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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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ENOUGH ABOUT ME ALREADY

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(my maternal grandmother, Rose, is the baby pictured above) I've never been particularly comfortable droning on and on about myself, but this week's posts seem to have been just that.  Thanks for bearing with me, for indulging me my follies, and for keeping my spirits high with your kind comments! But enough about me already!  I want to hear about you... With the Thanksgiving week nearly upon us, I'm thinking a lot about family. So the question is: Does your family (mom, dad, brothers, sisters, etc) read your blog? If not, do you know why?  How do you feel about that? If yes, how do they interact with your blog?  Do you write about them?  Ever write something you wish you hadn't?
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NOW I'M REALLY BLUSHING

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It's been a week of bloggerly love and some darn good ego strokes.  The icing on the cake was today's news from Ms. Bibi at From Misery to Happiness in 365 Days that she's awarded me the "Gorgeous Blogger Award".  Not "Gorgeous Blog".  Gorgeous Blogger .  Me?  Me!  Yippee!  By accepting this award I am supposed to tell you 6 things you might not know about me and then pass it on to another gorgeous blogger. Six things.  Hmmm.... Let's see... 1)  People who know me would undoubtedly charactarize me as feminine ~ a girly girl ~ but I definitely harbor an inner tomboy; always have.  I was raised with three brothers, so hanging out with the guys just comes naturally.  I still ooh and ahh over Tonka trucks, fire engines, and dinosaurs.  My shoe of choice is the high heel, but if I truly had my druthers I'd go shoeless and splash in mud puddles.  I loathe chick flicks and love super heroes!  Also (just had to throw this out there), I t
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THE SMITTEN KITTEN ~ SOME GRATITUDE AND GRAPHICS

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I'm a smitten kitten and am tickled pink by the generosity and kindness of many of my fellow bloggers this week.  They're simply the cat's meow, so I thought I'd send a little love back into the blogosphere by posting some free clipart/graphics:  3 vintage cat images from my personal collection.    Download, save, create, enjoy!          
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CONCIENCIOUS THANKSGIVING OBJECTORS ~ A RARE BIRD?

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Thanks to the courageous confession from fellow blogger Nicole at Miss Dot's Cupcake Spot (Read her post " Don't Hate Me, But... ", and while you're there check out  Mustache Mondays !)  that she isn't particularly fond of Thanksgiving Food, I feel safe to say that I could contentedly live out the rest of my days without ever eating another bite of Thanksgiving Turkey (Whew!  That felt good!)  There must be more of us out there who, because they love the tradition, the feasting, and celebration that comes with the holiday, hide our true feelings.  Somehow, not liking a slice of bird with cranberry sauce feels, well, kinda un-American.  Hmmm....I'm feeling a support group coming on ~ The First Annual Congregation of the AntiTurkarian Holidationalists?  If you thought I was weird for not liking Turkey, well, now I've really gone and done it! Some AntiTurkarians, like my friend Nicole, turn to desserts (specifically PIE) for their Thanksgiving salva
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FELT FOLLIES: THE CATNIP MOUSE PROJECT & TUTORIAL

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Felt is Versatile.  Felt is Forgiving.  Felt is Fun.   Today, the girls and I gathered some supplies (most we had around the house) and made some adorable catnip mouse toys to donate to the preschool winter carnival, and to give to our sweet neighbors who recently adopted a pair of kittens. This charming little projects makes the perfect gifts for your feline friends.
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PUMPKIN WHOOPIE (!) PIES WITH CREAM CHEESE VANILLA BEAN FILLING

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Today the girls and I dug back to our Pennsylvania roots and baked up a batch of delicious Pumpkin Whoopie Pies!  Max mixed the batter.  Maddie made the filling.  And Bessie, our beloved family cow, kept time with her tail to the tune that Pa played on the fiddle.  I'll leave it to you to figure out where I've embellishmed my story (just a little).  They're very simple to make and as Bessie will tell you, are "udderly" delicious.  Still with me?  Well, bless your heart! Here's the recipe: Pumpkin Whoopie (!) Pies with Cream Cheese Vanilla Bean Filling Makes 9 For the “Pies” 2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 2 large eggs 1 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil 1 cup canned pumpkin 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Preheat the oven to 325
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Pumpkin Butter ~ A Dippy Love Story and Recipe

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A few years ago my husband and I were in charge of making snack at my daughter's preschool.  On the top shelf of the oven, one of the teachers had an apple pie baking.  On the middle and bottom shelves we were baking grilled cheese sandwiches (Monterey Jack cheese on Milton's Original Whole Grain Bread).  As is oft to happen with fruit pies, the apple pie bubbled over, coating the corner of one of the sandwiches below with sweet, cinnamony goodness.  Mr. Rook, a big fan of trying unusual food combinations eyed the syrupy sandwich with eager anticipation.  I, however, was wary.  Perhaps it's un-American, but I'm not really a huge fan of apple pie (gasp!).  Smooth-talker that he is, Mr. Rook talked me in to trying a bite and, "WOW!"  It was fantastic!  Unfortunately, this accidental delicacy was in short supply.  So, that evening, we made up a batch of the same grilled cheese sandwiches.  Because we didn't have an apple pie on hand, and hoping to
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ATTACK OF THE TWO TON TIGGER...OR, WHAT I'M THANKFUL FOR

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Dear Food, I hate you.  No, wait, I love you!  You are tasty, cozy, cooling, warming, complex, powerful, subtle, a delicious art form, and possess the power to evoke memories and bring people together.  At the moment, however, I resent you.  It is because of you and your irresistible deliciousness that I was not able to fit in to my cute little vintage WW II nurse costume this Halloween.  That's how I ended up in my husband's Tigger costume.  It had been in the garage for several years and had thereby accumulated more dust than the surface of Mars.  Halloween was a cold night and the Tigger costume looked warm.  After all, it's made of heavy-duty fleece and is made for a 6' 5" man.  I saw warmth and comfort and I went for it.  Nevermind the fact that I'm asthmatic and that the two greatest triggers for said affliction are dust and cold weather.  What was I thinking?  Apparently I wasn't!  So I spent the week following Halloween with a head full
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PUMPKIN PIE ICE CREAM FOR OUR INDIAN SUMMER

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Due to the bassackwards microclimate of the Monterey Peninsula, we are intermittently experiencing a beautiful Indian Summer ~ Days of warmth and sunshine, with just a subtle backnote of Fall crispness lingering in air.  Have you ever wondered what's up with that layered-tank-top-and-long-scarf look that's so popular with the Old Navy/Gap set?  They're not totally nuts ~ they were probably raised in an area that experiences the Indian Summer.  One day you're bundled up in fleece and Ugg boots (this uniform is standard issue in our area).  On the menu:  a cozy Pumpkin Soup and crusty whole grain bread enjoyed fireside.  Next day your sporting shorts and flip-flops.  On the menu?  Well, you're still feeling "Fall", but suddenly hot soup doesn't have quite the same appeal.  So, here in the land of topsy-turvy seasons we've learned to adapt our favorite seasonal recipes to compliment the "climatary quirks", as it were.  If you're
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VINTAGE PAPER DOLLS ~ FREE PDF ~ PART II ~ a wardrobe upgrade from The Graphics Fairy!

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I was catching up with some of my favorite blogs today, which of course means spending some time with The Graphics Fairy .  I was delighted to find that she and I both have one of the same darling little paper dolls in our collections.  I decided to repost my free paper doll PDF and include a link to The Graphics Fairy so that anyone with this Paper Doll can have the full wardrobe (I believe hers is a Gaucho costume and is simply too flippin' cute!).   A few years ago I spotted these charming vintage paper dolls at an antique store in Santa Rosa. Not wanting to "impulse shop", I left them behind; only to find that I couldn't get them out of my head. Fortunately, my little brother was living in Santa Rosa at the time and was sweet enough to pick them up and mail them to me. At the time I had so many plans for the darling quartet of paper people, but I soon became preoccupied by two real life baby dolls (my daughter Madeleine, followed by her sister Max, three
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IT'S NEVER TOO EARLY TO GRANT A CHRISTMAS WISH!

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While reading some of my favorite blogs today I came across a post by my friend Tabitha over at I Choose Bliss .  It really touched my heart and propelled me into immediate action.  I hope you'll feel the same way too: "Diana Biorkman needs your help in making her son's wish come true. She has a 5 year old son, Noah, in the last stages of a 2.5 year battle with Neuroblastoma Cancer. The family is celebrating Christmas next week and Noahs request is to get lots of Christmas cards. Please consider sending cards to: Noah Biorkman 1141 Fountian Viewcircle South Lyon, MI 48178 Please let this precious child know he is DEEPLY Loved. FILL HIS MAILBOX WITH JOY" I set out some doodads and paper scraps I've been collecting for just such a project and let my 4-year old daughter Max get creative making a card for Noah.  She really got into the spirit of making a special card for this little boy that I told her was very sick.  It's never too e
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