CookieD-oh

When I asked the girl, some weeks ago, what flavors of birthday cake she wanted this year, she promptly responded, "Strawberry and grape." Grape.  Really. She opted for strawberry cake and grape cupcakes, instead of a 2-tier cake.  And she wanted her cupcakes to have rainbow frosting like she saw on the Wilton cupcake book in the grocery store.  So I got to mix rainbow colors again.  Joy! But back to the grape cake.  There are really no recipes for grape-flavored birthday cake on the internet. At least not that I could find.  I found cakes with actual grapes in them, but that's not what she wanted. So we got to experiment. First, I used my scratch strawberry cake recipe and adapted it for grape.  The cupcakes tasted good, but they didn't really rise very well.  And they were a strange color. So I set the rest of the batter aside and we moved on to plan B: These cupcakes rose and were purple. Here's a side-by-side: ...

The girl wanted unicorns on her birthday cake again this year.  I wasn't really feeling it.  I'm a baker, not an artist. So I made this: And then we did this: That's Princess Cadance.  It was a win-win. Strawberry cake, just like she wanted.  But don't worry, this isn't all she got.  She also wanted cupcakes for her birthday.  I'll post about those a little later. That's all for now. Enjoy!

The boy's school had a bake sale on Friday.  I forgot about it until Wednesday.  Really, his school tells us about things waaaaaay too early.  Like I'm supposed to remember in April, a notice that got sent home in January.  Sheesh. I guess what I'm trying to say is: some people are organized.  I am not one of them.  So instead of making fabulous, beautiful, amazing, creatively genius-y sugar cookies for the bake sale, I made cupcakes.  Go me! But, I remembered to take a few pictures for anyone who's interested in seeing the process.  I can seriously whip this recipe out in no time these days.  I make it that often. First things first, boil 2 cups of water and mix it with one cup of cocoa powder.  Let that cool to room temperature. That looks kind of weird, right?  Here's a tip: Mix the cocoa and water the night before and leave it in the fridge.  Shake it up a little when you're ready to use it.  You'll ge...

It's Springtime!  Sort of!  It's 41 degrees today!  But that beats snow, and I'll take whatever I can get at this point. To me, spring means lemon meringue pie.  Summer means peaches, but that's another post altogether. I tried a few recipes until coming across this one a few years back.  It's Alton Brown's , and it's the best one I've ever found.  I forgot to take pictures so no step-by-step today.  Actually, I always forget to take pictures.  Because I make these quite a lot.  Maybe someday I'll get a picture of a slice, too. It's sooooo good.  Really.  My dad wants two for his birthday. Anyhoo, follow the link, try the recipe.  You'll be glad you did. Enjoy! CookieD-oh

Happy Easter!  Just a day late! I'm usually just a little behind the 8-ball.  Today is no exception. Saturday we made hot cross buns for Easter. It was fun!I think this is the third year we've made them.  They were never a tradition in our house when I was growing up, but now that I've discovered them, we'll be making them every year, time permitting. I use the Pioneer Woman's recipe , just slightly tweaked.  First, I use the whole cinnamon roll dough recipe, instead of half.  Because, really, the half recipe only makes two dozen or so buns, and for all that work, it's not enough.  Just being honest. Second, I use currants instead of raisins.  The first year I used raisins because I could not find currants anywhere.  It was bizarre. But the past two years our grocery store has carried SunMaid Zante currants, which are lovely. Third, I use the cinnamon called for in the recipe, plus one teaspoon (heaping) cardamom and a heavy pinch of ...