Pucker Up, Buttercup (New Year's Eve Cookies)

Mr. E & I didn't meet on New Year's Eve, but I like to say that's when we fell in love. 

His roommate had been dating one of my best friends for a while.  So, we knew each other, but never given one another much thought.  At a New Year's Eve party, while my girlfriend Laura was running around finding her cousin to introduce to Mr. E and some guy to introduce to me....we ended up talking.  We never did meet that cousin or that guy we were supposed to have been set up with.

At midnight, Mr. E kissed me on the cheek.  I was smitten.  A little over 3 years {and one breakup} later, we were married. ♥

So, New Year's Eve has a special place in my heart....even though we won't be going out, we'll be sipping champagne at home (well, he'll be sipping a beer), watching the ball drop in Times Square on TV.

I'm running out of time to get these posted, so no tutorial, but you can see from these pictures how the cookies came together:

{I used my candy corn cookie cutter. These were decorated with royal icing, with a touch of luster dust on the hats and food coloring pens for the girls' cheeks.)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Last Christmas project posted for the year....

Wow!! We're almost to the year 2011! Unbelievable!!! So here is one last post showing you one more Christmas card along with a set of to/from tags. For my card, I used #3058 Jolly Tilda from Magnolia-licious along with the presents which are also a Magnolia stamp but I can't find them in stock right now. If you're interested, please be sure and ask Diana about them. Tilda and the presents are colored with Copic markers, and then I fussy cut and popped them up off the card base for lots of dimension.  You might be able to tell a little better with the next pic.

The background papers are from Nitwit Collections, and the cardstock is Bazzill. I know it almost looks black, but it's a dark green color. The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts and I used some Angel Wings Shimmerz on them. The bow is made from May Arts silk ribbon of course and I believe the charm is from the Charm Barn.

Here is a set of to/from tags I made using #3070 Sitting Angel Tilda from the Merry Christmas 2010 collection from Magnolia-licious. Again, it doesn't look like she's in stock right now, but please check with Diana if you are interested.  The box is just a standard jewelry box that I decorated to match the tags. That's it for me today. Tomorrow I will have my project for the Magnolia-licious Design Team Sketch Challenge, so I hope you check back for that!

Have a safe and Happy New Year everyone! Thank you for another fabulous year of your friendship! I am truly blessed. Thanks so much for stopping by to see me today, and hope to see you in 2011!! Hugs!

Hot Artichoke Dip Recipe - Gluten-Free + Vegan

This hot artichoke dip is worthy of a party. Gluten-free and vegan yum.

I wasn't sure I had another recipe post in me -- before the year of 2010 turns into a pumpkin and rolls backward into the past. I thought I was going out with a year-end Top Ten Gluten-Free Recipes post, catching up with all you gluten-free  lovelies again in 2011. I thought I was done. Spent. Empty as a pocket, to quote a certain singer-songwriter. So much for assumptions.

Turns out my fevered brain wasn't done with 2010. It spun off in party mode as soon as I heard that my oldest son was officially engaged. He popped the question with true romantic flare. On a wine train. In the rain. In Napa Valley. And she said yes. The ring fit. People on the train applauded. It doesn't get much better than this. To witness your son's heart. Blooming.

Your misty-eyed gluten-free goddess is going to be a mother-in-law.

And so. The year closes. I make a mug of chamomile tea and reflect upon the deepest joys of motherhood, turning their myriad facets toward the window light above the kitchen sink stacked with breakfast plates, cups, and spoons. Learning to love with open arms and a tender opinion, unconditional. This floats to the top of all other joys. The thick cream of it. A layered, rich reward. To love a son expands your heart beyond measure. To see him love, and inspire love, is the most beautiful working of magic. 

Don't you think?


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10 for 10 : 10 of my favorite cookies from 2010

My friend Jen over at Tatertots and Jello did a great post on her favorite projects of 2010 (be sure to click over; she is SO fun).  I loved seeing her round-up....it reminded me of her projects I actually tried and those that are still on my to-do list! ;)

So, I decided to go back through all of Bake at 350's posts from 2010 and come up with my favorites.

{And, y'all....after going through EVERY post, I am no longer wondering how I gained 6 pounds this year.}

Top 10 of 2010....in no particular order:

Scrabble Engagement cookies for Meg & Sean

Garden cookies

Uncle Mike's Birthday cookies

Strawberry cookies in berry baskets 

Beer & Hot Dog cookies

Darth Vader cookies (these are probably kiddo's favorites)

Back-to-School Apple cookies

Pink Posie Cake cookies for a Sip 'n' See

Harry Potter cookies

All Saints' Day cookies

If I get my act together, I'll have one more set of cookies for 2010...then, lookout 2011, here we come!!!

{OH! I almost forgot. If you look at the navigation bar at the top of the blog, there is a "cookie index" link.  That page is now up-to-date (I think. I hope.). If you are looking for a certain decorated cookie from Bake at 350, you'll find the link there.}

After Christmas Travels

Have you been missing my blog posts?  We are traveling visiting the Grandmas, stretching our Christmas a bit longer.  We spend a few days in the mountains of NC, where 12 inches of snow greeted us!  It was quite lovely.  The photo above and the others like it were taken on the mile drive up to my mom's house.

Currently we are in Chattanooga, TN, dining at Panera Bread, simply because of their Wi-Fi.  I am posting photos because obviously there are no crafts.

We should be home this weekend and next week I will return to a normal schedule.  In the meantime, I will wish you all a Happy New Year!!

Well...things are getting back to normal now....

My daughter and grandson left this morning to go back home. *sigh* We had so much fun and it is really hard to let them go. But such is life I guess, huh? Just wanted to show you his first grade school pictures. This is what has been keeping me busy for the past couple of weeks... Gotta love the "cheesy" grin in the first one! LOL!!

So I'm back to getting some crafting done and will be back to posting again. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and I wish all of you a Happy New Year filled with many, many wonderful blessings! Thanks for stopping by to see me today, and hope to see you back again soon!  Hugs!

Top Ten Gluten-Free Recipes for 2010: My Faves

From cake to quinoa - my year's best gluten-free recipes

The annual ritual of creating top ten lists has commenced. Critics are choosing their top ten movies, editors have picked their Top Ten Books. Fashionistas have declared the year's best and worst trends of 2010 (jeggings- love 'em or hate 'em?). Do I dare leap into the scuffle and pluck ten gluten-free recipes as the year's best? And if so -- just how, exactly -- does one choose the golden top ten? The best of the best. Do I do as I did last year and let stats decide? (Might seem rather lazy, to repeat that process.) Or do I rely on my personal and often quirky preferences? (Could be controversial, especially if I was honest and chose peanut butter on ryeless rye bread toast as my number one.) Perhaps I should make a game of it and draw names from a hat. Randomness is appealing, in a way. (Though unsatisfying.)

I'll just do it.

I'll be bold. I'll be opinionated. I'll pick my g-free favorites from this year's recipes. Perhaps I need to define my criteria, though. How do you choose a favorite among the dozens you've created in a year? I'm proud of each recipe. After all, I enjoyed them enough to photograph them in all their gluten-free glory (unless, sadly, they were not photogenic, and that, Dear Reader, is a loss to the blog). And every recipe I shared passed the family taste test or they wouldn't stand a chance of appearing on Gluten-Free Goddess. You don't hear about the runner-ups, or the flat out failures that left your intrepid goddess weeping and gnashing her teeth. [Not really. I'm not the weeping kind. I swear like a character in Deadwood and take deadly aim at the trash bin.]

My criteria, then? Simple. A favorite recipe would be a recipe I'd make again. And share with company.

So with that in mind, away we go.

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Hoping you had a Holly Jolly Christmas!

 

Christmas!  It came and went!  But, I'm still celebrating because there are still CUPCAKES!!!

These are coconut cupcakes and they are delicious!  The cake, the frosting, everything!  They're from Ina, you know, the Barefoot Contessa.  Don't you wish you lived right next door to Ina?  I'd like to live right in between Ina and the Pioneer Woman with maybe Martha the next block over....I don't clean enough for Martha to live next door.

I trust Ina....and this recipe is no exception.  I've made them several times and make the recipe exactly as she writes it.  No tweaking, no modifying....it's perfect.

Here is the recipe for the coconut cupcakes and the frosting in their original perfect state from Ina. (I did use large eggs instead of XL, but that was all I had on hand.)

{Just to give you an idea of how good it is.....the frosting starts like this:

....with 3 sticks of butter and a pound of cream cheese. Yep, it's good.}

For the holly, I planned to make fondant, but December 25th kept getting closer and closer.  I saw marzipan on the grocery store shelf and decided to give it a try.

You guys....it was EASY!!!  Marzipan is basically ground almonds and sugar.  Inside the box, it comes wrapped in a tube.

I divided it and used my AmeriColor Gel Paste food coloring in Super Red and Leaf Green to color it.  (I put my hands in baggies while kneading in the color because I didn't have any gloves....and we were going to a Christmas party and I didn't want to scare anyone with red & green hands.)

To shape the holly berries, I just pinched off pieces of the colored marzipan and rolled it into balls.  For the leaves, I rolled out the marzipan and used a tiny maple leaf cutter. Then with a paring knife, made the leaves a little more pointy.  I used the knife to make veins in the leaves as well.

Once formed, the marzipan can be left out at room temperature.

I do hope you had a HOLLY jolly Christmas. We did...and this picture about sums it up...

{Have a favorite from your holiday baking? Or a favorite from someone else? Feel free to leave a link in the comments.}

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cheesecake

Gluten-Free vegan pumpkin cheesecake- creamy and dairy-free.

Darling. It's Monday. Post Boxing Day. And yes, I'm going to be bad. I'm not going to write about Hoppin' John or some healthy New Year's bean soup with kale.  I am going to tease you. I am going to tempt you. I am going to revel in one more dessert recipe before the final eve of 2010 -- a rich and creamy pumpkin cheesecake recipe that is worthy of a party. One last hurrah before the pale glare of January dawns in all her cold and sober glory. One last indulgent dessert before I gingerly step on the reality check scale. And sigh.

Because I've noticed my jeans have shrunk again. That familiar jolly pie roll affectionately known as Doris is rolling her merry way up and out of my favorite roomy cargo pants. But is this the week to start counting calories? Is this the week to shun dessert in favor of lettuce? I can answer that. The answer is no. As in N. As in O. No. Nope. Not gonna happen.

If you've got your own alarming version of Doris making her annual appearance around your middle, don't worry. There will be plenty of time in 2011 for detoxing and courting virtue with cabbage soup, recipes that will encourage our collective Doris's -- or would the plural be Dori? -- to skedaddle. I promise. I'll be first in line with smoothie and cleansing soup recipes come January. But this week? Well. Not so much.

Because there's one more cake to share in 2010. And it's cheesecake. And no one will suspect it is vegan and gluten-free. (I won't tell, if you won't.)


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Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all!!  

I have mentioned my family's tradition of making the craziest Christmas cookies known to human-kind... I thought it was time to share the photos which bear witness to our insanity!  We begin with homemade sugar cookies, several colors of frosting, sprinkles, etc.  This is a fun family event and while quite hysterical, note the serious faces as the cookies are created.

Edwards children hard at work on their masterpieces!  Aaron (far right) and Ian (center) each had a plan.  Bethany was creative on the fly!

Crissie joined us this year and while she enjoyed the decorating, I am sure she was overwhelmed by the creative insanity around her.

 Doug's cookies were fabulous, but he too has on his "game face" for crazy cookie seriousness!

Doug and my cookies together.  I want to be sure you know that I DID NOT make that bikini clad snow-woman!  I did however create the snowman in the alps outfit. 

Aaron sharing his masterpiece - Two Face (Harvey Dent) from Batman!

Ian sharing one of his ZZ-Top characters!  His ZZ Top guys were great!

Bethany working on her gamer-boy.  See the first photo for a cute close up of the headphone wearing gamer cookie.

Ian's cookies included ZZ-Top, an Alice Cooper tree, Darth Vader, a candy CANE, an exploding star, and a wild tree.

Aaron's cookies included Two Face, Venom (from Spiderman), Spiderman, a cane, Batman snowflake, a vampire snow head, and a mean tree.  I love the mean tree! 

One other tradition, whether intentional or not, is that we tend to eat our least favorite cookies first.  Several of the lesser cookies are gone, but the more fun ones live on!

I wish you much happiness and joy today and in the new year - whether that includes crazy cookies, time with family, paper crafting, or quite reflection!