St. Patty’s Day Donuts

Posted by melissa on Feb 22, 2013 in Blog, cakes, Recipes | 5 comments

St. Patty’s Day Donuts

It’s official, you can’t pinch my blog!  We are dressed in green and delivering breakfast with our St. Patty’s Day donuts.  Can I share a secret with you? I am really bad at making cake balls but in the process I discovered I enjoy making donut holes. My favorite part about these super fun St. Patty’s Day donuts is that they are really easy to make. It’s nice to make something easy once in a while.  You don’t need to mess with melting chocolate. You don’t need to worry about them falling off of a stick. Just bake and cover with Kilbeggan Whiskey glaze.  Yes, that’s right, whiskey glaze.

Let’s get started with a few of the items that you will need to make these addicting donuts. One of the things that you will need is a cake pop maker.  I debated between buying the Nordicware cake pop pan or the Baby Cakes Cake Pop Maker.  I decided to go with the Baby Cakes Cake Pop Maker because of the ease of use for the price.  Price was awesome as well, I used a coupon at Bath and Body and ended up getting it for $15.  Most recipes make about 36 to 48 a cake pops. You would need to buy quite a few Nordicware pans for that to bake them in the oven all at once. You don’t want cake batter to sit for a long time because they ingredients begin to activate. The Baby Cakes Cake Pop maker has a similar issue, but the cake pops only cook for 4 minutes in comparison to 15-18 minutes. Then you would need to reload the nordicware pan and bake the next set.  The other item that you will need that you may not have around the house is Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey. I love getting the mini bar size. These can be found at your local liquor store but I like to get mine at Bevmo.  These little bottles are the perfect size for cooking and they are not overly expensive.

St. Patty’s Day Donut Holes with Whiskey Glaze

• 1 1/2 cups unbleached flour {King Arthur Flour}
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup fine sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp. Lorann’s Butter Vanilla
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup half and half
• Green Food Coloring

Directions:

1. Combing dry ingredients in a bowl. Whisk to combine. Set Aside.
2. Let butter, milk, half and half and eggs come to room temperature.
3. Place milk and half and half in a pourable measuring cup. Add food coloring till you get the color green you prefer.
4. In your stand mixer bowl beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Approximately 3 minutes. Beat in eggs and vanilla. If you do not have access to Lorann’s butter vanilla just use 2 tsp. of pure vanilla
5. Slowly add flour mixture into the batter in three separate additions alternating with milk on the lowest speed. End with the flour mixture.
6. Scrape down the bowl. Beat for about 15 seconds to let the batter come together.

• If you don’t have any plastic pastry bags just use a Ziploc freezer bag. I like freezer bags because they are a thicker plastic.
• fold the mouth of the bag over the cup
• spoon the batter into the bag
• take the outside edges of the bag off the cup and tie with a twisty or rubber band
• you will have to refill the bag three or four times

Filling the Baby Cakes Maker

• Snip the bottom of your pastry bag with scissors
• fill the baking reservoir till just about half full
• cover and cook for 4 minutes.
• pop the cake balls out onto a plate to cool

Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey Glaze

• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1 1/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 3 or 4 tsp. Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey
• 1 Tbsp.warm half and half
• 2 to 4 tablespoons of warm water depending on how thin you want to make the glaze.

Directions:

1. Melt butter slowly on stove top.
2. In a medium/large bowl pour the butter on top of confectioners sugar. Whisk till combined.
3. Stir in vanilla and whiskey and warm water
4. Place cake balls in the glaze.
5. Cover completely. Place on drying rack.

Alright, humor me, what is your favorite St. Patty’s Day dessert?  I am still debating whether or not I am bad mother because my son starting popping these donut holes left and right. Three teaspoons of whiskey is harmless, right?

President’s Day Cookie Collaborative

Posted by melissa on Feb 18, 2013 in Blog, Cookies | 4 comments

President’s Day Cookie Collaborative

Happy President’s Day! A few months back, Anne Yorks, from Flour Box Bakery, asked if we would like to be apart of a collaboration to celebrate President’s Day. I can not think of a better way  to celebrate President’s Day than making cookies in their honor. All the amazing “cookiers” who particpated to create a collage of cookie President’s are amazing!  What a fun way to celebrate President’s Day?  While I made the Ronald Reagan cookie; I asked my son to do the research. Score! For his semester paper, he did a narrative on Ronald Reagan. I am going to let  Jude share with you a little bit from his paper about what he learned about our country’s 40th President.

Ronald Wilson Reagan 40th President of the United States

In the year of 1911, a great man was born, Ronald Wilson Reagan. His parents were Jack and Nelle Reagan. When Ronald was young, his father gave him the nickname “Dutch”. Jack Reagan thought he looked like a fat little Dutch boy. When Ronald was a young boy he used to accompany his mom to poetry readings that she would do around the county.

In school Ronald worked hard, and he also loved sports at a young age. He went to Dixon High School and he was a moderately successful student. During high school Ronald played football, and later, he attained a football scholarship to Eureka College. It is only a two-hour drive from Dixon, so Ronald was still pretty close to his parents. In his senior year at Eureka College, Ronald was elected class president. To think, only forty years later, he would be become the President of the United States.

When Ronald was a teenager he got his first job as a life guard at the nearby river in Dixon. Once he graduated college, Ronald moved to Chicago and became a sports announcer on the radio. A great experience Ronald had in 1937 when he accompanied the Chicago Cubs to spring training and arranged a movie career. Later he came to California and attained a job as an actor, where he was involved in over fifty films. Hollywood was a difficult place for older actors to find work. Ronald then made the decision to enter into politics. Ronald later became the Governor of California. After being a governor for four years he decided he wanted to run for president. It took Ronald a few tries, but in 1981, he won the election.

Ronald Reagan was born in a small Illinois town named Tampico. Ronald lived in this small town for nine years before he and his family moved to Dixon, Illinois. In his lifetime Ronald lived in three other major places Chicago, California, and the White House. Ronald lived in the White House for a total of eight years from January 20, 1981 through January 20, 1989. Two major historical things that affected Ronald while he was living were the Great Depression and World War 2. Ronald was born into the depression and money was not easy to get. Jack Reagan had a hard time at work. He was fired from multiple jobs and getting food for his family was hard. When World War 2 started, Ronald had just gotten married and was drafted to fight in the military. However being nearsighted, he was forced to stay and show training movies to troops at the bases in Los Angeles. Ronald did many important things in his lifetime, but the one that stands out the most, is when he ended the Cold War.

The Cold War was a scary time for people. You never knew if one day your town or city was going to be bombed. President Reagan came into office at the height of the Cold War. In President Reagan’s first term relations between the East the West were deteriorating quickly. Soviet Russia had taken over Afghanistan. President Reagan was overseeing the development of the most advanced nuclear weapons made by the military. Later President Regan wanted to make a shield to protect the U.S from Russian nuclear threats, and this plan was called S.D.I or the Star Wars Project.

In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev came into power in Russia and started making political reforms, and wanted better relations with the West. In 1985, President Reagan and President Gorbachev met in October in Reykjavik to talk about getting rid of nuclear weapons. President Gorbachev wanted to get rid of only fifty percent of the nuclear weapons. However, President Reagan wanted to get rid of all nukes. At first, Gorbachev did not like this idea, and did not want to be a part of it. However, he finally agreed to get rid of all nukes in the U.S.S.R.

I wish people knew that Ronald Regan was always happy and in good spirits and that he was a well-known actor. When people generally think of a politician they think of a lawyer or a very smart person but Ronald Reagan was just a concerned civilian who wanted to change how things were run. When Ronald was shot in his first month of his presidency he was joking around with the surgeons and with everyone that came to see him even thought he was almost killed. Also whenever a new reporter or someone new would come on Air Force One, he would introduce himself and tell a joke or two and be friendly. Before Ronald Reagan was a governor and President of the United States, he was a very famous actor. Ronald’s first film was “Love Is in the Air” in which he plays a radio person who uncovers corruption. Ronald as got to work with a chimpanzee in the movie “Bedtime with Bonzo”.

Alright, I am back! But I am pretty darn proud of the paper that my son wrote about Ronald Reagan.  In researching for the President’s Day cookie collaborative I learned something new. I always knew that Ronald Reagan loved jelly beans but I didn’t know why.  Ronald Reagan started eating jelly beans to help him quit smoking a pipe.  the blueberry jelly beans were created for the Inaugaration.  In 1981, Jelly Belly created the blueberry jelly bean so that their would be red, white and blue jelly beans at the inaugural. Three-and-a-half tons  of Jelly Bellies were shipped to the White House for the 1981 Inaugural festivities. That is a whole lot of jelly beans.

President’s Day Cookie Collaborative

 Enjoy. Take some time to go visit each of the sites and learn a little bit about the history of our President’s.

1) George Washington by Sarah of Sweet Surrender Cookie Co.,

2)  John Adams  by Nicole of Life’s a Batch

3)  Thomas Jefferson by Sarah of Songbird Sweets

4)  James Madison by Georganne of LilaLoa

5)  James Monroe by Anne of Flour Box Bakery

6)  John Quincy Adams by Liz of Arty McGoo

7)  Andrew Jackson by Tiffany of TheRedCooky

8) Martin Van Buren by Jill of Jill FCS – Funky Cookie Studio

9)  William Henry Harrison by Christina of Sweet C’s Bake Shop

10)  John Tyler by Kim of The Cookie Puzzle

11) James K. Polk  by Debbie of D&T Designs

12) Zachery Taylor by Stephanie of Ellies Bites

13) Millard Fillmore by Melissa of Simply Sweets by Honeybee

14) Franklin Pierce by Kris of So Cute Cookies
15)  James Buchanan by Lene of Not Your Everyday Cookie

16) Abraham Lincoln by Debbie of Sweet Creations by Debbie

17) Andrew Johnson by Liz of CookiesToGo

18) Ulysses S. Grant  by Rebekah of Love at First Bite

19) Rutherford B. Hayes  by Heather of Twins Plus One Goodies

20) James A. Garfield by Teresa of Sugar T’s Cookies

21)  Chester Arthur by Alyse of B.E. Sweet Treats

22) Grover Cleveland  by Kimberly of Barefoot N Baking

23)  Benjamin Harrison by Laurie of Cookie Bliss

24) Grover Cleveland  by Kimberly of Barefoot N Baking

25)  William McKinley by Susan of Sweet Williams Cookies

26)  Theodore Roosevelt by Heather of SugarNosh Treats

27) William Howard Taft by Sarah of Sarah’s Sweet Shoppe

28)  Woodrow Wilson by Cheryl of The Sugared Apron

29)  Warren G. Harding  by Shannon of Artfully Delicious Cookies

30) Calvin Coolidge by Stephanie of Ice My Biscuit

31)   Herbert Hover by Fumie of A+Kake sweets

32) Franklin D. Roosevelt by Christine of Chris’ Creative Confections

33)  Harry S Truman by Kim of Sugar Rush Custom Cookies

34)  Dwight Eisenhower  by Monica of Cookie Cowgirl

35)   John F. Kennedy by CeCe of The Tactical Bakery

36) Lyndon B. Johnson by Jennifer of One Kookie Cookie

37)  Richard Nixon by Jackie of iBakery

38)   Gerald Ford by Georgeanne of LilaLoa,

39)  Jimmy Carter by Jennifer of One Kookie Cookie

40)  Ronald Reagan by Melissa of The Baked Equation

41) George Bush Sr. by Penny of Lucky Penny Cookies

42)  Bill Clinton by Laurie of Cookie Bliss

43)  George W. Bush by Sarah of Sarah’s Sweet Shoppe

44)  Barack Obama by Teresa of Sugar T’s Cookies

Birthday Cookies for Nana

Posted by melissa on Feb 17, 2013 in Blog, Cookies, Uncategorized | 10 comments

Cookies for Nana

There is nothing quite like creating a unique gift for a very special person.  This week I was blessed to be able to make birthday cookies for Nana.  Aleene Wilcox, born February 17, 1920, is my Nana.  She is known for her hospitality and grace to all who come in contact with her.  Aleene, came from a different era. An era I admire. That era had a modesty of character and beauty that I miss.  You can see it in their pictures. You can hear it in their stories.

 Grace. Humility. Modesty. Beauty.

How cute are they? My grandparents. They have loved each other all their lives.  Such a testimony of enduring love, commitment, and the beauty of love that lasts through the ups and downs that life can bring.  One of my favorite memories of my grandparents is being at their home. When you would wake up in the morning and come down to the kitchen you would find them doing devotions together. One day she would read and the next day he would read. They took turns each day of their lives.

The challenge in creating custom birthday cookies is to capture a little bit of who people are in the cookies.  But it is the very process of capturing their personality that makes birthday cookies so fun. As I sat down to sketch out my ideas I began to brainstorm. What reminds me of my Nana?

Her delicate teacup collection

lace that adorns her tables

pinks and mauves; colors you will often see here wearing

and my most precious momento: her silver

This box is most precious to me. I love all the scratches that adorn the outside and the beauty that you behold when you open the box. My Nana, handed down to me her silver. It has been handed down from generation to generation.  My Nana’s silver is over 120 years old. I treasure this gift. Every time I use them I am reminded of her and her hospitality.

My Nana looked so beautiful on my wedding day. She is so striking in the color pink.

If you were to visit her home you find touches of pink and mauve throughout the house.  Her dining room table has the most beautiful lace covering. I could not think of a better way to commemorate that beauty than to pipe lace patterns on her birthday cookies.

For the past couple of months, as I have been working on these birthday cookies in my head, I wanted to do english roses. My Nana has so many teacups that have these delicate roses painted on them. I am so thankful for Arty McGoo. Just last month she posted a video tutorial of how to make these very kind of roses. Just in the nick of time. Happy Birthday, Nana! Thank you for all you do for your family, friends, and neighbors. We are all so thankful for how you have enriched your life. I hope you have a very special day.