Baking! CookieMonster Cupcakes! Recipe!

I just love Cookie Monster ever since I was a child and I've seen many cookie monster recipes over the years and have always wanted to try one. I recently saw one using coconut to make cookie monsters fur and just thought this was a great idea as some cupcake frosting is a bit too sweet and overpowering for me!

So here goes

Regular Vanilla Cupcake recipe:

• 4oz Self Raising Flour
• 4oz Sugar
• 4oz Marg
• 2eggs
• Few drops Vanilla

Put it all in a bowl and mix together.
Fill your cupcake cases and bake for 15-20minutes at 180C

 

Cream cheese frosting:

• Cream cheese
• Butter
• Icing sugar
• Drop of Vanilla Essence

This is all down to personal taste so just mash together and add more of whichever taste you prefer!

Decoration:

• Desidited Coconut
• Blue Food Colouring
• Drop of Water

• Cadbury's White chocolate Buttons
• Liquorish
• Chocolate Chip Cookie

Fill a cup with coconut and add food colouring and a drop of water and mix until you have the right shade of blue for cookie monster!

When your cupcake has cooled using a knife or spoon cover with frosting an dunk into your blue coconut, give it a bit of a shake around to completely coat!

Pop two white chocolate buttons on top for eyes and a slice of liquorish for the pupils and stick a chocolate chip cookie in his mouth!!!

Hope you try this and love recipe! Let me know how yours turn out and send images!!!

Have you seen my Ferrero Rocher Cake post??

Or my simple Chocolate Fudge post??

xx

Random Haul!!

Just back from Wilton where I picked up a few bits and bobs.

Boots

Had to pick up some Garnier Micellar Water (€4.92), Palmers body Moisturiser (€7.99) and some Palmers hand cream (€2.49)! I love Palmer's products they are so moisturising and they smell great!!!

Bits and Bobs

Got some more curling ribbons in more Spring colours! Most of the ones I have are a bit Christmassy! And some purple and green ribbons just because!!! And a doodle book, love stationary!

Euro Giant

Getting my crème egg on with 2 boxes for €5.00, mmm 10 crème eggs!! And some kinder bueno's!



So got my  beauty, craft and chocolate fix!!!
Shopaholic fix sorted!

xx

Baking Love ~ Minions ~ Cookies & Shortbread & Biscuits ~

Another Baking post! You never get tired of them!!

Wanted to share my ebay find with you! So here's a link to my ebay minions cookie cutter. Buying on ebay you can grab some great bargains (€1.58/ £1.23/ $1.76)  once you don't mind the wait for delivery! I forgot about these and was pleasantly surprized when the postman came!

These are great as they are plungers so easily cut your dough and press your little minions faces into it!

Here's their image:

Here's the odlums shortbread recipe, however any cookie recipe could be used with these cutters!

 

Shortbread Ingredients:

125g/4oz Odlums Cream Plain Flour

50g/2oz Cornflour

125g/4oz Butter (softened)

50g/2oz Caster Sugar

Mix all together, roll out, cut and bake for approx. 12 mins at 160C


And my process, (oops burnt a few!)

 

All lined up on the cookie sheet before baking!

 

 

Then I had an idea to ice them but didn't have any fondant icing! Fondant icing is great for these plungers, I would recommend this not my runny icing sugar water combo!!!

 

 

Painted them with a tiny paint brush and food colouring!!! Think I'll post this as a Pinterest fail!!!!

At first it seemed great but the icing kinda melted and ran in my warm kitchen!!! Maybe if I left the icing set overnight, who knows? But I was able to use the plunger on the icing after a few hours with no problem, should have taken a photo of that!!!!

 

 

 

 

Have you any baking fails? Or successes?

 

Any baking products you think I should check out?

 

xx

Get your Cadbury Creme Egg Fix before its all over!!!

If you missed out and didn't get a seat at the Crème Egg Café you can still get your Crème Egg fix here!!! As you know I love pinterest, and I also love crème eggs!!!

These  are some recipe ideas I found on pinterest that I have been trying out!!! There are so many recipes I couldn't get through them all but check them all out here on Pinterest!

 

Hot Cross Crème Egg Pudding

Hot Cross Crème Egg Pudding from Good to Know read more here!
A Crème Egg Twist/Easter on the classic bread and butter pudding!

 

Ok so I cheated a little bit with mine, but only because I need a fast desert so I used readymade custard! Not as good as the homemade but an eggcellent dessert none the less!!!!

 Crème Egg Chocolate Fondant

From one of my foodie crushes  Rebecca at Winberry Crumble hear her recipe here!

4 crème eggs
100g butter
150g dark soft brown sugar
3 eggs
50g plain flour

Crème Egg Chocolate Mug Cake

Crème Egg Chocolate Mug Cake from My Fussy Eater read it here!
If you haven't made a mug cake you need to try one, they are so simple and quick to make!!

3 tbsp plain flour

2 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp cocoa powder

½ tsp baking powder

1 egg

3 tbsp plain yogurt

¼ tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp chocolate chips

2 creme eggs

 

Caramel Egg Stuffed Croissants

 

 

Caramel Egg Stuffed Easter Croissants from Taming Twins read here!!

This is a bit of a cheat but caramel eggs are only here for a short time too!!! Another simple recipe and a great breakfast treat!!!

 

Pack of ready to pop croissant dough

6 Cadbury's Caramel Eggs

1 Egg (beaten)

 

Crème Egg Brownies

 

 

 

Crème Egg brownies from Cravings of a Lunatic, read here!

 

8 tablespoons of butter

2 ounces semi sweet chocolate

1 cup sugar

2 eggs. beaten

½ teaspoon vanilla

½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

¼ cup flour

¼ teaspoon salt

10 to 12 mini cadbury creme eggs

 

Crème Egg Cupcakes

 

And this tasty offering from Cupcake Jemma, watch here!!!

 

 

 

So this Crème Egg season, how do you eat yours???

 

xx

Ps. if you missed my homemade Easter eggs find them here!

Homemade Chocolate Easter Egg Recipe Ideas

Yay! Reasons I love Spring.... Chocolate and Sweet Treat Related Holidays!!!

I picked up these Easter Egg Moulds in a discount shop a few years ago and they are just the best thing!!! Everyone loves a homemade treat and these eggs have gone down really well every year I make them!

Theme your eggs towards the recipient.

 

1 "Healthy" Chocolate Egg.

Ok this might not be technically "healthy" but it's the healthiest option here!

• Dark Chocolate
• Dried Cranberries
• Mixed Peel
• Chopped Nuts

I filled the base of he mould with fruit and nuts then poured in the melted dark chocolate
Let it set and join both sides
Eat!!!

2 "Sweets and Treats" Egg

• Milk Chocolate
• Dark Chocolate
• White Chocolate
• Sour Snakes
• Gummy Bears
• Skittles
• M&M's

Again fill the mould with sweets.
Drizzle over one type of chocolate, let set, repeat with next chocolate and repeat again!
Let to set completely
Fill the inside with lots of tasty sweets.
Use some melted chocolate to join both sides.

 

 

3. "Liquorish Allsorts" Egg

• Chocolate
• Liquorish Allsorts

Line up your liquorish allsorts in the mould.
Melt your chocolate.
Start to fill your mould with chocolate to hold sweets in place.
Let your chocolate set.
Fill your egg with remaining sweets.
Then use some melted chocolate to join both sides together and keep sweets inside.

Enjoy!!

4 "Tiramisu" Egg

• Dark Chocolate
• Boudoir Fingers
• Cocoa Powder
• Double Cream
• Mascarpone
• Espresso
• Sugar
• Rum/Baileys etc. (optional)

3/4 coat your egg with melted chocolate, let set so top is open.

Fill with Tiramisu:

Line with boudoir fingers soaked in espresso and rum
Mix mascarpone, cream and sugar together
Pour over fingers
Grate Chocolate over
Repeat layers until egg is full
Top with cocoa powder and grated chocolate
Garnish with a chocolate spoon



See the first one really was the healthy option!!!!

I keep these fresh and display them beautifully by wrapping in cellophane and ribbons.

Hope you feel inspired to treat your loved ones to a homemade egg-elicious treat!!!

So which is your favourite Egg??


xx

Who's taking money out of your pocket?? Rounding cons!

 

Now maybe everyone has not heard about rounding but this is my pet peeve! It is daylight robbery!!
I mean are we really that stupid that we are allowing people to take money out of our pockets!!!!

 

So if you don't know what I am on about "Rounding" is the concept that if your shopping costs €2.99 you pay €3. That doesn't seem that bad does it? What about if your shopping costs €2.96 you still have to pay €3!!! So you are giving the shopkeeper €0.04 for doing nothing you are getting nothing in return for your money!!!

Just How much is being robbed from my Pocket???

Think about it this way, you probably buy more than one thing every day be it your morning take-away coffee, your lunch, groceries,  beauty products... etc. etc.
So that could be 16 cent a day!!1 That's €58.40 a year!!!!! Think about what you could have bought for that!!! And that's a minimum!!! That's like filling your car with petrol! Rent? A fancy meal?

It's not just this but I have and a lot of people I know have a savings plan of putting your change in a jar every day and at the end of the year you can get yourself a treat or just have this as an emergency stash of cash for those bad days!!!
I mean that's a years meals on the McDonalds eurosaver menu!!!!!!

I have yet to have any purchase rounded down!!!!

It's illegal for a shop to refuse to give you your change!!!

Also this "scheme" (scam) is voluntary , you don't have to be robbed but try asking for your correct change!!! I mean I have been verbally assaulted by shop staff!!! for what asking for my change!!!
This by the way is illegal!!!! They have to give you your change so persist!!! We have to stand up for our rights as consumers!!!

If you went into a shop and bought a bar of chocolate for €1 and paid with a €50 note and then the shopkeeper refused to give you your €49 change then that would make you furious!!! So this rounding scam makes me furious!!!

So Where is my Money going???

Where is this money going??? It hasn't gone through the books at the till, your receipt, the accounts lodged to the relevant authorities??? So where has it gone??? That's right straight into the shop owners pocket!!!! No tax is paid on it?? It's not declared???
I'm curious how this will be accounted for at the end of the year???

It's not just us the consumer who has been robbed!!!!

Charities are losing millions!!!!

Yes you know the Charity boxes at tills, which usually support local charities, which we all might need some day, yes they are being robbed!! In the past anyone who didn't want to soil their hands with change just put their change into the charity box. This adds up quickly as it's just 16cent a day each bit a shop could have 100's if not 1000's of customers a day, so over the whole country charity is losing MILLIONS!!!!

Sorry Trocaire Box... Not this year!!!!

Think about shops like dealz where everything is €1.49! That means there is 1c undeclared income/overcharging for every purchase!! Now have you ever seem this shop empty.... no there is always a huge q!!!! One can only imagine the company owners rolling around in the millions of tax free income!!!!

I have given you a lot of con's here but I can't really think of any pro's?? Except that for the shop owners???

Pro's

1. Shop owners / Companies getting tax fee profit

 

Con's

 

1. Consumer being overcharges

2. Charities losing out

3. Government/ Revenue losing Tax revenue

 

So tell me your opinion???

Are you ok with your hard earned money being stolen???

Please share this rant!!!

Knitting & Crochet Project ~ Owl Hat ~

I have seen soo many cute owl hat projects and patterns. Now I'm not quite experienced enough for a lot of them, but I saw so many cute images on pinterest and thought I would give it a go!

Also I planned to do something crafty every month, this is February's craftiness!!!
Also I was quite poorly so this took my mind of dwelling in self pity!!!

I struggle with following patterns in everything I do, I'm more of a trial and error kinda gal!

 

So this is my "pattern":

Using 10mm needles
Cast on 40 stitches
Stocking stitch for approx. 25 rows (I didn't really count approx. 5")
Then change colour (I changed to White)
Stocking Stitch the same amount again, approx. 25 rows!


Sew up edge.
Then sew top.
(Thinking about sewing across corners as ears??)

Crochet eyes
I'm not the best at crochet but my attempt worked quite well!!!
Chain 3 in circle and keep circling to make big round eyes!!
Start Black for pupil and change to white after one round!

I knitted a beak too, couldn't decide what colour, and I only had much thinner wool so I used 3 colours of yellow/orange.
Cast on 5. Kn1 Pl1
Reduce to 3
Reduce again to 1.

This is the first time I used crochet to "sew" up the seems and sew on the eyes and beak but it worked quite well!!!

And here is the finished product!!!!

Hope you like it!
This hat keeps me warm and puts a smile on my face!!!

Send me links to any simple projects you think I would like or projects you have done!!

xx


Previous Posts:

Check out my last Knitted Hat Project

The Liebster Award

Great New!!! The wonderful Katie Ellen (show her blog some love) nominated me to do The Liebster Award!!!

Let me explain the concept for you:

• Thank the person who nominated you and include link to their blog.
• Answer the 11 questions.
• Think up 11 new questions
• Nominate 11 other bloggers you think deserve the nomination, who have under 1000 followers.
• Alert them to the nomination on social media!

 The Q & A

1. What do you feel is the best thing about blogging?

I get to share my ramblings with the world instead of them staying in my head!

Honestly I get to research and share my passions which in the ordinary course of working I would not be able to do.

2. Do you enjoy reading blogs more than writing them or vice versa?

Both really, I love reading blogs and learning new skills from new recipes and crafts to beauty suggestions and motivational kicks up the bum!

Then I like sharing my finds!

You need both, you can't write a blog without having read one!

3. What is the most embarrassing thing you or someone you know have experienced?

This is a tough one! I kinda have a goldfish memory (or human memory since we are now worse than fishies!!!)  so I forget most things straight away!

4. What types of blogs do you enjoy most? (e.g. beauty, fashion, lifestyle, etc.)

I'm into everything really, I do like my make-up but fashion is one of my real passions, from trend forecasting to #OOTD.

Then there is baking and foodie blogs, I have a mouth full of sweet teeth so any simple bakes are a must!

Then crafts and knitting etc guess this ties in with fashion?!

I think lifestyle is a catch all, so if you give me everything I love that's great!!!!

5. Who is your biggest celebrity crush and why?

Gotta say Johnny Depp... Typical!
I'm not a big celebrity crush person, I want to get what I want and travelling around the world to stalk down my man prey just seems like too much effort!!

6. Do you have a favourite beauty brand? If so, who?

Not really, I have an eclectic make-up bag from High Street to High End, if I like something I get it!

7. One piece of make up you could not live without?

Black Eyeliner!!! Currently using Shiseido!

8. Weirdest habits of yours?

Staring off into the distance!!!

9. What do people in your offline life think of your blog?

Most don't really know/care or understand!
Except the ones that Blog too!

10. Who is your best online friend and how did you both meet?

I'm really just starting out chatting to other bloggers online so I can't really pick a best friend yet. But I am meeting so many lovely people having Twitter Chats like #syblchat #bdibNA #bdib etc. etc.

11. Who is your main online influence? (E.g. blogger, youtuber, viner, etc.)

I have to say Beauty La Linda! She go me into blogging and helped set me up!

 

Ok so there are my answers, and now for my questions!!!

1. How did you get into Blogging?
2. How would you describe your Blog Style?
3. Who is your favourite Blogger?
4. What is your Best Quality?
5. What is your favourite piece of clothing?
6. Lipstick or Lip Balm?
7. Cooking or Baking?
8. What is your Favourite Sweet Treat?
9. What is your Favourite Colour?
10. Do you have a Pet? If not, what Pet would you Love to Adopt?
11. Would you describe your home as minimalist/ modern/ retro or cosy?

Now I Nominate You!!!

1. Linda from Beauty la Linda
2. Aoife from Wonderstruck Beauty
3. Charline and Kimmy from Eat Love Wear
4. Allison from Because I Said So
5. Faye from KaboodleMum
6. Leonni from Leoinni's Little Blog
7. Alice from Dainty Alice
8. Aoife from AoifeWeefa
9. Laura from Laura Living Life
10. Sally from Sally Cinnamon MUA
11. Chelsea from Chelsea Beeswax

Hope you enjoyed reading this and hope my lovely Nominees enjoy doing this tag too!!!

Organisation, Storage and Cute Jars ~ Spring Cleaning ~ DIY's

Ok I might not be the most organised person but I do like to try! And it is Spring Cleaning time!!!

I love Storage and Storage Jars especially in the Kitchen! Now I have bought sooo many Jars for my kitchen, all different shapes and sizes for storing everything from sugar to cookie cutters. I have picked them up everywhere from pound shops to home wear supplies and everywhere in between! (Ikea you need to move closer to me!!!) Love Meadows & Byrne but again they have relocated away from me!

Now Jar-wise I have branched out to pack cakes in jars, (check out my post here) so my jar collection needs to grow. I had an idea to recycle food jars. (Now I do recycle glass in the recycle centre and way prefer food to come in glass jars over plastics - tangential rant)

Every Jam maker reuses old jam jars so why not use them for other things.

Also it can't be just me that opens plastic bags by exploding the contents all over the place and having no way of keeping the unused contents fresh!

So now I wash out old jars, (especially those that are cute shapes) soak to remove labels and paint the lids and paint on labels with chalk paint (so cute) I have used these to store Macaroni in the large one and chopped Hazelnuts in the smaller one!!!

Here are some before and after pics:

 

 

And here's my Cake in a Jar Attempt:

 

 

 

 

Hope you like this post and give recycling Jars into storage a go!

 

Please send me your organisation hacks!

 

xx