L is for Lichty

It's official. Josh and Maria are getting married on June 14, 2008. What started as a friendship has blossomed into a perfect romance. How exciting!

I found some really cute cookies on the Internet and thought they might be fun for the wedding. I used a chocolate soft sugar cookie recipe from Dorie Greenspan (who is Maria's favorite cookbook author) and then covered the cookies with a mint royal frosting.

I played around with lots of different designs.

But I think the very simple cursive Ls are my favorite.

Last Minute Requests

Two weekends ago I found myself thoroughly bored! Then suddenly I had a number of last minute baking requests. Yippee!

My RS President called Friday evening and asked me to bring some treats to a baptism the next morning. I made these Black-bottom Brownie cups. The cream cheese mixture with Mini-Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips and brownie batter are pretty easy to mix up. But it took some time to layer them in the mini-cupcake tins. I didn't get to try them but they look cute!

On Sunday I found out that the person who had signed-up for Ward Prayer cancelled. Someone volunteered to host but didn't have time to make treats...so I volunteered. I made these Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip cookies. I like how they look but preferred them on the third day after they had gotten really soft.

I also whipped up a batch of cupcakes and added some crazy frosting! They are cute!!!

What would we do without friends?

Rosie (Sister Ashton) came to visit from California during New Years. She is as cute and fun as ever.

I made some Banana Chocolate Chip Bread and (in typical Rosie fashion) in a matter of seconds...Rosie had turned herself into a pirate! ISH!!!

Chandra, Hazel, and I got all dressed up to go to the Cinderella Ball (ie Ward Activity). Chandra let me borrow her dress!

If you look closely, you can see we are missing one shoe. When we arrived we put one of our shoes in a bag. All the girls were escorted to the RS room, the guys then picked one shoe from the bag and came to the RS room to find the girl who's shoe they were holding. Don't worry...it was the typical Mormon scene...not enough guys for girls. Chandra and I were partners for the evening!

Winter...

My goal this winter was to find one thing I like about snow...I actually found three.
1 - When it snows it is very very quite.
2 - It makes everything look like it has been dusted in powdered sugar.
3 - It's a great excuse to stay home and bake!

Crazy ice-cycles everywhere!

Notice the ice covering the side walk!...it was a nightmare just to get into my apartment. I used to chip it away with a hammer and flat-edge screwdriver. It's a great way to release tension!

Ice-cycles on the house across the street.

Yummy soft pretzels!

Lemon cheesecake with lemon curd topping. This is one of my favorites! It's smooth and creamy and tangy and sweet!

My first attempt at orange rolls. They were a little dry but not too bad for a first!

My first attempt at scones. This was a Dorie Greenspan recipe recommended by Maria. Turned out pretty good.

Some Holiday Cheer

I know. I know. It's way past the holidays...but it's never to late for some cheer. So here's a few pics.

Shawn's just hanging out...waitin' for Santa to come.

Jenny and Katy just being a little crazy!

I think this was my favorite treat of the holiday season. This is called a jello poke cake! It's light and colorful and oh so yummy!

Christmas Jello Poke Cake:

1 white cake baked in two 8 or 9" rounds cake pans, cooled to room temperature, and placed back in cake pan

1 package raspberry or strawberry Jello made with half of the required volume of boiling water

1 package lime Jello made as above

1 tub cool whip mixed with one carton lime yogurt

Use a fork to poke the cooled cakes and pour in a little jello. (Red jello for one layer and green jello for the other). Let refrigerate overnight then frost with the cool whip yogurt mixture.

This cake would be fun at any season. (ie blue raspberry and strawberry would be fun for 4th of July!)

I also made some vanilla macaroons with chocolate ganche and "Not Quite Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip cookies"

I was a little disappointed with how the macaroons looked... but they tasted great!