Cookie Decorating Kits - Perfect Holiday Gift!

Here's a fun holiday gift idea for you...

A cookie decorating kit for your friends and family.
Combine the icing, the sprinkles and the cookies all in one place... it's perfect! And perfectly fun.

What You Need: (for 3-5 kits)
(I will describe each in detail below with recipe links)
Cut-out cookies
Buttercream Icing
3-4 bottles of sprinkles
Disposable icing bags*
Mini treat bags *
*Available at craft stores

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Gingerbread Houses for Kids

There are plenty of amazing websites out there devoted to those perfect, architectural-wonder gingerbread houses. This is not one of them.


My boys and I went to visit Fox 9 to show the weatherman, Cody, how gingerbread houses are done. Click the video above to see the segment, or you can click here to go to the Fox 9 website.

Gingerbread houses in our house generally involve a whole lot of sugar, layers upon layers of candy, marshmallows and sugar cereal, and who knows what else. And with kids, I think that's really what it's all about. Below are some of my ideas for making the kid-friendly gingerbread house a more fun experience.

It's all about the icing

Whether you're making your gingerbread house with a kit or graham crackers or Homemade Gingerbread, whether or not it stands up to the test of a child decorating it is all about the icing.
Most of the kits come with some pre-packaged icing, which is fine for adding your decorations and making snow around the outside of the house, but I've found that real Royal Icing makes a huge difference for getting the house to stay together.

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"Acorn"y Little Thanksgiving Idea

After I saw this acorn treat idea on the website, The Fountain Avenue Kitchen, I decided my children must make them for their teachers as a treat for the upcoming Thanksgiving break.

Of course, being that I just looked at a picture and didn't read directions, I didn't realize I needed mini Nilla Wafers instead of regular ones. So, ours didn't turn out quite as well. But the 7-year-olds didn't care.

All you need is Hershey's Kisses, Mini Nilla Wafers (or regular-sized), and a butterscotch chip. Some melted chocolate or almond bark or even icing to put it all together, and let the kids go!

We put four in a bag and added a little note that said: "Acorn"y little gift to say: I'm Thankful for You!
Because well, we're just acorny like that!

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Easy Monster Cupcakes - 5 Ways

I found some Candy Eyeball Sprinkles at the store this week... so, I had no choice, I had to make some quick Monster Cupcakes for Halloween.

I thought I'd show what you could do with a few different, easy-to-find decorating tips. The tips are labeled in the picture above. I think my favorite is the easiest... Wilton Tip #233 in a messy pile. The center cupcake.
(Click on the picture to see the cupcakes larger and in more detail.)

My kids' teachers and our neighbors will hopefully enjoy their simple little monsters.

Click the Links Below to See:
Easy Monster Cake
Halloween Cupcake Ideas 
How to Make a Cake Mix Taste Homemade
Basic Buttercream Icing Recipe

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Easy Cat or Dog "Food Bowl" Birthday Cakes

My boys turned seven this weekend. Every year, we have a costume party for their birthday, to give them (and their friends) another chance to wear their Halloween costumes.

This year, they were cats. So, they wanted cat food bowls for their birthday cakes.

I decided to go with simple for the decoration because this year the boys were very particular about flavors and fillings. (Chocolate-chocolate-chocolate for Charley, and White cake with lemon curd filling and vanilla frosting for Jax.)

The 'water' is piping gel colored blue. (I added a small layer of white icing underneath the blue gel to make the water look lighter in color.) And the cat food is cereal. Each cat chose his favorite cat-food-looking cereal to go on his cake.

I made each a two-layer 9x13 cake, filled in between the layers, and to get the 'indentation' for the sides of the bowls, I used a tip #12 to add a thick layer. I added three layers, then tried to get them as smooth as possible (easier said than done).

In the end, they weren't perfect, but they won over the cats, and their friends.

Click the Links Below to See
How to Make Cake Mix taste Homemade
Rich Vanilla Buttercream Icing Recipe
Silky Chocolate Buttercream Icing Recipe
Lemon Curd Recipe
How to Frost the Corners of a Cake
Last Year's "Backson" Monster Birthday Cake

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Donuts for Dads on Fox 9

Big day! Lots of donuts! An excited six-year-old! We're heading to Fox 9 this morning to show off my Jackson's donut-making abilities for Father's Day.


Click here to go to the Fox 9 site to see the video there, if it doesn't show up well here.

If you're visiting to find the recipes I mentioned on the show, here's a list of links, or you can scroll down the main page, and you'll find them all from the last week.

'Healthy' Homemade Donut Recipe
Easy Donut Recipes from Cake Mix
Crazy Chocolate Donut Recipes
Best Donut Frosting and Glaze Recipes 
Strawberry Powdered Sugar Donut Recipe

And click the links here if you're interested in taking a Cake Decorating Class or hosting a Cake Decorating Party or Workshop.

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Homemade (and Healthy) Donut Recipe

These are what I call my "healthy" donuts. It's so easy to change and customize the flavors. And my six-year-olds actually prefer these "healthy" donuts because it means they get to eat more of them without any complaint from me!

Now, yes, I realize they're covered in sugar, sprinkles or icing... but I figure they're still way more healthy and filling than most of the breakfast stuff out there.

What You Need:  
(Yield: 1 1/2 dozen large donuts, about 3-4 dozen small donuts)
For the Donuts:
2 large eggs (beaten)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plain yogurt (Greek yogurt best)
1/4 cup milk
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons melted butter

For the Icing:
4 Tbsp. Cream Cheese (at room temperature)
2 Tbsp. Butter (at room temperature)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1-2 Tbsp. milk
splash of vanilla extract

*Note: See end of recipe for many variations
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Donuts for Dads Week

This week on the blog, I'm going to feature a number of different homemade doughnut (or donut) recipes... as well as some tricks and tips to make many flavors quickly and easily.

Now, I admit that I am a raised or yeast donut girl at the donut store, but those are so putsy to make, and in the morning, for breakfast, I do not want to have to do that much work. So, I will be focusing on cake donuts. They're easier, faster, and don't always have to be fried!

I'm going to start with what you need to get started: the pans and donut makers.

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School's Out for Summer - Cookies

Today was our official last day of school for the year. My guys are going to be first graders! Seems impossible. I wanted to make some cookies to thank the teachers, but I was running really short on time this week.

So, I went the Kindergarten way out. I baked some simple round cookies, used Food Writer edible ink markers to draw simple pictures on them, then used red icing to "cross out" the school-related things that they would no longer deal with over the summer... and green icing to circle the things they'd welcome.

I did some personalization. The whistling lips were for the teachers who have my one guy who cannot. stop. whistling. ever.

And the highlight... was the bloody tooth. Kindergarten teachers deal with a lot of lost teeth... and two of them do not like teeth at all!

*Note: My original idea was to do cookies based on the Alice Cooper song, 'School's Out.' Everyone told me it was too obscure and the teachers wouldn't know what I was talking about. Ha! The teacher opened the cookies, and immediately started singing the song. Next year, I guess.

Click the Links Below to See:
Vanilla Sugar Cookie Recipe
Chocolate Sugar Cookie Recipe
Royal Icing Recipe 
Other school/teacher-related treats

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Marshmallow Flower Cupcakes on Fox 9

If you have trouble viewing the video above, Click Here to visit the MyFox9.com website to see the video.

I'm super excited and super nervous to take one of my little men on TV with me this morning to make these marshmallow flower cupcakes.

We first made them last year for Teacher Appreciation Day for their preschool teachers.

What You Need:
Cupcakes
Mini-marshmallows (about 20-25 per cupcake)
Icing (any kind will do, even canned icing)
Sugar sprinkles in pretty flowery colors
Sandwich Bags

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100 Days of School Cookies

The 100th day of school means 100 cookies for the class.
That's what we did at our house this weekend, gearing up for the big day.

What You Need:
Vanilla Sugar Cookie Recipe
or Chocolate Sugar Cookie Recipe
Small round cookie cutter (I used the medium of this set.)
Royal Icing Recipe
FoodWriter or other edible ink markers

*Note: It took me a little more than one batch to get the 100 cookies plus the rectangles for the extra cookies. You may be able to eek out 100 from a single batch, but I recommend at least a 1 1/2 batch of either recipe, just so you have a few for the inevitable mess-ups along the way. (I did not make nearly enough backups, which meant I was a little crabby when they were careless... not enjoyable!)
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Candy Coal for Stockings {Recipe}

Is anyone in your house on Santa's Naughty List?
Someone here is. And this candy coal will be inside of his stocking this year.

But I'm also planning to give these little bags of coal to friends, too, because.. well, they're funny. AND they're good. Homemade Peanut Butter Cups, covered in black sprinkles. What's not to like??

What You Need: 
1/2 cup butter
1 cup peanut butter (I prefer crunchy, but whatever you like.)
1 package of graham crackers, crushed (1/3 of a standard box of graham crackers.)
1 cup powdered sugar
1- 12 oz. bag chocolate chips or Chocolate Candy Melts
Black Sanding Sugar (sprinkle sugar)*

*Note: Black Sanding Sugar isn't terribly easy to find after Halloween, if you don't have a good cake supply store nearby. Online, it is, of course. But if you're in a pinch and want to make these right now, like I do, check out this blog post on Sugarbelle's Blog. 

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Back-To-School Apple Cupcakes

My babies start Kindergarten this week. I am so nervous about sending them off to big, scary elementary school! But, I'm sending them with a couple of these wrapped up for their teachers... that ought to grease the wheels in their favor, right??

What You Need:
Cupcakes
Icing
Red Sugar Sprinkles
Pretzel Sticks
Green Tootsie Rolls (or fondant)

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Play Ball! Baseball Cookies

I wondered the other day to those of you who follow my Facebook page... if I had two little girls... instead of two little boys... or even just one little girl, would this blog have a lot more pink, tutus and princesses?

Well, it doesn't really matter, I guess, because I have boys.
I have to tell you, in the realm of things to make... baseball cookies... pretty darn simple!

What You Need:
Vanilla Sugar Cookie Dough
Royal Icing
Large, round biscuit (or cookie) cutter
Red Coloring*
Piping Bag fit with Tip #2

*Note: See my post about How to Color Icing for some tips on making a dark red color. It can be a real pain!
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Thunder Cake with the Kids

We have a book, Thunder Cake. It's a kids' book all about how a little girl gets over her fear of thunder storms by baking this cake with her grandma.

My boys have wanted to bake a "Thunder Cake" ever since we got the book months ago. We finally had a chance to do it, with some friends this week.

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Teacher Appreciation Day or Mother's Day Cupcakes with Kids

I've seen pictures of cupcakes like these all over the Internet, and on various grocery store check-out magazines. I always wanted to try them. Then I thought, what a perfect project for two little boys to show their teachers how much they appreciate them.

What You Need:
Cupcakes
Mini-marshmallows (about 20-25 per cupcake)
Icing (any kind will do)
Sugar sprinkles in pretty flowery colors
Baggies

Optional:
Two 5-year-olds (not pictured)

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Half-Birthday Half-Cake

We celebrate our boys' half-birthday. Yes, I realize some people may think this is crazy and excessive. But I think it's just another fun reason to have cake and a party! (For the record, no gifts are allowed at either their birthday or half-birthday parties.)

The half-birthday half-cake definitely does not get the planning and consideration of their real birthday cakes. I need something that looks good on a half cake, and that doesn't take too much time, because this isn't a "real" celebration. It's just fun.

This rainbow cake seriously took me less than 3 hours total, including baking, making icing, decorating, etc.

What You Need:
Round cake, baked & cooled (I used an 8"x3" round cake.)
Icing, colored blue (I used my cream cheese icing)
M&Ms
Rainbow Sprinkles
Mini-marshmallows
Optional:
Any other color icing & tip #3

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Memory Game Cookies

A fun, easy way to get your kids to actually want to learn their letters... let them eat them!

A "Memory" Game, made out of cookies.

What You Need:
Sugar Cookies (cut into small squares or rectangles)
Royal Icing
Food Coloring Icing (like Wilton Food Writers)
**Small children who want to play and eat cookies
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Easy Rainbow Pudding Pie for St. Patrick's Day

Seriously, start to finish, it took me less than an hour to do all three of these! (Well, except for baking the crusts.)

What You Need:
Pie Crust (These are mini-pies, but you could totally do full-sized.)
Instant Pudding (Prepared as pie filling - mixed with 1 3/4 cups of cold milk)
Whipped Cream (or Cool Whip)
Wilton Nonpareils 6 Mix Sprinkle Assortment (or other sprinkles divided by color)
Parchment paper for template
Optional (for "pot of gold"):
1 Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookie (or other round, dark cookie)
Yellow or gold sanding sugar or sprinkles

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