Possible Baker

Pink Sprinkle Cake

As you may have heard, I recently had a baby.

A beautiful baby girl.

And what better way to celebrate than with a cake. 

A cake with lots of pink.  And chocolate.  And sprinkles.

After all, it's a brand new baby we're talking about.

I guess I went a little crazy with the chocolate.  Maybe new momma's shouldn'r be allowed to play with ganache.  I mean, they might lick the entire spoon after drizzling it all over the cake....they just might.

Although our baby Ellie Mae can't eat this, I can.  And our many visitors stopping by to love on her can.

I mean, that's really why I made it, for the many visitors.  Not just me.

There were layers of pink.

I swear, this house has taken pink to a whole new level.

It's just one of the reasons I love having girls.

And layers of chocolate.

Chocolate ganache.

And sprinkles.  Because it just isn't a proper celebration without sprinkles.  And for baby girl's arrival, I had to do it up right.

And doing it up right means eating a piece of cake...one for her (and one for me).

Welcome to the world, beautiful Ellie!

Much baking love,

Jessie B.

Bake and Give Project Update

So you might remember Elijah, the first recipient of The Bake & Give Project.

Thanks to everyone that ordered from The Bake & Give Project and the matched donation by a local chiropractic clinic, almost $700 was raised for Elijah and his family.

See what random goodness nd cookies and cupcakes can do?

Thanks so much to everyone that ordered.  I couldn't have even thought of giving this amount by myself, but because of people with giving hearts like you, more than what I could have ever could have imagined was given to this family. 

A new Bake & Give Project recipient is going to be announced in the Spring, so if you didn't get a chance to give to Elijah, but would like to get in on the wonderful opportunity to give through the Bake & Give Project, stay tuned!

More more about The Bake & Give Project, click here.

 

Gingerbread Cheesecake Bites

It's December 1st.

Bubs and I are putting up the Christmas tree while the vintage Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer is playing the background. It is one of those moments that just make me smile because the holidays are here.

And to make it smell like Christmas, what better to bake than some gingerbread.

Gingerbread Cheescake Bites.

These not only smell delish, they taste super scrumptious.

And if you are thinking that gingerbread is too much to tackle, then you are like me.  So I opted for the bag mix of gingerbread. 

Nine months and literally barefoot and pregnant, I just had to bake some kind of Christmas cookie while we were decorating the house  and their was not a drop of energy in me to make anything from scratch.

That's when I came across these gingerbread cheesecake bites from Created By Diane.  Have you ever been by Diane's blog?  You have got to check it out.  She has this amazing mix of sweet treats and savory dishes that will leave you begging to spend more time in your kitchen.  Or atleast sitting at the table eating what she just inspired you to make in the kitchen.

These little cookies are so easy to make and I'm stressing the easy part because the taste of them is so incredibly amazing.  And the way they will make your house smell like the holidays is just as amazing.

You can find the recipe and an easy to follow tutorial on how to make them here.  Because our grocery didn't have the Pillsbury gingerbread cookie dough found in the refrigerated section, I had to use the Betty Crocker bag mix found in the baking aisle.

I melted white chocolate and red candy melts and put them each in a separate ziplock bag.  I cut just a small end off the tip of the ziplock bag and drizzeled them onto the tops of the cookies.

I have never had the combination of white chocolate and gingerbread before and ommiword....it is one I will be blending together again.  A definite new sweet mix of flavors to my tastebuds.

So thanks to Diane, I now have a new christmas cookie that I will be including in my holiday baking list. 

Another great thing about making these is that I am able to use my mini muffin pan.  I love mini versions of things....maybe because it's so much easier to pop them into my mouth as I walk by them...but I find that I underuse this pan way more than I would like.

Much Baking Love,

Jessie the Possible Baker

PS- I have linked this up to the fun Friday Flair party going on at Whipperberry! And Tidy Mom

Bake & Give Blessing

I got a phone call the other week from one of my very favorite friends. 

She and I met in Hawaii.  A far cry from my roots here in Minnesota. We were young-in's, not even 21.  After our short stint at school in Hawaii and a missions trip to Papua New Guinea, she went back to her home in Washington and I came back here.

We have only seen each other a handful of times in the last ten years, but every time we connect on the phone, it's as if we live two minutes away and just saw each other yesterday.  I so wish we did!

Don't you just cherish those kinds of friends so much?

Anyways, this friend from mine from Washington read about the Bake & Give Project and wanted to be a blessing to Elijah.  But what makes her so amazing is that she wanted to take it one step further and be a blessing to others.

So she got a group of friends together and they placed an order.  Six dozen cookies.  Any flavors I wanted to make.  A dozen each to be sent to six different addresses.... anonomously.  A surprise of cookies mailed to someone they knew was going through a rough time or to someone that could just use a little blessing in the mail.

Let me tell you, as a baker, I was blessed.

I've been learning alot as I bake.  And not just about how measurements should be accurate, or ingredients should be at room temperature, or exactly the right speeds to mix, but about how there is good out there in the world.  About how people really do want to give and spread a little bit of love to others.  About how things don't always have to be said, but can be spoken through actions.

The cookies were baked.  Six dozen different kinds.  Because I just got excited.

And the cookies were packaged with care and mailed. 

And I hope enjoyed.

I am so inspired by these women.  And by those who have ordered.    Thank you!!

 

Much Baking Love,

Jessie the Baker

I've also linked this post up to the wonderful parties going on at Tidy Mom and Whipperberry.

 

 

 

Upside Down Pumpkin Pie

So, I'll tell you...two things intimidate me.

Pie. And photographing pie on a black background.

Both things I did for the first time just for this post for you:)

The intimidating thing to me about pie is making a pie crust.

So I kindof took the easy way out and chose a recipe without a pie crust this time around.

The intimidating thing to me about photographing on a black background is that I don't know what any kind of craziness I am doing. But I decided to take a go at it anyway.

But enough about intimidation, let's get to pie. Amazingly, delicious, upside down pumpkin pie.

Nothing quite says Thanksgiving meal to me like pumpkin pie.  It's just one of those desserts that's always been there on the table after the turkey dinner.

Most of the time it's homemade by grandma, but on those few occasions when we haven't been at grandma's, it's still made an entrance, whether from the grocery store bakery or freezer or pantry from who ever is hosting.

So this year, I was asked to bring the pumpkin pie.

And what goes better with pie than whipped cream?

Lots and lots of whipped cream.  So I am bring the pumpkin pie and the whipped cream.

I love the top of this pie all scattered with pecans and I couldn't bear to cover them up with the whipped cream, so I took a different approach and coated the sides of this pie with creamy goodness.

Pecans on the top, pumpkin layer underneath, and whipped cream on the sides.

I absolutely think the pecans on top of this pie are beautiful, but I do wish I would have chopped them more to give them a smaller texture. 

The smell of this pie baking was unbelievably heavenly and made my house feel as fall and home-y as it could ever be. 

Every year, my grandma and I take a trip to the General Store in the fall.  It's huge and has tons of crafty, gifty items and we spend our time dilly dallying around looking at everything and getting a head start on our christmas shopping. 

Then we end the outing at the General Store Cafe with one of their enormous pumpkin bars.

Since the request was to make a pie and not bars, I put that experience into making this pie.

So I thought I sould taste a piece and see if that experience was brought though the stirring, spices, and baking.

Mmmmm....I've got to say, there was a smile on my face and another bite on my fork before I realized I made this pie to bring somewhere.....not for me to devour quietly bite by bite.

Upside Down Pumkin Pie (Adapted from the General Store Cookbook)

Ingredients:

1 can (15oz) pumpkin

1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk

3 eggs

3/4 cup sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 boxed  yellow cake mix

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

3/4 cup butter, melted

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350*F

2.  Line pan with parchment paper on the bottom and grease sides of pan with butter.

3. In a large bowl add the first 5 ingredients, and whisk together until fully combined.

4. Pour pumpkin mixture into 9" x 13" dish.

5. Sprinkle  1/2 box of cake mix onto of pumpkin layer.

6. Then sprinkle chopped pecans onto cake mix layer.

7. Pour melted butter over top.

8. Bake 80  minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

9. Cool for 30 minutes.

 

 

 Whipped Cream Topping

 

Ingredients:

1 pint whip cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

1.  Pour the liquid whip cream into a bowl and whip with a whisk attachment until stiff peaks form. 

2.  Add the vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract and powdered sugar and continue to whip until combined.

Happy Thanksgiving and pie eating everyone!

“Come join Love the Pie with TidyMom sponsored by Cherokee USA, Le Creuset, Wilton, Bags by Bloom and Harvard Common Press”

Much baking love,

Possible Baker

 

Fall Sprinkle Bark

Peanut Butter.

And chocolate.

One of the best loved combinations ever of all time.

And when I say that, please know, I am speaking from experience.

Lots and lots of experience. 

I must admit, I'm not one to turn down a blend of these two creamy ingredients.

When my mom in law bought me some of these...

I knew right away that they could make a tray of bark festive for fall.

So I got to making it.  Let me tell you, super easy, super yummy, and super fall-y.

It's like a candy bar, but better.

This was my first time making bark and the wonderful thing about it is there are so many ways to get creative.  You can add this or add that or swirl this and whirl that....

Look out cupboards, my next batch of bark might have me raiding and tossing whatever looks delightful into a dish of melted chocolate.

 

Do you need to whip something up to bring to the hostess of your Thanksgiving dinner?  This would be so cute wrapped up in a cello bag or packaged in a vintage style tin. 

Or are you creating a delicious Thanksgiving dinner at your home?  If so, I commend you and will probably be asking you for some cooking tips in the future whenever I have the pleasure of taking on this task for my family.  But until then, how about some of this scrumptious treat for your guests to snack on?

Or if you're like me, you'll be just a bit tempted to snack on it yourself....

And soon....um.....crumbs instead of bark!  What the...where did it...who took the last....?

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Fall Bark

Ingredients:

12 ounces dark chocolate (I used Ghiradelli)

10 ounces peanut butter chips (I used Reese's Peanut Butter Chips by Hershey's)

Wilton jumbo leaf sprinkles (or whatever your heart desires!)

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Chop up  the chocolate and melt it in the microwave or a double boiler. If using  the microwave, put chopped chocolate in a microwave-safe container and heat it for just about 20 seconds.  Stir and heat again until almost all the chocolate is melted through.  If there are still a few bits and pieces of unmleted chocolate in the dish, just give it a couple stirs and the hot chocolate should melt the last few pieces. 

Pour the chocolate onto the parchment paper, spread it with a spatula, and pop in into the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes.

While the dark chocolate is cooling, melt the peanut butter chips.

When the dark chocolate is done in the freezer, spread the melted peanut butter chips on top of the dark chocolate.

Throw on a handful of fall leaf sprinkles.

Pop the pan in the freezer for 20 minutes.

Break, eat, and enjoy!

 

Much Baking Love,

Possible Baker

 

New items for the Bake & Give Project!

Ahhh, a new season.  I feel like fall is officially over and winter has begun.  Although, there isn't any snow here yet....that's okay with me, though:)

Winter season means winter cupcakes and cookies for the Bake & Give Project.  Click here to read more about the Bake & Give Project and how you can help cute little Eijah just by purchasing cookies and cupcakes.

New for this season....

The white chocolate cherry cookie!

This is a chewy cookie filled with cherries and white chocolate and drizzled in white chocolate.

I love how it looks as festive as a candy cane.

And the Peppermint Brownie cupcake!

This is a brownie cupcake topped with peppermint buttercream frosting and garnished with red candies.

Delish.

To order, check out the Bake & Give Project by clicking on the link or on the left column where it says Bake & Give at the top of the page.  You can also email me at possiblebaker@gmail.com

Cookies are $12/ dozen and cupcakes are $20/ dozen.

Thanks for reading and an extra big thanks for supporting the Bake & Give Project!

I've also shared these items with the talented Heather of Whipperberry and creative TidyMom.

Much Baking Love,

Jessie B. {Possible Baker}

 

 

Shabby Chic Pumpkin Cookies

You already know of my love for pumpkins.

I wanted to take a new twist on them when making these cookies.

I wanted to make pretty pumpkin cookies.  Because I am a girl and like all things pretty.

I am also going to tell you...I am a little bit of a romantic and although there is very little shabby chic decor in my home, I really like it.  I am just not that talented to design with it.  True story, though, when my sister and I go to Target and we see their Simply Shabby Chic line, I have to stop and oohhh and aaahhh.  My sister, very nicely, says "ummm more your taste, not mine....next aisle, move it along, sis."

But the inspiration for these cookies did not come from Target.  Surprising, I know, because I seem to go there every week of my life.  It came from these beautifully decorated decoupaged Country Living pumpkins.

I really don't think I am talented enough to do decopauge.  I even had to look up the word decopauge to see exactly what it was, but let's keep that between us so I don't look that uncrafty.  But I thought they would be pretty as cookies.

And I think they did turn out kind of pretty. 

That little green one in the corner reminds me of an apple, though.

And these make me think of pumpkins decorated with a little bit of Florida style flair.

I used my go to recipe for sugar cookies, which actually not my recipe at all, but the wonderful and talented Bridget's at Bake at 350 recipe.  Definetly try it and bake your version of pumpkin cookies!  Then let me know all about it so we can enjoy and eat our pumpkin cookies together:)

 

Much Baking Love!

Jessie B. {Possible Baker}

 *I've also linked this post up to Tidy Mom and Whipperberry!  Stop by and check out all kinds of great ideas!

 

Candy Corn Cake in a Jar

I'm so excited to write this next post.  Almost as excited as I was to bake it.  But let's be honest, baking takes precedence over writing most days:)  You can probably tell by the writing part of this blog.

This post includes a few of the things that are on my favorite things list....

1) cake.

2) mason jars.

3) candy corn.

This was my first time ever baking cake in a jar.  I must tell you, I was nervous.  Especially because I didn't start out with something easy, like a simple cake baked in a jar.  No, I had to attempt my first jar cake baking experience as a layer cake in a jar.  Because that's how I roll, well bake...I mean...that's how I bake. 

They turned out great, though! And I am definetly going to be baking cake in a jar again.  Definetly soon, again.

Just one of the many things I love about mason jars...what a perfect serving size:)  I'm sure it equals one piece of cake, right?  One small piece, I kept telling myself as I suddenly saw the bottom of the jar after a few bites.

I went the easy route with these cakes.  I used a box mix. {gasp!}  I am usually a bake from scratch kind of girl, but I'll just say this.... besides the many unpronouncable (is that a word?) ingredients, I am all for using a cake box mix once in a while. 

Candy Corn Cakes in a Jar

• 1 box white cake mix (and ingredients to make it)
• Yellow food coloring
• Orange food coloring
• Candy corn
• Whipped Cream

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Make the cake as directed on the box.  Divide the cake batter evenly into three bowls.  Add yellow food coloring to one bowl and orange food coloring to another bowl.  The colors of the batter will be the colors you see in your cakes.  Cover a baking sheet with tin foil and put mason jars on the baking sheet.  I did four at a time on a pretty large baking sheet.  Using an ice cream scoop, put two scoops of the yellow batter into each jar and bake for about 12 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean when poked into the cake.  Put two scoops of orange batter into each jar and bake for about 12 minutes until a skewer comes out clean when poked into the cake.  Put two scoops of the white cake batter into each jar and bake for about 12 minutes until a skewer comes out clean when poked into the cake.  When cakes have cooled, garnish with whipped cream and candy corn.

If I had been thinking, I would have jazzed up this cake mix by adding super small chopped up bits of candy corn.  Next time....

Much Baking Love!

Jessie B. {Possible Baker}

 

 

 

Pumkin Cookies

Mmmmm....pumpkin.  One of my favorite things ever.  Especially baked.  Baked pumpkin.  In cookies, in bars, in cheesecake, you name it.

I also love to decorate with pumpkins during this season. And drink coffee with pumpkin spices. Although, I have only had two pumpkin lattes this fall because I have switched to tea to attempt to be a (somewhat) healthy pregnant mom. I still add pumpkin spice to the tea, though:)

And this time of year, is the perfect opportunity to bake with pumpkin.  Here's how I do it.  I roll up my sleeves, slap on an apron, light me up a caramel apple candle, open the window to get a slight fall breeze and go to town in my kitchen.

Yes, me and pumpkin.  We have a pretty good time.

Until I sample one...or two....

Then I think it's just me that's having the good time.

A powdered sugar glaze pairs magnificently with these pumpkin cookies. 

It's like they were made for each other.

Just like me and pumpkin.

Pumpkin Cookies (recipe adapted from Betty Crocker)

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup (from 15-oz can) pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)

2 eggs

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, beat granulated sugar, brown sugar, 3/4 cup butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed, scraping bowl occasionally, until well blended. Beat in pumpkin and eggs until well mixed. On low speed, beat in flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.  On ungreased cookie sheets, drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls.  Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until almost no indentation remains when touched in center. Immediately remove from cookie sheets to cooling rack.

 Powdered Sugar Glaze

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk

Combine powdered sugar and milk until thick, but running off a spoon when dipped into the bowl.  Drizzle onto cooled cookies.

PS- If you would like to have me make these cookies for you, they are available for purchase until October 31!  All the profits will go to the Bake & Give Project.  Just email me at possiblebaker@gmail.com.

 

Much Baking Love!

Jessie B. {Possible Baker}