My love of baking

I must admit I have a love of baking. It used to be I loved to eat all of the goodies I made, but these days full sugar treats are a thing of the past for me. I still do however love to make my full sugar yummy goodies for loved ones, and friends. People see a plate of cookies, batch of cupcakes, or slices of cake and their eyes light up like a kid on Christmas morning.
Seeing other people enjoy my baked goods makes me smile. Plus I get to taste test my recipes on people who I know will be honest with me.

I have a obsession recently with cupcakes and sugar cookies.
Here are some past creations over the last year or so....

I am planning another batch of sugar cookies soon to ship to my cousin, just have to pick out some cool shapes!

Local and need baked goods?? Let me know....I do parties :)

Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Cream Frosting, Chocolate Drizzle and a Banana Chip

Disney Princess Cookies- Belle, Snow White and some others

Cheeseburger Cake- Vanilla and Chocolate Pound Cake- decorated with Fondant

Chocolate Chipolte Cupcakes with Hazelnut Cream Cheese Frosting

Vanilla Cow Sugar Cookies- I Heart Cows

Vanilla Cupcake Sugar Cookies

The "Princess" Basket- Disney Princess Dresses, Castles, Cupcakes, and Crowns

Dad's Tackle Box Birthday Cake

TV Dinner Cupcakes

Easter Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream frosting and a Tulip Decorated Sugar Cookie Topper

"Watermelon" Cake - Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Buttercream frosting and fondant

Stevie's Pokemon Cake- my first attempt at Pokemon...

Chocolate Chip Chickpea Truffles! WLS Friendly!

This is a link to my new favorite recipe: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles  This girl makes the most delicious treats! Click the link to get her recipe and then see my sugar free replacements below for us WLS folks :)

I followed her above recipe almost exactly. The only thing I changed was that I used regular Splenda in stead of brown sugar (you can also use the brown sugar splenda) and use sugar free chocolate chips because I can't do the whole sugar thing. Oh and I doubled it because I gave a bunch away to my sugar loving friends and guess what....they loved them!

How to make it all come together:

I use this bad boy....my NINJA. 

 First, rinse and drain the chickpeas really well. (this is a entire can, like I said I doubled the recipe)

 Add your vanilla...how cute is the detail in the bottom of my spoons!

 Splenda...

For my nut butter I like Almond Butter with Sea Salt from Trader Joes

 Throw in everything else EXCEPT the chocolate chips!

 Make sure you mix everything REALLY well. No one wants to bite into a chickpea! The Ninja is great for this. Best Gift EVER!

I like to dump mine out into a bowl and stir in a bunch of Sugar Free Chocolate Chips. I can only ever find these things at Super Walmart, but they do sell them other places and online! You can also make your own Sugar Free Chocolate Bars and chunk them up for the recipe. Here is a link to make your own : Three Ingredient Chocolate Bars- Sugar Free

Then make your balls! I use a mini ice cream scoop

Place them in the fridge to chill out...I usually dip half of mine in melted sugar free chocolate and leave half of them just like this. They are delicious either way.

Let me know if you give these a try! You could also add nuts, flavored sugar free Torani to change up the taste, maybe roll in unsweetened coconut...so many options!

I think I will eat one right now....

Oh the Holidays....

Well folks the holiday season is in full swing and every other day there is a new holiday treat to be eaten. There is shopping to be done, houses to clean before parties, work parties, and dinner with friends and loved ones.  Last year at Christmas we left on a cruise and while I cried while driving to the airport leaving my parents house Christmas morning, we had an amazing time. I missed my family, but the wife and I spent some much needed quality time together.

This year we are home for the holidays (this years cruise was over Thanksgiving!) so I am faced with all those yummy foods in my past life I would have eaten more than my fair share of.  This year I am determined to attend parties, eat delicious food and desserts, and tackle the holiday "my way". Over this past year I have found AMAZING blogs that I love that have provided me the tools I need to make yummy goodies that I can actually eat.

Mary Beth (the psychologist at the WLS center I go to) says there is nothing I can't eat. Everything in moderation and if you slip up, move on. There is always another day.

This year I still did my annual cookie box for the office filled with 3-4 kinds of cookies, homemade chocolate lollipop trees and candy canes. Next week I think I will bring cupcakes. I bought these super cute cupcake toppers I want to use :)  The guys and gals in our shop work so hard to make what we sell and I am grateful for that. We produce some amazing things. Check it out at http://www.lightblocks.com/ . 

Every Christmas Eve we attend my parents neighbors (I say that but they are more like family...Hi Jurewicz family!) holiday party. It's the same people every year for the most part and we sit around and eat and chat. It's nice. It's annual. I look forward to it every year. This year instead of showing up with my usual super unhealthy baked goods, I will be bringing some healthy super delicious baked goods so I can eat some as well.

This year I am making: (Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dessert)

Chocolate Covered Katie's Deep Dish Cookie PIe
as well as her Pumpkin Bars
I also might make my own Sugar Free Chocolate Peanut Butter (or Almond Butter) Cups

The Deep Dish Cookie Pie above is so delicious. If you didn't know what the ingredients were, you would never guess it was made with chickpeas. I think I am mostly excited to make this because I am getting the Ninja System for Christmas and I am getting it early so I can make my desserts! So Excited! Healthy desserts can be just as delicious as regular flour filled and sugar filled ones if they are made with high quality, good ingredients.

On Liberty of the Seas- heading to Mexico!

I am kicking myself for not buying Vanilla when I was in Mexico two weeks ago.







Tonight after work I am finally going to try and tackle some shopping for presents. This year I am so unorganized. Holidays cards went out yesterday which is way late in my world! I also must pick up supplies for red velvet cupcakes. I think that is what I shall bring to work on Monday :)

I also made some Peppermint Hot Chocolate Jars for gifts this year. So cute and so easy! Let me know if you want the recipe :)

What you are making for holiday desserts if you are a baker?

Happy Holidays All!

Shortbread Cookies- So many versions, so little time!

A Friend asked recently for a Shortbread recipe, so I am re-posting my favorite one!!

Here is one of my favorite shortbread recipes from Ina Garten. She is my cooking idol. 
This recipe is so versatile. See some ideas after the original recipe!


This is what you need to get started:

Ingredients:

3 sticks unsalted butter at room temp

1 cup white sugar- I use splenda but both work!

1 tsp good Vanilla extract- I usually use Madagascar but am currently out

3.5 cups all purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

Tools:

Measuring Spoons 

Measuring Cups

Sifter

Mixer- I love my kitchen aid

Saran Wrap

Baking Sheet

Now the fun stuff:

Heat oven to 350f. 

Cream the butter and sugar. Add Vanilla

Sift the dry ingredients together..and yes it does make a difference. 

Add the dry to the wet in batches. Dough will be loose. 

Dump out onto floured surface and you can either roll into a log (for slice and bake) or shape into a disk for cutout cookies. 

I did mine in a roll for this batch. Roll up and cover tightly with saran warp and chill for 30 min. 

After chilling the dough, remove from plastic warp and slice into 1/4 slices. 

For this batch I rolled the edges in multi colored sanding sugar to add a little color. Place on a baking sheet and cook until edges are just slightly golden brown. In my oven about 15-18 min. 

One your cookies are cold to the touch, you can do one of two things...pack them up or dip them in melted chocolate! 

This batch I decided to dip half. Make sure if you do dip yours, you don't do one side. Once the chocolate hardens if you have dipped both sides, you may break them when lifting them off your sheet once the chocolate has set. Also if you are going to dip, use good quality chocolate. 

Now they are packed up and ready to be dropped off at my parents and Viv's mums!

You can also play with variations on this recipe. For Example:

Try different flavoring extracts

Add in dried fruit or chocolate chips. 

Remove 1/2 cup of white flour and sub for cocoa powder

When doing cutout cookies, cut shapes and chill for 10 min to keep edges crisp while baking. 

You can also make this dough 1 month ahead and slice and bake when you need them. 

You can also pre cut shapes for cutouts and freeze for a month and bake the day you need them. 

Let me know if you try this one out!

Happy Baking! 

Jenn