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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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Last Minute Handmade Gift Tutorial ~ Make Upcycled Book Journals~
(Elmers Holiday #GluenGlitter)

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  Old Book + Recycled Paper = New Journal! As part of the Elmer's Holiday Memories Campaign* through Social Fabric , I had the opportunity to create an easy, affordable last minute holiday gift using my favorite Elmer's and X-ACTO products, and requiring only one quick stop at our local Walmart!    With all the homework, music lessons, karate and dance classes, school performances, cookie exchanges and all the other holly jolly of the season, there's been little time to shop, let alone craft!  So a one-stop-shop was an absolute must for my** handmade gift project, which was inspired by the Ordy & Joon post I had tacked to my " Crafty Inspirations " board on Pinterest earlier this year. Readers Digest Books have wonderful covers and are plentiful at second-hand stores for $1-$3 = Let's call it $2 per journal. I started with something most people have around their home -- an old book.  If you don't have an old book in need of
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Cranberry Upside-down Babycakes
~Holiday Baking with Hodgson Mill~

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The very best baked goods start with using quality ingredients.  It's always a joy to discover a new source for ingredients that are a cut above the rest.  So it was a distinct pleasure to have found my new favorite whole wheat flour, compliments* of Hodgson Mill as part of their Have a Grain Holiday Recipe Contest .   Hodgson Mill is a family-owned business that's been grinding grain in in Illinois since 1882! Their business may be 125 years old and their promise of wholesome, naturally healthy food (with no artificial preservatives, additives or colorings) timeless, but their commitment to the environment through sustainable practices is as modern as can be!  I hope you'll give Hodgson Mill flours, pastas, cereals, mixes and other fine products a try .  Use the Hodgson Mill 100% stone ground wheat flour with my Cranberry Upside-down Cakes and you'll be an instant convert! The tart cranberries glazed in brown sugar glisten like jeweled
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Kiwi Sorbet -- A LIght & Merry Holiday Dessert!

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  Cookies, pies, cakes and fudge -- so many delicious, decadent holiday treats!  I do enjoy the buttery, frosted, chocolate dipped and sprinkled sweets that come with this festive time of year, but.... ...at the end of a big family feast there's often little room or desire for a rich dessert.  That's why I'm so excited about this insanely easy to make and blissfully delicious Kiwi Sorbet!  It's light, refreshing, and just look at it -- Garnished with fresh pomegranate arils, it couldn't look any more Christmasy! Kiwi, in December?  Yes indeed!  California Kiwis are harvested in late fall and are ready to enjoy all winter long!  I learned a lot about kiwifruit and other California agricultural products when I wrote for the Clever Girls California Grown campaign.  Did you know that you can bake with Kiwifruit?  They have the same lightly sweet and delightfully tart qualities of fresh plums, which led to my husband's creation:  Kiwi Tea Cake . 
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Delicious! Baking with California Grown Kiwi
~Kiwi Tea Cake Recipe~

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Thank you to California Grown for encouraging me to connect with California growers and encouraging California consumers to "Choose California Grown" when they can. ---------------------------------------   When you think of winter fruits, what do you think of?  Pomegranates, cranberries, pears, persimmons...  If you're a fan of serving healthy seasonal foods to your family that is locally or domestically grown, you may want to add another fruit, low in calories and high in antioxidants, to your list of winter favorites -- The Kiwifruit!  Fuzzy as a newborn reindeer on the outside and green as mistletoe on the inside, this funky little fruit is simply bursting with holiday spirit!   As a lifelong resident of California, I was surprised to learn that my home state produces around 98 percent of the kiwifruit grown in the United States.  California has nearly 300 kiwifruit growers who spend around $18.1 million annually in the state -- contributing sign
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Chocolate Gingerbread Bundt Cake
~Dessert with Friends & Duncan Hines~

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Thanks to Duncan Hines for sponsoring my writing. There's no limit to the baking possibilities, so grab your favorite Duncan Hines mix and Comstock or Wilderness fruit fillings and Bake On! www.duncanhines.com .  -------------------------------------------- The holidays are such a busy time, so I find it helpful to keep a few tricks up my sleeve and a few shortcuts in my pantry.  With a box of Duncan Hines cake mix, a few other pantry staples and a little imagination, you can be ready with a perfect holiday dessert quicker than you can say "Bob Cratchit". When I found out about the opportunity to write for Duncan Hines, I knew immediately what I was going to share:  It's my Chocolate Gingerbread Bundt Cake, a family favorite!  This delicious cake is so easy to make and unlike many gingerbread cakes, isn't too heavy on the spices or molasses.  Just imagine a cozy winter evening with some dear friends, hot cocoa, tea or coffee, and a scrumptious
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Gingerbread Delights & Hodgson Mill $25 Gift Certificate Giveaway
A Little Birdie Told Me...No. 50!

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A page from my Great Grandmother's hand-written cookbook. ---------------------------------------- Welcome to  "A Little Birdie Told Me..." Tuesday No. 50! To celebrate, everyone who links up and comments this week will be entered in a random drawing for a $25 gift certificate to Hodgson Mill! (details below) ----------------------------------------   We may no longer bake with lard or molasses by the pint like my Great Grandma Maggie did, but one thing hasn't changed:  Using a high quality flour makes all the difference in your baked goods. I recently had the opportunity to sample some of the flours from Hodgson Mill , a family owned business that's been grinding grain since 1882!  I can honestly say their wheat flour is the best I've ever baked with. I'll be sharing my recipe for Cranberry Upside-down Babycakes, using Hodgson Mill Whole Wheat flour on Friday, but in the meantime,   Hodgson Mill is gener
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