kids art cookies

several weeks ago c really wanted to make some cookies. instead of our usual chocolate chip cookies, we decided to do something different. he said he'd love to decorate some cookies. and me being me (i can't handle or have too much patience for sugar cookie cutouts and decorating), i opted for a much simpler approach to a decorated cookie with martha stewart's art cookie recipe.

these cookies turned out fabulous. they were quite the little edible art masterpieces. i say c did a very good job painting on the food coloring. the recipe said to use a straw and blow the paint around the cookie canvas, but that wasn't very successful with us. we did half blowing and half painting before baking our little cookie pieces. the overall results were great; abstract art pieces.

below's the recipe should you want to make some (with your little ones or grownups even). it's still summer so make some before school starts. hey, it could even be a neat little back-to-school treat for the teachers. :)


these cookies are quite the cookie art masterpieces and they taste delicious. so good and buttery.

kids art cookies
recipe from martha stewart

ingredients:

• 4 cups sifted all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• assorted liquid food coloring, for decorating

directions:

1. line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. in large bowl, sift together flour, salt, and baking powder; set aside.
2. in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. beat in eggs.
3. add reserved flour mixture; mix on low speed until well combined. stir in vanilla. wrap in plastic; refrigerate for 45 minutes.
4. preheat oven to 325°f. on a floured work surface, roll dough 1/4 inch thick. transfer rolled dough to a prepared baking sheet; chill until firm, about 15 minutes. cut dough into large rectangles. place the cut cookies 2 inches apart on both of the prepared baking sheets. to decorate, place a few drops of food coloring on a cookie. using a straw, gently blow food coloring over cookie. place baking sheet of decorated cookies in refrigerator; chill until dough is firm, about 15 minutes.

makes 12 to 16 cookies.

cook's note: since this cookie is so buttery, keep the dough well chilled so it's easier to work with.

mixed fruit popsicles

yes, it's already june and that means the kiddies are out of school. c just finished his first year of school (kindergarten) and is moving on to first grade in the fall. he looked so sweet and proud on that last day of school last week. ahhhh… i can't believe my little baby is growing up!

okay, with school out and the weather heating up, a sweet and cool treat is definitely the perfect thing to have on a hot day. no kid can say no to a nice cold popsicle. c loves popsicles and had been asking me to make some with him for the past month or two. so one day sometime a couple of weeks ago we finally got around to making it. it was delayed so long because we didn't have any popsicle molds in the house; and yes, i didn't even have itty bitty dixie cups as a substitute for the molds. but yes, we finally got around to making it.

below are our incredible thirst-quenching cool treats. these fruity popsicles are the best thing ever for the upcoming and already hot (summer) days. c loved it and was so proud of himself (for helping me make them -- he put the fruit pieces and poured the juices in the molds) when the popsicles were finally ready to eat. i know we'll be making this again. but of course, i'd love to try a few other recipes. i'm thinking a creamy coconut would be awesome. nothing beats creamy coconut anything. i personally love coconut, so of course… it should be delicious. well, if i do make those, i'll try and see if i can snap a few photos to share on here!

below's the recipe. it's super easy to make and you can use whatever fruits you have available. the fruits we used we happened to have on hand. this makes for such a fun mini food project with the little kiddies, especially now that school's out. enjoy and stay cool. :)


these mixed fruit popsicles are the perfect things to make (with the little ones or without) for this hot summer weather.


we can't wait to make more fruity popsicles. these were so easy to make. :)

mixed fruit popsicles
recipe adapted from martha stewart

ingredients:

• 1 peach (or nectarine work too), cut into tiny chunks (or you can cut into 1/2-inch slices too if you like)
• 1 apple, cut into tiny chunks
• 1/2 cup blueberries
• 1/2 cup cherries, pitted
• 2 pouches of caprisun fruit punch (i'm sure you can use 1-1/2 to 2 cups of any fruit juice you like)

directions:

1. arrange some of each fruit in eight 3-ounce ice-pop molds, making sure pieces fit very snugly.
2. pour enough juice into each mold to just cover fruit.
3. insert ice-pop sticks and freeze until solid, 6 hours (or up to 2 weeks).

that's it! pretty simple eh? makes 8 delicious, cool and yummy popsicle treats perfect for any hot weather. enjoy! :)

dessert table for a first birthday party

i just wanted to share a photo i took with instagram. i really think my first attempt at a dessert table this past weekend turned out beautifully. you can't really go wrong with mini cupcakes and macarons; oh, and of course, the full birthday cake. everything was lovely and cute as can be for a little girl having her first ever birthday (party).

so how was the party and goodies? a big successful! ;)

for the (similar) recipes shown in the pictures above, you can access them here:

- eggless vanilla (and chocolate) mini cupcakes
- coconut and raspberry macarons (coconut macaron recipe to come – no recipe posted yet. but you can get other macarons recipes here)
- martha stewart one-bowl chocolate cupcakes

enjoy!

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UPDATE: a few more photos from the party ;)


not only are these mini vanilla and chocolate cupcakes so cute and adorable, they're egg-free and perfect for any no-egg diet!


i had been meaning to make these coconut macarons and i think they turned out great! so yummy, and the raspberry ones are just as good.


so here's a (similar to my instagram) photo of the dessert table (this one was taken with my canon). i love how cute this dessert table turned out!

vanilla biscotti teething biscuits for the little one

so my last teething biscuits for v didn't turn out the way i thought it would. like i mentioned in that blog post, the texture of the biscuit itself was unexpected and not in the (good) way i had hope. i expected it to be more of a crumbly cookie-like texture, but instead it was very doughy. i decided i try a different recipe and see how those turn out.

well, let me tell you, these vanilla biscottis turned out great! they are exactly like the regular kind the big kids can eat, firm but crumbly when gnawed, except that they're not as sweet. of course if you'd like to add more sugar in your version, go ahead. i'm sure you can even substitute whole wheat pastry flour for the all purpose flour if you want. i didn't substitute the flour because i didn't have any whole wheat handy or added a whole lot of sugar because i figure this is for my little one, a little hint of sweetness will do just fine. plus, the small amount of butter is giving this cookie that yummy buttery taste. i hope my little one will enjoy them as much as i'd enjoy making them for her.

below's the recipe should you be interested.


these homemade cookies are great for the little ones and so easy to make


a side view of these goodies


this recipe sure makes plenty! i know v will be so happy to see something else different for a change ;)

teething vanilla biscotti
recipe adapted from here

ingredients:
1/4 cup sugar
1-1/2 tbsp butter
1 egg
1/2 tsp baking powder
a pinch salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup flour, 1/4 cup extra if needed

directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Cream the sugar with the butter and beat in the egg. Add the vanilla extract, 1 cup of the flour, baking powder and salt and mix the dough well. It should be fairly sticky, but you should be able to gently mould it with your hands. If it's too sticky, add the extra 1/4 cup of flour. Form the dough into a long "log" shape (around 8-10 inches long) and bake for 20 minutes on a greased baking sheet/cookie sheet.

Allow to cool, then carefully cut into 1/2 in slices with a sharp knife. You should get around 16-24 slices. Place each slice, cut side down, on a baking/cookie sheet, then bake for another 15-20 mins, turning the Biscotti over half way through the cooking time. If they still feel soft, lower the heat and cook for an extra 5 to 10 minutes.

Remove from the oven and cool completely - they get harder as they cool. Store in airtight container. Should keep for 2-3 days.

mr. men illustration posters

i guess you can say this is my first official "design" blog entry. okay, sure... there's not much design here, more illustration than design, but it works?!

we love the mr. men/little miss book collections from roger hargreaves. the poster illustrations above are just some of our favorites. c loves all the books and often times tell us which mr. men he is depending on how he's feeling. for examples, there are days when he's mr. bump or he's usually mr. grumpy when he wakes up from his nap. sometimes, he says he's mr. (little miss) contrary because he can't seem to get things straight/proper.

these books are great! if you don't have any in your household or haven't heard of them, you should definitely get a few to start. so, which little miss am i? i am for sure, no doubt, little miss chatterbox. i know it doesn't come through on here, but ask anyone in my family/circle and they'll agree. ;)

teething baby biscuits for the little one

i finally got around to making these teething baby biscuits for our little one. i have no idea what homemade teething biscuits are like, so i don't really know what to say about these. i guess i've always kind of imagined them sort of like a shortbread cookie, but these are nothing like that. they're a bit doughy. but that could be because of the ingredients used. it is a very simple recipe. please feel free to chime in if you know what they're supposed to taste like because i really have no idea.

below's the recipe should you like to try them for your little one(s). overall, i think this is a good starter recipe. you can adjust the ingredients to your liking. i personally like it because it's very simple and uses no added sugar. you can substitute regular flour for whole wheat or rice flour (gluten-free friendly). actually, you can even use barley or oat flour. your pick. ;)

Banana Teething Biscuits
recipe from here

- 1 cup whole wheat, all-purpose, rice, barley or oat flour
- 1 cup dry infant rice or oat cereal
- 1 very ripe banana, mashed until smooth
- 2 Tbsp. canola or olive oil

Preheat oven to 375°F. 
In a medium bowl, stir together the flour and cereal. In a small bowl, stir together the banana, oil and about 2 Tbsp. water; add to the dry ingredients and stir until you have a soft dough, adding a bit more water or flour as needed until the dough comes together and is not too sticky. (It will depend largely on the size of the banana, and how juicy it is.)

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out about 1/4-inch thick and cut into smooth shapes. i had a heart-shaped play dough cutter on hand so i used that. you can of course do circles or sticks (without pointy edges – squish them a bit with your fingers). Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 10-15 minutes, or until golden. Cool completely and store extras in an airtight container.

Note: Instead of the infant cereal, these can also be made with oats, ground in the food processor to a coarse flour.