About Me

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Colorado Springs, CO
Hey Everyone!! I'm Erika. I'm a 28 year old, fashion loving, food blogging, midwestern girl! I grew up on hearty meals and enjoying the simple life of South Dakota. Ever since leaving home I have found a love for baking and cooking. I started this blog for my family and friends so that they can see how food blog recipes REALLY turn out. When I'm not too busy running the fashion world and have time for the blogging world, I will try to update the blog weekly. I am not a professional and probably never will be, so don't expect too much from me. :) I just love to have fun, get messy and make the simple things. ENJOY!

Friday, October 26, 2012

DIY Halloween Broom Bags

First post on something I didn't have to bake or cook! This is a rarity so ENJOY it! :)

I needed something fun and easy to give my employees for Halloween. Instead of the traditional store bought bags, I found these ones on Martha Stewarts website! They are super cute and the finished product makes all the cutting worth it.

Start to finish: 5 mins per bag

Supplies:
Brown paper lunch bags
Sissors
Tape/Rubberbands
Gift Tags/Ribbon
Candy
Pretzel Rods/ Sticks
Step One:
Take two bags and line them up. Cut off about 1/2 of the bag. Discard the top 1/2.

Step Two:
Fill one bag with candy and set aside. Take the other bag and push out the bottom while folding in the left and right side. (see picture below, hard to explain!)

Step Three:
Cut long strips, vertically, until you hit the bottom fold.

Step Four:
Take the cut up bag and unfold it until it is flat. Place bag with candy on top of other bag.

Step Five:
Grab all shreds of paper bag and scrunch bag shut. Fasten with tape or rubber bands. Shove pretzel rod or stick into top of bag and add a gift tag or ribbon for a decorative touch/message.

Step Six:
Hand out and ENJOY everyone getting a kick out of your creativity! :)

Peanut Butter Witches Brooms

Halloween is coming and baking puts me in the holiday mood!! I found this cute recipe on Pinterest. I changed it a little bit but I feel it's for the better. The original recipe calls for some sort of sugar cookie (made from scratch). The only scratch you were getting from me, during this crazy time of year, is to scratch that off my list. I just went to the store and bought peanut butter cookie dough. MUCH BETTER!!

I made this recipe in steps. I baked the cookies the night before and let them harden over night. If you wanted to do this all in one day, it would probably take you about 45mins (minus the time it takes for the chocolate to harden). The part that took me the longest was trying to get the cookies to look like brooms.

Overall, it was a super fun and EASY recipe! Plus, it is sure to please everyone because if they don't like peanut butter they will think the cookies are adorable!


Ingredients:
1 roll of peanut butter cookie dough
1 bag of pretzel rods
2 cups of chocolate chips
2 tsp of canola oil


Step One:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll dough into a small ball. Flatten on top of pretzel rod and form into a triangle. (This picture was taken before I started thinking about what a broom looked like!)



Step Two:
Bake for 6-8 mins. or until golden. Transfer to cooling rack and let the cookie completely cool.
***FORGOT TO TAKE A PICTURE OF THIS***

Step Three:
In a small sauce pan, on low heat, add canola oil and chocolate chips. Still continuously until melted.


Step Four:
Drizzle chocolate over top of cookie where the cookie and the pretzel rod meet. Let sit for a couple of hours or until chocolate is completely hard.


Step Five:
ENJOY!!

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Peanut Butter Pretzel Bars

Thank the lord and sing his praise!! I have FINALLY found a recipe that looks complicated and took me LESS THEN 20 MINUTES, start to finish!! I have been extremely sick for the past month and have just started feeling good. Of course, once I have a little bit of strength, everyone on my team has a birthday!!

I had little time, needed enough dessert to please everyone and wanted it to look like I cared (which I do!!). This recipe is sooooo easy and it tasted sooooo good!! :) I recommend this recipe for anyone on the go or for those crunch times when you forget about an event the next morning!! Have fun!!

Ingredients:
1 roll of chocolate chip cookie dough
3 cups of miniature marshmallows
2 cups of peanut butter filled pretzels
1/2 cup of peanut butter chips
1 tsp of shortening or 1 tsp of canola oil

Step One:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Press cookie dough into the bottom of a pre-greased pan. Bake for 8-10 minutes.
Step Two:
Sprinkle marshmallows on top of baked cookie dough. Bake for another 2-3 minutes.
Step Three:
Push pretzels into gooey marshmallows.
Step Four:
In a small sauce pan, add shortening/canola oil and peanut butter chips into pan. Stir continuously until melted.

Step Five:
Drizzle peanut butter on top of bars. Cool and ENJOY!!


Original Blog Post:
http://cookiesandcups.com/peanut-butter-pretzel-bars/

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

NY Times "Best Chocolate Chip Cookies"

"Sometimes, the most simple things in life are the hardest to find." This happens to be true when it comes to my obsession with desserts. I have been searching for a basic chocolate chip cookie recipe for awhile now and found a pretty good one in the process.

Even though the only thing that is simple about this recipe is the cookie itself, the end result is delicious and totally worth it. The recipe is long and makes a ton of batter! However, it is a great cookie for holidays, events or large families! I made about 3 dozen cookies, when all said and done. My employees loved them and so did I, with a cold glass of milk!

This would be adorable in a cute holiday tin or for Santa's treats!!

**Recipe recommends the batter to sit for 24 hrs. before being baked.


Ingredients:
2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour
1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt (I used kosher salt)
2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped into chunks
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, grated
8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
sea salt

Step One:
Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.
Step Two:
Using a stand alone mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 4-5. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Stir all chocolate into dough (I recommend a strong spoon (wood/bamboo)). Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.







Step Three:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper or nonstick baking mat. 


Step Four:
Bake for 8-10 mins. Depending on your elevation, your baking time will differ. I, also, do not like hard cookies. The gooier the better!! :)

Step Five:
Pour yourself an ice cold glass of milk and ENJOY!!