365 Days of Pinterest Day 29 - Valentines Day Gingerbread Men :)

365 Days of Pinterest Day 29 - Valentines Day Gingerbreadmen :)

I started trying to make these guys in December.  I wanted to send them as a gift to a friend.  Alas I couldn't find a recipe I  liked the taste of, then I just kept messing up the recipe .... So finally after many batches of not so perfect gingerbread men .. I have perfected the art!  ... but its February, so the candy canes are out and Iv added some fun hearts .. hence .. the Valentines Day gingerbread man :)

Yes I did find this recipe on Pinterest .. a Martha Stewart recipe, but the original called for coarse salt which stayed in chunks and didn't taste to great, so I replace it with table salt .. and perfection.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon table salt
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 cup  molasses

Edible Ingredients for decorating;

       I bought fun toppings from the bulk barn

       I also bought Wiltons Valentines Day mix from Micheals

       ~Conversations hear candies

       ~Heart candies

Frosting;

I tried three methods and found the Wiltons icing in a piping bag with a tip the easiest method.  The pumps in the cans came out too fast to control.  The Cake Mate brand does not dry hard, it stays in a soft frosting consistency, so if you stack them on a plate or mail them to a friend the frosting will smear.

Wilton Icing in the jar or pump.

If you are going to use the jar you will need a icing bag and tip.  I bought mine from Micheals.  

Making the cookie;

Sift flour, baking soda, and baking powder into a medium bowl; set aside.                   

        Mix butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes; mix in spices and salt. Mix in egg and molasses, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl. Add flour mixture; mix on low speed until combined. Divide dough in half; pat into two disks. Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate 1 hour.

        Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick.

Now Decorate;

Pipe on your frosting.  In the photo I'm using the Wiltons icing from the jar in a bag.

If you are using the Cake Mate icing from the can you can sprinkle the toppings directly on the cookie. 

 If its the Wiltons iceing you will have to put the toppings in a plate.  

Press your man into the toppings.

next use the iceing like glue to attach the eyes and buttons

Finito!!

Super Cute

365 Days of Pinterest Day 11 ~ Oreo Cappuccino Poke Pudding Cake.

Oreo Pudding Poke Cake  

The original pin seemed so enticing  ..  I have to be honest, I followed the recipe in the original pin and I did not like it at all ... I began this 365 Days of Pinterest to find out what pins I like and what pins didn't work .. so I would say YUCK to this pin ... it was pretty bland and the pudding made it seem slimy.  So I re made it my way and improved it a bit ... 

Here is the original pin

http://pinterest.com/pin/267119821620483457/

INGREDIENTS

~ Chocolate cake mix; **  The original pin called for a box cake mix, I made my first cake with a box mix and found it to be tasteless so Iv included my chocolate cake mix recipe on the bottom of this page .. its so chocolaty and good.  Its worth the extra time.

~ Crushed Oreos (I used 2 cups)

~Frosting; I used Betty Croker whipped 

~ Instant Pudding; 2 boxes.  The original recipe calls for Jello Oreo Pudding.  For my second cake I added instant coffee.

~ Instant coffee - 2 tbs ( I used Tim Hortons Instant Cappuccino) 

~ 1 cup confections sugar

Crush Your Oreos. I just used my fingers to break the oreos apart then laid them in a flat bowl and crushed them with a big spoon.

Bake your cake.  Use a super cute vintage bowl like my bird heart bowl ... tee hee

2 min before the cake is done make your pudding.  My tweaks

**Add 2 tbs of instant coffee mix to your pudding and blend well.  

** add one cup confectioners sugar

Let your pudding thicken a bit.  5 min should be fine.

poke your cake.  I used a wooden spoon end .. 

Pour in your pudding .. pour it into the holes and 'sweep' the execs pudding over the top and into the holes.

Let your cake set in the refrigerator for 1 hour.  Frost.

Add your crushed Oreos

As I said .. Yuck to the original recipe   

How to improve it. 

Make your cake from scratch

(if you want cappuccino flavor) add 2 tbs of instant coffee 

add 1 cup confectioners sugar to your pudding

Daisey's Chocolate Cake Mix (Daisey is my daughter .. shes the baker in our family)

1 1/3 cup all purpose Flour

2/3 cups unsweetened cocoa

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking Soda

1.2 teaspoon Salt

1 cup whole milk

1 1/2 teaspoons Vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups sugar

10 tablespoons butter

2 large eggs

1. Preheat oven at 350 F

2.  combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.  In a 2 cup liquid measure, mix milk and vanilla and set aside

3. In a large bowl beat sugar and butter just until blended.  Use your mixer on high.  beat 3 min until it is light and creamy.  Reduce speed to low and add eggs, one at a time.

4.  Add flour mixture alternately with milk mixture.  

5.  Cook 22 - 25 min

Verdict... The cake is MUCH better made from scratch instead of the box mix .. but even then I wont be making the cake again .. try it if you'd like .. if you have any other tweaks to improve the recipe please let me know .. I really wanted this to be Yum :)

365 Days of Pinterest Day 9 ~ Rainbow Ombre Nails

Rainbow Ombre Nails

Day 9 of my 365 Days of Pinterest I'v chosen a beauty pin .... Rainbow Ombre Nails .. I'm not a Nail Gal .. as you can tell by the nubs I have on the end of my fingers, but this pin looked like fun, plus I wondered if it would really turn out as nice as the photo in the original pin ...

Here is the original pin from Pinterest

http://pinterest.com/pin/267119821620477010/

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

Nail Polish ... Iv chosen to stick with the original colors. Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Light Blue, Dark Blue

Cosmetic Sponge

Elmers Glue

Q Tips

Nail Polish Remover

I actually attempted this 3 times (Oy!) and fine tuned it a bit each time. 

Lets Begin .. 

                Paint Your Nails with a white base ...  

Glue Time ... This is an interesting tip I actually found on Pinterest .. 

... paint glue onto the skin surrounding your nails .. when this dries you will be able to peel it off and the skin around your nail will remain clean .. The coat of glue should be thick enough to form a film, but not so thick that it will take too long to dry.  I let my glue dry for 10 min .. tedious but worth it.

Take your nail polish and paint small lines on the sponge .. * at first I had the red polish by my cuticle and it actually looked like blood :(   so I reversed the color order the second time around 

Press the sponge onto your finger nail .. the key is to let the polish soak into the sponge before you apply it ... then you get the spray painted effect .. if the polish is laying on the top of the sponge unsoaked it just ends up looking like stripes on your nails 

wait for the polish to dry then peel off your glue ..

Presto!!  Pretty Rainbow Nails .. 

 So it wasnt that easy .. Like I said it took three times for my nails to look like this .. things I learned .. start with a white base .. use the glue trick to keep nails clean .. if your nail polish brushes are fat use a thin paint brush to apply the line of polish to the sponge .. let the paint soak into the aponge before applying.  I repainted the sponge after every third nail for a more vibrant look .. but if you want a subtle look, just keep reusing the sponge without re applying the polish .. 

Verdict .. now that I know how to do it well .. I do love the look ..  You can use any colors you want .. I did a blue ombre with three shade of blue .. very cool ..  Downside .. it takes forever .. at least it seemed like forever to a non Nail Gal like me .. anyoo .. great pin .. fun results :)

365 Days of Pinterest Day 6 ~ "Balloon Chocolate Ice Cream Bowls"

365 Days of Pinterest Day 6 

~ 

"Balloon Chocolate Ice Cream Bowls"

My daughter picked this pin ... Iv never melted chocolate before so I enlisted my mothers help .. a seasoned chocolateire :)

This is the original pin 

http://pinterest.com/pin/267119821620330856/

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

Chocolate melting wafers.  I used 2 cups for 6 balloons

Small Balloons / Water Balloons

cooking spray

wax paper

1. Blow up your balloons.  I made them small for smaller bowls .. 

2. Wash and dry balloons, make sure dried well as water drops will seize up the chocolate.  Spray your balloons lightly with non stick cooking spray .. too much spray will make the chocolate slide off.

3.  Place your chocolate in a microwave safe bowl .... 

... I used bars but remade the cups with chocolate melting wafers which worked better .. set firmer.

4. Microwave your chocolate  in sets of 20 seconds.  After each 20 seconds allow your chocolate to sit for 10 seconds.  Then stir and microwave again for 20 sec.  Repeat this process until your chocolate has melted completely.

5.  Spoon a teaspoon of melted chocolate on your wax paper.

6.  DIP!! ... 

7.  Place your dipped balloon onto the chocolate base you spooned onto the wax paper.

8.  Let your balloons set in the refrigerator   As I said, the melting chips set firmer and faster then the chocolate bar.  30 min should do but check to make sure they are firm.

9. pop!

10. Fill :)

Verdict.  Easy and fun!  Remember chocolate melting wafers work better then bars.  We are going to make these with white chocolate and add fresh strawberries and whipped cream in them on Valentines Day!