More Valentine Sweets xoxo

I am going a little stir crazy and when I get like this...I either online shop, organize the house or bake.  I decided to bake after cleaning the house.  I know my husband will appreciate that I skipped the online shopping today.  I am actually shocked that I haven't purchased anything online during the blizzard!

I decided to make these mini pies today.  They were super easy and tasty.

Oreo Cookie Dough Mini Pies:

Ingredients: (one box of pie crust made 12 mini pies)
oreos
chocolate chip cookie dough
egg
pie crust


Preheat the oven to 400

Take out the pie crust and let it rest for 15-20 minutes at room temp.  Roll out the dough and use a heart cookie cutter to cut out the mini pies.

 Place a fourth of an Oreo cookie and top it off with a few pieces of cookie dough. 

 Place another heart on top of the filling. Use a fork to press the seams together.  Poke a hole in the top.  Brush the tops with egg wash.  Bake for 8-10 minutes.  Let cool and enjoy!

Homemade Valentines and Blizzard Activities

Star Wars
I saw the original pin on Pinterest and was excited to make Nolan homemade valentines for his friends.  Nolan is obsessed with Darth Vader...well the imperial march.  I think he would be petrified if he saw him in action.  I printed the file on light pink cardstock.  I found glow sticks at Michaels and poked them through to look like a light saber.  I hope his friends enjoy their valentines. 

Thumbbody Loves You:
I wanted to make valentines for our family.  It was very simple and fun.  I stamped Nolan's thumbprint and drew a face on it.  I was able to use my new heart cutter from Michaels.

Sending a hug:
Nolan's grandparents live in NC and I wanted to send them a unique valentine.  I measured Nolan's arm span with valentine ribbon.  I then traced his hands and attatched them to the ribbon.  I found a poem on Pinterest.

Toddler (Blizzard) Approved Activities:

One of Nolan's favorite books is "Snowy Day" by Ezra Jack Keats.  It is part of our nightly reading.  We have watched the video several times as well.  I found this pin on Pinterest.  I laminated the sheet and gave Nolan a dry erase marker.  After listening to the story, Nolan traced Peter's many tracks.  This is a great motor skill activity.  He loved it.  I made a sheet for my goddaughter too.  I think she'll enjoy it.

We had a blast tracing numbers.  My friend Beth told me about these.  I found them on Amazon and Nolan loved them. 

The set also comes with shapes.  I gave Nolan a shape to circle.

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:
For the cookies:
2 c. flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
8 tbsp in salted butter..room temp
1 c. light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 c. buttermilk
1 oz red food coloring

For the frosting:
8 oz cream cheese
5 tbsp unsalted butter..room temp
2 tsp vanilla extract
2.5 c. confectioner sugar (sifted)

I planned on making these later in the week, but the blizzard of 2013 changed my plans. I have been going stir crazy. We were lucky because we never lost power or heat. My family was without power for 24 hours and we were counting our blessings.  I decided to make these for two reasons, red velvet is my weakness and I love Valentine's Day. Who am I kidding?  I love February because I celebrate my birthday all month.  I decided to make these for Mike to bring to work.  These were time consuming but I needed a break from playdoh, puzzles, stamps, sledding and playing trains.

Preheat the oven to 375

Trace a heart cookie cutter on a piece of parchment paper. 

Whisk all the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl.

Cream the butter and brown sugar in a mixer for about 2 minutes on medium speed.  Add the egg and mix.  Blend in the vanilla.  Put the mixer on low and add a third of the dry mix, followed by 1/2 of the buttermilk.  Repeat until the buttermilk has been added and then mix in the final third of dry ingredients.  Blend in the food coloring.  I added a little more than an ounce.  Everything I touched left a red fingerprint but it was worth it. 

Transfer the mixture into a pastry bag.  The recipe called for a rounded tip, but I couldn't find one.  I used a swirl top and smoothed out the hearts before adding them to the oven.  Use the pastry bag and make a heart shape inside the traced heart. 

Bake for 7-9 minutes and rotate halfway between the baking.  Let the hearts cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack. 

As the hearts are cooling, make the filling.  Cream the cream cheese and butter together, then add the vanilla.  Gradually add the sugar slowly to the mix.  Place the filling into a pastry bag. 

Pair the cookies up by shape and size.  Flip one of the cookies and pipe the frosting.  Sandwich the cookies together and press gently.  Place in the refrigerator in an airtight container.  Yum! 

Nolan enjoyed a whoopie pie for dessert.

Valentine's Day Decorations

I love decorating the house for Valentine's Day.  My Mom always decorated when we were growing up and still does today.  I know some people don't like the holiday....but I love it.  I have some simple decorations that I put up today. 

Heart Dollies:  I bought two packages from Michaels and hung them with fishing wire in the windows of our house. 

Paper Heart Garland:  I bought a heart punch at Michaels and cardstock.  I punched them out then hole punched the hearts.  Nolan helped me string the hearts on brown twine. 

Paper Hearts in a Clear Vase: I put the extra hearts from the garland into the vase.  I also cut one inch strips and made hearts using a glue gun. 

It's That Time of Year Again!...

I love baking and packaging the treats during the holidays (thank you Martha Stewart line at Michaels).  My son still naps for 2-2.5 hours so my goal today was to tackle these recipes.  My husband is usually around on the weekend to help so I can get stuff done, but he recently joined a running club on Sundays.  It worked out today then N napped for 2.5 hours...HOORAY!!!  Last year, I made Mike's coworkers candy cane pretzels and they were a big hit.  This year I decided to whip up two types of bark.  They were simple to make and scrumptious.  My 2.8 old loved these treats as well.  Thanks to Pinterest, I found these recipes, but adapted them a bit.

Peppermint Oreo Bark
(recipe adapted from CrazyforCrust)

Ingredients: 

20 Oreos (the original recipe called for Peppermint Joe Joe cookies from Trader Joes, I thought that would be a bit too much peppermint) 

30 Candy Cane Hershey’s Kisses (these are deadly, I ate a few during this process) 

1 package (12 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 package (12 ounces) white chocolate chips

Directions:

1.       Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper. Unwrap your Kisses and coarsely chop them. Coarsely chop your cookies.

2.       Melt semi-sweet chips using a double boiler and spread onto the cookie sheet. Sprinkle chopped cookies on top and press down firmly with your hands. 

3.       Melt white chocolate and spread on top of cookies. Sprinkle with chopped Kisses and press down with your hands. 

4.       Chill until hardened. I left it in the fridge for over 2 hours.  Then break apart and serve!

Toffee Peanut Butter Bark
(Recipe from Everyday with Rachael Ray)

Ingredients:

• 4 unsalted matzo crackers 
• 2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 2 Tablespoons of water
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• One 12-ounce bag of milk chocolate chips 
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter (I love Skippy) 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, covering the bottom and sides. Spray with nonstick cooking spray. Place a layer of matzo crackers on the sheet, breaking as needed to cover the sides; set aside. 

1. In a heavy saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the sugar and 2 tablespoons of water. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook undisturbed over medium-high heat until the caramel mixture is a light golden, about 5-7 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool for 1 minute. Stir in the vanilla and quickly pour over the matzos, using a metal spatula to spread evenly. Bake for 8 minutes.

1. Remove the bark from the oven and spread with chocolate chips. Return to the oven and bake just until the chocolate starts to melt, about 2 minutes, then spread the chocolate evenly.  
2. Meanwhile, melt the peanut butter in a microwave safe bowl for 1-1 1/2 minutes, until it is a smooth. Drizzle the peanut butter over the chocolate and, using the handle of a wooden spoon, swirl the chocolate and peanut butter together.
3. Let the bark cool for 1 hour, then refrigerate until set, at least 2 hours. Break into pieces and package. 

 The Oreo Peppermint Bark was a big hit with my son!  He does have anew obsession with candy canes! 

Pumpkin Cake Pops

Cake pops are all the rage these days and I enjoyed a yummy one at my friend Tara's baby shower.  It was the perfect size dessert and it hit the spot.  I decided to make some for Nolan's friends at daycare.  I also wanted to make some for my family for Halloween.  My nieces are trick or treating with us this year (so excited to celebrate their first Halloween with them).  After an awesome night on the Cape with my friends, we decided to do a little shopping at Derby Street in Hingham.  We walked into William Sonoma and it was like Christmas.  The Halloween cake pop mix, mold, stand and packaging were 50% off.  I was giddy with excitement.  The best part about the mix is I didn't have to mix it with frosting as most cake pop recipes call for.  The mold made my life easier as well. The next day, I hit up Michaels for the rest of the necessities.  I suggest checking out Bakerella's (the guru of cake pops) website and cookbook.  I will be adding that to my Christmas list.  Warning: These took me over 4 hours to make!  I was lucky to have the day off (due to Sandy) and a toddler who can entertain himself (and loves to watch Dora) to conquer this treat!

Supplies:
2 bags of orange colored candy melts
1 bag of green candy melts
Edible marker (waste of money, it didn't work for me)
Box of William Sonoma pumkin cake pop mix
William Sonoma pumpkin mold
Popsicle sticks
stryofoam
frosting bag
clear bags and ribbon for packaging

For presentation: I bought a spider stand from William Sonoma for Nolan to bring to daycare.  I also wanted to make a stand for my house.  I bought two pieces of styrofoam and glue gunned them together.  I spray painted the pieces and tied a piece of ribbon around them.  I then placed the pieces on a glass stand.  


Step 1: Make the cake pops. Cool them on a wire rack.  I popped them in the fridge for 15 minutes to set.

Step 2: Melt the orange candy melts.  I added a smidge of vegetable oil to make it smoother.

Step 3: Dip the popsicle stick about 1/2 inch into the melts. Stick the stick halfway into the pop.  I put them in a glass cup and colander to set.

Step 4: Dip the cake pop into the melts.  Gently shake the extra glaze off from the pop.  I held it with one hand and tapped the other.  If you tap too hard, the cake pop will break.

Step 5: Place the pops into the styrofoam to set.

Step 6: Melt the green candy melts then place it in a pipping bag.  I made tiny stems on the pumpkins.

Step 7: I was so excited to add jack o' lantern faces....THIS WAS A BUST!  The Wilton edible marker didn't work and after many minutes of frustration...I finally listened to my husband, I decided that they looked cute without the faces.

Step 8: After the pops have set completely, I placed them in bags and tied them with ribbon.

 Nolan thought they were tasty!

Pumpkin Activity Bag

I love having days off from work and spending them with Nolan.  Today was a productive day around the house and running errands.  My husband tells me that I should relax when Nolan naps, but I have too much of my Mom in me and I need to do something.  Nolan is very excited for Halloween this year and he has now changed his nightly reading choices to Halloween themed books.  I decided to make him a felt pumpkin (thank you, Pinterest).  Nolan has been having a lot of fun with Mr. Potato Head as well, so this is my Halloween take on that toy.

All you need: few pieces of felt, velro, glue gun and scissors

Step One:  Cut out two pieces for the pumpkin and a stem.  Glue the pieces together. Glue the stem on one of those pieces. 

Step Two: Cut out a piece for the backpack and flap.  Glue gun the edges of the backpack and lid (Don't glue them shut!)  I then applied a piece of velcro to keep it closed. 

Step Three: Cut out different variations of eyes, noses and lips.  I made a total of sixteen pieces, including a mustache and a pirate patch.

This was a simple activity and I think Nolan will have a blast.  It is very portable for car rides and errands.  Looking forward to seeing his reaction when he wakes up (hopefully not for another hour)!