3.31.2011

Apirl Fool's Day ETSY SALE

Happy Day-Before-April-Fool's!!

I am running a one day special in my etsy shop tomorrow - Just for April Fool's Day!

FREE SHIPPING on ALL
Cake Truffle Orders!


They are available in a box of 4 and in a box of 8 ... and without the shipping costs, you honestly can't find a sweeter deal!

{Orders must be submitted and paid for by 11:59pm on 4/1/11}

Whaa Hoo! So, get those orders in tomorrow ... and have a fabulous weekend!


3.30.2011

New ETSY Items

 I have a new line I'm debuting today in my Etsy shop!

Edible Cupcake Toppers

So far I only have these two designs for sell, but more will be added soon!

They are made of gumpaste and are available in your choice of color! They are totally customizable to fit every event's theme! Please visit my shop to see my complete list of products.

3.24.2011

GIVEAWAY #1 - March 2011

Happy Thursday!

I have exciting news!
I received some ADORABLE Cupcake Wrappers yesterday!
And I want to share them with you!

They are baby blue with a rocking horse and "BABY" design that will circle your cupcakes.


Totally cute, right! They would be perfect for a sweet baby boy shower, a welcoming gift to the new parents or even a Rocking Horse themed 1st birthday party!

This giveaway will also include a 2 dozen Sweet Street Gourmet Cupcake Kit. It comes with my preservative free flour mix, two 8oz. containers of my homemade frosting, 24 standard cupcake liners, 2 icing bags, matching edible toppers and complete directions. The winner will be chosen by a random number generator.


How To Enter:

  1.  Leave a comment on this post telling me what's your favorite cupcake flavor.
  2. Receive an extra entry by becoming my newest follower and leaving a comment saying you did so.
  3. A third entry can be obtained by following me on twitter and leaving a comment saying you did so.
  4. A final entry can be added to the pot by visiting my etsy shop and leaving a comment stating your favorite item I have for sale.
The giveaway will end Sunday night {April 3rd} and the winner will be announce Monday the 4th. I will contact the winner through email to discuss details! Looking forward to hearing from you all and Good Luck!




Giveaway Parties:
Blog Giveaway Directory
It's A Blog Party
Cocktails With Mom
My Repurposed Life
Someday Crafts

3.22.2011

Conquering Fears and Pistachio French Macarons

There are a lot of things that scare me ...
like the dark for instance.
Or gory, freak me out so bad I'll have nightmares for a week movies!
.
Those huge, ugly spiders that come out once it's starts getting warm give me the heebie-jeebies, too.
You know what else I have been fearful of?
Making French Macarons!

I know what you're thinking ...
but, I've heard so many stories
about how difficult they are to make,
and {I guess} I didn't want to destroy my kitchen, just to fail.

Well, I conquered that fear last night!

I needed to bake.
I just had to get into the kitchen,
bake my heart out
and relieve some stress!!

So, I brought out the big guns:
And the Paris Pastry.

Between the four of us, I not only made French Macarons, I made delish French Macarons!

- with Pistachio Cream Cheese Filling

{Like I said earlier, I made these last night and the lighting in my kitchen is evidently horrible! So, although I took pictures for a tutorial, not a single one is worth even posting! I guess I'll just have to make them again! oh, darn!}

I do, however, want to share the recipe I used! :)  I took pieces from all 3 lady's recipes, but I followed closest to Martha Stewart's - mainly because I didn't have "aged egg whites." Her recipe can be found in Martha Stewart Living Magazine as well as on her website. I did make a cream cheese filling {rather than the traditional buttercream} by taking your standard vanilla bean cream cheese frosting recipe and adding crushed pistachios to it.


There were a lot of elements to these cookies that I had to pay close attention to, but honestly, they were not even nearly as hard as I thought they were going to be. And, they were yummy! {Even my husband loved them, and he is not a macaron fan!}

A few things I learned:

  1. Do not buy pistachios that are still in their shells!! I had to shell a cup of nuts, one by one!
  2. If you want to tint the cookies, you must add a lot more food coloring than I first thought - I added a good squeeze of lime green dye, but as you can see it didn't take!
  3. Be very careful when piping the batter - I made 12 cookies out of the amount of batter that should have made two dozen. They turned out huge - like whoopie pie big! :)
  4. Cream cheese filling is much better than buttercream!
  5. Homemade macarons are fabulous! And, totally worth destroying the kitchen for!
So, I conquered that fear! I definitely need more practice - the shells were a little thinner than I like ... and I look forward to trying other recipes and flavor combinations. When I find a recipe that works best, I will certainly share! Now, I guess I should work on not squealing like a 5 year old and running away terrified of those huge {really, they're gigantic!} spiders! 


Have a great week!


3.18.2011

Tractor Themed Birthday Party

On March 3rd
my handsome lil' guy
and all of his friends
celebrated his 2nd birthday!


I set up a fun, tractor inspired dessert table
on the grounds of a local farm ...
and I just have to share!

The Birthday Boy's Cake


Confetti Cupcake Jars


Kettle Corn and Cow Patties


Butterscotch Haystacks and Candy


S'mores Rice Crispy Pops and White Chocolate Pretzels



Tractor Wheels 



Our Drink Cooler 


Present Area 
{Custom Wreath and Framed Pictures by Fender Photography on top of wooden palettes.}


Favors
{Included Farm Animal Book, Mini Strawberry Plant in Flower Pot, Animal Crackers, Tractor themed Gummy Snacks and a Tractor Shaped Sucker all in a felt Barn}


And, finally, 
The Invitation


My son had a blast with his friends! Thank you Thompson Farms for making his birthday awesome! And, a big thanks to Fender Photography for capturing it all! 


Girl Scout Knock Off Cookies

What a wonderful time of year...
it's the perfect temperature outside,
the house is filled with gorgeous spring colors
and Girl Scout Cookies are in!

I place the same order every year:
Caramel Delights
Thin Mints
Tagalongs

So, after we ate our last cookie I started thinking about copy cat recipes...
I found a TON of Ritz Cracker Cookies to mimic the Tagalongs.
They swore they tasted just like them...well, they lied! It's good, but it's not a Tagalong.

Then, I was perusing the cookie/cracker isle when it hit me - 
Why couldn't I use Nilla Wafers?

Here's my version of the super yummy Girl Scout Cookies!


You will need:


1 box of Nilla Wafers
1/2 cup Peanut Butter {I used crunchy, but smooth would be great!}
1/4 cup Powder Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
2 tbsp. Honey
16 oz. of your favorite Chocolate

In a bowl, add peanut butter, vanilla and honey - beat with a mixer until combined. Slowly add powder sugar until well incorporated. 


Lay out 48 Nilla Wafers on some parchment paper and smooth an equal amount of the peanut butter mixture on the rounded side of each cookie. 


In a microwave safe bowl, melt chocolate by microwaving it in 30 second increments {be sure to stir after each} until completely melted. Dip each cookie until completely covered in chocolate and place back on the parchment paper. Wait until they've dried and enjoy!


What a super easy, no-bake recipe!! They are a wee bit smaller than the Girl Scout version, but that just means we can eat 2 ... or 3! Because, they're FAB-UUU-LOUS



Parties I Linked To:

3.16.2011

Gourmet Cupcake Kits

Would you like Sweet Street's Gourmet Cupcakes 
piping hot...
straight from your own kitchen?

Well, now you can have it!

Introducing DIY Cupcake Kits:

A dozen Cupcake Kit includes my Gourmet Cupcake Flour, Homemade Frosting, Cupcake Toppings, 12 Standard Cupcake Liners, an Icing Bag and a Complete and Easy to Read Direction Card.

A 2 dozen Cupcake Kit includes my Gourmet Cupcake Flour, 2 Homemade Frostings, 2 Cupcake Toppings, 24 Standard Cupcake Liners, 2 Icing Bags and a Complete and Easy to Read Direction Card.

All you need to add is butter, milk and eggs ... and before you know it, you'll have fresh Sweet Street Cupcakes from your own oven! This would be great for cupcake bar parties, a homemade gift for loved ones or a fun filled Saturday with the kiddos! 

Gourmet Cupcakes, made by you, the easy way! Available at my etsy shop!

3.15.2011

Key Lime Pie Cupcake Jars

So, am I the only one
with SPRING FEVER!?
Or, that feels like this has been
the worst/looongest winter EVER!?

I am dreaming of warm weather!! And, maybe a piece of key lime pie, too!

Hmm...or maybe something better...
like a Key Lime Pie Cupcake!

Speaking of ... I have SUPER EXCITING news:

I sent off my first ETSY order today! 
How cute did these Key Lime Pie Cupcake Jars turn out?


Just HAD to share! :)


The cupcakes were amazing! They shipped great also! :) - K.K., Fort Mill, SC

3.12.2011

NOW OPEN: ESTY SHOP

I have some exciting news...
which is also the reason I haven't updated in awhile!

I love ETSY!
Who doesn't, right!
So, I am super excited to announce
that I have opened my own esty shop!


I have had SO many people contact me about shipping my Gourmet Cupcakes and up until a few weeks ago I just didn't think it was feasible - I mean how would I guarantee they'd make it in one piece?

Well, HELLO!!! 
Mason Jar Cupcakes, of course!
Thank goodness that hit me!


I offer 4 oz. and 8 oz. Cupcake Jars {available in nearly 20 flavors! Plain Jane and Caffeine Buzz is shown above} as well as a Box of 6 or Box of 12 Cupcake Truffles, my version of cake balls ... and each product is shipped Priority 2 Day the same day they're baked to insure my customers get the very freshest treats possible!

So, head on over and check me out!