My husband loves nuts. And spicy things. And beer. And eating spicy nuts whilst drinking beer.  So needless to say, this really is the perfect little gift hamper for him on Father's Day! :) This spicy nuts recipe is not only easy and quick to make (so kids can help), but it tastes so freaking yummy that you'll find any celebration (or excuse..) to make them again - Honestly! 

Before we get with the tutorial, let me come clean with you. Cookie decorating is not my forte. In fact, I'm slightly scared of them. There, I've said it! Yes, sugar cookies decorated with royal icing scare the heck out of me! No, and I don't have some weird phobia about cookies...it's just that I am not patient at all, and think there are sooooo many steps to decorating cookies that I get bored and don't even bother.  I prefer to oooh and aaaah other people's creations, and so for my parties I often seek the help of the amazing professionals out there.

Today I'm joining Kim from The Celebration Shoppe to feature one of our fave parties/party ideas from last month's joint linky - So when you're done here, hope over to Kim's blog to check out her featured fave! ;) There were so many gorgeous party ideas linked up, and picking just one was reeeeeally hard!! But since we're all about strawberries this week here on the blog, I decided to feature a strawberry-flavored party idea by Mariah from  Giggles Galore  -  Strawberry Shortcake in a  Jar!

I made these cuties for a mini strawberry themed desserts table I styled recently. And since it's strawberry season (even if the sun refuses to come out...), I'll be sharing my strawberry themed party recipes with you all this week in the hope to kick start the summer good and proper!! Anyways, it all turned out pretty yummy and cute too, don't you think? So it's good to know that if I can, you most certainly can too! ;)

Following on from yesterday's post , this is the second of the recipes I create for Yum Food and Fun for Kids Magazine - Banana Pops ! There are a couple of ideas on how to make 2 types of banana pops - You know, the healthier alternative to ice cream pops?! So easy and really fun to make with kids (or just because..) - Recipes below.

Earlier in the year I created two summer recipes for Yum Food and Fun for Kids Magazine , one of them was this super fun and 'cool' Snow Cone Recipe ! Who doesn't love a bit of flavored ice in a hot summer's day?! It's healthier than ice cream, and you can vary the flavors an colors to suit your party theme - which is just perfect for memorial day coming up!! ;) Recipe below + link to download your FREE party printables to adorn and embellish your snow cone or drinks station!

  As promised in my last post,    I'm sharing the step-by-step tutorial on How To Make a Toadstool Cake today! I've always wanted to bake a toadstool cake, and styling our Pixie Fairy Party gave the perfect opportunity to head to the kitchen and get a little creative and adventurous. Now, I feel I need to add a little disclaimer here, to let you know I'm no professional baker and this was my total invention and first time making a toadstool cake. But hopefully it also shows that if I can do it (and super easily, I may add), then anyone can too! ;)

Hello fellow cake makers!! I am excited to share some quick tips to take your plain, buttercream cakes to the next level. Although I highly encourage learning how to create a smooth buttercream finish, adding textures is an easy way to change up the appearance of an ordinary cake.

Get ready to drool...if you follow this blog or have ordered my book ( Mindy here ), then you already know that i have an obsession with macarons. Well...I also have an obsession with meringues. One day I want to have the tag line: Mindy - The master of macarons, meringues, and marshmallows. It has a nice ring to it :)

Remember these decorated Oreo cookies I shared here ? Well, imagine my excitement when I discovered the fabulous and super funky cookie molds from Spinning Leaf ?!!  Check out the pretty, super easy flower cookies I made for Mother's Day + grab yourself some FREE printable gift tags to add to your handmade (and de-lish) gift!

These savory Olive, Feta and Pesto muffins are delicious, so easy and quick to make, and kids will love getting involved - Dads, are you reading? Honestly, you can make the batter in 10 minutes! Plus, it's also low in fat - perfect for moms watching their figure!  ;)

So we've gathered all our tools, baked our cakes with delicious, fresh ingredients, and a bowl of mouth-watering frosting awaits us. Now what? Let's ice!!! Along our journey, I (Tess) will teach how to create beautifully decorated and iced cakes. We will experiment with rolled fondant, textured buttercream, and piped details. But for today, let's start with basics of H ow To Ice a Cake.

I recently saw  a recipe on Pinterest   with a dessert served inside an egg shell. Well, my being to total chocoholic that I am, I thought to myself  " wouldn't it be great if the shells were made of chocolate too?! " - 'Cause it's a know fact there's NO such thing as "too much chocolate"!  So I set off on a culinary experiment to make it as easy as possible to serve my chocolate mousse inside chocolate egg shells  - BUT without the fuss of making the shells from scratch! ;)

Now, when I say " simple " I really mean , " lollies for dummies " - Check out the two-step tutorial below + get your crafty hands on some super cute Happy Easter tags to help you embellish your creations!  :)

Even if I were not a mom, I reckon I'd still find any excuse to play with my food....But luckily I have 2 taste-testers who appreciate my (craziness) efforts. And I can tell you, these little chicks rocked their world!  The main ingredients are simply bread, cheese, and salad veg, but I can assure your little (or big..) ones will love helping you make this colorful and yummy  Easter Chick Spring Salad - Looks so cute as part of Easter brunch menu + is a great way to get them to eat their veg! ;)

The theme of the day as you probably guessed from our earlier post , is "easy". And these party appetizers and cocktail recipes really are super quick and easy to make, and therefore perfect for a last minute St Patrick's Day Party - Tried and tested! ;) I also aimed to include as many 'standby' cupboard ingredients as I could, and raided my pantry for ideas on creating  GREEN recipes that were pretty simple to make and family-friendly - but not skipping on flavor!

Hi there! I (Tess) hope you all enjoyed the last segment of the series, Baking Basics , and have been whipping up yummy, moist cakes left and right! Now, before we get into some decorating and assembly tips and tricks, I would like to set you up with some classic or  Classic Cake and Icing Recipes from my own kitchen - Believe me, if you start with a stable icing and a crumb with good structure, the sometimes-daunting decorating process will be much easier!

Any dessert looks cuter in pots or jars, right? I can totally understand the fascination of potting sweet treats (including cupcakes...) - It's portable, super cute and is much easier to display! So at my kid's barnyard birthday , instead of serving my homemade chocolate fudge in cups, I used dinky little jam jars, fitted with even cuter red gingham lids! :)

I'm an advocate for hand-made, and don't care who knows it. BUT I also don't have a lot of time and like any working mom, budget is always at the forefront of my party planning. And last year for my kid's joint Barnyard Birthday it was no different. I baked, crafted and handmade a lot of the details, including these Apple Cake Pops and mini " Farm Orchard" Centerpiece display for the pops...

I (Mindy) love valentines day. I  love macarons. I  love sprinkles .   So naturally these Valentine's day macarons had to be! This idea kinda has me all over it :)  If you have made macarons before then this tutorial is an easy way to kick them up a notch!