Hostess Gifts

What’s inside these upcycled scrapbook paper/washi tape/twine wrapped potato chip cans? Cookies! We received some lovely invitations for the Memorial Day holiday weekend, so I made treats for hostess gifts. Here is a recipe my sons LOVED when they were little that’s no-fail and easy to transport. Enjoy, and I wish you a happy time of remembrance with your family and friends. ♥

RANGER CRISPIES

1/2 cup + 1/3 cup butter

1 cup each sugar and brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon each baking powder, soda, salt, and vanilla

2 1/2 cups flour

3 cups crisp rice cereal

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Cream butter and sugars. Beat in eggs. Add dry ingredients and stir until well blended. Stir in cereal. Drop by rounded teaspoon onto prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 8-12 minutes. Let stand one minute before removing from pan. Makes five dozen.

Sour Cream Chocolate Cake

Dave requested a sour cream chocolate cake for Valentine’s Day this year, and I found just the one on Taste of Home. Since the recipe is for a layer cake, I used my heart-shaped pans. It’s a keeper! ♥

Cookie Cutter Hostess Gift

Do you need a hostess gift idea? Does your hostess love to bake?

1. Stitch a simple drawstring bag.

2. Embroider the word “Cookies” on one side.

3. Fill it with fun or seasonal cookie cutters.

Don’t be surprised if you hear some oohs and aahs! ♥

Dessert Triple Play

Some family members are starting a therapeutic riding business and recently had an open house/barbeque at their stable and arena. I offered to make the desserts, and I had a fun baking day! Here are three for which I managed to snap photos. The first one is a family recipe from my mom-in-law. The other two were first-time tries clipped from magazines and tweaked a bit. (Do you do that, too???) But they were all yummy! Oh, and the GORGEOUS doily was a gift from my sweet friend Tamara of Crochet with Tamara. Thank you again, Tamara! ♥  P.S. You can click on each dessert name for a printable recipe!

Vida’s Chocolate Sheet Cake

Lemonade Cake

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

Chocolate Glacier Cookies

I’ve been baking and freezing cookies so I can keep the cookie jar filled for our family get-together this week.  (Dave LOVES being my taste tester! )

I tried a new recipe I cut out of a magazine (click the picture for a larger view), and it’s definitely a keeper!  Luckily, I found the online version, too.  You can click here for a printable copy with U.S. or metric measurements.  (The teeny-tiny “Print” command is below the recipe to the right of the share buttons.)  And you really WILL want a copy, because they are AMAZING!

P.S. I inherited my cookie jar from a beloved aunt. This lovely little lady is full of wonderful memories! ♥

Mmm . . . Cinnamon Roll-Ups!

I was in charge of refreshments for our Sunday School class this week. I never have to decide what to bring, because everyone always requests Cinnamon Roll-Ups! I’ve posted the recipe before, but here it is again in case you missed it. Because you can make these goodies ahead, freeze them, and bake a few at a time, they’re perfect for holiday houseguests as well as book club, finger-food parties, and any other occasion that calls for a sweet treat. Click on the recipe for a printable page . . . I use wheat bread. Enjoy!   P.S.  Here’s a link about the cute bird from Zuliganz! ♥

The “Mix Things Up” Apron

Here’s my latest apron . . . and I must say, I had LOTS of help! Here’s the scoop:

• The adorable design on the bib came from my blogging friend Megan of A Kitschy Kitchen. Click here, and this original drawing can be yours, too, as a gift from Megan! Since I used a heavy muslin (a remnant I had on hand) for the bib, I was able to simply trace the design. Then I embroidered it while watching TV when we were snowed in. 🙂 Megan has an Etsy shop, too . . . here’s a post about it!
• The skirt, bib ruffle, and neck and waist ties are made from this fabric I bought from Karen of KRS Designs. The cute baking motif was perfect for this project! You can find links to all of Karen’s shops on her blog.
• And now for the ruffles. The blue one was from a gift of fat quarters I got for my birthday. It has a seam in the middle, but it’s pretty well hidden. The fabric for the pink and brown ruffles came from Laura of LC’s Cottage. Click here for Laura’s blog, here for her Etsy store, and here for a previous post I wrote about her shop.

Details about the design are available on my Wonder Woman Retro Apron post . . . a free tutorial from the Jo-Ann web site along with a few tweaks of my own. The only thing I changed on this one was to line the bib to hide the back of my embroidery and make the top ruffle smaller so as not to hide the mixer.

I had SO much fun making this, and thank you to my friends for your lovely contributions! ♥

Cupcake Girl

A special little girl in our family celebrated her sixth birthday on December 1st. As you know, a December birthday gift must NOT be Christmasy! 🙂 So, since she absolutely loves to bake with her mom, I decided on a cupcake gift. First I made an apron using a remnant from the nursery pillows I sewed last summer that looks like sprinkles. I didn’t have a child-size pattern, so I just cut a rectangle for the front, a long, skinny piece for the waistband and tie, found some rick-rack trim, and stitched it up. Then I folded a piece of paper, sketched half of a cupcake paper and top, cut them out, unfolded the paper, and used these as patterns for some cupcake a-la-mode (two yellow fabrics and sequins for sprinkles) and a scrapbook paper gift tag. Then I bought some cake mix, frosting (with sprinkles!), cupcake papers, and cupcake flags to go with the apron. I was going to make a little totebag to gift it in, but then I spotted this adorable tin for $2.99 in my grocery store’s clearance aisle . . . how lucky is that! Happy birthday, dear Kira! ♥  P.S. Please check out this fun post on Peg’s Gotta Do for more cupcake inspiration!