Strawberry Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Icing | Whoopie Pies from a Cake Mix

Samantha, my three-year-old niece, once told me her favorite cookies were "Icing Cookies."  So, when planning her Valentine's Day gift, I wanted to make her something that would be big in the icing department and just her size... and pink, of course.

I used my recipe for Whoopie Pies from a Cake Mix, but instead of the chocolate cake mix I used Strawberry.  With the pink cookies and filling, I was hoping they would turn out looking a little like French Macaroons - and I think they did!

They were a huge hit for Sam - as I think they would be for any birthday party or shower.  Here is the link to my original recipe for Whoopie Pies from a Cake Mix.  Obviously, you can use any kind of cake mix you want - for Emma's Baptism last year I made them with Red Velvet cake mix and cream cheese frosting. 

 

Here they are all packed up for Sam and Kate's Valentine's care package (see all of the girl contents, here!). 

 

The batter - perfectly pink.

 Since I was making small whoopies, I used a disposable piping bag to pipe them into little circles.  It worked great - made it much quicker than spooning them out.

You'll need to make them smaller than you think!  Here is a Hershey Kiss size reference - these ended up being about the size of an oreo.

I made two sizes - these were a little larger.  More of a cupcake top size.

The frosting - butter, powdered sugar and cream cheese all whipped together. 

Ready for assembly...

 Yum!  

Some mini and some tiny.

I think they also make a great elegant looking dessert/cookie - almost like a macaroon, don't you think?!

LIttle Girl Valentine's Day Gift Idea | Strawberry Whoopie Pies, Pink PJ's & Pink Mini Boden Bunny Tee's

For Valentine's Day, we sent Emma's cousins a care package filled with girly goodies for both of the little ladies :

Mini Strawberry Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Icing (recipe coming tomorrow!)
Mini Boden Bunny T-Shirts
Hanna Andersson Pink Striped PJ's




Emma got one of these shirts for Valentine's Day, too.  The little bunny is actually a dark chambray material - so cute.  This is the 3-6 months size shirt for baby Kate.

I included some Pecan and Salted Caramel Turtle Puddles for my sister, Jill.

...and bags of mini and tiny Strawberry Whoopie Pies for Samantha.

I also included a pair of pink and white striped Hanna Anderrson PJ's for all three.  Of course, Emma also has a pair of these, too...  They are the best pajamas.  Very comfy!

All packed up headed for their house for Valentine's Day!

DIY Sweetheart Rose Arrangement | Coral, Peach and Pale Pink Roses

I am in love with this arrangement.  Not just because "love is in the air" because Valentine's Day is just around the corner, either.  I love the varied sizes of blooms, the complimenting but not matchy-matchy colors and I love that it cost me $15.

I love that it is not a "perfect" looking bouquet.  I strongly believe that flowers should look as natural as possible - they really are more beautiful that way.  The natural beauty of the flowers really comes out when they are arranged casually, instead of tightly constructed.  

I was shocked how beautifully these roses opened up.  The different sages of blooming give them a "real" garden rose look.

Here is what the roses looked like when I got home from the store.

I trimmed each stem, then stripped it mostly of their leaves - leaving only a few at the very top of each.

Here they are all trimmed up and ready to go.

The rule of threes applies to almost everything in the design world - flowers are no exception.  So, I grouped the flowers in stems of threes, then put them together.  Grouping each color is a more pleasing look - you don't want the arrangement so homogenous that it looks polk-a-dotted.  You want it to seem like you gathered it in the garden.

Then I add three more groupings around the first set - placing the unlike colors next to each other.

One more set. 

Trim the ends of the flowers.  They will need to be shorter than you think.

Then, switch vases.  Oops!  After I made the arrangement, then set the table, I decided I wanted to change the vase to make it less modern and more romantic. Amazing what a little switch like that can make.

I made this arrangment to be the centerpiece of our Barefoot Contessa "Foolproof" Valentine's Day Dinner - see the menu and more details, here!

Here is the easy-to-pin strip! 

Homemade Pecan, Salted Caramel & Chocolate Turtle Puddles | Grown-Up Valentines

There are a lot of Valentine's Day treats out there that seem targeted towards kids - they are very cute, very sugary and mostly pink and red heart-shaped.  I wanted to make a treat for Mike and my adult friends that they would love... not just say - oh, how cute.

I had flashback to a Christmas gift my parents received a few years ago - soft caramel poured over pecans, topped with chocolate.  After a little online research, I found some similar recipe efforts that looked and sounded simple enough.  

Homemade candy always seems like a huge hassle, but... after 30 minutes (I didn't even need to go to the store...) I was gobbling up these heavenly little turtle puddles.   In fact, I had to make a second batch to use for my dinner party because the originals were already gone!  That's when you know it's a keeper...

Salted-Caramel Pecan
Turtle Puddles

3 cups pecans
2 sticks of butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 can of sweetened condensed milk
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
1 tablespoon of sea salt
........

4 - 4 oz. bars of milk chocolate

1 teaspoon of light corn syrup
Course Sea Salt

To make the caramel, melt butter in a medium-sized sauce pan.  Add  brown sugar, light corn syrup and sweetened condensed milk to the pan.  Cook on medium high and stir until it reaches the soft-ball stage (see my note below about using ice water to test it - very easy!).  

Remove from heat and add vanilla and sea salt. 

In the meantime, toast the pecans in a dry saute pan for 1-2 minutes to bring out their best flavor.

Arrange the pecans into groups of three on a greased cookie sheet.  Pour caramel over each cluster. 

Melt the chocolate over a double boiler then stir in corn syrup to make it shiny.  Do not over heat the chocolate!

Dollop the chocolate onto the top.  Let cool slightly, then sprinkle on sea salt.  Store uncovered.

 

It starts with making a soft, but set-up-able, caramel using melted butter, brown sugar, sweetened condensed milk and corn syrup.  Of course, I added really good vanilla and sea salt at the end.

Here is the butter melting.

Brown sugar stirred in.

 All of the ingredients are in, now just about 8 minutes of boiling to get to the soft, but set-up-able, non-liquid stage.  The best way to do this is to have a bowl of ice water by the stove, then as it is cooking, drop in a small amount of the caramel into the water.  If it has cooked long enough, the caramel will set up into a soft little ball that you can squish between your fingers.  Don't let it cook too long, or it will harden, like... hard candy, instead of chewy candy.  You want it to be soft enough to pour, but hard enough not to run all over the place.

When you reach the right consistency, remove it from the heat.

Toast the pecans in a dry skillet for just a minute or two.  

Pile the pecans in threes on a greased cookie sheet or on a silpat, like this one.

Pour the caramel sauce into a measuring cup.

Pour caramel over each pecan pile.

 Let it set up slightly.

Melt the chocolate over a double boiler (glass bowl sitting over a pot of simmering water).  I used milk chocolate because it is my favorite - but you can use dark chocolate if you are one of "those" people.  I have no shame for my milk chocolate love... even if I am not as "sophisticated" as those dark chocolate lovers.

 Dollop the chocolate with a spoon on top of each caramel.  You don't have to be neat or fancy with it - the more rustic the better!

The finishing touch is a sprinkling of sea salt on top... but wait a little bit for the chocolate to cool, or the salt will melt.   As you will see from my first try...

See the salt has started to melt a little - it sill tastes great, but you loose some of the crunch from the salt.

Here the are on a platter - a great grown-up treat.  Oh, they are sooooo good!   

Here is the easy-to-pin strip!