A Must Have Product For Bakers

I have been using this product for a while now and I am telling you, it doesn’t matter how many times I use it I am amazed every time. I know that cooking sprays are nothing new, but this Crisco cooking spray has flour in it and that makes such a difference.  I used it today to make a chocolate bundt cake for a customer and the pan I use has a very intricate design on it.  I turned the pan over to take the cake out and I am not kidding…the cake came out perfectly with NO EFFORT at all, design completely in tact!  I use it for everything that requires a greased pan, including recipes that call for buttering and flouring the pan.

Unfortunately, I get absolutely nothing from Crisco for telling you about this, it’s just made my baking life so much easier and it will do the same for you! So go and try it. Oh and don’t try a generic brand.  I did once and ended up throwing it away because it was not the same!

Wedding Shower Cookies

A customer ordered several dozen sugar cookies as a gift for a friend’s wedding shower. I did mini wedding cakes and decorated them with three different designs.

They will be a great treat to serve at the wedding shower, but they would also be really cute wedding favors.  What a beautiful addition to a table scape it would be to have each cookie wrapped in individual bags and tied with ribbon that was personalized with the names of the bride and groom and the date of the wedding!  A sweet treat for guests to take home!

Cupcake Heaven

Most people go to Washington DC for the amazing history and incredible museums.  I…go for the food!  Don’t get me wrong, I love visiting the sites in our country’s capital, but when you find a place like Georgetown Cupcake, it goes at the top of your “must visit” list!

Over the course of my 9 days in DC these are the flavors I sampled: Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip, Coconut, Lemon Blossom, Chocolate 2, Chocolate 3, Salted Caramel, Vanilla Birthday and Chocolate Hazelnut!  I made a couple different trips to the store because although they have regular flavors you can get anytime they also have daily flavors, so of course you have to visit more than once to truly experience their cupcakes (at least that’s what I told myself)!

My favorite was Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip with second being either the Vanilla Birthday or the Lemon Blossom, or maybe the chocolate hazelnut. Actually, I don’t know what order I would put them in.  They were all fabulous.

So if you ever find yourself in DC, make sure you see the Smithsonians and the Memorials, but do not forget to visit Georgetown Cupcake!

The Heart of The Sugar Moon

Sugar cookies continue to be the heart of what I do at the Sugar Moon.  I get at least a couple of orders a week for them.  This past week I had two really big orders which I had a lot of fun doing.  One of the orders was for a preschool Mother’s Day gift.  I ended up making enough daisies for an entire bouquet.  They turned out really cute! Here’s a few of them.

And this is what the final product looked like bagged, ribboned and ready to give to the mom’s.

The Sugar Moon in Utah

Great News!  The Sugar Moon has expanded to Alpine, Utah.  Now if any of you in the Beehive state  are in need of a delicious baked good for a party, outing, special occasion or just to satisfy a sweet tooth, you can now place an order with The Sugar Moon and have it home-baked specifically to your taste!

Our Alpine, Utah location uses the same fresh, superior ingredients, the menu and pricing are the same and delivery is free within Alpine and Highland.

So please spread the word to friends and family who live in Utah.  They simply place an order through The Sugar Moon website or by calling 209-597-1344.  And of course all products have the same yumminess guarantee!

Have you seen this?

I came across this wonderful thing one night as I was strolling through Target (usually I’m rushing through Target, but this night my kids were home with the hubby, so I actually had time to check stuff out. I’m sure you know how that it).  I just had to try it out. I love it and thought I’d share it with you!

It’s called The Perfect Brownie Pan and it bakes your treats pre-cut!  Check this out ~ Here’s what you do.

Mix up your batter and pour it into the pan.

Make sure you spray it really well with cooking spray…the divider and the pan.

Then insert the divider and stick it in a preheated oven.

When it’s done baking, let it cool slightly on the cooling rack it comes with and then remove the divider.

If it’s well sprayed it comes out very easily.

Now here’s the coolest part.

After the brownies are completely cooled, turn the cooling rack over and the sides of the pan slide down.

Suddenly you have a tray of 18 perfectly cut brownies with no effort at all! Genius!

It works for other treats too.  But wow… talk about “cutting” out a step!  I’ve used it twice and it worked great both times.

Here are a few tips though.  The recipe you use should be for an 8×8 pan.  This pan is a rectangle but it can’t handle much more than that.  Also make sure the batter is evenly distributed before you put the divider in.  As you can see from my picture, once the divider is in, it doesn’t spread out at all so if you skip this step you will have tall brownies in some squares and short brownies in others.

Over all, I love this product.  I can’t wait to try it with my triple layer mint brownies.  It will be interesting to see how it works with frosting!

I’ll keep you posted!

Happy Valentine’s Day

These cookies were a popular item to order from The Sugar Moon this Valentine’s.

They are just a cute little sentiment of love and sweetness!

Whatever goodies you are enjoying today, I hope you have a very Happy Valentine’s Day.  And remember today is the last day to be entered into the giveaway.  One lucky winner will be chosen at random tomorrow morning!

GIVEAWAY!

This month on The Sugar Moon I am giving away a fun little gift… one of these beautiful cupcake stands from Rosanna, Inc.

You will get the cute pink one complete with a chocolate truffle candle to go on top!

All you have to do to enter is become a follower of this blog by clicking on “email subscription” to the right.  A winner be be chosen at random on February 14th.

Good luck!

Attention Fellow Bloggers

Write a post about The Sugar Moon on your blog and you will receive a $6 off coupon on your next order for helping to spread the word!  That’s a dozen free cookies of your choice people…(or anything else your heart desires!).  Just send me an email with a link to your post and your coupon will be on it’s way!

(Offer is for locals only…sorry.  I mean feel free to write a post, it’s just that the $6 off wouldn’t do you any good if you’re not in my area.) 🙂

5 Things Every Baker Needs

Just like everything else we do, the right tools can make all the difference in how the job turns out.  All you sewers, and woodworkers out there will understand this.  Using the right tool for the job is key.  Baking is the same.  Using the right tool can make your good treats excellent!

So do you want to make your sweet even more scrumptious?  Here is my list of the top five things every serious baker needs in order to make the most delectable delights!! (In no particular order).

This is my first item…a Kitchenaid Mixer.  Of course you can use any standing mixer out there, but I am partial to this one.  My mom had one that I used growing up and I’ve had my own (the same one) for 15 years and it’s still going strong, showing no signs of wearing out anytime soon.  But a standing mixer is a definite must in my book.  The consistancy you can get with an electric mixer is something that cannot be taken for granted in the world of baking.  It is versital and quick.  (Here’s a trick too… have two bowls and two paddles!  For baking mulitiple things at once, it makes life so easy!)

This little beauty is a new addition to my kitchen.  I’ve always used a cuisinart, but this is like no other cuisinart around. It is a Williams-Sonoma exclusive (my home-away-from-home). I got this from my husband for Christmas this past year.  It is amazing.  I’ve always made pie crusts and other doughs in my food processor, but this Cuisinart does so much more and it is even easier to use!  I just made a batch of delicious blueberry scones for a customer and mixed them perfectly in the 10-inch nesting bowl.  I’m telling you, if you are a fan of the food processor, you need one of these! Sometimes I just look at it on my counter and sigh with joy!

Does this surprise you?  A whisk…just an ordinary french whisk in my top five?  It is very ordinary, but in baking I’ve found there is no better tool for mixing dry ingredients.  I use my mini french whisk the most.  It is the perfect size to really blend evenly.

Does anyone else laugh when a recipe calls for a greased cookie sheet?  I do!  I haven’t had to spray a cookie sheet since the Silpat was invented.  Truly nothing sticks to it and cookies come out perfect every time.  They are easy to clean and I store them right on the cookie sheets.

And here is the final item on my list: a cookie scoop!  It makes your cookies or even truffles easy to get out of the bowl and a tray of evenly sized goodies always looks prettier.  You can get these in multiple sizes.  Scoop out your dough and then throw it in the dishwasher.  The days of two teaspoons is over!  Today is the day of the cookie scoop!

So what do you think?  What would be on your list?