Homemade Peanut Butter Cups (Peanut Allergy Safe)

Hey There!

My sister has a peanut allergy that developed when she was little. So, she can’t have peanut butter – instead, we use a peanut butter substitute*. I felt bad to be eating peanut butter cups in front of her, knowing she wanted some. So, when I got the book Sally’s Baking Addiction by Sally McKenney and saw the recipe for peanut butter cups (which called for regular peanut butter), I decided I had to make a peanut-free version for my sister! ❤
I LOVE how these turned out! They taste just like popularly sold peanut butter cups, but better because they’re homemade. 😉 Next time, I will probably make them thinner, as the chocolate sort of broke off instead of melting due to the thickness. Overall, I loved these delicious chocolatey goods turned out. 🙂
*contact me if you would like the name of the peanut butter substitute

Chick & Co.

Living the Sweet Life

Chocolate & Mint Cake

Hey There!

I love chocolate. Especially chocolate cake! I wanted to make a cake with different flavors than I normally make, so I don’t make the same thing every time. 😉 I know mint goes well with chocolate, and decided to try it!

I used my Favorite Chocolate Cake Recipe, which is super moist and flavorful. It is the BEST chocolate cake recipe! I found a Mint Frosting Recipe that looked good, and tried it. It was very good, but the mint was so strong. Next time, I’m going to try half –  if not a quarter – of the mint extract and see how it turns out. 

Overall, I think this cake was a success. I’m pleased with how the decorations turned out, and am happy with the classic combo of chocolate and mint! 😉

 

 

Chick & Co.

Living the Sweet Life

Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Buttercream

Hi There!

I got the urge to bake (not unusual 😉 ) the other day, but wasn’t sure what to make. I realized I hadn’t made cupcakes in a while, and thought “Why not?”

I found a recipe for Chocolate Chip Cupcakes, and they were delicious! They had a great texture. Next time, I will probably add a tiny bit more sugar, but that’s just my preference. 🙂 

The buttercream recipe I had been using was a little too sweet for me, so I haven’t made buttercream in a while… I found a new Buttercream Recipe, and it is amazing! It’s not too sweet, and has a great consistency. I wanted to go all out with the icing, so I decided to make some bright colors: orange and green! After icing them, my sister said they looked like Cacti! I remembered I had tiny candy flowers, so I added some on top for some extra cactus flair! 

I attempted to fill the cupcakes a little with some of the buttercream, but I didn’t make a big enough hole, and so it didn’t really do much, unfortunately. 😦  That’s ok, because I can always try again; there’s always a first for everything! 😉

 

 

Chick & Co.

Living the Sweet Life

Chocolate Swiss Roll

Hey There!

During the fall, I made a Pumpkin Roll, and enjoyed it very much. I don’t have much experience making Swiss rolls, but I wanted to try making another one. That is when I found the recipe for this delicious Chocolate Swiss Roll!

This roll was very easy, all things considered. I need to practice my rolling, but other than that, it worked perfectly! 😛 The cake part had a good consistency, and the icing was perfect – not too sweet, but just sweet enough. My puppy Willie had a fun time taste-testing the icing, too! 😉

I also got a new cake serving plate for my Birthday! I love the pattern, and I think the colors are super cute, too! ❤

 

 

Chick & Co.

Living the Sweet Life

Jolly Rancher Lip Balm

Hey There!

I was perusing Pinterest, in a somewhat crafty mood. I saw a video that looked very interesting – an old EOS lip balm turned to candy! I showed my Dad and we got right to work! 😉

I have a bunch of EOS lip balms, but I’ve noticed some of the older ones start to go bad… the scent on mine got too sweet, with a strange stinky after-scent. Yuck! I followed The Tutorial *  and scraped out the old lip balm. My Dad helped me melt some Jolly Ranchers and pour them into the EOS mold. It worked out really well! Tip: For melting the candy, use a bowl that is microwave safe and disposable. We used a small glass bowl, which worked fine – until the cleaning. The candy hardened, which made it extremely hard to get off the bowl. For stirring the melted candy, try using a toothpick… after all, you can’t put a metal spoon in the microwave to melt the candy again! 😛 

Overall, this project was a success. Sometimes the lid to the EOS will stick to the candy, but it isn’t too hard to pop back into place. It is somewhat like a Ring Pop with a lid that you can take with you places! If you have a sweet tooth and an old EOS, I suggest trying out this project for yourself! 😉

 * The tutorial has other candy crafts included in the video, so you can skip ahead to the project you want.

Chick & Co.

Living the Sweet Life

Floral Dark Chocolate Cherry Cake

Hey there! 😉

I love cake decorating, and sometimes I want to bake a simple cake so that I can spend more time on the decorating. I love this Chocolate Cake Recipe, I have used it many many times before… such as for my Chocolate Birthday Cake, Chocolate & Orange Cupcakes, and my Three-Tiered Chocolate Heart Cake. This recipe is foolproof, and super easy.

I used my favorite cream cheese icing recipe, that happens to be included with a Pumpkin Cupcake recipe that I have used several times, too. 😛 I simply omitted the cinnamon, and iced away! 😉

I used some cherry pie filling with a light syrup for some extra fruity flavor. I spread a layer of icing in the middle, a good amount of the cherries on top, then added the second tier.

I also got a turn table for cake decorating, which makes the whole process so much easier! The table came with two icing spreaders and three icing smoothers. They work wonderfully! 😀 I am very happy with how this cake turned out, and highly recommend trying the recipes above!

 

 

Chick & Co.

Living the Sweet Life

GF Brownies

Hi there!

I love baking from scratch, but sometimes that’s just too much work. 😉 That’s when boxed mixes come in! I don’t make very many brownies, usually cakes. I was glancing through our box mix collection and saw a GF brownie mix that looked tasty, and decided to go for it. It was delicious! I added some white chocolate chips for some variation, and love how it added some extra flavor! 😛 I decided to ice the brownies, because I love icing! (Who doesn’t?) 😉 I found a recipe that intrigued me, and I’m so glad I tried it – it was AMAZING! The Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting had a wonderful light and fluffy texture, and the flavor was sooooo good! I highly recommend icing your brownies with this delicious frosting for some variation. ❤

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Chick & Co.

Living the Sweet Life

Pumpkin Cake

Hello!

I love making cakes. In fact, I think layer cakes are my favorite thing to bake! I enjoy decorating them and like experimenting with all the different piping tips and icing colors. 

I love pumpkin flavored things, and found the perfect Pumpkin Cake Recipe. I have used this recipe to make my Pumpkin Cupcakes multiple times, and this recipe is foolproof. It has a perfect moist consistency, and the cinnamon cream cheese icing – delicious! As soon as I finish making the icing, my family usually asks for a taste before I decorate the cakes! 

I made this cake Gluten Free, and you would never know it. The pumpkin flavor does a good job masking the GF flavor, as some other cake recipes do not do as well. If you love pumpkin food, I highly recommend trying this recipe! 😉

 

Chick & Co.

Living the Sweet Life

 

Key Lime Pie!

Hello!

I love experimenting with baking. Trying new things is exciting! I was looking through one of my favorite baking books, Sally’s Baking Addiction by Sally McKenney and spotted a key lime pie recipe. It looked delicious, and I decided to go for it and have fun.

I made the pie crust with Gluten Free graham crackers, and it tasted just like a regular pie crust. It had the same texture, and was deliciously buttery! 😛

This key lime pie is SPECTACULAR! It has just the right amount of zing from the lime without being too overpowering. The pie has an incredible creamy consistency that leaves you wanting more! ❤ I am positive I will be using this recipe more in the future. 😉

 

 

Chick & Co.

Living the Sweet Life

Glazed Vanilla Doughnuts

Hi There!

I love doughnuts. Who doesn’t? Some of my family members are Gluten Free, so they don’t get to have doughnuts very often. That’s where baking comes in! 😉

I decided to try and make some simple Glazed Vanilla Doughnuts with GF flour. I am very pleased to say that they turned out well! My family loved them, and they were super easy to make. 😛 I had fun making the different glaze colors, and enjoyed eating the finished product, too! 😀

 

 

Chick & Co.

Living the Sweet Life