Sweet Life





I have been busy, busy, busy baking and creating in the kitchen the past couple of days.  My kitchen is a disaster right now and my dining room is covered with cookie sheets and cooling racks filled with lots of cookies and candies, but I'm having fun!  The Teacher Appreciation Committee is setting up a Dessert Bar for the teachers at my son's elementary school for Valentine's Day. We're going to have to-go boxes so they can fill up on the goodies and take them home to their families for the weekend!   There are about a dozen other moms baking delicious treats to as well.  I think the teachers are going to love it!

I drizzle a powdered sugar glaze on my sugar cookies and just let the icing drip off onto a cookie sheet.  So easy!



These are usually a Christmas treat that we do every year, but they are so easy and quick that I decided to add the Valentine m&m's and call it good!



Remember those yummy candy dots from when we were kids?  Well, I found this idea on another blog and couldn't wait to try it.  The first batch that I made was pink and then I tried the red.  The recipe is below if you'd like to try!  They'd be perfect for a child's birthday party!

 Ingredients


3 cups confectioners' sugar
2 egg whites
White Paper (I used computer paper)
Food coloring

Directions

1. Cut white paper into twenty four 2-by-11-inch strips. Using a mixer, beat the confectioners’ sugar and egg white until thick and smooth, about 5 minutes. Divide the icing into small bowls. Stir the food coloring into your bowls, covering any colors you aren't using first with plastic wrap.

2. Lay the paper strips side by side on a work surface. Pipe out the icing onto the paper strips in dots, about 1/3 inch apart in even rows. (If you don't have a decorators bag and tip, just use a plastic baggie and cut off a small part of the corner.)

3. Let the dots sit at room temperature until hardened, 12 hours or overnight.

Then I made caramels...



And I melted chocolate and dipped them...



I was totally bummed when I realized that I used the wrong chocolate after I was done dipping all of them.  I usually like to use a Ghiradelli milk chocolate, but this time I forgot and used semi-sweet.  I think it makes the caramels a little too sweet, but hey, that didn't stop me from eating a few of them!  :)





Had to include a photo of Luke's creation.  He wanted to know what he could dip with the little bit of chocolate left in the bottom of the bowl and this is what he came up with... chocolate covered marshmallows!