Hello!
Well, today is my last day of break, so I’m soaking up one more morning without an alarm clock and hope to get my house back into shape…it’s been a process!
Did you catch my “Year in Review” yesterday? I didn’t publish it until mid-morning, but I wanted to start the new year off with a post. I’m trying to get back in the blogging groove.
This time last year, I shared a year’s worth of movies that we watched.
In 2022, my friend and her daughter baked a cake every month, and I loved that idea as a focus for 2023. Hadley loves to bake, and I have a sweet tooth, so I thought that would be fun to do.
We started off strong, but some months I did the baking and other times, we both did. Also, we ended up making other desserts besides cakes.
Here’s what we baked in 2023.
January:
We started the year off making this Chocolate Chip cake.
Hadley did the baking and most of the decorating.
February:
In February, we made Shay’s Red Velvet Bundt Cake.
We were at Target and found an icing kit and sprinkles, so Hadley decorated it.
March:
With the help of my niece, Hadley made Andrea’s Lime Poke Cake. It was easy and delish.
April:
We didn’t end up baking a cake in April, but we did try two new dessert recipes.
Shays Fruity Pebbles Neiman Marcus bars were an unexpected hit! I wasn’t sure about the Fruity Pebbles, but they definitely made this dessert.
Hadley made these Peanut Butter Blossom bars for family dinner dessert. We put some candles in them to celebrate my mom’s birthday a couple of weeks early.
May:
As the month wrapped up, I realized we hadn’t made any desserts.
I decided to make “Strawberry Shortcake Trifles.” We baked white cake, cubed it, and put it in Mason jars. We layered the dessert with Cool Whip and strawberries.
June:
Hadley made Oven Baked S’more Bars, and they were so good. Seeing this pic makes me want her to make them again.
July:
I couldn’t wait to make “Chocolate Zucchini Cake” in July. I’ve previously shared this recipe that I got from a friend years ago. We used zucchini from our garden.
Sometimes I ice it with Cool Whip. Other times I just put a dollop on after slicing.
August:
In August, we made Shay’s Key Lime Poke Cake. I made it once last summer, and wanted to make it again. Serve it with a dollop of Cool Whip. It’s so good.
September:
I made Apple Cider Donut Cake, and it was a big hit. My brother actually made it a few weeks later, and we enjoyed it again.
October:
I made Pumpkin Crinkle Cookies the weekend before Halloween. I’ve made this recipe before, but this time the cookies didn’t turn out quite right. They tasted fine but were sticky. I wonder if I missed an ingredient? haha
November:
Of course, we made Pumpkin Pie in November and used the recipe straight off the Libby’s pumpkin can.
December:
Per tradition, we baked cookies in December. We made Peanut Butter Blossoms, Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies (I add in 2 teaspoons of peppermint extract), and for the first time, Cornflake Wreaths.
Another tradition is having Shay’s Peppermint Mocha Bundt Cake for Christmas Eve dessert.
It was a great year of baking!
I’m not sure what, if anything, will be a focus this year. I’m drawing a blank for now. Let me know if you have any ideas!
The past two years have been “forced family fun” via movies and desserts. haha
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