13 Years of Birthday Treats

My kiddo is having a birthday this week - he'll be 13!!! I'll be the mom of a teenager! Crazy! Of course hubs and I have been thinking about years past with our son - so many wonderful memories. Since I'm such a dessert-lover, I thought it would be fun to look back by remembering his birthday cakes/treats!

1st Birthday: Costco cake for all the people (big party/barbecue with church friends and relatives in the park) and I made a little cake for kiddo with a box cake mix and a can of frosting! He loved destroying that!

2nd Birthday: I think Costco cake again! We had a party at a park with family.

3rd Birthday: Cupcakes & frosting from a mix, with an Elmo theme! We went to Chuck E Cheese and kiddo loved it!

4th Birthday: Hmmm...kind of a blur as we were moving right around then. I think we may have gone to Chuck E Cheese again and we probably had cupcakes again.

5th Birthday: Costco cake - for the many people! Big party in the park and then rented out the play pool section at the local pool. So much fun on a hot day!!

6th Birthday: Cupcakes (probably from a mix again) while we got together with another family at Chuck E Cheese. Incredibles theme that time!

7th Birthday: My homemade extravaganza year - the Chocolate-Malt Ice Cream Cake. Yum. We had it at home after kiddo went mini-golfing and out to lunch with a couple friends.

8th Birthday: I *think* I bought a cake or cupcakes and we had it at the bowling alley where he bowled with 3 friends.

9th Birthday: Stuck out-of-state (my Stepmother had passed away), but kiddo asked me to make Cookies & Cream Dessert for that one.

10th Birthday: Kiddo likes vanilla, so I made him a from-scratch white cake with vanilla butter cream frosting. He enjoyed it but said it didn't compare with store-bought cake...meaning the store-bought was better - LOL! More bowling with friends before coming home for cake and ice cream that year!

11th Birthday: A quiet birthday, but I made him Classic Pound Cake. Kiddo LOVED it!!

12th Birthday: Another quiet one as he came back from a back-packing trip - but a couple days later I made him Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes (from TidyMom). Yummy!

13th Birthday: Kiddo decided that this year he wants Creamy Baked Cheesecake, with some sliced fresh strawberries on the side. And then after he told me that, he asked me to stop talking about it because it was making his mouth water - LOL!! I thought I would be planning a big party, but I got out of it! Turns out hubs will be taking kiddo and friends to an amusement park for the day - kiddo's first time there!

Do you buy cakes or make cakes for your kiddos' birthdays? Or do they choose different types of birthday desserts?


Oh, and any advice for raising a teenager?! :)

If you enjoyed stopping and smelling the chocolates with me, I'd love it if you click to Subscribe to Stop and Smell the Chocolates by Email or RSS!  


Have a blessed day filled with special memories and lots of love!

7 Favorite Frozen Treats

Did you know that July is National Ice Cream Month? And National Ice Cream Day was Sunday! Summer is the perfect time to enjoy frozen treats!

I wanted to share my favorite frozen treats with you! Don't worry if you don't have an ice cream maker - most of these recipes don't even need one.

Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

Mocha Granita Parfait {posted at Pennies & Blessings}

Peppermint Chocolate Ice-Cream Pie {posted at Pennies & Blessings}

Creamy Root Beer Freeze

Watermelon and Lime Granita

Chocolate Malt Ice-Cream Cake {He's about to turn 13 now...sniff}

Frozen Chocolate Mousse

What's your favorite ice cream or frozen treat? Have you "celebrated" National Ice Cream Month yet?! I wouldn't want you to miss out - maybe you better have a frozen treat right now to make sure. :)


This post linked to:
 ~ Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
 ~ WFMW at We Are THAT Family
 ~ Chic & Crafty Party at The Frugal Girls
 ~ I'm Lovin' It at TidyMom
 ~ Sweet Tooth Friday at Alli 'N Sons

If you enjoyed stopping and smelling the chocolates with me, I'd love it if you click to Subscribe to Stop and Smell the Chocolates by Email or RSS!


Have a blessed day friends!

Coffee Isn't Just For Breakfast {7 Coffee Desserts}

While looking through my Recipe Index, I realized that I have a few desserts that contain coffee. Yum! I thought you might enjoy sharing some caffeinated desserts with me. :)

Mochaccino Cupcakes

Cafe Latte Cake

Coffee Blondies with a Shot of Chocolate

Mocha Granita Parfait {posted at Pennies & Blessings}

Irish Cream-and-Coffee Pound Cake

Christmas Mocha Balls

Dark Mocha-Chocolate Cake

Now that we're all caffeinated - let's go tackle a few projects! Or you could be like me - sit back and sip some more coffee while you daydream...about all the possible projects you could work on and how fabulously they might turn out and how great you might feel when that happens...until you have no time left to actually even start anything. :)

Do you like desserts that have coffee in them? If you have a favorite - share the link in the comments!


This post is linked to:
 ~ Chic & Crafty Party at The Frugal Girls
 ~ I'm Lovin' It at TidyMom

Have a blessed day friends!

Vanilla Cheesecake Shots

Don't those look yummy??!!  I have to tell you, they are DElicious!!  I posted the recipe for these Vanilla Cheesecake Shots as my first official Contributor post over at Pennies and Blessings.  I hope you'll stop over there and let me know what you think of the recipe (an easy one that you could add in to your Easter menu).  While you're there, look around - I know you'll love what Pennies and Blessings has to offer!

Have a wonderful day and a blessed Resurrection Day friends!

Tea For Two-sday ~ Tea Cup Favors and Mini Caramel Mud Cakes

It's still Tuesday - even on the East coast - so I'm posting this!  I recently helped co-host a tea party for some lovely ladies and wanted to share a couple things.

I did my favorite kind of favors - tea cups and saucers that the ladies get to keep!  In order to do this, I have to start ahead of time looking at yard sales and thrift stores.  My goal is always to pay $1 or less per cup and saucer (sometimes I spend a little more if I'm not finding what I like).  The best way I've found is to go to Good Will stores where they have cups ad saucers separate.  If you spend a while searching, you can find cups and saucers that match, but were separated.  Then they're only 49 cents for each cup and each saucer!

This time I collected over 20 of them and put a tea bag and a truffle in each one.  Here's a picture of a few of them:

I also helped with the food.  One of the recipes I made was Caramel Mud Cakes from my Cupcakes cookbook - but I made them into mini cupcakes.  Aren't they cute?

Sadly, by the next morning the powdered sugar had melted into the cupcakes and you could barely make out the hearts.  So don't do that part ahead of time!  :)

Caramel Mud Cake

1 stick butter, chopped coarsely
3 1/2 oz. white chocolate, chopped coarsely
2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
2/3 cup milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup self-rising flour
1 egg

1.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Line 6-hole oversize (Texas) or 12-hole standard muffin pan with paper baking cups.  (I made 36 mini cupcakes.)

2.  Combine butter, chocolate, sugar, honey, and milk in small pot; stir over low heat, until smooth.  Transfer mixture to medium bowl, cool 15 minutes.

3.  Whisk sifted flours into chocolate mixture, then egg.  Divide among baking cups.

4.  Bake large cakes about 40 minutes, small cakes about 30 minutes. (I baked the minis 15-20 minutes.)  Turn cakes onto wire rack to cool.

5.  Sift powdered sugar onto cakes in desired design.  On full-sized cakes you can use lace or a doily to make them pretty - didn't work right for me on the minis so I used a little heart stencil I had.

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They turned out cute and they were yummy, but I would much rather have experienced the full flavor of a standard sized cupcake!

I hope you found a new idea to try!  Have a lovely day/evening/night my friends!

Would You Like Dessert With That? ~ Scottish Shortbread

It's Friday (and the last day of school)!!  Woo Hoo!   How was your week?  Mine was busy but I'll make up for it next week.  Right now, it's time for a little dessert!  On the first Friday of the month, I like to have Dessert Friday - you can still link up chocolate posts, but the non-chocolate desserts get a chance to shine too!

I found this recipe in my Mason Jar Soup-to-Nuts Cookbook.  It's simple and oh so buttery good!!  These shortbread bars are dangerous to have around, but they're wonderful to offer to company along with coffee or tea and they make a great gift!

Scottish Shortbread

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened

1.  Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

2.  Place flour, powdered sugar, and salt in medium bowl, and stir until well combined.  Add butter, and mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon or electric mixer set at low speed to form a thick batter.

3.  Spread the batter evenly in ungreased 8-x-8-inch baking pan, and bake for 55-60 minutes, or until light brown in color.

4.  Allow shortbread to cool completely in pan before cutting into 16 cookies (2-in squares).

5.  Serve immediately, or store in airtight container for up to 10 days.

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Yes, that is a lot of butter!  And that is why they're so gooooood - LOL!  :)

Your turn!  Bring on the chocolate and dessert posts!  I have faith that you have one somewhere in your archives or can whip one up right now  - link it on up!  Sharing is just the polite thing to do!  

Have a lovely day friends!

Would You Like Chocolate With That? ~ Chilled Desserts

Another busy week is coming to an end.  School is almost over and summer will soon be here.  That calls for a little chocolate celebration!

I had hoped to share a new recipe with you today, but didn't have time to try either one that I had planned.  So I thought I'd remind you of a few past chocolate desserts.  Since many of you are experiencing warm weather and the rest of us will feel it soon, here are some chilled chocolatey desserts to keep you cool!

Cookie Salad

Cookies & Cream Dessert

Chocolate-Almond Pie

Frozen Chocolate Mousse

No-Bake Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

Chocolate-Raspberry Cookie Trifle

Hopefully at least one of those will work for you!  What are your favorite chilled chocolate desserts?

Don't forget to link up YOUR chocolate posts now!  Any family-friendly old or new chocolate post will do.  I'd love it if you would share!

Have a lovely chocolate-filled day friends!

Would You Like Dessert With That? ~ Jello Cookies

Well look at you.  You almost made it through another week!  Hey - I did too!  It was a tough week with my kiddo home sick the entire week (still home now) - that definitely calls for chocolate, doesn't it?  Why don't you get some chocolate and toast the end of the week with me!

Since this is the first Friday of the month, I like to make it Dessert Friday so the poor little non-chocolate desserts get their chance to shine!  :)  You can link up dessert recipes with or without chocolate or your usual chocolate posts.

Today I'm going to share some cookies with you that you can color to match your occasion.  The recipe came out of my Celebrating 100 Years of JELL-O that I got several years ago.  I forgot all about these cookies and remembered them on St. Patrick's Day when I was trying to think of a green dessert to make for my kiddo!  The official name is Gaiety Pastel Cookies.  Really??  You can just call 'em Jello Cookies like I do - LOL!  The fun part is that you can use any flavor of jello and get that color - I used lime for green.  The color is subtle, but sprinkling the jello on top helps enhance it.  They are yummy - like tangy sugar cookies!

Jello Cookies

3 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter
1 cup sugar
1 package (4-serving size) JELL-O gelatin, any flavor
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
Additional JELL-O gelatin (same flavor you used), for sprinkling

Heat oven to 400 degrees F.

Mix flour and baking powder in medium bowl.  Beat butter in large bowl with electric mixer to soften.  Gradually add sugar and 1 pkg gelatin, beating until light and fluffy.  Beat in egg and vanilla.  Gradually add flour mixture, beating well after each addition.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls.  Place on ungreased cookie sheets.  Flatten with bottom of glass.  Sprinkle with additional gelatin.  

Bake 10-12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.  Remove from cookie sheets.  Cool on wire racks.  Store in tightly covered container,

Makes about 5 dozen cookies **(I cut the recipe in half - a little tricky with the Jello - because I didn't want that many cookies and couldn't handle using up 3 sticks of organic butter in 1 shot!)

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Have you ever heard of these cookies?  What flavor/color of Jello would you use?

Now...it's your turn!  Go get (or write) those dessert or chocolate posts and bring them right back to link up!  I'm using the fun little thumbnail linky so we can see pics of the yumminess that's linked up!  I would love for you to share something, even if it's been buried in your archives - dust it off so we can get some new dessert ideas!

Have a lovely day friends - filled with chocolate and desserts (but not *too* much, OK?)!

Would You Like Dessert With That? ~ Key Lime Muffins

At the end of the week (or almost the end) we treat ourselves to Chocolate Friday!  Well today is the first Friday of the month, so we're having Dessert Friday to give the non-chocolate desserts their 15 minutes of fame.  :)

I suppose you're wondering why I'm sharing muffins for dessert?  Well muffins are kind of like dessert for breakfast, aren't they?  But you can also find creative ways to serve muffins for dessert!  They're really not that different from cupcakes.

I got this recipe from a cute little cookbook that my Dad passed on to me: Cafe Nervosa - The Connoisseur's Cookbook (from the TV show Frasier).  There are so many yummy recipes in this book!  I liked the simplicity and flavor of this one.

I made mini muffins with the recipe - perfect for breakfast or with tea!  I think I would prefer these as regular-size muffins though for a bigger flavor impact.

To take these from simple muffins to cute desserts - split in half, fill and top with whipped cream, and sprinkle with lime zest.  Better yet, mix some lime zest/juice into the whipped cream to enhance the flavor.  Yum!

 

Key Lime Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup milk

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon grated lime rind

1/4 cup Key lime juice

Combine first 4 ingredients in large bowl; make a well in center of mixture.

Combine milk and remaining ingredients; add to dry ingredients, stirring until moistened.  Spoon into greased muffin pans, filling three-fourths full.  Bake at 400 degrees F for 18 minutes or until browned.  Remove from pans immediately.  Yield: 1 dozen*

*If making mini muffins, yield will be 36-48 and only need to be baked 8-10 minutes

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So that's my "dessert" for the day!  How about you?  Do you have a post about a great dessert to share?  Or a yummy chocolate post?  Come link them up below!  If you don't have a blog, you are welcome to share your recipes/thoughts in the comments.  Find more Chocolate Friday info here or take a look back at last week.

I'm linking this up to Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam - go check out all the yummy recipes! 

Don't forget to come back later and check out some of the yumminess linked up!  Have a dessert-filled day friends!

Would You Like Chocolate With That? ~ Chocolate-Raspberry Cookie Trifle

 

It's Chocolate Friday again - Woo Hoo!  And I know.  You saw the title and now you're not even paying attention to what I'm saying - you're scrolling down to the pic so you can start drooling.  It's OK - I'll pretend like you're slowly and carefully reading my every word.  :)

Valentine's Day is almost here, but there is still time for you to do something crafty (I gave you some links to CUTE ideas yesterday) and to plan a yummy chocolatey dessert.  You could look through all my chocolate desserts and choose something OR you could try out this lovely recipe!  I recently ran across it in a Pampered Chef recipe book.  I HAD to make it and I'm pretty sure that the folks at our church potluck enjoyed it.

Now my hard-core everything-from-scratch friends will have to come up with their own fabulous version, but I know they can do it!  The rest of us can head to the store and enjoy our dessert a little sooner!  :)

  

Chocolate-Raspberry Cookie Trifle

1 cup milk
1 pkg (3.3 oz) white chocolate instant pudding and pie filling*
1 container (16 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed, divided
1 box (12 oz) vanilla wafers, divided
1 cup milk chocolate morsels**
1 jar (12 oz) seedless raspberry jam, divided
1 bag (12 oz) frozen sweetened raspberries (not in syrup), thawed***

*I could not find white chocolate pudding AT ALL - I checked 3 grocery stores and hubs checked another 3.  I substituted cheesecake flavor pudding...yum.
**I used semi-sweet chocolate morsels...also yum.
***I used frozen raspberries, but they were unsweetened - no need for the sweetened.

1.  For filling, in mixing bowl combine milk and pudding mix; whisk until pudding mixture begins to thicken.  Reserve 1/2 cup of the whipped topping.  Gently fold remaining whipped topping into pudding mixture.  Cover and refrigerate.

2.  For ganache, combine chocolate morsels, reserved whipped topping and half of the jam in a small bowl.  Microwave on high 40-60 seconds or until melted, stirring after each 20-second interval.  Stir until smooth.  Reserve 1/4 cup for garnish.

3.  Place remaining jam into another bowl.  Microwave on high 30-60 seconds or until melted.  Place berries into bowl.  Pour jam over berries; stir gently.  Set aside 16 cookies for garnish; break remaining cookies in half.

4.  To assemble trifle, place one-third of the broken cookies into bottom of trifle bowl.  Layer one-third of the raspberry mixture over cookies.  Top with one-third of the pudding mixture and one-third of the ganache.  Repeat layers two more times, finishing with a smooth layer of ganache.

5.  Dip reserved whole cookies halfway into reserved ganache; place into top of trifle.

Yield: 16 servings

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I may have used a few less cookies on the top and made sure there was some extra ganache and a little whipped cream mixture left over so I could dip the cookies in both and sample, you know to make certain that this dessert was safe to consume because I am very safety-conscious like that.  ;)

This would be such a pretty Valentine's Day dessert!  You could even make individual servings by layering in glass dishes or goblets.  You could just make the ganache and serve it over ice cream with some raspberries.  Or you could just eat it right out of the bowl - I won't tell.

And now it's whose turn to bring some chocolate??  YOUR turn!  Bring those family-friendly chocolate posts on over here and link them up below!  And if you're reading this in a reader or before there are many links, you really should check back and visit the links.  There have been some outstanding chocolate desserts linked up and I wouldn't want you to miss out!

Happy Chocolate Friday!

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Rich Chocolate Chip Toffee Bars

Welcome to Chocolate Friday! 

I'm doing a repeat for you today - you will want this recipe! I often make these bars for functions this time of year and they are always a BIG hit! I'm always asked for the recipe.

I originally posted the recipe (which is from Hershey's Kitchens and was printed on the back of the toffee bits bag) on May 2, 2008:

RICH CHOCOLATE CHIP TOFFEE BARS

Ingredients:
2-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter or margarine
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 cups (12 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
1 cup coarsely chopped nuts (I use walnuts)
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)
1-1/3 cups (8 oz.) toffee bits, divided



Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 13x9x2 in. baking pan.



2. Combine flour and brown sugar in large bowl. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add egg; mix well. Stir in 1-1/2 cups chocolate chips and all the nuts; set aside 1-1/2 cups mixture.

3. Press remaining crumb mixture onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake 10 minutes. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over hot crust; set aside 1/4 cup toffee bits. Sprinkle remaining toffee bits over sweetened condensed milk. Sprinkle reserved crumb mixture and remaining 1/2 cup chocolate chips over top.

4. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Top with reserved toffee bits. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. About 48 bars.

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Cut them small - because the "Rich" part of the title is no exaggeration!

I'm linking this up to Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam and to Do-it-yourself Day at A Soft Place to Land!


Find more chocolate on my "Just Chocolate" recipe index!

Subscribe right here if you don't want to miss out on delicious Chocolate Friday posts.

Have a fabulous Friday friends!!