One of the benefits of being a blogger of sweets is eating said sweets–in this case, chocolate cupcakes with buttercream frosting–at any time of the day. Another benefit? Joining a community of like-minded sweets makers and bloggers. Today I join 20 other bloggers as we craft cupcakes to match our bella cupcake couture cupcake wrappers. Hosted by Carrie Middlemiss from Bella Cupcake Couture and Betsy Eves, of JavaCupcake.com & Cupcakes Take the Cake, it’s a Cupcake Couture Blog Party to show you how good cupcakes can look, and how easy it is to make them wow. And there’s a giveaway. A giveaway of over 500 bucks worth of cool stuff!  To enter the GIVEAWAY, scroll to the end of this post.

Visit everyone to see what they did with their cupcake wrappers:

Bella Cupcake Couture

Chronicles of a Foodie

Crazy for Crust

Creative Food

Cupcakes Take the Cake

Diary of a Mad Hausfrau

Eat Your Heart Out

Haniela’s

Hoosier Homemade

In Katrina’s Kitchen

Inside BruCrew Life

Java Cupcake

Love From the Oven

Make Bake Celebrate

Not Just a Mommy

Sugar Daze

Sugar Swings! Serve Some

The Baked Equation

The Baking Cup

The Decorated Cookie

I got these colorful polka dots. I had a bunch of ideas to decorate the cupcakes in polka dots. Icing dots, sprinkle dots, candy dots, fondant dots. But I wanted to use the actual cupcake wrappers in the decorating. So I made these super-easy polka dot cupcake wrapper cupcake toppers. Just use cardstock in coordinating colors to any cupcake wrapper, or buy an extra set of cupcake wrappers and use those.

For the cupcakes, make your favorite recipe or just use store-bought cake mix. I then prepared my buttercream frosting, added a bit of white food coloring to brighten the frosting, and prepared a disposable decorating bag with a size “1M” tip. Pipe the frosting on top of the cupcake and let set a bit.

For the polka dot cupcake toppers…

you will need:*

cupcake wrappers and/or coordinating cardstock

scissors or a 1 1/2-inch circle punch

craft knife and mat

6-inch lollipop sticks

*Find the supplies in the craft store.

what to do:  Use the circle punch (or just trace a circle and cut out with scissors) to cut circles from extra cupcake wrappers and/or cardstock. With the craft knife, on a mat, cut a small “X” in the middle of a circle. Thread the lollipop stick through the “X” and repeat with more circles. Insert the topper into the cupcake.

More TIPS: To make the backdrop, I just cut out larger circles from the cardstock and glued to white paper. I also cut out circles to place on top of these cupcake stands.

And now… THE GIVEAWAY!!!

Look at all this cupcake coolness you can win from these great sponsors:

Thanks to our amazing Prize Pack sponsors for their generous donations! Please, visit their websites to see more of their fabulous products!

Cupcake Stand

Java Cupcake

Lil’ Punkin Creations

Sweets & Treats Boutique

To enter to WIN this Prize Pack, simply fill out the entry form below.

Contest opens May 21st at 07:00 am PST and closes May 27th at 11:59 pm PST. One winner will be chosen and announced within 24 hours of the contest ending. Winner will be contacted via email to claim their prize.

This contest is open to residents of the USA and Europe only.

Feel free to share (nicely)! While my blog's photographs and text are protected by copyright, I do allow (and encourage) you to share ONE photograph with credit to "the decorated cookie" and link to this blog post. PLEASE don't reprint any part of the blog post and PLEASE don't post a photo without credit. Thank you!

Well, only the ones on the bottom are angry. The one at the top is happy to be in such a place of honor.

It’s amazing what a couple of lines will do to give a Peep character.

Hey, why is that one so smug? Oh, right. He knows the ones at the top are the first to go.

To make these (Seriously? You want to make these?)…

Just draw faces with a black or brown edible writer and skewer with an 8-inch lollipop stick. It helps to grease the end of the lollipop stick with Crisco first.

By the way, if you’re into Peeps with character, anybody remember this collection of 12 Ways to Get Rid of Leftover Peeps?

 Tweet

Feel free to share (nicely)! While my blog's photographs and text are protected by copyright, I do allow (and encourage) you to share ONE photograph with credit to "the decorated cookie" and link to this blog post. PLEASE don't reprint any part of the blog post and PLEASE don't post a photo without credit. Thank you!

Oh, PEEPS. How silly, iconic, sweet, ubiquitous and a little bizarre you are. I know you arrive at every season, but Easter is really where you shine. Take your spotlight, Peeps. Enjoy it. Just don’t get too close to the spotlight (those things pack a lot of heat). When Michelle from Sugar Swings! Serve Some and Christi of Love From the Oven invited me to join them and fellow bloggers in a Peeps extravaganza, the Spring Hop Along PEEPS Party, the answer was kind of a no-brainer. Duh. Of course. We’re talking Peeps here. Be sure to hop along to everyone’s post, and there’s even a PEEPtastic GIVEAWAY!!

Scroll to the end of the post for all the links to the PEEPs party and for the GIVEAWAY details.

I went out and bought a plethora of PEEPS bunnies. I’ll call these Peeps bunnies in chocolate pudding egg shells. Seems a mouthful (literally, that’s how you have to eat them), but I can think of no better description. Peeps bunnies in chocolate eggs? Probably better. They are pretty easy to make, too.

how to make Peeps bunnies in chocolate eggs

you will need:*

Peeps bunnies

Wilton brownie pop silicone mold

semi-sweet chocolate chips

disposable decorating bags

paint brush

scissors

green candy melts

baking tray

wax paper

pudding or mousse

small spoon

royal icing flowers (optional)

*Find the brownie mold, disposable decorating bags, paint brush and candy melts at the craft store. I just piped the flowers with leftover royal icing I had, but you can also purchase pre-made flowers at the craft store.

step one: make your chocolate eggs

Place just over half a cup of chocolate chips in a disposable decorating bag. Melt in the microwave at 60 percent power for 90 seconds. Repeat at 30 second intervals until the chocolate is completely melted. Snip 1/4-inch from the tip and pipe a dollop of chocolate in a cavity of the brownie mold. Use the paint brush to brush the chocolate about 3/4 of the way up the sides. I used a good bit of chocolate to minimize breakage. A half of cup of chips should fill 8 cavities of the mold. Place in the fridge to harden about two hours. Carefully pop the chocolate eggs out of the mold and store in the fridge.

step two: make your grass

Line a baking tray with wax paper. Follow the same instructions above to melt green candy melts in a disposable decorating bag. Snip 1/4-inch from the end, and working with one egg at a time, loosely pipe a blob for grass and set a chocolate egg on top. Repeat with all the eggs and let set in the fridge to harden. If desired, add royal icing flowers before the candy melts harden, or pipe them after they harden.

step three: assemble your Peeps in eggs

Place a dollop of pudding or mousse in each egg. Snip the bottom off of a bunny and place in the cup.

 The Spring Hop Along PEEPS Party!!!

Be sure to visit all of the stops on the Hop Along PEEPS party! Here is the crew of talented bloggers knee deep in PEEPS.

And now… THE GIVEAWAY!!!

Our fabulous hosts, Sugar Swings! Serve Some and Love from the Oven, are giving away this PEEPS packed prize package.

Open to US Residents Only.  Use the Rafflecopter Widget below to enter, please remember it can be slow to load.  Good luck! Click here to enter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tweet

Feel free to share (nicely)! While my blog's photographs and text are protected by copyright, I do allow (and encourage) you to share ONE photograph with credit to "the decorated cookie" and link to this blog post. PLEASE don't reprint any part of the blog post and PLEASE don't post a photo without credit. Thank you!

How has it already been three weeks since my fabulous trip to HERSHEY’S headquarters? Sigh. I miss Hershey’s. The luxury hotel room, the spa, the royal treatment, the excitement of working with the wow-amazing crew in the HERSHEY’S test kitchens. Oh yeah, and the chocolate. So very much chocolate. At least I have the chocolate in my kitchen. And so can you!!  One of you lucky folks will receive:  an apron, cookie cutters, set of recipe cards and variety of Hershey’s baking products from HERSHEY’S.  

Scroll to the end of this post for the GIVEAWAY.

My latest chocolate adventure is a super-easy one. What with this baby coming in six days (yeah, SIX days), everything I’m making falls under the category of “super-easy.” Chocolate Christmas tree pops. Quick and yummy.

how to make chocolate Christmas tree pops

you will need:*

HERSHEY’S Premier White Chips

HERSHEY’S HERSHEY-ETS Candy Coated Milk Chocolates in red and green colors

disposable decorating bags

scissors

baking tray(s)

wax or parchment paper

lollipop sticks

*Find the disposable decorating bags and lollipop sticks (6-inch is best) in the craft store.

what to do:

Line a baking tray or trays with wax or parchment paper. Place ½ to ¾ cup of Hershey’s white chips in a decorating bag. Microwave at 50 percent power for 1 minute, 30 seconds. Massage the bag and continue to microwave at 30 second intervals until the chocolate is melted. Massage the bag to remove any lumps. TIP: Close the top of the decorating bag with a rubber band, if you like. Snip about 1/4-inch from the tip of the bag. Pipe a dot on the baking tray, place a lollipop stick on top, then pipe a tree on top of the stick. Don’t worry about precision! I just piped back and forth to make three rows of “branches.” Immediately press the green and red Hershey-ets into the chocolate. Fill the rest of the tray(s) and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.

Want more chocolate?

Visit HERSHEY’S Kitchens for tons of recipes and craft ideas.

Check out my fellow bakers at Cookie Headquarters.

And if you need more inspiration, I’m collecting holiday goodies made with HERSHEY’S on a Pinterest board.

And now…. THE GIVEAWAY!!!!

THE PRIZE:

HERSHEY’S apron, cookie cutters, recipe cards and baking products.

TO ENTER:

Leave a comment to this post before Friday, December 7th, 2012, midnight, EST.

THE DETAILS:

Prize ships directly from HERSHEY’S to US addresses only.

Winner has 48 hours to respond after being notified before another winner is drawn.

EXTRA:

If you’ve baked any goodies using HERSHEY’S products and have blogged about them,

include the link and I’ll add to my Pinterest page, if you like.

(This one is NOT necessary to enter the giveaway, it’s just for my own collection.)

Tweet

Feel free to share (nicely)! While my blog's photographs and text are protected by copyright, I do allow (and encourage) you to share ONE photograph with credit to "the decorated cookie" and link to this blog post. PLEASE don't reprint any part of the blog post and PLEASE don't post a photo without credit. Thank you!

UPDATE: Congratulations to Meg! She won the book and prizes. And Congratulations to DD, Shannon, Elin and Ilissa! They won the cookie cutters and other Sugarlicious goodies. Thank you to all for participating!!

Just in time for the holidays! OK, so I’m too late for Halloween, but the other holidays. One last hoorah and trip to the post office before Baby 2 arrives in December. So I’m giving away a signed copy of my book, published earlier this year, Sugarlicious: 50 Cute and Clever Treats for Every Occasion (because you covet my autograph, right? Just humor me). AND I’m giving away some other things, like some Sugarlicious oven mitts, aprons, spatulas and Post-It notes. AND I’m giving away some Fall and Winter-themed cookie cutters for your baking in the next couple of months. It’s an all-out extravaganza, I think.

Read all about my book, Sugarlicious, HERE.

A peek inside the book:

(scroll to the end for the giveaway)

THE GIVEAWAY!

To enter: Leave a comment to this post before Thursday, November 8, midnight, EST. That’s it!

The Prizes: Five winners will be randomly drawn to win:

• •  1 winner will get a signed copy of Sugarlicious AND the Sugarlicous oven mitt, spatula, apron and Post-It notes AND the cookie cutters (leaf, turkey, pumpkin, snowman and snowflake).

• •  4 more winners will receive: The Sugarlicious oven mitt, spatula, apron and Post-It notes AND the five cookie cutters. (Sorry, folks, I only have one copy of the actual book to giveaway, so that goes to the 1st place winner.)

The Details:

Given my limited funds, I can ship to US addresses only.

Winners have 48 hours to respond after being notified before another winner is drawn.

Tweet

Feel free to share (nicely)! While my blog's photographs and text are protected by copyright, I do allow (and encourage) you to share ONE photograph with credit to "the decorated cookie" and link to this blog post. PLEASE don't reprint any part of the blog post and PLEASE don't post a photo without credit. Thank you!