I sure hope you all had a "sweet" Thanksgiving.
Yep. Totally being intentional with a corny segway into me sharing the desserts I baked this year.

I invited a cheesecake to my table of pies this year.
Other than that, I stuck with three of my favorites...
In fact, the same exact pies I shared the recipes for last year.

The Only Pumpkin Pie

click HERE for recipe

Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie

click HERE for recipe

Crumb-topped Apple Pie

click HERE for recipe

Our Family Cheesecake

I apologize in advance for no recipe - my mother has forbidden me for years to share the recipe

which is why this is the only time you've ever seen me mention it on my blog. *eye roll*

I figured the cheesecake deserved four photos since it's never made an appearance on the blog before. *wink*

I sure hope you all enjoyed the time with family and friends as you celebrated Thanksgiving.
It was hard sending Ella back to school today and I'm already counting down the days to Christmas break!!

Love you guys!!

xoxo,
Jess

KEEPiNG iT REAL
These desserts look almost perfect, don't they!?
Nope....

1. Pumpkin Pie - seemed too sweet to me this year for some reason? Also, the leaves were a tiny bit overdone. Thank goodness golden browns fit right into the Thanksgiving color scheme. Ha!!

2. Crumb-Topped Apple - the best pie on the planet. Again. Forgot to bring the vanilla ice cream though.

3. Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie - seemed exceptionally chocolatey this year? And it was nowhere as pretty as the pie last year. I couldn't add the pretty whipped cream accents with chocolate chips + pecan for the photos since we were traveling. I knew it would look like doo doo train after a 2+ hour drive. So I left it plain. Boo.

4. Cheesecake - doubled the crust this time to accommodate a new pan I was trying out. Mistake. Way too much crust for even this crust lover and was nearly impossible to slice through. AND...the 2 hours and 40 minutes of traveling to even get to Thanksgiving dinner caused it to soften - even though it was on ice. Oh let's be real people!! I also regretfully admit it's the first time I've ever under-baked a cheesecake - which added to it not setting up properly and being too soft by the time we served it. Wah!  Still tasted amazing though. Ha!

RECIPE | Blueberry Pie

It's DAY 4 of the "Five Days of Pie" here on the blog...
and today we're talking Blueberry Pie.

This is actually the very first and only blueberry pie I've ever made.
(and truthfully the first and only photo I took as we hurried out of the house with our pies for Thanksgiving dinner).

I've never been head-over-heels for Blueberry Pie and in my mind, blueberry pie is for the Summer...like for 4th of July. And actually here in Florida, our very quick blueberry season starts in April and ends in May...so seasonally speaking, it's more of a Spring pie for us.

And yes...you could technically say the Key Lime pie I shared on DAY 3 is more of a Summer pie too...BUT...at least you have the green key lime to help tie in the Christmas season colors if you wanted to make it for Christmas! *wink*

But...regardless of my personal preference for pie flavors and the fact that fresh blueberries are hard to come by since they are not in season around Thanksgiving, my uncle requested Blueberry pie...and so blueberry pie it was.

Blueberry pie is pretty basic...as most pies seem to be.
It's made with a lot of blueberries, a good amount of sugar and a little spice.

So of course, with the pie being so simple, I decided to dress up my pie a bit by creating a braided and twisted lattice crust pie like one I had been inspired by on Instagram.  And I would typically share the link with you because the pie was absolutely gorgeous and amazing but then you'd think less of my own pie. Ha!!

DOWNLOAD THE RECIPE CARDS RIGHT HERE

One for you and one for a friend...all on the same sheet for printing!

Okay, never mind...@thejudylab on Instagram is too amazing not to share with you so I'm swallowing my pride... HERE IS THE PIE CRUST I was inspired by. And here is an awesome Cable Knit Crust she made too!  Amazing, right?

You can totally stick with doing a traditional lattice crust top or just a regular full crust with pretty slits cut into the top of it...as mentioned on that beautiful recipe card above. *wink*

Although this blueberry pie has nothing to do with my mama or her mama or any other mama I know, "Mama's Blueberry Pie" just sounded so much more appealing and nostalgic. So yeah...I fancied the name up too!  And I think it's okay since this mama right here is the one that baked the pie, photographed the pie and decided to create a cute recipe card for the pie so I could share it with you. So there you go. Ha!!

Now...I do have to say...I did use FROZEN blueberries for this pie since they weren't in season at the time I made it. Which is why I think my uncle's feedback on the pie was this:

Of the 5 different pies I brought, he said...

"The only one I ate was the blueberry. The taste was great, the crust was great, the only thing I would say is the blueberry stuff could have been a little firmer and not so runny.  Maybe if it was refrigerated it might be firmer? But it was wonderful. " - Uncle Dan

So there you go...even though I increased the flour to 1/2 cup instead of 1/3 cup as suggested by the recipe I was following when using frozen blueberries, it still set up differently than I think it would have had I been able to use fresh blueberries. I'm definitely going to test that theory and report back.

If you love blueberry pie...I hope you'll try this one.

Or at least pin it and print that super cute recipe card! *wink*

xoxo,

Jess

KEEPiNG iT REAL

I swear it took me an entire hour just to configure the top crust on this pie.
The first "braids" I did I ended up undoing after Ella came in the kitchen and looked at my "almost-done-ready-to-go-in-the-oven-because-I-was-sick-of-messing-with-it" pie crust and said, "I thought you were making braids? Those aren't braids.".  *handsovermyeyes*
She was right!

FREE | i Sugar Coat Everything Art Print :: The Cake Blog

It's up...

and it's live...

and it's ready for printing...

Grab July's FREE "I Sugarcoat Everything" Art Print over on The Cake Blog today!!

It's a sugary sweet play-on-words for all of the bakers out there!! I think the watercolor cupcake added just the right touch too!!

Not only is it available as a free printable, you can grab the files to turn it into digital wallpaper too!

Head on over to The Cake Blog to download the FREE files!!
I hope you are enjoying the free monthly goodies as much as I enjoy creating them!!

As always, while you are over there, be sure to check out all of the amazing cakes!
My favorites this time include this beautiful naked Strawberry Thyme Cake, this delicious looking  4th of July-festive Stars + Stripes cake and these adorable Roasted Blueberry Breakfast Parfaits!

Love you all to pieces!!
xoxo

KEEPiNG iT REAL
I hope to get back to sugarcoating everything ASAP!
Our oven is out of service after our house was struck by lightning a week or so ago.
The gas burners work on top but my oven is shot.
I've had some feedback from Instagram friends about suggestions for a new dual range
and I have to say these Big Chill appliances have caught my eye!!
Shhh...don't tell J yet though. I haven't even looked at pricing...I've only gotten lost in their
retro appreal!!

SUGAR | Supermom Dessert :: Easy Whoopie Pies

Do you have a favorite dessert you enjoy making that makes you feel like a "Supermom"?
You know…the desserts your kids rave over and beg you to make over and over again.
Desserts that teachers are still requesting you bring them…YEARS after you first shared them with the staff?

I LOVE desserts like that.
I have a handful of them and these Homemade Oreos, Polar Pies, Whoopie Pies (whatever you want to call them)…are

SUGAR | Cute Candy Carrots

These cute candy carrots I made are on The TomKat Studio blog today. They are really simple to make and the FREE watercolor Easter Tags I made for them are perfect! Which candy from Sweetworks do you prefer for these candy carrots? The pearlized sixlets or the pearlized gumballs?

Hope you love them!
Hope you'll try them!

KEEPiNG iT REAL
I just realized I don't have Easter Dresses for Ella or Ema yet - eeps!!
I've been so busy with other things…I'd better hurry and make that happen!

POPCORN | Popcorn Cupcake Recipe, Kernel Season's Giveaway + TRYditions

I've got POPCORN on the brain this week - for several different reasons.

It all started with posting the Restyled Chalkboard Popcorn Bar last week. I received so many emails about how much you all loved the new edition to the original Rustic Popcorn Bar I styled - sweet, sweet emails from brides asking for tips on incorporating this idea into their wedding. I even gave out 3 FREE SETS of the new Chalkboard Style Popcorn Bar printables here on the blog!

All of this popcorn talk reminded me of a recipe I'd been wanting to make. I discovered the recipe in the September issue of Food Network Magazine. There was actually an entire section dedicated to "Fun Popcorn Treats" and the Golden Butter Popcorn Cupcakes recipe was what caught my eye and made me purchase the magazine. Not to mention the cute Kids Mini Mag inside. (there were some ideas in the mini mag I was going to use for Ella's 5th birthday party but I ended up not having time to execute the ideas - a recurring theme in my life).

Needless to say I was very intrigued by the thought of a Popcorn Cupcake! So just last week, after posting the long-awaited Restyled Popcorn Bar - I knew it was time to finally try out the cupcake recipe.

Golden Butter Popcorn Cupcakes

If you'd like to try out the recipe HERE'S THE LINK.
Also, here are some of my recommendations

TIPS:
1. The popcorn topping I used on these Golden Butter Popcorn Cupcakes was made using Kernel Season's Popping Corn and it popped perfectly!

2. I did not crush up the white chocolate covered popcorn to incorporate into the whipped topping as recommended. I didn't think it would look as pretty when I piped it onto the cupcake and honestly, I didn't see any chunks in the photo of the cupcake shown in the magazine. The chocolate covered popcorn was a little on the chewy side for my tastes. I would've liked it to be more crunchy. (Which is another reason I didn't add it to the whipped topping).

3. I think I would wait to add the popcorn topping just before serving. Like I mentioned above, the popcorn tasted a little chewy to me so I'm not sure if it was because of sitting in the whipped topping or if it's just from the white chocolate coating?

4. I personally would add a little fleur de sel to the popcorn topping - maybe just after you've added it to the cupcake just before serving?  I prefer the salty & sweet combination. In fact, I'm thinking instead of adding a white chocolate coated popcorn topping, I'd probably prefer to add some kettle corn instead. (See this recipe) That would satisfy both my salty & sweet craving along with giving it more crunch.

Now that you've got a fun Popcorn Cupcake recipe to try out…it's time for more POPCORN fun!

How about a FUN GIVEAWAY sponsored by the awesome people at Kernel Season's! After posting the Restyled Chalkboard Popcorn Bar last week, Kernel Season's reached out to me to extend a FUN offer to my PNPF blog readers! 

Would you like to be one of FOUR WINNERS 

to receive one of these adorable Party Popcorn Gift Sets?

Kernel Season's is generously offering up TWO of these...

 8 Seasoning Gift Baskets

and TWO of these…

Popcorn Party Packs

Here's a peek at what's inside the 8 Seasoning Gift Baskets
8 bottles of seasonings + 2 bags of microwave popcorn 
packaged in an ADORABLE OVERSIZED POPCORN BOX!

And here's a closer look at the Popcorn Party Packs
3 mini bottles of popcorn seasoning, 1 popcorn spritzer + 1 bag of popping corn
Those MINI seasoning bottles are so adorable!! LOVE them!!

These party packs will be perfect for the popcorn we'll be popping on New Year's Eve!
If you'd like to win one of these Popcorn Party Packs or Gift Baskets

use the Rafflecopter app below to enter.
Each task has a certain number of points associated with it.
Each point represents your name "in the hat". Do one task or do ALL of them. You choose!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And here's one more reason to LOVE Kernel Season's…

Buy any Gift Pack in December and they will send one to our troops overseas!

I just LOVE that!!! I'll be purchasing a couple myself knowing my purchases will allow a couple of packs to be sent to those who sacrifice so much for us!!

Good luck to everyone who enters the giveaway!

And thank you to Kernel Season's for offering up such a fun treat to PNPF blog readers and fans!

One final thought on popcorn…

Ema has requested we do our annual "TRYdition" of stringing cranberry and popcorn. I call it a "try"dition because there are some family traditions I've started over the years that we LOVE doing (or maybe it's just me that loves doing them?) but sometimes we just aren't able to squeeze in every year. So I guess since these traditions don't actually occur every. single. year.  they can't truly be considered a tradition in the authentic sense of the word. So I just made up the word "TRYdition" - anyone else have some tryditions of your own you'd like to share? (because I'm curious and also because I'm looking to eliminate some of the guilt I feel for not being able to follow through on every single brilliant, cute, fun tradition I've ever started - which would be absolutely impossible, by the way). *wink*

KEEPiNG iT REAL

I was really hesitant about what the turnout would be when making the Golden Butter Popcorn Cupcakes. I brought 8 of them to a church activity and let some of our church friends taste-test them.

They all gave them a thumbs up and agreed a little fleur de sel might be a good addition otherwise they had great flavor and the "cake" part was nice and moist.

SUGAR | Holiday Classroom Party Treat • Rudolph Cookies

I grabbed some cute red Sixlets from Sweetworks last week and used them to whip up these adorable Rudolph Cookies. Red Sixlets make the perfect Rudolph nose and really gave these cookies some character! I love how they turned out. They look even more adorable served on this beautiful cake plate filled with red sixlets, shimmer white sixlets and shimmer lime green sixlets too!

I made these chocolate covered Peanut Butter Oreos™ in a snap using my Spinning Leaf Cookie Molds. (see THIS TUTORIAL and MORE EXAMPLES HERE). Once the chocolate was hardened, (10 minutes in the fridge), I popped out the cookies from the mold and I added the pretzel antlers, googly eyes and a red Sixlet for Rudolph's nose. The leftover melted chocolate from covering the Oreos™ is what I used as the "glue" for attaching the decorative edible elements.  Allow the decorative pieces to harden and dry - about 30 minutes. Easy and cute!

Ella was stalking the cookies the whole time I was photographing them so she got herself wrangled into the photo shoot. I promised her she could eat one if she'd let me slap a dress and red sweater on her and take some pictures of her with the cookies! We were both very happy with the deal we made. *wink*

Of course Ella's favorite part of the photo shoot was when she was finally allowed to bite into one of the cookies…and nibble off the antlers.  See the peanut butter filling inside of these PB Oreos™? YUM!

I threw this last photo of Ella in here…just because I think it's cute!

I'm going to make more of these for Ella's class party next week.
I'll substitute regular Oreos™ instead of the peanut butter ones - just in case there are kids with peanut allergies? (that's a safe substitution, right?)

I hope you'll make them too and share your results with me!

IMPORTANT TIP:
Do NOT put your finished cookies back into the refrigerator after you've put on the red Sixlets noses.
The change in temperature causes the shiny red finish to dull.
Just carefully store these in an airtight container on your kitchen counter to keep "Rudolph's nose so bright"..until you are ready to devour serve them! *wink*

KEEPiNG iT REAL
I shared the important tip with you above because I made that mistake.
So when I went to photograph the cookies they weren't nearly as cute and pretty with a dull red sixlet.
No big deal. I popped off the dulled red noses, reheated the extra "chocolate glue" and attached shiny new ones. You would've never known, *wink*

I totally thought I'd deleted these photos from my camera when I couldn't find them on my computer the other day. I was really upset about it. But the more I kept obsessing thinking about it, the more I remembered looking at them on my computer so I KNEW I had to have uploaded them from my camera. So...with a little more searching on iPhoto I finally found them. Anyone else have issues with photos loading into the "Photos" folder instead of "Events" within iPhoto? Maybe I just don't understand how the whole process works - that's probably my bet. *wink*

PEN N' PAPERFLOWERS (PNPF) RECEIVED FREE PRODUCT, COMPENSATION OR OTHER PERKS FROM SWEETWORKS® FOR REVIEWING AND SHARING THIS PRODUCT. BE ASSURED PNPF ONLY POSTS/REVIEWS PRODUCTS I LOVE AND FEEL YOU WILL LOVE TOO!

SUGAR | No-Bake Easy to Make Chocolate Peanut Butter Oreo Mini Pies

I'm back with one more deconstructed halfway-homemade, last minute mini holiday dessert idea to help keep you out of the kitchen and mingling with your family, friends and guests.
You can whip up these impressive little bites in minutes and they are packed with flavor!
This MIGHT be my favorite deconstructed dessert idea I've shared...since it's all about my favorite flavor combination: chocolate + peanut butter. (not to mention it includes my very favorite candy bar: Snickers Peanut Butter Squared).

Chocolate + Peanut Butter Oreo Mini Pies

These are so seriously easy…you can thank me later.
Here's what you need to make them...

SUGAR | Super Easy No-Bake Salted Caramel Mini Apple Pies

We are days away from Thanksgiving and time is a-tickin'!
If you haven't quite figured out what you want to make for dessert yet or maybe you've been scouring Pinterest for something super simple but with some "wow" factor…stop looking. This is it.

I'm back with another "deconstructed" dessert idea that's soooo easy it just might be illegal.
Okay, I'm exaggerating but you may want to keep the easy part a secret for a few days to allow your guests to continue to rave about how awesome you are for slaving in the kitchen during the busy holidays just to make these special treats for them. (Ha!)

No-Bake Salted Caramel Mini Apple Pies

I've definitely been on a "no-bake" kick lately - looking for easy alternatives that are high on taste and low on time in the kitchen. You KNOW I love being in the kitchen and I prefer "from-scratch" any day over items that are store bought. Let's be realistic though. There are certain instances when from-scratch just isn't going to happen so instead of letting that push me to buy a box of cookies or a boring store-bought pie, I've found it equally satisfying to find ways to create things that are half-way homemade. You know what I mean…buying store-bought items and throwing them together to make them LOOK and almost TASTE homemade. It's a great way to still feed that creative urge I have for whipping up special treats (and making them look pretty). It also allows me to feel like I still had SOME sort of input on the overall taste of the dessert.  Maybe it's just a way to get rid of the guilt for not having time to do homemade? Regardless, I'm loving the turnout! (and so is my family). *wink* Here's all you need for making these darling Salted Caramel Mini Apple Pies...

STYLING | Thanksgiving Place Setting Ideas

I'm in LOVE with the Shimmer Autumn Blend Sixlets from SweetWorks.
The mix of colors is gorgeous including a really pretty gold and I wanted to share a couple of ideas for using them to create some really simple and pretty place settings for your Thanksgiving table.

If you are looking for a simple way to jazz up any holiday table or place setting - these Shimmer Sixlets are such an easy way to add a splash of color. I love that they can double as favors too - like the "corn-on-the-cob" I created in the last photo. So cute and so easy!


And by the way...it's not just the Autumn Blend Sixlets I'm crazy over!
I've got a pretty supply of colors I'll be using for Ella's birthday party this weekend too! (along with a few other SweetWorks Shimmer candy products).

Keep up with me on Instagram this week - I will be posting one photo a day of behind the scenes fun party details! *wink*


KEEPiNG iT REAL
I'd like to keep things SUPER REAL today by sending a shout out to all of the Veteran's out there who have sacrificed so much on our behalf. I appreciate the sacrifice their families have made as well. I'm so grateful for my freedom - without it, this blog and so many other rights and privileges I take for granted wouldn't even exist. #thinkaboutit

SUGAR | Bewitching Hi Hat Cupcakes

Hi Pen N' Paperflowers Friends!

Looking for a creative treat for spreading some Halloween cheer?
These bewitching Hi Hat Cupcakes are so darn cute...it's SCARY!!

Remember the No-Bake Hi Hat Cupcakes I shared with you last week?
Since the Hi Hat resembles the peek of a witch hat, I couldn't help myself by turning it into the perfect Halloween Treat.

1. Start with a No-Bake Hi Hat Cupcake (or Hi Hat Brownie Bite)
2. Wrap the cupcake with a cute cupcake wrapper. 
3. Attach a ribbon using a dab of hot glue under the knot and some tape in the back to keep it from sliding down.
4. Add a mini novelty witch broom from your local craft store or create your own using a toothpick or wooden skewer and some raffia. (see tutorial HERE).
5. Use some orange striped straws and then cut out black witch shoes to attach. Insert your silly DIY witch legs into the hi hat cupcake!

Ta Dah!!
You've got the most adorable cupcakes on the Halloween Party Block!!

Add these to a decked out cake plate on your Halloween Party Dessert table, pop them on top of The Pastry Pedestal, or surprise a co-worker, family member, or teacher by delivering an individual cupcake to them packaged in a cute cupcake box wrapped in coordinating fabric or ribbon.

These are an impressive treat without a lot of fuss.
I hope this idea has left you SPELLBOUND!

You can find the adorable cupcake wrappers , darling white cupcake boxes and cute orange striped straws at The TomKat Studio. 

KEEPiNG iT REAL
The chocolate cupcake (or brownie bite) base with the peanut butter frosting PLUS the chocolate coating is an absolutely amazing combination!!
Just saying!! *wink*