zucchini bread recipe.

Today I made zucchini bread because I've been getting a lot of zucchini from my garden.  I used a new recipe and it's definitely the best recipe so far!  I got the recipe here but altered it a bit.  

Changes:

• I used regular white sugar because I have no idea what sucanat is
• 3 extremely well packed cups of grated zucchini instead of 2.5 (seriously..I have a lot of zucchini)
  
• I didn't use applesauce, but I added about 1/4 cup of light syrup (not maple syrup, just light pancake syrup)
• I added about 1/4-1/2 cup of fat free milk
• I used 3 cups of white whole wheat flour and no pastry flour
  
• I added about 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips!

I went out and bought new bread pans especially for this!  Extra delicious..I'm glad it turned out so well.  They didn't rise very high, I think due to the different flour?  Whole wheat flour is a bit heavier, or so I've read.

I also went outside climbing today and found this rock.  ALL I CAN THINK OF IS HARRY POTTER.

reindeer cupcakes!

I don't have much to say, just wanted to post a picture of what my mom and I got through with.  Our family Christmas party is tomorrow so today was spent preparing.


I give you...

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer in cupcake form!

turkey cupcakes!!

My mom and I just got finished making these epic cupcakes and they turned out freaking adorable.

I just used regular yellow cake mix and pre-made chocolate frosting because I have no idea how to make cake from scratch.

I feel like making these is fairly self explanatory, but I'm going to post some tips that I learned through trial and error because I made a lot of these. Look proof:

TIPS:

• Make large cupcakes. Most recipes tell you to fill the baking cups about 2/3 full. No way. I'd fill mine until there was about a quarter to half inch from the top. This causes them to spread, giving you a larger space to make turkeys with!
• Let the cupcakes cool for a long time. Seriously. I let these sit for about 2 hours before I even started preparing to frost them.
• Have a healthy supply of toothpicks out. I used a bunch smoothing out the frosting that formed the head.
• Frost the cupcakes first by using a knife. It doesn't need to look perfect, it's going to be covered up anyways :) Make a ziploc bag pastry bag to make the little head.

Happy Thanksgiving y'all!

some finished things..

The other day I began working on my Christmas list. I've made fairly decent progress. But first, I got caught up baking! My mother signed me up to make cupcakes for Thanksgiving so I figured I'd better practice a bit before dinner!

These are carrot cake with cream cheese frosting that I dyed with food coloring. They turned out so much better than I expected! I love the yellow, it turned out very bright.

After cupcakes, I got back to work on my list. I finished a scarf for my Dad's girlfriend and some Penn State colored dishcloths/pot holders for my grandmother and grandfather!

I ended up with 48 motifs making the scarf about 74" long. I love it!

I made four of these, two for each grandparent. I personally don't care for Penn State but my whole family goes nuts over them!

I have begun my work on Leonidas the Lion. I can see this taking forever. This is all I've done so far, hah...