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.

fresh inspiration

Hi, Friends! I wanted to let you know that I've updated my "sites I love" page with some new links. I've been browsing through foodgawker and the interwebs lately looking for fresh inspiration. I'm pretty picky about what I keep in my blogroll, but these sites have been added to my reading list [and I thought you might enjoy reading them too!] For a blog to keep me coming back, the photos have to be gorgeous, the recipes have to be drool-worthy, and the writing has to be entertaining. These blogs deliver on all 3 points. Below is a sampling of recipes I'm itching to try out...

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.

filled cupcakes

 

This post is not so much a recipe as a technique: how to make filled cupcakes.

Filling your cupcakes is a great way to add a little something extra. 

This technique works well with fillings like jam or jelly, peanut butter, or even pudding. 

(For frosting fillings, you will want to fill the cupcakes after baking.)

peanut butter cupcakes

EDIT: this recipe was featured on the Tasty Kitchen website on 3/2/10

This recipe actually comes from my fiancee's family, so I'm going to let him introduce it...

"When Jamie first decided to start this blog, I told her she had to make my Great-Aunt Bug's 

peanut butter cupcakes. Bug was a classy lady. As the story goes, she spent a number of years 

living on her own in New York City in an era when that sort of thing just wasn't done by 

single women. She amassed a rather large collection of antiques, big city culture and 

a wealth of scratch recipes. When she returned to the family farm in Blue Rapids Kansas, 

she took to setting up her home and swapping recipes with her friends and family.

These peanut butter cupcakes have been baked for generations with love and butter, 

by fiercely independent and classy ladies."