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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

Recipe: Apple Pie Tacos

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Nothing says The Ides of March are nearly upon us like an Apple Pie Taco toting Triceratops.  Am I right?  Well, maybe Shakespeare and Julius Caesar, but I digress. Pi day snuck up on us this year. And, by March 14 things in the world were already pretty sketchy. There was no time to make prep pie crusts with my students for honest to goodness pi-shaped pies. Not knowing if we'd be returning to school the following week, I figured we'd lighten up the mood with something fun and easy -- Apple Pie Tacos. If you have some apples and flour tortillas sitting around, you're more than half-way there! Start by making an easy apple pie filling. This filling can be frozen or canned for future use. Apple Pie Filling 4-6 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced into bite-sized chunks (or however you like your pie apples) 2 teaspoons lemon juice 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (use less if you only have table salt 1/8 teaspoon gr

Tastes Like Childhood ~ Classic Caramel Corn Recipe

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When I went back to teaching full-time as a Culinary Arts instructor, blogging moved to the back burner.  But the world sure has shaken up the status quo these past few weeks.  I'm thankful that I am still able to teach from home, and like everyone, am adjusting to this strange new world, sequestered away with my husband and six not-so-little monkeys. For my own sanity, and hopefully as a way of providing some home-cookery-catharsis to others, it seems like a good time to start sharing some of the recipes I've developed and fine-tuned over the years for my students.   Like one of my all-time favorite sources for recipes, America's Test Kitchen , my high school classroom is a bit of an America's Teenage Test Kitchen -- my recipes go through rigorous testing and refinement, ultimately passing the can-do test for 100 or more teenagers at all different academic levels, culinary experience levels, and abilities. With most people stuck at home and resource

The ORIGINAL-- Macaroon Kiss Cookie Recipe {Best Flippin' Cookie EVER!}

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I originally posted this recipe way back on 12/22/11.  It was my first recipe to go viral, and has been pinched and reposted ever since.  This cookie remains my favorite cookie of all time.  It's been in my family since the mid 1980s, so, like, Rad! The original source has long been forgotten, but this cookie is absolutely unforgettable!   It starts with a rich cream cheese and vanilla dough with just the slightest hint of fresh squeezed orange.  The dough is coconut laden, and gets an extra roll in coconut before baking.  As the cookie bakes, the coconut on the outside gets toasty, while the cookie remains soft and chewy.  Pure bliss...plus a KISS! Please pin and share! Print With Image Without Image The ORIGINAL-- Macaroon Kiss Cookie Recipe Yield: 48 cookies Author: Jenn Erickson Prep time: Cook time: Total time: It starts with a rich cream cheese and vanilla dough with just the slightest hint of fresh squeezed orange. The dough is coconut laden, and gets an ex

Recipe: Exceptional French Almond Nougat

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No thanks to mass market candies, poor nougat has gotten a bad rap. This recipe is for the real deal, not the plasticky goo of nondescript flavor found in popular candy bars. I'm talking about the classic buttery taffy redolent with vanilla and toasted almonds; It needs no chocolate, no caramel. This sweet confection is perfection all on its own. This recipe is my own version of the traditional French Almond Nougat that dates back to the 15th century.  I've adapted my recipe for use in the microwave.  I love using the microwave for candymaking.  It requires a bit of trial and error on the front end to get the timing right, but once proper timing has been established, there are several benefits: It's quicker than the traditional stovetop method. A perfect timing formula makes regular use of a candy thermometer unnecessary No messy pans.  Mix and cook the ingredients in a 1 Qt. glass measuring cup.  It makes it easier to pour the

Enchantingly Easy Easter Eggs with Flora, Fauna and Family

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These eggs fit in perfectly with our decorating style that pays homage to our family tree   As many of you know, I've been on hiatus from blogging for much of this year due to my commitments teaching high school culinary arts.  Well, the school year is nearly over.  Hello SUMMER!  I'm picking up my graduation gown today, and prepping some desserts for a graduation party.  But before I do, I wanted to share a little creative something that my girls and I did a few weeks back for Easter.   Being an uber-busy working mom, decorating Easter eggs wasn't in the forefront of my mind (until the day before Easter).  My girls are getting older, and I fear it won't be long before they'd rather be out with their friends than dyeing eggs with Mom.  So, I came up with a last minute way to decorate eggs that is definitely out-of-the-store-bought-box, very inexpensive, and yet chic and sophisticated.  My girls loved them, and we ended up keeping them on display throug

Marshmallow Cottontail Peeps on a Stick -- Sweet, Simple & Fun Easter Recipe

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Here comes Peter Cottontail Hopping down the Bunny Trail Hippity, Hoppity Easter's on its way Two of my favorite and most nostalgic Easter sweets are chocolate covered marshmallow bunnies and Peeps ® .   So, my girls and I decided to combine the two classics, resulting in: COTTONTAILS ON A STICK These sweet bunny silhouettes are so simple to make and taste incredible! Here's all you need: Marshmallow Peeps ®  Bunnies Lollipop Sticks  (found in the cake decorating aisle of most craft stores) Candy melts, bark or tempered Couverture Chocolate Mini marshmallows Step 1:  Line a baking sheet or tray with wax paper (no need to use expensive parchment) Step 2:  Prep your Peeps ®  by inserting a stick as far as it will go without coming up through the ears. Step 3:  Prep mini marshmallows by trimming off 1/3 with scissors.  Keep the larger pieces and discard the trimmings. Step 4:  Melt your chocolate. Step

DIY: Silhouette Easter Eggs

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I love the charm and old fashioned elegance of the silhouette. For this year's Easter eggs I decided to stray from the usual palette of pastel & polka-dotted whimsy; opting instead to play off the natural alabaster of the eggshell with a sharp contrast of elegant black. The wonderful thing about this technique is that it doesn't require special transfer paper or expensive equipment.    If you have some white tissue paper, Mod Podge, a glue stick and a printer, you can make Silhouette Easter Eggs without spending a penny! Silhouette Easter Eggs Materials Eggs (hard boiled if you plan to eat them, or blown if you want to keep them) White tissue paper (ironed flat if it's wrinkly) Silhouette images (I used the beautiful free images from The Graphics Fairy ) A sheet of copy paper A glue stick (I like the Elmer's Craft Bond Repositionable) Scissors Mod Podge Paint brush An old gift card or club card to use as a refi