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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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Vintage Graphics ~ Victorian Birds and the Bluebird of Happiness

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Today I'm sharing three beautiful Victorian images featuring birds from my great-grandmother's 1876 scrapbook.  I have a little project in mind, but it's going to have to wait until I'm finished with my summer graduate classes.  In the meantime, enjoy!  Feel free to show-off any projects that use these free images on the Rook No. 17 Facebook page.            
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Fancy Little Indoor S'mores on a Stick
(Twinkle, Twinkle Little S'more, How I Love You More and More)

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August 11 is National S'mores Day! So, in honor of the campfire classic, I'm dusting off an oldie but goodie from the Rook No. 17 archives:   My tutorial for making fancy little "Indoor S'mores" with Chocolate Transfer Sheets.   Enjoy! Indoor S’mores on a Stick with Chocolate Transfer Sheets 1 box graham crackers 1 bag large marshmallows White lollipop sticks Chocolate Transfer Sheets Chocolate Prep:  Preheat oven to 350 F.  Create a paper template the same size as a graham cracker square. Use paper template to cut Transfer Sheets, being careful not to handle the printed side.   Line a baking sheet with wax paper in preparation for the chocolate dipping in Step 6. Step 1: Break graham crackers in to squares and place half of them in rows on an ungreased cookie sheet: Step 2: Using kitchen scissors, cut a small piece off of each marshmallow (to create a flat bottom). Stick one marshmallow in the center of each gr
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Squirrel Nut Fudge ~ Retro Recipe (1937)

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Today's tantalizing treat comes from the 1937 Household Searchlight Recipe Book.  I love the way that so many old cookbooks from this period include an entire chapter devoted to candy!  This wonderful vintage cookbook has twelve pages full of old-fashioned candy recipes.  The book calls this recipe "Brown Sugar Squares", but it's so much more than just a brown sugar confection.  The toasted almonds and coconut give this unique fudge  a remarkable flavor worthy of a name as memorable as it is -- hence, Squirrel Nut Fudge . Here's the fudge... ...and here's the squirrel.  Here's how to  make your own (squirrel not included) : Squirrel Nut Fudge from the Household Searchlight Recipe Book, 1937 (makes 25 1" x 1" pieces) For the fudge: 2 1/2 Cups Brown Sugar 1 3/4 Cups Evaporated Milk 2 Tablespoons Corn Syrup 2 Tablespoons Butter 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract 1 Cup Sweetened Flake Coconut 1 Cu
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Easy 5-Minute Pumpkin Waffles

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  The girls had a sleepover last night.  They slept in pretty late, so when they woke they were famished and wanted breakfast right away.  I wanted to make them something delicious yet healthy that I could whip up quickly.  I hadn't intended for this experience to be blog fodder, but my little experiment in making quick pumpkin waffles turned out so well, that I wanted to share it. I always keep a box of Trader Joe's Multigrain Baking and Pancake Mix in the pantry.  It's a great little versatile mix to keep around for when you're in a pinch. It was great to be able to grab the box from my pantry and have the pumpkin waffle batter ready five minutes later! Easy Pumpkin Waffles 2 cups Trader Joe's Multigrain Baking Mix 1 cup lowfat milk 2 egg whites 3 Tablespoons oil 1/4 cup canned pumpkin puree 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon each ground ginger, cloves, nutmeg and allspice (or you can use a teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice) 1 T
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Mini Dutch Puff Pancakes with Peach Compote Featuring NECTRESSE All-Natural Sweetener

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This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of NECTRESSE™Sweetener for SocialSpark . All opinions are 100% mine.   For many, consuming less sugar is a key factor in maintaining one's health.  I've always been hesitant, however, to develop recipes containing artificial sweeteners because, well, they're artificial .  So, I was very excited when I was asked to try out a new all-natural sugar alternative -- NECTRESSE™Sweetener NECTRESSE™ is the only 100 percent natural, zero calorie sweetener made from the goodness of real fruit! NECTRESSE™ is the perfect sweetener for those desiring to limit, cut, or eliminate sugar from their diet.  NECTRESSE™ has zero carlories and is 100% natural.  It's derived from the monk fruit, a small green melon that hails from a remote mountain area in Asia.  But frankly, all that wouldn't matter a lick if it didn't taste good.   TASTE TEST   Unlike many sweeteners on the market, NECTRESSE™ isn
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Strawberry Cheesecake Mini Cones ~
An Olympic Torch Inspired Dessert

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Last week I shared my tutorial for making easy and elegant little cones for savory appetizers or diminutive desserts! Today I'm sharing my recipe for a cheesecake mousse filling.  I dipped the fresh cones into cinnamon sugar, then piped in the mousse and topped them off with a fanned strawberry for an Olympic Torch inspired look! Flour Shop Boutique Cakerie Cheesecake Mousse  1/2 Tablespoon unflavored gelatin 2 Tablespoons room temperature water 8 oz. cream cheese at room temperature 1/2 cup granulated sugar, divided 3 large egg yolks 1/2 vanilla bean, split & scraped 3/4 cup heavy cream 1.  In a small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over the water.  Set aside. 2.  In the bowl of a standing mixer, beat cream cheese and half of the sugar.  Set aside. 3.  In a double-boiler over medium-low heat, whisk egg yolks, vanilla scrapings and the other half of the sugar until thickened and pale yellow (I use an electric whisk).  Remove from heat
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Dangerous Cake & Magic Straws
Foodie Pen Pals, S. Illinois Edition

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This was my second month participating in the Foodle Pen Pal fun from  The Lean Green Bean . This go-round I was delighted to be paired up with a gal whose blog I've been following and enjoying for a long while:   Susie of Susie QT Pies Scraps of Life! Just look at all the fun treats that arrived in my box from Southern Illinois! Thank you Susie!! Cardinals Peanuts -- Susie and her family live just a short drive from St. Louis. Alongi's Italian Dressing -- The signature dressing from Alongi's Italian Restaurant, established in 1933 in the heart of Susie's small town. Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce -- Another local specialty! Duncan Hines Frosting Creations -- Some sweets from a sweetie Got Milk Magic Chocolate Straws -- For my girls. Recipes & Recollections from the Bethel Lutheran Church & School :  A book of recipes from Susie's church featuring pages full of wonderful recipes (many from Susie herself). My girls
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Friends of Colleen Jorgensen ~ Giving Back Fundraiser

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"Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you." - Mother Teresa You may know my friend and fellow blogger Colleen. She's known as Mural Maker to the blog world.    Colleen is a caring person and is truly a giver by nature. She and her husband each took care of their aging mothers on a 24/7 basis. They were forced to live separately while they cared for the women who raised them. They did spend as much time together as their lives allowed, especially while caring for their 4 year old grandson. She and her husband Marlon were struggling to make ends meet after the thoughtless and fraudulent actions of one person turned their lives upside down. Just when they thought they had hit rock bottom, a glimmer of hope arose and it looked like there might be a way to erase (if that's even possible) 20 years of literally paying for an erroneous paper filed with a goverment agency. While in the process o
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Free Vintage Graphics ~ Antique Sewing Ads with Children

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  Achooooo! Hey there my crafty friends! Please pardon  my sniffles. I had hoped to share my Olympic Torch inspired desserts this weekend, but since I'm buried under mounds of blankets (and homework) trying to fight off a fever and ear infection, the treats will have to wait.  Before I hit the books, however, I figured I'd procrastinate take a moment to share a few more charming graphics from my great-grandmother's scrapbook. This collection of images share two things in common:  They are all antique advertisements for items related to sewing or millinery and all feature children.   Which is your favorite?            Wow! Buttons, hats and a cure for Malaria all in one place! No wonder they call them the "good old days."
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