Sweet Treats

We are heading to Lake Somerville tomorrow to go camping with my sister and some of their friends for Memorial Day weekend. I just HAD to make something sweet to share with the fellow campers, and what better then a cookie my mom used to make for us when we went camping as a child. Her famous, No Bake Cookies. Seriously, these are sooo easy and the BEST cookie in the entire world, that is if you are a chocolate lover! And who isn't?



*Please excuse my iphone pictures. Didn't feel like getting out the big camera.*

I also decided to make Cowgirl Cookies, which is the cookies I made as party favors for Taylor's 1st birthday. Here's the recipe for both!

Hope everyone has a great holiday weekend! I know we will!

Chocolate No-Bake Cookies
1 stick of butter
2 c sugar
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 c milk (any kind)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c creamy peanut butter
5 c minute oatmeal

In a small bowl combine sugar and cocoa powder. Set aside.
In a pot, melt butter over high heat. Add sugar/cocoa mixture and milk. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil. Once mixture is boiling, let it boil for about 30 seconds and KEEP STIRRING!
Remove from heat and add remaining ingredients. Mixture will thicken. Spoon onto wax paper and allow to dry. Voila! No-Bake Cookies!

Cowgirl Cookies
(recipe from Bakerella)

1 1/3 cup all purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup & leveled
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup cooking oats
3/4 cup m&ms
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 – 1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional, I didn't use)

1 slightly beaten egg
1/2 cup butter (melted slightly in the microwave)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Pre-heat oven to 350. Mix first set of ingredients in a bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix. Spoon onto baking sheet (I use a silpat mat which keeps cookies from burning). I make about 1 1/2" balls. Bake 10-12 minutes. Cool on a rack and enjoy!

Missing My Baby

Last weekend we attended a wedding in Galveston, so we dropped Taylor off at my parent's house on the way. As hard as it was saying goodbye to my baby, I needed a weekend getaway. 

Obviously by the looks of this picture, she had a great time!

And when we got home to Austin, Taylor did something amazing! She counted to 10! Literally! I'm not kidding! I started to count her toy cookies and I said one and she immediately followed with two, three, four, and so on! Paul happened to walk in the room at that very moment and we were both so proud of our girl!

Taylor is getting so big and becoming a little lady. She always says please and thank you. If she hits you she will say, I'm sorry mommy, or daddy, or Max, or whoever she just hit. Sometimes I think she likes to hit just so she can say sorry!

She is always saying, "Daddy, are you?" (where are you), "Max, are you?" It's so cute! My heart melts every time she opens her mouth. She loves to put more than one word together at a time and I'm sure she'll be speaking sentences by the time she's 2!

Ok, enough bragging about my girl (but what mother doesn't!). I just LOVE my Tay Tay to pieces!

Bachelorette Cake

A few weekends ago I made a cake for a bachelorette party my sister was attending. I had ideas in my head of this tiered cake with cascading hearts. BIG ideas. None of which got executed. There were hearts, but none cascading. Tiers? Does one count? I mean, it is a double layer. 

So it may not have been the prettiest cake, but it got rave reviews. And that's all that matters, right?!?

White Cake

Lemon Curd Filling

Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting

Happy Mother's Day

I had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend with Paul and Taylor.  We ended up celebrating on Saturday instead of Sunday. Our day started with a nice workout at the gym, a nap for Taylor, then we all headed out to Driftwood for some food and wine. Taylor was pretty good, except when it was time to eat. She lasted about 30 minutes at the table before she wanted down. We decided to eat in shifts and let her play outside. Not the most enjoyable, but it worked. Next time we will order pizzas and sit outside with our wine and eat. Lesson learned. 

Taylor and I before heading out

Walking up to Driftwood Winery

Playing in the fountain at Duchman Winery (formerly Mandola's)

Picking flowers

Walking through Duchman Winery

OUTSIDE PLEASE!!!

Sitting at the table at Trattorina Lisina. Almost had enough!