Birthday Weekend Recipes

This weekend, we celebrated my youngest sibling's 19th birthday.  Brianne requested German chocolate cake for her birthday cake and artichoke spinach lasagna for dinner.  I had my own request for her birthday visit and that was to make sugar cookie cut-outs because they're much more fun to make and decorate with others.

German Chocolate Cake Recipe

This cake is a family favorite and often requested for birthdays.  I have now tweaked my recipe because when I made the cake last month for my dad's birthday I had too much frosting and this month I was short on frosting (as you can tell from the exposed edges). 

Artichoke Spinach Lasagna Recipe

I've made this for a dozen or so meat eaters now and all of them have really liked it.  It's a great vegetarian lasagna to make for guests!  I love that this recipe is easy to make, and that leftovers reheat very well.

Valentine's Sugar Cookie Cut-Outs Recipe with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

I like making cut-out cookies for many holidays, but Valentine's is one of my favorites because you only need one cookie-cutter shape (granted I used 5 different hearts), only a couple frosting colors and just a few colors of sprinkles are needed.

I've tried several different recipes, but my favorite is from a Betty Crocker cookbook.  Actually, it's from the first cookbook I ever bought.  I grew up helping my dad bake from it and needed my own copy in 1998 when I moved into my first apartment, after the dorms.

I know royal icing is popular for cut-out cookies but I've never tried it because I'm so accustomed to topping sugar cookies with vanilla buttercream frosting (recipe also from Betty Crocker).  Cookies with other types of frosting just don't taste right to me.