More cookies. Did you expect anything else?

I like when baking has a purpose. Sure, baking for the sake of a sugar fix is great, but having a reason to make something is even better - and what better reason than a holiday?

Do you know, there was not one shamrock-shaped cookie cutter within a 20 mile radius of me? Believe me, I looked. And looked. I left no stone, uh, store, unturned. I fumed. I pouted. In the end, I just got all Martha Stewart on the cookies.

I cut out a shamrock stencil and make sprinkle designs on the sugar cookies. I cut the cookies out with a flower shaped cutter. You do what you have to do.

I used the same sugar cookie I always do, off the PPK, and got 15 good sized cookies. As always, very popular at work.

While hopped up on jelly beans, I decided that they would be great in something (other than my stomach). Some of my best ideas are induced by sugar. Anywho, lately I have been feeling neglectful of my VWaV, so I wanted to make something I haven't yet. I used the Macadamia Nut Blondies recipe, and instead of nuts used SweeTart Jelly Beans and left off the caramel topping. It was an interesting experiment that turned out really good! I was expecting failure. I don't know why, because candy makes everything better. Here's the good:

In the pan, nothing special, but out of the pan...

Look at the colors! Preeeeeeeetty.

Artsy. The blondies were chewy and delicious. The jelly beans melted, so when you bit into the blondie, you got little bursts of sugary goo. It was much better than that description makes it sound. Surprisingly well received at work.

And to bring it all together, I made banana nut muffins. Not just any muffins...

Bunny-shaped muffins! Ha! I got the pan at Goodwill last month. Who would give up such a thing?

Straight outta the oven, not so bunny-like.

You can kind of tell it's a bunny, right? The recipe I used is my favorite go-to banana bread, the Lower Fat Banana Bread from V-con, with walnuts added. I was out of applesauce (okay, it was old and moldy - I don't use it much) so I used extra banana in its place. Moist and banana-y.

Gratuitous kitty shot: