Happy afternoon in Highland Village

Do you ever just go somewhere and feel COMPLETELY out of place? Normally that feeling for me is reserved specially for the gym, I'm always a fish out of water where workouts are involved. That being said, I experienced that feeling in a totally new setting while in Dallas. Located right near SMU, Highland Park Village is brimming with designer shops, couture grocery stores and parking lots that resemble those of an Audi dealership. Normally I love to slide my way in to an expensive area, pretending (even if it's just for a moment) that my reality of college student isn't true and that I can actually afford all the $8 latte's my heart desires.

Unfortunately, that isn't the case.

And also unfortunately, I couldn't even find a way to feel like I fit in at Highland Park. 

Too many Nike swooshes on ladies dressed to the nines in athleisure. Too many judge mental looks....so what if my bag is from old navy! Sorry I got a better deal than you! Too many overpriced gluten free, refined sugar free, dairy free desserts. It was all just a little too much for me.

We took our cupcakes and ran to the nearest park, and while it was still in the Highland Park vicinity, it proved to be much more peaceful and felt a lot less pressured to put on a perfect facade. I can only pretend to be rich for so long! 

Like, 5 minutes. My bank account doesn't allow for much more than that. 

KRYNCAKE, HALF BIRTHDAY EDITION

After all, half birthdays only come once a year!

SWEET SKILLET COOKIE OF MY SOUL

I love to bake but boy do I love not following recipes so much more. I generally only cook things that don't involve recipes. Which works nicely for a lot of things but baked goods, let alone gluten free baked goods, don't always blend well with such an abstract approach.

I knew this recipe was going to be a keeper when I made it and realize HOW EASY it is. I've made it several times from memory now and each time I pop it in the oven, my recipe hating heart rejoices! No longer am I chained to a recipe or a website or a precious cookbook. This is living, friends!

Not only is it gluten free, dairy free, refined sugar free and GOOD, but it's also already in my mental recipe book and I'm pretty excited about that. In case you're curious to see the other desserts I've Made/been obsessed with (one in the same), here's the dessert tag.
(ALSO THE OG MUFFIN RECIPE. Oh my heart, 2012 was good to me)

// (sweet) SKILLET COOKIE (of my soul) //

i n g r e d i e n t s :

1 cup almond flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/3 nut butter (almond, cashew, sunflower, coconut, peanut, whatevs!)

1/4 cup melted coconut oil

1 egg

3 tbsp maple syrup

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

chocolate chips, amount is up to your sweet tooth

STEP ONE:

mix everything.

STEP TWO: 

Bake at 325 (I use an 8x8 well greased pan)

for about 19-25 minutes.

(it's technically supposed to be made in a cast iron skillet

 but we city folk have to improvise.)

STEP THREE: 

(the most difficult step)

let it cool before eating.

(i know, ugh)

e x t r a  n o t e s :

*you can swap out the flour for any gluten free flour

 Tapioca flour, coconut flour, almond flour, whatever.*

*make it vegan by substituting the egg for a chia egg*

*use dairy free chocolate and you've got yourself a delish dairy free dessert*

*chopped up fancy chocolate works well too!*

*I normally add extra flour. I like my cookies to 

match my makeup, nice and cakey.*

*bake time varies, keep an eye on it.*

*in case you were worried or curious, it is totally acceptable to eat a 

cookie for breakfast, lunch and dinner.*

SaveSave

OH MACARON HOW I LOVE THEE

A little macaron shop opened up in our dinky and equally dorky mall a few months ago. After trying macarons from Paris and NYC, I really didn't have any interest in cheap, Floridian macrons! (you can't blame me, can you?!)

But then dear Sarah invited me to go and I threw my prejudice out the window with an "oh why the heck not" and we found ourselves at the macaron shop in our dinky, dorky mall. And lo and behold, it had good macarons! actually, they were almost as good as my Paris macarons!

So moral of the story, Floridians can do a few things right! (just not the Hawaiian print shirts...we stink at fashion.)

ps: shout out to Sarah for her wizard hand model talents!

When in DC, cupcakes!

Going to cupcake shops is my thang I guess. I say thang instead of thing because I've been running on very little sleep and occasionally even the girliest of girls needs to go gangster, even if it just involves switching an i to an a.

It's the little things in life!

Anyway on our free day, Mary and Shelbie (and I! Of course!) went to Georgetown cupcake! Which in all honesty, has been on my want-to-do-in-DC list for ages. But I'm glad I waited till I had friends because it was so much more fun. I've also decided that Red Velvet is indeed another one of my thangs, because no matter where we go, it's always my first choice!

Red Velvet lovers ahoy! ALSO, props to Mary for being amazing and posing casually amidst the busy buzz of a major cupcake empire!

PS: And for nostalgia sake, the cupcake tag will do wonders for you. And by you I mean, your hips.

When in Paris....

As a blog connoisseur and Pinterest pro (self-proclaimed, but that's besides the point.) I know my way around a macaroon. Besides the fact that they are incredibly photogenic (exhibit a HERE.), they come in a variety of colors, which obviously is they way to a girls heart. And any good girl knows that the best Macaroons come from Paris and the best macaroons in Paris come from Laduree. So to Laduree we went!

▲▲ For future reference (hopefully this information will be handy to you or I one day!) skip the Champs-Élysées  Laduree (Don't skip Champs-Elysees! Its nice to hear some English while in Paris and that's the place to get your fix) and go to the Rue Royale shop for a bit calmer (and brighter?) macaroon experience!

▲▲ The best part about Paris was all the stupid things I did for photos! Seriously, I didn't even eat a macaroon till we got HOME, in order to make sure I had a "just right" photo. Still cracks me up, but hey! You only get Laduree once. Wink.

Can we all agree that macaroons are the prettiest? Yes? Amen. 

Christmas is for cookies!

Happy Eve of Eve friends! After being up for 23 hours yesterday, today seemed like the perfect day to share a cozy cookie recipe. You know, for munching on as you curl up on the couch with cocoa and a sappy movie. Staying up for 23 hours is optional and not advised.

CHOCOLATE MINT CRINKLE COOKIES

Ingredients

• 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 3/4 teaspoon pure mint extract
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions

1. Step 1

   Melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring.

2. Step 2

   Whisk together flour, baking powder, and cocoa in a small bowl.

3. Step 3

   Whisk together granulated sugar, eggs, and melted butter in a medium bowl. Gradually whisk in melted chocolate and mint extract until smooth. Stir in flour mixture. Refrigerate until firm, at least 3 hours.

4. Step 4

   Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Roll tablespoons of dough into balls using your palms, then roll in confectioners' sugar to coat. Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing each 1 inch apart. Bake until slightly firm in the center, about 15 minutes.

5. Step 5

   Let cool slightly on sheets set on wire racks. Transfer cookies to racks, and let cool completely.
   
   
   
   
   
   Serve with a cup of cocoa and and a side of Christmas carols! And share with a fluffy puppy and you'll know what Christmas cheer is.
    

An ode to fruits who've gone before us (watermelon lemonade!!!)

I'm contantly begging to buy fruits for epic desserts. You know, lemon semifredo, blackberry cobbler and the list goes on and on. But the even longer list is all the fruits that have gone bad since I was too lazy to make it.

For the record, this happened yesterday. I have a really bad track record of wasting fruit. Such talent I possess! This is clearly going to take me far in life.


So this lemonade, I USED TWO FRUITS THAT DID NOT GO BAD. Ha! Take that, all you 50 different kinds of exotic fruit that now sit in some lonely dump, decomposing into goodness knows. So then, they were all redeemed by this lemonade that is fab for guzzling when you happen to live in the sweltering state, and your ac is broken....IN JULY.

Watermelon Lemonade. Serves 5 (ahem, or one. But really, I wouldn't know.....)

1 lb watermelon,
2 oz lemon juice
1.5 oz agave &
4 oz water 

To make it:  blend everything together in your blender, then strain it through a fine mesh strainer. Pour into pineapple cups. Striped straws optional but highly encouraged.

Enjoy guzzling/sipping/drinking normally or whatever you fancy! Have you made any fancy lemonades??

XOXO,
Lemonade freakazoid.

(kinda sorta.)

(okay fine, totally.)

Exciting Muffins

 

I know, I know, An exciting muffin? HOW CAN THIS BE? You thought they were boring but ha! You thought wrong. Let me introduce you to the rock star of all muffins...(dun dun dun!)..... The double chocolate banana muffin. (!!!)

Somehow, that didn't sound as profound as I imagined it too?

But let's dive into the muffin - you'll find it's profound-ness sooner or later. My friends mom made these muffins for me once (okay, multiple times) and I've been hooked ever since. I seriously don't think a week has gone by in the past year where I have not had one of these muffins.

I just typed fuffins....I should probably just get to sharing the recipe. 

 They even contrast very well with watermelon nail polish. What a nice quality for a muffin to posses!

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE BANANA MUFFINS

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup sugar
• ¼ cup baking cocoa
• 1 tspn baking soda
• ½ tspn salt
• ¼ tspn baking powder
• 1 1/3 cups mashed ripe bananas (2-3 medium)
• 1/3 cup applesauce (unsweetened)
•  1 egg
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preparation:

1. In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients.
2. In a small bowl, combine bananas, oil and egg
3. Stir into dry ingredients until moistened.
4. Fold in chocolate chips.
5. Fill greased or paper-line muffin cups ¾ full.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until muffins test done.

 Rock star, profound, exciting muffins?

Amen, Amen, Amen.

Persistence, Macaroni and Macaroons

 One time, my cousin told me I was persistent after I'd emailed her about 100 times asking for some pictures. At first I thought that was COMPLETELY rude, but now I guess I'm okay with admitting that I am a VERY persistent person.

(And when I say VERY in caps, I mean it.)

So, what's with the macaroons? Apparently, it's just something bloggers like? I'd been super persistent with Macaroons, showing my parents pictures all the time and practically having my pinterest abducted by them. Yeah, persistence is my thing. Anyway,  daddy spoiled me by getting these for me for Christmas. Unfortunately, they came early and KJ opened the box and told me I had gotten macaroons. I was still sick and I was like "Oooh, Macaroni?"

Macaroons, Macaroni. Same deal.

  And they are the most photogenic nuggets ever. If only I could be like them...

xoxo,
Miss Macaroon

PS: Have you ever tried macaroons? Raspberry Macaroons = OH MY GOODNESS = they taste amazing.

Ginger Snaps!

Okay, these are not really ginger SNAPS. They're technically called Gingerbread Softies. But the snotty 11 year old in me was pretty sure that's the most retarded name for a cookie....so they're ginger snaps.

 Gingerbread Softies
These cookies flatten and crack as they cool. The secret in keeping them soft is to remove them from the oven as soon as they are set but before they start to brown.
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cup shortening*
2 eggs
1/2 cup molasses
4 cups flour
4 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. ginger
l/2 tsp. cloves
l/2 tsp. salt
Cream together the sugar and shortening. Add eggs and beat until thick. Add the molasses and stir until combined.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt. Add to creamed mixture and stir just until blended. If the dough is very soft (hot day? warm kitchen?), wrap it in plastic wrap and chill in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Shape into 1” balls and roll in granulated sugar. Place on greased cookie sheets. Bake at 350º for 7 – 10 minutes or just until set but before they start to brown.

And I kinda meant for this to go up before Christmas. But I kinda (no I REALLY) had the flu so, plans change!

xoxo! Hope your Christmas was a merry one!

Homemade mints.

I don't know about you, but this REALLY bugs me.

Not having mints at restaurants.

I mean, there could be worse problems. Like maybe the food being cold or terrible service. But really, not having mints STINKS.

(Plus mints and chicken fingers really go nicely together. You should try it! Oh wait, you don't order off the kids menu...never mind!)

Okay, so you can make your own mints. And by mints, these are really not mints at all. They're meringues. OHHHHH......What is that? Some fluffy, crunchy delicious things that taste JUST like mints.

Peppermint Meringues
recipe adapted from Martha Stewart

• 3 large egg whites
• 3/4 cup sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
• Red gel-paste food coloring

1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper; secure corners with masking tape. Fit a pastry bag with a small open-star tip (such as Ateco #22). Set aside.
2. Make meringues: Put egg whites and sugar in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer. Set bowl over a pan of simmering water, and stir gently until sugar has dissolved and mixture is warm to the touch, 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Transfer bowl to an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. Mix in peppermint extract.
4. Using a new small paintbrush, paint 2 or 3 stripes of red food coloring inside the pastry bag. Fill bag with 1 to 2 cups meringue. Pipe small (3/4-inch-high) star shapes onto prepared baking sheets. Refill bag as necessary, adding food coloring each time.
5. Bake cookies until crisp but not brown, about 1 hour 40 minutes. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks.

And so that's the no mint solution. Sneak 'em in your purse. Don't worry, no one will notice. And if they do, they'll just be jealous.

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