There's A Cookie Inside of this Cookie......

This past weekend I made up a double batch of goodness- goodness in the form of sugar.   One batch of these lovelies went to a co-worker for her belated birthday and another batch went with me to the park.  

These cookies are amazing- that is if you like homemade chocolate chip cookies combined with creamy chocolaty oreo cookies.  I must admit that these cookies are not to be taken lightly and will likely need milk intervention.  I ate half of a cookie and literally felt the sugar hitting my bloodstream.  And these cookies have some heft to them as well.   

Here is a quick snapshot of the cookies right from the oven.

If you want to make up some of these bad boys for yourself here is the link.  Picky Palate has some amazing recipes on her site and I definitely plan on testing some more out.  She also has a recipe for a mini Oreo stuffed chocolate chip cookie as well- Just in case you can't handle the full size madness.

So I leave you with this quote as a friend said to me as she was eating her cookie- "there is a cookie inside of this cookie!!!"

Enjoy the yumminess.
Marci

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day!  I hosted my annual brunch for my mom, my sister in law, Oma and friends.  

I made Quiche Lorraine (I will share this recipe soon.  Thank you Lory again for this never fail recipe), blueberry buttermilk cake, mini cinnamon roll waffles, cheesy potatoes (cause you can't have a brunch without cheesy potatoes), fruit, and chicken salad.  

I think I failed to mention that I also made my Mom's favorite cake- Lemonade Cake.   Again, another simple recipe I will be sure to share soon.   Frozen lemonade concentrate is used in the mix and glaze.   It adds a delightful tangy sweetness to the cake.

Here is a close up of the cinnamon roll waffles.  I must admit that inspiration for these came from Pinterest.   You simply take refrigerated cinnamon rolls (I halved mine since my waffle maker is not a Belgian waffle maker) and place a roll in each waffle quarter and cook until done.   My notes from this experience- be sure to spray your waffle iron well as the cinnamon goodness on the top of these rolls tends to burn and get sticky in the waffle iron.   I also made my own glaze to drizzle on top of the waffles.   I think that these waffles were adorable and loved how they looked but was not super impressed with the flavor.   They lost some of their "pow" somehow by cooking them this way.

I did make a mental note that I really do want a Belgian Waffle maker- so family and friends take note.... I know my birthday has already passed but there is always Celebrate Marci Day which luckily comes once a month... twice if I have been extra good.

Brunch was delicious and the only thing that was missing that day was Cheryl.  We missed you!!
I couldn't help but include this picture of the beautiful iris that was blooming last week.   It simply takes my breath away.

Smiles,

Marci

Cupcake Fail

It happens to all of us I hear.... Actually it happens to me... a lot.  However, I do love baking and I realize that there will most certainly be failures along the way.  

A co-worker was having a birthday and I wanted to make her some cupcakes.  I decided to make vanilla bean cupcakes with strawberry buttercream.  I had found a  recipe for this frosting and it looked amazing.   

The cupcakes were "cake" to make.  No issues there.   I do tend to overfill my cupcake liners and I really must start paying more attention there, but I digress.   

I followed the buttercream recipe exactly.  I pureed my strawberries and jam together and I thought that it seemed like an awful lot of liquid to add to buttercream.  Because we all know that the ratio of butter to sugar to liquid is pretty close in most recipes.  

Nevertheless, I figured this recipe had to be correct.   And it failed... all over the place.  Literally.   The buttercream was soup.  I added more sugar and more sugar.   At that point I figured out why my dentist loved me so much.  And loved the college tuition I was funding for his children....and grandchildren.   

I finally had to stop.   I was worried that the frosting would be over the top sweet.   So I had to deal with runny frosting.   It did drip a little over the edges on some of the cupcakes.   

Luckily, the frosting still did taste great.  The strawberry flavor was incredible.   And my co-workers still liked the cupcakes and ate them all.  I love them.... I bet they would have told me that they tasted great no matter what.  

Lesson learned- trust your instincts.  I knew that there was too much liquid and I was correct.  I also learned that some recipes out there may not really be "kitchen tested" because there is no way that this buttercream would have turned out.   Oh well.  

Luckily, I have a dozen or so cupcake and frosting recipes that I still want to try and all of them come from baking blogs I know and trust.   I hope to share some more successes with you and even if they are failures I  am not shy.  

Happy May to everyone and enjoy the beautiful weather!

Marci

April Musings

Recap of the wonderful month of April.....

I had a birthday.... And yes I am now old.   Don't ask how old. Please.  But, I did celebrate with lots and lots of sugar.   Sugar in the form of cookies and cupcakes.   My friends and co-workers surely do know how to make a girl feel special and spoiled.   

And after consuming sugar I went to visit my sister.   I fell asleep in the car.... several times... Luckily my Mom was driving and not me.   While I was visiting my sister we took some walks with the twins.   And let me warn you it is a process getting ready for a walk with the twins.  It goes something like this: shoes- check, jackets- check, hats- check, snacks-check, sippy cups-check, shoes-check.  And yes shoes are there twice for a reason.  Because you may have put the shoes on to start, but by the time you reached the end of your checklist the shoes were off again.  And the twins have discovered zippers, so if you were quick enough to get out the door with the jackets still on- Kudos to you!

I did get this incredible picture at the lake.  It was stunning day.

It is also important to document that I fell in love.. in love with Ryan Gosling.  You see- Ryan Gosling "gets" social workers.   Sigh.

Also, this April spring came.  She was a little early, but she came.  And then she went away.  I am hoping to see spring again this May cause she was purty while she was here.

Lastly, I had a life changing experience.   I was introduced to stroopwafels.  Oh my.   I am thankful for this crispy, buttery, caramel-ly, hint of cinnamon yumminess.  And I am also thankful for Dutch Fellows who bring me in yummy treats to try.

I did do some baking this month as well.  But I only baked cookies- chocolate chip and Snickerdoodle to be exact.   May will bring more baking adventures as I found some recipes to try for Mother's Day brunch.  

Smiles,

Marci

The Easiest Dip Ever....

 I made the easiest dip ever for a co-worker.  And, trust me, this is the easiest dip ever.  And so tasty!
You will 16 ounces of sour cream, fiesta ranch dip mix and some finely shredded cheese (mexican blend, cheddar jack or whatever suits you).

Blend the sour cream and dip mix together.   Add 1/3 of a package of shredded cheese.   Heck, add half the package of shredded cheese and stir it together well.

This dip is pretty tasty right away, but if you let this dip sit for a while or overnight, it is even better.   And I prefer my dip with fritos.   Especially the scoopable ones- they hold more dip.

So make up a quick batch of this dip to enjoy with tacos or just to eat in bed while watching clandestine episodes of America's Next Top Model... Not that I would ever do that......

Marci

Crazy Cravings.....

Before we go any further, I want to put it out there.  I AM NOT pregnant.  But I have been having some weird cravings.  

I played some euchre the other night with some friends and one of them brought some cucumber sandwiches on crackers instead of bread.  And then the cravings hit. I was obsessed. Cucumbers- check, crispy crackers- check, tangy cream cheese- check and fresh dill- check.  I was convinced the cucumbers meant that I was eating healthy.

So I gave into this craving and recreated my own version.   I bought some light rye Wasa Crackers, mixed 8 ounces of cream cheese with about a 1/3 packet of Italian dressing (the dried packet kind) and a few generous dashes of dill.   I spread this mix on the crackers, topped it with some sliced cucumbers and sprinkled some more dill on top.   They were delicious.    The clincher- I had some thin sliced Hennings Garlic Dill Cheddar Cheese which brought my cucumber-open-faced-sandwiches-without-the-bread to a whole another level.   

My stomach is still thanking me.   

On another note, I am headed out of town to see two adorable cuties for the Easter Holiday.   I cannot wait to hide eggs for them and see their cute faces smeared with chocolate love.  I am an auntie and love every minute of it.   

Happy Easter Everyone!

Marci

Happy Birthday Doodles

My sweet nephew Doodle had a combined birthday party recently.   His actual birthday is still a few days away but his Mom and her best friend decided to throw a combined party for their children.  And what a party it was..... balloons, popcorn, a jump house, hot dogs, cotton candy and cookies.   

Can you guess what the theme was?  A Circus Party!! And it was perfect.  I made some circus tent cookies to go with the theme.  

Here is a not so good shot of them all wrapped up.  

And here is another not so good picture..... ugh... I am still waiting on that camera tooth fairy!

I  also made some number three cookies because the birthday boy and girl were both turning three!  The three cookies were made with a chocolate cut out cookie recipe. The recipe was a new one I tried.  If I knew the source I would reference them here but it is a recipe I have had saved for a while.   There are no rising agents used in the chocolate cookies which I worried about, but the cookies turned out great.

This day was a special one not only because of the birthday boy, but also because I was able to spend the weekend with my favorite set of twins- my other nephews.   They are always so full of energy and bring me so much joy!

I plan on baking up some cupcakes soon so I can continue to find excuses to make and eat copious amounts of frosting. YUM!

Smiles,
Marci