Banana Bread

I had today off and felt like baking (shocking, I know). Hadn't made banana bread for quite a while, so I defrosted some frozen bananas and went to town. This is my mom's recipe - haven't found anything as good! I love to undercook it just a little bit, for a "squishy" top - that's my favorite part! (And yes - that's my venerable Empire Red KitchenAid mixer in the background!)

Morgan turns 2!

I had a big job last week for sweet little Morgan (daughter of my co-worker, Laurel) who was turning 2. 4 dozen frosted X and O cookies, 4 dozen cupcakes and a smash cake!

This was my biggest job so far - 6 boxes!

Super Bowl

Had a few friends over for the big game. Debuted my first-ever football cake which turned out to be surprisingly easy to bake and decorate. Not to say that I wouldn't do things a bit differently next time, I think it turned out great for a first try with a pan like this. And, very moist - considering how thick it was!

The aftermath...

Wings and burgers and hot dogs...oh my. This was all Chris's territory.

Lots of grub, including the Utz cheeseballs (which we usually can only find in eastern PA on summer vacation.)

It's been a football week...

Off course I had to 100% "bring it" for the Super Bowl, as the Steelers were playing. My first foray into the shaped-pan world. It went pretty good - I would certainly by one of those special 3-star tips so the piping would go much faster! (It's a yellow cake underneath...) Another post later with food and party pictures!

I made these cupcakes for a co-worker's son - it was his 7th birthday and he wanted Vanderbilt football colors: gold liners, chocolate cupcakes with white icing and football candies. The one with sprinkles was a test (that didn't go so well) so the rest didn't get sprinkles!

Turquoise frosting, please!

I had a co-worker order cupcakes for her sister's wedding shower - with turquoise frosting! I've not ever made that color before - but it turned out nearly perfect to the color she wanted! I'll post pictures of the shower later...

New Year's Eve

Chris & I stay in on New Year's Eve and cook something fancy - or at least attempt something we normally wouldn't make during the week. This year was a pesto pork with veggies, risotto & homemade bread.

The pile of pesto pork & veggies before it went into the oven!

The finished product - the veggies (potatoes, carrots, brussel sprouts & parsnips - yes mom, I ate parsnips!) were wonderful with all those drippings flavoring them up.

I made creme brulee for dessert. It unfortunately was not 100% set in the middle. I've made it perfectly several times before, so I'm not sure what happened. But at least it looks pretty!

Christmas Cookies

Every year at Christmas, I make cookie plates for our closest friends. I pack them full of about 5 different kinds of cookies (heavy on each family's favorites!) and also some of my famous chocolate chocolate chip mini cakes - regular and peppermint! This year's cookie plates also included the previously blogged about Peppermint Pinwheel Lollipop Cookies.

This year, I made 32 dozen cookies and about 4 dozen mini chocolate cakes. The leftovers went home with us to Pittsburgh for the Fleming family to munch on.

Lemon Coconut Cake

The Flemings love that I experiment when I'm with them (or at least that's what they say!!!). I made this towering 3-layer Lemon Coconut Cake with fresh lemon curd (which Chris helped make!) for Christmas dinner in Pittsburgh. The general consensus was...it was pretty good. :)

Gingerbread Men

I made some "blank" gingerbread men for my co-worker Marie. She took them home over the holidays and the kids in the family decorated them. They turned out so good!

And the artists!

Peppermint Pinwheel Lollipop Cookies

These yummy, fun cookies made the Christmas cookie rotation this year after a brief hiatus. And I have to say it was all because of a little boy named Matthew who kept asking his mom, "When is Aunt Melinda going to make those lollipop cookies again?"

And here's Matthew (on the right) and his twin brother Jack, enjoying their cookies yesterday. Love you boys!

Happy National Cupcake Day!

Not to be confused with National Chocolate Cupcake Day or National Vanilla Cupcake Day. :) I wish it didn't fall the week before Christmas, because I am too busy with cookie baking to devote extra time to cupcakes, just for National Cupcake Day! I wish I could, but even this crazy amateur baker has limits!

I mixed up my final cookie dough tonight. I have a triple batch of sugar cookie dough in the fridge for use on Friday night and made a double batch of Peppermint Pinwheel Lollipop cookie dough tonight - which I'll make on Saturday because they are so labor intensive. Once those are done, the cookie plates for friends will be assembled and delivered.

Oh - and I guess I have to bake one last time before we leave for Pittsburgh - a couple of co-workers need mini cupcakes for the holidays! I'll be baking in Pittsburgh too...making a gorgeous (hopefully!) Lemon-Coconut Cake for the Fleming family for Christmas dessert!

Cookie plate pictures to be posted soon!

Candy Cane Cookies!

I may bake a gazillion cookies for the holidays, but the one I don't make - just came via mail from my mom. These are my all time favorite: Candy Cane Cookies. Sounds kind of boring, but wait...they have almond extract in them. Pure. Pieces. Of. Heaven. I love them. Thanks mommy!!!

(And I do believe it is the first sighting of a WHOLE candy cane that made it via mail - ever. They are very fragile and always break, so this is noteworthy!) :)

Wyatt's 3rd birthday

Here is my mischievous little friend Wyatt, who ordered the chocolate cupcakes with blue frosting and sprinkles.

Sweetest Thing Cupcakes (Newberg, OR)

My best friend Heidi, took me to the Sweetest Thing Cupcakes in Newberg, OR while I was in town over Thanksgiving. I neglected to take a picture of my cupcake - which was chocolate pretzel with a peanut butter center. Oh my.

This was the cinnamon cupcake I brought home for Chris, it was also delicious.

Garrett's 10th Birthday!

My first foray into edible images! I ordered some for my nephew Garrett's 10th birthday. They worked well, but I do think they'll look better on lighter colored frosting after they've "absorbed" the moisture. Overall - I'd use them again.

The birthday boy!

Birthday cake

This is a birthday cake I did for a co-worker's family member. The cake is yellow/chocolate marble.

Who could possibly resist this face?!

I think this is easily my favorite picture since I've started this whole baking adventure. Look at the sheer joy and straight leg excitement! This is little Charlotte, for whom I made the owl cupcakes. She is just too sweet.

And to close the week out...

I experimented and used some leftover batter I had from two different jobs this week. The week old batter still worked fine - just didn't rise much, which wasn't surprising. The 2 day old batter worked much better - so good to know! I sent these with Chris since he was going to a friend's house to watch the Steelers game. Yeah, yeah - I know the pink cupcakes weren't very guy-friendly, but at least I used black & yellow liners!!!

This is a chocolate chili cake with chocolate ganace I made for my friend Tracy's birthday - at her request. We used to get a great chocolate chili cake at a restaurant here before they took it off the menu, so I hope it comes close!

Her birthday was Friday, but since she was out of town - we're celebrating tomorrow night. The cake has quite a kick to it - I hope she likes it!

And now I shall rest...until Thursday, when I have a 60th birthday cake to make!

It has been one busy week!

I have had one wild baking week. It's amazing what you can get done, even when you work full-time!

The week started off with some mini cupcakes for my friend Melissa's physical therapy peeps. She broke her leg about 6 weeks ago and they are doing a fabulous job of helping her recuperate.

Next up: "Chocolate cupcakes with blue frosting and sprinkles" requested by Wyatt (my co-worker's son) for his 3rd birthday party. Hope to get pictures of the birthday boy and will update soon!

And the biggest job of the week: 4 dozen owl cupcakes and a smash cake for Miss Charlotte. I work with her mom Ashley and they were throwing her a big bash for her 1st birthday. I'll post pictures of her soon!

The cupcakes are made with Golden Oreos and Junior Mints for eyes, and banana Runts candies for the nose - turned out so cute!

And the last gig - 2 dozen chocolate chocolate chip cookies for my friend Matt's mom. Delish!

And I'm still not done - I've got a birthday cake for my friend Tracy's birthday to make tomorrow...so stayed tuned!

My youngest taste-tester!

This is my "niece" Carrigan. She's munching on a homemade doughnut last night on Halloween. Gotta love that face!

Happy National Chocolate Cupcake Day!

Yes - it IS a real holiday. At least a food holiday. :) In honor of the day, I made some S'mores cupcakes. I'd been wanting to try this for a while & when I saw the cute ghost shaped marshmallows at Publix, I was sold. Graham cracker crust on the bottom, chocolate cupcake w/a marshmallow inside, chocolate buttercream with crushed graham crackers & another marshmallow on top! Totally delicious, especially when you put it in the microwave for just a few seconds - it melts the marshmallow!

Homemade doughnuts!

This was my first crack at homemade doughnuts. I got some new doughnut pans and have been anxious to try them out - and so was Chris! I bought the mix that goes with it for the first try, but will definitely be making them from scratch the next time. We used the cinnamon sugar that came with the mix and also powdered sugar. Some of the little ones turned more into muffins because I put too much batter in the tiny wells, but they still taste delicious!!!

Coleman's 9th Birthday

My friend Heather's son - Coleman - had his 9th birthday party today...a skating party! That sure brought back memories, I loved me some skating back in the day!

New apron!

The hubs got me a new apron for our 2nd anniversary - isn't it cute? My kitchen is deep red - with all the matching red KitchenAid appliances, tools, etc. I used to wear an old red apron that I got as an amenity in Fort Worth, TX when I was a meeting planner. This is so much better!