a chocolate chip cookie celebration | happy birthday to my husband

Last week I hosted a chocolate chip cookie taste off in honor of Matt's 28th birthday. It was quite possibly the best birthday party I've ever hosted. I got the idea from You Are My Fave and used the invitations from there, too.

We had eight entrants into the taste off and almost all of them were classic versions of the chocolate chip cookie. My favorite part about being the host was the questions I got to answer, like this one from my friend Karissa: So if I bring slice and bakes, should I send you the ingredients list and cooking instructions? That was a joke that I didn't get (Matt is vehemently opposed to any and all forms of store bought cookies and Karissa knows it); thankfully no slice and bake cookies were entered in the contest. Another good question: Are we limited to one batch per couple or can we each enter a recipe? There's a back story to that one - my friends Keri and Josh had a dispute about whose recipe to use (they're married) - Keri's famous "Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies" or Josh's "Sweet and Salty Chocolate Chip Cookies" (or, as Keri called them, "Variation on Toll House Because My Wife Wouldn’t Let Me Copy the Recipe Cookies"). Here's a quote from Keri: "I'm glad there can be spousal competition, because I thought marriage counseling was going to be necessary if we had to narrow it down to one recipe."  This is the kind of dedication our friends brought to the party. It was awesome. And Keri won, by the way. Here's her winning batch of cookies...

I highly recommend having your own chocolate chip cookie taste off. Soon. In fact, I may need to have another one.

P.S. I made this for Matt's birthday cake, but doesn't  this one look incredible?

croissants and baguettes | where to eat in Paris

Tell people you went to Paris and the first thing they ask you about it the food. We didn't do too much fine dining, but we enjoyed plenty of bakery type meals. Give me a chocolate croissant for breakfast and a sliced baguette with brie and veggies for lunch and I'm a happy girl.

Here are some of our favorite bakeries...
Paul, 77 rue de Seine - expect a line out the door, but for good reason. Delicious brioche sucre, croissants, palmiers, and macarons.
bread & roses, 7 rue Fleurus - organic breads made with whole grains, nuts, and seeds
Banette, 2 rue de ces Commines - a chain, but I had the most perfect little chocolate and raspberry tart here
Arnaud Delmontel, 39 rue des Martyrs - beautiful styling, and our breakfast treats were still warm!
Le Grenier de Félix, 64 avenue Félix Faure - our neighborhood bakery, perfect for a quick snack any time of day

For lunch or a light dinner...
Pink Flamingo, 105 rue du Vieille du Temple -  a funky pizza parlor serving up unique topping combinations like fresh fig, honey, and goat cheese called the Brangelina (and it was fantastic!)
Le Pain Quotidien, 2 rue des Petits Carreaux - I had such a delicious artichoke heart and white bean salad here
L'Ebouillanté, 6 rue de Barres - cute patio seating outside an old church on a cobblestone path; we had crêpes, quiche, and fresh juice.
La Ferme, 55-57 rue Saint Roch - order your meal at the counter, choose a drink from the cooler, and sit where you like. We liked the laid back atmosphere, and everything is made in house!

For sweets...
Ladurée, 75 avenue des Champs Elysées - macarons, of course. 
La Maison du Chocolat, 8 boulevard de la Madeleine - we bought a teeny box of chocolates, but they'll offer you a sample! Seriously, it's worth checking out for the sample alone.
And get a palmier at every boulangerie you walk by. I did.

sweet treats by the fireside | desserts to make while camping

One of my favorite parts of camping is making dessert over the fire. Of course there's the classic s'more, and I've probably had more than my fair share over the years. This time I want to broaden my campfire baking skills. Here are a few sweets that might be roasting over the fire this weekend...

campfire cones / Dutch oven peach cobbler / chocolate stuffed bananas / baked apples / campfire cakes

What's your favorite campfire food?

P.S. More posts on camping right here.

image via etsy

brownies and bananagrams | date night at home

Hello all! How was your weekend? Ours was nice - not too hot like last week, but now we're getting hit with a major thunderstorm. Matt was supposed to shoot an engagement session but it has to be rescheduled, so I'm thinking an indoor date night is just the thing for us to do tonight. Here's what we'll need...

a candle for mood lighting / cream soda / music, preferably Little Broken Hearts 

bananagrams / brownies, the most important thing of all (besides Matt)

How do you make a night at home special?

classic banana bread

 Baking banana bread is probably one of my favorite things to do in the kitchen for at least three reasons - it makes the whole house smell delicious, it's incredibly easy, and it gives new life to old bananas. This recipe is an adaptation of the one my mom always used when I was growing up, so it was the first one I ever made. While I've tried lots of variations over the years, I always come back to this old stand-by because it's so simple. Try it and let me know what you think.

Banana Bread
Ingredients
4 very ripe mashed bananas
2 beaten eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1 2/3 cup flour
1/4 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
Directions
Mix all ingredients together. Pour batter into a greased loaf pan and bake at 325° for 50 - 60 minutes. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Slice and serve.

Really the only change from the original recipe is substituting applesauce for shortening or oil. And this time I added a cup of 60% Ghirardelli chocolate chips because I just can't resist them. Okay, I confess - I add chocolate chips pretty much every time I bake banana bread. I'm bringing this loaf to our moms' group this morning as a not-quite-breakfast snack. What baked goods do you try to pass off as breakfast?

{the not-so-secret ingredient}

le macaron

Finally I can say that I have conquered the macaron, and I did it before the end of 2011 like I hoped I would. I must confess that I was quite intimidated by macarons but after making them I don't know what all the fuss is about. The process involves quite a lot of steps but overall it isn't difficult at all. I used Martha's recipe and made the chocolate variation with chocolate ganache filling. Of course I'm still only a novice macaron baker but here are my tips if you want to try a batch yourself - 

- Do your homework. I suggest reading this post by Brave Tart, and then read her post on macaron myths and then the one on the ten commandments. Consider yourself prepared. Well, at least I did after I read them. 

- Do yourself a favor and buy almond flour (I bought mine at Stop & Shop in the natural foods section) instead of crushing almonds in a food processor. You'll save a step and some time. 

- Don't have a pastry bag? I didn't either. However, I did have this handy tool that I bought at Target. I had to refill it once but it worked out just great.

- Find a little circle shaped object (I used the lid from a bottle of olive oil) that you can use to trace circles onto the parchment paper with a pencil so you can at least attempt to make the shells all the same size. I flipped the parchment over so the batter wasn't actually touching the pencil circles.

- Most important tip - enjoy them! Even if the tops don't match the bottoms and they're lopsided and the ganache oozes out. Not like any of that happened to mine. Wink.

cookie stars

To kick off the week before Christmas, I'm sharing what I thought was a fantastic idea (if I may say so) for easy and festive cookies. Have any parties to go to this week? Were you pegged to bring a dessert on Christmas Day? These cookies have your name written all over them. They're also delicious, as cookies should be. The process is simple. Whip up a batch of chocolate chip cookie dough (I used this classic recipe) and instead of making drop cookies, spread the dough into a baking pan. Bake as directed. Mine only took about twenty-two minutes in a 375° oven. 

While the giant cookie rectangle is baking, rummage through your kitchen drawers to find your favorite cookie cutters. I selected four stars of different sizes. When the "cookies" come out of the oven, you can do one of two things. Either allow the cookie to cool and cut out your shapes later, or get right to work.

We had plans to go out as soon as my oven timer dinged, so I was forced to let the cookie cool before cutting. I think it would have been easier to cut the star shapes if it hadn't cooled for a couple of hours. Ten to fifteen minutes would have probably been enough. Then I wouldn't have needed to use my entire body weight to press the cookie cutters into the cookie bar and a dishtowel to protect my hands from the sharp edges that were digging into my flesh. Learn from my mistakes, please. 

Anyway, cut out whatever shapes you like from the cookie bar and then enjoy! This is now my official method of making chocolate chip cookies. I know bar cookies aren't new, but I've never really made them before and they're so much easier than drop cookies. One pan makes for much less clean up, and you're not waiting for batch after batch to come out of the oven. So chocolate chip cookie bars it is, and if I'm feeling fancy I'll dig out the cookie cutters. Maybe next time I'll make some wild animals!

Bonus: there are a lot of cookie scraps left over, and you don't even have to share those with your guests.

I scream for ice cream

(image via delectable deliciousness via Anastasia Maria)

One of the best parts about summer is that ice cream is everyone's dessert of choice.  Don't know what to do on a Saturday night?  Let's get ice cream!  Wondering how to celebrate your birthday?  Visit an ice cream stand!  Need the perfect accompaniment to a summer dinner party?  Make ice cream.  I plan on doing just that all summer long with my ice cream maker and Ice Cream, a book that my friend Hillary gave me a few years ago.  I want to be adventurous and expand my ice cream palate.  What flavors should I try this summer?  

moondust macarons

Since macarons are the new dessert of choice (at least according to the internet) I've been wanting to bake a batch, but they're intimidating so I haven't tried yet.  Matt knew this and surprised me with a box of Moondust Macarons last week for my birthday.  Hooray for thoughtful husbands!  

Matt purchased a box of assorted macarons from Foodies of Wickford on his way home from work last Friday.  I almost couldn't wait until after dinner to dig in, but I managed to control myself.

The box included one of each current flavor - pistachio, coffee, vanilla, raspberry, lemon, and chocolate, each one delicious in its own way.  

My favorite was the chocolate with chocolate ganache.  Now how to recreate it... any tips or proven recipes?

half birthday boy

Each year when my birthday rolls around Matt has to endure at least a week of me claiming that we should do things and go places because "it's my birthday in three days" or "it was my birthday the day before yesterday" or some other reason relating to my birthday occurring once again.  

Since Ezra's birthday isn't for another six months I wanted to celebrate another milestone: we survived the first six months of Ezra's life.  For real though, I love birthdays and half birthdays are just as good of an excuse for celebrating as whole birthdays and I want to celebrate them every year with Ezra and any other children God chooses to give to us.  It was Matt's idea for me to bake a half cake and I love him for having that idea.  I made two eight inch round cakes, cut them in half, and stacked them with frosting in between the layers, of course.  I was a lazy baker and just made Funfetti (yes, the first ingredient is sugar and it's basically poison in a box but we love it anyway), but I made the chocolate sour cream frosting from scratch and let me say that it was divine.

Of course, this year was a bit of a bust since Ezra doesn't have a clue what's going on.  He didn't even blow out the candle.  The best part of his cluelessness was that he wasn't trying to swipe the cake so Matt and I had it all to ourselves.  

We gave him a milksicle instead.  Yes, it is what you're thinking.  Also Matt's idea.  Order these popsicle molds if you want to make some for your breastfed baby.

There is way too much much sugar on that plate but guess who finished it anyway...

That's right, it was me.  I'm looking forward to continuing this tradition each year complete with half cakes.  Happy Half Birthday, Ezra!  

triple chocolate

Matt's grandmother's birthday sometimes falls around Easter and this year was no exception.  We combined Easter and her birthday celebration so when I was asked to make a dessert for the holiday this came to mind.  A simple chocolate cake that can be dressed up in so many different ways.

{the birthday girl as we sang Happy Birthday}

I chose to bake the cake in three layers because I think layer cakes always make a statement, especially when they're elevated on a cake platter and especially when it's a scalloped one.  Let's face it, though, layer cakes are great because you can cut yourself a fairly skinny slice and still have lots of cake to eat.  And lots of frosting, too, let's not forget that.

The frosting recipe is my friend Ari's - if you would like to recreate it, here are her words: "I definitely started with two sticks of room temperature butter and 2 cups sifted confectioners sugar. After that, give or take a little, I added about 1/4 cup sifted cocoa, 1/4 cup of nutella, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/3-1/2 cup of peanut butter. You really can't go wrong after you have the butter/sugar base. Perhaps I intentionally didn't write down the recipe so I can always taste as I go!"

I wish I had a piece of this in my fridge right now because I would eat it for breakfast.  Or I could just whip up a batch of frosting and have that instead.  I seem to have lost my senses...

cupcake love

{chocolate coconut crunch}

The Bakery Boutique is located in Smithfield, RI near church. That means it's easily accessible on Sundays and Wednesdays if I can convince Matt to drive in the opposite direction of home for a couple of miles.  The Bakery Boutique is home to these yummy creations, but the good news is that they can go home with you.  That is, if you can manage to not eat them in the car.

 

{classic white wedding cake}

{Nutella swirl} 

{key lime pie}

{red velvet}

What cupcakes would you want to try?  Any cupcake bakery recommendations?

better together

My weekend was complete - I made oreo stuffed chocolate chip cookies and the entire batch was gone by sundown on Monday.  During the week I had sent Matt an email with the recipe and his response was, "are you trying to kill us?"  I am happy to report that no deaths resulted in the consumption of said cookies.

Now I'm wondering what else I can hide in a cookie.  My first inclination would be a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, or even better, a Reese's Peanut Butter Egg - so festive this time of year!  What treat would you hide in a cookie?

free ice cream? I'm there.

It's that time of year again and tomorrow's the big day.  Go here to find your local Ben & Jerry's to get your very own free cone!  I'm thinking some mint chocolate cookie is in order, but I may need to wait in line a second time to get my money's worth.  Oh wait.  I'm not paying.  Well, I still want two cones.  Find me and Matt on Meeting Street (off Thayer), whether it's raining or not.

I heart Sundaes

 Top three reasons why Sundaes is my favorite ice cream shop:
1. It's 1.2 miles from our house so we can walk there.
2. You can print coupons directly from the website like this one which allowed us to buy one cone & get one cone free on Friday night.
3. Most importantly, they have the best selection of flavors in the free world.  My favorite is chocolate peanut butter cup.  It's the only flavor of ice cream I have ordered since the summer of 2009.  Really.  It's that good.  (Side note: it started out as a joke between our friend Matt (who is not to be confused with Matt) and me... we each had a "flavor of the year" in 2008.  Coffee oreo for me and chocolate peanut butter cup for him.  In 2009 I became jealous of his chocolate cone of peanut buttery goodness and a new flavor of the year was born.  Chocolate peanut butter cup is so delicious that it became the flavor of the year in 2010 as well, and it looks as though 2011 will bring more of the same.  And I couldn't be more satisfied.  Thanks for the tip, Matt!)

And three more reasons why Sundaes is my favorite.  Because I realized the first three reasons weren't enough.
4. They have pink jimmies!  They also have Falcon jimmies for all you Falcons out there.  I'm looking at you, Western Cranston.
5. It's conveniently located right on the bike path so when Matt and I are out for a Saturday afternoon spin we can stop and get a cone.  
6. You can carry a Sundaes card which gets stamped every time you make a purchase.  Trade your stamps in for free jimmies, a Sundaes tee shirt, a gift card to Sundaes, or my favorite, a free kiddie cone.  Get two stamps if you're there when it's raining!  That's right... it was raining on Friday so we started the season off with two stamps.
All this talk about ice cream is making me want a cone right now.  Lucky for me, Sundaes is just over a mile away...

how to make sugar cookies & a mess

A visual guide to making sugar cookies - 

Thanks to Brooke for the recipe.