Easter Dinner

We had a special little Easter dinner with my little family this week since next week we are going to spend it away with family.

I just love tulips and used them as the centerpiece. Even though there were just 7 stems, they made such a delightful statement.  I really think tulips are one of the happiest flowers.  However they sit, tall or floppy, they always look nice.  

I had the little kids be in charge of the mini baskets, and they had fun filling each of them.  They filled them with Cadbury eggs and crinkle confetti, and of course we couldn't use the confetti without throwing it everywhere, and we caught my little boy, Finnegan, getting the biggest kick out of himself, thinking he had colored his lips with the eggs.  I'm not sure if he ever realized it, but they weren't actually the colored eggs, and didn't even color his lips at all.

Each place setting got a special little packaged cookie for later.  I'm pretty sure some of us ate our weight in cookies, but at least they were enjoyed!

I hope this week is a beautiful celebration of Easter for you.  It's one of the most meaningful celebrations for me and my little family.  I'm sharing one of my favorite buttercream frostings below

xoxo

Coconut Lime Buttercream

1 cup butter

1/4 sour cream

Juice of 2 limes

1 teaspoon coconut extract

5-6 cups powdered sugar

1-2 T of water, as needed

The trick to this recipe is whipping your butter and wet ingredients (everything except the powdered sugar) for about 2+ minutes.  Beat in a stand mixer, or handheld, until your butter is shiny and glossy. Then, slowly stir in your powdered sugar.  I do this by par-beating until the sugar and butter begin to mix.  Then, I turn my mixer on regular speed.  Add food coloring after the frosting has come together (if you want colored frosting).  Finally, finish by beating everything together for about 1 minute.  

With buttercream, you want a lot of air to be incorporated into it, so it's full and creamy.  Continue beating until it's nice and smooth.  The perfect buttercream has just the right balance between being creamy and thick.  You want it to still be a frosting that can hold it's shape, but not too thick; almost like a paste.  And you definitely don't want your frosting to be runny.  In the recipe, I suggest 1-2 T of water, and 5-6 cups of powdered sugar.  I have found that different climates produce different frostings.  Add less at first, and then add more, as needed.  

These pretty little girls are a great team, and I''m so thankful they have each other.

 Here he is in all his mischief, or so he thinks.  I absolutely adore every piece of him!