Flashback Friday ~ Spring Forward and Chocolate White Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I've been loving me some fruit lately. Following the new Weight Watchers program is easier knowing you have "free" crunchy apples that won't eat up your daily allowance.


But even with all of those sweet freebies, I still feel the need to bake up some goodies. One of my co-workers had a hunk of white chocolate left over from Christmas baking, so she generously offered it up to me. Maybe she knew I would return the favor and bring something in to work...and she was right! :-)

I found the perfect recipe to use the white chocolate. I didn't have quite enough to make up the total chocolate called for in the recipe, so I added in some semi sweet chocolate chunks and pecans. They taste kind of like brownies. The Barefoot Contessa helped me out...




Chocolate White Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Ina Garten - 2001 Barefoot Contessa Parties

• 1/2 pound unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 extra-large eggs at room temperature
• 2/3 cup good unsweetened cocoa
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 1/2 pounds good white chocolate, coarsely chopped (or half white chocolate, half semi sweet)
  
• 1 cup chopped pecans
  

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Cream the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the vanilla, then the eggs, 1 at a time, and mix well. Add the cocoa and mix again. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt and add to the chocolate with the mixer on low speed until just combined. Fold in the chopped chocolate and nuts if you're using.

Drop the dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, using a 1 3/4-inch ice cream scoop or a rounded tablespoon. Dampen your hands and flatten the dough slightly. Bake for exactly 15 minutes (the cookies will seem underdone). Remove from the oven and let cool slightly on the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the Flashback...let's look forward to Spring~ These are from April 2007.


These little daisies never seem to last in my garden for some reason although I've heard they can become weeds. I'd like to have the problem!



Everything is so fresh and clean in the spring!


And cheery and sunshiny!


I can't wait to see my front yard look this happy again!


Hang in there my winter weary friends....spring will be here soon!

If you have a flashback you'd like to share add your link here


I'm joining in over at Designs by Gollum for Foodie Friday. Check it out HERE.

~September Blackberries~

The blackberries behind my fence are still bearing and I wanted to make a pie this past weekend. The rain had made the ripe ones a bit mushy though so...change of plans! I've always been meaning to try raspberry curd (awful name I know!) but never seem to want to give up that many of my precious few raspberries. So hey..why not try it with blackberries?


The recipe I found to try is actually more like pie filling due to the cornstarch, but close enough for me! I really want to make the beautiful little tarts featured in the post. I'm not a huge fan of meringue, but theirs looks so cute! Anyways, back to the curd...here is the recipe. I doubled the original give or take..12 T of corn starch just seemed like severe overkill. And I replaced the Creme de Cassis with Chambord. Must get me some Creme de Cassis!

Blackberry Curd



4 cups fresh or thawed, frozen blackberries*
2 cup sugar
8 Tbspn corn starch
1/4 tspn salt
2 Tbsp Chambord
2 Tbspn freshly squeezed lemon juice
6 egg yolks
4 Tbspn butter
2 cup boiling water

1. In a food processor or blender, puree the blackberries until smooth. If desired, pour through a sieve to take out seeds (I actually like the seeds for texture, so I don't strain them out.) You should have one cup of blackberry puree; if there is extra, set aside for other uses.
2. In a saucepan (not yet heated), combine the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Gradually blend in the blackberry puree, chambord, and freshly squeezed lemon juice.
3. Add the egg yolks and butter, blending until smooth.
4. Gradually add in the boiling water, stirring constantly.
5. Place the saucepan on medium high heat and bring to a full boil (at this point you can remove a few of the seeds if you didn't strain), stirring gently with a spatula and scraping the bottom (to prevent burning). Once the mixture begins to thicken, reduce the heat and simmer for one minute.
6. Remove the curd from heat and let cool.


So what you say am I going to do with all this curd??? How about little short bread cookies dipped in curd? Or maybe swirled in yogurt. And I have visions of scones and curd dancing in my head. Probably an awesome cake filling too. Or this yumminess,



I had a kind of creamy, cool dessert in mind and couldn't find just the right recipe so threw a few together and came up with what I'm calling

Suzy's Creamy Blackberry Delight

For Crust:
1 pkg graham crackers, crushed
1/4 cup sugar
1/4-1/2 cup melted butter (whatever it takes to moisten crumbs)

Mix crust ingredients then press into tart pan or pie dish. (I used a rectangular tart pan). Bake at 375° for 8 mins. Remove from oven and cool.

For filling:

1 8 oz box cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup cream, whipped with an addl 1/4 cup powdered sugar (reserve about 1/3 of whipped cream for topping).
1 cup blackberry curd (or enough to spread a 1/4 layer over cream cheese filling)

Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add powdered sugar and beat again until smooth. Fold in whipped cream (remember to reserve 1/3 of it) until well blended. Spread in cooled crust. Top with curd.

For Topping:

Reserved 1/3 of the whipped cream
1/2 cup blackberry curd

Fold whipped cream and curd together until well blended. Spread on top of the curd layer. Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours or until set.



I found the pretty vintage ball jar at Goodwill a couple of weeks ago. This is my contribution to Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays over at Coastal Charms.


Throwing in this pretty sky I snapped this evening.

Flashback Friday ~Fair Time and Fairies

I have a little bit of Fair fever at the moment, so I'm doing another fair themed Flashback...this time to 2007. This might be my favorite fair photo...very typical fall Washington weather!



One of my favorite places to visit at the fair is the Hobby Hall. People display all sorts of collections and crafts including these fabulous doll houses. I think what I like best about these are the little gardens!



And this garden themed item is special to me too....an afghan crocheted by Solveig, the mother of Alice, my Pal. She's in her 90s and has been healthy as a horse...and entering the fair up until a couple of years ago. She is homebound now fighting cancer until the last breath. Say a few prayers her last days will be peaceful and painfree.


Part of the reason I have fair fever at the moment is that I submitted a couple fair entries of my own yesterday. I figured I would start small and brought a drop cookie and a bar cookie - both recipes that I am very familiar with. Maybe next year I will get a little more adventurous. The cookie is one I've posted before HERE...my mother-in-law Darleen's Raisin Cookies (Randy's Favorite). The bar cookie is one that has been in my family for a very long time (since at least my grandmother). Its so simple but so very good!

Hot Ziggerty Nut Bars



2 sticks margarine or butter
1 pound brown sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups chopped pecans (reserve 1 cup)

Preheat oven to 350°. Put sticks of margarine in a 9x13 pan and melt in the oven. Pour melted margarine in a mixing bowl (Do not wipe pan clean) and add brown sugar. Stir to mix well. Add flour, eggs, vanilla and 1 cup of chopped pecans. Stir to mix well. Mixture will be thick. Spread in buttered pan and sprinkle the remaining one cup of pecans on top. Bake for 40 mins. Let sit for a bit before you cut or they might be too soft. So easy and very Yummy!

So remember that little doll house with the garden? Well I have my own house and little mini landscape taking shape...not a doll house, but a fairy house!


It appears they are still moving in, having just returned from a vacation to the beach. I see they made some repairs to their roof before relocating to a new spot in my yard.


Things are changing everyday...so stay tuned. We even had a waterfall appear out of no where!



Happy Kitchen Bouquet - from my garden to you!


If you have a flashback of any kind that you'd like to share please add your link below!


I'm joining in this week for Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum. She has a fair story too. Check it out HERE.



And Fertilizer Friday at Tootsie Time. Check out all of the pretty flowers HERE.

Mosaic Monday ~Sunday Breakfast & My August Garden

If you read this blog regularly you know that I like cooking breakfast on the weekends and french toast is a favorite. There was a great looking peanut butter french toast recipe that came in my email this morning.

I don't really have much bread on hand at the moment *gasp* but I did have almost a half of an angel food cake sitting on the counter, so peanut butter was out angel food was in! I basically just followed the recipe that's in my head for french toast with the addition of a tiny bit of Amaretto, which wasn't that noticeable but did give it an additional layer of flavor.

Angel Food Cake French Toast with Blackberry Sauce
Feeds 2-3

6 1-1 1/2 inch slices store bought Angel Food cake, several days old
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup cream
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 amaretto (optional)
1/4 cup sugar
1 small pinch of salt

Place eggs and additional ingredients in a shallow dish (I use a pie plate) and beat until well mixed. Soak angel food cake until saturated, but not too soggy. I used pretty old cake, so it was maybe a little sturdier than a fresher cake would be. Have a med-high skillet ready with 1 tablespoon melted butter to grease bottom. Let excess liquid drip off slices then brown on each side. Cook depending on how soggy you like it. I like mine more on the non-soggy side so I go a little longer. Serve with Blackbery Sauce or your favorite french toast toppings.

Blackberry Sauce

1-2 cups blackberries ( or whatever berry you have on hand)
1/4 cup sugar (more if your berries are tart)

Cook in small pot or skillet for about 5 minutes until berries make juice and that juice gets a little thicker. Cool before serving and it will thicken a little more. I put my in the freezer while the toast was cooking and it was good.

So how about a walk around the yard on this hot summer day?
We were in the upper 90s
and the garden was feeling it a little.


But there are a lot of
vibrant RED HOT colors going on!

There are still plenty of things thriving despite the heat
And we will be back to the 70s in just a couple of days,
so they better get sun while the gettings good!



The Lilies are in full swing


Stargazer is looking pretty and pink


The Bee Balm is blooming its little head off.
I have to say that the heat
hasn't slowed the bees and yellow jackets down any!


My black-eyed Susan was slow to open, but
it's putting on a pretty show now!


The phlox is still phloxing up a storm.


Most of the clematis are sleeping now
But I love what they leave behind.
So cute and fuzzy!


The Joe Pye Weed will be making an
appearance soon.


And the fuchsia fairies are doing
their little dance.


The lace cap hydrangeas are almost blooming now.
The plant is huge and has bloomed lightly
until this year!
It's got so many blooms this year I can't count them.


And the Rose Mallow is really pretty right now.
The bee in this photo cracks me up for some reason.
He's taking that corner kinda sharp!


Hope you enjoyed the tour.
I'm joining in this month for
Garden Blogger's Bloom Day which is
a monthly event to show off
what's blooming in our yards at the moment.
Check it out HERE.

I'm also joining in on Mosaic Monday,
which has returned after a brief hiatus.
Check it out HERE.

Flashback Friday ~Blackberry Pie Bars and A Rose

My blackberries are just starting to ripen and plump up. So I thought this would be a good recipe to flash back to. I made this last year for a potluck. We are going to that same get together this weekend. Not sure what I will bring this time, but this would be worth of a repeat.

I found this recipe on a blog called Week of Menus and she found it on Joy the Baker who adapted it from a recipe she found in a book called The Pastry Queen by Rebecca Rather. It's made it's rounds and for good cause! I think these were better the next day..so heeding the advice at the end to wait until you cut is well worth the agony.

Blackberry Pie Bars

Crust and topping

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup cold butter, cut into cubes
zest of one lemon
pinch of salt

1. Preheat oven to 350. On a work surface (I used a cutting board), mix together the lemon zest and sugar. Using the back of a spoon or your fingers, rub the lemon zest with the sugar, thereby releasing oils from the lemon.

2. In the bowl of your mixer, dump in the flour, lemon sugar mixture, cold butter, and salt. Beat with paddle attachment until the mixture resembles crumbs. If you do not have a stand mixer, with a hand mixer beat on low until the mixture resembles crumbs.

3. Set aside 3/4 cup of the mixture for the topping. Pour the remainder into a GREASED or parchment lined 9X13 pan and use your fingertips to press the crumbs into the pan. The crumbs will gradually come together.

4. Bake the dough for 10-12 minutes (at 350) or until the crust is lightly golden. Make sure you get to the golden crust because it really adds a wonderful texture to the bar. Allow crust to cool for 10 minutes while assembling the filling.

Filling and Assembly
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup all purpose flour
3 cups fresh blackberries (if using frozen, thaw and drain first)

1. Whisk together eggs, sugar, sour cream and flour in a large bowl. Add blackberries.

2. Pour blackberries over the golden baked crust and spread evenly. (This may require some proper distribution of the berries as they tend to congregate in one area.)

3. Sprinkle the remaining dough on top. Bake for 50-60 minutes at 350 until the pie bar is golden brown. Allow to cool at least 1 1/2 hours before cutting.

******************************************************************

For a little garden flashback, lets go back to September of last year. My little mini red rose had a rebloom and I got this neat dew drop shot. Hope I get rebloom like this this year. I cut it way back due to blackspot, but there is still time!


If you have a flashback of any kind please add your link below. It can be a flashback to a favorite recipe, favorite post, old picture, or just a favorite memory. Whatever you feel like flashing back to!




I'm also joining in this week with Foodie Friday over at Designs by Gollum and

Fertilizer Friday at Tootsie Time.

Check out all of the neat posts in these two weekly events.

Flashback Friday ~Kitchen Sink Cookies

I had a daylong series of meetings this week at work that had the potential to be unpleasant...I was delivering results from an audit I did..nothing major but people have a tendency to get defensive. So of course I wanted to be prepared and ward off any ill will. Homemade cookies usually do the trick and this case was no exception. It was a good day, nice people and plenty of mmms and yums! The recipe is one I've made before and its worthy of a flashback (over and over).



Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookies
from Cookie Madness
I'd like to subtitle these "Everything but the Kitchen Sink Cookies"!

About 30 cookies
1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup toasted pecans
1/2 cup shredded coconut
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F or 350 degrees if you’d like softer cookies.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the milk and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the sugar mixture until well blended. Stir in the oats, chocolate chips, pecans and coconut until evenly distributed. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven for a chewy cookie or 14 minutes for a firmer cookie.
Cool for 1 minute on the cookie sheet and then remove to wire rack. Cool completely and then store in tightly sealed container.

Suzy’s note: I tried these with a cup of raisins along with the other additions. Over the top on the add ins, but Randy likes raisins. I also had to cook 3 minutes longer in my gas oven.



I'm happy to report that we have turned a corner weather wise here. Yesterday was the first day since mid September that we hit 75. I'm not a heat lover, but I have to say I was so happy to see the sun again. Today was nearly as nice. Keeping my fingers crossed that this keeps up through the weekend. Here are a few shots I snapped this evening after dinner.




Suddenly everything's coming up roses.



Jigsy admiring the flowers


White poppy and Prince Charles


And a red annual poppy that's as tall as me



Pink spirea is blooming pretty


Saxifrage blooms by the bubbling rock



And my LSU flavored irises :-) Goooo Tigers and Gooo Summer!


If you have a flashback of any kind please add your link below then link back to me on your blog.


I'm joining in on Foodie Friday this week over at Designs by Gollum


And Fertilizer Friday at Tootsie Time




Join me in the fun! I'd love for you to participate in this event with me. Bring your ice cream related posts...anything goes! Tablescapes, recipes, memories, and favorite products will all be welcome. Or anything else you come up with. See you at the parlor!