Back in the Day Bakery and my own yummy cookies

Last month my husband and I were fortunate enough to get away after the triplets went back to college.  Of course we went to Myrtle Beach but we also took a side trip to Savannah, GA, a city I have long wanted to see.  It is charming and beautiful.  While I was there I had to visit a bakery I have read about on various blogs.  So, on the way back to MB the hubby and I stopped in for a visit (and some treats too).

It is so very quaint and decorated in wonderful, drool-worthy vintage decor!

Bad picture but I was trying to show you the beautiful chandelier!



Of course we had to sample the goodies...

We ended up with some yummy cupcakes - "old-fashioned" pictured here and a very yummy chocolate!  I meant to take a picture of the ones in the box but well I ate them before I remembered!  We also sampled their banana pudding which was amazing!  I am certainly glad we stopped by, it was worth it.

Now, for my own recently crafted cookies.  The original recipe is found at Confessions of a Cookbook Queen and is one of my favorite blogs!  These are called Triple Peanut butter Cookies and I followed the recipe exactly except....



I used semi-sweet chocolate chips instead of the peanut butter M & M's.  Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of triple peanut butter but there's just something so alluring about peanut butter and chocolate.  And, I still put in the peanut butter cups!

Just look at these babies!  They are amazing!  Thick, rich, gooey, peanut buttery, chocolately, - what's not to love!  So grab the recipe and get baking!  Oh, and you will need an icey cold glass of milk!

Happy Monday!

Jacalyn

It the Happiest of Pink Saturdays and "Cake Balls"

Welcome to Pink Saturday!  I have a treat for you all this week!  Remember a few posts ago when I told about Bakerella and her fabulous blog?  I absolutely adore her site and threatened to attempt her recipe for cake balls!  Well, I did it!  They were absolutely delicious but not nearly as pretty as I would have like.  But, that just gives me a reason to keep practicing, he, he!   Here's Bakerella's recipe for the cake balls but I will share how I did it too.

The way I figure it, you can pretty much use any combination to create these so I chose what I have on hand:  strawberry cake mix and strawberry frosting.  Of course you can start from scratch too.

 I baked the cake as usual and let it completely cool.  Then I crumbled it up and added the frosting.

Be advised that this is very messy!  I found the easiest thing to do was to just use my hands to mix it all up!  It is a super moist mixture once the frosting is incorporated.  Then roll them into balls, about the size of a quarter.

Put them on a cookie sheet and refrigerate until they are very firm.  I put them in the freezer for a while.  It is really important that they are very cold before you place them in chocolate.

I used baking wafers for the chocolate.  Simply melt them and roll your chilled cake balls, one at a time, until they are completely covered.  Place on wax paper until the chocolate hardens.

There you are!  Very, very simple yet time consuming because of the various steps and wait time.  I do apologize for the icky pictures.  For some reason I just couldn't get good pictures.

What I learned:

~Make sure your cake balls are very cold before covering them in chocolate.
~You can use any flavors you like - imagine the combinations!
~White chocolate would be good too.  You can even color it if you like.
~Use a double boiler to melt the chocolate.  It works much better than the microwave.
~Use only a little bit of melted chocolate at a time as it hardens quickly.
~Practice will make them prettier (I hope!).

I would love to hear what combinations you make up!  As a side note I have to tell you that while I was taking pictures of the process my hubby states "oh is that for your Pink Saturday?"  I actually hadn't planned on it and was just going to post this week.  But, they are pink and so I figured great idea!  How cute is that?  Hubby keeping track of my PS!

Be sure to visit Beverly to see all of the great pinks this week.

Happy PS,
Jacalyn

P.S.  I am attempting the cupcake bites this weekend!  I will update you!

Pink Saturday ~ Pink Desserts!

I guess I have a sweet tooth today because I am "googling" desserts and you wouldn't believe all of the yummy pink desserts I have found! Thus, with Valentine's Day rapidly approaching, I thought you might enjoy some of my findings! Just click on the recipe to find out where I "borrowed" them from and for the recipe!

Do these pretty Pink Almond Cookies look oh so yummy or what?

Cherry Kisses Cookies ~ Hershey Kisses & Maraschino Cherries? I am in heaven!

Hot Pink Raspberry Cake ~ you can make this from scratch or use a cake mix! Looks so very yummy!

Pink Velvet Cupcakes ~ A pretty-in-pink cupcake!

This pie is actually named Pretty in Pink Pie and uses only 4 ingredients: Graham Cracker Pie Crust, Maraschino Cherries, Marshmallows, and Frozen Whipped Topping. How easy and oh so pretty!

I hope this Pink Saturday Post has inspired you to prepare a yummy pink dessert this Valentine's Day! Happy Pink Saturday and please be sure to visit Beverly at http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/ for more Pink Saturday Posts!

OXOXOXOXOX,

Jacalyn