Sweet Treats

I have been baking a lot lately (and cooking a lot more from scratch) and I have have fun coming up with some new cute little treats.  These were all really easy, except for the monkey cookies...more about those in a minute.

I made these cupcakes for Magdalena's fifth birthday party, and they were a hit with all of the kids.  The eyes were pre-made little candies made by Wilton and they made these so easy.  I made it even easier by buying 2 colors of frosting in the spray can, and then a four pack of small icing tubes (not the gel kind).  The cans came with different decorating tips, and I just alternated between them to create some cool textures for the cupcakes.  Then, I placed the eyes and added some simple details like a mouth and eyebrows.  Keep it simple if you're not confident, and it will look great!  I like to make things from scratch when I can, but I'm  learning that really is okay to use shortcuts sometimes, ya know?

I made these monkey sugar cookies for Maggie to bring to her little birthday party at preschool. Her class is called the Mighty Monkeys, so I thought these cookies would be perfect for a birthday on the second day of class.  I'm not going to lie, these cookies took me a long time, about six hours start to finish, but I think it was worth it.  Everyone who saw these cookies loved them!  I used royal icing at a few different thicknesses.  First, I would outline different parts with thicker icing, then flood the area with a much more fluid icing.  There are so many great blogs and tutorials on cookie decorating, you should check them out!  These were actually my first attempt at a more professional looking cookie, and I love how they turned out!

I came up with this super simple recipe one day when I wanted to make something with the kids.  We sliced some apples, rolled them in cinnamon sugar, and then wrapped them in crescent rolls.  We then sprinkled a little bit more of the cinnamon sugar on top and baked them according to the package.  They were yummy and so quick!

This last little treat was created using the leftover sugar cookie dough from the monkey cookies. I rolled it out into a large rectangle that was about a 1/4 of an inch thick.  I then covered it with lots of colored sugar and then rolled it up, so it looked like a cinnamon roll before it is cut.  I then sliced it in 1/4 inch rounds and baked them at 375 degrees for 6-8 minutes.  These cookies were so sparkly and pretty in person, they would be perfect for holiday cookies!

Well, that's what I've been baking lately. Let me know if you try any of these or if you have any questions!