Brown Butter Snickerdoodles

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Recipe post day two. I told you you guys would be seeing a lot of these. Yesterday consisted of waking up, watching The Hills on Netflix (We feel like we are LC and Heidi in the first season when they move into their LA apartment), eating breakfast in bed and blogging. After my lazy morning I decided to make another one of my pinned recipes just to keep my momentum up on accomplishing my goal! 

I originally pinned  these brown butter salted caramel cookies, but when I was on the site to get the recipe I found a version that didn't call for the caramel. I opted for the simple version and started gathering my ingredients.  I had everything for these cookies except cream of tarter. Cream of tarter  is a staple in snickerdoodles, but I really didn't want to have to go to the grocery store to buy one thing. First off groceries cost money, and second off, one thing? No, not worth it. 

Now that I have entered the world of having to buy my own groceries I have realized how expensive it is. I was going up and down the aisles the other day picking the cheapest option and getting the generic brand of as much as possible. I even saved the coupons the check out guy gave me. Noooo please don't let me turn into a crazy coupon lady.

It is the best feeling when you find a recipe and have all the ingredients on hand. I was set on making these cookies and not having cream of tarter wasn't going to get me to the store or stop me from making them. Enter, substitutions. I am a risky baker. I bake like you are supposed to cook. I never sift things when it says to, I usually always double the amount of vanilla extract, I eyeball the measurement of flour and just throw things in here and there. This is completely against the rules of baking. But oh well, things usually turn out just fine. 

I found if I used three teaspoons of baking powder it could replace the combination of baking soda and cream of tarter. Perfect, no grocery store trip for me, and I went on with baking! 

Below is a copy of my adapted recipe using baking powder, but here is the link for the original recipe. I also used these instructions to brown butter in the microwave. This is so much easier than doing it over the stove and it worked perfectly. 

Brown Butter Snickerdoodles
makes 36-40 cookies

For the cookies:
2½ cups All-purpose Flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoons Cinnamon
¼ teaspoons Salt
2 sticks Unsalted Butter
1¼ cup Dark Brown Sugar
½ cups Granulated Sugar
1  Egg
1  Egg Yolk
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
1 Tablespoon Plain Greek Yogurt

For the rolling mixture:
¼ cups Granulated Sugar
2 teaspoons Cinnamon

Directions:
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl and set aside. 

Place two sticks in a microwave safe bowl and cover with a plate. Microwave for 5 minutes and you will have perfect browned butter. Set aside to cool. 

With an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg, yolk, vanilla, and yogurt until combined. Add the dry ingredients slowly and beat on low speed just until combined.

Chill your dough in the refrigerator (important!) until the dough is cold about 30-60 minutes, or place in freezer for about 20 minutes if you are super eager, although I cannot promise the same results if you do this. Fridge is always best! If you desire a puffier cookie, keep the dough in the fridge overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Once dough is chilled, measure about 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough and roll into balls. Meanwhile, mix the rolling mixture ingredients in a bowl. Roll balls in the cinnamon-sugar rolling mixture. Place dough balls on cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. If you desire a thinner cookie, flatten the tops of the cookies a tiny bit (very tiny) with your hand.

Bake the cookies 8-11 minutes or until the edges of the cookies begin to turn golden brown. They will look a bit underdone in the middle but will continue to cook once out of the oven. Bake longer if you like crispier cookies. Cool the cookies on the sheets at least 2 minutes. Remove the cooled cookies from the baking sheets after a few minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

It is probably illegal for me to say this, but take some risks when baking. Eyeball the measurements, use substitutions and live a little. These cookies turned out great with my version of baking them!

Annie

Flourless Fudge Cookies

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image via Lark & Linen

It's officially summer, I'm all moved in and I'm already checking things off my summer to-do list. Within minutes of finishing unpacking I instantly started thinking about what I wanted to bake. Now that I live somewhere with an accessible kitchen, you can expect an abundance of food posts coming up.

To kick off my summer to-do list I stuck with my goal of baking or cooking recipes I pin. First up, flourless fudge cookies. These could not be easier or more decadant. They were mixed, in the oven, then in my mouth all within 20 minutes. I first saw these cookies on a favorite new blog of mine, Lark & Linen.

 Jacquelyn got the recipe here. I find it a little ironic that the recipe came from King Arthur's (a brand of flour) website, but nonetheless, these cookies are delicious. 

The only adaption I made to the recipe was when it called for espresso powder. I didn't have any on hand so I just swapped it for a heaping teaspoon of ground coffee. Again, like my girl Ina always says, coffee really enhances the chocolate flavor. You don't want to leave this ingredient out!

These will no doubt curve any chocolate craving you have, but be ready to have a glass of cold milk to wash them down with!

Annie

It's Moving Day

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Today is my last day of school! The second I finish my final I am moving into my summer abode! The space is already furnished so any decorating will be minimal, but I am still eager to give it my own personal touch. 

My friend who owns the loft and whom Sarah Beth (If I haven't mentioned her already she is my best friend and summer roommate!) and I are renting from is leaving her bedding and letting me use it for the summer. It is perfect because any bedding I was planning on getting was going to be mimicked after what she already had because I loved it so much. The preppy navy and white combo with a little hint of orange is perfect. 

Below is an assortment of some decorating ideas to add to and give the space my own personal touch!

-I plan on keeping the bedroom light with lots of white, while adding a little more navy and orange and a fun monogram throw pillow. 

-I would love to have a full gallery wall, but with this living arrangement only being for the summer, I want to hang up simple prints framed with washi tape to make it more temporary.

-What I'm most excited about is an old campaign dresser my mom and I found in my grandmothers storage that we had repainted white and had the hardware polished.

-Sarah Beth and my's silly friends who lived there before seemed to think it was unnecessary to have any kind of table in the living room. That was the first thing we both said when we decided we were living in the loft is that we needed a table (We aren't about eating every meal on the couch). We are using my families old light wood circle dining table and a set of random dining room chairs. The chairs were originally painted lime green, turquoise and hot pink, similar to ones pictured above. Cute but not exactly what we were going for, so they got repainted a creamy white to keep things neutral.

-Lastly, a couple picture frames and some framed prints in the kitchen will help bring it all together and make it feel like a place of our own. 

I can't wait to get decorating!

xo annie

Summer To-Do List

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Like I mentioned yesterday, my summer to-do list has been making priority over my studying. I'm so eager for the freedom of summer to get things done I've been dying to do.
1. Number one on the list is actually make my Pinterest recipes. I look at food all day long and pin these incredible looking things, but usually never get around to making them. First up is this baked pea and proscuitto rissotto. Who wants to come over for dinner?

2. Like I've posted before, I want to paint my own abstract canvas. I saw this one on Pinterest the other day and love the mix of neon and metallic.
3. What sounds better than a Breakfast dinner party? Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day and I love a good dinner party. My three best friends and I are determined to make this happen at least a couple times this summer
4. I LOVE confetti garland and really want to master making one on my own instead of buying one. I'm sure if it turns out okay you guys will be seeing a post about it.
5. One of my sweet friend's mom has agreed to teach me calligraphy. I haven't had time until now but I am very excited to learn the skill.
6. My roommate for the summer and I decided that we are going to accomplish watching the whole series of some TV show. We are thinking either Sex and the City, Friends or Scandal. What do you guys recommend? 
7. Barre3 is my first love, but hot yoga has been all the rage amongst some of my friends. I think summer is the perfect time to try it out.
8. This is definitely the most random on the list, but I recently heard about how you can go on a tour of the Blue Bell Factory in Broken Arrow Oklahoma. Ice cream is included!
Have you made your summer to-do list yet?
xo annie