Homemade Oreos

Today is my little brother's birthday (Happy Birthday Bro!), so I thought it fitting to post the cookie that he chose for his birthday treat this year. Technically, he chose "dipped Oreos" but one first needs Oreos in order to dip. He did mention that the Oreo's didn't have to be homemade, he just wanted different flavors of dipped cookies. The hubby said asking me to send commercial Oreo's was like asking Gordon Ramsey to send a Big Mac. I snorted in derision and told him I was probably more like Guy Fieri sending take-out from a diner, drive-in, or dive he visited. In the end, I opted to make the Oreo's before dipping them. 

Top 16 Recipes of 2016

Ah, long time, no see everyone!

Yes, it's the 2nd to last day of our Oregon trip and I've finally found a few moments to write. It has been Busy with a capitol B! We've been going non-stop, but man, it has been fun. I'll save pictures for when I do my Oregon or December wrap-up but we've basically been on what I like to call a "Food and Drink Tour" of Oregon. Seriously! We've travelled to Southern Oregon to dine at a couple of places in Ashland. We've stopped at a restaurant in Eugene. We've traveled to Portland to visit family and wine-taste with friends. There was a boozy breakfast in Albany. We saw "Holiday Office Party" in Corvallis. Drove the backroads through Independence. Had a wine-and-hor-dourves night with some of my biggest blog fans (Hello Glaeser family!) I can safely say I've seen the entire I-5 corridor of Oregon on this visit 😁

25 Cake & Cupcake Recipes

Oh, Saturday morning. How I love thee. I woke up rather lazily today, with one well-behaved chihuahua at my side and a not-so-well-behaved one deciding to sit on my chest and lick my face. Face Licker had decided it was time to get up. Face Licker being Mariota, that is 😂 

I shuffled my way to the Keurig and made a cup of coffee, admiring the view out the window whilst the coffee brewed. It rained last night, which makes me happy. That saves an hour of yard work. I also noted the bird feeders were quite full. It never fails that there is lull in bird activity every summer. The hawks have been staking out the yard fairly aggressively which every year has meant the birds leave for a little while. They'll be back. But that was another chore that didn't need to be done. 

It was a great morning. All I had to do was fill the bee waterers with fresh water and pick some strawberries. I honestly thought the strawberries would be spent by now, but they are really showing no signs of stopping. I'm thinking I'm going to be picking fresh berries every day until the first frost. Which, of course, is fine by me. 

Toasted Almond & Salted Caramel Bark

Oh yes. It's Friday, and boy do I have a treat for you guys! Because what better day of the week to reward yourself than Friday? And let me tell you, this bark candy is truly a treat. It's super easy and fast to make, crunchy, sweet, and salty. It's only February, but I'm already thinking this will be going in my Christmas Cookie boxes. It's that good.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

Happy Birthday to me!

Yep, this was my birthday cake. And let me tell you, this is a dessert worthy of the name "cake". It was decadent. It was dreamy. It made my tastebuds do a happy dance. Then, it made me realize I had to get it out of the house. Stat. 

Did I get it out of the house? Not so much.

Top 15 Recipes of 2015

Happy New Year's Eve!

Unbelievable that it's the last day of the year. I feel like I have been on vacation this week (much needed after Christmas Cookies) with my slacker posts. Indeed, it's much easier to post round-up's and articles about reading and summing the year up. I was going to post this yesterday, but alas, it was my birthday friends! Yep, this ol' girl turned 29 again... Or maybe a little more than that. Haha.

25 Chocolate Recipes

Thanksgiving is upon us, my friends!

It's true, October would have been the perfect month for  25 Chocolate Recipes. That being said, I think November is a great month for this round-up too. For a couple of reasons-

#1. Not everyone likes Pecan Pie. Or Pumpkin Pie. I guarantee there's people out there that might want a chocolate dessert for Thanksgiving.

#2. Christmas and holiday baking are right around the corner. There are plenty of cookies, candies, and cakes in this round-up to choose for cookie swaps or last minute party gifts.

#3. I mean, it's chocolate. Come on. It's good 12 months out of the year. It's good for 52 weeks out of the year. It's good for 365 days out of the year. You get the picture.

So, yeah. Shall we jump right in?

*Warning- pictures may induce drooling, cravings, and a one-track chocolate brain. Proceed at your own risk :-)

Carmelitas

Oh boy. Have I got the treat for you today! You will love these. Your family will love these. You will not want to share. You will baby-sit the pan, scarfing straight from it, giving anyone who approaches the evil eye. Maybe even a possessive growl or two. You will find yourself looking for hiding places in the back of your cabinets, in the back of the freezer, in the washing machine for heaven's sake. There's something about the combination of caramel candies, oatmeal, and chocolate chips. Once the caramel candies melt and become ooey-gooey, they gel the bars together in the best possible way. I know I tell you guys to try a lot of things, but trust me. These are the creme de la creme of recipes.

Cinnamon Sugar & Caramel Snack Mix

Holy addictiveness Batman.

This snack mix is good. This snack mix is great. This snack mix will make you want to do the happy dance around your kitchen as soon as it hits your tastebuds. This snack mix will make you smack the hands of all who come near that wonderful, over-flowing bowl of caramel-y goodness.

And the best part? It's super-easy to make. 

25 Delicious Cookie Recipes

Time for this month's roundup!

Sure cookies are the hip thing at Christmas, and around Valentine's Day, but if we are going to be really honest, cookies are good all the time. They have been the bane of my existence since I've learned how to bake, the reason those last 3 stubborn pounds hang on.

25 Super Bowl Snacks, Treats, and Meal Ideas

Good morning, and happy Tuesday!

I meant to publish a post yesterday, but the morning ended up being way too hectic. The hubby and I had to leave the house at 7 am yesterday to drive my car about an hour away to the Nissan dealership. It was not the best day for travel (thank you, East Coast Blizzard!), not to mention the problems I was already having with the drivability of the car.

Boozy Salted Caramel Milkshakes

It's a sad day in our house today.

The Oregon Ducks fell to the Ohio State Buckeyes last night, and our house is now in mourning. Even though we live squarely in Buckeye territory, we proudly ran our errands yesterday in our Duck gear. And yes, we got comments everywhere we went. Especially at our little bar we always stop at. We popped in yesterday for a couple of beers, and were definitely ribbed by some good-natured Ohio State fans. I was pretty surprised that no one was ugly, everyone we encountered was a good sportsman. 

My FaceBook friends? Another story. Ha!