And the winner is……..#23 Jazzmin who wrote: “Cookies’n cream cupcake with cream cheese frosting!!! Yum!! Congrats on the fans (and counting)” Thank you Random.org

Jazzmin please fill out the Contact Us form on the website and I will send your celebration package out by the end of the week.

Thank you to all of you for supporting Firefly Confections, both here and on Facebook! I think you’re all pretty awesome too!

Now, things have been very crazy around here and I have not had time to bake. I apologize and I promise Apple Cream Cheese bars are coming on Thursday!! In the mean time I will show you some of the cookies I have made in the last couple of weeks:

Operation Shower is a  non-profit organization that recognizes and honors the sacrifices military families make by producing and coordinating baby showers for expecting military personnel and their families.  Firefly Confections recently provided coordinating cookies for their “Sea to Shining Sea” shower upon the USS George H.W. Bush Carrier.

My cousin Johnny and his girlfriend Sylvia recently got engaged! Although I was unable to attend the engagement party, I was honored to still be a part of their celebration by creating these beautiful cookies for them.  The image on each cookie is of St. Paul’s Church, Greece, where they will be getting married next year.

Congratulations – I wish you both a lifetime of Love and happiness!

Do you know who James VanDerBeek is?

Back in the day he was the star of the hit tv show Dawson’s Creek (which was my favorite show at the time!!) and the movie Varsity Blues. More recently you may have seen him on episodes of your favorite tv shows such as How I met your Mother, One Tree Hill or Franklin and Bash.

Well James, and his beautiful wife Kimberly, had a daughter Olivia and she turned 1. Guess who made cookies for her birthday party? Yep. That would be me!

Thanks to the unbelievable opportunity provided by KT Giftings – Product Promotion and Placement Connoisseur I was able to be a part of this wonderful day. James and his wife both tweeted great things about the cookies, making me feel all sorts of warm and fuzzy:

“@sandysbaking the cookies you designed for Olivia’s party were so beautiful! Thank you!!”- Kimbery Van Der Beek

“I feel bad eating a cookie this artful… But I have a feeling I’ll soon get over that. Thanks @sandysbaking!” – James Van Der Beek

To read more about this amazing celeb gifting please visit – HERE!

So, what have YOU been up to?

~Sandy

First let me announce the winner of the Castle cookies – #10, Lani Derrick (thank you Random.org) who wrote: “Loved the last episode from the premier when she tells the doctor she lied!”  Congratulations Lani! Please fill out the ‘Contact Us’ form on the website so I can mail you your cookies!

Now I want to say a very big Thank You to every single person who clicked the “like” button on facebook for Firefly Confections. I like you too. All 2012 (and counting) of you! I love that I have all of you to share my love of baking with. I love that you have been there for good baking days and for bad ones. I love that you share your suggestions and read my blog. I love that you find my comments witty (because I am hilarious!) and most of all I love knowing that my baking and cookie decorating has inspired some of you to try it yourself.

And to celebrate all of this love I have for you I am going to give away some stuff!

Everything you need to have a celebration of your own!

You will get a copy of the The Cupcake book. It actually says “Life’s Better with a Cupcake” on the cover. And it’s true. With mouth watering recipes like Rocky Road cupcakes and Mango and Passion fruit cupcakes, plus baking and decorating tips. You will want to whip up a batch of these delicious little cakes as soon as you get this book!

You will also get everything you need to make your cupcakes extra pretty! The Birthday Cake cupcake kit (from meri go round), which contains 24 festive cupcake papers and 24 coordinating cupcake picks, and perfect for any age/occassion -  a bottle of rainbow sprinkles!

A prize pack valued over $35.

And all you have to do is leave a comment, on this blog page, telling me your favorite cupcake flavor combination (or you can tell me how awesome I am).

That’s it.

Random.org will choose a winner from the comments listed here on Monday 9/26/11!

*Open to US Residents only, you must be 18 yrs or older, 1 entry per person, Winner will be announce on Tuesday 9/27/11.*

GOOD LUCK. And thank you!!!!!

~ Sandy

Some days you just crave chocolate. Not just crave it, you NEED it.

Maybe you had a bad day at work. Maybe the kids are driving you crazy. Maybe some oblivious teenage size 2 on a cell phone took your parking spot at Target.

Whatever the reason, I have the perfect cookie to make you feel better.

Seriously, these cookies are all rich and chocolate peanut butter-y. Add an ice cold glass of milk and you have perfection.

And while they can’t fix the driving habits teenage girls, or make your kids suddenly well behaved, they will definitely make your day better!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

(original recipe found on King Arthur Flour)

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 brown sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup smooth peanut butter

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 large egg

2 tbsp water

1 bag of Reeses Mini peanut butter cups (I may, or may not, have added a 2 tbsp of chocolate chunks to make up for the mini peanut butter cups I may, or may not, have eaten)

Directions

* Preheat oven to 375. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

* In a medium size bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

* In a separate bowl, beat together sugars, butter and peanut butter, until light and fluffy.

* Beat in vanilla, egg and water then stir in dry ingredients until completely incorporated.

* Stir in mini peanut butter cups.

* drop rounded tbsp of dough on to prepared baking sheets and flatten each cookie to about 1/2″ thick.

* Bake for 7-9 minutes or until set. Remove from the oven and cool completely.

Makes about 2 1/2-3dz

Enjoy!

~Sandy

Do you know what day it is?

It’s the Season Premier of abc’s Castle day!

It’s like a holiday only it has Nathan Fillion so it’s better!!!

I have waited all summer for this day. I LOVE this show (and I love you Nathan Fillion). I’m not obsessed. Really I’m not! But I do have the first 2 seasons on DVD and have watched them every Monday night, all summer, just to keep me going.  I have watched the season 3 finale 4 times and I have cried every single time.  I have Heat Wave and Naked Heat in hard cover, and read each of them, and I am anxiously awaiting Heat Rises (which comes out tomorrow).

And I am so excited about Castle’s return that  I have made cookies to celebrate!

And you can have them. Yes, you can win these cookies but you have to be a true Castle fan.

First – I want you to tell me what Halloween Costumes the cast wore in Season 1 (and if you feel smart, tell me if you know the 3 actors that gave a little shout out, via their costumes, to their previous roles)

Second – and this can be a separate comment as I will be using random.org to choose a winner – tell me your favorite scene, or line, from tonight’s season premier.

That’s it.  You have until Thursday night at 9pm central time to leave a comment.  You have to be 18 or older and a US resident.

I will let you know on Friday (via blog, facebook and twitter) who the winner is.

Good luck and enjoy the premier!!

~ Sandy

It’s Fall.

Morning walks with Walter are getting colder, Pumpkin Spice Lattes are back at Starbucks, Christmas decorations are in the stores.

I love this time of year!

Not just because bulky sweaters come out of my closet in full force, but I also love the leaves changing color and saying words like harvest and abundant. Oh and Fall kicks off a glorious 4 month long season of baking. It starts with all things pumpkin and apple and snowballs right into the holidays. And if you follow my boards on Pinterest you know that I will have a LOT of baking to do in the next four months. I’m going to need some bigger sweaters!

We will start off this delicious bake-fest with some really easy pumpkin muffins!

Perfect on a chilly morning with a cup of coffee or as an after school snack (my kids LOVE them). They are dense and moist and the pumpkin is not over whelming. These are my most made fall muffins.

Pumpkin Muffins

(makes 36 muffins, or 2 loaves of bread)

Ingredients:

2 cups canned pumpkin

3 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

3 1/3 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

Directions:

*Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin tin with baking liners or spray pans with Pam cooking spray for baking (with flour).

*Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl, whisk and set aside.

*In a separate bowl combine the pumpkin, sugar, oil and eggs – beat well.

*Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well. Divide the batter evenly between he loaf pans or fill muffin tins 2/3 full (I use an ice cream scoop).

*Bake Muffins for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Bake loaf pans for 60-70 minutes.

Aren’t these papers cute? They are by Paula Deen I found them in the dollar section of Michaels.

What should we make next week? Something with apples?

What’s your favorite fall recipe?

~ Sandy

Did you ever have one of those weeks?

The kind of week when you are so busy that it has actually been 2 weeks and not 1 and somehow you missed the weekend?

The kind of week when all you really want to do is sleep but you almost dread it because you know you will only wake up even more tired with twice as much to do.  And you want to complain but you know you shouldn’t because no-one forced you to take on so many orders, or sign your son up for flag football, or volunteer to make muffins for the Grandparent luncheon at your kids’ school that they won’t even have a grandparent to bring to.

Don’t get me wrong. I am blessed. Blessed beyond words to have so much work and a supportive family. But I feel a little bad that they have been getting Peanut Butter and Jelly and cereal for dinner. So today I am going to share a different type of recipe with you. A quick fix dinner recipe. And now that fall is here it’s a perfect “go to” dinner when you are super-busy but want a hearty meal.

Chili con Pollo (or Chicken Chili)

Here’s what you need:

1 1/2 cups of cooked, cubed chicken (leftovers work great)

1-15 oz can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1-15 oz can garbanzo beans (or pinto, black or great northern beans), drained and rinsed

1-15 oz can chili beans, undrained

1-14.5 oz can Mexican style diced tomatoes, undrained

* Combine all ingredients in a large pot over medium heat. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until hot, stirring occasionally.

* Ladle into bowls serve with your favorite toppings – sour cream, shredded cheese, salsa verde, guacamole, etc.

Oh my word, I must have been hungry because I just totally scarfed that whole bowl (and it was so much butter that PB&J)!

What’s your favorite quick fix dinner?

For those of you who know me, and who have been reading the blog, you know that I spend a lot of time in my kitchen. A LOT of time!!!!

When work orders are complete, I still like to bake for fun. Crazy, I know, but I do. And I LOVE when my kids help me. It’s a great way for me to share what I am passionate about with them and to get them excited about it too.  It’s also fun to watch them create something, not just a mess but the end result, and watch their faces light up with a sense of accomplishment and pride. I remember growing up and being in the kitchen with my Great-Grandma, I’d stir a few things and lick the spoon and she would tell everyone that I made it. I loved that! I am happy to share those memories with my kids.

A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to have Taryn Lisa Photography capture those memories on film for me.

Taryn is amazing! She is fun, professional, and ridiculously talented. Seriously, if  you live in the Chicagoland area and are in need of a family photographer – I HIGHLY recommend her!

Thank you Taryn for a great day!!

~ Sandy

**Warning**

The brownies you are about to see are incredibly rich and delicious, and may lead to excessive drooling, constant craving, and lack of self control.

Firefly Confections cannot be held responsible for diets that might be abandoned as a result of viewing.

S’mores Brownies have a crunchy graham cracker bottom, a thick, fudge-y brownie middle and are topped with a layer of toasted marshmallows.

I will say this, they are a pain in the butt to cut, as the sticky marshmallows do not want to let go of the knife – and I tried EVERYTHING. I oiled the knife and cleaned it between cuts. I tried running it under water first. I even used a second knife to pry out the first knife.

Oh the mess I made with these brownies. So much mess that I swore off ever making them again. And then I ate one and changed my mind – they are totally worth it!

S’mores Brownies

Crust:

9 tablespoons melted butter

3 cups of finely crushed graham cracker crumbs

4 tablespoons sugar

Brownie:

I used this recipe from King Arthur Flour – Fudge Brownies

Topping:

1 10.5 oz bag of mini marshmallows

Directions:

*Pre-Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 9×13 pan with tin foil so that there is a 2inch over hang on the sides and lightly spray with cooking spray for baking (with flour).

*mix all the ingredients for the crust together until it looks light wet sand. Press the crumb mixture evenly over the bottom of prepared pan. Bake until golden brown and fragrent, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.

*Increase the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.

*Make the Brownies as directed and pour the batter over the crust. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.

*Remove the brownies from the oven and change the temperature to BROIL.

*Layer the mini marshmallows over the top of the brownies and toast under the broiler until golden. Watch carefully as they burn very easily.

*Let the brownies cool completely before cutting.

Enjoy!

~ Sandy