Baking Monday - Chocolate Dipped Mint Cookies

I had mint on the brain today.



I used these mint cookies from Pillsbury, but bumped the mint up to 1 full tsp instead of a half. After baking and cooling, they were coated with dark chocolate. I found the easiest way to dip was to do half, let it set, then go back and do the other half. Easy and not too messy.



Super yum!

Kids in the Kitchen

I can't say that Dora is a big fan of cooking and baking, but she definitely enjoys decorating. We went to a scout workshop last month called "Ace of Cupcakes," where each girl got to decorate cupcakes with different designs, like:



tye dye,



candy flowers,



and happy frogs.

I was getting a little stressed out at the workshop, watching the girls work with pastry bags. They hadn't been secured at the top, and each time a girl picked one up, icing shot out like a volcano. Icing ties .... they are a decorator's best friend!!



I put Dora and my niece in charge of decorating our Easter cookies, and they did a fantastic job!!

Bonus Baking - Triple Chocolate Cookies

I made these cookies again, this time with chocolate buttercream instead of ganache.



For some reason, they remind me of the deli scene from When Harry Met Sally ...



Use mini chips for the cookie recipe, they are just the right size.



Yeah, buttercream was the way to go. Mmmmm.

Baking Monday - PB Choc Chip Brownies

Delicious. Easy. Disappeared quickly.



Yum!

Baking Monday - Vanilla & Strawberry Whoopie Pies

Dora and I had a weekend to ourselves, and she decided what dessert to bake. We went back to this cookbook and chose vanilla whoopie pies with strawberry buttercream. The boys are both chocolate kids, but Dora is my fruity girl. Ice cream, candy, desserts ... she always chooses fruity over any other flavor.



The buttercream called for freeze dried strawberries, which made sense because fresh would probably be too juicy with the sugar. Happily, we found them at Wegmans and they weren't too expensive ... Dora chose one pack for baking and one for snacking.



She was really proud of the final product and brought some in to school to share with her teachers. These were really good. I usually go for the chocolatey desserts, but fruity is a nice treat, too.

Easter Crafting – Sock Bunnies

I've been spending Fridays with Grandma, and it's been fun to have projects to work on. We've stamped cards, painted with watercolor, filled beanbags, decorated cookies, and done lots and lots of jigsaw puzzles. I had been searching for an Easter project that we could make and send out to the great grandkids - these little sock bunnies from Family Fun were just our speed.



Start with a toddler sock, fill with dried beans, tie off the top with a rubber band.



Cut the top into ear shapes (cut a "v" with rounded tops), tie a bow around the neck. We opted to paint the features because some of them are going to little kiddos and we didn't want to worry about pieces coming off. We dabbed the eraser end of a new pencil in paint to make the eyes, noses, and a tail on the back of each bunny.



Super cute! Clark made one by himself and has been playing with it all week - building block houses for him and acting out scenes.



All packaged up and ready to go! I found these little bunny stamps at the craft store for $1 - perfect. The bunnies are all on their way to new homes.



And in other cute news ... Clark and his hypnotized bunny.

Happy Easter!



Update: Found a pic of Clark's bunny and house. He was really insistent on his bunny having teeth like in the original photo ... turned out a bit fang-like, but he's happy.

Baking Monday - Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

Jeff's request: something super chocolatey today. Inspiration came from a double chocolate sandwich cookie that we used to buy at a grocery store when we lived in VA (the only cookie I would ever buy at a grocery store!) So I made Mrs. Field's double chocolate chip cookies, which are perfect for filling, because they bake flat and stay soft.



Half got filled with mint buttercream that I had left over in the fridge ...



... and half got whipped chocolate ganache from the Whoopie Pie cookbook. Turns out, chocolate buttercream would have been a better choice - the ganache was too rich, it needed something a little sweeter. These should make a chocolate (and frosting!) lover very happy.