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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

Gourmet Grilled Cheese -- Sourdough with Golden Beets, Arugula & Gouda (My new favorite sandwich!)

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I do love a good sandwich! But this one's not good... ...it's flippin' great ! Last week I found some locally grown organic golden beets at my farmers' market.  I brought them home and made some lovely pickled golden beets with coriander.  The beets are wonderful on salad, but today was cold and foggy and I had a craving for a grilled cheese.   This gourmet grilled cheese has a flavor that reminds me of a Reuben sandwich, but without the meat!  It doesn't need it.  The beets are kind of magical that way.  Don't just take my word for it.  Try it yourself...   Gourmet Grilled Cheese with Gouda, Arugula and Golden Beets Sliced sourdough bread (I used whole grain) Thinly sliced Gouda cheese (I used Sargento) Baby Arugula Pickled Golden Beets with Coriander (recipe HERE ) Butter (salted) Lemon Garlic Aioli* Step 1:  Butter the outsides of each slice of bread.  Spread the insides with aioli. Step 2:  On the bottom

Vintage Graphics ~ Children in the Garden

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Here are some sweet little retro graphics from 1950s and 1960s storybooks that feature children in the garden.   What will you and your children be planting this fall?       You can click on the individual images to download high-resolution versions.  As always, feel free to use for non-commercial purposes.  You're welcome to share your creations on the Rook No. 17 Facebook page. You can find the full library of vintage graphics and clipart from Rook No. 17 HERE .

Pickled Golden Beets with Coriander

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 Ahhh, the oft misunderstood beet -- Once a versatile and hearty root that sustained nations; now most often dumped from a can, hastily sliced and thrown on a limp-looking restaurant salad. Truthfully, I'd never turn up my nose at a beet-topped salad.  I love beets -- whether out of a can, from a jar, or freshly roasted.  I love them for their sweetness, the way they compliment many foods so beautifully, and for the fact that they are inexpensive and easy to prepare. In addition to the classic garnet, beets can be found in gold, pink, and candy-cane stripe.  This week, I found some locally grown, organic golden beets at my local grocery store.  I popped a pound in my cart, headed home and had them pickled within the hour.   These golden pickled beets get an aromatic kick from whole coriander and fennel seeds.  They're wonderful on top of an arugula salad with goat cheese, in a spicy slaw, or inside a grilled cheese sandwich.  They're so easy to make and ca

Celebrate Back to School with SodaStream ~ GIVEAWAY!

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The SodaStream is a wonderful way to add a little "sparkle" to your life! Have you heard of the SodaStream ? It's an easy, convenient and money-saving machine that turns plain old tap water into sparkling water in less than 30 seconds!  It requires no electricity, little counter space and doesn't leave you with any clean-up.  You can enjoy the freshness and convenience of homemade sparkling water and sodas and be kind to the earth at the same time because  SodaStream bottles are reusable  -- no more wasteful and heavy bottles to lug home from the store!   I had long coveted the SodaStream owned by a good friend.  I envied the way she was able to produce sparkling water and custom sodas on demand when last minute guests showed up.  I sought out this review of the SodaStream knowing that it was a product that my readers would love.  Thanks to the generosity of SodaStream, I've been enjoying my Genesis model machine all summer long.  It's given m

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.            

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

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

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

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