French Poodles in Paris

Oh I know Halloween is almost here, and my  cookie designs for this year are sitting out just waiting for their little pictures to be taken, but I am a little behind schedule this year!  

Ooh La La

Today is my daughter's 12th birthday and we had a Poodles In Paris Party for her.....yummy homemade healthy organic orange and walnut cupcakes and an organic almond shortbread cookie with a thin layer of fondant and some of the new Wilton sugar sheets to match our theme!  Enjoy some fun pictures from a fun party!  

Pumpkin Candy Cups

Pumpkin Candy Cups---Like a Reese's Cup But Pumpkiny!

I got this great recipe and idea from a Blog I found and you can find it here at

 "What Megan's Making".

It  is a wonderful fall inspired candy.  I dressed mine up a bit for the holiday compared to the original suggestions by using orange candy melts that lined tiny paper candy wrappers (like mini cupcake wrappers) and then removed once the candy is set....the filling is pumpkin yummy. You then add another layer of melted white chocolate or candy melts on top to seal in the soft middle.  You can see I added a pumpkin design with sprinkles and pretzels

and a tiny fondant leaf.  

The base of the  set candy after removing wrappers

..and they made it to my Thanksgiving tray of treats last year.  They really were a huge hit with the guests and the kids.  Of course, they aren't following suit to my new and improved eating lifestyle, but you know there are those exceptions!  Check out Megan's blog above and see her recipe and tutorial!

I found my answers!

My New Favorite Cookbooks!

So, here lately, I have been trying to reduce refined sugars and flours into my baking and still create fun and festive treats for gatherings and celebrations.  Well, I happened to stumble across

Elana Amsterdam's blog called Elana's Pantry and immediately ordered  two of her books off of Aamazon!   There are amazing recipes with whole and natural foods, and even low sugar frostings!!  I have only yet begun to experiment with this little book of gold, but visit her blog and just take a peek and be open to TRY something new!