A Fall Romance

The truth is out.
I am in love......

                                                    With Fall.


Trips to the apple orchard.
Cuddling by a fire.
Little Twinkly Orange Lights.
Crispy Air.
Jumping in the leaves.
Little bags of candy pumpkins
That tingly feeling in the air that is cold..and warm at the same time.
The excuse to wear a costume and be your own superhero.

The treasured beauty that will soon be covered by a blanket of snow and ice.

Because I am in love.. I would like  to re-invent the "feel of fall" in every delicious delight I bake.

Like my chocolate cherry red velvet leaf cupcakes ♥

Last Saturday, fall romance was definitely in the air. My Orange Dreamsicle Cake Pops Sparkled at Mollie & Sean's Wedding. ♥

Don't they remind you of orange twinkly lights on the porch on an October evening?

                                                         ♥

Last Thursday it was Donna and Bill's Fall Anniversary.
So I invited them to join me at an apple orchard party .. complete with handmade banners on top of a cake.

See the original blog about it here.
The inside of the cake looked like this!

Cake & Apple Pie. Spice Cake. Repeat. Cake & Apple Pie!

And after popular demand..I decided to turn this wonderful blog into a tutorial about how I made such an edible delight.

First of all..

I tend to make a mess when I bake.

Look at how much frosting (or is it cake batter?) I got in my hair.

This happens every time.
But in my kitchen, when the frosting or batter goes flying, it just means I am completely inspired and having a great time!

This photo was the perfect inspiration for the flavor of the cake.

Caramel, Apples.

                
The cake itself was vanilla, spice, and apple pie.
With a salted caramel frosting.
There's a recipe for quick & easy salted caramel frosting that you can make at home below. ♥

I needed about 6 cups of apples per pie.

So the first thing I did..was peel a lot of apples.

12 cups of apples to be exact.

I had to make two pies for this special cake.

Here are the famous apple pies I baked.

They didn't have to be beautiful on the outside.

Just YUMMY on the inside.

After all, they are supposed to hide inside of the cake!

I used two of these deep 10" pans to combine my cake & pie.

It is a beautiful pie & cake disaster if you don't remember to flour & butter them before pouring in the batter.

First I coated the bottom of the pan with white cake batter.

(You can add vanilla bean to your favorite white cake recipe-or even a white cake mix to give it an organic rustic apple orchard feel)!

Next I carefully placed my 9" pie on top of the batter.

Started to pour the batter over the top of the pie..

I completely covered the pie with batter!

It seems like magic, doesn't it?

A pie hiding inside of a cake.

Oh my.

I baked both cakes at 350 for about 40 minutes each.

I even baked a third spice cake and sandwiched it in between the layers.

The people at the party were so happy with the cake that they asked me to sit down and eat it with them. This was my piece.

Stacking The Cakes:

1. Freeze your cakes for a few hours before even trying to stack them.
2. Once frozen, I "leveled" the top of my cakes using a cake leveler.
3. I frosted the top of each cake with my salted caramel buttercream.
4. The stickiness of the frosting in between each layer is ideal for stacking.
5. I used a giant cake spatula to frost the top & the outside of the cake.

I sprinkled cinnamon and gold glitter on the top!

I used pretzel sticks instead of lollypop sticks for a personalized cake topper. They look sort of "rustic" like sticks!

Salted Caramel Frosting:
There are many ways to make caramel. And frosting.
But this recipe is the quickest and easiest way to make salted caramel buttercream frosting at home.

Ingredients Needed:
♥1 Pound of Butter (cut up into squares)
♥4 Cups of Powdered Sugar
♥3/4 Cup of Ready Made Caramel (You can find it in the ice cream section at the grocery store).
♥1 Tablespoon of Sea Salt
♥1 Tablespoon of Vanilla

 Instructions:
1. Blend Butter Squares in your mixer until creamy and light like butter should be.
2. Pour the caramel into the butter, and enjoy this moment. (It looks really pretty when you do, swirls of light caramel in the butter! Yum!)
3. Blend your Butter & Caramel together until the mixture is a very light brown. Sadly, the swirls will disappear. But they have gone to a wonderful place.
4. Mix in Sea Salt.
5. Add The Vanilla Extract
6. Make sure your mixer is turned down low. (Unless you want snow showers of powdered sugar which could be fun in some kitchens..)
7. Gradually add the powdered sugar until the frosting looks light, airy, and dreamy.
8. Optional: You can add 1 Tablespoon of Milk or Heavy Whipping Cream if you want a more "spreadable" frosting. (I add milk all the time to the frostings I use to spread on cakes).

This is the texture that makes you want a spoon. ♥

this and that

photo from last fallaaaaahhhhhh, the weekend.....it never gets old, does it? 

here's a little from our week:Eating: SOUP! I love soup. It is sooooooo NOT soup weather yet, we all dripped sweat into our bowls as we ate our supper in the 85° weather. But, it's fall, and therefore, we eat soup.Still fantasizing about: I had a Hatch Family Chocolates frozen hot chocolate last weekend.....mmmmmmm....

beyond pb&j

classic.School lunch. 
The second hardest part of sending the boy to school each day (the first being that we MISS him!!), is the fact that I am not there when he eats lunch--I feel like I am sloooooowly loosing control.
At home I know exactly what my kids are eating, and call me a control freak, but I like it that way.
I have had a hard time trying to come up with new ideas for lunches each day.

What's for Lunch: Tabouleh!

Think back to when you were just a wee little tyke in elementary school. 
Did youa) eat hot lunchb) eat a "cool" cold lunch (packed with lunchables, twinkies, fruit by the foot, and gushers)or c) eat a "not cool" cold lunch with a sandwich, normal uncool fruit, and juice in a Rainbow Bright thermos? (I'm raising my hand on option c)
I am fully aware each morning, that I am making my kid very

advertise with the little red house!

ads. I love ads. one little blip can say so much.

I would love to have your ad on The Little Red House!

If you have something you'd like to advertise, The Little Red House would love to help promote you!Artists, bloggers, makers-of-awesome things, designers, photographers, shop owners, writers, entrepreneurs....whatever you may be, we'd love to have you!
Please email me sheenajibson at gmail

More Than Meets The Eye.

A few months ago, I was a cupcake sponsor for the ALS Benefit Ride here in Waupaca.

I made some tattoo inspired cupcakes. Rebellious and soft at the same time ♥

This one was dedicated to my friend's mom who suffered from ALS. ♥ My friend is the one who asked me to donate the cupcakes to the event.

Of course I said yes to the donation.  My mom has recently been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. A really big reason California was just too far for me to live from my mom here in Wisconsin.

Even though ALS & Parkinson's aren't the same thing.. I know what it is like to want to do something to make a difference in someone's life that you love deeply. So I was more than honored to donate.

I like that Mom says Wow upside down. ♥

And out of this event..came even more cupcakes!

I donated a gift certificate - more and more and more cupcakes for the lucky raffle winner.

Transformer Cupcakes for Connor.

Requested with love by his mom. ♥

She even made this her profile picture on Facebook! That made me feel all warm and fuzzy.

I made the faces out of candy melts, so they are 100% edible. I printed the faces out on printer paper, and used parchment paper to trace.  I used piping bags to trace candy melt faces on the parchment paper. ♥ And this is how they turned out!

This monster cupcake sandwich was inspired by the hood of a car opening up. Inside the hood of this cupcake transformer are peanut butter cups. Yummmmm!

And of course..you can't have Transformer Cupcakes without *real* Transformers on top!

Fun to eat.. and Fun to play with too!

I think he wants a hug ♥

It looks like this order came full circle.. for daughters to give love to their moms.

And for a mom to give a dream come true in cupcakes to her son!

*More Than Meets The Eye*.I hope you loved them, Connor. ♥

hello, fall

If you look closely, you can see it.Tiny bits of color sneaking up on to the edges of even the greenest of leaves. Creeping down from the canyon, and spreading out across the valley.
If you are still, and you listen, you can hear it.The birds are quieting, the garden is tired of growing and bending over to reach the ground.
There is a quiet breeze winding its way out of the sky.
If you step

holly and scott

holly and scott on the photo blog!here

Blue Ribbon Snickerdoodles

"Think what a better world it would be if we all, the whole world, had cookies and milk about three o'clock every afternoon and then lay down on our blankets for a nap."

-Robert Fulghum

These Snickerdoodles earned me the coveted title "Best Cookie Baker of Thurston County." Here's how it went. 

The night before we decided to go to the fair, at approximately 9 pm, I looked at their website to see what was going on that day. Turns out they were having a different baking contest each day (apart from the entries displayed at the fair.) The day in question was cookies, the day after chocolate cake and so on. The cookie contest stated that the winner will be named "The Best Cookie Baker of Thurston County." It also mentioned that if you bring a plate of cookies to enter you get into the fair for free. I like free stuff, so I went to the kitchen, revved up the oven and got to work.

It was all so last minute, that's why no pictures of cookies, only fair animals. The one picture of cookies (above) I took after the fact with the remaining cookies at home.

What type of cookies should I bake? I thought. I went through a list of possibilities in my head. Chocolate chip? Too boring. Chocolate chocolate chip? Too rich, not everyone likes rich. Lemon? Not everyone likes lemon. And so on.

Snickerdoodles were it. Most people like cinnamon, sugar and butter. Remember when they did the study where they found out that men prefer the scent of cinnamon rolls baking over any other scent? I rest my case.

Not to mention I've heard these cookies described as "crack cookies." Due to their addictive qualities.

What a bunch of lazy pigs

As you already know, I won! First place! I not only got into the fair for free, I won this lovely blue ribbon, a $25.00 dollar gift certificate to a local restaurant and of course the title of The Best Cookie Baker of Thurston County.

This is a recipe I've tweaked over the years to adapt to my taste, and not to mention blue ribbon status. Crisp on the outside and chewy and soft on the inside. I like to use half butter and half butter flavored Crisco because Crisco gives them a more crisp exterior than using all butter. (Butter has 14%-18% water, Crisco is pretty much solid fat) If you prefer, you may substitute more butter for the Crisco but they won't be as crisp.

 

Blue Ribbon Snickerdoodles

this recipe was created by me, Melissa Graham aka The Alchemist

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter (1 stick) (113 g.), softened

1/2 cup (113 g.) Butter Flavored Crisco
1 1/2 cups (300 g.) white sugar
2 eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon butter flavored extract-optional-I have this ingredient in the house so I use it to boost the butter flavor, but if I didn't already have it I don't think I'd buy it just for this. (But I did use it in the winning cookies. FYI.)
3 1/2 cups (525 g.) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cinnamon and sugar mixed together for rolling cookies

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, 200 degrees Celsius, or Gas Mark 6.

Cream together the butter and butter flavored Crisco till fluffy. Add the sugar and beat again for about 2 minutes until really light and fluffy. Now add the eggs, vanilla and butter extract (if using) and beat well for about a minute. Scrape down the bowl with a rubber scraper/spatula and then beat again for another minute.

In a separate bowl add the flour, baking soda, salt and cream of tartar. Whisk together to blend.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet and beat till all is incorporated.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop out dough using a 2 teaspoon size disher. Roll cookies in cinnamon/sugar mixture.

Bake on prepared sheet for about 9 minutes. In my oven after exactly 9 minutes they are perfect. This is 2 teaspoon (or slightly larger) size. Don't over bake! If you eat a hot cookie (I mean who doesn't want to eat a hot cookie?) when it's warm, it might seem doughy or under baked. But if you take that same cookie and put it in the fridge (or wait till it's cooled at room temperature) it will harden a bit and be a delightfully soft cookie. So don't determine the baking time by eating a hot cookie. The cookies should be soft on the inside and crisp on the outside.

After they come out of the oven place the baking sheet on a wire rack for just 2 minutes, then remove cookies from the baking sheet with a spatula to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Fresh Corn and Bean Salad

"Sex is good, but not as good as fresh, sweet corn."

 ~Garrison Keillor

Happy harvest season! Our corn is ready for picking, and we sure have been enjoying it. Just yesterday with dinner I served my husband an ear of corn I had picked within minutes of cooking. He pronounced it was the best corn he had ever eaten. Juicy and sweet, it is the delicious reward after months of growing.

I have made this salad multiple times this summer. The first time I made it, afterwards I thought, this salad sure makes a lot, I don't know if we'll eat it all (since it's just the two of us.) I was thinking I may have to feed it to the chickens in a few days. Boy was I wrong. The both of us ate it all, in just a few days and enjoyed every bite.

This salad is incredibly fresh tasting and full of veggies. The perfect accompaniment for a burger, or a piece of fish or whatever protein your heart desires. Or heck, just eat it alone. It's full of beans, so it's filling, healthy and vegan too!

The fresh corn flavor is so amazing in this salad. Everyone has their favorite way of cooking corn. Lately mine has been baking it in the oven. The corn flavor stays intact inside their husks and it's super easy (The details are below in the recipe). Thanks Michelle for the tip!

If you don't want to turn on the oven you can always cook it on the stove. In my Dean and Deluca cookbook, they recommend cooking corn in their husks in boiling water. Once the water boils, place unhusked corn in, start timing once it starts boiling again and cook for about 5 minutes. The advantage to cooking corn in the husks is that the silks are easier to remove after cooking. (Wait for it to cool a bit first before removing husks.)

Fresh Corn and Bean Salad

Inspired by this recipe

Ingredients

1/3 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

3 teaspoons ground cumin

4 ears of fresh corn, or about 2 1/2 cups frozen corn

1 -15 1/2-ounce can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1- 15 1/2-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained

3 celery stalks, chopped

1 medium-size red, yellow or orange bell pepper, chopped

1/2 cup (70 g.) chopped white onion

1/2 cup (35 g.) chopped fresh cilantro

1-2 jalapeño chilies, seeded and chopped -optional, depending on the spice level you desire

Directions

If using fresh corn, bake it (husks intact) in a preheated 400 degree Fahrenheit, 200 degrees Celsius, or Gas Mark 6, oven for about 45  minutes. Remove from oven and cool.

Meanwhile, whisk oil, vinegar, and cumin in large bowl to blend. When corn has cooled, cut it off the ears with a knife and add it along with the remaining ingredients to the bowl. Toss it all to coat and season with salt and pepper.

Let stand before eating if possible. An hour, or a few is good so the flavors can meld. Even overnight makes for a nicely flavored salad.

Serves about 8 as a side dish.

Amanda-Pie

You know how I always say I am trying to create some kind of world peace by uniting cupcakes with pie? Well, crazy little me decided to take on the pie-cake-pie-cake combo this week.
I am going to call it the Amanda-pie.

I was talking to my new friend Bryon a few weeks ago when he ordered the cake for his parents Birthday/ Anniversary celebration.  He was thinking....Maybe something Fall-Esque. Maybe something with Apples in it.

I had my mind made up.

I had to merge cake and apple pie together the way that I do cupcakes.

(See my cupcake-pie combo here).

As risky as I knew this adventure was ..

it worked!

A three tier cake:  

Tier 1: Vanilla Bean Cake with an Apple Pie Baked on The Inside.

Tier 2:  A Thin Spice Cake

Tier 3: Repeate Tier 1.

I was inspired by the "Cherpumple" Cake♥

 

The lovely couple celebrating.

The theme of the cake definitely had to be..

 Warm.

Like a Fall Romance.

Like this mini Spice Cupcake that I baked separately & used as a cake topper...

disguising itself as a caramel apple!

  Complete with Donna and Bill's name in lights.

Or Pretty Sparkly Banners that catch the light at least.. ♥

A Fall Celebration on a cake!

Maybe like visiting an Apple Orchard, Partying, and Eating Cake in one room..with all the people that love you?

Since I am Amanda Cupcake I had to add cupcakes.

Spiced Cupcakes that look like caramel apples with romantic pretzel sticks as the "craft stick."

I even hid little cinnamon apple pieces inside the miniature cupcakes.

The banner says it all.

Happy Birthday.

Happy Anniversary.

Fall is In the Air. ♥

And yes..don't forget.

There are apple pies inside of this cake!

These are all the apple slices that I peeled.

And the pies that I baked from scratch.

(Ok, my pie beautifying skills aren't quite as lovely as my cake making skills. But I am determined to master it!) But for now..the pies were *delicious* and were going to blend right into the cake beautifully.

With some salted caramel buttercream frosting.

I actually received a round of applause when the cake was cut!

It must have been the apron.

Or perhaps it was the Amanda-pie. ♥