abcdefghijklM&Mnopqrstuvwxyz

In true Sigita fashion, I baked Christmas, sorry, Holiday cookies for my 2nd graders. 

They requested m&m cookies. After some internet research, I found a fantastic recipe. For fun, I added extra Ghirardelli chocolate chips (by far my favorite chocolate chips to bake with!)

mmm mmm mmm! 

festive holiday sprinkles 

all wrapped up and ready to go! 

sweet Christmas notes from students!

I'm so happy my cookies are deluise :) 

Cookies with Coco

Spent the day baking with some of my favorite gals.

recipe

little hands at work!

she loved the red dough :)

Christmas gift bites :)

donut be afraid!

Yet another baking adventure I embarked on while in Denmark. 

Baked Donuts. 

soft, doughy, perfect. 

cinnamon sugar donuts 

vanilla glazed donuts 

 ( Recommended recipe )

what's up, buttercup?

While spending so much time abroad, I began to miss little details of American life. Like peanut butter cups. I randomly craved them one day in Denmark and..well..  I made some. The recipe is simple. I made my own, but there are tons online. 

Peanut butter cups

You'll need: dark (or milk) chocolate, peanut butter, salt, powdered sugar 

Simply melt dark chocolate and add a dollop of peanut butter to the melted chocolate. In a separate bowl, combine a few spoonfuls of peanut butter and a few spoonfuls of powdered sugar. Really, it's up to your taste buds. Add more sugar if you want it sweeter. A pinch of salt in the peanut butter + powdered sugar mixture provides a nice flavor balance.

I used mini cupcake liners, but you can use normal sized ones for some serious peanut butter cups. 

Start by adding a spoonful of melted chocolate into the bottom of each cup. Then, add a spoonful of peanut butter mixture. Top it off with more melted chocolate. Top with sprinkles (a cute addition when serving to kids) and refrigerate. 

They're quick, easy and delicious! 

sprinkles for the kiddos 

perfect addition to your afternoon coffee 

what's crackin'?

Graham crackers. I'd say a staple item in many households...good for baking, snacking, building, creating. We were never a graham cracker family, though. Never did I get them in my lunch bag, never were we the family to bring the s'mores fixings on our Catalina trips. But, considering all the cool things you can do with graham crackers (helloooo, gingerbread houses!!), I'd say they're a pretty nifty snack food.

Earlier this year I lived with my lovely Danish family in Denmark. Ok, let's get some things straight...when I refer to my 'Danish family' (which I will be referring to often, as they are a huge part of my life), I'm talking about the family with whom I lived for 3 years in Lithuania and then lived with in Denmark for a few months. Ok, so back to the story. While living with my cozy Danish family, I decided what a perfect opportunity to try out recipes for the kids and their friends! Score! I will ALWAYS find a reason to bake, and kids are ALWAYS a perfect audience. While in Denmark, I taught English at the local school. I worked with grades 3, 5 and 7 and taught lessons on English grammar, sentence structure and vocabulary development. In addition to teaching English, I also found myself talking about American culture often... including explaining the concept of s'mores. It's an unusual concept for a non-American, yet brilliant when you actually think about it. A toasted gooey marshmallow nuzzled with a slab of slowly melting chocolate, sandwiched between two crispy cookie crackers? Ummmmmmmm..... give me...s'more. Determined to bring these s'mores to life, and unsuccessful in finding graham crackers at local grocery stores, I found a delightful recipe online. The. kids. loved. loved. loved. s'mores. The homemade graham crackers only made the treat more decadent. 

This time, I made the graham crackers, but cut them into shapes and gifted them to my 3rd graders at Lithuanian School :)  Success! 

the recipe yields tons and tons of these cookies!

decorate with a simple powdered sugar + water icing! 

two little buddies. 

all wrapped up! 

sew cute!

I'm all about saving money. Well, more like, spending money where it's absolutely necessary and creatively compensating for things that do not necessary have to be store-bought. Like stationery. Think about it... you spend a lot of money on cute cards and then what? Is the recipient going to FRAME your beautiful, expensive card? Are they going to display it on their mantle for more than a week or so? No and no. Waste of money! Solution? Make your own!

Cute as a button cards: fun, simple, so cute and so easy to personalize.

You can add as many buttons as you wish! I made simple cards and I'll use them for thank you notes to students during the holidays.

All you need: colorful card stock paper, a needle, fun colored thread and oodles of buttons! 

Sigi says: 

This project can also be done with kids! Use larger, dull needles and yarn for a more playful look.

Les Macarons

I was formally introduced to these colorful bites of perfection during my first trip to Paris. While living in Lithuania, I was literally a hop, skip and a jump away from Europe's finest cities! During Fall of 2009 one of my best gals Aleksandra was studying abroad in Paris. Perfect excuse for a weekend getaway! Due to Aleksandra's impeccable tour-guiding skills, I saw the best of Paris within 2 full days of being there. In addition to the essential landmarks, we, without a doubt, visited the quaint Laduree shop. Exquisite ceilings, beautifully ornate interior, the most delicate pastries (more like pieces of art!) on display through the sparkling glass counter. Love at first sight! I opted for the selection of macarons that came in the adorable box (which I now use to store little items on my vanity). The macarons at Laduree melt in your mouth...you can taste every flavor detail with each bite. Although small in size, macarons are not made for chomping, they're meant for delicate bites, savoring every morsel along the way.

These little treats are seemingly difficult to master, yet, I must admit, after sufficient research and determination, my first batch came out quite well :)

While living in Denmark earlier this year, I embraced the magic of macarons. I studied recipes and tips online, compared step-by-step instructions from various cookbooks and finally just did it. I converted all measurements to metric and camped out in the kitchen. These babies took a lot of patience, oven-babysitting and precision. But it was all sooooo worth it. They were AMAZING :):) 

diligent note-taking during the macaron making process :) 

First batch: vanilla bean with chocolate buttercream filling

Second batch: raspberry vanilla bean with raspeberry jam filling

... a few highlights from the trip ... 

dames at Notre Dame :) Paris 2009

Lovely Laduree 

perfection 

beauties 

almost too beautiful to even dream of eating! 

ah, yes... if you're interested in the recipe I put together, don't hesitate to ask!

baking buddies.

baking with my little angel, Emilie :) 

One smart cookie

Sugar cookies are the answer to everything. Want to make a child smile? Sugar cookies. Have nothing to do on a Friday night? Sugar cookies. Need a dessert for your hootenanny? Sugar cookies. Want to bring a treat for your students but can't think of anything? Sugar cookies. Want to spend 5 hours in your kitchen listening to Christmas music? Sugar cookies. 


Naturally, I have the Martha Stewart cookie app on my iPhone, which is where I get all my  cookie recipes. This particular recipe is simple, yields about 1 million cookies and is absolutely delicious! (I sometimes add a bit of cinnamon) 


As for the icing... you can use the simple powdered sugar + water combo - be sure to add a few drops of water at a time until you reach the desired consistency.  However, I prefer royal icing - it's thicker and can be used in a pastry bag for precise decorating :) 

glitter hearts. 

cookie decorating with my 3rd graders at Lithuanian School :) 

Halloween cookies for my 2nd grade at CMCS

I baked 100+ cookies so Mama could celebrate her birthday with her students :) 

note the adorable apron from my sis, Inga :) 

just for fun 

engagement rings and martini glasses for Auste's bachelorette weekend :) 

lingerie cookies for Auste's bachelorette weekend :) 

Guardian Angel cookies for my students' First Communion 

just for fun :) 

Banjo cookies for Dad's hootenanny