how sweet it is

I have recently developed a new hobby-baking. I have always enjoyed cooking shows and the newly popular cake-decorating shows really sparked my interest. My DVR is overloaded now with shows like Ace of Cakes, Cake Boss, and Amazing Wedding Cakes. I love being in the kitchen and have began trying my hand at baking as well. It is not as easy as they make it look on TV (nothing ever is I guess). And there has been more than one occasion that I sounded like a sailor had taken over the kitchen ;) but the end result is always worth it. Here are a few of my creations thus far.

Bachelorette

Birthday

Baby Shower

Also, this week we were off to see the beautiful new baby Lily and her proud parents. Tiff whipped up some of her homemade mac'n cheese and I tried out a recipe for lemon bars I got from Bakerella's blog. They were very easy to make and tasted great. Next time I might use some of the crust mixture to sprinkle over the top. Here is the recipe if you'd like to try them yourself!

Lemon Bars
Crust:
1 cup butter
1 3/4 cup flour
2/3 cup confectioner's sugar (plus more for dusting)

Topping:
1 1/2 cup plain sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Grease and flour a 9 X 13 pan

To make crust:
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and confectioner's sugar
• Cut in butter until combined and crumbly.
• Press mixture into bottom of pan.
• Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.

To make topping:
• While crust is baking, prepare topping.
• In a larger bowl, add sugar, flour, and baking powder.
• Then add slightly beaten eggs and lemon juice.
• Mix well and pour on top of warm baked crust.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes.
• When cool, dust with confectioner's sugar and refrigerate.
• Cut into bars and enjoy them cold!