Hooray for St. Patrick's Day!

Every year we go to my mom and dad's for St. Patrick's Day dinner.  While I am mostly Italian (well, Italian-American) , I am just as proud of my Irish heritage.  So I love celebrating this holiday with my family.

So, I gussied up my wee Irish lassie

and we were ready to go! (She loved her sparkly green dress! It was very "Riverdance"!)


Back to the food:

I think it's a common misconception that Irish food is boring, bland, or just revolving around potatoes.  I think over the years it has evolved and it's really so delicious!  I LOVE eating corned beef, shepherd's pie, scones, and...well...all the traditional dishes on this day!  I especially loved the selection of Irish cheeses my mom put out.  They were so creamy and good!  Cheese is my second love, right after all things sweet!

I volunteered to make the shepherd's pie, which came out AMAZING I must say.  But I also made something sweet to go along with the meal.

After considering my options...I decided to make rice krispie pops.  Everyone likes rice krispie treats and I knew that my nieces and nephew (as well as my little sweetie) would just love them!

I have been wanting to try out some new decorating tools I'd just gotten and thought this was a good opportunity to do so.  And while I was at it, I decided to get crafty and experiment with a few different designs:

What's the L for?  Take your pick: Leprechaun, Leah, Lucky, Liz...the list could go on and on!

I just thought the dots were a really cool look!  (They almost looked like white strawberries.)

Shamrocks were a natural choice, of course!  A national symbol of Ireland people!

And here's a close up of a shamrock:

 Swirls are harder than they look everyone!  But they looked pretty cool too :)

And lastly, a more traditional drizzling technique:

Here are some group shots of my little rice krispie pop army:

And here's how I displayed them on the dessert table- in some mugs:

The consensus from the whole family was that they were delicious!  I have to admit I had like 3 of them!  They were like potato chips, I couldn't just have one! And my toughest little critic loved them as well:

She was very taken in by the dots and gobbled her pop all up :).

Well my friends, after all the baking I did last week I am off to put my feet up and relax a little bit!

I hope you all liked my latest sweet creation and that you all had a fabulous St. Patrick's Day as well!

Til next time, don't forget to eat your sweets!

Sweet Scones for a Sweet New Mama :)

Tomorrow is a VERY exciting day...one I have been anxiously waiting for for almost 3 whole months.  I get to go meet my friend Heather's adorable baby boy!  Being a new mom is no joke friends.  No sleep, velour pants 24/7 for the first 2 months (maybe that was just me?), and your life is now revolving around this amazing (and very demanding) new little person...catering to their every need.  It's seriously hard work!  So I thought to myself, this hard working mama deserves something yummy.

In the spirit of St. Patrick's Day, I decided to make some scones.  So many variations to choose from...which kind should I make?  I decided on orange/cranberry scones. See I told you - I'm obsessed with cranberries lately!  But, other than my crazy cran-session...the orange and cranberry combination is seriously delicious.

I was super excited to use my new scone pan:

What's cuter than mini scones?

In the past I'd always made my scones using the drop-method and they would be round.  But why not try a new way of doing things?

I rolled out and cut up my dough into little triangles then carefully placed them into my new pan.  As they baked a wonderful smell traveled around the kitchen telling me that something good was going on in my oven :)

When I flipped them onto the wire drying rack and took a look at them, I was so happy with my cute little army of mini scones!

Here they are:

And a closer look:

Don't they look yummy? I certainly thought so!

So, of course, I HAD to try one

Sorry Heather...quality control you know.

While I will admit I could have added a few more dried cranberries...(ahem...yes, I know I need to seek help about this cranberry addiction business)...they came out flakey and good.  (I hope you like them too Heath!)


Well, the kitchen is all cleaned up from the day's baking, and now...onto cooking dinner...a mother's work is really never done!

Have a great night sweeties and I hope you all have been enjoying this week's sweets so far. :)

Birthday Sweets for a Sweet Friend!

This past Saturday night my friend Julie and I got out for a much deserved (and very rare!) ladies night.  So we left the kids with our hubbies and hit the road Thelma and Louise style...top down, hair blowing in the wind, ready to let the night take us where it may!  

Ok, who's kidding who here?  It was night time in the "winter" and way too cold to let the wind blow through anything....and anyone that knows me knows that I am anything but spontaneous!

Julie and I had both researched some fabulous Westchester eateries prior to our night out and decided on Via Vanti in Mount Kisco.  This eclectic restaurant had delicious food, a cute atmosphere, and very yummy desserts...the main reason we decided on this quaint little spot.  Their gelato was to die for!


It was so nice to relax with a glass of wine and catch up about our kids and our lives!


Of course, being that sweets are a very big part of my life, the conversation naturally went in that direction for a little while.  We discussed what desserts I'd made recently, the tempting treats on the menu for the night, and our favorite sweets.  Over the course of this chat it came out that Julie's favorite childhood sweet was shortbread cookies.  She so vividly described this one sweet shop that all the kids would go to in her neighborhood.  

Listening to her fond memories from her childhood got my wheels turning about trying to make some shortbread myself.  And with Julie's birthday being right around the corner, this would work out perfectly!  Time for a visit from the "Eat your sweets fairy"!


I've never made shortbread before and, accordingly, researched various recipes until I found one that looked good.  I was a little wary about the consistency of the dough as no other cookie dough I've made before had that texture.  But, I persevered and continued on with my baking task of the day...determined to make a nice birthday treat for my dear friend :).


Well, after all is said and done, here is the delicious final product:

I dipped them in chocolate for a little extra pizzazz!  Chocolate makes everything better, right?
And here is how the final wrapped gift looks:

I know, how very Ina Garten of me...this is how she always wraps up cookies, and I thought it would look perfect!  I'm very pleased with how these cookies came out and have squelched my wariness about making shortbread.

Ok everyone, I'm off to deliver my treats. 

Happy birthday Julie! Thanks for being a dear friend and I hope you like the cookies!

Everybody's Nuts...

...for Date Nut Bars! 

One of my favorite things to make (besides biscotti) is date nut bars.  They were another dessert my mom used to make for the holidays when we were growing up. This family classic always comes out light and moist.  And in my opinion, the combination of the sweet dates and crunchy nuts are a winning pair. 

I've been wanting to bake something for our dear family friends Wendy and Joel for a while now (they have been very supportive of Eat Your Sweets!) and have been searching for the right thing to make.  Should I try something new? Or make something tried and true?

As I researched some new and different recipes, I decided to take a look at my binder of old faithfuls to see if the right choice would be in there.  The moment I got to the date nut bars I thought, what a perfect selection...these are always a hit!

So I rolled up my sleeves, tied on my apron, and began to chop, dice and measure all the necessary ingredients.

Now, as many of you might remember I made my mom's traditional date nut recipe for "Sweets-mas".  I also made a "twisted" version of the date nut bars that had chocolate and coconut in it. THOSE were amazing!

As I popped the batch of traditional bars into the oven, I thought to myself, what other "twisted" combinations might be good for these already scrumptious bars?  I checked the upstairs pantry, checked the downstairs one, then decided on dried cranberries and toffee as the winning ingredients.  I've been all about dried cranberries in everything lately, and toffee...hello?!?! Toffee is a delicious pairing with just about dessert!

So I mixed up my creation and hoped that it would be just as fabulous as the last twisted bar.  After 40 minutes of bake time and far too many minutes waiting for my new treat to cool, I cut them up and took a bite...success!! The sweet/tartness of the cranberries with the smooth flavor of the toffee literally made me say "Mmmmmm".  I felt as though I was a little girl again, humming while I ate my food! :)

Here are the visual aides to make you all start drooling:

The traditional date nut bars:

And here are the latest twisted version of them:

Well, I am off to deliver some date nut bars to our friends...fingers crossed they love them as much as I do!

I hope you are all having a fabulous day and that you take some time to eat your sweets today :)

Stay tuned for tomorrow's sweet of the day!

To Be...or Not to Be...

...Paleo.  That is the question.  The answer for this sweets lovin' girl is a definite NO!  But my crossfit loving husband is all about this primal way of eating - no sugar, no dairy, no carbs....only things you can hunt and gather are allowed to enter your body. 

Let's be honest folks, the only things this girl is hunting and gathering are different types of sweets to shove into my mouth! 

But seriously, I try to be supportive of Steve's eating habits and do enjoy eating healthy meals as well...but, as I've stated before, in my mind, it's all about balance.

Now, as I said, I am the farthest thing from being paleo...but I am determined to be able to bake that way. 

I'm not too proud to say that my first few tries at paleo baking (no flour, no sugar, and none the other goodies I typically use) were, dare I say, disastrous!  I gave it my best shot, but coconut flour is a fickle friend.  My baked goods were either too dry, too crumbly...I was very frustrated!

After taking an appropriate sabbatical from paleo baking, I summoned up my courage and decided to try again.  Like we tell our kindergarteners all the time: "Where there's a will, there's a way!"

Today, I decided to make pumpkin muffins...I EVEN used organic pumpkin for my healthy
hubbie :).

As I mixed and measured, stirred and scooped, I said a silent prayer that this time my efforts would turn out better than they had in the past.  While they baked, a very pleasant pumpkin-spicy aroma filled my upstairs, so I was very hopeful!

So, here, they are:

After sampling this latest attempt at paleo baking, I have to say that they are much moister than my last few kitchen mishaps, so hooray for that!

But, seriously...these puppies need some sugar! Haha.

Let's see what Steve has to say when he gets home and tries them. 

Well my sweet followers, get ready for lots of posts over the next 2 weeks because I'm off from work for spring break, HOORAY! 

The ideas of what I will bake are swirling in my head and I can't wait to share them with all of you!

Til then, eat those sweets!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Well this much anticipated sweets holiday proved to be quite a busy one for me this year!   

Once again my supportive family called me up and ordered some festive sweets.

This time it was my brother who requested some holiday sweets.

In my mind, sometimes the simplest treats are the best ones.

I think my brother felt the same way when he selected the sweets he wanted. He ordered some basic sugar cookies with sprinkles and some chocolate chip cookies. 

Here was the yield:

This just in: I just received a few texts from my brother and his family loved all the cookies I sent them.  I'm so glad! Especially since I tried out a new chocolate chip cookie recipe this time around!  Thanks for your support bro and I'm happy that the treats made it to you safe and sound before V-Day :)

In addition to baking for family, I also decided to make some sweets for some other important people - Leah's teachers!  The wonderful ladies that help Leah learn and grow each day are so fabulous. 

They put so much care and love into everything they do for her and all their students and I love to make sweets for them whenever I can to show my appreciation for all they do.  

Even though I am a teacher of young children, I can't imagine having a room full of 2 year olds all day...they truly are saints!

 

So while I was in the "sugar cookie mood" I decided to keep going and make more for Leah's teachers:

I attached the valentine's that Leah and I made together to each teacher's "goodie bag" for a special touch.

Now, as if all that baking wasn't enough...I truly am a glutton for punishment and volunteered to make the cupcakes for Leah's school Valentine party.  Hey, I'd been wanting to try out a new cupcake recipe anyhow, so why not try it now for 12 tough 2 year old critics?!  Here is the final product:

They came out light and fluffy (Yes, of course I tried one before I sent them to school with Leah today! Quality control!) and Leah's teachers said the kids gobbled them all up, so I was very happy!

So, after all the baking of the past week, I can safely say I am ready for some rest and the long weekend that is coming up!

I hope you all had a great Valentine's day filled with some yummy treats!

Til next time...Eat your sweets everyone!

Counting Sheep...

Mary had some little lambs, their fleece was white as snow...

Then Baa, Baa Black Sheep came along as said, "Come on ladies, let's go!"

They all had fun, had a good run... that is, 'til things got weird...

The sad part of the story is, those poor sheep all got sheared!

So perhaps I'm a better baker than a poet, but I think I'm pretty funny! :)

These little lambs came to be for my dear friend Carla's baby shower....shower #3 that is - her work shower :)

The theme for her baby's nursery is little lambs, so naturally that was the theme for her shower too!

I was pretty excited to try these lamb cake pops out because I've only ever made traditional cake pops.  This was definitely an adventure.  Being the baking perfectionist I am, I had a specific vision in my mind that I wanted to achieve. (Yes I will use the tiniest possible heart shaped sprinkle for a nose!)  And after some definite trial and error (and a lot of love!) these sweet lambs came out just as I'd hoped they would!

Here's how my little flock was displayed in their "grassy pasture":

They were very well received at the shower, which I was thrilled about.  I get such a nervous stomach when I'm unveiling a new creation!  To quote one of my co-workers, "They're cute and delicious...it's usually one or the other, but these cake pops are both!"  What a great compliment that was!

But the most important part was that the fabulous mother-to-be loved them!

So now I know I can take on any cake pop request that comes my way...so get those orders in people!

Well, this weary "shepherd" is off to put her feet up and enjoy the fruits of my labor!

I hope you all enjoyed my latest creation and that you're eating your sweets too!