Cowboy Cookies

This recipe is from Baked Explorations. by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito. There are so many wonderful recipes in this book you should check it out. I bought this book a while back and baked these cookies just after I bought it. I have not had a chance to write about them.
They were easy to put together. I sometimes feel let down when I find out that I have to refrigerate the dough before baking. *sigh. I do, however, love pretzel and chocolate combination. I thought that this recipe was very delicious and the whole family enjoyed it very much. Make these cookies and enjoy:)

Cowboy Cookies

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups rolled oats
14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, cool but not cold, cut into 1-inch cubes
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
2 cups semisweet chocolate chunks (about 12 oz)
3/4 cup thin salty pretzels (about 1 1/2 ounces), broken into tiny pieces but not crushed into dust

Makes about 36 cookies

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the oats and stir to combine.
2. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars together until smooth and creamy. Add the egg and egg yolk, beating until the mixture looks light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, add the vanilla, and beat for 5 seconds. Dissolve the espresso powder in 1/4 cup hot water and add it to the bowl, mixing until combined.
3. Add half of the dry ingredients and mix for 15 seconds. Add the remaining dry ingredients and beat until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and fold in the chocolate chunks and 1/2 cup of the pretzel pieces.
4. Cover the bowl tightly and refrigerate the dough for at least 4 hours.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
6. Use a small ice cream scoop with a release mechanism to scoop out dough in 2 tablespoon-size balls (or use a tablespoon measure) and place the dough balls onto the prepared baking sheet about 1-inch apart. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup pretzel pieces over the dough balls. Use the palm of your hand to press flatten the ball and push the pretzel pieces into the dough.
7. Bake for 11 to 13 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time, until the edges of the cookies are golden brown or just start to darken.
8. Set the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes to cool. Use a spatula to transfer the cookies to the rack to cool completely. They can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

~Michelle

I Attended a Craft Show

I attended a craft show this past weekend at this amazing performing arts and community center that originally opened in 1897. The building is The Lancaster Opera House in Lancaster, NY. It is also the town hall. For more information on the building check out their website.

The show was on the performance floor at the top of the stairs where you would attend a show. The booths were set up where the seats would normally be and there were some fundraising booths on the stage. I didn't take any photographs because I'm not sure how people would respond.

I went mainly to see how people set up their booths and check out their displays. I was also curious about pricing. Everyone had nice displays and good pricing. I bought a pair of earrings and a fabric checkbook holder that I needed desperately.

The floor is not that big and there were around nine jewelry sellers among the bunch. It seemed like jewelry was the majority. I did take notice that the two items that I purchased from two different sellers did not charge tax. I saw one seller of jewelry that had her tax information in view.

I really don't know if craft shows are for me. I really had a wonderful time at the two home parties that I had hosted for me.

I hope that everyone that had a booth there had a successful show.

~Michelle

Chocolate Chip Cake

Vintage Recipe

The month was October and the year was 1978; I was turning 7 on Halloween. I'm sure the last thing on my mind was baking a cake; eating a cake, maybe. My Aunt used to bake me the most wonderfully decorated cakes for my birthdays and I'm sure that she made a cake for my 7th birthday as well.I have so many recipe books and magazines I don't even know exactly know what I have. Here is a recipe from a book that I received from my mother-in-law when she was cleaning out her collection. The book was published in 1978. It is just one of those small magazine style books. Just look at the price!!

Chocolate Chip Cake is the only recipe I have made from this book. I love cake with sour cream in the ingredients list. I should actually give some other recipes a chance, but you know, when you find a go to recipe you just have to go-to-it. I decided to make this cake the other night for no reason really. The cake is so delicious and absolutely a great cake to serve with coffee for dessert or breakfast for that matter. It is also very simple and would be terrific to take somewhere. The top forms a little crust from the cinnamon and sugar that when mixed with the chocolate is divine.


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Make this recipe and enjoy with friends or family.


Chocolate Chip Cake (recipe from Simply from Scratch magazine)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups sour cream
2/3 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
6-oz. pkg. (1 cup) semi-sweet chocolate pieces (or more if you are like me)

Heat oven to 350F (325 F for glass pan) Grease 13x9-inch pan. (lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off.) In large bowl, combine first nine ingredients. Blend 1 minute at low speed; beat 3 minutes at medium speed. Pour half of batter (about 2 1/2 cups) into greased pan. In small bowl, combine 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle half of sugar mixture and chocolate pieces over batter. Repeat with remaining batter, sugar mixture and chocolate pieces. Bake 35 to 40 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.


~Michelle

Apple Caramel Cupcakes

I baked some cupcakes for the return of a co-worker to work after a long 5 month absence. I probably should have made him some carrots and hummus or something like that. But everyone knows I like to bake so what else could I do? except bake. right?

The recipe is from A Bakers Field Guide to Cupcakes

Ingredients

Streusel:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

2/3 cup sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Cupcakes:

18 paper liners

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temp.

cut into small pieces

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

2 large eggs

1 cup sour cream

2/3 cup peeled and diced Granny Smith apples

18 caramels

Directions

1. To make the streusel, in a large bowl, stir together melted butter, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and salt until well combined. Stir in flour until smooth. Mixture should clump and form "crumbs" when squeezed between fingertips. Set aside.


2. To make the cupcakes, preheat oven to 350 F. Place paper liners in all wells of one 12-cup and one 6-cup cupcake tin.


3. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a small bowl to aerate and combine; set aside.


4. In a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add sugar gradually, beating until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scrapping down the bowl once or twice. Beat in extracts. Beat in eggs one at a time, scraping down after each addition, allowing each egg to be absorbed before continuing. Add the flour mixture in 4 additions, alternating with the sour cream. Begin and end with the flour mixture, stopping when there are still a few streaks of flour.


5. Fold the chopped apples into the plain cupcake batter. Fill each paper liner about one-quarter of the way full with batter. Top with a bit of streusel, then fill with remaining batter. Top with remaining streusel. Bake for about 22-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center shows a few moist crumbs. Cool pans on racks for 5 minutes, then remove cupcakes to cooling racks to cool completely.


6. Melt caramels in top of double boiler or in microwave. Drizzle over the cooled cupcakes. I added some milk to make a little smoother.

These turned out really good. I should have put a few more apples in them. The texture was kind of a crumb/coffee cake, which I love.

~Michelle

Satin Ribbons, Pearls and Scarves

It's not easy keeping up with blogging. I don't know how people that have full time jobs, families and crafts and house work get everything done. My virtual hat is off to you.

Here are a few items that are coming to my shop. The one at the top of the photo is chain and satin ribbon and some glass pearls all braided together and have a toggle clasp.


The next one has cream and chocolate glass pearls and are hanging from a ribbon that goes around your neck and ties.

The last one is a triple strand of glass pearls in black and cream with a black satin ribbon for the tie around the neck. You can make it several lengths.

I think that I will be making some different versions of these necklaces over the next couple of days and weeks.

I am preparing for another home show at a friends house.




















I make jewelry and this is what I chose to wear to work the other day... a knotted scarf:) I used to wear scarves so often a friend of mine, who shall remain nameless with the initials WS, called me Scarf Woman for a time in the '90s.
~Michelle

Pumpkin, Chocolate Chip and Walnut Loaf Cake

This recipe is from Dying for Chocolate . It's a rainy Saturday fall afternoon and I felt like baking something. It really does not take a rainy day for me to bake something though.

I had purchased some canned pumpkin in case I wanted to bake. I googled 'chocolate and pumpkin' and found this recipe. It is so delicious. It's so moist and chocolately, but I do think that maybe next time I will use fewer nuts. I took the cake to my mom's house on Sunday for dessert and everyone loved the flavor. My mom and I agreed that there were just a few too many nuts.

I did not get a chance to take a picture of the cake, maybe next time. It did quickly disappear.
~Michelle

Working Hard

I have been working hard on some new things now that the kids are back in school. My oldest son is almost 9 and on the left and my youngest son is 7 and on the right. This was the first day of school.

I have trying to get some things made and priced and photographed and listed. I am also planning on bringing the jewelry to work because the girls that I work with love to buy new jewelry. And in November I am doing a home show at a friends house.

I am going to list a new swarovski necklace in a peridot and sterling silver. I'm working on a white swarovski pearl bracelet with a metal circle as the focal point.

While the kids were at school the other day I was listening to the radio and working hard, in the dining room, creating and photographing and just having a wonderful time.

Here is a photo of the evidence.

~Michelle

MyMichelle Jewelry