Create-Celebrate-Explore

Recipe: Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

Don't you just love warm chewy chocolate chip cookies?  I do.  I whipped up a batch of these over the weekend.

Ingredients:

(note: this recipe was based on my original one, with a few changes)

• 2 cups white whole wheat flour
• 1 cup light brown sugar (packed)
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 pkg vanilla instant pudding mix
• 1 cup butter (softened)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tbs apple sauce
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Cream the butter, white sugar and brown sugar.  Beat in the eggs, and then add the vanilla and apple sauce.   Mix in the flour, vanilla pudding mix, baking soda, and chocolate chips.

Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.  Place large spoonfuls of cookie dough onto the trays and bake for approximately 12 minutes, or until the edges start browning a little.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool a little.

This recipe makes approximately 20 large cookies.

Kidzui: Reindeer Cookies

Have you seen the new Oreo's with red crème centers? Oh my goodness, they are so yummy.

I have the instructions to make cute reindeer cookies out of them over at Kidzui. Head on over and say hello.

Cardamom Nankaties Inspired by the Life of Pi

Have you seen the Life of Pi yet?  Or read the book?  It's supposed to be amazing.  I have the book, and cannot wait to grab a few quiet moments to start reading it.

Did you know that World Market are selling Life of Pi products in-store.  If you love Indian food, homewares and collectibles, then you will love this collection.

Inspired by the movie I made Cardamom Nankaties.  I have a deep love for Indian food.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup confectioner's sugar
• 3/4 cup butter (softened)
• 1/2 cup sweet rice flour
• 1/4 tsp almond extract
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cardamom (skins removed and seeds ground)

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Cream the butter and confectioner's sugar using an electric mixer until light and fluffy.  Add the almond extract and blend for a few more seconds until combined.

In a separate bowl combine all of the dry ingredients together.  Add to the butter mixture and using the electric mixer beat lightly until ingredients are just combined.

Line a cookie tray with parchment paper.

Using your hands form the dough into a ball. Break off small pieces around the size of a large marble and roll in your hand.  Place a couple of inches apart on the cookie tray and gently flatten into a round shap, leaving the center of the cookie a little higher than the sides.

Bake on a rack in the middle of the oven for about 18 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are just slightly browned. 

Remove from the oven and set aside on wire racks to cool.  Note: the cookies will harden as they cool.  Store in an airtight container.

You can find cardamom seeds at World Market in the spice section.  They smell absolutely divine.

Enjoy your cardamom nankaties with Life of Pi Mango Black Tea and Parle-G cookies (which are popular in India).  Both of these items are available at World Market stores too.

I can't wait to sit down with a cup of mango tea and cookies to read the book.  

Some of the other items I picked up at World Market are the rocking elephant, the Life of Pi paperback, the gorgeous white and grey woven scarf hanging in the background, and the hammered stainless steel kadhai.

If your book club is going to be reading this book, then this collection of tea and cookies are the perfect accompaniment to your discussions.

Here are photos of some of the Life of Pi items you can find at your World Market store.

 

Life of Pi is the story of an Indian boy named Pi, a zookeeper’s son, who survives a disaster at sea and is thrown into an epic journey. While adrift in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, he forms an amazing and unexpected connection with another a fearsome Bengal tiger. The movie opens in theaters November 21, 2012. You can watch the trailer for Life of Pi here.

Enter the World Market, Life of Pi Sweepstakes

• Grand Prize package includes: a dream trip for 2 to India and a $1,000 World Market Gift card. There will also be 3 runner up prize winners that will each receive a $500 World Market gift card!
• The Life of Pi Sweepstakes runs from 11/17 - 12/28.
• If you share the sweepstakes with 5 of your friends (via FB share or email) you can receive 5 additional bonus entries. This is part of the registration process when entering. Users can also enter daily for more chances to win.

• Enter online at http://worldmarketsweepstakes.com/ or https://www.facebook.com/worldmarket/app_105852732878918?ref=ts

Keep up-to-date with all things World Market here:

• Website
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Google+
• Pinterest
• Instagram

Disclosure: This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™.

5 Tips for Hosting a Holiday Cookie Decorating Party for Kids

Looking for a fun holiday party theme for kids? How about a cookie decorating party. This is a great activity that kids will love in classrooms, with neighborhood friends, and at family get-togethers this holiday season.

Party Set-up

Set up your cookie decorating party table before guests arrive. Here are a few tips to not only make your party more environmentally friendly, but also for quick clean-up after the party ends.

• Place sheets of packing paper (or butcher's paper) over the table for quick and easy clean-up
• Use environmentally friendly plates and knives, preferably those that can be washed and used again, but if you decide to go with disposable tableware then make sure they are made from recycled or natural materials such as bamboo.
• Silicone baking cups are perfect for placing toppings and candies in front of each of the place settings.
• Place cookie icing into re-usable dispensers. This makes it easier for children to pipe small amounts of icing onto cookies to make eyes, and decorations instead of just using a knife to spread it all over.

Apron

Supply each of the children with an apron to prevent their clothing from being covered in icing and sticky candy.

If you really want to get creative, use fabric paint and alphabet stencils to place each of the children's names on their apron.

Cookies

Provide the kids with a couple of different options for cookie decorating such as circles, stars, Christmas trees, and gingerbread men.

Circular sugar cookies are perfect for cookie decorating because they can be made into a number of things including Santa, a snowman, baubles, or you could create a fun Christmas scene on one.

Beverages and Snacks

Provide your little guests with milk and healthy snacks to enjoy while they are decorating.

A Snowy Trail Mix is the perfect snack for busy fingers who want to decorate and eat at the same time.

In a large bowl combine:

• Popcorn
• Pretzels
• Dried cranberries
• Cashews
• Your child's favorite cereal

Treat Bags

Don't forget to provide all of the children with a treat box (or bag) to take their cookies home.

And most of all, have fun!

 

Breville has released new, time saving products such as the Smart Oven, just in time for the holidays! Take the guess work our of holiday cooking with the Smart Oven, the oven that does the thinking for you. Check out their website for more information on this product and other great gift ideas.

And don't forget to reply below for two chances to win your choice of amazing Breville products either for yourself or as a gift to a loved one: YouBrew, Tea Maker and Smart Oven products ($250 ARV)

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Breville. The opinions and text are all mine. Official Sweepstakes Rules

Turkey Cookies for Thanksgiving

Last week, the twins' class had a fun Thanksgiving party.  A few parents helped out at 4 stations around the room to do fun Thanksgiving themed crafts, food, and activities with the kids.

I planted my feet firmly at this station.  It looked like a lot of fun.

Aren't these turkey cookies just adorable.  As you can see very little instruction needs to be given, they are fairly self explanatory.  I'm not sure where the teacher found the initial tutorial for these but here's a list of ingredients you will need:

• Golden Oreo's
• M&M's - red and orange
• Candy corn
• Chocolate frosting
• Malt balls

Go ahead and start assembling.  These will make a fun Thanksgiving Day treat and activity for kids.

This post linked to:

Recipe: Chocolate Chip Cookies

There is nothing better than warm chocolate chip cookies, especially when they are homemade.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups white whole wheat flour
• 1 cup light brown sugar (packed)
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup butter (softened)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbs ground flaxseed
• 2 tbs apple sauce
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (chopped)
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup flaked coconut

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Cream the butter, white sugar and brown sugar.  Beat in the eggs and add the vanilla and apple sauce.   Using a wooden spoon, stir in the flour, baking soda, flaxseed, walnuts, chocolate chips and coconut.

Spray a cookie tray and cover with parchment paper.  Place large spoonfuls of cookie dough onto the trays and bake for 12 minutes.

This recipe makes approximately 20 large cookies.

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Okay, for all my foodie and crafty followers I want to share a little something with you.  It's called Stickybits.  It's a free app for iPhones (they are working on an upgrade for Android). 

Download the app, scan barcodes for products you love and then add links to your blog posts or images, or simply add a review of the product.

For example: Most of the products for this cookie recipe were purchased at Smart & Final (I'm one of the #sfsmarties).  So, while I was purchasing them I scanned the barcodes in the store.  I came home, baked my cookies and now I can go back into Stickybits on my computer and upload a link to this particular blog post along with an image, so anybody who scans a barcode for these products in the future (it doesn't have to be at this store), will see my recipe and image appear on the activity for these products.

It's as simple as:

Download the app, find a product, scan the barcode (a pink ring will appear when the product is positioned correctly), upload media (link, image, video)

Note:  If you scan products from the comfort of your home instead of a store, you can turn off the GPS location.

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias