Holiday Baking: Turtle Cookies

These might possibly be the best cookies I've ever made. The chocolate cookie is soft and smooth and the pecans on the outside are so fantastic and who doesn't love caramel?

Check the recipe out here. I only made one small change; I used Kraft caramel bits from the baking aisle at the grocery store and just melted them down with a little hot water instead of melting candies + cream. 

Guest Post: DIY Sharpie Coffee Cups with Katie

Hi everyone! Katie here, from Punk Projects, today I thought I'd guest post and share an easy tutorial on how to design your own coffee cups using sharpies. You can make these for yourself or use them as stocking stuffers and gifts!

These mugs are so simple to make, even if you aren't confident in your drawing skills you can write on the mugs. Maybe try writing song lyrics, quotes, or simple phrases like "keep calm and drink tea".

 Supplies: Porcelain Coffee Cups, Sharpie Markers, Oven
1. Making sure your cup is clean, doodle or write on your mug using your sharpie.
2. Set your oven to 350 and bake for 30 minutes.
3. Let them cool completely before using or washing.

I haven't tried running them through the dishwasher yet, so we'll see how they'll hold up.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Enjoy the Holiday. Be Thankful.

-Taylor

For Cold Days...Curry Carrot Soup

So, living in South Florida pretty much means a lack of chilly days (in the time that I've lived here, it has gotten down to maybe 64 degrees Fahrenheit). That being said, I still love hot soup. And this one is a winner. I made a great big batch and then froze it in small portions to thaw out and microwave for lunch. So tasty.

Curry Carrot SoupIngredients
 2 Tbs vegetable oil
1 Tbs yellow curry powder
4 cups of carrots, chopped or shredded
4 cups of chicken or vegetable broth
2 cups of water (or as needed).
Salt, to taste.

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Saute onion until tender and translucent. Stir in the curry powder. Add the chopped carrots, and stir until the carrots are coated. Pour in the vegetable broth, and simmer until the carrots are soft, about 20 minutes.
2. Transfer the carrots and broth to a blender, in small batches, and puree until smooth. Pour back into the pot, and thin with water to your preferred consistency.

This week I was totally inspired by these pendants by How About Orange. I love them! I love the idea of a color blocked shape...

So then I got to thinking, what about glitter blocked instead of color blocked?!? So, here's the final result. Totally cute. I also used layered, pre-cut foam hearts to make the pendants, instead of layers of cardstock, which saved lots of time and gluing effort.

I think these would make super cute stocking-stuffers or gifts, in any shape!

So Tasty...Red Velvet Cookies

Red Velvet White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Servings: approximately 20 cookies

Ingredients

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

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup cocoa powder

Red food coloring liquid or gel

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.

2. In the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and both sugars on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

3. Add the food coloring gel or liquid until you reach the desired color.

4. Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low and add the egg and vanilla, mixing well until combined.

5. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder, mixing until thoroughly combined.**I had to add  more food coloring gel at this point because the addition of the cocoa powder really changed the color.

6. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the white chocolate chips until incorporated.

7. Using a cookie dough scoop or a tablespoon, drop the dough into mounds about two inches apart from one another.  Lightly flatten each cookie dough mound with your fingers or the back of a spoon.

8. Bake until slightly golden and crisp around the edges, about 10-12 minutes.  Enjoy!!

Recipe found here.

Does your blog need some Christmas cheer?

I thought my blog needed some holiday spirit and I was so excited to have Katie, from Punk Projects, re-design my blog! It's so cute, don't you agree? Katie has just started up an awesome new blog design business called Punk Projects Blog Design. She offers a variety of packages, from a total design package to items a-la-carte. 

For more info, click here: Deck out your blog for the holidays!

It's that time of year...

When the world seems to say...or rather, the semester is winding down and so once again I have free time to craft, listen to Perry Como, Frank Sinatra, and Bing Crosby sing holiday tunes while sipping steaming hot chocolate. And I'm so excited to be back! I've been working on lots of recipe posts, holiday decorations, and gift ideas...

Life has been really busy. My first semester of grad school is just about finished, and all-in-all, it was really not too bad I'd say. I live at the beach, so getting into the "Christmas Spirit" is rather tricky because one glance out the window and the palm trees and the balmy wind reminds you that it's not cold outside. Still, I'm sure there are some holiday tunes that refer to Christmas on the beach. I'm working on my list of "Holiday To-Do's," which I'll be posting soon. I hope you'll play along and make your own list of favorite things to do. In the meantime, here's a little bit of cheer.

xoxo, Taylor

P.S. SO SO happy to be back!