My favorite summertime anytime dessert! Recipe taken from the Osmond Centennial Cookbook. The recipes are compiled from all the ladies of my mom's small Nebraska hometown. My grandma and I both can't eat something sweet without following it with something salty, and this dessert does just the trick. YUM.

Strawberries and Cream

Ingredients:
Crust: 2 cups crushed pretzels, 1/4 cups sugar, 1/2 cup butter
Cream: 12 ounces cream cheese, 3/4 cups sugar, 9 ounces whipped cream
Strawberries: 2 packages strawberry Jello, 2 cups of boiling water, 1 pint frozen strawberries

1) Mix together crushed pretzels, 1/4 c. sugar and butter. Press into the bottom of your pan (9x12) making sure to get in the corners. Bake in the oven at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. Then let it cool.

2) Beat you cream cheese and 3/4 c. of sugar together until creamy. Try and beat it enough to get rid of the granulated texture. Fold in the whipped cream, and spread over your pretzel crust.

3) Mix your Jello into the boiling water, add your strawberries. Let the mixture cool in the refrigerator BUT do not let the Jello 'set' into the bowl.  Take the Jello out of the fridge when it is still able to be spread over the cream cheese layer. THEN let the Jello set completely in the fridge.

You can then cover the top of the Jello with more whipped cream. My family and I dug in too quickly for me to get a picture.

Seriously. Try this. It's heaven. Pure, sweet heaven.

Here's a look at some of my Easter baking. I decided to run with a design I have seen on I Am Baker, using her recipe for the best chocolate cake. I thought it was kind of dry, but my parents seemed to like it. I might have cooked it just a few minutes too long.

I used a tweaked cream cheese recipe for the icing. I had to add some crisco to make it hold it's shape. One of my favorite icings is cream cheese, especially paired with a chocolate cake. This would have turned out better with a) buttercream... which I hate, or b) a larger star tip. I used the largest one I own, but I think I will be needing to invest in a 1M one soon.

I'm a sucker for the whipped cream icings, called Bettercreme, that are used on a lot of cheap bakery cakes. A lot of people hate it, but if I could cover every cake in that, I would. Unfortunately, you can't make this kind of icing homemade. You either have to buy a bucket or a mix for it. Next purchase: economy size bucket of Bettercreme.

Over my spring break I made two batches of Oreo truffles: one set for my family and one for Hayden to take back to College Station to share with his roommates.

What you need:

1 package Oreos

1 block of cream cheese

1 package of Baker's chocolate (you can use chocolate chips if that is what you have, but I strongly suggest using Bakers... it's 20 times easier to work with)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• Start by grinding two whole rows plus a third of the last row of Oreos in a food processor. Separating the cookies before grinding creates a finer powder. 

• Pour crushed cookies into a mixer, add cream cheese (that is room temperature) and vanilla. Beat together until you do not see any more cream cheese. 
• Roll truffle mix into about 1 inch balls and set on cookie sheet lined with wax paper (my batch made 54 truffles)

• Cool the truffles in a refrigerator or freezer between thirty minutes and an hour
• Melt your chocolate in a double boiler. Pay careful attention that no water gets in the pan, or else your chocolate will crystalize.
• Dip each truffle into the chocolate, covering the entire ball. (I usually use a fork to do this. I roll the ball around in the chocolate, pick it up and shake the excess chocolate off back into the pan).
• Once you have covered every truffle, you can decorate the tops with excess chocolate, white chocolate, sprinkles.... whatever you'd like!
• Let the chocolate harden in the refrigerator, and keep stored in an airtight container in the fridge.

DISNEY BAKING EXTRAVAGANZA: part one.

Here is my latest cupcake- a Toy Story Alien cupcake. I had so much fun making these little guys! It's a dark chocolate fudge cupcake with cream cheese icing.

The inspiration:

The finished product:

My baking assistant!

Be on the look out for more fun Disney characters, coming soon!

Be prepared. For the most glorious cupcakes you will ever see. Being made Saturday.

I have great ideas from magazines I have seen and I can't wait to see how they turn out. I will keep you posted on progress. But in the mean time, "sweet" dreams :)

One hint.
Dreams come true.

Keep tuned!

I want to open a bakery. This bakery will be a collaboration with my handmade shop that I also want to open.

My brilliant cupcake/pastry/handmade shop will be named....
(drum roll please)

PINWHEELSandPASTRIES!

Too bad I actually have to go to college and get into medical school and become a physician (well, actually I am lucky enough to hope this will happen.) But if things don't go my way, this will be my back-up career.

In the meantime, beginning an owl pillow today for my room, as well as a rose pound cake. Post pictures when I am done.

Today's just not been my kind of day.
I don't have anything in particular that has made it terrible, and it really isn't terrible. It's just not the best day.
My best friend left for week #2 of counseling for a summer camp today. It's weird to only see him once a week. And it's weird I will be in Oklahoma before he is home for the summer for good.

I did enjoy a nice day lounging by the pool. My, was it hot. I decided to start rereading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows again, in preparation for the part one of the movie coming out in November. This is probably my fourth time to read it, since it came out July 2007. I cannot wait for the movies! How sad when the series of movies is over. I was sad enough when I finished the books. (And you know I read those books nonstop the night they came out!)

Anyway, it brighten my mood, I decided to make some Oreo Truffles. I haven't made these in quite a while, so I am excited. I love Oreo Truffles. :)

Pictures to come of the truffles later tonight.

Most Fabulous Chocolate Cake.

If you are ever in need of a chocolate cake that will beat all others, here is the recipe. I made this cake two days ago, unaware of how delicious it would turn out, and alas, it has become my go-to recipe for my cake decorating, and eating, desires. I paired it with a whipped cream/cream cheese icing, which was also delicious. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sugar
• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water

Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost.

This is my tree cake I baked. My piping was runny due to the icing I chose to use-- should have used a buttercream recipe. But, I was going more for taste than look on this cake. As Emily says, the tree trunk looks like bacon.