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White Chocolate Covered Chocolate Chip Bars

Who likes homemade chocolate chip cookies? {raising my hand}

 Who likes white chocolate? {raising my hand} 

Who would like white chocolate covered chocolate chip cookies? {raising both of my hands}

 

White Chocolate Covered Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars a.k.a WCCCCB

 

Ghirardelli Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yield: 4 dozen cookies

• 11 1/2 ounce(s) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips*
• 1 cup(s) butter or margarine, softened
• 3/4 cup(s) sugar
• 3/4 cup(s) brown sugar, packed
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoon(s) vanilla
• 2 1/4 cup(s) unsifted flour
• 1 teaspoon(s) baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) salt

*I used a whole bag of semisweet chocolate chips which is 12oz.

Preheat oven to 375° 

 

Stir flour with baking soda and salt; set aside.

 

In large mixing bowl, beat butter with sugar and brown sugar at medium speed until creamy and lightened in color.

 

Add eggs and vanilla, one at a time. Mix on low speed until incorporated.

 

Gradually blend dry mixture into creamed mixture.

 

Stir in chocolate chips.

 

Evenly spread out the batter in a greased 9×11 pan or baking dish.

Bake for about 25 – 30 minutes.

  

Place the pan on a baking rack until completely cooled.

 

To release the cookie run a butter knife around the edge of the cookie and flip over onto a cutting board.

 

Melt 12oz. of white chocolate.

 

Cut the cookie into even squares and dip it into the melted white chocolate.

 

Place on wax paper to dry. I sprinkled mini dark chocolate chips on top.

  

My husband is not a big fan of sweets, so when I make cupcakes or any type of dessert he never eats them.  I know!  He is crazy!  Trust me it’s not that the cupcakes I make taste bad he just doesn’t like sweets.  Although, when it comes to homemade chocolate chip cookies that is a different story.  He devoured 2 of these cookie bars last night, so I am assuming they were good.  I haven’t tried one yet, but I do plan on eating one later.  I am bringing them over to a friend’s house tonight (YES, Ness I am bringing them to your house!).  I will let you guys know what everyone thinks about the cookie bars.

What kind of pants do Mario and Luigi wear?

….denim, denim, denim!  HA!  {Slapping my knee laughing}  Do you get it?  NO?!?  It’s supposed to sound like the Mario song and they wear denim overalls.  Do you get it now?

Parrish’s Goodie Bags

Supplies Needed:

Red and White Felt

Felt Glue

Honeycomb Reusable Bags

Downloadable Mario Font

 

Trace circles on the white felt and cut out.  I used a Tupperware lid.

 

Print out a letter “M” using the Mario font and cut it out.  I used font size 200.

 

 

Trace the letter “M” onto the red felt and cut out.

 

 

Glue the letter “M” onto the circle.

 

 

Glue the circle onto the center of the bag.

 

 

TADA!!  The finished product.

 

“Where did you get those cute little Mario figures?” you ask.  Well, my sister Ariel (my hand model for this post) printed them out from CUBEECRAFT.  All she did was print it on cardstock paper, cut it out and assembled it. 

I will be using these cute little cube characters for Parrish’s birthday.  I have an idea of what I will be using them for, so look out for them on a future post.

Happy HEART Day!!

This year I decided to try something different for my kid’s Valentine’s cards.  This is what I came up with…..

 

The front of the Valentine’s cards I made for my kids.

 

A homemade cookie attached on the back

I don’t know what the heck I was thinking when I decided to make these.  Oh wait, I wasn’t…

I probably should have started this project earlier than the day before the parties.  I was baking and decorating all day yesterday.  When I got home I was physically and emotionally drained.  Lucky for me my hubby noticed I was in a bad mood and took the kids out for a few hours.  I got to stay home and catch up with my DVR.  Then when he got home he even cooked dinner.  My hubby hasn’t had to cook dinner in years, so it was nice of him to step up and help me. 

Valentine’s Cards:

Avery 8387 printable postcards/notecards

FREE downloadable Mario font

Word processor ( I used Microsoft Word)

My Valentine’s cards were kinda plain considering I am not good at Word or any other fancy program to help design things.  I settled and used Word and googled the above images and worked with what I had. 

After all the cards were printed up I hole punched two holes at the top.

Cookies:

Butter Velvet Cut-Outs

Adapted from The Cookie Cutter Shop

Makes: 7 dozen

2 cups butter, softened

8 oz. package cream cheese, softened

2 cups sugar

2 egg yolks, beaten

1 tsp. vanilla

4 1/2 cups flour

Blend together butter and cream cheese;add sugar, egg yolks and vanilla.  Gradually add flour.  Chill for 2 hours*; roll out on a floured surface to 1/4″ thickness.  Use your favorite cookie cutters to create cookie shapes.  Place on greased baking sheets or parchment paper.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.  Let completely cool before decorating.

 * I chilled the dough for 2 hours and it was still very sticky,so I decided to chill it overnight.  It was easier to roll out, but I did notice that I had to use more flour than usual on my surface and rolling-pin.

 

 

 

I whipped up some royal icing.

Piped the outline..

 

I then added water to the rest of the royal icing to fill in the cookies using the flood out technique.  Then I added the sprinkles.

Once the cookies were dry I put them in cellophane bags and tied them to the cards through the 2 holes that I punched out.

If I would have started this project earlier then I wouldn’t have been stuffing and tying the cookies on to the cards early this morning before the parties.  It all worked out and the cards were perfect.  Thanks to my wonderful Auntie Olive who helped me in my frantic state this morning. 

I hope you all have a romantic Valentine’s weekend planned out.  As for me, I am heading to dinner on Saturday night with the hubby and then we are spending all day Sunday with the kids.

Who dat? Who dat? Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints?

Where to start? Where to start?

I guess, first off I must say that THE SAINTS WON the Super Bowl!!! In case you were in a cave and didn’t know.

Like I’ve said before I am not a football fan nor do I have a favorite team, but my hubby is a fan and his favorite team is the New Orleans Saints. So, I thrive off his excitement. 

He has been a fan since he was a kid.  Him and his dad would go to the Superdome to watch them play.  Apparently, my father in law was a season ticket holder for years.  And that is where his love for the Saints started.

When the Saints won today I cannot express to you the emotion that my hubby was feeling.  On the way home he told me that his dad texted him after the win and that made him emotional.  Because if it wasn’t for his dad he would never have had the passion and the love for that he has for the New Orlean Saints.  He has been a Saints fan regardless of how good or bad they were. They are his team!!

He is re-watching the game on the DVR right now as I type.  I think he may be watching it over and over for days to come.

So with that said, let’s celebrate by eating cupcakes…

 

Marble Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Frosting

(The toppers are homemade by me)

 

My Saints display with the cupcakes and cookies.

 

Parrish showing us what team he wants to win.

 

Marble Cupcakes

Adapted from Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes

Makes 16 (I got 17)

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups cake flour (not self-rising), sifted
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup milk, room temperature*
1/3 cup heavy cream, room temperature*
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature*
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/4 cup boiling water
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Stir together cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Combine milk and cream.

2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and granulated sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of milk mixture, and beating until combined.

3. To make chocolate batter, measure out 1 cup batter, and transfer to another bowl. Combine cocoa and the boiling water in a bowl. Stir into reserved 1 cup batter.

4. Fill prepared cups with alternating spoonfuls of vanilla and chocolate batter, filling each three-quarters full. Run the tip of a paring knife or wooden skewer through batter in a figure-eight motion to make swirls. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until tops are golden and a cake tester (i.e. toothpick) inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.

5. To finish dust with confectioners’ sugar just before serving. *

* Because I didn’t go to the store to get my ingredients in advance (I went the morning I had to bake them) I had to cut the butter up and place it on a plate so it would get to room temperature faster.  I also had to crack the eggs in a bowl and measure out the milk and cream and put them in a cup and set them out so those too would get to room temperature faster.

* I topped my cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Frosting

Dark Chocolate Frosting

Adapted from Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes

Ingredients

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon boiling water

2 1/4 cups (4 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 pounds best quality semi-sweet chocolate, melted and cooled

Combine cocoa and the boiling water, stirring until cocoa has dissolved.  With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter, confectioners’ sugar and salt until pale and fluffy.  Reduce speed to low.  Add melted and cooled chocolate, beating until combined and scraping down sides of bowl as needed.  Beat in cocoa mixture.

* To make the frosting black I added black gel food coloring to the chocolate frosting.  I ran out of food coloring, so my icing was not as black as I wanted it to be.

 

There’s a first time for everything..

We are going to our friends Leslie and Chason’s house tomorrow for the Super Bowl.  Naturally, I had to bring something sweet to eat.  I am bringing Saints themed cupcakes and sugar cookies.

Yesterday, I made the cupcake toppers.  I couldn’t find anything Saints related, so I had to make my own.

I made cupcake toppers a few months ago for a friend’s baby shower, so I had everything I needed to make them.  I just had to buy cardstock and print up the Fleur De Lis (Reminder to self: hire someone else to cut out the Fleur De Lis {grimacing} My thumb is still sore from all the cutting).

Okay where was I going with this post?….

Oh yeah!  I have a confession to make.  As much as I bake and cook, I have never I repeat never made sugar cookies from scratch nor have I ever decorated them.

Last night was the first time I made sugar cookies and royal icing (actually, I made the frosting this morning)…

I must say not too shabby for my first time.  Frosting the cookies were a little tough, but after a little practice I got it down.

CLICK HERE for the Sugar Cookie recipe

CLICK HERE for the Royal Icing Recipe*

*To make the Gold color I mixed Golden Yellow and Brown gel food coloring until I reached my desired gold color.

*To make Black icing I melted 2 oz. of unsweetened chocolate and mixed it into the royal icing and then I added Black gel food coloring until it turned black.  Mixing in the chocolate makes it easier to make black icing without using too much food coloring.  It also gives the icing a sweet chocolate taste. 

I went to clean off the table where the cookies were on and look what happened…

They slipped off the baking sheet and hit the floor

Luckily, it was only 3 that fell.

I will post the finished cupcakes soon.  I am making those tomorrow morning before we head to Leslie’s house.

*All the pictures on this post were taken with my iPhone and that is why they look like crap   I had the SLR with me, but didn’t have a memory card it in.  All I had that could take pictures was my phone.

♫ my goodies, my goodies…♫

My goodie bags that is….

This is an example of my daughter’s goodie bags for her birthday in March.  This is a rough draft and the final look may change, but don’t worry I will post everything from the party on this blog

She is having a Princess Tea Party at Super Franks in Pleasanton. For her goodie bags I decided to make them princess themed. 

My son and daughter have birthdays that are one day apart and we usually do a joint party.  This year they both asked for separate parties, because they both wanted to do something different.  Luckily, Super Franks offers a few different party options that suited what I was looking for.  We are having 2 parties at 1 place at the same times.  My son will be having the Sports Party.  Then they will be blowing out the candles and opening presents together.  That was the only way I could plan 2 parties without having people to come to 2 different parties on 2 different days.  It just makes it easier for everyone including me.

For those that don’t know me very well should know that I GO ALL OUT for parties (or at least I try).  I love to come up with something different for the guests to take home and enjoy. 

I am hand making so many things for this party it’s ridiculous.  Everything  from cookies, cupcakes, candy to the goodie bags and favors.  Keep your fingers crossed that I can pull it all off!!

This year I wanted to do reusable bags (much more ECO friendly!) and personalize them with the child’s name.  So far I have bought the tiaras and wands that will be going in the bags.  I am also hoping to give each “princess” her own tea-cup and saucer in the goodie bag along with other goodies.  I also wanted to limit the amount of “small unuseful” items that typically come in goodie bags (NO OFFENSE!).  My kids go to parties and come back with a bag full of candy and little toys that they will never ever use and end up in the garbage.  My hope with this years goodie bags was to give the kids something that they can use and play with for a while.

I ordered the bags from Papermart.  I have used them several of times for my favor packaging and have never been disappointed.  They ship fast and prices are reasonable.

I got lucky and found these stickers at Big Lots for $3.00.  Such a good deal!  I am sure you can find them at any craft store.

I still have a bunch of other things to do for my kid’s parties.  Parrish’s goodie bags will be posted soon.  His will take a lot more work than Ava’s.

Coming Soon: Saint’s cupcakes and cookies…WHO DAT?!?

E’ Tutto Qua

Hope you all had a great weekend!!  I know I did! 

Friday I went out for drinks and appetizers with some friends Ness and Leslie.  It’s always nice to have girl time especially if it includes cocktails!

Saturday Hubby and I went on a double date with our BFF’s Brian and Denise.  We took advantage of  Dine About Town and ate at E’ Tutto Qua.  The restaurant is located in North Beach.  I have only eaten in North Beach one other time and that was at the Stinking Rose.  So, I was happy to have a reason to head to North Beach to eat real authentic Italian food.

We had reservations for 7pm, but of course got there 40 minutes late  ( I blame the hubby, but traffic also played a part in our tardiness)  and had to wait another 30 mins for our table.  When we got there the owners ( I think they are the owners) were extremely nice and very entertaining.  The place was packed to the brim, so I assumed that if it was that busy it MUST be good.

Brian, Denise and I ordered from the Dine About Town menu while Jared the hubby (or as I like to call him, Babe) ordered off their regular menu. 

Disclaimer: The pictures used below are from Yelp and have been Googled.  I brought my camera with me, but unfortunately forgot to take pictures.  I think I was too hungry to remember. 

 Appetizers:

I started off with the  Frito Misto which was shrimp, calamari and zucchini lightly battered and fried.  Two Words for this dish: ” SOOOOOO GOOD!”

Brian had the Carpaccio del Polpo it consisted of thinly sliced octopus with olives, capers, onions and lemon dressing.  I had a taste of his appetizer and was pleasantly surprised.  I was expecting the octopus to be rubbery and octopus tasting, but it wasn’t.  Very tasty!!

Denise got the pear and Gorgonzola salad. I didn’t taste hers, but she said her salad was good.

Jared got a sausage and mushroom pizza (i think) and he thoroughly enjoyed it.  The crust was thin just how he likes it.

Entrees:

Brian had Involtino di Pollo a Chicken Breast stuffed with prosciutto, fontina cheese and spinach in a white wine sauce.

Denise had Paccheri Golosi - Large Tubed pasta with prosciutto, porcini mushrooms and truffle oil in a cream sauce.

Jared’s entrée was Paccheri Ripieni - large tube pasta filled with spiced ground meat in a tomato-mozarella sauce.

{Insert Veal Scaloppine Picture Here} 

I had the Scaloppine di Vitelo al Tartufo - Veal Scaloppine in a black truffle sauce. ( I couldn’t find a picture of it online…sorry )

Dessert:

For dessert we all had Panna Cotta with chocolate-hazelnut sauce and strawberry purée.

Review:

Everything I ate was good if not amazing!!  The veal was extremely good with the truffle sauce. 

 I think our (all 4 of us) favorite out of everything was the Panna Cotta.  WHY have I never had Panna Cotta before?  Just typing about it makes me want to go back there for some more.  It was just a heavenly creamy concoction!  Words could not explain the way it made me feel when I took that first bite.

The restaurant itself is pricey and we did get a good deal with the Dine About Town menu.  Our tab was still around $200 ( I did have a few glasses of wine {grinning}) after taxes and tip.  Overall it was a TASTY experience!  I would definitely go back there.

Holy Macaron{ee}

Via Wikipedia:

A macaron or a French macaroon is a confectionery whose name is derived from an Italian word “maccarone” meaning paste. It is meringue-based: made from a mixture of egg whites, almond flour, and both granulated and confectionery sugar.

The confectionery is characterized by its smooth, domed top, ruffled circumference, and flat base. Connoisseurs prize a delicate, egg shell-like crust that yields to a moist and airy interior. The French macaroon differs from other macaroons in that it is filled with cream or butter like a sandwich cookie, and can be found in a wider variety of flavors that range from the traditional (raspberry, chocolate) to the exotic (foie gras, truffle). Making macarons requires a great deal of discipline and is a process that is highly dependent on exactitude, technique, and proper equipment. For this reason it is a notoriously difficult recipe to master and a frustrating endeavor for the amateur baker.

 

The first time I ever tried a macaron was when my friend Brian brought some over a while back.  He bought them from a place in the City (Is that right Brian?).  Anyhow,  I was slightly confused with the name and the pastry itself.  I was wondering why the name was missing an “O” and why it didn’t have coconut on it?  The macarons he brought were in all different flavors like vanilla, pistachio and chocolate.  Oh boy were they delicious!!

Last month I was at Starbucks and saw that they were now selling macarons in a box.  It was $10 for a dozen!!  I think that is a little pricey, but this is coming from someone who will pay $4.00 a cupcake as long as it’s worth it.  I never did by the macarons from Starbucks.

Then a few weeks ago I see in the frozen section that Trader Joe’s has macarons!!  They sell a dozen for only $5!  Now that, I think is a deal.  In the package you get vanilla and chocolate macarons.  So, of course I bought a box and took it home.  That box didn’t even last a day.  The macarons were so yummy!!  Yesterday I went back to TJ’s and bought another box (I still haven’t opened it yet). 

If you have never tried a macaron head on over to TJ’s and buy yourself a box.  It’s SO worth the $5!! 

It seems as if the macaron is the “new” cupcake.  I may have to learn how to make these things.

A Hunk of Burning Love

Before, I post the reicpe there’s a few exciting things I would like to share.

#1)  I am taking my first cake decorating class!! WOO HOO!!  {Happy Dance}  I have wanted to take a class for the last 6 months, but I never get the place on time to sign up.  Luckily, this time I was right on time.  My first class is in February (I should double-check the date, so I don’t miss it {grimacing}) and it’s once a week.  After that I will move on the next level and so on and so on.  I am hoping to get to the gum paste and fondant class.  THANK YOU MICHAELS FOR OFFERING AFFORDABLE CLASSES!!

#2) The Saints are off to their first Super Bowl BABY!! {Happy Dance again}  Granted, I am not a big football fan nor do I have a favorite team.  Although I will definitely be watching the Superbowl for the commercials and crossing my fingers that the Saints win.  My husband has been a Saints fan since he was 8 years old, so I am feeding off his excitement.  Of course, I will be making Saints themed cupcakes for Superbowl.  Keep an eye out for those.  That will hopefully be my next post.

#3) We got a new puppy!  Her name is Henny.  She is a mix of Mini Pincher and Chihuahua.  Although, lately I am questioning my decision on taking her in.  I knew it was going to be a lot of work.  I just didn’t realize HOW much work she is.  Potty training her has been an ordeal.  If anyone has any words of wisdom for me,  NOW would be the time to share them!

Okay, so now that all that is out of my system I will post the recipe for the Roasted Banana Cupcakes with PB Chocolate frosting.  Did you know that one of  Elvis’ favorite food was a PB banana sandwich? Yeah, I figured you already knew that and if you didn’t know now you know.  And that my friend was the random fact of the day.

Roasted Banana Cupcakes

Adapted from: Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes

Makes 16 cupcakes (I got 22)

Ingredients:

3 ripe bananas

2 cups cake flour (not self-rising), sifted

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

3 large eggs, separated

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400º F.  Line standard muffin tins with paper liners.  Place 2 whole bananas on a baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes (the peels will darken).  Meanwhile, sift together cake flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Remove bananas from oven and let cool before peeling.  Reduce oven to 350° F.

2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.  Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating until each in incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.  Add roasted bananas, and beat to combine.  Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of sour cream, and beating until combined after each.  Beat in vanilla

3. In another mixing bowl, with electric mixer on medium speed, whisk egg whites to soft peaks; fold one-third whites into the batter to lighten.  Gently fold in remaining whites in two batches.

4. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full*.  Bake for about 20 mins.  Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Buttercream

Ingredients:

3 sticks unsalted butter, softened

2 tablespoons milk

9 1/2 ounces Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chips*

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups confectioners’ sugar

Directions:

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler until smooth.  Remove from heat and cool until lukewarm.

In your mixer beat the butter until smooth and creamy.  Add the milk to the butter and mix.  Add the lukewarm PB and Chocolate Chips and beat until well incorporated.  Add vanilla and mix.  Slowly add the confectioners’ sugar on low-speed until creamy and until it reaches the consistency you want.

* I use THIS scoop for my regular size cupcakes

* I found a bag of Reese’s Chips which had Chocolate and Peanut Butter baking chips.

My Thoughts:

The cupcake recipe was really good and the combo with the frosting was even better ( I mean who doesn’t like Chocolate and Peanut Butter?!?).  I would definitely recommend you guys try this at home.

Coming Soon:  New Orleans Saints Cupcakes