Brown Butter Cookie Company

This weekend, my husband and I were able to do a little wine tasting at my very favorite winery. Sextant! While we were there I purchased a bottle of water and as I was doing so happened to noticed a bag of simply packaged, brown butter cookies for sale. It was too much for me to resist... I bought some. Within seconds of opening the crisp cellophane bag, I was blown away. Just the right combination of salty and sweet. Simple, but decadent. Needless to say, they did not last long. Now I am obsessing over them. And I wanted to share them with whoever might be into this sort of thing. Trust me, they are magnificent! I will be visiting their bakery, the first chance I get!

http://www.brownbuttercookies.com/

Milo turned 4!!!!!

And we threw him a little carnival themed birthday party. It was a ton of fun. We hosted his preschool class and their siblings. We served hot dogs, Grandpa Steve's world famous BBQ chicken legs, corn on the cob, watermelon and popcorn. We also had a treat room with cake pops, cotton candy, circus peanuts, animal crackers and 2 cupcake choices. After the kids were jacked up on sugar, they zipped back and forth between the bouncy, petting zoo, pony ride and a few carnival styled games in the back yard. It took me two days to recover. But it was worth every second. Here are a few photos from the event...

The invitations look a lot like this. I bought the pdf/jpeg from an artist on Etsy and then printed them myself. If you are interested, you may find them here... Vintage Carnival Printable from Lora Lang Designs.

I was so pleased with the invitation that I went back to Etsy and bought this package, also from Lora Lang Designs. DIY Printables Package

Milo and his adorable friend, Everette.

The cupcakes were both vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream (as per Milo). I used some of the printable files to make the cupcake wrappers and picks for the top cupcake. And I made the popcorn cupcake, using marshmallows that I pinched and twisted and placed on top of high mounds of frosting. The wrappers for those came from an Etsy artist, as well. Diane's Creative Touch DIY Popcorn Wrappers

The Sweet's Room

The other part of the room. I warned parents that if they saw their kids milling around the dining room, that chances were good that sugar was being consumed.

The favors. I bought the empty boxes from Oriental Trading Co. and got the idea for the ticket from another party that I researched online. The boxes were filled with small teddy bears, clown noses, twisty lollipops and circus tattoos.

The idea for the centerpieces was borrowed (stollen) from another carnival themed party that I found online. They were easy to do (hello, hot glue gun!) But took a little time to make. I got the plastic popcorn cups from Target. I think that they were $1 each.

Milo's big sister enjoying a popcorn cupcake. My Mom decorated the hats with some crepe paper ribbon that we found at a party store.

The clown cake pops. Because we have had a lot of events happening lately, I seem to be making a lot of cake pops. Last week, alone, I made over 300. (200 were for a school event). These were a lot of fun. But a word to the wise, never attempt to make cake pops on a warm day or in a warm kitchen. You might drive yourself crazy. The original idea came from Bakerella's Cake Pops Cookbook. My clown had candy orange slices for hair, they used Boston Baked Beans.

Our Castle Turned into a Circus Tent

We normally have a grey castle in our playroom. When I was planning the party, I thought... "Wouldn't it be cool if we could turn it into a Circus Tent and use it to adorn the backyard for Milo's birthday party?" I found some wide, satin ribbon at the floral supply store and commissioned my Mom (who is beyond talented) to sew together a top for the tent. It only took her an hour or so to create this masterpiece. At first, Milo was not thrilled by the fact that we changed his tent (even if it was only temporary.) I decided to turn it into a puppet theatre/circus tent to help "sell" the idea. Thankfully, he got into it. It has been nearly a week since we converted it and he hasn't asked us to remove the "costume".

My Mom is truly incredible. She used to make all of my prom dresses and formals when was in high school. And she made all of the bedding for our babies when they were born. Even though I have a BS in Home Economics, I cannot sew. I have always relied on my Mom to it for me. Once again, she knocked it out of the park. What would I do without her?

Chocolate Zucchini Banana Mini Muffins

Recently, we found out that my daughter has outgrown her wheat allergy. Because of this, I have been looking for fun ways to celebrate. The doctor has advised her to eat small amounts, at first, building up as time goes on. Mini muffins are the perfect solution. I had a few things that I needed to use up, namely bananas and zucchini. After I little research and some tinkering, I came up with the following recipe. They are divine.

2 cups flour

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

pinch of cardamom

1/2 cup good quality cocoa (I prefer Valrhona)

2 eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup oil

1/2 cup sour cream or greek yogurt

1 tsp vanilla

2 large ripe bananas, mashed

1 cup grated zucchini, squeezed dry

Sift together dry ingredients and set aside. Whisk eggs, sugars, oil, sour cream, and vanilla till well blended. Stir in banana, and zucchini. Stir in dry ingredients just till moistened. Spoon into well greased or paper lined muffin tins. (Or if you have one, use a small scoop.) Bake at 325 for about 18 minutes.

-Makes about 5 1/2 dozen

Summertime Buzz

My husband is a comedy writer. He has lots of funny friends. This year, one of them gave him a gift for his birthday... a Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker. It was a re-gift. Meant to get lots of laughs, upon opening. My husband was a bit stunned. I was happy. Bouncing up and down, happy. You see, we recently moved into a new home and somewhere in a box that has yet to be unpacked is an ice cream maker. Having a NEW ice cream maker caters to my lazy side AND makes it easy to whip up fabulous frozen treats for family and friends. Naturally, it did not take me long to figure out what my first creation would be... Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. (Made with Neilsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Paste... YUM!) It has been the perfect treat to have on hand for summer crumbles and afternoon affogatos, my all time favorite dessert.

I have also been using up unused summer fruits like peaches and raspberries. All and all, this device is helping me expand my waistline and forcing me to clock extra time at the gym. All of it, worthwhile.

Cannot wait to try new recipes...

Thinking about making this...

Hot Chocolate Meringue Cake... WOW!

This Month's Martha Stewart Living

The July 2011 cover.

Have you seen the July issue? I have to say that I think it is my favorite cover, ever. (And I like a lot of them!) Naturally, we were inspired to make our own versions of these fabulous sugar cookies. Both kids, ages 3 and 6, helped me with the marbling. Very easy and equally fabulous. The best part... they are delicious.

Ella, crafting a batch of sugar cookies... firework style!