Archive | September, 2015

A Special Day!

30 Sep

A Very Special “Thank You’ for a Very Special Day!

Me and mom

Bridal Shower

Last weekend my amazing Mom put together a BEAUTIFUL Bridal Shower for me at Valbella Restaurant in Midtown Manhattan. Besides gathering all of my favorite people in one place, the food was to die for, the weather was fabulous and of course dessert was melt in your mouth! Once again, Madison Lee’s Cakes made mini funfetti cupcakes that were so addicting, you lost count of how many you ate! I can’t express enough gratitude to everyone that came out and for all of the wonderful gifts Rob and I received. While a little off topic from baking, it was such a wonderful day that I had to share!

me me and rob 1Me and megMe and Janme and danielle

 GirlsBridesmaids

Family me and linda

Chubb Girls    keri me cora meg

Enjoy!

Kristin

A Delicious Duo

21 Sep

Peanut Butter Blossoms

If you ask me, there’s nothing more delicious than the pairing of chocolate and peanut butter. I was looking for something quick and simple to bring to a family party this past Friday and was flipping through some old recipes, browsing pictures online and chatting with some colleagues. We got onto the topic of cookies and figured maybe I’d just settle with my classic chocolate chip (not that chocolate chip cookies are “settling”! I could eat them all day long!!), but I wanted to mix it up a bit. I haven’t made these cookies in probably over a decade… aka WAY too long ago and I was reminded just how easy and quick they are to make.

Needless to say, they were a huge hit! Even my Nana who “doesn’t like peanut butter”, which I’m not sure how that’s possible (Love you Nana!) now has decided that she in fact, does love it! I did question whether that was just her response given I am her grandchild, but on her 3rd cookie, she convinced me! The cookies were gone long before the night was over and the sangria continued to flow. All around great night with family!!Nana

Nana & Me!

Blossoms

final 3 strait

Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 10 Minutes
Total Time: 30 Minutes
Yields: 35 Blossoms

What You’ll Need:

  • 35 Unwrapped Hershey Kisses – Milk Chocolate
  • 1/2 Cup of Shortening
  • 3/4 Cups of Jiff Creamy Peanut Butter
  • 1/3 Cup of Granulated Sugar (+1/3 Cup for rolling)
  • 1/3 Cup of Packed Light Brown Sugar
  • 1 Egg
  • 2 Tablespoons of Whole Milk
  • 1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
  • 1 1/2 Cups of All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 Teaspoon of Baking Soda
  • 1/2 Teaspoon of Salt

Instructions:

  1. Preaheat the oven to 350 Degrees F and remove the wrappers from the chocolates. Place in a bowl and set aside
  2. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking soda and salt until combined. Set aside
  3. Beat (with the paddle attachment if using your mixer) the shortening and peanut butter in a large bowl until well blended
  4. Add 1/3 Cup of granulated sugar and the brown sugar and beat until fluffy. Roughly a minute or two.
  5. Add the egg, milk and vanilla. Beat until incorporated
  6. Slowly add the flour mixture into the peanut butter mixture. Add in 3 batches and beat after each addition until combined.
  7. Using your hands, scoop out a tablespoon of dough and shape into 1-inch balls. Roll each ball in the additional 1/3 granulated sugar (if desired, but who wouldn’t love the extra sugar!?) and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Don’t be deceived, they will grow in size while they bake. Keeping them on the smaller size makes them the perfect bite-sized treat!
    in the sugar    before the oven
  8. Bake the rounds for 10 – 12 minutes, depending on your oven, until they are lightly browned.
  9. Remove from the oven and immediately press a chocolate kiss into the center of each cookie. The cookie will crack around the edges, so that’s OK!
    out of the oven
  10. Remove from the cookie sheet and allow them to cool completely. Full disclosure: I love eating these when they’re still warm and the chocolate kiss is still soft! They melt in your mouth and you’ll want at least 15 more!!

With football season in full force and hockey season right around the corner.. oh and baseball still on TV, this is is the perfect Sunday Funday treat to share with your friends and family. I hope you enjoy them as much as my family does!

Fianl 9

Enjoy!
Kristin

On The Healthier Side… Kinda

16 Sep

Banana Chocolate Chip Blondies

I wanted to try a little something different this week than what I would typically call a “go to” for a relaxing night of baking. I was originally drawn to this recipe because it was healthy and low in calorie… I then took that recipe and made them delicious. That 87 calorie high energy “dessert” became a dense and fabulous banana chocolate chip blondie.

I’m all for healthy (I am getting married in a month!), but when it comes to my desserts/breakfast/baking/just about all meals, I try not to concentrate too much on the calorie count. My thought process: there’s bananas and oats in it, it’s TOTALLY healthy! Then you add the sugar, but in all honesty, this recipe has some great substitutes for the standard baking ingredients.

My fiance, Rob, is a huge fan of bananas so i wanted to incorporate some in my next recipe along with experimenting with some unique ingredients. These blondies come out thick, dense and full of flavor. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did! They are simple to make and definitely on my list to make again.

Blondies

Blondies display

Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 20 Minutes
Total Time: 30 Minutes
Yields: 16 Bars

 What You’ll Need

  • 2 Ripe Bananas
  • 1 3/4 Cups of Oats (or ground up granola)
  • 2 Tablespoons (30 grams) of Peanut Butter (I’m a Jiff creamy fan, Rob is a Skippy Crunchy fan – it’s a daily battle)
  • 1 Teaspoon of Baking Powder
  • 2 Tablespoons (30 grams) of Honey
  • 4 Tablespoons of Granulated Sugar
  • 1 Teaspoon of Salt
  • 1/2 Cup of Low Fat Vanilla Greek Yogurt
  • 1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
  • 1 Cup of semi sweet Chocolate Chips

Instructions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 390 degrees F and grease an 8 x 8 inch baking dish. Set aside.
  2. Throw ALL ingredients, except for the chocolate chips (I told you this recipe is easy!) into a food processor and blend until smooth
  3. Transfer to a medium bowl and fold in half of the chocolate chips into the batter
  4. Pour into the prepared baking dish and sprinkle the remainder of the chocolate chips over the top of the bars
  5. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. These bars are VERY moist when they are taken out of the oven, but will set and firm a bit as they cool. Be careful not to over cook as they will dry out quickly.
    Blondies with tray
  6. Once cooled, cut into 16 bars. I cut into 9 and realized just how dense these bars really are! Learn from my mistake, cut into 16 bars!
    blondies with mits

I hope you all enjoy these as much as Rob and I did! They’re perfect for a casual Saturday afternoon with a cup of coffee and a good book!

unnamed

Enjoy!
Kristin

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