Cookie Contest at the Office!

Every so often our department decides we need some team building, moral boosting time.  In October we do a Chili Cook-Off, it's not just chili they also judge cornbread, and some sort of dessert.  This year it was cookies.  A few weeks before the contest I discovered the new fall M&M White Chocolate Candy Corn!!!  I fell in love!  They were really good but I thought they would be even better in a cookie like the your typical white chocolate macadamia nut cookie.  I don't eat nuts in my food so I have one I have to eat around the nuts.  So I took to Google to find a good recipe for a white chocolate chip macadamia nut cookie so I could minus the white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts and add the White Chocolate Candy Corn M&M's.

This is where I ended up My Wooden Spoon.  Here is the link to the recipe http://mywoodenspoon.com/the-best-soft-and-chewy-white-chocolate-macadamia-nut-cookies-ever/

it says it is the best soft and chewy cookie and I can vouch it is!  And it makes a ton of cookies so I brought some into work.

I wasn't planning to enter the contest, I can't remember why but everyone kept hounding me so I gave it.  I decided to make the White Chocolate Candy Corn M&M cookies and I thought I should also make a chocolate cookie of some kind.  So I took to Internet again and started looking through the blogs I follow until I ended up on Add a Pinch and found a recipe for a Mocha Chocolate Chip Cookie.  Here it is: http://addapinch.com/cooking/2011/10/19/mocha-chocolate-chip-cookies-recipe/

I started the evening with this cookie and I completely hosed it up!
First the recipe calls for 1 cup brown sugar, instead of grabbing the 1/2 cup measuring cup, I grabbed the 1/3 cup used that twice so I only added 2/3 brown sugar.  It calls for 1 tablespoon vanilla, I grabbed the 1/2 teaspoon and added only 1 teaspoon, once I realized what I had done it added another 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla but that still didn't make a table spoon.  And my favorite it calls for 3/4 teaspoon of baking soda, I added baking powder!  I realized all of this as I was getting ready to put the first batch on the baking stone to put in the oven.  I freaked out!  My brother-in-law was going to bring me some more brown sugar because I couldn't find the other bag I bought, when he arrived the first batch of screwed up cookies came out of the oven.  I used him as a guinea pig and had him try one before I baked anymore.  He thought they were great, they didn't spread much and had a brownie like consistency and were sweet but not too sweet.  Since he liked them I want ahead and baked the rest.  After discovering all my mistakes in the first recipe I followed the second one a little closer. 

At the contest each cookie got a number and a bag to collect the votes in.  I was beat out for 1st place by the department heads daughter who also had a baby and they were saying he helped make the cookies, I think it was a ploy to win the cute vote but that's ok I took 2nd for the Mocha and 3rd for the White Chocolate Candy Corn M&M.  The trophy's were spatulas!

Bye Y'all!

Wow its been a long time!

Wow I didn't realize how long it has been since I posted out here.  I was thinking at least late October, I guess that's what I get for thinking!!!  Goodness so much has happened since I did this the last time.  I'll break it up into a few blog posts that way I don't go on forever.

Momma and I went on the cruise in mid-September, it was so nice!  I'd never been on a cruise before, it was like a whole nother world.  A few things I didn't expect was for the pools to be so small, and the pool water to be so cold and salty.  I guess in my head I assumed they just filled them up with fresh water from shore and cleaned them like you do your pool at home.  One of our excursions on the cruise was to swim with dolphins!  That just made my life, I loved it! 

Dolphin Kisses!

Momma and I ready for the formal dinner!

If you remember I was trying to make a tote bag for Momma and I to take on the cruise with us.  After several attempts and thrown away fabric I finally got one to work!  I can't remember where I found the pattern but if I do I'll update this post.

Bye Y'all!

Who's ready for some football!?!

Last night we had our final forever cake class, actually until next February I've heard Wilton is bringing out a 4th class that is Advanced Gum Paste and Fondant Flowers.  I'll being taking that one too.

Anyway last nights cake was a cake of our own design we had no restrictions not requirements.  Being this coming weekend is the opening of my favorite time of year College Football Season I chose to do an Alabama Cake, can I get a ROLL TIDE!!!

The idea in my head didn't actually work out like I wanted it to but what I wanted to do was a 2 layered cake with a cake football coming out of the center of it.  In order to make the cake football I decided I'd bake a cake in a loaf pan and trim it down.  That might have worked but the cake fell in the center.  Since it was still a few days early I froze the loaf of cake until the next day where I shaped it into a football while it was still frozen using cake shavings to fill in the holes.  That worked fine until when I was ready to put the cakes together (Tuesday night before I had to be in class on Wednesday) and it had thawed out it fell apart.  So since I had already color my fondant brown I just shaped the fondant into a football to place on top of the cake.  It turned out pretty good.

I designed my cake after my favorite cake carrier that I got from my Aunt Jan one year for Christmas.  It's your standard $10 cake carrier from Target and some creative person put vinyl stickers on it, and old insignia Alabama sticker and then dots of different sizes in crimson, black, and grey.  Absolute genius!  It colored my fondant black, grey, and made a pretty good crimson (I'll probably never be able to do it again!) cut out 3 different size circles using cookie cutters and laid them aside to dry.  I used the grey to make two elephants to place on the sides as well.  When all was said and done I think it turned out pretty cute!

Elephant parts!

Roll Tide Y'all!

Wine Bag done!

I got the wine bag finished tonight but it sure took awhile.  My sewing machine kept tearing the thread above where it goes into the eye of the needle, so I kept having to start over.  It also kept skipping the bottom thread so the one stitch would be longer than the others it that makes any sense!  I unfortunately do not know the exact sewing termnology.  I guess if I'm going to continue to sew maybe I should invest in a new sewing machine but we'll see!  As of now I really enjoy making things myself especially when they turn out!  Now for the pictures!

Finished draw string wine bag!

The inside has a coordinating fabric!

Ready for the cruise!

Next is to make a beach bag the same way with the same fabric, keep your fingers crossed folks with my crazy sewing machine and limited skill I need the help!

Bye Y'all! 



So Pretty!

Last night was class number 2 of the Wilton Fondant and Gum Paste Methods class.  This class required a square cake, which I've never done.  It didn't start out too great,  my bake even strips wouldn't fit around the pan so my corners got to done.  I especially noticed that when I ate it this morning.  Anyway!  When we got to class we needed to have two loops made like last week cause we were making a flat bow with streamers and ribbon on the top of the cake. 

Covering a square cake with Fondant wasn't all that fun.  My corners did not want to cooperate and I was glad to see we got the opportunity to make and use a border.  We covered the cake first and then we made 2 5"x1" stips and cut a "v" at the bottom for the streamers.  Then we had to make the ribbon that would wrap around the cake one way and then the connecting ribbon that wrapped the other way.  In case you don't know you use a Gum Paste glue to make your fondant pieces stick to your fondant cake.  You can use water but this dries faster.

1/4 teaspoon Gum Paste

1 tablespoon water

Break the Gum Paste into small bits and pour the water over, let it sit for an hour.

Once we got the ribbon on the cake we took the already cut streamers and placed them on and glued them down.  Then I used paper towels underneath the streamers to give them some shape until the dried.  For the center of the bow you make a 1"x3" strip and pinch then ends like you would if you were making loops.  You position the loops on the cake and clue them down and then position the center piece and tuck it around so you cannot see the pinched ends.

To make the border we used some of Wiltons, silicone molds.  You just fill the designe you want with the fondant and pop it out and glue it to the cake.  Just like magic!

Silicone mild

I think this is probably the prettiest cake I've made so far.

We also made our first Fondant rose in this class.  You use a cutter and make 3 individual flowers then slit the petals and use the ball tool to make them curl and glue them together.  Actually there is more too it but it's too complicated to tell without pictures of each step so I'll just show you the finished product.

Next week in the cake class is all about flowers, we will be making 5 different ones and one bonus flower that our instructor Sandy did on a wedding cake for the weekend.  The final cake we have to make is of our own design.  Anything we want to make I'm excited to see if what I have in my head actually works out on the cake.  We'll see!

Bye Y'all!

 

Cake Class #3 is well under way!

Ok I'll admit I've been slacking!  We've already had our second class in the Gum Paste and Fondant Wilton Method class.  Momma, Amy, and I are all doing fabulous so far!  We'll get to that in a minute.

Momma and I are going on a cruise!!!!  It is 27 days away and I can hardly contain myself!  This will be my first cruise and her second just 4 days and one port in Cozumel.  On the day we are in Cozumel our excursion consists of a dolphin encounter, you get to swim with them and one will pull your through the water, I'm so excited I'm bouncing in my chair as I type this.  My previous sewing project was supposed to be a tote bag that we could use to take our stuff to the pool in.  Being that it ended up more along the size of a purse than a tote I'll be passing that off to my niece Justice for her to play dress up with.  I scoured the Internet to find a new bag to try, actually not really, my wonderful friend Teresa found this site and sent it to me http://www.finecraftguild.com/ there are a ton of cute sewing projects on this website. 

I found an adorable drawstring bag that I decided to make.  The pattern can be found here at Sew for Home http://sew4home.com/projects/storage-solutions/405-citrus-holiday-reversible-gift-a-wine-bags.  It is actually to make a bag to put a bottle of wine in but you can make it bigger and use it as a beach bag.  I also decided to make one of the wine bags cause we can each take a bottle of wine on the boat!  So far I'm almost done with the wine bag, I'm just so slow and don't have a ton of free time.  Once I get them finished I'll post some pictures.

Ok so on to class one of the last Wilton Methods class.  This class is using fondant and gum paste.  I haven't had much experience with using either of these so I was excited to start this class.  We had to bring a two tiered cake covered with a crumb coat of butter cream and while in class roll out and cover it with fondant.  One thing I'm not good at is rolling out fondant or dough for that matter into a circle.  That was an experience getting it smoothed down with no wrinkles and not putting my fingers through it.  Once it was all said and done it looked pretty good.  One thing I didn't realize is the fondant won't hid all the imperfections in your buttercream so it is best to smooth out the buttercream before you put on the fondant!  Dually noted!!

The bow was pretty easy to make but I didn't have a real clear picture in my head and should have made more loops to make a fuller bow.  You just roll out our fondant and use this adjustable cutting tool that cuts 1 inch  (or whatever you make it cut) strips. Then you cut the strips into 5 inch pieces.  So my bow had 16 5 inch by 1 inch strips, folded over and pinch the ends.  In order for the fondant to keep its shape it has to dry before you place it on the cake and you can use paper towels or something else to help it keeps its shape until it is completely dry.  Once you are ready you just use some candy melts as clue and place the loops together.

To get the lines in the ribbon we used a texture thing like below.  You can find them at Michale's, you just lay them on your fondant and use the roller to go over the make the impression.  So easy. 

Texture mat

This particular cake I used Duff's Fondant this particular brand of fondant is to soft to use to make things with but it tastes sooooo good, its actually more like a rolled buttercream than a fondant.

Yummy!

Bye Y'all!

Sew Busy continued...

I finally got back to it and finished my first sewing project!  The picture on the blog Me Sew Crazy where I got the pattern looks bigger than what I ended up with but it will still hold something if I put it in there so I'm ok with that, at least I think it will I haven't tried it yet!  So when my back couldn't take it anymore and I stopped last time I had the two sides internal and external sewn together.

Tonight I had to whip stitch the 3 inch hole at the bottom to close it up do an edge stitch around the whole bag.  If you don't look to close the edge stitch looks good!  Lastly I had to make a knot in the middle and sew it together.

One side edge stitched and knot stitched together.  Doogie checking it out!

Once both sides were done I had to lay the outside edges together and sew it around the edges and turn it inside out.

Ready to turn inside out!  I'm scared

It looks good!  Just don't get to close!

I took it upon myself to make pockets on the inside!  I think this would be perfect if I could sew a straight line!  Maybe in time!

Pockets!

Bye Y'all!