Tropical Pineapple Cupcakes

Before we officially say goodbye to summer, and head into the fall baking season I wanted to share with you one more tropical recipe that you can enjoy as we savor these last few weeks of beach weather! I had intended to post this sooner so you may have already seen the recipe over on Half Baked. We were out of town over Labor Day weekend visiting family, came home to our air conditioner not working and then little Sam got sick, so it's been a rocky start these first few days of September! So anyways, here are my Pineapple & Coconut cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and dried pineapple flowers on top! Enjoy these last few days of summer!

Check back soon for some fun cookie posts up next!

Unscramble the Cookies...

This past weekend I did a fun baking project...it involved cookies in the shapes of letters, brightly iced in lime green, turquoise and orange (the colors of Sam's nursery). There is a hidden message within these cookies...can you guess what it says?

I then boxed up the cookies in some cute Martha Stewart packaging, wrote a little note from Sam (he's only 5 months now...so I had to help him!) and sent them off with my sister on a flight instructing her to be extra careful with them! The cookies were to be opened and unscrambled by my dad, "aka...Gpaw" as a surprise for his....any guesses before you scroll down to the next picture?

60th Birthday! Since Sam and I couldn't be there to celebrate with him in person, I thought it would be fun to send him an edible birthday wish! I love how the cookies turned out, so fun and vibrant! I came up with the whole color scheme from the colors we used in Sam's nursery.

My dad and step mom actually made all of Sam's crib bedding, curtains, a quilt and pillows so I thought it would be fun to do the cookie photo shoot in the nursery surrounded by all the bright colors and fun patterns! It was quite the task trying to photograph this little guy, he's such a wiggler these days and is just starting to sit up on his own.

I love the way he is looking at the cookies in this picture. He is definitely going to be a little cookie monster if he's anything like his mama!

Sam's exhausted after the shoot! Time to relax!This is probably one of my all time favorite pictures of him to date!

I talked to my dad yesterday and he absolutely loved the cookies! My sister took a video of him trying to unscramble the message and she said it took him about 6 minutes to figure it out! I'm still waiting on her to send me the video to watch! So Emily if you're reading this...hurry up and send please!

Also, if you are wondering about this absolutely adorable outfit Sam has on, it was given to me as gift from Carrie @ Half Baked. If you are a long time follower of my blog you know that I contribute to Half Baked with a monthly cupcake recipe! So how fitting was it for Carrie to send me this cupcake onesie with Sam's name on it and it matches his nursery too! She also sent an adorable bib that has the turquoise chevron pattern on it and say's "Mommy's Little" and then a picture of a cupcake! Thanks again Carrie for such a thoughtful gift!

Happy 1st Birthday Max!

Check out these adorable cookies I made and sent to my friend Laurie for her son's 1st birthday today! Laurie was decorating for the party in bright primary colors so I thought it would be cute to do the cookies in blue, green and yellow for little Max! I added a few polka dots and stripes to provide a fun assortment for the party guests!

Laurie and Max live in Florida and we live in Alabama so I've only seen her little guy once when he was about 3 months old! I was actually about 4 months pregnant with Sam when we met Max. So it has been a long time and he has changed like crazy since then. Hopefully Max and Sam can meet sometime soon, I know they would be the best of buddies! Good thing for iphones these days b/c we are able to send pictures back and forth of our little ones growing and changing so quickly!

We wish you a HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY MAX!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

For all you cookie dough lovers out there, this recipe is for you! Jam packed with lots of cookie dough inside and out these cupcakes won't disappoint. Moist chocolate cupcakes with a ball of chocolate chip cookie dough hidden inside. Definitely a nice surprise once you take a bite through the first layer of cookie dough in the frosting!

The recipe is over at Half Baked so be sure to check it out.

So go grab a bag of chocolate chips and put this on your baking to do list for the weekend!

Enjoy!

Beach Cookies

This past weekend we took a short beach trip to Portofino Island, FL. We were visiting family and so of course I decided this would be the perfect opportunity to make something fun for the nieces and nephews! The kids were each bringing friends so I thought the girls would enjoy some bikini cookies and the boys some swim trunks!I also threw in some beach balls with sugar sprinkles! The cookies were a hit and all devoured immediately after dinner on the first night!

I just had to share this picture of our little beach bum! How cute is he all covered up in his beach attire! We tried so hard to keep him out of the sun, in the shade and under umbrellas, but the poor little guy still managed to get a little sunburn on his cheeks and top of the head. He absolutely loved the beach though and we can't wait for many more family trips!

 

Have you made any beach themed cookies this year? Where is your favorite family vacation spot?

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

I hope you all are having a wonderful summer so far! It's been pretty hot here in Mobile so we've made a few trips to the beach with our new little boy and we've also enjoyed staying cool inside with the AC. And most every night comes to an end with some type of ice cream treat! Today I'm excited to share with you one of my all time favorite treats as a kid...Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes! Yes you heard that right, cake baked in side of an ice cream cone. So grab some ice cream cones, your favorite ice cream toppings and let's get ready to bake some of the cutest and most perfect cupcakes for summer!

The recipe for these cupcake cones along with six "ice cream flavor" frostings are all on Half Baked to celebrate National Ice Cream Month! I'll give you tips on how to get the hand scooped or the soft serve look when decorating your cupcake cones! So head on over and check out this super easy recipe that will be a hit at your next summer party! Trust me the kids will love these...especially the cones with the edible candy eyeballs!

 

Have you ever made Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes before? What are some of your favorite ice cream flavors? Do you prefer your ice cream in a dish or a cone?

Rustic Cake Pops

I know things have been quiet on the blog here for a while now and I apologize. Life as a new mom to a 3-month old, working full time and trying to fit in daily chores around the house doesn't leave much time for baking and blogging these days! I have definitely missed baking and hope to get back in a normal routine soon! I have so many fun recipe and decorating ideas I'm excited to share...if only I could get the little one to take longer naps on the weekends so I can squeeze in some baking!

A few weeks ago I did manage to crank out 120 cake pops for my friend Alicia's wedding shower. Lucky for me, my mom was in town to watch our little guy so I could roll, dip and decorate the cake pops. Alicia is planning a fall wedding on a farm in North Carolina and her decorations are going to be very simple and rustic, with navy and beige as the main colors. To display the cake pops for the wedding shower I decided to use some burlap and navy grosgrain ribbon wrapped around soup cans to match her theme for the wedding. These DIY cans couldn't be any simpler to make and super affordable as well. Stuff them with some paper shredding on top and you've got a beautiful cake pop bouquet!

 

Check back soon for a new and super fun cupcake recipe for summer time!