Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie. I made you a pie. Well, okay… I made you the filling of a pie. I bought the crust. I don’t do crusts. Remember when I tried? Yeah… not happening. But I made croissants so that makes up for it. Way back when I shared a chocolate chip cookie pie that I found on a yellowed scrap of newspaper in my mom’s recipe box… and it literally tasted like a giant chocolate chip cookie. I’ve only made it once since then because if it’s made, it’s eaten. By me. All of it. Just try it. So… I made the pie with pumpkin. I woke up on Sunday morning with one thought in my mind: pumpkin chocolate chip cookie pie.
Alright, I sorta do. See, for the last four weeks I’ve been trying to perfect a seriously CHEWY pumpkin chocolate chip cookie. I’m probably the reason for the pumpkin shortage because, um… I think I’ve gone through at least 10 cans trying to perfect these stupid chewy cookies. I’m convinced waking up with pumpkin cookie pie on the brain was the universe’s way of telling me to lay off the cookies. Print Save. Make Your Own Rock Candy. Throughout my scholarly career, there were two things I was never any good at. Science and art. Fine, three things. I was horrific when it came to all things math, too. Until I reached college and was allowed to take logic (math with words!) And ended up being very good at it. Probably because it’s all about argumentation. My point is, this post is all about two things I’m horrible at. You see, I had a really bright idea to make our own rock candy for the wedding. But please know you have to be incredibly patient to make rock candy.
The process is simple. Homemade Rock Candy (makes 2 rock candies):Print the instructions! 2 Wood skewers or threads2 glass jars2 C water3.5 C sugarFood coloring If you can, prepare your skewer (or thread) a day ahead of time. You should also prepare your jars before starting the process. When you’re ready to make your rock candy, start by bringing the 2 cpus of water to boil. Continue until all 3.5 cups of sugar have absorbed. See how much fun I’m having? Nanaimo Bars. Other than my short stint as a resident of New York City, I've never lived in a city with a "signature" food. I'm talking about claim-to-fame level: cheese steaks from Philadelphia, coffee from Seattle, Hatch chiles from New Mexico. These Nanaimo Bars are the ultimate signature food, from beautiful Nanaimo, British Columbia on Vancouver Island in Canada.
Nanaimo bars are a rich, decadent, 3-layer, no-bake treat. The bottom crust layer is chocolate, graham cracker crumbs, almonds, and coconut. I'm not sure if this is heresy (Canadian friends? Thoughts?) These bars are ubiquitous in Canada. Nanaimo BarsAdapted from The City of NanaimoPrintable RecipeMakes ~50 bars Bottom Layer½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter¼ cup sugar5 tbsp. cocoa powder1 egg, beaten1 ¼ cups graham cracker crumbs½ c. finely chopped almonds1 cup coconut½ c. Melt first 3 ingredients in top of double boiler. Cream butter, cream, custard powder, and icing sugar together well. Melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler. Strawberry & Chocolate Nachos. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: sometimes the best creations are the ones you don’t set out to create! This might be my new favorite thing. It’s the perfect easy, throw-together, family style dessert for summer. I did a local tv segment this week and made my Baked Cinnamon Chips and Fruit Salsa.
When I got home I had a bag full of cinnamon chips left over and started snacking. Then my boys walked in from the back yard with handfuls of strawberries from our garden and I started thinking about how chocolate covered strawberries sounded so good right then because my first thought when I see any sort of food product is how it would taste covered in chocolate. So I chopped up those berries and let them sit in a spoonful of sugar for a bit. Then I sprinkled them all over those crispy cinnamon-sugar coated chips. I grabbed some chocolate chips, and ate a few. Adding just a touch of vegetable oil or shortening to your chocolate makes it nice and smooth for drizzling.
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