{food share} Flower Bundt Cinnamon Rolls

I can't take credit for this fun food presentation idea-- it was solely MY HUSBAND'S idea!  Believe it or not, my husband LOVES to help me come up with fun and unique ways to serve food.  It was sweet, really.  He came to me after I had made the cinnamon roll dough and with excitement in his voice he exclaimed, "you should let some cinnamon rolls rise in the mini-bundt pan and then when they cook they'll take on the flower shape.  It'll be soooo cute!"

Such a cute idea-- thanks honey!  The only thing I dislike about this is that the frosting covers it all up!
Looking for a delicious cinnamon roll recipe to go along with this?  Take a look at this recipe from one of my previous posts HERE.

{craft share & recipe} Easter Cookies

I must admit-- icing cookies intimidates me!  I always look at those edible creation cookies and 'ooh' and 'ahh' over them and wish I could create something remotely similar.  Not to say mine even compare to the professionals cookies, but they really weren't too terribly difficult.

I wasn't feeling overly confident about icing a face on the bunnies so I decided to play it safe with some fluffy bunny tails made out of mini-marshmallows.

I'd say it's not bad for my first attempt at icing cookies this way!

Royal Icing (Piping Border Frosting)

2 Egg Whites, beaten

1/4 Teaspoon Cream of Tartar

3 Cups Confectioner Sugar

Directions:  Sift together the sugar and cream of tartar.  Next add the egg whites and beat with electric mixer until it stiffens up and holds it shape.  Then, I divide the frosting into different bowls and add the coloring needed for each cookie.  Keep in mind that piping the borders on the cookies don't take a whole lot of frosting.  

Royal Icing (Flooding Inside Frosting)

Using the left over piping border frosting I then added just enough lemon juice to make the frosting a bit more runny.  I believe I added somewhere around 1-2 Tablespoons.  Then, you just plop a good amount in the center of the border frosting and slowly spread it to the edges.  It will dry smooth and flat, but it does take around 20-30 minutes so resist the urge to touch.

{recipe & tutorial} Red Velvet Crackle Cookies

If there is one thing I always have in the pantry and fridge it's cake mix and cream cheese!  So, when I went to make some cookies for my husband's young men's church group I thought, what's better than the two of them together in a cookie?  These cookies are rich and chocolatey and all of the young men raved about their yumminess to my husband.

Ingredients:

1 Red Velvet Cake Mix 

1 8oz Cream Cheese, softened to room temp

1/2 Cup Butter, softened to room temp

1 Egg

1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract

1/2 Bag of Semi Sweet Chocolate Chip Morsels

Flour

Confectioner's Sugar

Directions:

First, beat together the room temperature butter and cream cheese.  Next add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until incorporated.  Now, mix in the red velvet cake mix, cover and chill in the fridge for 30-45 minutes. 

 Meanwhile, dust the chocolate chips in flour.  If you don't cover your chocolate chips in flour they sink to the bottom of the cookie while baking.  After dough has chilled add the chips to the cake mix and form into tablespoon sized balls.

 Next, roll the cake balls into a good amount of confectioner's sugar and place on a cookie sheet a couple of inches apart.  Then, take a cup and smoosh the balls down semi-flat.  If you don't flatten them a little they will remain in a ball form.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes.

 These cookies are divine!  They are soft.  They are chewy.  They are so rich you won't need many to get your fix.  Enjoy!  We sure did.

{recipe} Strawberry Almond Whoopie Pies

Cake mixes make my life so much easier.  Let's face it-- with two toddlers running around easier is better in this case.  I put together these strawberry almond whoopie pies in a matter of minutes for a girls craft night get together and they were a hit!  Delish and easy I tell ya!

Ingredients:

1 Strawberry Cake Mix
1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
2 Eggs
4 oz. Cream Cheese, Softened to room temp
1/4 Cup Butter, Softened to room temp
1 1/2 Cups Confectioner's Sugar
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 Teaspoons Almond Extract

Directions & Assembling:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  While the oven is heating up mix together the cake mix, oil and eggs.  Next, using a rounded tablespoon scoop the dough onto your cookie sheet-- leave a couple of inches between the cookies.  Bake for 8-10 minutes.  Let cool completely on rack before assembling.
While cookies are baking beat together your cream cheese, butter, vanilla and almond extract with powder sugar.  Add small increments of the almond extract at a time.  I love the cherry flavoring it gives baked goods, but depending on how much you like the taste of almond extract you could add a little more or a little less (or omit it all together, but then it would be called a 'strawberry vanilla whoopie pie').  When assembling the cookies I use that same tablespoon and plop a good amount on one side and take the other cookie and close it up, pushing the frosting out the sides.
TIP-- don't push the cookies together too hard or the filling will spill out. Also, these cookies are much easier to eat after they have sat for an hour or two assembled.  That is, if you can resist letting them sit on the counter that long.  :)

{recipe} Chocolate Cheesecake Four Ways!

I LOVE chocolate and I LOVE cheesecake so the two together was heaven on earth for me.  A chocolate cheesecake recipe is nothing new, but I've added a little bit of spice to each one of my little cheesecakers.  I've done the dirty (if cooking and tasting chocolate cheesecakes can really be called "dirty"?) work for you.  I made one batch of cheesecake and divided it into four.  I then added different secret ingredients to each one.  So... let's get to it shall we?

The first cake batter I added ground cinnamon, nutmeg & cloves.

 The other three cakes were accompanied with alternative spices as well.  One cake had Cayenne, the other Chili Powder and the last one had Chipotle Chile Pepper.

 Once the graham cracker crust had cooled from it's prior baking I added the four different cheesecake batters. I then filled the casserole dishes with boiling water half way up the sides of the cheesecake pans.  This helps keep the cheesecake moist and hopefully from cracking.
Tip 1:  make sure your tin foil is wrapped snuggly around the spring form pans so no water can seep through.
Tip 2 (if you're going to bake all four flavors at once): wrap tin foil around the handle of the casserole dishes identifying which cake is which.

Now for the hard part-- tasting each one!

Cake 1: Cinnamon, Nutmeg & Cloves-- tasted very Christmassy

Cake 2:  Chili Powder-- had the slightest hint of chili, but not a lot of other flavors going on

Cake 3: Cayenne Pepper-- had a good amount of spice taste, but didn't overwhelm the chocolate flavor

Cake 4: Chipotle Chile Pepper-- smokey undertones

THE WINNER-- Cayenne Pepper!  It was a nice pair to chocolate and didn't take away from it.  Now, that's not to say the other three weren't delicious, but the Cayenne was by far my fave.

Chocolate Cayenne Cheesecake

Ingredients

1/3 cup butter, melted

1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup sugar (brown or granulated white-- I've used either and both work great for the crust)

3 (8 ounce) pkgs cream cheese, room temperature

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate, melted (I used Ghiradelli's baking chips)

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/4 teaspoons cayenne pepper (If you like more heat add additional increments, but I would suggest tasting the batter as you go.  Keep in mind the spicyness subsides a bit with baking)

Directions

1.  Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F. Combine the melted butter, graham crackers and sugar in a food processor.  Press mixture into the bottom of your springform pan and bake for 5 minutes.  Set aside and cool

2.  In a large bowl mix together cream cheese until fluffy.  Gradually add sweet condensed milk until smooth and creamy.  Next, add all of the remaining ingredients.  Poor into prepared pans.

3.  Bake for 65 minutes or until cake center is set.  Cool to room temperature and then chill thoroughly in the fridge.  Store leftovers in the fridge (if you have any).

{recipe} Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

 This recipe came from Sprinkles' pumpkin spice cake box.  It adds just the right amount of cinnamon to any spice cake, pumpkin cake, pumpkin pie or cinnamon roll.  Seriously so good!  I tell ya, those folks over at the Sprinkles company know what they're doing.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

milk-- add in 1 teaspoon increments to your desired consistency

 Directions:

Using your electric mixer, beat cream cheese, unsalted butter, salt, and cinnamon on medium low speed until smooth and creamy (approximately 2 or 3 minutes).  Reduce speed to low and gradually add the confectioners' sugar, mixing until incorporated.  Add the vanilla; beat just until mixed.  Do not over-beat or the frosting will incorporate too much air. It should be creamy and dense like ice cream.  Add milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, if frosting is not of a spreadable consistency.

 Piping Tip: 

More often than not I’m too lazy to get out all of my baking gear so I use Ziplock baggies to pipe frosting.  I make cut in one of the corners (about 1/2 inch off) and insert my tip so it’s a snug fit.  Then I fill the bag up with frosting and pipe away.  Super easy and super lazy, I know!

Enjoy!  This frosting is DIVINE and just in time for the holidays.

{recipe} Coffee/Crumb Cake

Not sure what you'd call this cake... coffee cake or crumb cake?  Whatever you call--  call it DELISH!  The cake is incredibly moist and the crumb topping is beyond tasty and crumbly.  I could have eaten the topping raw without the cake and been satisfied.

COFFEE/CRUMB CAKE RECIPE

CRUMB TOPPING

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon almond extract

CAKE BATTER

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup sour cream

2 cups all purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

Position the oven rack in the center and preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease your cake pan and dust with flour. Set aside.

Make the Crumb: In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon.  Melt the butter and stir in the vanilla and almond extract. Gradually drizzle the melted butter mixture into the flour mixture while continuously and gently tossing with a fork. Continue to toss until all the butter is absorbed and you have a uniformly moistened crumb mixture. If texture of crumb is too small, gently squeeze small clumps together to make large crumbs ranging in size from that of a pea to that of a grape.  Set aside while you make the cake batter.

Make the Batter: In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer on high speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each one is added. Beat in the vanilla and sour cream, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder. Add flour mixture to the sour cream mixture and beat on low or stir with a large spoon until evenly combined.

Assembling & Cooking:

Turn the batter into the prepared pan(s) and spread evenly. Sprinkle the crumb mixture over the batter with your fingers, covering the batter evenly and completely. Bake 8-inch rounds for 20-25 minutes, or a 9- by 13-inch pan for 30-35 minutes, or a 9- or 10-inch tube pan for 35-40 minutes. Cake is done when a wooden pick or cake tester inserted near the center comes out clean, and the sides of the cake are golden and slightly pulling away from the edge of the pan. Remove from the oven and let the cake cool in its pan(s) set on a wire rack. Carefully transfer the cake, crumb side up, onto a serving plate. Dust with confectioners' sugar, if desired.

 My cake was baked in one 9 inch Springform pan and I had to cook it significantly longer than expected.  This turned out delicious and I found myself going back for seconds, thirds and even forths.  An extremely dangerous cake for someone who is on a diet and trying to lose their last bit of post baby weight.  So in order to NOT eat it all box them up and deliver some slices to your neighbors.  Spread the calories and the love!

 Download the circular cake box slice template HERE

{free printables} Lemonade & Sweets Stand

While visiting my family in Utah this last month I saw a zillion lemonade stands and I got to thinking how cute it would be to have printables for just that.  Afterwards I went home and started googling it and discovered I'm not the only one that has thought of this.  So I started making these printables and then I sat on them for almost a month because I wanted to take pictures of them in use.  During that time, more lemonade stand printables became available online, but oh well... I still think mine are super cute and run with the best of them. :)

I had every intention of putting some yellow jelly beans in these cupcake wrappers, but when I went to the cupboard to get them, to my surprise they had disappeared.  Hmmmm... I thought my husband said he was on a diet? ;)

The LEMONADE/SWEET STAND printables include:  road sign with arrows, tented food labels (some with wording some without), lemonade banner, price toppers/stickers, drink tags and 3 coordinating digital papers.

Attach this sign to a yard stick with the arrow pointing the correct direction to drive in the traffic.  To add a little frill you can always add some tule or ribbon on the stick.

Place these tented cards next to all of your homemade baked goods.  Also you could cut the top piece off and stick them directly on your baked packaged goods.

"LEMONADE" banner-- I envision this strung together with  yellow tule to give a bit of a frilly feminine touch.

Use these digital papers to make paper chains, paper flowers, and/or paper pinwheels to dress up your stand.  Possibilities are endless.

Tape these price toppers to a lollipop stick and place in whatever sweetness you bake up.  Also, these drink flags will make just the perfect touch to your delicious and refreshing lemonade.

I wish I had gotten these out sooner, but hey we still have close to 6 weeks left of summer and there are still a plethora of hot days calling for our kidlets to get out there and sell refreshing lemonade and make a buck or two in the meantime. 

EMAIL ME FOR THE PDF-- Scribd is acting weird right now!
kirstenfuller{at}gmail{dot}com

{recipe & free printable} Blueberry Blackberry Lime Jam

WOW! I'm not usually a lover of jam, but this jam gave me jelly legs!

Blueberry Blackberry Lime Jam

Yields: about 6 half-pints

• 3 Cups blueberries
• 1.5 Cups blackberries
• 1 Tablespoon grated lime peel
• 1/3 Cup lime juice
• 5 Cups sugar
• 1 package powdered pectin

Crush the blueberries and blackberries one layer at a time. Combine crushed berries and powdered pectin in a large sauce pot. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Add sugar, stirring until dissolved. Stir in grated lime peel and lime juice. Return to a rolling boil. Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary. Ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Adjust two-piece caps. Process 15 minutes in a boiling-water canner.

Here's the gist of canning--

Of course I can't leave you without a FREE PRINTABLE.  If you plan on making this jam you may download specific jam labels HERE.  Or you can download generic jam labels HERE.

{Recipe} Seriously Delicious Cinnamon Rolls

As a family, we make cinnamon rolls biannually in October and April while our church's general conference is on T.V. It has become a much anticipated family tradition throughout the years, and a yummy one at that.

I'm a little hesitant to share this recipe because, quite frankly, I'm selfish with my yummy food! It's seriously the best cinnamon roll recipe I've ever tasted. Do I dare say it rivals Cinnabon? I do, and so does my hubby! To say my hubby loves Cinnabon is an understatement. Every time we fly somewhere he HAS to hunt down the nearest airport Cinnabon to get his fix. Lucky for him, he can also get his fix twice a year right in the comfort of our home.

BEST CINNAMON ROLLS RECIPE

Ingredients

Dough

• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 1 package instant yeast
• 2/3 cup Sugar (plus 1 tablespoon)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup Shortening
• 2 eggs
• 1 small package of Idahoan Original instant mashed potatoes
• 7-7 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup butter, melted

Sugary-Cinnamon Innards

• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup brown sugar

Cream Cheese Frosting--beat together the following ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups confectioners sugar
• 2-4 tablespoons of milk (depending on your like for thin or thick frosting)

Equipment

• Stand mixer
• 2-3 small/medium cake pans

Directions

Dough

• In tbe mixer bowl add the package of yeast and a tablespoon of sugar to 1 1/2 cups of warm water. Let the yeast rise and bubble
• Add the rest of the sugar, salt, shortening, eggs and mix at medium speed until mixed well. The shortening will be in larger chunks, but no worries-- it will blend in, I promise.
• Prepare the mashed potatoes according to the package directions.
• Measure out 1 cup of the prepared potatoes, add them to the mixer, and mix at medium speed until incorporated. I know this step sounds bizarre, but I promise it adds the perfect level of fluffiness to the rolls.
• With the mixer at low speed, add the flour one cup at a time until the dough forms a ball.
• Remove the dough and knead it on a floured surface until it forms a ball.
• Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise until it doubles in size.
• While the dough is rising, prepare the cinnamon-sugar mixture and frosting.
• After the dough has risen, I usually cut the dough in half because it's easier to work with when it's this size. Roll the dough out into a rectangle shape and spread generously with the melted butter. Then dump (yep-- I said "dump", not "sprinkle") the cinnamon mixture onto your dough.
• Roll up the sugar covered dough longwise as tight as you can. Cut the rolled dough into 1.5-2 inch thick discs and place in a greased pan. Set aside and let the rolls rise until almost double in size. The pan should be small enough so that the rolls touch each other and the pan's sides after they rise again.
• Depending on your location in the country your cooking time will vary. Just check back often to makes sure your rolls are not browning too much. If the insides aren't cooked yet, but the tops are starting to brown cover it with tin foil. I baked mine at 400 degrees for 14 minutes, but I suggest checking in around 10-12 minutes. Because the rolls are crammed close together that also causes them to take longer in baking.
• Let the cooked rolls cool a bit before slathering them with the frosting, but not too much, they taste so much better warm!

Cinnamon-Sugar Mixture

• Mix both kinds of sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside.

Cream Cheese Frosting

• In a mixer, mix all ingredients together at medium speed until smooth.

There's something heavenly about fluffy clouds of sugary goodness drizzled in a rich creamy cheese frosting. Just typing this makes my mouth water. Who says I have to wait until October to make these again?

If you have a favorite family desert recipe or tradition let me know!

DOWNLOAD PRINTABLE RECIPE HERE!

{free printables} Recipe Cards

Sometimes cooking can be mundane to me. Please say I'm not the only one that finds cooking EVERYDAY boring? So why not try and liven it up with some cute recipe cards?! This download has 6 pages of 12 different cards. Each page prints two 4x6 inch card.

If interested you may

{download them here}

Linking up to the following sites:

Tip Junkie

One Pretty Thing

Halloween Cupcakes

This is what my kitchen looked like for two days straight. I'm sure my hubby loved that. I tell you what he did love though-- the fruits of my labor-- cupcakes.

It was my first real time working with fondant and it was surprisingly easy. I bought the pre-made Wilton rolled fondant in white from Michaels and used all of my own stuff to color and cut them. The secret is to have plenty of crisco and confectioners sugar at hand. If your fondant becomes too dry grease your hands up with shortening and it will become soft again. If it becomes too sticky-- add more sugar and you will be able to roll it out smoothly.

My newest favorite items are coloring powder. You add a little to water or some other liquid agent and then you can paint onto the fondant (like watercolors).

I think my next venture into the fondant world is to make an actual cake. But for now, I think the cupcakes turned out darling.