Sunflower Brownie Pops

If you know me, you know I love sunflowers. They're easy to grow and the return is amazing~bright,  happy, HUGE flowers! We usually plant them every summer.  This year we planted about two dozen of the mammoth flowers.

This is one of our beauties. I can see the sunflowers right out my kitchen window and just looking at them makes me happy.

I decided it would be fun to make sunflower brownie pops and started looking around the internet for ideas. I finally found one and it was made simply by attaching yellow m&m's to the brownie with chocolate. Why didn't I think of that? So simple, but so cute!

(I always link to the original idea, but I can't seem to find it.  If you know of a m&m sunflower cake pop, please let me know!)

I decided to fashion the brownie pop after a sunflower cookie that I made, and that's just what I did.  I'm pretty happy with the results. These pops make me smile:)



Sunflower Brownie Pops

Supplies:1 box of brownie mix (Prepare as directed. Cool completely)

8 oz. of prepared cream cheese frosting
14 oz. bag of chocolate candy melts
lollipop sticks (2-3 dozen)
block of styrofoam (to hold drying pops)
chocolate sprinkles
yellow m&m candies~12 per pop
Lime green royal icing

Directions:
1. Put prepared brownies in a large bowl, and break up into small crumbs with your hands(clean of course).
2. Add the frosting and mix well, either with your hands, or a sturdy large spoon. If you need a bit more frosting to hold it together, go ahead, but not too much.
3. Roll the mixture into balls (about 1 1/2 inches) and place on wax paper-lined cookie sheet. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for a few hours, or place in freezer for 15 minutes. You want them chilled, but not frozen. (I actually froze my unfrosted brownie balls in an airtight container and thawed them when I was ready to make them into pops, days later.)
4. Place the candy melts in a small, deep ( big enough to hold all the melted candy, but deep enough to dip the pops) microwave-safe bowl and follow the directions on the bag for melting.
5. Dip a lollipop stick about 1/2- inch into the candy melt and then insert it directly into the brownie ball, no more than halfway in(this helps the pop adhere to the stick).
6. Holding it by the stick, dip the brownie ball into the melted coating until it's completely covered (use a spoon if need be), all the way to where the brownie meets the stick.
7. If there's too much coating on your pop, hold the brownie pop in one hand and use the other hand to gently tap the first wrist, letting the excess drip back into the bowl. Try to make the coating even all the way around.
8. Add chocolate sprinkles to the front side of the pop (while chocolate is still wet), which would be the "face" of the flower.
9. Quickly, but carefully, while chocolate is still wet, add the m&m's around the perimeter of the pop (look at top photo) to form the "petals". If the chocolate dries, slightly dip each  m&m into the melted chocolate and then onto the pop. Hold it in place until it adheres~about 15 seconds.
10. Stick the brownie pop into a block of styrofoam until completely dry.
11.. Repeat with each brownie pop and let them dry completely.
12. When dry and sturdy, add the green royal icing decorations with a #4 tip. Let dry completely.

Have fun!

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Final New Munchkin of the Year!

I am happy to introduce our newest munchkin~

Joshua Daniel

Birthdate: August 21

Stats: 8 lb., 6 oz., 21 inches.

He's a darling and we can't wait to meet him next month! We love you, Joshua!

This has definitely been "The Year of the Baby" for our family. We have been blessed three times! We are so happy for each of our eight sweet grandchildren.

m&m Confetti Cookies

The other day I was making some m&m cookies and when I got to the bottom of the bag there was some m&m dust-like bits left. I thought it looked kind of pretty and would be fun added to a cookie:) Hence, m&m confetti cookies were born!

I searched for a recipe and found a sprinkle cookie recipe on Stephanie Cooks~Thanks Stephanie!

The broken m&m bits remind me more of confetti than sprinkles, which I mixed right into the batter. The result is a buttery cookie with just enough m&m's in there to satisfy your chocolate craving and add some pizazz:)

I love how they look!

Before you start the cookies, place some m&m's in a ziploc bag and use a rolling pin to smash them up!

It actually worked better to whack them with the rolling pin more than it did to roll over them with it. I ended up using about 1 cup of candy bits.

Even at this stage they look pretty!

And in the end, they are wonderful!

Confetti (Sprinkle) Cookies (adapted from Stephanie Cooks)

Ingredients:
2 1⁄2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup crushed up m&m candies

Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium mixing bowl and set aside.
3. Combine the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth. Stir in the flour mixture until just combined.
4. Stir in 1 cup of the m&m confetti bits and mix well with a wooden spoon.
5. Use a medium (walnut size) cookie scoop and place cookie scoops on parchment-lined baking sheet(I used my stoneware~no need for parchment) about 3 inches apart.
6. Bake for about 10 minutes or just until the edges begin to brown.
7.  Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Enjoy!

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Peanut Butter~Oatmeal~Chocolate Chip Cookies

Have you ever had a hankering for a cookie, but couldn't decide between a chocolate chip, oatmeal or peanut butter?  Well, this cookie fits the bill for your indecision! It's all three classic cookies rolled into one...a peanut butter, oatmeal, chocolate chip cookie:)  How can you go wrong?

My son found this wonderful recipe when I was visiting him and his family, but I didn't get a chance to make it for them when I was there.  Soooo...I made a batch when I got home and shipped them off.

Of course I had to sample one (or two) before I sent them:) Besides tasting GREAT, these cookies are just the right combination of crispy and chewy. The peanut butter doesn't overpower the chocolate chips and vice versa, with the oats rounding them out nicely.

Peanut Butter~Oatmeal~Chocolate Chip Cookies

From: For the Love of Cooking

• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup old-fashioned oats
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Using an electric mixer, combine melted butter and granulated sugar until fluffy. Add peanut butter and brown sugar, beating well until thoroughly combined.  Add egg and vanilla and mix until smooth. In a small bowl stir together flour and baking soda, then add to cookie dough and mix just until blended. Using a mixing spoon, stir in oatmeal and chocolate chips.

Scoop balls of cookie dough and place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until cookies are lightly browned. Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes before removing from cookie sheets.

ENJOY!

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Hello Kitty Cookies

When Cristin Of Cristin's Cookies announced that she was hosting a "Hello Kitty Cookie Challenge", I thought it would be a good time to use my new Hello Kitty cookie cutter. (Click on the link for some cute Hello Kitty cookies.) Thanks for the challenge, Cristin!  It was a lot of fun! 

It also gave me the perfect chance to make another cookie on a stick~which I have a fondness for:) This cookie has been up my sleeve for awhile.

I think this bow cookie would be so cute at a Hello Kitty birthday party.  All the party-goers could hold the bow cookies up to their heads for a cute photo-op:) Too bad one of my darling granddaughters isn't nearby to model it for you. (The baked cookie is 4.5 inches x 3 inches.)

   

I had a much harder time with the bow on this cookie, but the technique from Sugarbelle(and her picture-perfect Hello Kitty cookie) sure helped out!  Thanks, Callye! 

These cookies are sugar cookies with royal icing.

For the bow, I found an image of Hello Kitty on the internet and enlarged it to use as a template.  I traced it onto a file folder, cut it out, placed the template on the cookie dough and cut around it with a small paring knife.  I inserted the cookie sticks into the cookies after they were placed on the baking sheet.

I'm really pleased with the way the bows turned out! :) 

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Smurf Pops

I made some brownie pops for a friend the other day and ended up with a few bare pops leftover.  I thought about what I could do with them, and  realized that "The Smurfs"  just opened in theaters(Aug. 3). I couldn't resist attempting some smurf pops! I was up at the midnight hour working on them.

Don't look too closely...the candy melts ended up kind of gritty and my fondant work definitely has room for improvement, but I still think they are kind of cute:) 

The Smurf brownie pops are pretty simple to make...

Start by making the brownie pops as instructed HERE. Add some blue food colorimg (I used a combination of Wilton sky blue and royal blue) to the white vanilla candy melts (I reheated some from about a week ago-maybe that was part of the "gritty" problem). I shaped the ears and hat with fondant* and added them to the head while the icing was still wet. Also add the mini m&m nose and icing eyes (store-bought) at the same time.  Wait until the icing is completely dry and then add the smurfy smile with an edible marker.

TA DA, you will end up with smurf pops!

*I tasted the store-bought fondant and ended up spitting it out:(  I highly recommend making your own fondant!

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Lemon Cake Baked in a Jar

I was a little slow about jumping on the "baked in a jar" bandwagon, but when I  laid eyes on Megan's lemon cakes baked in jars, I knew it was time:) To begin with, I have a soft spot for mason jars, and secondly, I am crazy about lemon! Don't these just scream summertime?  So sunny!
 Sunflowers are another love, and mini sunflower cookies add just a little punch of color contrast to top off the cakes. The chocolate sprinkles are not your average sprinkles, but are De Ruijter milk chocolate sprinkles. They melt in your mouth and were found at World Market. I'm a new fan.

I need to tell you that these cakes were so moist and luscious!  I was in lemon heaven:)  I ate mine with a spoon because I wanted to scoop up every last bit of cake and frosting! My husband ate his in short order too.

How perfect are these to transport wherever you want to go?!?  Everyone loves their own individual cake~especially in a jar!

Lemon Cake~Baked in Jars (adapted)

Cake

          1 package (18oz) lemon cake mix (preferably without pudding mix added)

          1 (3.4oz) instant lemon pudding and pie filling mix

          4 eggs

          1 cup water

          1/3 cup vegetable oil

          3 Tablespoons lemon juice 

Glaze

         1 cup powdered sugar

         1 1/2 Tablespoons lemon juice 

         1/2 Tablespoons water

Frosting 

         I container of store-bought or homemade frosting. (I alternated between cream cheese and vanilla frosting.)

Decorations

         Sprinkles, mini cookies, ribbon(for jars)

Instructions

In a large bowl, combine cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, water, oil and lemon juice. With an electric mixer, mix on low speed to combine.  Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes.

Pour the batter into 10 well greased half-pint jars, about 1/2 full. Place jars on a baking sheet and  bake at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes.

Combine all the glaze ingredients and beat until smooth.

Poke holes in the cake with a wooden skewer.

Drizzle with half the glaze.

Cool the cake completely; then drizzle with the remaining glaze.

Assembling/adding frosting:

Tip jars over.  Cakes should come out easily.  If not, run a knife around the inside of the jar to loosen them.  Slice each little cake in half, horizontally (top & bottom).  Place the bottom half back in the jar and top with icing. Place the top half of the cake on top.  Add a bit more frosting and place sprinkles and a decoration (mini sugar cookie:)) on top. Screw on lids and add ribbon:)

P.S.  I used THIS sugar cookie/royal icing  recipe for the mini sunflower cookies.

ENJOY!

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