Birthday Cakes!

Sorry I haven't been posting.  October is definately one of my bussier months.  I've got 3 October birthdays (On the 2nd, 13th, and 19th)  And each one has to be an extravaganza in their own right.  The big one this year is my youngest girl turned 5 last week.  and it was really a fiasco.  I've always had "family" parties for each of my kids.  But we reserve the "friend" parties till after they start Kindergarten.   Well, my little girl barely missed that cutoff for Kindergarten this year and she REALLY wanted a party.  But I held my ground (I've gotta make it fair for everyone)  So we ended up just taking a few kids out for icecream that day (not technically a party!)  Anyway's I've decided to share some of the cakes we've done in the past for the kids.  They each choose their own style, and get exactly what they want...

Stawberry Shortcake Birthday Cake

Gotta Love the child who only wants doughnuts (so much easier than baking a cake!)

Animal Print Birthday Cake

Neon Colors Birthday cake/cupcakes

Once again gotta love it when it is a basic Cheese Cake (nothing fancy!)

My little Pony Birthday Cake!

Green Dinosaur Birthday Cake!

Pirate Ship Birthday Cake!

Well, only one more birthday to go this month!  Hopefully I can get back into the swing of posting again!

Heavenly Samoa Bars

So one of my other passions is cooking.... Baking to be more precise.... and if you want to get technical I LOVE to bake goodies with TONS of sugar!  So I thought I would show off one of my favorite recipes.  I found this one online sometime last year (sorry I forgot where, but if it is you let me know so I can give you the credit)  It is for Samoa cookies, you know, the heavenly Girl Scout cookies.  Well, according to my kids and most of the young women in my ward these are even better!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup butter
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 cups shredded coconut
• 12-oz good-quality chewy caramels
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp milk
• 10 oz. milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan, .In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter, until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla extract. Working at a low speed, gradually beat in flour and salt until mixture is crumbly. like .Pour crumbly dough into pre-pared pan and press into an even layer. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until base is set and edges are lightly browned. Cool completely on a wire rack before topping.

Preheat oven to 300. Place coconut evenly on a lined baking sheet (preferably one with sides) and toast 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

Unwrap the caramels and place in a large microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high for 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir a few times to help the caramel melt. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut. Put dollops of the topping all over the shortbread base. and spread topping into an even layer. Let topping set until cooled.

When cooled, cut into 30 bars Once bars are cut, melt chocolate in a small bowl. Dip the base of each bar into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment or wax paper. Drizzle remaining chocolate on bars.

PURE HEAVEN!