Hey Mofos! 

Yep, you guessed it, I got back in the kitchen for a press cooking demo and my mother joined along for the fun. This was the first-ever Birch Benders Baking Class with host Maegan Brown, aka The Baker Mama.  If you haven't already check out her cookbook, Beautiful Boards. 

Maegan showed us how to create two tablescapes for at home entertaining for tailgates and brunch. Basically, it's hard to follow a baking class via zoom and trying to wait on things to cook, so my advice is to always prep ahead of time like you have a cooking segment on a television show. Anyhoo, we decided to mix our boards together and it became a mash up of tailgate meets brunch, and well, we didn't finish cooking everything because after 50'levum pancakes trying to rush to throw em together, dip strawberries in melted chocolate, and peel oranges, I was over it. LOL My mama hung in there and kept trying, but she quickly got over it too. But I will say, those pumpkin spice pancakes (don't you dare judge) were actually quite delicious. My cookie cutter skills are unfortunately on the level of a pre-schooler. 

Here's our final tapped out result: (WE KNOW IT IS UGLY LOL LOL LOL)

Lemme give y'all a couple of recipes to work on that Maegan taught: 

■ Ingredients:
● 1 package Birch Benders Pumpkin Spice Pancake Mix
● 3 ½ cups water
● Football-shaped cookie cutter
● Birch Benders Keto Vanilla Frosting
■ Method:
1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the pancake mix and 3 ½
cups water until just combined.
2. Preheat a large griddle or skillet to medium-high heat. Grease
with nonstick cooking spray or cooking oil.
3. Using a ¼ cup measuring cup, pour the batter onto the hot skillet
and let cook until bubbles begin to form, about 1-2 minutes.
Quickly flip and let cook for another minute until cooked all the
way through and golden. Repeat with remaining batter to make
about 24 pancakes.
4. Cut pancakes into football shapes with a football-shaped cookie
cutter.
5. Keep warming in a 200°F oven until ready to decorate them with
frosting and add to the spread table.
6. When ready to serve, place Birch Benders Keto Vanilla Frosting in
a resealable baggie and snip a small piece off of one corner.
Pipe the frosting onto the top of each football-shaped pancake
to create the football lines.

As you see, my footballs do not look like that.. I think a rocket got mixed in but again, I'm not cookie --errr pancake cutting baker. 

Dark Chocolate Covered Strawberry Footballs

■ Ingredients:

● 1 cup dark chocolate chips

● 10 whole strawberries

● Birch Benders Keto Vanilla Frosting

■ Method:

1. Wash and dry the strawberries very well.

2. In a small bowl, microwave the dark chocolate in 30 seconds

intervals, removing and stirring at each 30 second interval, until

the chocolate has melted.

3. Holding a strawberry by the stem, dip it into the melted

chocolate, lift and twist slightly, letting the excess chocolate fall

back into the bowl and then place the strawberry on a

parchment-lined work surface to let the chocolate set. Repeat

with the remaining strawberries.

4. Once chocolate is set on the strawberries, place Birch Benders

Keto Vanilla Frosting in a resealable baggie and snip a small

piece off of one corner. Pipe the frosting onto the top of each

chocolate covered strawberry to create the football lines.

I don't recommend melting the chocolate in the microwave, because you end up with clumped up chocolate and a hot ass mess like ours. 

Let me know what you end up putting on your tablescape and drop those photos! Get creative and add whatever you want, but remember to have fun! 

~Meik