Eas!r
By My Bellissima
Eas!r Easter has always been a fond memory in my house. And its been an adjustment not being there with my family the past two years to enjoy it. I was spoiled ro:en as a child… and I wouldn’t have it any other way for mine one day. As I look around my first apartment and the lack of decoraAon, I look back and appreciate all the things my parents had done for me growing me. The daffodils and tulips doEng the mulch under the trees, the plasAc cling eggs that colorfully decorated the sliding back door, the dyed eggs, chocolate eggs, and egg hunts…they all made my Easters amazing. I wanted to take this chance to share all the things that warm my heart when I think of home on the holidays. It’s a bi:er sweet feeling knowing I get to make my own home with the same love my mom and dad used to make theirs. So here’s to making memories! I hope you enjoy our first ediAon!
Love,
Lauren
ma"r pretty pretty picnic dazzle your Easter date
cake pops a recipe from wedding chicks
tulips and teapots a creation from abby iui
must have macarons adapted from caitlin knoop Â
the quintessential staple how to decorate your easter eggs
blueberry belgium’s a recipe from williams sonoma table toppers use your favorite spring critters
Pre#y Pre#y Picnic Ashleigh Taylor does a great job at capturing the warmth the spring sun shines onto this
scene. I cant help myself from wanting to crawl into these pages and bask on their blanket. It would make any girl want to curl up with their hubbie, a good book, enjoy the afternoon, and a tasty treat. Turn to the next page to indulge on these delicious pops. They’re so simple to make, yet incredibly memorable on their taste we had to add their recipe into our Easter must haves.
CREDITS: PHOTOGRAPHY ashleigh taylor photography. PHOTOS COURTESY OF stylemepretty.com
CREDITS: PHOTOGRAPHY Top Photos: krista fox. Middle Photo: jeff loves jessica. Bottom Photo: anouschka rokebrand Photography DESIGN AND COORDINATION Top Photo: design 2 decor Bottom Photo: het bruidsmeisje PHOTOS COURTESY OF stylemepretty.com
For an extra Easter touch try using carrot or strawberry cake
Cake Pops Yeilds 20-30 Pops
1 Box of Your Favorite Cake Mix 1 Container of Icing 20-‐30 SAcks 1 Piping Bag 1 Bag Sanding Sugar
Prepare the Cake
Bake your favorite cake mix (follow the instrucAons listed on the box). Once the cake is fully baked, take it out of the oven and let it cool completely. Once the cake is cooled, cut off the crust and crumble the soX cake into a large mixing bowl. Mix in ½ – 1 full can of your favorite frosAng. Once you mix in your frosAng, scoop the prepared cake and frosAng and roll into small balls. Place them on a cookie sheet and put them into the freezer for approximately 30 minutes or unAl the cake firms up
Me$ Your Chocola!
While the cakepop balls are in the freezer, you can melt your chocolate. Fill a pot with water and bring it to a simmer. Then place your chocolate in a metal bowl then place the bowl over the pot. SAr unAl melted. Careful! This metal bowl will get hot. Once you take the balls out of the freezer, you will place a lollipop sAck into each ball. First, dip the end of the lollipop sAck into the chocolate and then directly into the ball. Next, dip the cakepop into the melted chocolate unAl fully submerged and then take it out and let the excess chocolate drip off into the bowl. Lightly scrape the bo:om of the balls onto the rim of the bowl to get any remaining chocolate. Sit on a cookie sheet to dry.
Dec%a!
Once chocolate is completely dry, you can begin to decorate! First, you will need a piping bag, your choice of icing and matching sanding sugar. For the piping bag you can use a metal Ap if you have one, or just cut a small hole in the bo:om of the bag. Fill about 1/3 of the piping bag with royal icing. Pipe swirls, dots, or any kind of design of your liking onto each of the cakepops and then sprinkle sanding sugar over the wet design. Shake off the excess sugar into a bowl and set aside to dry for approximately 15-‐20 minutes. If you have custom tags, sAck them on the end of the sAck with a drop of glue!
Tulips and Teapots
CREDITS: PHOTOGRAPHY Abby Jui. PLANNING AND COORDINATION Atrendy Wedding. FLORALS Lynn Vale Studios. PHOTOS COURTESY OF weddingchicks.com
CREDITS: RECIPE Adapted from Caitlin Knoop. TABLE DECOR Casa de Perrin. PHOTOS COURTESY OF weddingchicks.com
Must Have Macarons Yields 30 sandwich cookies
1 ¾ cups plus 2 Tbs. Powdered Sugar 1 ¼ cup plus 2 Tbs. almond flour 4 large egg whites, at room temperature ¼ cup granulated sugar
Prepare the Ba"r:
With a medium-mesh sieve, sift the powdered sugar and almond flour into a large bowl and set aside. In a clean stand mixer using the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites on medium speed until foamy (very soft peaks in about 1 to 2 minutes time) Add 1 tablespoon of the granulated sugar and continue to whip for another 30-45 seconds. Repeat this 3 more times. If applicable add food coloring and whip until you achieve stiff and glossy peaks. With a large rubber spatula, fold in half of the powdered sugar and almond flour mixture to the egg whites. Once it is thoroughly incorporated, fold in the remaining mixture until just combined. Be careful not to over mix. Using a piping bag fitted with a ½ -to ¾ inch round tip, pipe the batter onto the prepared sheet pans in rounds about 1 inch in diameter and ¼ to ½ inch thick, about 1 ½ inches apart. Once all of the macarons have been piped rap the sheet pans against the counter a few times to flatten the rounds and pop any air bubbles. For about 20 to 30 minutes allow macarons to rest until they are no longer tacky.
Beyond the Batter Apple Bu"r Filling 1 lb 4 oz Granny Smith apples 2 oz. unsalted butter 6 oz granulated sugar ½ teaspoon salt 4 cinnamon sticks 1 ½ vanilla bean, split and scraped
Heat the oven to 325 F and position racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven.
Baking:
When the macarons are ready to bake place them in the oven and reduce the temperature to 300F. Bake for 8 minutes and then rotate and swap the sheets positions Continue to bake until cookies for about 15 to 20 minutes or until very pale golden. Allow to cool. Meanwhile, bake the third sheet bringing the temperature back up to 325 F and following the same procedures as before.
Method:
Chop the apples into about 8 pieces each. Place all of the pieces, as well as the seeds, stems, and cores, in a medium saucepot. Dice the butter and add it to the apples. Place the remaining apple butter ingredients in the pot. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, and then turn the heat down to medium low. If the apples begin to scorch, turn the heat down to low, stirring the pot every few minutes to prevent scorching. Cook until the apples have cooked through and turned brown, about 3 hours. The mixture will look almost like a paste, and there will be no discernable pieces of apple. Remove the vanilla pods. While the apple butter is still warm, pass it through a ricer. Cover the mixture with plastic wrap and let it cool until it reaches room temperature. One desired temperature is met place into an tight container and refrigerate
These pretzels are just to die for! If you’re a chocolate lover like me you’ll go for these as well as the cake pops! Or if you’re looking to keep it on the lighter side, you could also dip them in yogurt.
CREDITS: PHOTOGRAPHY Marie Labbancz. FLORAL AND EVENT DESIGN Beautiful Blooms Events. PHOTOS COURTESY OF stylemepretty.com CREDITS next page: PHOTOGRAPHY Sarah McKenzie. EVENT DESIGN Two Be Wed. PHOTOS COURTESY OF stylemepretty.com, potterybarn.com. DIY DIRECTIONS Paas.
The Quin!ssential Staple Easter is a great holiday to get everyone in the family to get together and
enjoy some good ole’ fashioned arts and crafts. It’s a tradition my brother and I hold near and dear to our hearts. I can remember setting all of our coffee mugs on the kitchen table with the accompanying spoons like crooked ducks in a row. The strong aromas would circulate the kitchen into the den when we’d carefully measure out the vinegar for the dye. I’d occasionally sneak an extra dye tablet into the designated pink cup – as it was always my favorite color as a little girl. Mom would roll up my sleeves but we always managed to leave the table with our hands and clothes in a muddled rainbow mess. Come Easter Sunday I was honored with the task of placing the eggs on our dining room table. Everyone had an assigned seat and it was my job to give everyone the colored egg I thought they’d like best. I always gave the best one to my dad; bright blue with white polka dots. Its strange to be away this year for Easter, but I can’t wait to share this tradition with the little ones I’ll be celebrating with!
Eggcellent!
How & Dec%a!: Start with clean, cool, hard-boiled eggs.
How To Hard Boil Eggs:
PAAS® Coloring Methods: For Ultra-Vibrant Colored Eggs – add a tablet and 3 tablespoons of vinegar to a PAAS® Color Cups or a 1 cup container.
Place eggs in single layer in saucepan. Add water to at least 1” above eggs.
For Traditional Colored Eggs – add a tablet and 3 tablespoons of lemon juice to a PAAS® Color Cup or a 1 cup container.
Cover. Quickly bring to just boiling. Turn off heat.
For Pastel Colored Eggs – add a tablet and 3 tablespoons of water to a PAAS® Color Cup or a 1 cup container. Once the tablet has dissolved, add ½ cup of water.
If necessary, remove pan from heat to prevent further boiling. Let eggs stand, covered, in the hot water for 15 minutes for large eggs (12 minutes for medium eggs, 18 for extra large eggs) Immediately run cold water over eggs or place them in ice water until completely cooled.
Bend egg dipper. Gently place egg in color bath until desired shade is obtained. The longer the egg stays in the bath, the darker the color will be. Remove egg, drain well, place in drying tray, and let dry.
CREDITS: PHOTOGRAPHY kristin vining. PHOTOS COURTESY OF stylemepretty.com. & potterybarn.com RECIPE william sonoma.
Yields Eight Waffles:
Blue Belgium's Method:
Have all the ingredients at room temperature. Preheat an oven to 200°F. Preheat a Belgian waffle maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Whisk in the buttermilk, butter and vanilla. Over a sheet of waxed paper, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Add the flour mixture to the yolk mixture and whisk until smooth. In another bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Using a rubber spatula, fold half of the egg whites into the batter, then fold in the remaining whites. Cook the waffles according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer to a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven.
3 eggs, separated 1 1/2 cups bu:ermilk 8 Tbs. (1 sAck) unsalted bu:er, melted 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract 1 1/2 cups all-‐purpose flour 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. baking soda 1/4 tsp. salt 3 Tbs. sugar Sweetened whipped cream for serving
Table Toppers
Anything that screams baby chicks, bunnies or ducks are an Easter must. These napkins are my absolute favorite! I wouldn’t even want anyone to use them they’re so stinkin’ cute!