{Free Printables} Gingerbread Men Cookie Recipe & Sweet Treats Tags!

I simply can't believe that nearly two years ago, on a whim I started this blog. What an amazing experience it has been. Never did I think it would turn into what it is. I couldn't be happier sharing my ideas and designs!
My very first post was about the Gingerbread Men Cookies that my mom & I made at Christmas time. It's crazy, but I have had so many readers asking for the recipe from that 2008 post! The recipe was from Food Network and I thought I would create a printable page for it, along with some free printable tags for your sweet treats this season! Below are the cookies from that post two years ago! Little did I know that creating tags similar to these would turn into a successful business!

My mom & I will be making these again this week...and I can't wait because I have been craving them!
If you make them, I would love to see and share your photos!

Click here to download the RECIPE PAGE

Click here to download SWEET TREATS TAGS

Enjoy!

PS. We just hit 14,000 fans on Facebook!
Thank you for sharing The TomKat Studio with your friends!

Pretty Pink Gingerbread House to Benefit Neighborhood Housing Services of Phoenix!

I recently designed this fun PINK gingerbread house for the "Home Sweet Home" charity auction event that is happening tonight! I was excited to be asked to participate, along with 25 other local Phoenix chefs, architects, designers and celebrities! The auction benefits the Neigborhood Housing Services of Phoenix, a organization that encourages, creates and supports affordable homeownership.


I used a few leftover paper lollipops made by Icing Designs from another recent photo shoot!

I enlisted the help of my favorite baker, Melissa from Decadent Delights and we had a great time working on the house together! Here are some "in progress" photos....

It was so much fun!
The gingerbread houses are being auctioned off tonight at the After Hours Gallery in Phoenix. Public viewing begins at 6pm! The houses will be on displayed until December 20th!

Read more and see more of featured gingerbread houses on the New Times!

{Inspired By} Gorgeous Cakes & Cupcakes by i am baker!

A few months ago, Kim came across i am baker after seeing this beautiful pink cake on Martha's Dreamers into Doers page.  Isn't it gorgeous?

We knew we needed to introduce you, our lovely readers, to this deliciousness.  Amanda, the sweet creator of i am baker is a genius when it comes to baked goods.  And her blog is full of wonderful inspiration and instruction!  Cakes, cupcakes, and cookies galore!  And all presented in such a fabulous way.  Go grab yourself a glass of milk and enjoy!!

Make sure you visit her blog here.  Have a great day!

{Cupcake Monday} Molten Lava Cakes by Paula Deen!

{photo via food network}
Good morning, my lovelies! Today for Cupcake Monday, I had to share these delicious Molten Lava Cakes by Paula Deen. So they aren't exactly cupcakes, but they are individual little cakes made in ramekins...so that counts right? I had to share these after one of my friends, Shannon made them at a girls night in. She said they are super easy...and I can confirm that they are SUPER delicious! She made them in these cute little colored ramekins from Crate & Barrel, that I wanted so bad but they sold out before I could buy!
So, if you're in the mood for chocolate....Here is the recipe!

{photo via sweetteeth blog}

This blogger used a recipe she saw on The Pioneer Woman. I haven't tried it but I'm sure is amazing, too! I had to show this photo though, so you can see the surprise waiting inside the cake!

Recipe from Paula Deen on Food Network
Recipe from Sweet Teeth via Pioneer Woman

{Fabulous Friday Giveaway} Bake It Pretty & Martha Stewart Cupcakes Book!

UPDATE!!!
The winner of this giveaway is...
COMMENT #34 - Tiffany!
Tiffany said: I LOVE Bake It Pretty.
I will take one of everything please!
I'm becoming just as obsessive about cupcake papers
as I am about cake stands.

Congrats Tiffany!
Please email me at toni@thetomkatstudio.com to claim your prize!

{cupcakes at martha stewart event :: photo by kim stoegbauer}

To celebrate the return of our weekly series, Cupcake Mondays, we are excited to bring you a cupcake themed giveaway!

First up is a $20 gift certificate to Bake It Pretty. If you love to bake, you will LOVE Bake It Pretty! CAUTION: Once you enter the wonderful world of Bake It Pretty, you won't want to leave!

Now that you have a plethora of fun baking accessories, you need some new Cupcake recipes, right? Well, we have just the book for you!
Martha Stewart's Cupcakes is filled with 175 inspired ideas so you can create your own delicious bit of goodness!

Here's how to enter:

(enter up to 3 times, leave a separate comment for each action you complete)

1) Head over to Bake It Pretty and come back and comment with what item you loved the most.

2) Become a fan of Bake It Pretty on Facebook, leave a comment on this post to let us know.

3) Become a fan of Martha's Circle on Facebook, tell them we sent you and leave a comment on this post to let us know you did.

Winner will be chosen on Wednesday, August 18 at 11:00pm (MST).

Any entries received after this time will not be considered. Open to US residents only. Winner will be chosen using random.org

Want your own copy of Martha Stewart's Cupcakes book?
Purchase here!

{Cupcake Monday} My Visit to Magnolia Bakery NYC!

As you already may know, I was so lucky to hop on a plane Wednesday to NYC to attend Martha Stewart's Bloggers' Night Out and BlogHer '10! I have so much to share about my trip, but since it is Monday and I've been thinking about bringing back my series "Cupcake Mondays"....let's start with my visit to the famous Magnolia Bakery!

Located just a few blocks from the hotel where I stayed, I was thrilled to hop over for a quick visit before heading to the airport Saturday! It was such a cute shop, with beautiful cakes and cupcakes at every turn!

These Jessie Steele aprons are just toooo cute!

This cupcake was a little slice of heaven....
devil's food cake with cream cheese frosting!
Hello delicious!

Of course, who could resist one of these cupcake t-shirts? Not me!

Have you ever visited Magnolia Bakery??
Did you love it as much as I did?

{Kate's Fairy Garden Party} Susie's Forgotten Meringue Recipe

When we moved into the neighborhood, I discovered that my neighbor has quite the reputation. Well, lots of the ladies have reputations around here (kidding), but Miss Susie is known for her delicious meringue cookies! Once I tried one (I mean some), I was hooked! These little pretties are puffs of sweet heaven. Light, airy and oh so cute! Once you start, it's hard to stop. I asked Susie if she would whip me up some for Kate's Fairy Garden Party, and she sure delivered! The colors were PERFECT! Many of you have requested the recipe & tips...so here you go!

Susie's Meringues
“Forgotten Cookies”
These “melt in your mouth” cookies were my Mom’s favorite, because they were cheap, easy to make and pretty. She made them every Christmas when I was growing up.
My mom called them “Forgotten” because she would preheat the oven to 275 degrees; put the cookies in the oven, then turn it off and leave them overnight (and forget them).
~ Susie

4 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon Cream of Tartar
1 1/3 cup sugar
In a mixing bowl, beat egg whites until foamy.
Sprinkle in salt and cream of tartar; beat until “soft peaks” form.
Gradually add sugar, beating until “stiff peaks” form, about 5-8 minutes.
Take almost the full 5-8 minutes to sprinkle the sugar in.
Make sure the meringue is “stiff” looking or the cookies will droop.
Drop by teaspoonfuls or use a pastry bag with a big star tip onto foil lined cookie sheets.
Top with colorful sprinkles if desired.
Preheat oven to 225 degrees. Bake for 1.5 hours.
Turn off heat; leave cookies in the oven with the door ajar for at least an hour.
Yield: 4 dozen

Other tips:
If you add food coloring- you may need to beat a little more to bring the “stiff” peaks back.
If you get even a drop of egg yolk in the whites, they will never get “stiff”.
How they look when you put them in the oven is exactly how they will look when they are done.
You can place them really close together on the foil
After cooking, the more they dry, the more they melt in your mouth!

Susie, thank you so much for making these for Kate's party and for sharing your mother's recipe with us! Now, my dear readers.....go make some and send me pictures! I would love to see how they turn out! ~ Kim

{Kate's Fairy Garden Party} Dessert Table Details!

As you probably know, I love dessert tables. My passion doesn't just stem from my love of yummy treats, but also the full presentation and creativity behind them. Amy Atlas is the queen of dessert tables and I find inspiration in every new table she creates. (thrilled that she featured mine on her blog last week!) Creating this dessert table was the highlight of planning Kate's party. I enlisted the help of many for this party, and several talented ladies made fabulous treats for this table! Shown above, is the picture perfect flower cake designed by a local baker, Melissa Mittleman. When she delivered it before the party, I literally had goosebumps. I wanted to cry, it was so beautiful and the perfect centerpiece to the table design!
Who does that? Cries over the beauty of dessert?! I do.
I think I've found my calling.

Another teary moment was when I opened a big box shipped all the way from Canada. I was literally leaping around the house with the biggest smile on my face, the night these pretties arrived from Marian from Sweetopia. Marian and I decided to swap skills (cookies for paper designs) and she did an AMAZING job translating the Fairy Garden designs onto cookies! I loved each one, but especially the fairy silhouette and the glittered little butterflies! How perfect?! I'm sorry to say that she is not available for hire, but she does share tons of tricks for decorating cookies over on her blog HERE! I believe she will be posting about these and hopefully sharing how she made them!
I figured I should probably make something myself for the dessert table, so you guessed it....the cupcakes were all moi! Well, with the exception of a tip (literally) from my friend, Sharnel at My Life, My Loves. When I spotted her "ruffle" frosting on the cupcakes she made for her daughter's party, I knew it was time for a new technique. She said to use the Wilton 2D (perfect...it's the one I use all of the time) and to hold at a 90 degree angle, use lots of pressure. Since my cupcakes were on the large side, I ended up piping four "ruffles" and then a big one in the middle on top. I think they turned out quite pretty! I topped them off with my cupcake toppers, of course...what's a party without them?

One of the many projects that I assigned to my mom, was to make mini-cheesecakes. I made these recently for a girls night in, and I've been addicted ever since. I had Melissa, the cake girl make some extra fondant flowers for the cheesecakes, since they tend to collapse in the center. Get the mini cheesecake recipe here.

Mmmmm.....next up. I met a super sweet girl, Nicole at my friend's bridal shower, who had brought cake pops. They were delicious. I've always wanted to try making them ala Bakerella, but I haven't tried yet. I looked up Nicole and asked if she would whip some up for me...and boy, did she deliver! These pops went like hotcakes and they weren't only adorable, but SO good. Her presentation was perfect in a white vase with edible grass...and she even added the same mesh butterflies I used throughout the party! She said she would share her tips and recipe with us here on TomKat Studio, so stay tuned! If you are local, she is starting a little business selling them....so go order some and thank me later!

Boy, the sweets keep coming.....
Next up, I'm not exactly sure how I "met" Kim at Sweeties by Kim on Etsy...but I'm sure glad I did! She sent some of her chocolate dipped oreos, along with the cutest oreo pops you've ever seen. The white ones with "kate" in different colors and the butterflies....oh my! I've got one stashed up on the shelf in my office armoire because it's too pretty to eat.
I'm hoping she'll do a little giveaway here on the blog, so one of you lucky readers will get to enjoy these as much as we did!

The rumor around our new neighborhood is that Susie makes the best meringue cookies....well, I figured I better try them out, right? So sweet Susie and her daughters (my babysitters!) made made dozens of mini meringues, in perfect party colors! She's going to share her recipe and tricks here, too! Won't this be fun?!

Okay, and the sweetest treats of all.........
the sweet fairies checking it all out!
(hey...is that a water bottle on my dessert table?!) Who did that?! Thank you all for your help and delicious goodies!
The dessert table was amazing and I can't wait to create another one!
XOXO, Kim

Photos courtesy of Vicki Lynn Photography

{My Favorite Recipes} Cheesecake Cupcakes!

I have always loved cheesecake...what's not to love, right?
My mom always made amazing cheesecake, and when I got married, I found out that my husband loves his mom's cheesecake....so we fight about whose is better!
I think we may have figured out recently that they use the same recipe :)

The other night, I was flipping through my little cookbook binder that my mom made me, Kimmi's Delicious Recipe Collection, looking for ideas for a little craft night I was hosting, when I came upon the recipe for these mini cheesecakes! I remember making these back in high school (I've always loved baking!) and they sounded yummy! They were super easy....and proved to be super YUMMY!

Mini Cheesecakes

12 Vanilla Wafers
1 tsp Vanilla

2 8oz packages cream cheese, softened

2 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

Line muffin tin with foil liners.
Place one vanilla wafer in each liner.
Mix cream cheese, vanilla & sugar on medium speed until well blended.
Add eggs. Mix well.
Pour over wafers, filling 3/4 full.
Bake 25 minutes at 325 degrees.

Remove from pan when cool. Chill.
Top with fruit, preserves, nuts or chocolate.

Be creative! (the recipe actually said this)

So, what are you waiting for?

Go make these! You can thank me later!

Do you love cheesecake, too?

{Yummy Stuff} Lollipop Cookie Pops!

Hello, friends! I apologize for my lack of posting this week! I've been inundated with emails for the "Spread the Love" promotion I posted on Tuesday! I've been sending out literally hundreds of Valentine's sets! Thank you all for posting the "I love TomKat Studio" button on your blogs, I sincerely appreciate it! When I saw these Lollipop Cookies on Happy Hour Mom, I had to share them with you!
Created by the fabulous Meaghan at The Decorated Cookie...these cookies are super sweet!

Ever since Kate's Lollipop Party last year, I have been overwhelmed with orders for my Lollipop Invitations and Collection! This is another great idea for the popular Sweet Shoppe theme!
I would love to see these done in a rainbow of colors!

Aren't they super cute?!

Visit the full post at The Decorated Cookie for the recipe, directions and more fabulous photos!

{Valentine's Day} Sweet Collection of Valentine Pops!

When this arrived in my inbox the other day....I knew I had to share.... What a collection of Valentine Pops!
Cookie Pops, Marshmallow Pops, Cake Pops & more!

Check out the full post from Creative Hostess for details and sources!

While you're there, don't forget to enter the Most Adorable Party of 2009 Contest! Contest Ends Tomorrow!

{Sweet Treats} The Most ADORABLE Princess & Frog Cookies EVER!

These cookies make me want to plan a Princess & The Frog Party! How fun would that be when the movie comes out on video?! Aren't they ADORABLE?!?Although, I would have to hire Marian from Sweetopia to make them, because LOOK at the details! Have you ever seen such detail on a cookie?

I'm new to the Sweetopia blog, but it looks like I will be there AWHILE!
VISIT SWEETOPIA HERE!

We haven't seen the movie yet,
but my son is eagerly awaiting to take his own "princess" to see it!
Have you seen it?

TomKat Studio Mention on Hostess with The Mostess!

Oh how do I love thee, let me count the ways....

My favorite party girl, Jenn aka Hostess with the Mostess just gave me another shout out on her popular website! Yippee! Yahoo! I'm doing those leaps of joy around the house again!

Here's what she said about moi:
I first discovered the marshmallow pop idea on Kim’s Lollipop Party feature. She used chocolate and rainbow sprinkles on her marshmallows to mimic the look of Bakerella’s adorable cupcake pops… a genius shortcut, especially when you’re pressed for time!

For Kate's Lollipop Party, I decided to make marshmallow pops after seeing one of the photos above. (obviously not actually reading about them, or seeing this actual photo since it clearly says "cupcake cake bites") SILLY ME....come to find out after the party that those aren't marshmallows, they are CAKE POPS by the amazing Bakerella. I've come a long way, people.

View the full HWTM Pink Ribbon dessert buffet & details HERE!

View instructions for the Marshmallow Pops HERE!

{all photos via Hostess with the Mostess}

THANK YOU, JEN!

Cupcake Monday: Lollipop Cupcakes!

It doesn't get any sweeter than this!

With so many of my readers having lollipop parties and making lollipop invitations, I thought I'd share some lollipop cupcake ideas, easy...and yummy! {via hostess with the mostess}{via cupcakes take the cake}

{via one charming blog}

UPDATE: After seeing this post, Jen wrote in about these adorable pinkalicious lollipop cupcakes from her daughter's birthday party! I had to share this fabulous example:

Click HERE to see the rest of the party!

Have a sweet Monday!

XOXO, Kim