On Friday I posted Part One of the Gold Rush BBQ party [1].  As promised, here's part two!  

All the food on the dessert table was inspired by classic Americana:  apple pie; blueberry muffins; snickerdoodle blondies; sugar cookies in cactus and cowboy boot shapes; golden nuggets (rock candy); and s'mores made with homemade graham crackers, marshmallows, and high quality chocolate.

Sugar cookies are always a hit with kids, and  these cactus and boot cookies were perfect for our desert desserts.  

I love the little bit of extra dimension the gumpaste flowers added.

The kids just loved them, period!

Homemade apple pie, of course!

I'm kind of a pie snob (blame/thank my mom for making such amazing pies and setting my standards high!).  So of course, only a homemade apple pie, with apples I cut myself would do.  Canned apple pie filling is so stunningly blah, so amazingly mediocre.  Buy a pre-made crust if you must, but don't skimp on the fillings, I say!  It makes all the difference in the world.  I'll have a tutorial on making a truly homemade apple pie coming up later this week.

Homemade blueberry muffins kept with the color scheme and added a homey, rustic touch to the dessert table.

Sandy-toned snickerdoodle blondies matched our party perfectly.  Plus they're amazingly easy to make, and outrageously, dangerously delicious.

Golden nuggets (made from rock candy) were served in a battered old pie tin, as though the nuggets had just been panned from a nearby stream.  To learn how to make your own golden nuggets, check out the tutorial on page 13 of Festivities Magazine, Issue One [2].

The star of the evening, though, had to be the s'mores.  Homemade marshmallows, homemade graham crackers, and high quality chocolate--regular s'mores are great, but these were over-the-top amazing.  And rich.  I couldn't eat an entire one.  (Of course I had just eaten a generous slice of pie ;-) ).

Tomorrow, Part 3!  The fun and games.