for the holiday cookie swap...

thanks to duncan hines for sponsoring my writing. there's no limit to the baking possibilities, so grab your favorite duncan hines mix and comstock or wilderness fruit fillings and bake on!  www.duncanhines.com


i'm ashamed to admit this, but i really don't do much holiday entertaining. we love having cookouts in the summer, but once the cooler weather hits and the hustle & bustle of the holidays takes over, well, we seem to be busy doing other things {read: going to parties and other holiday festivities}. but, being busy does not mean that i don't have time to satisfy everyone's sweet tooth.

it's no secret: i love to bake. i also love to share my goodies with friends & family. during the holidays, i am always in the kitchen creating something whether it's cupcakes for my children to share with their classmates, cake pops for the hard working teachers in my life or cookies for the annual cookie swap.

and, speaking of cookie swaps...

they seem to happen quite often this time of the year. never mind the fact that you're probably being inundated with goodies at work, school, or home, right?? this friday, i'm attending a cookie swap with a few of my friends and i cannot wait to sink my teeth into some freshly made sweet treats! around the holidays, i bake a lot. sometimes i bake from scratch, but i'm no stranger to taking a shortcut or two. while i prefer not to buy store-bought goodies, i often turn to my grocery store's baking aisle for some help. for the cookie swap this year, i'm very excited to try out a recipe from duncan hines...

{via}

brownie cookie macaroons
{for the recipe, please click here}

brownies plus coconut macaroons...what's not to love?? and, these luscious, rich cookies would look stunning when displayed on a fun holiday plate filled with red & green, don't you think?

in addition to sampling some amazing cookies & other sweets, cookie swaps are also a great way to build up your recipe file and add a few new things into your repertoire. toss in a holiday plate swap, good wine & great friends and you've got yourself a holiday shindig that is sure to please!

what yummy, fun things are you baking this holiday? 

remember to check out duncan hines' website www.duncanhines.com to find some great recipes for your holiday get-together! i was selected for this sponsorship by the clever girls collective.

the flourless, six ingredient cookie.

first of all, i would like to preface this post by saying something that anyone & everyone who tweets already knows -- twitter is probably the worst enabler in all of social media. if you don't tweet, you should. but, don't blame me for your shopping purchases or your expanding waistline.

case in point? these cookies.

i was tweeting yesterday, minding my business {ha ha ha!} when i saw that a sweet twitter friend & blogging pal had posted a recipe for chocolate chip peanut butter cookies. even better when she said the cookies were made with only five ingredients. say what?! {technically, the cookie has six ingredients, but whatever...}

you know me, i had to check out the recipe. i'm so glad i did. i'm also very thankful that i had all of the ingredients {well, sort of}.

y'all, this cookie is flour-free, oil-free & butter-free. does it taste good? hell yea it does! was it easy to make? yes. even though i didn't have exactly what the recipe called for, i guarantee you probably have all of the ingredients sitting in your fridge & pantry right now.

here's the recipe {from epicurious}:
flourless peanut butter & chocolate chip cookies
1 cup super chunky peanut butter*
1 cup golden brown sugar, packed**
1 large egg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

preheat the oven to 350 degrees. mix first five ingredients in a medium bowl. mix in chocolate chips. using moistened hands***, form generous one tablespoon of dough for each cookie into a ball. arrange on two ungreased baking sheets, spacing cookies two inches apart. bake cookies until puffed, golden brown on bottom & still soft to the touch in the center -- about 12 minutes. cool on baking sheets for about five minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

now go...make these gluten-free cookies! your taste buds will thank you for them!

*i used creamy peanut butter.  if you have a peanut allergy, i'm going to assume that you could sub the peanut butter for "soy nut" butter or sunflower seed butter. let me know how it turns out!
**all i had was light brown sugar. it worked.
***i used a pampered chef cookie scoop that was, i think, bigger than a tablespoon. it made for some nice sized cookies. yum!

forget gumdrops & sugarplums...

i've got cookies, cake balls & marshmallows!

i went on a little baking binge last weekend. it was nuts.

i baked a batch of coconut macaroons:

{the photo is crackberry-licious}

the macaroon recipe is courtesy of ina garten {you know, the barefoot contessa} from the food network & you can easily follow along to the recipe by clicking here. it is, by far, the easiest cookie {?} recipe ever...the hardest part is whipping the egg whites & even that's not too difficult! try them because if you cuckoo about coconut {like we are} then you'll love these!

i also made snowballs, er, mexican wedding cookies again. this time, i added an almond hershey's kiss to the center of each cookie for some added oomph. you can find the recipe for the mexican wedding cookies here.

and, i made chocolate chip cookies done the nestle toll house way. yes, i took the recipe straight from the back of the bag of chocolate chips. they were crispy & perfect. i omitted the nuts because i was out. i plan on making more tonight...this time adding pecans and using both semi-sweet & white chocolate chips. mmm! click here for the nestle toll house chocolate chip cookie recipe.

yeah, that first picture is sideways. just tilt your head to the right. i'm too lazy to edit the photo so you'll just have to make do with my crackberry pics.

okay, so onto the next portion of my baking binge...homemade marshmallows. i have been wanting to try making marshmallows for a while & i finally did last friday. they were so easy to make & they taste so. much. better. than the store-bought kind. trust me. we loved them so much i made a second batch last night. i have yet to attempt to flavor them {i'd like peppermint flavored marshmallows} but i will try that soon. promise.

i used alton brown's {♥ ♥ ♥} marshmallow recipe & you can get it by clicking here. like i said, it was super easy. i didn't use a candy thermometer {because something bad happened to it on thanksgiving...i mean, really, why are you going to use a candy thermometer to gauge the oil temperature in a turkey fryer. silly boys.}. i timed things by the recipe & it was perfect. some advice, though...don't smell the marshmallows while they are in the mixer 'fluffing.' it is stinky. like "i can't believe i'm actually going to eat that" stinky. once you add the vanilla and spread it in the pan, it will smell fine. trust. it's still...good eats.

remember, don't sniff while fluffing!

it's going to be hard, but it's best to let them sit overnight

hmm...somebody was up past his bedtime, but i suppose it was alright because it was a friday and momma was making homemade marshmallows. how could you pass up licking the mixer's whisk?

all you need to add is cocoa! be sure to use some restraint...it's way too easy to pop one {or five} of these bad boys into your mouth. i took a few of them & dipped them into melted chocolate almond bark & holiday colored nonpariels. delicious.

cake balls. oh, yes...cake balls. earlier this week i made two batches. i'll be making cake balls again today. i am a sucker. i know.

cake balls are super easy, but really time consuming {and, kind of frustrating sometimes}. for some really great cake ball & cake pop ideas, please visit bakerella. she's fabulous. also, my friend, lis, is just plain awesome at making these and she's got a great tutorial on her blog...here.

here is the rundown on making cake balls:

• bake boxed cake as directed. let cool.
• crumble cooled cake in a large bowl & add up to one jar of frosting.
• mix well until you get a 'doughy' consistency.
• form into balls & place on parchment or waxed paper lined cookie sheet.
• freeze cake balls for up to an hour.
• melt whichever candies you prefer {i prefer using almond bark} using whichever melting method you prefer {i use the double boiler method}.
• dip cake balls.
• decorate.
• gobble them up.

below are the cake balls i made for malia's third grade class holiday party:

we gave out ten teacher gifts this year & each teacher recieved an ornament, four cake balls & four marshmallows:

and this...this, my friends, is the platter of misfit cake balls. i had every intention of making santa hat cake balls like i saw on bakerella's site. yeah, that didn't turn out so well. i resorted to making balls...so. much. easier.


whatever holiday treats you make for santa, i hope you have fun in the kitchen! be sure to share the recipe, too...i'm always on the lookout for a yummy new treat to make!

happy holidays, y'all...and remember to brush & floss your teeth really good after eating all of these sweets!

snowballs of fun.

it doesn't snow here. not much, at least. when it does, an inch will shut the city down. seriously. sometimes, it doesn't even take an inch.

since it doesn't snow {much} here & considering that i now have all the time in the world to bake, i made these little gems last week. they're called mexican wedding cookies, but i call them snowballs of fun.

i paired my cookies with some coffee flavored with coffeemate's peppermint mocha creamer & you, too, can serve your holiday cookies on a personalized polka dot plate by ordering one from molly lou gifts.

---

mexican wedding cookies
{from martha stewart's baking handbook}

ingredients:
1 cup {3-3/4 ounces} pecan halves
2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks {1 cup} unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract

the method:
preheat the oven to 350* f, with racks in the upper & lower thirds. line two large baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. in a food processor, combine pecans with 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar; pulse until nuts are finely ground. in a large bowl, whisk together the sugar-nut mixture, flour, and salt; set aside.

in a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter & 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar on medium speed until light & fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. beat in the vanilla and almond extracts. add the flour mixture, and beat on low speed until the dough just comes together.

roll dough into 3/4-inch balls; place about 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are pale on top & lightly browned on the bottom (lift with a spatula to check), 10 to 12 minutes. transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

place remaining 1 cup confectioners' sugar in a shallow bowl, and roll cookies in it to coat completely. cookies can be kept in an airtight container, layered between sheets of waxed or parchment paper, at room temperature for up to 4 days.

---

the cookies were a hit. the kids loved them. adam loved them. of course, i loved them. next time i make them {which will more than likely be this weekend} i am going to put a hershey's kiss in the center for some added oomph.

I have a boyfriend...

...and his name is Mike.

He's got this pastry shop in Boston's North End. Yeah, Mike's Pastry...that's the one.

Those little gems picture below...they are the apricot bows. I bought six cookies on my first visit. I came home with two dozen more {in addition to four dozen other cookies}:

{source}

I've never stood in line for baked goods before {I'm talking about a line that went out the door & down the block}. I've never spent over $30 on cookies before {well, maybe Girl Scout cookies, but those don't count}. But, now that I've sampled some of the insanely delectable cookies from Mike's, I believe my taste buds have been forever changed. Thank goodness they ship!

Tears, Tantrums & Treats

It's been a while since either one of my children has had a full-blown meltdown and I suppose the hubs & I were long overdue for one because we were blessed yesterday afternoon.

After picking up the boy from the sitter, Aidan & I headed home for a quick pit stop. My plan was to turn right back around and head to Target. I pulled into the driveway to find Adam loading the fishing poles & tackle box into the bed of his truck. I knew he was going fishing. Aidan did not.

Let the whining commence...

Aidan followed Adam into the house. It all started with "I want to go fishing" and it escalated from there. The fishing chant continued. Aidan followed Adam throughout the house like a little duckling following its momma. Adam kept telling Aidan, "Next time. Next time." OK, no problem...or so I thought.

We get outside and it's time for us to leave {besides, Adam needed to back down the driveway and I was blocking him in}. By this time, Aidan is crying. Really crying. He had big ole tears running down his face and he kept saying over & over, "But I want to go fishing!" Adam promised him that he would go next time. {Side note: Adam was going fishing around dusk and into the later evening hours...Adam wasn't being mean...we just don't take the kids fishing on the boat at night.}

Adam hugged Aidan...squeezed him, loved on him, kissed him...and got him into the car. Instantly, Aidan arched his back and his whole body stiffened. Get ready...because here comes the tantrum monster rearing it's ugly head! {Any of you parents out there know that the arched back/stiff child combo is NOT fun...and it's especially not fun when trying to buckle your child into his carseat!} Aidan would NOT sit in his booster. Not.At.All. This whole time I was - and I'm almost ashamed to admit it - letting Adam deal with it. I was just sitting in the driver's seat breathing slowly & trying to keep calm. Adam shuts the door. Aidan's still not buckled. Aidan rolls down the window and proceeds to yell, "But I want to go fishing!" He kept screaming it. His tear-stained cheeks were red from frustration, but at least he was finally buckled.

We set off for Target. By this time, I don't even remember why I needed to go. I even second-guessed my reasoning for even going because:

1. It's never fun going anywhere with an angry child.
2. He will probably fall asleep during the ride there (because crying & yelling is exhausting, ya know) and
3. What was supposed to be a quick "in & out" trip could possibly turn into something longer.

The WHOLE way to Target - OK, so it's only a 10 minute drive from the house - Aidan's in the backseat crying and chanting, "I want my Daddy! I........want.........my.....Da.......ddy!!" Bless his heart. And, in between sobs & catching his breath, he started to yawn.

As we pulled into the Target parking lot, I quickly found a parking space near the building and I did what any desperate mother would do...I reduced myself to bribery!

Me: You know, Aidan, if you stop crying I just might buy you a treat when we get inside - that is if you are a good boy while we're in the store.
Aidan: But...{sob sob sob}...I can't stop crying!
Me: Well, just try. Wipe your tears and catch your breath. I know you're upset but you know Daddy will take you fishing next time.
Aidan: {more crying} But I want my Daddy....now!
Me: Oh, Aidan...it's going to be OK. Let's go in the store and see what we can find for you.

Yes, I'm not above bribery...no sir, not at all. We got out of the car and walked into Target. Our first stop...the snack bar. It's amazing what a cookie and an Icee can do for the upset soul! Our next stop...the $1 section {which some of it was half off!} for an Ironman paddle ball set. After that, the rest of the trip was a breeze. Not a single tear was shed and Aidan quickly forgot about Daddy and fishing.

---

OK, so I know some of you are probably out there cringing because I've just reinforced a behavior that perhaps should have been handled in a different way. But, to me, his fit was over something that WILL happen and his behavior wasn't ridiculously out of line. Besides, desperate times call for desperate measures.

And, you know how I rewarded myself (because, YES, I felt I deserved to be rewarded after an afternoon like that)?? Two glasses of Barefoot Zinfandel after the boy went to bed (stay tuned for a Barefoot giveaway this weekend!).

Must. Have. Some. Self. Control.

Ha!

Self-control...what in the hell is that?

I sure don't have any of it, especially when it comes to things like, oh, shopping, bitching and eating. Eating. It's been my downfall lately. Well, not so much eating, but snacking. I like to snack. Very much. I snack while working. I snack while fixing dinner. I snack at 9pm while watching television. I'm ashamed to admit that I've even snacked in bed.

I don't know if it's like a permanent PMS thing I've got going on -- ya know, hormone-related crap. I don't know if it's because I work in an office full of chocolate-addicted women -- could be. I don't know if it's the weather -- because this warm, cold, sunny, cloudy pattern sucks.

I just don't know!

What I do know is that my eating habits have turned to crap (and it's good to know I'm not alone...go read J-Ko's latest blog entry, "Sex and the Mommy"). I mean, just yesterday afternoon I was stuffing Thin Mints into my mouth as I'm sauteeing broccoli in olive oil and garlic (hey, at least I was fixing a healthy side for dinner, right?). Girl Scout cookies should be listed as the 8th deadly sin...am I the only one who thinks this? The other day I opened the freezer for a sweet treat and I totally bypassed the frozen strawberry popsicle things for an ice cream sammich. Oh, did I fail to mention that this was like around 9:30 at night? Yeah. Yesterday, for lunch, I rekindled my love affair with Taco Bell and gorged myself on soft taco supremes...I saved the bean burrito I bought for today's lunch. Earlier this week I had a #1 from Wendy's and today I totally devoured some waffle fries from Chick-Fil-A after I already had lunch. Shoot --this whole month has just been bad. I mean, a beer binge in Mexico, eating my weight in meat at the Brazilian restaurant in Atlanta, pizzas from Pizza Hut for dinner...no wonder my energy level is next to nothing and my muffin top is looking oh, so fab.

Something's gotta give...but not after we have ice cream cake tonight for my daughter's birthday. Tomorrow's another day, right? A new beginning. The perfect time to start working on that self-control. Maybe.

V-Day Cookies

The kids bought me a double heart-shaped cookie cutter from Crate & Barrel while they were at my parents house over winter break and last night we made sugar cookies and the kids decorated them.

Malia's cookie:

Malia's finished decorating & Aidan's getting a little "heavy handed" with the sugar sprinkles:

Aidan's cookie (he wrote "i heart u" on it):

Enjoying the finished product!

Snickerdoodles

I baked cookies tonight. Anyone who knows me KNOWS that I don't bake cookies...and, if I do, it's with some help from Toll House or Pillsbury from the refrigerated section of Wally World.

Anyway, I decided to bake cookies tonight...I wanted something simple to make and something I could make without having to go to the store. So, I made Snickerdoodles. I used a recipe that I found at allrecipes.com:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Snickerdoodles-III/Detail.aspx

Surprisingly, they turned out quite well. I was a bit worried at first because I'm NOT used to cookie dough...I'm used to cake batter and the consistency of cake batter, so when it started becoming difficult to stir the cookie mixture I started to panic, but Adam reassured me that it's called cookie DOUGH for a reason...duh (I have been told...no offense to my blonde friends, that I am the blondest Asian, or Asian-American, on the face of the planet...but that's a different blog entry!).

So, I got the cookie dough made, rolled out 1 inch balls and coated them in a cinnamon/sugar mixture and baked them for 10 minutes at 400 degrees. I don't know if I found a recipe that I really liked and worked well with or if it's my Pampered Chef cookie sheets, but they turned out perfect!

I have some already packaged up for Aidan's teachers at Childtime since tomorrow is his last day of daycare until school starts again in January. The kids each had one for dessert...they loved them! And, Adam said they were great. So, I am thinking tomorrow I'll head to Wally World during my lunch break and pick up some more flour, sugar and eggs (since I used the last two eggs tonight) and make some more Snickerdoodles tomorrow night.