This past weekend my sister and I hosted a baby shower for my sister-in-law in St. Paul, MN. Since we both came in from different states we decided that we wanted the menu, games and decorations to be simple and fun. My sister with help from our mom, handled the menu and made three delicious salads and finger sandwiches… I promise to post all of those recipes as soon as she emails them to me.

I handled the game, which I wanted to make completive, fun and creative and non-traditional, so I thought of “Baby Project Runway.”

Here are the rules:

Break the party up in to design teams based on the size of your party. Give each team a onesie and access to fabric, ribbon, scissors, fabric glue, safety pins and a needle and thread.

In the same style of the show Project Runway, explain to them that they have (number) of minutes to create a onesie for a style, ie Rock ‘n Roll, Hippie Chic, Jetsetter, etc with the supplies available to them (I put everything on one table).

When time runs out give everyone a stuffed animal or baby doll to wear the onesie and have a fashion show, just like they do on the show. Oh and the judge or “Heidi” is the Mom-to-be.

I think I might have missed something, so post if you have questions about the game.

I had such a great time at the shower and it was so nice seeing all the love my future niece or nephew has waiting for it. I almost forgot! For my baby gift I made the felted slippers and the Classic Baby Cardigan from Debbie Bliss’ Essential Baby.

I finally finished Ella’s log cabin baby blanket! You all have heard me talk about this blanket so much already, so I’ll spare you the detail but I wanted to show off the final photos.

In high school, Pop Tarts kept me alive. I was usually running late for class, and I would always bring one to have for breakfast during first period. Nowadays, I wouldn’t think eating them, but when I saw the recipe for them in Home Baked Comfort, “past Calley” insisted “present-day Calley” make them.

Making the pop tarts was a three-step process. One: making the dough; two: making the filling; three: cutting and assembling the pop tarts. So, the total time it took me to make these bad boys was 2 hours. I made the dough on Saturday night (about 30 minutes) and refrigerated it overnight. The next day, I did steps two and three -they weren’t very hard steps, but because you have to roll the dough out in such a precise way, it took longer than, say, rolling out dough for cookies.

I wouldn’t do anything different for the ingredients, but I have made a few edits to the steps. Click here to download a pdf of the recipe.

Dough
2 cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup confectioners’ sugar
½ tsp kosher salt
10 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1 large egg yolk
1/3 cup whole milk

Filling
¾ cup jam – I used raspberry
2 tsp cornstarch mixed with 1 tsp cold water

Glaze
1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 tsp whole milk
2 tsp corny syrup
½ tsp pure vanilla extract

Dough:
I a food processor or with a pastry cutter, combine the flour, confectioners’ sugar, and salt and process until blended. Add the butter and processs until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Add the egg yolk and milk and process until the dough just comes together. If the dough is not coming together, ad a splash of milk until it does. Dump the dough onto 2 large sheets of overlapping plastic wrap. Press the dough into a disk, wrap with the plastic wrap, and refrigerate for about 30 minutes or overnight.

Filling
In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch and water. In a small saucepan, cook the jam and cornstarch mixture over medium heat -don’t walk away from the stovetop- stirring, until slightly thickened and bubbly. Remove from stovetop and let cool.

Assembly

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.  On a lightly floured work surface, dived the dough in half and form each half into a rough rectangle.  Roll one rectangle until it measures about 16 by 9 inches (40 by 23 cm). Using a ruler and a pizza cutter, cut the dough into 12 small rectangles, each about 3 by 4 inches (7.5 by 10 cm). Set the rectangles on a baking sheet and refrigerate while you repeat with the other piece of dough.

Lay half of the rectangles on the lined baking sheet and lightly brush with the beaten egg.  Dollop a tablespoon of the filling on to the center of each rectangle.  Spread it out on the dough, leaving a border of ½ inch (12mm). Top with a plain dough rectangle and press the edges together with your finger tips being careful not to let the filling ooze from the sides. With a fork, crimp the edges and prick the centers – just like a pie. Put them in the refrigerator.

Position 2 oven racks evenly in the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Bake the tarts, rotating the pans once halfway through, until golden brown, 15-18 minutes.  Remove the tarts form the pan onto a wire rack and let them cool.

Glaze (optional)
Whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, milk, corn syrup and vanilla until smooth. Smear the glaze on the tarts. If you’d like add sprinkles. Let them sit for a bit to let the glaze set.