Cookie Monster

One of my and Lane’s favorite things is a cookie cake from Great American Cookie Company. They are just pure deliciousness. We normally get them for each other’s birthday and that’s our fix for the entire year. Well, the other day, Lane asked if I could make one. I thought, “Sure. I’ll make it and you can take it to work, because there’s no way we can eat a cookie cake by ourselves.”

Famous. Last. Words Thoughts. Not only did I make it, but we ate the entire thing! YIKES! It stayed fresh for over a week and we would nibble on it after dinner or for breakfast (don’t judge. cookie cake for breakfast is the best.)

I just searched for Cookie Cake recipes and this one seemed easy and quick, so it was the winner. Simple and delicious. I didn’t ice it, but you certainly could and I can only imagine how the delicious factor would rise.

Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie from Allrecipes.com

1 c. butter, softened

3/4 c. granulated sugar

3/4 c. brown sugar, packed

1 T. vanilla extract

2 eggs

2 1/4 c. AP flour

1 t. salt

1 t. baking soda

2 c. semisweet chocolate chips

1 c. chopped walnuts (I omitted)

In a large bowl, beat butter, sugars and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well. Gradually add flour, salt and baking soda, beating until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts (if desired). Spread in a greased 14” round pizza pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Cook cookie in pan on a cooling rack. Decorate as desired.

And, completely unrelated, but for your viewing pleasure, HEEEEEERE’S KNOX! He’s ready for Santa!

I am so thankful…

I know it’s after Thanksgiving, and I’ve said it before, but I am SO thankful for the wonderful friends that God has blessed me with.  I am thankful for the humor and laughter that seems endless when we get together. I am thankful for their daily prayer and support, with Christ at the center of it all. I am thankful for the fact that we have all known each other for at least 10 years, and that they know me sometimes better than I know myself. I am thankful that I can share anything with them and know that they won’t judge me. I am thankful that we can come up with any reason possible to get together for girl’s nights! One of those nights was to celebrate Thanksgiving. We haven’t really done it before, but I just thought it would be a fun thing to do this year.

If you’ve ever been to my house, you know that it’s REALLY small, REALLY old (and not updated) and constantly dusty. But, for some reason, I love it! I love to entertain in it as well. I feel a certain connection to the house. It was built in 1940 and I feel like we are re-creating times shared by the original owners over 70 years ago. So, I volunteered to host our girls Thanksgiving Pot-Luck dinner. 

We’ve been planning it since August, it seems. We worked out a menu and it was set! I got really excited about my table setting. I’ve never hosted Thanksgiving before, so I had a fun time playing around with the table. With the help of some BEAUTIFUL dishes from Williams Sonoma Home that Erin brought, I think the table ended up being pretty darn fabulous.

 

I have NO idea how I’ll create my Christmas table now after putting so much thought into this. Maybe I’ll have it down by December 25th!

Back to girl’s night… all of the food was just AMAZING! I have some talented friends who love food as much as I do!

Appetizers: Cranberry salsa with blue corn tortilla chips from Mary C. and Banner’s famous artichoke dip

Salad and rolls: Spinach with blue cheese, spiced almonds, mango and avocados with a Balsamic Vinaigrette from Jill

Turkey: FRIED turkey from Melanie’s talented husband, Joe

Sides: Erin’s AMAZING sweet potato casserole, Melanie’s delicious confetti corn and I made Lane’s famous mashed potatoes

Desserts: Mini cheesecakes from Mary C. and Banner made the cutest things I’ve ever seen…Turkey cookie dough truffles..

After our wonderful dinner, we sat around, drank pumpkin pie martinis and enjoyed each other’s company…oh, and took timer pictures with our cameras…

 

So, just to say it again…I am so thankful. So stinking thankful.

Whoopie Pies for Daddy!

My dad likes those Moon Pie things…you know, the really highly processed, not very tasty (in my humble opinion), plastic wrapped desserts?

I think they are pretty gross, but he LOVES them! He’s loved them since he was a kid. Over Thanksgiving, I planned to spend a few nights with them and wanted to make him a dessert that he REALLY would like, and that weren’t Moon Pies.

I’ve seen all the latest craze concerning whoopie pies, so of course I had to try them. These turned out perfectly! The “cookie” part is very cake-like and moist. The filling is light and fluffy and a perfect compliment to the cake. When I dished the cookies onto the cookie sheet, I used a large “disher” (one of these things….)

The cookie/cake things turned out kind of large, so next time, I’ll use a  smaller disher and get a smaller whoopie pie.

In the end, Daddy LOVED the whoopie pies! He had one every day I was there. Even my mom liked them, and she doesn’t like a lot of sweets. My next whoopie pie adventure…Red Velvet!

Chocolate Whoopie Pies from Gourmet

For cakes

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup well-shaken buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 large egg

For filling

• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cups confectioners sugar
• 1 cup marshmallow cream such as Marshmallow Fluff
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Make cakes:

• Preheat oven to 350ºF.

• Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a bowl until combined. Stir together buttermilk and vanilla in a small bowl.

• Beat together butter and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes in a standing mixer or 5 minutes with a handheld, then add egg, beating until combined well. Reduce speed to low and alternately mix in flour mixture and buttermilk in batches, beginning and ending with flour, scraping down side of bowl occasionally, and mixing until smooth.

• Spoon 1/4-cup mounds of batter about 2 inches apart onto 2 large baking sheets covered in parchment paper. Bake in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until tops are puffed and cakes spring back when touched, 11 to 13 minutes. Transfer with a metal spatula to a rack to cool completely.

Make filling:

• Beat together butter, confectioners sugar, marshmallow, and vanilla in a bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes.

Assemble pies:

• Spread a rounded tablespoon filling on flat sides of half of cakes and top with remaining cakes.

Cook's Notes:

• Cakes can be made 3 days ahead and kept, layered between sheets of wax paper, in an airtight container at room temperature.
• Filling can be made 4 hours ahead and kept, covered, at room temperature.

Cheers and Beers! Lane’s 30th

It’s official. My husband is in his thirties! Does this make me a trophy wife?? Lane insisted that nothing BIG was planned for his birthday. He just wanted a nice dinner at home and then to go to Waco and tailgate for the Baylor vs A&M football game. I begrudgingly obliged. I did want to do a bunch of little things because, let’s be honest, this is a big birthday! If he didn’t want to go big, then I would do lots of little things that could add up to be big… On Thursday, I had my 7th period kids call him and, all together, say “Happy last day of your 20’s!”. That evening, we ordered Italian food from our favorite local joint, ate dinner by the fire and had lots of wine. It was a nice birthday eve.

On Friday, his birthday, I took the day off and spent it in the kitchen where I’m most happy, especially cooking for him. It started with breakfast, where his request was biscuits and gravy with an over-easy egg on top! Ok?! I can do that. I haven’t mastered eggs yet. They say that while eggs seem like the most simple thing to cook, they are actually one of the hardest. I believe it. I was really nervous to try to flip the egg in my pan, but it worked! Lane and I were both shocked! So, the day started off with a good breakfast…

He left after breakfast to run errands and do a little work, so I put fun sticky notes all over the house. They started at the front door with “30 reasons I’m glad you were born”. It then led him on a little scavenger hunt around the house. It was fun, and “not too big”.

That evening, we planned dinner at home. On the menu, we had:

-Bungalow Salad

-Baked Potatoes

-Filet Mignon

-Sour Cream Apple Pie

(All recipes previously posted) except the baked potato recipe.

I have a confession. This is shameful. Very shameful. Are you ready??

 

 

I’ve never baked a potato before!!! SHHH…

 

I just don’t prefer baked potatoes. I will eat them, but prefer mashed instead. Lane, is the opposite. So when he asked for baked potatoes I had to call my mom and ask (which I immediately forgot what she said) and then had to rely on the internet. Thankfully, the internet let me to Alton Brown, which led me to the perfect baked potato.

Baked Potatoes courtesy of Alton Brown

1 large russet potato (If it looks like Mr. Potato Head(r), you've got the right one.)

Canola oil to coat

Kosher salt

Heat oven to 350 degrees and position racks in top and bottom thirds. Wash potato (or potatoes) thoroughly with a stiff brush and cold running water. Dry, then using a standard fork poke 8 to 12 deep holes all over the spud so that moisture can escape during cooking. Place in a bowl and coat lightly with oil. Sprinkle with kosher salt and place potato directly on rack in middle of oven. Place a baking sheet on the lower rack to catch any drippings.

Bake 1 hour or until skin feels crisp but flesh beneath feels soft. Serve by creating a dotted line from end to end with your fork, then crack the spud open by squeezing the ends towards one another. It will pop right open. But watch out, there will be some steam.

NOTE: If you're cooking more than 4 potatoes, you'll need to extend the cooking time by up to 15 minutes.

Served with cheese, sour cream, bacon bits and green onions.

With dinner,  we opened up a bottle of wine that I bought in Napa Valley, days after Lane and I got engaged. I bought it at Merryvale, which is where we planned to have our rehearsal dinner. Sadly, our plans to marry in Napa Valley were changed due to a significant amount of family that wouldn’t be able to make it.  However, I still have such great memories of Merryvale and can’t wait to take Lane there one day! He’s had their wine several times before and requested this bottle for his birthday. I agreed, only on the notion that we’d have to go back soon and get more!

For your viewing pleasure, here’s a peek at the Merryvale Cask Room…Someday, we hope to have an anniversary party there to make up for our planned rehearsal dinner that we had to cancel.

We went to bed that evening, fat and happy!

The next day, we packed up the car and headed to Waco for the A&M/Baylor football game. Lane and I have been to every A&M/Baylor game together, except for one, since we met six years ago. So this was a fun way to end his birthday weekend.

We have good friends that own a school bus that’s been converted to an RV and painted green and gold! They take it to most home games in Waco and we planned to tailgate with them. I made a few snacks for the day since we wouldn’t really be able to eat a real meal. It was really fun to see a bunch of RANDOM people crowded around our table scarfing down my food. It was flattering! I made Pumpkin Cream Cheese dip, Caramelized Onion Dip, Banana Nut Bread and S’Mores Cupcakes (recipes below).

We had such a fun weekend and Lane said it was a great birthday. We were so happy to share it with friends. My friends, Banner and Jill came down to celebrate, as well as Lane’s best friend (and Baylor Bear!) Raymond and his girlfriend, Ashleigh. We were blessed to share the day with them.

Jill, Banner and Me, holding our “Beers and Cheers, Lane’s 30” cups I had made!

Raymond and Ashleigh

What a great birthday weekend! Happy Birthday to my best friend, husband and partner! I love you!

Recipes

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Dip from Creating Nirvana

(sorry, no picture. Just imagine an orange dip!)

2 cups of roasted pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin puree
1 8 ounce package of cream cheese, room temperature
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground cloves
¼ cup brown sugar

Blend all the ingredients together. Chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour before serving. Serve with crackers or fruit.

(I served it with pretzels and really liked it!) This was so easy. I’ll definitely make it again.

Caramelized Onion Dip from Rachel Ray, via Peace, Love and French Fries

1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
2 large onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp thyme
1 beef bouillon cube
1/2 cup water
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
16 oz sour cream (I used reduced fat)
3 oz cream cheese, softened (I used reduced fat)

Heat butter and oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat (I went between medium and medium-low). Cook onions and garlic until soft and brown, between 20-20 minutes, stirring every 3-4 minutes.
Add beef bouillon and water, cook until mixture is combined. Season with Worcestershire sauce, thyme, salt and pepper to taste. Stir until combined. Cool and refrigerate mixture.
Combine sour cream and cream cheese, stir until smooth. Add chilled onion mixture and stir to combine. Chill for at least 30 minutes before serving.

THIS IS DELICIOUS! I served it with the Cracked Pepper Triscuits, and they were perfect with it. It was GONE by the end of the tailgate.

Banana Nut Bread from Thyme and Traditions Cookbook (Glenwood Church of Christ in Tyler, Texas)

1/2 c. Sugar

2 Eggs

2 c. Flour

1 tsp. baking soda

3/4 c. buttermilk

3 medium bananas, mashed

1 c. nuts (I used pecans)

1 tsp. vanilla

Cream sugar and eggs until fluffy. Sift together flour and baking soda, then add to butter and sugar. Ad buttermilk, bananas, nuts and vanilla. Bake 50 minutes at 350 until done.

I can’t tell you how this tasted, because, well, I never got any! I set it on the table and never saw it again! Who knows. So, if you had any or make it, let me know! I’m sure I’ll make it again soon, though, because I always have leftover bananas from my lunch. (I only like green bananas! I don’t like when they brown!)

S’Mores Cupcakes

(I don’t know where I found this recipe, so I can’t site a source! I’m so sorry. If it’s yours, let me know. I’ll be happy to credit you.)

Graham Cracker & Milk Chocolate Cupcakes
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup finely crushed graham crackers

2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt (I reduced this to 1/2 tsp)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup milk (room temp)
4 hershey's milk chocolate bars (I pulsed mine in the food processor to make them a lot smaller)

Swiss Meringue Marshmallow Frosting (NOT BUTTERCREAM)
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
4 egg whites
1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract (optional)
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Mix flour, crushed graham crackers, baking powder, and salt together and set aside.
3. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla. Alternately add flour mixture and milk and beat until batter is almost smooth. Fold in chocolate chips.
4. Spoon batter into cupcake papers, filling cups about 2/3 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool.
5. To make the frosting: Combine egg whites and sugar in the top of a double boiler (or a glass bowl over but not touching a pan of simmering water). Whisk constantly over medium-high heat until mixtures reaches 160°F, about 5 minutes. Pour egg white mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on high for 6 minutes or until room temperature. Add optional vanilla extract 1 teaspoon at a time until desired flavor.
6. Frost cooled cupcakes and sprinkle with grated milk chocolate or graham cracker crumbs.

I actually ran out of eggs, and didn’t make the meringue frosting. I ended up making just a basic cream cheese/buttercream icing. I also molded hershey’s into the lego shape with a lego ice tray! Lane LOVED Legos as a child, so I thought it was a fun touch.

I love my Kroger!

I told Lane that we can never leave this neighborhood only because I LOVE my Kroger! (Wow, how old am I that I have an allegiance to a grocery store??) But, it’s not just any grocery store..It’s like the Rolls Royce of grocery stores. They have live music playing, an olive bar with an impressive cheese selection and lots of very friendly people. I go every Sunday and have come to know the employees there. Gloria helps me with seafood and shares her prayer requests with me…Forrest helps me with the meat counter and tells me I have pretty eyes…I don’t know his name, but the little German man at the deli counter tells me he’ll se me next week….and Carl. Carl is the in store “chef” who is always cooking up something delicious.

One day, Gloria told me I should try what Carl was cooking because it was on special and really delicious. So I did, and was immediately sold. We now have this meal at least every two weeks. It’s SOOO simple and easy and delicious! I really, really like the flavor of the steelhead trout. It’s not fishy at all, but really tasty and has similar health benefits to salmon.

Steelhead with Dill and Dry Mustard from Carl at my Kroger

1 lb Fish (Steelhead Trout)

4 TBS Olive Oil

1 TBS Butter

1-2 Cloves Garlic, minced

1/2 TSP Dill

3 TBS White wine

1 TSP Lemon/Juice

1/2 TSP Dry Mustard

1/2 TSP Cajun Season (I used Slap Yo Momma, compliments of my Dad!)

Combine olive oil, wine, butter, lemon juice, garlic in frying pat at medium heat. Add fish after 1-2 minutes. Place fish face down for –3 minutes, then flip over the season with dill, dry mustard and cajun seasoning. Cook about 7 minutes, until flaky.

We served with our favorite side, sauteed asparagus.

I have amazing friends.

I speak the truth. I am so blessed to have truly amazing friends. It blows my mind that some of those friends I’ve known for more than 15 years. Some of the others, we’re working on 10 years of friendship (which sadly means that we’re getting old because we met in college). I am beyond blessed to have a group of about 6 women that love me unconditionally and want to actually hang out with me. I still don’t get it, but I’ll continue to be their friend until they realize how big of a dork I am.

My very best friend, Mary C., had a birthday last week and even though she cooked dinner for us on her own birthday, I had to make her birthday cupcakes. I searched and searched for the perfect recipe for her and came across this one. And, let me tell you, these are definitely perfect. The three pieces don’t exactly taste great on their own, however, when you put them all together, they will blow your mind. If they didn’t take 4 hours to make, I might make them every day. They are so delicious. I thought about leaving out the ganache, and I’m so glad I didn’t. It’s the glue that pulled everything together. Enjoy!

Guiness and Bailey’s Irish Cream Cupcakes from Annie’s Eats

Yield: 24 cupcakes
Ingredients:
For the Guinness chocolate cupcakes:
1 cup stout (Guinness)
16 tbsp. unsalted butter
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1½ tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream

For the Bailey’s ganache filling:
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp. butter, at room temperature
2 tsp. Bailey’s Irish cream

For the Bailey’s buttercream frosting:
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
3-4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
4-8 tbsp. Bailey’s Irish cream

Directions:
To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350° F.  Line two cupcake pans with paper liners.  Combine the stout and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add the cocoa powder and whisk until smooth.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.  In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the eggs and sour cream to blend.  Add the stout-butter mixture and beat just to combine.  Mix in the dry ingredients on low speed just until incorporated.  Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake liners, filling them about 2/3 to ¾ full.  Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 17 minutes.  Allow to cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the ganache filling, place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl.  Heat the cream in a small saucepan until simmering, then pour it over the chocolate.  Let sit for one minute and then whisk until smooth.  If the chocolate is not completely melted, place the bowl over a double boiler or give it a very short burst in the microwave (15-20 seconds).  Add the butter and Bailey’s and stir until combined.

Set aside to let the ganache cool until it is thick enough to be piped.  (You can use the refrigerator to speed the cooling process, but be sure to stir every 10 minutes or so to ensure even cooling.)  Meanwhile, cut out a portion from the center of the cupcake using the cone method (a small paring knife works best for this).  Once the ganache has reached the correct consistency, transfer it to a piping bag fitted with a wide tip and pipe it into the cupcakes. SIDE NOTE: the cone method makes me so sad! It’s such a waste of delicious cupcake. You could definitely keep the little cones and make a trifle type dessert or little bite sized dessert.

To make the frosting, place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.  Gradually add the powdered sugar until it is all incorporated.  Mix in the Bailey’s until smooth.  Add more if necessary until the frosting has reached a good consistency for piping or spreading.  Frost the cupcakes as desired.

Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes

I love fall in Texas. The weather is perfect, people are happy and the food just seems to taste better. I love the flavor of pumpkin. Pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cake…I just love it. Every year, however, there seems to be a canned pumpkin shortage (guess I’m not the only one that loves me some pumpkin!) so when I came across this recipe, I immediately went to the store and bought my pumpkin…we’ll just say that there will be no pumpkin shortage in this house this year!

A dinner was planned with my very best girlfriends and I knew that would be the best place to try out this recipe. These cupcakes were delicious! Lane said they were some of the best he’s had. They are moist and flavorful and just perfect. I will be making them again very soon!

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes from Martha Stewart via Sing for your Supper
*Makes 32 cupcakes (I halved the recipe, because Lord knows we don’t need 32 cupcakes in our house!)

4 cups cake flour (not self-rising), sifted
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 Tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 1/2 cups packed light-brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin (not pie filling)
Cream Cheese Frosting

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed (I used my stand mixer with paddle attachment), cream butter and brown sugar until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and beating until just combined. Add pumpkin; beat until just combined.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full.
Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 10 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely. Cupcakes can be refrigerated up to 3 days in airtight containers.

Frost with cream cheese frosting, if desired.