chocolate chip cookie bars + baking without an oven

hi, friends! it's been over a year since I've updated this blog. I know that some of you have been following along all my Taiwan adventures with my new blog, but for those of you who are only here for the cookies might be interested to know I have finally [!] posted a new recipe. head on over to check it out.

I also wanted to mention that this week, my pop rocks cake pop recipe is featured in an article on bonappetite.com ... kindof a big deal. check out slide #8 [well, check out all the slides, but #8 is mine]

learning to bake without all my beloved kitchen gadgets [and also without gluten] while adjusting to expat life has certainly been a challenge. but I've learned that if you get creative you can bake just about anywhere with anything... including making pie dough by cutting butter with a cheese grater and using a wine bottle as a rolling pin. I hope to be sharing more recipes in the near future.

thanks for stopping by, xo

post #99: cake pops + announcements

hello friends! This is my 99th post to this blog... crazy right?

How about some rainbow sprinkle cake pops to celebrate? [I love rainbow sprinkles!]

I have another announcement to share today that is somewhat bittersweet: 
I will no longer be posting to this blog.

The reason why? Husband and I have decided to leave our current jobs, pack up our lives, and head out for an adventure. This summer we will be moving to Hsinchu City, Taiwan! Husband signed a 2 year teaching contact with a high school over there, and in a few weeks we will be moving back to Michigan from the east coast to spend time with our families before we go.

I WILL, however, still be blogging. I hope that you’ll wander over to inkandadventure.blogspot.com and join up to follow our adventures in Taiwan. There will be plenty of photos, stories about life and travel, and - of course - experiments in the kitchen. I’m excited for the challenge of learning how to cook in our new home using the local ingredients [and without a traditional oven!]

It has truly been a pleasure blogging for you all these past few years. Thank you for all your support, emails, and lovely comments. I hope you will continue to enjoy the recipes I have posted here [I’ll leave them up indefinitely] and will try your hand at the new ones I’ll be posting over there.

until then,

use real butter + bake it with love

xo Jamie

Cinco de Mayo recipe roundup

Hi friends! Just popping in to say happy Cinco de Mayo, and give you a few menu suggestions if you happen to be throwing a fiesta today.

valentine cake pops [part 2]

For those of you looking for something a little less labor intensive than

[but just as cute as] the conversation heart cake pops I posted yesterday...

conversation heart cake pops

Remember back in 4th grade when Valentine's Day meant 

dropping notes in hand-made shoebox "mailboxes"?

I always loved the cute messages on conversation hearts...

but they taste much better as cake pops!

superbowl bites

Well friends, it's Superbowl weekend!

I'm not hosting or attending a party this year [sad face]

but here are some recipes for those of you who are:

Game Day Mexican Layer Dip

Traditional game day dip with a fun football twist.

turkey cake pops

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone is stuffed full of turkey and gratitude, watching football, enjoying 

a slice of pie and a tasty beverage. [That's my plan for the rest of the day anyway.]

Happy Halloween + mummy cake pops

Happy Halloween everyone!

Just popping in to show you these adorable mummy cake pops 

I made [a la Bakerella] and wish you lots of treats tonight!

hello!

Hi, Friends! What did you do with your summer vacation?

Obviously some of us [ahem, me] spent our time outside of the kitchen.

Now that the weather is starting to cool down and the East Coast is [hopefully!] done with 

earthquakes and hurricanes for the summer, it's time to get back to the baking.

And since I'm breaking out all the pots and pans again, I figured it was time for a new look!

Stay tuned this fall for posts about brownies, beer, cookies, cake pops,

and plenty of tailgate food [hooray for college football season!]

firecracker cake pops and other 4th of July goodies!

4th of July has always been one of my favorite holidays. Growing up I spent the 4th at my family's cabin in northern Michigan. We celebrated with sparklers, fireworks over the lake, and of course: the boat parade. This year Husband and I aren't able to make it back to "the mitten", but we are taking a short trip to Maine. I thought it would be fun to share some great holiday baking ideas. Feel free to leave a link in the comments if you have something delicious you want to share :)

Firecracker Cake Pops

This is basically just a reincarnation of the Pop Rock Cake Pops I posted last January. [In fact, I even said they would be coming back in July!] The color variations on these would be endless... red velvet cake or blue candy melts? Pop Rocks come in both red and blue, so you could even mix them together on white candy.

margarita cake pops

I can't tell you how excited I am to share this recipe.

Two of my favorite things: Margaritas and Cake Pops.

Finally combined into one little edible heavenly bite on a stick.

I've been dreaming of margarita cake pops for a long time, 

and when I saw Bridget from Bake at 350 post these lemon cake pops, 

shortly followed by Pioneer Woman's link to these margarita cupcakes... 

I knew it was time to take the plunge.

bake sale!

The bake sale over at Carrots 'N' Cake has begun! 

Head on over to check out all the delicious goodness... you can find my cake pops on page three : )

updates and a bake sale!

Hi friends! Just popping in to let you know Blogger had been having some issues this week.

You may have seen a post or two disappear, or even reappear... it's not me, I swear!

I won't repost anything for a bit, hopefully it will all work out and reset itself 

[and this post won't go anywhere!]

BUT I did want to take the chance of posting to let you know some exciting news...

I've donated a dozen of my chocolate-dipped peanut butter cake pops 

to be part of a bake sale fundraiser over on Carrots N Cake next Monday May 16th!

So please head on over next Monday... you can bid on my cake pops 

or any of the other "donated" baked goods to help raise money for Team in Training.

I will post the link to the sale once it's up... Happy Weekend!

birthday cake pops

I've had a bit of an internet problem lately... meaning, I had none.
Now that that pesky little problem [ha!] has been dealt with, 
I'm back to catch you up on all my recent kitchen activities.

A few weeks ago I went out to a birthday celebration for my friend Lisa.
Last year I brought chocolate-dipped peanut butter cake pops to her birthday.

Of course, I had to bring cake pops again this year!

chocolate cake pops and...

Hello, friends! Life outside the kitchen has been pretty busy as of late.

[Which, inevitably,  results in less life IN the kitchen]

valentine cupcake bites

Ever since I discovered cake pops, I've wanted to try my hand 

at the cupcake-shaped ones that Bakerella posted long ago. 

But once I started rolling, I decided to make these 'bites' without the stick.

super bowl bites

It's that time again, friends!

Everyone [Husband and myself included] 

is planning their SuperBowl party menus.

Last year, I whipped up some football cake pops.

funfetti pop rock cake pops

funfetti pop rock cake pops. 

Bet you can't say that 3 times fast!

Over the holidays, my siblings requested that I make cake pops. 

I, of course, happily obliged.

In case you are new around here, let me tell you that I will use just about any occasion as an excuse to make cake pops. I make them for birthdays, for sporting events, for holidays, for random seasonal outings with friends... I even made them as favors at my own wedding! You might say I'm a little cake pop obsessed.

My brother made the executive decision that we should have funfetti cake pops.

punkin ale and pumpkin cake pops

One of my favorite things about fall is the abundance of pumpkin flavored things.

how to: make apple-shaped cake pops

 I wanted to post some detailed instructions about the apple cake pops I made when we 

went to the orchard a few weeks ago. That was not the first time I had made apple cake pops. 

 Last fall I made them as my first cake pops ever, and took photos step-by-step. 

Instead of re-taking all the photos, I thought I would post them so you can see how much 

your photography can improve with a year's practice :)