Saturday, February 06, 2010

A Baking Bonanza!

~Update~
   I brought a batch of the brownies raved about mentioned later in this post to work today. The verdict? A-maz-ing! I actually had one co-worker say, "You are going to make some man happy and fat!" High praise, right? Now, if only that praise could turn into the truth, like now? That would be even better!

~Original Post~
Pardon me, I love alliteration!
I am completely obsessed with social networking (duh!) and I love to read people's blogs, tweets, status updates, etc. Part of the fun, for me, is finding new inspirational stories, new places to shop, and new recipes to try out! This was the case the other day when I stumbled upon the blog i am mommy and the link to her baking page, i am baker. That is where I discovered these amazing cookies!

 
 These are Coffee Sugar Cookies! 

Oh. my. goodness. You put coffee in a cookie? That's a definite winner in my book! The recipe was super easy to follow except I totally did not read all the instructions. I missed the part that said you had to let the dough chill overnight. Oops. (Side note: if you are making the dough at night, as tempting as it may be; do not eat the dough if caffeine wakes you up. Let's just say that I laid in bed staring at the ceiling for a few hours that night.)

Some of you might remember a few months ago, (let's say it was October) I featured the amazing S'more cupcake that brookiellen introduced me to. I love s'more's, so ever since then, I have been obsessed with figuring out how to make a s'more brownie. I think know that this is it! I have always been about the brownie. It was one of the first things I learned how to bake. And I have been perfecting them ever since. I would NEVER use a boxed brownie. Okay, confession: I did once. Horibble, awful, never again.
The brownie recipe I use is Hershey's Best Brownie recipe. It has never, ever failed me.
I can't give you exact measurements, but I will do my best to guess.
Make the brownie batter first and then add about a 1/4 cup of finely ground graham crackers.
Take 4 sheets of graham crackers and crumble them into the batter. My goal was to have graham cracker pieces throughout the entire brownie.
 
Spray the pan with non stick cooking spray and spread the batter on the bottom.
Bake the brownies for roughly 10 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Remove from oven for the next step.
This is the tricky part. Spoon bits of marshmallow fluff randomly across the top. 
Take another 2 sheets of graham crackers and roughly crumble them on top and pop the back in the oven for another 10 minutes or until the brownies pull away from the side of the pan.

Let them cool before slicing... if you can wait that long!

 

Enjoy!

Monday, February 01, 2010

So nerve-wracking

This past Saturday I did my first maternity shoot. It was my friend, Tara's, sister. I drove up for the shower and stayed for the shoot. They were such troopers... it was about 15 degrees that day and they indulged me with a few shots at the playground.
I have to admit that I am super nervous about how these photos are going to be received. Here is a sneak peek of some. Please be honest but gentle; it's my first time.