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Chonky Boys: The Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches that Scream Summer!

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Featuring my thick and nuggy Chonky Boy Chocolate Chip Cookies, these ice cream sandwiches are the stuff that summer dreams are made of.  If you've ever had the Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich at Disneyland , you are going to LOVE these!  These big and bold chocolate chip cookies are based on a recipe from my culinary school studies at Auguste Escoffier, but with a few modifications to give them that Jennuine touch.  They make the perfectas book for a fat slice of real vanilla bean ice cream.  And those mini chips?  You just gotta have that extra cronch! Thank goodness this recipe only makes 8 sandwiches, otherwise I would be eating them for breakfast lunch and dinner.  This way, my big family can help save me from my inner child diet-saboteur.   Print With Image Without Image Chonky Boy Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches Yield: 8 Author: Jenn Erickson Loaded with chocolate chips and buttery, brown-sugary vanilla flavor, these mall-sized cookies form a perfect partnership with a
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Celebrate Lincoln's Birthday with Mary Todd Lincoln Tea Cakes!

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What are you serving for Abraham Lincoln's birthday?  Well, if you were Mary Todd Lincoln, wife to the 16th president of the United States, you'd probably whip up your signature vanilla almond sponge cake to delight "Honest Abe" on February 12.   You needn't travel back to the 1860s to get a taste of this historical cake.  The cake is easy to prepare, and you'll find everything you need to make it at your local grocery store.   I found a recipe for the "Mary Todd Lincoln Cake" adapted to today's measuring conventions by Amy of visit-gettysburg.com.  It can be prepared as a bundt cake or as a layer cake.  When served as a layer cake, the cake is typically layered with preserves.  My take on the classic is to make individual tea cakes filled with just a spot of tart raspberry preserves, and topped with a dash of powdered sugar.  The combination of the ground almonds and raspberry preserves reminds me of a Linzer Torte.  They mak
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HOW IS A CSA BOX LIKE A LINKY PARTY? A LITTLE BIRDIE TOLD ME...#6

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Credit:   Full Circle Farm  Welcome to "A Little Birdie Told Me..." Tuesday!   If you're here to share a craft, recipe or project post, you'll find the linky and the specifics on how to  strut your stuff   just after the features below. This past week, Wendy of " The Local Cook " shared a recipe for Roasted Parsnips with Balsamic Vinegar and Rosemary , which she was inspired to make when she received parsnips in her vegetable box subscription. If you've visited Rook No. 17 for "A Little Birdie Told Me..." in the past, you'll know that each week I visit each of the participants who've linked up, then decide on a theme for the weekly spotlights based on some commonality that organically emerges from the latest crop of entries.  So Wendy's story about her parsnips got me thinking that in many ways, a linky party is very much like a CSA box (Community Supported Agriculture vegetable boxes are subscription based deliverie
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Red Lotus Martini for your Asian New Year Celebration

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Last night my family had the pleasure of hosting an Asian New Year celebration.  My friend Holly, of 504 Main , made homemade fortune cookies containing a collection of thought provoking fortunes, with a few snarky ones thrown in for good measure!  My friend Geri brought a wonderful salad loaded with fresh chicken, baby greens, mandarin oranges, slivered almonds and crispy noodles. I made a "red envelope" for each child using some colorful origami paper (free template and download HERE ), enclosed a few coins, and handed them out at the end of the evening. For the occasion I wanted to serve a cocktail to fit the theme, and came across a few recipes for a drink called a Red Lotus.  The recipes I found online for a Red Lotus called for Lychee Liquor.  I didn't have the time, or even the desire to spend the day hunting down this specialty liquor, and opted instead to create my own version of the drink that would be delicious both with and without alcohol
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Celebrate Presidents' Day with George Washington's Favorite Breakfast -- Hoecakes!

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Looking for a fun and easy way to celebrate Presidents' Day with your family? Try making George Washington's favorite breakfast -- Hoecakes! One of the things that brings me the greatest joy is being able to use my creativity to create special and magical little moments for the people I care about ~ transforming the ordinary and sometimes mundane moments of life into something that shimmers!  Many of us long for "a life less ordinary", but find that commercialism has narrowed our focus to a few favored holidays.  In reality, almost every day is a day being celebrated somewhere in the world.  What better opportunity to learn about the people with whom we share our globe, than by acquainting ourselves with the unique ways that they express joy and celebrate life? Since my many talented friends in the blogosphere have already produced a wealth of original, creative, and fun Valentine projects this year, I'd like to offer up a sweet little tradition
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FREE PRINTABLE RED ENVELOPE CRAFT FOR ASIAN NEW YEAR -- Year of the Rabbit

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"Gung Hay Fat Choy" means "Wishing You Prosperity & Wealth" One of the best things about being a part of a co-op school for my daughters' preschool years was all the multi-cultural traditions that were shared by the families in the co-op.  One of my girls' favorite traditions, and mine, was the week where we celebrated the Asian New Year.  Receiving a red envelope at the end of the week was always the highlight, and the girls still talk about it to this day with great fondness. Red envelopes (red because it symbolizes luck) are traditionally handed out to children during the Chinese New Year.  This year is the Year of the Rabbit, so I created a rabbit themed envelope to keep the tradition going in my home.  Each girl will get a red envelope with a $1 gold coin inside. The Asian New Year started with the New Moon on Feburary 3 this year, and goes for 15 days until the Full Moon.  Why not make up a few red envelopes for your family
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Toy Story Birthday Party -- Free downloads and ideas -- To Infinity and Beyond...

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So many things have changed since I first became a mother back in 2001.  And while I no longer have as much time, energy, or money as I used to, my desire to create birthday magic for my girls hasn't diminished one bit.   This past weekend, I put together a Toy Story themed birthday party for my 6-year old daughter.  With a few creative touches and a little bit of elbow grease, I was able to create a fun and memorable party without breaking the bank, or staying up until 4:00a.m. the night before. Step 1:  The Invitations I've always been of the mindset that a nice invitation sets the tone for the whole party.  But what to do when you're short on time and on funds?   I found my solution in the creative personalized invitations at printmyparty.com .   Print My Party creates personalized invitations that look like special event tickets, in dozens of styles (Disney themes, Super Heroes, Movies, popular musicians, etc).  Ordering online was incredibly e
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