Heather Baird's Blog, page 64
April 14, 2016
Homemade Hibiscus Syrup

Have you tried using hibiscus flowers in your baking yet? I fell in love with them as an ingredient years ago when I first made these Hibiscus Poppy Seed Shortbread Cookies. Boiled and well-steeped, the petals yield an elixir that is tangy and tart; almost fruity. Its flavor is reminiscent of raspberry and maybe rhubarb with something faintly floral lingering in the background.
Hibiscus syrup is one of the easiest things in the world to make, so it puzzles me why anyone would pay a hefty price for a commercially prepared bottle. Just one bottle can cost more than a pound of organic hibiscus leaves does, which would make ten times the amount of one purchased bottle!
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Published on April 14, 2016 05:57
April 13, 2016
Unicorn Food

I've been seeing all kinds of unicorn-themed treats popping up on food blogs, and I love them all! They tend to be bright with eye-popping rainbow colors and with copious amounts of sprinkles. That sounds right up my alley!
I decided to make 'Unicorn Food' which gives me an excuse to combine all of my favorite colorful candies into one big snack mix. There's no baking or real work involved, and I debated on whether this even warranted a blog post, but just looking at all that color made me smile more than once. That made me decide it was post-worthy, and hopefully it will make you smile too.
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Published on April 13, 2016 09:18
April 8, 2016
Pretzel Frosting Cupcakes from the Cookies & Cups Cookbook!

I'm so excited to share this recipe with you because it's from the brand spankin' new Cookies & Cups Cookbook! My pal Shelly wrote it, and she's packed it full of the most delicious indulgent dessert recipes I've ever seen. And just to balance out all that sweetness, there are some savory recipes in the back of the book, too.
The minute I saw the recipe for 'Pretzel Frosting' in the book I knew I'd be making it. It's so simple but totally genius - ground pretzels are whipped together with buttercream frosting. Now. You know I'm a salty-sweet girl, so I was immediately smitten!
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Published on April 08, 2016 10:23
April 4, 2016
Black Velvet Nebula Cake

I recently ordered a couple of Hubble Space Telescope picture books and - wow , are they ever gorgeous! I've been paging through them every day for two weeks, just soaking in all that beautiful imagery. Seeing all those colorful nebulae inspired me to buy two extra-large canvases to recreate some nebula images for my office walls. I've yet to set brush to canvas though, because I was also inspired to practice my galaxy-painting on cake!
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Published on April 04, 2016 08:12
March 31, 2016
Whipped Maraschino Cherry Squares

By now you probably know that I love retro recipes. This one was inspired by a recipe in a spiral-bound 1963 cookbook called 'Joys of Jello'. It was given to me by Oscar, a friend of the family who just turned 91 years old. I feel lucky that he chose me to inherit some of his late wife's cookbooks and recipes. I intend to put them all to good use!
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Published on March 31, 2016 07:22
March 30, 2016
Coloring Book Cookies for The Etsy Blog!

How fun are these Coloring Book Cookies? (Coloring Bookies? Ha!) Yes - you can actually color these cookies with food color markers and eat them ! Adult coloring books are hugely popular right now, and I never knew exactly how popular until I discovered that even my mother had a set of fancy markers and a coloring book of her own.
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Published on March 30, 2016 07:20
March 29, 2016
Lemon Icebox Pie in Jars

Guess who is ready for a picnic? ME! Sunny days are here at last, and it's made our little family stretch toward the light like flowers. We've been letting the pugs explore uncharted territory (the unsullied front yard) and going on long car rides with our sunglasses on. This kind of mild weather makes me long for a simple kind of picnic; cheese sandwiches, crunchy veggies with dip and portable lemon pie in jars.
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Published on March 29, 2016 05:00
March 23, 2016
Lemon Mochi Chicks

Confession: I'm the girl in the froyo line that swipes all the mochi toppings. There's just something about that bouncy marshmallow texture that I can't resist. If you're unfamiliar, mochi is a Japanese rice confection that's slightly sweet and chewy. You can eat it plain or chopped into pieces for a sundae topping. It is often filled with sweet red bean paste, but I love eating it wrapped around strawberries and scoops of ice cream.
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Published on March 23, 2016 09:37
March 22, 2016
Egg Sprinkle Cookies

Are you busy stuffing plastic grass-filled baskets and dyeing Easter eggs? Tis the season! I must admit I've not dipped the first egg into colorful vinegar-scented cups, but I have been otherwise occupied making these sprinkled egg cookies. They are so fun and couldn't be easier to decorate.
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Published on March 22, 2016 09:05
March 16, 2016
Coconut Ice Cupcakes

I've you're a true coconut lover, this is your cupcake!
I first made coconut ice candy about eight years ago when I was just beginning to blog. It's a dense coconut confection with pink and white layers. The candy is pressed into a baking dish, and then it's chilled and cut into squares, much like fudge. I've always considered it to be a pretty candy, and recently I had the idea to use it for a garnish atop coconut cupcakes.
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Published on March 16, 2016 09:55