Sunday, September 20, 2009

You Take the Cupcake!

My daughter Annie's birthday party (a bit belated!) was on Friday night. She really wanted to decorate cupcakes with her friends, which they did--and they had a ball! My Mom had given me the gift of the beautiful silver cupcake rack, which we displayed them on, and they looked so beautiful, I had to take a few pictures:






Since I stayed up late with the girls (out of their way, of course!) I felt inspired to "cook up" a different kind of cupcake! I love the yummy vintageness of these Pink Persimmon stamps--they recently released a few with a cupcake-y theme, and they're just wonderful! Here's what I came up with:



The stamp sets I used are (all Pink Persimmon): Vintage Cupcake, Vintage Greetings, and Sweet Greetings. I used my new favorite Papertrey cardstock--white, Aqua Mist and Sweet Blush. Also used a cute polkadot print from Me & My Big Ideas, the Baby Girl stack. Used Brilliance Graphite Black and Rangers' Vintage Photo for my inks, and just embellised with lots of ribbon, pompom trim & rickrack. I glittered up the frosting and the cherry with Inkssentials' Glossy Accents and Dazzling Diamonds. Glittered-up the sides with my favorite silver glitter and a glue pen. I have some adorable glass bead flowers & leaves, which I used for decorating the cupcake, with a little crystal rhinestone in the center of the flower. That's about it! Kept me happy while staying up all night with some crazy girls!

Now to change the subject completely....!

My oldest daughter, Chelsea, is away at college right now--I miss her terribly! But, I know she's in a great place and very happy with her friends and working hard--so I wouldn't want it any other way. She looked at my blog the other day and commented that she felt like the missing child! Well, I couldn't let that happen, so here's a picture I took of Chelsea the last time I saw her before I left for home. You can see how happy she is with these other beautiful girls--a wonderful group--we're just missing one here, who I met later, but this is almost the entire group. My daughter is on the far right.


The other day, we decided to bake her favorite cookies for her & sent them off Tuesday morning. They arrived on Friday, and she called me to say how excited she was, etc. I hadn't been very good about sending her care packages last year, so I'm vowing to be better this year!

These cookies are just about our favorites ever, so I thought I'd share the recipe with all of you. It's supposed to be a variation of a Mrs. Fields' recipe, but who knows! I've changed it up a bit from the original recipe I received over 20 years ago, and here's how we make it:


1 lb. butter--NO margarine! And yes, one pound!!!
2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
2 Tbsp. vanilla
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
6 cups flour
1 pkg. chocolate chips
1 pkg. butterscotch chips
1 pkg. white chocolate chips
A few handfuls of oatmeal--just shake a bunch in!

My family isn't big on nuts, but they'd be wonderful, too.

Cream the butter and sugar. Then, just add the rest, flour last. I usually end up having to mix it up with my hands because there's so much flour. Make good-sized balls--can put more than a dozen on a cookie sheet because these really don't spread--they end up nice, fat balls of goodness!

Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. I always go with 8 minutes, and they're absolutely perfect! They stay soft on the inside for as long as they last--which won't be long!

Here's a picture of them--we only had 4 left when I took this, but here they are:




I did a big variation once, and they were delicious! Had a bunch of bananas WAY past their prime, and was about to toss them, when this idea popped into my mind, so I gave it a go, and it was so worth it! Here's what I changed:

5 small very ripe bananas
only 1/2 lb. butter
lots of oatmeal
1 large pkg. vanilla pudding--I used the non-instant kind
I just added a big bag of chocolate chips to this one--

Enjoy!

7 comments:

  1. What a great posting my friend!!! The "youngins" cupcakes look fantastic and I love that you were being creative while staying up with the youngins! You college girl looks very happy and I'm sure she was thrilled with the surprise cookies ... boy do they look/sound good. Too bad there's only Mark & I here to eat THEM ALL or I'd whip up a batch!! Way to go MOM!!!

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  2. Um yes, I need that cupcake card.....or one like it? Love love love it! By the way.. My sister makes the most amazing delectable treats. Anything she posts I promise if you try it, you will love it!

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  3. What a yummy post, Julie! I love all of the great texture on your sweet cupcake card. I definitely need to make those cookies; they would be the perfect snack for my dd's Brownie troop.

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  4. Hi Julie! THanks so much for visiting my blog and leaving such a nice comment. Your daughter's cupcakes look delicious! I wish I could eat one right now! And your cupcake card is so 'sweet'. Love it!

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  5. I looked at your blog because I love your sister and she posted your blog in her blog..and here I am! Wow you are talented! Cupcakes, cards, etc. etc........the cookies look wonderful, can't wait to try the recipe. Just wanted to let you know I really like your blog and your cards. I can see why Becky says she frames them!

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  6. Oh... I'm so glad to have you comment , so I could find your blog. And what a beautiful blog it is!! So fun to see all your creations with Crafty Secrets goodies! I will be back often!

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