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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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Book Review & Giveaway: Washi Wonderful ~ Creative Projects & Ideas for Paper Tape

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I asked and Rook No. 17 fans on Facebook responded:  When given a choice of three different new and fabulous craft books for me to give away and review, the hands-down favorite was Jenny Doh's Washi Wonderful .  So, here we go... The first part of the book is all about using washi tape to make fanciful custom cards.  My favorite is the "Welcome to the Neighborhood" card tutorial from designer Ishtar Olivera Belart on page 32. If you're not familiar with Washi Tape, it's a colorful patterned paper tape from Japan that has taken the craft world by storm.  This artful and versatile little tape is the subject Jenny Doh's latest book, Washi Wonderful:  Creative Projects & Ideas for Paper Tape (April 2014, Sterling Publishing, 144 pages, $19.95, ISBN 978-1454708117) .  It's one of the first books of its kind -- devoted entirely to showcasing the creative potential of this fun and affordable medium. The second part of the book is brimming w
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Ephemera Files: World's Columbian Exposition Chicago 1893 Tickets (set of 4)

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Hello friends!  Summer is here and the kids are out of school, but I've been busy getting all of my ducks in a row so that I have my teaching credential all lined up for the fall.  In addition, I've decided to toss my name in the hat for a position as a culinary arts teacher at our local high school.  In order to teach culinary arts, I need an additional credential, so I've been burning the midnight oil putting together my application and culling my archives to come up with evidence of my work in the culinary industry over the past five years to share with the credentialing board.  In the process, I came across this set of four original admission tickets to the World's Fair in Chicago in 1893.  What incredibly beautiful tickets!  It's no wonder why the original bearer kept and mounted them for posterity! I've scanned the tickets and made them available here for you to use for your creative projects.  Enjoy.  I hope you're having a wonderful summer!
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Bake-Ins: Cupcakes Baked in Terra Cotta Flower Pots

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  There are many variations on the flower pot cupcake, but this one's mine.  Both at home and at my boutique cakerie, I've enjoyed baking cakes in unconventional containers.  Jars, cans, bowls, teacups, boxes and even hollowed-out citrus fruits make wonderful vessels for your favorite cake batter, and provide a springboard for boundless creativity. Top row from left: Baby Food Lookalike Cupcakes , Teacup Chamomile Tea Cakes , Terrarium Cakes . Bottom row from left: The original CAKE OUT™ , Snow Cone Cupcakes , Soft Serve Hi-Hat Cupcakes . I've done several variations on the flower pot cupcake theme, but created this freshly "minted" version as a donation for the cake walk at my daughter's elementary school carnival.  I broke the batch up into groups of three and packaged them in gardening caddies that I made out of cereal boxes and washi tape. I used wooden coffee stirrers as my garden stakes.  I stamped them with the type of cake (fudge cak
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Quartz Crystal Rock Favor-Gift Idea and Free End-of-School-Year Printable

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  Earlier this year, I completed my teaching program in a 2nd/3rd-grade combination class with a wonderful master teacher!  It was a fabulous experience, and it was really hard to say goodbye at the end of my 8-weeks.  I didn't want the school year to end without visiting the kids and my mentor, so I popped in the other day for a surprise visit.  I remembered from my time there, that the kids were fascinated with hunting for rocks and minerals.  So, I came up with this rock-solid end-of-the-school-year gift for each of them. Rather than candy or junky toys, these little gifts offer up a piece of the earth's history -- a real quartz crystal.  These natural wonders make an excellent gift for students to pass out to their classmates for the end of the year or Valentine's Day, for a teacher to give to their students, or as party favors at a science or archaeology themed party.   I was lucky to have a friend bring my crystals back from a trip
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Free Vintage Scrap: Angel Children

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Just look at these sweet little Victorian faces! This sheet of vintage scrap came from a store that sold German imports in Carmel-by-the-Sea many decades ago.  Aren't they darling? I've cleaned up a few of the angel girls individually for you to use as well. Enjoy!
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Free Printable Movie Ticket Style Invitations: How to Train Your Dragon

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  It's heartwarming to hear all the stories and receive all the thank-yous from families who have used my free birthday party templates to celebrate the special day of a loved one ( The Lego Movie and Frozen ). I've decided to continue to make these freebies a regular feature here at Rook No. 17.  This time, I'm featuring How to Train Your Dragon from DreamWorks.  To say that my family loved the first movie would be an understatement.  We only hope that the sequel will offer up an equally enchanting story and memorable characters as the first.   Below, are the three different How to Train Your Dragon themed Movie Theater Style Invitations that can be downloaded for free, personalized and printed. Disclaimer -- PLEASE READ -- These templates are not for sale and are not for profit. I'm sharing the templates free of charge, but as such, am not able to provide any custom work or tech support for how to use photo editing software. If you&#
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Recipe Rewind: Cool Off With An Orange Creamsicle Cooler

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Cool and creamy as vanilla soft-serve and bursting with sunkissed orange, the Creamsicle is a classic summer cool-off treat! Of course, a summer's day and frozen sunshine-on-a-stick can lead to a pretty sticky situation. So today I'm sharing this recipe for an Orange Creamsicle Cooler that I originally created for Pfister last summer. What better way to enjoy the lazy days of summer than lolling in a hammock or reclining on a lawn chair, taking long slow sips of this frosty treat?   And when the summer swelter gives way to the crisp air of fall, it's nice to know that a sip of summertime and childhood nostalgia is only a few whirrs of the blender away . Creamsicle Cooler  Makes two 8 oz. glasses 2 regular scoops orange sherbet 1 regular scoop vanilla ice cream 1 cup orange juice (we use fresh squeezed) 1/2 cup lowfat milk Combine ingredients in a blender at high speed for 10 seconds, or until frothy. Pour in a glass, top wi
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