Valentine's Day Dessert Event - Day 3

We finally made it to Day 3, and the final day of the Valentine's Day Dessert Event! I've had a ton of fun putting this together (although I'm ready to hang up my apron for at least a month) and I hope I've given some of you some good ideas to make your own valentines sweets! In cased you missed it, you can find Day 1 here and Day 2 here!

I got the idea to do cupcake in a jar here and slightly changed it to fit the look that I was going for. I apologize that I'm using another boxed mix (I bake from scratch 90% of the time), but it's been a busy, busy weekend! Of course you can always substitute for your favorite cake or cupcake recipe!

You will need:

• 1 box Betty Crocker white cake mix


• 3 egg whites


• 1/3 cup oil


• 1 can of cherry pie filling


• 5 glass jars (I found mine at Michaels for $3)

(You do not need the frosting pictured here)

First, pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Mix the oil and water with your cake mix, then take your eggs and separate the yolk from the egg whites.

Add the egg whites to your cake mix and whisk together until smooth. Then pour the batter into your glass jars and fill about 1/2 full.

Pop your jars right in the oven and bake for approximately 35 minutes. I say approximately because I initially put them in for 20 minutes and then kept adding time until I thought they were done. Make sure to test them with a fork or a toothpick before taking them out... Because the jars are so deep, the middle cooks very slowly! When they are done baking you'll notice that the batter has risen out of the jar.

Using a spoon, cut off the tops of the cupcakes and eat them save them for later. Your jar should be about half-way full and flat on the top. Then, spoon cherry pie filling on top creating an even layer.

Once your done put the top back on your jars, tie with a big red bow, and you're all done! These are SO delicious and make super sweet valentines for your loved ones. I plan on giving one each to my mom, my sister, and my best friend!

I hope everyone has enjoyed this short but sweet event! I've been baking up a storm all weekend and I'm excited to take a break today to go to Disneyland with the family to celebrate the day of LOVE! And if you decide to make any of these desserts please share... I'd love to see what you come up with!

Valentine's Day Dessert Event - Day 2

I hope everyone enjoyed the first day of the Valentine's Day Dessert Event! (In case you missed it, you can find it here.) It's already day 2, and I'm going to share something quick, easy, and kid-friendly! Even better? DELICIOUS!

Ice cream cone cupcakes are just that... cupcakes baked right inside an ice cream cone! I don't remember where I first saw this idea, but I know it was on a baking blog during the summer. I actually tried it first on the 4th of July when I was 9 months pregnant and they were a huge success. I couldn't wait to try again and put a Valentine's Day spin on them!

What I especially love about this recipe is how easy it is! You can make any flavor you like and decorate them for any occasion! I used boxed funfetti mix this time because I had 2 boys under 3 years old and I wanted something quick. Of course you can use your favorite cupcake recipe if you would like to make it from scratch, it's totally up to you!


You will need:

• 24 ice cream cones
  1 box of your favorite cake/cupcake mix (& ingredients the recipe calls for)
• 2 cans of frosting
• Sprinkles and food coloring (if desired)

First, pre-heat your oven according to the package instructions. Then you're going to place ice cream cones so they are standing up in your muffin tin.

Then it's time to mix! Follow the instructions on the box and mix all ingredients together. This is so easy a 3 year old can do it. No, really, I had a 3 year old helping me...

Once your batter is ready you're going to fill your ice cream cones up to the first line on the ice cream cone. DO NOT OVER FILL. I did this the first time and it resulted in a cupcake explosion (which is yummy, but really a waste of time!).

Bake according to the package instructions, but keep your eye on them because they might be done slightly earlier. When they are ready to come out they should look like this.

Now it's time to frost! Let me just start by saying I CANNOT PIPE FOR THE LIFE OF ME. No, like REALLY. I've probably purchased 10 different decorating/piping kits and I've thrown them all away in frustration. If you are anything like me then you can use the old stand-by: a ziplock bag with the corner tip cut off. If you have piping skills, more power to ya sista!

You're going to pipe the frosting on, going around the top of the cupcake in a circular motion just like an ice cream cone. Your tip should be pretty large for this otherwise it will take forever. You can add food coloring to your frosting (I made some of mine pink) and then top with any and all kinds of sprinkles!

After you've decorated to your heart's desire, guess what? You are all done! Congratulations, you have made the cutest and easiest Valentine treats EVER. Kids love these because they look just like ice cream cones but they are cupcakes which is obviously WAY better.

Enjoy! Don't forget to come back tomorrow for our last dessert idea! It's a good one, I promise!

Valentine's Day Dessert Event - Day 1

I've decided to skip Friday Favorites this week in order to introduce a fun Valentine's Day mini-event I'll be having here at Domesticated Delight! I don't know about you, but for me Valentine's Day is all about the sweets. Whether it be candy or baked goods you can always count me in... I just love the cute and creative desserts that starts popping up around the blogosphere this time of the year and I'm always inspired by them! So this year I've decided to choose 3 Valentine desserts I've seen lately and re-create them and then share the outcome with you! The event will take place today, Saturday, and Sunday which gives you enough time to re-create them yourself if you wish! I'm super excited to show you all what I've been up to!

First up are these mini chocolate chip cookie sandwiches. Aren't they adorable? When I first laid eyes on the recipe (found here) I knew I had to make them. Not only are they delicious, but they are so festive and whimsical... I knew they would be perfect! The recipe does tend to get tedious and can take awhile, so make sure you start after you've tucked your little ones in bed!

You will need:

For the cookies:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

For the butter cream:

• 1 stick butter, at room temperature
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

First, pre-heat your oven to 325 degrees. Then you're going to mix the flour, baking soda and salt with a wire whisk and set aside. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended.

Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon.

Scoop out cookie dough and roll into small 1-inch balls (a little smaller than the size of a walnut) onto the prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

While your cookies are cooling you can start on your butter cream frosting! Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 1 cup of the powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon of the milk, and the vanilla. On medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, and more milk as needed, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar or milk. Stir in any food coloring at this point, if desired.

Now it's time to assemble! Place your colored sprinkles in a shallow bowl or pie plate. When the cookies are cooled, spread a generous amount of frosting on the bottom of half the cookies. Place the remaining cookies on top and gently roll the sides in the sprinkles. And you're done!

Refrigerate until ready to serve. You’ll want to let them sit at out room temperature for at least 20-30 minutes before serving, so the cookies and frosting will soften a little. Enjoy! Makes approximately 25 sandwiches.

Make sure to come back tomorrow! I have another surprise that's sure to satisfy your sweet tooth!

P.S what do you guys think of the pictures? I'm obviously still a beginner, but I LOVE how these turned out... it's exactly how I imagined them! I am loving my new camera more each day and I can't wait to learn more!

CSN Stores - GIVEAWAY!

Most of you know I've worked with CSN Stores in the past, and I couldn't be more thrilled that they've contacted me again... and this time to do a GIVEAWAY! In case you didn't know, CSNstores.com is host to over 200 online stores where you can literally find anything you need. They have baby toys, home decor, bake ware, and even office desks for you work at home mamas! The giveaway will be posted very soon so make sure to stick around!

Wordless Wednesday - Baby toes

I iz a fancy blogger now.

If you're wondering why I haven't been posting much, it's because I've been having a blogging identity crisis of sorts. When I originally started posting here it was more personal updates about my pregnancy, birth, and then life with a new baby. I do love those posts, but my intention for this blog was to be inspiration for those who like the same things as myself: cooking, baking, and crafting. It is between these two themes that I've gotten stuck somewhere and haven't posted regularly because I always felt like the ideas in my head don't go with one or the other. I was also aware of how terrible my point-and-shoot camera pictures were and let's be honest, a bad photo doesn't inspire anyone so I was reluctant to post. Recently, after giving it a lot of thought, I've decided to focus more on the latter and post more dinner recipes, decorating inspiration, cute kids parties, dessert ideas, and share pictures and tutorials of all the crafts that I usually work on. One of the main deciding factors was the purchase of 2 new toys. Thank god for tax returns...

I was finally able to purchase a Canon Rebel T1i (along with the 18-55mm lens and the 50mm 1.8 lens) which I am SO excited about. I've honestly been interested in photography my entire life, but have always been frustrated with the limitations of a cheap point-and-shoot camera. Luckily, we were able to finally get a nice DSLR and I'm so excited to get acquainted with it. I've been practicing every day and hopefully the pictures around here will become better and more inspiring. (And of course I couldn't resist showing off pictures of my two favorite subjects, Cayden and his cousin)

See the bottom right picture? He's mad we lost the Superbowl! Sad face.

The Silhouette is something that's been all over the blogs lately and it's been torturing my sister and I with its amazingness. This thing can do EVERYTHING. She bought it last week and after much deliberation I decided it will save me a ton of money in the long run and ordered it yesterday. I can't wait to start playing with it. The Silhouette blog has so many fun ideas and you can guarantee I'll be stalking it daily.

Anyway, this doesn't mean that I'll stop posting personal updates. I'll still use Wordless Wednesday to show off pictures of the cutest baby in the universe (mine) and let you know what our family is up to. And of course Friday Favorites will continue as well. (And if you ever have suggestions for Friday Favorites themes I'd love to hear them!) I hope to start posting regularly now and really developing this blog into what I imagined it to be. I have a really fun giveaway in the works as well as an exciting announcement to come. And a big THANK YOU to everyone who takes time to read this. Every comment means SO much to me and I hope you'll stick around!

Friday Favorites: Pittsburgh Steelers

We are huge football fans in this house and we can't wait for Superbowl this weekend! Mando and I don't like the same team (he's a Cowgirls Cowboys fan), but we'll still be celebrating because MY team, the Steelers, have made it yet again! I couldn't be more thrilled. The last time they played in the Superbowl it was my 21st birthday and of course they won (and I'm betting for another win this year)! I've passed my love of Pittsburgh onto our son, and I couldn't resist showing off the Steeler's #1 fan.

Anyway, onto the point of this post. Surprisingly, Etsy has a lot of football inspired items floating around. With the Superbowl only 2 days away I've been very pleased to see all of the black and yellow support that's popped up. So I've dedicate Friday Favorites to the best team in the NBA, the Pittsburgh Steelers!

Don't you just love these festive superbowl sugar cookies? I don't think I could ever eat them! (I die for the terrible towel)

This celebratory Steelers yarn makes me smile. (And it also reminds me that I NEED to finish Cayden's baby blanket that I started when I was 6 months pregnant)

This fun wooden Steelers plaque would be the perfect touch to any Superbowl party!

I absolutely adore this Pittsburgh Steelers cupcake kit (complete with 12 toppers and 12 wrappers)!


I think this M&M candy jar is so fun! If you look closely you can see the Steelers logo printed on the M&Ms!

Will anyone else be watching this weekend? What team will YOU be rooting for?
GO STEELERS!