My baby goes back to school this week. I know he’s not a baby anymore, far from it; he’s starting fourth grade. It seems like just yesterday I was dropping him off at preschool with him in tears, and me on the verge.

He has literally grown UP over the summer… at least a couple of  inches, and he should pass up his dad and I in a few years. This summer, the boy came to master the art of sarcasm. I’m not sure if this is good or bad, but I think it goes with the 4th grade territory. I’m excited to see what the year has in store for him, and am going to do my best to enjoy my time with him and not get too distracted with the rest of life (my ongoing struggle!).

I did several baby shower cookie orders this summer, and though I didn’t know any of the moms-to-be personally, I found myself thinking about them, as I worked on their orders. When I was pregnant, I was totally overwhelmed with all of the baby stuff I needed, or should I say thought I needed. My mom and I walked into Babies R Us to register for my shower, and both of us were totally overwhelmed by too many options. What bottles to buy? Do I really need that baby monitor? Won’t I hear him crying from the next room? There were so many things I thought I needed, that never were used. 

If I could give these new moms any advice, I’d tell them to savor every moment. Even when they haven’t slept or showered, or have spit-up on the clean shirts they finally got around to putting on… enjoy it. In a flash, they’ll be sending their babies off to school, smiling back on those days when it was just the two of them.    

I have to add a congratulations to my girlfriend Tammy who just found out that she’s pregnant. Up until now, Tammy had an only kiddo, and didn’t know if she’d have another baby. Her son is also going into 4th grade this year. My plan is to live vicariously through her and hold her baby whenever I need my baby fix.  Tammy, I am making these for your shower, and if you’re having a girl (yes, that is a possibility… breathe), these cookies will be totally pinked out!

These onesies made good-sized cookie favors. I don’t have a onesie cookie cutter (they do make them), but I was able to easily make one with the t-shirt jersey cookie cutter that I do have. I liked how big they turned out. I decorated them with polka dots and stripes, and a few other patterns. These are the only pictures I ended up with. The dog ate my data card. I know it sounds like a great excuse, but sadly it’s the truth! I’m planning on making baseball team jersey cookies soon and have a feeling this cookie cutter is going to get a lot of use. The t-shirt jersey cookie cutter can be found here. Below are a couple of pictures showing how I transformed these into onesies.

Have a fabulous week everyone!

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Last week I made these to bring to a girls night that my friend Jen hosted. They tasted as good as they looked. I used mini cupcake liners for these. Have you noticed that people are often more likely to indulge in three or four bite-sized cupcakes, than one regular sized one? It can’t be all that fattening if it’s just a bite or two… or three, right?

I’m not a doctor, nor do I play one on t. v. (remember that annoying commercial?), but life experience has taught me that the combination of peanut butter and chocolate is a great remedy for the following ailments:

• over-load
• over-tired
• over-worked
• PMS
• naughty children
• bad date
• looming deadline
• messy house
• messy kids
• messy husband (no longer my ailment)
• too many days on a diet (a.k.a. starvation)
• back to school blues (which I’m currently suffering from)

Have I missed anything? Another remedy for all of the above is my boyfriend Kendall Jackson. Your favorite wine will probably do the trick too! And if it’s a really bad day, indulge in both!

And if you don’t suffer from any of the above, these are pretty darn good just for the heck of it! Cupcakes don’t require a reason.

I used Ina Garten’s chocolate cake recipe, the best-ever chocolate cake. I discovered this recipe when I created the caramel frappuccino cupcakes awhile back. This peanut butter frosting is light and fluffy, and not overly sweet (I have yet to find anything too sweet for my liking, but some of the girls commented that this frosting appealed to them because it wasn’t over the top sweet.).

These would be a fun candy bar cupcake for Halloween, just sprinkle with chopped up Reese’s!

Fluffy, But Not Too Sweet Peanut Butter Frosting

printable recipe

1 cup peanut butter (not organic)

1/2 cup butter, softened

3 tbsp. heavy whipping cream *

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

Beat butter and peanut butter using an electric mixer until well combined. Mix in powdered sugar gradually. As the frosting thickens, add heavy cream 1 tbsp. at a time. Beat for three minutes until light and fluffy. To achieve the frosting consistency that you like, you may need to add a little more cream or more powdered sugar.

* You can substitute milk.

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There are 116 shopping days or baking days until Christmas, depending on how you want to look at it. I have gone without a paycheck since June, and am officially poor. (It’s not easy being a teacher!) The word “shopping” has been banned from my vocabulary, so I prefer to think in terms of baking days. I know it seems like there’s plenty of time before the holiday madness starts, but it always seems to sneak up on us.

These peppermint candy cookies are festive for the holiday, but you can use any colors to coordinate with your party theme, and they’d make cute cookie favors.  I tried two different decorating techniques for two different effects.

 OR

The fabulous people at Wilton are letting me give away one of my most used baking items… this 50 Piece Tool Caddy Decorating Set. This kit will keep your baking tools totally organized, so you’re not always searching for what you need. I keep my caddy in a kitchen cabinet right above my Kitchen Aid, and pull it out whenever I’m decorating.

Here’s what’s inside this 50 piece set:

• A bunch of decorating tips organized in a removable tray

• Flower nail

• Disposable bags and a reusable soft touch bag

• Tip brush for cleaning decorating tips

• Couplers

• Spatula

• 4 of the most popular Wilton gel icing colors

• Beginner’s guide to decorating

This kit is perfect for both beginning and advanced bakers. If you already have a baking tool caddy, this would make a fabulous Christmas present, and you’d be able to check someone off your gift-giving list.

But this is a holiday give-away, right? To get you inspired for all of your holiday cookie baking, Wilton is also including a copy of the Wilton book, Cookie Exchange. It is full of original cookie ideas, and step by step photo instructions.

Here’s how to enter*:

You have a total of 4 chances to win:

(Be sure to leave a separate comment for each.)

We have a winner! Random.org selected comment #105, Miss Jillian. Check out her adorable blog if you have a chance www.missjilliandesigns.blogspot.com . Thanks for playing along everyone. Grin and Bake it will be hosting a fall give-away soon, so stay tuned!

1. Leave a comment telling me what your favorite Wilton product is. Here’s the link  if you want to shop!

2. Follow Grin and Bake it ~ Join the Grin and Bake it Facebook group, follow me on Twitter, or sign up for the RSS feed. Scroll down on the sidebar and click under “Follow Me”. (If you’re already a follower, let me know in a comment how you follow the blog.)

3. Subscribe to Grin and Bake It and receive emails when new posts are published. To subscribe, scroll down on the sidebar to “subscribe” and enter your email address. I promise this is totally safe! Post a comment letting me know you subscribed.

4. Tweet this give-away “Christmas comes early… Enter to win Wilton’s holiday giveaway @grinandbakeit http://wp.me/pnls6-2O1

Contest ends on Friday, September 3rd at 9 P.M. Pacific Standard Time. The winner will be selected randomly at random.org, and will be posted on this post. I will send the winner an email letting him/her know that he/she has won. The winner will have 24 hours to respond to the email, otherwise, a second winner will be selected.

*This contest is only open to people living in the U.S. (I do apologize to my Canadian blogging friends.)

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There are few things I’d ever claim to be an expert on, but when it comes to making teachers happy, I do know a thing or two. I am an elementary teacher, currently out of the classroom overseeing the gifted program in my district. My time is spent supporting teachers and parents, and organizing testing for several thousand kids each year. Teachers like food. I realize this is a generalization, but spend any time in the staff lounge and you’ll see teachers will eat just about anything. You might even get grossed out. Teachers don’t have the luxury of having a lunch hour. By the time they walk their kids to the lunch tables, get stopped by a parent or two, and pee, there’s usually about twenty minutes to cram something into their mouths before it’s back to the kids.  

You know what teachers hate? Memos. I think every classroom teacher deserves his or her own secretary. Each morning, the teacher is greeted by a stack of papers ~ memos from the pricipal, messages from parents, assembly schedules, and all of those copies he or she needs ro run for their morning lesson. If you live in California, good luck on the copies, the schools that actually have money aren’t spending it on copy paper.

So here is my advice… when your kids start school, send them with a little treat for the teacher. And at Back to School Night, bring a little treat for the teacher. Don’t feel like it’s bribery. It’s about making someone feel appreciated. My boy is required to find out what his teacher’s drink of choice at Starbucks is by the time he comes home from his first day of school. Surprising the teacher with their favorite coffee, is the ultimate treat.

The cookie memo was inspired by what I know about teachers. It’s the best memo they’ll get of the entire year, guaranteed, and possibly the best memo of their careers.

And since you’re making cookie memos for the teacher, make an extra to give to your kiddo on his or her first day. Stick it in the lunch bag. The other kids will think you’re the coolest mom ever.

Here was my memo to myself yesterday…

I was freaking out a bit, getting totally overwhelmed with what’s ahead. I’m in summer mode ~ no alarm clock, no carpool, no work, pure relaxation. How in the world am I going to do it all in two weeks, and escape a nervous breakdown? I also made one for my girlfriend Laura. She and I work together, and she needed one too.

Oh, and if you’re married, I think the cookie memo could possibly save your marriage. “Pick up your shoes.”, “Put the seat down.”, “Do you think the dishes are going to wash themselves?”. In cookie form, how can he argue? It’s not nagging if it’s written on a cookie.

The markers are made to go onto icing, and are completely safe. Let’s not use Sharpies on these. Here’s a link for the markers. You can also find them in the baking section at Michael’s, or your local craft store.

Here’s a quick how-to…

What would you write on a cookie memo? Any great ideas?

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One of my girlfriends,  Tina, hosted a party to celebrate her 40th birthday this past weekend. When I asked her what I could bring, she said,” How about those eyeballs you made. Everyone loves those.”  Someone eavesdropping would think this was a really bizarre conversation, but I knew exactly what she meant. I host an annual pumpkin carving party each year, and last year I made chocolate covered brownie bites, disguised as eyeballs. Since eyeballs didn’t really go with the birthday bash theme, I dressed up these brownies in party attire.

I have been wanting to make these brownie sundae bites that I saw on Kristan’s blog, Confessions of a Cookbook Queen. If you follow my blog, you know what a fan I am of hers. So, Kristan ~ I totally copied you, but imitation is the best form of flattery, right? And you know I’m not a stalker, but truly an admirer.

These were huge on cute factor, great on taste, and best of all these brownie bites, balls, truffles ~ whatever you choose to call them are easy to make. (See this post for instructions.) For the record, I don’t like to call them brownie balls or the ones with cake, cake balls, as some bakers do. It doesn’t sound very lady-like. Am I the only person whose mind always goes straight to the gutter?  Let’s all agree to call them something other than brownie balls, shall we?

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