S'mores Shortbread

So last weekend I got lost.  I was running along, only planning on running 8 miles Sunday morning in Charlotte when I got lost.  I was trying to follow map my run, and the route they picked out, but clearly I wasn't doing it properly.  Clearly I am now so dependent on someone literally telling me where to go at an exact moment that I had lost those map reading skills.  What do kids growing up now do?  Like what happens if they are in the middle of nowhere with no phone signal, and have never needed to read a map before.  I mean do they even have a map in their car?  Of course, what do I do but, plug in their address and started once again listening to an electronic voice tell me where to go.  But then I had a moment of panic, and used a few harsh words, as my phone crashed as it was giving me directions to my brother and sister-in-laws house.  A) I still didn't know if I was heading in the right direction and B) I couldn't even order an Uber to get me to their neighborhood and I had no cash on me.  It is amazing how dependent we can become on technology.  It also made me think about how important it is to just set the phone down sometimes, stick it in a draw and actually enjoy your life, not living vicariously through others.  Thankfully my phone came back up, I stopped listening to music and just listened to the occasional direction I was given.  I paid a more attention to what was going on around me, and all of the RIDICULOUSLY large houses I was running by and not even really noticing before.  

But before last weekend, and actually the weekend before...what can I say I am a little behind...I made these s'mores shortbread for my office.  Sometimes everyone needs a little treat on Monday!  The best part about these was toasting the marshmallow just before the shortbread was going to be eaten so it was super warm and toasty.  Using a torch to do this even caused the chocolate to be somewhat melty just making these little shortbread even better.  

I am a little behind here on the blog, and I should come up with excuses, but I have been baking.

Like on the same day I made these shortbread, I also made chocolate dipped Hazelnut shortbread for Charles' office.

An Updated Black Forest Cake

Do you ever feel like waiting patiently is the hardest part? Waiting for a cake to bake and then cool?  Waiting for pie crust to spend a little time in the refrigerator? Or for butter to soften?...but then in the end the time spent waiting patiently is worth it.  Sometimes we are just waiting anxiously to get a text back from a friend.  Or I remember the days...several years ago now when I would wait, what felt like hours in college, for a phone call from Charles.  Or right out of college just hoping and waiting to get an email back from and of the what felt like 100s of companies I had applied for jobs with.  Ultimately though the wait tends to be worth, the right person, thing, job comes along or the cake that took hours turns out just the way it is supposed to...almost as if it were fate.  

Chocolate-Chocolate Lavender Cake

So it's January, sooo new year, new start right?  Why does it sometimes feel like nothing changes though, or that the things you wish would change just don't?  Like there are things you can personally control...I can try my hardest to blog more frequently in 2016; I can try to cook dinner more frequently; I can be more proactive about planning out my lunches; or you know the normal I can aim to be more healthy and workout more in 2016.  There are some things though that you really, really wish you could change, but that you have zero control over.  But, truthfully I will always keep trying to change some of those things whether at work or when I once again let my blogging fall off because sometimes life just gets too busy.  What is it that you want to change in 2016?  For me the questions is...what do I want to accomplish before I turn 30 in August?  Bungee jumping anyone?

Okay down to the food, and this time I mean cake, three layers of rich chocolate-chocolate, straight out of the movie Matilda, chocolate cake. BUT I did make this just a bit more grown up, so this is actually a chocolate lavender cake.  This cake is moist, light and fluffy with just a hint of lavender flavor, with rich fudgy chocolate frosting that is worth licking the spatula over. You might be thinking that you don't really like lavender, or even...SERIOUSLY lavender in a cake??  But this cake even changed my mind.  So give it a try and Enjoy!

This is the Matilda Cake I was talking about.

Cinnamon Chip Scones for a cold January morning

I have come to realize that there will always be people in life that you don't know what you would do without.  Sometimes, a person's role shifts and changes, but there are others that you know deep down you just need.  They are the people whose opinions you care about the most; the people you would do anything for at the drop of hat.  They are the people I want to bake for "just because."  Thalia at Butter and Brioche put it best I think, and I agree with her about the power of baking.  Baking..."It brings delight to taste buds, provides happiness and nourishment to heavy hearts, comforts those hurt and unites loved ones.  It is the language of connection, a labor of love…a small and everyday act that is one of the most powerful ways to show another person that you care for them."  This year I resolve to get back to the love of baking; back to the days and nights and weekends when I looked forward to it.  For it to not feel forced and like something I "have" to do.  

So this year I am starting with something I wanted to make just because I wanted to eat them...cinnamon chip scones that is.  These are light, and moist for being a scone, with great cinnamon flavor and texture.  The cinnamon chips are the perfect little breakfast treat.  Definitely give these a try and Enjoy!

P.S. Now is the time to get cinnamon chips at the store. They are found near the chocolate chips in the grocery store.

Bailey's Crunch Cake

Hi there friends...sorry I have been gone for a while.  Sometimes, you just lose track of everything, especially those weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I have been telling myself for weeks, well you know a couple of months now, that I need to be blogging more.  I mean I have been baking, and I have a baking blog, so why am I not sharing?  Truth is, I kind of feel like I lost my voice, so why share a bunch of nothing.  

So here is a little something...I have been thinking back over the craziness that was this fall.  Being gone three out of five weeks between in October and November is tough on "real life stuff," but also sort of fun.  I mean who wouldn't, even just a little bit, enjoy hanging out at a super nice hotel, getting out of the office, and being in Park City.  When you are at that many meetings, you can also really start to look into yourself, and think about how you are doing your job.  I might have been planning meetings at the same company for nearly 7 1/2 years now, but I know I am not perfect, there is always room for growth, and sometimes you need a little "honesty couch."  (That time where you can sit down with someone who isn't your boss, but has years of experience and can tell you areas for improvement, but knowing you won't get upset.)  I actually need to "schedule" my time for late January.  It's good to have friends and co-workers who can do this though; who you trust that the honesty goes both way.  An unofficial mentor you might say...

Salted Butterscotch & Chocolate Chip Cookies

Do you ever think about slowing down? Sometimes I forget to do just that when it feels like I wake up, rush to work, rush home (Even though I am probably sitting in traffic both ways.) walk Margeaux, figure out what to have for dinner and then it's time for bed and to do it all over again.  

It's hard being in a city where everyone always gives the appearance to be in hurry, where people are racing down the roads, walking, what my husband would call "DC pace," from place to place.  I sometimes forget how much of hurry, let's go, world we live in until I go home to North Carolina or like this fall spend three weeks on and off in Park City, UT.  It has made me want to spend even just a few minutes each day taking a slower pace or going on longer walks with Margeaux to enjoy the beauty in the everyday little things.  

Being gone for so long has also made me crave a home cooked meal, and has made me want to bake.  Not just crank a cake out overnight, but be creative. I haven't gotten too just yet, but I did get to make some spicy cheddar crackers and some salted butterscotch chocolate chip cookies for a bride this past week.  And let me let you in on a little secret...you thought salt and chocolate went well together...salt and butterscotch chips are better. So putting both in this cookie was pretty dang delicious, definitely one of the best cookies I have eaten in a while! So give these soft chewy cookies a try and enjoy! By the way, please, please eat one warm...maybe served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Beauty in the little everyday things...sunrise over Park City.