Hello Kitty Cake! (and other stuff)

This one is a no brainer for me.  My younger daughter is completely and totally nuts about cats and Hello Kitty is her pop culture icon of choice.  I saw this cake and knew she'd want it for her birthday. However, I was quite disappointed to get to the Betty Crocker site and find there was no handy link to download or buy the template the show.  After a little searching I found some cute options that are linked below.

Click here for the ultimately disappointing Betty Crocker idea page.

Click here for a template I found.  

(You will have to size and print it according to your needs, but it should do the trick.)

Click here for a good Hello Kitty cake tutorial.

Or, you can do what I will most likely ultimately do and opt for the really easy way out - a Wilton character pan!  Honestly, if the template was ready for me to print up and use, I'd prefer to go that cheaper route, but the money saved on a pan would be outweighed (for me) by the time I'd spend messing around creating a template.  So, purchase this I will!  

Also, you should click here for a page full of great Hello Kitty party ideas from a fun blog called Look What I Made!

To Die For Blueberry Muffins

My girls asked me to make blueberry muffins when they had friends spend the night.  Of course I wanted extra tasty ones to impress their friends so I looked for a really good recipe.  I found one called To Die For Blueberry Muffins that truly did look like they might be to die for.  I whipped them up. and sure enough they almost were to die for.  My girls (ages 11 and 8) asked to make them on their own today.  The recipe is simple so I just turned them loose. (We have cooked together enough that they know how to measure correctly, spoon flour into a cup instead of scooping it, etc.)  They did need a bit of help from me, but mostly they did it all on their own.  Our crumble doesn't turn out like the one in the picture, but it does taste delicious.  In the end, that's what matters most, right?

To Die For Blueberry Muffins

Click Here for Original Recipe

Makes 8 - 12 muffins depending on the size of your muffin tins.  Our standard Wilton pan makes 12.

Ingredients:

     Batter

• 1 1/2 C all purpose flour
• 3/4  C granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/3 C vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1/3 C milk
• 1 C fresh blueberries (we used frozen and it worked fine)

     Crumb Topping:

• 1/2 C granulated sugar
• 1/3 C all purpose flour (we plan to add a bit more next time - our topping was more crusty than crumbly)
• 1/4 C butter, cubed
• 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
2. Combine 1 1/2 C flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place 1/3 C vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups almost to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.  
3. To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.  This is a great job for younger helpers.
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

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