Falling for Fall

Falling for Fall with some festive decorations. As I mentioned before, I absolutely love fall. The weather, activities, food, and warm clothes! I made this wreath for my mom last fall and I decided to update it a little after it was squished in the closet for a year. The bows were made with brown and sparkly orange ribbon that I bought from Martha's Greenhouse in Windsor. They take about five minutes to make and they look great hanging from a fence, attached to your porch, or to cover up an unattractive spot in your garden. She has different colours to mix and match or you can buy them already made for $19.99.

Here are some photos:

 

 

Dessert: Terribly Delicious Extreme Chocolate Cookies

Looking for any excuse to use sprinkles and eat chocolate, I found this recipe on the dessert blog Sweetapolita. It is fairly simple and other than the bittersweet chocolate, you should have most of these baking supplies in your cupboards. Also it only makes 12 cookies so you can't eat too many :)

Cookie Recipe:

1 1/2 cups bittersweet chocolate, chopped
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Melt 1 cup of chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan with an inch of hot water (not boiling water).

2. Mix together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.

3. Combine sugar, eggs, and vanilla.

4. Mix all ingredients together in one bowl and add remaining 1/2 cup of chopped chocolate.

5. Bake at 325 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

A poor blogger's version of a double boiler!

Chocolate Glaze:

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon corn syrup

1. Melt all ingredients in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan filled with an inch of water. Melt until smooth.

2. Dip cooled cookie in chocolate glaze and dip into your choice of sprinkles.

I'd call that  Rick's Dozen because my dad couldn't wait until I sprinkled them.

 Enjoy these chocolate cookies with chocolate milk :)

Sunday Favourites: Author - Rona Jaffe

Author: Rona Jaffe
Born: 1931

Dutton - 2003

Died: 2005
Genre: American Fiction
Major Works: 17 Novels

As a fan of the HBO television series Sex and the City, Rona Jaffe reminds me of the original Candace Bushnell. Oh you're not a fan of Carrie Bradshaw? Well, Sex and the City was originally a novel by Bushnell that was adapted into a television show. To me, Jaffe was the pioneer of this four-girl fictional genre.

My first Jaffe book happened to be her last written novel, The Room-Mating Season (2003). The book centres around four girls living and working in New York City during their 20's. They then continue to weave in and out of each other's lives throughout the years.

Though this was her final book, most of her work is structured this way. They feature three to four girls who meet due to circumstances, but create bonds that involve each other for decades. Other great Jaffe novels include Class Reunion (1979) and the sequel After the Reunion (1985). These two books are about four girls who meet at Radcliffe (Jaffe's school) during the 1950s and their lives lead right back to each other in the end.

These novels aren't for everyone and they are geared towards a female audience. However they are entertaining. Unfortunately Jaffe passed away from cancer in 2005, but she lives on in her work.

Dessert: Apple Pie Baked in an Apple

Autumn is in the air and it is my favourite time of year :)

Favourite Autumn Things:

apple picking
mums
leaves falling
Halloween
breezy days
scarves
pumpkin carving
thanksgiving
apple pie
autumn colours
cozy nights
gourds
school starting
fall jackets
leaf piles
and
harvest


To get into the season I made an adorable autumn dessert: Apple Pie Baked in an Apple. It is simple and way less complicated then it looks. And best of all, it is entirely edible! So enjoy :)

Apple Pie Baked in an Apple Recipe:

Serves 4

5-6 Granny Smith Apples
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 cup Sugar
1 tbsp Brown Sugar
Pie Crust (Homemade or Pre-Made)

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees

1. Make sure the apples are able to stand on their own. Cut the tops off all four apples. Scoop out the inside with a spoon or melon baller. Keep whatever apple insides you are able to salvage for the mix and throw out the core.

2. Peel the remaining apples. Slice apples thinly and mix with the sugars and cinnamon. Add more or less sugar or cinnamon if desired. Fill the hollowed apples with the mixture.

3. Roll out pie crust. Cut into strips. You can use the strips to create a lattice pattern for the crust (I didn't have time to make a lattice pattern - I was on a time constraint).

4. Place apples in a pan and fill the bottom with water.

5. Cover with foil and bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake for 20 minutes or until crust is golden.

Recipe Adapted from:

http://domesticdilettante.com/2012/01/11/applepie/

Dessert: Monster Cookie Dough Dip

Oh My Goodness! This dessert is absolute heaven. It combines my two favourite things: Sweets and Dips! I made this for my sister's party. Everyone loved it. The great part about the recipe is there are no eggs so there is no concern about getting sick.

What can you dip in the cookie dough? Well anything...particular anything salty is a great contrast with the sweet. We had tea cookies, pretzels, and apple slices.

Adapted from: The Girl Who Ate Everything

1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup peanut butter
2 cups powdered sugar
3 tbsp. brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 cups rolled oats
2/3 cup M&Ms
1 cup milk chocolate chips

1. Cream together cream cheese, butter, and peanut butter.
2. Add powdered sugar, brown sugar, flour, and vanilla.
3. Add oats slowly. If you want a thicker dip add the recommended amount. Add less if a thinner dip is preferred.
4. Add the M&Ms and chocolate chips.
5. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

See more at:

http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2012/05/monster-cookie-dough-dip.html

Sunday Favourites: Continuing with Memoirs

 Book: Stolen Years

Author: Sara (Plager) Zyskind
Publisher: Signet
Year: 1981

One of my favourite time periods to read about is World War II and the Holocaust. The Holocaust in particular has always interested me. In grade seven, my teacher brought in a Holocaust survivor to speak to the class and her vivid account of the horrifying events always stuck with me. I guess even as a 12-year-old, I couldn’t imagine such atrocities occurring to people whose only crime was being born a Jew. Listening to her tell her story and noting that she wasn’t much older than my own grandmother, made me realize that it really wasn’t that long ago. By high school, our religion class ventured to Detroit to visit the Holocaust museum. Again the speaker left the class speechless and said his main goal was to tell his story so these acts of violence would never happened again.

As a result, I began to read classic Holocaust memoirs such as Night by Elie Wiesel and Anne Frank: A Diary of a Young Girl. Both well written and well known, but nothing seem to impact me as much as Stolen Years by Sara Zyskind. A local used bookstore was closing down in my town and they were having a huge clearance sale. Most paperbacks were 50 cents each. I came across one with a cover of a sullen-looking girl with long braids. The cover was extremely tattered and taped. I added it to my mountainous pile without out much thought.

This virtually unknown book and author became one of my favourite books of all time. It is the story of Sara Plager living in Lodz, Poland in 1939. As an eleven-year-old Jewish girl, her life is turned upside down when the Nazis invade her city. She is forced into the ghetto, narrowly escapes Auschwitz, and finishes up the war at seventeen in a labour camp. How she manages to survive when so many around her are dying is beyond reason. The description of her struggle is unforgettable and like nothing I have ever read before. And I think that is what separated her story from the rest for me. Seven years after reading it, I still remember how much she made me appreciate something as simple as a piece of bread. It is also one of the few books my mom has ever read twice.

This book is extremely rare. I haven’t been able to track down a copy at any bookstore and I have only found a few copies online. Therefore I have only given it out to a few trustworthy people over the years. I remember it also being difficult to find any information about the author. If you want a story to make you appreciate your own life, I suggest tracking down a copy of the Stolen Years.





*Note: Sunday Favourites is an idea I have to force myself to sit down and write a short blog post every weekend no matter how busy I get with school! I might do similar topics for a month. Examples: Book genres, music, desserts, sports, etc. Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading!


Sincerely, Mag

Cupcakes: Birdie Baby Shower - Part II

The Making of the Cupcakes

So like I said before I was requested to make a baby shower cake and cupcakes for 50 people. It was for my brother's fiancee's sister-in-law (can you follow all that?). Erica (the fiancee) sent me about five links with five very different styles of baby shower cakes. I decided to go with the pink and blue birds since I have rarely worked with fondant and was a little nervous trying anything too complicated. The birds turned out amazing and the cupcakes were beautiful. I decided to make banana cupcakes because everything banana is delicious. Adding bananas makes desserts that can be boring and plain into something that tastes fresh and tropical. I then topped off the cupcakes with rich, white buttercream, dusted them with crystallized sprinkles, and added the fondant birds. They looked amazing and professional.

And then I started on the cake...

It turned into one nightmare after another. It all began with the Mixer. We purchased a cheap hand-mixer from Sears and the two beaters like to pop out about every ten seconds or so. My mom was going to get me a big, countertop, stainless steal mixer for my birthday, but my dad told her that was a terrible present and she decided to buy me a lululemon outfit instead. And though as I type this, I am currently wearing my lululemon pants (and yes, they have the magical ability to make anyone's butt look fabulous), it is Friday night baking fiascos like this that I really wish my mother had gone with the damn mixer. So back my Sears mixer... it wasn't until I began icing my homemade vanilla cake that I realized nice chunks of unmixed salted butter were being spread evenly all over the sides. Freaking out, I scraped most of the cake clean. At that point I had used all my icing sugar and was forced to make a midnight convenience store trip to buy icing sugar that was double the price one would pay at any grocery store. I also had to find another recipe online for buttercream since I was also missing heavy cream. It was almost 2am when I boxed up the cake and loaded the dishwasher. In my exhaustion and frustration, the cake didn't turn out how I wanted it and I was so mad about it I didn't even bother taking a picture of it.

However the story continues to get better...

I had to work my job at 9am so Erica's mom was picking up the cake at 8:30am. Exhausted, I showered and got dressed only to discover a mess downstairs. One of my dogs (and I think I figured out which one) had an accident all over the floor during the night. So now I am trying to shield her mom from the chaos by not letting her in the front door in fear that she'll think I made all her desserts in this filthy state (of course I know she wouldn't think that, but my self-conscious mind thinks that way). Everything made it to her car in one piece and she was very happy with it.

I guess it can't always turn out the way you plan it, but at least it made for an interesting story.

Here are the pictures I did take of the cupcakes:

Birdie Baby Shower Cupcakes

Banana Cupcakes

Blue Birds

Pink Birds

All boxed up and ready to fly.