Plot Twist!

The cupcakes pictured here are some raspberry lemonade ones I made for a farewell to summer get-together a few weeks ago. Farewell indeed! Fall made a pretty swift appearance and I'm totally fine with that as long as it sticks around for a little while! I've had a surprising number of messages inquiring where my cupcake recipes have gone. I have to say, I'm completely flattered and surprised to know that people are using my recipes on a somewhat regular basis! I've pulled them in hopes of starting up a little cupcake baking side business. I've really found a passion in baking, cupcakes in particular. I call it my carb therapy ... and luckily I don't even have to eat one for it to be effective or I'd have to be a marathon runner to offset my calorie intake. Cupcakes and crappy days just don't do together ... unless in reverse order.

Once I pulled all my cupcake recipes, I realized that the majority of my posts were, in fact, cupcake recipes. This means some exciting changes are in store for my blog! I hope to start featuring some posts of before and after projects of our home renovation (by FAR my largest undertaking since growing a human), some of my DIY projects, and of course, recipes will still be part of the mix. It'll be transitioning into what it was intended to be in the first place (hence the name Pretty.Nifty.Tasty). It may be a little slow going at first but my goal is to create a new post at least bi-monthly. Life has been SO busy over the past several months but with our home reno coming to a close, I'm hoping to be able to devote a little time to my passion projects and share them with all of you! Stay tuned! Pin It Now!

How To: Strawberry Roses

Add a little extra love to your Valentine's Day desserts with a pretty strawberry rose garnish. Follow the step-by-step photos below and after just a few minutes of careful cutting, TA-DA!, you'll be ready to wow your guests! Who doesn't love artfully carved fruit?!











Using a sharp paring knife, make four thin slices on the outermost part of a strawberry, folding the "petals" down as you go. Be careful not to slice all the way through your strawberry but deep enough that you're able to fold out the petals far enough to achieve the flower shape you want.





Your strawberry should look something like this.







In the middle of your petals from step one, make 4 more slices to complete layer two of petals. These petals should fill the gap between your first layer of petals when folded out.







Now it's starting to take shape!





Repeat step two to create your third layer of petals. This is the most difficult step as you're now working with the smallest bits of strawberry so it's crucial to be working with a very sharp knife and to be careful not to accidentally cut your petals off. Since this layer is so delicate, you really won't have to fold these petals out much.





Ta-da! You did it!!!

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Valentine's Day In

Ugh. Valentine's Day. Hallmark's handiwork at its finest. I am not and never have been a fan. I am the scrooge of Valentine's Day. My dislike for it started rather early on in my life (circa 1st grade) when I decided that red and pink was possibly the most heinous color combination known to man. Top that color clash off with lace and doilies and all things frilly and my first-grade-self was just cringing at the sight of the Valentine's aisle and jonesing for Easter to make its department store debut. I have since developed a more open-minded outlook on color combinations (I had to ... its my job), but my dislike for Valentine's Day has endured the test of time.

Not to brag, but I'm fairly certain I have the most wonderful person to celebrate Valentine's Day with on the planet. Luckily, he shares my dislike for the holiday so we really don't feel the need to get all dinner out-flowers-chocolates-and-store-bought-cards about it. Our ultimate Valentine's date night would be cooking a nice dinner together at home, sharing a homemade dessert and maybe having a movie night. My Valentine's Day hate aside, let's be honest, you can't just make ANY old dessert for this occasion, right? That's where these deliciously decadent lava cakes come into play. They look so much fancier than they should for their ease of preparation and they are TO DIE FOR. Come ON... the chocolate lava flows out of these things like money out of the pockets of those who go out to celebrate and you can have all this chocolatey goodness and enjoy it in the comfort of your own home. So much love in a personal-sized dessert. Don't share though. You'll want the whole. Darn. Thing. This recipe makes four servings so it's perfect for a double date Valentine's dinner OR, *tested* heating up your two leftover lava cakes the next day for round two.

I went extra special for these and cut out a simple paper heart and sprinkled powdered sugar on top and cut strawberry roses for a festive look (tutorial to follow). The scoop of vanilla ice cream in the picture? That part isn't optional in my book. The contrast of the creamy, cold vanilla melting into the warm, gooey chocolate cake is pure bliss.

Double Date Lava Cakes

Ingredients:

• 3/4 c. butter
• 1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 (4-ounce) unsweetened baking chocolate bar
• 3 large eggs
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 tablespoons very strong brewed coffee or espresso
• 1/2 c. flour
• 1 1/2 c. powdered sugar + additional for garnish

Directions:

Grease 4 (8-ounce) ramekins. Preheat oven to 425F. In a microwave safe bowl, melt butter, chocolate chips and baking chocolate. Stir until smooth. Add eggs and eggs yolks, vanilla and coffee to chocolate mixture, stirring until well combined. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour and powdered sugar. Add flour mixture to chocolate mixture and stir until smooth. Divide batter evenly among greased ramekins and place on a baking sheet. Bake 14 minutes (centers will still jiggle a bit when these are done). Run a knife around edges to loosen and invert onto dessert plates. Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and garnish with a sprinkle of powdered sugar and a strawberry (optional). To reheat, simply microwave for 20-30 seconds.

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Vanilla Coconut Mocha Sugar Scrub

Well, here I sit in the thick of winter once again wondering why on Earth I choose to live in a place with next-to-unbearable winters that long out-stay their welcome. Every year, I complain about it and without fail, here I'll be again next year yaking on about the same thing. In a perfect world, I would live in a place thats climate hovers comfortably between 60 and 72 degrees and sunny (with a rainy day tossed in the mix every week or two for baking, cuddling and movie watching) and I'd get to experience all four seasons ... but fall would last 6 months of the year, sweltering summer would come and go in a month or two, winter could stay from Dec. 23rd until Jan. 10th-ish and sloppy spring could have the remainder of the year. Is that too much to ask? 

One of my troubles during the winter is dry skin. Not your average dry skin, I'm talking splitting, cracking, bleeding, borderline gator scale skin. This year, my hands took a special beating. It turns out when you welcome a baby into the world, Purell and antibacterial hand soap become your (and forcibly all your baby's guests') best pals. Use after use after use, they really do a number on your hands. I did a bit of Googling and combined a few ideas to come up with a wonderful sugar scrub that will leave your skin incredibly soft and smooth using ingredients that most people already have in their pantry. This recipe makes the perfect amount for a standard 16 oz. mason jar...which makes a great gift!

Vanilla Coconut Mocha Sugar Scrub

Ingredients:

• 1 c. white sugar
• 1/3 c. coffee grounds
• 1 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/3 c. coconut oil

Directions:

In a medium mixing bowl, combine sugar, coffee grounds and cocoa power. Mix thoroughly. Stir in vanilla and coconut oil until well combined. Store in a 16-ounce mason jar or other air tight container. To use: wet hands, use 1 tbsp. of mixture and scrub hands for 1 minute. Rinse thoroughly with warm water and pat dry. This can be used for other areas of dry skin as well - simply adjust quantity of mixture used accordingly.

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