Dessert Diet

This morning, I baked a bunch of cookies - especially flowers!! It felt so springy! I can't wait to share a few new photos soon.

Baking all those flowers reminded me that I had yet to share the photos from a recent set of cookies for a Bridal Shower with a luau theme. The bride-to-be requested lei cookies, flip-flop cookies, and hibiscus flower cookies.

Before starting the cookies, I prepped the mini flowers I would need for the leis. The lei cookies just so happen to be one of my favorites, so I was really looking forward to this order. These mini flowers can be made in advance, and should be since they take at least a full day to fully dry. Then they peel right off the wax paper.

They are tiny, but they've got a lot of cute power.

And they are the perfect flower for the cookies ...

The color scheme for the party was pink, blue, and green! So bright and fun!

The hibiscus flowers and flip-flops coordinated with the lei cookies.

Working on all these sweet treats makes me very hungry for my own. I don't get sick of eating cookies, not ever, but I do enjoy a little variety in my dessert life.

So on Valentine's Day, I discovered my husband prefers blondes. Actually, he prefers Blondies. Phew. Good for me. 

Since Topher is allergic to chocolate (crazy, right). I hunted high and low for the perfect sweet treat for our Valentine's dinner. I found an amazing Blondie Recipe on www.Bakerella.com. This just happens to be my favorite website and blog ever. Bakerella is so amazingly creative, sweet and fun to follow. She's on twitter and facebook too, and has a book (and I finally got a copy).

Click here for the Blondie Recipe with Maple Butter Sauce. We were not disappointed.

Also on Valentine's Day, my little girl and I hosted a small pizza party for a few of her friends. We kept things simple, pink plates and pink daisies.

We also made Valentine bags for each of the kids. We put a few treats in the bag and all the friends brought a Valentine to share with each other too.

We did NOT plan for a dessert becuase of the treat bags. Thankfully my good friend surprised us with heart-shaped Krispie treats. There is nothing yummier than a gooey, marshmallowy treat!

You might think Valentine's Day would have done us in for sweet stuff. But no, we were back at it the next weekend. Topher is our wonderful breakfast maker! He loves to make pancakes, Dutch babies, waffles, and POPOVERS!

Mmmmmm. Popovers are my favorite! He has tried a few variations, but this recent one takes the cake. He made a sugar-crusted popover. Oh, baby! I definitely married the right guy!

Well, we were almost sweeted out, but our friends were coming over for dinner for the first time. I really wanted them to enjoy the little dinner party I was planning, and I felt I absolutely needed something yummy at the end. Of course, I found myself back on www.Bakerella.com looking for another yummy treat. I found these lemon bars and my little helper and I whipped them up. They were so easy and so yummy!!

If you like lemon flavored treats...this is the one for you! Click here to view the recipe.

At this point, you might be concerned about my diet. I don't encourage indulging like this all the time, but with moderation (I always share our leftovers with my mom), I think treats can be thoroughly enjoyed. Plus, I should mention I eat a salad every day. We usually have a traditional garden salad with lots of veggies with our dinner. But we also enjoy Greek salads too!

I also enjoy making very veggie side dishes. One of my favorites is this Maple Roasted Vegetable dish. 

I have posted this on the blog before. If you think you don't like Brussels sprouts, I dare you to try this dish. It's so amazing. Here is the link to the original post. The recipe comes from a Wegmans magazine. My mother-in-law made it for Thanksgiving one year, and it has been my favorite ever since.

What dessert recipe is your favorite? I'm always looking for new ideas, so feel free to post a link in the comments area. I'd love to check it out!

Have a sweet day,

Anne