St. Patrick’s Day Review

Posted on March 16, 2012 by sweetsimplestuff

This gallery contains 6 photos.

Since St. Patrick’s Day is just a few days away … here is a quick little review of some ideas … Faux Cupcakes … a no-bake treat. Gold at the End of the Rainbow Cupcakes … sorry it’s not … Continue reading →

Leprechaun Cakesters

Posted on March 13, 2012 by sweetsimplestuff

This gallery contains 10 photos.

One more St. Patrick’s Day idea … I asked the hubby for an opinion … he says they look “cartoonish” … was he expecting lifelike leprechauns? These are my super simple sweet leprechaun faces! They are so simple to make … Continue reading →

Leprechaun Hat Cupcakes

Posted on March 9, 2012 by sweetsimplestuff

This gallery contains 15 photos.

YES … THEY REALLY ARE CUPCAKES!!! They are incognito … hidden inside mini ice cream cones and turned upside-down … let me show you! This is what you will need … Cake mix Buttermilk Canola oil Eggs Mini ice cream … Continue reading →

Clocks and Top Hats for New Year’s

Posted on December 28, 2011 by sweetsimplestuff

This gallery contains 13 photos.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Today is December 28, 2011 … in a few short days it will be 2012 … time is just flying by! Can you tell that I recycle? I am not talking about cans and bottles … but … Continue reading →

Peppermint, Chocolate and Marshmallows …

Posted on December 21, 2011 by sweetsimplestuff

This gallery contains 8 photos.

Peppermint S’mores and Peppermint Marshmallow Pops Are you done with all your holiday baking? I’m not … I am still baking, melting, mixing, etc. This is a quick and easy treat. I am going to pack up about six pops … Continue reading →

Decorate cookies … fast and easy

Posted on December 16, 2011 by sweetsimplestuff

This gallery contains 6 photos.

These are my decorated cookies. Every year I have wonderful plans to make cookies with very detailed decorations … well, those plans flew out the window … as usual. But I’m OK with that … I don’t have what I … Continue reading →

Super Simple Edible Snow Globes

Posted on December 9, 2011 by sweetsimplestuff

This gallery contains 6 photos.

This is a great adult or kids project … quick and easy. This is what you will need … Oreo cookies covered in white chocolate (make your own or use ready-made) Small York peppermint patties Melted white chocolate (mine is … Continue reading →

Thanksgiving Review …

Posted on November 22, 2011 by sweetsimplestuff

This gallery contains 7 photos.

What are you making for Thanksgiving? Here is a quick “round-up” of my Thanksgiving ideas for this year … Sweet Acorns … I’m bringing a bowl to the in-laws … does it count as a side dish? … or … Continue reading →

Marshmallow Pilgrim Hats

Posted on November 16, 2011 by sweetsimplestuff

The weeks are flying by … can you believe it’s mid November? These little goodies are quick, easy and can be made now and kept until Thanksgiving. The kids could help … they’ll love making the Marshmallow Pilgrim Hats … eating the pops too!

This is what you will need …

Large marshmallows (I used the caramel/vanilla swirl, just because)
Famous Chocolate Wafers (or something similar)
Lollipop sticks
Melted dark chocolate (about 1 pound for 24 marshmallows)
Melted chocolate of a contrasting color (I just used up some leftovers)
Marker with edible ink (oops, forgot it in the photo)

Dip the tip of the lollipop stick in melted dark chocolate … then poke it in the marshmallow … set it aside to firm up. This will help prevent the marshmallow from slipping around on the stick and create a clean line of chocolate on the stick …

Dip the marshmallow in the chocolate … tap off excess chocolate and place in styrofoam or similar holder. Then pop them in the fridge or freeze for a few minutes to firm up …

Lay out some chocolate cookie wafers on a cookie sheet (break off any uneven pieces) … dip 1/4 to 1/3 of the chocolate marshmallow in a contrasting color … then place it on top of a cookie …

Use the marker (edible of course) to draw a buckle …

I told you that this project was fast and easy!

Are you wondering who the winner of the giveaway is?

The winner is #12, Janice! I will be sending an email.

Thank you to everyone for participating … I hope it was helpful to you … it was to me.

I had forgotten about Cost Plus World Market … thanks Carolyn.
I never would have thought of Avon … thanks Sandy.
Have you ever checked Cracker Barrel’s candy section? They carry all sorts of stuff.

I ♥ comments …

Pumpkindoodle Cookies

Posted on November 9, 2011 by sweetsimplestuff

It’s November and I just realized that I haven’t made anything with pumpkin! I have thought about pumpkin, a lot … cut recipes out of magazines … printed recipes from other blogs … gone thru old recipes … even bought two pie pumpkins … but I still had not baked anything pumpkin! So, I finally did it … and actually came up with a new creation. I hope you enjoy it.

Before I started to make these cookies, I had decided to call them Pumpkin Pie Cookies. Then as soon as I started rolling the dough into balls, then rolling them in sugar with spices … I realized how much they remind me of making Snickerdoodles … and they became Pumpkindoodles!

I will take this time to apologize for the photos … I started this project in the day … and continued at night … I bake better than I take pics … someday I’ll take better pics … someday I’ll get a “big girl” camera … maybe I should learn to use what I have.

First, make the cookie dough –

Have you tried vanilla bean paste? I think that it adds something special … a richer deeper vanilla flavor … and little flecks of color …

Cream together the butter, vanilla and sugar … see how thick and rich the vanilla paste is … don’t worry if you don’t have the paste, vanilla extract also works well …

It will look like this …

Mix in the flour and salt …

Cover and set aside …

Now, make the pumpkin filling …

Mix cream cheese, pumpkin, sugar and pumpkin pie spice …

Mix until well combined …

Set it aside …

Mix up more sugar and pumpkin pie spice to roll the cookies in …

Start the assembly line … roll the cookie dough in balls, about the size of a walnut … then flatten slightly … and dip it in the sugar mixture …

Lay the cookie dough on a parchment lined cookie sheet …

Make a well in the center of the cookie … I used my knuckle … I guess they could be “knuckle print” cookies, not “thumb print” cookies … sorry, I couldn’t resist …

I put the filling in a plastic zip top bag … snipped the corner off … and squeezed the filling into the cookies …

Bake the cookies … cool the cookies … consume the cookies … yum!

P.S. The cookie dough may seem familiar … it is 1/2 recipe of my favorite Shortbread Cookies.

Pumpkindoodles

Cookies

1 cup butter (2 sticks) softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla (paste or extract)
2-1/4 cups unbleached flour (or all-purpose)

Filling

4 ounces (1/2 block) cream cheese softened
1 cup canned pumpkin
1-1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 cup granulated sugar

Sugar Mixture

1/4 cup granulated sugar
1-1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Make the cookie dough – Cream together the butter, vanilla and sugar. Add the flour and salt. Mix until blended. The dough will be stiff.

Make the filling – Cream together the cream cheese, pumpkin, spice and sugar.

Make the sugar mixture – In a small bowl, mix the sugar and spice.

Roll the cookie dough in balls about the size of a walnut (1″ to 1-1/4″), flatten slightly. Roll the dough in the sugar mixture and place on parchment paper lined baking sheet. Make a well in the cookie dough and fill with pumpkin filling (spoon it or pipe it in the well). Bake at 375°F for 11-13 minutes or until lightly golden on edges of the cookie. Cool completely. Makes about 36 cookies. Store in a covered container, not airtight.