Cupcakes, Cookies & Cake ~ oh my! .................. more March "baking" Madness

If you are following the NCAA Basketball Tournament this month you know that the Elite 8 basketball games started on Monday afternoon. It seemed to me that we needed a small batch of cupcakes to have during the OSU Beaver game especially since my last batch of cupcakes, that I made for Saturday’s game, did not turn out very well.

The hubs prefers vanilla cupcakes so I went with that again although this time I used my trusted recipe. Once the batter was ready I stirred in some black and orange sprinkles just before baking. 

For the frosting I made vanilla buttercream and then decorated them with more black and orange sprinkles and topped them off with Beaver Basketball toppers. 

Our four cupcakes turned great this time around however the game did not end as we had hoped but it was a nail biter right up to the end. Oregon State had a great season and it was so much fun to watch them have so much success. Hopefully next year they can do it again. GO BEAVS!

Well, four cupcakes do not last very long, at least around here, so I baked again on Tuesday. This time the dessert was to take to a friends house. Since there were only five of us I made my pineapple upside~down cake which is so good and easy to make. 

The small cakelettes are so quick to put together that I had time to make a batch of Lemon Meltaway cookies as well. I mixed the cookies up first and refrigerated the dough until the little Bundt cakes were finished baking. Then while they were cooling I cutout and baked the cookies. 

Next, I added a small dab of frosting on the tops followed by a dusting of powdered sugar. 

A dainty little cookie for those that might want a bit lighter dessert. Or, if you’re like me, maybe both because who doesn't like a little cookie to go along with a personal sized pineapple upside down cake?  

Well, that’s a wrap for March 2021, however there is more fun ahead. 

Happy last day of March!

March Madness: "SWEET 16" Bracket Party

Our family organized a last minute bracket party to watch our Oregon State Beavers play in the Sweet 16. There was not much time to prepare so the first thing the hubs and I did was figure out what food to have. Our game was at 11:40am on Saturday so we decided to make some quick and easy snacks and of course I wanted to put out some simple decorations. 

In the wee hours of the morning on game day I decided to make a couple chalkboards since it was the most quiet project I could think of to work on. I made one large chalkboard for the Porch and also a small one for the office since that is where we were going to watch the game. 

Our kids brought their sweet dog and had him dressed for the occasion. He looked so festive in his OSU collar scarf and fit right in with the rest of us all dress in our Beaver gear.  

The morning flew by while we were preparing however I did manage to decorate a little. It is easy with a supply of team plates and napkins.

It was a beautiful, sunny day which put me in the mood for flowers.  Unfortunately, there was no time to run out and get fresh flowers so I went with what I had on hand which were some artificial flowers we used at the bridal shower. They looked fairly close to orange and that was good enough for me but now a vase was needed. That is when I remembered the little black pot I had painted for St. Patricks Day. It was perfect!

Some Basketball Bingo seemed like fun activity during the game so I gathered up the supplies. My stash of small pencils always comes in handy for party games and the recycled yogurt jar made a great pencil holder.

It would have been fun to paint it but did not have time so I rolled up a strip of orange card stock and put it inside the jar. Next I tied on a piece of recycled black ribbon around the top of the jar. It was just the right size for the pencils and matched the tablerunner. 

The menu was also very quick and easy. One of the items on the list were Cheese Balls which I was going to put in my small  black bowl however they appeared to be sold out at the store so we got Cheese Puffs instead. The color was great but I still could not help wishing we had found a package of the ball shape. 

The credenza always makes a good staging area for snacks.

Baby carrots and hummus were one of the more nutritious snacks and also quick and simple to put together.

These Cuties were supposed to be basketballs however it was more difficult than I had imagined to paint steady lines on the rind so I ended up skipping that part since it was taking too much time. They still looked pretty cute in the white fruit basket though, and tasted great. 

Cupcakes were on my original “Sweet 16” Bracket Party menu. Unfortunately, they did not turn out very well. In retrospect, I should not have tried a new recipe with so little time to prepare. Thankfully I only made a small batch because these did not make it to the party table. Instead, I switched gears and took a homemade pound cake I had made the day before, cut it in uniform slices and then used a round cookie cutter to cut out circles.  After I had them cut out I drew lines on them to resemble basketballs. They weren't orange but I thought they looked cute on the orange plate. 

While I was fussing around with the snacks Mr. Wonderful smoked some fabulous chicken party wings. He made three types: buffalo, hot and regular.

They are great game food and always a favorite.

Nachos were also on my list. This quick layered dip was easy to make and fit our basketball theme.

This was a good make ahead snack, which means an hour and a half before tip off. Once everyone arrived I just popped it in the oven to warm it up and melt the cheese. It was ready to go in no time. 

It was a great basketball game and after it was over the chalkboards needed an update because the BEAVS are moving on the Elite 8!

They only required a couple minor changes and they were ready to go. 

No viewing party for the next game as it will be a work day but you can be sure we will all be watching. And who knows, maybe I will end up making a small batch of something special for the game. 

Go BEAVS!

Blueberry Cobbler for Two

Dessert can be a conundrum when cooking for two, especially when one of us is only luke warm about dessert in general. As for me , I could eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner and then have it again for a snack although there does come a time when I lose interest in eating the same thing for too long. It is at that point that I become anxious for something new and this was one of those times.

What we really needed was a new batch of cookies however I could not decide on exactly what type I was in the mood for so instead I made two personal sized blueberry cobblers to get us by while I gave the cookies a little more thought. 

These mini desserts were also a good way to use some of our frozen blueberries. We had a good crop last year and still have blueberries in the freezer that need to be used before our berries are ripe and ready to pick this summer.

However, the best part about these small, personal sized cobblers is they are quick and easy to make with very little mess which makes clean up a breeze. When they come out of the oven you can relax and enjoy each and every, warm and berry delicious, bite.

And that is exactly what we did. We topped them with a dollop {or two} of whipped cream {because, in my book, everything is better with fresh whipped cream} and savored every sweet spoonful. So now it looks like I am back to square one of my cookie dilemma unless, of course, there is another rabbit trail ahead.

Happy Tuesday!

Tied Up in Knots PRETZELS: It's March Madness

Basketball, brackets and BEAVS....Oh MY! 

We have been on the edge of our seats and glued to our brackets this week as we watched Oregon State work their way to the Sweet Sixteen. I have to say, it is an entirely different ball game and stress level when it is your team that you are watching on the court and especially if you ignored the stats and chose them to win {which I might have done...wink, wink}. Our game was scheduled late in the day on Sunday so I decided to do a little baking in the afternoon to pass the time. A small snack before dinner sounded good and I had actually been wanting to try making German Pretzels. I thought they might be a nice change from our go~to game day treats. The hubs liked the idea too so I got started. 

After the dough was made it only needed to rest for 10 - 15 minutes which was just enough time to get the water boiling, the oven preheated and the pan ready. 

The boiling process is very similar to bagels and goes fairly quick if they are all tied in a knot and ready to go. One by one I boiled the bagels and then transferred them to my prepared pan. 

After that I sprinkled the tops with some coarse California Sea Salt and then popped them in the oven to bake.

They were ready in no time.

Of course mustard always goes well with German Pretzels so we each grabbed a pretzel and had a variety of mustard to choose from. My personal favorite is my homemade honey mustard however plain or spicy is good too. 

We were all set for more basketball. 

These pretzels, which I have dubbed Tied Up in Knots Pretzels, were a great snack and I must say the game was even better. 

Oregon State has made it to the Sweet 16 and we could not be more excited, but it is not over. There is plenty more basketball ahead, game food to be made and we will be Tied up in Knots until the 2021 NCAA Basketball Tournament is over and we have a family bracket winner but for now....

Go BEAVS! 

St. Patrick’s Day ~ recap

The last couple days have been holiday decoration transition days. Easter is right around the corner this year and there is no time to waste. St. Patrick’s Day decorations are in the process of being packed away and replaced with the rest of the Easter decor so I thought it would be a good time to share a few more highlights of our St. Patricks Day fun since it has been a busy week and I wasn’t able to get to it earlier. 

While Miss E was here last week we made our favorite frosted sugar cookies. We were limited on time so decided to keep it simple and used a couple round cookie cutters to cut out the cookies and then frosted them with butter cream frosting, tinted green for St. Patricks Day and topped with sprinkles. 

It doesn’t get better than that! We packed up half the cookies for her to take home since she was leaving the following day. Speaking of dessert, I also made some mini Pistachio Mousse Parfaits to have after our St. Patrick’s Day dinner because the cookies were going fast.

It was a small batch since it is just the hubs and me. Six seemed like plenty for the two of us.

A few rainbow sprinkles and a chocolate coin on top made them extra festive. 

It might appear that we had dessert first or maybe only dessert and I must say dessert anytime is fine with me, however, we did have a traditional St. Patrick’s Day dinner to start things off. 

Corned Beef, Cabbage and potatoes is always the menu and because we only have it once a year it is a special treat. 

There was one other small project that was quick and easy. Our hand sanitizer got a fun holiday related update. It took a day or two to figure out what to do but I finally decided to keep it simple and made a band to go around the middle. I cut a little piece of burlap and attached some of the same green ribbon I used on the Leprechaun Hat and then sewed the band together in the back. Once it was slid into place on the jar I attached one of my little DIY labels. Easy peasy. 

That about covers it so I think that’s a wrap for St. Patrick’s Day 2021. 

Happy Friday!