“Bee my Valentine”…“You’re PURR-fect” or how about “I have my EYE on you!”

Aren’t they fun? I used canned frosting {it melts the best} to coat the cookies, but you could also use candy melts or Almond Bark.

Let’s gather our supplies…

“Bee my Valentine”

Bee Supplies:

• Nutter Butter Cookies
• Lollipop Sticks
• Small amount of melted chocolate – you can use candy melts, chocolate chips or Almond Bark
• White canned frosting
• Buttercup Yellow & Black Coloring
• Spaghetti, uncooked
• Yellow mini M&M’s
• Marshmallows – I used Stackers
• Small paint brush
• Wax Paper

 ”You’re PURR-fect”

Cat Supplies:

• Round sandwich cookies – like Oreos
• Lollipop Sticks
• Small amount of melted chocolate – you can use candy melts, chocolate chips or Almond Bark
• White canned frosting
• Black Coloring
• Spaghetti, uncooked
• Eyes – Mini M&M’s
• Ears – Tootsie Rolls
• Nose – Jumbo pink heart sprinkle
• Mouth – red Jimmies
• Small paint brush
• Wax Paper

Directions:

1. Carefully take apart cookie
2. Melt chocolate and dip end of lollipop stick in chocolate and place in frosting on cookie, replace top of cookie
3. Place on wax paper and place in freezer for at least 15 minutes
4. With a paint brush and the black coloring, paint the spaghetti for whiskers, set on wax paper to dry
5. Place white frosting in a bowl, amount will depend on how many cookies you are coating
6. Melt in microwave for about 20 seconds
7. Coat the whole cookie, let excess drip off back into the bowl. Add crushed cookies if desired, and place in floral foam to keep it upright, place in freezer for about 5 minutes
8. Meanwhile, prepare the face – soften Tootsie Rolls in your hands, push flat and cut ears. Layout other candy for face
9. Place in freezer to set, about 15 minutes

“I have my EYE on you”

Eye Supplies:

• Round sandwich cookies – like Oreos
• Lollipop Sticks
• Small amount of melted chocolate – you can use candy melts, chocolate chips or Almond Bark
• White canned frosting
• Eye – Candy clay – I shared the recipe in Cupcake Chronicles Newsletter {subscribe here} or you could also use a round candy like Necco Wafers
• Pupil – brown mini M&M’s
• Eyelashes – Chocolate Jimmie sprinkles

I cut the tags from Lifestyle Crafts die cuts, added a heart cut from die cuts like I used on the Heart Garland, and tied them onto the stick with a ribbon.

Happy creating! I’ll be back tomorrow with Homemade Gum Drops for Valentine’s Day!

Disclosure: I received some products to try from Lifestyle Crafts and as always, the opinions are my own.

These heart shaped doughnuts are perfect for breakfast with your sweetie, for your kiddos or even to take as a special treat to teachers.

A couple weeks ago, while looking for wood for the desk Doug is building, we stopped into Target to check out the Valentine’s Day goodies. And I came across an adorable little heart shaped doughnut pan. After baking the Chocolate Doughnuts, I just had to give these a try.

But they couldn’t be just any doughnut, they needed to be special for Valentine’s Day…Cherry! Oh yes! So, I scoured the internet…really, it took awhile, I was surprised that hardly anyone has baked Cherry Doughnuts. But, alas…I found a recipe I liked at Shugary Sweets and it even called for maraschino cherries, even better, another excuse to make chocolate covered cherries!

I’ve only made doughnuts a handful of times, and each time I bake them, I wonder why I don’t make them more often. They really are quite simple. I just had to bake up some minis too, using my Wilton Doughnut Pan.

Everyone loved these, the only change I will make next time is to add maybe 5 or 6 more cherries and a little cherry flavoring to the batter. Other than that, they were a hit in our house!

Grab a doughnut and a cup of coffee…meet us in the Coffee Talk Community to chat!

And then…the new Gooseberry Patch Cookbook…Rush-Hour Recipes arrived. I have used many Gooseberry Patch recipes over the years, and absolutely adore many of their cookbooks, so when I had the opportunity to review {and YES host a giveaway} for their new book, I was super excited!

I handed the book to Doug, while he was watching a movie and told him to pick out a recipe to try. Well, of course, being just like a man, he chose Saucy Short Ribs and Sausage Bean Gumbo! Oh no – no – no! I need a dessert! My readers want me to share an ooey – gooey – delicious dessert with them. And of course, with Valentine’s Day right around the corner…you needed another gorgeous dessert for your sweetie!

Enter…Better Than Brownies

You are going to flip out when you see how easy they are to make! Just 3 ingredients!! Yup…well unless you add the chocolate chips and nuts to the top, which of course you must do! Oh and the frosting…yes! You MUST slather it on!! You heard that right…I told you to slather the frosting on!!

Before we get to the recipe though, let’s chat a minute about this new Gooseberry Patch Cookbook; Rush-Hour Recipes. Just like these Better Than Brownies, the whole book is full is quick, easy recipes for you to…you guessed it…get on the table fast! There are 5-ingredient favorites, One-Dish Dinners, Slow Cooker Recipes, Soup Recipes, Make-A-Meal Sides and Speedy Potluck & Party Foods!

And guess what? I have a Rush-Hour Recipes Cookbook for one lucky Hoosier Homemade reader! You didn’t think I was going to forget about our week long celebration did you?

So what’s the secret to these delicious Brownies? Chocolate pudding…just one small box. Oh and the frosting helps quite a bit too. Now, of course, they are delicious without the frosting, and actually the recipe in the book doesn’t call for frosting, but with Valentine’s Day coming up, I just had to add the little pink to them.

For more delicious recipes, visit the Gooseberry Patch Blog!

Now I know you want to win a Rush-Hour Recipe Cookbook…don’t you? Head on over and enter the giveaway for Rush-Hour Recipes from Gooseberry Patch!

Disclosure: I received Rush-Hour Recipes to review. As always, the opinions are my own!

Linking to…Show & Tell Friday, Weekend Wrap Up Party, Friday Food, Saturday Night Special, Sundae Scoop

Welcome to Cupcake Tuesday! I’m so glad to have you! I have updated the Cupcake Heaven page, there are over 150 designs and recipes!

It’s Valentine’s Week! Every day this week myself along with three other amazing bloggers and The Paper Cupcake are sharing ideas for Valentine’s Day. We kicked off the fun filled week yesterday with the Pink Lemonade Pie! And a GREAT giveaway from The Paper Cupcake Etsy Shop! Today, Gina at The Shabby Creek Cottage helps you decorate for the holiday. She will also have a giveaway, you won’t want to miss it!!

Have you ever wondered how to bake a shaped cake inside a cupcake or cake? I’ve seen several around, but never really knew how to do it. Then a little while back Kristy from Mommy Hates Cooking shared some pretty cool Valentine’s Day Cupcakes that had a heart baked in the middle, that she had found on Pinterest. I commented on them, and told her I’d give them a try. But after reading the directions, I wasn’t really sure how they would turn out since the heart in the middle is baked twice.

But…low and behold…it worked! Yay! I had to tweak the directions a bit to make the heart shape fit, but they aren’t hard at all. I’m excited to share them with you…

Aren’t they adorable? The hearts are cut from Red Velvet Cake, but you can certainly make pink hearts if you choose. I used the Wilton Mini Romance Cookie Cutter set, it comes with six different cutters including two hearts.

Ok, let’s talk about how to make them. They aren’t difficult, but they did take some time and a little experimenting to figure it all out.

Oh and let’s not forget about the divine frosting! Remember the Pink Lemonade Pie from yesterday? Well, I had a little extra, so I whipped up some heavy cream, and folded in a few heaping tablespoons of the Pink Lemonade Pie filling…YUM!

Pipe on the frosting with a Giant Round Tip, top with a fresh raspberry and you have a VERY special cupcake for your Valentine!

Don’t forget to follow along every day this week, and on Friday, YOU will have the chance to share your Valentine Ideas too! Each blog will be hosting a linky party for you to add your Valentine posts! How cool is that? Just add your ideas to any of the blogs and it will show up on all FOUR! I also created a Pinterest Board for Valentine’s Week, and will be pinning your awesome ideas! So follow along and gather some ideas!

Linking to…Works For Me Wednesday

Now it’s your turn…show off your cupcake creations! I’d appreciate a link back and be sure to check out the other cupcakes!

We are kicking it off with a sweet treat for your Valentine…Pink Lemonade Pie! It’s rich, creamy and a perfect little dessert to finish off a special dinner with your sweetie!

To make these adorable little individual servings, I pressed the Graham Cracker Crust into Wilton heart shaped silicone baking cups, but you could easily make a full pie.

I bet your sweetie and even your kiddos will LOVE these sweet little Pink Lemonade Pies!

Valentine’s Week is full of surprises! I’m super excited to host the giveaway for The Paper Cupcake. If you are a Cupcake Chronicles Newsletter subscriber, you are certainly familiar with Charlotte’s amazing work! Her Etsy Shop is full of fun printables for just about every holiday and birthday. Remember the Valentine Cupcake Toppers she designed for us last week?

She also has these cute cupcake toppers and wrappers for Valentine’s Day! Now it’s your turn to WIN!

GIVEAWAY CLOSED

GIVEAWAY GUIDELINES:

One lucky Hoosier Homemade winner will receive a $25 credit to spend in The Paper Cupcake Etsy Shop

Entries only accepted on this page. Facebook and Twitter entries do not count.

Giveaway will remain open until Sunday, January 29, 2012 at  10 p.m. CST. Winner will be chosen at random, notified by email and will have 48 hours to respond.

REQUIRED ENTRY:

• Head on over to The Paper Cupcake, come back here and tell us what your favorite printable is

OPTIONAL ENTRIES: Please leave a separate comment for each entry

• Follow The Paper Cupcake on Facebook and/or Twitter
• Subscribe to Cupcake Chronicles Newsletter and/or Hoosier Homemade
• Follow Hoosier Homemade on Facebook and/or Twitter
• Subscribe to Pocket Change Gourmet, Follow PCG on Facebook and/or Twitter
• Subscribe to It’s A Blog Party, Follow It’s A Blog Party on Facebook and/or Twitter

Don’t forget to follow along every day this week, and on Friday, YOU will have the chance to share your Valentine Ideas too! Each blog will be hosting a linky for you to add your Valentine posts! How cool is that? So get ready…this is BIG my friends! A total of over 30,000 readers will see your ideas! Not including all the Facebook and Twitter fans too!

I also created a Pinterest Board for Valentine’s Week, and will be pinning your awesome ideas! So follow along and gather some ideas!

Fast forward…oh 40 or so years…to Christmas 2011, when I received a fun little cookbook from Doug, Cutie Pies by Dani Cone. While flipping through the cookbook, I spotted the Peanut Butter and Jelly Pie, and knew right away I wanted to give it a try.

And just like the childhood, classic lunchtime sandwich…this pie is full of delicious flavors that are perfect for a celebration and simple even for everyday.

I started with a homemade crust {I just had to try out my new food processor}, but you can certainly use a store bought crust or even a graham cracker crust. Since I’m not the best pie crust baker in the world, I’m going to send you over to the Splendidly Homemade Magazine where Barbara shares her recipe and secrets {that I need to use} to make the Perfect Pie Crust!

The peanut butter layer has a rich, but not too sweet mixture of peanut butter, cream cheese, sugar, milk, honey and a pinch of salt. Then for the jelly layer, I simply used store bought strawberry jelly, but I think homemade jam or jelly would be amazing. And then it’s topped with fresh whipping cream and a handful of chopped peanuts.

One of the best things about this Peanut Butter and Jelly Pie, besides the great taste, is that you can make the crust and filling ahead, and then just quickly assemble it all, whip up the cream to add to the top and you have a delicious treat!

The whole time I was making this pie, I kept having that Peanut Butter Jelly Time song stuck in my head. Andrew wanted me to share the video with you, but it’s pretty annoying, so I won’t post it. But if you are so inclined to see the little banana dancing around, head on over!

Recipe adapted from…

Watch for more fun recipes from this fun little cookbook!

Join us in the Coffee Talk Community tomorrow, Jan 10th. at 8 p.m. EST, while we chat about Budget Friendly Meals!

What is your favorite childhood sandwich?

Linking to…Gooseberry Patch, Transformation Thursday, Show & Tell Friday, Foodie Friday, Saturday Night Special, Saturday Seven Party, Sundae Scoop, Mouthwatering Mondays, Get Your Craft On

I used the same Shot Glasses that I found at Pier 1 {they call them Cordial Glasses}, mini vanilla cupcakes with festive silver and blue colors. Here is what you will need…

New Year’s Eve Cupcake Shooter Supplies:

• Shot Glasses or other small glass
• Any flavor Mini Cupcakes, a sheet cake or even a square cake
• Small round cookie cutter – I used the inside of a doughnut cutter
• Decorating Icing or your favorite frosting
• Wilton Sky Blue Coloring or other color
• Decorator bag fitted with a #1M Tip
• Silver Sprinkles
• Blue colored sugar – I mixed 2 shades of blue
• Frilly pick – I found those at Pier 1 also {optional}

Instructions:

1. Bake the cupcakes, no liners needed, let cool completely
2. Cut with small round cookie cutter
3. Color icing with Sky Blue coloring, fit a decorator bag with a #1M Tip, and fill with icing
4. Layer cupcake, icing, and sprinkles
5. Repeat layers and add a frilly pick if you like

The color options are endless. I think they would even make a great Baby or Bridal Shower treat, be sure to serve with a spoon though.

And in case you don’t have the shot glasses, I thought I’d share how they look in a small votive glass. Just about any little glass will do, you could even use a clear plastic glass if you are feeding a crowd. I used the whole mini cupcake in these, you will need to adjust the size of your cupcake depending on the size of the glass.

And yes, there are more New Year’s Eve Cupcakes

Linking to…Saturday Night Special