That’s not a typo. That’s just what you get when you mix Betty with a beat.
Several weeks ago, I went on a tour of the Betty Crocker test kitchens and I snapped photos of the Betty portraits throughout the years. There have been eight paintings commissioned to date. But did you know Betty Crocker wasn’t a real person? Well, at least not one person. Instead, she was a composite of several of the company’s Home Service Department members meant to represent a motherly image. (I got that from the tour.) Over the years portraits have been commissioned to update her look with the times.
Personally, I think they should go retro. One of the older ones is definitely my favorite.
Anyway, I thought it would be fun to make a quiz out of the portraits. So, let’s see how good you guys are at guessing.
Below are eight Betty Crocker portraits. Place them in the correct order from oldest to newest. If you list them correctly, you’ll be entered to win………………………………
to win ………………
the new………………
iPod nano … in rocking red of course. Betty likes red. (I’m gonna keep thinking she was real… things are just better that way.)
P.S. … it also shoots video, so I picked up the bigger 16GB hard drive. (You’re welcome.)
Enter to Win
Just enter your answers in this format:
For number 1, enter the letter of the portrait that you think is the oldest painting. List them in order ending with the letter of the portrait you think is the newest for number 8. You can copy and paste the numbers below with your comment and then just fill in the corresponding letters from the above Betty portaits. Who’s game?
oldest
1 =
2 =
3 =
4 =
5 =
6 =
7 =
8 =
newest
Deadline to enter is Tuesday, November 17 at 7:00 pm ET. One winner (with the correct answers) will be chosen at random and announced on this post sometime Tuesday evening.
Good Luck!
Time’s Up! We have a winner.
Man, you guys are good guessers. Really good. Too good. This was way easy for most of you.
Maybe I should have asked for dates of the portraits, or even the artists that painted them. Naaaahh, that would be too mean. Besides, announcing a winner went much quicker this way since I didn’t have to shuffle through a bunch of wrong entries. So thank you all for being so smart.
The answers go like this…
1 = B
2 = A
3 = H
4 = F
5 = C
6 = G
7 = D
8 = E
And here they are in photo order.
And, now for the winner.
Congratulations goes to Sandy T for being lucky number 2473 and being smart enough to have picked them in the right order. One little red iPod nano is coming right at you.
Sesame Street. Pop Party. This Tuesday, November 10th is the 40th Anniversary of Sesame Street. Can you believe it. 40 years and the muppet mania continues. I’ve received no less than 1,299,347 requests for Elmo Cake Pops since I started turning my pops into characters more than a year ago. Okay, I’m exaggerating a little on the number. But seriously … Elmo has been one of the most requested pops. So I decided to finally put what’s been in my head on a lollipop stick.
And it didn’t hurt that just last week I found the perfect candy for Elmo’s ping-pong-like-eyes. Actually … all of their eyes.
Solid white. Perfectly round. Perfect size. And perfect. I found them at Wal-Mart. They were in the card and party supply aisle – not in the candy aisle. I stumbled on them and grabbed a bunch of bags and in different colors, too. It never fails.… As soon as I find something I like, it will be discontinued the next time I look for it.
But don’t worry. You can also use white m&m’s, white chocolate coated espresso beans or any other similar white candy you might be lucky enough to stumble on.
To make your own Sesame Street Cake pops, follow the basic cake pop instructions and use the following tips to decorate.
Elmo’s noses are simply orange jelly beans. Elmo’s mouth is made of candy melts cut in half, and his eyes are drawn on with an edible ink pen.
To decorate all of these characters, dip them in colored candy coating first.
While the coating is wet, attach the mouth and eyes and let dry. When the attachments are dry, you can use a toothpick to drizzle on more coating.
Let me stop here and tell you. This is time consuming. I wanted them all to have the effect of a furry coat, but you can certainly try another method to speed things up. For instance, they can just be smooth and you can pipe the mouths on with black candy writers or draw them on with an edible ink pen.
But I took the long way, since this was a special occasion. You’ll need to drizzle, dab, and dot all over the cake pop. Or at least all over the front of the pop. I won’t tell. Make sure to layer the coating around the mouth. You’ll need to build up a base around the edges to make it look more realistic and less stuck on.
Use the same technique for Cookie Monster. His mouth is bigger than Elmo’s so I tried to shape a lip this time with the candy melts.
Oscar. Let’s talk about Oscar. After I made the first two characters, I wasn’t completely happy with the mouths, so I tried a different technique with the Grouch and I think he liked it. Instead of one candy melt attached to the front, cut the candy melt in half and use both pieces to form an open mouth. This is a little harder because you have to re-shape the cake balls to somewhat in a C-shape (if you were to look at it from the side). This is so the mouth has somewhere to sit. If you try to make the mouth on the outside of the round ball, it won’t look right. Hope that makes sense. Don’t forget to build up the green around the mouth so it looks seamless. Again… these were some work.
Also, Oscar’s eyes are different than the others. His are inset instead of sitting on top of the pop. To achieve the look, cut the candy pieces in half and attach them. When dry, use a brown candy writer or chocolate candy coating and pipe on eyebrows. His tongue is a red jumbo heart sprinkle with the point cut and rounded off.
Here are the candy melts and how you can cut them for each character.
If you can’t find dark chocolate melts, then chocolate coins might work. You’ll have to experiment with the sizes though.
I almost used these, but I stuck with the candy melts because I didn’t have enough coins.
Now for Big Bird. I love Big Bird.
I gotta tell you, when I started making these, I had no idea how I would pull this big guy off. First, I thought yellow sugar pearls or mini yellow m&ms, but none of those looked right for his feathers. So I used sanding sugar sprinkled on top after drizzling to make him look fluffier. His eyelids are decorated with a pink and a blue edible ink pen. His beak is candy corn with the end cut off to make it easier to attach.
Dip the candy corn in yellow candy melts. But only if the candy coating is thin and fluid like this. By the way, this coating is Merckens and has nothing added to make it this thin. It was heated in the microwave on med-low in 30 second intervals and stirred in between. But if your coating is too thick, you can add some paramount crystals, shortening or vegetable oil to help thin it out. And if it’s not thin, then don’t try to dip the candy corn because it will just be a big glob and not pretty on Big Bird.
Here are a few beaks. Let them dry on wax paper. Or just skip all that and give Big Bird an uncoated orange candy corn beak.
(Anybody tired yet? It’s almost too much to even read about doing. I think I need a nap.)
Below, you can see what I mean with the different mouth variations.
Aren’t they just the cutest. But something is missing. Cookie Monster is smiling, but he’s not happy. He needs cookies.
Yes. Cookies. Coooooookies!
Tiny… little … itty-bitty chocolate chip…
There… much better!
Stop it. I can’t stand it. Head exploding. Cute overload.
Here you go. This is for everyone that likes it when I bite into one of these. Poor little Cookie Monster.
Now, a lot of you have sent in photos of your own Elmo Pops. I just haven’t done a great job of keeping track of them all. If you’d like to re-send, maybe I can do a little slideshow or something to show them off. Or any other Sesame Street ones you may have done.
November 10th, 2009.
40 Years of Sesame Street and one happy day.
Kisses to you, Jim Henson.
Wish you were still with us.
You see… you guys blew me away today with all your comments. I can’t believe how many of you have made Ree’s recipes. Seriously… UH-MAZING! (And, thanks for all the suggestions by the way!) It makes me smile inside to read how many people enjoy her site as much as I do.
So, today, because reading all your comments put me in such a good mood.
And also, because I realized my blog had it’s 2nd anniversary over the weekend. Yeah … two whole years. Well, that made me pretty happy, too.
So I ran to the bookstore to score some more cookbooks for you. You guys have made this blog so much fun. It’s been an adventure every day. I’m not going to get all mushy or anything, but I just want to thank you all for being so great and stopping by to visit. There. I’m stopping right there before I make myself cry.
Anyway, there’s not gonna be one winner. There’s gonna be four. (That’s all they had left.)
This IS the best chocolate sheet cake ever. And I’m not just saying that because it’s the only one I’ve ever eaten. It IS delicious. And super moist and oh so chocolatey.
I’m officially in love. With the cake, not the Pioneer Woman. Well, maybe PW, too.
If you don’t know who I’m referring to (laughing as I type that), here’s her site:
I visited her and the family earlier this year at her ranch in Oklahoma and we baked cupcakes and made cake pops for some guests. Actually, she made this chocolate sheet cake recipe then for the cupcakes we used. However, we made a different frosting to decorate with so I didn’t get to experience the full effect. I don’t know what took me so long to try her complete recipe. I’m kicking myself now. It’s so easy and pretty darn quick, too. You don’t even need a mixer. Nope. No mixer. But you do need a 12 X 18 jelly roll pan. I think that’s what deterred me a little. I kept picturing a 12 X 18 cake sitting on my counter. And, well… that’s a lot of cake.
But then, a couple of weeks ago I received a surprise from the UPS guy… or girl…
It was PW’s soon-to-be-released cookbook. I was so excited to see it. I got a preview of the cover back in March and here it was. Finished. Full of Pictures. And Full of Recipes.
That settled it. No more procrastinating. Chocolate Sheet Cake here I come.
You’ll need 2 cups flour and 1/4 teaspoon of salt to start. Easy enough.
Then pour on the sugar. Two cups of the sweet stuff. I like how this is going.
Melt some butter. Two sticks. Thank you.
While it’s melting, stir together 1/2 cup buttermilk, two eggs, 1 teaspoon baking soda…
And add a little vanilla. A teaspoon to be exact.
Back to the butter. Drop in four heaping tablespoons of cocoa please.
Mix that all up.
Add a cup of boiling water and stir. Let bubble for just a minute and turn then off the heat.
Then pour that over your flour, sugar and salt mixture and stir it all together.
Add the buttermilk mixture and stir until it’s smooth.
Anyone having a little deja vous here? I kinda feel like PW right about now with all these step-by step photos. But really, I couldn’t resist posting all of these pouring shots.
See… here’s another one. Look at that batter. It’s glorious.
Place the pan in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes. I did 18.
And while the cake is baking, you can make the icing.
Melt some more butter. One and 3/4 sticks this time. Add four more heaping tablespoons of cocoa and stir together.
Then add 6 Tablespoons milk and one teaspoon vanilla. Here’s the only thing I did differently. I didn’t have any milk. I know… that bites. So instead I used four tablespoons of evaporated milk mixed with two tablespoons of water. I could have gone all six evaporated, but I wanted to play it safe.
Add ONE POUND of confectioner’s sugar. Thank you again PW. This is definitely going in the right direction.
Mix that all up really, really good. You can also add a 1/2 cup of chopped pecans, but I didn’t have any of those either. And actually, I’m glad I didn’t. This cake was just the way I like it. Non-crunchy.
After the cake is baked , immediately pour on the good stuff. Work the icing all over the cake, so you’ll have less spreading to do. Those little lumps in the photo are just bits of confectioner’s sugar. If you don’t add nuts, you’ll have to stir this really good to get them all out or sift your sugar first. But who has time for that when this cake is waiting.
Let the cake cool completely. Just kidding. Just dig right in.
It was the…
Wait… I need another bite to make sure.
It was the…
Best chocolate sheet cake ever.
By the way, this 12 X 18 cake taking up space on the counter? Don’t even think twice about it. The cake won’t last that long.
Man, I really wish I had some milk right now.
The cake was so good, that I had to take a picture of it on this pedestal. Right where it belongs.
Make this cake. Now. Seriously.
Here is the full recipe from the Pioneer Woman to make things easier for you to follow.
Or you could go out and get a copy of The Pioneer Woman Cooks. However, I’m changing the title to The Pioneer Woman Bakes because she has no less than fifteen sweet recipes included in this thing. You might also like:
Cinnamon Rolls
Iny’s Prune Cake
Buttermilk Biscuits
Marmalade Muffins
French Breakfast Puffs
Maple Pecan Scones
Perfect Pie Crust
Patsy’s Blackberry Cobbler
Flat Apple Pie
Chocolate Sheet Cake
Mocha Brownies
Oatmeal Crispies
Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Peach Crisp with Maple Cream Sauce
Red Velvet Cake
Plus … there’s all the real food
Here’s a peek inside.
But you don’t need to peek, because… guess what… I went to the store the same day this book was released and bought another copy to share.
That’s right. One for me and one for you. Well, one of you.
Just leave a comment on this post and let me know:
Have you tried any of Ree’s recipes from her site? Or which one should I try next? And if you don’t know Ree (thepioneerwoman.com) yet, then just go ahead and thank me for introducing you. I’m pretty sure you’ll like her site.
Leave your comment with a way for me to contact you if you win.
Deadline to enter is Monday, November 2nd at 7 p.m. ET
One winner will be chosen at random and announced sometime Monday evening on this post. TIMES UP! Here’s the winner!
I can’t stand spiders (ick), yet I can’t seem to stop making them for Halloween.
Some of the first cupcakes I ever tried to decorate were these spiders two Halloweens ago. The legs are licorice. They’re really easy to assemble. Just sprinkle chocolate jimmies on top of dark chocolate frosting and insert licorice legs. Plop on a couple of red mini m&m’s and you’re good to go.
Then, last year I tried to make some Spider Cake Pops. Again with licorice legs. (These aren’t as easy because the legs are too fragile hanging like this. Not one of my favorite cake pop designs.)
A couple of weeks ago I made these Spider Cookies. No licorice this time. Just cute.
And now…
Some more spiders… scary spiders. And you guessed it… licorice legs once again and with fangs, too.
But, these aren’t cookies and they don’t have cake inside. These are brownies. They’re brownie bites… No, they’re Spider Bites!
A website hired me to contribute a recipe for a fun Halloween treat. Me? That’s really hard to wrap my head around. I wonder if they realize I don’t really know what I’m doing half the time.
Now, if you pay attention, you might figure out who I made these for before I even tell you.
You just need some basic ingredients to make the brownies.
These are gonna be good.
So good that I wanted to stop here and eat them. All of them.
But no. Then I’d have to make another batch of brownies to roll.
Licorice wheels. I blame you.
There’s something about these things that make me want to unroll them and stick them in food.
Did I mention that I don’t even like licorice?
Admit it. You want to play with them, too.
These are raspberry and blackberry gumdrops. The red ones make great spooky eyes.
Did you guess who I made these for? Did you see the hint? Please tell me you did.
Alright, if you really want to know, she has several cookbooks, TV shows, a newly re-designed website and best of all she loves butter.
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