Rings, Rings, Rings

I'm always on the lookout for beads that would make great rings. I have been to bead shows, I have been to bead stores around the area, I have surfed the Internet, all in search for beads to make some wonderful rings. Here are some of the rings that I have made. There is a wonderful selection of rings in my Etsy store.

All I need is wire, beads, a ring mandrel and the ring making begins. They are fun to make and fun to wear. I love when I'm wearing a ring and someone notices and really likes it. That makes me very happy.

~Michelle

Cinnamon Rolls

My son, the one that loves cinnamon rolls, is home sick today so I decided to make some cinnamon rolls. The rolls were done when the other boy came home from school and he ate one right away. The sick boy has not tried one yet, maybe when he is felling a bit better. I'm trying a different recipe then the one that I used last time. Check here. Try both recipes when you have time:)

The dough recipe is from Food Network

Ingredients

Dough:

• 1/4-ounce package yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1/2 cup scalded milk
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour

Filling

• 1/2 cup melted butter, plus more for pan
• 3/4 cup sugar, plus more for pan
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Glaze
The glaze recipe is from FamilyFun

• 1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
• 2 1/2 tablespoons of milk or more
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• a drop of vanilla

Heat oven to 200 degrees F. so the kitchen is warm and dough will rise.

In a small bowl, dissolves yeast in warm water and set aside. In a large bowl mix milk, sugar, melted butter, salt and egg. Add 2 cups of flour and mix until smooth. Add yeast mixture. Mix in remaining flour until dough is easy to handle. Knead dough on lightly floured surface for 5 to 10 minutes. Place in well-greased bowl, cover and let rise until doubled in size, usually 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

When doubled in size, punch down dough. Roll out on a floured surface into a 15 by 9-inch rectangle. Spread melted butter all over dough. Mix sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over buttered dough. Beginning at the 15-inch side, roll up dough and pinch edge together to seal Cut into 12 to 15 slices. I used dental floss to slice the roll. I works great.

Turn the oven up and heat it to 350 degrees F.

Coat the bottom of baking pan with butter and sprinkle with sugar. Place cinnamon roll slices close together in the pan and let rise until dough is doubled, about 45 minutes. Bake for about 30 minutes or until nicely browned.

(I should have used a bigger pan...)

Meanwhile, mix butter, confectioners sugar, milk and vanilla in a bowl until combined and reaches desired consistency. Spread over slightly cooled rolls. I did not use all of the glaze.

ENJOY
Michelle

My New Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

The problem declaring something your favorite is that when you find something you like better you have to say you have a NEW favorite.



I posted a very delicious Chocolate Chip cookie recipe here and declared it my "favorite". Well, I now have a new favorite Chocolate Chip cookie recipe. These cookies are so good that you really can't just eat one.


I googled for a chocolate chip cookie recipe and found this on the blog, mybakingaddiction.com. I thought I would whip up a batch but only had 2 sticks of butter. I always use butter when I bake. But, I did have some sticks of margarine in the refrigerator. So, I used 2 sticks of butter and 1 stick of margarine. The cookies came out so wonderful I am afraid to use all butter:) I'm afraid that they might not turn out as well if I don't.

I also used 2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips and 2 cups of white chips. YUM so good. This recipe makes a very chippy cookie, and I think that the white adds the most wonderful balance to the semi-sweet chips. My family loves a chippy cookie so, this is the perfect recipe.
I'm taking this batch to cub scouts tonight. They were a big with the kids.

Totally Awesome Chocolate Chip Cookies
recipe from: mybakingaddiction.com
original recipe from: bettycrocker.com


Here is the recipe as I made it.

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup margarine, softened
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 eggs
4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups of semisweet chocolate chips
2 cups of premier white chips


1. Heat oven to 350F. In large bowl, beat butter, sugars, vanilla and eggs with electric mixer on medium speed. Mix in flour, baking soda and salt (dough will be stiff) Stir in the chocolate and white chips.
2. On a cookie sheet, drop dough by tablespoonfuls or #40 cookie/ice cream scoop 2 inches apart. Flatten slightly.
3. Bake 11-13 minutes or until light brown (centers will be soft). cool 1 to 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack.
ENJOY
~Michelle

Cake Balls

I would be pretty surprised if you haven't heard about Cake Balls or Cake Pops. They have been appearing all over the Internet and even in cooking magazines at the grocery store. I even saw them at Starbucks. I have made them many times and the recipe is easy... it's the dipping and the decorating that is very time consuming.


I use a cake mix like red velvet and 1 can of frosting, cream cheese. Make the cake according to the directions on the box. Feel free to make a cake from scratch if you would like. After the cake is cooled dump it into a large bowl and add the whole can of frosting. Mix it until it is all incorporated. For really wonderful directions and photos of some incredible cake ball and cake pop designs go to Bakerella.com and be amazed.

The easy part is making the cake and mixing with the frosting. Honestly I had a difficult time dipping these cake balls. I use the white candy melts that I had and added some vanilla chips to stretch it a little. Just microwave, stir and dip. Really takes some practice. It is a little easier to dip the cake pops, which are cake balls on a stick.

I must admit that when they are all done they do taste delicious. They are a great bite of rich cake and frosting. Again, check out Bakerella.com for some fantastic ideas. I made the reindeer pops for Christmas and I have made some blue and white for my High School reunion and Yellow and Black for a going to college party.- school colors. We can consider these St. Patrick's Day cake balls.

I brought these in for the morning show crew since they do not get the chance to enjoy my baking very often.

Good Luck
~Michelle

Rice Cereal Treats to the Rescue

This weekend I need to bring a little treat to church for a gathering after my son's first reconciliation. I didn't want to make a huge batch of something because everyone was supposed to bring a treat. We were also having our neighbors over for a little visit. I whipped up a batch of rice cereal treats and divided them for both occasions.

I used a large ice cream scooper rubbed with butter to form balls then I gave them a little flatten job so they looked more like cookies. I used a piece of wax paper to flatten.

I melted some semi-sweet chocolate chips in the microwave with just a dash of vegetable oil and put the melted chocolate in a plastic baggie and drizzled it over the treats. Then I used some left over sprinkles from the cub scout cakes on the top.

They came out great. Easy, fun and delicious.

~Michelle

The Little One's Birthday

I know I just posted that I should stick to cookies. However, it was a special weekend.

My son just turned 8 years old yesterday. It really feels like yesterday when we came home and his older brother (18 months at the time) tripped in the kitchen trying to help with the groceries, fell chipping his front tooth and ending up with a fat lip. After all the crying and icing he finally went to sleep and I went to lay on the bed and seconds later I heard a pop, my water broke and about 6 hours later we had another sweet baby boy.

This year I baked a baseball cake, by request, he just joined a team for the first time. I used the pans that I borrowed from a co-worker when I made the eyeball cake for scouts last year. This time I filled it with a chocolate moose filling. The recipe for the cake and the filling was included with the Better Crocker instruction booklet that was with the pan set. (last minute photo) Then I had to bake cupcakes for his class making sure everything was nut free because several kids have nut allergies. I just a boxed cake mix for speed and checked the box.

I also baked cupcakes for cub scouts. (seen below) These, however, where not peanut free. They had a little peanut butter cup on the top. I got the idea from the Baked Perfection blog, except I used a box mix for speed. I took the wrapper off of the peanut butter cup because I just figured the boys would shove it right in their mouths. And that they did. I would love to try the recipe from Baked Perfection. I bet they taste wonderful.

~Michelle