harvest blondies.

these blondies are so good! i went to a party at a friend's cabin and i brought these. i thought they would be appropriate because they're very "fall". i put a lot of apple in them, and i think next time i'll add less because they added a little more moisture than i wanted to the blondies.

i used this recipe but added some things and took out some things.

i took out the cream cheese because i didn't realize it needed to be frozen and i was in a bit of a hurry to make them, but the cream cheese would have been SO GOOD in them! to them i added:

1 cup dried cranberries
1 1/2 to 2 cups white chocolate chips

these would be perfect for thanksgiving!

enjoy!

xo sarah :)

p.s. i made the name up myself ;)

oatmeal!

i LOVE oatmeal! sometimes i eat it too much and i get tired of the way i make it. towards the end of summer i got into an "oatmeal rut", so i had to try something new. i remembered that my uncle puts peanut butter in his oatmeal, so i figured i would try that! and when i did, i was dissappointed. it was just so bland. SOO, i added a little bit of brown sugar, some agave, cinnamon, raisins, and some milk. BEST. OATMEAL. EVER. it is so delicious, you have to try it.

here's what i add: (for 1/2 cup of oatmeal)
1 tsp. brown sugar
2tsp to 1 tbsp. agave nectar
1-2 tsp peanut butter
a handful of raisins or craisins
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
splash of milk

cook your oatmeal (i make mine in the microwave). then, add everything but the milk and mix together. mix in the milk, and enjoy!

xo sarah :)

low-fat pumpkin spiced chocolate chip cookies.

so, this may not be the first time you've seen these cookies because i found the recipe on Skinnytaste. i had extra pumpkin puree left over from when i made pumpkin mousse, and i wanted to use it up. so i was searching and searching and i came across these. i'm so glad i made them because they are D-E-licious and easy!

ingredients:

• 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice*
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsp butter, melted
• 1 egg white
• 2 tbsp pumpkin puree
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

first, mix together the first 5 ingredients.

now, whisk together the remaining ingredients (minus the chocolate chips) in another bowl until light and fluffy.

next, stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in 2 additions. her recipe says to add a little water if the dough is too thick, but mine was just fine!

don't forget the chocolate chips!!

spoon onto a cookie sheet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes (mine took 12).

remove from the pan and let cool on a cooling rack. or you could just eat them while they are still warm ;)

don't they look just delicious?!

*i didn't have pumpkin pie spice, and i didn't feel like spending $5 for something i will barely use, so i made my own!

ENJOY!



xoxo sarah :)

pumpkin mousse.

so, for one of my classes i have to run a restaurant with 2 other people. we have create the whole menu, so clearly i was in charge of the dessert ;) since it's fall, we decided on a pumpkin mousse! i decided to make it just to make sure the recipe we found was a good one, and it is!

i found the recipe here. this recipe make it into a trifle, but i just used the pumpkin mousse. it only uses 1 1/4 cups of heavy cream and a little over 3/4 cups of sugar.

first, you want to make an ice bath, or, in non-baker terms, a bowl of water with ice and water. put a bowl in it so you are prepared. then, whisk the yolks, 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, and 3/4 cup cream together in a medium saucepan. heat while stirring continuously with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon over medium-low heat, until thickened and the mixture coats the spatula -- about 10 minutes. pour the mixture into the bowl in the ice bath. the recipe doesn't say to do so, but i ran it through a strainer just in case some of the egg yolks had curdled. once the egg mixture is cool, stir in the pumpkin, vanilla, spices, and salt.

mix together 1 tablespoon of the rum and the gelatin together in a small bowl. heat up the rest of the rum and stir into the rum/gelatin mixture until the gelatin dissolves completely. stir into the pumpkin mixture gently.

now, whip the rest of the heavy cream (1/2 cup) to stiff peaks.

fold the cream into the pumpkin mixture with a rubber spatula so you don't lose any of the volume in the cream.

cover with plastic wrap so it touches the mousse. this will prevent it from forming a weird film on the top of the mousse. put into the fridge for about 8 hours, or until you just can't wait any longer to eat it (not long at all in my case ;) ) i used a plastic bag with a star tip (for piping fancy stuff) to pipe the mousse into a bowl. this makes it look for upscale, for maybe a dinner party or something. if not, just spoon it into a bowl or your mouth.

ENJOY!

xoxo sarah :)

Hello!

hey guys! so, since this is my first post i decided i would give you a collage of some of the things i did this summer.

1. peach blueberry sour cream pie (found here)
2. dulce de leche brownies (found here)
3. salted toffee graham crackers (found here)
4. s'more's bars (found on the back of Market Pantry [Target Brand] graham cracker box)
5. my mom's kitchen cabinets that i painted (VERY proud of this)
6 &7. diy picture frame necklace and earring holders (decription from my Tumblr)
8. strawberry lemon basil sorbet
9. rainbow cupcakes w/ chocolate mousse

there are numbers on the pictures, but you can't quite see them :(

xo sarah ;)