Easter Chick Cookies

Here we are, a week before Easter and decided to make some cookies that looked like little chicks.  Since chicks are yellow, it only makes sense to make the cookies lemon flavored.  Here is my recipe for Super Easy Lemon Crisp Cookies which you make from a lemon cake mix and for this project, use the regular yellow lemon cake mix.  Helpful hint for this project, is to make sure your lemon cake mix is the 18 oz. size and not the 14 oz. size.  Cake mix manufacturers have decreased the size of some of their cake mixes, and in this case, "size DOES matter".

Tangled Noodle Salad with Peanut Lime Dressing

I found this wonderful salad on Pinterest and had to try it.  Originally the blog post I tried called it Noodled & Tangled Thai Salad but with the changes I made, I don't think I would call it a Thai recipe.  I love this salad!  There is some prep work cutting up the veggies, but you can do this in advance. It's really good the second day, but I usually add more of the dressing because the noodles soaks up the dressing that was added previously. 

All the Colors of the Rainbow Mini Cupcakes

I was inspired by Betty Crocker's Cupcake Poppers and tried it.  Loved the colors but hated the waste.  To make these cute little poppers, you make mini cupcakes and cut them in half and just use the tops to make these cute little bites.  Two issues:  1) what do you do with the bottom half of the cupcakes (I guess it would make a beautiful triffle, mini triffle or cake pops) and, 2) when you pick up these little bites, the cake sticks to your fingers (which is my pet peeve about whoopie pies).  So my thought, why not make them into mini cupcakes with matching frosting.

Watergate Cake with Cover Up Frosting

Ok, the title dates this cake (circa 1976).  I tried to find the origin of this cake recipe but appears that it is unknown but rumored to be a way to introduce a new pudding flavor - pistachio and was published in numerous publications and cookbooks.  It was a very popular cake in the late 70's and was my first experience with a "doctored" cake mix.  This has always been up there on the top of my list of favorite cakes.  With this being my birthday, I am making my own cake and this is it! It is also a green cake, so if you are looking for a dessert for St. Patricks's Day, here you go (you might want to add a bit of green coloring to brighten it up for the holiday).   I have never made this cake other than in a 9x13 pan (not removed) and the frosting on top, which was also the preparation method in the original recipe.  So, although I have made this cake a lot of times, this will be my first experience making it as a layer cake.

Lime in the Coconut Oatmeal Cookies

This is such a unique flavor for an oatmeal cookie, I LOVE them!  You have flavors that go so well together in a cookie that is firm but soft (not crunchy).  You have coconut, lime and white chocolate all together in an oatmeal cookie.  Yum!