Sunday, March 25, 2012

Happy Birthday Cookie Bar Bonanza

It was Bill's birthday on Friday and I wanted to make him something special. Any excuse to bake is a good enough reason for me! For outrageously good recipes, I always head over to Picky Palate's website for inspiration. I decided on Double Cookie and Cream Kiss Cookie Bars. The recipe calls for regular Oreo cookies but, to be even more festive, I used Birthday Cake Oreo cookies. Oh. My. Goodness. 

The beginning of something beautiful...


Here's the recipe:
 

1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup mini chocolate chips
12 Oreo Cookies, broken up
25 Cookies and Cream Hershey’s Kisses

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line an 8×8 inch baking pan with foil sprayed with cooking spray.

2. Place butter and sugars into a large bowl, stir to combine, at least 2 minutes. Add egg and vanilla, mixing to combine. Add dry ingredients, chocolate chips and Oreo cookie pieces, stirring to combine. Press 1/3 of the dough into the bottom of prepared baking pan. Top with 5 rows of Hershey’s Kisses 5 per row. Top with remaining dough and gently press. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool for 30 minutes, cut into squares and serve.

Makes 12-16 bars (or, at my house, 6 bars!)




 

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

At a Loss for Words


I haven’t had much to say lately.

Shocking, I know!

And I haven’t been cooking lately.

Double shocker!

For some reason, I’m in a bit of a funk and slightly uninspired by the ho-hum doldrums of daily life, even though everything is fine, wonderful and blessings abound. I guess the sun shines the brightest in the desert. Or something wonderfully poetic and symbolic like that…

Or, as this interesting article discusses, maybe I need more sleep.  

Or, maybe I need the laundry basket to stay empty for longer than an hour.

Hard to say! But, for now, I’ll point to some of my favorite words of inspiration and encouragement from others. After all, the name of this blog is “everything nice.” Not much moping allowed here.

To start, if you’d like a heart-clutching prayer delivered to your inbox every day, check out this website: Heavenward by Scotty Smith. I can’t tell you how many times stopping to read this prayer has brightened my day and, as the name says, given me a heavenly focus, if only for a moment.  

Next, for a reminder of our need for gratitude, head over to: A Holy Experience. The writings are real, insightful and inspiring, plus, the blog is full of practical resources. I’ve mentioned or linked this blog a few times but it’s worth another mention. It’s been a huge blessing to me.

And finally, words that sound like an angel. 



Regardless of our mood or situation, there is One who is constant. Hooray and Amen!