Chocolate covered everything

Valentine's Day is fast approaching and if you are still stumped on what to do for whoever it is that you want to do something for just cover something in chocolate and tada! All done.

What you may need:

• Strawberries, Graham crackers, marshmallows, heart shaped strawberry favored peeps, or her/his favorite cookies
• Chocolate
• and possibly sprinkles

How simple is that?

First you need to melt the chocolate. You can do this one of three ways:

1. Microwave, place chocolate in bowl and microwave for about 20 -30 second increments stirring in between. Watch the chocolate carefully and do not burn b/c thats no way to show someone you like/love them. Unless you are being mean and want them to eat burnt chocolate. If meanness is the case, exit this web page, turn off the computer and go get a hobby. Anyway, I usually only microwave when I have a small batch of chocolate to melt, it takes to long to get it all melted for me. 

2. Double boiler. Place a pot of water on the stove and bring to a boil, place a bowl or another pan over the water but make sure it is not touching the water and turn down the heat to low. Add chocolate and stir as it begins to melt. I don't really like this method because I find it hard to keep the temperature consistent and my chocolate always separates or starts to gets hard fast (insert inappropriate "that's what she said" joke here). 

3. A crock pot. Just plug in the crock pot, and add the chocolate and stir as it begins to melt. I have a mini crock pot that I bought just for melting chocolate.  It keeps an even temp and it super easy. I love it.

Line a cookie sheet with wax or parchment. I had to use aluminum foil because it was all I had, so use that if you want instead.  Melt your chocolate. Grab what ever it is that you are going to be dipping and dip it. Very gently shake to remove excess chocolate and lay on the cookie sheet to cool and harden. 

If you want to add sprinkles do so now while the chocolate is still wet. If you want to add some fancy white chocolate squiggles (is that the right term? squiggles?) just melt some white chocolate, dip a fork in it and wildly fling it over what ever you want. Preferably the food you just dipped and not children, animals or walls. 

Once they are harden you can arrange thing in a pretty bowl like the one below. Or you could get some mini cupcake liners and arrange then beautifully on a plate and you date/lover/friend/whatever will be swoon and be mighty impressed.

See how pretty in the bowl? Please also note the blue arrow in the in upper left corner and the sleeping dog. This has nothing to do with anything but I thought you should see. 

Easy Decorating Tip 8,367

 So here is yet another easy decorating tip for another Holiday, Valentine's Day!
I whipped up some brownies the other day and decided I wanted to make them festive.

What you may need:

• Fresh Baked Brownies or Store Bought Brownies
• Powdered sugar 
• A fine mesh sieve or any mesh strainer
• wax paper, parchment paper or any paper you can cut
• scissors 
• Valentinesque sprinkles, I just bought this from Wilton.

So bake or unwrap your brownies, take what ever paper you are using and cut out a heart. Lay the heart you just cut out where ever you want on top of the brownies.

Load up your mesh strainer sieve or whatever it is you call it with powdered sugar and gently shake it over your brownies. When it is to your satisfaction remove the paper hearts and Viola! All done. 

You can add some sprinkles so jazz them up little. So simple and now you have fancy brownies. Sort of.  Oh well enjoy! 

Decorating cookies

I decorated cookies with the little bros over the weekend. I'm a little cookied out so I just used one of those cookie mixes that you just add butter and an egg. They were good, probably even better because I didn't really have to do much except mix.

I busted out my holiday sprinkles, a few tubs of frosting, some food coloring and the cookies I had made the night before and we were ready to decorate.

Any one up for some caroling around the christmas tree? I did have Gingerbread men to go with the Gingerbread ladies but someone ate all the men so the women are lonely now. Poor ladies, better get out the milk. 

When I was getting ready to make the cookies I was looking through my cookie cutters and found all my little tiny cookie cutters. I almost forgot I had them. A friend of mine gave them to me freshman year in high school way before I ever thought baking was fun. Mia? How the heck did you know my future would lead to much baking and I would find these necessary to my life someday? 

Look how cute

Oh how adorable these little candy canes look next to the giant one. Is it weird that I think a cookie is adorable? They are also delicious if that makes a difference. Delicious and adorable. 

 

This little Cyclops isn't as cute but I like him. 

Betcha never had a Colonel Sanders cookie. Be jealous. Why is Colonel pronounced Kernel? I never understood that and doubt I ever will. It should be pronounced Colon-ell....wait... I think I just answered my own question. Who wants to be called a digestive system. Sorry this cookie post took an unexpected turn. Disregard everything after "jealous".

This is what happens when little brother number 2 gets bored. He stacks 4 cookies with frosting and calls it a day. 

And this is what happens when I tell he needs to help finish decorating the enormous pile cookies I baked. He piles on the frosting and calls it a day. 

Little brother number 2 also "accidentally" messed up a bunch of cookies he was decorating and had to eat them. He couldn't figure out why he didn't feel good 7 cookies later.

Have you finished you holiday baking yet?

Not feeling up to holiday baking? You could always buy one of those pre-made Pilsbury holiday cookie logs. You know the ones that have the holiday image on them and you just slice the cookies. Actually, I think you don'y even have to cut them anymore, they come in a sheet and you just have to bake them. Just get some of those, a tub of frosting and some sprinkles and your done! Easy peasy.

(via)

Kay