Chocolate Chip Chip Shortbread (#16 TYSC)

Chocolate Chip Chip Shortbread
#16 of the treat yo' self challenge
cookie jar contenders chapter

Back in December when I was first paging through this cookbook and fondly daydreaming about my future baking adventures, I had to stifle a little laugh when I saw this one. Shortbread cookies with potato chips mixed in?! If there's one baking trend that absolutely I cannot endorse, it's the ridiculous (IMHO) trend of adding extra salt to sweet things. Think: salted caramel. (ew) Or chocolate chip cookies with sprinkle of sea salt on top. (double ew) 

If you know me, you probably know that I have opinions about pretty much everything, and I have a VERY strong opinion that desserts should have their salt mixed in the dough/batter, not sprinkled on top.

So when I saw this recipe that includes POTATO CHIPS both in and ON chocolate chip shortbread, I was appalled.  I figured this would be the very last recipe I would be forced to bake at the end.

Fast forward about six weeks, just after Super Bowl Sunday. Suddenly I'm faced with half a bag of potato chips, leftover after "we" (ahem) finished off the sour cream and onion dip I made for the big game. As my mind started to wander, considering what I could do with leftover potato chips (not wanting to throw out perfectly good food, even if it is food that I ONLY like when paired with sour cream and onion dip), my mind recalled this unappetizing recipe from my book. And when I also remembered that I needed to bring something in for a potluck the next day and didn't have much time to bake anything, suddenly I had a plan.

Well, here goes nothing, I thought.

This was this easiest recipe ever to make. The hardest part was getting my rolling pin out of the top cupboard in order to crush to leftover potato chips. Seriously, a monkey could make these. Less than 30 min later, they were done.

Verdict: Well, they taste exactly like what they are: chocolate chip cookies/shortbread with potato chips mixed in/on. I suppose if you like that sort of thing, you would love these.

Even Mike's response was "why would you put potato chips in cookies?!"   "To amp up the flavor?" I responded.  "Seems like that just amps up the unhealthiness," he replied.

To me they taste like what I imagine the bottom of an elementary kid's lunch box would taste like, if they had the kind of parent that sent them to school with cookies and potato chips. Not that my parents ever gave me that kind of lunch, and not that I ever let my foods touch as a child. But you get the idea.

Methinks this one was not a keeper for our family, but we'll see how they go over at the potluck tomorrow.

52 hike challenge (#7)

Yesterday was incredibly windy, but it was also warm (60s) and sunny. Today was in cold (30s) and overcast, so it was pretty much the last thing in the world that I wanted to do to go outside today. But I know I always feel better after going for a walk/hike so I forced myself out there in the last hour or so before the Superbowl kickoff. Now I can look forward to my chips and dip while I sit sedentary for 3+ hours ;)

52 hike challenge
1. 1/1/20 - 2 mi - out and back
2. 1/5/20 - 4.5 mi - neighborhood loop
3. 1/11/20 - 2 mi - out and back
4. 1/19/20 - 4.5 mi - neighborhood loop
5. 1/26/20 - 4.5 mi - neighborhood loop
6. 2/1/20 - 4.5 mi neighborhood loop
7. 2/2/20 - 2 mi - out and back

Chocolate Chip Marble Bundt Cake (#15 TYSC)

Chocolate Chip Marble Bundt Cake

#15 of the Treat Yo Self Challenge

Counter Cakes chapter

After all the savory foods of yesterday, I was looking forward to something sweeter - with chocolate! - today. I love the ease of a good bundt cake, although I usually don't like marble cakes of any sort. Why ruin a good chocolate cake with swirls of white cake?! I also love using my bundt pan beacuse it reminds me of my friend Marcy, who gave me mine as a gift when we left Minnesota. We used to live less than a mile from the NordicWare factory, so every time I pull out my trusty bundt pan I think fondly of Marcy and our old house.

As a general rule I try not to modify a recipe the first time I bake it, but this time Rose wanted to help and she BEGGED to substitute M&M's for the chocolate chips. We compromised and went halvsies :)

Verdict:  Definitely a winner! I'm surprised that I actually really liked the marbling. Next time I'd leave out the M&Ms and chocolate chips, so as not to ruin the smooth texture, but overall this one was great! Hopefully my coworkers enjoy this one tomorrow.

English Muffin bread (#13 TYSC)

English Muffin bread
#13 of the treat yo' self challenge
Savories chapter

I was craving some good bread this weekend, so set upon the Savories chapter to see if I could find any new recipes to test out. There's really nothing better than fresh homemade bread, except maybe when that same bread is toasted with some butter! So when I saw a recipe for English muffin bread, something I've always loved but never made, I knew I had my next recipe at hand.

Since our chickens have finally picked up their egg production a bit, I could see a dinner plan starting to form: toasted English muffin bread, fried farm-fresh eggs, crunchy Costco bacon, and delicious winter citrus fruit. Yum.

Thus bread itself was incredibly easy to make. I guess I'm so used to making sourdough (and all the time that entails) that a bread that can be done in less than 3 hours seems FAST!

And here's the finished product:

The fruit was already at the table. I promise. 

Verdict: I will definitely be making this one again. Actually, I will probably do what I always do with a recipe that I really want to perfect: I will consult multiple sources, compare and contrast each one, use my limited knowledge to create my own, and repeatedly bake and refine until I have the exact version that will be "mine" from thence forth. Ask me in a couple months and I may have "my" English muffin bread recipe by then!

Garlicky, butter-swirled pull-apart rolls (#14 TYSC)

Garlicky, butter-swirled pull-apart rolls
#14 of the Treat Yo' Self Challenge
Savories chapter

One of my favorite recipes is an unexpectedly savory version of a traditionally sweet breakfast, a savory SCONE with bacon, cheese, and carmelized onion. So when I saw this savory version of cinnamon rolls, I was immediately interested.

I love cinnamon rolls, and I love garlic bread. Could this be the perfect marriage of the two?

Verdict: Really, really good! Next time I would put some mozzarella inside, to make them more like cheesy garlic bread. In all honesty, I would be most satisfied if all of my meals were comprised of "cheesy carbs." I love every variation of this combo: cheese and crackers, grilled cheese, mac and cheese, savory scones, Italian dunkers, fettucine alfredo, cheddar on graham crackers, etc. This recipe could join the exhaulted cheesy carb club with only a little tweak...

52 hike challenge (#6)

I thought our high wind warning was over at 11am, so I waited until after lunch to go for my walk/hike. OMG, there were times when I could barely stand upright! When I got back home I double checked and realized it was still in effect until 11 PM! D'oh! Well, that explains it! Per the National Weather Service, we've been having 40-50mph winds, with gusts up to 75mph! But despite the windy conditions, it still felt good to get out there and get some fresh, sunny air.

It's hard to get a selfie with my walking buddy, Doug the dog. 

Holy mud, batman!

Doug loves the creek at the halfway point!

Doug also loves the neighbor's animals. They do not love him. 

Short sleeves! In February!!!

And here are two goofy little videos to try to give you a sense of how windy it was:

52 hike challenge
1. 1/1/20 - 2 mi - out and back
2. 1/5/20 - 4.5 mi - neighborhood loop
3. 1/11/20 - 2 mi - out and back
4. 1/19/20 - 4.5 mi - neighborhood loop
5. 1/26/20 - 4.5 mi - neighborhood loop
6. 2/1/20 - 4.5 mi neighborhood loop

Next Level Krispie Treats (#12 TYSC)

Next Level Krispie Treats
#12 of the Treat Yo' Self Challenge
Bars chapter

I love Rice Krispie Treats. Love, love, love. I've perfected the marshmallow to cereal ratio over the years, I can make these from scratch (probably while blindfolded), and I've also created a modification to include peanut butter and to substitute cheerios, making a really "healthy" and "wholesome" variation.

Yes, if you want a combo of marshmallows and cereal, I'm your girl.

So when I saw a recipe titled "next level" krispie treats, I was hooked! What could possibly bring this recipe any higher in esteem? How can one possibly improve upon perfection? What could the new technique or secret ingredient possibly be?

I quickly skimmed the recipe and my eyes befell the culprit:

white chocolate chips

(Gag.)

I know I've previously confessed my love of chocolate to you. Perhaps even mentioning it more than once. But have I ever confessed my absolute abhorrence all things white chocolate? It seems a travesty to even call it "chocolate" since it's basically the fat that's removed when you make REAL chocolate, plus some sugar and some additional milk fat. Blech.

Somehow I managed to end up in a household where my kid and my husband love this mockery of a chocolate, so I try to throw them a bone sometimes and bake something with white chocolate periodically. (Read: annually, at best) I figured it was probably time to throw them that bone again, plus I eventually want to bake everything in this book, plus we always tell Rose that "tastes can change!"

So I tried to keep an open mind...

Verdict: Well, it's a good thing I love Rice Krispie treats, because the marshmallows and cereal in this recipe can ALMOST overpower the white chocolate flavor. Then again, it is hypothetically possible that if I didn't KNOW there were "travesty chips" in here, they may have been the je ne sais quoi that the author describes. I guess we'll never know.

But on the plus side, Rose did call these the best Rice Krispie treat she had ever tasted, so I suppose that's a win.