Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

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Snow days + pregnancy cravings + ample amounts of baking supplies equal good things (unless my obstetrician tells me otherwise at my upcoming appointment). Last week I had a ridiculous craving for chocolate chip cookies. Someone may or may not have demolished an entire package of chocolate chip cookies last week…can’t blame the hubby or toddler for that one. So naturally, when I was trying to decide what to make for my husband’s volunteer fire department’s annual dinner fundraiser, I knew what was going to be my contribution.

Each year the wives, along with some of the fire department’s auxiliary team, make desserts to go with the main meal. I opted to make some super delish chocolate chip cookie bars. Now, this recipe makes a lot…I cut 15 large (maybe giant is more appropriate) bars but you could easily double or triple that number by cutting them smaller.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

You can find Martha Stewart’s original recipe and directions here.

Ingredients:

1 ½ c (3 sticks) of butter at room temperature

4 c all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 c sugar

1 ½ c packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1 12oz bag of chocolate chips (butterscotch or peanut butter would also work well)

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350.

2. Cream together the butter and both sugars. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well. Add the vanilla.

3. Add the baking soda and then slowly add the flour. Mix until well combined (the mixture will be thick).

4. Add the chocolate chips. Mix until just combined.

5. Line a 9x13 pan with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Evenly spread the cookie dough batter into the pan (I found using a wooden spoon to work best).

6. Bake for 25-30 minutes and check. The top of the bars should be slightly browned. Over baking will make them dry and crumbly. I baked mine for almost 35 minutes and they turned out perfectly.

7. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Remove from the pan, slice and serve. Yum!

These were delicious! It is a good thing that they are not staying in my house because I would be in some serious trouble. These are so good! Enjoy!

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Tasty Tuesday: Butterscotch Haystacks

I'm giving credit to my first grade teacher for this one. If I had tasted these before her then I apologize.  I remember her bringing these to school one day and I was hooked.

Now it's been several years since I've made these but last night I had to have them. The cravings with this baby have been very similar to my first.  Eggs and sweets. Normally I can take or leave dessert but currently I'd rather eat it as the first course.  Last night's craving revolved around butterscotch...not the candies, but the chips, pudding,  pie, etc.

I happened to have what I needed for this recipe...so now present to you Butterscotch Haystacks!

Ingredients :
1c. butterscotch chips
1/2c. Peanut butter
2c. Chow mein noodles

Directions:
Combine the butterscotch chips and peanut butter into a medium-sized microwavable bowl. Heat for about 2 minutes and make sure to stir about every 30 seconds until the chips and peanut butter are well combined and smooth. Spoon the mixture into little piles on a sheet of foil or wax paper and allow to set completely. This recipe makes 12 to 15 generous haystacks but will easily make many more smaller ones. You could also mix it up and instead of using butterscotch chips use chocolate or white chocolate chips for a different flavor.

Enjoy!

Linking up with Green Fashionista for Tasty Tuesday

Christmas Memories: Homemade Sugar Cookies

I was so blessed to have my mom come up for Christmas. I love seeing her interact with G. I hate that our time together is so short and that the distance between us is so far...I have dreams for it to change some day. So until that day, we soak up every second and make as many memories as we can.

One of my favorite memories from childhood was making Christmas sugar cookies with my mom. She has used the same recipe forever and it always tastes the same. It is the essence of my childhood Christmases. To my delight, my mom chose to keep the tradition going with her granddaughter.

She even brought matching aprons! Isn't that the cutest thing?!

She and G enjoyed themselves thoroughly. Granna taught G how to roll out the dough and use the cookie cutters.

We opted out of the frosting this year and just decorated the cookies prior to baking. What fun!

Homemade Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

2/3 c shortening

1 1/2 c sugar

2/3 c butter (10tbsp)

2 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

8 tsp milk

4 c flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

Cream together shortening, butter and sugar. Add the vanilla and eggs, add flour, baking powder and salt. Add the milk. Mix well and chill for several hours (or overnight).

Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

Flour your work surface. Roll out the dough and cut with cookie cutters. Bake until the cookies are very lightly browned (10-12 minutes). Cool, frost and decorate.

Linking up with Green Fashionista

Inside Out German Chocolate Cake

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Oh how I love holiday baking. The kitchen gains a whole new scent from Thanksgiving to Christmas. The house is always filled with some type of sweet or savory smell this time of year. We had a short notice family gathering this past weekend and with some other fantastic activities we had planned, I didn't have time to do a lot of additional baking for the family event. That's when this semi-homemade dessert came to mind.

I have to give credit to one of my fellow teachers who first introduced me to the basic concept. Her recipe calls for a Butter Pecan cake base (A.MAZ.ING!) which was the only cake mix that was not available at our local Wal-Mart. What are the chances?

Time to improvise. What else goes well with coconut and pecans? Well chocolate of course! I call this cake simple (almost embarrassingly so) and you'll soon see why...

Inside Out German Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

1 box of German Chocolate cake mix

1 can of coconut pecan frosting

Eggs

Oil

Water

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350.

Generously spray a bunt pan (I could not find my "pretty pan" so my angel food cake pan had to suffice) with cooking spray.

Prepare the cake mix according to directions on the box. Before pouring the batter into the pan, remove the foil seal from the frosting and microwave it for about 35 seconds. Scoop the frosting into the cake batter and mix well.

Pour the batter evenly into pan. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Cool for 10 minutes and then remove from the pan by flipping it out onto a plate or platter.

 This cake is heavenly served warm but is also perfect the next day with a cup of coffee. You can't go wrong! I hope you'll find this recipe just as tasty and easy as I have. I continue to receive compliments on the taste and I never come home with leftovers (which could be a good or bad thing, depending how you look at it.)

Happy Baking!

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We Bought a Zoo

Well, not really but we did buy tickets. For G's upcoming birthday, we decided to share our love of animals with her and took a family trip to the North Carolina Zoo*. We had a blast! The road trip went off without any glitches and the weather could not have been better. We arrived about an hour after opening, but thanks to our weekday visit, the crowds were light.

Our little Gator Girl!

With each animal exhibit, we enjoyed watching G point out the things she saw, and although we can't yet understand any words other than "buh" for bug (and "nana" for all things food, Momma and Dada) we adored the way she eagerly sought out the animals we pointed to. We loved seeing her discover the animals, get bouncy when something got her excited, and her attempts to touch the animals through the glass made our hearts smile.

They had a special giant bug exhibit. They were so cool!

G had her first carousel ride!

I have always loved zoos and aquariums. It continues to be a delight and a true privilege to be able to share these places with my daughter. These trips offer multiple opportunities to talk about God's creation. I love being able to show her God's unique designs, talk to her about the amazing abilities/adaptations of the animals, and to help develop her appreciation for what the Lord has made.

...and of course she had to have a souvenir. She picked the elephant.

After a fun filled day at the zoo, G passed out 5 minutes after getting strapped into her car seat. We traveled the 10 minutes to our hotel to freshen up. We attempted to get G back to sleep for an afternoon nap but that was a no go. Instead, we headed out to an early dinner. We took a chance and ventured to a restaurant that came highly recommended by Trip Advisor. We went to Time Square Pizzeria*. From the outside it doesn't look like much but we were not disappointed. The food was great!!! Their customer service was excellent and the atmosphere was very family friendly. Several people heard we were from out of town as we spoke with the guy behind the counter and they sang the restaurant's praises.

We had the BBQ Chicken Wings and the Parmesan Chicken Pizza. G enjoyed the spaghetti. Everything looked amazing!

We came back to the hotel and enjoyed a bit of family time in the pool. G was not a huge fan but tolerated the water. Our hope that she would consider it a giant bathtub (because she loves bath time) was a bust.

After showers we began our night time routine. Surely she would sleep like a rock considering she had not had very much nap time and had such a big day...but alas, our little darling, who normally sleeps all night, was up every two hours. Finally, at 4am I moved her to the bed with us and just allowed her to lay there as I prayed for sleep. She ended up falling asleep for a couple of hours. Wish I could say the same. I've never been one to have her sleep with me and I just could not fall asleep while she lay there...

We awoke early and enjoyed a tasty continental breakfast. We headed out to do a couple more things before heading home. We killed some time at Walmart, where I almost took out an old lady (more to come on that later) and then headed to an antique store my husband had been eyeing. After browsing through the antiques, we dropped by Main Street Sweets*, a local cupcake shop for some goodies for the road. We've only tried two of them, but they were tasty! (Side note: Any time we travel, if there is a zoo, aquarium or cupcake shop, we MUST visit.)

Beginning at top left: Salted Caramel, Almond Joy, Snickers, Strawberry Cheesecake, Oreo, and Chocolate Peanut butter.

She slept almost the entire ride home.

While we love to travel and have adjusted to doing so with a baby, there is just something about coming home. Over the next couple of days we'll be getting the house ready for incoming family, Easter, and my daughter's first birthday. Happy Spring!

*I was not compensated in anyway for sharing information or singing the praises of the any of the mentioned places in this post.

 

 
 

 

 

Five on Friday

It's finally Spring...both in season and in current temperatures! April showers are sure to bring May flowers and Fridays bring their Five. Join me and others for this week's Five on Friday!

[one]
While this week has not been so great in the way of my exercise and weight loss, it has been great for some semi-baking. I don't normally participate in April Fool type festivities, but I could not resist. I provided my students with a word hunt that didn't actually have any of the listed words in the puzzle. The cuties poured over it for several minutes, muttering under their breaths about the difficulty. After a few minutes I broke the news. All but one proved to be good sports...I also shared some goodies with my co-workers. I tried a new recipe for Chocolate Yummies (the title does not do them justice...they were delish!) I put them in a little zip lock baggy promising inaccurate nutritional information...and then dashed their hopes at the end. Nothing fancy but totally fun :)

[two]
I've been cherishing some God moments this week. One of which is a small group Bible study that I am hoping to begin. I feel God moving and I see things coming together. Due to some needs that I'll need to meet in order for this to happen, we will (in the VERY near future) be transforming our office/catch-all room into a playroom (multi-purpose). I've been toying with some ideas. I want some thing bright but not too complicated or overwhelming. We do have hopes to move in the next couple of years and don't want something that will turn away potential buyers. However, we want it to be kid friendly...here are some of my ideas. I'd love some suggestions!


[three]
How could I not take advantage of this gorgeous weather?! Flip-flops, shorts and open windows. Glorious! G and I have spent the last few evenings outside after dinner. Yes, there are many things I could be doing that would allow my house to be cleaner and more organized but these moments spent with her are so precious and fleeting. I will never be able to get them back...all of this is becoming more bittersweet as we quickly approach her first birthday.

[four]
As I mentioned in a previous post, I've been feeling particularly sentimental these days and decided to make an album/pregnancy journal leading up to G's birth. I loved putting it together! It came in the mail yesterday and I've looked through it a dozen times! I can't get enough of reliving and savoring every moment.

[five]
Earlier this week, I heard my husband calling me from the living room while I was doing dishes. He insisted I take a look at that evening's sunset. The sky was stunning (the picture does not do it justice). We just stood there and took in God's gorgeous creation. How sweet it is to think that God made that sunset just for us in that moment. How He loves to bring joy to the hearts of His children.
 

 

 

 

 

 

Getting Serious About Sweets

I don't know if it's all the Valentine hype or what, but the need want for sweets has been much greater as of late. Once upon a time I did a "No Sweets" week and I think I'm at that point...a sweets detox if you will. It's always eye opening and of course, the health benefits are a plus. So, beginning this Monday through the next, there will be no sweets for me...wish me luck!

I tend to become really down on myself when I make poor food choices, and this last week has been no exception. With the meetings, snow and change in routine this past week, my eating habits have been far from satisfactory. My exercise routine also greatly suffered. ::sigh:: It's times like this that I become feeling defeated and of course, it's at that time that I could easily convince myself to just give up. In need of a refreshing perspective, I've decided to surf through my Be Healthy Board for inspiration.

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How often have I battled those thoughts of self worth and defeat? Countless. However, just as this quote indicates, God has empowered me to push on and overcome. The battlefield of the mind is vast and only by keeping my eye on my Savior will I make it through all that I encounter, whether it be weight loss or any other obstacle I may face.

This quote sums up last week...


So, here's to a new week. I won't look back unless it is to see how far I've come.