50th Anniversary Cake!

This weekend I discovered that when you mix Cake + 50 years + family, you'll have a Banana of a good time. My grandparents just had their 50th wedding anniversary this weekend and boy, was it a hoot!  Ok, 50 years is a pretty intense long time. 

Just this past 5 years has gone by in a jiffy.  I was trying to think of what I've done in the last 5 years.  Here's the list I came up with:

- Taken 31 537 000 breaths. Yes, I went there. Would you believe I counted each one as it happened? I hope you don't.

- Moved about 8 times. That's university life for ya!

- Played about 2500+ hours of volleyball (no jokes I started counting but then realized I needed to get a life)

- Worked 5 different jobs & have been to 4 different schools (High school, college & 2 Universities)

I can't believe just 5 years made all these things happen. I can't even imagine 50... of being married no less. I'm so proud of my grandparents! They are some pretty special people.

So anyways, I decided to bake a cake .. the least I could do!  I told you before I was using my grandma's boquet from her wedding.. that was pretty fun.

The bottom layer was 12", then 9", then a 6" on top.

Butter pecan.. mmm..

Good choice Bri.

Ice that baby up.

Fondant. You bet.

This is super sticky stuff! I was constantly throwing icing sugar the counter so it wouldn't stick. Well, maybe not throwing, that could have got a little out of hand. But it probably would have been a lot of fun.

Next time I'll remember.  Throw icing sugar.

Ya, smooth it out to see all the imperfections. Great.

But there.. all better!

A couple hours later.. and voila, cake is served!

The massive but incredibly yummy carrot cake. We needed to feed lots of people, ok?

Oh the memories...!

My mother just told me 2 seconds ago that,"Time waits for no one." I think she was referring to how late it is already tonight. But I decided it fits here too.

Molasses Crumble Cookies

As slow as molasses. I'm not sure who repeated that quote to me before, but it must have worked. I hate being slow. I am a huge fan of efficiency, quickness, and short stints of intensity. 

None of this slow and steady stuff. Did the turtle really win the race? I don't think it did.

And long distance running? I could care less. I'd sprint any day. Well, just about any day. Any day that I feel like it.

Here is some molasses for your fancy.

A little of this and a little of that - and you have this lovely mixture!

Here's my attempt at walnut shaped balls. Come to think of it - I don't think I've ever eaten a walnut. I'm adding that to my bucket list.

The recipe says to only dip the top in sugar. But sugar is a good thing, the love needs to be spread around.

Just bake them til they are set - not hard. Hard cookies = not what you want. Especially if you have dentures.

This is a recipe from my grandma. Anytime she likes a recipe, I like it too. You have to respect years of finding the perfect ones!

I love these cookies because they're relatively healthy. Anytime you can put healthy + yummy together, I jump for joy. I'm literally doing jumps right now, and they are full of joy. You should do it too, but make sure to do it quickly and efficiently. No need to waste time.

P.S. Stay tuned - this weekend I am making a cake for my grandparents' 50th anniversary!! I'm going to try to incorporate her boquet you see here into the cake somehow..  Any ideas or suggestions are appreciated.. !

I'll post after the weekend to show what I came up with!

Molasses Crumble

3/4 cup soft margarine

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

3/4 cup molasses

3 cups flour

2 tsp Baking soda

1/2 tsp cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ginger

Mix first 4 ingredients thoroughly.  Combine flour, baking soda, salt & spices - add to creamed mixture and mix well. Chill dough. 

Roll dough into walnut size balls; dip tops in granulated sugar. Place sugared side up on greased baking sheet. Sprinkle each cookie with 2 or 3 drops of water. Make 8-10 minutes (7-9 minutes on Convection bake) @ 375 degrees.

Lemon White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

My youngest sister has graduated... sigh, tear, sigh.  It's hard to let the young ones go.

It is probably a result of her constant teasing and micheviousness that I have learned to deal with the hardships of life.  I love this girl. 

Some other things I love are white chocolate. And macadamia nuts. Just about the same amount as I love my sister. I have to tell her often that she competes with my love of food.  Just kidding. But it's pretty close.

 Ok, Mac nuts I brought back from Hawaii.  So yummy.

 And, white chocolate.  White chocolate + macadamia nuts = world peace.

 Mom has this handy lemon grader tool for lemon peels. It's quite handy.

 Put 'em on a pan and bake 'em.

 And now your life is complete.

 Ok, remember the rain I mentioned a while back? Now you know I wasn't lying. I was serious. It's wet!

It was on the way back from Humboldt one day.  That crazy rain!

Lemon White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies 

1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp grated lemon peel
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup white chocolate chips or wafers
1 cup macadamia nuts

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter, sugar, lemon and vanilla in large bowl until light & fluffy.  Add eggs, beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda, salt and add to other mixture.  Stir in chocolate & nuts. Drop by tablespoons onto cookie sheet.  Bake 8-10 pieces until almost set.  Makes about 2 1/2 dozen.