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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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Reach for THESE Stars -- Chocolate Dipped Krispie Treat Stars on a Stick

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Whether you're looking for something unique to bring to the school bake sale, feel like its time for a cupcake hiatus, or simply will use any excuse to eat chocolate, these sweet little stars are a fun and easy project you can share with your family. It's also a great introduction to using Chocolate Transfer Sheets.  If you're not familiar with Chocolate Transfer Sheets, they are acetate sheets that are printed with patterns and designs using a special printer and edible ink (made from cocoa butter).  They can be purchased in some specialty cake supply stores and all over the internet.  My favorite retail source is Fancy Flours .  They carry everything from animal & floral prints to political and holiday inspired patterns. Let's get started!  TIP:  If you like the convenience of Candy Melts, but prefer the taste of real chocolate, try the new Semi-Sweet Chocolate Callets (65% Cacao) from Trader Joes.  They work like a dream!!! --Rice Kr
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COOL BEANS! LEAN, GREEN, & PACKED WITH PROTEIN: EDAMAME PESTO

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Both of my girls were healthy, adventurous, excellent eaters when they were toddlers.  With each birthday candle we add, at least 10 foods drop off the "WILL EAT" list.  I'm looking forward to the day when the tides turn back in my culinary favor.  So many wonderful, innovative recipes were born during those early days when the girls were little and I had all the time in the world to concoct new recipes to take on our frequent picnics!   One of my favorite creations from this period was born out my youngest daughter's early love of all foods green ! Perhaps channeling some of her Greek ancestors, she would have been perfectly content to devour a plate of spinach laden Spanikopita every day.  She was gaga for pasta with pesto, and preferred popping edamame (fresh soybeans) to any other little toddler sized snack.   One day, as I was preparing for a picnic -- edamame boiling away in one pot, and food processor out and ready to whir up a batch of pesto -- I di
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CAKE ART

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If you've visited Rook No. 17 before, you may have noticed that I've recently made a few changes to the home page ~ just a bit of updating, housekeeping, and de-cluttering.  Hope you like it!  And if not, go suck an egg (did I just say that?).  Just kidding, of course. I've relocated many of the buttons and gadgets, and have removed the slideshow of my cake art.    Instead, I hope you'll enjoy a sample of how I have fun with flour & sugar here on my new "Cake Art" page. While I'm currently on hiatus from the sugar wrangling biz, taking the time to tame my two little wild beasties (ages 5 & 9) , I've been coaxed out of retirement by the prospect of an exciting and challenging cake sculpting commission (involving a vintage fire-truck from my home town) which I'll be delving in to next spring!   I've sometimes been asked which cake I'm most proud of.  There are some where I was pleased with the level of realism I was ab
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EASY MOVIE THEATER BIRTHDAY PARTY & POPCORN CUPCAKE DIY (with a free popcorn bucket download)

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One of the things I'm enjoying about my daughters getting older is that the birthday parties are getting smaller and the girls are taking a more active role in the development, planning, and preparations.   This year, my eldest daughter turned nine and decided that she wanted to go to see a movie with a small group of friends for her birthday.  It turned out to be a very simple, low-stress, and successful party that met with rave reviews from the kids that attended.  If you're looking for a birthday party concept that packs in a lot of fun for relatively little work, money, and artistic/crafty ability required, the Movie Theater party is a great way to go. STEP 1:  THE MOVIE ~ The guests were dropped off in front of the movie theater where my husband, children and I were waiting (having already purchased the tickets through Fandango).   The invitation listed the meet-up time as 1/2 an hour before the movie was scheduled to start.  When everyone had assemble
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