an explanation…

i feel that i owe you an explanation…

i have been taking time away from the blog.

i know that i did this once before but this moment will last a little longer.

you see i’ve been trying really hard to establish a schedule of posting on tuesdays / thursdays but it got overwhelming for me. you might be sitting there questioning how it could be so overwhelming that i need to step away for a bit…

well…

trying to keep up was beginning to feel like a second job and it was beginning to stress me out. i know that there are many bloggers who are infinitely more successful and wider read than my little corner of the blogosphere who do in fact run their blogs as a secondary career. and my hat is WAY off to them. but for me it wasn’t any fun any more. so i’m stepping back. i’m taking a blogcation if you will.

and when i’m done all that r&r, i’ll be back with some more yumminess although it probably won’t be on a regular schedule, which i think was my big problem. i may go back to at least once a week. we’ll see.

if you’ve stopped by my little corner of the world, thank you.

kisses.

almond flour brownies

want to know how to feel real old lady? live in a condo complex with college students.

true story.

nothing will make you feel as old lady as that will.

i mean it.

and this is coming from the broad that goes to bed by 10P everynight (including weekends).

see my complex is relatively close to campus but not so close that it’s over run by college kids. normally it’s nice and quiet. but a year ago, these two jokers moved in next door and now i’m counting down the days until the end of july and they move out. oh and i’m praying who ever moves in will be nice quiet people with no big loud dogs. please pray for me.

until then, let’s comfort ourselves with brownies.

these aren’t your traditional flour based brownie. these are another almond flour/meal based recipe for the week. but if you didn’t make them yourself or you didn’t know that they weren’t traditional all purpose flour, you wouldn’t know any different. they are dense and fudgy and everything you want a brownie to be. i bumped up the espresso powdered a bit to not only give the dark chocolate a little more depth but also bring out the coffee flavor out a bit. the white chocolate chips replaced the m&m’s in tracey’s recipe because i figure the white chocolate represented the “cream” in my coffee-ish brownies.

almond flour brownies

• 1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, browned and cooled to room temp
• 5 oz dark chocolate, chopped
• 2 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1-1/2 tbs instant espress powder
• 3 eggs, room temp
• 3/4 c sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 c almond flour/meal
• 1 c white chocolate chips

1. preheat oven to 350F. spray a 8×8 in baking pan with cooking spray. line with aluminum foil, leaving some overhang so you can lift the brownies out the pan once thery’re baked. spray foil with cooking spray.
2. in the bowl of a double boiler, melt together the browned butter and dark chocolate. whisk in the espresso powder and cocoa powder. set aside to cool to room temp.
3. in a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt. add the chocolate mixture to the egg mixture; whisk to combine. stir in the almond flour until just combined. stir in the white chocolate chips. pour into the prepared pan and smooth out evenly. bake 28-30 min or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. remove from the oven and cool completely.

kisses.

recipe slightly adapted from: tracey’s culinary adventures

this post is linked up to these fun link parties! what’s cookin’ wednesday, what’s in your kitchen wednesday, taste and tell thursdays

almond thumbprints

do you ever sit and stare at your computer screen waiting for something witty to come to you to say and nothing comes?

yeah. that’s me right now.

see i’m that person that could talk to a brick wall but when ii’m trying to make conversation… i’m blank.

in fact, i’ve been staring at the screen for about an hour and half.

blank.

how about we just get to the cookies?

these cookies are different than the type of cookie i would normally reach for. they aren’t the soft and chewy cookie i normally reach for but they’re not the hard and crunchy cookie that i normally would shy away from. they’re something in between. and then they’re filled with a dark chocolate ganache. killer. you could also fill them with some salted caramel or fruit jam if that was your thing.

almond thumbprints

• 3 c almond meal
• 3/4 c turbinado sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 egg whites
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• dark chocolate ganache, recipe below

1. preheat oven to 350F. line baking sheets with a silpat or parchment paper.
2. stir together the almond meal, sugar and salt. add in the egg whites and extracts; stir together until a ball forms.
3. using a cookie scoop, scoop the dough into balls onto the prepared baking sheets; flatten slightly with your fingers. use the bottom of a 1/4 tsp scoop to make the thumbprint in the center of each cookie. bake 15-18 min until lightly golden. remove from the oven and let cool 5 min before removing to a cool rack before cooling completely. once cooled completely fill with ganache.

dark chocolate ganache

• 4 oz dark chocolate, chopped
• 4 oz heavy cream
• 1/8 tsp instant espresso

1. in a double boiler, melt together the chocolate, heavy cream and espresso until smooth. fill cookie thumbprints with chocolate ganache.

kisses.

recipe barely adapted from: with style and grace

this post is linked up to these fun link parties! what’s cookin’ wednesday, what’s in your kitchen wednesday, taste and tell thursdays

brie bites

so i’m about to gift you the world’s easiest appetizer.

i like to throw get togethers and i came up with these little gems a couple months ago for a girls night. i love baked brie and figured there had to be a better way to get all that goodness into a simple bite. after scouring magazines and the internet these little beauties were born!

so let’s not be wordy (for once in my life)…..

brie bites

• 30 phyllo cups
• 3/4 lb brie cheese (i remove the rind but it’s perfectly edible so if you don’t feel like going through that, no worries)
• 1/4 c dark brown sugar
• 1/2 c chopped pecans

1. preheat your oven to 350F.
2. in a small bowl, combine the brown sugar and pecan; set aside. equally divide the brie among the phyllo cups. place 1/2 tsp of the sugar mixture on top of each of the brie filled phyllo cups. bake at 350F for 10 min.

easiest.appetizer.ever.

kisses.

this post is linked up to these fun link parties!! what’s cookin’ wednesday, what’s in your kitchen wednesday and taste and tell thursdays

oatmeal cookie bars

i would like to make a public plea right here and now to the makers of after sun lotion to PLEASE for the love of all things holy to STOP putting glitter and other sparkly stuff in their lotions.

i mean i know there is the standard after sun lotion out there that has been around for like ages but i’d something that smells yummy too. ya know something that smells like the tropics?

and it seems like if i want to have a tropically smelling after sun lotion i have to get the glittery, sparkly lotion. that would be all fine and dandy if i were either a 5 year old or a stripper but i’m neither so i’d appreciate a yummy smelling lotion that doesn’t make me feel like either.

so i’m looking at you bath and body works. subtle shimmer my ass.

can we agree to take the glitter and sparkly stuff out of the lotion?

please.

i’ll make you some cookie bars.

these are really yummy and should buy me some serious leeway with the lotion people. i mean they’re totally the love child of an oatmeal cookie and brownie’s cousin, blondie. c’mon. how can that not be good? plus you throw some toffee bits in there with the oats in there with the two different types of chocolate chips. oh.my.geez.

oatmeal cookie bars

• 1-3/4 c flour
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 c rolled oats
• 3/4 c (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 c sugar
• 1/2 c light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1 egg, room temp
• 1 egg yolk, room temp
• 3/4 c semisweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 c dark chocolate chips
• 3/4 c toffee bits

1. preheat oven to 375F. spray a 9×13 in baking pan with cooking spray.
2. whisk together the flour, baking soda and oats in a bowl; set aside. beat together the butter, sugars, vanilla, salt, egg, and egg yolk until fluffy, about 2 min. add the dry ingredients, chocolate chips and toffee bits; mix until just combined. press into the prepared pan and bake 18-20 until lightly golden brown around the edges. remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.

so how soon after lotion hq receives these do you think the new sparkleless lotions will come out?

kisses.

recipe adapted from: mel’s kitchen cafe

this post is linked up to these fun link parties!! what’s cookin’ wednesday, what’s in your kitchen wednesday and taste and tell thursdays

chocolate chip icebox pie

can we just talk about how obnoxiously excited i am that they are planning a sequel to pitch perfect?

like for real.

and you’re sitting there in one of two camps:

camp no. 1: what is pitch perfect?

camp no. 2: freaking right!!

if you’re in camp no. 1 let me give you a quick briefing in case you don’t feel like imdb’ing this jazz. pitch perfect is a total sleeper hit movie based on competive college acapella groups. it’s totally awesome and was filmed on lsu’s campus. it has a bunch of pretty awesome actors but rebel wilson is in it and has some epic one liners. horizontal running anyone?

(i told you it would be a quick briefing.)

anyways….

total point is that you need to get yourself a copy of this movie and watch it. like on repeat.

and then watch the breakfast club.

because it totally makes sense and because the breakfast club is only like one of the best movies EVER.

and we could have a movie marathon (because let’s face it, i’m a grandma and trying to watch 2 movies in a row is stretching my limit of not taking a nap) with some of this updated pudding stuff to stuff our faces with.

and yes i’m aware that i “officially” titled the post a “chocolate chip icebox pie” because let’s face it, unless you’re one of a few people, you might not have known off the bat what i meant by pudding stuff.

this updated pudding stuff was inspired by my friend cailan. we were walking around the grocery store on good friday and she was talking about making a version of her pudding stuff with chocolate chip cookies. while we were walking around the store, i didn’t think much about it other than “that sounds delicious.” but then i was trying to figure out a second dessert for easter sunday since i don’t eat coconut cream pie and this came back to me. and now it comes to you!

trust me when i tell you, your world has been made much better now that this recipe is out there for you to devour!

you’ll have to excuse it’s inability to take a pretty picture. it really is a messy but ever so delicious dessert.

for.real.

chocolate chip icebox pie

• 1 package chips ahoy chocolate chunks cookies
• 1 (3 oz) box vanilla instant pudding
• 1-1/2 c whole milk
• 1-1/2 c heavy whipping cream, cold
• 2 tbs sugar
• 2 tbs amaretto
• hot fudge sauce

1. pour the heavy whipping cream into a bowl and begin to whip on medium speed until it begins to thicken. when the cream begins to thicken, add the sugar and amaretto and continue to whip until soft peaks form.
2. while the cream is whipping, combine the pudding mix and milk; stir well. slowly add the pudding mixture to the whip cream mixture and continue to whip until stiff peaks form.
3. in a 9 in flat bottom bowl, place an even layer of the cookies, breaking them up if needed. spread half of the boozy vanilla whip cream mixture over the cookies; repeat the process and cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate 24 hours.
4. when ready to serve, top with hot fudge sauce before scooping out individual servings.

seriously y’all.

kisses.

this post is linked up to these fun link parties!! what’s cookin’ wednesdays, what’s in your kitchen wednesdays, and taste and tell thursdays

salted caramel brownies

i have decided that i am no longer turning on the news.

i mean it seems like every time i do something terrible happens.

so the news is no longer allowed in my house. only the stories of the good coming from the bad. which means traditional news is banned because we all know the adage, “if it bleeds, it leads.”

not doing it anymore.

i’m going to focus on the good and the things i’m grateful for. (if you want to follow along with my gratitude challenge on instagram, you have perfect timing… i just started yesterday!)

i’m also going to focus on brownies. more specifically on these salted caramel brownies. which just so happen to be some of the best brownies i’ve ever tasted. no joke. like i really really really liked them. i mean of course i liked them. ina developed them for her new book, barefoot contessa foolproof; although i found them in the food network magazine. but where i found them isn’t the issue. i mean it’s ina. i haven’t made one of her recipes that isn’t amazing. and these brownies are just that. and honestly, if you wanted to, you could leave the caramel off and they’d still be amazing. they really are that good. oh and here’s the thing…. ina uses store bought caramel sauce (gasp! i know!). nothing wrong with that. BUT there’s also nothing wrong with spending a little extra time while the brownies are in the oven baking and making your own on the stove top. also, i didn’t have instant coffee granules in my pantry but i did have instant espresso so that’s what we’re going with ok? good.

salted caramel brownies

• 1 c (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 8 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 3 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 tbs instant espresso granules
• 1 tbs vanilla
• 1 c + 2 tbs sugar
• 1/2 c + 2 tbs flour, divided
• 1-1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 6 oz semisweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 c caramel sauce (homemade or good quality store bought {ina suggests fran’s})
• 2 tsp good quality sea salt

1. preheat oven to 350F. spray a 9×13 pyrex dish with cooking spray.
2. in a double boiler, melt together the butter, 8 oz semisweet and unsweetened chocolate. allow to cool for 15 min.
3. in a large bowl, stir together (don’t beat!) the eggs, instant espresso, vanilla and sugar. stir in the cooled chocolate mixture and allow the mixture to continue cooling to room temp. before you continue any further make sure your mixture is no warmer than room temp!!
4. in a medium bowl, sift together the 1/2 c flour, baking powder and kosher salt. add to the chocolate mixture; stirring until just combined. toss together the remaining 2 tbs flour and the chocolate chips and add them to the batter; stir together. spread evenly into the pan. bake 35 min or until a toothpick comes out clean.
5. if you are making your caramel sauce, you want to try to time it so your caramel is ready about 5 min before the brownies come out the oven so it has time to cool slightly before pouring. if you are using jarred caramel sauce, as soon as the brownies come out of the oven, heat the caramel sauce until it’s pourable and stir until smooth. pour your caramel sauce over the brownies and sprinkle with sea salt. cool completely before cutting into bars.

kisses.

recipe very barely adapted from: ina for food network magazine

this post is linked up to these fun link parties!! what’s cookin’ wednesdays, what’s in your kitchen wednesdays, and taste and tell thursdays