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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

I Knew You Were Coming, So I Baked You a Cake!

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In this photo, my paternal grandmother sits on the front, right.   Welcome one and all to Rook No. 17! My crafty little nest of inspiration is being featured at SITS today, which presents the perfect opportunity to welcome new friends and old, to show some old fashioned hospitality, and to give a little tour of my online "home". So, kick off your shoes while I cut you a slice of cake, and make yourself at home. Here, please enjoy this slice of Chocolate-Marbled Banana Bread that I created just for this occasion! I know I promised "cake", but with all the holiday indulging and the subsequent New Years' Resolutions and all I figured I'd do us all a favor and offer up a reduced-fat/calorie treat! You can download a copy of the recipe HERE . For a tutorial on how to make these whimsical glittered boxes and an idea for inspired charitable giving, click HERE . I love comments and enjoy getting to know and connecting with "Foll

VICTORIAN BIRDS AND BIRTHDAY CLIPART

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Birthdays can be "for the birds" .  So, turning the tables, as I like to do, I have a little something for YOU on MY birthday: Enjoy and get creative with these vintage birthday and inspirational postcards from my family collection:

Celebrating Three Kings Day with a Pull-Apart King Cake Recipe

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  Already this year is whizzing by, and I've found myself woefully unprepared for one of my favorite winter celebrations -- Three Kings Day;  also know as  Epiphany  or  Twelfth  Night .     Each year, we enjoy a King Cake with a few close friends, and as per tradition, the person to find the baby in their piece of cake is crowned "king" or "queen" and will have good luck all year long.  With January 6 abruptly waking me this morning, shaking my shoulder and announcing, "I'm here!  Are you ready?", it's a good thing that my family-friendly version of the King Cake requires very little preparation or time.   I published a post last year about my family's Three Kings Day traditions and have revived it here, for those who may have missed it. I've also added a quick new project tutorial, for those who are back for a second time around. BACKGROUND:   For those unfamiliar with Three Kings Day, this Christian holiday celebra

Link-up Your Recipes, Crafts & Projects with A LITTLE BIRDIE TOLD ME... #1

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Now, don't go gettin' scared off by the odd bird lady. That's just the quizzical Miss Aubergine Duchamp -- patroness of the creative arts and mustache aficionado  WELCOME, Welcome, Welcome to the premier of the very first weekly linky party here at Rook No. 17: A Little Birdie Told Me...   It's sure to be C arnival of Creativity & Curiosities ;  a veritable Three Ring Circus of Crafts, Recipes, and Stuff Struttin'.   <a href="http://www.rookno17.com"><img altsrc="<a href="http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f335/sarahjmorriss/a_little_birdie_told_me_revue-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f335/sarahjmorriss/a_little_birdie_told_me_revue-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" /></a> Without further ado, let's get down to the nuts, bolts, and brass whirlyboos, shall we? What is "A Little Birdie Told

Valentine Profiteroles -- Jump Start Your "Heart" with these Coffee Ice Cream Filled Pastries

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Have you ever made homemade cream puffs or eclairs? They're made from a simple dough called "pate choux" that truly couldn't be easier to make.  If you can boil water, it's likely you'll have no trouble making the "pate choux" -- opening up the doors to cream puffs, eclairs, all manner of savory appetizer puff, and the impressive tower of caramelized puffs -- croquembouches ! What I like most about making ice-cream profiteroles is that they can be made weeks in advance and kept in the freezer, so you can always have an elegant and delicious dessert on hand! The pate choux dough requires only five ingredients:  water, sugar, butter, flour and eggs. It comes together on the stove-top in less than five minutes and is ready to be put into a piping bag (or ziploc bag) and can be squeezed in to just about any shape. For Valentines day, I love to pipe the dough into heart shapes.  After baking, the hearts are sliced in half and the top half gets

Hot Fudge and Caramel Rum Sauce Recipes for Your First SUNDAE of the New Year

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Hope your New Year is off to a SWEET start! For New Year's Eve this year we gathered with a few close friends where we shared our favorite chili recipes and finished off the evening with an ice cream sundae bar. My family's contribution to the ice cream sundae bar was a jar of homemade Hot Fudge Sauce and a jar of homemade Caramel Rum Sauce. These sauces are so delicious and take hardly any time at all to make. You'll never want to go back to those preservative laden store-bought sauces again. At the bottom of this post, I've shared a free download for the kitchy little labels I put on my sauces. They're designed to fit the Kerr wide mouth jar lids. I like to print mine on sticker paper, for easy application. Hot Fudge Sauce Makes 4 half-pint jars 2 cans (14 oz. each) Sweetened Condensed Milk 1 stick (1/2 cups) butter 10 oz. good quality semi-sweet chocolate chips 1/3 cup heavy cream 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 teaspoo