favorite moments from 2013!

i started the year off by completing my second half marathon! my first one was in high school, which seems like a worlds away, so this one really did kind of feel like a first. it was definitely a huge accomplishment, and i hope to do a third in 2014!

i graduated from clemson university!

we went to the bahamas on a mission trip with our church.

we celebrated our 1 year anniversary and took a trip to litchfield beach.

scofield got a new job and we moved into a new home in greenville. we've had so much fun exploring our new town....

...like visiting the farmer's market and the neue southern food truck.

we spent summer days at the lake with friends and family.

i got to accompany my husband to camp (as the proud wife, i am) and watch him speak for the weekend. it was kind of like a mini vacation.

we celebrated scofield's birthday with a surprise party. i can hardly ever surprise him [he's too smart..or maybe i'm not sneaky enough?] so it was a big deal for me.

...and i made this blackberry and beet chocolate cake for him.

we took a couple of trips to the mountains over the year...one for a wedding near montreat and another to camp buc in sapphire, nc for a vacation with the family.

i made this pumpkin pizza [my favorite savory recipe from the year.]

and these s'more cookies...my favorite dessert recipe from the year.

we went apple picking and ate these amazing donuts.

i got to take some fun pictures with my sweet friend jessi for her photography portfolio. 

we drove on the blue ridge parkway for my birthday.

and for my absolutely favorite moment..i got to visit best friend in new york during christmas time! 

here's to 2013! i can't wait to see what 2014 has in store!

christmas morning

i remember i was in high school when christmas lost it's magic. ya know...i wasn't counting down the days to christmas eve anymore, i didn't try to sneak a peek at my presents, and it just kind of came and went. it was that confusing time between being a kid and an adult, not really sure how christmas fell into all that. little did i know that the holidays were sure to get better every year. we don't have any little ones around to wake us up at the crack of dawn, or to watch unwrap presents with all their joy and excitement [although we can't wait for that!!], but christmas where we are now is pretty great. we stayed with our family on christmas eve and slept until 10:30 on christmas day...10:30! i can't remember the last time i got to sleep in that late. we wandered upstairs, opened our stockings, ate breakfast, and marinated in the day. i've gotta say...the holidays have always been my favorite time of year and they are still pretty magical.

^ my sweet, precious sister-in-law made me this mug for christmas. it's one of my favorite gifts from this year! i swore it was from anthropologie when i opened it...but, nope. all her! she's pretty great.

^ scofield borrowed band of brothers from a friend a few weeks ago, and watched the whole series while i was away in new york. he had been talking about it ever since, so of course he was so excited when he got a copy of his own [thanks santa!]. we've been watching it the past couple of days, and wow it's emotional, intense, and eye-opening.

and now, for my favorite gift of all.....

my new pouf!! i've been wanting one ever since we moved into our new place. we have a few chairs in our small living room, but you can't really lounge in them and we're always wanting to prop our feet up. i searched online and found one i liked, but this one is far more beautiful than i even dreamed!! seriously..i'm in love.

i hope you had a very merry christmas! now, on to the new year!

12 days of christmas cookies: white chocolate mocha cookies

i know, i know, it's the day after christmas. but i have one more christmas cookie recipe to share with you. my starbuck's guilty pleasure is definitely a white chocolate mocha. something about it screams "holidays" to me. maybe it's because it is so rich, delicious, and full of sugar. so for all the white chocolate mocha lovers out there, here's a cookie i hope you'll enjoy just as much...

white chocolate mocha cookies

ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tbsp. instant coffee powder
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp. milk
• 1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips

preheat the oven to 350 F. combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl [flour, coffee powder, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder]. in a separate bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. add the egg and vanilla extract. mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. dough will be thick, so add 2 tbsp. milk and continue to mix. fold in the white chocolate chips.

scoop cookie dough onto a baking sheet and bake in the oven at 350 F for 9 minutes. let cool for about 15 minutes before transferring. 

to see more from the 12 days of christmas cookies, go here.

hope you had a very merry christmas!!

12 days of christmas cookies: melting moments cookies by amanda k by the bay

today amanda from amanda k by the bay is so graciously sharing a recipe for the 12 days of christmas cookies series. these are her melting moments cookies,  and as their name says, they melt right in your mouth...a perfect addition to a holiday cookie spread.

melting moments cookies

by amanda of amanda k by the bay

ingredients:

1 cup butter
2 cups flour
2 tbs powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

frosting:
8-12 tbs powdered sugar
2 tbs butter
2 tbs boiling water 
1 tsp vanilla
food coloring optional

1. cream together butter and vanilla. add flour and powdered sugar.
2. form balls. flatten with fork dipped in sugar.
3. bake at 350 until golden.
4. cool on rack, handle very gently. 
5. frost, and form a sandwich. enjoy!

thanks for sharing, amanda! be sure to check out her blog for more of her mouth-watering recipes!

bits of christmas around here

we kept our tree simple this year...i try to pretend its on purpose, but really it's because we still don't have any christmas tree ornaments. well, i take that back...our friend anne gave us our first one this year! its shining on our mantle, though. hopefully we'll have more for our collection next year! 

this pine cone garland is definitely my new favorite christmas decoration. i think i'm going to keep it up all winter. the pine cones give a very wintry feel.

hope you're having a wonderful christmas eve and are spending time with the ones you love!

12 days of christmas cookies: salted caramel chocolate chip

a couple of weeks ago in new york, katie took me to a bakery called ovenly that she swore had "the best chocolate chip cookie in the world." you can see that post here. it was a salted caramel chocolate chip cookie, so when i got home, naturally i had to try and make my own version. new york was my first introduction to the salted caramel chocolate chip combination, and oh my, am i sold. i'm not too big on caramel, but when it's paired with chocolate, i can't get enough!

salted caramel chocolate chip cookie

ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 cup butter [2 sticks], softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg, 1 egg white
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup caramels, chopped
• sea salt

preheat the oven to 350 F. combine the first four ingredients in a mixing bowl. in another bowl, cream the butter and sugar with a hand mixer. add the eggs and vanilla extract. pour the dry ingredients into the wet and mix until fully blended. fold in the dark chocolate chips and the chopped caramel. use a cookie scoop to drop 2 in. thick balls onto a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. sprinkle sea salt on top of each cookie. bake for 9 minutes. remove from heat and top each cookie with a little bit more salt while they're still warm. let cool fully before transferring to a plate.

eggnog ice cream cookie sandwiches

earlier this year, i was allergy-tested and found out i have a wheat sensitivity ... along with many others. i always knew something in my diet was causing me trouble, but i just couldn't put my finger on exactly what it was. since then, i've tried to incorporate more gluten-free foods. while it's not 100% necessary for me [unlike someone with celiac disease] it has still helped tremendously. that's why i was thrilled to discover this Pillsbury Gluten Free Cookie Dough.  these can be stored in your fridge and you can make one, two, or however many cookies you like whenever you like. no prep, no endless list of supplies, and almost no mess. just scoop some dough out onto a pan and bake them at 350 for 12 minutes. just like that...a gluten free delicacy.

on my first experiment with the dough, i decided to make ice cream cookie sandwiches in the spirit of christmas. so, for day 5 of the 12 days of christmas cookies, i have a recipe for eggnog ice cream cookie sandwiches.

don't they look so good!? is your mouth watering like mine?....

eggnog ice cream cookie sandwiches

ingredients:

• eggnog ice cream
• Pillsbury gluten free chocolate chip cookie dough

scoop dough onto a cookie sheet using a cookie scoop. following the directions on the container, bake the dough at 350 F for 11-13 minutes. remove from the oven and let cool. once the cookies are cooled, transfer half of them to a plate with the top of the cookie facing down. using the same cookie scoop from earlier, scoop eggnog ice cream onto the flat side of each cookie. top with the remaining cookies and place in the freezer to solidify. 

when ready to eat, remove from the freezer and enjoy immediately.

you can find this Pillsbury gluten free cookie dough with the other cookie dough products in many of your local grocery stores.

you can also follow Pillsbury's pinterest board for more baking inspiration here.

merry christmas and happy baking!

--

this post is is sponsored by Pillsbury. all opinions and comments are my own.

12 days of christmas cookies: day 04

yesterday my mom graduated from nursing school. 2nd career at age 50...yeah mom! you're an inspiration! so after graduation we decided to throw a little party to celebrate. in preparation for the party, i made three different cookie recipes - one of them being these peppermint mocha chocolate chip cookies (above). i rushed over to my parents house, baked for three hours, and then helped set up for the party. with the table set up and the cookies laid out, i left for work. now, my parents have two dogs... one precious bichon named kira, and then a large lab named max. within ten minutes of leaving, i got a call from my mom.... she'd found max dining on top of the kitchen table and... every.single.cookie. was gone. all of them!! three hours worth of baking gone in ten minutes!! ooooooh, i was so upset. and i swear i went through all the stages of grief: denial..."no, no, no, mom...you're confused. the cookies are still there." anger. goooosh, i was steaming. "how could he do that!?" well...he's a dog. that's how. depression..."whyyyyy!? i worked so hard." i could have cried. i almost did cry. a sweet coworker tried to cheer me up. and then, acceptance. what could we do? they were gone. so mom headed to the store and replaced all of my homemade cookies with store bought ones. so in the end, the show went on...homemade cookies, or not.

moral of the story: never leave cookies (especially peppermint mocha chocolate chip cookies) in a kitchen unattended when there is a dog around.

peppermint mocha chocolate chip cookies

ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp. dark chocolate cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tbsp. instant coffee powder
• 2 tsp. cornstarch
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
• 1/2 tbsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips
• 2 tbsp. milk

preheat the oven to 350 F. mix together the first 7 ingredients in a mixing bowl [flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, coffee powder, cornstarch]. in a separate bowl, cream together the butter and sugar with a hand mixer. add the egg, peppermint extract and vanilla extract. pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until fully combined. dough will be thick, so add 2 tbsp. milk to make the mixing easier.

roll the dough out into 2 in. thick balls and place on the baking sheet. bake at 350 F for 9 minutes. remove from heat and let cool for about 10 minutes before transferring.

enjoy immediately, or store for later. whatever you do, just keep them away from your dog...

happy friday!

12 days of christmas cookies: day 03

today i have a pecan pie cookie recipe for you! and if you love pecans, you'll love these...

i've never been big on pecan pie [part of that could have to do with my nut allergies...my husband really thinks i should take them more seriously. he's probably right..] but my dad loves it, so we always have it around our house at the holidays. to mix it up this year, i decided to give him the pecan pie flavor in a cookie. an easier, more portable dessert...and no corn syrup...

pecan pie cookies

ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 cup butter, browned
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tbsp. vanilla extract
• 1 egg, 2 egg whites
• 2 cups crushed pecans, toasted
• small bag of caramels

first, brown the butter. go here for a link that leads to browning directions. and remember...browning butter takes patience. if you aren't sure if it's browned, then it hasn't. once the butter has browned and is ready to be removed from heat, you'll know. once the butter is finished, transfer to a mixing bowl to let cool.

while the butter is cooling, toast the pecans. i put all the pecans in a pan on medium low heat. once it begins to warm, i slowly move it to medium heat. continue to stir the pecans around to make sure they don't burn. they are ready when they have a delicious, nutty aroma and are a deep brown color.

in a mixing bowl, combined flour, salt, and baking powder. in a separate mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. add the eggs and vanilla extract. mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. fold in the toasted pecans. place cookie dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

remove the dough from the refrigerator and preheat the oven to 325 F. use a cookie scoop or spoon to measure out a small ball of dough. place the dough on the cookie pan and top with a caramel candy. take another ball of dough and place it on top of the caramel, pinching the ends of the dough together and flattening the top slightly with your palm. repeat until all of the dough has been used up. bake for 12 minutes.

remove from heat and let cool. now enjoy your pie on the go!

12 days of christmas cookies: day 02

today, i bring to you the s'mores cookie. and they seriously might be my new favorite cookies. and that's saying a lot..considering i've made a lot of cookies in my time. this could have something to do with the fact that i am obsessed with s'mores. obsessed.  i don't believe in only eating one. i will always go for seconds, and typically steal bites from my husband's, too. and of course i'll find any excuse to fit them into any and every holiday... like these christmas s'mores from last year. so to fit them in this year, [considering we haven't spent any time around an outdoor fire..what is our problem!?] i decided to make my favorite treat into a cookie ... my other favorite treat.

s'mores cookies

ingredients:

• 1 cup [2 sticks] butter, browned
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg, 1 egg white
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup crushed graham crackers
• mini marshmallows
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips

start by browning the butter. this is a slow, patient process and jessica from how sweet it is explains it far better than i ever could. seriously, great directions. once the butter has browned, transfer it to a mixing bowl to cool. 

while it is cooling, preheat the oven to 375 F and mix together the dry ingredients. in a separate mixing bowl [from the butter] add the flour, baking powder, salt. 

take a few graham crackers and put them in a large ziploc bag. next, beat the ziploc bag as hard as you can on the counter, with your fists, etc. [it's a great way to relieve some stress..]. that is how you crush your graham crackers. you could always buy graham cracker crumbs, but i prefer the mix of chunkier and smaller pieces. it adds a nice texture. now measure a cup and place them aside.

once the butter has cooled a bit, add the sugar and mix until combined. next, add the vanilla extract and eggs and continue to mix. pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until well combined. now add in the graham crackers and blend it into the dough. fold in the chocolate chips. place in the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes.

once the dough has cooled, take a cookie scoop, or 1-2 tbsp. of dough, and form a ball with your hands. flatten the ball of dough on the prepared cookie sheet. take four mini marshmallows and place them on top of the flattened dough. repeat with another ball of dough, except place it on top of the marshmallows. pinch the ends of the cookie together to make sure no marshmallows are peeking through. flatten the top of the cookie slightly with your hand. repeat with the rest of the dough.

bake at 375 for 10 minutes, remove from heat, and let cool. 

and now..finally..enjoy!!