Valentine's Day

I made these valentine's day cookies this weekend.  Cookies that I didn't think I'd even have the opportunity to make this year, because I thought new baby would have been here by now keeping me busy.  :)  But, no new baby yet, so I have time to bake and create! 

Valentine's Cake Pops

Snow day = Baking day!!!

I just can't sit still for more than a few minutes.  :)  Keeping busy keeps my mind off wanting to be done with this pregnancy. 

I made a chocolate cake (from scratch, no cheating on a snow day) using my ghirardelli chocolate. Ohhh so yummy. I mixed the cake with some leftover vanilla buttercream that I had made a few days previously (double yummy). I dipped half the cake balls into some guittard chocolate that I spent the extra time on tempering properly. I needed more practice at doing this, and it went much better than last time. The other half I used the Wilton chocolate melts. It's hard to screw up the "fake" chocolate. I used my new valentine sprinkles. Both tasted great! I have plenty in the fridge to share if anyone wants to come visit! :)

Cake pops are great for any occassion!  Check out Bakerella, she creates some amazing ones!

These aren't the best pictures.  Someday I will get a good camera and learn some better picture techniques.... :)

Gavin's 4th Birthday Bowling Party

I got to make some bowling themed cookies and cupcakes (no pic. of those) for a sweet boy.  I didn't have a cookie cutter for this design so I got to be creative and draw up a template and cut around.  Luckily I didn't have to make that many.  It was fun to do something different.  I had some royal icing "bleeding" in some of the cookies, but they still looked (and tasted) great.  Royal icing bleeding is one of the more frustrating anomalies that happens once in awhile.  Sometimes temperature and humidity will cause it to occur, other times it seems to happen for no apparent reason.