Do It Your Freaking Self - Recipes Archives - Page 2 of 5

Easy Monster Cookie Cake

on October 17, 2017

This easy monster cookie cake is a super simple dessert to make for all of your Halloween parties! This giant cookie is an adorable crowd pleaser!

I was sitting at a friend’s BBQ over the summer and the topic of party desserts came up. As in, we were talking about all how our parents grabbed a cake from the store and had them put our names on it, or they picked up a ton of cupcakes. These days, especially living in LA, I have seen it all. Ice cream carts, cotton candy artists (yep, those exist), mini desserts that look like a mosaic…. and these are at KIDS parties. One of the things we missed most were those giant cookies; you know the ones I’m talking about. Chocolate chip cookies the size of your head (or bigger) instead of a cake. We’ve pretty much had them at every gathering since and I’ve gotta be honest… BEST DECISION EVER!!!

MAKE IT: Halloween Glow in the Dark Slime

This particular project, how stinkin cute is it?!? I had the candy eyes left over from my Hank the Octopus bark last year and then I thought I lost them and was about to buy more until I realized they were in a prop box – Someone help my unorganized self! Anyway, I found them and decided, yep. This is happening.

You really can’t mess this monster cookie cake up and I had very few dishes to do at the end so kitchen win!

Cake Mix Monster Cookie Cake

Time: 45 min start to finish
Cost: $5-10
Spooky level: Not at all – but super cute!

Ingredients:
1 Box cake mix – white or yellow
2 eggs
1/2 c room temp butter
Added sugar sprinkles for color – Green funfetti anyone?!?

Decorations:
1/2 can white frosting
Purple food coloring
Candy eyeballs
Sour gummy worms
Sprinkles!

Supplies:
Medium mixing bowl
Round pizza pan
Baking spray
Wooden spoon and Spatula

To make:
Preheat oven to 350 and grease a round cake pan with baking or non-stick cooking spray.

Mix all cake ingredients together until fully incorporated. Use the back of a wooden spoon to make break up any lumps. Spread it evenly onto the pizza pan leaving 1/4 inch space from the edge – the cookie will expand!

Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until edges are golden brown. Let cool.

To decorate:
Mix white frosting and purple food coloring and spread evenly on top of cooled cookie cake.
Add sprinkles, candy eyeballs and sour gummy worms!

Are you in love with this as much as I am? PIN it to your Halloween or Party boards to save it for later!

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ByChelsea

How to make simple Color Blocked Oreos

on September 28, 2017

Add some fun color to your snacks with these simple color blocked oreos! Make them in your team colors, party theme and more!

How do you eat your oreos? Are you the kind of person that splits them apart, licks them and sticks them back together? Do you dunk them in milk until they’re nice and soggy (guilty)? Do you split them apart and take out the cream (also guilty)? No matter how you eat them, I have yet to find someone that doesn’t like oreos.

MAKE IT: How to Make Oreo Peppermint Bark

There are a ton of ways to eat these delicious sandwich cookie and even more ways to decorate them! With this DIY, the goal was to use accent colors for my Halloween Party. They really only took about 30 minutes and have a huge impact when trying to set an impressive table. Other ways you could use this technique would be using team colors (I’m looking at you football fanatics) or school colors for a graduation party! The color possibilities are endless with melting chocolate and great food coloring!

Color Blocked Oreos

Time: 20-30 Minutes
Cost: $5-10
Party matching skills – On fleek (omg what did I just type!?!?)

Supplies:
1 package of Oreos – I went with double stuff, but you can use any kind!
18-24 oz White Chocolate almond bark – separated – usually at this time of year you can find it in large blocks at your local grocery store.
Food coloring in chosen colors – I am OBSESSED with the Wilton ColorRight system!
OR two bags candy melts in your chosen colors
Coconut oil
Microwave safe bowls – I just used CLEAN ceramic bowls
Parchment Paper and baking sheet

1. To begin, set up your baking sheet with the parchment paper and make room in your fridge. The cooling down process is essential.

MAKE IT: Easy Slutty Brownies Recipe

2. Start with one color chocolate and melt in 30 second bursts, stirring in between each one. Wait until you’ve melted all of your chocolate before adding coloring! Add about 1 tsp coconut oil to thin out the chocolate. This also helps to solidify the chocolate more quickly.

3. Dip oreos about half way, tap off the excess chocolate and gently place on the parchment paper. Do this for as many color blocked oreos as you need then place in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes or until chocolate is solid.

4. While you’re waiting for the oreos to come out, clean up and prepare your next color using the same method.

5. Once your cookies are ready to be removed from the refrigerator, rotate them 90˚ so that the first color takes a vertical position. Dip the cookies half way again and place on the parchment paper – same side down as before. Place back in the fridge for another 20 minutes.

And… thats it! You’re done! Go color block your way into party mode!!!

Don’t forget to PIN for later!

ByChelsea

Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes

on September 20, 2017

Get into the fall spirit with these delicious and decadent Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes! Sure to be a crowd pleaser for all the pumpkin spice lovers!

Okay, so fall is here and I am fully embracing my basic-ness. We just got through a heatwave in LA – which I am not proud to say I complained the entire time – and the weather has been dropping to mid-70’s most days. Now, I’m not going to say this is perfect weather for boots and sweaters but I am hauling them out… because it never hurts to be prepared.

Speaking of hauling out the fall clothes, I kinda got rid of a lot of mine when I tried to be a minimalist earlier this spring. I say try because Kon Mari never mentions being a blogger and/or babysitter and actually needing an over abundance of craft supplies. I got as far as getting rid of clothes and a few old craft supplies. If you’re a blogger or mom or teacher, you totally understand that you’re just going to end up buying more craft supplies so it’s this really vicious cycle.

Anyway! Back to when I tried to Kon Mari last spring. I basically got rid of all of my pants, boots that I hadn’t worn in a while, some sweaters, and generally all things fall. Now that it’s time to pull those things out? I’m down to a Star Wars sweater and my Union Suit collection. It’s rough guys. I know I should look at this as an opportunity to go shopping, but when you’re a plus size lady on a budget options are limited. If you’ve got suggestions PLEASE leave them in the comments! Have you ever gotten rid of things then realized it was probably not a good idea?

Needless to day, I needed a cupcake when I realized how much adulting I had to do, and what better way to kick off the season than some Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes! This recipe is one of my favorites to pull out during the season and is always a crowd pleaser at work parties!

ByChelsea

A Pinterest Perfect Tea Party Cake

on August 29, 2017

Create a simple yet impressive naked cake for the pinterest perfect tea party! Learn how to make a delicious tea party cake with this step by step tutorial.

Shout out to anyone who is a nanny/full time babysitter. This post is for you…. kinda. A few years ago I left the world of social media and content management to work with kids. It was a total world shift for me and while I’ve been doing some side projects in the digital space I haven’t really looked back. There are days when I’m not sure how my bills will get paid and I long for the days of a regular paycheck, or when one of my kiddos is on their third tantrum of the day because sugar is not a food group but overall, I really enjoy it. There is something magical about it. And if I’m being real here, I think kids are easier than dealing with adults sometimes. Kids’ only ulterior motive is to get out of bedtime or to get an extra cookie. Adults? So much more drama.

MAKE IT: STRAWBERRY CHAMPAGNE CUPCAKES

So 3 years ago, I left the world of “real people jobs” and started nannying and this week, my first little is turning 4! I’m a little teary eyed thinking about it. Okay, so my main goal as kiddos get older is that I end up being the cool Aunt. You know what I’m talking about. The one that they can go to for things they may not be able to tell mom or dad about. The one that is still single and enjoying life and they basically stalk my instagram feed (it’s a thing, I promise). Since I’m not related to the kiddos it’s a bit strange but I absolutely love getting to see them grow up.

So for P’s party her mom is basically amazing and asked me to make the cake for her birthday party. Of course I said yes! The theme was a Royal Tea Party and for real you guys, it was GORGEOUS! I didn’t take a bunch of photos because I’m a dolt and was too busy waving a bubble wand but… I can tell you how I made the Tea Party Cake!!!

A Pinterest Perfect Tea Party Cake

Additional Supplies:
6 inch round cake pan
Kitchen Scale
Non Stick cooking spray
Cooling Rack
Serrated knife or cake leveler
Piping bags
Wilton Size 1A icing tip

** Note: The cake is topped with delicious meringue cookies! I got the recipe from ShugarySweets and they turned out beautifully. I recommend making these at least a day in advance (they take a really long time to cook) on a day that has very low humidity.

Don’t forget to PIN for later!

A Pinterest Perfect Tea Party Cake

Ingredients

1 Box White cake mix
2 tbls almond extract
1 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
Simple syrup

For Frosting:

1 Cup unsalted butter (room temp)
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
2 tsp salt
1 package strawberry Jello
6 cups powdered sugar
3 tbsp whole milk or heavy cream

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 and spray 6 inch cake round with non-stick cooking spray
On a kitchen scale, weigh the empty mixing bowl. Record this number for later
Mix all ingredients for cake in mixing bowl and weigh. Subtract the bowl weight from this and divide that number by 4 (for four layers) - I could tell you just to evenly distribute the mix, but who keeps 4 6 inch cake rounds on hand!?!
Weigh the cake round zero out your scale. Slowly pour batter in to the cake round until you get to the desired weight (mine was 196g)
Bang your pan on the counter a few times to release any excess bubbles.
Bake for 15 minutes. Repeat for all four layers.

For best decorating, freeze each layer for 1 hour before leveling and an additional hour afterwards for maximum moisture retention.

Level each layer using a cake leveler or serrated knife.

For frosting:

Cream butter and shortening together until smooth.
Add in salt
Slowly add in powdered sugar and mix until fully blended
Add and mix milk until smooth
Add a few tbsp strawberry jello for flavoring until you get to your desired pink color
Let chill for 20 minutes

Assemble the Cake

On a cake round place a few tablespoons of frosting to act as your glue.
Place first layer of cake on the bottom. Leveled side up.
Drizzle with simple syrup.
Using a piping bag and size 1A Wilton icing tip, pipe around top surface of the cake layer. Fill in the middle in a circular pattern.
Place the second layer leveled size up. Repeat frosting process.
Repeat until all 4 layers are assembled and use an offset spatula to smooth out the frosting on top. This should use all of the frosting you just made.

https://www.doityourfreakingself.com/tea-party-cake/

ByChelsea

Easy Slutty Brownies Recipe

on July 7, 2017

Treat yo’self to layers of delicious chocolate chip cookie, oreos and brownie batter! Indulge in some rich chocolate goodness with easy slutty brownies.

Treat yo'self to layers of delicious chocolate chip cookie, oreos and brownie batter! Indulge in some rich chocolate goodness with easy slutty brownies

This post may contain affiliate links. Shopping from these links means the price stays the same for you but I make a few pennies to keep the lights on and the unicorns fed.

A few years ago when I worked in an office I was the defacto cupcake baker. Basically I bake when I’m stressed and that job stressed me out so I would bake cupcakes on the weekends and would feed my stress cupcakes to all of my coworkers – hello run on sentence! Mostly because I did not want to stress eat them. See where I’m going with this? Okay maybe not.

So one Wednesday there was this declicious pan of amazing gooeyness on the break room table that I had not stress baked. Come to find out, they were called Slutty Brownies and I wondered why I hadn’t thought of them before. Let me tell you… I was in chocolate heaven! Like more than that kid in Matlida that stole a piece of cake. Slutty brownies are an original invention from The Londoner, popularized by What’s Gabby Cooking, and made easy and a bit twisty by me.

Treat yo'self to layers of delicious chocolate chip cookie, oreos and brownie batter! Indulge in some rich chocolate goodness with easy slutty brownies.

These Easy Slutty Brownies are perfect for a girls night in, stress baking, easy baking, you name it and you need chocolate… get on it!

ByChelsea

Easy DIY Magical Mermaid Bark

on June 21, 2017

Dive under the sea with some Magical Mermaid Bark! Inspired by your favorite mermaid, this sweet treat is a must have for your summer parties or treat table!

This post may contain affiliate links. Shopping from these links means that the price stays the same for you but I get a few pennies to keep the coffee pot full and possibly the cat fed.

In case you didn’t hear there is apparently a mermaid trend this summer. Does it look like I’m caring about that?? Okay maybe a little. But seriously folks, I was watching The Little Mermaid with a friend (because that is what we do okay?) and we were both feeling the need for some sugar and well, this happened. I feel no shame or guilt about any of it. None at all. So yeah, be a mermaid, get that swimsuit. Eat some chocolate and just embrace that -ish okay? Okay!

Easy DIY Magical Mermaid Bark

Time:20-30 minutes plus cool time
Cost: $15 or less depending on what you have on hand
Magic level: Titus Burgess as Sebastian magical.

Supplies:

Wilton Candy Melts in Light Blue, Teal and Lavender
Piping Bag
Sanding Sugars in purple and blue. – Learn how to make your own here!
Sugar pearls
Small seashell candy mold
Coconut chips
Microwave safe bowls

If you’re up to making your own sanding sugars go ahead and make those first.

Make your purple seashells! Place 1/4 cup lavender candy melts into a piping bag. Twist the top closed and microwave for 30 seconds. Pull it out and squish around. Microwave again in 15 second bursts, mixing and squishing in between until it’s all melted. Cut a hole in the tip of the bag and fill each cavity in the mold. You may not fill all of them, but fill as many as you can. If you have any overage, simply use the edge of a spatula to smooth out. Place in fridge or freezer for 10 minutes.

Make your base!
In separate ceramic bowls, melt your candy melts. Microwave for 1 minute. Stir. Return to microwave and zap in 15 second bursts, stiring in between until fully melted. Do this for each color you’ll be using.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place dolops of each color next to each other on the parchment paper. This is where I like to get my agression out and sometimes act like Jackson Pollock. Just go with it.

Next, use a butter knife or spatula to smooth out and swirl the colors until you’re happy with the design. While the chocolate is still kinda melty, spread your place the seashells on the base bark and sprinkle with the coconut bark, sanding sugars, and sugar pearls.

Place in the freezer for 10 minutes or in the refrigerator for 30 minutes until the chocolate is set.

Break it up while jamming to your favorite version of Under The Sea and eat your mermaid bark with your equally mermaid obsessed best buds!

Don’t forget to PIN this post if you’re as obsessed with all things mermaid and magic!

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ByChelsea

Make your own Custom Colored Sanding Sugar Sprinkles or Edible Glitter

on June 17, 2017

This simple way to make your own custom colored DIY sanding sugar sprinkles will blow your mind and save you money. Make custom sprinkle mixes YOUR way!

This post may contain affiliate links, that means I make a few pennies if you purchase through my links….but the price for you stays the same!

Let’s talk sanding sugar sprinkles. You guys.. it’s like glitter for cupcakes. I’m serious! Unfortunately having a variety of Colored Sanding Sugar Sprinkles can get kinda expensive and really frustrating when you can’t find the color you need for a particular party theme or inspiration. Sound familiar? Thought so.

Did you know you can make your own custom colored sugar sprinkles? Yep. You can make it in just about any color you like in 20 seconds flat. And then you can use this really cool tool to make all kinds of custom designs!

Okay so this is going to both blow your mind and save you a ton of cheddar… you ready?

Cost: $1-5 makes a ton!
Time: under 1 minute
Fun level: 10!

DIY Custom Sanding Sugar Sprinkles

Supplies:
Granulated Sugar
Gel food coloring in choice color
Ziplock bags
Wax or Parchment Paper and a baking sheet (optional)

4 things! I’m sure you can do it! The coolest thing with making your own colors is that you can do it with just about any gel coloring. I used the neon Wilton Food colors because I happened to have them on hand but really, the sky is the limit.

How to make Custom Sanding Sugar Sprinkles

Place 1/4 c Granulated sugar (or more.. I just eyeballed how much I would need) and a few drops of food coloring into a ziplock bag. Seal it shut ( I like the ones that slide shut to avoid mess) and shake and squish. Really go for it. You want to make sure all of the food coloring is incorporated and there are no lumps. If you accidentally put too much food coloring in there just add a pinch or two of corn starch and that should soak up the moisture or you can always add more sugar!

Spread out on a wax paper lined baking sheet to let it dry out for a bit longer – 20 minutes-ish.

Transfer into an air tight container. If you want to use something to sprinkle it on I’ve also found that spice jars are both cheap and pretty awesome. Heck, I’m pretty sure I’ve got my own personal rainbow them in the cabinet right now… lemme check.

If you want to make metallic sanding sugars, you’ll need one more ingredient and that is Lustre Dust. For gold, combine the lustre dust with the granulated sugar and a few drops of yellow food coloring. For silver use silver lustre dust and a few drops of alcohol – I usually go with vodka since I have it on hand or you can use metallic food paint.

Go forth and make your custom colored sugar sprinkles!

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ByChelsea

Boozy Tropical Cake Push Pops

on June 10, 2017

Kick off your summer luau by making these fun boozy tropical cake push pops! A sweet addition to your flamingo, pineapple, hawaiian party!

This post may contain affiliate links. That means that we make a few pennies off each purchase but the price stays the same for you!

Summer is in the air and that brings about two of my favorite things… flamingos and pineapples. Put them together and you’ve got one classy luau or some mayhem. Either way it’s gonna be colorful and pretty. These boozy tropical cake push pops (or tube cakes) use a basic cake mix, crushed pineapple, watermelon vodka and buttercream icing to give you a flavor mix that will transport you back to the island (but not like LOST okay?).

Boozy Tropical Cake Push Pops

Cost: $20 – but you’ll use the treat pops again so it’s kind of an investment
Time: 2-3 hours
Fun level: 9
Makes about 15 pops

Ingredients:
1 box yellow cake mix
1/2 C crushed pineapple
1/4 C pineapple vodka
2 eggs
1/2 c oil

Buttercream Frosting:
1/2 C Butter (at room temp)
1/2 C Butter Shortening
1/4 C Watermelon Vodka
4 C Powdered Sugar
Pink food coloring

Supplies:
Push pop containers
Jellyroll pan
Parchment Paper
Piping bags or ziploc bags

1. Make the cake: Line a jelly roll pan with parchment paper. Make the cake mix and bake according to directions on the box or until you put a toothpick in the center and it comes out clean. Take the cake out and let it cool.

2. Mix the buttercream. Cream the butter and shortening together. Add the vodka. Once everything is mixed, slowly add the powdered sugar until you get to the desired consistency. Spoon into a piping bag.

3. Assemble the cake pops: With the plunger in the bottom of the treat pop container, use the rim as a cutter and push the end cake to the bottom of the container.

Quick tip: use a second plunger to push the cake down into the tube.

Pipe the icing in a thick layer on top of the cake, then layer again with cake. Add a final layer of buttercream to the top and garnish with sprinkles if you like and place the lid on top.

If you’re planning a summer luau or brunch for you lady friends or if you just like to play on pinterest all day, don’t forget to PIN for later!

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ByChelsea

Cheesecake Churro Cupcakes

on April 28, 2017

Satisfy your sweet tooth with these decadent Cheesecake Churro Cupcakes! Filled with cheesecake filling and topped with cream cheese frosting and a cinnamon sprinkle!

This post may contain affiliate links, that means I make a few pennies if you purchase through my links….but the price for you stays the same!

Let me start this story by saying that my room mate and I once took a midnight Churro run and it was the best decision we ever made. There’s a place down the street from our apartment that makes them fresh and fills them. You can even get a churro ice cream sandwich!

I’m a little obsessed with Churros, so if you thought you were the only one – Fear not! You’re not alone! On my first trip to Disneyland (I was 27 thank you!) I ate way more than I’m comfortable with admitting. There is just something to be said for that crispy outside, gooey inside and a hefty sprinkle of cinnamon sugar. And well, I wasn’t on any type of diet so I pretty much ate my way through Disneyland and all of my happy feelings. It was amazing! These cupcakes? Well they’re kind of my homage to those wonderfully delicious tubes of yum. The cream cheese icing? It pairs perfectly with the cupcakes since it’s not too sweet and compliments the cinnamon sugar!

Cheesecake Churro Cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 box white cake mix
2 tbl Cinnamon
3 Eggs
1 stick melted butter (or 1/2 cup oil)
2/3 cup milk
1/3 cup sour cream

Filling:
1 box cheesecake pudding
1 1/2 cup milk

Frosting:
8 oz cream cheese (room temp)
1/2 cup unsalted butter (softened)
4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp milk
2 tbl cinnamon sugar

ByChelsea

Two Hearts Jammie Dodgers Recipe

on April 5, 2017

Celebrate the return of Doctor Who with these Time Lord two hearts Jammie Dodgers! Crisp and sweet for a yummy snack with tea or TARDIS themed drinks!

This post may contain affiliate links, that means I make a few pennies if you purchase through my links….but the price for you stays the same!

Sometimes a Jammie Dodger is just a cookie… but sometimes its a TARDIS self destruct button. Usually though, its just a cookie and a ploy to make Daleks believe its a self destruct button. Yep. Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey stuff. Shout out to all of my Doctor Who, Torchwood, Adventures of Sarah Jane, and Class fans. This Jammie Dodgers recipe is for you!

Okay, so flash back a few years. I had just met my dear friend Natalie (who makes awesome jewelry! Check it out) and she was having her 30th birthday party. I had NO CLUE what I was walking into but I ended up finding my tribe… or one of them. You see, Natalie and all of her friends were Doctor Who fans and well, so did I and that was the start to a beautiful geeky friendship. Isn’t it kind of amazing how you find your people when you’re least expecting to?

If you’re unfamiliar with Doctor Who… well that could take a while to explain so I’m just going to direct you to Amazon Prime where you can stream it all to your hearts content. Start with BLINK then go back. Trust me on this one.

Supplies:

Mini heart cutter

Round cookie cutter

Baking sheet

Parchment paper or Silicone baking mat

Rolling pin

ByChelsea

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