Luma Cookies and Non-Poisonous Apple Cake Balls

So, I wonder how many awesome bakers/cake decorators there are out there.  I wonder how many of you could make an awesome cake like this:

I found this cake on Diary of a Stay At Home Mom's blog.  Isn't it awesome?  I'm so super impressed with her right now.  WOW!  My cakes always tend to look like one of the layers is trying to escape and forget them being nice and even.  I make humpback cakes.  Ya know what I mean?  The kind where the middle rises up about three inches above the rest of the cake?  Yeah, so not pretty.  Once I tried to cut off the big lump and it turned into a giant sink hole.  So, let's just say cake decorating is not my forte.  So, I went the safe route and ordered both cakes from the bakery.  They had a Snow White cake kit so that worked out fine.  Mario, not so much.  Of course, my kid would be obsessed with something popular in 1987.  UGH!  So, I opted to just put a couple of his Mario Kart cars on top of a plain cake. 

But I decided that both kids had to have SOMETHING made by mom that had some kind of theme. 
See those little stars on the side of the cake above?  They are called Lumas.  I decided that I could make Luma Sugar cookies?  Why?  Well, because they are one color and I have a star shaped cookie cutter.  A very long time ago, I had a recipe for sugar cookies that used powdered sugar.  They were delicious and they kept their shape while cooking, but they were a pain in the neck to make.  Well, I found a similar but much easier recipe at The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle blog.  It worked like a charm.  I also used her Royal Icing recipe.  Wanna see how they turned out?

I think they turned out pretty good for a girl with a shaky arthritic hand.  The best part is the J was so excited when he saw the cookies.  I didn't tell him I was making them so he was completely surprised. 

So, now for E's special treat.  I wasn't about to attempt Seven Dwarf cookies.  No way, Hosea.  So, it finally hit me........the apple.  So, I decided to make cake balls that looked like apples, non poison apples.  I thought I would use pretzel sticks for the stem.  While I knew it was a brilliant idea, I found out pretty quick that it wasn't a never been done before idea.  I checked Pinterst for apple cake balls and found several examples.  Have you been to Bakerella's blog?  This chick is BRILLIANT!!  You can see her amazing candy apple cake balls HERE.  So, let's just say that my apple cake balls were not perfect, but I did add something a little different.  I put a few chocolate chips inside to represent the seeds.  I'm sure nobody noticed.

See how my cake balls never look pretty and perfect.  They're a little mishapen and well, gloppy, but they do at least resemble apples.  E was excited about them and that's the most important part. 

So, my BFF, Tori Spelling, was on Rachel Ray a few weeks ago to talk about her new book, CelebraTORI.  It's a book about entertaining and includes recipes too.  One of her suggestions was to repurpose old frames, take out the photos and insert either fabric or scrapbook paper and use as a serving platter.  Wanna see?

Don't worry, I cleaned the glass first.  Cute, right?  The frame idea, that is.  The apples look a little gloppy.  I am not a good dipper.  Thanks to my BFF, Tori, for the serving idea.  I know Tori would just love my plastic tablecloths too, right?  HA!




*I would just like to say for the record that while I adore Tori Spelling, she has no idea who I am, although I am sure that if she did, we would be very good friends.  HA!  Don't worry Tori.  I'm not a crazy stalker lady.  I'm just a normal everyday mom who adores you.