Posts

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

Protect Your Nest Egg Doughnuts --or-- Where Peeps Go to Nest for Easter

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Happy Easter! I hope you've been having a great day! ----------------------------- I've been spending more time off-line than on these days. It struck me, just a few weeks ago, that my girls are growing up far too quicly. In September we'll have a teenager. So, I've been greedily spending every spare minute enjoying my little family. This Easter, I opted to spend less time shopping and less time in the kitchen. I eased up on some of my food rules and borrowed my inspiration from other talented people to help me make a little Easter magic for my girls. This morning, after every last chocolate egg, bunny, lamb, and jellybean had been found, I called my brood to the table and presented them with PEEPS-topped buttermilk doughnuts and chocolate bunnies filled with cold milk.  I got the idea for serving milk in the chocolate bunnies from Alexis of Jacolyn Murphy .  She shows you how easy it is to make them HERE . Thes

New Food Labeling in Your Grocery Store ~ Get the #FactsUpFront {sponsored post}

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This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Facts Up Front program. The Modern grocery store -- There's a sushi bar, a gourmet coffee kiosk, an organic produce section, and a kaleidoscope of colors and flashy packaging down every aisle.  Dizzying, isn't it?  Mr. Olsen isn't standing behind the counter in his tidy little apron to fetch you a can of beans (The kidney beans -- the only beans on the shelf; the ones right next to the sold-by-the slice suet and the flour in bag that is destined to be next year's school dress).  Oh, you wanted nonfat, low-sodium refried beans?  Sorry sister, you're in the wrong century.    Food labels have come a long way.  Sure, your grandma's pantry must have been mighty pretty.  Some of those labels were downright works of art.  But what, I ask you, do roses have to do with canned pumpkin? That lovely label sure puts a smile on my face, but if I want to know if there's any added sugar inside I'm out

Free Vintage Easter Graphics, Clipart & Scrap Sheets

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Chick it out, peeps: I t's a round-up of vintage Easter graphics from my personal collection.   I picked up this sweet vintage postcard at an antique store in Wine Country a few weeks ago:   This cute little accordion card features chicks in bonnets bearing the message: "Because it is Easter, these Chicks, you see, Are bringing good wishes, to you from me!"  You can download the printable HERE . Here's a collection of chicks, bunny rabbits and eggs from my grandmother's scrapbook: If you prefer, you can download them all as a scrap-sheet  HERE . Enjoy! Feel free to show off your creations on the Rook N o. 17 Facebook Page .

Cooking with Edible Flowers ~ Honey Viola Lollipops

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It's finally starting to feel like spring around here! The sun is shining. The birds are chirping. And the flowers are all in bloom! I've been waiting all winter long for the arrival of spring flowers in order to start enjoying the beautiful and wildly creative recipes in Miche Bacher's book, Cooking with Flowers .   I'll be sharing my review and giving away a copy next week, but today I'm pleased to be showing you how to make Honey Viola Lollipops, inspired by Miche's Pansy Lollipop recipe. For my recipe, I went with the pansy's smaller cousin, the viola. I replaced 1/4 cup of corn syrup from the original recipe with 1/4 cup of organic honey.  You can use any type of edible flower, and can flavor the lollipops to suit your taste. A few notes:   I found that the darker blossoms work better than the lighter ones.  The yellow violas were barely visible inside the sugar.   Pouring the molten candy into uniform circles is a bi

DIY: The Key to Easy Painted Plates, Mugs and Bowls

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  Any chef will tell you that the key to good cooking is starting with good, fresh ingredients . The same could be said of crafting: Using quality tools and supplies is essential.   Recently, craft-maven Amy Anderson of Mod Podge Rocks! introduced a line of peel and stick stencils from Plaid.   These easy-to-use, re-useable, self-adhesive stencils are the key to adding artful touches to your craft projects in a snap!   The stencils work beautifully for glass etching.   They can be used with: Mod Podge and glitter to create glittered designs Etching cream on glassware Glass/Ceramic paint to embellish glass Acrylic paint and much more! You've likely seen dozens of tutorials out there for embellishing plain ceramicware and glassware.  Rather than re-invent the wheel, today's post is all about selecting the right tools for professional-looking custom dinnerware in as few steps, and with as little room for error as possible.  This meth

DIY: Vintage Paper Easter Egg Art {Guest Post}

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I'm so happy to be welcoming Laura Barker, the owner of Pink Flamingo Ephemera on Etsy, to Rook No. 17 today.  For scrappers, crafters and lovers of all things vintage, Pink Flamingo is an incredible online resource for unique vintage paper ephemera. Here's a peek at some of my favorite items for sale at Pink Flamingo . I've been as busy as a bee crafting with a fabulous pack of ephemera that Laura sent my way, and I look forward to posting a fun project soon.  But today, Laura is the star of the show. She's put together an easy, elegant Easter project that upcycles scraps of paper into charming Easter Egg greeting cards. To make these adorable Easter cards, Laura used the pages from a vintage book.  You could do the same, or play with variations on the theme with materials like sheet music, scrapbook paper, newspapers, or paint chips. Ready to get started? Here's Laura's step-by-step tutorial: Vintage Paper Easter Egg Card