Romy's Baking and Cake Decorating

It's Bubby's last year of school and I am missing no opportunities to send in treats to make him proud and help him enjoy his day. I made these simple sugar cookies with pale pink royal icing and he took them in on two days before Valentine's Day. I figured on the day of there would be all kinds of treats, and we knew the day before there would be a snow day. At the last minute the snowstorm went off in another direction, and Bubby reports that on Valentine's day there were no treats to be found anywhere. It figures! However I heard everyone did enjoy these cookies to start off the week.     Valentine's Day sugar cookies  

 It dawned on me that there's a bake sale at school tomorrow. Bubby is graduating in June, and my days of school bake sales are ending. So, I couldn't pass up the opportunity! And with Valentine's Day coming up next week, it was a no-brainer to make chocolate cupcakes.  What could be easier, with pantry ingredients and a simple heart decoration, but sure to come out tasty and look enticing? I used a recipe called "Classic Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting" from the Sally's Baking Addiction website. It's been changed since I printed it, so here is the recipe I used: Cupcakes : 1/2 cup (42g) unsweetened cocoa powder 3/4 cup (95g) all-purpose flour 1/2 tsp baking soda 3/4 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp salt 2 large eggs 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar 1/2 cup (100g) packed light brown sugar 1/3 cup (80ml) vegetable oil 2 tsp vanilla extract 1/2 cup buttermilk Preheat the oven to 350F. Line pans for 14 cupcakes.  Whisk cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, baki

 I wanted to send a cheerful, citrusy gift to Bubby's teacher for her to enjoy over the weekend. When I saw  this recipe  on Browned Butter Blondie's Instagram the photo was so appealing I just had to try it.  I'd had 3 bars of Ghirardelli white chocolate on hand for quite a while that I wanted to use up, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity.  But, things never turn out quite as planned... First off, I was shocked to see the expiration date on one of the white chocolate bars was for 2020!  I can't possibly have been holding on to this for 4 years, can I?  The other two bars expired in 2021, proving that time does fly whether you're noticing or not.  In this case, not.   I did a quick search and found that white chocolate lasts a much shorter time past its expiration date, and sure enough I could tell the bars smelled kind of rancid.  So I chucked them in the garbage and had to make an unscheduled trip to the store. Back at the ranch the recipe came together qui