It looks like Hansel and Gretel aren't the only ones who tried to advantage of crumbs to lead them to where they wanted to go. The police in Sylva, North Carolina were able to use a very literal - not just literary - trail of cake crumbs to track down two thieves who attempted to break in to the police station last week.

The two suspects damaged the door of the station in their attempt to gain entry and, when they couldn't force the door, instead stole a sign, some flags and flagpoles before making their getaway. The door to the station was "smeared with cake and frosting" and a trail of the same sweets led along the main street, leading away from the station. It didn't take long before the detectives found their way to the two suspects, who "had cake all over them."

As you might expect from two people who smear themselves with cake and try to break into a police station, the pair had been drinking (heavily) at a birthday party in a nearby restaurant. Witnesses identified the suspects as having been serving the cake to partygoers, and then later also spotted them with the stolen goods.

Piping frosting onto cupcakes, instead of simply spreading it on, can really change the look of your desserts. With neat little swirls, the presentation will look a cleaner and more professional. I have a pastry kit and will use the various star tips from time to time, but the best - and by far the easiest - way to pipe on frosting is to use a regular plastic bag. Simply scrape the frosting into the bag with a spatula, twist the bag at the top, just above the level of the frosting (this pressure forces it to go forwards, rather than getting stuck in the bag) and snip off the corner. A large opening is the best for covering large areas, but a small opening can let you get really precise when you want to use this method to ice cookies or other intricate patterns.

Kids love to use bags like this for decorating, by the way. They are much easier to maneuver than a spatula full or frosting and usually end up making less of a mess. Use a ziplock bag for an extra barrier between the frosting and the floor, just in case.

By now, with all of our Christmas cookies recipes - Gingersnaps (two ways!), Cranberry, Orange & Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies and Chocolate Peppermint Drops - your cookie plate is going to look very appealing when you put it out with a nice variety for Santa on Christmas Eve. But Christmas just isn't quite right unless you get to spend some time decorating cookies. Not only is it a great creative outlet, but you get to eat the results.

Rather than opt for the traditional gingerbread men with royal icing, especially in light of the fact that I made gingery cookies last week, I opted to make some of my favorite Vanilla Cutout Cookies. These cookies are soft, but not cake-like, and are very easy to make. They use both butter and buttermilk in dough, both of which add a richness to the cookie, and vanilla extract with a touch of almond to keep the flavor bright. As always, I recommend using a very high quality vanilla extract or something even more vanilla-y, such as vanilla bean crush or vanilla paste to boost the vanilla flavor.

Personally, I like both the cake and the frosting when I have a cupcake because the two elements balance each other when eaten together. For others, the cupcake experience is all about the frosting, which they feel should be sweet, indulgent and in huge, billowy piles. They could take or leave the cake part. While the cake part of the cupcakes featured above is probably tasty, the thick frosting is one that should send thrills of joy through the hearts of frosting-lovers.

This is a Peach Cupcake with Martha Stewart's Mascarpone Frosting, made by the Cupcake Queen at 52 Cupcakes. The frosting is a combination of mascarpone, whipped cream and a little confectioners' sugar that is beaten at high speed until it is light as a cloud and richer than just about any other frosting you're likely to come across. With the peach cupcake, the frosting makes the dessert taste like peaches and cream, but it would work well on a chocolate or vanilla cake, too.

No, this isn't just a meat cake because it has a T-bone steak in the icing. This is actually three layers of meatloaf and ketchup glaze frosted with mashed potatoes. So far, it's the only thing posted at BlackWidowBakery.com. The meat cake's creator says it was made for the wedding of friend who wanted "A guy's cake. Like..made out of meat." The meatloaf recipe looks pretty standard, as does the glaze. The mashed potatoes came from flakes, however, to ensure a smooth frosting. The results were "delicious" according to the baker. I wonder what the groom thought.

The World's Greatest Mom cookie collection is offered for Mother's Day from Eleni's Bakery in New York, though there is no doubt that Mom deserves something special more than once a year. Eleni's specializes in elaborately decorated cookies, all done by hand, that are as much a treat for the eyes as they are for the taste buds. This cookie gift set includes 21 iced sugar cookies, each one unique and mom-related. It's $65 for the cookies, which come packaged in a lovely gift tin.

Eleni's also has an I Love Mom set and a floral Mom's Bouquet collection, both of which would also be great choices for a Mother's Day treat. 

For the full assortment in the World's Greatest Mom tin and the other collections, click past the jump.

Cupcakes are the single most fun dessert to make. They are the perfect size for a treat or to follow a meal and, since they come in groups, allow for a tremendous diversity in the way they are decorated. For example, these cakes are meant to look like Easter eggs. To get this nifty shape, I used the Easter version of the Fun Shapes bakeware I mentioned around Valentine's Day. They are foil mini-pans that are shaped like eggs. They are actually slightly shallower than ordinary cupcake or muffin tins, so though they are larger, they take the same amount of time to bake. This means that recipes do not have to be adapted for use in these or in regular pans.

The cake has a nice lemon flavor that balances with the richness from the buttermilk. The cupcakes are moist, tender and really delicious. My recipe calls for lemon extract, since it is a common ingredient to have on hand, but if you would prefer to use fresh lemons, simply substitute 1-2 teaspoons of lemon zest for the lemon extract in the batter. A simple sugar icing, recipe given below, gives the cakes a smooth an glossy, egg-like appearance, but feel free to use any icing that you would prefer.

If people would only look to the cookie all our problems would be solved." - Jerry Seinfeld, Seinfeld (The Dinner Party)

Black and White cookies are one of the best things to ever come out of New York City, where they are so popular that they could be the city’s food mascot, with thin crust pizza running a close second. At first glance, the cookie looks relatively simple, but achieving Black and White perfection isn’t, well, black and white.

A real Black and White cookie has a thick, cakelike base. It is softer than a cookie and lacks the chew that a sugar cookie – which many bakers unfortunately choose to use as their base – would have. It also is not nearly as sweet as a sugar cookie, an important element because the cookie has to stand up to the sweetness of the icing on top without overwhelming the taste buds. The icing on the top of the cookie is a key element in the Black and White, not just because it creates the color pairing that gives the cookie its name. The icing – not frosting – is a relatively thin layer of chocolate or vanilla that is poured smoothly onto the cake-like cookie. A thick glob of overly buttery or sugary frosting would upset the balance of flavors – not to mention that it just wouldn’t taste that great on a cookie.  

The traditional King Cake is a ring of rich pastry, similar to brioche or Danish pastry, which is filled with a rich filling, like cream cheese, marzipan or a buttery cinnamon mixture. The cake is frosted with brightly colored icing: purple to represent justice, green to represent faith, and gold to represent power. King Cakes are served some time between Epiphany and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras and can be eaten with breakfast or as a dessert.