Birthday Treats
Making birthday goodies is one of my favorite things to do for a birthday celebration. The kids aren't super crazy about any meals that I make- I mean, they like several of them just fine but they're nothing that gets them excited. The kids always choose to eat out for their birthday meal (not that I blame them!). Desserts are a different story and I love how the kids have favorites of the many baked goods that we've made over the years and request them for their birthday celebration.
Abby requested carrot cake and Oreo truffles for her 17th birthday. I made those two items and, in addition, made some chocolate chip cookies. Abby didn't request the cookies but I wanted to have a finger food type item for when guests were over for Abby's birthday. The only thing better than indulging in goodies is writing about our sweet experiences and how we came to love them.
I made Abby's carrot cake the Thursday before her birthday. I would have preferred to make it on Saturday but I knew that day was going to be crazy busy. Thursday was the only day of the week that I didn't work- I couldn't because we had a delivery for the bathroom coming that day. Stuck at home with a pantry full of sugar, flour, oil, spices and a fridge with plenty of butter and carrots, I decided that I'd make two of Abby's birthday treats on Thursday and freeze them. I was so glad that I did the work on Thursday that I did.
Carrot cake is something that I'd not made before April of 2019. Since mid April of 2019, I've made it four times. It's safe to say that we like it- A LOT! A part of me wishes that the recipe I use for my carrot cake is a treasured family one. But, that is not the case. I lucked out and found a good one- the first one I tried- online. The recipe is from a site called Delish.com. I use the frosting from the same site, too. I one and a half the frosting recipe because I think the frosting makes the cake and I want there to be a lot of it!
Earlier in the week, my sister texted me to ask for the "unique" chocolate chip cookie recipe that I shared with her years ago. I knew immediately what she was talking about so I texted her the recipe and then couldn't get the cookies out of my mind. I decided to make them for Abby's party even though she didn't ask for them. I first made the cookies years and years ago after reading great reviews of them. They are great cookies to make for a crowd because they make more than a typical recipe. They also stay fresh way longer than traditional cookies, should the crowd for which you make them not eat them in a day or two. I wasn't sure why I stopped making them but then I remembered after I made them this week- Donnie doesn't like them. They have a unique taste to them. They remind me a little bit of a shortbread cookie. They have cream of tarter in them- something not found in most cc cookie recipes. Then there's two kinds of fat- butter and vegetable oil, large amount of flour- over four cups, and the paucity of eggs- just one egg for the large batch. All I can say is, they're unique. And great for when you want a large batch of cookies. Ok, I'm starting to repeat myself. I'll stop talking about them... Do try them for a different cookie experience... By the way, Alyssa and I loved the cookies, Donnie didn't like them and Abby didn't have any (she eats super healthy and was only interested in eating the sweets that she requested). I daresay that Jacob wouldn't like them as he generally doesn't like deviations from the Nestle Tollhouse recipe that we use.
I made both the cookies and carrot cake on Thursday and froze them. Both of them probably would have still been fresh on Sunday but I didn't want to take any chances.
On Saturday, I made an item that Abby requested, Oreo truffles. These fairly recently came into our recipe repertoire. I had them at a graduation party over a year ago and fell in love them. I found out they were easy to make and only had three ingredients- Oreos, cream cheese, and melted chocolate. It was an easy decision to try my hand at making them. While my truffles are not nearly as pretty as the ones I had at the grad party (I assumed they had been purchased at a gourmet bakery/ patisserie), they taste just like the rich concoction that I had at the grad party. We've made them a few times since I first had them and was happy to make them for Abby on her birthday. Oreo truffle recipes can be found very readily online. I don't even know for sure the recipe I used- they are all very similar if not exactly the same. Take a softened brick of cream cheese and add it to 36 crushed Oreos. Mix well and form into small balls. Melt 16 ounces of chocolate and dip the Oreo balls into the chocolate. Refrigerate. That's it!
We had the goodies at Abby's birthday celebration with family. All present seemed to enjoy :). The following Saturday, Abby had a painting party with her dance friends. I made chocolate cupcakes (from a mix, don't judge) with homemade chocolate frosting. The frosting recipe that I used is the one I always use for chocolate icing. It's posted on the back of Hershey's cocoa boxes. I think if a tad bit more butter was added to the icing, you'd end up with fudge instead of icing. As it is, the icing is rich and chocolaty.
Here are links to the recipes that I used and below those are some pictures. Because next to my love of writing about recipes and the food we love is photographing said food :).
By the time I'd finished making the carrot cake and the cookies, I'd used a total of seven cups of flour and 3 cups of white sugar.
What's scarier- My Dollar Store Halloween oven mitt or the one next to it? The one in, um, less good shape than the other was a wedding present so it's over twenty years old. It's obviously been used a lot. I suppose I should throw it out but it then I think that it still has some life in it, even though its appearance is past its prime.
Kitchen mess...
The fruit, er, sugar/ floor of my labor- two eight inch carrot cakes and lots of cookies
Into the freezer they went...
I kept a few cookies out for us to eat...
On Saturday, I thawed the carrot cake, made the cream cheese icing and decorated the cake. I think it turned out cute!!
Abby and her birthday goodies
A week after Abby's birthday, she had a birthday party with her dance friends. She told me she didn't care what I made. So, I made chocolate cupcakes with chocolate icing. I had some leftover cookies from the week before (that I'd frozen so they wouldn't go stale)
I thought they turned out cute and their taste received good reviews from the party goers.
Abby requested carrot cake and Oreo truffles for her 17th birthday. I made those two items and, in addition, made some chocolate chip cookies. Abby didn't request the cookies but I wanted to have a finger food type item for when guests were over for Abby's birthday. The only thing better than indulging in goodies is writing about our sweet experiences and how we came to love them.
I made Abby's carrot cake the Thursday before her birthday. I would have preferred to make it on Saturday but I knew that day was going to be crazy busy. Thursday was the only day of the week that I didn't work- I couldn't because we had a delivery for the bathroom coming that day. Stuck at home with a pantry full of sugar, flour, oil, spices and a fridge with plenty of butter and carrots, I decided that I'd make two of Abby's birthday treats on Thursday and freeze them. I was so glad that I did the work on Thursday that I did.
Carrot cake is something that I'd not made before April of 2019. Since mid April of 2019, I've made it four times. It's safe to say that we like it- A LOT! A part of me wishes that the recipe I use for my carrot cake is a treasured family one. But, that is not the case. I lucked out and found a good one- the first one I tried- online. The recipe is from a site called Delish.com. I use the frosting from the same site, too. I one and a half the frosting recipe because I think the frosting makes the cake and I want there to be a lot of it!
Earlier in the week, my sister texted me to ask for the "unique" chocolate chip cookie recipe that I shared with her years ago. I knew immediately what she was talking about so I texted her the recipe and then couldn't get the cookies out of my mind. I decided to make them for Abby's party even though she didn't ask for them. I first made the cookies years and years ago after reading great reviews of them. They are great cookies to make for a crowd because they make more than a typical recipe. They also stay fresh way longer than traditional cookies, should the crowd for which you make them not eat them in a day or two. I wasn't sure why I stopped making them but then I remembered after I made them this week- Donnie doesn't like them. They have a unique taste to them. They remind me a little bit of a shortbread cookie. They have cream of tarter in them- something not found in most cc cookie recipes. Then there's two kinds of fat- butter and vegetable oil, large amount of flour- over four cups, and the paucity of eggs- just one egg for the large batch. All I can say is, they're unique. And great for when you want a large batch of cookies. Ok, I'm starting to repeat myself. I'll stop talking about them... Do try them for a different cookie experience... By the way, Alyssa and I loved the cookies, Donnie didn't like them and Abby didn't have any (she eats super healthy and was only interested in eating the sweets that she requested). I daresay that Jacob wouldn't like them as he generally doesn't like deviations from the Nestle Tollhouse recipe that we use.
I made both the cookies and carrot cake on Thursday and froze them. Both of them probably would have still been fresh on Sunday but I didn't want to take any chances.
On Saturday, I made an item that Abby requested, Oreo truffles. These fairly recently came into our recipe repertoire. I had them at a graduation party over a year ago and fell in love them. I found out they were easy to make and only had three ingredients- Oreos, cream cheese, and melted chocolate. It was an easy decision to try my hand at making them. While my truffles are not nearly as pretty as the ones I had at the grad party (I assumed they had been purchased at a gourmet bakery/ patisserie), they taste just like the rich concoction that I had at the grad party. We've made them a few times since I first had them and was happy to make them for Abby on her birthday. Oreo truffle recipes can be found very readily online. I don't even know for sure the recipe I used- they are all very similar if not exactly the same. Take a softened brick of cream cheese and add it to 36 crushed Oreos. Mix well and form into small balls. Melt 16 ounces of chocolate and dip the Oreo balls into the chocolate. Refrigerate. That's it!
We had the goodies at Abby's birthday celebration with family. All present seemed to enjoy :). The following Saturday, Abby had a painting party with her dance friends. I made chocolate cupcakes (from a mix, don't judge) with homemade chocolate frosting. The frosting recipe that I used is the one I always use for chocolate icing. It's posted on the back of Hershey's cocoa boxes. I think if a tad bit more butter was added to the icing, you'd end up with fudge instead of icing. As it is, the icing is rich and chocolaty.
Here are links to the recipes that I used and below those are some pictures. Because next to my love of writing about recipes and the food we love is photographing said food :).
- Carrot cake recipe from Delish.com
- Cream cheese frosting- that which is listed on the Delish.com website recipe for the carrot cake- I recommend 1 1/2ing the recipe for best results.
- "Unique" chocolate chip cookies (they are dubbed "The Best Ever" chocolate chip cookie by the author from whose website I got them; however, I believe that's an audacious claim (especially since Donnie doesn't even care for them!)) from Life in Grace.
- Oreo truffles- from Allrecipes (though this exact recipe abounds on the internet...)
- Chocolate frosting- dubbed "Perfectly Chocolate" frosting on Hershey's website and on the back of Hershey's cocoa containers- I wholeheartedly agree! The recipe online is here.
Thursday morning about to begin baking... my sugar and flour jars were full
By the time I'd finished making the carrot cake and the cookies, I'd used a total of seven cups of flour and 3 cups of white sugar.
What's scarier- My Dollar Store Halloween oven mitt or the one next to it? The one in, um, less good shape than the other was a wedding present so it's over twenty years old. It's obviously been used a lot. I suppose I should throw it out but it then I think that it still has some life in it, even though its appearance is past its prime.
Kitchen mess...
The fruit, er, sugar/ floor of my labor- two eight inch carrot cakes and lots of cookies
Into the freezer they went...
I kept a few cookies out for us to eat...
On Saturday, I thawed the carrot cake, made the cream cheese icing and decorated the cake. I think it turned out cute!!
I also made the Oreo truffles on Saturday. No pics of the making process because once I get started with the making of them, I don't want to touch any surface that isn't super clean, ie my phone and camera shutter release button. Since the truffles aren't baked, I want to ensure that my hands start out clean and stay that way until the truffles are done.
Abby and her birthday goodies
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