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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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Easy and Elegant Olympic Torch Appetizers

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  The perfect appetizer for your Olympics Party (or any occasion) These savory little wonton cones are easy to make, can be prepared ahead of time, and can be filled with just about anything you'd like. They can also be rolled in cinnamon sugar for a small-bite dessert.   Filled with my Cheesecake Mousse , they're a guaranteed gold medal winner!   I filled mine with Salmon Tartare (I'll be sharing the recipe tomorrow), but I know that raw fish isn't everyone's idea of a good time.     Instead, imagine a spinach or artichoke dip, chicken or shrimp salad, or smoked salmon and creme fraiche.  There are so many creative possibilities! Here I've filled the cones with an apple chicken salad.  It gets its orange color from smoked paprika.  So delicious! What would you put in your wonton mini cones?    Wonton Mini Cone How-To  Won Ton Wraps (in the produce section of your grocery store) Kitchen shears or scis
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Summer Fashion Grand Slam with Cookie's Kids

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At the pace my girls outgrow their clothes and shoes, it doesn't make sense to spend a fortune on their wardrobe.  When it comes to shopping, I'm thinking " Frugal " and my girls are all about " Fashion ".  It's nice when you can find a place where the two converge.   That's why I'm happy to be sharing an online store for kids with style and 'tude and the parents who outfit them -- #Cookie's Kids .  I love a company with a great story, don't you? In 1972, a young man named Cookie and his brother Marvin went into business together. They rented a 1600 square foot store in Jamaica, Queens, fixed it up, bought inventory and Summer and Fall, and opened a day after Thanksgiving with a full stock of holiday toys. The toys were a success and they put the extra money toward buying children's clothing for the next season. When that did well, they bought more clothing. The business was on it's way.   In the late '
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Pecan Penuche with Chocolate & Sea Salt
A Retro Recipe Revamp

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  All week I've been buried under textbooks and term papers.  Today I decided that enough was enough.  Instead of textbooks, I headed to my cookbooks and picked up Meta Given's 1959 Modern Encyclopedia of Cooking . From the moment I saw those hat-box teal covers, I knew that this charming set had to be mine!  I picked them up for a song, and have time and again enjoyed flipping through the pages, taking in the culinary flavor of 1950s America, and the "modern" tips for homemaking and entertaining from one of the leading home economists of her time.   All week long I've had a wildly wicked sweet tooth, yet I've hardly set foot in my kitchen.  So, when I finally stepped into our tiny matchbox kitchen, I could hear the sweet whisper of Meta's cookbooks calling my name.  " Volume 1, page 407 ," they crooned.  " Candy !" I trilled.  Nougat, Orange-Coconut Creams, Pralines and Sea Foam beckoned.  But in the end, it was th
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Personalized Fabric Mason Jar Label Tutorial

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Summer fruit and vegetables are at their peak!  Will you be making jam, jelly, preserves or pickles to put up for the winter or give as gifts?  If so, here's an easy tutorial for making personalized fabric labels for your mason jars. Of course, the technique of using your home printer and a roll of freezer paper to print on fabric is nothing new.   I didn't invent it.  This tutorial shows how to use the popular technique to make custom labels that will give your canned goods an extra touch of charm. Fabric Mason Jar Labels -with printable fabric DIY- (makes 4 labels) 1 12"x 18" sheet of Freezer Paper (Can be purchased in the food wrap section of grocery stores) 1 piece of fabric, slightly larger than the freezer paper sheet (I use inexpensive drop-cloth from the hardware store) Label template - Download HERE (the frame came courtesy of The Graphics Fairy) Ribbon or jute Step 1:  Iron fabric on dry setting to remove
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Coconut-Curry Butternut Squash Soup

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Rich, silky, and lush with flavor, would you believe that this Thai inspired butternut squash soup is also low in fat?  Based on a Weight Watchers recipe, this so-good-you'll-want-to-lick-the-bowl soup gets its creamy texture from the roasted pureed butternut squash which is loaded with vitamins A and C, light coconut milk and just a touch of fat free evaporated milk.    If I were served this soup in a restaurant I would be back the next day, first thing in the morning, nose pressed against the glass door with a pathetic "must have soup" look in my eyes.  It's that seductive.     Coconut-Curry Butternut Squash Soup (adapted from Weight Watchers) 1 3-lb. butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1" cubes 1 Tablespoon canola oil 1 large sweet onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 Tablespoon freshly grated ginger root 1 Tablespoon curry powder 2 cups nonfat chicken stock or broth 14 ounces light coconut mil
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