Owl Bookmark and Sweet Saturday!

Happy Saturday, my dear friends! I hope your weekend is sunshiny and sparkly. :o)

I hesitated to share this bookmark with you today, only because I am disappointed with it. I don't say that often, as you know. The only part of this that came out as intended is the happy owl himself. I love him! My vision was to have him nestled amongst flower blossoms within a tree, as if he was snuggled up with the book the recipient will be reading. Instead, I fear it looks like I made him part peacock. Teehee! It was one of those projects that just didn't go as planned in most facets. But it's all I've had time to complete because I'm working on my Copic 'skills'... so that's taking up my limited crafting time. I'm determined to use them on a project this weekend, so we'll soon see if I've made any technical progress. ;)

One more thing before I share my bookmark and tasty treat! I got a gift from my super sweet boyfriend today. Guess what it is? A GYPSY!!!!! I cannot believe I have one! I wanted to faint. SO excited to learn how to use it! Oh the joy of not hand-cutting shaped cards any longer, plus a million other things! :o)

Here he is! Isn't he so cute? Even with peacock feathers, if that's what my mom thinks they are. ;)

One way to shake off a less-than-successful creativity session is to bake! My mom is absolutely crazy about snickerdoodle cookies, but I found something even better... Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake! Oh yes, it exists. It is truly fabulous and my mom fell in love with it.

The dark skies didn't help me here, but the gorgeous topping sparkles like a bottle of glitter. :o)

This legitimately tastes like a massive snickerdoodle cookie. While I love the cookies, I don't make them because the authentic recipes use shortening and I just *cannot* get myself to use it. So when I stumbled upon this recipe, the joy was palpable! The entire crust (even the bottom) is coated in a sparkling cinnamon-sugar mixture, giving it a lovely crunch. (And it is SO sparkly.) The cake is perfectly moist, with a cinnamon-sugar band that is both lovely and delicious. This comes together so simply (and my-oh-my, is the batter ever tasty) and I will certainly be making this again soon. My entire family loved it, from pre-teen to 70! :o)

Note: The recipe as stated uses a 9-inch Bundt pan, but I only have the large 12-cup, 10-inch capacity pan. I took it out a few minutes earlier than the minimum bake time, and it was perfect. Now go make this cake! (Recipe just a smidgen below!)

Before I flutter off, I want to show you something... take a peek at this adorable badge:

That's right! The wonderful Whimsical Wednesday Design Team is having a Halloween Blog Hop! It's never too early to be excited about something, right? I'm anxious to see what everyone comes up with for the fun event. :o)

Have a beautiful day, my sweet friends! Thank you for taking a moment to visit :o)

Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 cup white sugar

2½ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon Kosher salt

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup white sugar

1 cup light brown sugar

3 eggs, at room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup full-fat sour cream, at room temperature

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine 1 cup of sugar and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. Mix together really well and preheat oven to 325º F. Generously spray a 9-inch Bundt pan with Pam with Flour, being careful to cover all nooks and crannies, as well as the center tube. (Alternatively, grease the pan with shortening.) Gently dust the entire inside of the pan with the sugar and cinnamon mixture. You should only need about ¼ to ½ cup of the mixture, but be sure to evenly coat the inside surface of the pan, including the tube. Save the remaining cinnamon-sugar mixture and set everything aside.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat just the butter on medium speed for one full minute. Add the white sugar and mix for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl and blade, then add the brown sugar.

Mix for 2 minutes until the mixture is light brown and uniform in color. Add the eggs one at a time, beating each for one full minute. Stir in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with the sour cream; beat well.

Spread half of the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle ¼ to ⅓ of a cup of the cinnamon- sugar mixture over the top. Spread the rest of the batter into the pan and sprinkle any remaining cinnamon-sugar mixture over the top. (If you run out of the mixture, simply mix together ¼ cup of sugar + ½ teaspoon of cinnamon for the top of the cake.)

Bake in the preheated oven for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Source: My Baking Addiction

Key Recipe Components (for bookmark):

 * Cricut cartridge: Cindy Loo

 * Paper: Core'dinations, Papertrey Ink, stash

 * Ribbon: Essentials

 * Miscellaneous: Heart punch, K and Company die-cut flower (I traced one onto the main paper to double it up)