Crazy for Cookie Dough

I love books, but I don't like to spend money on them when I can get them for free at the library.  I have always been a regular library goer and don't understand why everyone isn't.  They have some good stuff in that  place!  Of course I do not like how my tax dollars are being spent on filling the place up with more and more DVDs.  It's a little off track for me.... How is that supporting literacy? But don't get me started.

Anyway, I was deep in the shelves of the cookbook section looking for some of the newer released books I have seen on the blogs when I came across this :

It was the beginning of a multi-day cookie dough bender.  I couldn't get enough of it and made three recipes in three days.  

I started with the cookie dough donuts.  I am a big fan of donuts, but have never made them before.  I am not crazy about having to use all that oil to fry them so I was happy to these donuts were baked.

The cookie dough for all the recipes is eggless so it is safe to eat raw. They tasted best right out of the oven and had my fill after eating two.

The unglazed donut holes were good too, they tasted like yeast rolls and I ate a few of them too. I love bread and fresh baked bread is even harder to resist.

Next, I started on the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Dough ice cream.  The ice cream base needs to sit overnight so I had to get that going first.   Instead of traditional cookie dough I went with peanut butter because is goes perfectly with chocolate.  The recipe makes A LOT of cookie dough.  This is how much I had to mix into the ice cream even after trying a few hunks.

Homemade ice cream rules and this was excellent!  I like it best when it is in its soft serve consistency right out of the ice cream maker. The only thing I would change next time is to not use all the cookie dough.  I can't believe I'm saying this, but you can have too much in the ice cream and the flavors aren't balanced.

After donuts and ice cream I moved onto cake-Brown Sugar Cookie Dough Layer Cake.  It is a three layer cake with ganache and cookie dough separating the layers of cake.  This is one of my new favorite cakes and I will be making it again. I changed the frosting on my cake to a traditional buttercream.  The one in the book is made with brown sugar and I thought there was enough of that flavor in the cake and cookie dough.  

Brown Sugar Cookie Dough Layer Cake
For Cake
3 cups cake flour
1 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened and cut into pieces
1 1/4 cups whole milk, divided
2 eggs
6 egg whites
2 teaspoons vanilla 


For Cookie Dough
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup whole milk or cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips


For Ganache
3 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream


For Frosting
8 tablespoons butter, softened
3 3/4 cups powdered sugar
3-4 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons vanilla


Prepare three 9 inch round cake pans and preheat oven to 350 degrees.


In large bowl combine cake flour, baking powder, sugars and salt,  Add butter and 1 cup of milk.  Mix on low until evenly moistened, increase speed to medium high and beat for 1-2 minutes until light and fluffy. 


In a small bowl whisk the remaining 1/4 cup milk with whole eggs, egg whites and vanilla.  Add to flour mixture a little at a time mixing well between each addition. Divide batter evenly among three pans.


Bake 22-25 minutes until inserted toothpick comes out clean.  Transfer to a cooling rack. 


Begin making the cookie dough by beating butter and sugars on medium speed for 2-3 minutes. Beat in milk and vanilla.  Add flour and salt until combined and stir in chocolate chips.  Set aside.


To prepare the ganache, place chopped chocolate in heat proof bowl. In small saucepan, heat cream over low heat until it simmers. Pour hot cream over chocolate and let sit for about 30 seconds.  Stir until chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Cool to room temperature. 


For frosting, blend butter in mixing bowl on low speed until fluffy.  Add powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons milk and vanilla. Blend on low until sugar is incorporated.  Increase to medium speed and beat until light and fluffy.  Blend in up to 1 tablespoon milk if frosting is too stiff.

To assemble the cake she recommends leveling each layer prior to stacking.  (I did not and my cake did crack a little)  On each layer spread one-half of cookie dough and top it with one-half of ganache. Cover entire cake with butter cream frosting.


Adapted from The Cookie Dough Lover's Cookbook.

This officially ended my cookie dough craving, at least temporarily.  I loved this cookbook and would consider buying it. There were more recipes I wanted to try, but for another time.

Chocolate Marshmallow Milkshake

In case you haven't heard on the TV, on Twitter, on the internet, or on the radio....it's HOT outside, everywhere!  In times like this you need a way to cool off and that's just what this chocolate shake does in addition to making you feel happy all over from its delicious goodness.

The best part of this milkshake is the light fluffy marshmallow whipped cream.  I could just sit and eat it with a spoon. I keep trying to come up with other things to eat it with.
It is perfect with the dense double chocolatey ice cream. 


This recipe claims to make four shakes, but it's more like two for me. The idea is to create layers of the chocolate milkshake topped with whipped cream and then repeat ending with whipped cream on top. So not only is it heavenly to eat it is also beautiful to look at as you gobble it up.

Chocolate Marshmallow Milkshake
Makes 4 shakes


Marshmallow Whipped Cream
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup marshmallow fluff
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract


Chocolate Milkshake
1 cup cold milk (whole milk is best)
1/4 cup chocolate syrup
3 cups chocolate ice cream

In cold bowl with cold whisk (I put both in the freezer for 5 minutes before I start) add heavy cream, marshmallow fluff and vanilla.  Whisk briskly until stiff peaks form.  Set aside in the refrigerator.  


In a blender combine milk, ice-cream and chocolate syrup.  Blend until smooth.


Fill glasses with layer of chocolate shake, then add some marshmallow cream, now more milkshake and top with cream.


Enjoy!

Santa Fe

I just visited New Mexico for the first time.  I was in Santa Fe for a work related conference.  Talk about perfect weather  - it was heaven!  No humidity, no bugs, cool evenings...... quite a nice change from Florida.   

Many interesting wind vanes.

As a side note, I flew in and out of Albuquerque, NM  and I kept thinking there was a song about that town, but I couldn't remember what it was.  During my travels it came to me... I'll give you a few hints and maybe you can guess it.
1. It was sung by a TV family who had a band. 
2.  They drove around in a multicolored bus.

YES.....The Partridge Family!
Point me in the direction of Albuquerque is not one of their big hits, but I definitely remember the chorus.  I was a fan of this show and thought my family should start a band too.  We didn't.




Although I spent most of my time working, I did get a chance to check out the town's food and shopping.  One night I had dinner at The Anasazi Restaurant located at the Rosewood Inn.  The food was excellent.  I want to recreate this entree but haven't clue if gnocchi is difficult to make or not.

Vegetable Gnocchi

Mexican Brownie

The local cupcake shop - Dream Cakes, had many flavors to choose from and they all sounded good.  At $4.50 a piece I was only going to try one. I got the Ebony and Ivory - half chocolate/half vanilla cupcake filled with caramel topped with half caramel and half chocolate buttercream.  It was beautiful, but not as flavorful and fresh as I was hoping. I still ate half of it anyway.

The shop I liked best was Oleaceae. They sell fresh olive oils, vinegars and sea salts.  It was such a unique place.   The entire store was filled with silver jugs of oils and vinegars that you could taste test, just like you do at the yogurt shop. Plus a large selection of flavored sea salts to try.

It was an incredible experience and I was fascinated by all the flavors.  I tried and liked many from the Tangerine/Clementine white balsamic vinegar to the Chipotle sea salt.

I decided on the Tuscan Herb olive oil and the Tahitian Vanilla dark balsamic vinegar.  I would have never thought I would like vanilla vinegar, but the taste is incredible! I have never eaten anything like it and am having trouble describing the flavor.  It has a savory/sweet thing going on and it tastes great drizzled on yogurt and fruit and is adding a depth of flavor to my summer fruit.

I did find a great pair of shoes here too, that I love.  They make me tall without killing my feet!

I even found $20 bill on the sidewalk during my morning walk through town!  There's nothing like that to make your day! As you can see I was nice enough to put it right back into the economy of Santa Fe.

The highlight of my trip was meeting and listening to the well known educator Ron Clark. He was Disney's Teacher of the Year, a guest on Oprah and the subject of the movie, The Ron Clark Story, starring Matthew Perry. He currently runs a school in Atlanta, GA.

He is an amazing speaker, moving around the entire time and even standing on chairs!  He was funny, inspiring and touching.  He makes you want to be the best  person you can be and to do what's right even when it's not easy. Teachers can make such a difference in the lives of children!

We were given an autographed copy of his most recent book The End of Molasses Classes and I can't wait to read it. 

This was a thrill of lifetime to meet him!

Wild Squirrel Peanut Butter

I have a confession....I watch Shark Tank and I like it.

If you don't know anything about it, here's the premise. Entrepreneurs pitch their big idea to a team of successful "Richy Rich" business people (the sharks) in hopes they will invest in their idea.  The Sharks include some well know faces like Mark Cuban and Barbara Corcoran, but the panel of five have all made it financially and can really make a difference to these starter companies if they can make a deal.

I love all the quirky inventors and ideas on the show, but I like the interaction between the sharks too.  Some of their comments can be snarky, but I find the whole thing very interesting and funny.

When it's a good idea, the sharks fight each other for a chance to invest. I can say I've learned some things about starting a business too.

One of my favorites
A recent pitch from two college undergrads who started making their own peanut butter because they eat so much of it pulled me right in! These girls were smart, confident and articulate and had a good idea with a catchy name Wild Squirrel Nut Butter.

My first reaction was, "Why didn't I think of that?" and then "Why aren't I making my own peanut butter?"  After that passed I knew I wanted to try their peanut butter. The flavors sounded unique and yummy. They make both almond and peanut butter flavors but these two sounded the best to me. The product is not in stores near me so I ordered mine online.

I chose the Honey Pretzel Peanut Butter.  It has crunchy pretzel pieces in it with a sweetness of honey.

The other one I got was Chocolate Coconut.  This is incredible!  Better than I imagined! But how could that combination be bad? You get the benefit of chocolate but it doesn't overpower the peanut butter taste like some other chocolate peanut butters do. It is great in smoothies! I've heard oatmeal too, but I'm not an oatmeal fan so I can't confirm that.

I have tried them both in pb & j sandwiches, on fruit, by the spoon, with marshmallow fluff (really like the chocolate coconut with it) and it was all good!

Not only is peanut butter tasty, it is made with real, natural food ingredients and no preservatives, high fructose corn syrup or palm oil.

Now that I'm crazy about this peanut butter I may be a regular customer.  Just in case your interested they are having a 15% off sale right now until June 17.  Just enter the code FATHERSDAY at checkout.

I am sharing this with you because its good food! I did not receive any compensation for my review, it is all my own.  I choose to support companies that share my approach to sustainable food production and make good food.

This weekend I am off to Chicago to run the Chicago 13.1 Marathon. I was lucky enough to win an entry from Emily @ Out and About.  Chicago is especially fun for me because I get to see my daughter Cate @ Good For You Blog and she is a great hostess. We have lots of food and fun planned!

Monster Bash Dash

Saturday night Dessert Man and I ran the Monster Bash Dash. We ran with a group of friends and called ourselves the Terrifying Teachers.  It was a trail run with frightening obstacles along the way.  The race started at 8:20pm. It was light when we started, but darkness fell soon after.

Source

 The trail was hilly, bumpy, sandy and twisty with the added difficulty of avoiding monsters and zombies along the way who tried to get you.

Really they were trying to grab one of two flags each of us were wearing.  Our goal was to finish the race with at least one flag left.

My strategy was to speed by the zombies while they were pursuing someone else.   They were tricky and that didn't always work.

We were required to wear a head lamp and I decided to wear one that attached to my running hat. Big mistake- it was so heavy that it weighed my hat down (note wonky tilt of hat in photo) and I had to take it off and hold it during the run.

They spent a lot of time preparing the course. There were skulls, bones and bodies scattered throughout. There were also sections that were covered in plastic tunnels that we had to run through, without much visibility.  A great hiding place for the bad guys.  

About halfway through I lost one of my flags to a zombie.  Not knowing what to expect in the second half, I was worried I may lose them both.  Despite the on-slaught of blood balloons, and determined zombies, I survived with one flag!

Those who finished with a flag were considered Survivors and received this shirt.

We also got a cool medal for finishing.

Runners who did not survive, like Dessert Man got this shirt. Not that I'm rubbing it in or anything.

This race was a definitely a different experience and very unique.  Running a trail at night with people chasing you is an adrenaline rush!  Glad it was just for fun. I am not cut out for horror films.

Do I need to update my activity tracking gear?

This is what I'm jonesin for 

BodyMedia Fit Armband

BUT this  is what I'm wearing 

Pedometer

Let's see...

*BodyMedia captures about 5,000 data points per minute and tracks your sleep habits the pedometer counts one (every step I take)

*BodyMedia costs $200 + a monthly subscription fee, the pedometer was free 

So the decision was easy - I have a pedometer and it fits nicely into my budget as well as letting me know in a glance if I am moving like a sloth or the energizer bunny.  

I clipped the pedometer on last week when I re-found it in my daughter's room. I want to know how active I am outside of my planned exercise. 

I work in a cubicle in an office building and although I sit on an exercise ball instead of a chair, I don't walk around a lot.  At home, I hardly sit down, but I want to know if that equals out, or if I am kidding myself.  

For now I am using the number of steps I take in a day to help me figure it out. 

  

My daily goal is a minimum of 10,000 steps or about 5 miles. I have been running at least 4 miles 3-4 days a week so on those days I am definitely moving enough. 

BUT - The results on the other days are dismal. 
I am barely logging in 3,500 steps by the time I get home (less than 2 miles)  Seeing these bad results, I have made an effort to move more but my typical work day is pretty sedentary.(sigh) 


I don't walk 10,000 steps without going for a run or a walk. That means I need to schedule one every day.  The thought of having to do that every day doesn't excite me. I like my rest days when I don't have to do anything even though I might choose to.
  
What I learn from counting my steps is good information, but I want more. 
I want to know exactly how many calories I burn doing regular every day things. And know exactly how many calories I burn on my slow runs versus faster runs, or weight lifting, cycling, gardening or housework.  That's what the BodyMedia can do and that's why I want it.  


I think knowing which activities burn the most calories will motivate me to do that more.  Right now I am cardio queen, but I know I should be doing more weight training.  If I found out that weight training was a good way to burn calories, I might do it more.  I am a fact kind of girl and you can't argue with data.

Right now, my practical side (the angel) is winning. But the other side is saying, "You need it, you should buy it"  I want the Body Media but I don't want to spend the money and then stop using it after a few months or be hasty and fool myself into thinking it will solve all my fitness/weight issues.


I need some help - If you have any experience or knowledge about this kind of system and its value. Please let me know what you think.

Terramundi Money Pots

I try to save money where ever I can. Couponing, bypassing toll roads, packing my lunch and cooking from scratch are a few of the things I do, but one of my favorite is saving silver coins in a Terramundi  Money Pot. After we received one as a gift, we have been hooked on them.  They are fun and come in all kinds of funky designs and colors.

Unlike a traditional piggy bank, you can't get your money out of these unless you break it open.  Each pot comes with a small card on which you record a wish and the date, then drop it in the pot with the first silver coin.   Once that first coin is dropped in, your money pot must be fed until it is full.  At that time 
you smash it while making a wish. 


When we couldn't squeeze one more coin in the pot we busted it open.  With our first pot we just  dropped the it on the sidewalk and then collected all the pieces.  Kinda of messy.

This time we put the pot in one of our reusable grocery store bags and whacked it on the ground.  A much smarter approach.  Not some many small pieces and everything was contained.


Before counting, we each wrote down our guess for the total.  Our pot was about 7 inches tall and was only filled with silver coins, no pennies.  Dessert man was only putting in quarters, but I  put in some nickels and dimes too, which I found out while counting was a BIG no-no. Ooops! "Think of how much more money we would have had if those other coins hadn't been taking up that space?" Uh - $5?


Be both over estimated the amount, but were happy to see we had $226.60 worth of coins. Sweet! Then we rolled it instead of taking it to the coin machine because we didn't want to pay 8% charge for the service.

We put the first coin in this pot on Dessert Man's birthday February of 2009.  You are supposed to write down a wish too, but for some reason we didn't. Neither of us can remember why. This was one of the smaller pots, but the larger pots can hold up to $500 in nickels, dimes and quarters.  Who doesn't love discovering a stash of cash you didn't know you had?  

I have since learned we should have opened the pot more gently by popping off the top  and could have saved the bottom piece for a planter or holder of something. Next time, I hope to open it like this:

I guess that means I need to buy another one.