19 February 2014

Ode to Valentine's Day

About six months ago, I realized I had very few cookie cutters. I mean, for all the cookies I bake, you'd think I had one for every holiday/shape/occasion. Alas, I had some really strange shapes. Who has 3 mustache cookie cutters and one, giant rocket ship cookie cutter?? This girl. And yet, no heart cookie cutter? No heart?!?!?! Littlest Love needs a heart. A tiny, littlest heart. Just look at that cute, little guy...


Fast forward to last week. Turns out, my purchase came in quite handy. This little rockstar turned my Valentine's treats from pretty, to adorable with just a little push of the hand and a few drops of food coloring. And push and drop I did. I pushed (and dropped) it real good.


Sorry, I always get so carried away with these hilarious puns. Back to the Valentine's treats! I found this BuzzFeed "39 Absolutely Perfect Comic Sans Valentine’s Day Cards" list, and like every other BuzzFeed list, I went down the rabbit hole. About an hour later, I had clicked my way into a circle, and found myself at this list once again. And I thought, "Well, #26 is clearly the best thing I've ever seen." And it was. So I saved the image, printed several copies, and vowed to use it for at least 30 people (that's how many I printed).

I figured my client wouldn't appreciate this the way it needed to be appreciated, so I made them for my boyfriend's office because he works at an ad agency. And if anyone hates Comic Sans more than me, it's them. And if anyone loves butter more than Paula Deen, well, you need a triple bypass.

So I made the best sugar cookies in the world, and then I made two kinds of royal icing: strawberry (pink) and raspberry (purple). And they were these tiny little bites of heaven. Just perfect for my little Valentine's treat bags, which were filled with raspberry flavored Hershey's Hugs and the ultimate York Peppermint Patties (heart shaped!). Needless to say, these treat bags were hugely successful. Paula Deen, you butter believe it.




In the midst of all this heart-shaped madness, Justin and I decided to keep our Valentine's Day low-key. However, I still love this day, and I always want to do something special. So we planned an indoor picnic (because there was freezing rain, and because it's easier). I got to thinking about picnics, which led me to think about the "outdoors." And then when I was thinking about the outdoors, I started thinking about camping. And then my brain lit up like a Christmas tree in February and I was all "I'M GOING TO MAKE S'MORES!" Which I realize is not a picnic-y thing. But, I don't care because I love s'mores and you can't stop me. Also, I have a kitchen torch, so you should really stand back.

I grabbed my Littlest heart cookie cutter and got to work... I needed to make marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate. And so it began with strawberry-flavored, heart shaped marshmallows for the win!


Then, I searched high and low for graham flour in Nashville to rock some homemade graham crackers, but sadly, all 10 grocery stores that I called either said "What's that?" or "Sorry, we have every kind of flour but graham flour." And it's true, so my mission semi-failed. However, I went for the next best thing, which are cinnamon-honey shortbread cookies. Spicy, sweet, and crunchy? I'll take it. Two down, chocolate to go. 

If you know anything about Nashville, you know that we are spoiled rotten by our incredibly talented local artisans. And if you've ever seen the beautifully branded, epic-sized chocolate bars, then you know Olive & Sinclair is what is up! They are flavorful, and masterfully crafted to make your taste buds say "whaaaaat!" That being said, I didn't even pretend to try and make my own chocolate. I grabbed a few of the more intense chocolates (Sea Salt & Cocoa Nibs) and there you have it. Homemade s'mores!







Justin was super excited about his gift, and I was even more excited about the dinner he prepared! Our picnic was a foodie success! We enjoyed pasta salad with chicken & roasted veggies and fresh out of the oven homemade sweet potato biscuits with Tru Bee "Tennessee Snow." Between that and the s'mores, we went to bed full and happy.


And the next morning, we woke up early and ran the Hot Chocolate 15k! Luckily we ran, because we got even more chocolate afterwards! I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day weekend! A special shout out to MY funny valentines: Bo & Justin. <3



12 February 2014

Bake Sale & the Return of Love!

Oh my, it's good to be back! How I've missed writing and picture taking and sharing all of my treats with all of you readers (all? some? a few?)! I took several months off - about 3 to be exact - and I'm not even sure why. After Thanksgiving, I started getting a lot of orders, my full-time job picked up big time, and quite frankly, I just kept getting bogged down in the day to day. But I'm back, and I've got lots of fun, exciting news to share and delicious goodies that are calorie-free if you just LOOK these pictures. No touching. See? I'm looking out for you...

Last weekend I was lucky enough to be part of a very important bake sale. The lovely founder of Tiny But Mighty Fund reached out to me to help with a Puppy Love Bake Sale. And if you didn't know, I love dogs. LOVE. DOGS. So supporting the fund, which donates to the Nashville Humane Association, through my treats was a no-brainer.

So, I got my little thinking cat on (right, meow)....


I decided on a combination of seasonal treats that would be fun, simple, and tasty, so I made my Mardi Gras cupcakes - because duh! - and my oatmeal cookies with white chocolate chips and raisins (which tasted like yogurt covered raisins, bonus win). 

 Here are the beginning stages of those cookies...


Look at that nutty, brown sugary goodness! Yum!


And the final product, all dolled up with a sprinkle of kosher salt on top for good measure.


And then there was whiskey caramel...

Which, is what I like to call, angel sauce. Because it tastes like what I imagine heaven to be. And that goodness was mixed with toasted pecans and well, that's what's inside these almond flavored cupcakes. And yes, that's cinnamon cream cheese frosting. You're welcome.




But no so fast, my friend. I quickly realized I needed to bake something new for this bake sale. And there was no one more pleased with my choice than my big, silly Bo Dog. That's right, I made dog treats! Pumpkin and peanut butter to be exact, and they were a hit!




So coming up this weekend is another post about - you guessed it - Valentine's Day! Love is in the air with Littlest Love, and usually, love means butter...and sugar. May your Friday be filled with sweet excitement, if for no other reason than the fact that it's Friday! And if it's not exciting to you, then hopefully this will cheer you up...