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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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A CULINARY WORLD TOUR -- 7 Countries With A Little Birdie Told Me #7

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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. T hank you for being a part of making the weekly sharefest at Rook No. 17 an ever growing success!  I was blown away by the talent and creativity last week, and honestly wish I could feature each and every post that was shared.  But, what struck me most about last week's entries was the profound profusion of international cuisine!  It's been far too long since I've had the opportunity to indulge my passion for travel, but last week's participants gave me a much needed "taste" to satisfy my wanderlust.   You don't need a passport to enjoy this culinary tour... TASTE OF INDIA Trisha of My Hobbie Lobbie  Takes us to the streets of Bombay with her recipe for  Batata Vada (Deep Fried Potato Dumplings)
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Vintage Inspired Blackboard DIY -- Great Friends Think Alike & Other Lessons for Splendid Children

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Did I make you giggle?  I can hardly say the name without a smile and a giggle.  Dolly Dingle is the chubby-cheeked creation of illustrator Grace Drayton, who also gave us the famous Campbell’s Soup Kids.  She created Dolly Dingle as a series of paper dolls that were published in the Pictorial Review from 1913 and through the Great Depression.  I came across my first set of Dolly Dingle paper dolls in an antique store in Santa Rosa, California,  around ten years ago and have been smitten with Dolly, her dog Fido, Cat Kitty-Cutie, and their cast of friends dressed in various period and international costumes ever since.  I count my friend Holly among my life's many blessings, and it was further proof of our status as “kindred spirits” when I visited her home and found that she had made an adorable set of magnetic paper dolls made from the 1923 “Dolly Dingle and Sammy Smart Help Teacher” set.  Dolly Dingle Paper Doll collections always include little prop
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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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