Easter Special

Eas!r

By My Bellissima

Eas!r

Love, Lauren    

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!          

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  

the quintessential staple how to decorate your easter eggs

blueberry belgium’s a recipe from williams sonoma table toppers use your favorite spring critters

CREDITS: PHOTOGRAPHY ashleigh taylor photography. PHOTOS COURTESY OF stylemepretty.com

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 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!      

CREDITS: PHOTOGRAPHY Abby Jui. PLANNING AND COORDINATION Atrendy Wedding. FLORALS Lynn Vale Studios. PHOTOS COURTESY OF weddingchicks.com

Tulips and Teapots

CREDITS: RECIPE Adapted from Caitlin Knoop. TABLE DECOR Casa de Perrin. PHOTOS COURTESY OF weddingchicks.com

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.

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.

Must Have Macarons

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

 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!

How & Dec%a!:  

Start with clean, cool, hard-boiled 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.

For Traditional Colored Eggs – add a tablet and 3 tablespoons of lemon juice to a PAAS® Color Cup or a 1 cup container.

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.

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.    

Eggcellent! How To Hard Boil Eggs:

Place eggs in single layer in saucepan. Add water to at least 1” above eggs.

Cover. Quickly bring to just boiling. Turn off heat.

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.

CREDITS: PHOTOGRAPHY kristin vining. PHOTOS

COURTESY OF stylemepretty.com. &

potterybarn.com RECIPE william sonoma.

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.

Blue Belgium's

Yields Eight Waffles: 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  

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!

Table Toppers