Valentine Love Knots

Cupid send your arrow this way because these Love Knot Pretzels are ready for Valentine's Day!

I am stepping outside of the cake pop box for a moment to enjoy the fun of making something sweet and easy.  Bag these Love Knots with a bow or put them into a small treat box. They only take minutes to assemble and make a great Valentine's Day treat. 

There are a lot of awesome printables out there that you can frame or use as favor tags.  The printables I used came from these talented bloggers who kindly made them available for our personal enjoyment (be sure to check them out!)  Click on the links for: the framed subway Valentine printable , "love" doily large tag, the flag bunting , and the pink and grey cupcake topper/tags.

Now on to the Love Knots!

I used Utz Old Fashioned Sourdough Hard Pretzels.  They are nice and big (about 3 in. x 3 in.) which gives you a good area to work on but not so large that you couldn't fit them in a treat bag.

 

Melt some white candy melts in a bowl and dip the pretzels in face first.  Generously sprinkle on pink or white sparkling sugar.  Let it set up on a wire cookie rack.  Once dry package them up or display them in a bowl for family to nibble on. 

The sweetness of the candy coating together with the salty crunch of the pretzel is delicious!  I hope you keep a few for yourself before you hand them out to all those special people on your Valentine's list.  Enjoy!

Blue Velvet Snowflake Pops

The January snows have settled into our neck of the woods.

It blankets the fields, bridges and pines in a clean, bright white.

And to celebrate I made up a batch of these crystalline snowflake pops.

When it came time for their photoshoot, I bundled up - gear and goodies in tow - and headed outside. 

I think I had more fun photographing these sweet pops. 

Finding a good spot where the morning sunlight glittered over the snowdrifts. 

Placing them gingerly at the edge of the old red bridge.

And finding just the right snow-covered rock at the river's bank.

I think the cake pops were right in their element! 

Just look at how striking the blue velvet center is against the sugared white. 

The cake part of these pops are incredibly delicious.  I baked a blue velvet cake.  First time ever and so delicious!  Click on the link for the recipe as well as other blue desserts and drinks. 

The Christmas Kitchen

The Christmas Kitchen.  I love the sound of that.  

The sweet smell of nutmeg and vanilla welcomes you in from the snowy wonderland outside.  Into the heart of our home where the warmth of an oven is baking the winter recipes.  By day ours was filled with a bustle of activity with family reminiscing and laughing together.  And at night, the twinkling of its lights on low when the household had gone to bed.  And when a favorite Christmas song came on and held us in its beauty, the often overwhelming feeling of being blessed - fully blessed is clear.  

Here is a collection of pictures of the goodies that came out of my kitchen this Christmas. Some treats my own creations and some designs inspired by other talented bakers.  But always in the spirit of  fun and a sprinkling of trial and error!

May the Spirit of Christmas find you well!  Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Xmas Street Pops

These are some character inspired cake pops I made for a little boy's 2nd birthday party this weekend. 

They were so much fun to create as I watched a simple ball of cake come to life.

They were really quite simple to make.  However . . . . .

If you do attempt to make them, be sure to set aside plenty of time to be able to focus on the details.   It took me three hours to make 24.  And that did not include the time to bake the cake.  YIKES!

You have to build these step by step.  Layer upon layer.  Candy upon candy melt.

Melt your colored candy melts first and set aside.  Then assemble all of your candy pieces.  I used ice cream dots for the eyes (colored in with an edible ink marker).

 The noses and beaks were Mike and Ike's candies.

And the hats were created by "painting" candy melts over an icing decoration shaped like a triangle.

To get that furry look you have to add texture to the smoothly dipped cake pop.  You can achieve that by adding another layer of candy melts and "fluff" with a toothpick as it begins to harden.  This is a neat way to try your hand at food sculpting!

The fun was definitely in the details for these pops.  And so worth it! 

Just look at the birthday boy loving his street character pop!