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Showing posts from May, 2013

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 cookie...

Creative Cake DIY: Beach Bucket Cake with Edible "Sand"
(and a Lemon Cake Oyster & Pearl on Top)

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The beach bucket cake is my favorite cake to make at this time of year.  It's always a big hit at the cake walk at my daughters' school carnival.  Last year, I shared my easy step-by-step tutorial for putting together your own beach bucket cake and my recipe for real-looking edible "sand".   Earlier this spring, I was contacted by Donsuemor , a gourmet bakery based right here in my home state, specializing in traditional French Madeleine cakes (that are sold online).  They had spotted my tutorial for making " Pearl & Oyster Cakes " out of Madeleines and wondered if I'd like to give their cakes a try.     They sent me a variety-box of their gourmet Madeleines which included traditional, chocolate, chocolate dipped, and lemon zest ( The box was complimentary.  I have received no monetary compensation for my review ).  The Madeleines were some of the finest I've tasted, but my family's favorite was the lemon zest....

Exquisite & Easy Gourmet Salted Caramel (in your microwave!)

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  Real, homemade, buttery melt-in-your-mouth caramel is the stuff of my dreams. A gourmet salted caramel is pure bliss in a single bite.  I've been making caramels for years, but because of my impatient nature, I've always relished the product but loathed the process -- hovering over a bubbling pot of molten sugar, eyes glued to the candy thermometer. Here's a little poem I penned about the process.  Making Caramel bubble, bubble, bubble Knock at the door. Hello friend. Come right in. I'll be right back. Caramel's on the stove. 270 degrees -- Soft Crack! (but I was only gone 1 minute) Back to the drawing board. Oh Sugar! So, when I read about a new way to make caramel in the microwave, I had to give it a go.  First batch was sensational --  Deep, rich caramel flavor, silky and smooth.  The fool-proof foundation enabled me to start experimenting with time and flavor to come up with the caramel of my dreams.  That's...

Summer Style: I {HEART} Vintage Clothing
A Shabby Apple Giveaway!

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"I'm a girl, and by me that's only great! I am proud that my silhouette is curvy, That I walk with a sweet and girlish gait With my hips kind of swivelly and swervy... ...When I have a brand new hairdo With my eyelashes all in curl, I float as the clouds on air do, I enjoy being a girl!" ~ Flower Drum Song, 1958 When it comes to fashion, I'm a nostalgist at heart. I adore retro style and vintage-inspired apparel. What are some of your favorite vintage style elements? For me, it's the polka dots, shift dresses and London mod style of the 1960s, the shirtwaist and full skirt dresses of the 1950s, and the Hollywood glam, pencil skirts, and fitted sweaters of the 1930s. For me, these trappings of yesteryear evoke an elegance, grace and femininity that is missing in many of today's trends. I'm delighted to be hosting a giveaway from Shabby Apple, my favorite online source for beautiful clothes with a vintage flair. Her...

Crafty Food: Easy Bento Box Butterflies and Rice

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I love finding news ways to combine crafting with cooking! This simple and healthy snack  gets a touch of creative whimsy from toasted seaweed and a craft punch! Rice balls made with half white and half brown rice are a popular snack and lunchbox item at my house.  We've all become fans of the snack packs of toasted se a weed that ha ve popped up in stores like Trader Joes and Costco.     So, for lunch the other day, I decided to combine the two -- using my butterfly punch from Martha Stewart Crafts to make delicate se aweed butterflies with which to embellish the rice balls.    My family loved them .  The girls are excited to have them in their school lunches.  I think they'd be a l ovely addition to a tea party or as a kid-friendly finger-food for a p otluc k.  ----------------------------- This post as been linked-up with: Recipe Sharing Monday @ Jam Hands   Project Inspire...

Double Chocolate Brownie Cookies (and they're amazingly gluten-free)

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These cookies are so good! They're chewy and fudgy Best of both worlds -- brownie & cookie. F or those like my daughter (with a gluten intolerance) they're a n extra spe cial treat, becaus e they're gluten-free! For those who love chocolate and h ome- baked cookies, they're just plain delicious! After many trials and tests, we've narrowed the source of our daughter's digestive woes to a gluten intolerance.  Therefore, I'm beginning to explore the whole new world of gluten-free cooking and baking.  Yesterday was National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day, and I couldn't help but seize the opportunity to develop a cookie recipe dedicated to my daughter.  She loved them and I hope you will too! The almond meal provides stability and nutrients, while the rice flour helps keep the cookies light. The coconut does not add a heavy coconut flavor. Rather, it helps add structure to the cookies and imbues a subtle ...

Sing a Song of Sixpence - Painted Bird Pie Plate DIY

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*No birds were harmed in the making of this pie * Sing a song of sixpence, A pocket full of rye. Four and twenty blackbirds, Baked in a pie.  When the pie was opened, The birds began to sing; Wasn't that a dainty dish, To set before the king? ~ 18th Century English Nu rs e ry Rhyme Did you know that in 16th Century Europe, it was de rigeur for the nobility to serve an "animated p ye " filled with live birds, beneath a domed pastry lid as a n entremet (dinner entertainment)?     Well, You won't find any li ve birds in this tutorial.  In fact, what goes inside your pie is entirely up to you.  What I'm happy to share is a quick and easy little project for making silkscreen ed pie plates that are not only charming and lovely, but functional too. The inspiration:  While at my local Michael's store working on my Mothers Day project for Plaid ( Personalized Etched Glass Pie Plates ), I happened up...