Freedom Is Sweet.

It is almost the 4th of July.


Things I love about the 4th:

• The hot summer weather. This is the kind of weather I pray for when it is below zero and won't stop icing or snowing.
• Watching kids ride their bikes through town, eating pushups, the sherbet dribbling down.  It makes me really nostalgic of the days when summer vacation was my escape from any responsibility.
• Picnic tables with colorful displays of blueberries, strawberries, and cool whip.
• The sound of random crackling fireworks in the distance.
• Spelling words out with sparklers in the night sky.
• Laying down on the cool grass and watching colors light up the sky right when the sun goes down.  Hearing people say "oooh" and "aaaaah".
• Freedom. I can feel it in the air. And I am thankful that I have sweet freedom.

I created this cupcake kaleidoscope for the 4th of July.  I think it might just awaken that 4th of July nostalgia.  And reminds me just how sweet freedom can be.

I baked this one inside the mason jar.
You can do this at home too.
I used red velvet & white cake.

I colored half of the white cake batter blue.  Then put the red velvet, white, and blue cake batter in separate pastry bags. First I piped a layer of red velvet. Second, a layer of white. Third, a layer of blue. The lines don't have to be perfect. It's better if they aren't. Then set on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for about 25 minutes. The cake batter will overflow a bit, but you can wipe it off easily after you take it out of the oven and let it cool.

After it cooled, I swirled some frosting on top and added sprinkles. For an "Amanda Cupcake" touch I added some edible glitter to the top rim of the jar!

Then I added some sparkly ribbon and a wooden spoon.  (And Yes you can actually eat this out of the jar with the wooden spoon! I did!)  I cut a glittered cardstock heart out and labeled it with the flavor.

This cupcake kaleidoscope is made after the cupcakes were already baked.  This is about creating my own magic in a jar. I just stacked layers of frosting & cupcakes and sprinkles together. 

This was the very pretty and patriotic result.

The grand finale..........................

Oooh! Aaaah!

The Beauty of Eating a Cupcake

Megpops ♥

I know a pretty lady named Meg.

She makes the best cookies on the planet.

She is married to my photographer friend Dan Woolf.

Last week when I visited them for another cupcake photo shoot, Meg fed me the yummiest butterscotch chip & chocolate chunk cookies.

Ok. let's back track. Before she baked the cookies, she took out her *persimmon* kitchen aid mixer. I loved the color and even complimented her on it.

While she was mixing up the batter, she fed me big chunks of her fresh amazzzazing cookie dough on a spoon.

She sent me home with a beautifully wrapped bag of about 8 gigantic delicious cookies.

I devoured a few of them...but this is what I did with the rest.

I call them Meg Pops.

The "M" is for Megan.

The inside is Megan's butterscotch cookie combined with a little of my white cake and cream cheese frosting.

Instead of eating this off of a stick like a regular cake pop, I used a spoon. Inspired by the spoonfuls of chunky amazing heavenly cookie dough I ate straight from her persimmon colored Kitchen Aid Mixer.

I tried my best to make the "M" for Megan *persimmon* colored to match her Kitchen Aid Mixer.

Megpops are simple and fun to make.

Megpop Ingredients:

•  Cookies (If you are lucky they'll be Meg's cookies)
• Wooden Spoons (You can get them at craft stores in the kiddo aisle)
• Or..if you want to be really festive you can find some decorative vintage looking spoons!
• Frosting of your choice
• Candy Melts
• Butterscotch chips (or chips of your choice)
• Parchment Paper
• Cookie Sheet
• A bowl or a melting pot for your candy wafers
• Great Memories of Delicious Cookie Making for Inspiration.

Directions:
1.  Select a medium or large bowl for your cookie brew. (Hopefully it is colorful and fun, like Meg's persimmon Kitchen Aid Mixer).
2.  Crumble up your cookies.
3.  Throw in about a spoonful of your favorite frosting (don't worry if it feels too dry you can always add more).
4.  Mix all the cookie crumbs and frosting together with delight.
5.  Form into cake pop balls and set on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
6.  Now freeze. (not you..the cake pops)! For about 20-25 minutes.
7.  Use a melting pot if you have one and melt your candy wafers. If you don't have a melting pot, you can melt your candy wafers carefully in a pot on the stove while stirring continuously.  Or you can use a deep bowl and melt the wafers in the microwave in 30 second increments. (stirring in between until melted & smooth).
8.  Set up a clean sheet of parchment paper on your countertop (this is where you'll put your finished megpops).
9.  Take the cake pops out of the freezer. They are ready to be dipped. ♥
10.  Dip your cake pop in the melted chocolate using a lollypop stick or a spoon.
11.  Quickly set the cake pop down on your parchment paper and remove the lollypop stick while it is still soft.
12. Use the melted chocolate as your "glue" to attach your spoon to the cake pop as shown in the photos above ♥
13. Add excess-think cookie dough! Chocolate Chunks, Butterscotch chips, more melted chocolate, disco dust, anything your heart desires.
14.  Let dry.  Once they are dry, you can lift the little pops of wonderful off of your parchment paper with the spoon!

Somehow using a spoon just makes it all seem more sinful. ♥ And wonderful. 

The Megpops were so much fun that I kinda went crazy and made some more cake pops with a wooden spoon instead of a stick. So very indulgent.

A cake pop made with strawberry pie crust, strawberry chunks, and strawberry cake.

Cake pops with oreos inside.

See, they really are spoons!