happy birthday sesame street!

I'm proud to say my just-turned-2-year-old already knows lots of her letters and numbers. Thank you, Sesame Street, for this was not my teaching, twas yours. I grew up on Sesame Street, and it's child programming that lacks the cloying insipidness (is that a word?) of so many other kid's shows that I can happily watch along with my daughter.

Sesame Street turns 40 on November 10. Here is a super-easy marshmallow toast to Sesame Street (no actual toast, just marshmallows) in the form of Elmo, Oscar the Grouch and Cookie Monster. Forgive the lack of step-by-step photos and all around lack o' imagery. I'm working on a borrowed computer :( as mine's still sick. But these are so easy to make, hopefully all will be self-explanatory.

to make elmo, oscar and cookie monster marshmallows

you will need:*
marshmallows
skewers and/or lollipop sticks
clean small paintbrush
tray or small bowl
food colors (I use Americolor soft gel pastes, Electric Green, Red and Sky Blue)
white rolled fondant
black and brown gourmet writers
wax paper
rolling pin
1/2" circle fondant or cookie cutter

*Find most of the above in any major craft store. Americolor products are harder to find (see their site), but you can substitute with craft store colors. Same with the gourmet writer.

step one: paint your marshmallow
Skewer a marshmallow to make it easier to paint. Add one drop of coloring to a clean paint tray or small bowl. Add a couple drops of water (by dipping your paint brush in water) and stir. Paint marshmallow red (for elmo), green (for oscar) and blue (for cookie). Let dry about an hour.

step two: make your eyes
Roll a small amount of white fondant about 1/8 inch thick between 2 pieces of wax paper (if fondant gets sticky, let sit at room temperature uncovered about 15 minutes). Cut out two circles for each marshmallow. Let set about 1 hour. When stiffened a bit, draw dots on white for eyes with the black marker. Oscar also gets brown eyebrows at the top.

step three: assemble your characters
Dab a drop of water on the back of each fondant circle with your finger and adhere to the top of each marshmallow in the front (the eye tops can extend past the top of the marshmallow). If the eyes don't stick, you can also dab a drop of light corn syrup on the back. Draw mouths with the gourmet writer.

my dear, poor, sad computer...

...has up and died on me. And the photo here is a likeness of me only in the devastation. I can't load a real photo of me, or a drawing, or a cookie version, because I don't have my computer. Or my scanner, or my photo programs, or anything I need to share sweets with you.

This is a lesson in appreciation. The appreciation I rarely felt simply pressing the "on" button and having the world at my fingertips. It's the same lesson I learn every time the electricity goes out and the light switch does nothing. Of course, these lessons are forgotten quickly after the electricity resumes and my computer is fixed or replaced.

So I ask all to bear with poor, sad me until my computer woes are solved. Hopefully in a matter of days!

marshmallow skellies

In honor of the honor bestowed upon the decorated cookie today, here are some last minute Halloween marshmallows to add to my ghost and mummy repertoire: skeletons.

What honor you may ask? Why, Amy Atlas posted on my ghost and mummy marshmallows HERE. And if any of you reading this love to bake and/or love sweets of any kind and/or have ever tasted sugar and have somehow not have heard of Amy Atlas, I pray you leave my blog immediately and visit her site and her blog. See? Pretty amazing.

All you need:
marshmallows
black gourmet writer
skewers and/or lollipop sticks

Let marshmallows sit at room temperature for a couple hours to stiffen a bit, skewer and draw faces.

who would steal a snowman?

Sigh. I realize putting images and ideas out there for the world to see is risky, for anyone with internet access can steal said images and ideas. And I realize trusting the greater good in others is risky. But as unfathomably huge the internet is (fodder for a Kantian sublime experience), it's also oddly small.

I went HERE to "The Balancing Act Ultimate Holiday Cookie Decorating contest" to get information to submit a cookie, when what do I see under "Your Competition" but my melting snowman, the same melting snowman I posted about on this very blog nearly one year ago. As in, the actual photo of my snowman, not even their own version! (On a side note, for how-tos to make the melting snowman CLICK HERE.)

The company running said contest claims another person submitted my snowman as their own and they have corrected the submission. Then my own googling called into question the veracity of this company itself, so I don't know what the bageebees is going on.

I made Mr. Melting Snowman on a whim one day, based on a passing idea, and I was surprised at his popularity. He got thousands of clicks on flickr and a front page feature, so he clearly struck a chord.

So please, wide world, please, I understand images and ideas posted so freely may be borrowed or used for inspiration (why, I've seen versions of Mr. Melting Snowman everywhere since), but please please don't take my image and idea straight from my blog and call it your own, especially for a contest with a cash reward, no matter if the contest is legit or not!

Guess it's time to start watermarking.

the emotional life of candy corn

love



jealousy



fear



embarrassment



shock (or guilt?)



hilarity


pain



confusion

(create your own candy corn emotions with a bag o' candy corn and a black gourmet writer)

finally... a bit o' recognition from Martha

Despite being horribly un-photogenic and terrified of being on TV, it is a dream of mine to be on Martha, and I get pangs of angst and jealousy when I see anything cookie related on her show (surely, that should be me showing Martha that). Well, I feel a wee bit closer to achieving said dream, and I must brag, for I was selected as one of the winners of the Cutest Cupcake Contest 2009! Yay!

My pig-head-on-a-stick-cupcakes won this:


I can't wait to bake something from the book. See all the entries HERE.

how to make piggy cupcakes

you will need:
piggy cookies on a stick
cupcakes
frosting
shredded coconut
green food coloring

step one: make your piggy cookies on a stick
View my post HERE to make piggy cookies on a stick, making sure to use small lollipop sticks (about 4 inches).

step two: make and frost cupcakes
Place shredded coconut in a sealable baggie and add a few drops of green food coloring. Shake the sealed back well to tint the coconut. Top cupcakes with frosting that has been tinted green. Immediately press the green coconut on top of the icing.

step three: assemble your cupcakes
Simply insert the lollipop stick into the cupcake.

spooky raisin spiders giveaway

One of the yummy things about my blog job over at craft gossip is getting yummy things in the mail, like a box full o' goodies from California Raisins. They sent me a box with everything I need to make these creepy spiders (made from healthy stuff like almond butter, raisins, cereal and honey). You can find the recipe HERE. Enter my giveaway to have all the ingredients delivered to your door.

GIVEAWAY: If you'd like to enter for a chance to win your own box full o' goodies, CLICK HERE and leave a comment on my post over at craft gossip before midnight Thursday. (To enter the drawing you must leave a comment on the craft gossip post HERE rather than this post. Not that I don't appreciate any and all comments everywhere, tee hee.)