Cheesecake Brownies a la Martha Stewart

I've blogged before about the amazing group of women that I scrapbook with.  Our group on Meetup.com is called Oh Crop!  We were having a weekend retreat a couple of weekends ago, but I couldn't make it.  So I made these brownies by Martha Stewart to drop off for the girls. 

Alex and I also managed to be productive in our garden this weekend, we pruned our little garden area.  Our japanese maple is blooming beautifully.  I found this great article about how to Beautify Your Garden, give it a read if you get a chance.

Oh, and for more info on Martha Stewart's books, here are some Borders Coupons.  Also, I hope to be doing some reviews of some really awesome products that I have won in giveaways lately.

MSC: Jumbo Cupcakes

This month for our Martha Stewart's Cupcakes challenge, Jess from Cookbook Habit chose the Jumbo Cupcakes on page 133.  And since this little guy was having a birthday, I decided to make them for him.

He is a big fan of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and I had some awesome Mickey Mouse sprinkles that I couldn't wait to decorate his cupcakes with.  I was super excited to make the Marshmallow Fluff filling, and I wasn't disappointed...it was so yummy.  I thought the cupcakes, however, were a little dry.  But it seems like a lot of the recipes that we have baked in this challenge have been dry.  I didn't want to leave the tops of the cupcakes without a nice mound of frosting, so I made my go-to buttercream frosting.  This made the cupcakes super rich.  The best part of the cupcakes were the filling.

Here are a few shots of the party we threw for Ryan in the park by my parent's house.

My brother Jeff and nephew Ryan.  Look at him eyeing that cupcake!

My amazing Mom with my nephew Owen

Easter Cupcakes 2010

Last year for Easter I made cookies and cupcakes. This year however, I was not so ambitious. I had some adorable decorations that I couldn't wait to use, like these made by Wilton.  I used Martha Stewart's Carrot Cupcake recipe from her Cupcakes book. This recipe is fabulous, and I love making them because they are so moist and have such a great flavor.

Alex and I went over to his grandparent's house for the day, and had a nice relaxing time.  I love lazy Sunday's with family.  I hope everyone had an amazing Easter with loved ones.