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Lately for birthdays, I've just been making cupcakes and putting them on simple little homemade cupcake stands .  I can match the stand to the party's decor and it's a lot easier to frost a cupcake than it is to try to decorate a cake.  However, for my daughter's Tie-Dye Birthday Party , I decided to try my hand at making an actual Tie-Dye cake, instead of just cupcakes.  I happened to find this Shirt Cake Pan in my basement when I was looking for other party supplies in my basement, and it ended up working out perfectly.  Of course a regular cake shaped pan would be just as cute. Check out our Tie-Dyed Cake... Pretty cute, don't you think?  Here's what you'll need (feel free to make any of this from scratch, I just used store-bought supplies)... * box of white cake mix + ingredients to make it * 2 containers of white frosting * shirt cake pan or any other shape (I happened to get mine years ago at a garage sale and it seems Wilton no longer makes them, but ...

We made these yummy lollipops at my daughter's recent Tie-Dye Birthday party .  They were a fun little treat for the girls, but they were so easy, they'd be a fun little treat to make anytime. Check them out... Now look at how easy they are to make! Here's what you need... * Hard candy (photo shows Jolly Ranchers and Lifesavers, but I found that the Jolly Ranchers "melted" the best) * parchment paper (affiliate link) - found in the baking aisle * a hard object (to smash the candies) * sturdy plastic bags (small freezer bags worked great) * lollipop sticks (affiliate link) - found in                                                     the cake decorating section of most craft stores Here's what to do... 1. Unwrap your candies and separate by colors in your plastic...

I made these yummy treats for my daughter's Tie-Dye themed birthday party because the colorful swirls had a tie-dye effect.  However they were really yummy and super easy, so I know I'll be making them often as just a regular treat. The recipe is really simple because they're basically just Rice Krispie Treats, but with Trix cereal instead. Here's what you need... * 6 cups Trix cereal ( I used the swirls one) * 1 bag of marshmallows * 3 Tbsp. butter Here's what to do... In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.  Add the marshmallows and stir often until they're completely melted.  Remove from heat and stir in the cereal.  Using a greased spatula, press the mixture into a greased 9 x 13" pan (or you can use a smaller pan for thicker treats).  Allow to cool, then cut with a sharp knife. And here's the finished treats - easy, colorful, and really good! 

Yesterday was Pi Day ~ an unofficial "holiday" celebrating the mathematical expression of pi ( the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter and approximately equal to 3.14)  Get it?  March 14th is 3.14.  Now my kids aren't so far along in their math studies that they've actually worked with pi, but they eagerly accepted any excuse for a fun little dessert. Check out these fun, individual-sized pies... I made it super easy for us and just got some premade pie crusts and three different kinds of fillings ~ apple, blueberry, and cherry.   Making the pies was really simple and the kids liked choosing their fillings and adding some little designs to the tops of their pies.   It's really pretty self-explanatory, but this is how we made our mini pies... 1.  Preheat oven to 425*.  I also used some parchment paper to cover my cookie sheets. 2.  Using a small bowl or cup, cut circles out of your premade pie crust.  (Ours were about 5" or so)....

I first saw these "walking tacos" at an amusement park concession stand several years ago.  It's such a smart idea ~ putting the taco fixings in a snack size bag of chips.  However, I'd pretty much forgotten about them until my oldest went to a birthday party recently.  She came home telling me all about the "tacos in a bag" that she'd had and was begging me to make them for our family.  Well, her wish came true for dinner last night when I made them for me and the kids.  We ate ours sitting at the dinner table, but this would be the perfect food for a bbq, tailgate or any time you're on the go and don't want to have to sit down to eat. Check it out... So simple!  All you need are individual bags of chips, taco meat, and fixings.   (We liked Doritos for our chips, but Fritos, Sun Chips or other similar chips would also work.)   Crush the bag slightly to break the chips into smaller pieces, then add your fixings, grab a fork and enjoy! While not t...

As soon as I saw this recipe for a Peekaboo Pumpkin Pound Cake on Pinterest, I knew I wanted to give it a try.  I figured Valentine's Day would be the perfect time to try my own version with a hidden heart instead of a pumpkin.  For awhile there, I thought I'd have a big Pinterest Fail on my hands, but it ended up working out okay and the end result was cute enough to impress my kids for a special Valentine's dessert last night.  (Of course, anytime they get cake for dessert they are excited, but I thought this treat was particularly cool.) I'll include a few tips to help you avoid a potential fail in this "do as I say, not as I did" post. Check out this cute cake... Isn't that cute?  Red velvet cake hearts that are revealed when you slice into a white cake. Here's what you need:   (NOTE: I'm not a "from scratch" baker, so I used all box mixes and premade frostings, feel free to make your own if you'd like) * box of white cake mix * ...

I love making recipes that are easy and delicious, but have a cool little twist.  I first found this Saltine Toffee recipe years ago in one of those community cookbooks where everyone submits their favorite recipes.  I love making it because it's so super simple, but tastes absolutely awesome.  (I've heard of it referred to as "Christmas Crack" and I can see why, it's really addicting!)  You wouldn't think saltine crackers would belong in a candy recipe, but the slight saltiness and crunch that they give this toffee is just perfect. Take a peek... Here's what you need:   (It's only 5 ingredients!) saltine crackers (about 1 sleeve of crackers out of a box, plus a few extras) 1 cup of butter (that's 2 sticks) 1 cup of brown sugar, lightly packed 2 cups of chocolate chips, either milk chocolate or semi sweet (that's about 1 bag) approx 3/4 cup chopped nuts (optional) Here's what to do: 1.  Preheat your oven to 400*. 2.  Line a jelly roll pan ...

My daughter recently celebrated her 10th birthday with a slumber party for several of her friends.  When planning the treats for the party, I knew I wanted something fun and easy to serve.  As I was browsing Pinterest (seriously, how did I ever plan parties before Pinterest?) I came across these super cute cones at Maddycakes Muse .  How perfect!  They look so much like real ice cream cones but the fact that they're actually chocolate-covered Rice Krispie treats make them so easy to make in advance and serve easily. Check them out... Here's how I made them... (Note: To make 18 cones, I had to make up two batches of the Rice Krispie treat mixture) 1.  Make up a regular batch of Rice Krispie Treats.           * 1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)           *  1 bag of marshmallows           *  5 1/2 cups of Rice Krispie cereal ...

How's that for a title?  I'd seen the idea for chocolate peanut butter Bugles and thought they'd be perfect in candy corn colors.  Now, before we go any further, I've eaten enough candy corn over the years to know that these aren't the "official" candy corn colors in the proper order.  I know that it should be yellow on the bottom, then orange, and white on the tips.  However, I wanted to keep some of the yellow of the Bugles snacks showing so I had to use the orange at the base to keep the peanut butter in.   Believe me, though, once you taste these yummy little treats, you won't care that the color order has been switched around! Check these snacks out... Here's what you'll need... Bugles snacks Peanut butter Orange and White Melting chocolates Here's what to do... 1.  Start by filling each Bugle with a little bit of peanut butter.  I didn't do anything fancy, just used a knife to spread a little bit into each one.   (You'll find ...