Posts tagged Dessert

My In-Laws anniversary was a few weeks ago, and I decided to get a little creative.  

My Mother-in-Law had been wanting a cake plate and she also loved the sugar cookies I made around the holidays..so..I decided to combine the two, add some love birds to the mix, and voila! I created their Anniversary Gift :)

I purchased the cake plate at Home Goods and the Love Birds at Michaels.

You can make many variations of this gift (cake plate or other dish, cookies, cake or cupcakes, and any sort of keepsake in the middle). 

Here are some pictures of the process followed by Martha Stewart’s (delicious) Sugar Cookie Recipe:

I rolled out the dough and cut the cookies in the shape of a heart.

I decorated the cookies with family members names (dogs included), sayings about love, happy anniversary, and of course lots of hearts!

I placed the cookies on the plate around the love birds :)

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Placed the lid on and wrapped it up in tissues paper:

The gift was a HIT! :) 

MARTHA STEWART’S (Delicious) SUGAR COOKIE RECIPE:

Ingredients

• 4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions

• Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl.
• Put butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Mix in eggs and vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Gradually mix in flour mixture. Divide dough in half; flatten each half into a disk. Wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees with racks in upper and lower thirds. Let one disk of dough stand at room temperature just until soft enough to roll, about 10 minutes. Roll out dough between two pieces of plastic wrap to 1/4 inch thick. Remove top layer of plastic wrap. Cut out cookies with a 4-inch one-piece-shaped cookie cutter. 
• Bake, switching positions of sheets and rotating halfway through, until edges turn golden, 15 to 18 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.

Cake Pops are all the rage right now, so if you need a gift for the baker or dessert lover in your life, look no further!

The BabyCakes Cake Pop Maker is $29.99 and comes with everything you need to make delicious and beautiful cake pops!

http://www.kitchenkapers.com/babycakes-cake-pop-maker.html

Need a gift for a foodie with a sweet tooth?  Then let me suggest Momofuku Milk Bar’s Crack Pie or Franken Pie (or ANY of their desserts for that matter)!

The NYC bakery serves up deliciousness in the city everyday - but now you can ORDER any of their desserts and ship them to someone you love!

The pies are $44 plus shipping: http://momofukustore.com/pies.html

If you are looking to spend a little less, check out the Milk Bar’s Cookbook:

It is $19.98 on Barnes and Noble:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/momofuku-milk-bar-christina-tosi/1102675480

DIY designer cupcakes - this is definitely a “why didn’t I think of that?” IDEA! 

Cupcake Cuties were created by a working Mama who decided decorated cupcakes shouldn’t just be for special / fancy occasions (and didn’t have to cost a ton of $$$).

The kits come with everything you need to jazz up a cupcake!  You provide the cupcakes and the possibilites are endless! Pictured above is the Jungle Animal Theme (comes with everything you need to decorate 24 cupcakes).

And, here is another adorable idea -The Popcorn Cupcake -perfect for movie night/Oscar viewing party:

I especially love this one - The Sushi Cupcake:

The kits start at $12.99 and can be found here:

http://www.cupcakecuties.com/

Need to bring something for the Big Game on Sunday?  I found these cupcakes on my latest addiction… Pinterest (http://www.pinterest.com).

The football-themed cupcakes are by Mini Baker, and if they taste 1/2 as good as they LOOK, then you’ll definitely be the hit of the party! :)

Feeling ambitious and ready to bake?

Check out the recipe:

http://minibakercupcakes.blogspot.com/2011/12/football-themed-cupcakes.html

“Ding Dong!” It’s that time of year again -Girl Scout Cookie time!  

I am personally a Thin Mint and Samoa lover, but they are all yummy and can make a great gift! This is not your “typical” gift, and since you cannot buy the tasty treats online, you might want to stock up when your little saleswoman arrives.

Girl Scout cookies are perfect to stash away and bring as a fun hostess gift!  Trust me - your host / hostess will DEFINITELY have a smile on their face when you show up with a box of hard-to-get goodies :) 

GS Cookies are $4 a box and proceeds benefit your local GS troop.  To find cookies near you, go to:

http://www.girlscoutcookies.org/