Whoopie Pies or Gobs?

When I was in the Pittsburgh airport a few weeks ago, I grabbed a local newspaper. In the food section was a story on "Gobs" or "Whoopie Pies", a fluffy white icing sandwiched between two chocolate cake-like cookies. Being from the northeast, I grew up with gobs. My Grandmother makes the most amazing gobs! Much to my suprise, she uses a box mix. And although her recipe is simple, I haven't ever been able recreate them exactly like hers.

The article mentioned this new cookbook called "Whoopie Pies" by Amy Treadwell & Sarah Billingsley, a Pittsburgh native. So, when I got back from my trip I decided to try their recipe for chocolate gobs and paired it with my Grandmother's vanilla icing.

After you mix up the batter, drop it by spoonfuls onto a parchment lined cookie sheet.

They should look like this after about 10-12 minutes, don't worry if they have cracks.

Let them cool for about 20-30 minutes, in the meantime, mix the icing.

Be sure to beat the icing on high for at least 10 minutes, I think I beat mine for about 15 minutes.

Here is what they look like, assembled.

I wrapped them like candy with waxed paper.

Then I boxed some up as a "Thank You" for our neighbors who took such great care of our fish & flowers while we were gone.

Classic Chocolate Whoopie Pies

from Whoopie Pies

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

4 tablespoons vegetable shortening

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a bowl, sift together, flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.

In another bowl, beat butter, shortening and sugar with a mixer on low until just combined. Increase speed to medium and beat for about 3 minutes.

Add egg and vanilla and beat for two more minutes.

Add half of the flour mixture and half of the milk and beat on low until incorporated. Repeat with remaining flour and milk and beat until combined.

Using a tablespoon, drop batter on baking sheet two inches apart. Bake for about 10 minutes each or until pies spring back when pressed gently.

Remove from oven and cool for about five minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.

1 Tbsp of batter should make about 48 two-inch cakes or 24 pies.

2 Tbsp of batter should make about 30 four-inch cakes or 15 pies.

Vanilla Whipped Icing

1 cup sugar

1 stick butter

1/2 cup shortening

4 Tbs flour

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup milk

3 Tbs powdered sugar

Combine all and beat on high speed for at least ten minutes.

The cakes were not real sweet, but the vanilla icing made up for that. I will be adding this cookbook to my wishlist!

How to keep a toddler entertained on a long trip

My 2 year old son & I took a trip to PA & IL to visit my parents and my in-laws. We flew to each state on 3 flights. I wanted to be prepared to keep my toddler busy, incase he didn't sleep. Over the past month, I’ve collected a variety of items that I thought would entertain him. I picked them up at the Dollar store and Target (check out their $1 section). Before the trip, I separated them into 5 Busy Bags. So, I could just pull out each bag filled with items and stick it in the seat pocket for easy access.

Busy Bag #1

Since we’ll mostly likely be sitting on the runway, I had to think about small items we could keep with us until we are cleared to get larger items out.

Includes:

A slinky

Some matchbox cars

Coloring pages

Triangle shaped crayons (so that they won’t roll)

Busy Bag #2

This bag is filled with things to do with our hands.

Includes:

Lacing Cards (super easy to make, I’ll show you how in an upcoming post)

Playdough & Playdough tools

Busy Bag #3

Entertainment

Includes:

Pepperidge Farm Fish (Smores flavor, which will be a new thing for my son)

101 Dalmations

Toy Story

(Since we have a layover on our return flight, I thought I’d pack 2 movies, just incase)

Busy Bag #4

Again, this bag was for decending/landing. Items that they won’t make us put away.

Includes:

Highlights Magazine

Picture Book (easy to make, I will show you how to do it in an upcoming post)

Busy Bag #5

This is an extra bag, just incase.

Includes:

Fishing Game

Dry Erase Board

M&M Pretzel bites (put in a tin for extra fun)

Picture Book

Snacks

I packed some different snacks that my son had not had before and probably will only have on occasion in the future.

Pepperidge Farm Smores Fish

New M&M’s pretzels

Reese’s Pieces

Nabisco Wheat & Cheese Crackers (something a little bit healthy)

Tips for packing busy bags:

Find items that your child has not seen before. You don’t have to buy all new toys. Try looking for items at the Dollar Store, thrift stores, yard sales or even borrow/swap toys with your toddlers friends. You could also try taking household items and repurposing them. One suggestion from Vanilla Joy, was take a muffin tin, your husbands golf tees, playdough and a play hammer, put playdough in each muffin cup, and let them hammer the tees into the playdough!

Be creative and think outside the box. Ask friends and family what they do to keep their kids entertained. You’ll be surprised. One of my friends even suggested little scissors with bundles of yarn, let them cut through the bundles. She said it’ll keep them busy for a while.

Think about snacks that they haven’t had before. Snacks that they haven’t seen before can be very entertaining. Don’t forget the lollipops, I think it really helped his little ears during take off & landing.

Remember to pack comfort items such as pacifiers, blankies or their favorite stuffed animals. My son is only allowed to have his paci at bedtime, but it kept him quiet on the plane and he ended up going off to sleep.

Most of all, be flexible with them. Being strapped in a carseat for long periods of time is not fun!

For this trip, I must say I was a little over packed. We really only used 2 or 3 of the items, since he slept for most of the duration of our flights. But I always say it’s better to be over-prepared rather than underprepared!

Ice Cream Cake

This past week has been a hot one here in Florida. It's been in the mid 90's but has felt like it's in the 100's. So, as I was thinking of what sweet I wanted to bake for Father's Day....I could only come up with cold ideas. I decided that buying an ice cream cake was out of the question. No matter how close the ice cream shop was, I would end up with a milk shake by the time I got it home. My Mom used to make her own ice cream cakes, so I thought I would try it.

Here are the instructions:

1. Pick your pan, you can use a bread pan, an bundt ban, or even a spring form pan as I did.

2. Pick your ice cream and toppings, any goes!

3. Pick a crust base (I used oreos and a little bit of butter)

4. Start layering your ingredients.

5. Freeze for 30 minutes after each layer.

Here is how I assembled mine:

1. I started with a spring form pan

2. I mixed (almost) an entire package of mashed double stuffed oreos with 3 TBS butter

3. I layered the oreo crust in first, being sure to come up the sides a little

4. I froze the crust for 30 mins, while I let my first layer of ice cream thaw

5. I layered in the chocolate ice cream

6. I froze the chocolate layer for 30 mins

7. I dumped some of the oreo mixture on top of the chocolate ice cream. Then I put the hot fudge in the microwave for 30 seconds, and then poured it on top of the oreos

8. I froze the cake again for 30 minutes, while I thawed the last layer of ice cream

9. I layered the vanilla ice cream on top

10. I froze the cake for 48 hours before serving

Tips:

-If you are using a pan that will turn upside down, be sure to start with your top layer and end with your crust base

-Be sure to thaw your ice cream at least 30 mins in order to make it form to the pan

-Thaw the cake for 15 minutes before serving

-Run a knife under hot water and wipe dry before making each cut

This is a great treat for any holiday. My Mom used to make them for my birthday. She would give me a list of all kinds of ingredients and I got to choose what I wanted. Each year I chose something different. Here are some ideas:

Ice Cream:

Chocolate

Vanilla

Strawberry

Cookie Dough

Fudge Swirl

Butter Pecan

Layers:

Fruit

M&M's

Reeses Pieces

Peanut Butter Cups

Heath Bars

Peanuts

Pecans

Walnuts

Coconut

Pretzels

Marshmallows

Chocolate Chips

Butterscotch Chips

Snickers

Sprinkles

Cookies

Peanut Butter

Hot Fudge

Caramel

This choices are endless. Use your imagination and have fun!

How to throw a simple dinner party

My husband and I have been doing a lot of entertaining lately. I’m one of those hostesses that always finds a new recipe to cook everytime we have people over. I don't have any "go-to" recipes that I can whip up. I usually spend all day prepping/cooking and wearing myself out. A few weeks ago we had my husbands boss and a few co-workers in for dinner. I came up with this elaborate menu, a fillet of beef, mashed potatoes with roasted broccoli, and chocolate soufflé for dessert. What was I thinking? The recipes were not simple. I spent the better part of 2 days in the kitchen. In fact, when our guests arrived I was still in the kitchen, knee deep in a three course meal! Then when I sat down to eat, I wasn't that impressed with it.

About a week later I found myself watching “The Barefoot Contessa” as she made Lobster Mac-n-Cheese. When she was done, she said “this would be a great meal to serve at a dinner party, as you can prepare it ahead of time”. I looked at my husband and said, “that’s what I’m doing next time we have a dinner party”. So, last week we had some good friends of ours in for dinner. I was able to prep everything that afternoon, while my toddler napped.

The Menu

• Crudette with Ranch Dip
• Lobster Mac-n-cheese (actually, I used snow crab instead of Lobster)
• Mixed Green Salad with Balsalmic Vinagrette
• Vanilla Ice Cream with Homemade Oatmeal-Chocolate Chip cookies

(Thanks to Food Network for this photo of the lobster mac-n-cheese)

No summer meal would be complete without sweet tea!

This meal was delicious. The Crab Mac-n-Cheese was creamy and rich, so make sure you serve it with side items that are light. I have finally found my "go-to" meal for dinner parties. Thank you, Ina!

And They're Off! Party

This year we held our very first Kentucky Derby Party. We had a small but enthusiastic crowd. We enjoyed the food, the race and the company. Here's a look at our party.

Our guests in their finest hats:

Since we're not real big on Mint Juleps, we mixed up a mojito punch for our guests.

I printed up some derby icons for our glass charms.

The Kentucky Derby pie was delicious!

Of course, no Kentucky Derby Party would be complete without red roses!

Testing my Photoshop skills

I'm trying to learn to put photos into collages. Thanks to the Pineapple Princess for the instructions!

Kids table & chairs

When my parents came down for my son's birthday last month, I requested that my Dad make my son a child size table. He made a sweet little table for my son and brought these 2 chairs that he found in the attic. They used to be mine when I was little. They've held up rather well, just a little rust and a few tears in the seats. So, I disassembled them, and made them over to match the table. This project cost maybe $10 ($6 for white spray paint, $4 for material).

Here is the before:

And the after:

This is just one of the projects I've been working on in the last few weeks. I will post more this week.