PIE IN MY MOUTH

Hand pies.

Oh, yes. Take out all the bad things about pie (messy, needs utensils, etc) and you get HAND PIES!

As Duff Goldman would say on Sugar High, my new favorite show ever, ever ever... "I'm going to eat that... IN MY MOUTH!"

This recipe was adapted from Martha Stewart's Pies and Tarts book, which I saw at the grocery store and immediately fell in love with. I filled the hand pies with Pear preserves, Raspberry-Peach Champagne preserves, and Triple Berry jelly. Next time, I'm going to put real pie filling in there because these ones just tasted a little too much like they were filled with jam.

Which they were.

Wow! This looks so great! Hannah, you're such a good baker!

So cute! They were a little big, so next time I'll use a smaller circular cookie cutter. My family did manage to eat the entire batch in two days, though. Now that's a true compliment!

Blueberry Scones

Scones: Not as hard as you think they're going to be. My family went NUTS over these lil guys. Although amorphous, they were fluffy and moist. 

The cutting-in-the-butter part can be done with your hands (after you thoroughly wash them. You're welcome, mom) instead of a food processor or two forks. It's the easier way to do it. I know these things now because I'm a professional baker. (Watching Food Network counts as culinary school, right?)

Here's the recipe:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/blueberry-scones-with-lemon-glaze-recipe/index.html

You might need to add more dairy in there, or the dough won't come together. Also, the lemon glaze was a big derp. Watery and runny... I'll have to find another recipe for a better glaze. 

AWW YEAH

Mini Graham-Key Lime Cupcakes

These are the same Graham- Key Lime cupcakes from earlier this summer. Don't forget to crush the graham crackers really well, or your cupcakes will look holey.

Carrot Cake

Lemon-blueberry Tarts

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/blueberry-lemon-tart-recipe/index.html

Things I made

Black-bottom cupcakes with cheesecake filling. 

http://www.joyofbaking.com/BlackBottomCupcakes.html

Peach crisp. 

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/peach-crisp-iii/detail.aspx

I looooove cooked fruit, because it's the only time I can really eat fruit. This crisp was pretty tart, though. I'd add more sugar next time. Don't judge...

And this is my dog. I love him.

(Cake) Balls in your mouth

Let's just get this out of the way:

"Mmmm... I love these balls in my mouth!" - My brother Max.

Yes, cake balls do lend themselves to some pretty excellent 17-year-old boy jokes. BUT, as much as I enjoy these cake balls in my mouth, I'd like to expound the pleasures of forming these balls with your hands and dripping chocolate over them, too.

Ok, now I'm really done.

CAKE BALLS! CAKE! BALLS! YES! These are seriously the cutest damn things. And also pretty easy to make. Here's the basic formula:

Bake a cake.
Crumble the cake into a bowl.
Scoop a can of frosting into the bowl.
Mush it all together.
Form it into balls.
Cover it with melted chocolate.

Yes! Folks, it is just that easy! Here's a more detailed procedure:
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/10/cake-balls-halloween-style/

I made these for Sam's lacrosse team, so I went with the kid-friendly combo of Funfetti cake and cream cheese frosting.

 If you don't want to stick your face right into that bowl, I'm not quite sure we can relate.

They kind of look like rainbow meatballs...

Pink ones!

White ones!

The best part is, you can make them with any flavor of cake and any frosting. The ones I made were crazy sweet and sugary. Not that I'm complaining. Nobody wants sour balls in their mouth.