Snowball Cookie Pops

I love the look when the snow has freshly fallen, thickly

blanketing everything in sight.  That white on white effect

out on the back deck was just gorgeous.

White on white is lovely for a dessert too and

what better dessert than an individual cookie

pop dusted with sparkly white snow apparel

and a hidden chocolate center.

These Snowball Cookie Pops were dressed all in

white for a winter wedding.

I stacked two styrofoam cake rounds and held them

together with bamboo skewers, then edged them with a

wide white satin ribbon held on with pearl topped straight

pins.  The front was decorated with a silver frosted

floral to give it an elegant look.

The bride wanted an all white dessert table.

Three different candy decor were used to create the snowball

effect and the tops of

the styrofoam rounds were also dusted with sparkling

snowflakes to create the look of fresh fallen snow.

Cookie Pop Recipe

(Adapted from Picky Palate who adapted hers from Bakerella.)

1 pkg. Oreo Sandwich Cookies

1 container Betty Crocker Cream Cheese Frosting

White chocolate coating

Candy sprinkles in desired colors

Blend the entire package of Oreos in the food processor until

evenly fine.  Mix the frosting mix in by hand until well blended.

I like to use a pair of latex gloves while I do this.

Form the cookie mix into balls and place on a

parchment lined cookie pan.  Place in the fridge

until set.  (This should make about 50.)

Melt the white chocolate coating.  I melt mine in a

microwave safe bowl.  Melt for 1 minute, stir whether it

looks like it needs it or not, or it will scorch on the bottom.

Melt one minute more and stir.  If it needs more time,

melt at no more than 30 second intervals, always

stirring in between.  ( I have been dipping chocolates

for 30 years now and have had great success with

the microwave as long as you don't forget to stir.)

Remove cookie balls from fridge - don't remove

all at a time or they will get too soft and fall off the

stick as you dip them

.  Dip the end of a sucker stick in the white

chocolate coating. Stick it into the ball.  Let set up.

This should help it from falling off.  If they begin to

fall into the coating, put them back in the fridge to

harden up a little more.

Dip the ball into the white chocolate.  Hold over the

pop over the bowl and let drip for a minute, twirling

to remove excess.  Don't shake or it might fall off

into the bowl. 

Sprinkle any decorations on it while the chocolate is

still wet.  They will set up pretty quickly since the center

is cold.  If the chocolate

drips down the stick, wipe it off with your finger.

Stick the pops into a piece of styrofoam until they

set up hard and you can touch them.  (This is really

important to keep them beautiful.)  If you don't have

a piece of styrofoam handy, fill a large bowl with

several inches of sugar and stand them in the sugar

until they are set.

(You can also use an 8 oz. pkg. of cream cheese in

place of the frosting, but then you have to worry about

keeping them refrigerated.)

You can also dip them like a truffle without the stick.

The richness of the dark Oreo is perfectly complimented

by the white chocolate coating.

They turned out beautifully for the wedding.

We made over 250.  The servers continually refilled

the tiered display so that it stayed beautiful all night.

If you haven't given cake or cookie pops a try,

do it.  They are so elegant and fun. 

These little beauties are going to be "popping"

over to

Weekend Wrapup, Favorite Things,

Saturday Swap,

Sweets for a Saturday,

Made by You Mondays,

White Wednesdays

 Foodie Fridays,

Seasonal Sundays

Hidden Pony Lodge Tablescape

With record snows here in Utah it is time to

head up to our mountain home at Sundance Ski

Resort.  Sundance is owned by movie actor

Robert Redford who has kept the ski resort small

and intimate.

The name of our home is Hidden Pony Lodge, inspired

from the beautiful artwork of Bev Doolittle, where ponies are

hidden amongst the trees in someof her more famous paintings.

We adore her artwork and wanted our mountain home

to reflect native American Indian art,

 both ancient and modern.  Bev's art fits in so well. 

This table uses all of our everyday tableware that we use

here at Hidden Pony Lodge.

The table is set on this massive 7 1/2 foot custom made table

which has fit up to 14.  It is regularly set for 10 and that is

 what I have set it for today.

I used two placemats to anchor the placesettings, a silver organza

rectangular one, set in a vertical position and a round metallic one

set on top of it.  The dinnerware is Pfaltzgraff Midnight Sun and

features graphic designs in glossy black on matte black.

The graphic designs reminded me of indian artwork.

The flatware is Cook's Club Wavy Stainless steel.

A silver brushed satin napkin with a swirled silver napkin

ring is placed at the top of the place setting.

Bubbled glassware was a purchase from Pottery

Barn years ago.

The step design on this pewter platter is featured

throughout the entire home.  This classic southwest indian

design ties elements in the home from the tableware to the

dining chairs, and Navjo rugs to metalwork in the home.

My dear friends Tammy and Sam both grew up in families

that ran trading posts in New Mexico.  Tammy's aunt

is a well known southwestern furniture designer and she

designed this beautiful stepped candle holder.  Tammy and

Sam took us on a buying trip to New Mexico when we

were building the home.

A touch of basketry and tooled leather add to

the native american decor of the table.

This candle holder holds 7 large candles in the

step design.  It always sits on the dining table.

There is something fascinating about

bubbled glassware.  I love how each one is different.

For a touch of greenery I brought in this tooled

leather box with some oak leaves.

Notice the step design on the custom made chairs.  Much of

my inspiration for the interior design of this cabin came from

a trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming.  We saw

similar chairs  there and had a local upholsterer create these.

The chairs have black leather seats and brass tacks.

The leather seats are great for cleaning up after small

children!  It is built for a family after all.

Bold red is featured in so much of the Navajo

designs, so we chose red and black as accents

to neutrals in the home.  The black and red of

the table makes it fit nicely into its surroundings.

A huge antler chandelier graces the dining table.

Antlers just bespeak western and mountain home

 don't they?

It was purchased in Jackson Hole and is created with naturally

shed antlers from both moose and elk.  A local craftsman

there made them and shipped them.

The oversized table is made of rustic alder.  I

love its flaws.  Notice the reflection of the glass in the

table, the dining area is flanked with glass on both sides.

It sits atop a 4 foot wide white pine tree trunk for the base.

When I walked into one of my furniture designer's shop

one day while furnishing the home, I saw a similar table and

asked him to make me one.  This is a table that is not going

to be moved around!

Notice the fun "tree chairs" in the front windows.  They are

quite the conversation starters.  This is just the dining area and it

is filled with additional seating to accomodate

 parties and crowds.

The dining and living area looks straight out onto

the Sundance ski slope.

It is entertaining to watch beginner skiers as

the learn to go down the slopes.

    The home is a true ski in/ski out home with

mountain vistas on all sides.

I was even able to catch the glow of the sun setting

in the mountains just outside the dining area windows.

Evening comes early in the winter and especially in the

mountains, so the candles are all lit now.

Ruby red lights glow from the candles.

The red candles all give such a welcoming glow

on a cold winter night, especially after a day of

skiing.

Hope you enjoyed your day at Hidden Pony Lodge where

there is always something to eat for skiers who stop by

either for lunch or after a day on the slopes.

Drop in anytime you see lights on or smoke coming

from the chimney.

I will be posting with

Tablescapes Thursday, Feathered Nest Friday,

Favorite Things, Weekend Wrapup

Melinda's Hot Chocolate Cookies

A cup of hot chocolate smothered in fluffy whipped

cream and topped with chocolate shavings

---------

what could be more perfect on a cold winter day?

Maybe Hot Chocolate Cookies in addition!

I love these adorable dessert plates! 

I am not one who is big on resolutions for the New Year.

Especially if those resolutions involve no sugar or

no treats.

These plates epitomize my motto

"I'd give up dessert...

but I'm no quitter."

I was over at Beauty and Bedlam's Tasty Tuesday.

If you have given up sugar and treats, don't go there,

really!! 

I saw the post entitled Hot Chocolate Cookies.

Melinda at Blue Jeans and Cotton Tees had posted

this tempting recipe including hot chocolate mix

in the cookie batter.

It also had 3 kinds of chips, one cup of each!

Do you know that my mother used to put 1/2 C.

of chocolate chips in the whole batch?  I would

always search for the one with the most chips -

maybe 3!

Two days later I was making a batch.

I think this is my first baking since Christmas.

Ooohh, the house smelled delicious.

Crispy on the outside and soft and filled with chips

on the inside.  (I used Stephen's Gourmet Hot Cocoa -

Milk Chocolate Marshmallow - so I even got little itty bitty

marshmallows in mine.)

Yep!  I'm not a quitter and I don't think you can be either

if you bake up a batch of these.  You will be addicted.

Thanks Melissa!  Go check out her adorable blog

and make some of her great cookies.

Hot Chocolate Cookie Recipe

1 C. (2 sticks) butter - at room temperature

1 C. white sugar

2/3 C. packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

3 1/4 C. flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 C. hot chocolate mix (or 4 - 1 oz. packets) - not sugar free

1 1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 C. white chocolate chips

1 C. milk chocolate chips

1 C. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Cream butter and sugars until smooth.  Beat in the

eggs and vanilla until combined.

In a separate bowl, combine flour,hot chocolate mix,

salt, and baking soda.  Add to wet ingredients slowly

making sure it is all incorporated.

Fold in all 3 kinds of chocolate chips.

(She says to chill the dough 1 hour, but I didn't need to.)

Scoop out on a greased or parchment lined cookie sheet.

Bake for 9-11 minutes.  Let the cookies cool slightly before

removing from the pans.  Cool on wire racks or eat them

"hot and gooey from the oven".

(Of course I followed that last instruction and had mine

hot and gooey from the oven.  I know the flavor

varies when they get cold so I plan on trying a room

temperature one really soon!)

Ok, I tried them both ways and hot from the oven

is the way to go.  My husband even popped the cold

ones back into the oven just long enough to melt the

chips again! 

I will be posting this with

Tasty Tuesday, Foodie Fridays

Sweets for a Saturday

Seasonal Sundays