Pink Zebra Cake

 This past week was my daughter's 8th birthday.  She thought long and hard about what type of cake and party she wanted and she eventually settled on a zebra themed party!

We loved the look of zebra plus pink so this is the cake we came up with!

Each cake tier was filled with three layers: one vanilla cake, chocolate cake and strawberry cake layer. Then the cake was frosted with chocolate buttercream. Then the cake was covered with my homemade Marshmallow Fondant.  I colored the fondant in pink, and black, and left a bunch white.  

I cut the zebra strips randomly with a pizza cutter and rolled the white and black balls around the bottom tier.  The stitch diamond pattern on the top tier is done with a wilton decorating tool kit and white nonpareils are placed into the corners of each diamond. The bow was made by shaping fondant pieces and allowing to set (harden) and then they were placed on the cake. 

That's all there was to it!  Makes it sound so easy huh? Sorry I didn't take more pictures of the process... it was a long night!

Here is a look at the inside of the cake.  Be sure not to do what I did, which is placing the top tier without a separator.  This caused the fondant underneath to get too moist and break apart while cutting the cake. 

Old Fashioned Fudge

Ok, so I have to tell you a quick story.  Since we are talking about making fudge today, lets talk about candy thermometers. If you don't have one, buy one!  Unless of course you're an expert at reading the soft ball in cold water.

Not sure what I'm talking about?  Let me explain.  There is a way to tell if fudge is done without a candy thermometer.  I'm just not very good at it.  

In previous years I did not always have a thermometer and I would do the "cold water" test.  For this test you set up a glass of water with ice in it, ready for the fudge.  And when you think your fudge has cooked long enough, you drop a small amount into the cold water to see if it "balls" up.  It should then flatten as you remove it from the water.  

Well,  I thought at one time that I was capable of determining fudge this way.  But instead I learned something new!  If you perhaps tested your fudge wrong, like I may or may not have done in the past...  and it does not set up, you can pour in back into a pan and RE-cook it.  The problem is it may come out a bit dry, but it works.  (you also can't use this method if you used nuts, they get weird, just saying).  

So I'm telling you people, a candy thermometer is your friend.  They are relatively inexpensive and can save you some stressful candy making over the holidays!  

Ok, so now let's get to the recipe.  Follow along to learn how to make this amazing Old Fashioned Fudge:

Dad's Sugar Cookies

It just wouldn't be Christmas around my house without some good ole sugar cookie cut-outs to decorate with the kids.  My kids really went nuts with these babies!

My dad has been making these sugar cookies for years and he was kind enough to share the recipe with us.  I know, he's a pretty nice guy!

We make these every year at Christmas time but this sugar cookie recipe can be used for any occasion with any style of cookie cutter.  Use it for valentines day, Easter, birthdays, Halloween, or whatever.  So follow along as I show you how to make these tasty sugar cookes:

Star Cookies (Snowflurries)

These star shaped snowflake looking cookies have been a favorite of mine since I could eat real food (I'm talking about as a toddler).  When I learned to talk I always asked my grandmother for a "DAR" cookie (since I couldn't pronounce STAR).  

Today, these are still my favorite cookie.  This recipe has been in the family a long time and I hope my children will make this every year for their own children when they are older.  I think Santa is adding me to the "nice" list just for sharing this recipe with you.  Aren't I nice?

If you take the time to try these cookies, you may just make them an every-year tradition like we did.

Follow along as I show you how to make these amazing jam filled star cookies:

Chocolate Covered Oreo Cookies

I'm not sure if there is any Christmas treat that is easier to make than this one!  I absolutely have to make these every year because they take so little time, look so festive, and taste great!  Plus they only take 4 ingredients.  It doesn't get much easier than that. 

Follow along and I'll show you how to make these fantastic, tasty cookies:

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies

There's something so impressive about a cherry covered in chocolate.  And when you bake it inside a cookie, you're just on a whole new level of cherry loving chocolateyness!  I may have just made up that word... chocolateyness?  

Anywho... this is a great treat to impress your friends and family for the holidays.  I make these every year for Christmas!

Lets learn how to make them:

Peanut Butter Cups

Peanut butter cups are one of my favorite treats to make at Christmas time.  These cute little guys are easy to make and taste great!  I like to make mine in individual mini muffin cups or petit four sized paper cups.  

You can find colorful mini muffin cups at places like Michaels, Roberts and Hobby Lobby to wrap these cuties in to give away to neighbors and family.

Follow along and I'll show you how to make these tasty treats:

Caramel Brownies

Chocolate + Caramel + Brownies = Awesome Brownies!!  These didn't last long in my house.  They are so good!  Really, they are.  There are a few steps to making these tasty treats, but make them once and you'll love them forever.  Follow along and I'll show you how to make them:

Fig Bars (Fig Newtons)

Ever since I was a kid I have had an obsession with Fig Newtons.  Maybe it's because my grandma always kept them in the pantry for my grandpa and she would let us snack on them when we came by to visit (ok sometimes I snuck them without asking).  Occasionally I even hid in the pantry while playing hide and go seek just so I could grab a newton!  So when I found a recipe for Fig Bars buried in my grandma's cookbook I knew I had to make them!  

These taste like the traditional fig flavored bars.  I love the way they turned out and I'm excited to try this recipe with lots of different flavors!

Follow along and I'll show you how to make these tasty little treats! 

Snickerdoodles

 Yummy!  On of my all-time favorite cookies is the Snickerdoodle!  I will put cinnamon and sugar on anything I can get away with.  This recipe comes from my a stash of my grandma's handwritten recipes so I knew I HAD to try it!  So glad I did.  These were delicious!  Mine baked into a nice crunchy cookie (soft when still warm), but you can refrigerate the dough if you want for a few hours and cook for a shorter time to achieve a softer cookie. 

This recipe made about 4 dozen cookies and they were very easy and quick to make.   Here's what you'll need: