Nutella Cookies

Yum yum! I love Nutella! In the beginning of my pregnancy the only thing I could eat for breakfast was a bagel with Nutella and crunchy peanut butter.  


Now that I have enough energy to bake again (yay!) I wanted to start with a comfort food and Nutella won out. I wanted a new recipe and found this one on www.allrecipes.com. 


I also have to point out that my hubby, Andy, enjoyed these cookies but requested powdered sugar on top! 

Ingredients
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 pinch salt
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup Nutella

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine the graham cracker crumbs, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.

3. Add the egg, vanilla, and Nutella and mix by hand until well blended. 

4. Form the mixture into 1 1/2-inch balls and place on a baking sheet 2 inches apart.

5. Bake in the preheated oven until crispy on the outside, 8 to 10 minutes. Allow to rest on cookie sheet a few minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool.

Baking v Pregnancy

I can't believe how long it's been since I baked anything! No seriously, I haven't baked ANYTHING! I have barely even cooked anything besides mac and cheese and grilled cheese let alone whip up a batch of cookies.

The first trimester really kicked my butt. Now, I am safely into my second trimester (18 weeks tomorrow) and anxious to get baking and cooking again. So, thank you for your patience. I have received a few emails from you-not-so-patient people but I'll be back on track soon!

In the meantime, here is a pic of the bump to tide you over!

Hot Mulling Cider

This recipe is perfect for cold winter nights. It's easy and delicious! 

Ingredients

1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. dried ground orange peel
1 tsp. ground allspice
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and stir well until well blended. Divide into 1/4 cup single serving portions for gift giving (perfect size for baby food jars) or in a larger jar for entire mix.

Directions
To make one serving, add 1/4 up hot mulling spice mix with 1 cup apple juice or wine and 1/4 cup water. Heat on stove and serve.

Whirlwind few weeks!

As many of you know, Andy and I were fortunate enough to have an unexpected trip to watch the Badgers play in The Rose Bowl. We drove down to Nashville, flew to San Diego, and then drove to Santa Monica. It was a crazy time, but overall, I have extremely grateful to John, Andy's very generous boss for taking us down there.

Because of this whirlwind I haven't had time to clean my house let alone bake something. I promise I will soon! In the meantime, here are a few pics from our trip to admire!

Christmas Gifts

I wanted to prove that there are other people who get to enjoy what I bake besides myself and my husband. To be honest, Andy knows that most of the food is off limits and doesn't get to eat as much as he would like. 

The refrigerator and freezer are now empty after I bagged the goodies as a gift for my teachers! 

Red Velvet Brownies

I have recently fallen in love with all things Red Velvet. I have to give PF Changs a shout out for their Red Velvet Cake....it's to die for and it's served in a tall shot glass. I have been searching for an interesting Red Velvet Cake recipe for awhile and finally found this one on www.bakedperfection.com. I just served these brownies to my teachers at school and they loved them! 

Red Velvet Layer:1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup cocoa powder
Pinch salt
1 tablespoon red food coloring
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
2 eggs
3/4 cup all-purpose flour

Cream Cheese Layer:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8 by 8-inch baking pan, and set aside.

Brownie layer: Add melted butter to a large bowl and add the sugar, vanilla, cocoa powder, salt, food coloring, and vinegar, in that order, mixing between additions. Whisk the eggs in a small bowl and stir it into the cocoa mix. Fold in the flour until lightly combined. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, saving 1/4 cup of the batter for the top.

Cream cheese layer: Blend together the cream cheese, sugar, egg, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Gently spread the cream cheese layer on top of the brownie batter in the pan. Dollop the remaining brownie batter over the cream cheese layer. Using a skewer or the tip of a knife, drag the tip through the cream cheese mixture to create a swirl pattern. Bake the brownies for 30 minutes. Remove to a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely before cutting.

Chocolate Coffee Mix

I came across this recipe when I was browsing food blogs. I found this super cute website, www.singforyoursupperblog.com and this recipe quickly stuck out. Ask my husband or even my assistant director at school, that I am not approachable until I have my cup of coffee in the morning. And like most women, chocolate always puts me in a good mood! 

As soon as my driveway was plowed from being in a Blizzard Warning for two days, I drove to pick up the ingredients that I needed to make this. The plan is to give it away as gifts to help everyone start their day off right! 

Chocolate Coffee Mix
-slightly adapted from www.singforyoursupperblog.com

Ingredients

1/2 cup instant coffee (I actually used ground coffee)
1 1/2 cups powdered Coffeemate creamer
1/2 cup Nesquik (powder)
1/4 cup sugar
dash salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions

Mix all ingredients in a blender. If you used the instant coffee then use 1-3 heaping teaspoons per cup of boiling water. If you used the ground coffee then I used 3 tablespoons to 4 cups of water and put through the coffee maker. I also used liquid Peppermint Mocha Creamer to add a punch of peppermint. 

Enjoy!