Mini Break

In case you're wondering where I've been for the past week or so, I'm working on redesigning CM. Not only am I going for a new look, I'm making a recipe archive that will be a little more organized than I have it now plus a detailed about page. I'm not sure how long it'll take, but between my full-time job and your typical to-do list, I'm using whatever free time I have to work on it.

I am still active on Twitter if you need your moosey fix - @chocolatemoosey

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Happy 2012!

What do you hope to accomplish in 2012? Of course you should be setting goals when the moment occurs, not save them all for one day. However, sometimes we get so absorbed with our routines that we tend to forget to take a step back. New Year's Day gives us a chance to reflect and find room for improvement. Here are my goals for 2012.


1. Blog on a regular basis. This was actually my goal for 2011. As I was looking through past posts, I realized I didn't post too many recipes. Blogging can be a job in itself, especially when you have a full-time job on top of that. Then you add on all that extra food in a house of one (just me!), it becomes a bit of a challenge. If you do enjoy what you read and I haven't updated in awhile, be sure to follow me on Twitter because I update there every day.

2. Understand my DSLR camera. I've always been attracted to taking pictures whenever I travel. This past October, my friend was selling his Canon Rebel at a good price, so I bought it on a whim. I've found some really good resources, which I've pinned on my Pinterest board. You do not need an account to access the links. I'm planning a major trip to the Grand Canyon in May, so I need to learn as much as I can and possibly buy a new lens (any suggestions?).



3.Focus more on cooking. Sure, I'm a great baker and I do cook meals from scratch, but when I was watching Top Chef the other day, they did mother sauces for the Quick Fire. I only knew one, and even then I'd have to look it up. I also don't know how to cook most meats. I have a great selection of non-baking cookbooks that will hopefully expand my knowledge.



Those are my main ones. I have little goals here and there, such as some craft projects, but those goals will be set as the year goes on.

So what are your thoughts for 2012? What did you accomplish in 2011? What are your goals for 2012? Do you have any advice or tips for my goals?


Quote graphics are from Pinterest.

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Quotes To Live By

For those of you who don't know me personally on Facebook, I use quotes a lot to get my feelings across, especially when I'm at rock-bottom. I have over 400 quotes saved in a Word document, which doesn't include ones I've saved recently on Twitter nor my Pinterest quotes board! Perhaps I find them calming because I'm not very good with words myself.

One of my goals for 2012 is to take my top inspirational quotes, use Photoshop to make them pretty, print them out, then post on my closet door next to my mirror. I need to constantly remind myself to live positively and someday my puzzle will be complete.

I wanted to share with you ten quotes I find inspiring. All graphics came from Pinterest.


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Chocolate Gingerbread Cupcakes

You can't go through the holiday without baking something chocolate and gingerbread! Looks like at the beginning of this year, I posted this recipe. Here it is again to share :) (hahahaha I used the same cupcake liners too! Just noticed that. Same tray was on purpose).





Just like the name states, it is a gingerbread cupcake that has cocoa powder and chocolate chips mixed in. I topped it with a cream cheese frosting to balance the flavors. Adding lemon to the cream cheese works really well too. I gave half a dozen to my landlord, and she couldn't get over how wonderful they were. She told me they looked professional *blushes*



Chocolate Gingerbread Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting



1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa
2 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup oil
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Frosting
4 oz. cream cheese, room temp
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp
Pinch of salt
2 1/4 cups powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line cupcake liners with paper. In a small bowl, mix together flour, cocoa, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, allspice and salt.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, oil, egg, and vanilla until smooth. Alternately whisk in flour mixture and buttermilk, making three additions of flour and two of buttermilk, beating until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips.

3. Scoop into pan. Bake 22-27 minutes or until tops spring back when lightly touched. Let cool for 10 minutes then remove to cooling rack.

4. For the frosting, beat together cream cheese, butter, and salt. Beat in sugar, 1/2 cup at a time. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy.

Makes 12 cupcakes
Source: 125 Cupcakes by Julie Hasson

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Winner of McCormick Giveaway

I texted my friend and asked her pick a number 1-10. She picked 10. Congrats goes out to The Home Cook with her comment: "I follow you on twitter @tasteofhomecook"

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Cupcake Christmas Tree

I wanted to share with you my Cupcake Christmas Tree. That's right - a tree solely dedicated to cupcake ornaments only. All except for the star up top. Next step will be to fix the tree skirt. Either I need to find a cupcake one already made or find some fabric. I have about 35-40 ornaments. I didn't take pictures of every single one because some are the same but different colors. Ornaments were found at pretty much every store imaginable, from Wal Mart and Target to Hobby Lobby and Kohls to JC Penneys and Sears to Hallmark and Dollar General.





My favorite is this cupcake tree, found at the Smuckers Store in Orrville, OH.












Snowman cupcake and baby cupcake on my endtable

Snowflake cupcake on my windowsill

Peppermint cupcake on my windowsill

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Chocolate Cherry Blossoms

For the past few years, Hershey has been making kisses with different fillings - cherry, mint, candy cane, caramel, pumpkin spice, raspberry, orange, Irish cream, and probably a few more I missed. They are fun to bake with because of the different flavors. I made these Chocolate Cherry Blossoms one year before I saw the cherry kisses. I said next time, I will buy those kisses and make these cookies. Well I did, several times in fact. When I was looking up the recipe this year, I decided to check the date. I posted the recipe in 2008. Three years ago!! I think it's time for me to reshare this recipe.

I make these blossom cookies every year. Sometimes I'll do the cherry version. Other times, I'll sub milk for the cherry juice, vanilla for the almond extract, leave the cherries out, and roll the balls into sprinkles. Then instead of pressing down a kiss right out of the oven, I make indents for thumbprints and add icing when cooled. Not sure why the original recipe has food coloring since the cherry juice takes care of that.

I will admit the cookie part on its own is a little...bland. There's not an in-your-face cherry kick either (at least without the cherry kisses). The chocolate (or icing) really brings it together. Make sure there are enough cherry chunks in each ball when you roll them.

Here is the original post I made three years ago. Hopefully you agree that my photography is much better ;)


Chocolate Cherry Blossoms

1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 Tbsp maraschino cherry juice
1/4 tsp almond extract
2/3 cup flour
1/8 tsp salt
2 Tbsp maraschino cherries, chopped
12 chocolate kisses, unwrapped

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Combine powdered sugar, butter, juice, almond extract, and food coloring. Add flour and salt. Mix well. Stir in chopped cherries.

2. Roll dough into balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until edges are slightly browned. Immediately top each cookie with a kiss, pressing down firmly to flatten out cookies. Remove to cooling rack.

Makes 1 dozen.
Source: Food.com

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Peppermint Rice Crispy Squares

As I said in my last post, McCormick and Kim Ima, cookie-sharing expert and author of the new “The Treats Truck Baking Book,” worked together to create delicious new cookies for Christmas. The second recipe I tried from Kim were Peppermint Rice Crispy Squares.

I must confess - I didn't exactly follow Kim's ingredient list. You see, as I was looking for gingerbread marshmallows, I found peppermint ones instead. So instead of using regular mini marshmallows with peppermint extract, I decided to melt these babies instead.



I always forget how much I love homemade rice crispy treats. Make sure you use a big enough bowl though when melting and mixing everything together! One setback with the peppermint marshmallows is they make the squares very pink, like Pepto Bismol pink. I suppose you could add some food coloring to make them red. I'm not a fan of candy canes, so instead of adding crushed candy, I added snowflake sprinkles.

If you enjoyed these, make sure you enter the McCormick Giveaway by December 20, 2011 for your chance to win a copy of Kim's book "The Treats Truck Baking Book," ground ginger, ground cinnamon, and peppermint extract from McCormick.

Peppermint Rice Crispy Squares



3 Tbsp butter
1 package (10 ounces) mini peppermint marshmallows OR plain mini marshmallows + 1/4 tsp peppermint extract
6 cups crispy rice cereal
1/3 cup white chocolate chips
Sprinkles or crushed candy canes, for decorating

Line 9-inch square pan with parchment paper; grease paper. Melt butter in large saucepan on low heat. Add marshmallows; stir constantly until melted. Remove from heat. Add peppermint extract if using; mix well. Stir in cereal and white chocolate chips. Press into pan using a buttered spatula. Sprinkle top with sprinkles or crushed candy canes. If needed, place a piece of cellophane wrap or parchment paper on top and press down to flatten the treats. Cool 15 minutes then cut into squares.

Source: McCormick

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Nutty Oatmeal Ginger Sandwich Cookies and a McCormick Giveaway

How many of you this holiday season have baked cookies to give away? I certainly have, between the FB Cookie Swap, mailing some to friends who live far away (in the US), and bringing some in for coworkers. Quite frankly, I love it. I can try new recipes then give most of the calories away. Plus I sent cookies to friends I have never baked for before. Isn't the post office great? :D This year, McCormick and Kim Ima, cookie-sharing expert and author of the new “The Treats Truck Baking Book,” worked together to create delicious new cookies for Christmas. I made for you some Nutty Oatmeal Ginger Cookie Sandwiches.




Making was the Nutty Oatmeal Ginger Cookie Sandwiches was a change of pace for me because I rarely enjoy eating oatmeal cookies. One lady at work isn't a fan of chocolate, so I was hoping she'd like these. And she did. Even chocolate lovers like me enjoyed the ginger cookies. My favorite part was the nuttiness the cookies had from the pecans and oatmeal. I wouldn't mind making these again as individual cookies and not paired with the filling (although the filling was good too!) My concern I had with the recipe is the yield. It said 12 sandwich cookies, but the recipe used 2 sticks of butter and 2 eggs. I cut the recipe in half and still got 12 sandwich cookies. It doesn't specify how big to make the cookies, and I used my 2-inch cookie scoop.

Normally I would type out my recipe, but since it's getting late and I already forgot to post the link the first time around - here is the link to the recipe.




This holiday season, McCormick and Kim want to give one lucky reader a copy of Kim's book and few ingredients needed to make Kim's special Christmas recipes. To enter, leave a comment answering this: What cookies have you baked to give away?



Want some extra chances to win? You must have answered the question first or these entries will not count.

1. Follow me on Twitter. Come back here and post your username.
2. Like CM on Facebook. Post on my wall - say hi to me, ask a question, share a recipe, whatever (but be nice ;) ) Come back here and post your name.
3. Tweet the giveaway. Come back here and post that you did with your username.
4. Follow me on Pinterest. You don't have to follow all of my boards if something doesn't appeal to you, but you must follow at least one. Come back here and post your name and which board(s) you are following.

Deadline is Tuesday December 20 at midnight EST. You may not get it in time for Christmas, but they will be perfect for post-holiday recipes ;) US residents only.

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The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap - Maple Gingersnap Cookies

This year makes the First Annual Great Cookie Blog Swap, and I’m proud to say I joined in. Usually I stay away from these types of events. Not because I don’t want to, but when it comes to mailing packages, it can become a hassle (and a little pricey). I want to get more involved in the food community, so I decided to sign up and see what happens.




The recipe I chose was Maple Gingersnaps. Originally, I wanted to send Chocolate Gingersnaps, but because I blogged about them last year, it was encouraged to post a new recipe. One evening I was flipping through one of my million cookie cookbooks when bam Maple Gingersnaps popped out. Instead of molasses, it used maple syrup. Chill the dough, roll in cinnamon and sugar, bake, eat (or mail). Side note – maple syrup smells so much better than molasses. Never smell molasses. I made this recipe twice. The second time I ran out of maple syrup, so I did half maple, half honey. I figured using half molasses would clash with the maple (and maybe make it an ugly color).



The first dozen cookies I got was from Molly of Duchess of Fork. She sent me Snickerdoodle Biscoff Blondies. If you are a snickerdoodle fan (me!), then these are perfect for you (and me). Since I don’t live with anyone or have family nearby, I took most of them to work so I didn’t eat a whole dozen myself. The coworkers kept raving about them. They even got more attention than the peanut butter nutella crinkles I put next to them. Great job, Molly! And thanks :D

The second dozen cookies I got was from Lindsey herself of Love and Olive Oil (one of the event co-hosts). She sent me Chocolate Malted Sammies. Oh. My. They tasted like Oreos (except with a little more love ;) ). I already ate about four of them :X I took the rest into work so I don’t end up gaining 10 pounds. Thank you, Lindsey! :D

A special thank you to Lindsey from Love and Olive Oil and Julie from The Little Kitchen for coordinating this huge event! It even made the newspaper. The sign up had over 600 participants, so think about all those cookies being mailed! Can’t wait to hear the final count (silly people can’t keep commitments) and see everyone’s recipes.

Now for the Maple Gingersnap recipe!

Maple Gingersnaps



3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup shortening
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 egg
2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Beat together 3/4 cup sugar, shortening, maple syrup, and egg in a large bowl. Stir in flour, baking soda, ginger, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease cookie sheets. In a small bowl, combine remaining sugar and cinnamon. Shape dough into 2-inch balls; roll in cinnamon sugar mixture. Place 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet. Bake 7-10 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool a few minutes before removing to cooling racks.

Makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies
Source: Pillsbury Cookies, Bars, Brownies 1994, page 11

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