Part of my dislike is the texture but no matter how ripe or how cold a watermelon is, I will pass.  My husband thinks I’m crazy.

Things that are flavored with watermelon are great, like slushies and Jolly Ranchers and these cupcakes, but that’s as far as I go.

Even though I’m not a fan of real watermelon, I am glad that I have this Watermelon Cupcake Recipe in my arsenal. It’s the perfect kind of watermelon that even I can’t resist.

Print

Watermelon Cupcake Recipe

There will definitely be no spitting out the seeds with this Watermelon Cupcake Recipe. They will be gobbled up fast - no contest!

Course Dessert

Author This Grandma Is Fun

Ingredients

• Cupcakes
  
• 6 tbsp softened
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 3 egg whites
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup + 2 tbsp all purpose flour
• 1 & 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• Green food coloring
  
• 
  
• Buttercream Frosting
  
• 2 sticks of butter unsalted at room temperature
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 3-4 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp of powdered watermelon koolaid mix
• Red food coloring
• Mini chocolate chips

Instructions

• Cupcakes
  
• Preheat the oven to 375º F.
• Line muffin pan with cupcake liners of your choice. We chose green.
• Cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy.
• Add in the egg whites. Beat well
• Put in the sour cream and vanilla extract then fold into the butter and sugar mixture.
  
• In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt and gently mix to incorporate.
• Add half of the flour mixture into the wet ingredients. Mix well
• Add the other half of the flour mixture and mix until you cannot see any dry flour.
• Add green food coloring to the color you desire.
• Fill your cupcake liners about 1/2 to 2/3 full.
• Bake at 375º F for 5 minutes, then reduce heat to 350º. Keep the cupcakes in the oven for another 8-10 minutes.
• Remove from oven.
• Let cupcakes cool.
• Buttercream
  
• Beat the butter and shortening with an electric mixer until smooth.
• Add in 2 cups of powdered sugar and beat until you do not see any clumps of sugar.
• Add in more powdered sugar, mixing frequently until there are no more lumps and it is a thick consistency.
• Add the watermelon Kool-Aid powder and a small amount of red food coloring (until you reach the color you desire) and mix well.
  
• Instructions
  
• Spoon the frostingHow to assemble down into a large piping bag with a tip. We used a 1m piping tip.
• Start in the center of the cupcake and swirl out to the sides and then back in to the center of the cupcake, stacking the frosting as you go
• Sprinkle some mini chocolate chips on top of the frosting.
• Makes 10-12 cupcakes.

Notes

This recipe has been adapted from The First Year Blog!

The post Watermelon Cupcake Recipe appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

Hey there! My name is Molly and I’m the recipe developer behind these place cards and all the recipes over on What Molly Made. I’m a huge fan of dessert, both indulgent and healthy:) I love to create new twists on classic recipes and I share all my baking tips along the way. Can’t wait to share this Thanksgiving dessert recipe with you!

My thought process behind these desserts is that that we’ll be spending a little more time on the decorating and creating the fun name tags so I wanted to keep the actual recipe pretty simple. I don’t know about you, but it’s hard to keep all of the Thanksgiving recipes straight.

I wanted to create a fun and creative recipe that’s also not going to result in you slaving over the oven most of the morning. You can even make these a day or two in advance!

The base of these cookie cupcakes are pre-made refrigerated cookie dough. I used the Nestle Toll House break and bake refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough, but you can use any brand and flavor you want! The White Chip Brownie and Cherry Chocolate cookie dough from Nestle would also be delicious!

Make no mistake, even though this cookie cups are easy to make they aren’t lacking in size or flavor! I rolled up 3 (yes, 3!) of the squares to make one cup. It’s Thanksgiving, you guys. Go big or go home. Amiright?

I greased a regular size 12-count muffin tin and rolled the pieces into a ball and placed one rounded cookie dough ball in each muffin tin cup. They don’t necessarily look like they are going to fit, but when they start baking they spread and rise to the perfect height in the tin!

Next comes the fun part! Homemade chocolate frosting and the adorable candy turkeys! I’m a sucker for homemade frosting, it just elevates any dessert to the next level.  The trick to a great buttercream is to make sure your butter is nice and soft when you start. Then you have to beat it for a solid 3 or 4 minutes. This incorporates air in to the butter and gives you the light and fluffy frosting you need.

I always make sure to sift my cocoa powder (if I’m making chocolate frosting) and powdered sugar to eliminate any lumps in the frosting. The smoother the better! You obviously want to frost your cookie cup with this delicious frosting, but it’s also going to be used as glue for the creative turkey that goes on top.

Now, let’s talk about that adorable turkey topper!?? I’ve seen a million different ways on Pinterest to create a turkey out of candy/food, but I just think this one is so adorable! I love the actual googly eyes, they give the turkey so much life! Do you kind of feel like it’s staring at you?

You create this little guy by using a few different candies:

• Mini Reese’s
• Candy googly eyes
• Oreo’s
• Candy Corn

I started by un-sandwiching the Oreo’s and laying the no-cream side face up on a baking sheet. I unwrapped the Reese’s and “glued” the bottom of each one to the bottom half of the Oreo using the frosting. From there I  covered the rest of the Oreo with frosting and arranged about 6 candy corn pieces on the Oreo with the pointed side facing the Reese’s to create a fan effect that looks like the turkey’s feathers.

The only thing left to do is make the face! I “glued” on the googly eyes and cut the white tip off of a few candy corns and put them on right underneath to create the nose.

While those were setting I frosted all of the cookie cupcakes and then placed the finished turkeys in the frosting to sit perfectly on top of the cookie cups.

Now for the fun part! I used festive paper straws that I cut in half and a piece of paper with a sharpie to create the name tags. I just hot glued the paper to the straws and stuffed them in the frosting! Just make sure the straws aren’t too tall or the frosting won’t be able to hold them up.

At my house it’s always a big to-do figuring out who is going to sit where. If you’re hosting, these are perfect! You can arrange everyone’s seats ahead of time and they can feel free to move and swap seats as they please. Just place them on the plate at each seat and they instantly become part of the decor! And they taste delicious too.?

Print

Thanksgiving Cookie Cupcakes

Servings 12

Ingredients

• For the cookie cups:
• 2 packages of break and bake chocolate chip refrigerated cookie dough
• For the frosting:
• 2 sticks unsalted butter room temperature
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• For the candy turkeys:
• 12 Oreos
• 12 Mini Reese's
• 1 cup Candy Corn
• 24 googly eyes
• 6 paper straws
• white construction paper and sharpies

Instructions

• To make the cookie cups, remove the refrigerated cookie dough from the fridge and allow to sit for approximately 10 minutes to soften. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and spray a 12-count muffin tin with non-stick spray and set aside.
• Break 3 pieces of cookie dough off at a time and roll into a large ball. Repeat twelve times and place each ball in one muffin tin. Bake for 22-25 minutes, or until edges are golden brown and tops are set. Remove and allow to cool completely.
• While cookies are cooling, make the frosting. Using a stand mixer or electric mixer, beat the butter on high speed for at least 3 minutes. Sift together the powdered sugar and cocoa powder and add to the butter. Beat on medium for about 2 minutes. Add the heavy cream and vanilla extract and increase speed to high and beat for another full 3 minutes. Transfer to a pastry piping bag and cut of a very small piece of the tip, about 1 centimeter. This will be your tip when you're glueing the turkey together.
• To make the candy turkey, un-sandwich the Oreo's and lay the no-cream side face up on a baking sheet. Unwrap the mini Reese's and "glue" the bottom of each one to the bottom half of the Oreo using the frosting. Cover the rest of the Oreo with frosting and arrang about 6 candy corn pieces on the Oreo with the pointed side facing the Reese's to create a fan effect that looks like the turkey's feathers. Using the frosting, glue the googly eyes and cut the white tip off 12 candy corns and put them on with the point facing up right underneath to create the nose. Allow to set 10 minutes.
• Cut a larger piece from the corner of the frosting bag to pipe the frosting on the top of the cookie cups. Swirl enough frosting on top to set the turkeys in. When turkeys are set, angle them slightly and place toward the front of the cookie cup, leaving a little room behind to add the name tag.
• Cut small pieces of construction paper and write the names on each one. Cut the paper straws in half and hot glue the names to the end. Place the other end of the straw in the frosting right behind the turkey.

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The post Thanksgiving Cookie Cupcakes appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

Easter is never the same for me, without some fabulous Easter-themed baked treats gracing the table for Easter Brunch. Whether it’s beautifully rich, decadent bread, cakes, cupcakes, or cookies – baked goods are an essential part of my Easter brunch menu!

And if you feel the same, I got you covered!

So without further ado, here are 22 AMAZING Easter Themed Baked Treats PERFECT for Easter. There are some fantastic kid friendly projects here too – so make sure you check them all out

22 Easter Themed Baked Treats

Spiced Banana Cupcake with Apricot Frosting from The Flavor Bender. A cupcake version of a Hot Cross Buns – Deliciously moist, perfectly spiced, and easy to make!

Easter Bunny Cupcakes with Light Coconut Cream from The Creative Bite

Little Lamb Cupcakes from The Recipe Rebel

Cadbury Caramel Egg Brownies from Girl in the Little Red Kitchen

Spring Chick Cupcakes from Persnickety Plates

Hot Cross Buns Bread Pudding from Sidewalk Shoes

Breudher Cake with Blood Orange Glaze from The Flavor Bender

Cranberry Orange Sweet Rolls from Live Eat Learn

Easter Carrot Cupcakes with Bunny Cookie Toppers from I Sugar Coat It

Challah with Cinnamon Honey Butter from Gather For Bread

Easter Simnel Cake with Marzipan Pastry from Super Golden Bakes

Easter Blossom Sugar Cookies from My Kitchen Craze

Watercolour Cake Roll from Liv For Cake

Lemon Bundt Cake from Dinner at the Zoo

Gluten Free Lemon Cookie Nests from Fearless Dining

Funfetti Cheesecake Stuffed Crescent Rolls from The Chunky Chef

Sourdough Walnut Cinnamon Rolls from Served From Scratch

Creme Egg Anti Gravity Easter Brownie Nest from Giraffes Can Bake

Carrot Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Swirl from Alidas Kitchen

Gluten Free Carrot Cake from What the Fork Food Blog

Creme Egg Double Chocolate Muffins from  From Plate to Pen

Pink Glazed Easter Doughnuts from Marsha’s Baking Addiction

Which one of these 22 Easter Themed Baked Treats was your favourite?

You can also find me on all of the following Social Media platforms too.

FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST | GOOGLE-PLUS  |  YOU TUBE

Here are some more delicious recipes from The Flavor Bender

Spinach and Mushroom Polenta Stacks

Rosemary infused Chocolate Mousse

Butter Chicken (made without cream)

The post 22 Easter Themed Baked Treats appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

Hey, y’all! The lovely folks here at MFP have graciously allowed me to share some of my yummy recipe creations with you, and I couldn’t be more excited. Just like I love baking for others, I love sharing fun recipe ideas with new people! I can be found over at my blog, Thrifty DIY Diva, where I love creating new recipes and sharing my faves from the web, too! Like these Pecan Red Velvet Cupcakes, inspired by Sally’s Baking Addiction on my Amazing Recipes Pinterest Board!

You know what I love? Pecans. But I haven’t always loved them, until I had a slice (or two, or five) of some good ole’ Georgia Pecan Pie over the holidays. Where has this been all my life? Here I am, late thirties, and I’m just now tasting this stuff? Crazy, I know.

After that pie, I began wondering what else I’ve been missing that calls for pecans. Apparently, a lot. But since one of my favorite things to do is come up with new recipes, I thought I’d add some pecans to my traditional Red Velvet cupcakes that I make every February.

Would you just look at that frosting? I think I could use it to frost my cinnamon rolls, too. Seriously, it is that good. 

The pecans add the perfect crunchiness to these cupcakes, and are even better than the usual sprinkles.

I actually thought these tasted better than my usual chocolate cupcakes. I couldn’t believe it – better than chocolate?!

I know you are anxious to get these in your oven, so let’s get cooking!

Print

Pecan Red Velvet Cupcakes

Course Dessert

Author Michelle/Thrifty DIY Diva

Ingredients

Cupcake Ingredients

• 1 cup cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup cornstarch
• 3/4 cup sorghum flour like Bob's Red Mill - at natural grocers or online
• 1/2 cup tapioca flour like Bob's Red Mill - at natural grocers or online
• 1 1/4 teaspoons xanthan gum like Bob's Red Mill - at natural grocers or online
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate melted
• 4 eggs
• 1 bottle Red Food Coloring
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup buttermilk

Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients:

• 8 ounce cream cheese softened
• 1/4 cup butter softened
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 16 ounce confectioners’ powder sugar
• 2 cups pecans to decorate

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Line a muffin cup tin with cupcake liners.
• In a large bowl, stir together cocoa powder, cornstarch, sorghum flour, tapioca flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.
• In a medium bowl, combine granulated sugar and oil; blend on medium.
• Pour in the melted chocolate and stir.
• Beat in the eggs one at a time.
• In a third bowl, mix the food coloring and vanilla into the buttermilk and stir well.
• Add all ingredients now to the flour mixture and blend on low (do not overbeat).
• Fill each cupcake liner about 3/4 up.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes.
• Let cool completely.

Frosting

• Blend the cream cheese, butter, sour cream and vanilla in a large bowl until light and fluffy, gradually adding the powder sugar.
• Place the frosting in a piping bag and press a hole through the top of the cupcakes to fill the center and then frost how you wish.
• Sprinkle with pecans.

I just love cupcakes with a creamy center, so before I frosted them, I used a piping bag to poke a hole through the top to inject a little bit of frosting!

See how easy it is to make these Pecan Red Velvet Cupcakes? Give your sprinkles a much needed break and grab a bag of pecans next time you’re at the store

But, before you go, be sure to check some of my other recipes over at Thrifty DIY Diva! I believe that eating well doesn’t have to cost a fortune, and you most certainly don’t have to go out to eat to satisfy your cravings. I love making copycat versions of my favorite restaurants at home, and creating new ones, too! And don’t forget to follow me over at Pinterest and Facebook! Here are just a few of my favorite recipes on the site now:

Copycat Starbucks Cream Cheese Pumpkin Muffins

Slowcooker Cabbage Roll Soup

Copycat Panera Bread Tomato Bisque Soup

The post Pecan Red Velvet Cupcakes appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

These decadent vegan red velvet cupcakes with peppermint cream cheese frosting are ready for any party–perfect for birthdays, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, Valentine’s Day or Fourth of July! So festive, moist, and delicious.

Merry Christmas! It’s Jen from Bakerette.com and I’m excited to be posting today on Made From Pinterest. How lucky can I be to say hello to you on Christmas day?

Can you believe Christmas is already here?

It’s no secret that Christmas is my favorite holiday of the year. It’s my favorite because it’s so festive with lights gleaming, music streaming, people smiling, and trees sparkling.

And what about all of that Christmas music? My Pandora is set to “Frank Sinatra (Holiday) Radio”. I heart all of the old-time Christmas music–Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Doris Day, Ella Fitgerald, Perry Como, Carpenters, and Elvis Presley. My ring tones are “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” and “A Holly Jolly Christmas”. Love.

Oh, and I can’t forget about all of the drooling desserts! All kinds of cookies grace my kitchen, like Coconut, Walnut and Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies, Snowball Cookies, Pistachio Sugar Cookies, and more.

One of my favorite desserts to gift my neighbors are these Red Velvet Cupcakes With Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting! They are so moist, delicious, and festive. You can make them for any party or festivities–they’re perfect for birthdays, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, Valentine’s Day or Fourth of July!

Have a merry Christmas!

Find more delicious goodies at Bakerette.com

Gingerbread Banana Bread Loaf

Pistachio Sugar Cookies

Egg-free French Toast Drenched in Berry Syrup and Strawberries

Print

Red Velvet Cupcakes With Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting

Course Dessert

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 12 cupcakes

Author Bakerette.com

Ingredients

For Cupcakes

• 1 cup soy milk
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 3/4 cup caster sugar**
• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons red food coloring

For Peppermint Frosting

• 6 ounces cold vegan cream cheese
• 1/4 cup cold vegan butter
• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 3 cups confectioner's sugar

Instructions

For Cupcakes

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line cupcake tins with cupcake liners; set aside.
• In a small bowl, mix together soy milk and apple cider vinegar; let set for 5 minutes to curdle (this makes a dairy-free buttermilk). Whisk in oil and caster sugar.
• In a large bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and baking powder. Incorporate wet ingredients into dry ingredients.
• Add food coloring. For darker red cupcakes, add more food coloring, and less to make lighter red cupcakes.
• Divide batter between 12 baking cups filling them 3/4 of the way full.
• Bake 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick entered in the center of a cupcake comesout clean. Cool 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

For Peppermint Frosting

• With an electric mixer beat together cream cheese and butter until smooth and creamy. Add peppermint extract and continue beating. Slowly add in confectioner's sugar until frosting is stiff. If you need to add more, do so a little at a time until desired consistency is reached.

Notes

**Caster sugar is a super fine granulated sugar. It can be expensive to buy, so instead of buying it, make it. It's really easy to make. Place sugar in a food processor or blender. Pulse until it reaches a super-fine, but not powdery, consistency. Let it settle a moment before using in recipe. Because this sugar is so fine, it melts and gets incorporated into things much more quickly.

Recipe adapted from One Green Planet

The post Red Velvet Cupcakes appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

* We’re sharing our favorite links from last week’s party at the beginning of today’s party.  Check them out and then keep scrolling down for the link party.  Happy Weekend!

Thanks for participating in the Best Recipes and DIY Projects Party last week!  We’re thrilled to share some of our favorite links from last week’s link party with you.

Raise your hand if you love ice cream.  So do we!  We spotted some particularly yummy ice cream recipes during the link party, and we just couldn’t help ourselves–we had to share this deliciousness!  These recipes have us screaming for ice cream!

No-Churn Chocolate Mint Ice Cream from The Kitchen is My Playground

Ice Cream Cake Cupcakes from MommaDJane

 Pistachio Ice Cream from Cooking With Curls

S’mores Ice Cream from The Classy Chapter

Now, let’s get this party started!

 Happy Weekend, everyone! We’re delighted that you came to our party. The link-up is live and ready for you to share your recipes, DIY projects and crafts, just make sure you follow these guidelines:

1. When you link up, you are giving us permission to feature your project and pictures on our blogs and social media with a link back to you.
2. We’ll feature our favorite projects from this weekend’s party at the beginning of next week’s link party.
3. Weekly favorites will also be pinned to our Link Party Favorites Board on Pinterest!
4. Add a text link back to the host blog.
5. You can link up any post you’ve created during this past week.
6. We’re excited about your handmade items, but this link party is limited to blog posts only. Please don’t linkup your Etsy shop.
7. Share the love and comment on two or more of the other projects that are linked up. We all love comments!

This party starts every Friday at 5 P.M. MST, and keeps going until the following Tuesday evening. Feel free to invite others to join in the fun!

Thanks for participating! Your Hosts,

Ruthie from Cooking With Ruthie, Jeni from Bakerette, Mandy from Mandy’s Recipe Box, Dan and Chris from Live Dan 330, and Deb, Tracy, and Sherri from Made From Pinterest

The post Best Recipes & DIY Projects Link Party #110 appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

* We’re sharing our favorite links from last week’s party at the beginning of today’s party.  Check them out and then keep scrolling down for the link party.  Happy Weekend!

Thanks for participating in the Best Recipes and DIY Projects Party last week!  We’re thrilled to share some of our favorite links from last week’s link party with you.

We were really smitten by some of the links that featured refreshing citrus flavors.  Particularly these luscious lemon treats.  There’s something so refreshing about lemons in the summertime, isn’t there?

Easy Lemon Mousse from The Kitchen Is My Playground

Honey Lemon Cupcakes from Home Made Interest

Light Lemon Pound Cake from Nancy on the Homefront

Raspberry Lemonade Slushie from Raining Hot Coupons

Now, let’s get this party started!

 Happy Weekend, everyone! We’re delighted that you came to our party. The link-up is live and ready for you to share your recipes, DIY projects and crafts, just make sure you follow these guidelines:

1. When you link up, you are giving us permission to feature your project and pictures on our blogs and social media with a link back to you.
2. We’ll feature our favorite projects from this weekend’s party at the beginning of next week’s link party.
3. Weekly favorites will also be pinned to our Link Party Favorites Board on Pinterest!
4. Add a text link back to the host blog.
5. You can link up any post you’ve created during this past week.
6. We’re excited about your handmade items, but this link party is limited to blog posts only. Please don’t linkup your Etsy shop.
7. Share the love and comment on two or more of the other projects that are linked up. We all love comments!

This party starts every Friday at 5 P.M. MST, and keeps going until the following Tuesday evening. Feel free to invite others to join in the fun!

Thanks for participating! Your Hosts,

Ruthie from Cooking With Ruthie, Jeni from Bakerette, Mandy from Mandy’s Recipe Box, Dan and Chris from Live Dan 330, and Deb, Tracy, and Sherri from Made From Pinterest

The post Best Recipes & DIY Projects Link Party #99 appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

It’s officially Fall–you know what that means?  Time to break out the pumpkin!  We spotted both sweet and savory pumpkin dishes that piqued the interest of our tastebuds.  Check out these 9 Sweet & Savory Pumpkin Recipes from our link party.

Chai Tea Butterscotch Pumpkin Bread from Life With the Crust Cut Off

Cream Cheese Filled Pumpkin Cupcakes from Carmel Moments

Pumpkin Muffins from Swanky Recipes

Parmesan Butternut Squash Dip from Carmel Moments {not pumpkin….but pretty close!}

Pumpcornbread from Belle of the Kitchen

Pumpkin Corn Cheddar Soup from Homemaking Hacks

Pumpkin Lasagna from OMG Chocolate Desserts

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Roll from Upstate Ramblings

Pumpkin Spice Muddy Buddies from Love Bakes Good Cakes

Thanks again for sharing your projects and recipes with us during our link party! We hope you were as inspired by these featured links as we were. Please come back for our next Best Recipes and DIY Projects party, starting at 5 P.M. MST on Friday night! And keep an eye on your social media over the weekend, too. We like to showcase links that catch our eye during the party via Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. You might see your links featured there!

This awesome post has been shared with: Skip to My Lou and Home Stories A to Z

The post Pumpkin Time! Sweet & Savory Recipes appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

For every one of those varieties, there must be at least one delicious recipe.  Fall’s favorite fruit is so versatile that it can be prepared in hundreds of delicious ways.  We’ve found a month’s worth of sweet apple treats and dessert recipes for you to drool over.

Caramel Apple Bar from Craftberry Bush

Apple Pudding Cake with Cinnamon Butter Sauce from The Girl Who Ate Everything

Brown Butter Apple Tart from Brooklyn Supper

Apple Butter Danish Ring from Taste, Love & Nourish

Apple Gingerbread Bars from Sarah’s Cucina Bella

Caramel Apple Crumble Pie from Averie Cooks

Apple Snickerdoodle Cobbler from Baked by Rachel

Mini Apple Pie Cookies from Made From Pinterest

Caramel Apple Upside Down Bread Pudding from Vintage Monday

Apple Stack Cake from Brave Tart

Caramel Apple Cinnamon Rolls from The Recipe Critic

Apple Pie Wontons from Overtime Cook

Individual Cream Cheese Apple Dips from Made From Pinterest

Caramel Apple Brownies from Foodie Crush

Apple Upside Down Biscuits from Cookin’ Canuck

Salted Caramel Apple Cupcakes from Delicious Everyday

Bavarian Apple Torte from Made From Pinterest

Apple Cranberry Cheesecake Pie Bites from Julie’s Eats & Treats

Apple Cobbler Cupcakes with Pumpkin Pie Frosting from Cupcake Project

Caramel Apple Bars from Inside BruCrew Life

Cinnamon Apple Macaroons from Desserts for Breakfast

Apple Pie Fries from Made From Pinterest

Apple Ice Cream Bowls from Dreyer’s

Sweet and Salty Apple Nachos from Wishes and Dishes

Apple Cake with Caramel Glaze from Life In Grace

Stuffed Apple Cinnamon Sticks from The Bitter Side of Sweet

Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies from Scrambled Henfruit

Colorful Candy Apples from Made From Pinterest

Apple Pie Pizza from Dessert for Two

Dutch Apple Pie with White Chocolate Butter Sauce from Oh Sweet Basil

Yum!  Don’t those look delectable?  We’d love to hear about some of your favorite apple recipes.  Leave us a link to yours in the comment box if you have one you’d like to share with us.  Happy apple picking!

This post has been shared with: Living Well Spending Less

The post An Apple a Day: 30 Treats & Desserts appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

I told him that he better stop talking about it or else I would start crying and have a mental breakdown right there  in the middle of Costco!

He politely shut up.

I still have barbecues planned, I’m not ready to wear closed toed shoes just yet and I’m not ready to give up all the fresh local summer fruit and vegetables that we have where I live.  Just today I stopped off at a fruit stand and bought 12 ears of local corn.  I can’t wait to eat them tomorrow!   So even though these Watermelon Cupcakes aren’t real fruit, they are darling for your last-of-the-summer-barbecues.

And with chocolate chips for seeds, no one will be spitting these out all over their plates.   Now that’s my kinda watermelon seed!

Head on over to Mandy’s Recipe Box where we guest posted with the recipe!

 Looking for some more goodies?  Check these out!

Mini Apple Pie Cookies

Chocolate Hazelnut Skillet Cookie

Rice Krispies Mint Chip Crunch Cake

You can also find us on Pinterest │ Facebook │ Twitter │ Instagram │ StumbleUpon │ Hometalk

We shared this post with: Home Stories A to Z, Whipperberry, Tatertots and Jello, and Living Well Spending Less

The post Watermelon Cupcakes appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

In fact, s’mores have become such a favorite that this flavor combo has become popular away from the campfire, as well.  In the last couple of years, we’ve seen s’mores come into their own with dessert and breakfast variations that are downright gourmet!  Today, we’ve rounded up a few of those variations from around the web to share with you.  A few!  Who are we kidding?  You could eat s’mores everyday for a MONTH if you wanted to!  Click on the links and pictures below to go to the blogs where we found these yummy 33 S’mores Inspired Recipes.

S’mores Lasagna from Beyond Frosting

S’mores Donuts from Buns in My Oven

Smore’s Pot De Creme from Bakin’ Bit

Peanut Butter Marshmallow Fluff Chocolate Dipped Frozen S’mores from The First Year Blog

S’mores Stuffed Pizzokies from Handle the Heat

S’moreos from Cakespy

S’mores Cupcakes from Homemade by Holman

Deep Fried S’mores from Sugarhero!

S’mores Popcorn from Nest of Posies

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cookie S’mores from Crazy for Crust

S’mores Truffles from High Heels & Grills

Flaky S’mores Pizza Triangles from I Wash You Dry

S’more Cheesecakes from Shugary Sweets

Scone S’mores from Baked Perfection

S’more Milkshake from Bombshell Bling

Panini S’mores from Bitter Sweet

S’mores Ice Cream from Spache the Spatula

Banana S’mores Protein Pancakes from Kiss My Broccoli

S’mores Macaroons from Blahnik Baker

S’mores Creme Brulee from Sugar Plum

Triple Chocolate S’mores Bark from A Kitchen Addiction

S’mores Bars from Gimme Some Oven

S’more Stuffed French Toast from B’s in the Kitchen

S’mores Tart from The Boastful Baker

Campfire Cookies from Fahrenheit 350

S’mores on a Stick from Dip It In Chocolate

Mini Smore’s Pies from Lil’ Luna

S’mores Rice Krispy Treats from Glorious Treats

Indoor S’mores from Dessert for Two

S’more Nachos from Spice is Nice

Chocolate S’mores Pancakes from Chocolate and Carrots

S’mores Banana Bread from Made From Pinterest

Nutella Crepe S’mores from Sally’s Baking Addiction

Do these s’more recipes make you long for a crackling fire?  If you are heading out with the tent and sleeping bags anytime soon and need some great campfire recipes, try some of our favorites:

Campfire Eclairs  |  Onion Bombs  |  Campfire Banana Boats

We’re sharing this post with:

Living Well Spending Less

The post S’mores Galore! 33 S’mores Inspired Recipes appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

Maybe it was something in the air, or maybe it’s just a girl thing….but we were pretty excited about all the chocolate that came to the party, last week.  We limited ourselves to ten recipes, but there were more than that….it was so hard to choose!  Make sure you go back to the link party and find the others, along with all of the other great projects and recipes that were shared.  And now we are delighted to present these delicious Chocolate Treats.

Brownie Batter Peanut Butter Squares from Tastes of Lizzy T

Brownie Pudding by Eat It & Say Yum from Life With the Crusts Cut Off

Dark Chocolate Ice Cream from Baking In Pyjamas

Fried Nutella Balls from Lamberts Lately

Peanut Butter Ripple Milkshake from Three Kids and a Fish

Raspberry Fudge Brownie from Thimbles, Bobbins, Paper and Ink

Reese’s Oreo Cookie Pops from The Coconut Head’s Survival Guide

Rocky Road Sandwich Cookies from Baking a Moment

Salted Caramel Truffles from With a Blast

Snickers Cupcakes from The Crafting Foodie

Thanks again for sharing your projects and recipes with us during Super Saturday #52!  We hope you were as inspired by these featured links as we were.   Please come back  for our next Super Saturday Link Party, starting at 7 P.M. EST on Friday night!  And keep an eye on your social media over the weekend, too.  We like to showcase links that catch our eye during the party via Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.  You might see your links featured there!

The post Share It Thursday #52 appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

I remember my Dad would always pull me aside on the first day and tell me I didn’t have to ski, knee board, jet ski and go inner tubing all on the first day of our vacation. I never listened to him. I always did everything the first day. I played the minute we got on the lake right up to the minute we got off the lake. I usually had to spend half of the next day recovering on the shore. Oh to be young again. If I did that now I would be wiped out for the rest of my vacation! Who am I kidding? I couldn’t do that many water sports all day even if I wanted too!

 Supplies

• Store bought cupcakes
• Colored chocolate candy melts
• Ziploc bag
• White Sugar Crystals
• Scissors

Lay a piece of wax paper on a flat cookie sheet. Melt some colored chocolate candy melts in a bowl, pour melted chocolate into a zip lock bag. Snip off enough of the tip of ziplock bag to make a medium size hole.  First draw a straight line that will go into the cupcake, then make the line into a squiggle. Sprinkle sugar crystals over the chocolate and allow to harden. Once the sparklers have hardened, carefully remove them from the wax paper and insert into store bought or homemade cupcakes.

If you don’t snip off a big enough tip of the ziplock bag, your sprinklers will be to thin and fragile. They will break when you try to lift them off the wax paper or when you try to push them into your cupcakes. Make them on the thicker side and you will be fine!

When we were done playing on the Lake, we spent the evening playing one of our favorite games called sardines. It’s basically hide and go seek backwards. One person hides, while the rest of the group counts to 100. Then everyone in the group goes and looks for the person who was hiding. The person who was hiding had to choose a place large enough to fit all the other people in. The goal of the game was to find the person hiding and join them. You didn’t want to end up the last person wandering around not knowing where everyone else is hiding. My Dad wasn’t a big camper so we stayed at a hotel called Wahweep Lodge. We usually had at least 10 kids when we played this game, so finding the perfect hiding spot was tricky.

One year I found THE perfect hiding place, a janitor’s closet. Several people wandered around for a good 30 minutes before finding the rest of us! The only thing that would have made that night better is if we had some of these Sparkler Cupcakes from Better Homes and Gardens to eat while we were waiting to be found! I love using chocolate cupcake toppers like these on store bought cupcakes, it’s a huge times saver with a great WOW factor! Look how cute my Valentine’s day chocolate cupcake toppers turned out. Oh yes……

This Pin Rocks!

Here are more fun 4th of July Ideas, just click on the picture and you will be taken to the post!

We’re sharing this post with:

Living Well Spending Less

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Fresh Strawberry Yogurt Cake from Caramel Potatoes

Cherry and Mixed Berry Sweet Rolls from  Shop Girl

Strawberry Rose Macarons from Baking a Moment

Strawberry Frozen Yogurt from Mommy On Demand

Le Fraisier Cake from Say It With Cake

Raspberry Cheesecake Mini Jars from Happy Mothering

Paleo/Gluten Free Strawberry Shortcake from Almost Supermom

Mini Lemon Ricotta Cheesecakes from Chocolate with Grace

Strawberry Cupcakes from Mommy In Sports

Caramel Hazelnut Mousse Tartlets from About a Mom

We hope you were as inspired by these featured links as we were!   Please come back  for our next Super Saturday Link Party, starting at 7 P.M. EST on Friday night!  And keep an eye on your social media over the weekend, too.  We like to showcase links that catch our eye during the party via Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.  You might see your link featured there!

The post Share It Thursday from Super Saturday #43 appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

Okay, let’s take a look at some of the fun things from the link party.

Hot Air Balloon Heart Art from The Moon and Me

 Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies from Tastes of Lizzy T

Nutella Stuffed Cupcakes from Titi Crafty

Winter Pom Pom Wreath from A Bright and Beautiful Life

Red Velvet Oreo Bars from The First Year Blog

Red Velvet Cheesecake Crescent Rolls from Lemon Tree Dwelling

Red Velvet Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake from Say It With Cake

Heart Earwires from Jewelry Making Journal

Easy Cupid’s Arrow Pretzels from One Little Project

If you liked these projects, make sure you take the opportunity to go see the hundreds of others that were linked to last week’s Super Saturday.  And…if you’ve been working on more projects this week, please share them with us this weekend, when our next Super Saturday goes live at 7 P.M. on Friday,  February 7th!

The post Share It Thursday from Link Party #29 appeared first on TGIF - This Grandma is Fun.

Ok I have to come clean and admit that I bought these cupcakes at the bakery department in Safeway store instead of making them myself. Sometimes you just have to cheat! Safeway was  kind enough to refrost these cupcakes with white icing  just the way I wanted. I came home and printed out some scroll hearts, cupid’s arrows, the words “Kiss”, “Love” and “Be Mine”.

Supplies Needed:

• Cupcakes
• Melting chocolate in your desired color.   I chose pink.
• Parchment paper
• Freezer Ziploc Bags
• Printout for tracing
• Wilton Colored Sugar Pearls

I taped my print outs down on my kitchen counter and then covered each one with a sheet of parchment paper.

Next I melted my pink candy melts and put it in a freezer Ziploc bag. Then I cut off a small piece off the tip of the bag. I used a regular sandwich bag first but I didn’t like how the chocolate was coming of the tip. The thickness of the freezer bag gave me more control when tracing with the melted chocolate.

When I started tracing the hearts and words on the parchment paper, I quickly found out that my hands are somewhat shaky!  With a little practice I was able to get some consistent results. If the chocolate was too hot it came out of the bag too fast and made a mess.

If I waited too long it hardened and wouldn’t work. Once my chocolate was melted I put it in my bag and waited 2 to 3 minutes before I began my tracing.

Sometimes just the chocolate in the tip would harden, I  pinched out the hardened chocolate with my fingertips and then kept on tracing.

If the whole bag of chocolate hardened I warmed it up in the microwave, waited 2 to 3 minutes to let it cool a bit and started tracing again.

The traced chocolate hardened within 5-10 minutes, without refrigeration. These toppers are easy to make but very fragile! I made my first set of hearts with a very thin line of chocolate then most of them broke when I tried to push them into the icing on top of my cupcakes. I used a thicker line of chocolate on the second batch and that worked much better! Keep in mind that these are very fragile when choosing your design. The thicker lines hold up much better.

For the final touch I added some soft pink Sugar Pearls from Wilton.

My store bought cupcakes are now a beautiful treat! The best part is I didn’t spend hours making them giving, me more time to enjoy Valentine’s Day. Oh yeah that means……

This Pin Totally Rocks!

Free  Printable                                                                                                         Free Printable

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On a very personal note, I have not shared on our blog yet that I am a breast cancer survivor.   When I was 36 years old and had three young children, I was diagnosed with an aggressive and very fatal type of cancer.  That was 18 years ago.  (Are you doing the math in your head and now know how old I am? haha!)

I underwent a year of  chemotherapy, six weeks of  radiation and had a double mastectomy.  I lost all of the hair on my head and most of my eyebrows and eyelashes.  But I never lost the hair on my legs.  You would think that if there could be one perk about having cancer that maybe I wouldn’t have to shave my legs!  But alas, shave my legs I did.

One does not go through an experience like this without learning a few lessons.  The lessons that I learned are too numerous to list in a single post but the greatest lesson learned was that our relationships with our loved ones – friends or family – are and should be the first priority in our lives.  If this is to be true, then why don’t we treat our family members better?  Why are we so determined to always “be right” ?   We need to think of ourselves less and think of others more.  I saw a quote the other day that I really liked.  It read:  “Most people don’t listen with the intent of really listening.  Most people listen with the intent of thinking how they are wanting to reply.”  We need to listen to others more than we want to hear ourselves, as a way of fostering our relationships with our loved ones.

Treasuring our relationships also means spending time with our family and friends.  Our children love to spend quality time with us. In great quantities!  One thing that my immediate and extended family has done well is to do things that will make memories every time we are together.  When our children are older they will not remember the color of our bathroom but they will remember the things that we did with them.

So although you may  think that making cupcakes with your children is not a big deal….it is a big deal.  Another quote about listening and things being a big deal:

“Listen earnestly to anything that your children want to tell you, no matter what.  If you don’t listen eagerly to the little stuff when they are little, they won’t tell you the big stuff when they are big, because to them, all of it has always been big stuff.”  Catherine Wallace

One out of every eight women will develop breast cancer.  One out of every four people will develop some form of cancer in their lifetime.  If cancer has not touched your life yet,  most likely it will.  Cherish those whom you love.  Cherish the time that you have together.  Tell your family that you love them.  Tell them again. Spend time with them.  Listen.  Really Listen.   

We guest posted about these Owl Cupcakes over at “My Kitchen Escapades” yesterday.  Hope on over for the tutorial!  You’ll be glad you did.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

And to my family – I love you more than dirt.

For a great way to package cupcakes like these try this DIY cupcake Holder:

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