Wonderful Pastel Thumbprint Cookies for Easter

Aren't these pretty?! I am using so many recipes that I find on Pinterest lately! These Thumbprint cookies caught my eye because they had been rolled in white non-pareils before baking, and then filled with pink buttercream! I loved how they looked and I thought they would be even prettier with colored non-pareils instead of white. I already had some leftover pink marshmallow fluff buttercream from my latest French Macaron recipe.

The recipe said to roll the dough into balls, then dip the balls first into an egg wash, then into the non-pareils. I thought, why not skip the egg wash step and just see if the non-pareils will stick to the dough without it. Well, it worked and with alot less mess! The photo above shows the cookies before baking.

This is what they look like after baking. There is still plenty of the indentation so that you don't need to redo it after baking. I actually use a little thimble to make the indentations and it works like a charm!

I thought the pink & yellow combination was pretty!

I got the recipe from An American Cupcake in London. I adore this recipe because the cookie dough is so easy to work with and because the cookies are wonderful! The recipe says to bake them for 20-25 minutes. I baked mine for 25 minutes. The cookie turns out crunchy and I really like the extra crunch that the non-pareils give. The buttercream, of course, makes the cookie a little sweeter, but I think they would be really cute for a tea party or shower.

You can color coordinate the non-pareils and buttercream to the colors of your party.......and that brings me to the tutorial for today! Did you know that you can make your own custom sprinkles?

I made these sprinkles using a box of white non-pareils from here, and a powdered food coloring kit from here. All you have to do is stir the powdered food color into the white non-pareils until you get the color that you want!

How easy is that?! Now I know many of you won't want sprinkles in bulk, but if you bake on a regular basis or are planning a wedding reception or shower, this could come in handy! You can also color the white non-pareils with coloring gel. Just click on the link for those instructions.

If you are looking for a really good go-to Thumbprint cookie, this might just be the one you are looking for! It would also be a lovely addition to your Easter Sweets table! Happy Wednesday!!

Molded French Cream

I wish I could say that I made the dessert in this lovely photo, but this is the photo that went with the recipe for Molded French Cream in Southern Living Magazine (April 1999).  Yes, I am a bit of a magazine hoarder!!

LOL!

Mine looks so plain compared to theirs, but since there are no Violas or Sweet Peas to pick at the end of December, I had to make due with what I had. I was going with a Marie Antoinette theme for my daughter's birthday party and this elegant dessert looked like just the thing! I have a notebook with hundreds of recipes that I want to try and this was among them!

This is the dessert table! Warning!! Sugar Overload!!

Thought you might like the recipe, so here it is, copied exactly from Southern Living Magazine:

Molded French Cream

2 (8-ounce) containers sour cream

3 cups whipping cream, divided

1 1/2 cups superfine sugar

2 envelopes unflavored gelatin

1/2 cup cold water

2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 tablespoon superfine sugar

Garnishes: crystallized violas, crystallized fresh mint leaves, sweet peas

Whisk together sour cream and 2 cups whipping cream in a medium saucepan; gradually add 1 1/2 cups sugar, whisking with each addition. Cook over low heat, whisking often, until warm.

Sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold water in a saucepan; let stand 1 minute. Cook over medium heat, stirring until gelatin dissolves. Add to sour cream mixture.

Beat cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment until light and fluffy. Gradually add sour cream mixture and vanilla, beating until smooth.

Pour into a lightly greased 8-cup mold or 2-quart bowl; chill until firm, or, if desired, up to 2 days. Unmold onto a serving platter.

Beat remaining 1 cup whipping cream until foamy; add 1 tablespoon sugar, beating until soft peaks form. Spoon whipped cream into a pastry bag fitted with a star shaped tip. Pipe whipped cream around base of mold. Garnish, if desired. Yield: 16 servings. Prep: 15 min., Chill: 4 hrs.

I would love to use my individual Jello molds for this recipe. How cute they would be garnished with edible flowers for a brunch or shower! I found the above photo on Pinterest - love the shape of these individual molds!!

Thanks for stopping by today!! Next post, I'll share with you some wonderful Easter Thumbprint Cookies that I baked! See you then!

Rose Water Meringues

Today I wanted to share my recipe for Rose Water Meringues. I made them for my daughter Abbie's fifth birthday party, and had a request for the recipe.

I've had great results with this recipe, and if I keep the baked meringues in an airtight container, they keep well for 5 days or more.

Rose Water Meringues

2 egg whites, room temperature

100 grams extra fine granulated sugar

1 tsp rosewater

drop pink food color (gel)

sprinkles (optional)

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. In a mixing bowl with whisk attachment, whisk egg whites to soft peaks. Begin adding sugar a spoonful at a time, whisking 20-30 seconds after each addition. Continue whisking until mixture is stiff & shiny and all sugar is dissolved. Add rose water (or any flavor extract you care to use) and food color and whisk until incorporated.

Using a piping bag fitted with a 1M open star tip, pipe meringues onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Here is a tutorial on how to pipe a rose swirl. Top with sprinkles if desired. Bake for 2 hours or until completely dry and crisp.

This is the sweets table for my Marie Antoinette inspired birthday party. In my next post, I'll share the recipe for the french cream.

Have a lovely day!

Having Fun with French Macarons

It's been a while since I made French Macarons, so today I just got out my sprinkles and do dads and had fun!

I said before that I keep trying different recipes, hoping to get a good one that works for me. I'm having trouble with hollow shells. These look good, but they have a hollow area at the top and I don't know what to do to get rid of that!

Here is what they look like before baking. You have to add your sprinkles right after they are piped, then let them sit out until they develop a "crust." This is necessary if you want them to develop "feet."

Here they are after baking. I'm also having trouble with my oven browning them too much. Many times I want a pale color, but after baking they look brown. I've tried it at so many different temperatures, and I've tried it using/not using the convection oven setting. There are just so many variables!

Today I used Tartelette's Macaron Recipe. Many people have had success with this one. If you want to try it, just don't use the violet flavorings that the recipe calls for and you will have her basic Macaron recipe.

The recipe I really wanted to share with you today is the Marshmallow Fluff Buttercream from a wonderful site called Kevin & Amanda. I love how they really show you every step to a recipe and have such wonderful photos. The marshmallow fluff recipe is a super yummy buttercream that you add a container of, you guessed it, marshmallow fluff to the basic buttercream.  In this post, they used a bit of eggnog in the recipe, but you just substitute heavy cream in its' place.

Marshmallow Fluff Buttercream

2 sticks butter (salted and room temp)

3 cups powdered sugar (sifted if lumps)

1 7 oz Jar Marshmallow Fluff

1/4 cup Heavy Cream

1 tsp vanilla

Put all ingredients into mixing bowl, beat at medium speed until smooth - about 3-5 minutes.

It's so easy! I also added a bit of pink food paste/gel to match the macarons.

I encourage you to go ahead and give these a try. They may not turn out  perfect, but they sure taste good!

Happy 6 Months Heart Anniversary Lucky!

Today I wanted to introduce you to a lovely little Etsy Shop & blog, and the remarkable young lady who is the voice behind it!

The blog is called Got Heart! The young lady behind the blog, who goes by the name of "Lucky" is a two time heart transplant recipient. Yes, I said two time recipient! She was the 52nd baby in the world to get a heart transplant, and had to have another last August!

So today Lucky is celebrating her 6 month "heart anniversary/birthday!" Will you join me in saying Happy Anniversary?!

I "met" Lucky last October, when she featured my blog on her post. I was so inspired by her cheerfulness. She doesn't complain about her situation, but always finds something to be thankful for in each post.

These are examples of the sweet artwork she does in her Etsy shop called Cheer Me Up.  Lucky says that she strives to create art that imitates and captures the simplicity of childhood. Her work is charming, and it indeed cheers me up just looking at it!

This is entitled "Birthday Girl."

And this is "Elephant Love", so adorable!

Well, not so long ago, Lucky mentioned that she was in the mood for a Tea Party!! (And I love me a tea party!!) So, I decided to host a tea party anniversary in Lucky's honor! And you are invited!

(All food photos from Pinterest)

The table is all set for our party. Just find a seat......

Here's a teacup for the guest of honor!

I'll pour us all a cup a tea

Would you like some sugar?

 

Please help yourself to a lovely meringue, heart shaped for the occasion!

We have all kinds of goodies...

or if you prefer a slice of our Heart Cake......

However, I thought this cake...er..took the cake!

We have heart shaped sandwiches...

Since our guest of honor loves balloons...

every heart anniversary party needs heart shaped scones.....

We must have french macarons, heart shaped of course!

Have I gone overboard?! Well, after 2 heart transplants, don't you think Lucky deserves overboard?!

Here's Lucky's Alice in Wonderland - Mad Tea Party print! So cute!

Please stop by her blog and say hello, or check out her Etsy shop, or both!!

Thanks for coming to my tea party!

Happy New Heart Day Lucky!!

Nutella No Bake Cookies

Today I made a quick & easy cookie with one of my favorite ingredients - Nutella! Looooove Nutella!!

Since Spring seems to have arrived in Savannah early this year, I had my pick of blooms for decorating my plate! Love the pretty pink Azaleas and Camelias!

This recipe is probably familiar to most of you. No bake cookies are baked in many kitchens at Christmas. What makes this recipe different is that it includes Nutella instead of melted chocolate chips! You throw all your ingredients together, then use your cookie scoop to measure them out.

The recipe included an optional ingredient of hazelnut liqueur such as Frangelico. I didn't have that, but I imagine that would give them a gourmet flavor!

You do have to watch out because these yummies do disappear fast!!

So I suggest you tuck some away somewhere to enjoy later!!

Just click on the link for the recipe! Thanks for visiting!! xo Jina

Tickled Pink Strawberry Almond Biscotti

Don't you love biscotti?! I do too! I wanted to bake some for you, but I wanted them to be pretty!

I used  Martha Stewart's Almond-Ginger Biscotti recipe, and just made a few changes. I substituted dried strawberries for the crystallized ginger, didn't include lemon zest, and used my unbleached flour (King Arthur brand) instead of the all purpose flour. I got my dried strawberries from an online company called Nuts Online. I highly recommend them for their excellent products and customer service.

For the pretty part, I added 1/8 tsp pink color gel to the egg mixture before adding it to the flour mixture. Then after I had formed the dough into logs, I rolled them in sanding sugar. I also formed my dough into four smaller logs instead of the two recommended in the recipe. I wanted smaller bites of yumminess!

Here are the logs before baking.....

and here they are after baking.....

look at the lovely sparkles!!

Oh, I wish you could try one right now! They are really yummy!

And they're really good alongside a good cup of strawberry tea!

Today I am joining Trish at Sweetology for Tea Party Tuesday! Can't wait to see what she has cooked up!

I do hope you give this recipe a try! These pretty cookies would be a lovely gift for someone....I know they'd be tickled pink!  Have a great day!