn't have on hand was self-rising flour.  I couldn't find it at Whole Foods for another recipe, so I made my own and I don't think the recipe turned out as well.  I found Gold Medal brand at Kroger, and used it for this recipe.

The recipe says it makes 24, so I tried to fit the batter in to 24 cupcakes and it made them too big.  Next time I will make a few additional cupcakes with the extra batter and not try to get it in to the 24.  I used a #40 scoop and it was the perfect amount for each cupcake, so they are contained in the paper.   I had used the smaller scoop to go back and add to each cupcake and there was not enough to add to each of the 24 cupcakes.  So, at least I was able to compare the smaller (purple paper) and larger cupcakes (orange paper).

Since it is almost Halloween, I used orange and purple cupcake papers, and orange frosting.  Little C helped me with the frosting and we kept adding red and yellow food coloring to try to get the right orange.  It looked orange enough in the bowl, but was still a little too light on the cupcakes.  I will get orange food coloring gel for the next ones.  I only made 1/2 the frosting recipe because I didn't want to have tons of frosting left over like I did for the giant pink cake.  Well, I was wrong with this one and ran out of frosting on the last cupcake.  Also, if I had had more frosting and the smaller cupcake tops, I could have completely and very generously covered each cupcake.

Now for the taste - so incredible!  The cake texture is perfect and the flavor is exactly what you would expect a bakery style vanilla cupcake taste like.  They even seemed to be more moist the next day.  After I got over my icing frustration, I was extremely pleased with the cupcakes.  I am looking forward to making them for Little C's pumpkin party at school, along with super chocolaty cupcakes.  

The recipe is also on Food Network, so I have included links to both.
Click here or here for the recipe.

Vanilla Cupcake with Orange Frosting

Vanilla Cupcake with Orange Frosting

Vanilla Cupcakes with Orange Frosting

Sweet Brownie Queen Birthday

Happy Birthday to my blog - Sweet Brownie Queen is 1 year old!!!!!
A fancy birthday dessert would have been good, and I may still make one today, but I was pressed for time (always, ugh) and still obsessed with the mini muffin pan brownies.  Plus, I figured I should do something with my original Sweet Brownie Queen Brownies.  The result is what we are calling Brownie Buttons. :)

After last week's "adventure" I didn't want to fill the mini muffin cups too full, so I ended up with tiny brownies.  Here is how it started: As I said yesterday, I just got a mini muffin pan and wanted to make everything mini muffin size.  I needed to make something for small group last week and thought I would just whip up some brownies.  I knew it wasn't the best idea to experiment at the last minute, but I ignored all reason and went forward.  I made the recipe that has the box brownie look, but isn't, of course.  I used my medium scoop and filled each muffin cup.  I quickly looked at 2 brownie bite recipes and figured 15 minutes was a good bake time.  Now, this recipe has some baking powder in it, so they rose a little and had muffin like tops which made it very hard (impossible) to easily loosen the edges and get the brownies out.  Also, this is a chewier brownie so it pretty much fell apart when I tried to remove each one from the muffin cups.  That is when I realized the tops would come off easily and I served them since they looked good (that perfect brownie glazed look) and tasted great.   Thankfully I also had the towering pink cake to share.

But, I do not deal well with baking failures, so I am determined to get this right.  Last night I made my classic secret brownie recipe and used the small cookie scoop to fill the muffin cups.  I sprinkled each one with a little sea salt.  15 minutes was a perfect bake time for these and they came out of the pan very easily.  Since this recipe doesn't have any baking powder or soda in it, they did not rise and overflow at the edges.  I would have liked them to be a little bigger and next time I will fill the cups a little fuller. I may be able to use the medium scoop since these don't grow any during baking.

I really like that other brownie recipe for a regular brownie, as an alternative to my super rich dark brownies.  I am determined to get them to turn out well in the muffin pan too.  It might not be feasible since they are so chewy, but I will try one more time.  I will put less batter in each cup and bake a little longer.

I want to try out a new cupcake recipe, make some pumpkin desserts, and another zucchini cake, but I may be stuck on these little brownies for awhile!

The Blog Birthday Celebration will stretch out for the rest of the week........my motivation to make something other than brownies! ;)

Brownie Buttons with Sea Salt

Pretty in Pink

We celebrate Little C's 1/2 Birthdays, so I used that as an opportunity to try out another vanilla cake recipe.  I haven't tested any more vanilla cake recipes since the spring, but am still on the look-out for great ones.  This one is really good!  Four layers of yummy white cake and lots of pink fluffy frosting!!!    As usual, I was frosting the cake just as our dinner guests arrived, so I didn't have time for detailed frosting.  I was just excited that all four layers were staying place and the frosting was going on well.  Since I knew I couldn't get a perfectly smooth frosting finish and didn't have time to pipe on any frosting, I went with the whippy swirls.  Since decorating cakes is not my strength, I know I cannot a perfect looking frosted cake, but I think this is the prettiest cake I have ever done, and that makes me happy!  Little C loved the cake, and that really makes me happy!

I made so many things last week, but will have to remake to take some good pictures and blog about them.  For my book club I made an Autumn Pumpkin soup that was delicious, Pecan Pie Muffins that really tasted like pecan pie, and Butter Muffins that were really good.  I purchased a mini muffin pan (finally!) to make the muffins and fell in love with it right away.  Now I want to make everything in mini muffin form.  I tried brownies and that didn't turn out so well for reasons may review later, when I have success.  However, I did pull the tops off the brownie muffins and there were a hit.  They looked like brownie cookies.  I also made picnic cakes and chocolate chip cookies, but they are like all the others I have done posts on - still super delicious, but nothing new to write about.

Tomorrow is my Blog Birthday, so I need to think up something for that one!
Have a great Monday!

For the Vanilla Cake Recipe Click Here

Pink Frosted Vanilla Cake

Pink Frosted Vanilla Cake - Inside

Orecchiette Pasta

Something different for pasta night!  This recipe from the September 2012 Better Homes and Gardens looked interesting to me.  I have 3 pasta recipes that I have been wanting to make, when I could get the appropriate fresh ingredients for them.   (One of the others has fresh figs and another has asparagus)

I had homemade ricotta that Mr. SBQ had made for me, so I used that and a fresh grated Parmesan.  I didn't measure the Parmesan, so I am not sure how much I used, but I will use more next time.  The red is the chard stems, not pancetta which it looks like in the photo.  The dish is pretty, fresh and flavorful!

Orecchiette with Ricotta and Chard Pan Sauce
adapted from Better Homes and Gardens September 2012

1    bunch Swiss Chard
3/4 lb. dried orecchiette
2    Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2    Tbsp. butter (unsalted)
-     Crushed red pepper - dash+ to taste
2    oz. freshly grated Parmesan
1/4 cup fresh, whole-milk ricotta cheese
Sea salt and cracked black pepper
Ground nutmeg
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Bring large pot of generously salted water to boiling.  Separate chard stems from leaves; cut both in to bite-size pieces.  Add orecchiette to boiling water.  Set timer for 10 minutes
Meanwhile, for pan sauce, in a large skillet heat oil over medium high heat.  Add chard stems; cook 3-5 minutes until crisp-tender.
After 10 minutes, add chard leaves to cooked pasta (still in boiling water); cook 2 minutes more.  Drain, reserving about 1/4 cup of cooking liquid.  Return pasta and chard to the pot; place over lowest heat setting.  Add chard stems and any residual oil to pasta, along with butter, crushed red pepper, and reserved cooking liquid.  Grate in Parmesan; toss.  Season with pepper and nutmeg.  Divide among bowls.  Top each with 1 Tbsp. ricotta (at least double is better).  Add sea salt, pepper, and additional Parmesan to taste.

The recipe says it makes 4 servings, but they are large servings and we got 2 meals out of it.  (About 6 servings)

Enjoy!

Orecchiette with Ricotta and Chard Pan Sauce

Frosted Banana Bars

Frosted Banana Bars from Taste of Home.

I made these delicious bars from the 2000 Taste of Home Annual Recipes cookbook.  I hadn't made them for years and I had forgotten how good they are.  I served them to our Small Group and sent a bunch of them to work with Mr. SBQ.  Some of the responses were - "Oh my gosh - those are awesome"; "what a treat"; "delicious"; "YUM"; "so awesome, so awesome".  And, Little C said the banana flavor was really good.   :)

The nice thing is that they are pretty easy and serve a lot of people!

Frosted Banana Bars

I have included the link to the recipe, and the recipe straight from Taste of Home's website.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1-1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 medium ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
• FROSTING:
• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3-3/4 to 4 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, sour cream and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Stir in bananas.
• Spread into a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean (do not overbake). Cool.
• For frosting, in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla until fluffy. Gradually beat in enough confectioners' sugar to achieve desired consistency. Frost bars. Store in the refrigerator. Yield: 3-4 dozen.

Nutritional Facts1 serving (1 each) equals 148 calories, 7 g fat (4 g saturated fat), 28 mg cholesterol, 96 mg sodium, 21 g carbohydrate, trace fiber, 1 g protein.

Originally published as Frosted Banana Bars in Taste of Home June/July 2000, p33

Chocolate + Chocolate + Vegetable = A Perfect Muffin

The Chocolate Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread won out!

I grated the zucchini that I had and it was exactly 3 cups which is what I needed for this recipe, so that made the decision for which recipe to make.
I made 12 muffins and 1 small bunt cake.  Next time I will make all muffins.  18 minutes was a perfect baking time for the muffins.  They are not overly sweet, but have a nice flavor.  They are very moist because of the zucchini, Greek yogurt and extra light olive oil.  Little C said she doesn't like them, she LOVES them! :)

Click Here for the recipe.  You can also click the name of the recipe if it is hi-lighted and I will have a link attached.

I think that may be it for new zucchini recipes I am trying this year.  If I can get some nice farm zucchini, I want to make another cake.  Today I am planning to make a batch of brownies and frosted banana bars for my small group.  Hope I have lots of hungry guests!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins

Markers and Papers - A Few of My Favorite Things

Here are some recent cards I made for a friend who was sick, birthdays, and hello's.

I have started using the Tim Holtz Distress Markers for my stamping and I love them!  It is so much easier to match the ink to the papers, and they have really nice coverage.

At the moment I am getting ready to work on some albums; and I am debating making another zucchini cake, or trying the chocolate chocolate chip zucchini bread - tough decision!  I will try to report back on that in the next few days. :)

Thinking of You Card - Pink

Happy Birthday Card - Polka Dot

Happy Birthday Card - Green

Hi Card - Dog Bone Times

Hi Card - Dog Bone Times

Fall's Almost Here

Temperatures in the high 80's won't keep me from decorating for Fall!

I am pretty sure this is my first ever front door wreath!
I wanted to make a pretty Fall wreath and found all my items with only two stops at craft stores!  (This might be a project record for me)   I was not going to have a scarecrow, but this little guy literally fell out of the box at me and I thought he was too cute not to add.  It took more time to find the wreath items than it did to put it all together.  It's all pretty simple and adds a nice splash of color to the front door!

Enjoy the first weekend of Autumn!

Fall Wreath

Fall Wreath

Zucchini Mania

I don't grow my own zucchini, so I don't have the problem of tons of zucchini to use up at once, but I do love zucchini and buy a lot of it.  I had two medium zucchinis I needed to use yesterday and this recipe looked really good.  It is!  I made one loaf in a bundt pan and it took about 40 minutes; the other was larger in a loaf pan and it took about 65 minutes.

I had 1 1/2 cups of shredded zucchini left and I almost made cookies, but I didn't want to get carried away, so I added it to a gnocchi & vegetable dish I made for dinner last night.   One of my new favorite things to do with zucchini is to cut it in sticks (like french fries) and bake on parchment paper for 20-25 minutes at 425.  I don't add any oil or anything and it quite tasty, especially with enchiladas and fajitas.

In my searching for recipes yesterday, I found a chocolate zucchini bread I will have to make next week, and some interesting cookie recipes.  As long as I can get my hands on good zucchini, I will be trying out more recipes.  Then it's time for some fall apple and pumpkin recipes!

Zucchini Bread

Birthday Cards

Last week I was trying to make some cards and felt like I had zero creativity!
Sometimes I get a ton of ideas for cards and other times it's a struggle to put anything together.
I like to be inspired by something and come up with my own creations.

Birthday cards are always a problem for me, probably since I want them to reflect perfect birthday happiness.   With these I tried to be simple, using an embossing folder, pretty papers, and the birthday number.

Below are Birthday cards I made last week for our neighbor who likes pink, and my niece who at the moment likes camo/army green.

Happy Birthday to my brother, who I am pretty sure will not see this! :)
Have a happy day, even if it's not your birthday!

7 Birthday Card - pink

10 Birthday Card - green and blue