Everything's Better Dipped in Chocolate!

The title of this post is 100% true.

Not just with food items either. Those of you who have seen the Angel episode "I Will Remember You" know exactly what I'm talking about. ;)

I seem to recall a line from Buffy the Vampire Slayer that goes a little something like this: "There is no problem that cannot be solved with chocolate."

I completely agree. Plus, if you use dark chocolate, it's healthy!

Well, that's not totally true, but it is healthier, which is a step in the right direction! They say that dark chocolate and blueberries can be the solution to depression. I'll take that as my first, and best, excuse for making treats like these!

This adventure begins with Rice Krispies treats! I had never made them on my own before, so it really was an experience.

If you can still call it "on my own" when I'm walking into the next room to ask my mom a question every 2 minutes.

Whatever, it still counts.

Lesson #1: When cutting the crispy, marshmallow-y goodness into shapes, you want to REALLY press it down into your pan first.

Lesson #2: Thick chocolate is harder to dip and takes longer to dry, but it makes cooler shapes.

My cookie cutter I used for these was a flower shape. I just had a bowl of melted chocolate to which I dipped each treat about halfway in, then pulled up slowly, letting the peak fall over to the side to create this awesome "shell" shape.

Lesson #3: These will be HARD when the chocolate has dried and slightly difficult to eat, but the chocolate to crispy mallow treat is pretty much perfect.....that is, only if you are a chocolate lover like me.

All in all, these were easy and fun to make while still being simple and delicious. Wonderful presentation also made them fun to show off and give out to people as a treat on a cookie plate (which I made with the Tiny Chocolate Chip Buttons).

My mouth is beginning to water just from looking at that chocolate.

I better get out of here before I start licking my computer screen like a psycho person.

Happy Baking!

Birthday Treats!

In the first week and a half of September, my nephew turned 1 and my niece turned 3. It was so much fun to celebrate with family, and I got to do some baking and decorating!

For Evan's 1st birthday, my sister-in-law baked a cake for his treat and cupcakes for the rest of the party guests. The theme for the evening was BASEBALL and I was ecstatic when she asked me to decorate the cakes.

Evan's cake was a funfetti cake slathered in cream cheese frosting. The decoration was very simple. I took my frosting spreader and with a cleaned end, lightly traced the curved lines. Then I took my red dyed frosting to create the stitching.

The hardest and most nerve-wracking part for me was the writing, because I had never done it before, but I think it turned out pretty nice, no?

The cupcakes were also funfetti with the funfetti frosting! My mom and I cut up some cherry twizzler strands to make the initial lines and then decided to add the stitching for fun, baseball cupcakes for all to eat!

Hailey's actual 3rd birthday was after my parents were leaving to go back home, so we had a small party with cupcakes and presents while they were in Idaho still. Since her real party was a princess theme, I made ladybug cupcakes for the special party.

These were SO much fun to make! I made red velvet cupcakes and then just colored the cream cheese frosting red and black. I actually had a nightmare that it wasn't going to turn out, but behold - it worked like magic!

Just a base of red frosting with a line down the middle, a half circle for the head and dots! Easy as pie...or, cake, I suppose.

My niece had fun watching me in action all that day, and she loved the cupcakes that night too! She kept talking about them afterwards, and that was the greatest success in my book.

My first real experiment with decorating, and I think it turned out great! The desserts were fantastic and everyone had a great time, including my niece and nephew. I absolutely love being an aunt. :)