coconut macaroons

Apparently all the rage in Paris centuries ago, these cookies are pretty epic.

I found for them to be a very simple (more simple - believe it or not - than my one-bowl chocolate cake recipe) and great treat to whip up for company or parties.

I also just have to mention that these cookies are extremely low-cal compared to many other sugary sweets. Not that I particularly care, but it does help when your conscience weighs in as you go to grab another 1-2 for taste :).

Without further ado, here's the recipe:

2 2/3 c flaked coconut

2/3 sugar

1/3 flour

1/4 t salt

3 egg whites

1/2 t vanilla

Preheat oven to 325F. Stir all ingredients together in a mixing bowl and drop mixture (teaspoon sized) onto a greased baking sheet. Bake for 20 mins, or until edges are light brown. Bon Appetit! [You can also garnish with chocolate. Melt chocolate and dip cooled cookies until the mix. My preference = dark chocolate.]

Cookies!

It's not that I haven't been wanting to put the apron on and bake lately, it's just that I haven't made time for it. My free time has been limited and rather than spend this time on baking, I've been doing more cleaning, organizing and reading.

I wanted to bake something with a fall theme, but while still being relatively healthy. This is why I decided to make: dark chocolate maple & brown sugar oatmeal cookies. In case you were wondering, oatmeal is what make these cookies healthy. :) I have a loose scale for defining healthy.

It smells absolutely delightful on our apartment right now. Sweet and spicy. These cookies will be perfect when coupled with apple cider.

Without further ado, here's the recipe:

1 c packed brown sugar

1/2 c sugar

1 t baking powder

1/4 t baking powder

3/4 c softened butter

2 eggs

1-1/2 c flour

1 t vanilla

2 c oatmeal

chocolate chips to taste

Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes until golden brown.

Wedding season.

It has been the summer of l.o.v.e. - - a summer of weddings. Seems like next summer will be the same way... How very exciting! We really enjoy being part of the celebration (and on the other side of the table). It always makes me think back to our special day. Sometimes I wish you could celebrate anniversaries the same way you do birthdays -- with all your family and friends.

I really enjoyed the whole planning process. Making invitations. Shopping around for a deal (steal) on flowers. Making jewelry. And more. Most of all, I think I enjoyed being able to do it all with pm and my mother. It was stressful at times, but for the most part we made the best of it and have lots of fun along the way.

Today I have a terrible sweet tooth, and as I was looking through photos we've taken recently to include in my post, I can across this photo. This cake was absolutely delicious. Light, fluffy and moist. Three things that are very hard to find in a wedding cake. I've never been one to make vanilla cakes, but this photo has inspired me to try it again. I think I need come up with a one-bowl vanilla cake recipe. That way my one-bowl chocolate cake recipe will not have to be my only fall back plan when I need a dessert whipped up fast.

I am thinking that this upcoming week is going to be the week of the tomato. More to come on that though. Time to eat. :)

A case of the Mondays...

Monday snuck up again; after all, it was a busy weekend. In fact, it was a very busy DIY (do-it-yourself; and yes, you already knew that!) weekend, as we successfully bottled two home brews: Chocolate Bock & Smashing Amber Ale.

We did the chocolate bock first, and without having done this one first our amber never would have even been named. It would have just been "amber ale." The bottling of the amber turned out to be glass shattering event.

We have a real system down with bottling. AM does the siphoning and pouring into bottles, and PM does the capping. (The capping takes more strength; the pouring more patience.) Two of the bottles must have had weak necks, otherwise the strength we gained from the chocolate bock was just too much for two said bottles. Lucky for us no one was injured. Unlucky, however, because we lost four bottles of the brew.

*s*

So hear I find myself on a Monday wondering what the next brew batch should be. Any suggestions? :)

Anyway, I have a case of the Mondays; and we have more than one case of home brews. Guess life could be worse. :)