Relief Society Cakes

This year I had the opportunity of being in charge of the relief society birthday dinner for our ward. I quickly said I would make the cake because I wanted to have fun and I hate sheet cake from the grocery store it's way to sweet and has more frosting than cake on it. My friend also needed a cake for her ward so I made a small version of the one I was making for my ward for her to take. She was going to help me but her baby was in the hospital with RSV. Her baby is good now.

This cake is a raspberry truffle cake. I like to think it's my signature cake. I made a chocolate fondant to cover it. It has gum paste flowers to decorate, giving it a spring look. I was kind of excited about my flowers since they are my first gum paste flowers. I was going to take a class on how to do flowers but have been to busy and now have to wait till fall when the class is offered again. But until then these will have to do. I got the insperation for the cake from the book my mom and dad got me for christmas.

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Granola

Cereal is so expensive so I decided to do something about it. I went to the store got ingredients for granola. It cost me $6 and it made tons. On top of that. My kids love it and snack on it all the time and it's so much healthier. I want to try other recipes as well but for right now this was is a keeper in my house.

• 8 cups rolled oats
• 1 1/2 cups wheat germ
• 1 1/2 cups oat bran
• 1 cup sunflower seeds
• 1 cup finely chopped almonds
• 1 cup finely chopped pecans
• 1 cup finely chopped walnuts
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 3/4 cup honey
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups raisins or sweetened dried cranberries

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment or aluminum foil.
2. Combine the oats, wheat germ, oat bran, sunflower seeds, almonds, pecans, and walnuts in a large bowl. Stir together the salt, brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, oil, cinnamon, and vanilla in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then pour over the dry ingredients, and stir to coat. Spread the mixture out evenly on the baking sheets.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until crispy and toasted, about 20 minutes. Stir once halfway through. Cool, then stir in the raisins or cranberries before storing in an airtight container. 

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Granola Bars

I decided to make homemade granola bars. The kids always want a snack and I didn't have any in the house. I didn't want to go spend a fortune on something that would be gone in a day and wasn't healthy anyway so I found this recipe. My kids loved them and I loved them and they had NO Corn Syrup in them. The recipe is from allrecipes.com but I will post it here so you can find it easy.

Peanut Butter Granola Bars

• 1/2 cup reduced-fat creamy peanut butter
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3-1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup peanut butter chips
• 1/3 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

• In a large bowl, beat the peanut butter, honey, egg, oil and vanilla until blended. Combine the oats, brown sugar and salt; add to the peanut butter mixture and mix well. Stir in chips. (Batter will be sticky.)
• Transfer to a 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 12-15 minutes or until set and edges are lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into bars. Yield: 3 dozen.

Chewy Granola Bars

• 4 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 cups miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly grease one 9x13 inch pan.
2. In a large mixing bowl combine the oats, flour, baking soda, vanilla, butter or margarine, honey and brown sugar. Stir in the 2 cups assorted chocolate chips, raisins, nuts etc.
3. Lightly press mixture into the prepared pan. Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 18 to 22 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes then cut into bars. Let bars cool completely in pan before removing or serving.   
4. Hint: halfway through cooking take them out and press them down again to compact them even more. 

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Kookie Brittle

This is one of my favorite cookies of all time. My mom used to make it all the time and it's so easy. I was craving some tonight and made some real quick. So yummy.

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Pretzel Bites

Homemade pretzel bits. Yum. I am wondering if I didn't boil them if they would turn out more like the ones you buy in the mall. But my kids loved them and they were so good.

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Buzz Lightyear cake

My friends son wanted a Toy Story cake. I thought it would be more fun to have toys to play with on it and try and make it look like outerspace. I usually make a shaped ckae but this year I wanted to try something new. So on Tuesday night my friend and I stayed up till about 3 AM making this cake. He loved it and he loved the toys.

I also made some Toy Story gummies with a kit from Wilton. I am excited because now when I make Jadens Birthday stuff I have toy story mold that I can use. I might make crayons with them for his birthday. There's an alien, Buzz, Woody, and Ham

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