Spiced Candied Pecans...put them on your list.

Are you like me?  About this time of year, do you start making a mental list of the goodies you want to make for neighbors, friends, teachers, etc. over the holidays?  Goodness knows I'd never be organized enough to make an ACTUAL list.

Well, put these on your "to make" list, mental or otherwise.

Spiced with cinnamon, allspice, and cloves...and just a *pinch* of red pepper for a little somethin' somethin', these spiced candied pecans are sweet, spicy and utterly addictive.

These guys are so additive, that I could not stop eating them.  I had to get them out of my house.  One of the bags, I gave to my friend, Lupita.  Lupita in her wisdom said, "oh, these would be so good on a salad."

The thought never occured to me as I was inhaling them straight off of the cookie sheet.  Yes, they are delicious on salads, too. ;)

You'll toast up some Texas pecans...ok, you can use pecans from other states, too.
{...and how cute is that heart spoon?}

You'll use a candy thermometer, but don't be scared.  You'll be fine.  This is the candy thermometer I use.

Have you added them to your must-make list, yet?  

I'm sharing the recipe over at Imperial Sugar.

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Rah! Rah! Sis! Boom! Bah! Super Easy Pom Pom Cookies!

Are you ready for some football?  I mean, are you ready for the quickest, easiest, no-decorating-skills-required cookies for your game day dessert platter?

Easy Pom Pom Cookies! 

That's something to cheer about. 

Maybe the neighbors are coming over to watch the game.  Maybe you're making cookies for your kiddo's team party.  And maybe, just maybe, you don't want to spend 17 hours decorating cookies.

These pom pom cookies are so, so simple...and so, so cute.  I love them mixed in with these easy (are you sensing a theme here?) football brownies!


To make the pom pom cookies, you'll need:

• small circle cut-out cookies
• royal icing, divided and tinted with AmeriColor food coloring for your team colors (I used Super Red and Bright White)
• disposable icing bags
• couplers and tips, #2 & #1

Use a #2 tip to pipe a flower shape with long thin petals in the base color.

Use a #1 tip to pipe another flower on top in the contrasting color.  It's ok if it's not perfect...actually, I think it's better if it's not.

Go back the the base color and add a smaller flower shape on top.

Let the icing dry completely before stacking.

{My cookie icing dried super shiny in the dehydrator.  More info here.}

So, those footballs brownies?  They're covered in a dark chocolate glaze.  Look:

Yeah.  You need these for your game day dessert table.  Come on over to Parade to see just how easy they are to make.  And eat.

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Three Cheers for Sweet Strawberry Pasta Salad...and giveaways!

You know how football food is all meaty, and spicy, and cheesy, and heavy?  Don't get me wrong...I've never met a Frito Chili Pie I didn't like, but what about adding something *sweet* to the mix?  How about Sweet Strawberry Pasta Salad?

How about making it with pasta in the shapes of your favorite sports team??!?
How FUN is that?!?  

OK...look.  I know, I know.  It's pumpkin season.  Believe me, I am all. about. the. pumpkin.  BUT.  It's still hot here.  And the strawberries?  They're still delicious.  I'll take them as long as I can get them.
{Someone is revoking my food blogger card as we speak.}

I'm so excited to share this recipe with you...and tell you about the company that makes this ADORABLE pasta:

The Pasta Shoppe is a company out of Nashville, Tennessee and they make the cutest pastas ever.  (We're all about cute around here, right?)  Sports team pasta...that each come with a mix for a savory pasta salad, chicken soup kits with chicken shaped pasta (!!!), golf pasta, support our troops pasta, birthday pasta, holiday pasta.  If you can think of it, I bet they make it.

They also have a fundraising program.  Oh, what I wouldn't have given for kiddo to have sold this pasta instead of wrapping paper, magazines, and inedible pre-popped popcorn! Can you imagine how easy this would be to sell?  I think just about everyone loves pasta.  (They even offer gluten-free!)

 If you went to OU like I did, are you squealing over that Sooner Schooner pasta right now?!?

{Scroll down past the recipe for more on the pasta giveaway.}

Sweet pasta salad.  Maybe it sounds weird.  Trust me on this.  It is so incredibly yummy.  After I took the pictures, I stood in my kitchen eating it straight out of the big pasta bowl.  The dressing (cream, strawberries, vanilla, almond) tastes like strawberry ice cream.  You need to try it.  Promise.

Sweet Strawberry Pasta Salad

1 (14 oz.) package pasta
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
3 TBSP powdered sugar
1 pint strawberries, sliced and divided
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup sweetened, flaked coconut, toasted
1/3 cup blanched, sliced almonds, toasted

Cook the pasta according the package directions.  Drain.  Rinse with cold water and set aside.

In a blender, process the cream, sugar, 1 cup of the strawberries, vanilla, and almond extract until smooth and thickened.

{I was so tempted to just slurp this up with a straw.}

Place the pasta in a large bowl; toss with the coconut and remaining strawberries.  Drizzle the dressing over the top and sprinkle on the almonds.  If extra dressing remains, serve it alongside the pasta salad.

*giveaway closed* 
 
For the giveaway:  The Pasta Shoppe is giving away THREE pasta goodie boxes including the collegiate pasta of your choice + a selection of everyday/seasonal favorites!  Yay...three winners!

To enter, visit The Pasta Shoppe's website and leave a comment telling me one of the pastas you love.
For an extra entry, visit their fundraising page and let me know in a separate comment that you did.

Entries accepted through 11:59pm CST, September 29th.  Good luck! :)

Congrats to Bianca, Kayla and Amanda!!! 
 
*find The Pasta Shoppe on Facebook here.*

This post was sponsored by The Pasta Shoppe. My opinions are my own. I take full responsibility for my love of strawberries during pumpkin season.

Color Challenge: Bright Pink for Fall

Welcome to the first installment of the Color Challenge!!! 

Spearheaded by the uber-fabulous, uber-cool Mandi, of Vintage Revivals, seven bloggers from different niches (fashion, beauty, home, organizing, DIY, parenting...you get the idea) are incorporating a certain color into their "medium."

Today's challenge color: BRIGHT PINK!!! 

My mind immediately went to summery and bright cookies, but since we're heading into fall, I wanted to bring in those deep, rich tones that really make pink POP!

The cookie design itself is simple; I know, it looks fancy.  The technique is called brush embroidery.  I waited years before trying it because I can't sew and the word "embroidery" scared me.  Trust me, this is a perfect cookie for beginners!  (Sewing skills not required.)

You could make the design on any shape cookie...square, round, hearts. I chose this awesome plaque cookie cutter from Copper Gifts.

Adding a little black food coloring to the green and navy icing adds a bit of depth and darkness. Add it a bit at a time to avoid turning the icing totally black.  I use a toothpick to dip into the food coloring and then into the icing.

To tint the cookie dough, add in pink gel paste food coloring along with the eggs in the cookie recipe.  Once the flour is added, if the dough needs more color, knead it in by hand.  Don't worry, the pink will wash off of your hands.

To make these Bright Pink brush embroidery cookies, you'll need:

• sugar cookies, tinted pink
• royal icing tinted with AmeriColor Deep Pink + Electric Pink for the pink, Super Black for the grey, Forest Green + Super Black for the green, and Navy Blue + Super Black for the Navy
• disposable icing bags
• coupler and tips (#4, #2, #1) 
• squeeze bottles
• clean, flat paintbrush
• cup of water
• paper towels

Outline the cookies in pink using a #4 plain tip.  Since we're filling with dark colors, let the outline sit for 30 minutes to an hour before filling to prevent bleeding.

Thin the remaining icings with water, a bit at a time, stirring with a silicone spatula, until it is the consistency of a thick syrup.  You'll want to drop a "ribbon" of icing back into the bowl and have it disappear in a count of "one thousand one, one thousand two." Four is too thick, one is too thin.  Count of 2-3 is good.  Cover with a damp dishcloth and let sit for several minutes.

Stir gently with a silicone spatula to pop and large air bubbles that have formed.  Pour into squeeze bottles.

Fill in the outlines with the thinned icing. Use a toothpick to guide to edges and pop large air bubbles.

Let the cookies dry uncovered 6-8 hours, or overnight.

Once the icing is completely dry, use a #2 tip to pipe squiggly lines as an outer layer of petals in pink.

Dampen the brush with water, then blot very well on a paper towel.  Place the brush right into the icing and pull towards the center.

Make another layer,

and then another...

In the center, pipe some dots for the flower center using a #1 tip.

Make some flowers in the center of the cookies, and some off the sides...I like both. 

What do you think about bright pink for fall? 

Now.  Go check out the other lovely ladies and their Bright Pink posts!  Seriously.  Go! ;)

 

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Nutella, I Love You.

Can any cookies with Nutella, chocolate chips, and sea salt be wrong?  Um, no. 

We needed to head out the door at 10:45 Saturday morning, and I wanted to bring along some cookies.  Of course, I decided to bring cookies at about 11pm the night before.  The goal: make cookies that were quick and that used ingredients I already had in the house.  Oh yeah, and I wanted them to be delicious.

Enter Nutella, chocolate chips, espresso powder, and a little sprinkling of sea salt.  *sigh*

Mr. E said these are the best cookies he's had all year.  Pretty good for cookies thrown together on a Saturday morning, don't ya think?

The Nutella and brown sugar combine to make a chewy, almost brownie-like cookie.  And they're petite, so don't feel guilty about eating several at one time.  Please, PLEASE don't skip the sea salt here.  That little sprinkle of salt makes these cookies sing!

Fleur de sel is always a good choice for sea salt.  I happened to have some Falksalt on hand...it comes in rather large flakes, so I just crushed them with my fingertips before sprinkling onto the cookies.  Just don't use table salt. ;)  Or Lawry's Seasoned Salt for that matter.

Nutella Chocolate Chip Sea Salt-Sprinkled Cookies
{makes about 2 dozen}

1 cup Nutella
2 TBSP light brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1/2 cup + 2 TBSP flour
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
sea salt

[note: espresso powder can be found in the grocery store near the Sanka, or online.]

Preheat oven to 350.  Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, stir together the Nutella and the brown sugar.  Stir in the egg until well mixed.  Add in the espresso powder, then the flour, stirring until combined.  Fold in the chocolate chips.

Refrigerate for 15 minutes or more.

Use a 2-teaspoon cookie scoop to scoop the dough onto the prepared sheets.  Sprinkle each cookie dough mound with a bit of sea salt.

{Alternately, after scooping the dough, press down slightly with the bottom of a drinking glass.  Both methods turn out just fine.  The flattened ones are just, well, more flat.}

Bake for 10 minutes or until done.  Let sit on the cookie sheet for 1-2 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Nutella, it's official.  I love you.

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Melt-in-Your-Mouth Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies (shhh...they're whole grain)!

It's TIME, people.  Pumpkin time. *cue the trumpets*  

I hope I didn't scare you off with the "whole grain" in the title.  These pumpkin cookies are soft, tender, chock-full of spices, pumpkin and chocolate...and are delicious for all cookie monsters (even gluten-free)!

 {The sight of this on my counter made me giddy.}

I've been toying around with some different flours lately and have come to love oat flour.  It's whole grain and doesn't cost an arm and a leg like some other specialty flours.  Need to avoid gluten?  Look for oat flour labeled as "gluten-free", like this one from Bob's Red Mill.

The cookies are almost cake-like in texture...similar to a perfect muffin top (the baked goods kind, not the over-the-jeans kind).  I think you'll love them.

Whole-Grain Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
{makes 2 dozen}

2 cups oat flour
1 teaspoon potato flour (omitting this is fine, it just adds to the tenderness)
1 & 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter
1 & 1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.  Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the oat flour, potato flour, spices, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.

In a large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until combined and fluffy.  Beat in the egg and vanilla, then the pumpkin.  Mix until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

On low speed, add in the out flour mixture in three additions until incorporated.  Stir in the chocolate chips.

Use a two tablespoon cookie scoop and place the balls of dough 2" apart on the prepared sheets.  Bake 13-15 minutes or until the middles are fully baked.

Let sit on the cookie sheets for 2 minutes, then remove to a wire cooking rack to cool completely.

Hooray for pumpkin!!!

{If you're crazy for pumpkin like I am, be sure to check out these 15 pumpkin recipes you've gotta try this season. I plan to make every one of them.}

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