M&M Chocolate Chip Bars

I just love when a new recipe works out well!   We made M&M Chocolate Chip bars and man are they dangerously good!
I had to bag them up quick and give the few remaining bars away quick before I ate them all.  I have been trying to be a good girl with the calorie intake...so hard when you are baking all of the time.

So I thought that I would share a picture..... just to make you drool a little. Even un-baked they look great.

So here they are before they went into the oven....and guess what they were bagged and eaten so fast that I don't have pictures of them as the final product! 

So if you want to try to make them all you have to do is follow the toll house chocolate chip cookie recipe with a few changes....when it asks for 2 cups of chocolate chips reduce that to 1 cup and add 1 cup of m&m's...... also don't forget to put 1 cup of chopped walnuts!  You could bake these as cookies if you wanted or spread them in a greased 9x13 baking dish like we did. 

Either way they taste great and won't last long!  If you think you would like to eat some, but are feeling a little lazy........ they are for sale at the Market @ Oneida Commons. 

* Remember fresh cookies are baked and brought into the Market @Oneida Commons every friday!

Steam Punk...Bead Punk

Have any of you ever heard of these terms?   Well I was doing this on and off for a while and didn't even know it!

No it isn't anything bad so get your mind out of the gutter!  If you already know then you won't need this explanation, but for those of you out there who don't you will learn something new today when you read this post. 

Steam punk is a jewelry term that basically describes jewelry that is made from industrial re-used or recycled parts like watch gears or antique skeleton keys or typewriter keys, ect.  Now Bead Punk goes one step further by adding intricately beaded designs to the industrial parts giving the pieces a more feminine look.  

Well since I can remember I have loved to collect some of the objects not really knowing exactly what it is that I was going to do with them, but since I have been making jewelry and teaching myself new techniques I began to slowly pull out some of these industrial objects that I have here around the house and this past week I made my first Bead Punk jewelry piece.  I love it already!

So here are some examples of Steam Punk and Bead Punk by some other really talented artisans that I have been looking to for inspiration.
I saw these on http://www.beadpunk.net/   
I really love the bright spring colors on these necklaces!
So if you are a beader, Happy Beading! 




One little Footie's Goodies Note:   There are fresh Blueberry White Chocolate Macadamia Nut cookies and a new one we call M&M Chocolate Chip Bars available for sale at The Market @ Oneida Commons.....so get something sweet for your sweet tooth!

Spring Ahead

I am sure glad that we have made it to that time of the year when we must follow the time rule change to SPRING AHEAD......that means Spring is just around the corner.

There is just one little problem with that......we lose an hour....an hour to spend with our family....an hour to just get things done.... and MOST IMPORTANTLY AN HOUR TO SLEEP!   My body doesn't recognize at night that it should go to bed on time which would normally be between 10pm and 11pm....when the time changes, my body thinks wow I am still awake and lets stay up until 12am just because my body thinks it is really only 11pm.

I know in a matter of a couple days my body will adjust, but for these last few mornings.... getting up has had its moments.  Now in general I am not a morning person.....I have to have a cup of Tazo Wake up tea or some Earl Grey with bergamot before I am fully functioning.  In my household the only two living creatures that like to get up and are happy first thing in the morning are my dog and my husband.

Our daughter and our 2 cats have the same morning temperment as I do......cranky and don't bother me until I wake up all the way.   It makes for some pretty miserable mornings when it is just my daughter and I here in the house alone.

My husband is one of those types who gest in the shower immediately and starts singing......not well I might add, but he  thinks he sounds great.  If you see him after you have read this don't tell him I said that. 

 At least today when I got up the sun was shining and that can make my day, even when it is this early in the morning....good thing since we have had a request to bake a new type of cookie today.  When we get them done this afternoon I will publish a new post about them with some pictures as well.

So have your tea or coffee this morning and shake off the sand man's spell....I know that I feel better already!

Baking Solo

Well it has officially been 12 days since I baked last and with the child still sick, I will be heading into the kitchen later this afternoon by myself.  I have to admit that I haven't been very successful finding low calorie recipes that actually satisfy the sweet tooth.  I have begun to think I am a hopeless sugar addict. 

However, many of the biscotti that I enjoy really are lower in calories than alot of the cookies out there. So Today I baked a cinnamon sugar biscotti that really came out great.  It has that wonderful texture and who doesn't love cinnamon and sugar!  So check it out.  I also want to make note that my daughter was taken back to our family Doctor today and she was given a clean bill of health....so no more excuses kid you are going back to school tomorrow!  She can also help me with the rest of the baking that has to get done by Friday.   So if this biscotti is making your mouth water her is the recipe.....or if you are all about the eating and not the baking.... stop in at the Market @Oneida Commons and buy a bag for yourself. 

Cinnamon Sugar Biscotti
2Cups of flour
1 1/2 tsps. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
6 tbsps. of room temp. unsalted butter
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

For the topping:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 beaten egg for brushing biscotti before baking

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 325F.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper
Whisk together flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder and set aside.
In a mixer cream together butter and sugar until fluffy.  Beat in egg followed by egg yolk. Next beat in vanilla extract.  Add all dry ingredients at once and mix until a stiff dough is formed.  Divide dough in half and make into 2    9" logs.  Flatten slighly.  Brush both logs with beaten egg and sprinkle some cinnamon sugar on top.  Save some cinnamon sugar for sides. Bake for 20 minutes and remove and cool on sheet for about 10 mins.  When cool enough to handle cut diagonally into 1/2" slices.  Put cut sides down on parchment lined baking sheet and sprinkle with more cinnamon sugar.  Then bake for about 12 minutes per side.  Don;t forget to sprinkle the other side with cinnamon sugar after flipping.  Take out and cool on baking sheet. 

Now I think I will make myself a cup of tea, put my feet up and indulge myself by eating a biscotti or two!

Low calorie Cookie Recipes

I am now on the hunt for some low calorie cookie recipes.  It seems that my iron will to not eat what I bake has crumbled...no pun intended.  I have been doing extra workouts from all of the quilt of eating the delicious, warm, mouth watering, cookies we have been baking.

I am not the only one in the house that has had a hard time resisting the the cookies!  My husband and of course our daughter have been stuffing them in too, but our daughter who is very tall and thin and of course has her young active metabolism.... has shown no signs of weight gain from all of the cookies that have passed her lips......oh to be so lucky!

So when we do some test cookies.... I will let you know the results and will pass along the recipes.  So happy baking everyone!

And if you have found that you are in need of a little more exercise from all of the sweet treats you have been baking and eating here is the name of a great workout DVD that my mother gave me for christmas this year and I love it!   It is a Jazzercise DVD by the official Jazzercise creator and her daughter, and it has a 60 minute workout, and a couple of different 30 minute workouts on it that include cardio, and weights.  These workouts focus on strengthening your core, but they really work your whole body.

"JAZZERCISE CORE"    TARGET & TONE MUSCLE, FAT BURING, STRENGTH BUILDING

I have been a Jazzercise Junky on and off for about 10 years.  It is truly worth checking out. It sells for $16.99 through the Jazzercise website.

Sorry no cookies

Well, this week has been a total bust for cookie baking.   My partner in crime has been sick, so I have been playing nurse maid all week..... so unless there is a miracualous recovery by tomorrow, our oven will be cold and there will be no smells of fresh home baked cookies in our house! 

The one good thing out of all of this, is it has given me time to work on some other projects around the house....and to get ready for the Free Skin Care Seminar I am giving at the end of this month.  The "Back to Skin Care Basics" seminar is the first of a Four-Part Series of Free Skin Care Seminars that my Skin Therapy business "All About You" is offering here in Oneida, NY.
March 29, 2010 from 6:30pm to 8:30pm at 109-111 Madison ST.,  in La Vie Boheme Bistro.

If you would like more information about the Free Skin Care Seminar or to Pre-Register for the Seminar go to http://www.allaboutyou.skincaretherapy.net/ or call 315-264-2512.  
Pre-registration gives you a chance at winning a gift basket that contains professional skin care products as well as a gift certificate for a skin care service at
 "All About You" located at 338 Main ST. Oneida, NY.

Hope to hear from you or see you there!

Jewelry making

My daughter and I have been making jewelry for several years now and we both really enjoy the creativity and the satisfaction of making something that we can wear or give as a gift or sell.  The thought that someone is wearing something we have made is a great feeling.  Now I have been selling my jewelry for several years and as of today I am excited to say that I have opened an Etsy account.  Here are some examples of what I make.  I have found working with beads and mixed metals is really fun and I am totally addicted.  So go to my new etsy site....here is the link:                                                                www.etsy.com/shop/shannontcrandall

Now back to cookies......We tried a new recipe last week and it was a hit.  We made double chocolate walnut biscotti. 
So here is the recipe:
Double Chocolate Walnut Biscotti
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 stick of unsalted butter softened
                                                       1 cup granulated sugar
                                                       2 large eggs
                                                       3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
                                                       1 tbsp. confectioners sugar

Pre-heat oven to 350 F  line baking sheets with parchment paper.  In abowl whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.  In a mixer beat together butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat until well combined.  Stir in flour mixture to form a stiff dough.  Stir in walnuts and chocolate chips.  On a floured surface form dough into two 9" logs that are about 2'' wide and slightly flatten.  Sprinkle with confectioners sugar. Bake logs for 35 minutes or until slightly firm to the touch. Cool on baking rack for about 5 minutes. Then take off baking sheet and cut diagonally into 3/4'' slices.  Place cut side down onto baking sheets lined with parchment and bake for about 10 mins.  or until crisp.  Cool on rack.

Try this recipe and see if you like it!  We sure did.