baking

August 2, 2012 47 Comments

Candy Making For Kids book + giveaway

I’m a southern girl {humming Sweet Home Alabama} and so when I met Courtney of Pizzazzerie online I liked her just because… {grin}, but then I met her in person at several blogger events (Martha Stewarts Dreamer Into Doers and BlissDom) and then I knew she would be one of those truly sweet blogging buddies. You know, the ones you call when you really need advice and your husband or non-blogging bestie just can’t understand or help. Yep, Courtney is one of those gals.

And I couldn’t be more proud of her! She’s a creative soul and has just published her second book, Candy Making For Kids! And it’s hitting Amazon and Barnes & Noble at the perfect time to help us all gear up for the holidays!

I know that I can’t wait to get in the kitchen with my boys. Most of you know that my youngest has severe food allergies and buying snacks for him can be almost impossible. Making candy sounds like tons more fun. I love to get messy in the kitchen with them anyway and he of course can’t wait to get started! There are several straight out of the book he can try, like:

Valentine’s Conversation Hearts,
Easter Baskets,
Gummies,
Lollipops, and
Candy Necklaces

And so many more with a slight modification! He and I both are super excited!

Now down to the goodies! I’m giving away a signed copy of Courtney’s Candy Making For Kids plus a child size whisk and rolling pin to one lucky reader!

How to Enter: Leave a comment on this page telling me you’d like to get creative in the kitchen with your kiddos. Yep, it’s that easy!

Deadline: August 8, 2012 at 11:59pm Eastern Time

Extra Entries (leave a comment for EACH extra entry please!):

Like The Celebration Shoppe on facebook (existing and new counts, just let me know!)
Follow Pizzazzerie (@Pizzazzerie) and The Celebration Shoppe (@celebshoppe) on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway. Something like: Enter to win a signed copy of the new Candy Making For Kids book from @Pizzazzerie via @celebshoppe

UPDATE! Our winner has been chosen via Random.Org and the winner is #33, Amy McCoy! Congrats Amy! I hope you enjoy Courtney’s new book and the other goodies!

And if you’re like me and you want a copy right now, hop over to Amazon or Barnes & Noble and get a copy! And the fabulous thing is, you can have that one signed too! Courtney has darling red + white polka dot book plate labels that she will be mailing out to those who request them so you can stick the signed greeting inside your book.

Here’s how you get your book plate! Just e-mail Courtney at courtney@pizzazzerie.com with the subject line BOOK SIGNATURE and show proof of purchase (e.g., screen shot of online order, picture of receipt, etc) along with the address to send the book plate and who to make the greeting out to.

As always, I hope you’re inspired to craft, bake, create and celebrate!

Join The Celebration Shoppe on facebook, sign-up for the daily ideas to come right to your inbox (a box in the right-side navigation bar), follow us on twitter, pinterest and on instagram at @thecelebrationshoppe

Author: Courtney Dial Whitmore; Photography credit: Zac Williams

homemade oreo pudding pops

It looks really yummy doesn’t it?! Well it is! What if I told you it is dairy, nut and egg free? Still think it’s yummy? I promise, it still is!

My little one has severe food allergies and as you can imagine that makes it tough to buy… make… plan dinners, much less sweets. It never fails we go to the grocery and he sees some new cookie or ice cream and wants to give it a try. I get so very tired of telling my sweet baby boy no. For any mom that has experienced this, you know what I mean.

So I’ve started making up my own recipes and altering other people’s recipes to be dairy, nut and raw egg free.

Today I’m sharing a Oreo fudge pudding pop and I made it with my little guy. I know it can be messy, but cooking with kids can also be a ton of fun! If you’ve not done it much, do it more! They learn so much and you will too. {wink}

I edited this recipe from kraftfoods.com. If you don’t have to worry about food allergies, give thier version a try! For those of you like me and need allergy free recipes, here’s what you need:

1 package of JELL-O fudge chocolate instant pudding
2 cups of soy milk (replacing 2%)
10 Oreos, broken into small pieces
1/2 cup French Vanilla Soy Dream Ice Cream (replacing 1/2 cup Cool Whip)

Beat pudding and milk with a whisk for 2 minutes. Add broken Oreos ad 1/2 cup softened soy ice cream.Spoon mixture into 9 (3-oz.) paper or plastic cups. Insert a wooden lollipop stick or plastic spoon into each for handle. Freeze 5 hours or until firm.

When you pull them out of the freezer, just rip the cup off and you’re ready to go! Both of my boys really like them and I do too.

That is something else a mom of kids with food allergies will tell you. It’s not only important that your child loves the treat, it’s important that he or she can share it with their friends and they will love it too! Even though we parents try to encourage our children that being different can be wonderful, it definately doesn’t feel that way to a six year old at a birthday party… nope… not one bit!

So the next time your kiddo wants a treat, or you’re hosting a gathering and one of the little ones has a food allergy, consider making these. You won’t be disappointed and neither will your guests!

As always, I hope you’re inspired to craft, bake and create!

camp cupcakes ~ skunk tails

So last week was my youngest son’s camp birthday party. I have lots of details to share… lots! But since I don’t have time today to get everything edited I thought I would share a shaky {oops!} shot of his cupcakes. {All camp printable party supplies are available in the shoppe: invitation, thank you notes, printable party supplies, camp t-shirts}.

He got really involved this year, helping me decorate, making decisions. One decision he made was the icing for his cupcakes.

Me: “Would you like vanilla or chocolate icing on your cupcakes?”
Cole: “Both.”
Me: “Okay. Six vanilla cupcakes and six chocolate.”
Cole: “No. Half vanilla and half chocolate…” {head cocked sideways like “don’t you get it?”}

So that is exactly what I did and we lovingly called them skunk tail cupcakes. {smirk} All you have to do is spoon equal parts vanilla and chocolate icing into a resealable freezer bag, snip the end off the bag, apply even pressure to both sides and pipe. Super easy!

More to come on his party. And as always, I hope you’re inspired to craft, bake and create!

cooking with kids: lemon blueberry pie

Yesterday was our annual 4th of July picnic and we served one of my all time favorite pies: lemon on a graham cracker crust. My grandmother made it for me at every birthday when I was a child AND every other time I could talk her into it. Her recipe was a bit complex, but perfect.

But today I’m sharing with you my simple version AND I’m throwing in a few blueberries since yesterday was a patriotic holiday. It was absolutely delicious.

And this is the perfect recipe to get the kids involved with. I love nothing better than getting messy in the kitchen with my boys!

Did I mention this is the easiest recipe ever?! Oh… and that it’s low fat?! Here’s what you need:

1 can sweetened condensed milk, fat free
1 thawed container of Cool Whip, low fat
1/2 cup lemon juice, real
1 graham cracker crust
1 cup blueberries

Simply mix the milk, Cool Whip and lemon juice together. Poor into crust. Chill for at least 2 hours. Sprinkle with blueberries and serve.

As always, I hope you’re inspired to craft, bake and create! Happy Thursday everyone!

dairy free Oreo pudding sundae

Last week I posted about my son’s food allergies and about this pudding sundae idea I saw in Kraft Foods most recent issue of Food & Family. Well that one was a chocolate chunk & marshmallow sundae.

Today, I’m sharing the same idea, but as an Oreo sundae. Did you guys know that Oreos have no dairy, no egg, and no nut?! They are the number one cookie in my house just for that reason!

So here’s how you make these dairy free sundaes:

2 pkgs Jell-O Oreo Instant Pudding
2 1/2 cups cold soy milk (less than what the packaging recommends because you want the pudding to be a thicker consistency)
10 -12 Oreos (not crushed, but broken into small chunks)
cones

Whisk your pudding and milk until smooth, add the additional Oreos and then freeze for 4 hours and serve. (Tip: Freeze the pudding in a ZipLock Freezer Bag for easy cleanup.)

Not only is this treat yummy, but it doesn’t melt as quickly as traditional ice cream so you could actually scoop an entire tray of them for your guests all at once and not worry that the first few will be messy before you serve!

I hope your loved ones with food allergies like these little treats! My youngest loved them and as you can see here, his big brother, who can have ice cream all day long, loved them too!

And as always, I hope you’re inspired to craft, bake and create!

national donut day recipes

Today, June 1, is national donut day! And I’ve collected a few fabulous recipes to inspire you! First off, Pumpkin Donuts from Buns In My Oven. I just want to jump into this picture! And, Burnt Caramel Glaze and Sea Salt Donuts from White On Rice Couple. What ooey gooey goodness!

Next, another genius idea from Buns In My Oven, Nutella Filled Sugar Donuts. Oh my!

And what about these Chocolate glazed donuts from Everyday Occasions?!

These I just couldn’t resist sharing with that frosting! Meet Mexican Hot Chocolate Donuts with Toasted Marshmallow Frosting from Bakingdom. YUM!

And if you just don’t have the time to bake, have fun with the display. These are Inner Tube Donuts from my Splash Bash Summer Party last summer!

Hop over to the wonderful blogs for the yummy recipes. And as always, I hope you’re inspired to craft, bake and create!

chocolate & marshmallow sundae

My readers know that my youngest has severe food allergies: nut, dairy and egg (unless baked into recipes). He’s such a sweet little boy and rarely complains, but I can’t stand for him to feel left out so I’m always looking for ways to adapt recipes so that he can enjoy them too.

My latest is this fabulous Chocolate Chunk & Marshmallow Sundae recipe in Kraft Foods most recent issue of Food & Family.

We’ve only found one soy ice cream that he really likes and a small pint costs $6 so when I saw this pudding based sundae idea I was ecstatic to give it a try! You can hop over to Kraft to see the original recipe and the how to details, but here’s my twist to make it dairy free:

2 pkgs Jell-O Chocolate Instant Pudding
2 1/2 cups cold soy milk
1 cup Jet-Puffed Miniature Marshmallows
1/2 cup dairy free chocolate chips (I used Divvies)
Waffle cone cups

Whisk your pudding and milk until smooth, add the marshmallows and chocolate and then freeze for 4 hours. Serve in waffle cone cups.

It was a huge hit for a little boy that typically only gets vanilla ice cream.

As always, I hope you’re inspired to craft, bake and create!

rainbow ice cream sandwiches

Summer is almost here and honestly I’m giddy for the last day of school. Having my boys home with me all summer is such a blessing. We have tons of day camps, classes and other activities planned and I’m not sure who’s more excited, them or me!

So in honor of the upcoming summer vacation, I made mini ice cream sandwiches the no-bake way. Pick up some Keebler Chips Deluxe Rainbow Chocolate Chip minis, pack them full of French Vanilla ice cream and refreeze on wax paper until you’re ready to serve. They’re just the right size and delish!

As always, I hope you’re inspired to craft, bake and create!

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bumble bee wafer cookies

This is a super simple idea, which I love! But not only is it easy, it’s also yummy and pretty. This simple cookie hits all three musts when entertaining!

I made these for a buzzing bee baby shower idea (see my full collection here) I whipped up for Kellogg’s Snackpicks.com. Hop over and visit them for my Dark Chocolate & Coconut Banana Pudding Bites. Now they are something to buzz about!

You’ll just need some Keebler Vanilla Wafers and yellow melting chocolates (found at your local craft or baking supply store in all colors). I also topped a few with candy bumble bees. If you can’t find these, you’ll find other edible sugar creations in the same area as the melting chocolates.

Just melt the chocolate in eight second intervals in a microwave safe bowl, dip and allow to dry on wax paper. If you have candied decorations attach them before the chocolate sets. These cookies are that simple!

As always, I hope you’re inspired to craft, bake and create!

Join me on facebook, sign-up for my daily feedburner e-mail (box in the right navigation), follow me on twitter and pinterest.

Candy Making For Kids book + giveaway

you may also like:

homemade oreo pudding pops

you may also like:

camp cupcakes ~ skunk tails

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cooking with kids: lemon blueberry pie

you may also like:

dairy free Oreo pudding sundae

you may also like:

national donut day recipes

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chocolate & marshmallow sundae

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rainbow ice cream sandwiches

you may also like:

bumble bee wafer cookies

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