 If 2020 taught me anything - it would be how to be an online shopper. Out of necessity, I mastered the art of finding what I needed online, ordering it, paying for it and then waiting for it to show up at my door. #thankyouamazonprime 😂Online shopping is a beautiful thing and up until last week, I'd probably boasted that over the last year, I'd become a fairly proficient online shopper. And then this happened ...
I wanted to order a chocolate mold to make some tools for cupcake toppers. Clearly I missed the fine print on the item description though because the unusually small chocolate mold that arrived, made the tiniest tools that I've ever seen. 👀😅 I'm pretty sure that these miniature chocolate tools would disappear completely into a pillow of buttercream on top of a cupcake. 🛠 When I finished laughing about the absurdity of the size of these chocolate tools, I requested a refund from amazon and within minutes, I had my money refunded and they told me that there was no reason to return the product. #thankyouamazon That was the point when I decided that I had to at least try the mini mold. I can't help but wonder what in the world anyone would possibly do with a chocolate hammer that's the size of a penny but who can resist making tools? 🤷🏻♀️
Clearly I need a little more help in the online shopping department. 😅 I obviously got a little too excited when I saw the mold for tools and scanned through the details a little too quickly. 😂The same thing happened when I saw this recipe for S'more Cookies. You can't blame me really. I mean, who wouldn't get excited about S'more Cookies? 💁🏻♀️ When I got all caught up in the excitement of making these amazing treats, I neglected to read through the whole recipe until it was way too late. I had no idea how many steps were involved in the making of these cookies until the process was already underway. 😬 I don't want to discourage you from making these because they're delicious - I just want to give you all the facts so that you don't jump into the recipe with the same reckless enthusiasm that I did. 🤣 They're just as scrumptious and delicious as they sound but they do require an investment in time.  S'more Cookies Cookies 2 cups all-purpose flour 3/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup butter, room temperature 1/2 cup vegetable oil 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla Ganache 4 oz. heavy whipping cream 2 tablespoons butter 3/4 cup dark chocolate morsels Chocolate Buttercream 2 cups confectioners’ sugar 1/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa 1/2 cup butter, room temperature 1/4 cup of prepared chocolate ganache 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs Meringue Frosting 3 egg whites 3/4 cup granulated sugar 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar 1 teaspoon vanilla
 Transfer mixture to a piping bag fitted with a star tip. Pipe meringue on top of each cookie.  Use a butane torch to toast the meringue on each cookie.  Decorate with a square of hershey's chocolate.  Much like my chocolate mold order, my cookie making process didn't go off without a hitch. The first time I made these cookies, I couldn't get the meringue to stand up on its own. I made it 4 different times and it just wouldn't stiffen up. 😢 I was super frustrated so I decided to give up on my meringue and turn it into buttercream instead and pipe that onto my cookies instead. The buttercream S'more cookies were great but I still had to make the recipe a second time so that I could do it the way that it was intended - with toasted marshmallow meringue. 😋 Second time was a charm - all I can say is the less humidity in the air - the better the chance that your meringue will firm up.
Ciao!
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 I am so excited about getting a bigger panty in my kitchen - I can hardly stand it. Double the space means that I can store double the staples, right? I will say that having a small pantry has taught me to be super selective and evaluate every item that has to occupy valuable pantry space, before I buy it. It's also forced me to be super organized and some would say "borderline obsessive" about pantry storage. 🤣 Don't even get me started on how a misplaced peanut butter jar can send me into a frenzy. 🥜 When you bake as much as I do, there are some things that you just have to keep on hand. Most people have a bag or two of flour in their pantry - I store six at a time, in addition to a few boxes of cake flour, bread flour, self rising flour, semolina flour, gluten free flour, coconut flour and almond flour. 💁🏻♀️🍞Are you starting to see why pantry space is at a premium? 😂
Old fashioned, quick and steel cut oats also occupy space in my limited pantry. Why do I have 3 different kinds of oats, you ask? Just like flour, they all serve different purposes in different recipes. If you're an oatmeal lover - you know. I find myself making more recipes out of pantry ingredients lately because I'm trying to empty it before I have to clean it out for the renovation. My theory is that the more we can eat now, the less I have to box up and remove from the space in September. 💁🏻♀️😂 I was originally drawn to these Strawberry Oatmeal Bars because they were a perfect way to use up some of my pantry staples. Then I realized that they were AMAZING! 🍓  Strawberry Oatmeal Bars 1 cup old fashioned oats 3/4 cup flour 1/3 cup brown sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon ginger 6 Tablespoons butter, melted 2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced 1 teaspoon cornstarch 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice 1 Tablespoon sugar Glaze 1/2 cup powdered sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 Tablespoon milk
 Bake 35-40 minutes at 375. 
 Drizzle glaze over bars.
Now I want to try these bars with all the different summer fruits. How amazing would this be with peaches or blueberries or raspberries? 🍑 Ciao! Happy 4th of July (weekend)
 This was most definitely a cart before the horse moment. (Or a cart before the dessert moment, in this case.) 🤣When I bought this bag last month, I had absolutely no idea what I was going to make with them - I just knew that I couldn't live without them. Fast forward to 4 weeks later and still no great ideas about how to incorporate these little beauties into a 4th of July treat. So I did what any baker with bakers block would do (is that a thing?) - I sought help from my family. My daughter and daughter in law are both super creative, out-of-the-box thinkers and I knew they would come up with something amazing.  My only idea was to replace the chips in a chocolate chip cookie with these festive bits so when @aint_no_holly_back_girl sent me a video for a Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip recipe - I was super excited. I had never even heard of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip but now that I've been introduced - I think we're going to be best friends. 😂
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip ⅓ cup butter, room temperature 1 (8 oz) block cream cheese, room temperature ⅓ cup packed light brown sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla extract ½ cup powdered sugar 1 cup mini chocolate chips
 Stir in mini chocolate chips.  My snack of choice to accompany this festive dip:
yogurt covered pretzels fresh cherries fresh strawberries chocolate dipped strawberries powdered sugar covered donut holes graham cracker sticks lemon wafer cookies chocolate chip cookie dippers fresh blueberries red and blue M&M's sugar cookies star shaped rice crispy treats shortbread cookies wrapped chocolates So what are you going to serve with your Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip? Send me your pictures. Ciao!  Wisdom for a happy life: Celebrate each day like a birthday. 🎉 Just like Christmas or Thanksgiving - birthdays are an opportunity to celebrate. To gather together. To eat dessert. To party. 🥳 But unlike holidays, birthdays are the one day a year that we can celebrate a someone's uniqueness. A day to reflect on what is it about them that makes them special. Celebrating the birthdays of the significant and impactful people in my life brings me so much joy and happiness. And today I'm extra happy to be celebrating the birthday of my husband. I met this human when we were just 10 years old. I went on my first date with him at the awkward age of fifteen and we've shared a last name now for almost 28 years! 👰🏻 I guess I kind of like this guy. 😂 And today, on his birthday, I get to celebrate everything that makes him unique and wonderful.  How a person chooses to celebrate a birthday is very personal. Some prefer a quiet, introspective afternoon of solitary reflection while others want to be surrounded by family and friends at an over the top celebration with food and gifts. As for me, I like to spend birthdays, looking back on my accomplishments and setting goals for the future. I remind myself to live in the moment and be fully present - something that I forget to do, a lot. 😂 I also feel like everyone deserves to feel special and valued on their birthday. And the baker in me believes that everyone deserves a special treat on their birthday. (Even if that means that they treat themselves to something out of the ordinary.) It should come as no surprise to anyone that I bake to honor my favorite people on their birthdays. 💁🏻♀️(#foodismylovelanguage) And since my husband might be the only other person on the planet with a bigger sweet tooth than me - I'm starting off his special day with a cinnamon roll cupcake. I hope that his day is even sweeter than this vanilla frosted, sprinkle filled, pillowy soft cinnamon roll. 😅  Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes 2 1/4 teaspoons dry active yeast or 1 packet 1/2 cup granulated sugar divided 1 cup warm milk 2 large eggs room temperature 1/3 cup butter melted 1 teaspoon salt 4 cups bread flour Filling 1 cup rainbows sprinkles 1 cup brown sugar packed 2 1/2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon 1/3 cup butter softened Icing 1/2 cup powdered sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla 1-2 Tablespoons milk
 Drizzle over warm cinnamon rolls. Add additional sprinkles. Birthday celebrations start early in this house. There will still be cake and ice cream after dinner but why wait for the evening to honor the birthday boy when we can start the day with cinnamon roll cupcakes?
Ciao!  My 10 year blogaversary is quickly approaching. July 20th is the fateful day that I published my very first blog post - in 2011!!! 🙌🏻 For those of you who have followed the blog from the beginning (aka. my mom) - THANK YOU!!! I know those initial years of blog posts were not very engaging. I'd go as far as to say that my first attempts at writing a food blog were downright cringeworthy. Safe to say that it took some time (years, maybe) for me to navigate the world of blogging and find my writing "voice". No matter how awkward and agonizing the first few years of blog posts might have been, I can never delete the posts because I still reference those recipes. The quality of the recipes makes up for my poor articulation.😅 Those posts are also the place where I go when I'm feeling nostalgic and I want to see pictures of my kids from ten years ago. 😭  My very first blog post was a recipe for Shrimp Salad. The post was a total of 11 sentences and exactly 1 picture of the aforementioned salad. 🍤 I still go back to that post every summer though, because we love that recipe for Shrimp Salad. I recommend that you check it out if you're looking for a great summer salad recipe. #Lowqualitywriting-highqualityrecipe. 🤣 I feel like I should have titled this recipe - the evolution of a salad. It's hard to believe that I started out attaching a single photograph to a recipe. Now I feel like I've progressed to the opposite end of the spectrum. I include pictures of every single ingredient, pictures of the process and multiple angles of the finished product. 📸(There has to be a happy medium.😅) As you scroll through this post - you can literally watch the salad come together from beginning to end in pictures. 🥗 This wasn't necessarily planned - but when I have beautiful ingredients like ripe, red strawberries and crisp, green lettuce - I can't help but photograph them. 💁🏻♀️  Strawberry Avocado Salad Dressing 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar 1 Tablespoon brown sugar 1 Tablespoon olive oil 1 clove garlic, minced 1/4 cup salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper Salad 1/2 red onion, sliced thin 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar 1/2 cucumber 1 cup strawberries, quartered 1 head butter lettuce, torn into pieces 1 cup alfalfa sprouts 2 ripe avocados, sliced thin 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
 Drizzle with dressing just before serving.
In my very first blog post, I promised to be honest with my readers. Being completely transparent isn't always easy - it's hard to admit a failure. Sometimes it's not a complete disaster either. Some recipes just needs some tweaking to make them better. For example, this salad, in my opinion, would be better without the garlic in the dressing. A minor change to the dressing would really take this from good to great. Ciao! |
