Going to the Chapel.....

My sister got married last month.

It was beautiful.  And perfect.  And I made the sweets :)

Wedding Cake.  I've done wedding cakes before but this is the largest I've ever done.  Let me tell you, this was an experience lol!!

And of course, the cookies.  Credit for the photos goes to Shannon Skloss Photography,  She did an awesome job!!  

I got the cutter from Whisked Away Cookies.  I love their cutters and her tapered cutting edge.  She revolutionized plastic cutters for me.  Love.

I wish my sister and new brother all the best!!  I couldn't be happier!!

-Ali

Cute Pumpkin "Cake" Balls

So Cake Balls......*sigh*....I'm going to be straight with you

I hate 'em.

Don't get me wrong...I like the concept OK, and I think they're cute and all....But if I want to eat cake, I would rather eat a slice of cake...instead of whatever on a stick.  That and....I can't really make 'em.  That might be my true reasoning behind my loathing of cake pops....and cake balls.  It's messy and time consuming and just not for me.

So why am I doing a post with cake balls and cake pops???

Because they're NOT CAKE POPS!  It's faux cake balls.  It's CHEATING in the cake on a stick territory. 

Allow me to explain....and show you how to do them 3 ways for Halloween :)

WFD?: Almost Grandpa's Apple Cake

My whole family is from Georgia.  But when I was 8 we moved to Texas and my grandma left her home in Albany and followed us.  So basically I'm a Texan.

So when I was little, my grandpa used to come visit us in Texas for the holidays.  He would leave Georgia right after pecan harvest season.  And when he would visit he would bring pecans, peanuts and all these fresh ingredients from the farms.  I have a lot of fond memories of him.  We would do jigsaw puzzles together in the afternoon.  He had an infectious laugh.  Sun tea and pumpkin pie were some of his his favorites.  He made the best Mayhaw jelly....

Anyway, every season when he would visit, there was always apple cake.  It was my favorite.  I snacked on it every second I could.  And since he passed over 10 years ago, there has been no apple cake.  I miss the apple cake.  Every year around the change of the seasons, I start to think of him.  Grandpa and apple cake.

On Grandma's milk glass....so appropriate :)

WFD?: Decadent Double Chocolate Cake

Seriously, this is the best chocolate cake in the history of the world.  I'm not even making that up.  Would I fib to you??  

No, I wouldn't.  Mamma didn't raise that kind of girl.

It's perfect for a chocolate craving, a family function, just because.... pregnancy induced hormonal meltdowns.....

WFD? Guinness Chocolate Cake with Baily Scented Cream

EAT ME!  I'M IRISH!  That was going to be my alternative title...but I figured... yeah maybe not. 

St. Patty's Day is this weekend, which means we're going all Irish this week.

Remember St. Patty's last year?

yes, that's my hubs with his St. Patty's Day version of "green beer".  Green Chardonnay.  Just to class it up.

or was that the year before??

Anywho, I was just thinking about that St. Patty's Day and how my husband was the only one getting festive.  Trying to cheer me up after a bad day by being his usual silly self. 

So I thought maybe this year I should do something for him for St. Patty's Day.  Cheer him up after a long day at work.