Substitute for Snow

This little guy got to bring a special snack to celebrate his birthday at preschool.  J's class had been reading books about snowmen....so we decided to make some cookies in keeping with the theme....and since we have had only traces of the white stuff here in Kansas thus far this season....we thought snowman cookies might be a fun substitute for the real thing!

Sound the Alarms

My little J turned a BIG 4 yesterday! I simply can not believe that he has made us smile for 4 years now!  He was such a special little miracle to us......and he has tugged at my heart ever since.  He makes a cloudy day sunny, and though he is a tiny little guy,....his heart is one of the biggest I know.  

He chose a firetruck birthday party....  a perfect little boy theme.  I found the idea for these cookies here, and I knew they would be perfect to recreate for our party.

And because my little man loves chocolate almost as much as his mama does....I made these bite size little cuties.   I used a dark cocoa that I ordered from The King Arthur Flour Company, and made a fabulously easy chocolate roll out recipe on another of my favorite blogs.  And the home-made buttercream came from the Queen of Cakes herself, Miss Amanda of I am Baker!

Here are some of the goodies at the table.

But the best little "goodie" of all is this little man.  Here he is with his cake.  I was not happy with how the cake turned out.  I found the cake idea on Pinterest, and when I read that canned frosting was used to frost the cake.... I.just.couldn't.bring.myself.to.do.it.  Sure... the picture of the cake that I saw looked smooth and creamy...but I felt like I would be cheating if I used a can.  So... I set out to look for a "creamy" buttercream. I found a recipe that actually turned out to taste pretty good...but it was not super spreadable, thus accounting for the "sloppy" frosting job.  But... in the end... J liked it... and that's all that matters!

Strawberry cupcakes with cream cheese frosting were also on the menu.

And last but not least ....the favor table....and the invite for the party designed by Dimple Prints on Etsy.  Carli and Mike were amazing to work with and have some great designs to offer!  

And though our trip to the fire station was cut a bit short (as the fire fighters had to rush off for a REAL emergency)... I think this Four-year old still had a pretty great time!  Happy, Happy 4th to my little J!

Merry Merry!

Merry Christmas from my kitchen to yours!!

Santa Slices

I was so excited when I saw Haniela's post about her sleeping Santas. I love, love to follow her blog...not only is she an incredibly talented baker...but an amazing photographer!  I have been infatuated with Santa cookies this year...and absolutely loved her sweet little Santas.  The colors....their little overalls and their shape!!

I used my large Christmas tree cutter that I got from Copper Gifts this year!  It truly is like my birthday whenever I get one of their cookie cutters in the mail.  Their cutters are durable, beautifully crafted and copper!!  After I cut the dough with the tree cutter... I cut off the base of the tree and used a template to get the shape I wanted for each cookie.  It took a little extra time to hand cut, but definitely worth it in the end.

I had fun taking pictures of these little guys...but oops.... if you look closely... you will see me in the red ball....not a very good photographer!

They almost look like a little santa pizza!

I still have some more Christmas cookies that I never posted....time slipped away sooo quickly this Christmas season.  My littles were sick much of December so I was very behind on my shopping, baking, etc.  Hard to believe Santa will be visiting tonight!  Hope that you and your families enjoy a Magical Christmas and a New Year full of blessings.  

2011 Gingerbread...

The tradition continues...

I had grand plans to design a rather elaborate house this year.... something as fun as last year's sleigh....but..

the littles all decided December might be a fine time to throw mama for a loop and develop a nasty cold/virus....hmmmm....

So...my grand house ended up as a quaint cottage.... very simple....very cozy....very perfect to us.

And a few little gingerbread trees just for munching!  Mmmmm. This year I used a different recipe from one of my favorite bakers.  You can find her recipe here!  Thanks, Glory, for all of your mouth-watering recipes... I haven't found one yet that I haven't fallen in love with:)

Can't wait to share some more Christmas cookies soon....

"Monkeying" Around

When I saw these....

I couldn't resist!

My littles LOVED them!

You can find the tutorial for how to make them here at the Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle! 

Next up....our annual gingerbread adventures!

You better watch out...

You better not pout....

Santa Claus is definitely coming to town!

We have been busy at our house preparing....decorating, baking, and crafting.  

Our "Elf on the Shelf" has arrived and has been having some fun already at our house.  So much fun that the little Missy gets up at 3:45 am just to see what sneaky thing he is up to! 

I was inspired by  A Dozen Eggs Bake Shoppe when I made these cookies.  Stop by her website.....you will be drooling!  Can't wait to share some more holiday fun!