Oatmeal Muffins

It is really hard for me to do much besides have coffee and make Jason's lunch before sending him off to work in the mornings.  In the early afternoon while the kids are napping, I try to get a bit ahead and bake something for breakfast.

This recipe is for oatmeal muffins from epicurious.  I love it as is, but usually add a bit of cinnamon and blueberries to make it even better.  I'm sure you could add just about anything to these and end up with a great breakfast (or naptime snack!)

Apple Pie Cookies

Once upon a time, 6:30pm on a Sunday even, I was starving for some dessert.  My husband cooked a nice Sunday meal and I was full and relaxed and decided it would be the perfect time to make an intensive dessert.

Sometimes, I'm crazy...

But these cookies are not.

They were worth every bit of effort!  Delicious right out of the oven, and still good the next day.  I recommend you give them a go.  You can get the recipe via Smitten Kitchen for these Apple Pie Cookies.

 

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Gingerbread Traditions

I always wanted to make gingerbread houses as a kid.  They were such a dream with all of the frosting and candies and sweets.  What could be better than creating with candy?  When I think of visions of sugar plums, I think of sparkling spice drops on gingerbread houses floating over my head.  This year, I was determined to create this tradition for my own children.

I thought about buying the Wilton kits, and maybe if I didn't have the three days it took me, I would purchase them.  At JoAnns they were on sale for $8 each, but I had everything on hand, besides candies, so I figured to just make them and save some cash.  

 

I used this recipe from Epicurious, and I must add, was perfect.  The recipe made a strong dough, but still soft enough to eat!  Some reviews said the dough would crack and break, but the key is rolling it out between sheets of parment, then peeling off the top layer.  Cut out your templates then slide the sheet of parchment onto a cool cookie sheet.  This way you are never lifting the dough and causing it to break.  Once the cookies are cool from the oven, then remove them to a cooling rack from the tray. 

I made two entire houses, and then additional gingerbread men and house fronts.  This was such a smart thing to do, because people could sort of make a house, without me having to make so many houses entirely.  I recommend doing this even if you don't want to do the whole house thing. 

 

 

I chose to glue ours with a carmelized sugar.  Much better than icing and still something edible (rather than hot glue).  The icing we used was great too.  I make a few piping bags out of ziplock baggies and put a rubber band around each to tighten them up.  

I just let the kids go with this one.  Frosting and candy and all!  The mess wasn't too bad and I love that I let go of my control to see what they would do with a bag full of frosting!  

This was a really fun project to do with our family Christmas and I will definitely keep doing it year after year.  It was nice to see all of the adults come over and decorate houses along with the kids.

 

iSad Apple Pie

Last week, in honor of Steve Jobs, I made this apple pie.

I attempted to use the new tribute logo, but the pecans made it a bit hard to read.  It's pretty amazing how many lives that man touched. 

Here's the recipe I used for my apple pie.  If you'd like to try something different this weekend, I found these alternatives on Pinterest!

Source: the-cooking-of-joy.blogspot.com via Tina on Pinterest

Source: testadoprovadoeaprovado.blogspot.com via Bethany on Pinterest

Source: the-girl-who-ate-everything.com via Shannon on Pinterest

Source: tumblr.com via Dakota on Pinterest

Old Fashioned Chocolate Donuts

    

I've been a bit out of the loop (bloggy speaking) lately so I just came across the recipe for Old Fashioned Chocoalte Donuts from Joy the Baker.

After seeing one picture of the donuts, I knew they'd be the first thing I was baking this weekend. So, Saturday morning, I went out and ran...then came home and made donuts. I run for donuts.

 

If you've never made donuts before, these were a great recipe. No yeast. No rising. Just resting for about 15mins in the fridge. Easy. 

After they rest, just roll out the dough, then cut the donuts. No worries if you don't have a donut cutter; I just used a mason jar and a cap from some sprinkles. I used to have biscuit cutters, but I think they were used for playdoh one too many times... Fry the donuts for less than a minute on each side, you can tell by color... 

Let them cool for a few, then dip them in the icing! You could let them set for a minute....or just eat them right away!Here's the full recipe!

What are your favorite dishes to make on the weekend for breakfast/brunch?

Taylor Swift Acoustic Guitar Birthday Cake

Thank you, for the Taylor Swift inspiration!

My cousin turned 12 for her birthday and is really in love with Taylor Swift.



After putting the kids to bed, my kitchen transformed into a bakery. Black dye and fondant and sprinkles everywhere!


I think the cake turned out really lovely though.



I intended on the top being a bit more iridescent than it turned out, however, my local craft store was only able to provide this effect with all of the silver sparkle on the shelf.

I'm working on a couple more cakes for some family in the next week and finishing up patterns so life is about to get a lot more free and exciting around here!

I'm so excited to get my hands on this and start using this! I haven't even let myself order the book yet-I just know it would lead to being very unproductive!

Fondant cakes are intimidating, but this is only my third one and I don't think it looks too shabby!