Another Excuse For Buttercream

We all have one.

Or two.

Or if you’re me, at least 5… maybe 6…

We’re talking about friends with babies. Not benefits. Babies.

And I’m totally cool with it.

Because I’m still working on keeping a house plant alive.  Does anyone really trust me with a child? Nope. Surely one day. But for now? I’ll live vicariously through others.

Like through my friend Jaime:Her little girl, Summer, just popped into this world to say hello a week ago. And I’m no expert, but find her quite a precious and adorable little thing.Because I often bring in treats to the office whenever I have extras from a baking spree, and because Jaime’s gone for a couple months, part of my bridal shower gift to her was to bring her baked goods throughout her maternity leave.

Really, it’s selfishness on my part. Because I’m just using it as an excuse to drop by more often.

Obviously, it’s all about me… right?

Fine. It’s not. It’s really about the cookies.I made these first for a reason.

Because I had a lot of malted milk powder hanging out from when I made the Chubby Hubby cookies. And there was this bag of candy staring me down:Robin Eggs that I got on clearance. It’s the last of the Easter candy that I had hanging around (no judgement about how little of the candy actually went into baking like originally planned, please).

I had to eat all the blue robin eggs. Because Jaime had a girl. So the blue had to go. And I’m not wasteful.

Anyway, if I had actually gone back and read the post about when I baked the chubby hubby cookies, I may have actually remembered how many cookies came out of it.This recipe could really be halved and no one would know the difference. Unless, of course, you’re cooking for a crowd. Or an entire baseball team. Then you should probably make the whole batch.

The recipe for the cookies was also the only one actually followed. When it came to the filling, I really wanted to make the oreo cookie knock-off filling. So I fired up the Google. And searched. And searched. And realized, without vegetable shortening, I was up a creek. Because this week was still a very busy one and a trip to the grocery store was not typed into my Blackberry calendar (aka wasn’t happening).Thank goodness I can always trust good ol’ buttercream to come through for me. Any recipe for it will do (I sort of always eyeball it)- just use at least a stick and a half of butter and a little more powdered sugar/less milk than you normally would as to get a thicker filling that won’t “smush” as quickly once you sandwich the cookies together.

It could all stop here if you really wanted it to. A classic sandwich cookie.Simple. Elegant. Satisfactory.

I am none of those things.

When it comes to baking, I’m a girl who lives in the excess.

*That rule also applies to pizza, wine, shoes and Vince Vaughn.

But anyway, when baking, why not go above and beyond?Because chocolate makes everything better.

As does crushed candy on top of your creation.

As does more chocolate.You can never have enough, to be honest.

It turns out quite pretty.And heavenly to devour when you’re in the market for a solid sugar rush.

Just make sure there’s a napkin involved. That is my disclaimer- I am not responsible for crushed candy getting all over your house.

Now that I’ve left you good and hungry, I must leave you. It’s time for yet another road trip to St. Louis. This maid-of-honor is SO not going to be the one late for the rehearsal dinner…

Toodles!

Oh yeah… I should probably go water that house plant before I leave…

Girl’s Night In: A Step-by-Step Guide

Sounds like we’re all down for a 5k in Hawaii! Now if only I could get the extra paid time off and possibly a free round trip?  Hmmm…

After a few days of cursing the stairs and wearing flip flops to work, I’m feeling much better. Enough so to play around on the elliptical a few days this week. Nothing crazy- baby steps…

Again, I cannot stress enough the importance of fitting some hill running into training.  Geeeez…

Or at least taking a friend up on their offer to give you an ice massage. That could have helped, too. Shoulda, woulda, coulda.

Because I’ve been out of town and busy over the last couple of weeks, it had been quite some time since I’ve been able to catch up with some of my favorite suburban girls. Enter last night:As much as I’m going to horribly miss my mirrored wall when I move, it sure will be nice to not deal with the lighting issues. Or the weirdness of watching yourself eat everyday…

Anyway, it had been forever since Danielle had been able to grace Mon, Annie, and I with her presence, so we had made plans earlier this month for a solid girl’s night. The dress code was sweats. No exceptions.

We ordered Thai food from AltThai- a cute spot in the Arlington Heights downtown area. Sure- I’m more of a person to eat AT the restaurant and also enjoy the atmosphere. But after spending an extra 50 minutes in traffic in the pouring rain? You couldn’t have pried the wine glass out of my hand and dragged me out of the apartment if you had tried. Word.Pad Woon Sen. It’s my newest obsession.

Well- Thai in general is my newest obsession. The glass noodles in this stuff? I could see myself easily going on a weekend bender with them. That good.

Mon would also like to let all the locals know, your first order online is 10% off. Yes- my recessionista ways have rubbed off on her. I couldn’t be prouder. *tear

Oh and I’m giving a shout out to Kelly right now- we chatted yesterday and she decided to virtually join in on the girl’s night in with us by having a nice adult beverage and Thai food up in DC!

After dinner, what girl’s night in isn’t complete without fun and games?

Some of you have probably seen the show Extreme Couponing, but have you ever seen it in practice?Danielle has her stuff together and we were all curious as to how she makes it work. She was happy to share.

We also did crafts- Amy style.You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to make Oreo-Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies. No idea. This was the perfect night because I also recruited some help when it came to “stuffing” the cookies:I would highly recommend these ladies. They work for wine.Sometimes we’re not as mature as we should be.

I’m looking at you, Mon.

If you’re like me, most of the time the “projected yield” of the amount of cookies is way lower than what you actually end up with. I like big cookies. A cookie the size of a quarter just annoys me. So imagine how excited I was when these turn out so big that you can’t even get a reasonable amount of them on the pan:Seriously. I made a recipe and a half. Totally unneccessary. I realized this when I could barely stir all the dough together.

Which reminds me- I added an extra egg (after making an extra 1/2 of the recipe) to make it more manageable. The dough was way too floury, and I wanted to make sure the cookies turned out soft.

And I also took a hint from the lovely Andrea- ever since she recommended refrigerating dough for an hour for the best results, I’ve been a faithful follower of the rule. It hasn’t disappointed me yet!Heaven. The original recipe calls for double-stuffed oreos, but I found the regular oreos worked just fine. I mean… we’re already being a little excessive, don’t ya think? I’m not one to pretend that 1/2 a cookie satisfies me. Or even usually just one.

But one of these will leave you spinning. Truth.

And that, my friends, is how you do girl’s night.

The end.

Sometimes You Feel Like A Nut

My mom’s favorite candy by far is Almond Joy.

Who can really blame her? The sugary coconut-y filling goodness. The almonds. The chocolate. What’s not to love?(And who doesn’t love a pot of butter?  Oh geez…)

Actually, I used to not like Almond Joys. At all. And my brother and I would get SO MAD when mom came home with a bag of almond joys for the house. Because mom knew we didn’t like them and they’d be all hers.

See how smart she is?Over the years, this changed. I grew to love coconut. And now I’ll rarely go more than a couple days without. I’ll sneak it into oatmeal or every other dessert I make.Mom taught me well. 

She also attempts to teach me other things. Like how to stuff a turkey (one of these days I’ll pay full attention and not laugh when a finger gets sliced during the demonstration). And that you should always line your cabinets with shelf paper in a new apartment before using them because only god knows who’s been there (I did half of them after the last move- that’s progress, right?).Granted, those things I’m still not quite sold on, but hey- she always has my best interest at heart. And I’m lucky to have her.

My brother and I may look across the dinner table at each other with raised eyebrows on occasion. Or roll our eyes while on the phone with her as she gives us a “friendly mom reminder”. But this only makes me all the more thankful. Because I love that I’ve seemed to inherit her quirky ways. And her genuinely positive outlook on life. And her sincere kindness (although an ex or two may debate this…).But anyway, because one thing I know for sure is that my mom does not make a road trip to Chicago without a bag of almond joys to share in the car, I decided to make something of similar fashion to share with her as the family all travels to meet up in St. Louis.

Almond Joy Brownie Bars!I was a little surprised at how fudgy they turned out- given the choice, I prefer a brownie that is the perfect balance between fudgy and cake- a perfectly chewy brownie. In that regard, I was nervously watching these babies cook up. I prefer cupcakes and cookies because of this, too- soooo much easier to tell when they’re “done”.However, the coconut/sweetened condensed milk combination absolutely MADE the brownie. I licked that particular bowl clean, too. Not kidding. My stomach hurt afterwards.

But anyway, I hope she enjoys them. 

Happy Birthday, Mom.I know I’m a handful, but thank you for everything you do. I love you!

My “Go To”

Everyone has that one thing they use as their “go-to” for parties/gatherings/holidays. Something easy to make, travels well, and is easy to serve to the masses.

This is mine.Scotcheroos. You’ve probably seen one version or another floating around on the interwebz at some point. The reason is because they’re delicious. And amazingly addicting. My friend calls them “butterscotch-covered crack” and of all the things I’ve ever made, this is the one that is most requested.

I even made them as part of the dessert when I made my friend Jaime’s wedding cake.  And yes, I do believe rice krispie hybrids can be considered fine dining.

But a lot of people don’t know my secret.

It’s one of the easiest things I know how to make.This may damage my credibility as a baker, but it’s a chance I’m willing to take.

The thing I like most about this recipe is that it’s about 20 minutes start to finish. And the majority of it happens in one big pot.

Also… there are measurements. But if you decide not to follow them precisely, you won’t be penalized. In my case, I up the peanut butter and decrease the sugar. Just a little. Or a lot. Depending on the day and mood…My mom makes this a lot to “have around the house”. Which is sort of silly because it doesn’t stick around the house very long. My brother takes out a row of them at a time. Or at least he used to when I was still around before moving. Pretty sure there’s a black hole at some spot in his 6’7 frame. Silly boys and their metabolism.But now that I’m thinking about it… I may have taken a row of them down at a time, too.Did I mention my sugar tolerance used to be amazing?  It still is… but now I’m buzzing if I have two. You’ve been warned.Scotcheroos

Again, I will stress that approximations are totally allowed. They’ll still turn out better that you’ll imagine. Promise.

1 cup corn syrup

1 cup sugar

1 cup peanut butter

6 cups rice krispies

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1 cup butterscotch chips

Mix corn syrup and sugar in small saucepan and heat until it comes to a boil and sugar dissolves. Stir in peanut butter. Then stir in rice krispies a cup at a time (as to prevent cereal flying everywhere). Dump it all into a coated pan and press to make solid.

Melt chocolate and butterscotch together. Spread over top of rice krispie mixture.

*I also melted a little more butterscotch in the saucepan I was already using. And drizzled it over the top of the chocolate. Because I’m fancy like that.And thanks for all the good thoughts about the leg! Right now we’re not “freaking out”. I’m not worried about the leg because I know I’ll be good to run by race day- it’s just going to be ugly.

And this is all requiring me to be patient. Which is hard. Because that’s something I generally AM NOT when it comes to such things.

Hopefully your Tuesday goes well. However, if it doesn’t, don’t be upset. Tuesdays hardly ever do. That’s just the way it goes… :pLater everyone!

Charging Up

Almost immediately after posting yesterday, I realized the entire week was filled with desserts and sugar. And every post goes up in the morning.

I apologize, guys. Giving people sugar rushes at such early hours is not considerate. Well. Not every day anyways.

Plus, it gives you a really unrealistic idea of how I’ve been eating.

Well, sort of. The glucose has definitely spiked in my system this week. But I promise you, there has been other food, too…

Like salad. As mentioned last week, it’s a lunchtime staple.

Or (most) of my dinners. My movie night eats were fun, but I usually go a little more balanced:Thanks to the asparagus season finally coming around, it’s now allowed back into my grocery budget!

I paired it with a tuna and spinach wrap. It’s really unfortunate the latest bag of wraps are just awful. The wrap breaks and falls apart pretty much as soon as it is taken out of the bag. What a suck. I end up feeling like a 4-year-old eating.

Also, just for kicks, I threw in a little dijon mustard. Turns out I really don’t like it as much as I want to. Sad- there’s a whole jar of it left from a marinade I made not that long ago… meh.

Anyway, last night was a quiet night in after an hour of crosstraining at the gym.

Well- it was a wine and gossip night. Close enough.

But either way, I stayed away from the crazy because there is a 10-mile run staring me in the face. As soon as my ipod is done charging, it’s probably time to head out and see how that goes…

I wouldn’t mind if my ipod takes it’s sweet time charging for a bit longer…

Have a good Saturday!