Showing posts with label cookies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cookies. Show all posts

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Sara Bakes ~ Chocolate Overload Cookies

Howdy out there in blog-land!

Well...while Sara was home for spring break last week,
she decided to do a little baking.
She found these Chocolate Pudding Cookies from Averie Cooks
on Pinterest and knew they would hit the chocolate spot!

I swear, I don't know what is up with these pictures!
They look fine on the computer, and then I load
them into Blogger and they look like this!
I even re-did them!
Grrrrr.


Anyway...you remember Sara, right?
This awesome girl...young lady...wo-man...?
Who am I kidding?
She'll always be my girl.
:)

She just used Averie's recipe and substituted what we had or whatever...you know?

This was actually the first time she's ever baked something from scratch all by herself.
She was pretty proud of these cookies.
By the time I got around to snapping a couple pictures...
These two were all that were left!


Averie's pictures with the gooey chocolate
must have been straight out of the oven.
So Sara's don't look so messy...
Here's the recipe link again...it isn't right for me to post it
here when the subs she made are not significant.
We only had regular butter...dark brown sugar...
and not quite enough dark chocolate, so she just used extra semi-sweet.

Sara made her cookie balls quite a bit smaller and got about
3 1/2 dozen as opposed to the 17 in the original recipe.
She baked them the same, but could easily have cut a minute or two off that time.


They were still soft and chewy, and yummily chocolicious...
but surprisingly not overly so...

She gave most of them away...which was probably for the best.
Otherwise we might have sat and eaten them all with a tall glass of cold milk.
In one sitting.

What's the last Pinterest recipe you tried?
Was it any good?
Let me know!

P.S. I really am working on things...I've finally started
on that hall bathroom that I bought the paint for eons ago...

I'm trying to get the stuff hung on the walls before
I show you the entertainment center makeover...
can't have it sitting in a plain jane room now can we?

So...until then...
smooches!


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Horrific Knits
Craft Dictator
Crafts a la Mode
AKA Design
WhipperBerry
Love of Family and Home
Cheerios and Lattes
Will Cook For Smiles
I Should Be Mopping The Floor
The Dedicated House
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Friday, May 17, 2013

Pink Poker Night ~ Girls' Night In

Looking for a fabulously fun night with all your BFFs?
Host a pink poker night!

A couple of weeks ago we had a girls' night in at my house.
I decided to do pink poker night cuz it sounded fun.

Not that I'm a great card player.
On the contrary...I just make up the rules. :)
Kinda like everything else I do.


I found this kit on Amazon.
But you don't need it...just find some pink poker chips and cards.
Bicycle brand has several pink card versions.
I got these chips on Ebay.

Don't forget all the frills...
tiaras and feather boas are a must!
Make sure everyone gets in the spirit!

The box kit included invitations, but those would be simple to make.
It also suggested having everyone bring one fun item
to make up a "bling" pot for the last hand.
You could make it whatever you wanted.


Oh, and if you just happen to have some pink
spray painted folding chairs, be sure to use 'em!


Striped straws...don't they make you smile?
I actually found these in the party aisle at Hobby Lobby for about $3.
Oh, that's where the tiaras came from, too.


Of course you need some fabulous finger food...
including pink peanut butter hugs.

Below are some peanut butter pretzels
drizzled with pink white chocolate.
Does that even make sense?


We had some pink sangria, but I was having so much
fun, I forgot to take any pictures of that...or of
anyone enjoying the party for that matter.

Oh well...I guess having fun was the bigger priority. :)


The sangria was delicious and easy!
1 - 2 liter bottle of 7up Zero
1 - bottle white zinfandel
1 - bottle white cranberry strawberry juice
sliced oranges to float in the pitcher
All chilled and mixed together
SoOoOo yummy and refreshing!

Even if your sister dumps a whole glass on her chair...
and doesn't at least use a straw to suck up what she can.


Oh, look...there's one cookie left for me.

My mom showed up with these beautiful roses.
Love her. :)


We had all sorts of other finger foods, some store bought.
No need to tire yourself out getting ready!

You need to save your energy for all the laughing
and carrying on that's sure to happen.
{shrimp cocktail is easy and hey, it's PINK!}
I'm also thinking...watermelon,
strawberries, pink lemonade...


It was so much fun and definitely what everyone needed.
A whole night of just us girls with a whole bunch
of laughing and goofy shenanigans!
But I have one little confession to make...

We never actually got around to playing poker!
We were having too much fun NOT playing.
:)
The next day I got texts or emails from everyone
thanking me for such a fun night!
I said next time, we won't even pretend we're gonna play.

Does this sound like a great time to you?
Check out the Pink Poker Night Pinterest board I started.

 If you host a pink party, send me pics...
since I forgot to take my own.
Ha!


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Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Simple Sweets for Teacher Appreciation

An awesome teacher can make ALL the
difference in a child's school experience.
I know that all too well.

When Sara was in first grade...the teacher said she was
a daydreamer and if she didn't learn to focus
she'd never be successful in school.
In first grade, people!

Really?
Did she know my kid?
My kid was smart...she was special. 
  

 I know, as parents, we all believe
our children to be special.

Because they are.

We don't want anyone to tell us differently.
But we're talking about a child who, from the age of three,
would go somewhere {a friend's home, church, public places}
and start rearranging items by size and color
because she was compelled to organize them.


My problem with this teacher was not that
she said this, but that she ONLY said this.
She didn't offer solutions or suggestions.
Thankfully, the school year was almost over.

In second grade, she met Ms. Chacon...the world's best teacher.

She looked at Sara and said...this child is bored...
she's not a daydreamer...
she just needs more work to do
and something to challenge her.
And that realization changed everything.


I'm not saying this teacher was a bad teacher...
I'm not sure how I feel about that.

What I do know...
teachers have a tough job and
sometimes they're just wrong.

They need all the support they can get
and a little appreciation goes a long way.


I've seen all the cute printable and fun teacher
gift ideas floating around the interwebs.

I love them all...but I never really had the time for that.

I believe a simple sweet gesture says Thank You
just as much...and they get to eat it.

Here I've included what we've done the last few years.


At the top were Pink Velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.
Sorry...I don't know if that's the actual recipe I used.
I used a small flower cutter on some rolled fondant and wrote
Thank You with an edible food color marker.

Did you catch that perfect packaging for portable cake?
Drop your cupcakes into a plastic punch cup...
wrap in a cellophane bag...tie a fork on with a ribbon.

Voila!  Cake to go!


One year we just did decorated cookies...
individually wrapped and tied.

Those are No Fail Sugar Cookies with some buttercream {with real vanilla}
and fondant rolled and cut with the same shape cutters.
Yes, these took some time...but I also made some cookie
bouquets for Mother's Day at the same time.

These cookies are great at keeping their shape.
And they're yummy, too.
More buttery than sugar cookies usually are...
which is a good thing in my book!


Then more cupcakes...in school colors...
with some awesome edible gold star glitter.
I didn't add the forks this time.
These were just triple chocolate fudge.
YUM!

So, even if you don't have time to make a bunch of
super cute supermom individual teacher gifts...
don't forget to say Thank You to the teachers
and principals in your child's life.

Cookies (even simple chocolate chip),
cupcakes, a handwritten note...
Heck...I can think of 5 blogs off the top of
my head that have some cute printables!
:)

See you next time!


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Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Chocolate Crackle Cookies

Today I am sharing a recipe I actually made quite some
time ago and never got around to posting about.

As a matter of fact, I can't tell you exactly when I made them.

But believe you me, I certainly remember
just how scrumptious they were!


I first saw the recipe in an email from Bakerella,
but as it turns out...she got it from Martha Stewart.

Who knows where SHE got it from. :)


As you can see from the top picture above...
you will make an epic mess making these cookies.

Trust me...they're worth it.


They even package well for giving to awesome
neighbors who let you borrow stuff!

Then they tell you things like:
well, if I'm gonna get cookies whenever you
borrow something...take whatever you want!
:)


The ingredients are listed as in the original recipe...
you can see where I made a note of anything I changed.


Chocolate Crackle Cookies
  • 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled {I used semi-sweet}
  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup Dutch cocoa powder
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature {I used salted}
  • 1 1/3 cups brown sugar, firmly packed
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 1 cup confectioners' sugar, plus more for rolling

Directions
1.Heat oven to 350 degrees. Chop chocolate into small chunks, and melt in a double boiler or in the microwave. Set aside to cool.

2.Stir together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.

3.In a separate mixing bowl, beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat until well combined. Add melted chocolate. With mixer on low speed, alternate adding dry ingredients and milk until just combined.

4. {I don't think I did this next part...knowing me, I probably stuck the whole mixing bowl in the fridge for 45 minutes to an hour.  Impatience at its best.} Divide the dough into quarters, wrap with plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator until firm, about 2 hours.

5. Using your hands, roll the dough into balls about an inch or so wide.  If dough starts to get too soft or warm...stick back in fridge to chill. Roll balls in confectioners’ sugar again to coat completely.

6.Place the cookies 2 inches apart on a baking sheet. Bake until cookies have flattened and the sugar cracks, 12 to15 minutes.

7.Transfer from oven to a wire rack to let cool completely.

Makes about 4 dozen.


Remember...it's nice to share. But I won't tell if you don't.


Have I convinced you to add some
chocolate cookies to your life?
You will thank me...I know it.



Leaving a trail of crumbs here:

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