Because of Martha... Easter dessert

Easter is always a great time for eating and hanging out with family and friends. After a beautiful morning at church, I was ready to do some baking in the kitchen. My sisters handled the appetizer (vegetable kebabs) and the main course (rack of lamb, asparagus, roasted potatoes, corn on the cob), and I dominated the desserts. Hit the jump for more on the dishes.

Because of Martha Stewart Living's "puzzle cookie" recipe, I was able to create a fun, easy dish for a little girl to enjoy (the only child at the shindig). I have to admit that I used a Pillsbury sugar cookie package, but I did not have the time to gather ingredients at the last minute. So, I skipped the hard work and got straight to the fun. Basically, after baking the cookies for the amount of time indicated on the package, I cut the eggs into two separate pieces and decorated them individually. They were fun and I used some Writing Icing (CakeMate) and Wilton Fondant Writers to make them look great. I also did some flowers that were not cut and an image of them is below as well as the egg puzzle cookies.

The best is saved for last. The Strawberry Cream Cake from the July 08 issue of Everyday Food provided guests with a simple, fresh dessert with a hint of summer in it. The cake was not super sweet and it borrowed a lot of its flavor from the strawberries. It is not terribly hard to make and you can prepare it up to one day ahead of time I recommend using more than 1 lb of strawberries, but it's up to you. Give it a try this summer when you are looking for a sweet fix.