Cinnamon Oatmeal and Yogurt Pancakes

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD9VrtBhQaUbFFOuEB1UQvXiS1CiPXTLGiCbwE8nElurnTP3aCoFnOnLly2tNolDCibcpzXRduUV6OieXvqSj66d8pLbq4GmqPH7-U69jklWpOMO3RufEoPXv4SOyX8uyvCuOvaKzCXixF/s1600/iDSC_1079.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD9VrtBhQaUbFFOuEB1UQvXiS1CiPXTLGiCbwE8nElurnTP3aCoFnOnLly2tNolDCibcpzXRduUV6OieXvqSj66d8pLbq4GmqPH7-U69jklWpOMO3RufEoPXv4SOyX8uyvCuOvaKzCXixF/s1600/iDSC_1079.jpg" width="436" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">  </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A couple of months ago I shared one of my <a href="http://dearlillieblog.blogspot.com/2014/03/pinterest-cookies-and-nest-download.html">favorite recipes</a> that I found on Pinterest (you can find that <a href="http://dearlillieblog.blogspot.com/2014/03/pinterest-cookies-and-nest-download.html">here</a>) and thought it was time to share another one. This one was actually found by my cousin, Anne. She had pinned this recipe and was so sweet and made us a delicious batch of these <a href="http://familymealblog.com/2013/09/02/cinnamon-oatmeal-and-yogurt-pancakes/">Cinnamon Oatmeal and Yogurt Pancakes</a>. They were absolutely delicious. Lillie and Lola inhaled them! You can find the recipe for these fabulous pancakes <a href="http://familymealblog.com/2013/09/02/cinnamon-oatmeal-and-yogurt-pancakes/">here</a>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge051S_Ch9f7BoGLUoZzSvbSTm6LU-xwoTXwq_ZVXlr8yGU4q2MqAxTNI4xPxdj4m5LrWYu5U9jjosm8QH6hrh5ghd_mPJ750frVCFzMOntT9ha3zgbQES7R8aiPulKYoJ-OR-ujuBs3LW/s1600/iDSC_1091-1-(dragged).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge051S_Ch9f7BoGLUoZzSvbSTm6LU-xwoTXwq_ZVXlr8yGU4q2MqAxTNI4xPxdj4m5LrWYu5U9jjosm8QH6hrh5ghd_mPJ750frVCFzMOntT9ha3zgbQES7R8aiPulKYoJ-OR-ujuBs3LW/s1600/iDSC_1091-1-(dragged).jpg" width="436" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj08ENrqyLDuOZeaq-C3vLkkNT8U0FrMSF3GHCXUnEp5YzKQ9gkJGUBNCHtMoWUXTKGagNVI4lq6FCYrkuiCVtsogjruFZt8cVkorIBy5ECspI7irMOAwp6aiUW6g9cHBIoz5hM1zgUzFx-/s1600/iDSC_1090.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj08ENrqyLDuOZeaq-C3vLkkNT8U0FrMSF3GHCXUnEp5YzKQ9gkJGUBNCHtMoWUXTKGagNVI4lq6FCYrkuiCVtsogjruFZt8cVkorIBy5ECspI7irMOAwp6aiUW6g9cHBIoz5hM1zgUzFx-/s1600/iDSC_1090.jpg" width="436" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyVUJb8s98_N7tICZP2EoVhx5GcZJBtjuLL__CqjHgDItNx9MF4sOK6RmdWPUhLN58E3ww-kesB-1kX4XZNfk3fwXqtPOoCAnHRGs3Ilf5fUePan8eIBOcMHgEFcuzg2yThApkpjyH6z05/s1600/iDSC_1072.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyVUJb8s98_N7tICZP2EoVhx5GcZJBtjuLL__CqjHgDItNx9MF4sOK6RmdWPUhLN58E3ww-kesB-1kX4XZNfk3fwXqtPOoCAnHRGs3Ilf5fUePan8eIBOcMHgEFcuzg2yThApkpjyH6z05/s1600/iDSC_1072.jpg" width="436" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Thanks so much, Anne! I hope you all have a fabulous week.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkje2cE1UxilzHSKxihW5Gp8ta4ByhP7EPIPknUREk62C6h8cVo4CJVvifxqOWW0gMzNVJ_0Tihgt_x2lD7Hg_H98juuGR37O6KObL3zQtl4TbmZskg-vtUDitx-XMXF3StMo3l8MXNM_s/s1600/sig.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkje2cE1UxilzHSKxihW5Gp8ta4ByhP7EPIPknUREk62C6h8cVo4CJVvifxqOWW0gMzNVJ_0Tihgt_x2lD7Hg_H98juuGR37O6KObL3zQtl4TbmZskg-vtUDitx-XMXF3StMo3l8MXNM_s/s1600/sig.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>

Cinnamon Oatmeal and Yogurt Pancakes

    A couple of months ago I shared one of my favorite recipes that I found on Pinterest (you can find that here ) and thought it was time ...

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Pumpkin Bread - (Guest Post from My Mom)

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX5jcqptPxyYHWC1dSI7kTeGaxv-qveEQ0sZdWxIoIV9KqbGVvBid0TunXlfM02HOzvKcktklGNP17Lre6STe0gVjbx9gZfpQqOqQ8m18ZiOtkOnPaivTaQ91knJE-0fz0JI_tVn-JFSsc/s1600/fDSC_2289text.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX5jcqptPxyYHWC1dSI7kTeGaxv-qveEQ0sZdWxIoIV9KqbGVvBid0TunXlfM02HOzvKcktklGNP17Lre6STe0gVjbx9gZfpQqOqQ8m18ZiOtkOnPaivTaQ91knJE-0fz0JI_tVn-JFSsc/s640/fDSC_2289text.jpg" width="436" /></a></div><br />Greetings! Jamie, Everly, and I wanted to share a fall recipe with you today. It’s an old favorite that traces waaay back to my childhood days of being treated to dinner at a restaurant named Major Leonard Keep. My grandmother and grandfather would occasionally invite us along to dine with them, regardless of whether we deserved it or not, and if my memory serves me correctly, most often we probably did not! =) One of the foods I looked forward to nibbling on most of all was MLK’s pumpkin bread, amongst many other goodies they provided in their bread baskets. They were still serving this very same bread when our family celebrated together after Jenni’s baby dedication, also many moons ago. Disappointingly, this place of establishment is no longer in business. Years later, however, someone was kind enough to post the pumpkin bread recipe in our local newspaper; it appeared to have been a notable favorite to more than just my own family! Either way, I was delighted to espy the tasty delicacy and promptly tore it out of the “Food and Cuisine” section before my husband could even mention the word ‘scissors’ to me! I was taking no chance on the slightest of distractions for fear of losing this beloved recipe to the trashbin. As I baked the pumpkin bread today - the aroma wafting throughout the kitchen- I still savored the fond recollections of family and friends gathered at the old restaurant of yesteryear. <br /><br />Below is the recipe, which tastes as much like a cake as it does a bread….hmmm….I’m sure you’ve figured out by now, that our family comes from a long line of sweettooths! <br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><b>PUMPKIN BREAD </b></span></span><br /><span style="color: #b45f06;"><b>*Major Leonard Keep* </b></span><br /><span style="color: #b45f06;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="color: #b45f06;"><b>4 eggs </b></span><br /><span style="color: #b45f06;"><b>3 cups sugar </b></span><br /><span style="color: #b45f06;"><b>1 cup oil </b></span><br /><span style="color: #b45f06;"><b>2 cups pumpkin </b></span><br /><span style="color: #b45f06;"><b>3+1/3 cups flour </b></span><br /><span style="color: #b45f06;"><b>2 tsp. baking soda </b></span><br /><span style="color: #b45f06;"><b>1+1/2 tsp. salt </b></span><br /><span style="color: #b45f06;"><b>*1 tsp. cinnamon (I use 3 tsps.) </b></span><br /><span style="color: #b45f06;"><b>1 tsp. nutmeg </b></span><br /><span style="color: #b45f06;"><b>2/3 cup water </b></span><br /><span style="color: #b45f06;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="color: #b45f06;"><b>Beat eggs until light. Add sugar, oil, and pumpkin. Beat well. Add sifted dry ingredients with water to egg mixture. Bake in 4 small loaf pans at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes; or two regular sized loaf pans for 60-70 minutes. </b></span><br /><br /><br />Enjoy! <br /><br />Heidi<br /><br /><i>*I was so glad when I heard my mom was going to share this recipe. This is my favorite thing to eat in the fall - I seriously can eat a whole loaf myself (and I am pretty sure I have). In fact, I think I am going to make some this weekend!</i>

Pumpkin Bread - (Guest Post from My Mom)

Greetings! Jamie, Everly, and I wanted to share a fall recipe with you today. It’s an old favorite that traces waaay back to my childhood...

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Peanut Butter Fingers - Guest Post by My Mom (with help from Jamie and Everly)

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXo5-D-42Y0KckFMOo3JMOQy12JsOdar9aFnqpjeLj7sMGpnGHKft0s31S7RfHDbTKLIkXa0e-TbSLTrDvEWewfQJjJT22vYHyArM3P7eX-Tc2u_K1QmbYMiUsXRMtGe5etNMv6HSZyARi/s1600/llDSC_2629text.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXo5-D-42Y0KckFMOo3JMOQy12JsOdar9aFnqpjeLj7sMGpnGHKft0s31S7RfHDbTKLIkXa0e-TbSLTrDvEWewfQJjJT22vYHyArM3P7eX-Tc2u_K1QmbYMiUsXRMtGe5etNMv6HSZyARi/s640/llDSC_2629text.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxqD2hhoI8ZywTP7t06l8Srh3F-qcZ33K6qufJpJrogO3vaRwKv_U7CMM5QovR4sfgx0cQNQJh8Ng_FUHlVn6WgymYN-OgULgPft-yFCzw8SUSkrGKbkL6SuR4pa3hi-L-FOBv-tEiPPtM/s1600/lDSC_2603.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxqD2hhoI8ZywTP7t06l8Srh3F-qcZ33K6qufJpJrogO3vaRwKv_U7CMM5QovR4sfgx0cQNQJh8Ng_FUHlVn6WgymYN-OgULgPft-yFCzw8SUSkrGKbkL6SuR4pa3hi-L-FOBv-tEiPPtM/s640/lDSC_2603.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Greetings!  Dana, Jamie, and I volunteered to do a guest post for Jenni, allowing her a little extra time to finish up her packing in preparation for her move.   Dana, Evie, and I would bake while Jamie would do the photographing.   As always, what appeared to be and should have been a simple task emerged into an all-afternoon project!  Not to mention, Dana was 200+ miles away in New Jersey by the time we realized we needed to get cookin’!  Her short visit of 24 hours allowed no time for us to bake one of our all-time favorite desserts.  So, unfortunately she was not here to lick the bowl or (fortunately) wonder why it took Jamie and me 4+1/2 hours to bake and then photograph a recipe we’ve been making for almost five decades.<br /><br />With that being said, as you all know ‘chocolate’ is a fervent addiction in our family.  Add peanut butter to the mix and we become delirious! This recipe is a delectable mix of the two that my mom found over 50 years ago from the Better Homes and Gardens magazine in 1962. It was the official Pillsbury winning bake-off recipe, in which we so appreciate her cutting out of the magazine on that warm summer day! We have been baking and eating and baking and eating it ever since – right on down to the fourth generation, being my mom’s great grandchildren.  The recipe is called “Peanut Butter Fingers.”  They are heavenly and they are rich.  In other words – be careful.  My sister and I used to make ourselves sick when we baked these because we always managed to overindulge … =) <br /><br /><br /><span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Peanut Butter Fingers</b></span></span><br />Cream together:<br />    ½ c. melted margarine<br />    ½ c. granulated sugar<br />    ½ c. packed brown sugar<br />Blend in:<br />    1 unbeaten egg<br />    1/3 c. peanut butter<br />    ¼ tsp. salt<br />    ½ tsp. baking soda<br />    ½ tsp. vanilla<br />Stir in:<br />    1 c. flour<br />    1 c. quick cooking rolled oats<br />Spread in 9x13 greased pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and sprinkle with 1 c. of chocolate bits.  Let stand for 5 minutes.<br />Combine:<br />    ½ c. confectioners sugar<br />    ¼ c. peanut butter<br />    2-4 Tbsp. milk<br />Mix well.<br />Spread melted chocolate bits evenly. Drizzle with peanut butter mixture and spread over top of chocolate.  Cool; cut into bars.<br /><br />ENJOY!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1rvL0TNLprK5r8eiejHqnhHBnrnCknJ5gcv087bS_7SKKjHbY7pJeBFkzsymWKHcEwYURY84daHLLjpofafoIvzjBlqs0bhva01YRWKTn_ef5qZw_a1f_9Ak45FGwCtl-459oIPxLZT36/s1600/lDSC_2516-edit.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1rvL0TNLprK5r8eiejHqnhHBnrnCknJ5gcv087bS_7SKKjHbY7pJeBFkzsymWKHcEwYURY84daHLLjpofafoIvzjBlqs0bhva01YRWKTn_ef5qZw_a1f_9Ak45FGwCtl-459oIPxLZT36/s640/lDSC_2516-edit.png" width="436" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">They are using a bowl that was Everly Penniman's great great grandmother's (whom she was named after).  Evie looks thrilled. =) </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6RI-q9Q6kbwSaqjZy5Mwi9BqwulTw0FLpmlPFoPj_Cjcl6GSKS6WBKlG7Sv1gICxCaz9QAyu_gGNdnG-uBoqe6qVqguogLKoclt8MIHNhL3jAROxrtpeqLc3unJMwXIUC6oGB-V5EuFSQ/s640/lDSC_2475.png" width="436" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfg3cYc4bmlG-ioCTL-Qt2bfiB4WUUil_0fJ0mb6sA3oQRnXgLyD-EuYr9iWiCMIS7PhUd1k1jafQsCo5FbtHxhOWXiXjxQN8hi4Lgr9XhxT8DS85TcXn7ymAsxGZ7hf5T1XYyKd7Qis__/s1600/lDSC_2618.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfg3cYc4bmlG-ioCTL-Qt2bfiB4WUUil_0fJ0mb6sA3oQRnXgLyD-EuYr9iWiCMIS7PhUd1k1jafQsCo5FbtHxhOWXiXjxQN8hi4Lgr9XhxT8DS85TcXn7ymAsxGZ7hf5T1XYyKd7Qis__/s640/lDSC_2618.png" width="436" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Heidi (and Jamie and Everly) </i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />P.S. - This is Jenni now - I have to say if you only ever try one recipe from our blog this would be the one you should try - they are absolutely divine and you can eat a whole pan yourself...which I suppose isn't really a good thing! =)

Peanut Butter Fingers - Guest Post by My Mom (with help from Jamie and Everly)

Greetings!  Dana, Jamie, and I volunteered to do a guest post for Jenni, allowing her a little extra time to finish up her packing in prepar...

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvRNraACQfRydxBBDs9YPI5K3hDlpJHrZSQtaw8OesVzZHGGLXa6ANqTzG9Mnt0eLUKSiS0G7CMuiwP1U-sKg0AnWD9PzyeO-6600zagPH67PpzpoMqz5fODm2gzehMSqQ4JTd6xM3P6oI/s1600/gfFebruary_746.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvRNraACQfRydxBBDs9YPI5K3hDlpJHrZSQtaw8OesVzZHGGLXa6ANqTzG9Mnt0eLUKSiS0G7CMuiwP1U-sKg0AnWD9PzyeO-6600zagPH67PpzpoMqz5fODm2gzehMSqQ4JTd6xM3P6oI/s640/gfFebruary_746.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-zVzQ3poVu-SaIWI6PbUGHouGRiP1WMCVdwQPJ4JZ1HOBKrdbe-vPzdGVNziZcDhAm9BOvp6fwgZaMN5T1R-aVqc0DmcejLXLywOYczGRxGi7oltJM_26_LTHGRQ6ZoV-uPPSGwaXEYEe/s1600/gfFebruary_722.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-zVzQ3poVu-SaIWI6PbUGHouGRiP1WMCVdwQPJ4JZ1HOBKrdbe-vPzdGVNziZcDhAm9BOvp6fwgZaMN5T1R-aVqc0DmcejLXLywOYczGRxGi7oltJM_26_LTHGRQ6ZoV-uPPSGwaXEYEe/s640/gfFebruary_722.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaP4Um4Q32qI-UpOnAqjCSBiKMhaB7CSwrHpWzo2322nk0mO3Q-1SlzZPH93FcWMfhRhc9SQXRp3xH9GRvAMICDDkHfB3VdNwHOmEXwn65FYiyjOrI7UMXX7x1dajn59pzgIWW3CXFyq90/s1600/February_740.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaP4Um4Q32qI-UpOnAqjCSBiKMhaB7CSwrHpWzo2322nk0mO3Q-1SlzZPH93FcWMfhRhc9SQXRp3xH9GRvAMICDDkHfB3VdNwHOmEXwn65FYiyjOrI7UMXX7x1dajn59pzgIWW3CXFyq90/s640/February_740.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin9QkDBsn1kuO2gke95G2yZJ_6SxJnilJYLZ_LRBCMs3-q6NDTTCMRqdd2oiIHtBMoCFS7aMLQnWREvtDw5LK9se2cqtgfRdyWImod9tDdOx6eDpMKDJovnkFEcfuIHmjGWZonV9RIYZpi/s1600/February_757.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin9QkDBsn1kuO2gke95G2yZJ_6SxJnilJYLZ_LRBCMs3-q6NDTTCMRqdd2oiIHtBMoCFS7aMLQnWREvtDw5LK9se2cqtgfRdyWImod9tDdOx6eDpMKDJovnkFEcfuIHmjGWZonV9RIYZpi/s640/February_757.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! A little while ago the girls and I made some chocolate peanut butter truffles and I thought I would share the recipe for them again (I had shared it a couple of years ago in a Valentine's craft post but thought I would make it easier to find by giving them their own post today). These are one of my all-time favorite snacks that I accidentally stumbled on making back in college and they quickly became a favorite of my whole family. Because I never had a recipe for them this is my closest guess to the amounts of each ingredient:<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>For the inside:</b></div><div style="text-align: center;">Butter (1/2 cup)</div><div style="text-align: center;">Brown Sugar (start with 3/4 cup but probably will add more)</div><div style="text-align: center;">Peanut Butter (start with 1/2 cup but may add more)</div><div style="text-align: center;">Vanilla (3/4 teaspoon)</div><div style="text-align: center;">Flour (start with 1/2 cup but definitely WILL add more) </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">That's it! Now, like I said there are no real measurements I go by so as long as you aren't picky about that they are super easy to make. For this I started with one stick of butter. I popped it in the microwave until it was completely melted. Then I started adding the brown sugar. I think it probably ended up being close to a cup by the time I was done however feel free to add a more or less depending on how sweet you want it. Then add in the peanut butter. I would say we started with about a 1/2  cup but maybe used around 3/4 a cup by the time we were done but again I am not really sure. You do want it to be more peanut buttery than sugary as far as the taste goes. I generally take a little taste at this point and see. If it is too sweet I add a little more peanut butter (you don't want it to be too sweet because they are so rich once you dip them in the chocolate).  Then I added around 3/4 teaspoon of vanilla and stirred it again. And now for the last part. To start with I dumped in about 1/2 cup of flour. I stirred it all in and then just kept adding a 1/4 cup at a time until it was a nice consistency to roll into little balls.  Now roll them and place them on a cookie sheet covered in wax paper. (Make sure you put them on wax paper - it will make picking them up after they are coated in chocolate soooo much easier!) </div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">(These next photos are all from before Lola was even born - sorry for the huge watermarks!) </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMfm2ENp0-VXiDsUQ5ay9k_9IUWQ2uAo3LetOx_OHmS0SnLjkPDPI0-C1Amo4MZUTorvKZlXes7xhmJxgf3bqbg7oQ3p7vAegZN7gRBvnEjIONd1DQ1-cx2F_pT_I8MO9uxSelL415t7w/s1600/fDSC_0113.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMfm2ENp0-VXiDsUQ5ay9k_9IUWQ2uAo3LetOx_OHmS0SnLjkPDPI0-C1Amo4MZUTorvKZlXes7xhmJxgf3bqbg7oQ3p7vAegZN7gRBvnEjIONd1DQ1-cx2F_pT_I8MO9uxSelL415t7w/s640/fDSC_0113.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Now for the dipping! </b></div><div style="text-align: center;">2 - 4 cups of chocolate chips</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">That's it! I generally start with about a cup to a cup and a half of chocolate bits and just dump them into something that is safe for the microwave. For this batch I put it in for 45 seconds then took it out and stirred the chocolate chips and put it in for another 45 seconds and stirred again and it was ready to go. (You may have to keep doing it for a little bit longer depending on how your microwave works. Just don't put it in for longer than a minute at a time without stirring it or the bottom ones may burn - I've definitely had that happen before!) I coat as many as I can and then just melt more chocolate as needed. I find using something like this makes it pretty easy and I don't waste as much chocolate as I do when I use a bigger bowl. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV8jmtH-GlIq6Bco7rmWHfQnUdnZrVMw78dwj5PzdcZDgWDIJIGfUdLDC3AwX4w-yFYZp9SYEbq009sUMQycGYOOrqpjpzPckSfTIW2ZRBX60ExnbzcGgFWqxw0TuIUCKQtbYkFxdIzAk/s1600/fDSC_0112.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV8jmtH-GlIq6Bco7rmWHfQnUdnZrVMw78dwj5PzdcZDgWDIJIGfUdLDC3AwX4w-yFYZp9SYEbq009sUMQycGYOOrqpjpzPckSfTIW2ZRBX60ExnbzcGgFWqxw0TuIUCKQtbYkFxdIzAk/s640/fDSC_0112.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="pinit-wrapper" style="cursor: pointer; left: 297.2px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; top: 4810.95px; visibility: hidden; z-index: 9999;"><a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http://dearlillieblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/inexpensive-easy-valentines-gift-with.html&media=https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV8jmtH-GlIq6Bco7rmWHfQnUdnZrVMw78dwj5PzdcZDgWDIJIGfUdLDC3AwX4w-yFYZp9SYEbq009sUMQycGYOOrqpjpzPckSfTIW2ZRBX60ExnbzcGgFWqxw0TuIUCKQtbYkFxdIzAk/s640/fDSC_0112.jpg&description=An%20Inexpensive,%20Easy%20Valentine%27s%20Gift%20with%20a" style="display: block; outline: none;" target="_blank"><img class="pinimg" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYKPmXTcN9BIzXROFwhk01Ru3D5Q0bRvWpbZV13iMQJrdgqzzoo4-QbhPRvy4nAdSgyL-127Dn56AWxT-br_mUiT-E12q1fRHf1EaITc7DRxyg44wrVJKOSd93EMvR5yX4LdHKxzaM2zgF/s1600/pinterestx1_72.png" style="-moz-box-shadow: none; -o-box-shadow: none; -webkit-box-shadow: none; background: transparent; border: 0; box-shadow: none; margin: 0; padding: 0;" title="Pin on Pinterest" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> To coat the peanut butter balls you just drop them in one at a time and just spoon the chocolate over them. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJNWY8Xvo3IFNNaWCQKaLak9ZtuEprOJAxQQuPSE0VyPKrqtQpQYlusNaDDZOn2XaymA8JF1udacARVPqkA879HDuRQluGOVFWJ5epXQaw_XBLZXhaifcwC3-YOn3MGt_BnLeNxeaqq5c/s1600/fDSC_0133.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJNWY8Xvo3IFNNaWCQKaLak9ZtuEprOJAxQQuPSE0VyPKrqtQpQYlusNaDDZOn2XaymA8JF1udacARVPqkA879HDuRQluGOVFWJ5epXQaw_XBLZXhaifcwC3-YOn3MGt_BnLeNxeaqq5c/s640/fDSC_0133.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="pinit-wrapper" style="cursor: pointer; left: 297.2px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; top: 5361.55px; visibility: hidden; z-index: 9999;"><a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http://dearlillieblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/inexpensive-easy-valentines-gift-with.html&media=https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJNWY8Xvo3IFNNaWCQKaLak9ZtuEprOJAxQQuPSE0VyPKrqtQpQYlusNaDDZOn2XaymA8JF1udacARVPqkA879HDuRQluGOVFWJ5epXQaw_XBLZXhaifcwC3-YOn3MGt_BnLeNxeaqq5c/s640/fDSC_0133.jpg&description=An%20Inexpensive,%20Easy%20Valentine%27s%20Gift%20with%20a" style="display: block; outline: none;" target="_blank"><img class="pinimg" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYKPmXTcN9BIzXROFwhk01Ru3D5Q0bRvWpbZV13iMQJrdgqzzoo4-QbhPRvy4nAdSgyL-127Dn56AWxT-br_mUiT-E12q1fRHf1EaITc7DRxyg44wrVJKOSd93EMvR5yX4LdHKxzaM2zgF/s1600/pinterestx1_72.png" style="-moz-box-shadow: none; -o-box-shadow: none; -webkit-box-shadow: none; background: transparent; border: 0; box-shadow: none; margin: 0; padding: 0;" title="Pin on Pinterest" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">As we finished dipping each one we just placed it back on the wax paper. <b>Once they were all done we popped them in the fridge.</b> They generally harden within an hour and then that is also where we store them.  They aren't nearly as good if you don't keep them in the fridge!</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_6CKJxmarei_lygwS5x-mihX4VGGBtET3lgZtVZlC-tfK8Q8FnLsO_Ws6_zVeDesHZykLz568ckLtUAGtkOWvdNZSvMz0hO2Gpfy2X9NXqtqHJtyJW52uYVi4cgcbTslBnrEN09-k0E0/s1600/fDSC_0169.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="462" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_6CKJxmarei_lygwS5x-mihX4VGGBtET3lgZtVZlC-tfK8Q8FnLsO_Ws6_zVeDesHZykLz568ckLtUAGtkOWvdNZSvMz0hO2Gpfy2X9NXqtqHJtyJW52uYVi4cgcbTslBnrEN09-k0E0/s640/fDSC_0169.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">And there you have it:  </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnngYiYJvKdmVwi863-i-K361W9oJSsaKxCNxdsdRTTfUrkinz6gNXKmlHsfe2eOE-SnV1EZNqmovKANmQnCKrQwnHEwgGHFOBMKLuIlGgkZ1msjGpjzTqZH1gRxElCROZAZGVwEUd92_L/s1600/gfFebruary_749.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnngYiYJvKdmVwi863-i-K361W9oJSsaKxCNxdsdRTTfUrkinz6gNXKmlHsfe2eOE-SnV1EZNqmovKANmQnCKrQwnHEwgGHFOBMKLuIlGgkZ1msjGpjzTqZH1gRxElCROZAZGVwEUd92_L/s640/gfFebruary_749.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />I hope you all have a wonderful Monday!<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR8luqAQwZt92OBwhJS4MU91ydUyxdW6j0Bg7vk4XMNC0EXbYvF4YQmtQqT8YNRBuWaLESNHs7N8H0-BE14ZcNXI2gsd-w4jRU61TZHytShSMxbctm1VrGVYrSX0qlHf413-UI_9Hj3p2F/s1600/NewSignature.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR8luqAQwZt92OBwhJS4MU91ydUyxdW6j0Bg7vk4XMNC0EXbYvF4YQmtQqT8YNRBuWaLESNHs7N8H0-BE14ZcNXI2gsd-w4jRU61TZHytShSMxbctm1VrGVYrSX0qlHf413-UI_9Hj3p2F/s1600/NewSignature.png" /></a></div><br /></div>

Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! A little while ago the girls and I made some chocolate peanut butter truffles and I thought I would ...

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Whoopie Pies

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQxZjQnkJ6D-V8gYCyPVTJfTCuLMROq_bGm5F9cPsAHQYuVGOvfOr06HB61FdQ1gmqh5HNMusj5UxC5SGB4Edx_46ZjCMhiLhuk_we-e_OBpMUZ2GCNHvaLeDFBmFoZugs6_ozgaYnEWM/s1600/uFebruary_451.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQxZjQnkJ6D-V8gYCyPVTJfTCuLMROq_bGm5F9cPsAHQYuVGOvfOr06HB61FdQ1gmqh5HNMusj5UxC5SGB4Edx_46ZjCMhiLhuk_we-e_OBpMUZ2GCNHvaLeDFBmFoZugs6_ozgaYnEWM/s640/uFebruary_451.jpg" width="436" /></a></div>  <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">About a month or so ago Lillie and Lola had their first whoopie pie. I will eat one if it's offered to me but I am not an enormous fan of them so I was surprised at how much they LOVED them! The ones they first had were from Fresh Market so I thought it would be fun to make some homemade ones with them later that week. Over the last few weeks we have tried a few different recipes and here is what they've liked best (it's a mix of two different recipes with some minor alterations to each).</div><div class="h-4 strong" id="zlrecipe-instructions"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6hvE21ZEspUR6ZNwryBQ9U9YLA7VXc1lVYBOXr-ZtUnkH0ndh6z_6RA_Bsfsa9O6YXIHvs4CUys3sNAnXlV9meF7IdGni54qEAKCxl1bFfzmqZ7cyCXfaf5tGqZRl5Ero3QenLqRua4Y/s1600/uFebruary_431.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6hvE21ZEspUR6ZNwryBQ9U9YLA7VXc1lVYBOXr-ZtUnkH0ndh6z_6RA_Bsfsa9O6YXIHvs4CUys3sNAnXlV9meF7IdGni54qEAKCxl1bFfzmqZ7cyCXfaf5tGqZRl5Ero3QenLqRua4Y/s640/uFebruary_431.jpg" width="436" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfbdp7dXUj8L4-Xp330NiQFql6_TtvkHwEs9hZDOUvpA1kwCwJ-a0ycZUiVxNXdWuKFGbaJAEWoYT2RjBA9xc7_GSoFDh-HCaStkK239jHcCe4ftHrncl1n4MOw0z-ddRvS_ufb2zudkY/s1600/uFebruary_397.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfbdp7dXUj8L4-Xp330NiQFql6_TtvkHwEs9hZDOUvpA1kwCwJ-a0ycZUiVxNXdWuKFGbaJAEWoYT2RjBA9xc7_GSoFDh-HCaStkK239jHcCe4ftHrncl1n4MOw0z-ddRvS_ufb2zudkY/s640/uFebruary_397.jpg" width="436" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">For the cookie part we used a recipe from <a href="http://cookiesandcups.com/chocolate-whoopiepies-with-cakebatter-buttercream/">Cookies and Cups</a> and very slightly altered it. She has a recipe for <a href="http://cookiesandcups.com/chocolate-whoopiepies-with-cakebatter-buttercream/">cake batter filling</a> and <a href="http://cookiesandcups.com/chocolate-chip-cookie-dough-whoopie-pies-2/">cookie dough filling</a> both of which I cannot wait to try!</div><ul id="zlrecipe-ingredients-list"><li class="ingredient" id="zlrecipe-ingredient-0" itemprop="ingredients">1 2/3 cup all purpose flour </li><li class="ingredient" id="zlrecipe-ingredient-1" itemprop="ingredients">2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder </li><li class="ingredient" id="zlrecipe-ingredient-2" itemprop="ingredients">1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda </li><li class="ingredient" id="zlrecipe-ingredient-3" itemprop="ingredients">1 tsp salt </li><li class="ingredient" id="zlrecipe-ingredient-4" itemprop="ingredients">5 Tbsp butter – room temp </li><li class="ingredient" id="zlrecipe-ingredient-5" itemprop="ingredients">3 Tbsp vegetable shortening </li><li class="ingredient" id="zlrecipe-ingredient-6" itemprop="ingredients">1 1/4 cup light brown sugar </li><li class="ingredient" id="zlrecipe-ingredient-7" itemprop="ingredients">1 egg </li><li class="ingredient" id="zlrecipe-ingredient-8" itemprop="ingredients">2 tsp vanilla </li><li class="ingredient" id="zlrecipe-ingredient-9" itemprop="ingredients">1 cup buttermilk </li></ul><div class="h-4 strong" id="zlrecipe-instructions">For directions on mixing them up and baking them up you can click <a href="http://cookiesandcups.com/chocolate-whoopiepies-with-cakebatter-buttercream/">here</a>. </div><div class="h-4 strong" id="zlrecipe-instructions"><br /></div><div class="h-4 strong" id="zlrecipe-instructions">And now for the filling:</div><ul id="zlrecipe-ingredients-list"><li class="ingredient" id="zlrecipe-ingredient-0" itemprop="ingredients"><span style="font-weight: normal;">3/4 cup</span><b style="font-weight: normal;"> unsalted butter, softened but still cool</b></li><li class="ingredient" id="zlrecipe-ingredient-1" itemprop="ingredients"><span style="font-weight: normal;">1</span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><b style="font-weight: normal;">½</b> </span><b style="font-weight: normal;">cups confectioners’ sugar</b></li><li class="ingredient" id="zlrecipe-ingredient-2" itemprop="ingredients"><b style="font-weight: normal;">1½ teaspoons vanilla extract</b></li><li class="ingredient" id="zlrecipe-ingredient-3" itemprop="ingredients"><b style="font-weight: normal;">½</b><b style="font-weight: normal;"> teaspoon salt</b></li><li class="ingredient" id="zlrecipe-ingredient-4" itemprop="ingredients">7 oz jar of marshmallow creme (we used a tiny bit less than a full jar)</li></ul>Beat together the butter and confectioners' sugar on medium speed and then add in the vanilla, salt and marshmallow creme. After that it helps to put it in the fridge for about half an hour or so and then you just dallop a nice sized scoop onto each cookie and then place another one on top!<br /><br /> I scooped my filling into a large ziplock bag and cut a little hole in one of the corners and squirted it out into nice neat little dallops...or at least that was my plan - haha! Lillie and Lola helped me so I didn't end up with a single one that was as "pretty" looking as I had hoped for photographing, but oh well, they had fun!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKKzv6HgAxRiM6cXXbYli0mq3i-8OVvq0M1U3pZh4MiLw1dUrGN3sOphqzfiC9W4yx7VxGrAUKatOUtpIxcizDLp8rFgkd9KyIFHcDDnkVh2aZRk7N913CAodvwgyQ31N3wrfb-o-ebII/s1600/uuFebruary_456c.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKKzv6HgAxRiM6cXXbYli0mq3i-8OVvq0M1U3pZh4MiLw1dUrGN3sOphqzfiC9W4yx7VxGrAUKatOUtpIxcizDLp8rFgkd9KyIFHcDDnkVh2aZRk7N913CAodvwgyQ31N3wrfb-o-ebII/s640/uuFebruary_456c.jpg" width="436" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #999999;"><i>the bottle and straw are from <a href="http://www.thetomkatstudio.com/">The TomKat Studio</a></i></span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>I hope you all have a fabulous weekend! I will hopefully be back later this weekend with our first of two Easter chalkboards and then after that will show you my Easter tablescape as part of a Spring Thing I'm joining along with some other wonderful bloggers! <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiBlKyFOAutaQMQq5_UJ2Q815GS2-XBtkDRqr7zrukCmp9kkuUurFNWK9KO9ZthRIISSlBvpq6XMxFzJBAcLXqchD-bjiwnoKfp7gIpS24jms37wYMbIWsKenzX_mqi-w9m41-OIVUM-w/s1600/Spring+Thing+Graphic.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiBlKyFOAutaQMQq5_UJ2Q815GS2-XBtkDRqr7zrukCmp9kkuUurFNWK9KO9ZthRIISSlBvpq6XMxFzJBAcLXqchD-bjiwnoKfp7gIpS24jms37wYMbIWsKenzX_mqi-w9m41-OIVUM-w/s1600/Spring+Thing+Graphic.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJIEb9NzHN0RZC9C9L_Brh4lU-fc_rGBwVeQtACfYpjI3AUdQP7_wQwR05c_PgWA9BFms99DKHjzkgKgK-TmeMj24UM7SIFFl0EG6i-Xc6_ynRbTMM7-dly9LJmfVJYzlHplniyhkVFGU/s1600/sig.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJIEb9NzHN0RZC9C9L_Brh4lU-fc_rGBwVeQtACfYpjI3AUdQP7_wQwR05c_PgWA9BFms99DKHjzkgKgK-TmeMj24UM7SIFFl0EG6i-Xc6_ynRbTMM7-dly9LJmfVJYzlHplniyhkVFGU/s1600/sig.png" /></a></div><br />

Whoopie Pies

  About a month or so ago Lillie and Lola had their first whoopie pie. I will eat one if it's offered to me but I am not an enormous f...

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Mini Valentine's Cake Tutorial with Love Template

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTkuyNfdSnRboP0dq1fYZ0Li4f48v_aqvL6c7qXn8e-NIewbt4NCNwsaAlctPbR09NLU5gYL4fzUAZ8h9nrp_XVGay72vtyU9gRRl8YOsQGOUj9tUkbDDIFmXcWq6f5xjKjhexHSwuzwE/s1600/fffffJanuary_1488.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTkuyNfdSnRboP0dq1fYZ0Li4f48v_aqvL6c7qXn8e-NIewbt4NCNwsaAlctPbR09NLU5gYL4fzUAZ8h9nrp_XVGay72vtyU9gRRl8YOsQGOUj9tUkbDDIFmXcWq6f5xjKjhexHSwuzwE/s640/fffffJanuary_1488.jpg" width="436" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Lillie, Lola and I had some fun making some mini valentine's cakes last week. They make a fun little dessert so I thought I would share how we did it in case anyone wanted to make some. I had seen several ombre cakes on pinterest and thought it would be fun to try! I had planned on making this a four layer cake so we made four different shades of pink but I didn't make them thin enough so we ended up just doing two layers on each cake and ended up making eight two-layer cakes instead of four four-layer cakes. Here's what they looked like when you cut into them:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQa9PKDhR5J-adnUDw1eqgwZcGJ9-ruN3iOziy5SEz155VkQsDoSHpMH0oZ5jYeKv4evCSs0y8AZ-tKNreZ0j6cFvtZkR-egTXI0XdmBFiFewQE_5lG2Yj7dkRR-pMAhG0j9cPpNdtKjY/s1600/ffffJanuary_1673.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQa9PKDhR5J-adnUDw1eqgwZcGJ9-ruN3iOziy5SEz155VkQsDoSHpMH0oZ5jYeKv4evCSs0y8AZ-tKNreZ0j6cFvtZkR-egTXI0XdmBFiFewQE_5lG2Yj7dkRR-pMAhG0j9cPpNdtKjY/s640/ffffJanuary_1673.jpg" width="436" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So, the first thing we did was make the cakes. I <b>love</b> homemade frosting but have to admit I find cake mixes to be better than homemade cake! For this we just used a Betty Crocker yellow cake mix and we added graduation amounts of pink food coloring. We used two cakes mixes so we could make four 9" round cakes, but if I were to do it again I would definitely just use one cake mix and make the layers thinner and maybe make just three 9" round cakes. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">For the icing we used my favorite cream cheese frosting that I got from my mom - when we were little this was the frosting she always put in her homemade carrot cake. My parents and sisters loved carrot cake but I was not a fan. I would just eat off the delicious icing and not touch my cake. =) Anyway here is the recipe:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e06666;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e06666;"><i><b>Cream Cheese Frosting:</b></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><b>3 Tbsp. butter</b></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><b>4 to 5 oz. cream cheese</b></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><b>1 tsp. vanilla</b></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><b>1/2 Tbsp. maple syrup (I sometimes do a full tablespoon)</b></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><b> 3 cups confectioners sugar</b></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Soften butter and cream cheese then add the rest of the ingredients until they are nice and smooth. Depending on how much icing you like you might want to make a little extra frosting. We like a lot of icing on our cakes. For the two cake mixes we made we doubled the above recipe and it wasn't quite enough. It might have been enough if it weren't for the fact that my helpers and I really like to "sneak" licks of the frosting while we are working. If you just like a light coating of icing and you are making one cake mix for a total of four mini cakes I think the above recipe would be enough. If you like a heavier coating of icing I would recommend doing about one and a half times the above ingredients.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFIndbQLh-9q2iaXTPPC280ysvPwlr5tH8pQj_V2n7KuvwEx742zEBfBQWs1RTCaTeXd41xWWzCnlr2KlP2UtrwVNJPyqzG2YxLUccgzOy-bX4FW0hpWq75wYDnW8ihVSSoeGmVOKwKCs/s1600/fJanuary_1319.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFIndbQLh-9q2iaXTPPC280ysvPwlr5tH8pQj_V2n7KuvwEx742zEBfBQWs1RTCaTeXd41xWWzCnlr2KlP2UtrwVNJPyqzG2YxLUccgzOy-bX4FW0hpWq75wYDnW8ihVSSoeGmVOKwKCs/s400/fJanuary_1319.png" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Next I took a the top of a clothing gift box and cut out four circles. I used the circular cookie cutter I was going to use on my cakes to trace and make sure they were the right size:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPQuSyU8YWLzUb_xaEzvskLQAlZWZpYYdHdlzAoW9Ii_hj9Wm6F1XAJ_S2OS_hXo2h3zs_lDqQjKKIIDL3paGiafVLbstd0AW7_inCpbYB0OH07tuSOrbyk6YAqJksjZDVHzrbv1S1ai0/s1600/fJanuary_1316.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPQuSyU8YWLzUb_xaEzvskLQAlZWZpYYdHdlzAoW9Ii_hj9Wm6F1XAJ_S2OS_hXo2h3zs_lDqQjKKIIDL3paGiafVLbstd0AW7_inCpbYB0OH07tuSOrbyk6YAqJksjZDVHzrbv1S1ai0/s400/fJanuary_1316.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Now I put one of the cardboard circles on top of an upside down vase so that I would be able to twist around it to frost the cakes (I am sure there are more professional things out there made for this, but I always just use whatever I can find on hand). Then used a knife to trim off the top of my cake a bit so it would be a little flatter and I used my little circular cookie cutter and cut out my first layer. I had two little helpers so this part was a bit messy. =)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl0YFdzJpg7qreT4BRK8fU55H0vAmfpd_8Lj14M-afz48n1Bxln21-OQKLE7ZB3XHFvqWJZsY2guXRmKHUm428P674C42_NmitMSP_wcCQ8dHOkMoQY9UXU0dAXnLgdXFHQCw92f5U5wM/s1600/fJanuary_1321.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl0YFdzJpg7qreT4BRK8fU55H0vAmfpd_8Lj14M-afz48n1Bxln21-OQKLE7ZB3XHFvqWJZsY2guXRmKHUm428P674C42_NmitMSP_wcCQ8dHOkMoQY9UXU0dAXnLgdXFHQCw92f5U5wM/s400/fJanuary_1321.png" width="272" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC9JfT2Ujv3VDHgzWz1LEg8A09Pqa9AUByW5Nh_TpFAg8kA0CeYbYQ6BoUGaMatPue9f-ymf0ZStd1mV55xxRarMPFv6j8iR7IeO-FesyQ6Cd0NXAJI_RE3_LPKWKzPZt85HJzNwvyWLc/s1600/fJanuary_1323.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC9JfT2Ujv3VDHgzWz1LEg8A09Pqa9AUByW5Nh_TpFAg8kA0CeYbYQ6BoUGaMatPue9f-ymf0ZStd1mV55xxRarMPFv6j8iR7IeO-FesyQ6Cd0NXAJI_RE3_LPKWKzPZt85HJzNwvyWLc/s400/fJanuary_1323.png" width="272" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">I put the first layer on and then added some frosting and then put on the second layer. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijzHI8ne2XEUuKx8ZGQPZwnLaJ9Jy2KAlbr_CTvNaLGwFgrA8xUx06h9832YGy8FasN-_jSCmCmBwQnUlmuFavsBudnf3ZNIwqrxOOJ7eEaobFju5_94utNfJHsKMcY5zWW_ZqX27RKq8/s1600/fJanuary_1324.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijzHI8ne2XEUuKx8ZGQPZwnLaJ9Jy2KAlbr_CTvNaLGwFgrA8xUx06h9832YGy8FasN-_jSCmCmBwQnUlmuFavsBudnf3ZNIwqrxOOJ7eEaobFju5_94utNfJHsKMcY5zWW_ZqX27RKq8/s400/fJanuary_1324.png" width="272" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6NcfElsEHv0mo3L_o12lOlw5lcXLj9iTbYhyphenhyphenYkSxHQ_IVQVqzyW8UO35jGhusu-JrF6Qx2vPn6x8xCul-BsNjEPD8MJNdIf2mowS2zqa_On9NASM0cClr9yLjYITkRaIaG73RmU09ZmQ/s1600/fJanuary_1330.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6NcfElsEHv0mo3L_o12lOlw5lcXLj9iTbYhyphenhyphenYkSxHQ_IVQVqzyW8UO35jGhusu-JrF6Qx2vPn6x8xCul-BsNjEPD8MJNdIf2mowS2zqa_On9NASM0cClr9yLjYITkRaIaG73RmU09ZmQ/s400/fJanuary_1330.png" width="272" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;">Then I just frosted the whole thing with a yummy cream cheese frosting (recipe above) and added a cutout that said love. We added some glittery sprinkles to the cake and some silver glitter to the word love because toddler sized girls LOVE glitter! =) Frosting the cake was a bit difficult partly because I had two little helpers and partly because I probably should have refrigerated the cakes a bit so they didn't crumble so much. I had planned on doing something fancier for the frosting but in the end it was just easier to do a very basic frosting job on these. And yes, I know they are a little on the messy side. =) </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOxO8U-EnuBGaqmwZcSrAKFX6dpyancaN1plxAX3eyuBaYhEbqBXdxBUBeD-RyT9mlDk6rCHwzvnbJnEgDfHnFxD0UXdHwjWcPXD-1T8iG7PcnO9NTZEHnzGakL28uA_5e1s7MbO7NypA/s1600/fJanuary_1365.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOxO8U-EnuBGaqmwZcSrAKFX6dpyancaN1plxAX3eyuBaYhEbqBXdxBUBeD-RyT9mlDk6rCHwzvnbJnEgDfHnFxD0UXdHwjWcPXD-1T8iG7PcnO9NTZEHnzGakL28uA_5e1s7MbO7NypA/s640/fJanuary_1365.png" width="436" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">If you want to make your own love toppers here is a template for the one we made. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio4t2gn7VyKnnr2WyIH1y_hWECVJhho3vXdp8bQu1ThN2s9RmKousbbWDBL-kbDS81LeIlWRBURBXNQRPVqsGxm2Ncl11dmj2LFUqp9xud7y74XQpy5XPyxYEEABxMnF7zKjTn0_qDnyI/s1600/glove.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio4t2gn7VyKnnr2WyIH1y_hWECVJhho3vXdp8bQu1ThN2s9RmKousbbWDBL-kbDS81LeIlWRBURBXNQRPVqsGxm2Ncl11dmj2LFUqp9xud7y74XQpy5XPyxYEEABxMnF7zKjTn0_qDnyI/s320/glove.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxhDvOUx9F0OPFj750W4D-20ea2asEJqCEnuvTl0gXFox1yR51US94OEJdr9qoy8titFjsrIX1RUx4lUpayM2Shdmw7ard7gwnvKj6gwZ8nYgwrC_pUmorXQOQGQ5zmy3eQTUje2BvgFw/s1600/gloveoutlines.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxhDvOUx9F0OPFj750W4D-20ea2asEJqCEnuvTl0gXFox1yR51US94OEJdr9qoy8titFjsrIX1RUx4lUpayM2Shdmw7ard7gwnvKj6gwZ8nYgwrC_pUmorXQOQGQ5zmy3eQTUje2BvgFw/s320/gloveoutlines.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>We made four cakes that looked like the one above and then we made a few more layered ones and then Lillie and Lola also did some one layer ones and had lots of fun adding all the sprinkles they wanted on those one. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhtG6FBimEX0k-uncUsjgG9Y3XYNRKmAe9ZpLQyOghWDyRaUI1IS2jimENSoaLxRam5xalp0GatpMhO9gCAykSXSrHcmIqU3cb7unseg3nMmVzw9hL3SVLGdd7B6iFoFUPI1IA-AYlNlE/s1600/fJanuary_1333.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhtG6FBimEX0k-uncUsjgG9Y3XYNRKmAe9ZpLQyOghWDyRaUI1IS2jimENSoaLxRam5xalp0GatpMhO9gCAykSXSrHcmIqU3cb7unseg3nMmVzw9hL3SVLGdd7B6iFoFUPI1IA-AYlNlE/s640/fJanuary_1333.png" width="436" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">When we were done we added the four cakes to the four place settings on our table.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKUwgo4xYp0HiFEyoQEBROFDbJRrCUhrp4Ktkqybd1BzUHVVKw1eFMqXyI4SDjb2jZlmzQNjpnUQhZVUz_ANNlxGJ-baAot3IWc7vHCRRpSvk4UW4i1IW6KtZcJm5ggDCvbfRDFM3KRAY/s1600/fJanuary_1492.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKUwgo4xYp0HiFEyoQEBROFDbJRrCUhrp4Ktkqybd1BzUHVVKw1eFMqXyI4SDjb2jZlmzQNjpnUQhZVUz_ANNlxGJ-baAot3IWc7vHCRRpSvk4UW4i1IW6KtZcJm5ggDCvbfRDFM3KRAY/s640/fJanuary_1492.png" width="436" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu3x_z3oYmCGH8q6LTVsz2uwru6lBof448kQFQ2QVPpNpClpYMhuy5fi1yk1wXHXaqCJ-k-UbBlUd_3dTyyuYJWtgqH4-YDk9X3ekbsUguqtS2n38hqmD7uSmOJ2hGMQpoWcbPP7IrDNY/s1600/fJanuary_1486.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu3x_z3oYmCGH8q6LTVsz2uwru6lBof448kQFQ2QVPpNpClpYMhuy5fi1yk1wXHXaqCJ-k-UbBlUd_3dTyyuYJWtgqH4-YDk9X3ekbsUguqtS2n38hqmD7uSmOJ2hGMQpoWcbPP7IrDNY/s640/fJanuary_1486.png" width="436" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNcMUli1yXWlPRnW7u1rKoOVQkdAGoqXB3pHEZWAl__bTqmdz9UOYW04trOwtWyaW-b-vzCQl5IJ6oXLekD9QXR6Lq6-ILoQ9l9yZt59sDZr9JnAVdNPGuf1hsoEq3AOhbY2aklAodRaY/s1600/fJanuary_1478.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNcMUli1yXWlPRnW7u1rKoOVQkdAGoqXB3pHEZWAl__bTqmdz9UOYW04trOwtWyaW-b-vzCQl5IJ6oXLekD9QXR6Lq6-ILoQ9l9yZt59sDZr9JnAVdNPGuf1hsoEq3AOhbY2aklAodRaY/s640/fJanuary_1478.png" width="436" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;">I hope you are having a great Sunday! I'll be back tomorrow to show you the rest of our Valentine's decorating.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGrmBPUhuXri3OeMhGczKTD0p5Lnj3vPWWe7xRlCjKYiZcrttwX9HnCedYEffUzjkSXQzNDKZfKBkSGPiloCGWHWsWWpLq4vROsYCKrAsVSVCEvDldCeisRTSQikwqL9jI8UADFK3jLuE/s1600/sig.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGrmBPUhuXri3OeMhGczKTD0p5Lnj3vPWWe7xRlCjKYiZcrttwX9HnCedYEffUzjkSXQzNDKZfKBkSGPiloCGWHWsWWpLq4vROsYCKrAsVSVCEvDldCeisRTSQikwqL9jI8UADFK3jLuE/s1600/sig.png" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />

Mini Valentine's Cake Tutorial with Love Template

Lillie, Lola and I had some fun making some mini valentine's cakes last week. They make a fun little dessert so I thought I would share ...

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How to "Fake" A Fancy Dessert

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlCbYV2tv0jjYw2YFFALTOnURlUrMBqrjJ6GBNEulORyEy1C4t1rkMZhcUzSKKKY_EFkyzGg_coiFelVenyMu8NJ53itMaI9GVCEI4DKiucKHKw1P-H-Pubb-jicVYDP08vWdFn9gQTuWx/s1600/llDSC_2034text.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlCbYV2tv0jjYw2YFFALTOnURlUrMBqrjJ6GBNEulORyEy1C4t1rkMZhcUzSKKKY_EFkyzGg_coiFelVenyMu8NJ53itMaI9GVCEI4DKiucKHKw1P-H-Pubb-jicVYDP08vWdFn9gQTuWx/s640/llDSC_2034text.jpg" width="436" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I don't know about you, but I love dessert and I like for it to look pretty (if possible), but I really don't like to spend hours and hours in the kitchen. Well, last week Jamie and I were craving another dessert but didn't have time to make it. It requires several steps and we were looking for something quick and here is what we came up with:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq-kZE3CQMyL81A4RHMhAzRa8y89F2fRxwWSxHea7CSjQKGne7ThARGqPMfOD0FWJ-q70iBp0Dv0YY3993zMF9ds3c7bBESK-6_58qVeloDvW3DFsrhIymIZ-3Nva5eKGZvFZGyq7oB2ZX/s1600/llDSC_2042TEXT.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq-kZE3CQMyL81A4RHMhAzRa8y89F2fRxwWSxHea7CSjQKGne7ThARGqPMfOD0FWJ-q70iBp0Dv0YY3993zMF9ds3c7bBESK-6_58qVeloDvW3DFsrhIymIZ-3Nva5eKGZvFZGyq7oB2ZX/s640/llDSC_2042TEXT.jpg" width="640" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I had seen several links on Pinterest for making chocolate bowls using balloons that were dipped in melted chocolate. After reading quite a few stories on how some of the balloons burst and chocolate went everywhere I got a little nervous to try them. If I were back in VA I would have given it a try but seeing how we are still at my parents house, I was pretty sure my dad would die if he walked in to find balloons bursting with melted chocolate spraying all over his kitchen! I had seen somewhere where a person had made a chocolate bowl with cupcake liners so I figured I would play around with that and give that a try. Well, they were a lot of fun and super easy! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">First we got one of those bags of chocolate candy that you can find pretty much anywhere. We got ours at Michael's. I am pretty sure you could just melt chocolate chips too, though if you wanted. We just put ours in a bowl and popped it in the microwave for about 25 seconds then stirred it, then 25 more seconds, then stirred, and so on until it was nicely melted.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: x-small;">(Yes, that is a paint brush next to the spoon - I will explain that in a minute.)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">    <img border="0" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCdIBRTVPJuW5VwT5isiMVqCwl7jOsMLpnf1VBtvThFixeaj89cmbrKxaPW5RwAJQu3jfnna0iqyJ380kdzK2b7O5hyphenhyphenrPscDAsMSyHri1UcGUEHI_0LP64OekmQbJZ9vH1wLRUTBS39Div/s640/lDSC_1932.png" width="640" /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Now plop a nice big spoonful into the cupcake liner. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLOKiQzYNHI1Eh1s7WxNmYa6EDkbP0gVpJIkUYTIoGkz_EEc-KStxorC4Y8c_o5nOg-q7F1Rx-juQEW7kZrD3CXwxVGt913HMEhZab7tl8nYJDbOVGhme5bhm2OBBFkiRoaq1g3ZfHHR0G/s1600/lDSC_1934.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLOKiQzYNHI1Eh1s7WxNmYa6EDkbP0gVpJIkUYTIoGkz_EEc-KStxorC4Y8c_o5nOg-q7F1Rx-juQEW7kZrD3CXwxVGt913HMEhZab7tl8nYJDbOVGhme5bhm2OBBFkiRoaq1g3ZfHHR0G/s640/lDSC_1934.png" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Now use the brush and kind of tilt the cupcake liner to the side and "paint" the sides. You want it to be pretty thick. And don't worry - this isn't a yucky old paintbrush! =) I bought this little brush in the baking aisle at Michael's. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg69HTJqexRYkOdVHBbP7motY9XN-yxQXPlYbPQwnh5h57HFWd92TlKmIiKgyz6_uAh8F7ssdD15_PKMTA38tGuqX1iuiVwe38JDIQP8A04mTrHGEBh1jhSz1olqj6cshTmO8rJfO75sN3C/s1600/lDSC_1935.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg69HTJqexRYkOdVHBbP7motY9XN-yxQXPlYbPQwnh5h57HFWd92TlKmIiKgyz6_uAh8F7ssdD15_PKMTA38tGuqX1iuiVwe38JDIQP8A04mTrHGEBh1jhSz1olqj6cshTmO8rJfO75sN3C/s640/lDSC_1935.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Now set them in a muffin/cupcake tin and pop them in the freezer. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrJFY7I0Zb_3vj8_njNFm7a9Wqn949avYQDYRf8o16AwSIhDsOBP16OEEog8HtsMJEsMpU97ob9XCOZmithjwPqT1apg1DiVoL5MYRWa4wY3G6Dp2CQG8-YikFqaRmJrDxK8XJeik7fDQX/s1600/lDSC_1937.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrJFY7I0Zb_3vj8_njNFm7a9Wqn949avYQDYRf8o16AwSIhDsOBP16OEEog8HtsMJEsMpU97ob9XCOZmithjwPqT1apg1DiVoL5MYRWa4wY3G6Dp2CQG8-YikFqaRmJrDxK8XJeik7fDQX/s640/lDSC_1937.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;">After about 30 minutes or so you can pull them out and just peel off the paper.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwwWFDXDeLlrYXTqc7IogSu8QIepTpAoUYBDqVao85eiOkRRrp5rISKIUAwWv7uqH_U9JcOQc5E9MWfsRkSZgCMy64q_ptRETzBI5r5fvOWV4lDG6XJVVoz0TtjI4cBwJPN4N8T0hgI44s/s1600/lDSC_1948.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwwWFDXDeLlrYXTqc7IogSu8QIepTpAoUYBDqVao85eiOkRRrp5rISKIUAwWv7uqH_U9JcOQc5E9MWfsRkSZgCMy64q_ptRETzBI5r5fvOWV4lDG6XJVVoz0TtjI4cBwJPN4N8T0hgI44s/s640/lDSC_1948.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Now for the mousse! I just used a mix - I told you this was easy! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlOc71fI_O3H4qDhMWiC_5JE5nj8QjIAopSgjbu5YY162Z1Hs6KJTr3uhkbdoCSNxkxS1DXHpIvAw9md6wPfAMDbXdkcgCcP-PAfn0_sX86-Bow1G_-tIiZrIjcB84Mw6WR-dgv_WlpOHA/s1600/llDSC_1941.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlOc71fI_O3H4qDhMWiC_5JE5nj8QjIAopSgjbu5YY162Z1Hs6KJTr3uhkbdoCSNxkxS1DXHpIvAw9md6wPfAMDbXdkcgCcP-PAfn0_sX86-Bow1G_-tIiZrIjcB84Mw6WR-dgv_WlpOHA/s640/llDSC_1941.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">I followed the directions on the box and mixed it up. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNeR_Re797a4VpGAkeZ1zMDCvFYqvU5twd1_5p4mnAhO3V-SLpmy4JmpYkYsp_Dsb-nsalaaiIJzKCE2aiwNjAMIT84upVMtDKXRWzQEOeoEWLcZc6lt-sh6w8mypMSXT-TfnYInG0kowQ/s1600/lDSC_1942.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNeR_Re797a4VpGAkeZ1zMDCvFYqvU5twd1_5p4mnAhO3V-SLpmy4JmpYkYsp_Dsb-nsalaaiIJzKCE2aiwNjAMIT84upVMtDKXRWzQEOeoEWLcZc6lt-sh6w8mypMSXT-TfnYInG0kowQ/s640/lDSC_1942.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Now you could just spoon it like that into the chocolate bowls but I wanted to have a little fun with mine. Seeing how I had purchased this little set for the <a href="http://dearlillieblog.blogspot.com/2012/07/an-easy-chocolate-rosette-cake.html">chocolate rosette cake</a> I made I figured I might as well use it for this as well! <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvlq3BDBWf-AC1FYqD2llMHu3wcHXr1eWyNXuCeimk2eC9u49D9A-rFUPaOHk2VIq7i2HP7eZsl2AC2zNDGRhan0jB0HxMFuAVdqi5rGHs3bTVtfrzL-yFVv6oeMlHICcHFXX6WJPW17fA/s1600/lDSC_1953.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvlq3BDBWf-AC1FYqD2llMHu3wcHXr1eWyNXuCeimk2eC9u49D9A-rFUPaOHk2VIq7i2HP7eZsl2AC2zNDGRhan0jB0HxMFuAVdqi5rGHs3bTVtfrzL-yFVv6oeMlHICcHFXX6WJPW17fA/s640/lDSC_1953.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">I added the mousse to the bag and then just piped it into the chocolate bowl (with some help from Lillie so it's not perfect!) =) and then added a few chocolate shavings and that was it! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Wsr45ymJUv9Hh2wYhqkWELBxzolgv8D53ORHSRkj1m6QTdtD5Ue8c5cNYhhXYUxDu1yd-QK1Mc0Vn8XBA9LuNGyHBnOY8DkXGC-qj3onPie1Bkbnt0i6mzkuB6qox470fQn2H6W4f67K/s1600/llDSC_2034.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Wsr45ymJUv9Hh2wYhqkWELBxzolgv8D53ORHSRkj1m6QTdtD5Ue8c5cNYhhXYUxDu1yd-QK1Mc0Vn8XBA9LuNGyHBnOY8DkXGC-qj3onPie1Bkbnt0i6mzkuB6qox470fQn2H6W4f67K/s640/llDSC_2034.png" width="436" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmIy6ouLj3M5IoZuwHWcM1KS5nh3EwEchfDC2yZ6sWTrmhcMiIjOzG73DoqHT901sdzaVuzgcuI7_RJT6XBTvJTjlBGTTqyQKSl2XhoE4Mka-ScoBzvhu_psfkFy1sVVbbPIYP5X21gCqY/s1600/lDSC_2042.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmIy6ouLj3M5IoZuwHWcM1KS5nh3EwEchfDC2yZ6sWTrmhcMiIjOzG73DoqHT901sdzaVuzgcuI7_RJT6XBTvJTjlBGTTqyQKSl2XhoE4Mka-ScoBzvhu_psfkFy1sVVbbPIYP5X21gCqY/s640/lDSC_2042.png" width="436" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">We made a few with whipped cream on top too! Not exactly the most nutritious treat, but it was easy and sure was yummy! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigSZHBS_tCADrw7jDkc4zqba4PhZheyTepzhE8XpI0EwX5jMGS72pAxr0lOp4b6A_sm3s51sZL2b9MG1WbJN-YMS582KVot6X0Tlh8mwONneLwhKiG5ZSH1kBaUWaa-LMrv5QU0BW5fyZZ/s1600/lDSC_2060.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigSZHBS_tCADrw7jDkc4zqba4PhZheyTepzhE8XpI0EwX5jMGS72pAxr0lOp4b6A_sm3s51sZL2b9MG1WbJN-YMS582KVot6X0Tlh8mwONneLwhKiG5ZSH1kBaUWaa-LMrv5QU0BW5fyZZ/s640/lDSC_2060.png" width="436" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />I hope you all are having a great week so far!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Z9wG5uKMXn9pRfyRlrBjaqyP1fa4ZtH4FMHcKuGvnWhH0LEEim4qJZO7iyOIUhuQWdjnkcF003ShnY1tG9P_gX7K4BbDdvWQNK2wZEJ4IoOUNlZW6MPfjhIdEGP6Ns9n5W7j0S_FRdNk/s1600/sig.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Z9wG5uKMXn9pRfyRlrBjaqyP1fa4ZtH4FMHcKuGvnWhH0LEEim4qJZO7iyOIUhuQWdjnkcF003ShnY1tG9P_gX7K4BbDdvWQNK2wZEJ4IoOUNlZW6MPfjhIdEGP6Ns9n5W7j0S_FRdNk/s1600/sig.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />

How to "Fake" A Fancy Dessert

I don't know about you, but I love dessert and I like for it to look pretty (if possible), but I really don't like to spend hours a...

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