Lemon & White Chocolate

Summer calls for sweet treats of all kinds, and these lemony white chocolate bars certainly suit this season of warm and sticky! A riff on a traditional brownie recipe, these bars are an excellent dessert to share with your family and friends that can't (or even more sadly, just don't) eat chocolate.

Lemon & White Chocolate Bars

¾ butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons lemon extract
1 ¾ cups flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 ½ cups white chocolate chips

Melt butter, remove from heat. Add sugar, eggs, vanilla, and lemon extract. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture, stir until well blended and smooth. Stir in white chocolate chips. Spread in a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 35 to 40 minutes. Cool and serve.

Aqua and White

Treasury challenge of the week - featuring the CAST team shops, WatercolorsNMore and SewFaithful. The sparkling aqua and turquoise shades of their items were the inspiration for our summery collection.



This week we had the pleasure of being included in a variety of treasuries - bright, rustic, rich, and cottage.

Joy Cottage...

The treasury today is part of a CAST Team challenge - featuring Elegant Quirk and Vintage Niki.


And a few other treasuries... These are not ones that we made, but that we were included in. Enjoy!

Luscious lime...

Shown here with our white trivet, these sweet vanilla cupcakes with a swirl of lime frosting are a refreshing dessert for a warm summer day. The soft green tint from the lime zest is the perfect color to complement a party scheme, while being free from artificial food coloring.

Vanilla Cupcakes:

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

2/3 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

With an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and whip again.

In a separate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.

With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter and bake for about 18 minutes or just until set and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, pipe on frosting. (We used Wilton’s 1M tip.) Sprinkle with white sugar for a sparkling finish.

Lime Buttercream Icing:

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup shortening

6 cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons milk

5-6 teaspoons lime juice

Zest of 5 limes

Cream butter and shortening with electric mixer. Add lime zest and juice. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all the sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at high speed until light and fluffy. Keep icing covered with damp cloth until you’re ready to decorate. For best results, keep icing in refrigerator when you’re not using it.

Makes about 3 cups of frosting.

Celebrating a birthday!

Yesterday was the U.S. Army's 237th birthday - time for a black and gold treasury, right?



We've also had the pleasure of discovering our items in these splendid treasuries:

All things bright and beautiful...

Vivid pink was today's treasury muse. Paired with black and white, it makes for a bold retro palette!

"Things aren’t always what they seem
You’re only seeing part of me
There’s more than you could ever know
Behind the scenes
I’m incomplete and I’m undone
But I suppose like everyone
There’s so much more that’s going on
Behind the scenes."
- from the song "Behind the Scenes" by Francesa Battistelli

And for some more color play, check out these sky blue, teal, and coral collections that we were thrilled to be a part of:

Treasury count...

Inspired by Jeremy Camp's Restored, here's today's CAST treasury in gray, aqua, and white.

And the treasuries that we have had the honor to be featured in this past week:

Baking with Chocolate...



Modeled with these two trivets in spring and fall colors, our chocolate scones are satisfyingly rich, a tasty treat to serve as a dessert or an afternoon snack.

Milk Chocolate Scones
2 cups minus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (or whole wheat)
3 tablespoons cocoa
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter (does not need to be softened)
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 - 10 tablespoons milk
1 cup milk chocolate chips, divided

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add butter to dry ingredients and blend until dough resembles coarse sand. (A pastry cutter works best for this!)

Add in vanilla and approximately 8 tablespoons of milk; mix with a fork until just until the dough comes together. Use additional milk if the dough is too dry. Stir in 2/3 cup chocolate chips.

Turn out dough and knead several times. Pat into an 8-inch circle and place on a baking sheet. (We prefer to use either a cast iron skillet or a stoneware pizza pan.) Cut into 8 to 12 wedges and sprinkle with sugar (optional). Bake for 15 to 19 minutes, until scones are set and lightly browned. Remove to a wire rack and cool.

Finishing touches:

To make chocolate drizzle, melt remaining 1/3 cup chocolate chips in a double-boiler on the stovetop or in the microwave. Drizzle over scones with a fork before serving. Equally good with a dollop of cream cheese or whipped cream on the side!

 

Bunny in a bucket (bag)

Our May additions to our shop include this dark denim bag with a perky bunny lining. Stuff it full of little girl's toys or pack your favorite makeup for road trip - the denim is durable and ready for use, and the sweet bunnies will bring a smile to your face whenever you peek at your bag's contents!

Memorial Day Sale

Our Memorial Day Sale will be running May 25th through May 29th, and you can check out it here at our  Etsy On Sale page or go directly to our Etsy shop. We are offering 15% off all items currently in our shop (no coupon code required), including these:

Purple picks...

Bright purple was today's treasury inspiration, and finding pieces that incorporated the theme of "I Believe" made it extra fun.



Making for a sweet surprise, we were featured in these two treasuries:

Treasure hunt...

Today's treasury features cool blue and white from the CAST/CAPS teams for some summertime fun!



And we were featured in these lovely treasuries this week:

My little heart...

Had to try to combine some favorite colors in the treasury tonight, and this is what our little treasury turned out to be! Aqua and red are forever classy, and such fun to work with. Be sure to peek into these lovely shops of our CAST team members on Etsy.

Relocating...

We are now in the midst of moving, but we plan to reopen our Etsy shop by May 20th.  In the meantime, we thank you for your patience!

Aubergine & Brown

Rich aubergine and teal pair with warm brown and olive in our newest treasury, featuring items from our CAST/CAPS member shops.