Yes, I’ve been tinkering around with the blogger templates. They really dumb it down for us website-design impaired :) This is no big blog make-over, I just decided to play for 15-20 minutes and see what happened…so far I like it, so I’m going with it for now! I also just realized I can add TABS and ORGANIZE my posts/recipes! I feel like I’m graduating to a big-girl blog ;) (now if only I can get those cool real smiley faces)
Apparently I’ve thrown my “healthy living” attributes out the window this week. Working late everyday = zero time to work out.
Isn’t it ironic that sitting in front of a computer for a few extra hours each day makes you more tired, even though your physically doing basically nothing?! Urg. I miss my sweat sessions!!
That, combined with 2 deliciously food-filled blogger events this weekend…well, lets just say I won’t be weighing myself anytime soon ;)
It was worth it though…
Last year, Shannon came up with the BRILLIANT idea to have a blogger cookie swap. It was in January as it's generally impossible to get a group together before the holidays. It was a blogger success and I came home with a plethora of delicious cookies!
Of course now it’s a tradition, and the 2nd annual Blogger Cookie Swap was Saturday afternoon.
What to bring, what to bring??
I needed something easy and fast because I just had no extra time. My first idea was Mounds bars! They are a family favorite ever since I can remember, and basically consist of a graham cracker crust, a layer of coconut + sweetened condensed milk, and a chocolate layer on top!
Well, it just wasn’t my morning, and I decided to throw in the towel when my crust was just not cooperating!
Wasn’t a total loss though… I used that extra crumbly crust and sweet gooey coconut mixture to make a kick-ass bowl of oats for breakfast!
A typical banana oat mix, and also added some PB, Almond butter, and granola
Out of time, I had to get dressed and head to a (Saturday!) work meeting…blah :/. I almost thought I’d have to just forgo the swap, but I racked my brain to think of a recipe for cookies I could whip up in the 1 hr time frame I’d have after getting home and before the swap started!
Thankfully I have a wonderful husband who will help prep ingredients for me. He zested and juiced 2 lemons while I was gone, because I decided to make these:
Giada’s Lemon Ricotta Cookies with Lemon Glaze
My friend made these once, so I knew the recipe was good. Then after reading the recipe, I was confident I could get these babies done with my given time constraint.
The batter came together super fast.
And the baking time wasn’t long
The only thing left was the glaze. Hmmm, the directions say to let the glaze sit for 2 hours to harden. Not gonna happen..so I just glazed, ran out the door, and let the glaze harden en route.
I had to put them on a big tray since they couldn’t be stacked
Phew. I started these cookies at 3pm, and made it Shannon’s around 4:30. Go me.
Oh heavenly cookies.
Shannon’s Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls
Jen’s Meyer Lemon Shortbread
(you know, Project Food Blog winner Jen!!)
(how cute are those!!? I need to get one of those letter stamps!)
Elina’s Almond Macaroons with Chocolate Ganache
Kerstin’s Pretzel and Graham Cracker Chocolate Bars
and finally…
Cara’s Butterscotch Peanut Butter Crispy Treats with chocolate filling…AKA THE Rice Crispy Treats.
Obviously, they were all phenomenal and I can’t wait to snack on them all week! Cookies and coffee anyone?
Shannon also prepared some snacks for when we needed a break from the sugar
That green dip in the back, is peas with a smoky tahini dressing (a la Smitten Kitchen)…I was obsessed. Must make this.
Spent most of the evening chatting away with these lovely ladies!
I came home from the swap, and crashed. Fell asleep for about 30min on the couch, still in my coat. Then went to bed.
The fun continued this morning when I awoke to NO WATER! Yep, we had a frozen pipe which turned into a leaking pipe. Fantastic. I had a special blogger brunch to get to, so I high tailed it to the gym to get ready, while the husband tracked down a plumber on a Sunday.
Should of been a plumber. 1 hr of labor to fix an 8” piece of pipe = $180 (and only $15 was for materials….)
Anyways, the good news is that we have water! And I’m STILL full from brunch. Can’t wait to share that with you!
‘Til then…Good Night!
Good save! (And I really want one of those letter stamper things too now.)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad your water came back on, and it was great to see you today.
Wow thats what.. 165 dollars and hour. Sounds nice ;)
ReplyDeleteoh no, i remember the days in my apartment in pittsburgh when the pipes would freeze! how frustrating. luckily youve got some great cookies to make up for it ha
ReplyDeletelooks like so much fun! everyones cookies look delish. good to see you today!
ReplyDeleteThose cookies all look gorgeous! Lemon Ricotta cookies sound amazing.
ReplyDeleteI must get a cookie stamp - where did Jen get that!!
Isn't that something, I just posted about making those Lemon Ricotta Cookies from over the holidays! They are amazing. I love how light and moist they are.
ReplyDeleteGiada's cookies look delicious. I love lemon cookies. I'll have to try them.
ReplyDeleteShannon's event looks like SO much fun! All of the cookies are gorgeous- especially yours! And glad you could salvage the first attempt! Its kind of fun when you make something and it doesn't go EXACTLY right, but you get something useful out of it anyways! Ugh- sorry to hear about the pipe. Just glad its fixed
ReplyDeleteYour cookies look great and so do everyone else's! Blogger cookie swaps are the best. So nice to meet you at brunch yesterday!
ReplyDeleteI was bummed to miss the cookie swap and even more bummed when I see how fabulous all of these cookies look!
ReplyDeleteWow, I would have freaked out if my cookies weren't coming out. So glad you were still able to make it - your cookies were delicious too. :)
ReplyDeleteFrozen pipes? Yikes! I lost my hat on Friday and was tearing up this morning on the way to work. I think I had frozen ears!
Good save indeed, I enjoyed your lemon cookies for sure! And I'm so impressed with yours- and everyone else's - pictures. I had a great time too!
ReplyDeleteoh no, glad you were able to get your water back! and way to salvage cookies that coconut mixture in your oats ;) these ricotta cookies were delish, reminds me of the ones my grandma used to make!
ReplyDeleteOMG Bridget!!! I've been reading your blog for awhile now and I never put two and two together before. What are the CHANCES!!! What a small little blog world we live in! Don't you miss GapKids. Wish we could go back and work there now : ) What was the girl from Hollistons name? I can't remember. So crazyyyy. Anyway, I had a failure in the kitchen too while I was preparing for the cookie swap and it was coconut cookie too!! Haha. Then I started feeling awful so I canceled. Next time, I would love to meet up. Its been a long time! What were we- 16?!
ReplyDeleteOh no - so glad your water is back, that's just the worst! And I'm so impressed you whipped your cookies up so quickly - they were so soft and delicious and it was great to see you :)
ReplyDelete