Showing posts with label Yum. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yum. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 9, 2012




This has been an incredibly busy month, but last week was a complete blur of last minuteness! 
Last wednesday I got to hang out and catch up with a dear friend of mine and make some amazing
Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars! Believe it or not, we got the recipe from the basic and still fantastic 
Better Homes and Gardens recipe book. I went online to try to find it and share it with you, but while I was looking around the BHG website I found some Amazing Fall Recipes that I am dying to try out! 

The question is, do you love pumpkin as much as me? 


Saturday, September 29, 2012

Fall Recipe of The Week!

 The  first   holiday   I   spent   with   my   husbands   family  was  Thanksgiving. 
His  mom  is  an  amazing  cook,  and  I  personally   have  loved  everything  she  has  made and  every  recipe  she  has  shared.  At   thanksgiving   she  pulled  a  ziploc  bag  of these  cookies  out,  and  Gus  and  I  devoured  them. They  were  so  good  and  so   addicting.  I  am  so  excited  to  share  this recipe  with  you  because  it  is  definitely  a  fall  and  winter  favorite!


INGREDIENTS

1  cup  sugar
1/2  cup  cooking  oil
1  egg
2  cups  self-rising  flour
1  teaspoon  cinnamon
1  cup  pumpkin
1/4  teaspoon  baking  soda  dissolved  into  1  teaspoon  milk
1 1/2  cups  semi-sweet  chocolate  chips
2  teaspoons  vanilla 
Trader   Joes   Coffee   Chocolate   Sugar   Grinder

DIRECTIONS
Preheat  oven  to  350.  Mix  all  the  ingredients  together  well, 
and  spoon  the  dough  onto   greased  cookie  sheet. 
Use  the   grinder  on  top  of  the  cookies  before  putting  them   in  the  oven.
Bake  10-12  minutes.  Let  cool  on  sheet  for  2  minutes  then  on  rack  for   5. 
Makes  3  dozen. 


These   cookies   are   pretty   sweet   and  delicious,  so  they  taste  best 
with  a  cup  of  coffee,  books,  and  a  blanket. 
Hope  you  are  enjoying  your  fall  and  that  these  cookies  help  you  to  even  more! 
xo @ 

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Adventures in Pie Making Part 1: Butterfinger Pie from Pinterest

So my husband and I decide to throw a big birthday/open house because our new place is so great.
I get a pinterest board going and am so excited to making all these cakes,
 when he tells me he wants pie.
I immediately freak.
 Pie?!!? What?!!?
 How do I even BEGIN to make such a treat? How does this happen? How does it work? How do I make it without destroying myself or our new kitchen? How do I make it for 20+ people? What if it doesn't turn out? What if the recipes I find are duds? 
Well I calmed myself down, found a few good recipes that seemed simple and inexpensive enough that I figured everyone would enjoy. I mean, who can say no to butter finger pie? So I made it. It took me a few hours but it turned out amazing in the end! However, it was far from easy.


{I apologize for the poor quality of the photo. I took more, but deleted them because I am smart and plan ahead like that. Hence the addition of a photo from the blog I got the recipe from. This will not happen again!}


Here are some of my tips that I learned (through trial and extreme error) while making this.

1) Give yourself PLENTY of time to make this recipe. If you are preparing it for a party at night or a bbq, make it in the morning. If you are preparing it for an afternoon party or lunch, make it the day before. Make sure you have plenty of counter space when making this pie. There are tons of steps, and if you don't have space to get a little bit messy, it gets overwhelming. 

2) 1 bag of fun size butterfingers is all you need. You don't need exactly 23. 
Set aside 2 whole bars to crumble on top. I did not do this and had the super fine crumbs on top.
Presentation is key at parties, so don't follow my example and try to make it look as awesome as possible.

3) Make sure you use a BIG pie pan with tall sides. This pie has a TON of filling and the crust needs to be thick. Mine almost overflowed. It was scary.

4) Use both butter and peanut butter when making the oreo crust. The crumbs will NOT stick together with just the small amount of butter they tell you to use. Use twice the amount of butter and a quarter cup of peanut butter, or half a cup of peanut butter to substitute. It brings out the butter finger  flavor more! Freeze the oreo crust while you are making the fillings, so that the pie sets into the crust. This helped the fillings stay separated in distinct layers. 

5) When you are preparing the filling on the stove, do NOT stop stirring. Do not check your phone, do not call anyone, concentrate on smelling the mixture to make sure it is not burning.  Sugar and milk burn extremely quickly. I learned this, through thrice amount of trial and error. 

6) . Pour the eggs in very very very slowly. I scrambled them the first time and had to start all over. I spent about 4 minutes total stirring and pouring in the eggs the second time around and it turned out perfectly.

7) When it came to the whipping cream, I used half cool whip and half heavy whipping cream from the carton. It worked super well for the topping, better than just the heavy whipping cream from the carton by itself. 

8) I chilled my pie for around 8 hours before I served it. I was very nervous it did not turn out, but it was completely solid. The crust however, did not turn out, since I only used butter. I used peanut butter in the crust for a different pie I made (recipe coming up next), and it held together super well. 

I plan on sharing my adventures in baking more and more! 
Next up is a Simpson family favorite! 

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Bars


My best friend and I got married a month and a few days apart.
So naturally that means dinner parties are in order.
This past Monday it was Gus and I's turn to host.
I am a huge baker, so while planning dessert I decided I wanted to use a pinterest recipe I recently used for a game night with our bible study. These salted caramel chocolate chip bars for desert were a huge hit with my friends who have a sweet tooth! I would show you a picture of what they look like made by me, but I don't want to make them again for fear of devouring the whole pan with Gus. 
When I made the salted caramel chocolate chip bars, I doubled the vanilla 
and put a whole bag of milk chocolate chips in. I sprinkled sea salt only
on the salted part of the cookie bar, which gives it an extra kick, I think. 
I am hoping to post two desserts and two entrees a month, since being a wife 
(as well feeling obligated to use my Kitchen Aid Mixer and food processor more)
has really made my desire to cook and bake more kick in. It also helps to have
a super cute apron from anthropologie to wear while I bake. 
So I suggest next time you feel like baking something sweet to bake these!
Don't forget to follow my cooking and baking boards on pinterest! 
Happy Baking!
At