Peanut Butter Blossoms . . . one of our favorite cookie recipes

Do you have a go-to cookie recipe?  A recipe you can always depend on when you need to bring cookies to a party, to a school function, or to a friend? 

Here's mine.  Peanut Butter Blossoms.  PB Blossoms are little sugar-dipped peanut butter cookies with a Hershey's Kiss perched perfectly on top.

You've probably eaten them...and you might just have the recipe in your arsenal.  If you don't, you need it.  These babies get scarfed up by kids and grown-ups alike.

{PS....I have written in my cookbook (do you write in your cookbooks?) that the 1st time I made these was when kiddo was 7.  He said these were the "most fun" recipe he's ever helped make.}


Peanut Butter Blossoms
{ever so slightly adapted from The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion}

1/2 c. butter
3/4 c. creamy peanut butter (I use Skippy Natural)
1/3 c. sugar (plus more for rolling)
1/3 c. light brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 & 1/2 c. unbleached, all-purpose flour
Hershey's Kisses (7 ounces)

Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.  Preheat oven to 375.

Using the paddle attachment, beat the butter and peanut butter until blended.  Add both sugars and beat until light and fluffy.  Add in the egg through vanilla and mix until thoroughly combined.  Add in the flour in 3 additions. Scrape the bottom and side of bowl as needed.

Place extra granulated sugar on a plate. Shape the dough into 1-inch balls and roll in the sugar.

Place coated dough balls on the parchment-lined sheets.  Bake cookies until the are a very light golden color, about 10 minutes.  (Meanwhile, unwrap the kisses.)

Remove the cookies from the oven and it's go time!  Immediately place a kiss on top of each hot cookie, pressing down slightly.

{Kids LOVE to help with this part!}

Transfer cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.
 
My favorite part? How the heat from the warm cookie makes the kisses soft and melty.  You want one now, don't you?  Oh, and here's how I eat them....I eat all around the perimeter of the cookie, saving the Hershey's Kiss with a bit of cookie on the bottom for the *perfect* last bite.

Are you sold yet?  Wanna try a Peanut Butter Blossom?

For appropriate words....

Quote Unquote has it in spades.

Magnolia-licious blog hop winner of Ribbon Hair Tilda

Hi friends! Hope you're enjoying your weekend!! It's time to announce the winner of #221 Ribbon Hair Tilda from the You are So Special collection which is available at  Magnolia-licious.  If you want to see her all colored up, just click HERE. Thanks so much to everyone that hopped with us. I know it takes a lot of time and I truly appreciate your visit and the time you took to leave a comment! I wish you could ALL be winners! So without further ado...here is the winner of the adorable Ribbon Hair Tilda...

And #40 is....

Congrats Vicki!! Please send me your address so I can get your stamp right out to you! Thanks again for playing, and have a wonderful weekend!! Hugs!

Heartbreaking.

I got a text from a friend of mine at midnight, just as she and her team were being evacuated from their home in Redcliffs.

'This is a living hell'.

Please help.

An Ode to Bread . . .

There was a young girl from Dallas,

...wait, that's a limerick, not an ode.....

I'm not quite sure how to write an ode, but I will tell you, bread is special to me.

{This is Panera's Tomato Basil bread.}

I grew up smelling bread dough rise for my mom's famous cinnamon rolls.  There was beer bread, warm from the oven and slathered in butter.  Bread was always a part of our lives.

My Bread Story:  Well, I was dating this guy.  And one day (15 years ago today, to be exact, right about this time of day...it's 4:30pm here), he called and asked if I wanted to go to Happy Hour.  Of course, I said!

He picked me up, and drove not to a restaurant, or to a bar, but to a park.  A beautiful park.  From the back seat, he produced a loaf of bread and a bottle of champagne.  We sat on a wooden park bench, sipped champange and tore off chunks of bread.

And then, I SCREAMED!  There was something big and BLACK in the bread.  He was calm, removed the black "thing" from the bread...it was a box.  He knelt down on one knee and proposed.

{When you're dating someone with an engineering degree, I guess it shouldn't come as a shock that he carves out the perfect size cubbyhole in a loaf of bread for a ring box. And then puts the whole thing back together perfectly.}

So, the rest is history.  It may explain why, as I watched this Panera "Ode to Bread" video, I got teary-eyed.  Watch it and tell me, does it make you teary, too?

Just ONE of the reasons I LOVE Panera, is that their freshly made, always delicious loaves of bread are ready and waiting for me in the store when I don't have the time....or am feeling too lazy....to make my own.

Treat yourself to one.....or better yet, have your honey pick a loaf for you.  You never know what might be hiding in there! ;)

{Do YOU have a bread story?}
I'd love to for you to share it here...or with Panera on their Facebook page.

(This is a sponsored post by Panera Bread, but my opinions, words and proposal story are all my own.)

UPDATED:They say that...

....lightening doesn't strike twice.

Earthquakes obviously don't worship at the altar of that school of thought.

One still unaccounted for.

UPDATE: But not any longer! Managed to hear he's okay. (But not for long, because now I'm going to kill him).

using Copic markers for darker skin tones

Hi everyone!  For my Copic coloring class this month, I taught working with darker skin tones. So I thought I would post it here in case anyone was looking for information. I started with the colors I got from Suzanne Dean and her tutorial for African American skin tones which I used on the top left image. And then I just started picking up my markers and playing. Here are the skin colors for each image:  (click on the picture for an up close look)

Top left: 
E25, 13, 11, and 21 with R32 on her cheeks
her hair is E15,. 39, and 59

Top center: 
E13, 21 with R02 on her cheeks
her hair is the same as top left

Top right:
E15, 13, 11 with R02 on her cheeks
her hair is E97, 99, 17, and 29

Bottom left:
E11, 21 with R02 on her cheeks
Hair is E15, 39, and 59

Bottom right:
R02, E02, 01 with R20 on her cheeks
Hair is E19, 15, and 13

All her clothing is the same. For her leotard - R32 and 35. For her TuTu  G20, 21, and 24
for her crown, Y35 and 38 trim is done with a gold Spica glitter pen

For her tights, I used T1 with a bit of B41
R02 for her tongue and E31 for the inside of her mouth.

I found a tutorial a couple years ago about curly hair, and I truly wish I could find it again so I could give her credit for this technique. But for curly hair, I simply dot on the color in randomness. I start with the lightest and move through to the medium shade, then adding the low lights with my darkest color. I will then take the lightest and fill in any areas that are missing color. Do not blend! I think it gives such wonderful texture to curly hair and looks awesome no matter what color hair you're doing. Give it a shot, but make sure you have a light, mid, and darker color. Just use the tip of your marker to make the dots, so they're not huge. I think you'll love the result!

This adorble image is by Mo Manning at Digital Pencil Too.

I hope you find this useful! Thanks for stopping by to see me and hope to see you back again soon! Hugs!!

What to do when good icing goes bad . . . Works for Me Wednesday

OK....let's say you're decorating cookies.  You are planning to put a pretty piped border along the edge like this:

{These are Uncle Mike's cookies, in case you missed 'em.}

But, hypothetically, your hubby wants to take the family out for lunch and pick up the piano you bought for $99 that is still sitting at Goodwill.  And let's say, you get to Goodwill and the piano is too big to fit in the SUV, so you have to run to Home Depot and rent a truck.  Hypothetically.

By the time you get back home and are ready to get piping (I kinda love that expression "get piping"), the icing you stashed in the fridge is a little less that stiff.

As a matter of fact, it looks like this....

What to do?

1st: First, stir in sifted powdered sugar.  I always have a little powdered sugar shaker in my kitchen for dusting on pancakes, etc.  Start there.  Keep adding until it feels stiff again.

2nd: Try piping on a a plate or a paper towel.  (I was using a #16 star tip here.)  Does the pretty little "shell" pattern stay, or does it get runny?

3rd: If the icing still not stiff enough, pop in back in your mixer bowl, add some more powdered sugar and with the paddle attachment, beat it on medium until stiff peaks form again.

Voila!

I can't even think of a name for this post.

12:57 pm. Motheroffourboysundereight rings me. 'We've just had a massive earthquake, can you let me know what's going on?'

'Where are you?'

'Sitting in car outside home with #3 and #4. I can't get hold of Insertnameofhusband.'

'Are you okay?'

'Yes.' (She's lying).

'I'll call you back.'

Nothing comes up on the internet. Then it does. I try and ring her back. I can't get through.

1:06 Motherof rings back. 'Anything?'

'It's 6.3, but only five kilometres deep. Where are you?'

'Still in the car. I...I...don't know what to do.'

'Go to school and pick up #1 and#2.'

'Okay.'

Papertake Weekly with Peggy Loves Vintage

Hi friends!! Are you having a good start to your week? With it being Tuesday, that means it's time for a new challenge from Papertake Weekly, and this week is sketch week! I don't know if you've ever used any of Dawny's sketches, but they are always soooo fabulous and easy to follow! We are being sponsored by Simon Says Stamp this week too, so you have a chance at a fabulous prize!!

  For my card this week, I combined an image from Peggy Loves Vintage (image is from Cutie Couples 1 cutouts) with Dawny's sketch which made this card so quick and easy!! Also, don't forget to pop over to visit Peggy on her blog. She's a truly generous soul and loves to post free images for your pleasure. So be sure to become a follower so you don't miss any!! And please leave her some love for the free images, too!

 I just printed the cute image out on Bazzill cardstock, combined it with some Nitwit Collections papers (Luv Bugs), added a bow along with a  heart made with Nesties, and called it done. Please be sure and visit Papertake Weekly to see what the rest of the fabulously talented design team has come up with, and then we'd love it if you'd grab your paper and glue and play along with our challenge! You might win an awesome prize from Simon Says Stamp! Thanks for stopping by to see me today and hope to see you back again soon! Hugs! 

Magnolia-licious blog hop - Spring themed Mini challenge!!

Good morning, happy Monday, and welcome to the Magnolia-licious Design Team monthly blog hop for February!!  I'm the first stop along the hop this month, but be sure you visit the Magnolia-licious Highlites blog to see how you can participate in the challenge for a chance to win a magnificent prize from Diana and Magnolia-licious! All the hoppers will be listed there as well, so you can pop back there if you should get lost along the way. 

 This month we've got lots of "Mini" fun planned for you! The challenge is to use only Mini Magnolia stamps and make it spring themed! So I took that challenge and made a Mini Magnolia word book!  Now there are TONS of pictures to show, so I apologize for the length of this. But I'll make it worth your while to stay until the end by enticing you with a wee bit of calorie free candy!  Let me preface the pictures by telling you which images I used from Magnolia-licious:  Mini #268 Little Bunny Tilda, Mini #3027 Chicken Tilda, Mini #3028 Tilda with Three Flwers, Mini #452 Two Eggs, Mini #3047 So Spooky Tilda (with her broom cut off),  Mini #341 Tilda Blowing Hearts, Hippity Hoppity Easter mini sized images, #1 Vintage Tag Doohickey die, #18 Rose Leaf Doohicky die, and the Doohickey die flourish which I don't see in stock at the moment. Now here's lots of pics for which I'll be nice and quiet... (you can click on the pics for a nice close up, but please ignore all the mistakes!)

All cardstock used is Bazzill, all DP are from Nitwit Collections,  images were colored with Copic sketch markers (sorry...didn't keep track). The word book was cut with my Pazzle Inspiration first in chipboard, then in the paper.  I used various Martha Stewart border punches throughout, as well as some flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts and Prima. The glittered hearts I used are from Melissa Frances which I've had for about two years (I was so in love with them that I bought three sets of them LOL!)  Now it's time to head over to my fabulously talented design team sister, Barb! But before you go, if you leave a comment on this post before 11:59 Pacific, Feb 25th, you will have a chance to win #221 Ribbon Hair Tilda.

You can see her on a card right HERE. So please hop on over to Barb's blog and see what yummy creation she has to show you today. Thanks so much for hopping with us today, and can't wait to see what you come up with for the challenge! Have a great week! Hugs!!

Modern Bird Studios (very cool giveaway!)

It may come as a shock, but occasionally I think of things other that food.  (Usually, these thoughts come while I'm snacking.)

Anyway....I ran across Modern Bird Studios over at Today's Creative Blog one day and was just blown away.

This husband and wife team take a photograph and TRANSFORM it into the coolest art piece using wood and paint.

{Not only do they produce these incredible works of art, but Gregg & Megan are just some of the funniest people around.  They even interviewed me for their blog....ever wondered who would win a cage match between powdered sugar and granulated sugar?  We discuss.}

To say that I love our piece from Modern Bird is an understatement.  Seeing it in person, my husband & I were just amazed by how cool it turned out.

We used this picture of kiddo:


And here is the finished product from Modern Bird:


Wow, right?  It's in our office and it makes me so happy every time I see it. 

SO.  Modern Bird Studios is offering one winner a $250 gift certificate!!!  Wow!


To enter (required):

• Go check out the Modern Bird Studios Portfolio and leave a comment with your favorite piece.

Want extra entries?  Yes, you do. (Leave a separate comment for each.):

• Follow Modern Bird on Twitter
• Like Modern Bird on Facebook
• Tweet it! Tweet

{Open to US and Canada. Previous winners not eligible. Winner will be chosen Thursday, February 24th, 8pm CST.}

Want to make a purchase now?  Enter code BAKEAT350 for a 15% discount.

True Grit is just that.

I went and saw True Grit in the weekend. I really enjoyed it, it's a rollicking old watch with a few surprises that made me leap from my seat. 14 year old Hailee Steinfield is amazing.

It's a remake and I really liked what John Wayne said when he won the 1969 Oscar for best actor, 'If I'd known that, I would have put that eye patch on thirty-five years earlier'.

But one thing did strike me as odd in this version, I didn't realise that they had teeth whitening back in the wild west. Well, Matt Damon had found some witch doctor who carried it out and then obviously shot him, because everybody else could have done with a visit to a dentist.

Babies, Bread & Beautiful Bloggers. . .

Babies:
My *little* sister just had her 3rd baby last month.  Her 3rd boy.  A beautiful, healthy, chunky little boy named Leo. ♥

{So, she now has a 4 year-old, a one-year-old, a newborn and a good case of sleep-deprivation. ;)}

Bread:
It's always been my philosophy that new mothers need a little sugar high to make it through the day.....or at least until naptime. 

Enter Poppy Seed Bread that makes TWO loaves and is perfect to freeze and drop off to a new mommy.

The bread is oh-so-moist....I'm no expert, but it might have something to do with the 1+ cups of oil in the recipe.
 
It is SO good just sliced and served plain for breakfast, or a snack, or for dessert.  It's a multi-tasker.

Beautiful Bloggers:
You may know that we lost my mom to cancer over 10 years ago.  Kiddo was 1 and I feel so lucky that he had her in his life, even if it was only for a year.

Mom made the quilt for kiddo's bed....and she started a small quilt for him to have to carry around.  But she got too sick to finish it.

I'm not good with a needle and thread.  So, this little quilt was in a bag that I've carried from house to house to house.  And a couple months before baby Leo was born, I found it!

Here's what it looked like (the top was put together, batting and back attached with pins and bits of thread.):

On a whim, I tweeted something like, "Anyone interested in finishing a baby quilt in exchange for cookies.....or cash?"  

I'm not kidding, 5 seconds later, sweet Robyn from Earthbound Chronicles offered to finish it.....FOR THE COOKIES!!!  I think I offered her a few chances to back out....or to take the cash instead.  She wouldn't even let me pay her for shipping.

Here's how the quilt looks now:
 
Absolutely gorgeous!!!  And take a gander at this adorable, darling, perfect trim that Robyn added...

 

{Oh, I love it!}

So, now baby Leo has a little piece of something his Gigi made.....with a BIG dash of love from a sweet blogger we've never even met.

{Y'all....I never expected blogging to bring me to tears, but it does. What I love the most about blogging & tweeting is what I never expected.....meeting the most amazing, creative, generous souls on earth.}

Thank you SO MUCH, Robyn.  {I still think you should have taken the cash.} ;)

Poppy Seed Bread
{adapted from Mary Engelbreit's Fan Fare}

1 & 1/2 cups milk
3 eggs
1 & 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 & 1/2 tsp. pure almond extract
1 cup + 2 TBSP vegetable oil
2 & 1/2 cup sugar
3 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 & 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 & 1/2 tsp. coarse salt
1 & 1/2 TBSP poppy seeds

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease sides and bottoms of two 9x5" loaf pans.

In a large bowl on low speed, beat together the milk, eggs, vanilla, extracts and oil.

Add in the sugar, flour, baking powder and salt.  Beat for 2 minutes.  Stir in the poppy seeds.

Divide the batter between the two loaf pans and bake 50-60 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool in wire racks in the pans 10 minutes, then remove from pans and let cool completely.

To freeze, wrap cooled loaf in heavy-duty foil.  Thaw at room temperature several hours or overnight.

The End of Summer is Nigh...

...and I'm not at all happy about it.

If I had my way we would roast gloriously in summer all year around. While I have nothing really to grumble about just yet as we're still playing around in the beautiful mid-to-late twenties, I have noticed a slight edge is creeping in to the mornings. This morning I noticed it was 15 degrees instead of 18 as I came to work. I realise I am being a bit of drama queen about it, but it's just the fact that I know that summer shall soon back her bags and go visit some place else.

However. All is not lost. I have a solution.

I shall start getting up later.

Community service message for the week: always put the lid on the paint.

A friend of mine sent me these photos. I think they are just gold.

So the people in the blue car had a 25-litre bucket of paint on the back seat....that obviously went on its own voyage of self discovery.....

You could be forgiven for thinking that a carload of mimes have been in an accident.

Apparently the ambulance driver wouldn't let the female paramedic out of the ambulance because she couldn't stop laughing.

He said it was unprofessional.