Festive Chocolate Chip Sandwich Cookies

Who doesn't love the Double Doozies from Great American Cookie Company?  You know, the 2 cookies sandwiched together with a generous helping of frosting acting as the glue?  It is super easy to recreate those same cookies and give them a festive spin for whatever holiday you are celebrating!

 To make 24 of these sandwich cookies, you will need two packages of Pillsbury Ready To Bake Chocolate Chip Cookies (24 count each), 1 container of creamy white icing, red or pink food coloring, and festive sprinkles.

Bake cookies according to the package and let them cool completely.  While they are cooling, tint your icing to the preferred shade of pink or red.  Take one of the cookies and spread a healthy amount of icing (healthy amount of icing...is there such a thing?) all over the flat side of the cookie.  Take another cookie and press it against the icing to make your sandwich.  Dump your sprinkles in a bowl and then roll the edges of the cookie sandwich in the sprinkles.  

You can use different sprinkles for the various holidays.  Red and green Christmas tree sprinkles would be adorable in December.

 

Plate them up on a cute treat stand and you have a sweet dessert that is sure to please!

Showing Off

Everyone loves treats at work.  But I think they taste even yummier when you show them off.  An easy way to do this is putting your treats out on pretty melamine plates.  These are those inexpensive plastic plates that you find at Target and other box stores.  But what about taking it one step further?  Create a treat stand!

Valentine's Day Treat Stand

 

 

These stands are VERY easy to make and cost only about $4!  Plus, you can make different ones to match the various holidays.  I made this treat stand from a plate and coordinating bowl that I found at Target.  They each cost $2.  You will also need a plastic adhesive.  I use Loctite Plastics Bonding System.  It is a 2-step system that is very easy to use. 

Loctite Plastics Bonding System sold at Home Depot 

 

To make the treat stand, first clean your plate and a bowl, and remove any stickers from the back.  Following the directions on your adhesive, glue the plate and bowl together.  If you are using a traditional shaped bowl, make sure you glue the underside of the bowl to the underside of the plate.  Let the stand dry for the amount of time directed by your adhesive.  All done! 

 

 

What a pretty way to show off your tasty treats!



Recipe Fail

Have you ever found one of those recipes (or ideas) that just sounded too good to be true?  But you tried it anyway, and sure enough, it was a big disaster.  That happened to me this weekend.  I found a recipe for Buttermilk Strawberry Bundt Cake.  It sounded amazing, but from the start, it was an epic disaster.  The batter was super sweet but it didn't taste like strawberry.  After baking, it came out splotchy brown and pink instead of beautiful candy pink and tasted like a biscuit.  We won't even talk about the ganache that was supposed to be drizzled on top. 

My ugly cake disaster...the cake was supposed to match the color of the frosting!

 

Truth be told,  I have a love-hate relationship with bundt cakes.  They are hard!  They have to bake at just the right temperature, for just the right amount of time, and then you have to cool them just right.  They are next to impossible to get out of the pan and stay pretty.  They just don't like me, even though I love the look and taste of them.

In the trash can...where it deserved to be!

 

I don't know what happened, but I want everyone to know that these days happen to all bakers.  Sometimes, it just doesn't work.  Don't give up though!  The next recipe is sure to be amazing.  I'm going to get back up on the bundt cake horse and try again next week with Lemon-Lime Bundt Cake...stay tuned!

Recipe For Disaster?

I'm not sure about other 4-month old boys, but I know one who does not care to do crafts at this stage in the game.  It breaks my heart because I love crafts.  I discovered all of this during the past weekend as we tried to make Valentine's Day cards using hand and foot prints.  My little man would tolerate paint on his foot (mainly because there was nothing he could do about it).  But he wouldn't cooperate with paint on the hand.  Every time I had his hand painted and ready to go, he would make a fist and not let up.  Between his grunting, drooling, and scrunched up eyebrows, the boy practically had me rolling on the ground with laughter. 

 Enjoying making mess...before we even got started!

 

Someone did NOT like having his hand painted.

 

Heart stamp card made from paper towel tube

 

From the bottom of our hearts to the tips of our toes, we love you!

 

 We love you with all our hearts!

 Cards made from his footprint and my hand print

But at the end of the day, I won and we made some pretty cute "amateur" Valentine's Day cards.  We plan to use them as decorations in a few weekends for a Valentine's luncheon we're hosting for the family.  I hope these inspire you to get crafty with your little ones.  Even if they don't turn out cute, you will still have a lot of laughs along the way. 

A Tasty Way to Start the Week

Monday's are tough!  That's why I enjoy baking on Sunday so I have a tasty treat to start my week.  It just helps get the week rolling.

Today I tried a new recipe, Salted Caramel and Chocolate Chip cookies.  I was inspired to try this recipe after sampling similar cookies from the Vanilla Bean Bake Shoppe.  If you haven't seen this silver Airstream trailer parked across from the WISD tower, you need to find it soon and try them out!  I always stop for a cookie when I have a meeting at the administration building (because don't we all deserve a cookie after that). 

I have been hearing some buzz around the food blogs about adding cornstarch to your cookie recipes because the ingredient makes a beautiful, chewy cookie.  So, I made sure to find a recipe that called for this ingredient.  I found this great recipe from The Pink Doormat.  I must say, the hype is worth it.  The cornstarch made the cookies puff up so pretty and the texture is out of this world.  If you love chewy cookies, you need to be adding this ingredient to your cookies!

 I don't want to brag, but aren't these cookies pretty??

 My sister Mandy was in town, so she helped with the baking.  As a bonus for being such an excellent assistant, she got to take a dozen to her boyfriend's Super Bowl party (I hope she's not fooling anyone into thinking she made them herself).

Salted Caramel and Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp. cornstarch
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1/2 cup caramel bits
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• Sea salt for sprinkling

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add egg and vanilla and beat until smooth.
3. In a large bowl, whisk flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and 1/2 tsp. sea salt.  Gradually add these dry ingredients to your whet ingredients and mix.
4. Stir in chocolate chips and caramel bits.
5. Use tablespoon to measure out cookie dough and roll each into a ball.  Spread out 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.
6. Bake for 10 minutes.  Sprinkle with sea salt immediately upon removing them from the oven.
7. Let cookies cool completely.

Makes about 3 1/2 dozen cookies

"Treat every person like it's their birthday"

I love "Kid President" from Soul Pancake, and I think this is one of their best videos yet.  If I were still in the classroom, I think I would show it once a week to my students.  They need to be reminded everyday that they are awesome, and we need a reminder to treat "every person like it's their birthday."  Even more importantly, students need to know it's okay to mess up, but they have to still keep trying.  That is my warm fuzzy for the day.  I hope you enjoy, and share with those you know!

When You Need A Twin

I know every teacher has felt the desire to duplicate herself or himself.  It probably happens on daily basis for many; I know I feel that way!  It's especially a struggle when you have to start a new topic, but you know there are still some students that still don't get the old stuff.  What do you do?  You have to move on and hope you can find some time for reteach later.

In third grade math, we have worked to solve that problem by creating anchor charts and how-to videos.  Specifically, we have been using the app "Educreations" which records sound while you draw on an iPad "whiteboard."  We are then going to post the videos on the student iPads as icons for quick reference.  When students are trying to working on a previously taught skill, they can pull up the video for a quick refresher.  This allows for a quick review without necessarily requiring students to work with the teacher. 


Click How to Solve Fraction Word Problems to see one of the videos that was created for this purpose!

Super Bowl Snack Time

I will be honest...I'm not a big Super Bowl fan.  However, I do like food, and when our school staff decided to do a potluck "Super Bowl" lunch this week, I decided I could definitely get behind that.  If you have ever taught, you know that teachers are always hungry.  Like men, the way to a teacher's heart is through the stomach.  Anyway, you should have seen the spread we had today!

My contribution to the lunch was tortilla pinwheels.  I think these snacks make the BEST  finger food.  Not only are they delicious, but they are so easy to make.  Even more important (especially to someone who is NOT a morning person), you can make them the night before and refrigerate so you don't have to get up early if you are taking them to work. 

The only problem with my plan was that I didn't have time to stage any great photographs.  These were actually taken at work in just a couple of minutes. 

I have to thank my friend Julia S. for the recipe.  She made them by special request a few months ago for my baby shower, and I have been hungry for them ever since!  Our school staff loved them as well, because the plates were empty by the time I got to break for lunch. 

If you are looking for a quick and easy recipe for your Super Bowl festivities, you have to try this one!

Tortilla Pinwheels

(Makes 2 large plates full)

Ingredients:

• 2 8-oz packages of cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/2 bunches of green onions, chopped
• Bacon bits (to taste)
• Salsa (approximately 1 cup)
• 8 large burrito tortillas

Directions: 

1. Beat the cream cheese in a mixing bowl until creamy and fluffy.
2. Mix in chopped green onions and bacon bits to taste.
3. Mix in approximately 1 cup of salsa.  You want the consistency to be like cake batter so it is not too difficult to spread.
4. Spread mixture across the entire top surface of your tortilla.  Roll it up tightly and set aside.  Continue until you have used all of your cream cheese mixture.
5. Refrigerate rolled-up tortillas for at least 2 hours or overnight.
6. Cut into the your desired size.   Refrigerate until your ready to serve.

What is your favorite Super Bowl snack food?

Meeting Time

As the coordinator of our campus Adopt-A-School program, I have to plan monthly meetings.  I like to have a theme for each meeting because that makes planning easier and more fun.  Since we are nearing on Valentine's Day, I chose that as our theme.  I don't get too fancy because I don't have the time, but I like to have a few table decorations and treats.  It is my way of saying thank you to the teachers and community partners that take time out of their day to attend and make our school a better place.

 



 I served carrot sticks, vegetable crackers, Rasberry Chipotle Ranch (because it is light pink and delicious!), Hershey Hugs, and homemade Chocolate Cherry cookies.  Check out my post from yesterday for the recipe.  These cookies received rave reviews from everyone at the meeting!

The napkins, plates, and table cover were from Dollar Tree.  The heart-shaped platter and heart-shaped bowl were from HEB (less than $2 each).  The white bowls are my everyday china, and I made the centerpiece with some random decorations I hade stored from my teaching days.  I put a wedge of Styrofoam in the vase, and then stuffed pink Valentine's Day tinsel around the foam to cover it up.  I then poked themed picks (like you would use in a bouquet or wreath) into the Styrofoam. 

 

Make your  meetings more meaningful with a few tasty treats and a little effort to spruce up the way you serve them.  The extra mile will make your teachers' day. 

My First!

My first blog post.  Inspired by so many people who have encouraged me to share recipes, ideas, and the things I'm passionate about.  I truly hope you enjoy.

I spent this afternoon making some delicious, decadent cookies for a meeting I have tomorrow.  I am a firm believer in the idea that if you need to have a meeting, you must provide a tasty treat.  It just sets the tone for a more enjoyable conversation.  My meeting is Valentine's day-themed, so I decided to try a new recipe-Chocolate Cherry M&M Cookies.  M&Ms make these seasonal candies for Valentine's Day each year, and I thought a chocolate cookie would be the perfect backdrop for turning these M&Ms into a baked dessert. 

 As you can see, the red, maroon, and pink colors of the M&Ms lend a festive feel to these Valentine's day-inspired cookies.

 

I also added chocolate chips to make this a truly decadent cookies.  A glass of milk would be a perfect pairing!

 

Chocolate Cherry M&M Cookies

 

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour (regular flour works fine also)
• 2/3 cup baking cocoa
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1 large package of Cherry M&Ms
• 1 (6 ounce) package of chocolate chips

 

Directions:

1. Preheat over to 350F.
2. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in small bowl and mix together.
3. Beat butter, white sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract in large mixing bowl until creamy.
4. Beat in eggs.
5. Gradually beat in flour mixture.
6. Stir in chocolate chips and M&Ms.
7. Drop tablespoon sized balls onto baking sheets (lined with parchment paper).  Press cookies slightly.
8. Bake 9-11 minutes or until centers are set.  Cook on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes approximately 4 dozen cookies