Melted Snowman S'Mores... Mmmmmm

 

Last night I tried making Marshmallows for the first time. I'll share photos of the actual "marshmallow's" later. But in keeping with tradition, I had to try making snowmen out of marshmallows BUT I wanted them to be REALLY tasty.

So I took some graham crackers, split them in 1/2, and cut off the sharp corners. Then I dipped them in milk chocolate. After they cooled, I made homemade marshmallows, and piped the marshmallow onto the prepared graham cracker. Once they set up for a bit, I got my royal icing together and decorated them. And of course, I'm a fan of glitter, so I made them sparkle with a little rainbow disco dust. (totally optional, but for me, it's a sickness! lol).

 

 I'll put together a tutorial later. And let me tell you, I'll NEVER be able to stomach a standard s'more ever again. My husband LOVES these and my 6 year old ate one for breakfast! ha ha ha (Shhhh... don't tell)

 

 Happy Baking, Caking, and Decorating!

Chewy Cherry, Walnut, Chocolate Chip Cookie...

As if I don't have enough things happening in my kitchen right now, I had to test a recipe that's been playing in my mind for a while. Lately I've noticed that I have been craving more complex flavors and textures. Not sure if that is a sign of my age or the broadening of my horizons, but either way, I'm stretching myself.

I have a basic chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe that I've tweaked to my version of perfection. To make it even better, I added Walnuts and Dried Cherries. In excess!!! I promise, you need to add LOTS of hunks of yumminess to make this a "gourmet" cookie.

I could only fit 8 on a cookie sheet at a time and I rolled them like meatballs. And I'm not kidding you, there were not little meatballs! Yea... we've already determined I like my sweets! Whatever you do, don't give me a cookie that's gone in 2 bites!

So here it is! My recipe for a YUMMY spin on a Chocolate Chip Cookie. These delicious cookies will grace the treat boxes I'm handing out to family and friends this year.

Happy Baking!


Chewy Cherry, Walnut, Chocolate Chip Cookies
By: Stacey Hill, Truly Custom Cakery, LLC

Ingredients:

* 4 1/2 cups bread flour
(I use bread flour for a chewier cookie due to the high gluten content)
* 2 teaspoons baking soda
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* ½ teaspoon of salt
* 2 cups butter, softened
* 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
* 1/2 cup white sugar
* 2 (3.4 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
* 4 eggs
* 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
* 4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
* 2 cups of dried cherries
* 4 cups chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a large bowl, combine the flour and baking soda, baking powder, and salt then set aside.

2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Beat in the instant pudding mix until blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips, cherries, and nuts. I roll big balls of cookie dough to meatball sizes and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet.

3. Bake for 12 - 16 minutes (depending on size) in the preheated oven. Edges should be lightly golden brown. DO NOT OVERBAKE or you will not have a chewy cookie!

Melted Snowman Sugar Cookies. Just Darling!

If you hadn't already noticed, I really do love the holiday's! Lights, Christmas Music, Decorated Trees, Baked Goods, Family, Jesus Birthday, and plenty of reason's to eat!

I spent 14 hours yesterday going, going, going, to get ready for Saturday's Holiday Craft Shows and prepping for a weekend cake order. It was crazy busy and at the same time, so much fun!

If I can come up with a reason to make a festive holiday treat, I WILL! So here's my latest project. These are melted snowman cookies. I wasn't originally planning to take them to the Glenside show on Saturday but... I can be crazy like that. It helped that when I made the pumpkin cookies for Thanksgiving I doubled the batch and froze the dough.



Aren't they just darling!! If you want to know how to make them, stay tuned. I plan to put together a tutorial for you next week. Enjoy your weekend! The idea for Melted Snowmen cookies was originally thought up by a creative cookie fanatic. You can visit her here: www.chiccookiekits.blogspot.com