Bites of My Life

Allergies and a cold may have overtaken my productivity for the week, but it made for a relaxing week as well. Lot's of valentine sweets and indulging food has left me in a food coma. Time to come out of my coma and GSD this week! Before that starts I'm really enjoying my Sunday night on the couch flipping back and forth between The Bachelor and the SNL 40th Anniversary show. Who else was in favor of Miley's version of Paul Simon's "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover."

-Here's the scoop...valentines for my ice cream loving roommates.

-Stopped dead in my tracks when I saw Milk Bar cookie mixes now being sold at Target.

-Homemade Pop Tarts for my galentines!

-Limited edition Green Tea Chobani, seemed up my alley, but I'll pass next time.

-Just one bite of my meal at Scratch, fun review of my favorite Norman restaurant coming soon!

-Loving my oatmeal on Valentine's Eve!

-Cookie Butter Cups. Dark chocolate filled with cookie butter, yes this is a thing.

-A very small part of our Valentine's Day brunch.

-Home cooked filet, blue cheese corn polenta and roasted broccolini, made for a very happy tummy.

-Brunch and booze.

-Farmer's breakfast at Whiskey Cake to keep the holiday weekend eating going. 

-Sunday "phamen," used my recipe but makeshifted with the random items in my fridge.

Annie

DIY Treat Bags

Yesterday I posted the recipe for my little Homemade Pop Tarts I made for all the galentines in my life. Today I'm showing the super simple DIY Treat Bag I put together to deliver them in. 

With just a hole punch and some twine I was able to take regular ole lunch sacks and transform them into cutie little goodie bags! What's inside helped too:)

Supplies: 
brown paper lunch sacks
hole punch
scissors
pink twine
pink cardstock paper

Directions:
To get the decorative edge, punch five holes along the top of your sacks. Fill them with whatever is going inside then fold over the top an inch and a half. Punch two more holes along the top to string your twine through. Cut about a foot long piece of twine and tie a knot through the top two holes you just created. 

To make the tags, I used a small heart cookie cutter to trace it on the cardstock. Cut them out and punch a hole in the corner. String it on the twine, and finish with a bow!

Anyone baking up some Pop Tarts or passing out Valentines today? Happy holiday weekend! 

Annie

Easy Homemade Pop-Tarts

More valentine posts, are you sick of them yet? This one involves sugar so you can't be too mad. This homemade version of the beloved childhood treat were made for my sweet galentines. I wanted to bake my gals something sweet, but something different. I'm pretty pleased with how these pop tarts turned out, not to mention they are supa easy. They also took my back to my D.C. days getting homemade pop tarts at Ted's Bulletin. 

Store-bought pie crust, jam and icing. Not usually my style to go the store-bought route, but in this case it totally works. 

Easy Homemade Pop-Tarts
makes 18

Ingredients:
3 boxes of store-bought pie crust, 2 rolls of dough in each
1 jar of red raspberry jam, or any flavor
1 egg
2 cups powdered sugar
2 Tbsp. of milk
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
food coloring and sprinkles

Directions:
Take one sheet of pie dough and roll it out a little thinner than it comes packaged, this will give you more area to cut-out from. Using a pizza cutter or a knife cut out your rectangles. In the picture above you can see how I managed this. Let me tell you, it's hard cutting rectangles from a circle surface area, but with some precision, you can get about 6 rectangles from what you are working with. Lay these out on a greased or parchment-lined cookie sheet. Spread a small tablespoon of jam on each piece of dough, making sure you don't get too close to the edges. 

Now it's time to roll out your next pie dough and cut 6 more rectangles. Before you layer these on top, beat an egg and brush the whole rectangle with the egg wash. This will act as glue to keep the top and bottom pop-tart layers together. Using a fork, crimp the edges together and pierce the top. Finish rolling and cutting your dough, filling with jam, and assembling your tarts onto cookie trays. **Make sure and save your scraps of crust to bake! I sprinkled mine with cinnamon sugar and my roommates and I happily gobbled them up!

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. While your oven is preheating, place your cookie sheets of pop tarts in the fridge to firm up. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the edges are just golden brown!

While your pop tarts are cooling, it's time to make the icing. Whisk up the powdered sugar, milk, vanilla extract, and food coloring if you choose. Using a spoon, spoon on a small amount of icing and spread it over the center area, my icing had a mind of its own and spread everywhere, but hey, it's "rustic" right? Decorate with sprinkles and you now have the cutest treat ever! **Tip- pop them the toaster oven or microwave before eating!

This list of directions is a little long, but these pop tarts are actually very easy!

These little guys were so fun to make and even more fun to giveaway to my girlie friends. Like I said, they are fairly simple so if you are in a bind and in need of a last minute valentine treat, these should fit the bill! 

Stay tuned tomorrow for a DIY on how to package up these pretties!

Annie

I Heart U

Valentine's Day is the cutest holiday in my opinion. I've expressed my liking for this day before, but there is nothing more girly than hearts and candy and pink. Seems like the day was made for me if you asked me! Why not have a day dedicated to telling people how much you love them?

My heart starts fluttering the second the Valentine candy hits the shelves! I spent a good portion of yesterday putting together Valentines for my friends! Since I can't virtually give you all something, I've rounded up some Vday goodies and treats from around the web to show you how much I <3 U!

I propose you wake up Saturday morning and make yourself an egg in a heart. Then proceed by making one of these  heart-shaped cookie trees and decorating with foil heart balloons or DIY conversation heart balloons! These pink tassel earrings and kiss kiss shirt make for the perfect Vday outfit, especially while you chow down on some xoxo brownies and valentine bark. Don't forget to send a cute card to someone you love. They would probably enjoy these chocolate heart pretzels too! Finish your day with a cup of tea in one of Ashley Brooke's "more sugar please" mugs, paired with a deceivingly healthy cupcake for a sweet ending!

Now if this wasn't enough lovey dove goodness for you, check back tomorrow for delicious #takeabite treat recipe!

Annie

Will You Marry Me?

You will after you eat these cookies. Marry Me cookies get their name from the delicious taste and possibility of someone offering to marry you after making them. It's not guaranteed, but they do have some magical powers. My mom first made these cookies while I was still at home over break. They rolled out about 3 dozen so she ushered me off with a big bag full before I went on my ski trip. I left them on the counter of the ski house we rented while I unpacked and came back downstairs to them almost all gone. 

I couldn't take the credit so I had to make my own batch once we got home. They were as big a hit the second time around. No proposals, but I mean I'm 21, not really trying to get married yet!!

Chocolate chips, white chocolate chips and pecans, all wonderful components ready to be dumped into the dough (and a few small handfuls into my mouth). The way these cookies come together is different than most cookie recipes. The butter and sugars are melted together on the stove, then instead of transferring to an electric mixer, you continue to combine all the ingredients in the pan on the stove. There are then stages of chilling the dough before baking, but I promise they turn out wonderful. 

Marry Me Cookies adapted from this recipe 
yields 2-3 dozen

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 1/4 light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 cup oats
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans

Directions:
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat until melted. Remove from the heat. Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar and stir until sugars are incorporated and smooth. Chill the mixture for 10 minutes.

Remove from the refrigerator and stir in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. Add the flour, oats, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon and mix together. Stir in the white chocolate chips, chocolate chips and pecans. Roll by hand into medium-size balls or use a scoop, and place on sheet pans (greasing is not necessary because of the melted butter). If desired, tuck extra chips and pecans over tops of dough mounds for a lovely appearance.

Preheat the oven to 325˚F. Chill, on sheet pan for 30 minutes in the fridge or just a few in the freezer. Remove the cookies from the refrigerator and bake for 14-18 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow to cool for several minutes on pan, then transfer to cooling rack.

If you are over pink, red and hearts galore, these are a perfect, yet subtle Valentine treat! 

Annie