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Yummy Fun Valentine Cookie Recipes

February 3, 2012 Leave a Comment

I can’t believe it’s actually February.  It feels like I turned around once, and January was gone in a FLASH!  Thankfully, we still have a little time left to prepare for Valentine’s Day.  You can read our post with Valentine Party Bites here and our MORE Party Bites post HERE….

And today’s post will be devoted to Valentine cookie recipes and tutorials!

I think I may have shared this recipe/tutorial before, but they are just so pretty, and I think perfect for unique (non-heart) Valentine cookies.  From Sprinkle Bakes, colorful spiral cookies:

From Glorious Treats, check out this wonderful recipe and how-to… gorgeous Valentine heart cookies, without a lot of effort (or talent) required! And here’s a video on How To Flood Cookies, that’s the white part below.  I never realized how easy it is to do!

Here is something TRULY unique… AND fat-free and calorie free!!  OK, it’s not an ACTUAL cookie, but I just loved these, and couldn’t help sharing.  Valentine Fortune Cookies, made from scrapbook paper!  Included with the tutorial is a FREE download with circles and fortune cookie print-outs… or you can create your own with her helpful instructions!

You’ve heard of the Pioneer Woman, right?  (Just say yes, even if you haven’t). She has a super-fun chocolate cookie recipe to create Valentine’s Day Cookies (you can buy stencils very inexpensively at craft stores):

And finally… these days, it just wouldn’t be right to do a cookie post without including at least ONE Valentine cookie POP recipe!  So, from Pillsbury, here you go! (Cookies On A Stick are all the rage!)

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Homemade Dark Chocolate Pudding – Another Version!

January 30, 2012 Leave a Comment

Homemade Chocolate Pudding Recipe

Early in my marriage I discovered that my husband loves dark chocolate.  And dark chocolate pudding goes straight to the top of the list!  In an earlier post I shared this Homemade Chocolate Pudding Recipe.  It was my favorite version before I found the one featured today.  I really can’t say one is better than the other – just different because of the ingredients.  My original does not include eggs while today’s does.  That makes the texture a bit creamier.

Today’s pudding recipe comes from Cook’s Illustrated magazine although I’ve modified it a bit.  Also – I used Hershey’s Dark Chocolate Cocoa but it certainly isn’t necessary.

 

Homemade Dark Chocolate Pudding

  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp espresso powder
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 Tbsp. cocoa
  • 2 Tbsp. cornstarch
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 3 large egg yolks
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 2 1/2 cups whole milk (actually – I use low-fat or no-fat all the time)
  • 5 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into 5 pieces
  • 5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Stir together vanilla and espresso powder in bowl small bowl or cup; set aside.  Whisk sugar, cocoa, cornstarch and salt together in large saucepan.  Whisk in yolks and cream until fully incorporated, making sure to scrape corners of saucepan.  Whisk in milk until incorporated.

Place saucepan over medium heat; cook, whisking constantly, until mixture is thickened and bubbling over entire surface, 5 to 8 minutes.  Cook 30 seconds longer, remove from heat, add butter and chocolate, and whisk until melted and fully incorporated.  Whisk in vanilla mixture.

Pour pudding into bowl; press lightly greased parchment paper against surface of pudding and place in refrigerator to cool, at least 4 hours.  Serve!

 

Turn to Diva Entertains for fun and fabulous party favors!

 

 

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Peacock Wedding Theme

January 26, 2012 1 Comment

One of the hottest trends in wedding themes right now is the Peacock theme…from garters to bouquets… from place settings to wedding gowns… all with rich blues, purples, greens.  If you are looking to add a dazzling display of color to your wedding…consider the peacock!  And you know I have inspiration for you!

From Brides.com, a gorgeous purples and pink peacock bridal bouquet.

Adorning the back of each chair at your reception with flowers, peacock feathers, and greenery – FAB!

For your peacock wedding cake, there are a LOT of variations to choose from.  As we’ve mentioned in previous posts, if you just love a design, you can print the photo and take it to your bakery to recreate!  From Project Wedding, an incredible peacock cake:


From CakesWeBake.com, another version, with fondant feathers and a rice crispy peacock (rice crispy treats are very easy to shape into forms:):

From Decorate the Cake, a full-blown tutorial in making this WHITE peacock cake.  Isn’t it fabulous?:

What about accessories? Click on over to The Garter Girl to see several lovely peacock garter designs:

From CyberOptix, an array of colorful peacock tie options for the groom and his groomsmen (I’m thinking rehearsal dinner!):

And finally, from our own DivaEntertains.com shop, we have an entire page of peacock favors and even “Save the Date” peacock magnets:

Filed Under: Cakes, Decor, Desserts, Events, Flower Arrangement, Recipes, Weddings Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Wednesday WOW – Gold Glamorous Wedding Cakes

January 25, 2012 Leave a Comment

Nothing says “glam” more than GOLD… and today I have some fabulous Gold Glam wedding cake inspiration for you!  If you find one you love, print it out and take it to your baker to recreate!

From Brides.com, a layered white and gold wedding cake… gold fondant cake “scales”, glitter dusting, stencils… they are all used on this gilded wedding dessert:

From Martha Stewart weddings, a gorgeous stenciled PINK and gold cake masterpiece.


From Erin Ever After, a fabulous post about Succulents and Gold inspirations for weddings… including one INCREDIBLE golden wedding cake:

And one more from Brides.com, a gold fondant cake, with lovely matching peony.  Definitely click through on this one because they also showcase 24 other cakes perfect for a glam wedding:

Now, just in case you would like to make your OWN golden cake masterpiece, I found a recipe and tutorial.  From Bake Decorate Celebrate, the Glimmer of Gold cake.  And if cake decorating isn’t your thing, a supermarket bakery should easily, and inexpensively, be able to recreate this cake because the roses and other details are second nature to cake decorators.  Take this picture to the store and ask them to recreate a 6″ inch cake for you so that you can sample before you commit.

 

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Cupcakes for Kids!

January 24, 2012 Leave a Comment

It’s time for more cupcakes, and wow, do we have some FUN cupcake designs and recipes for you today!

Perfect for the soccer team, or a soccer-theme birthday, check out these easy-to-make Soccer Cupcakes, from Wilton.  Everything you need to recreate these can be found in the baking aisle of a craft store – don’t forget your coupons.  If the frosting ‘grass’ seems to intimidating, just frost as usual with green tinted frosting – it will still look great!:

Having a Disney-themed party, or celebrating with a Mickey Mouse fan?  You’ll definitely need to try these adorable Mickey Cupcakes from Sweet Tooth.  Made with Oreos, they couldn’t be any cuter… or easier!

A perfect compliment to a Garden party or Tea party, would be these Flower Cupcakes, found ivillage.com!  I would have NEVER thought of using sprinkles and m&m’s to make flowers, but these are SO, SO cute!

Another winner in the Flower/Garden party category are these Mum cupcakes.  Decorating with marshmallows never looked so good (and so easy)!

For the SUPER-STAR, you simply MUST check out these Karaoke Microphone Birthday cupcakes.  They are fab, fab, fab!!  Made with mini ice-cream cones and donut holes… the perfect cupcake choice for your singing or rockin’ kiddo!

Mini donuts, tootsie rolls, and airheads… what a combination!  And they all add up to make these super cute Apple Shaped Cupcakes.  All that’s missing is the WORM!  Of course, those would be easily added… just grab a bag of gummy worms too!

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Fresh Orange Dessert – Orange Segmets in Cardamom Syrup with Honey Whipped Cream

January 23, 2012 Leave a Comment

Fresh Fruit Desserts

I’m always on the lookout for fresh fruit desserts – especially in the colder months!  This very easy winter dessert recipe showcases oranges when they are in season.  Although the honey whipped cream is a terrific topper for the dish; if you are watching your calories or just don’t want to go through the hassle of making it – the segments alone in the syrup are absolutely delicious and will satisfy your sweet tooth.

If you are new to cooking with cardamom it is sweet, very aromatic, complex and spicy all at once.  It’s one of my favorite spices to bake with;  it’s delicious in all baked apple dishes (pie, turnovers, crumbles, etc.).

This recipe is from the December 2011/Jan 2012 issue of Fine Cooking; their picture below does the dish better justice than mine:)

winter dessert recipes

Orange Segmets in Cardamom Syrup with Honey Whipped Cream  (Serves 4 to 6)

  • 4 large navel oranges, cut into segments
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 2 tsp. honey

Drain the orange segments in a strainer set over a medium bowl. Set the segments and juice aside.

Put the sugar in a small heavy-duty saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring often, until melted and light amber in color, 3 to 5 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and whisk in the orange juice. The mixture will bubble and clump; whisk until smooth again. Stir in the cardamom.

Put the orange segments in the juice bowl and add the syrup. Toss well.

In a large bowl, whisk 1 Tbs. of the cream with the honey until smooth. Add the remaining cream and beat with an electric hand mixer on high speed until soft peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes.

Divide the oranges and syrup among serving bowls. Top with the whipped cream.

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Mini Cherry-Heart Tarts…and More Valentine Party Bites!

January 20, 2012 7 Comments

As promised last week…even MORE Valentine Snacks and Valentines Party Food Bites…

Check out these adorable heart Valentine cake pops, and the easy-to-follow recipe from Mel’s Sweet Treats:

While the name isn’t very appealing, but I think the “Valentine’s Day Trash”, from Cooking with K would be a perfect addition to a kid’s Valentine’s Day party (adults too!:

From My Kitchen Addiction, a quick post with EASY instructions for making fab chocolate covered pretzels AND drizzled strawberries.  She explains how to inexpensively and easily recreate the drizzled look that professionals achieve.

AND, one more… a step-by-step tutorial from Big Red Kitchen, with instructions on how to make Chocolate Covered Strawberry Mallow Candies.  Did you get that?  Chocolate Covered Marshallow Candy with pink mallows!. Mmmhmm…yep!  And aren’t they pretty?

 

And now… a GUEST POST by Ashley, of Kitchen Meets Girl.

Cherry Tarts

Do you feel like you just got all of your Christmas decorations put away, and now the stores are bombarding you with Valentine’s stuff?

Yeah, me too.

In fact, I went into my local craft store last week and they already had out St. Patrick’s Day and Easter decór. Seriously, can’t we just slow down long enough and actually enjoy the season?

And by season, I mean the time of the year you’re encouraged to indulge in copious amounts of chocolate and other candies and treats. Umm, wait a minute, maybe that was the Christmas season? Or maybe it is Easter?  Never-mind, I’ll just keep eating to be on the safe side.

But if you’re feeling a bit overloaded on rich chocolate desserts, or just want something simple and small (read: guilt-free), try these mini cherry-heart tarts. These are perfect for kiddos and adults alike, and are so simple to make. You can certainly make your own filling, but I personally would rather spend the extra time doing a Zumba routine * eating these.

Cherry Tarts 2

Cherry-Heart Tarts

Ingredients:

  • 1 can cherry pie filling
  • 1 package refrigerated pie crust (2 crusts)
  • 1 tablespoon milk
  • 1 tablespoon sugar

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400. Unfold your pie crusts onto a floured work surface. Using a 3″ round cookie cutter (or a small drinking glass), cut out 20 circles. With your remaining dough, use a small heart cutter to cut out 20 hearts. If you don’t have a heart cutter, just use scissors.
  2. Place heart cutouts on a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush dough with milk and lightly sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 7 minutes, or until lightly golden. Cool on wire rack.
  3. Meanwhile, press your dough circles into a mini-muffin tin, fluting the edges. Spoon approximately 1 tablespoon pie filling into each cup.
  4. Bake for 15 minutes or until crust is golden and filling is bubbling. Cool tarts in pans for 5 minutes; then remove to wire rack to cool completely. Place a small heart cutout in the center of each tart.

 

* “Doing” a Zumba routine = shaking the Wii remote frantically in a desperate attempt to finish the song before collapsing face-first.

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Ashley is a full-time working outside the home mama to a busy 4-year old boy, and writes about her kitchen successes–and messes–on her blog Kitchen Meets Girl.  She enjoys spending her free time watching football with her husband and making more baked goodies than is good for her waist-line. She daydreams about coming home to a spotless house cleaned by a professional cleaning service, with steaming hot meals prepared by her own personal chef.  But because she wants her son to grow up healthy and nourished by good, wholesome food, she learned to cook.  And discovered she is living proof that anyone–absolutely anyone–can be successful in the kitchen. 

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Valentine’s Day Party Bites – Dessert Style!

January 13, 2012 1 Comment

Here at Diva Entertains, we are planning a series of “Party Bite” blog posts in upcoming weeks, and today is the first in that series… and it’s a Valentine  DESSERT “party bites” post!  So… the post is brought to you by chocolate, red velvet and truffles, with a few more yummy things thrown in just for fun!

And to save time, I’m just going to provide links and images, since the photos speak for themselves

Hot Chocolate Truffle Balls, from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe.  Totally easy – totally fun!  Drop them in some hot milk for a fabulous flavor explosion.  Or eat ‘em straight up – either way these are winners!

From Smuckers, Strawberry Angel Cookies.  A very easy recipe that uses a angel food cake mix.  Although the recipe calls for sugar free preserves (which is great if your on a low sugar diet), I made them with the real deal!


From Peace of Cake, Red Velvet Cookies:  So simple (use a red red velvet cake mix)…so good!  Cream cheese is one of the 5 (yes, only 5!) ingredients so you know it is going to be good!

From Baking Bites, Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies.  Need we say more?

From The Curvy Carrot, Cherry Chocolate Kisses:

And last but not least, super, SUPER easy Heart Shaped Cupcakes.  (how to make the heart shape – use whatever cupcake recipe you’d like)

Filed Under: Bar Cookies, Brownies, Cheesecakes, Cookies, Cupcakes, Desserts, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Tuesday Trend – Fondant Cupcake Toppers

January 10, 2012 Leave a Comment

Have you used fondant in your cake or cupcake decorating yet?  If not, why not?

About three years ago, I tried my hand at decorating with fondant and made a pretty fabulous (if I do say so myself) Princess Birthday cake for my daughter. (Ok, just the bodice of her dress was made with fondant, but I am still proud).

Since that time, the use of fondant and edibles for CUPCAKE toppers has grown like crazy, and this year, I plan do try again, BUT making individual princess toppers for cupcakes!

You know I found a few tutorials, right?  AND some super fab fondant artists from whom you can purchase fondant cake toppers, if you aren’t brave enough to try your own!

First off – let’s start you off with a super-easy, incredibly delicious marshmallow fondant recipe (or you can purchase fondant from a bakery or the baking aisle of a craft store).  Learning how to make cake fondant (or cupcake fondant) is fun and a money saver!

 

From Glorious Treats, a fondant tutorial, to help you get started!

From Crave. Indulge. Satisfy, one of THE best tutorials I found… how to make owl fondant cupcake toppers:

From The Crafty Penguin, a fun tutorial on ladybug cupcakes:

From Cake Journal, how to make embossed teddy bear fondant cupcake toppers (GORGEOUS!):


And remember when I said I was hoping to make some Princess cupcake toppers for my daughter’s birthday?  Well… I may just BUY them instead.  Check THESE out, from Edible Details:

And these from Parker’s Flour Patch, some rose and princess-theme toppers:

Cute, cute, CUTE!!

Filed Under: Cakes, Cupcakes, DIY Diva, Kids Birthdays, Recipes, Tues Trends & Tips Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Millionaires Shortbread

December 26, 2011 1 Comment

So I’m guessing these are known as millionaire shortbread because they are so decadently rich!  The base is rich, buttery shortbread then topped with a caramel-like filling and topped with a luscious layer of chocolate ganache.

I first heard of this caramel shortbread when browsing through the cookbook “Baked: New Frontiers in Baking” but the recipe was a tad fussy so I streamlined it a bit.  Further – I wanted a more decadent chocolate layer to top these bars so I swapped out theirs with my favorite.  Don’t be put off if the instructions look long – I’ve just put a lot of  detail in them.

Some also refer to these as dulce de leche bars.  It doesn’t matter what you call them – they are fantastic no matter what the name:)

Millionaire Shortbread

Shortbread Layer:

  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 large egg yolk

Caramel Filling:

  • 28 ounces sweetened condensed milk (two 14 ounce cans)

Chocolate Ganache Glaze:

  • 12 oz. semis sweet chocolate (chocolate chips are fine to use)
  • 8 oz. heavy cream

Make the shortbread first:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Spray the bottom and sides of a 9″ x 13″ baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.
  2. In the bowl of a electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the sugar and the butter together.  Then add the two cups of flour, one cup at a time, until well combine.  Add the egg yolk and beat until just combined (you don’t want to over beat).
  3. Tip the bowl so that the dough falls into the prepared pan – if it scatters through the pan that’s great.  Because now you are going to spread it to an even thickness on the bottom of the pan which, because this dough is sticky, can be a tad difficult.  To make it easy put your hand into a clean plastic bag and pat the dough into place.  If it is still sticky, spray your ‘gloved’ hand with non-stick cooking spray – that will do the trick.  Then prick the shortbread with a fork to prevent it from puffing while it bakes.
  4. Bake the shortbread for 20-22 minutes, or until it is golden brown (or for a tad softer shortbread remove when just the edges are beginning to brown).  Let cool completely.

Make the caramel filling:

  1. Pour the sweetened condensed milk into a large microwave safe bowl.  Cook on 50% for 2 minutes.  Stir briskly and microwave again on 50% for 2 more minutes.  Now cook on 30% power for 4 minutes.   Stir briskly (do not worry if the milk appears to look seized in between microwaves – brisk stirring will return it to a smooth mixture!).  Cook another 30% for 4 minutes, then stir briskly. Do this to 2 to 3 more times (for a total of 20 – 22 minutes) until the mixture is very thick and caramel colored (make sure you stir until smooth).
  2. Pour the smoothed filling over the cooled shortbread and place the pan in the refrigerator until cool, about 2 hours.

Make the chocolate glaze:

  1. In a medium-sized saucepan bring the 1 cup of heavy cream to a boil.  As soon as it boils turn off the heat and remove from heat.  Add chocolate immediately.  Let stand 5 minutes, then mix thoroughly until chocolate is well blended and smooth.
  2. Pour mixture over caramel shortbread.  Refrigerate until set (3 to 4 hours).
  3. Can be stored in the refrigerator, tightly covered for up to 4 days.  Leftovers freeze beautifully!

To see all of Diva Entertains’ delicious bar cookies, please Click Here.

Planning a summer party?  See Diva Entertains large selection of Flower Favors!

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