Dare to Eat Cookies

After I failed 3 times at making those blasted pumpkin cookies, I thought I’d take a break for a while…until I saw the Dare to DIY Challenge for this week…

DARE TO EAT COOKIES.

I wanted to make something different (a la pumpkin cookies) but easy (not a la pumpkin cookies) and a cookie that can go great with my favorite beverage. So, I found a recipe in my December issue of Real Simple Magazine that was perfect.

Cinnamon Pinwheels

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus more for shaping the cookies
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), at room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the egg and beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the vanilla.

With the mixer on low, gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated (the dough will be stiff). Shape into a disk and (unless otherwise specified in an individual recipe) refrigerate, wrapped, for at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.

Divide dough in half (do not substitute slice-and-bake dough). On a floured surface, roll each piece into an 8-by-12-inch rectangle.

Sprinkle with a mixture of ¼ cup sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon.

Starting from a long side, roll each rectangle into a log. Refrigerate until firm. Slice ¼ inch thick.

Bake at 350° F on parchment-lined baking sheets until just beginning to brown, 15 to 18 minutes.

Cool slightly on baking sheets, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Now, I am no Fattycakes (have you bought yours yet??)extraordinaire, but my cookies turned out okay thanks to the engineering skills of husband, because without him, I would be stamping a big fat fail on these too. I don’t know what it is, but cookie dough just loves to cling to our counters no matter how much flour we put down. Pay no attention to their less than perfect distorted shape. We were going for the Dr. Seuss look.

Cinnamon Pinwheels

+

HEB Taste of the Hill Country coffee

=

I am happy for life.

Happy Monday party people

Salma Needs a Sponsor

Last week, I posted our Christmas Child who needs a sponsor through Compassion International so that she can eat and have clean water and go to school.

Originally I posted that we had found a sponsor for her, but that did not work out, so I am back asking someone to sponsor this sweet little girl.

You can see the original post here.

If you are interested, please email me (link on the left sidebar)

PERFECT PRESENT #5

OH. SWEET. MOSES.

Do I have a perfect present for you guys!

PERFECT PRESENT #5: FATTYCAKES.

Jen, the creator and owner of FattycakesNY sent us some cookies to try out, and you guys, they are glorious bits of heaven in your mouth. And how cute is that sticker? Jen's brother created her logo and you can find his work here.

So this is the scoop. Jen is a cookie master of all sorts, but once she mastered the chocolate chip cookie, she needed a challenge. So, she started trying out different ingredients that she had, and then adding things people wanted in a cookie and bing bong boom...

I know. Amazing.

From top to bottom we have:
The Movie Theater: Chocolate chip with popcorn and Sweedish Fish
The Stickyfingers: Peanut butter cookie with homemade peanut brittle, caramel and popcorn
The Original Fattycake: Chocolate chip with crushed cookies and cream, pretzels, potato chips, oatmeal, and caramel. YALL. IT IS SO DADGUM GOOD.
The Paddington: This was an experimental that we got to try. Marmalade with salt and vinegar chips (my favorite chips!)
The Paddington with Chocolate: Same as above but with little chunks of chocolate
2 Velvety Goodness: Red velvet cookie with white chocolate and cream cheese fudge. Yes. Fudge in the middle of the cookie.

This was by far Devin's favorite. He made all kinds of weird animal noises when he bit into it. Jen, you put my flat tasteless attempts at cookies to shame.

My favorite is the Stickyfingers. So delicious in my mouth.

Ok, now here is the greatest thing about Fattycakes. If you can dream up a cookie with all kinds of funky stuff in it, Jen will make it for you! And! If it's fantastic, she'll name that cookie after you and get it on her menu!


Head on over to Jen's Etsy site to check out her full menu and order your batches today. You guys, they are like nothing you have ever had. I swear it.

FATTYCAKES PERFECT FOR: Anyone with a mouth who likes to eat good things. But seriously. Christmas parties, cookie exchanges, gifts for coworkers, friends, white elephant gifts, family gatherings.

Big Time!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
We had a great time with my family and we're headed over to Devin's family Thanksgiving today. I don't think I can fit anything else in my stomach, but I'll down some good stuff I'm sure.

I am really excited...

Centsational Girl is featuring my tree centerpiece on her blog today!
I'm a big fan of her stuff, so it's a pretty cool deal.

Check it out!

Thanks to Dan for sending the only picture taken of me during the weekend in Dripping Springs.

Take this cute little girl. Please!

Devin and I have sponsored 4 children through Compassion International since June, and we are constantly blessed by it.  I really enjoy writing to all of them about what we are up to, different holidays we celebrate, and asking them all kinds of questions.  We get letters from one or more than them about once a week, and it is just really neat to hear what is going on in their lives in India.  Their pictures are on our fridge and we think about them all the time.

Maybe it is just me, but the whole getting started process is exciting when you decide to sponsor a kid.  Compassion will send you a massive envelope with what looks like an elementary school picture packet- big ones for you and small prints to share with people who will pray for your kid.  Writing to them is super easy- Compassion will send you everything you need or you can do it online.

So this year, we were asked to take on a Christmas Child in the month of December.  This means that it is our job to find someone to sponsor one child who has been on the Compassion waiting list.

SO!

I present the beautiful, precious Salma Moke!

Don't you just want to squeeze her?

Salma is 10 years old and lives with her family in Tanzania.  Don’t you know she woke up that morning and put on the most outstanding outfit she owns just for this picture?  This little girl just has no idea how one sponsor is going to rock her world.

This is what Compassion writes about the place Salma calls home:

“Across Tanzania, thousands of children like Salma face a harsh, daily struggle for survival.  Many children go for days with little or no food, or have little access to safe drinking water.  They are often sheltering in unhygienic conditions where disease, violence and abuse overshadow their lives.  No wonder many live in constant fear and danger”.

Can you even wrap your head around that?  This little girl often goes without food for days.  Think about Salma tomorrow while you are sitting down with your family to eat portion sizes that should be illegal.  And when you go around the table and rattle off general things that you’re thankful for: jobs and family and friends and food, maybe think about what Salma would say if she were sitting next to you.  Think about how genuinely thankful she would be to the people who saved her from the inevitable life in Tanzania.

Talk about perspective.

One really cool part about sponsoring our kiddos is that we never miss that money that is taken out of our account every month, and we never ever ever ever ever go without.  God really blesses us in that way, and in return, 4 kids get to go to school, are fed, are given clean drinking water, are kept safe, get to go to the doctor, and are learning about how loved they are.  They don’t have to beg, they don’t have to starve, and they don’t feel worthless or alone.

Our Compassion kids hold very very precious places in our hearts.  We are excited to watch them grow up and maybe someday we will get to go meet them.

Do me one favor…over the Thanksgiving weekend, think about sponsoring Salma, and if you’re interested or need more info, please email me (link on the left sidebar).  I have everything you need to get started.

She is going to get the BEST CHRISTMAS PRESENT EVER!

P.S.  Please send the link to my blog to your friends and family- I really want to get Salma a sponsor ASAP!

Bed, Breakfast, Buddies and Bicycles

I feel like I still haven’t recovered from our weekend in Dripping Springs.  Sleep. Deprivation. Too much excitement.  Too much fun.

Here’s a recap, a sorta kinda race report, and a lot of pictures.  Relax, get some more coffee, go to the bathroom, get comfortable.

This is our bed and breakfast in Wimberley.  Seriously awesome.  It was in the middle of nowhere, and we pretty much had the place to ourselves.  We’re going back.  Love.

 

Our view from the porch of the B&B.  Texas scares Kstan.  Views like this remind her of No Country for Old Men or something.  It was beautiful and someday, Kstan, I will take you there.

 

   Tell me this isn’t the cutest picture of Devin ever taken (baby pictures don’t count) & I will say you’re absurd.  He never smiles like this.  I can’t get over it.  I feel like I want to print 11 copies of it and give one to all of you. 

Moving on to race day.

 

 

 

There were lots of bikes to try, lots of vendors with all of their goods.  Much like a bike carnival.  Or something else that is way cooler.

Lance thinks of everything- boy/girl portable toilets?  Genius.

The start, as if you didn’t know.  This was Devin’s group lining up.  I think.  There were a lot of races, ok?

Bing, Bong Boom…BANG!  They’re off…

Lance Armstrong and Bryan Fawley (and JHK on the left).  This is about as far as Lance got in the race, I think.  I decided not to edit this picture because I like the spectators in it…but…

Here is the cropped version for the someonewhowillremainnameless who asked which one is Lance.  He’s in black.

Chad lookin’ cool as a cucumber representing the Aggies while carrying a little girl on his back.  If you zoom in on this, it is way funny.  Or maybe I just think it’s funny.  Yeah, it’s probably not that funny.

Dev starting.  Love the green.  Could do without the neon in-my-face sunglasses.  I love you.

Dan, Shane, and Ian looking down at the course figuring out where our first photo spot will be.  The racers looked like little ants on bikes, which I was thinking may be even more efficient for ants.  Again…I haven’t slept enough lately.

 

Chad takes racing really seriously.

Dev dominating a creek/hill of misery.  A handful of riders fell here, and if you know me, you know I cannot control my laughter when people fall.  It’s not that I think it’s funny, it’s like it stresses me out so much that I just laugh.  Anyway, if I laughed at you, I really just felt bad for you.  I’m not making this any better.

This guy won the race.  I think I got this shot as he was looking back at Dan and Ian who chased him like 12 yr olds chasing the Jonas Brothers.  Totally weirded me out too, JHK.

David Wiens…you may remember him from the Race Across the Sky documentary.  What?  I’m the only girl who got talked into going to that?  Sweet.  Anyway, he is an epic rider.  Look at me using boy words.

Ian using a classic Looney Tunes tactic to try to slow Chad down.

Still goin, lookin good.

Devin’s fans running part of the course with him.

And he’s done!  He finished!

And there is mud.

Lots 

AND lots of mud.

 

Dev finished 32nd out of 53 race starters at 2 hours 25 minutes and 15 seconds! 

I am so proud of him for the following reasons:

1.  He did not crash

2.  He finished the whole thing!  And the mud was killer.  Only 38 racers finished this in his category.  Lance was not one of them.

3.  He beat this guy!!

4.  He stepped it up and raced in a class that was challenging instead of racing with the Cat 1 19-29 men and creaming them.

5.  He was and always is a good sport

He inspires me

Winter/Christmas Centerpiece for a Small Space

This week’s Dare to DIY

Dare to entertain…Show Us Your Table

Along with about 90% of the female population, I love Christmas and I love to decorate for Christmas. With husband and I living in an apartment in our first year though, we don’t have a whole lot of room to store such things. So, this year I wanted to make something that could be easily stored or discarded and remade for next year.

The husband and I went branch hunting earlier this week and found exactly what I had pictured. While I worked late and ran some important (like buying decorations important) errands, Devin made a paint booth out of a box and painted the branch for me. That’s $.99 spray paint, you guys.

After the branch dried outside, I got everything together to get this branch in the vase aka tissue cover. This was, like, the greatest find ever at Homegoods. I couldn’t find ANYTHING I liked ANYWHERE and then, there it was, with a beam of light shining on it.

I have never been more thankful to be married to an engineer because I am pretty sure I would have screwed this up without his help. We made a hole in the foam with the blade of his hack saw rather than trying to shove the branch straight into it.

I covered the top of the “vase” with Spanish moss, you know, to make it look like this branch is growing out of that tissue cover. But, really, it gave it the sort of rustic look I love.

Then I just hung some small silver ornaments and some crystals, both from the local craft store on pre-season clearance.

And Voila.

I did pick up some new Christmas linens at Crate and Barrel with leftover gift cards from our wedding. I love free stuff.

I love it love it love it. It was very affordable, it fits our little table so perfectly, and the branch can be chunked and easily be remade next year.

Now if Houston would bring on some winter weather, I might actually feel like Christmas is upon us!

Dear Lance, Kiss My Grits.

The time has come you guys! Devin, Chad, Patrick, and who else? are racing Lance Armstrong (not Neil Armstrong, Lisa) on Sunday morning! It should be a pretty big deal- lots of vendors, raffles and prizes, oh and the bike race. The gun goes bang at 7:30am on Sunday, so if you’re awake for whatever reason, please pray for safe racing for all of them!! I spend enough time in hospitals during the week; it’s not how I want to spend my weekend.

We are headed to Wimberley, TX tonight for some relaxing, eating, shopping (SAN MARCOS OUTLETS, WHAT?!), more eating with friends, and some racing in the most beautiful part of Texas! Dear God, please let us move there. Oh what? Lance’s ranch is for sale?? How convenient.

Lots to come next week that I am excited for!

You know, for all 9 of you that read this.

Dare to DIY blog party on Monday. Mine turned out really well; I am pretty excited about it.

Pictures of the race of course and if we’re lucky, Devin will focus for more than 3 minutes and write us a race report :)

Some shots of our Bible Study’s Thanksgiving Potluck Beatles Rockband Extravaganza party. Hard. Core.

The perfect present from New York that I promised for this week. Oops. But I swear it’s a good one worth the wait.

All of that and then Thanksgiving is upon us! I don’t even believe it.

Happy Weekend!

fatty fatty fail.

I’ve been doing a lot of baking lately. Husband hates it while he is training for his RACE AGAINST LANCE IN 3 DAYS!!!! but I love to do it. I just can’t stop and as a result, Devin feels like a fatty fatty no friends. Just don’t eat it, you might say? He would say erroneous.

One of the reasons I love to bake is this.

When I posted this picture, I made a high-pitched VROOOOOOOOOOOM sound. Out loud. Reminds me of this guy. This was our wedding gift from OV06. Tell me that thing is not your dream appliance and I’ll call you a liar. Best gift ever.

Do you see my cute apron in that picture?

Ok back to whatever I was posting about.

I made some sweet potato bread and it was delish dot com

The ingreeds. Or most of them. That’s one honkin’ sweet potato! Yum.

And behold.

How’s that for a step by step instruction?

Fine.

Here’s the recipe from Cooking Light

1/3 cup ground flaxseed

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 c fat free cream cheese, softened

3 tablespoons butter, softened

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup honey (I added a bit more)

1 large egg

1 large egg white

1 cup mashed sweet potato

cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Combine flax, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the mixture. Beat cream cheese and next 5 ingredients, stir in sweet potato. Add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist.

3. Spoon batter into a loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan, and cool completely on wire rack.

It should look perfect like mine. Ha!! I drizzled some honey on top. Devin liked his warm with cinnamon and sugar on it. I liked mine with coffee because I like everything with coffee.

So, what sort of transition can I use for the next item on this post?

How about this: sometimes I am the worst baker in the history of the United States of America.

I was looking through one of the cookbooks I got as a wedding gift. My good friend, Janice, (you may remember her from the hot sauce post) gave me her family favorites cookbook and I found a recipe for pumpkin cookies. Pumpkin cookies! How different! How fun! HOW I LOATHE THEM!!!

Ingreeds. Looks fun, right?! WRONG.

Just minding my business, following the recipe, being super excited for pumpkin cookies.

Then I go to roll it out…and…

Yeah. Sick me out. No amount of flour could have made this dough stop sticking to everything it touched. Martha wouldn’t even know what to do, I guarantee it.

Have I mentioned that the pictures here are of the THIRD TIME I TRIED TO MAKE THESE DADGUM COOKIES?!?! So, I wasn’t about to waste this third (and final) batch. I threw that slop in a pan and cooked it like a cake.

And then I informed Devin that he had to taste it.

So he smells it first?

The “make a funny face so she doesn’t think I hate it”

and then I didn’t get the the picture of the projectile vomiting.

Janice, if I were you, I would kick whoever submitted this recipe into your family secrets cookbook OUT OF THE FAMILY.

I’m just bitter that I can’t bake. Actually, people, I can bake. It’s just that pumpkin cookies with delicious orange glaze icing don’t actually exist. Oh, Lord love a duck…I do not lie to you…as I was writing this, Real Simple Magazine emailed me a recipe for pumpkin cookies.

They’re liars.

Me- 0, Pumpkin cookies- 3.