Week 17: Holiday Cookies!

Hi all,

With Xmas being next week, and all of my presents are bought and apartment decorated, there is only one thing left to do... BAKE!  I made 3 different recipes from Pinterest earlier in the week for my work's Bake Off and I actually got first place for one of my cookies :)  I thought I'd pin a couple of the recipes I made.  In this post, I'm including the Red Velvet Cheesecake Cookies and the Lemon Ricotta Cookies with Lemon Glaze.

Pins that inspired:

Red Velvet Cheesecake Cookies
http://pinterest.com/pin/191191946650390441/

Lemon Ricotta Cookies with Lemon Glaze
http://pinterest.com/pin/191191946650392297/

First up, the red velvets.  Okay, let me start this post by saying this cookie got first place at my work.  Some people thought the lemon ricottas should have won.  The red velvets are sweet and kind of a pain to make, but incredibly worth it and I'd make them again (and most likely will later in the week).

Because this is a cookie that does need to be refrigerated for at least two hours, I would suggest prepping these first, making some other cookies, and coming back to these.  Or you can do what I did and prep in the morning, and then bake at night (worked out really well).

The recipe is from Two Peas and Their Pod and thank goodness for them.  Seriously so good.  I did slightly modify the amounts because their recipe calls for 10 giant cookies and I ended up making 20 (still giant) cookies.

Here is the recipe and instructions from their site, and I will add in my notes and pictures along the way.

ingredients:

For the cookies:
1 box red velvet cake mix (I used Betty Crocker)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the cheesecake filling:
4 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the white chocolate drizzle:
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips, melted (I ended up using an entire bag of white chocolate chips from Nestle's.  You  could actually just use half the bag and you'll be fine)

directions:

1. To make cookies, in a large bowl combine cake mix and flour. Whisk until clumps disappear. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together cake mix, flour, eggs, oil and vanilla extract (I used a paddle attachment on my KitchenAid). Mix until smooth. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap. The dough will be oily. Refrigerate for at least two hours.

2. To make the cheesecake filling, using a mixer, combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth. Using a teaspoon, scoop out cheesecake filling and place on a plate (you could also use a cookie sheet). Continue scooping out cheesecake filling into teaspoon balls until you have 10 (since I was going to make 20 cookies, I made 20 of these). Place plate in the freezer and freeze for at least two hours.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper (I ended up using 3 large cookie sheets) or a silicone baking mat. To assemble the cookies, take about 1/4 cup of red velvet cookie dough (if you're going for 20 cookies, use 1/8 cup or 2 tablespoons) and flatten in your hands (I actually formed the dough into small balls and then flattened.  And make these real flat). Place a teaspoon of cheesecake filling in the center and wrap the cookie dough around the filling (Okay, THIS is the part that is a pain in the ass.  Here these may not fully wrap around the cheesecake filling because in reality, these cheesecake filling is more than just a teaspoon, even with 20 cheesecake balls.  The red velvet dough is going to crack some as you try to wrap it, and that's fine.  Don't spaz out as I did when this happens.).

Gently roll into a ball and place on prepared baking sheet (Ok, I was gentle, but I really rolled that dough because I wanted to try to keep the cracks sealed.  Also, if you have some of the cheesecake sneaking through, that's fine; I did with all of my cookies.  I just placed that side up on my cookie sheets). Only bake 3 cookies at a time (I did 6-7 cookies per sheet). The cookies are large and will spread (yep that is an understatement). Bake for 11-13 minutes or until the cookies begin to crackle (maybe it's because I'm in CO and at high altitude, but mine took closer to 14-15 minutes). Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Remove from baking sheet to a wire cooling rack and cool completely.

4. Melt the white chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl or over a double-boiler. Drizzle the white chocolate over the cooled cookies (let's talk about how I have never drizzled any kind of toppings before.  For those of you who haven't done this either, here is my helpful tip.  I used a large spatula and dipped it in the white chocolate.  Then I went in a sweeping motion, going left to right, over all of the cookies at the same time.  Of course, I didn't think of this method until about halfway through, so some of my cookies got more white chocolate than others, but that's ok.  I also did this on parchment paper so I wouldn't have a royal mess to try to clean later). Let the cookies set until the chocolate hardens. Serve and enjoy!

Next up, the Lemon Ricotta Cookies with Lemon Glaze.  This recipe came from Redbook Magazine, but it's from Giada De Laurentiis.  So I'm sure you can find this on Food Network's website too.  Like the last recipe, I'll just interject my opinions in parenthesis.

Cookies

• 2 1/2 cup(s) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon(s) baking powder
• 1 teaspoon(s) salt
• 1/2 cup(s) (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cup(s) sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 container(s) (15-ounce) whole-milk ricotta cheese
• 3 tablespoon(s) fresh lemon juice (1 large lemon)
•  Grated zest from one lemon
  

Glaze

• 1 1/2 cup(s) powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoon(s) fresh lemon juice (1 large lemon)
•  Grated zest from one lemon
• To thin out my glaze a little bit a added a touch of water, probably less than 1/2 teaspoon.  I think I may have used a little over 3 tablespoons of the lemon juice too.

---

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Cookies: In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine butter and sugar. Using an electric mixer, beat mixture until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until incorporated. Add the ricotta cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest and beat to combine. Stir in the dry ingredients.
4. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of dough for each cookie onto prepared baking sheets (these will be huge and you'll still get about 40 cookies from this recipe.  If you want more than 40, you could do 1 tablespoon and get 80ish cookies). Bake 15 minutes, until slightly golden at the edges (I think mine took closer to 16 minutes). Remove from oven and let cookies rest on baking sheets 20 minutes.

1. Glaze: In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar, lemon juice, and zest; stir until smooth. Spoon about 1/2 teaspoon onto each cookie, and use back of the spoon to gently spread (I thought I wouldn't have a enough glaze, but I actually had left over.  I could have used more glaze.  The glaze will run a little. I would also suggest glazing these on a wire rack and having wax paper or something underneath the wire rack so the glaze drips onto that and not your table.  This is also a good time to add sprinkles if you want these to have a pop of color). Let the glaze harden about 2 hours. Pack the cookies in a decorative container.

Week 16: Nails!

Hi all,

There have been a lot of posts on Pinterest lately with fun nail ideas.  I tried a few out myself especially since they seemed fun and festive for the holidays.  I've seen so much glitter and sparkle and then some matte finishes I REALLY wanted to try them :)

Here are the pins that inspired-

http://pinterest.com/pin/191191946650379662/

http://pinterest.com/pin/191191946650403090/

http://pinterest.com/pin/191191946650403092/

First up, the glitter in between the color.  This one was actually quite easy.  Word of advice.  You will need glitter polish that has big flecks of glitter.  Just a "shimmery" glitter won't work.  You can't really see the fine glitter with this look, but the bigger pieces show through.The polish I used (yes, I understand I will get mocked for this), Nicole Nail Polish Justin Beiber Make Up Smile, has blig flecks and the finer glitter.

On my toes, I started with two coats of red polish (OPI's O'Hare and Nails Look Great!).  I let that dry and then did 2 coats of the Beiber glitter nail polish.

Finally, I added a thin coat of the OPI polish to finish up.  And it actually looked like the pin!

Next up, the matte look.  I haven't fully decided if I like this look or not yet.  I think it really depends on the color you're using (currently, I redid my nails and I did a combination of the look above, in a different red, and the matte look and I kind of feel like I have dried blood on my nails for lack of a better description).

The thing that is kinda cool about the matte topcoat is it seems to be very protective.  I haven't chipped my nail polish when using the matte top coat.  Also, when it goes on, your nails don't automatically look matte.  Once it dries they become matte; so don't go cursing the gods like I almost did and checking to make sure you ACTUALLY BOUGHT the matte top coat...  All I did was apply my nail polish as usual by applying two coats and letting dry.  I then applied the matte top coat; I used Sephora's however, I know Essie also makes one for those of you who don't live five minutes away from Sephora like I do.  Done and Done!

Here is a pic of my nails currently with the combo (my other picture with the matte didn't turn out well).

Week 15: Easy and Fast Christmas Decorations

Hi Everyone,

I know, I fell behind on posting again.  However, here are some quick and easy Christmas decorations you can make with items you may already own, or can find for cheap.

Remember that lantern of mine from Halloween?  I knew I would get to reuse it for the holidays! 

Pins that inspired- http://pinterest.com/pin/191191946650241859/

Materials:
Lantern
Candle
Ornaments

I took out my fall/halloween pumpkins and put those bad boys in the crafting closet.  While I had my ornaments out to make the window treatment, I set a few aside.  I had a cute winter pillar candle and put that in the center (there is actually a post in the middle of the latern for the purpose so the candle won't move around).  Then, I just filled my latern up!  Quick and easy.  You could always go to the dollar store for more ornaments or even Target's $1.00 bin area.

Tada!

Next, I saw this shadow box idea and fell in love, because I'm a dork. 

Pin that inspired: http://pinterest.com/pin/191191946650232412/

Materials:
Shadow Box frame
Scrapbook paper
Ornaments
Optional items include ribbon and stamps

I found the shadow box frame at IKEA in the "as is" section for $3 because it had a nick in it (which I covered up with black nail polish as it was too cold to go outside and spraypaint).  I have read online in other tutorials that you can buy these at Michael's, Hobby Lobby, or Joann's for pretty cheap too.  My IKEA happens to not sell them in the store, and you have to order them online, so I lucked out that they had one.  I bought a piece of scrapbook paper for 59 cents at Michael's and used left over ornaments. 

All I did was put ornaments that would fit in the shadow box frame.  Next I took the back panel of the shadow box frame and cut my piece of scrapbook paper to the same size.  I then put everything back together and I was done!  I actually would like to get a thick red ribbon to tie around the frame like in the pin, but I really haven't wanted to brave the craft stores at the holidays. 

If you do want to do the stamp, you can find a stamp from your local craft store and stamp directly to the glass (if you use rubbing alcohol the ink from the stamp should come right off).  If you don't want to do that, you can always stamp directly on the scrapbook paper.  I like the idea of this project because you really can change out the paper and the ornaments to give the shadow box a different feel, as often as you'd like.

I ended up adding more ornaments in too since all I had to do was take off the back cover :)

Week 14: Holiday Sangria

Hi all!

I don't know about anyone else, but during the holidays I like to meet up with my friends and have some lovely drinks and good conversation.  This past Saturday I got the chance to hang out with my friends and I brought over a nice holiday sangria that I found on Pinterest (actually, I have at least 3 sangria recipes I want to try from there, but this one was specifically called holiday sangria and it had a bunch of fall-ish ingredients).  I had no idea making sangria was so easy.  Throw a whole bunch of ingredients together and let sit over night or so.

Inspiration Pin-
http://pinterest.com/pin/191191946650321988/

Here is the website I got the recipe from.  And honestly, I picked this sangria because the website is Deep South Dish, and honestly, southerners can cook, so why wouldn't I pick this sangria!  This site also has a bunch of other good drink recipes I want to try too.

Ok, so straight from the website, here are your ingredients:

1 bottle (750 ml) of red zinfandel (note: I did not use a red zin.  I used Rene Barbier Mediterranean Red.  For you Denver/Boulder peeps, the lovely liquor store attendant told me this is the Red wine they have used at The Med for their house red and also their red sangria.  I've had The Med's sangria.  I was SOLD and it was $5.99 and cheaper than the red zin I picked out that was $7.99)
4 cups of Cranberry Juice (I used Ocean Spray regular cranberry juice)
2 cups of POM Wonderful pomegranate juice
1 cup of Orange Juice (I used Tropicana no pulp)
3/4 cup of simple syrup (note: I had no clue how to make this and googled it.  I did the 2:1 ratio of 2 parts sugar to 1 part water and I did the boiling method; more on that later.  Apparently you can also buy simple syrup)
1 apple (I used Honeycrisp), unpeeled, cored, quartered, and sliced thin (I don't read directions and I peeled my apple).
1 orange, halved and sliced thin
1 lemon, halved and sliced thin
1/2 cup fresh cranberries (not pictured)
1/4 cup pomegranate seeds

Optional for after the sangria is made:
San Pellegrino Sparkling Water (I bought the Target version)

Let me start by saying this.  If you missed the memo like I did about needing the simple syrup (again because I apparently choose not to read), it is easy to make.  Before I started anything else, I made the simple syrup.  I brought my water to a boil and then poured in the sugar.  And then you stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.  Take off the heat and let it cool.  While it's cooling...

Prep your fruit.  Heck, if you want to get fancy go ahead and pre-measure your liquids.  Once you're ready, combine all of your ingredients in a large storage container (it would also be useful if this is also the same container you're going to use to serve your sangria).  Stir your sangria and taste and adjust to your liking (I found this is definitely on the sweeter side.  If you like a drier sangria, I'd say add some more wine or cranberry juice).  Chill 4 hours or overnight (I let mine sit for 16 hours.  I did try it when I first got up (so 8 hours) and it did taste really good, but I think the 16 hours was real nice).  Stir before serving and transfer to your serving container if you did not prep in the serving container.

The lovely people on Deep South Dish also say to use tongs to get out the fruit and put in each glass, with ice, pour the sangria and leave some room for your sparkling water.  I would say if you want to make this sangria in the summer, you really don't need the cranberry fruit or the pomegranate seeds since the fruit itself doesn't really add the the sangria or absorb the sangria.  However, if you're like me and like to eat the fruit, it is very tasty in general.  They also tell you on the website that the flavor is really coming from the juices, so you can use red or white wine.  They suggest cabernet sauvignon, merlot, rioja, shiraz, or beaujolais.

Here is my final product:

Final verdict: MAKE THIS!!!  This is actually really good to do at the holidays because all of the juices I used were on sale at Target, and most of the fruit was too.

Week 13: Christmas Window Display

Hi all!

While I know that it isn't even Turkey Day yet, I did do some Xmas decorating this past weekend.  I felt I was justified because I wouldn't have been able to decorate our window once the Christmas tree went up, so I had to start now (or at least this is how I reasoned it out to Scott.  It had nothing to do with the fact I bought a whole bunch of cheap Xmas stuff at IKEA and Michael's...).

I have been wanting to do some kind of window treatment for our arched window for the (almost) whole year we have lived here, but I didn't know what to do.  When I saw my inspiration pin, I knew I could either use the Command hooks or tape to keep that sucker up and I didn't need to have a curtain rod to hang the garland.

Here are a couple of alternatives I could have gone with, or you could go with too.  If you hate garland, you can always just tape the ribbons to the wall or you could tie the ribbon around a curtain rod (again, if you have one).  Also, I would imagine if you have a curtain rod, you can just wrap the garland around the rod or tape it to the rod.  All that being said, onto the pictures!

Inspiration Pin- http://pinterest.com/pin/191191946650241636/

My materials:
Ornaments
Various Ribbon and Twine
Big Red Bow
Garland
Command Strips
Tape

First, I made sure my 9 ft would actually fit around the arch, and it did (I did measure before hand).  If you have too much garland, you can double the garland over or cut to where appropriate.  I also stuck my mini- Command strips up and let those sit for the suggested hour while I was prepping my garland.  Now, I would highly suggest using the regular size strips because they can hold up more weight (not that this is particularly heavy, but I guess each of these mini strips only hold up to 1/2 pound each and you won't have to use tape to also hold this project up like I did when it started to fall.  I only got the minis because Michael's didn't have the full size ones in the check out line area and I really didn't feel like making a second trip to Target).

Next I "fluffed" the garland so the branches were separated and the garland looked full.  Next I determined my halfway point wrapped my bow around a branch.  I originally started planning out the garland and the length of the ribbons on the floor, but with the dog passing threw this became impossible, so I hung the garland and worked from there.  Considering I couldn't get the correct arch in the amount of room I had anyway, this worked just fine.

The rest was really easy.  I just picked out my ornaments and held up the length of ribbon or twine I thought would look nice.  I wanted to add more ornaments, but Scott did think it would start to look cluttered considering I used some larger ornaments.

Here is the finished product (I think it came out real cute!):

By the way, the Michael's near me had grab bags for $2 each.  Here is everything I got in my 2 bags (I also got a 3 pack of 8x10" canvas flat panels not pictured).  30 flowers, a fall wreath, 2 halloween sticker books, a 2 pack of candles, a fall bow, and 2 sets of scented pine cones.

I estimated the retail value to $125.50 (most of the items still had the original tags on them) and I spent $4.00!!!

Week 12: Canvas Artwork

Hi all,

So I wanted to make some artwork I could hang up post holiday season, and I asked for Scott's feedback since he's been so good about my projects.  I decided to do some spray paint art in Denver Nuggets colors (as close as I could at least).  Again, since I am sooo behind on my posts, I'll post an in-depth tutorial later, but here is the basic gist.  Pick out a canvas to the size of your liking (I had 3 12x12" wrapped canvas that were on sale for 1/2 price at Joann's).  Get some masking tape and make random patterns.  Make sure the tape is bubble free so the spray paint doesn't bleed under.  Then spray paint.  I suggest 3 coats and let them dry pretty well in between.  When completely dry, remove tape.

Inspiration Pin-
http://pinterest.com/pin/191191946650269138/

My materials:

The process:

End Results:

Week 11: Fall Tulle Wreath

Hi everyone!

Keeping with the fall theme, I wanted to tackle making a wreath.  There are TONS of wreath ideas out there (see pins below), and yet, I had issues finding blog tutorials out there.  I talked to one of my coworkers who is SUPER crafty and took her advice on how to make this project. a couple of weeks ago, Joann's had a 60% off sale on tulle by the yard (depending on the kind).  So I got a bunch of tulle for REAL cheap (less than $15 as opposed to close to $25-$30).  Not knowing how much I would need, I ended up with about 24 yards in 9 different colors.  I also got an 10 inch wire wreath form for $2.49.

Since I am soooo far behind on my posts, I wanted to put up some pictures (just in time for Thanksgiving) if anyone wants to tackle this!  I was originally going to make this with an 18" wreath and do big chunks of colors, but decided to switch to the 10" wreath and alternate the colors.  SO EASY.  And since I didn't have to glue anything, it was really easy to start over and move colors around as needed :)

The incredibly short version of this tutorial is the following.  I cut the colors into 15" long strips (my tulle came doubled over when I unwrapped it from being cut at Joann's, and this was perfect) and they were about 6" wide.  I believe I used 81 strips altogether (9 different colors, 9 strips of the same color).  I just did a slip knot around the wreath form and "fluffed" the ends of the tulle so it would look nice and full.  I also hot glued some leaves and fall twigs to a ribbon and tied that ribbon around the wreath (so that I could take off the leaves and twigs if I hated it).

Pins-
http://pinterest.com/pin/191191946650255544/

http://pinterest.com/pin/191191946650255552/

My materials:

Putting the wreath together:

The optional materials to add the leaves and twigs:

Gather and bundle to your liking (I used floral wire) and then hot glue to ribbon:

When dry, tie ribbon with leaves around the wreath:

Final Product:

Since I did get this up so late; here is a Pin of an Xmas version that could be made too :)  This one has felt flowers, but you could do the same thing with ribbons and hot glue like I did.

Pin- http://pinterest.com/pin/191191946650255546/