Birthday Cake Brownie Pops

My daughter-in-law has a birthday coming up:)  She's a big fan of my brownie pops, so I wanted to make her some special brownie pops to help her celebrate.

When I saw these adorable mini cake-cake pops, I knew I had hit on the perfect pop! Didn't Strawberry-Chic do a fabulous job?

I basically followed her procedure to shape them, and the mini cakes turned out just as I imagined, especially with the sprinkles and candles on top:)

The ingredients and directions are the same as they are for brownie pops, except for shaping them into tiny cakes:)

To make birthday cake brownie pops (I made these late at night, last minute, and didn't get any step-by-step photos):
Gather a ball of baked brownie mixture and make it into a small patty.  Use a 1.5-inch round cutter (I used a biscuit cutter) and cut out a round mini cake. Place it on a wax paper lined baking sheet. Insert a lollipop stick (the tip of the stick should have some melted candy on it to help it stay put) into the middle of each pop  Once they are all prepared, place in the freezer until firm.  Working with one at a time, take from freezer and dip each cake into the melted candy melts (melt as pkg. directs) and let excess drip off (I also used a small offset spatula to smooth the top and around the entire pop if it needed it).  Shake the sprinkles on the top of the mini cake and place the candle* before the candy coating dries. You may need to add some candy melt to the bottom of the candle before placing it on the pop. Prepare some royal icing to decorate the cakes.  I used royal icing so that I could individually package these pops without a mess(after the royal icing dried).
* For candles I used a sharp knife to cut regular sized birthday candles down to size.

You will end up with some cute little birthday cakes of your own~brownie pop style!

Wouldn't these look fun with all the candles lit? :)

Make some of your own and see for yourself!

Linked to:

These Chicks Cooked

Tasty Tuesdays

Inspiration Friday

I'm Lovin' it Fridays

Sweets for a Saturday

Weekend Wrap Up Party 

Watermelon Cookies on a Stick

I was so enthralled when I saw these watermelon pops from Tidy Mom!  So easy, but so cute! I knew immediately that I had to convert them from fruit to cookie.

I simply made up some sugar cookie dough, grabbed my "candy corn" cookie cutter from Copper Gifts and went to town. Be sure to insert the sticks before baking!

When eating watermelon (which I love), I prefer seedless (best invention ever), but for a cookie it must have seeds to kick up the cuteness factor!  To top off the royal icing, I used the seeds that I had on hand~dark chocolate covered pomegranate seeds from Trader Joe's:) Unlike watermelon seeds, they're tasty and you'll want to eat them by the handful. Place the seeds on the icing while it is still wet.

The two-tone decorated rind idea was taken from the talented Glorious Treats' darling watermelon cookies.  Glory decorated them to perfection! I used a green AmeriColor Gourmet Writer to achieve the dark green contrast.

For the red, I used AmeriColor Super Red soft gel paste. With it, you will get a true red! Thanks for the great suggestion, Bridget! Besides beautiful cookies, Bridget's blog, Bake at 350 is full of great ideas!

As I've said before, it's such a pleasure to "know" so many creative bloggers and benefit from their ideas and talents!

These watermelon cookies on a stick are such fun!  Your munchkins will love them! 

Linked to:

Easy Peasy Grandma

These Chicks Cooked

Tasty Tuesdays

Inspiration Friday

I'm Lovin' it Fridays

Sweets for a Saturday

Weekend Wrap Up Party 

"LOVE" Giveaway Winner!

THANKS so much to everyone that entered the giveaway!  I appreciate all of the support!  LOVE to you all<3 

The winner was picked through random.org and is comment #40~


Ella said...


I liked you on Facebook.

Ella

Congratulations, Ella!

Key Lime Pie Shake

Food Network Magazine has become my new favorite magazine.  I bought the July/August issue at the airport during my travels and have way too many pages earmarked.  This recipe is one of them.

When I saw a photo similar to this one (only with a berry pie), I was intrigued.  It seems chefs across the country are making pie shakes, blending slices of pie right into the shake! I knew I had to try it:)

I had a store-bought key lime pie(with graham cracker crust) in the freezer that worked out even better than I expected. I made enough for myself, my husband and my dad and we all slurped up every single drop in short order:)

It was one of the best shakes ever!  I can't wait to try it with other pies too!  Just think of the possibilities...:)

Key Lime Pie Shake

One generous slice of key lime pie (4-5 ounces)

4 ounces of milk

8 ounces of vanilla ice cream

Place all ingredients in blender and give it a whirl! Serves 1. 

ENJOY!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway (until Sunday, 7/24 by 9 a.m.).  It's all about love. 

Linked to:
I'm Lovin' it Fridays
Inspiration Friday
Weekend Wrap Up Party
Sweets for a Saturday

LOVE-themed GIVEAWAY!

I get such a kick out of blogging!  I LOVE getting to know other bloggers and enjoy all the creativity that they share~edible and otherwise! I particularly LOVE all of the support and positivity that is spread through blogs...just what the world needs:) 
To send some LOVE to my bloggy friends(well, ONE of you anyway), I am having this love-themed giveaway!
It includes:

A Wilton heart-shaped comfort grip cookie cutter,
Wilton pink sugar sprinkles,
A classic wooden spoon~to whip up some heart cookies,
An adorable polka-dot oven mitt to pull your heart cookies from the oven, and
A sweet book "Sugar Cookies~Sweet Little Lessons on Love" by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. This is an adorable book which defines some words by relating them to cookies<3 A recipe for sugar cookies is included at the end of the book.

Here's a sample page: (click to enlarge)

The charming illustrations are by Jane Dyer and Brooke Dyer. The book includes 22 definitions.  It's a wonderful book to share with your favorite munchkins:)

To enter(3 chances): GIVEAWAY ENDED!

1. Leave a comment-mandatory. For additional entries~
2. Follow me with google friend connect (or subscription), on my sidebar (Leave a second comment letting me know that you have done so, or already are a follower).
3. Like me on my facebook page, and leave another comment,  whether you are a new or current "liker".

This giveaway ends at 9 a.m. Pacific Standard Time, Sunday, July 24! Winner will be chosen via random.org

Be sure I have a way to get a hold of you(connect to your blog/email), in the event that you win.  If not, then please leave your email address in your comment.

Good Luck to you all!  This giveaway is open to everyone, since bloggy friends are all over the world!

Sending out a little bloggy LOVE to each of you,
Sue

Frozen Banana Cookies

I grew up in Whittier, California, where summers were miserably hot and smoggy.  To find relief, we would  drive down Beach Blvd. straight to Huntington Beach. I can vividly recall nearing the beach, catching the scent of the ocean and feeling the sea breeze:).


Once in awhile we would choose instead to go to Newport Beach.  For fun we would take the small ferry over to Balboa Island, known for its frozen bananas.  It is said that Balboa Island was the first place to market the popular chocolate fruit on a stick back in 1953.

 Truth be told, I never really cared for the frozen banana, and would usually opt instead for a bagel with cream cheese...but a frozen banana cookie, now we're talking!

Instructions:
Using a banana, make a template on heavy paper.
Make your favorite sugar cookie dough.
Roll out the dough.
Place the template on the dough and cut around it with a sharp knife.
Transfer to cookie sheet and insert cookie stick.
Bake cookies and let cool. 

Chocolate Icing:
 Place 2 cups of chocolate chips and 1 tablespoon shortening in a microwave safe bowl. Mix and melt until smooth.
Spread the melted chocolate over the cooled cookies and top with sprinkles and nuts, or the toppings of your choice.

ENJOY!

(Giveaway is coming soon, but my camera battery is dead (I need to photograph the prize) and I left the charger at my daughter's. Giveaway will be posted before the week is over.)

Linked to:
These Chicks Cooked
I'm Lovin' it Fridays
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Weekend Wrap Up Party
Sweets for a Saturday
Tasty Tuesdays

Another New Munchkin

Yesterday, on the 4th of July, we welcomed our newest adorable grandchild into our family:

Max James
10 lb. 9 oz.!!!
21.5 "

We are so happy he's here!  We love you, Max!

Homemade Cake Croutons

Have you ever heard of cake croutons?  Perhaps you have even had them, or made them yourself. Well, the other day I noticed that I had a box of  patriotic confetti cake mix. I knew I should make something with it this weekend or else it would be sitting on the shelf for a long time. 

Well, I "happened" to flip through a Paula Deen magazine from last Christmas and noticed I had a page earmarked.  I checked it out and on that page was an ad for cake croutons that I had found interesting, and had never heard of before. The light bulb went on and I decided that I should make my own cake croutons using the confetti cake mix:) 

 It was straight forward and simple...

1. Bake the cake (9x13) and let it cool completely.

2. Slice it in half down the center.

3. Slice each half in half, horizontally.

4. Use a serrated knife and slice long strips in one direction and then the other, to end up with cubes.

5. Place all the cubes on baking sheets in a single layer.

6. Bake at 200 degrees for about 4 hours (I alternated the pans on top/bottom rack every hour), or until nice and crunchy. 

7. Let cool.

You end up with golden, sweet, crunchy goodness! The possibilities for cake croutons are endless! You can make them any cake flavor that you prefer (from scratch or from a box)...chocolate, red velvet, vanilla, banana, peanut butter. I'm sure you get the picture:) And what can you do with them? Use them to add a bit of sweet crunchiness to pudding, yogurt or hot chocolate.  Throw a handful on a salad or dip them into a chocolate fondue. Add a bit of pizazz to a shake by topping it with cake croutons.

I topped some ice cream with them and the crunchy contrast of the croutons to the creamy, melty ice cream was soooo good! Don't they look festive?  Perfect for any occasion!

I actually think my favorite way to eat them may be to snack on them plain, right out of my hand! But be careful, they're pretty addictive!

Have a wonderful 4th of July!