Top 5 posts of 2012

Well the best way to wrap up the first month of a New Year is to recap the highlights of 2012. So here they are the top 5 posts of 2012. 

Birthday Cake Pops

I made these cake pops for a friend's birthday. I love cake pops because: 

1. They are small &  super cute 

2. It's just like a cake but smaller so you can enjoy 1 or 2... 

3. Not as time consuming to make as a cake :)

Happy Birthday!

Sugar Cookies Recipe

I'm so glad that this recipe made it the Top 5 posts because this is the best sugar cookie recipe ever!! It never fails, it's easy to make and  it's so yummy! I've made this recipe so many times I actually remember the recipe to heart. If there is only one recipe you'd choose to try, make it this one. There is no better time than now to try them, I'm sure someone you love would like some Valentine's Day Sugar Cookies!!

Alton Brown's Sugar Cookie Recipe is the Best!!

A cute little explorer named Ainsley!

I made these sugar cookies, using the sugar cookie recipe above, for my friend's sweet little girl's 2nd birthday party. I made my own cookie template for Dora's face.  I got the idea to make a plastic cookie templates. Now I hand cut cookies using templates for those cookies that you just need to make but can't find the right cookie cutter. She has an awesome tutorial for making SweetSugarBelle Lego Heads, if you click on the link it will take you there. Actually I made the Lego heads and the cookie template worked so well that it has become my new go to. I've used this technique so often and I love it! It saves me money and space. I have so much cookie cutter clutter and still find myself not having one that I'm looking for so I just make one.

 Dora the Explorer

Roses are red....How to make rolled fondant roses!!

With Valentine's day right around the corner, these mini roses would be a pretty addition to any cookie and cupcake. Made them from scratch or just spruce up some store bought ones either way your loved ones will be so impressed. What a great way to show someone how much they mean to you. 

I use these mini roses all the time. It's a great way to use up any leftover fondant, place them in mini ziploc baggies to keep fresh, they last a very long time but rarely do :) 

And the top post of 2012 is....

You're never to old to play with Legos

I mention earlier that I had made these using SweetSugar Belle Lego Head's template, it was the first time I tried this technique. I've been hooked since. I love the fact that I can make my own free cookie templates anytime. 

I made these Lego Head for a sweet boy named Matteo. He was turning 6 years old and had a Lego theme party. All the kiddos got these cookies as party favors. This year Matteo had a Sponge Bob Square Pants theme Birthday party. 

  I made Sponge Bob heads and Patrick cookies for party favors. I used the cookie template to make Patrick. I always look forward to making Matteo's cookie favours, it keeps me young & hip, even though I usually have to Google the subject to find out what it is. Okay I'm not young and hip but I get to live vicariously through the cookies, cupcakes, cake pops and cakes I make for all the kids. That's my story and I'm sticking to it! 

~ Sponge Bob Square Pants & Patrick~

Sponge Bob

Patrick

Thanks to all of you for taking the time to visit my blog. Hopefully you found a recipe or two that you made and enjoyed. I've been busy in kitchen, this year, and I hope you stop by to check out my new creations. 

Thanks for stopping by,

With Love,

Katya

SweetBakedLove is off to the Market....

Today was the first day of the Farmers Market and after spending all day yesterday baking up a store like a mad woman I am happy to say that I pretty much sold out of everything....yay!! It was really cold this morning, which wasn't the best thing BUT it kept me awake so I can't complain. I had a great time at the market and some dear friends showed up to sell their homemade goods; it was a pleasant surprise seeing them there. Selling my home baked goods + chatting with friends + fresh air + blooming flowers + great music playing = a really great way to spend a Friday!!  

Tomato plants for sale, a vendor selling Grilled Souvlaki, pita and tzatziki... it smelled so good and a guy selling homemade Swiss sausage right across from my table....I sampled those...yummo!!

There something about Farmers Markets that I just love. No matter where it is or when it is, it's brings a nostalgic feeling of times when things were just simpler. Nothing fancy schmancy just some great home baking, farm fresh products, crafts, gardening supplies, live music and so much more. I love it. 

A little video I filmed at the market, the live music was great, I swear I felt like I was Laura Ingalls from Little House on the Prairies for a few brief moments, listening to that song. Only thing missing was a horse and buggy....

Once I had my table all set up, off I went to check out my fellow vendors. Before you know it I found a  lovely lady selling Linzer Torte (anytime you can buy Linzer Torte from a Swiss lady with an accent, do it...just saying) next thing you know I found a really pretty plant I just simply needed. Boy, I looked like a overgrown kid in a candy store....ah, the good ole' days .



 Well I could go on and on explaining to you how I feel about the Farmers Market and what it's like but the best way to find out is firsthand. It's Farmers Market time all over the province get out with your friends and families and go to one today!! When you shop at the Farmers Market you help keep BC farmers farming and BC bakers baking. Come join the fun :)

~ Homemade Apple and Strawberry Rhubarb Pie ~

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble Pie

All my goods wrapped and ready to go...

I made homemade pies, cinnamon buns, sweet dough pastries with apricot and date filling, squares and cookies. I made different varieties of each kind of baked goods I listed BUT my favorite thing was a Russian sweet treat called Gorka aka Hill !!

Wonderful Sweet Squares called Gorka!

Okay if I translate it from Russian to English, it would be called "hill". How original hey, it's a Russian thing I think, when it comes to naming things we keep it simple. I had a few cats named "Kошка" which simply means cat. See simple! Well let me tell you when it come to these bars they are anything but simple, I mean taste wise. They are made out of a sweeten unleavened dough which is rolled out and cut into thin strips, then the strip of dough are deep fried till light, airy, and slightly golden, kind of like puff pastry . Once all the dough strips are fried you make a honey and sugar mixture that is warmed up, pour the sweet golden mixture all over the fried dough strips. Stir to coat all the fluffy dough strip with the honey mixture and press into a pan. Cool, cut into pieces and indulge. D.E.L.I.C.I.O.U.S. I can't even begin to imagine how to explain the taste all I know is once you try it you can't stop! 


These squares are so delicious I'm going to share the recipe with you today. Have fun making the "Hill" aka Gorka.

~Gorka~

First start by preparing the oil for deep frying. You can use a deep fryer, follow manufactures direction to deep fry. I use a normal cooking pot with tall sides. Pour canola oil or lard in the pot no more than half full. If you have a candy thermometer get it out and ready. Set pot on burner and leave till needed. Don't turn burner on yet!!

*Always be very careful while deep-frying.*

Ingredients:

  

1 dozen eggs

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

Combine ingredients in mixing bowl. Beat well with mixer till light, foamy and frothy. Should be approx. triple in volume.

3-4 cups flour

Add 3 cups flour all at once and stir to combine to make a soft, slightly sticky dough. If this dough is really moist and sticky add the 4th cup of flour. The amount of flour used can vary depending on the size of egg I use large eggs, just keep in mind that the dough should be soft, slightly sticky not tough and hard.     

Sprinkle the work surface with a dusting of flour and lightly knead dough 2-3 minutes into a soft dough ball. Cut the dough ball into 6 even pieces and shape into balls. 

Start heating the oil at this time. Always be very careful while deep-frying. You can use a normal cooking pot (one with tall sides is best). Put the oil in the pot and put it on the stove. Begin heating the oil over medium heat. To control the temperature, you can use a thermometer. The best temperature is 350 to 375 degrees F. Just turn the heat up or down until you can maintain a consistent temperature.  While the oil is heating finish cutting dough into strips.

Lightly dust work surface with flour then roll out each piece one at a time into a round shape about 1/8 inch thickness, approximately 10 inch round. 

Cut the rounds in half and then the half in half again, length wise. You should have a circle cut into 4 lengthwise strips. Stack the strips on top of one another and with a sharp knife, cut into thin strips. See diagram. 

Carefully drop handful of dough strips into heated oil, stir lightly with metal spoon. Be careful as oil can bubble over, if oil starts bubbling up to much, stop and change the oil it will boil over and can cause a fire. **If the oil does bubble over carefully turn off burner, remove pot from burner and sprinkle baking soda on burning oil in burner.**

Fry all the dough strip till lightly golden. Remove from oil carefully with metal slotted spoon into a large bowl lined with paper towel. Finish frying all the dough strips, then set aside while you make the honey/sugar mixture.

~ Honey Mixture ~

1 cup honey

2 cups sugar

Combine the honey and sugar in a saucepan. Heat on medium high till mixture starts to boil. Remove from heat and pour all over the fried dough strips. Use a wooden or metal spoon to mix and coat all the dough strips well. *Careful mixture is hot don't mix with your hands!!*

Evenly press the mixture into a lightly greased 13x9x2 inch pan or mold into a hill shape as per tradition. Score and cut squares while still warm. Cool completely and remove squares from pan.

Enjoy!

Once all the baking was done I came up with the idea to make rustic signs to display my baking. Eight o'clock at night I was outside cutting down trees, I'm sure my neighbors think I'm a bit insane but hey, it was totally worth it they turned out to be pretty darn cute.

All said and done I had a great time and look forward to next week to another day at the Farmers Market.

Check your locally market out, you'll be pleasantly surprised :)

Pies, pies, pies....

All set up!

Sweet Dough Apricot Pastries 

Chocolate Puff Wheat Squares

~ White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies ~

Chocolate Chip Smarties Monster Cookies

P.S. I linked up all my favorite Farmers Markets. Just click each highlighted Farmers Market on my blog and it will open  a new page with some of my favorite Farmers Market's I've visited over the years. 

Have fun and thanks for stopping by,

Love 

Nurses: one of the few blessings of being ill.

My beautiful niece Jenny is going to school to become a nurse. I'm really proud of her. I think that it takes a special person to choose to become a nurse, one with a caring and compassionate heart. And Jenny is just that, a sweet, kind and caring girl that's been working hard this year toward her nursing degree! It was her birthday earlier this month and she was so busy studying for exams I don't think she had much time to celebrate. So I decided to send her a care package filled with homemade sugar cookie made especially for her. She loved them! Hopefully the sugar boost will give her the energy needed to get through the rest of the semester.
                    
These nurse shirt cookies are so easy to make. Click here for my favorite sugar cookie recipe. I didn't have a shirt cookie cutter that would work so I made a shirt template using a plastic lid from a margarine container. I've used this method many times now and it works great. 

If you want to try making a plastic template click here for a more in depth tutorial. I found a printable shirt template on line. If you have a shirt cookie cutter then you're ahead of the game if not click on the shirt to get a free printable template!.

I made a batch of delicious sugar cookies and cut out as many shirt cookies as I could.

 After they were baked and cooled I decorated them with royal icing. If you need a recipe for royal icing, I have a recipe that is easy to make and tastes great. You can find the recipe for SweetBakedLove's Royal Icing here!   

I think they turned out great. I had a little extra royal icing leftover so I used it to pipe some cute sayings on the nurse's uniform and cute little red heart too!!

Nurses rock!

I love Nurses!

All wrapped up and ready to go :)

I'm thinking that this shirt template will be put to use many more times to come. My mind is already racing with all the different options...fireman uniform, soccer coach, doctor's smock, policeman uniform and the list goes on. 

Next time you want to let a special someone in your life know how important and proud of them you are;  make them some cookies!! Cookie go hand-in-hand with togetherness. Often cookies are enjoyed with family and friends. Share the love today with your friends and family.

 You'll be glad you did and so will they :)

Happy Birthday Jenny and Good Luck on your exams!!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!

Love Katya

Sugar Cookie Recipe

  Today, I want to share with you the what I think is the best sugar cookie recipe ever!! I have made a lot of sugar cookies and I have tried a lot of different sugar cookie recipes and beside my mom's recipe, none compare to these. My mom's version of sugar cookie are delicious, soft, fluffy and they're not too sweet. Kind of more little a sugar cookie meets tea biscuit. Like usual she doesn't have a recipe written down but one day I will write it down and share it with you all.  For a non-sweet sugar cookies her's are the best but because they are so light and fluffy, they don't work will for decorating

My mom's sugar Cookies, so light and fluffy.
They melt in your mouth!

So what's the best sugar cookie recipe you ask?  Alton Brown, Food Network,  has the best sugar cookie recipe ever, you can find it here. I did adapt it to my own liking but for the most part it's the same and it's is the BEST!!! They're soft, delicious, buttery, easy to make, keep there shape and yes, they have baking powder in them. Like I said I have tried many sugar cookie recipes; one's with extra butter, little to no flour, no baking powder, berry sugar, icing sugar, etc....They all weren't great :(  They tasted bland, took to long, or require too many ingredient I didn't have. These are so simple to make, his recipe calls for chill time but I made some alteration and skip that part altogether. I make and bake them! 

Decorated and ready for someone special <3

~Purple Power~

  

  I actually tried a new sugar cookie recipe recently, but I wish I hadn't because I ended not being able to use them in the end. The recipe required a lot of butter, almost no baking powder, actual I think it said to leave out totally. It also require a lot of chilling time (2+hours). The recipe called for vanilla bean but I didn't have any so I just used vanilla and I'm so glad I did because they were weren't great, unfortunately I would say in my opinion, they were the worst sugar cookies I ever made!! I would have been very upset if I had used expensive vanilla bean on this recipe. They were definitely buttery but to the point of overkill, even after chilling for the required time the cookies spread and the overall taste was bad. I had a few people sample them just to make sure I wasn't biased and they agreed. Two Thumb Down!!!

  That's when I said no more testing!!! I'm sticking with what I know. And I decided that they are too good not to share with you all.  Once you try this recipe, (gently adapted from Alton Brown's Sugar Cookies) you'll be tossing out the old ones. I did!!! 
Smiley Face

~Sugar Cookie~ 

                                             

     Ingredients: 

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 egg

2-3  teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

In a bowl whisk flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. 


In the bowl of mixer or in a large bowl place sugar, then butter. Beat until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and continue beating till well combined. I scrape down  the sides to make sure all ingredients are well incorporated. Beat till light and fluffy.

Add flour mixture, set mixer on low when you first add flour, then increase speed. Beat until mixture pulls away from sides of the bowl and form cookie chunks. Don't worry about over beating, make sure ingredients are well combined. Gather the cookie dough into a ball, set aside. Chill dough 1 hour if desired.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Prepare your work surface. Sprinkle work surface with a light dusting of flour or icing sugar.(see tip here) Roll out dough to 1/4 thickness. Cut into desired shapes, place at least 1-inch apart on a greased cookie sheet. Bake 7-9 minutes or until cookies are lightly brown around the edges. Rotate cookies sheet halfway through baking. 

Let sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes then transfer to wire rack. Eat, decorate, or store in airtight container for 1 week, in fridge for 2 week and I have kept them in freezer for up to 1 month.  
Smiley Face

 Like I mentioned earlier this recipe calls for baking powder. It makes these sugar cookies light and airy but it is important to make sure your baking powder is fresh always. You can do a simple test to see if your baking powder is still active.

Baking Powder Freshness Test:

You need: 

Baking Powder

Small dish of cold water 

Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of

baking powder on the water.

It should start fizzing

right away.

It will continue fizzing till

all the baking powder

is dissolve. If your baking powder fizzes it's fresh and ready to use. 

Step by Step: Sugar Cookie Instructions:

Ingredients:

Unsalted Butter
Egg
Pure Vanilla
All-Purpose Flour
Baking Powder
Salt

Combine sugar and unsalted butter in mixer bowl.
I always add the sugar first so the butter doesn't stick to the bottom.

Beat the sugar and butter until light and fluffy.

Add the egg and vanilla. Continue beating.

Beat until mixture is light and thoroughly combine. Stop and scrape down sides if needed. 













Add the flour mixture. Start mixer on low, then turn up speed.  *Important step otherwise you and your kitchen will be covered in flour dust.*

Beat until all flour is incorporated and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. The dough might seem crumbly, don't worry. 

Remove from mixer stand and gather the dough 
with your hands, lightly knead it
and bring the cookie dough into a ball.  

The best sugar cookie dough!! Ready to roll out and bake! 

Time to pull out the cookie cutter. Get the kids involved, they'll love it, and start making sugar cookies in all sizes and shapes. You can try this recipe if you want or use your favorite one. Just have a good time, that's all that counts! Happy Baking.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a sweet day. 

Smiley Face