Frosting

This isn't anything like that yucky stuff you buy in a can. This is real. I am proud to say that I have never bought a can of frosting. After tasting this and seeing how easy it is to make, maybe you won't buy that stuff either.

about one pound of powdered sugar

a blob of room temperature margarine about the size of a ping pong ball

a blob of shortening about the size of a ping pong ball

really hot water, I usually use hot water from my teapot

extras like cocoa powder, kool-aid, or flavorings

I usually use half of a (2 pound) bag of powdered sugar to cover a 9 x 13 pan. Put it in a bowl. Add the blobs of margarine and shortening. Add two or three heaping tablespoons of cocoa, a package of kool-aid, or a couple of teaspoons of vanilla or other flavoring. Or you can just leave it plain. Pour in some hot water. Not too much. You can always add a little more. If you add too much water, you have to add more powdered sugar and it could become a vicious cycle of adding one then the other. And the flavorings get diluted too. Mix with a hand mixer until it's mixed well. If you want stiffer frosting, don't add so much water. If you like it a little softer, water is the key. You can totally make this anyway you like it.

party mix cake with vanilla frosting with sprinkles in it

White cake with cherry frosting (cherry kool-aid)

Yellow cake with chocolate frosting (my fave)

Chocolate cake with chocolate chunks in it with chocolate frosting with tiny chocolate chips in it (okay, now I'm needing to make a cake!)

If you want more frosting, or you're making a layer cake, use more powdered sugar to begin with. One of the great things about this frosting is the fact that it has no milk. You don't need to store the leftover cake (if there is any) in the fridge. You can just put it on top of the fridge, or on the counter, or wherever. Another benefit - if it's not in the fridge, the kids won't hear you open the fridge after they've gone to bed to sneak some.

I usually make more than I will need. I then take a graham cracker, spread some frosting on it, and top it with another graham cracker - making a frosting sandwich. We call these cookies Graham Cracker Frostings. After you make them, you need to put them into a ziplock for a day so the graham cracker part gets kindof soft. Sometimes, I don't even make a cake. I just make Graham Cracker Frostings.