White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

I was asked recently to make cookies for the out of town guests for a wedding.  The bride specifically requested Chocolate Chip cookies but gave me a few ideas about what she would like the other cookie to be.  I ultimately decided to do White Chocolate Macadamia Nut cookies mostly because I love them so much!

I love making cookies almost as much as I like eating cookies.  There is nothing better than a warm cookie with a cup of hot coffee to brighten my mood.  And to me, white chocolate macadamia nut cookies are just the perfect blend of salty and sweet.  Almost every time I bite into one, I am reminded of salty buttered popcorn, but then the sweetness of the white chocolate hits me.  I just love these cookies, especially when I get the "perfect" bite with a little bit of salty macadamia nut, some sweet white chocolate, and perfectly crumbly cookie.  Yum, yum!!!

Just a reminder that I am now accepting orders for the upcoming holiday months.  Take a look at my Holiday Cookies page for pricing info.  But remember that I am also available for pies or rolls for your Thanksgiving feast.

Cheeseburger Cake

I got an order from a friend for a cake that looks like a cheeseburger for her son's 2nd birthday. She also wanted a little one just for him to eat by himself. I thought it was a fabulous idea, and it turned out super cute!

It was unusual for me to make a cake where I did not use a pastry bag at all.  It didn't seem right.  I kept feeling like something was missing, but it did not need any piping.  I made the "buns" out of white cake with French buttercream.  The "burger" itself was chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream.  So in each thin slice, you got a nice mixture of all those flavors.  I used a large slice of orange fondant for the American cheese and green fondant for my lettuce.  I made a decision to leave the lettuce and cheese off of the small cake for the birthday boy.  He had three layers of cake, he didn't really need two layers of fondant too :)  All in all the cake looked awesome and tasted quite yummy.

If you want to cover your cake in crumbs, it's super easy.  When you level the cake, keep that part that you cut off and stick it back in the oven briefly to crisp it up a little bit.  That will make it a bit easier to crumble.  Just make sure you let it cool before sticking it onto your iced cake, otherwise your icing will melt.  Cake crumbs are great for lots of reasons.  They can add some texture to your cake.  They can make your cake look pretty without lots of decorating.  But also, they can help cover up mistakes on your cakes if you are not great at covering your cakes smoothly.