BIG NEWS!

Okay...I know I just put a new post up....but this couldn't wait!

The winner of the Cupcake Skewer Contest hosted by Pizzazzerie was just announced...and guess what?!!?

It was me...ME! This was such a fun contest to work on and really helped kick-start some creativity.

Can't wait to get the prize pack...included is an autographed copy of Bakerella's Cake Pops book!

Thank you to everyone at Pizzazzerie and of course to guest judge Bakerella herself.

Now I have to get back to pinching myself repeatedly ;)

~Audrey

Is it Halloween yet?

Don't get me wrong. I'm not in any big rush for Halloween to get here....I have way too much to do before then! I have a lot of Halloween-themed treat ideas floating around in my head...and treats that I've seen on other people's sites that I really want to try...but there's only so much time in a day. Luckily this weekend I was able to carve out some time for a few of these side projects.

I posted my first official treat making tutorial for the Ogre Toes I created this week. You can access the original post here: Ogre Toes!

As you can tell, I was kind of on a green-monster-theme this week because my next two treats feature Frankenstein himself!

The first are some Frankenface Marshmallow Pops...the shape of marshmallows is absolutely perfect for this project. They become about 10-times more adorable just by putting them on a stick...I don't know why but it's true...anything on a stick is automatically better!

This last treat was inspired by a recent post on the Living Locurto blog with an adorable Owl Smores tutorial. So these are my Frankenface Smores...can't you just eat him up? Well I actually did.

The rest of my week was spent baking all the cupcakes for my Cupcake of the Month Club Members. The flavor this month was Spiced Apple Cupcakes topped with Caramel Buttercream Frosting. They were good....and by good, I mean....GOOD! I just love Fall flavors and nothing says Fall more than a Caramel Apple ;)

That's all for now...till next week!
~Audrey

featured on

My Witchy-Grinchy Finger Cookies were featured in a Halloween Treat Idea article on Pizzazzerie!

Check out the Pizzazzerie site for tons of entertaining inspiration.

Some of this stuff is almost too cute to handle!

Ogre Toes!

Lately I've been thinking a lot about Halloween....more accurately about Halloween treats (imagine that!) We are going to be hosting a children's costume party next month and my excitement is just barely contained.

My son is a huge Shrek fan and that is where the inspiration for these treats came from. Here are step by step instructions so you can make and enjoy them too!

Ogre Toes

Supplies:
Circus Peanuts
Green Candy Melts or White Almond Bark tinted with candy coloring
Candy Fruit Chews, assorted colors

 First you'll want to get whatever candy coating you're using melted to a good consistency for dipping. I have a candy melter that works great for these kind of projects.

Next, to make the Circus Peanuts a little more toe-like, flatten them by pressing down on each one with the bottom of a glass until they are flattened.

Repeat this step with all of the Circus Peanuts you plan to use.

Then I used kitchen shears to cut the fruit chews into small pieces.



After all of the pieces have been cut, use something to press them into "toenail" shapes. I used a metal measuring spoon to flatten each piece.

Using a toothpick inserted in one end of the Circus Peanut, dip the entire "toe" into the melted candy coated until it is evenly covered.



Remove the "toe" from  the candy coating and gently tap on the edge of your bowl to remove any excess candy melt.



Place each dipped Circus Peanut on to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper to set. Top each one with a pressed piece of fruit chew.



Last step to really put them into over-the-top-creepy-cool status...use a toothpick to draw "knuckle" lines onto each of your Ogre Toes!

I'd love to hear from you if you plan on using these for your Halloween gathering!
Happy Treat Making!
~Audrey

Say hello to my little friends....

Another busy week under my belt. I had some fun orders and projects that kept me busy....well really, they're still keeping me busy....I'm just taking a quick break to reflect before I soldier on ;)

I had a couple of orders for some Character Cake Pops this week. To be specific, Hello Kitty and Elmo were on the roster. I just love making these little guys! They really come to life and take on their own personalities. There was this one little Elmo pop that I swore was looking up at me and smiling when I was taking his picture....so naturally I had to move him to the front of the pack!

You see what I mean? It's like he's gazing up at me in complete adoration....no wonder I liked him so much!

Miss Hello Kitty is always fun to work on. I remember appreciating her cuteness when I was a little girl...what is it about her that is so adorable?

Next week will be the Cupcake of the Month Club deliveries, so I spent some time this week working on this month's flavor. The end result: Spiced Apple Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting. Sorry...no picture quite yet, but let me assure you....they are outta control delicious and are the perfect way to welcome Fall.

I recently happened upon a fun new website: www.pizzazzerie.com and have spent a fair amount of time this week working on my entries for a contest they're holding. The Cupcake Skewer Contest challenged their fans to create their own skewers and submit photos for judging. Oh and I should probably mention that Bakerella is a guest judge!!! I was so inspired by the Pizzazzerie website and Cupcake Skewer concept that I had to get at least a couple entries in ;) Anything on a stick is automatically cuter in my book!

Here are the ideas I submitted....wish me luck!

These are my Black Magic Cupcakes: Devil's Food Cupcakes topped with Blackberry Buttercream Frosting.

Caramel Apple Cupcakes, topped with crushed pecans....yes...they're as good as they look...actually they might be even better than they look ;)

CCMC Members...you're in luck because you'll get to sample both of these flavor combinations as part of your membership!

Well, once again....the cupcakes in the kitchen need my attention....they don't frost themselves you know!

Happy Baking!

~Audrey



Margarita Cupcakes...need I say more?

Another busy (BUSY!) week under my belt....well almost under my belt. I still have one order I'm finishing up tonight but I thought I'd take a break while my cupcakes are cooling.

I had an order this week to create deserts for a Taco Fiesta Birthday Party. My mind went naturally to margaritas! I found a few variations of Margarita Cupcakes online, and in the end sort of combined two and made my own. The end result was a batch of Strawberry Margarita Cupcakes topped with Margarita Lime Buttercream Frosting. In case you're wondering....yes....there is actual Tequila in both the cupcakes and the frosting! Believe it or not, this was my first go-round baking with Jose Cuervo, but it definitely won't be my last. I liked the end product so much I may have to do a little more experimenting with alcohol-infused baked goods...I mean really...what is not to like about the concept of combining sweet treats with alcohol?!?! If you come up with something just let me know ;)

I also had a couple of fun children's birthday party orders to work on! I love the fun, bright colors of this pop arrangement. It made me smile just looking at it! I'm still finishing up the other order...and on that note I should get back to it....I need to wrap up some Hello Kitty Cake Pops and you know the 2 dozen Strawberry Cupcakes cooling on the counter won't frost themselves!

Cookies and Cupcakes and Cake Pops...OH MY!

Phew....okay, my last order for the week went out the door this morning and now I can finally breathe out and enjoy the work that I put in. It's a really good thing that I take pictures of almost everything after it's made because otherwise it might just be one big blur.

This week I had some really fun projects to work on....which is nice because then it really doesn't feel so much like "work" at all. You know how they say that time flies when you're having fun? Well that's probably why this week flew!

So here's my week in review.... 
Hmmmmm, really where to start? How about with Cookie Monster?!??! I had this order come in about a month ago for a little boy's birthday party. I had yet to attempt Cookie Monster pops but with Bakerella as my guide (and inspiration as always) I went after him and the end result did not disappoint. I can't wait to hear what the birthday boy thought!

Isn't he just the cutest? I mean, don't you want to just eat him up? He's almost too cute to eat....almost, I always manage to get over it and bite right in anyways.

Next on my list was a batch of cake pops for a bridal shower. I love doing these, they make the cutest shower favors. These were really basic, dipped in white with a few different kinds of white sprinkles. They ended up looking really elegant and I'm hoping they were the perfect little gift, something unexpected and oh-so-cute!

These next pops were made for a friend of mine. She is expecting her third child and a couple of months ago I ran the idea by her of using cake pops to spread the news of the new baby's gender to her friends and family. Well, she had her ultrasound this week and she and her husband kept the results a secret until this weekend at a picnic for family and friends. I of course got to know so I could make the pops...I'm calling them my She's Ready to Pop Pops! At the party everyone got a cake pop and were told that when they bit in, whatever color was inside was the new baby's gender! It really was a cute way to share the news.

I finished the week with another birthday party order. I really love working on orders for children's birthday parties. I think, in part, because I have so many vivid memories from my own birthday parties growing up. It's fun to be involved with creating something that a child may remember even years from now...something that sets this birthday apart and made it extra special! I generally assume that if my 2 year old's eyes light up and he starts pestering me for one of "Mommy's Treats" then I probably did an okay job ;)

For this particular order I was given very basic instructions, but mostly told to just be creative and make something "purpley" since that is the birthday girl's favorite color. The end result was two dozen Wildberry Cupcakes topped with Blackberry Lime Buttercream frosting, two dozen personalized cake pops and two dozen decorated sugar cookies. It was so fun putting this order together! I love it when someone gives me the opportunity to play around with decorations and flavors....it usually leads to something extra special and fun!

I think that's pretty much it....tomorrow the fun starts all over again, busy-busy, just how I like it ;)