Thursday, 29 March 2012

Chocolate Truffles & Milkybar Marshmallow Crispies ( Quick Treats)

Just thought I would share  some ideas for some quick tasty treats that dont require a lot of time or skill. I made these last night, for some guests coming over and I'll admit they went down pretty well.. ;)





Chocolate Truffles

What You Will Need:

50g Icing Sugar
50g Margarine
6 Digestives (crushed)
1 Small bar Dairy Milk ( 6 blocks)
1 teaspoon cocoa
Splash Vanilla Essence
Chocolate Sprinkles

Method:

Cream together the icing sugar and margarine and add the splash of vanilla essence

Melt Chocolate in the microwave in short bursts and stir until it has completely melted

Add the melted chocolate and the teaspoon of cocoa to the buttercream mixture and stir in.

Crush the digestive biscuits and add to the mixture and stir

Roll chocolate in small balls and coat with chocolate sprinkles or you can grate chocolate and dip it in that.

Put in fridge to set for about 30 - 45 minutes until they are the right consistency.

STORE TRUFFLES IN THE FRIDGE AT ALL TIMES.

This is very important as if u dont, it will alter the taste and they dont taste as pleasant at room temperature!






MilkyBar & Marshmallow Crispies

What You Will Need:

Family Bar MilkyBar (100g)
Marshmallows ( as many as you like)
Rice Krispies
Sprinkles
Cake Cases

Method:

Melt the Milkybar in the microwave

Chop up marshmallows so they are smaller, then melt slightly in the microwave for 10 secs

Combine two mixtures

Add Rice Krispies and stir together

Scoop out mix and put into cake cases and chill in fridge for at least half an hour

Simples! :)

I also recommend keeping these in the fridge too!

Enjoy!

Helen xX




Monday, 26 March 2012

Choc Chip Shortbread

Really Simple Yummy Chocolate Chip Shortbread!




What You Will Need:

225g Plain Flour
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
225g Butter
100g Caster Sugar
125g Chocolate Chips
Splash Vanilla Essence



Method:

Pre- heat oven to 160 degrees

In a bowl, cream together the butter and the sugar til its light and fluffy and add a splash of the vanilla essence

Sieve in the flour and baking powder, then add the chocolate chips

Scoop dough into balls and place on a baking tray, flatten slightly  or alternativley like i did i roll out he mixture and used a heart shaped cookie cutter.

Make sure there is plenty of room between each biscuit

Bake for 15 - 20 minutes until a light golden brown colour

Remove from tray and place on wire rack to cool and sprinkle some more sugar on top :)

Enjoy!

Helen xX






Monday, 19 March 2012

The Body Shop - My Favourite Products

I adore The Body Shop, they have a wide range of amazing products to suit different skin types to cater to everyone's needs!



My first favourite product would have to be one of their body butters - famous in their own right ;). Choosing my favourite scent well.. there are so many different ones to choose from but from the small collection that I have, I'll have to choose the cacoa butter. It has a very fresh but sweet scent that is quite long lasting. These butters are so moisturising and are quickly absorbed so they are perfect for applying pre-tanning. At £12.50 for 200ml it is quite reasonable for the quality and a little goes a long way! :)

Secondly, The vitamin E moisture lotion with SPF 15. I first purchased this when i was suffering from bad sunburn on my face and forehead. This was a lifesaver! it was really soothing and moisurising and really helped the damaged skin to heal. The added SPF helped to prevent further sun damage.It has a light scent and the consistency of the cream allows it to glide on easily and sink into the skin.

Next, the Vitamin C Energising Face Spritz. I had been looking for a face spritz for a while when i came across this one on the body shop website. I liked the fact that it claims to have vitamin c in it as vitamin c promotes healthy looking skin.It has a strong orange scent, which definatly wakes you up and re- energises the skin to get rid of dullness and provide hydration.

For face masks, The Body Shop has a good selection that I keep re-purchasing from. My favourites are, the Honey and Oat 3 in 1 Scrub and Mask and the Blue Corn 3 In 1 Deep Cleansing Mask. They both serve different purposes to me depending on how my skin is looking/feeling. The honey and oat one for example, contains organic honey and oatmeal grains to polish the skin and leave it feeling soft and moisturised. The Blue corn is one i tend to turn to when my skin isn't its best as it contains kaolin clay to draw out impurities and prevent spots and corn oil for extra hydration so doesn't dry out the skin as some other clay masks do. Both the masks are mild exfoliaters so help to get rid of dead skin.For only £9 for 100ml, they last ages too!

Finally, White Musk Libertine Eau De Toilette. The moment I smelt the free sample I got in my magazine I knew I needed to purchase it. I'm no use at describing perfumes so I'm going to insert what the body shop says about it  - "A bold new twist on musk, this sensual eau de toilette features a heady blend of cruelty-free musks at its top, heart and base, with sweet notes of Turkish delight, baby orchid and Chantilly cream." 
It is really musky, which may not to be to everyone's taste but its not overpowering. I think it makes a great day time perfume as its really fresh and light. I purchased the 30ml bottle for £9


At the time of writing this i have noticed that the body shop have an up to 50% sale on.. perfect excuse to try the products for the first time if you are unsure and a perfect excuse for me to add to my collection and I'm quite interested to try their make up range yay! :D

Helen xX

Saturday, 17 March 2012

Seven Deadly Beauty Sins (TAG)

#1 GREED: What are your most expensive & inexpensive beauty products?


Most Expensive -

Estee Lauder Doublewear Foundation - £26.50


I just had to splurge on this to see what all the hype was about. Great for full coverage.









Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel£29.00



Well worth the money! Really moisturizing without being greasy this is especially useful to me as i have oily skin. It comes in a range for normal, oily and dry skin types.




Least Expensive - 
Sudorcem - £2.00 

So cheap in comparison to Clinique. This is fantastic for sunburn and cuts and can really get rid of spots.
MUA Blusher - £1.00

I use this blusher almost everyday. Amazing colour pay off and easy application. Such a bargain for only 1 pound, feels like a much higher quality product without the pricetag.






#2 WRATH: What product do you have a love/hate relationship with? 

Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation, I find it too thick for everyday but for nights out the coverage is definetly what I'm looking for. Also Revlon's Grow Luscious Mascara is fantastic at first but after a few weeks of use i find the consistency changes and becomes quite clumpy. 








#3 GLUTTONY: The most delicious product you own?

Palmers Cocoa Butter

Mhhm nice and chocolatey! incredibly moisturizing too.






 Soap and Glory Flake Away Scrub


AMAZING. Delicious smell and wonderful product that actually does what it says :)






 
Boots Natural Collection Strawberry Body Cream

This is really creamy and smells exactly like strawberries and cream. YUM!







#4 SLOTH: What Product do you neglect due to laziness?

L'oreal Eyelash Serum

This is an excellent product and it really does work, i just too often forget about it or dont bother with it, when i really should!





#5 PRIDE: What beauty product gives you the most confidence?
Fake Tan

L'oreal Sublime Bronze fake tan is one that i repeatedly purchase. It doesnt break the bank and doesnt have a horrible fake tan smell either. It gives a good colour that develops over a few hours. Wearing tan just makes you look healthier and makes me feel better about myself.


 False Eyelashes

Eylure are my favourite brand. eyelashes make your eyes appear brighter and wider and give the illusion of having long, thick lashes, when in reality that could be far from the truth.







 #6 LUST: What beauty product is currently top of your wish-list?


Naked Pallete 2

All my fave eyeshadow colours in one pallete? yes please!



 Mac St Germain

Ive been lusting over this for a while now. Such a fantastic colour!









#7 ENVY: What product would you most like to receive as a gift?

Sigma Brush Set (Pink)

Read so many brilliant reviews about sigma... so why not? and the fact that its pink, well... gimme!


Helen xX








Chewy Mars Bar Cookies

What You Will Need :







Add caption

50g Caster Sugar
50g Dark Brown Sugar
75g Butter or Margarine
150g Self Raising Flour
2tbsp Syrup
2 Small Mars Bars/ Crazy Caramels
50g Choc Chips
Splash Vanilla Essence 



This recipe is so quick and simple and tastes delicious!




Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

First of all, mix together the caster sugar, brown sugar and butter until smooth and creamy.
Add syrup and vanilla essence and stir in.
Cut the Mars Bar into small cubes and mix in along with choc chips.







Sieve 150g of self raising flour and add to the mix.
Stir in flour with wooden spoon.
The dough is easy enough to mould with your hands.
Next  roll balls of the dough and place onto greased baking tray.






Press down on the balls of dough to flatten them slightly and leave plenty of space between each cookie as they will expand.

Cookies should be left in the oven for between 10 and 14 minutes. I usually check the cookies at around 10 minutes and usually they are okay. The cookies will feel soft at first but they will firm up whilst they cool.

Makes six large cookies

Crisp on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside

Enjoy!




Helen xX


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Tuesday, 13 March 2012

About Just Add Icing and Sprinkles

Welcome to Just Add Icing and Sprinkles :)


Thank you for visiting my blog. I decided to start my own, as for so long I have been reading so many others (seriously, my blogger list is massive ) and I just wanted to try my hand at it. This blog centres around baking and beauty, but I hope to include more lifestyle and personal posts. None of my recipes are particularly complex. My aim is to make it as easy and hassle free as possible without compromising on taste, of course :)  

Ive enjoyed baking for a few years now and just wanted a place to share my ideas, photos etc. Also, if anyone would like to share any recipes with me, feel free. Full credit will be given :) I have also been admiring beauty blogs for a while now and I spend enough money on make up, hair and beauty products, so would like to try and get more involved in the beauty blogging community with my own contribution. I have been so influenced by other peoples reviews on certain items I have probably saved a small fortune.

I am trying to take blogging more seriously now and I am aiming to have at least a couple of posts a month now. Last year I went through phases of not posting anything at all, but my blog is nearly a year old now and I would just like to thank everyone that has taken the time to follow or comment. I love checking out new blogs, so definitly leave me your links



Helen <3 xX

Monday, 12 March 2012

Welcome To Just Add Icing & Sprinkles

This blog will a lifestyle and baking blog. I will be sharing some of my favourite recipes and giving step by step instructions on how to bake! On the flip side this blog will also be a lifestyle blog featuring beauty, fashion and reviews. Blog makeover underway!


Helen xX