Oh Look...A Post!

Yep, it may be a new year, but I'm still set in my old ways.  Queen of timely blogging, I am not.

But, hey, I've got a post for you today.  And, maybe, I'll even keep up after this.  Even though technically, I'll still be behind because these goodies are from November 2017...the struggle...

I could use some magic to help me with my to do list.  What about you?

December Sugar Rush

Happy 2016!  How are your resolutions holding up?  Going well, I hope.

Let's get down to it - we'll start off with Christmas goodies!

Cookies! 60 dozen this year.  Not quite a record, but still plenty for my liking.

#TBT

Yep...it's ThrowBack Thursday on the blog today.

And, while we won't be going too far back, the cakes, cupcakes, and other goodies on today's post will all be from April.

Not April of some past year, but April of this year.  (See I told you we weren't going way back...if we do that it'll be on a Wednesday so we can #WBW).

Yes, I've been slacking on posting photos of the creations, but in my defense, May is a SUPER busy month for me, as I'm sure it is for you as well.  Speaking of May, suppose I ought to start working on photos and a post or two for that as well.  Just don't hold your breath, it will be well into June before we get to that point...

Let's get started with our stroll back through April, shall we?

Sayonara, Summer

Well...it's official.  Summer is over; Autumn has begun!

Time to put away the swim gear; brush the sand off your feet. Instead, find the jacket and boots, maybe the gloves and scarves, too!

Sonic Boom

First up, I didn't know Sonic (the hedgehog, not the franchise) was even still in existence, much less that he was still popular with the kiddos.  Apparently he is though - proof?  This cake:

Blink of an Eye

Umm...where did July go? No, seriously...my calendar says it's August 9, how did that happen?. I was busy in July, had plenty going on, made some good memories, but I've been seriously slacking when it comes to blogging.  I haven't posted photos of any goodies in weeks, which according to one source, is BORING. I think I should get points for keeping up with the Tasty Tip Tuesday posts though, right?

*crickets chirping*

Hmm...maybe not. But, I bet you've guessed where this is leading - yep, to one of my marathon posts.  Though in all fairness it's really not a marathon, only about 9.3 miles or 15K, so not even a half marathon, rather short really...

Hope you're hydrated, we're about to get started. And, yes, all the following creations are from July (translation, I'm still behind, but closing the gap).  *big smile*

Starting Line - we're off like a herd of turtles with this festive coconut cake I made for the 4th of July.

Coming up on 1K, still feeling pretty good, maybe a little like a princess?

2K marker - sun is starting to really shine, hope you remembered your sunscreen.

There's the local gymnasium at the 3K mark, looks like the team is playing some off-season basketball.

Sun's still shining, birds are chirping...how are you feeling after 4K?

3.1 mile mark! You completed 5K...did it feel like a run for the roses?  There's a few more miles yet to go, let's push on.

There's an aid station up ahead at the 6K point, looks like they might have a cozy quilt if you're feeling chilled.

7K - headed into the woods for a little trail running, hope you opted for neon colored running gear today.

A little over halfway there now, 8K is getting near. Maybe it's time to fuel up....did you bring gels along? If not, how about a cake ball? Highly portable and in a variety of flavors!

9K, officially past the halfway point. One more chance to fuel up with a cake ball or two, it could make the difference between a fading finish and a strong sprint at the end...

Guess what? You've reached 6.2 miles, 10K. Excellent job! Are you dreaming of lots of yummy, "bad for you" foods yet? Like maybe this dairy free chocolate cream pie with coconut whipped cream?

Or maybe you're more the type to daydream about warm sandy beaches, frosty drinks, toes in the sand, and leis.  Oh, look! We made 11K.

No time to stop and smell the flowers, you've found the 12K mark, time to finish strong!

13K. Are you digging deep in your reserves to find the energy to finish? Maybe this character has something useful in her backpack that could help you out.

You're at 14K.  This is no time to let your mind wander far afield, stay focused!

Here's the finish! 15K....congratulations; grab a brew and don't forget to stretch!

Whew! I'm exhausted; thanks for going the distance with me today.

Talk to you soon!  (Hopefully.)

Thin Mint Cookie Cheesecake Pie

Mmm...Thin Mints.  By far my favorite Girl Scout cookie.  I'm not one of those that purchases cases and cases of them when cookie time comes around, but I always purchase my fair share.  Which I then, typically, freeze and ration out in small portions in order to make them last as long as possible.  I really don't know what came over me when I decided to make this pie...it uses a good amount of Thin Mints...and it put a respectable dent in my hoard.  But...the pie was delicious.

It whips up in just a few minutes, aside from freezing the crust, and you don't even need to turn on the oven.  It's a nice cool, minty treat for warmer weather.  If you don't have Thin Mints, I would venture you could simply use chocolate-covered chocolate cookies and add a teaspoon or two of mint extract.  I haven't tried it this way, but you'd get a similar effect...I think.

Thin Mint Cookie Cheesecake Pie
Printable Recipe

Yield:  8 to 10 servings
Time:  15 minutes, plus chilling



Ingredients:

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 8 oz Cool Whip, thawed
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 2 sleeves (i.e. 1 box) Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookies

Preparation:

1. Finely crush 24 cookies.  Once crushed, add the melted butter and stir to combine.
2. Press crumb mixture evenly across the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie tin.  Place the crust in the fridge (about 30 minutes) or freezer (10 - 15 minutes) until hardened.
3. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla extract until light and fluffy.  Gently fold in the Cool Whip.
4. Crush 15 to 20 cookies.  Fold the crushed cookies into the cheesecake/cool whip mixture.
5. Spread the filling mixture into the cold pie crust.  Top with additional cookie crumbs.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.
6. Eat any remaining cookies, reserve for additional garnish, or save for a later use.

Happy baking!

$40 Pies & My Peeps

My Peeps:  Version 2.0 - sugar cookies!  Are you a fan of the ubiquitous Easter candy - those sugar coated marshmallows?  I love the idea of the them, but don't care for the taste of them, so when I stumbled across a set of Peeps cookie cutters, I knew they'd be joining my collection.  Now, I can have my peeps and eat them, too!

Though I think next time I make them, I'll round the ears on the bunnies a bit more; they are just too pointy - they don't look "marshmallow-y" enough.  (Yes, I know marshmallow-y is not a word, but let's pretend it is today, mmmk?)  

Did you celebrate St. Patty's Day?  Maybe you found a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?  There weren't any rainbows in my neck of the woods, so I opted to make my own.

And, for added luck, I threw in a few four leaf clovers as well.

I also recently tried my hand at sculpting a tow truck and cars for a birthday cake.  I borrowed a toy tow truck from my nephew to use as a guide.  When he delivered the toy to me, my nephew of course asked what I needed it for.  His response when I told him, "Tow trucks are easy to build!  You just need to make a truck then add a crane and a hook."  He didn't take me up on my offer to let him do the constructing of the piece, though.  Hmm...

As for the $40 pie - it didn't look very pretty, but tasted excellent according to A, who was the lucky recipient.  She tried to make me feel better by telling me boysenberry pies never look pretty - I'm not sure I fully believed her though.

So, what made it a $40 pie?  Well, turns out you can't find boysenberries in any of my local stores.  Nor could I find them in the big city during one of my visits.  The only solution was to order the berries online and have them shipped - not the cheapest route - but it helped make A's birthday fantastic, so it was well worth it.  And, good news, I've got enough berries left to make another $40 pie!  Maybe the next one will turn out prettier...

Talk to you soon!

The Run Down

I survived the Christmas season!  How about you?  I hope you had a fabulous holiday, even if you were a bit stressed and stretched at the seams.  I was, but would we be happy any other way?

In case you're curious, my Christmas was great.  I spent time with family and friends and we even got some snow.  Which meant we had a white Christmas, but more importantly we maybe eked out a tenth of an inch of moisture...one of the best presents our area could receive right now.  We would have gladly taken more!

But, anywho, on to the Christmas cookies; the cookies that pretty much consumed my December.  Cookie Monster may always want a cookie, but at this point I definitely don't.  *sigh*

A few statistics from the cookie carousel:

• Cookies baked:  52 dozen (624 individual cookies)
• Pounds of butter used:  17
• Pounds of powdered sugar used:  48
• Sheet pans borrowed:  6
• Rolls of parchment paper used:  4
• Burns sustained from hot pans and/or oven:  5
• Average decorated cookie completion rate:  3 dozen/hour
• Days spent baking:  2
• Days spent decorating:  8

I was pretty pleased with my burn rate this year - I think it's down from previous years, even though the cookie count was up.  I must admit though that it's this time of year when I most seriously consider finding a temporary sous chef; but haven't cracked under the pressure yet.  Luckily, I've figured out a decent system to keep everything running smoothly for the most part.  I'm basically a cookie making machine once I get rolling.

Of course, there are things that happen that are out of my control.  Like a winter storm with 60 mph winds, snirt (snow + dirt, for those of you unfamiliar with the term), and loss of electricity.

Yep...I boxed cookies by lantern light.  I can honestly say this is the first time I've had to do that, but orders must go out on time, so a resourceful baker does what she has to do.

Oh, and since the cookies weren't keeping me busy enough, I also whipped up a few dozen mini cupcakes for a birthday.

Yes, those are Christmas cookies in the background.  I'm telling you, there's a point where there's no escaping the cookie.

And, since I couldn't very well just feed the fam Christmas cookies as dessert on the 25th, I also made some pies and other sweets.

Mini peanut butter pies, anyone?  Yep, I used store-bought graham crusts.  I'm not ashamed, they work like a charm and save me time.  In addition, there was also puppy chow, homemade reeses, grape salad, lumps of coal, and apple pie dip.  Oh, and rice krispies treats, which ironically enough, went the fastest of anything. My group is sometimes happiest with the simplest, most classic things.  C'est la vie.

Do you have big plans for ringing in the new year?

A Great Thing About Living In A Small(ish) Town

No...it's not the fact that if I don't know what I'm doing, everyone else does.  That's always good times, but it's not the "great thing" to which I'm referring today.

Nope, today I'm referring to the sense of community and the willingness to extend a helping hand that you really only seem to be able to find in small(ish) towns.  For example, this past weekend, a silent auction was held to raise funds for a community member in need of specialized mobility equipment.  And, I got to be a part of it!

My donation to the cause was a basket full of sweet goodies.  Here it is all wrapped up and ready to go.

It included an assortment of yummies.  Everything from sugar cookies (both chocolate and traditional), to cookies and creme popcorn, to cake balls, to pie pops.

Cookies and Creme Popcorn

Yes, those are flamingo cookies!

Pie Pops

Cake Balls

The pie pops were a fun project, though if you attempt them, I would recommend using a filling that doesn't contain whole fruit.  It just works out better that way...trust me!

I also made some cake batter sprinkle bark that I had originally planned to include in the basket, but it was melting at room temperature.  Obviously, it didn't make the cut.   

And, full disclosure, it didn't really taste like cake (batter or otherwise), proof positive since my sister commented, "Your chunks of chocolate were tasty."  Good to know it wasn't just me who was less than impressed...  So, no cake batter flavor; back to the drawing board with this one.

Did you realize school is back in session or it will be soon, depending on your locale?  And, that also means school athletics are as well.  I made these cheerleader themed cookies for a local squad that was headed to competition.  (I forgot to take photos before I bagged the cookies.  Slacker, I know.)

Along with the cookies, popcorn, and pie (Oh My! See what I did there?), I've also got a few cakes to share with you.

Oh yes, there's cake...there's always cake.

Like this blinged out, 50th birthday cake.  The logo is edible, but the "bling" and topper are not.

And, this cake that embraces what is probably every hunter's dream shot.

And, this cake for a recently enlisted Marine.

And...(last one, promise) this cake for all of those 4-wheel/ATV enthusiasts out there.  The ATVs were plastic toys, but I bet you'll never guess what the trees were made from.  Give up?  Sugar ice cream cones and grape stems.  Bazinga!

Check back this weekend for the cookies and creme popcorn recipe.  It sounds strange, but is oddly delicious.  And it's SUPER easy to put together.

Talk to you soon!

P.S.  Thanks to MP, Pax, and Kater for shopping for the bling!