Splenda cookies...BAH!

They were a bust! My 3 year old wee one didn't even like them. And I was right about the texture of the uncooked dough....BAD VERY BAD!!! So TO THE TRASH THEY WENT!!! I am making a new cookie White Chocolate Almond. These look like they way a cookie should look!

Splenda???

Finally getting around to try out a new cookie recipe using Splenda instead of sugar. The texture of the dough is a lot different than when using sugar. It is smooth and not quite dry but not as moist either. It doesn't seem to taste any differently than with sugar but it is the baking that will be the test. I am starting out with a dozen first. The dough actually looks more like Bisoctti dough so if this batch does not work out it will be turned into cranberry biscotti!

New Cake?

So I know I need to update the menu selection on the website. It is nearing the end of Summer so put with the old and in the NEW! I have been mulling over a new new cake recipe. I have made pumpkin muffins before. I was thinking a pumpkin spice cake with a spiced butter cream icing. A spicy gingery cookie to go with ones hot cup of coffee or tea. Spicy is so good in the cooler months. But then again I do like the throw back flavors of Summer when it is the dead of Winter.

This Sunday it is only one service I am baking for. So how much and what do I bake? I want it to be a last hooray for Summer Flavor. I have on the list Strawberry Vanilla Cupcakes, Blueberry Muffins with a strudel topping. Or maybe I will break down and try that blueberry chocolate chip recipe I have been hanging on to. I am going to try a Lemon Sugar cookie but using Splenda instead. If they taste like ASS I am SO NOT going to let them be consumed by the general public...YIKES!

Red Velvet Twinkies

I made these 2 weeks ago. I need to tweak the recipe. They came out too soft. But they tasted DAMN GOOD! I let N8 take them with him to band practice. I think I need to just add 1/4 cup more flour to the recipe and it will be GOLDEN!

ORDERED!

I found a canopy I liked that didn't cost 85.00 in shipping. I mean seriously 85.00!!! The first one I found was on amazon. It was 49.00 10x10 but it was 85.00 to ship.....ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!! This one I found on Overstock for 64.99 and with their 2.95 shipping. SCORE totally bought it! It has removable screens and I can get solid walls in the future if I chose. Now I need to get myself a folding table. Still running through what I might bake for this event. I am thinking of doing cupcakes. I have a company I order containers from and they have single serving cupcake containers. My cupcakes are a source of joy for me and I would love to be able to bring those. I cannot believe it is nearly the "official" end to summer. Today is actually 20 degrees cooler than yesterday. Which is nice and I can smell fall. Spring and Fall are my favorite times of year. It is the start of the warming up and cooling off. Winter and Summer is another story.

Weekend...ended

This weekend was a busy one. I am not accustomed to being around so many people for long periods of time when it is the weekend. My introvert needs some alone time to recover. As soon as anyone can find this said wedged time alone let me know.
Today I plan on going down to the Lake Ridge Recreation office to give them my registration form and payment to be in their Fall Festival on October 25. I have not vended for yet with my baked goods and it would be nice to make some money and get some self promotion out of it. Also I am starting to work on my Fall/Winter Menu for the site. I am thinking of adding a gift bag of goodies so people can send them out for the holidays. But this also means submitting more recipes to the state. Oui that is time consuming. On top of all of that I need to get my butt back into shape to run the I-Race on Oct 18th. It is a 5K and I couldn't even run a 1/4 mile let alone 3.2 miles. Gezz BODY DON'T FAIL ME NOW! As I get older I know if I do not start and maintain some sort of exercise I am going to be one of those hunched over bone brittle old people. That cannot happen! 37 isn't THAT OLD. I wonder when I will find an age and agree..."YES I am very THAT OLD"

Friday!!!

WOOHOOOO IT'S FRIDAY!!! No date night tonight. Trying to reserve strength to take the my oldest back to school clothes shopping. OUI my wallet is groaning now. This morning I felt as if my scalp was separated from my skull. I think it may be the NyQuil hangover. BUT I feel nearly almost 100% today. THANK YOU KUERIG COFFEE MAKER!!!

Last night even with the onset of the NyQuil coma looming I manged to watch Project Runway. OMG 3 things that made my night!
1. Guest Judge: RuPaul
2. Challenge: make a Drag Queen's Costume
3. Client: FABULOUS DRAG QUEEN!

My inner Queen was just SQUEALING. It was an awesome episode. BUT OMG some of those costumes were seriously a HOT MESS!! Shortly after the show was over I proceeded to fade and go into the medicated coma. bliss!

Today I am finishing up a cake and cookie order then onto the chores of Friday cleaning...JOY!

New biscotti

Orange biscotti dipped in dark chocolate coated in chopped almonds.

Day 4 recovering from the "ick"

Something about being in a NyQuil coma always seems to make you feel better. I think it is because you go into a deep state of R.E.M so your body can recover. I don't dream about stupid stuff or things that are stressing me out. It is just blissful darkness. Not to say I am dream free I have been dreaming but I cannot recall them. It is all blurr pictures of people I do not know and places I have never been. Today I will say I feel about 70%. Which is good because I orders to fill today. And all it is cookie day for Sunday. I ahve not made Biscotti in a while so that is what is in the oven. I love those hard cookies but I HATE the time it takes to bake them. They literally mean "twice baked" and they are. A normal cookie is about 10-12 mins. Biscotti is roughly 40. gezzzzz the wait is what is a killer.

This weeks orders are more cookies, a chocolate cake and 1 dozen red velvet cupcakes. I still haven't fully decided on what else I am making for Sunday aside from biscotti. I am just so freaking happy I have some energy today and do not feel like I want to lay down and just let the ick take over and smoother me.

Day 3 of the ick

I dislike being sick SO MUCH!!! If I am going to have to be pretty much immobile for a length of time then I would LIKE to be productive at least. I could be reading up on new recipes and techniques, I could finally finish the 5 books that I have started. I could even even take my laptop with me to bed and look up stuff on the internet. What does my boy want to do....SLEEP! THAT IS NOT BEING PRODUCTIVE!!! I explained this to N8 and he says it's because it only makes sense to an anal rententive freak such as myself. BAH!!! He keeps telling me to listen to what my body is saying. It's telling me "HEY YOUR GETTING OLDER AND YOU SUCK!"

The ick has moved into my chest as all my colds usually do. I feel better today than I did on Monday. I just think I could sleep for another 8 hours. I keep trying to do things to keep me task driven so I don't fall asleep. It's a nutty game I play with my subconscious. Who will win I wonder???? I did somehow manage in a still NyQuil haze to get to the store and stock on house and baking supplies. Honestly it was all a blurr but I promise I obeyed all traffic signs and signals.

The only pick me up this morning was catching Estelle's "American Boy" on the radio. I really like that song but iTunes does not have the version with Kanye West yet...frick and frack. so I wait. Once this is posted since the weeone is down I am going to have a large glass of water ,a remote,blanket and journal book. Hopefully to put pen to paper as I have been lax and not written in it for the past week and so much has passed.

Out of Sugar...?

I managed to go through a 10 pd bag of sugar last week. MAN THAT IS A LOT OF SUGAR!!! But then there was lots of baking. So I am thinking of trying to make some stuff this Sunday using Splenda. I have baked with Splenda. And I have a great BIG 'ole BAG of it from my neighbor. It's Monday and this is my day to take it easy. Unfortunately my wee one gave me her"ick" so I feel like crap and all I want to do is curl up on the couch, press pause to stop time . So that I might be able to rest without the penalty of loosing time. Being sick IS such a waste of time. I HAVE THINGS TO DO! RECIPES TO WORK ON!!! I CANNOT BE SICK!!! Personally I think it is God's way of putting the smack down on me. A forced "rest" that will keep me down for a few days till I can appreciate being well. BAH Yeah yeah I am whining Phhhttstttttttttttt!

Since I cannot hit pause and curl up on the couch I will drink lots of tea. Try and move around little and crash on the floor next the wee one and watch Wonder Pets while taking my cold meds.

Thursday-Thursday

GEZZ I haven't posted since LAST THURSDAY!!! WOW!!! But I have been BAKIN MY BUNS OFF!!! HAHHAHA...little bakery humor. So today is cookie day and I have been mulling over what kind to make and Ginger has been on my mind of late. So Ginger Orange cookies and a classic Chocolate Chip. I have not made just plain Chocolate chip....in...like...NEVER! I figure I should brush up on that cookie :o) And I am thinking this Sunday will be a Twinkies Sunday. Peanut butter or peanut butter and chocolate Twinkies. hmmm spiced Twinkies....I haven't decided yet. OOOO RED VELVET TWINKIES!!!! O YEAH BABY!!!!

No coffee...no brain

At least that is how I feel this morning. Crisis averted coffee being ingested. Yesterday I FINALLY got my my hands on Key Lime Juice. At SHOPPERS which was SHOCKING!! SO...my much wanton desire to make a bunch of Key Lime stuff is going to happen for this Sunday's baking. Key Lime Sugar doughnuts or with white chocolate ganauche. EHEHEHHEHEHHEHEHHEHEHHEHEHHEHEHE I feel MAD WITH POWER OVER KEY LIME!!!!

Ok that was the coffee kicking in:op

Key Lime Part II

My next door neighbor emailed me about Key Lime. She and her husband just came back from Hatteras and she said she saw lots of Key Lime foods. She suggested Key Lime doughnuts...hmmmm....I just need to get my hands on some Key Lime Juice and I just may try that out. I wonder if Wegman's carries it? I do not want to order it online if I can get it around here. Right now I am trying use up all the food in the house so I CAN do a shopping trip at Wegman's . It is just the prettiest grocery store I have ever been in. I am a gal that likes LOTS of choices! and BROTHER does it have that!

OOOOOWhite Chocolate ganache Key Lime doughnuts!

August?

WOW! Time is moving way to fast. As I look at my calendar it is already getting jammed. I have been lots of cookies lately. Most are offline which sucks because they do not show up as sales on my site . But I will take what I can get. I made new cookies this past Sunday. White Chocolate Pecan cookies and Peanut butter Coconut cookies. They were very tasty and I am a BONEHEAD for NOT getting pics of them. DUH<>

Last week was VBS at Image and it was actually a lot of fun. I was grateful that I had the help of my oldest and her best friend. MAN can little kids eat. I did not realize how much I missed working with kids. I haven't been that mentally tired in a very long time. My brain wanted a vacation from my body BAD! This week thankfully is pretty open. I can get back to reading up on how to make some new stuff I want to try out. I have been making baked doughnuts I think I may want to try my hand a yeast ones now. oooooothe potential........